Tokyo: Earth Online Manga Artist

Below the question is the Japanese answer, and several dish names are written in kanji: shredded pork with garlic sauce, three-cup chicken, and stir-fried beef noodles, with the pronunciation in katakana next to them.

Da Niu even thoughtfully wrote a translation in Chinese below.

Chapter 80 Pear Girl

The group members were instantly abuzz with this news, and the topic continued to flood the chat.

"Wow, that's impressive! You really like the culture of the Republic, and it's clear you're not just saying it casually."

"My favorite dishes are shredded pork with garlic sauce, three-cup chicken, and stir-fried beef noodles? I certainly know how to eat."

"Yes, most Japanese people would only know how to say Mapo Tofu, Sliced ​​Beef and Offal in Chili Sauce, and Sweet and Sour Pork."

"It's still that kind of modified Chinese food. Last time I went to Japan, I had sweet Mapo Tofu and I was so angry I almost called the police!"

“They’ve even done some research on Mapo Tofu. I’ve seen Japanese people say they like Chinese food, but it turns out they’re talking about Tianjin Rice, dumplings, and Chinese cuisine.”

"?"

"I can understand dumplings, but Tien Shinhan is a character from Dragon Ball, right? And what's that Chinese well?"

"That's pronounced 'dan'!!"

"It's okay, this is a polyphonic character. It can be pronounced 'jing' in Chinese, and it's pronounced 'dong4' in Japanese."

"Tianjin rice is a pseudo-Chinese dish from Japan. It's usually a rice bowl with crab sticks and omelet. Chinese rice is also similar to a rice bowl, like a stewed rice bowl with eight-treasure vegetables."

"It's basically confirmed that not eating pears means they really like the culture of the People's Republic of China, and it's not just a superficial liking, but rather a certain understanding of it. They like Chinese food and have even read 'Water Margin,' which puts them ahead of 80% of Japanese people."

"She's beautiful, can draw comics, and loves our Republic's culture. I'm starting to like not eating pears."

"If you were a man and didn't eat pears, you probably wouldn't have said that."

"You're only after her body! You're despicable!"

"Never mind, I've decided to follow you to the death from now on! Loyalty! Forever!"

"Onion! Orange!"

"Onion! Orange! +1"

"Onion! Orange! +10086"

……

Xiao Nanliang laughed several times at the screen, copied down "Onion! Orange!" and repeated it along with it.

After all, the essence of humanity is being a repeater.

The group members were very excited at this time, after all, the Republic had not yet fully taken off.

China's GDP has surged to third place in the world, but it is still not as high as Japan's.

In terms of per capita income, purchasing power, and other aspects, it is still far behind Japan, and there is also a considerable gap between it and Japan in terms of technology and cultural exports.

At least until the era of rampant piracy ten years later, the Republic was still a wild land rife with piracy in Japan's ACG culture.

Japanese manga artists and publishers generally believe that "there's too much piracy in that market, making it difficult to do business," and very few would specifically express their support or show goodwill towards readers in the Republic of China.

Some cartoonists even resort to verbal abuse and other unfriendly behaviors, all under the guise of "preventing piracy."

But it's clear that her behavior violates Osamu Tezuka's three principles of manga.

Therefore, it seems that even if Eri Aragaki tries to please the readers of the Republic, there is no benefit to be gained at this moment. But it is precisely because there is no benefit that her statement is so precious.

Especially when compared to other cartoonists.

In the interview, she wrote that she likes Chinese cuisine, indicating that she likes the culture of the People's Republic of China. These words will not bring her any direct commercial benefits, but she said them anyway.

Just like Akira Toriyama showed his love for the culture of the Republic as early as the Dragon Ball creation period, and even drew it into the manga.

The martial arts tournament, Chiaotzu, and Tien Shinhan in Dragon Ball are all direct references to and tributes to Chinese culture.

At that time, there was absolutely no way to make money in the Republic's market.

And even if it's fake, even if he pretended his whole life, just like the comment made by netizens about Liu Bei by Eri Aragaki in her previous life, "Even if he was a hypocrite who pretended his whole life, then he was still real."

At this time, the readers of the Republic felt the same way; they didn't think that Eri Aragaki was deceiving them.

Before Eri Aragaki's story is exposed, we certainly cannot assume that she is lying.

Eri Aragaki was certainly not deceiving them or putting on an act.

Of course, besides the fact that her soul came from the Republic in her previous life, there was also a reason involved that she made her stance clear in advance so that "Attack on Titan" and subsequent works could become a hit.

