Tokyo: Earth Online Manga Artist

She first moved her mouse to the link on the forum.

Upon clicking through, I discovered that there were indeed dozens of posts related to Attack on Titan.

The first page is almost entirely dedicated to discussing the plot, with titles of varying lengths, some marked with exclamation marks, and others using then-popular Martian symbols.

The text in the title has a strong flavor of that era—direct, lively, and not at all subtle.

"[Discussion] The true origin of the giants."

"[Plot-driven] Marco's death was really inexplicable and strange."

"To be honest, the world of giants is too cruel and hopeless. It feels like humanity has absolutely no chance of winning against giants."

"Hey~ who can argue with that? But that's precisely why I love this comic. It's in the face of true despair that the preciousness of human courage is revealed!"

"Please hurry up with the translation of this week's manga chapters! I really want to see if Eren will be able to escape in the end!"

"That goes without saying... It's impossible for Eren to be put on trial and then the protagonist dies in the finale, right?"

"The manga artist who doesn't eat pears is a bit crazy... When I read chapter 0, I thought Eren wasn't the main character when he was eaten by a Titan."

"Attack on Titan is so exciting right now, with constant plot twists and many foreshadowing elements. I just want to know, since Eren can transform into a Titan, what exactly is the Colossal Titan?"

"Anyway, Attack on Titan really gives me the feeling that it will definitely be a hit. I won't say it will be on par with Naruto, Bleach, and One Piece, but it should be on par with works like Katekyo Hitman Reborn! and Claymore."

"What is 'Claymore'?"

"I think if Attack on Titan were to be animated, it would definitely be very popular. The 3D Maneuver Gear in the manga doesn't really feel that cool, but if it were animated and fully animated, it would be absolutely awesome."

"It's too early for an anime adaptation... I feel like Attack on Titan is a bit anti-human. The manga is already so bloody, it's another question whether the anime will even pass censorship."

"What's wrong with it? Doesn't it symbolize humanity's courage to fight against despair?"

"If you ask me... those who like watching giants are somewhat anti-human and antisocial."

"I'm your father, the anti-China human, and you're labeling me just because I'm reading a comic?"

"%￥￥#￥..."

……

"..."

Seeing the comments interspersed with references to the national essence of the Republic, Eri Aragaki fell silent.

But... that's how it is, that's what makes the discussion lively and engaging.

Discussions like this, occasionally tinged with hostility and conflict, don't feel like they're from paid trolls or bots.

Eri Aragaki felt that such discussions were like flaws in a work of art; a few flaws could prove that your artwork wasn't generated by AI.

However, too many of these flaws can ruin the beauty of a work of art.

To put it simply, the Venus de Milo is like a broken-armed Venus. A little imperfection makes her a work of art, but if the whole Venus is broken, she's just a pile of rubble.

"Sis, what are those people saying up here?"

Just then, Erina, who looked bewildered, suddenly asked.

Natsume Akane also looked curious, since Aragaki Eri could understand Chinese, but they couldn't.

"nothing……"

Eri Aragaki said with a smile, "They were just some funny compliments..."

And just then...

Suddenly, the doorbell rang.

"I gonna go see."

Erina immediately turned around and said.

"Hello...who is this?"

"I'm Sakurai, an editor from Shueisha. I've arranged to come and collect your manuscript with Aragaki-sensei."

……

As he entered the apartment building and took the elevator, Masaya Sakurai was in a bad mood.

The main reason is... he had just visited the cartoonist teacher who was hospitalized. The teacher had suffered a cerebral vascular blockage due to high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and high blood sugar, coupled with irregular work and rest schedules.

Although he is out of immediate danger after being rescued, he is still in a coma and is naturally unable to communicate.

Through conversations with his friend, who shared an apartment with him and also aspired to become a manga artist, Masaya Sakurai learned that the artwork was far from finished, with more than half of it still unfinished.

There's nothing we can do about that...

Masaya Sakurai had no choice but to go back and talk to the editor-in-chief, deciding to suspend the short manga section for this issue.

Before that, he came to Eri Aragaki's place to collect manuscripts.

Speaking of which, Eri Aragaki's side is much less troublesome.

Just then, the elevator arrived. He stepped out and, based on his previous experience, went to the apartment where Eri Aragaki lived.

"Mr. Sakurai."

Eri Aragaki was already waiting at the door, and then led the way, saying, "Come in and have some tea, I'll go get the manuscript for you right away."

She could tell that Sakurai Masaya was a little tired. Although she didn't know why, since he had come once and they would continue to work together in the future, it was better to be polite.

"Okay, I'm sorry to bother you, Professor Aragaki."

Sakurai Masaya immediately followed Aragaki Eri into the apartment and said.

