Tokyo: Earth Online Manga Artist

Eri Aragaki got off the train and walked out of the station.

She met up with Masaya Sakurai at a cafe near the Shueisha office building today.

The café is at the end of the alley, with a wooden sign hanging at the entrance.

The signboard says "茶どんぐり", and the handwriting is a bit blurry.

Eri Aragaki pushed open the wooden door and went inside.

The bell on the door rang out with a clear, crisp sound.

The shop was quiet, with only one person reading a newspaper in the corner.

The warm yellow light shone on the wooden floor and tables and chairs, creating a cozy atmosphere. Behind the bar stood an elderly gentleman with gray hair, wearing a white shirt and a black apron.

He glanced at Eri Aragaki and said, "Welcome."

Eri Aragaki scanned the store but didn't see Masaya Sakurai.

She arrived fifteen minutes earlier than agreed.

She walked to a seat by the window and sat down, placing her backpack on the chair next to her.

The old gentleman came over and handed her a glass of water and a menu.

Eri Aragaki took the menu and glanced at it. It contained coffee, black tea, juice, and several simple light meals.

She didn't really want coffee, so she ordered a cup of black tea instead.

The old gentleman nodded and turned to prepare.

Eri Aragaki took a folder out of her backpack and glanced at it.

The storyboards for the three episodes were neatly tucked inside.

She drew each page very carefully, clearly marking the storyboards, characters, and speech bubbles.

She closed the folder and placed it on the table.

Then she picked up her water glass, took a sip, and waited for Masaya Sakurai to arrive.

About ten minutes later, the door bell rang again.

Eri Aragaki looked up and saw Masaya Sakurai walk in.

He was wearing a white shirt and dark trousers, and carrying a briefcase.

Her hair was a bit messy, like she had just run out of the editorial department.

He saw Eri Aragaki and walked towards her.

"Ms. Aragaki, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting."

He said apologetically.

Eri Aragaki said, "No, I just arrived too."

Masaya Sakurai sat down opposite her and placed his briefcase beside him.

The old gentleman walked over, and Masaya Sakurai ordered a cup of black coffee.

Then he looked at Eri Aragaki and asked, "Did you bring the storyboard?"

Eri Aragaki pushed the folder in front of him and said, "I brought it. It contains three chapters."

Masaya Sakurai took the folder, opened it, and turned to the first page.

He began to read it carefully.

Chapter Twenty-One: Editing is the Second Soul of Comics

Sakurai Masaya quickly flipped through the storyboard, and although he only glanced at it twice before turning to the next page, it was clear that he was reading the manuscript very carefully.

After all, a storyboard is just a simple draft of the scenes and plot summary. It's not very complete; it's mainly a rough draft.

Therefore, there's no need to look at it too closely, and quickly flipping through the storyboards is already a very basic skill for Shueisha's professional manga editors.

So soon, Masaya Sakurai also finished reading Eri Aragaki's manuscript.

However, after reading the storyboard, Masaya Sakurai did not praise Eri Aragaki as she had expected.

Or, even with a calm expression, they might say something like, "There's no problem, let's start serializing it according to the storyboard."

After all, this is a plot and storyboard that has already been proven to be a huge hit in the previous life.

Both of these reactions were imagined by Eri Aragaki in her mind beforehand, based on what Masaya Sakurai would have thought of after seeing the storyboard.

However, after watching it, Masaya Sakurai gave Eri Aragaki an unexpected reaction.

Masaya Sakurai said calmly, "Aragaki-sensei's storyboarding is good, and the plot is good too, but... I feel there are still some problems."

Eri Aragaki was slightly taken aback. She thought to herself, what could be wrong with copying the original manuscript of Hajime Isayama from her previous life?

Could it be that Masaya Sakurai is just trying to scare her?

However, Eri Aragaki still decided to ask what the problem was.

So she said seriously, "Then... Mr. Sakurai, please give me some pointers."

Masaya Sakurai put down the storyboard in his hand, picked up his coffee cup and took a sip.

He put the cup back on the table and then looked at Eri Aragaki.

Masaya Sakurai began by saying, "If your Attack on Titan was a manga series that started from scratch, then there are no problems with the plot and panel layout."

He paused here before continuing, "However, the situation is that Attack on Titan is not a manga series that started from scratch, but rather began with the 'Chapter Zero' that was submitted to the Tezuka Award."