She knew that the domestic market would become one of the world's largest comic book consumer markets in the future, so she decided to plant a seed now and reap the rewards when the time was right.

But of course she would never say this in any public setting.

Just then, Xiao Nanliang seemed to remember something and switched the group chat window back to the pinned Chinese translation group's announcement section.

Then he immediately typed:

"By the way! How's the translation going this week? Big Brother, if you dare to slack off and post something, it should be almost done, right?"

Other group members followed suit, albeit in different ways.

"Damn! You still dare to slack off? Once you've finished translating it, hurry up and release it!"

"Please, Niu Da, hurry up and finish the localization before you start slacking off."

"I'm so itchy to see the translated version this week! Please!"

"When I have money, I'm going to buy out the entire Orange Cat Translation Group, lock them in a dark room, and give them non-stop translation resources!"

"Niu Da! Do you have a girlfriend? Hurry up and translate the latest issue of Weekly Shonen Magazine, and I'll introduce you to my aunt's sixth great-aunt's granddaughter's neighbor's niece as your girlfriend!"

……

Xiao Nanliang laughed so hard he leaned back in his chair when he saw the last message. These people would say anything to urge the localization process.

Just as the group members were using all sorts of funny methods to urge the translation team to release a new batch of resources, another administrator's avatar lit up.

[SOS Brigade - Sunset: 20071101 Issue of Weekly Shonen Jump Chinese Translation Resources.zip]

[SOS Brigade - Sunset: Please take it yourself.]

Needless to say, Xiao Nanliang clicked to download the resource file as soon as it was uploaded.

Double-click the compressed file icon with the left mouse button, and the system will pop up a download progress bar, which will start to move forward little by little.

The internet in 07 was not as fast as it is now. The download speed in the group fluctuated around tens of KB per second, sometimes dropping to a dozen KB, and the progress bar seemed to be stuck and didn't move for a long time.

He waited in front of the computer, refreshing the page every now and then, and sent two more messages in the group chat. When he came back, the progress bar was less than halfway done.

Everyone in the group was downloading translated resources, but at the same time, they were also continuing to chat about Eri Aragaki.

Gradually, Aragaki Eri's pen name was simplified by her group members and turned into a nickname.

"Pear sister".

About half an hour later, Xiao Nanliang finally finished downloading the resources.

A folder popped up from the compressed file, containing a series of sequentially numbered image files, including the latest installments of Naruto, Bleach, and One Piece, Gintama, Katekyo Hitman Reborn!, and... Attack on Titan, which was unusually featured at the beginning of the magazine this week due to the pre-release hype for its collected volumes.

He double-clicked the image to open it, and the image reader's interface filled the screen.

As expected, the opening featured a color-page advertisement for the Attack on Titan manga and a written interview.

Da Niu was indeed not lying. Looking at the beautiful headshot of Aragaki Eri, Xiao Nanliang felt as if he had... a strange, youthful flutter in his heart.

He carefully read through the translated texts of Eri Aragaki's interviews, learning about her creative inspiration, hobbies, and some of her thoughts...

"The prototype of the giant comes from Greek mythology and... Norse mythology? I don't think I've ever heard anyone mention Norse mythology."

"I was inspired to write this story because I saw the high walls of the school... It's so fitting."

"Was the painting of giants intended to promote peace?"

"Pear Girl is really a very nice girl..."

……

Xiao Nanliang felt that through these words, he was gradually getting to know the beautiful girl comic artist on the other side of the ocean.

Chapter 81 Lin Shiping

Meanwhile, in Tokyo.

Lin Beimiao had just returned from his advisor's place.

The project finally came to an end today, and my supervisor said something unusual: "You don't need to stay too late today." So he quickly packed up and left.

It wasn't that he was being lazy, but he had several magazines he hadn't scanned yet this week, and the translation team was waiting for him to provide the source files. If he kept delaying, the messages urging him to update in the group chat would bombard his private chat window.

Even though it's supposed to be done out of love, wouldn't such urging be a little annoying?

However, Lin Beimiao disagreed.

As he passed by the bookstore, he glanced inside as usual, and then it dawned on him.

This week marks the release of the first volume of Attack on Titan.

So he pushed the door open and went inside.

He quickly located the location of the Attack on Titan manga.

It is indeed one of the top ten most popular manga works in Weekly Shonen Jump during this period.

Therefore, Weekly Shonen Jump offers a high level of treatment, including a prominent position on the cover, a color cover, and a written interview.

Offline bookstores will also provide some promotion.

Lin Beimiao picked up a book from the top and flipped through it.

The paper quality is good, and the ink is darker than when the magazine was serialized, with more obvious dot depth.