Tokyo: Earth Online Manga Artist

Upon hearing the words "call the police," she was both amused and exasperated, but still said, "Never mind, after all, I'm not in any real danger."

"That's true, then you really can't call the police like that."

Eri Aragaki paused for a moment, then straightened up and looked at her. "But be careful next time, Ayane. Oh, right! I think you should be able to buy pepper spray or stun guns around now."

The more she thought about it, the better she felt it was. She herself was not afraid because she had boxing skills, but Natsume Akane, Takeda Ayane, and Erina were all powerless.

She decided to go online and check where she could buy pepper spray and stun guns when she got back, so she could equip several people with them and protect them from criminals in a pinch.

Natsume Akane looked at her serious expression helplessly, but still said, "I don't know, but pepper spray means protection against perverts."

She felt it was unnecessary, at least not for herself.

She felt that with her skills, she should be safe under normal circumstances, and she could handle the situation herself even if Eri Aragaki hadn't come.

However, she didn't dislike the moment when Eri Aragaki rushed in and pulled her away.

She was also very curious about where Eri Aragaki got the strength to knock down an adult man with a single punch.

From her middle school days until now, she doesn't remember Aragaki Eri being such a girl full of martial spirit.

Although she wasn't very familiar with Eri Aragaki in the past.

"Yes, it's similar to tear gas or a spray that covers the eyes."

Eri Aragaki nodded. "One spray and the other person can't open their eyes. I saw it online before."

Unable to contain her curiosity any longer, Natsume Akane tentatively asked, "By the way, Eri, what did you just do?"

Eri Aragaki immediately realized that her behavior just now was too different from her usual image, and quickly laughed it off, saying, "I guess I just have superhuman strength, hahaha."

Natsume Akane looked at her and smiled for several seconds, then looked away without asking any further questions.

Eri Aragaki quickly changed the subject, "Akane, why don't you have dinner with us tonight? Let's go back and buy some food together."

Natsume Akane tactfully replied, "Sure, I'd love to taste your cooking again, Eri."

"So what would you like to eat tonight?"

"The pork stewed with bamboo shoots that I had the day before yesterday was delicious, I want to try it again!"

"That's called 'Yan Du Xian' (a type of stew), it's really delicious, and the bamboo shoots I bought last time are still available..."

……

The two walked and talked, their shadows stretched long by the streetlights.

Eri Aragaki was still pondering the matter of pepper spray and stun guns when Akane Natsume walked beside her, unbuttoning one button on her coat collar. She had been running too fast and was a little sweaty.

She looked at Eri Aragaki's profile, a smile playing at the corners of her eyes.

……

The following weekend, Eri Aragaki was also busy.

After getting up on Saturday morning, she washed her face, ate the breakfast Erina left on the table, and then went straight to her studio.

She immediately began drawing the storyboard drafts for the first episode of "Fog Hill of Five Elements" from her memory.

The setting and world view of "Fog Hill of Five Elements" are relatively simple.

The story mainly tells of how, in ancient times, monsters roamed freely and humans suffered greatly. But at this time, a mysterious Taoist priest intervened and bestowed the power of the Five Elements upon five major families, from whom five wielders were chosen.

The Five Envoys ultimately lived up to expectations, driving out and suppressing the demonic beast and banishing it to the Hidden Mist Mountain, where they set up a barrier and sealed it with the Giant Shield.

Meanwhile, deep within the Misty Mountains dwells the sacred beast Qilin, which voluntarily allowed itself to be sealed within the Giant Shield, using its own spiritual power to suppress demonic power. Only the Five Elements Clan can activate the shield.

The story begins with the protagonist, Wenren Yixuan, who is also the Fire Elementalist, attempting to forcibly break the seal and awaken the Qilin in order to save his mother. However, this alerts the other Five Elementalists, and a great battle ensues between the two sides atop the Misty Mountain.

In fact, purely from the perspective of the opening plot, "Fog Hill of Five Elements" is a very typical shonen manga opening.

Especially in terms of plot setting, there's the story of a hot-blooded young man who impulsively causes trouble, then bears a destiny, protects his companions, and fights against demons and villains.

The protagonist breaks a taboo due to his own selfish desires, triggering a series of chain reactions, and then embarks on a journey to make amends. This formula has been used countless times in JUMP-style shonen manga.

It's exactly the kind of manga plot that JUMP-style shonen manga loves: battles of power, destiny-driven growth, ensemble character development, and so on—every single element hits the mark perfectly.

Needless to say, the protagonist, Wenren Yixuan, is a typical hot-blooded, impulsive, and emotional teenage protagonist like Naruto, Kurosaki Ichigo, and Luffy.

From the very beginning, he disregards everything to save his mother, even if it means breaking the seal. This impulsiveness is tinged with selfishness, but it is precisely this selfishness that makes the character seem less like a saint and more like a living, breathing human being.

Even without a unique art style, this kind of setting is very suitable for serialization in Weekly Shonen Jump, but we haven't seen how popular it is yet, so we don't know how it will turn out.

But Eri Aragaki thinks it shouldn't be too bad. She's not aiming for a huge hit, but she thinks it should be able to get into the top ten in popularity, just like "Wu Song".

Chapter 88 Good News (Seventh Update! Please Subscribe!)

Eri Aragaki also didn't hesitate at all...

