Full-time cartoonist

Weekly Shonen Jump Editorial Department.

A bunch of editors sit together, their mouths open and their expressions funny.

Ping Jijiu shook his head in astonishment: "I didn't expect that he would grow to this point."

"yes."

"I couldn't understand it at the time when "Soul of Chess" ended and a new series started."

Several editors continued.

"Well," Editor Asada nodded, "After all, "Soul of the Game" was one of the top works on Jump at the time. The average sales volume of the single volume was one million, so it was quite popular."

Because of reading the comic "Go Soul", more than one million people have learned Go. It is indeed a phenomenal work.

For such a work to be completed so quickly, it would be a huge loss on the Jump platform.

"The editor-in-chief understood Mr. Tori Akino's creative ability and felt that he was more than that," Bo Bo said with emotion. "That's why the serialization of "Slam Dunk" was launched, and this work soared into the sky!"

…

Forty days after the release of the first volume of "Slam Dunk", the news that sales exceeded two million immediately aroused a huge response.

There were overwhelming reports in newspapers and TV news.

"Weekly Shōnen Magazine" editor-in-chief Takao Igarashi shook his head.

He became the editor-in-chief of magazine in 1986, and he wanted to surpass the jump of "Dragon Ball" and "Saint Seiya". But after being suppressed for 10 years, there was no hope at all.

When magazine had a circulation of more than 2 million, Jump had already reached more than 6 million. This is a huge and despairing gap.

But with the completion of "Yu Yu Hakusho" and "Dragon Ball", the jump giant lost two legs and began to decline.

As the magazine continues to make progress, and because of the serialization of "Kindaichi Boy's Incident Book", the circulation has reached 4.3 million copies, which is at the peak of history!

He can surpass Jump and realize his long-cherished wish!

Igarashi Takao has been looking forward to this moment day and night.

At the beginning of 1996, the gap between the two magazines had narrowed to 600,000 copies, and this trend is getting smaller and smaller.

At this time, Horie Nobuhiko stepped down, and Shueisha's hero Torishima Kazuhiko came to power.

He implemented a lot of strategies.

Cartoonist training classes were held, the selection of newcomers was strengthened, and the weight of Xiaozheng's achievements was increased...

It looked very effective, and the jump was in full swing for a while, making Takao Igarashi nervous. Following Torishima Kazuhiko, he began to involuntarily prevent the situation from changing.

The rivalry between two of the best comic magazines will last for who knows how many years, but no matter what, Igarashi Takao will persevere and defeat Shueisha!

He already has sufficient determination and high fighting spirit.

But what he never expected was that Torishima Kazuhiko's most incomprehensible move turned out to be the key to breaking the situation!

It can be called "the hand of God"!

It caught him off guard, and he is still confused now.

"The sales volume of the first volume of "Slam Dunk" exceeded 2 million!"

Looking at this news, Takao Igarashi felt bitter in his heart.

Back then Tori Akino Mirai finished "The Soul of the Game" and started a new serialization. He still didn't understand this decision and felt that Torishima Kazuhiko had lost his mind.

Unexpectedly, this decision extinguished his hope.

Another comic appeared on jump, continuing the glory of the platinum era and opening up a new era, all belonging to Tori Akino's era.

Thanks to this:

"The circulation of "Weekly Shonen Jump" exceeded 5 million!"

When "Weekly Shōnen Magazine" had a circulation of 4.3 million, Jump had a circulation of 4.5 million, a difference of only 200,000.

But now, it has grown to 700,000!

This is already the circulation data of a popular magazine!

Today, magazine's potential, Kindaichi's potential, is about to reach its peak, and Jump can no longer be touched!

"As expected of Kazuhiko Toshima," he smiled bitterly, letting go of his obsession.

…

"The single copy of "Slam Dunk" exceeded two million!" Yamamura Morichi felt bad when he heard the news.

At this moment, he was in the basketball hall of Nippon Sports University, waiting for a practice match to start.

Suddenly hearing the students around him mention this with great interest, and seeing their faces glowing and looking very happy, Yamamura Morichi's heart twitched.

"It was only released for forty days, right?"

Breaking through two million in forty days? How did a comic that only lasted for 10 months have such great influence?

Shancun Shoudao was puzzled.

His half-cut comic "The Sun Murder Incident" sold only 400,000 copies per volume.

For a moment, he seemed to have eaten a lemon, and it was so sour that he couldn't stand it.

I used to have enough confidence to compete with him, but both sides were in the middle of the jump.

But today, one person's works have been cut in half, and he has not thought of a new series for a long time. Another person has soared into the sky, leaving a mark on the times.

The gap was so big that he really wanted to beat Tori Akino up in the face and realized how depressed he was at this moment.

