Tokyo: Earth Online Manga Artist

Natsume Akane was always quiet, but one time when Fujimoto Itsuki spilled ink, she squatted down and cleaned the floor herself without saying a word.

Fujimoto Itsuki was very happy, feeling that he hadn't come here to study, but to enjoy life.

Eri Aragaki noticed that Itsuki Fujimoto was secretly amused, but ultimately it was just Itsuki himself who was having that silly laugh.

Because he said he was very close to Eri Aragaki and the others, in reality, Eri Aragaki and the others were very tactful and did not let Fujimoto Itsuki get too close to them.

The distance between the workbenches is just enough to fit a chair, and when eating, Fujimoto Itsuki sits at the very edge of the table, maintaining a perfect sense of distance.

Fujimoto Itsuki didn't get too close either; he was the kind of person who had the desire to steal but not the courage.

Every time Eri Aragaki gets close to him to talk to him, his face turns as red as a tomato, but his body stays ramrod straight, and he doesn't dare to move his hands on his knees.

Eri Aragaki looked at his cowardly appearance and wanted to laugh, but she didn't say anything.

What surprised them even more was that Fujimoto Itsuki was able to imitate Aragaki Eri's art style very well, and in many places he could draw it himself.

As long as you draw according to Eri Aragaki's storyboard, Fujimoto Itsuki can basically draw an effect that is 90% similar to Eri Aragaki's, and the remaining 10% is not noticeable unless you look closely.

Eri Aragaki only needs to draw the most important pages herself each week, and then she can confidently hand over the rest to Itsuki Fujimoto to complete the line art according to the storyboard, and then she will make the final adjustments.

The vine tree will also help with things like applying black ink and adding halftone dots and bubbles.

Moreover, he was indeed very enthusiastic. On the one hand, he was happy to be able to draw comics among beautiful girls, and on the other hand, he was also grateful for their kindness.

He felt that since Eri Aragaki paid him such a high salary, taught him things, and even let him live in a room next to the studio, he would be letting her down if he didn't work hard.

So he worked very hard, burying himself in drawing every day at his workbench without taking many breaks.

Sometimes, when Eri Aragaki tells him to get up, have a drink of water, and move around a bit, he'll wake up as if from a dream, raise his head, and say, "Ah, it's already this late."

As a result, their workload was greatly reduced.

They had more time to do their own things, especially Erina, who really had a lot more free time.

Previously, her time for editing videos was fragmented by her work as a comic assistant, but now Fujimoto Itsuki has taken over a large portion of the background and minor character parts.

She only needs to be responsible for some more detailed scenes and close-ups of characters, and suddenly she has a lot more time.

The time allotted for Eri Aragaki's artwork has been reduced again, from three and a half days to just three days.

Because Fujimoto Itsuki was practically a nuclear-powered ox or horse, even after he started school, he would still come home around 3 PM after school.

Because he doesn't participate in any clubs or organizations.

The Tokyo Metropolitan Arts High School has a wide variety of club activities, but Fujimoto Itsuki didn't participate in any of them.

He felt that club activities were nothing compared to drawing comics, especially since he could learn from Ms. Riko.

Art students are free to choose which clubs to join, and the school was satisfied with his attendance and academic performance, so it didn't interfere much in other aspects.

Therefore, everyone was really happy that Fujimoto Itsuki joined.

Eri Aragaki and her friends obtained nuclear-powered cattle and horses.

Fujimoto Itsuki felt that he had gotten a good job, learned something, and could see a group of beautiful girls every day.

It means... everyone has a bright future!!

Chapter 217 Anime Broadcast Confirmed

Earth Online May 2009 Minor Version Update Announcement:

Summer has officially arrived, and the Asia-Pacific region will enter a period of high temperature and humidity. Forest ape players will sweat 200% more during outdoor activities. Please replenish electrolytes in time to avoid the negative effects of dehydration.

……

As the rainy season advances, the entire region enters midsummer mode, and the volume of cicada-like creatures' "chirping" skill is increased to its peak for the entire year, inflicting the "irritability" effect on players with low resistance for 3 hours.

A solar eclipse will occur on July 22nd, during which the light intensity across the entire server will temporarily decrease by 60%. Players are advised to equip themselves with special observation goggles, as looking directly at the sun may result in a permanent negative effect of "vision damage".

……

Summer fireworks festivals are starting in various prefectures, and participants can receive the "Summer Memories" bonus for 7 days.

Due to the special environmental changes caused by typhoons, mosquito populations will increase again after typhoons, the range of "nighttime swarming activity" will expand, and the movement speed in the wild will decrease by 5% after dusk.

……

We wish all players a pleasant gaming experience.

……

"It's so hot..."

As soon as get out of class ended, Fujimoto Itsuki ran back to his bedroom in the studio and turned on the air conditioning.

