Tokyo: Earth Online Manga Artist

However, what she didn't know was that the era in which "Goodbye Erii" was created in her previous life was the era when online platforms were fully emerging.

"Goodbye Eri" was actually published on the online platform Shonen Jump+. The reading mode on the web and the app didn't need to consider printing costs at all; readers could just scroll down.

The biggest difference between the internet age and the print media age is that online platforms in the internet age are almost unrestricted.

Apart from the influence of special factors such as subject matter and plot, there are no restrictions on length, color, etc.

The author can draw two hundred pages if they want, and use full color if they want, without being constrained by the printing budget.

However, the print media era was different. In the print media era, magazines and publications had limited space and color, and increasing the space or color printing would greatly increase costs.

A magazine only has so many pages, and the number of pages allocated to each serialized work is planned in advance, with the number of pages allocated to the short story section being even more limited.

Therefore, the length and color printing will be greatly limited.

In its previous life, "Goodbye Eri" was published without restrictions on online platforms, but in this era, it cannot be published in "Weekly Shonen Jump".

Eri Aragaki subconsciously overlooked this, which led to an awkward situation.

She brought the storyboard with great confidence, thinking that Lin Shiping would decide on it on the spot after reading it.

The manuscript was indeed approved, to the point that it ranked first in Lin Shiping's mind for the year, but it was stalled due to length issues.

"Hello, here's your mocha coffee."

She had nothing to say until the waiter brought over the mocha, which had a layer of creamy milk foam on the rim and a small flower made of caramel on top.

"OK, thanks……"

She picked up her cup, took an awkward sip to ease the tension, and then said, "I understand."

"I'm sorry, I forgot to explain the situation to the teacher and took up her time."

Lin Shiping could only say, "However, I think that even if it can't be published in JUMP, you can still choose to submit the completed work to us, and we can recommend it for publication as a standalone volume."

Eri Aragaki's eyes lit up, but she still asked, "Is this... alright?"

"It should be possible."

Masaya Sakurai, who had been silent all along, put down his coffee cup and said, "If you finish creating 'Goodbye Eri,' teacher, we'll submit our work. If it's really good, it should be approved after a vote."

Most importantly, Eri Aragaki is no longer an unknown new manga artist.

Attack on Titan has consistently ranked in the top ten and has the potential to become a huge hit. Shueisha's internal assessment of her has gradually shifted from "a newcomer who needs to be nurtured" to "a promising stock worth investing in".

If the quality of "Goodbye Eri" is indeed as excellent as Hayashi Shihei said, Shueisha would probably vote to approve the proposal, since a publishing house wouldn't turn down a good work.

Making money... is not shameful.

While I can't speak for other works, I'm quite confident in the quality of "Sayonara, Eri".

The reason this short story from the previous life was able to top all the charts is not just because of Fujimoto Itsuki's fame, but because of its solid quality.

So she said, "Okay then, I will continue to finish 'Goodbye Eri'."

But just then, Lin Shiping suddenly said cautiously, "Riko-sensei, how about we put 'Goodbye Eri' on hold for now and continue talking about the short comic at the end of this month?"

After all, "Goodbye Eri" definitely can't be published, but the short manga is still missing.

The end-of-month publication space won't automatically fill in just because you submit a good work that can't be published.

If Eri Aragaki can't produce a manuscript, Shih-Ping Hayashi will have to urgently contact other manga artists in the remaining two weeks, or find a replacement from the submission pool.

And at the end of the year, he knows best the quality of the available alternatives.

Eri Aragaki was somewhat at a loss, mainly because she knew that with the length limit, she couldn't copy many of the short comics.

She quickly went through the classic short stories she had read in her previous life in her mind. Most of them were quite long, ranging from eighty or ninety pages to two or three hundred pages.

Short stories that can tell a complete story within 55 pages do exist, but the selection narrows considerably.

What should she do then?

She had no choice but to admit, "But I really don't have any ideas for the time being."

"Actually, the teacher's previous short comic 'Wu Song' was very well received. I saw many readers write to me wanting to see the teacher draw the sequel to Wu Song's story."

Lin Shiping was not giving up and continued, "For example... the story of drunkenly beating Jiang Menshen, the bloodshed at the Mandarin Duck Tower, or some readers also want to see the story of Lin Chong. The ancient Chinese style of painting that you created is really very distinctive. I think we can draw a story like that according to the readers' requests."

In his view, the stories are all ready-made.

As long as Eri Aragaki maintains the unique and charming style of "Wu Song", she can just draw according to the story in "Water Margin".

Chapter 85 A New Inspiration (Fourth Update!! Please Subscribe!)

After all, if Eri Aragaki can draw a scene of fighting and killing Ximen Qing, then she can also draw a scene of drunkenly beating Jiang Menshen, and a scene of a snow-covered mountain temple.

However, what he didn't know was that Eri Aragaki really was...

No.

Because... she's just a complete liar right now!

"Wu Song" is a copy of the existing novel "Tian Shang Xing" from the previous life, although the story is based on "Water Margin".

