Tokyo: Earth Online Manga Artist

This technique of conveying emotions through visuals has already surpassed the level of novice cartoonists.

Akira Toriyama continued turning the page.

This scene inserts a flashback to Eren, showing how Wall Maria, where he was located, was destroyed by a suddenly appearing Colossal Titan three years prior.

The composition of that page was incredibly striking. The face of a colossal giant peered out from above the city wall, its body taller than the wall itself, its muscles devoid of skin, and heat emanating from its form. The oppressive feeling almost overflowed from the page.

It looked down at Eren, Mikasa, and Armin, who were looking up at it, while the narration beside it read:

"On that day... humanity finally remembered... the fear of being dominated by giants!"

……

"Great!"

Akira Toriyama couldn't help but mutter something under his breath.

He continued reading.

The plot of this work is very fast-paced; after all, there are limitations on the number of pages in a manuscript.

The key point is that this newcomer has a very good grasp of the plot and setting.

From the establishment of the world-building to the outbreak of the crisis, and then to the tragedy of the protagonist, every page drives the plot forward without any unnecessary words or scenes.

This is what is most precious and rare.

He turned another page, and new settings kept emerging, and the plot continued to advance.

What interests him is that the way humans fight against Titans in this manga is also very special. They use a weapon called the 3D Maneuver Gear to dodge and weave around using tall buildings or trees as fulcrums to attack the Titan's only weak point, the nape of its neck.

Then the story moves to the Battle of Trost District.

The giants have invaded again, this time the Wall of Rose has been breached, and humanity is once again facing a desperate situation.

Akira Toriyama turned the pages faster and faster, but he didn't miss a single page; the handling of those battle scenes was simply brilliant.

The use of 3D Maneuver Gear in combat allows soldiers to move between tall buildings, using the traction of ropes to change direction and carry out decapitation attacks on the back of the Titan's neck.

This combat system is ingeniously designed, giving humanity a theoretical reason to defeat giants, while also increasing the tension and entertainment value of the battle.

Even so, humanity still failed.

Eren's squad, 34, was wiped out. In anger and despair, Eren charged at the Titans, but was swallowed by one while trying to save Armin.

Akira Toriyama frowned as he read this; the plot was taking a much crueler turn than he had anticipated.

And... isn't Allen the main character?

Could it actually be Mikasa, or Armin?

Driven by this curiosity, he continued scrolling down.

He didn't realize at that moment that he had unknowingly become completely engrossed in it.

After learning of Mikasa's death, she did not collapse. Instead, she displayed great strength, stabilized the battlefield, and was actually determined to fight the Titans until she was exhausted and died.

But what followed was the real turning point.

Suddenly, a special giant with strange medium-length hair appeared on the battlefield. Unlike other giants, this giant had a clear goal and fighting style, specifically attacking other giants to protect human soldiers.

Akira Toriyama, upon seeing this, vaguely guessed the giant's identity, but instead of stopping to think, he continued to scroll down.

The plot revealed the answer: this strange Titan was Eren.

Then came the scene of Commander Pik, the garrison commander, making that bold decision.

Standing on the city wall, facing the doubts and objections of his generals, Pixis uttered the crucial line: "We must use the power of this giant to reclaim the Trost district."

Akira Toriyama was completely immersed in the story by this point.

Pixis's mobilization speech was excellent. He didn't try to persuade the soldiers with grand theories, but with simple logic: since they were all going to die anyway, they might as well die in a meaningful way, since humanity had nothing left to lose.

He even resorted to reverse psychology in the end.

"Then!!"

"Those who want their parents, siblings, and loved ones to experience the terror of the giants!!"

"And get out of here!!"

……

This approach to dialogue is far more powerful than those empty declarations of heroism.

The pages following the mobilization declaration are the most brilliant passages that Akira Toriyama found in this work.

The camera pans across the faces of the soldiers, each with a different attitude toward death, but when these faces are pieced together, they form a portrait of humanity.

In particular, one of the stationed soldiers, who had a daughter and had previously been cowardly, faced death head-on and joined the operation.

"This won't do..."

He walked away, trembling with fear, yet he remained resolute, saying, "This is the only thing... Don't even think about it... because my daughter is my... last hope!!"

This is a hymn to humanity's last act of courage.

"This is what humanity is like!"