My super intelligence tells me to use super creativity!

Hack! Open it now!

She immediately began the process of developing storyboards.

It turns out that "Fog Hill of Five Elements" was originally an animation, and the storyboards and other visuals could be referenced from the animation.

On the screen, she could compose the composition based on the stunning ink-wash style of director Lin Hun that she remembered.

She can draw the dynamic lines of fighting figures, the ink treatment of flames and water, and the brushstrokes of mountains, rocks and trees in a super creative state.

However, you'll have to figure out the grid layout yourself, since animation is a continuous flow of images.

Comics are static panels; how do you break down a smooth, long fight shot into individual panels?

She had to figure out herself what size frame to use for each panel, and which actions to place in double-page spreads to enhance the impact.

It was Sunday afternoon when I finished the storyboard for "Fog Hill of Five Elements".

Eri Aragaki put the storyboard into a transparent folder, rubbed her sore wrist, and then picked up her phone to dial Lin Shiping's number.

I answered the phone after it rang twice.

"This is Lin Shiping, Ms. Li Zi. Why are you calling...?"

Lin Shiping's voice came from the other end of the phone, with the sound of typing in the background; he was still working overtime in the editorial department on the weekend.

Eri Aragaki said directly, "I've finished the storyboard for the new short manga I mentioned before. Mr. Hayashi, when would you like to come out and take a look?"

The keyboard clicks on Lin Shiping's end stopped, and then his voice rose noticeably, "How about this afternoon, teacher? What do you think?"

Eri Aragaki thought about it and felt there was no problem, since she wasn't sleepy at the moment.

So she replied, "Okay, see you this afternoon, at that coffee shop we met before?"

Lin Shiping immediately replied, "Yes, it's that coffee shop from before. I'll get ready and head over right away."

In the afternoon, Eri Aragaki went out again.

Soon after, she arrived at the coffee shop and pushed open the door. Warm air enveloped her face. Lin Shiping was already sitting in the same window seat as before, with two cups of coffee on the table, one of which was a mocha.

Eri Aragaki walked over and sat down. Lin Shiping pushed the mocha in front of her, saying, "I'll order this for you first, teacher. I saw you order this last time."

Eri Aragaki thanked her and then took the transparent folder out of her backpack and handed it over.

Lin Shiping took the folder and opened the first page.

He quickly got into work mode and focused intently on the storyboard in his hands.

However... this time, there are no plot twists like in "Sayonara Eri", no narrative that interweaves reality and illusion, and no blurred boundaries between film and memory.

Instead, what he saw was a very orthodox shonen manga opening.

Fire-wielding youth Wenren Yixuan attempts to break the seal in order to save his mother...

The other five attendants arrived and a fierce battle ensued...

The demons' scheming and hidden plots...

……

The plot is clearly set in the culture of the Republic, with the Five Elements Envoys, the Qilin Seal, and the ink painting style; every page carries an intense and pervasive flavor.

Lin Shiping is from Taiwan, so he naturally understands the culture of the People's Republic of China.

He could understand the mythical creature designs reminiscent of the Classic of Mountains and Seas, the Taoist concept of the five elements and their interactions, and Wenren Yixuan's impulsiveness imbued with an Eastern chivalrous spirit.

You could absolutely say... it's really flavorful!

The plot doesn't start off amazing; it's not the kind of story that makes you gasp and exclaim, "They can draw like this?" after reading the first page.

Instead, it is a dignified and upright character, where the young man commits a terrible crime to save his mother and then takes the blame himself.

This kind of opening has been seen by JUMP readers for decades, but it is precisely because it is a classic that it remains popular.

This is clearly different from "Goodbye Eri". "Goodbye Eri" is the kind of work that will leave you silent for a long time after you finish reading it, while "Fog Hill of Five Elements" is the kind of work that will make you want to punch it after you finish reading it.

After reading it, Lin Shiping turned to the last page of the storyboard, then looked up at Eri Aragaki, "It's a pity, teacher, your 'Fog Hill of Five Elements' is actually a short story."

He even felt a little regretful at this moment that Eri Aragaki didn't debut with "Fog Hill of Five Elements".

"Fog Hill of Five Elements" has such a pure JUMP shonen style, and the group setting of the five elementalists is naturally suitable for long-term serialization.

The backgrounds of the five major families can be developed into several storylines, and the types and levels of monsters can also be drawn episode by episode.

Moreover, with its hardcore ink-wash style, he believed it was bound to become a huge hit, and he even thought it was no less popular than Giants.

In the Japanese manga industry, you won't find another manga artist who can draw such intense battles in this style. This is a visual style that belongs only to Bu Chi Li Zi in this era, and no one else can imitate it.

However, Eri Aragaki debuted with Attack on Titan, which is still ongoing.

Judging from the current situation, Attack on Titan is consistently in the top ten in popularity, and the first print run of 150,000 copies of the collected volumes sold out more than half in two weeks, which is quite an impressive achievement.

As long as it doesn't cause any major problems and end up being canceled, Attack on Titan will be finished for several more years.

At that time, "Fog Hill of Five Elements" was nowhere to be found.

After all, a genius manga artist like Eri Aragaki has endless inspiration. She may have drawn several new works in the past few years, and there might not be enough time to list them all.

"So Mr. Lin thinks it's acceptable."

Eri Aragaki picked up her mocha and took a sip.