Tokyo: Earth Online Manga Artist

After all... being selected for an award is the most crucial closing ceremony of the awards ceremony.

The host returned to the stage, his tone and voice noticeably louder, and announced, "Finally, the highest award, the shortlisted award!"

"The winning entry... 'Attack on Titan,' by author 'Don't Eat Pears'! Please come up to the stage to accept the award, 'Don't Eat Pears'!"

Eri Aragaki took a deep breath and stood up.

She wore a pear-shaped headpiece and walked from the back row to the front.

All eyes were on her.

Some people were surprised to see that she was a girl.

Although the hood covered her face, it couldn't hide her figure.

At 1.72 meters tall, high-waisted jeans make her legs look very long.

Wearing a white T-shirt under a black knitted cardigan, her unusually slender figure was quite attractive.

The TV crew, carrying cameras, pointed their lenses at her.

Shueisha's photographers also raised their cameras.

However, at this time, no one was whispering or making any noise.

After all, this is an important occasion!

Although many people were surprised that Eri Aragaki was a female manga artist, as mentioned before, there are many female manga artists in the Japanese manga industry, and quite a few female manga artists who draw action-packed shonen manga.

Eri Aragaki walked to the front and saw Akira Toriyama stand up from his seat.

Akira Toriyama walked up to her, holding a trophy in his hand.

He smiled and said, "Congratulations, Mr. No Pears, your work is wonderful."

Eri Aragaki accepted the trophy and said, "Thank you, Toriyama-sensei."

She still greatly admires this last great master of Japanese manga, especially since this legendary master is like many other manga masters in Japan before him, such as Osamu Tezuka, Fujiko Fujio, and the now critically ill Fujio Akatsuka.

They were all true masters dedicated to anti-war sentiment, reflecting on past mistakes, and loving peace, making significant contributions to Sino-Japanese friendship and peace.

Akira Toriyama smiled and nodded at her, seemingly worried that she, a girl, might not be able to hold the trophy securely, so he was a little careful and waited until Eri Aragaki had a firm grip before letting go.

The trophy isn't heavy, but it feels very substantial in your hand.

Akira Toriyama extended his hand and shook hands with Eri Aragaki.

The stage lights flashed a few times, and cameras clicked away.

Akira Toriyama returned to his seat.

The host handed the microphone to Eri Aragaki and said, "Please give your acceptance speech, Ms. Eri Aragaki."

Eri Aragaki took the microphone and looked at the audience through the eye holes of the pear-shaped headpiece.

Everyone sitting in the audience was watching her.

There are editors-in-chief, editors, famous cartoonists, reporters, and photographers.

She cleared her throat and said, "First of all, thank you to Shueisha, and thank you to all the judges of the Tezuka Award..."

"Becoming a manga artist has always been my dream. I have loved reading and drawing manga since I was a child. I feel very honored to be standing here today and to receive the Tezuka Award nomination."

She paused for a moment, then continued, "In the future, I will work harder to bring you good works. At the same time, I also want to promote some things about myself in the comics, such as... justice and peace."

I think comics are not just for entertainment; they can also convey important messages.

For example, courage, hope, and the yearning for peace.

While *Attack on Titan* may seem brutal, what I wanted to express was humanity's spirit of never giving up in the face of despair and what true peace is... Anyway, please continue to look forward to my future works, thank you!

She bowed.

Applause erupted from the audience.

Chapter Twenty-Nine: Preparing for Serialization

Eri Aragaki took the trophy, walked off the stage, and returned to her seat.

Her heart was still beating fast, but much better than before.

Masaya Sakurai walked over and said, seemingly praising but not really convincingly, "Well said."

Eri Aragaki didn't mind and politely replied to her editor, "Thank you."

The awards ceremony continued.

The host invited several judges to come up on stage and speak.

Akira Toriyama went on stage first and said some words of encouragement to the newcomers.

Eiichiro Oda also took the stage. He said that he also debuted through the Tezuka Award and hoped that newcomers would not give up on their dreams.

Masashi Kishimoto and Kenichi also said a few words.

The entire ceremony lasted about an hour.

After the ceremony, Eri Aragaki walked out of the auditorium with the trophy in her hand.

