Tokyo: Earth Online Manga Artist

She thought Attack on Titan was really well drawn.

In particular, Eri Aragaki told a thrilling story of humanity's defense through her manga.

Takeda Ayane glanced down at the picture in the magazine again, then looked up at Aragaki Eri.

Her eyes held a clear admiration and respect.

Eri Aragaki immediately felt a little embarrassed and said, "That's far from enough, Ayane, you're exaggerating."

“I know, that’s a line from Ryoma Echizen…”

Takeda Ayane suddenly had a sudden inspiration and said, "...Senior, don't be modest. You won an award, and your drawing is really good."

Eri Aragaki humbly stated, "I only won the Tezuka Award; becoming a great manga artist will take time."

Ayane Takeda immediately said, "Senior, you're too modest. You can definitely become a great manga artist."

"Actually, I also wanted to become a manga artist when I was a child, just like Naoko Takeuchi and Hiromu Arakawa."

She paused, then added, "But I don't seem to have any talent."

Her voice lowered, sounding somewhat disappointed.

This is quite normal. In Japan's environment, especially around 10 years ago, people like Ayane Takeda and Eri Aragaki grew up during a period of booming development for Japanese ACG culture.

Therefore, it can be said that many children of this generation may have dreamed of becoming cartoonists.

Eri Aragaki thought to herself, "Actually, I don't have any special talent. I'm just a transmigrator. Maybe I'm even the protagonist of some novel..."

But she didn't say it out loud. Instead, she comforted Ayane Takeda by saying, "Talent is something that everyone is different. I just have a tiny bit of talent and luck."

She made a gesture of pointing to the universe.

"But that's enough."

Ayane Takeda, unaware of this, still said with great envy, "Your drawing is so good, senpai. You will definitely become a great manga artist in the future. Even now, as a serialized manga artist in Weekly Shonen Jump, you have already surpassed many people."

"Actually, you could just resign, senior. It wouldn't be a problem."

Then she whispered, "Manager Tanaka won't say anything. You have a formal job now, and it's a job as a manga artist."

Yes, after all, this is a manga artist contracted with Shueisha.

Although not every signed comic artist can rise to the top overnight.

It's also possible that a new work might not be popular, leading to its abrupt cancellation and eventually causing the artist to gradually fade out of the comic book industry.

That's not impossible.

However, Shueisha offered good benefits, and the royalties for officially serialized articles were quite substantial, making them essentially privileged individuals.

"Well, after all, I haven't officially started serializing my work yet."

Eri Aragaki said, "It's about a month before the serialization starts, and I'll have more free time during that time. Plus, the shop manager is usually pretty nice to me."

Ayane Takeda looked at Eri Aragaki with admiration and said, "Senpai, you're such a kind person."

Eri Aragaki smiled and said, "It's just a basic human need, and good people will be rewarded."

Just then...

"Eri...Eri, are you there?"

Manager Tanaka suddenly came over and said somewhat anxiously.

"Manager, I'm here."

Eri Aragaki immediately responded.

The store manager quickly walked to the cashier and said to Eri Aragaki, "Eri, I have some good news to tell you."

Chapter Twenty: Storyboard

Eri Aragaki asked curiously, "What good news?"

"Didn't you say before that you were planning to move and looking for a suitable luxury apartment?"

The store manager said with a smile, "I also inquired about it for you."

Eri Aragaki was slightly taken aback.

The store manager continued, "Then I happened to find an apartment that would be perfect for you. The person in question is a former business partner of mine, and he's willing to offer a fair price for the apartment."

Eri Aragaki immediately became interested and asked, "Where is it? What are the conditions?"

The store manager said, "That apartment is in Bunkyo Ward, only a ten-minute walk from your sister's school, which you mentioned earlier, and about a twenty-minute train ride to Shueisha."

Eri Aragaki's eyes lit up.

"The house has three bedrooms and one living room, one master bedroom, one secondary bedroom, and another room that is about six stories high and can be used as a studio."