He quickly felt the familiar cool air and a happy expression appeared on his face.

Then he turned around and went to the refrigerator outside the studio, took out a cold drink, poured himself a glass, and then took a big gulp.

Now it's finally chilly inside and out.

Fujimoto then leisurely returned to his bedroom; no one was in the studio today.

Because it's Friday, the manuscript for this week's Attack on Titan serialization was completed yesterday.

Over the past two months, Fujimoto Itsuki has gradually become familiar with life in Tokyo.

He even enjoyed it, while his parents were initially worried...

Isn't it a bit too much work for Fujimoto Itsuki to work as a manga assistant while attending school?

This initially worried Fujimoto Itsuki, because he had heard that being a manga assistant for a famous manga artist was a very difficult job.

He had asked many people online before, and there weren't many main-role manga artists, even those with only average popularity, online.

However, there are far too many comic book assistants. Among them are students majoring in comics and fine arts who work part-time, as well as professional comic book assistants.

Part-time comic assistants make up the majority of the workforce.

Because very few ordinary comic artists can afford to hire professional comic assistants.

Only popular comic artists whose works have extremely high popularity and income have this ability.

Otherwise, with monthly royalties of only a few hundred thousand yen but less than a million yen, they would still have to hire several professional manga assistants and pay them two or three hundred thousand yen in salary...

That cartoonist can't even make a living.

Therefore, most of the assistants hired by cartoonists are students or part-time workers.

Both they and these students were willing to accept low salaries while also taking on demanding work.

Because many comic assistants initially approach their roles with a learning attitude.

Many manga artists have worked as manga assistants, such as Kazue Kato, whom Eri Aragaki met before.

And all the part-time assistants that Fujimoto Tsuki asked about online had said...

Being a cartoonist's assistant is more tiring than being an ox or a horse. The studio is not in the same area as the school or home, and the rent is expensive where the cartoonist's studio is located.

Since comic assistants don't earn much, it's impossible for them to rent a place near the studio, so their commute often takes half an hour or even one or two hours.

Moreover, the working hours are long, requiring help every day of the week. There is a lot of work to do, including tedious tasks such as attaching screen dots, drawing drafts, and sometimes even drawing storyboards.

Moreover, these jobs are mostly tedious...

In short, Fujimoto was a little scared at first.

But after he arrived, he discovered...

That's not true at all!

Eri Aragaki arranged accommodation for him in the studio; although it was rented, the price was not high.

It's really not that high, because although it's only supposed to be renting him a bedroom, the entire studio is actually his all the time except when he's working!

Moreover, Eri Aragaki's work schedule is not very long, mostly from Monday to Wednesday, with occasional overtime on Thursdays.

The overtime work on Thursday was mostly because we had slowed down in the previous days and weren't in a rush to meet deadlines.

So basically, the entire studio belongs to Fujimoto Tree on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays.

He can also read comics and play computer games in the living room outside.

Eri Aragaki ignored him.

As for the job duties...

Currently, Fujimoto Tree mainly undertakes 50% of the tedious work such as applying halftone dots, cutting halftone dots, and applying bubble marks, as well as... about 30% of the work on the artwork itself.

This seems like a rather demanding task, doesn't it?

But Fujimoto Itsuki seems to be doing alright...

Posting service notices can be quite tedious, but...

Being able to work with his teacher and several beautiful older women made him feel less tired.

As for the artwork, he felt there were no problems, because Eri Aragaki's storyboards were very detailed, and it was clear at a glance what he needed to draw.

It's a bit like Eri Aragaki assigning him homework, and when he has shortcomings, Eri Aragaki is genuinely teaching him.

This feeling of fulfillment made him feel no fatigue at all.

Moreover, it only takes three or four days a week, or rather, three or four nights.

Because he helps out at the studio after class.

It's usually Mondays. Eri Aragaki finishes her storyboards in her studio during the day, and then they come over in the afternoon to work together.

Then, when it's time to eat, we eat and rest for a while, and then continue until 8 pm. Occasionally, we'll finish early. Fujimoto will spend the rest of the time doing homework, and around 11 pm, he'll wash up and go to bed.

So he really didn't feel tired.

This is mainly because Eri Aragaki is so efficient; she can produce storyboards directly without needing to conceive the plot, and she herself is a fast artist.

Fujimoto Itsuki's arrival at this time can be seen as filling in some of the work needed by the professional assistants, since Ayane, Natsume Akane, and Erina are not professionals and their drawing skills are quite limited.

Fujimoto Itsuki is different. Not only is he a genius in manga, but his drawing skills have also become quite outstanding. He has always had the habit of imitating the style of Aragaki Eri, which is equivalent to being a half-professional manga assistant.

So when he joined, efficiency improved a little more.