Tokyo: Earth Online Manga Artist

Along the way, she did attract quite a few people who came up to chat with her.

Some say it was love at first sight.

Some people claim to be talent scouts looking to discover Eri Aragaki as a model.

Eri Aragaki gave them a sour look and told them to get lost, which made the journey a little more peaceful.

When the train arrived at Jimbocho Station, Eri Aragaki got off.

She walked out of the station and headed towards the Yiqiao Building.

The Shueisha building is not far ahead.

She walked to the building entrance, took a deep breath, and then pushed open the glass door and went inside.

There were already quite a few people in the lobby on the first floor.

Some people were wearing suits, and some were wearing casual clothes.

There were also a few people carrying cameras and microphones; they were probably from the TV station.

Eri Aragaki walked up to the information desk and said, "Hello, I'm here to attend the Tezuka Award ceremony."

The receptionist asked, "May I ask what your name is?"

Eri Aragaki said, "Eri Aragaki, pen name: I Don't Eat Pears."

The receptionist checked the list and said, "Please go to the auditorium on the sixth floor. The elevator is on the right."

Eri Aragaki thanked them and headed for the elevator.

The elevator doors opened, she stepped inside, and pressed the button for the sixth floor.

The elevator doors opened again, and people could already hear voices in the corridor.

She walked down the corridor to a double door that was open, leading to a fairly large auditorium.

Dozens of chairs were set up in the auditorium, and many people were already seated.

At the very front was a row of long tables covered with white cloths, on which were placed nameplates.

Several cameras were set up on one side of the auditorium, with red lights on.

Eri Aragaki stood at the door, somewhat at a loss.

At that moment, Masaya Sakurai walked out from inside.

He saw Eri Aragaki and said, "Aragaki-sensei, this way."

He led Eri Aragaki to a small room in the corner of the auditorium.

There was a table in the room, and on the table were three hoods.

One is a headgear with Jump's mascot, the Jump Pirate logo; another is a shark headgear; and the third is a pear headgear.

Masaya Sakurai said, "Choose one. Pick the one you like from these three."

Eri Aragaki looked at it, and of course... she reached out and picked up the pear-shaped headgear.

It seems that this was specially prepared for her by Shueisha, and it fits her pen name very well.

The pear-shaped headband is yellow with green leaves on it, and it looks kind of cute.

She wasn't really bothered by it and said, "This one will do."

She put the hood on her head.

The hood was so large that it completely covered her face.

There are two small holes where the eyes are, so you can see outside.

There is also a small hole at the mouth position, making it easier to speak.

"Alright, Aragaki... doesn't eat pears, teacher."

Masaya Sakurai glanced at Eri Aragaki, who was wearing a hood, and said, "Let's go, the ceremony is about to begin."

He led Eri Aragaki out of the small room and into the auditorium.

"Teacher, please sit here first."

He pointed to a seat in the back row and said, "When they call your name, go up on stage to receive your award."

Eri Aragaki nodded, walked over, and sat down.

She sat in the chair, looking around through the eye holes of the pear-shaped headgear.

The auditorium was getting more and more crowded.

People began to sit down behind the long table in the front row.

Eri Aragaki saw several familiar faces.

Sitting in the very center was a man in his fifties with gray hair and wearing gold-rimmed glasses.

That was Masahiko Ibaraki, the editor-in-chief of Weekly Shonen Jump.

Sitting next to him were several men who looked quite old, presumably high-ranking members of Shueisha.

Looking to the side, Eri Aragaki saw someone.

The person was wearing a dark blue polo shirt, had slightly messy hair, and wore round-framed glasses.

His face was familiar; Eri Aragaki had seen it many times in manga magazines and in various marketing videos from her past life.

That's Akira Toriyama.

The author of Dragon Ball is now a true legend in the world of comics.

Even the authors of Naruto, Bleach, and One Piece would have to respectfully address Akira Toriyama as their teacher.

Akira Toriyama was talking to the person next to him, looking very relaxed.

A few minutes later, several more people came in.

Eri Aragaki recognized one of them as Eiichiro Oda.

Next to walk in were also pillars of Shueisha and popular manga artists: Takehiko Inoue, Kenjiro, Masashi Kishimoto, Nobuhiro Watsuki...

They are all incredibly popular manga artists in Japan and even worldwide!

However, Eri Aragaki was not only excited to see these popular manga artists, but also had a bold idea.

Just like when Xiang Yu, the Hegemon-King of Western Chu, witnessed the First Emperor...

"I can be just like them!"

Eri Aragaki was thinking to herself at that moment.

Chapter Twenty-Eight: The Awards Ceremony Begins

However, Eri Aragaki's idea didn't last long...

because……

Masaya Sakurai walked over and said in a low voice, "Teacher Buchiri, it's time to start."

The Tezuka Award is a time-sensitive and demanding ceremony, but its main purpose is to promote new manga artists within the industry.

But how many people outside the industry are really paying attention to it...?

Not that.

After all, they are all new comic artists, and it's a matter of time before these award-winning new comic artists achieve success.

When they were still newcomers, it was naturally like "standing there like a mule at the awards ceremony that year."

Sure enough, a host walked to the front and picked up the microphone.

"Distinguished guests, the 73rd Tezuka Award ceremony is now beginning."

The host said, "First of all, please welcome Mr. Masahiko Ibaraki, editor-in-chief of Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump, to give a speech."

Ibaraki Masahiko stood up and walked behind the podium.

"Distinguished judges, award-winning manga artists, and guests, thank you all for coming to Shueisha today to attend the 73rd Tezuka Award ceremony."

He cleared his throat and said, "The Tezuka Award is a newcomer award established in memory of Osamu Tezuka, the god of manga. It has been held 73 times to date..."

And each time we see many talented newcomers. The selected work, "Attack on Titan," received extremely high praise from all twelve judges, which is very rare...

There are other shortlisted works and winners as well. We hope that all the winners will shine brightly in the comics industry in the future.

He bowed and returned to his seat.

"Now we will begin the awards ceremony."

The host said, "First up is the Honorable Mention, for the award-winning works 'DEVIL MAGIC!' by Professor Daisuke Oikawa and 'ANSWER' by Professor Taro Matsukawa... Please come up to the stage to accept your awards and give your acceptance speeches."

Two young men stood up from their seats and walked to the front.

They accepted the certificates and trophies from Masahiko Ibaraki, bowed, gave brief acceptance speeches, and then returned to their seats...

After all, they didn't win the top prize; in fact, the "honorable work" award was more of a runner-up than a winner.

Their works couldn't even be serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump; the titles of their works and the names of their authors could only be published in the magazine's supplementary pages and on their official website.

The host continued, "Next up is the runner-up award, for the winning work, 'HAMMER HEAD,' by Naotake Saito..."

A young man wearing glasses stood up and strode forward.

"Hello everyone, I am Saito Naotake..."

He accepted the trophy, his expression visibly excited. He bowed several times to the audience before giving his acceptance speech, saying, "I am very happy to receive this award..."

His acceptance speech was brief, lasting less than half a minute, and he returned to his seat amidst applause.

And next... naturally, comes the main event.

Although they are all newcomers, the Tezuka Award nominees still attract a lot of attention from industry professionals.

Moreover... the acceptance speeches for the previous awards have a time limit, but the acceptance speeches for the shortlisted awards do not have a clear time limit.