The store manager continued, describing the layout: "The kitchen is separate, not large but sufficient. The bathroom has a bathtub, and the balcony faces south with excellent natural light."

He paused for a moment, then said, "The apartment is on the fifth floor, with an elevator. There are convenience stores and supermarkets downstairs, making life very convenient. The surrounding environment is also very quiet, which should be very suitable for your work drawing comics."

After hearing this, Eri Aragaki was already excited.

This perfectly aligns with her previous ideas and requirements.

It's near Erina's school and Shueisha, with three rooms, a bathtub, a separate kitchen, and a balcony.

It was practically tailor-made for her.

Eri Aragaki asked, "What about the rent?"

The store manager immediately replied, "He's willing to pay only 20 yen, plus other fees, which will come to around 22 yen."

Eri Aragaki was taken aback; the number was much lower than she had expected.

For a luxury apartment in a location like Bunkyo Ward, this price is indeed very reasonable.

"Manager, is this price really okay?" asked Eri Aragaki.

The store manager said, "I've known that customer for a long time. He heard that it was a serious and hardworking manga artist who had already signed a contract with Shueisha, so he gave me this price. Don't worry, he won't rip you off."

Eri Aragaki was overjoyed and quickly said, "Thank you so much, Manager! You're really too kind."

She bowed to the store manager.

The store manager waved his hand and said, "I should thank you. You've helped me a lot in the store these past few days, and I haven't had a chance to repay you. This is a good opportunity to return the favor."

He took a business card out of his pocket and handed it to Eri Aragaki.

"Here is the landlord's contact information. Just call him and remember to mention that I introduced you."

Eri Aragaki took the business card and glanced at it.

The business card had a name and a phone number printed on it: Nobuyuki Chuan...

This name sounds like it belongs to a middle-aged Japanese person from a bygone era.

"Manager, thank you so much."

She carefully put the business card into her wallet and said, "I'll contact the landlord in the next couple of days."

The store manager said with a smile, "No rush, the house is still there, take your time."

He took a sip of coffee and said, "By the way, you'd better bring a friend with you when you go to look at houses, so you can look out for each other."

Eri Aragaki said, "Okay, I understand."

Ayane Takeda stood to the side, watching this scene thoughtfully.

She seemed to understand what Eri Aragaki meant when she said, "Good people will be rewarded."

……

After noon, Eri Aragaki and Ayane Takeda went home from get off work.

Eri Aragaki changed out of her work clothes and put on her own.

She put the folder containing the storyboard drafts into her backpack and zipped it up.

Ayane Takeda had also changed her clothes and came out of the dressing room.

She asked curiously, "Senior, are you... going somewhere else?"

Eri Aragaki said, "Yes, I met with the editor to review the storyboard."

Ayane Takeda immediately gave a thumbs-up and said, "Go for it, senpai!"

Eri Aragaki nodded and said with a smile, "Thank you. You should also go home early and be careful on the road."

The two walked out of the convenience store together.

The sun was blazing outside, and a wave of heat hit us.

Eri Aragaki narrowed her eyes and walked towards the station.

Ayane Takeda walked in another direction, and after a few steps, she turned back and waved.

Eri Aragaki waved and continued walking forward.

When she arrived at the station, she boarded a train bound for Chiyoda Ward.

There were quite a few people on the tram, but it wasn't crowded.

Eri Aragaki found a seat by the window and sat down, holding her backpack in her arms.

She looked at the street scene flashing past the window, her mind preoccupied with the storyboard.

Because of memories from a past life, the storyboards and other elements were naturally based on the comics I read in my previous life.

That was a storyboard style that Hajime Isayama had chosen after many days and months of research, and Eri Aragaki didn't intend to be clever and draw other storyboards herself.

At most, it will be based on the animation produced by Wit Studio with appropriate adjustments.

After all, if you're going to plagiarize, you should do it properly. Unless it involves issues of values ​​and worldview, Eri Aragaki doesn't intend to arbitrarily change the original work.

Having experienced the immense popularity of the original work, she was very confident at this moment.

The tram took about twenty minutes to reach Jimbocho Station.