Tokyo: Earth Online Manga Artist

Chapter Seventy: Popular Short Stories

"Sister, breakfast is ready, come and eat."

Just then, Erina suddenly called out to her. She looked up from her computer desk and smelled the aroma of frying hamburger patties and toast wafting from the kitchen.

"Okay, wait a minute, Erina, you can eat by yourself first."

Eri Aragaki responded immediately, then gave a thumbs-up again and said...

Erina looked at her helplessly, but still placed the toasted bread, fried eggs, hamburger patties and a small bowl of green salad on the table.

After finishing her breakfast, she prepared to go to school.

As she changed her shoes in the entryway, she glanced back at her sister, who was still sitting in front of the computer, and called out, "Sister, I'm going to class now."

"Okay, Erina, you do your best today too."

Eri Aragaki then walked over, stood by the entrance, and waved goodbye to Erina.

The door closed, and Erina's footsteps faded into the distance in the corridor.

Eri Aragaki returned to the dining table, pulled out a chair, sat down, took a slice of toast, sandwiched a fried egg between two slices of toast, and took a big bite.

But halfway through her meal, she returned to her computer desk with her plate, holding the toast in her left hand and the mouse in her right, continuing to browse the web.

She suddenly realized that she hadn't surfed the internet in the Republic for a long time.

She thought for a moment, then clicked into the forum called "Anime Home" again, and also opened the Baidu Tieba page.

Then she discovered that the most popular post on the pinned post page of the anime forum was titled...

"[Translated] Wu Song Short Comic: The Heavenly Wounded Star Wu Song Returns to His Position!"

The post, followed by a thumbs-up icon, had a considerable number of views and replies.

And several of the popular posts below are...

"I have to say, the Japanese drawing of Wu Song is amazing, absolutely incredible!"

"As expected of a Japanese manga artist, they excel at drawing these kinds of exciting stories. Their drawing of 'Wu Song' really got my blood pumping!"

"The Japanese are truly excellent at making manga!"

……

Eri Aragaki was stunned for a moment when she saw this, and then she realized what was going on.

"Wu Song" is... experiencing a minor surge in popularity on the People's Republic of China's internet!

She quickly stuffed the last bite of toast into her mouth, chewed it twice, swallowed it, and then continued clicking on the posts to scroll down.

The post on the anime website announcing the Chinese translation had over a dozen pages of replies. She clicked on each one and found that they were all praise.

"This 'Wu Song' is so well drawn! This is the first time I've seen a Japanese manga that captures the essence of a Chinese story so perfectly. The art style is so Chinese! Is someone who doesn't eat pears really Japanese? Are you sure he's not a fellow countryman who studied abroad?"

"The pacing of the plot is excellent. From Wu Song fighting the tiger to meeting his brother on the street and then avenging his brother, there is no dull moment. I watched it all in one go and my blood was boiling. This feeling of righteous indignation and revenge is the true spirit of martial arts."

"The storyboarding is amazing, especially the part where Wu Song takes up his sword and goes up Lion Street. You can feel the speed and power through the screen. Teacher Bu Chi Li Zi's drawing skills are absolutely top-notch."

"Ying'er's question, 'Will my father come back after I avenge him?' brought me to tears. A little child doesn't understand what death is, but she asked the most heartbreaking question in the whole comic. The handling of such details is amazing."

"I thought this author was talented when I read Attack on Titan, but I didn't expect him to be so good at drawing Chinese-style short stories. Is Bu Chi Li Zi an all-rounder? His ability to handle different genres and styles is so enviable."

"I studied painting, and the way this artist handles ink and white space is not something an ordinary cartoonist can do. It requires a deep understanding of traditional Chinese painting. Teacher Bu Chi Li Zi is definitely a hidden master."

"I recommended it to several classmates, and not one of them said it was bad. It's the best short comic I've seen this year, bar none. If you disagree, let's argue."

"This is absolutely amazing. I thought the author was amazing when I read Attack on Titan, but I never expected that he could draw works in this style. Mr. Bu Chi Li Zi is definitely the strongest new manga artist this year."

"The Japanese can turn our classic novel 'Water Margin' into a comic book, and it looks so good. You have to admire them."

……

As Aragaki Eri looked at the compliments, the corners of her mouth curved into a wider smile, and she leaned back in her chair, feeling completely relaxed.

Unlike the polite "very beautiful" and "very amazing" comments on Japanese forums, the praise from Chinese netizens is genuinely witty.

Moreover, because her soul belonged to the Republic, this praise from her own people made her feel even more pleased.

She couldn't resist finding the reply box at the very bottom of the post, logging into her previously registered account, and starting to type a reply to the last comment.

[Gabriel: This is probably what they call "The Little Western Paradise couldn't bestow the title of Great Sage, but the fake Water Margin produced a real Wu Song."]

She also copied a popular comment from her previous life, and soon her comment received a lot of likes, with many people replying that she was right.

Eri Aragaki continued chatting and laughing with netizens from the Republic while eating breakfast.

After she finished breakfast, she put the empty plate in the kitchen sink and wiped her hands with a paper towel.

At this point, drowsiness completely overwhelmed me. The fatigue from staying up all night felt like a switch had been flipped, and my brain started sending strong sleep signals. My eyelids felt so heavy I couldn't lift them.

