Tokyo: Earth Online Manga Artist

The four of them raised their chopsticks together and said in unison...

"I'm starting to eat."

Chapter Ninety-Three: The End of the Year Approaches

Time flows by like water.

November seems to be coming to an end soon. The weather is getting colder and colder, but it hasn't reached its coldest point yet.

In previous years, the coldest time in Tokyo was in late December or January, when the temperature would drop below zero and there would be rare snow scenes.

But we are still far from that time.

As November draws to a close, comic magazines and comic artists will soon be enjoying their longest vacation of the year.

On December 21st or 22nd, they will have a two-week break consisting of two combined issues plus a one-week hiatus.

This is the usual year-end and new year-end break in the Japanese publishing industry, the only time of year when editors and manga artists can truly catch their breath.

However, before that, the editors still need to stay at their posts.

For Masaya Sakurai, the workload in November was still very heavy.

The reason is that... the first edition of Attack on Titan sold very well, exceeding expectations.

As a result, the second batch of single-volume reprints has already filled the inventory of major bookstores and channels, and the editor has to follow up and confirm the reprint process from beginning to end.

And because the first volume of Attack on Titan sold very well, the second volume was quickly put on the agenda.

Anyway, Attack on Titan has already reached chapter 19, which is enough for the second volume. Chapters 9 to 16 will make up a volume.

Now that the first volume has sold so well, it's only natural to consider releasing a second volume; after all, nobody turns down money.

Therefore, the release of the second volume was put on the agenda not long ago, and all procedures had to be rushed to try to finalize the printing schedule before the end of the year when the combined issue is published.

Then, just like with the first volume, Masaya Sakurai and his colleagues in charge had to prepare the relevant work.

I need to check the layout of the serialized manuscript in the collected volumes, adjust the position of double pages, confirm page numbers and chapter separations, and also communicate with Eri Aragaki about the cover design of the second volume and the content direction of the opening color page...

He got very busy during this period, and the second volume was expected to be published before the end of the year when the combined issue was released. The timeline was very tight, and he was like a spinning top being whipped around the clock throughout November.

This week has been incredibly busy.

Masaya Sakurai had just finished his break for the day. He placed a stack of proofread layouts on the table, rubbed his throbbing temples, and took his empty cup to the break room.

He pressed the button on the coffee machine, watching the dark brown liquid drip into the cup little by little, the steam spreading in front of his face.

But then...

"Sakurai!"

Lin Shiping also came over with a cup of coffee. His cup was a portable one with a lid, and it was printed with the JUMP mascot pirate logo.

He leaned against the counter in the tea room and said, "You guys seem to be working yourself to death lately."

"Yes."

Sakurai Masaya took a sip of coffee, looking utterly exhausted, as if all his energy had been drained. The bags under his eyes were very noticeable beneath his black-rimmed glasses. "The preparations for the second volume of Attack on Titan need to be done, and there are two new manga artists who need guidance."

The newcomers haven't even finished reviewing the storyboards they submitted last week, and they're due to submit another one this week. Sigh… I promised Qianxia I'd take her and Xiaoling to the hot springs this week, but now it's impossible; they'll have to go by themselves.”

Chinatsu is Masaya Sakurai's daughter. She just turned fourteen this year and started talking about going to Hakone for hot springs during her vacation last month.

Xiaoling is Masaya Sakurai's wife, and the two have had a pretty good relationship for many years of marriage.

Lin Shiping had also met Masaya Sakurai's daughter; Masaya Sakurai brought his family to the Shueisha year-end party last year.

"That's really... not good."

He immediately said with great regret, "But you'll be on vacation soon, so you can go then. But you really don't look well right now. Did you stay in the editorial office until the last bus home last night?"

Sakurai Miyabi didn't deny it and took a sip of coffee.

"Oh right, isn't tomorrow the deadline?"

Just then, Lin Shiping suddenly put the cup on the table, as if he had thought of something, "Teacher Lizi, have you finished your manuscript?"

Masaya Sakurai said, "Yes, Riko-sensei just sent me a message saying that the manuscript is finished and I plan to pick it up in person tomorrow."

Although we now have courier services, scanners, and fax machines, let's start with the courier issue.

That's because everyone is afraid that the courier will damage the manuscript.

Besides accidental damage, another reason is that some deliverymen, knowing it's a comic book manuscript, might have ulterior motives when picking up the package.

After all, these are original manuscripts by famous manga artists. A single original manuscript can fetch hundreds of thousands or even millions of yen at an online auction.

There are always those who are incredibly audacious, and of course, they often cause more damage by accident. Squeezing during handling, inadequate waterproofing on rainy days, or getting stuck on the conveyor belt during sorting—any one of these could ruin a week's worth of hard work.

Such incidents always result in enormous losses.