Akira Toriyama felt his heart racing; this long-lost feeling of exhilaration made him incredibly excited.

He continued turning the page; the battle had begun.

Eren, carrying a giant boulder, charged toward the breached city gate under the cover of his soldiers. One by one, the soldiers around him fell. Mikasa darted through the air, slaying Titans, while Armin, on the ground, used his wisdom to guide the battle.

Each page is filled with tension, and the feeling of searching for hope in despair is vividly expressed by the author through his brushstrokes.

Then came that classic scene: Eren's Titan blocked the city gate with a giant rock, and humanity finally won a victory in this war.

The image on that page was very simple: it showed the back of Eren's Titan, with a huge boulder blocking the city gate, and sunlight shining from behind him, casting a long shadow on the battlefield.

There were no superfluous lines, no exaggerated special effects, just such a simple scene, yet it gave Akira Toriyama an indescribable sense of awe.

Akira Toriyama finished reading the last page of this chapter, remained silent for a few seconds, and then suddenly slammed his fist on the armrest of the sofa.

"boom!"

The punch was quite powerful; the sofa armrest made a muffled thud, and the entire sofa shook.

Akira Toriyama looked at the manuscript in his hand, his expression a mixture of excitement and admiration.

"Sri Lanka No. 1!!"

He could no longer contain his admiration and spoke in the simplest of words of praise.

He flipped back to the first page and looked again at the stunning images and storyboards.

"Is...is this really a newcomer?"

He couldn't help but ask again, "The drawing skills and storyboarding are really outstanding."

Who exactly is this new artist? Their drawing skills and paneling abilities are beyond what one would expect from a newcomer.

Could it be an assistant to one of the industry peers?

But he'd never heard of that pen name before.

In fact, there are very few truly newcomers in the comics industry. Most comic artists start as assistants to well-known comic artists.

Moreover, one can learn a lot from being an assistant to a famous cartoonist.

The panel layout and drawing skills really made Akira Toriyama start recalling which famous manga artist this style resembled.

However, the storyboard and drawing skills are secondary; the most important thing is the concept...

Giants, walls, 3D Maneuver Gear – every element is interconnected, and none is superfluous.

Akira Toriyama placed the manuscript on the coffee table, leaned back on the sofa, and let out a long sigh.

He recalled that when he was drawing "Dragon Ball," he also found the feeling that made readers' blood boil through constant exploration.

And this author achieved this in his debut work.

Akira Toriyama picked up the rating sheet and gave the highest score to every rating item.

In his mind, this was the best work that had to win the Tezuka Award this time, and he felt it would be an injustice if it didn't win.

He wrote the following in the comments section.

The artwork is outstanding, the panel layout is perfect, the setting is novel and self-consistent, the plot is fast-paced, and the action scenes are handled perfectly. This is the strongest new work I've seen in recent years, and it should undoubtedly be a nominee for this year's Tezuka Award.

After finishing writing, Akira Toriyama glanced at the title on the manuscript cover, "Attack on Titan," and... his pen name was "I Don't Eat Pears."

He remembered the name.

……

Then, different locations and different time periods followed.

One by one, the judges who participated in the Tezuka Award re-examination began to slowly pick up the re-examination candidate manuscripts and start reading them.

For example, Masashi Kishimoto, who had just finished the storyboard for this week's Naruto serialization, told his assistant to go and rest first, and then picked up the candidate draft for review during his leisure time at his desk.

In another mahjong room.

"Kenji, when are you getting here? We're one short for mahjong, we're just waiting for you."

The famous cartoonist, who used a phrase composed of four positive characters that had a negative connotation, put down the phone and muttered, "That guy's so slow, I'll have to wait a while... In that case..."

He looked around listlessly and saw the Tezuka Prize shortlisted manuscript next to him that had been signed for almost a day but hadn't been opened yet...

"Then let's finish this work while we're at it, honey. Hand me that manuscript..."

What to do if Chapter 4 is too popular?

At this time, Eri Aragaki was completely unaware of this.

She continued walking quickly while thinking, and had already arrived at the convenience store where she worked.

The convenience store where she works is not far from her home and also not far from the university; it usually takes her half an hour to walk there.

So she pulled her wandering thoughts back and silently said "Retrieve Panel," thus retrieving the Earth Online game panel.