"Ha~"

She yawned, turned off the computer, went to the bathroom to brush her teeth and wash her face, changed into her pajamas, went into the bedroom, drew the curtains, and sank into the covers. She fell asleep in less than three minutes.

……

While Eri Aragaki was fast asleep, Shueisha released its weekly popularity rankings.

But today's situation is a little different.

In the large office, the editors were compiling reader survey questionnaires from the issue of the weekly magazine six weeks prior.

This is a standard delayed statistical process because the collection cycle for reader feedback in the short story section is different from that of the regular serialization. The feedback will be compiled only after a certain number of postcards have been returned.

When Lin Shiping emptied the postcards from the cardboard box, he noticed that there were significantly more postcards in this issue than in the previous one.

Short comics are also included in the weekly comic popularity rankings, but they are generally not very popular and certainly don't have an advantage over long-running series.

The short story only has one chapter, and the characters and story are meeting the readers for the first time. There is no reader loyalty or emotional foundation built up from the serialization, so it basically floats in the lower middle of the popularity rankings.

Therefore, the ranking is usually outside the teens or twenties, and its impact on the overall ranking is negligible. Editors don't pay special attention to this part of the data when compiling it.

Chapter 71 Reader's Letter

However, when the editors were sorting through the reader questionnaires from six weeks ago this week, they made an unexpected discovery...

It seems that many readers voted for "Wu Song" in this issue.

When Lin Shiping categorized the postcards by their works, a large stack of postcards with the title "Wu Song" was piled up on the table, a stark contrast to the few or even none of the other short stories.

Furthermore, there are many comments for "Wu Song" and its author; readers have even written comments next to the rating section.

"Is there any sequel to 'Wu Song'? What will happen to Ying'er? This little girl is so pitiful. Teacher Bu Chi Li Zi, can you give her a happy ending?"

"I really like Teacher Bu Chi Li Zi's painting of Wu Song. The painting skills are really amazing. I hope to see more works in this style from Teacher Bu Chi Li Zi in the future."

"I really like 'Wu Song,' especially the art style and the story. I also really like the story of Lin Chong. Do you have any plans to draw a 'Lin Chong' series, Mr. Bu Chi Li Zi? The snowy mountain temple scene would be perfect for you to draw!"

"Teacher Bu Chi Li Zi's drawing of Wu Song is amazing! Could you draw the story of Lu Zhishen in the future? I want to see him uproot the willow tree!"

"I personally really want to know what happens next in the story of 'Wu Song,' but I don't really enjoy reading classical novels. So I hope that Mr. Bu Chi Li Zi can continue to draw short stories about 'Wu Song,' or even release a sequel!"

……

The editors collect these letters and messages, and occasionally they are selected for publication in the magazine's reader letters section.

Lin Shiping sorted through the comments as he read them, finding them increasingly interesting, and shook his head with a smile.

"Hey, hey, hey, isn't 'Wu Song' a short manga that was drawn by that shoujo manga artist you were in charge of before, and that was a temporary replacement?"

Lin Shiping said with some disbelief, "It seems to be quite popular, and the readers are very enthusiastic. Look at these comments, they're all asking for a sequel."

Then he added, "But then again, that 'Wu Song' painting is really well done."

As a Japanese citizen from Taiwan, he was naturally more familiar with the story of "Water Margin" and could better appreciate the charm of this Chinese culture.

He had seen these scenes in the novels at home since he was a child: Wu Song fighting the tiger, drunkenly beating Jiang Menshen, and bloodshed at the Mandarin Duck Tower.

He also saw "Wu Song" and thought it was very well drawn.

Eri Aragaki brought the character of Wu Song to life by combining traditional Chinese ink painting techniques with Japanese paneling. She preserved the essence of Chinese culture while reinterpreting it using the grammar of manga.

Masaya Sakurai nodded and replied with a smile, "I thought it was drawn very well at the time, so I thought it would be better to have Riko-sensei's manga instead, and I was right."

He also felt a sense of satisfaction, as if he had made the right bet.

After all, he hadn't expected that a short story he had temporarily replaced would receive so many letters from readers.

"The painting of Wu Song is really well done. When I saw it, I felt very excited. The image of him cutting down Wu Song is still in my mind."

Honda Yuuki also peeked over from the side and glanced at the stack of postcards on Lin Shiping's table. He picked one up and flipped through it. "Readers have discerning eyes. They won't write so many comments on a short story for no reason."

As a relatively young editor, he felt the same way most deeply.

They continued chatting and working, sorting the postcards, counting the votes, and organizing the messages into a separate folder, which they planned to hand over to Masahiko Ibaraki for review during the afternoon meeting.

But they completely underestimated the popularity of "Wu Song".

……

It was afternoon.

In the conference room, Masahiko Ibaraki stood in front of the whiteboard, holding this week's statistics sheet, and began to announce the week's rankings.

"Number one: One Piece."

"Second place..."

……

The top six were the same as in previous meetings. The editors in the meeting room were taking notes in their notebooks, and the atmosphere was no different from every previous meeting.

"Seventh place..."

However, when announcing the seventh place, Ibaraki Masahiko's gaze lingered on the statistics table for a moment, then he looked up, his tone carrying a hint of surprise that everyone could hear.

"...'Wu Song'"