For example, something like this happened with "Fist of the North Star".

In the early days, Tetsuo Hara sent the artwork via express delivery, but there were several accidents. On one occasion, the entire package was soaked and ruined by rain, and all the original artwork inside was destroyed.

But there was nothing that could be done. Given the circumstances, the editor at the time could only have Tetsuo Hara rush from Sendai to Tokyo to redraw the damaged manuscript.

Tetsuo Hara worked overtime in the editorial department to redraw the manuscript, and several professional cartoonists and newcomers recruited by the editor came to help, and it was only then that the manuscript was redrawn.

There are also similar incidents like in the previous life of Eri Aragaki in "One Piece," where a courier deliberately opened a package, took out a magazine, and sent it to a resource group for profit as a pirated resource. The pirated scans circulated online a few days before the official release.

Before this incident, many cartoonists and editors had already talked about this kind of thing.

Many of the packages had been opened, with traces of resealing under the tape, but due to the underdeveloped surveillance network in the early days, the matter was eventually left unresolved.

He was eventually caught.

There are also scanners and fax machines, because for cartoonists, this is another task after finishing a comic.

Especially since fax machines were really underdeveloped back then.

Scanning a 20-page manuscript takes at least an hour, and faxing is even slower, requiring you to hold the receiver and wait for several minutes to send each page.

Those with assistants are fine; they can have their assistants scan and archive the files and then send emails. But those without assistants are exhausted; after finishing the drawing, they also have to work as scanners.

In addition, the original manuscripts of popular comics are also very valuable. Not to mention the paper itself, every stroke on it is a genuine hand-drawn work, making its collection value far exceed that of printed materials.

Therefore, the editors of many popular comics gradually started to personally go to collect the manuscripts.

For those who live too far away, such as those from Kyushu or Hokkaido, there's no way around it; the distance is what it is, and it's impossible to take the Shinkansen back and forth every week. So, the manga artists can only send them by express mail or fax.

But for those whose homes are very close, like Eri Aragaki whose home is in Tokyo, what more needs to be said...

Of course, I'll pick it up in person!

It only takes a little over an hour to go back and forth, which is more worthwhile than taking any risks.

Now that Attack on Titan has risen in status, it's no longer the time when "a new writer's manuscript could be lost and that was it."

Masaya Sakurai gradually started personally visiting to collect the manuscripts every week.

"Masaya, you've had such a tiring week, how about this..."

But at that moment, Lin Shiping smiled and picked up his coffee cup, saying, "I also need to pick up this week's short comic manuscript, so I'll help you get it back."

"They're all the same price anyway, so I'll make two trips at once, and you'll save yourself one trip."

Masaya Sakurai understood instantly.

But he had no reason to refuse. Lin Shiping was right; having him bring back the Giants manuscript would indeed save him a trip.

"Then I'll trouble Shiping to help me retrieve the manuscript."

He readily agreed, he said.

Chapter Ninety-Four: Pear Girl, You Have No Heart! (3-in-1 6K!)

And soon it was noon on the deadline day.

Masaya Sakurai then looked at Shih-Ping Lin.

"I'll go pick up the manuscript in a bit. I'll call the teacher first to ask."

Lin Shiping immediately said he understood, picked up his phone, found Aragaki Eri's phone number, and dialed it.

The call was connected very quickly.

"Is this Aragaki, Mr. Hayashi?"

Eri Aragaki's voice came through the phone.

Yes, it's me.

Lin Shiping quickly said, "It's like this, Ms. Riko, Sakurai asked me to come and collect the manuscripts for this week's Attack on Titan and Fog Hill of Five Elements. Is that alright? If so, I'll get ready to leave now."

Eri Aragaki didn't think anything of it and said, "Of course, no problem. I'll be waiting for Mr. Hayashi to come."

"Okay, please wait a moment, teacher. I'll set off now."

Then Lin Shiping hung up the phone, picked up his coat and briefcase from his workstation, and strode out of the editorial department.

He went to the address of Eri Aragaki's family home, as given by Masaya Sakurai.

Although it was his first time there, he quickly found his way to Eri Aragaki's apartment and rang the doorbell.

The door opened from the inside, and Eri Aragaki appeared in the doorway dressed in winter loungewear.

She wore a dark gray, thick cotton loungewear set, with a section of white turtleneck sweater trim peeking out from the neckline, and her hair was casually tied in a low ponytail.

Because her hair wasn't short like a boy's, but rather the length of Mikasa's, she would tie it into a ponytail for convenience when eating.

Even when she's at home without makeup, Eri Aragaki's stats are quite unusual.

Lin Shiping also agreed that Sakurai Masaya was right; this teacher was indeed a beautiful girl who could become a big star just by virtue of her looks, even if she didn't become a manga artist.

"Please come in, Mr. Lin."