The living room is still the same as when I came before.

Then he saw Natsume Akane and Erina, the two girls he had seen at Aragaki Eri's house before.

Hello.

Masaya Sakurai nodded slightly.

"Mr. Sakurai."

Akane Natsume and Erina also responded politely.

Chapter 57 Substitute (Serialized)

Eri Aragaki brought over a cup of tea from the kitchen and placed it on the coffee table, steam rising gently from the rim.

"Wait a moment, I'll go get the artwork right away."

After speaking, Eri Aragaki turned and walked towards her studio. The studio door was open, and warm yellow light shone from inside. Some sketches and tools were piled on the workbench.

Masaya Sakurai picked up his teacup and took a sip. He leaned back on the sofa armrest, planning to wait for Eri Aragaki to bring over the manuscript, quickly flip through it to make sure there were no problems, and then take his leave.

I need to go back to the editorial office later; I need to finalize the follow-up arrangements for the short story section with the editor-in-chief as soon as possible.

Eri Aragaki entered the studio, where several manila paper file folders were neatly arranged on the workbench.

She's been drawing a lot lately, including the final draft of the Attack on Titan and a practice piece she drew before, which she also put in a file folder next to it.

The two file folders were similar in color and size. The only difference was that she had written the title and page number on the folder for the giant, while the folder for the practice book still had an empty cover.

She reached out and picked up a file folder from the table.

Then he turned and walked out of the studio, handing it to Masaya Sakurai, who was sitting on the sofa.

"Mr. Sakurai, the manuscript is here."

Masaya Sakurai placed the teacup on the coffee table, took the document bag, and untied the zipper.

He pulled out the paintings inside. The first painting was a landscape in the style of splashed ink, with varying shades of ink, completely different from the realistic and dark style of the giant.

He froze for a moment.

Then he turned to another page.

The second page depicts a tall man in ancient costume, dressed in coarse cloth, wearing a bamboo hat, with a sharp and angular face, and carrying a cudgel in his hand.

The character lines are drawn using a completely different system from Japanese manga. They are drawn with a brush, with both outlining and texturing techniques. The lines of the clothing are similar to the line drawing technique used in ancient Chinese paintings from the People's Republic of China, which is simple and neat.

Masaya Sakurai had seen some ancient Chinese paintings and calligraphy exhibited in museums, and he recognized this splashed-ink style of traditional Chinese painting at a glance.

However, the way the characters are drawn, such as the nose and eyes, is clearly a cartoon style.

So... is this a completely new painting style that blends traditional Chinese painting with modern comics?

Moreover, two Chinese characters are outlined below in the same bold style...

"Wu Song?"

Masaya Sakurai immediately recognized the meaning of the two Chinese characters and read them aloud.

After all, the four great classical novels of the People's Republic of China are quite famous in Japan. Among them, the most famous and influential is "Romance of the Three Kingdoms". Even Japanese elementary school students know the names of Cao Cao, Guan Yu and Zhuge Liang.

Secondly... there's "Water Margin," whose stories of the Liangshan heroes have been translated into Japanese, and it was even adapted into a TV series that aired on NHK more than a decade ago.

The character of Wu Song is especially popular in Japan. His stories of fighting the tiger on Jingyang Ridge, drunkenly beating Jiang Menshen, and bloodshed at the Mandarin Duck Tower fully demonstrate what it means to be a martial god with explosive strength and fierce actions.

Especially the story of avenging his brother, you should know that the Japanese admire revenge and the supremacy of the strong.

Just like the Japanese drama "Hanzawa Naoki," the reason it was so popular is because of the famous revenge-themed line, "An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth."

Wu Song, a strongman who embodies vengeance to the fullest, perfectly suited the Japanese taste, making him second only to Lin Chong in popularity in Japan.

Just then, Eri Aragaki heard Masaya Sakurai muttering a word and finally realized something was wrong.

She looked closely and realized she had taken the wrong manuscript, so she quickly said, "I'm sorry, Mr. Sakurai, I took the wrong manuscript..."

That's right, she drew the novel "The Star of Heavenly Wounds" that became a minor hit in her previous life. There was even a very popular comment online that said, "Little Western Paradise can't produce a real Great Sage, but the fake Water Margin produced a real Wu Song."

Of course, there are some special reasons for this book. She didn't draw the colored parts in the beginning of the story, and the image of Wu Song in the beginning and the later Wu Song is somewhat disconnected and he is too cowardly.

Therefore, in the beginning, she mostly depicted the Wu Song in the comic as the real Wu Song from the later part of the story.

"Teacher Pear..."

However, Masaya Sakurai raised his hand and asked, "Can I continue reading this manga?"