Sakurai Masaya followed behind her and said, "Congratulations, Aragaki-sensei. Now we just have to wait for the serialization to begin."

Eri Aragaki said, "I'll do my best."

She walked to the elevator and pressed the button.

The elevator doors opened, and she stepped inside.

Before the door closed, she saw that there were still many people in the corridor.

A reporter was interviewing Naotake Saito, and a photographer was taking pictures of Daisuke Oikawa.

Then reporters rushed over when they saw her, but thankfully... Eri Aragaki was still wearing a pear-shaped headpiece, which saved her from the crisis of her true face being exposed.

However, she is not a popular manga artist after all. Even though she won the Tezuka Award, the highest prize, she is still just a newbie.

So the reporters left after completing their mission.

And Eri Aragaki was finally able to leave.

Eri Aragaki leaned against the elevator wall and let out a long sigh.

The awards ceremony has ended.

She glanced at the trophy in her hand, and a smile appeared on her lips.

Next up is... the official serialization!

……

Earth Online July 2007 Minor Version Update Announcement: This update mainly focuses on balancing the ecological performance of some animals, insects, and plants. Details are as follows…

Mammal adjustment

Deer populations are entering their summer active season, with male deer antlers growing at a 30% faster rate and the tips becoming slightly harder…

Wild boars have expanded their foraging range due to increased food availability in the summer...

The altitude at which Japanese macaques move in mountains has decreased...

The accuracy of bats' nighttime echolocation has been slightly adjusted in this version...

With the official arrival of summer, Forest Apes players will face a significant improvement in terrain combat and a slight increase in heat resistance. Given that many other players have reported that Forest Apes are too strong this season, we have decided to slightly weaken the Forest Apes player's ecosystem in this version.

The map inhabited by Forest Ape players will experience a more severe greenhouse effect and an increased rate of heatstroke infection...

……

Rising river water temperatures have led to a decrease in dissolved oxygen, causing some fish enthusiasts to migrate upstream where the current is stronger and the oxygen content is higher. Please pay attention to changes in fish distribution.

We wish all players a pleasant gaming experience.

July has arrived, and Tokyo is no longer just a little hot, but has reached a sweltering, muggy state.

This is absolutely torture for office workers and Japanese elementary and middle school students who haven't officially started their summer vacation yet.

After all, for forest ape players who evolved into humans, winter was alright. They had the strength to "rat-rat" and could also resist the cold by making fires and boiling water, so even the coldest winter wasn't too bad.

But in summer... there's no other effective way to relieve the "heat" debuff except for air conditioning.

It's impossible for people to have air conditioning on 24 hours a day. There will always be times when you leave home or work. Moreover, frequently turning on the air conditioning at home will attract a series of mysterious spells cast on you by your "parents".

Fortunately... Eri Aragaki has already lost her parents!

Even more fortunately... after showing the new storyboard to Masaya Sakurai, it was confirmed that there were no problems, and a start date for the serialization had been set...

Eri Aragaki began her journey of drawing, rarely leaving her home.

The official serialization of "Attack on Titan" will begin in the July 23rd issue of Weekly Shonen Jump, replacing Kenjiro's game collaboration short story project "Blue Dragon," which successfully concluded this month.

As mentioned before, Shueisha requires new manga artists to submit 3-5 chapters of final draft before starting a formal serialization...

Actually, a three-chapter manuscript would have been fine, but Eri Aragaki didn't know that, so she decided to be conservative and submit a five-chapter serialized manuscript instead.

However, after only one month, she secluded herself at home.

On weekdays, Erina does most of the housework, including grocery shopping, cooking, and tidying up.

She, on the other hand, stays at home every day with the air conditioning on, working hard to finish her manuscript, since she doesn't care about the electricity bill.

So overall, although Eri Aragaki has been rushing to meet deadlines, she's definitely had a great time lately.

The most enjoyable thing is being able to focus on one thing without any external interference.

Eri Aragaki gradually became addicted to this pattern, until...

After completing the final revisions to the last drawing, she stood there, stunned.

"Finally... finished drawing?"

It was only then that Eri Aragaki realized that the sketches she had been organizing over this period of time were already as thick as a coin.

Of course, it's as thick as a coin in Lei Jun's algorithm. It doesn't look thick, but there are actually a hundred drawings inside!