But besides the story and plot, what else does a comic need?

That is of course...

Storyboard!

The same story can have vastly different effects when drawn with different storyboards.

Eri Aragaki, currently in a super creative state, can only optimize and modify manga storyboards, but it would be very difficult for her to conceive storyboards from scratch.

It's not that she can't do it at all, but she can't maintain it for long. With the support of a super creative state, she might be able to finish the painting, albeit with some stumbles, but she has no idea about the quality.

Moreover, she wasn't confident that the comics she created in this way would be particularly good.

However, Eri Aragaki couldn't say that, so she could only say, "But I really have no interest in drawing another story from 'Water Margin'."

Lin Shiping didn't know what to say, as he understood perfectly.

Even a genius like Eri Aragaki wouldn't turn out very well if she were to painstakingly create limited-theme manga.

Creativity cannot be forced.

Lin Shiping felt somewhat desperate when he thought about it.

The end-of-month layout, the tasks assigned by the editor-in-chief, and my luck in being rotated to the short story section.

I thought I could rely on Eri Aragaki's talent to deliver a solid performance, but now I'm back to square one.

Seeing his expression, Eri Aragaki couldn't bear it.

After all, it was someone she had promised, and besides, she and Lin Shiping were from the same hometown.

Lin Shiping is a Japanese citizen from Taiwan. Although her nationality is Japanese, she is definitely a fellow countryman with a shared cultural background with someone whose soul is that of a citizen of the People's Republic of China.

"Teacher, you're right. Comics drawn without inspiration won't be very good."

Lin Shiping seemed to have finally come to his senses, his expression gradually calming down. But then he looked at Aragaki Eri and said, "However, I still think that the art style you presented in 'Wu Song' is your strength for the future... I hope you'll stick with it in the future, then I won't bother you any longer..."

He made a gesture as if he was about to take his leave.

At this moment, Eri Aragaki suddenly said, "Wait a minute."

Lin Shiping paused for a moment, then stared intently at Aragaki Eri.

Eri Aragaki blinked and said, "Oh... I think I've got an idea."

She only remembered it after hearing Lin Shiping mention the art style at the end...

Yes, she started drawing "Wu Song" because she wanted to practice a style similar to "Fog Hill of Five Elements".

Then she can just copy "Fog Hill of Five Elements" and that will solve the problem.

She remembered that "Fog Hill of Five Elements" wasn't very long.

Although it's an animation, the amount of script for each episode is condensed into a manga length of thirty or forty pages, which is more than enough. Moreover, the ink-wash style battle scenes can be brought to their fullest potential in a short story.

She recalled that the first episode of "Fog Hill of Five Elements" was actually quite complete and could have been completed independently as a short comic.

The animation of "Fog Hill of Five Elements" also has specific visuals, and she can use Super Creator to turn them into storyboards, which she is currently able to do.

“Mr. Lin, I’ve suddenly had an inspiration…”

So she said to Lin Shiping, "However, how about I go back and draw another storyboard this weekend, and then I'll let you take a look at it?"

"Okay, then I'll wait for the teacher's reply."

Lin Shiping was overjoyed and jumped up from his chair, slamming his hands on the table. "Right, let's save a phone number first."

Then they exchanged phone numbers and saved each other's names in their respective contact lists.

"Then, Ms. Pear, we'll head back now."

Seeing that it was almost done, Masaya Sakurai immediately stood up and picked up his briefcase from the chair next to him. "The layout work for this week is not finished yet, and you also have a few serialized manuscripts to proofread, Hayashi."

"By the way, Mr. Sakurai, may I ask about the first-week sales figures for the collected volumes? They should be out soon, right?"

Just then, Eri Aragaki suddenly remembered the manga and asked, "Can I know now, or can you let me know when it's released?"

"First-week sales results for the collected volumes..."

Masaya Sakurai was somewhat surprised, but said, "We don't know the exact sales figures either. We'll only know the situation when the first edition is almost sold out and we're preparing to reprint it."

Specific sales figures will only be available after the quarterly, or roughly every three months, sales statistics are compiled.

Eri Aragaki was immediately surprised. "Ah, is that so?"

The main problem is that she didn't know that the official recording and publication of sales figures for various manga volumes only began after 08 with Oricon, the Japanese charting authority, establishing various manga rankings.

Before this, even within Shueisha, people didn't care much about the so-called first-week sales of single volumes; they just had a general idea.

The printing department decides whether to reprint based on the distribution volume and the restocking needs of bookstores in various regions. As for the specific number of copies sold, it will take a long time to compile the data.

"Yes, teacher, you don't really need to worry about it too much."

Masaya Sakurai said, "As it stands, the first volume of Attack on Titan is selling very well. Our previous strategy has been successful. The initial print run of 150,000 copies has already been distributed, and feedback indicates that about half of the inventory has been used up. This speed is faster than many established serializations."

Eri Aragaki seemed relieved and nodded, saying, "Then I won't disturb Mr. Sakurai and Mr. Hayashi any longer as they go back to work. Goodbye, both of you."