Therefore, the current plot arrangement for the subsequent official serialization is somewhat unsuitable.

Upon hearing this, Eri Aragaki suddenly realized what was going on.

Yes, in the previous life, Attack on Titan was a manga series that started serialization directly.

In this life, however, she first submitted the story of the Trost District recapture battle, which was the most important part of "Attack on Titan" and had the most typical characteristics of a shonen manga.

In addition, a portion of the opening scene featuring the colossal giant destroying Wall Maria was added.

So the situation is different from the previous life.

Masaya Sakurai's question is that her Attack on Titan series did not start from scratch; it started from "one".

That is, it begins with the subsequent storyline of Trost District.

But this made Eri Aragaki feel a little troubled.

After all, for a plagiarist, rearranging the plot might be somewhat understandable, but arranging the storyboard is not so easy.

She could only look at Masaya Sakurai and ask, "Then how should I arrange the rest of the storyline?"

Masaya Sakurai did not let her go back and solve it herself, but instead gave her advice again.

He said casually, "I have an idea, what do you think?"

He took a pen out of his briefcase and turned to the last blank page of Eri Aragaki's storyboard.

As Masaya Sakurai drew, he said, "The first page of the storyboard for the serialization will, as far as possible, depict the appearance of the giants and the destruction of Wall Maria."

He drew several squares on the paper to represent storyboard panels.

"The first page depicts the appearance of the giants from the perspective of an overview of the entire world map, showing how the giants appeared on a certain day and became the natural enemy of mankind through narration and scenes of giants hunting humans."

"Next is the scene where the colossal giant peeks out from above the city wall. You've drawn that before, so you can reuse it or draw a similar one."

"And then there's your narration, 'That day, humanity once again remembered the fear of being dominated by giants'..."

"The general course of events then unfolded during the Battle of Trost..."

……

He continued drawing; his storyboards were very rudimentary, but the content of each storyboard was still discernible.

"...This can provide some guidance for new fans who haven't read the earlier parts of your work."

While drawing, Masaya Sakurai kept talking as he drew, saying, "When they see this beginning, they'll know what happened before, and that will pique their interest, so they'll go back and read your short story."

When the collected volume is released, this chapter will be used as the opening chapter zero of the entire manga.

Masaya Sakurai has thought far ahead; he's even considered publishing a standalone book for Eri Aragaki.

Eri Aragaki nodded and listened attentively.

Masaya Sakurai flipped to the next few pages and pointed to several panels.

"Then, based on Allen's memories, start drawing the next part of the story you described earlier. Of course, this is the part of your second and third episodes. All of your storyboards can be used."

He drew a few more sketches on the white paper, quickly sketching out the general plot of the comic with just a few strokes.

Although the drawing is very simple, you can tell what the plot is like at a glance.

Eri Aragaki couldn't help but glance at Masaya Sakurai.

This was something she hadn't expected.

I initially thought editors were just accessories, but Masaya Sakurai, an ordinary-looking middle-aged office worker, actually has this skill.

She realized that she had indeed underestimated the editor's position before.

Although they may not be as good as professional popular comic artists in terms of drawing skills or the ability to conceive comic plots.

However, they still have basic skills.

Their insight is often quite unique, which is because they have read a lot of comics. In terms of experience, even Akira Toriyama and Oda may not have more experience than them.

What she didn't know was that a good editor is key to whether a comic book can become a hit.

Like Kazuhiko Torishima, the editor of "Dragon Ball," it was he who discovered Akira Toriyama and suggested that he give up imitating and drawing "Dr. Slump," and then shift from comedy to fighting, which led to the success of "Dragon Ball."

Other examples include Nobuhiko Horie, the editor of "Fist of the North Star," and Tetsuya Hattori, the editor of "Death Note" and "Gintama." These individuals helped manga artists create their works and even participated in the creation and plot development, which contributed to the works' immense popularity.

And one of the more noteworthy people to mention is Koyoharu Gotouge's first editor, Tatsuhiko Katayama. Initially, Gotouge intended to make Demon Slayer lean towards a dark and brutal storyline.

However, Tatsuhiko Katayama realized that the author, Koyoharu Gotouge, was not suited for dark and brutal storylines.