"As expected of Tori Akino-sensei, you are so awesome." Yamamura's companion, the female college student who invited him to watch the competition, Kikuchi Hidemi swayed excitedly, with a blush on her face, very cute.

"I really admire him!"

There are three minutes left before the start of the game, and the atmosphere at the scene is getting more and more intense. The whole stadium was buzzing with people, everyone was looking forward to the players entering.

Only Yamamura kept his word, and his face darkened.

"That guy Tori Akino is not a good person," Yamamura waved his hand and said loudly, "Always smiling, but full of bad intentions!"

He finally met a female reader, but his reputation was ruined because of Tori Akino.

"Tori Akino!" In his mind, he raised his right hand high and raised his index finger, "It's definitely not a good thing!"

Hidemi Kikuchi looked at him with squinted eyes, "If you say that about Mr. Tori Akino, I'm going to get angry, huh."

Finally, she turned her head, as if she was ignoring Yamamura.

Yamamura Shoudao was so angry that he wanted to vomit blood. He had never been so depressed as at this moment.

He was still an opponent before, but it feels like he has become humbled now.

"I'm sorry," Yamamura lowered his head, "I said it wrong. Mr. Tori Akino is a genius and is constantly growing. The stories are getting more and more interesting, and his painting skills are getting better. He is a person who is not satisfied with the status quo and is looking for infinite possibilities. .”

Although it was what he said from his heart, he blushed to death after saying such a long list.

"Damn bird Akino!"

He could only feel helpless and furious in his heart.

For the sake of love, the proud Yamamura Shoudao lowered his head.

He was crying inside.

"That's right. What you said is very professional. I approve of you." Hidemi Kikuchi patted Yamamura Morimichi on the shoulder, smiled and nodded with satisfaction, then gave a thumbs up and winked with one eye.

Like being hit by Cupid's arrow, Shancun Shoudao's heart was pounding.

He began to scratch his head and said more good things about Hibiki Higashino: "Tori Akino started serializing comics when he was 18 years old, and has been drawing comics diligently. He is a cartoonist with both talent and hard work. "Slam Dunk" is among his My subordinates will definitely climb up the ranks and become more and more exciting."

"Yeah!" Hidemi Kikuchi nodded repeatedly, looking at Yamamura with tender eyes.

She said: "At the end of this month, the college basketball conference will begin. Do you want to watch the game together then?"

"Of course!" Yamamura Shoudao replied quickly, for fear that she would take back her words.

He felt warm in his heart, and felt that it was no big deal to praise Hibiki Hibiki occasionally.

Tori Akino Mirai is a genius to begin with.

At this moment, the game begins.

Players from both sides entered the court, namely the Meiji basketball team and the Nippon Sports University basketball team.

"The Meiji basketball team worked really hard," Yamamura lamented. "We held friendly matches with many schools and won them all. It seems to be the favorite to win the championship."

Seeing the high-spirited appearance of the Meiji University players, Yamamura recalled their game against the Tokai basketball team.

It was indeed a fierce game, and it also made him meet Hidemi Kikuchi and fall in love with the sport of basketball.

Under the principle of "fairness, justice and openness", the spirit of players working hard and never giving up is the charm of sports.

These college students, no longer concerned with interests, can actually embody this point even more.

Hidemi Kikuchi looked at this scene seriously, she also wanted her team to win.

But recalling that Meiji University's strength was not inferior to that of the top four in Tokyo, coupled with the tough training, she became anxious.

"Please take care of me."

In the court, Meiji basketball team captain Fengnan shook hands with the opponent with a smile.

"Please take care of me." Teru Yoshimura, captain of the Sports University basketball team, shook hands in a friendly manner.

The game is about to begin.

…

Kanto University Basketball League.

This is the student federation formed by university student unions in the Kanto region and is also the organizer of college basketball competitions.

This time of year gets busy.

"There are so many spectators this year." Looking at the data at the meeting, a student federation member said in surprise: "There are many spectator reservations for the first round of games, twice as many as at this time in previous years. .”

He is gearing up and full of motivation.

"There are more and more people who like basketball," another person held up his glasses with a joyful look on his face. "If this continues, maybe it will reach the heights of a baseball game. Maybe in the future, basketball games can also compete with Jiazi. Just like the park, it has become the highest level of student sports!”

"I'm also looking forward to this day!"

"But, it's still impossible."

"Ha ha ha ha."

The room burst into laughter.

How could any sport be as popular as baseball?

Even they who like basketball think this is impossible.

"The increase in the popularity of basketball is probably mainly due to the influence of "Slam Dunk"," the president looked at the members on both sides and said: "It is not because of our efforts, but because the cartoonists' works are very interesting, so we still We have to keep working hard. There is still a long way to go to promote basketball in Japan."

The members present all nodded silently.

At this moment, someone knocked on the door. It was the secretary of the association.

"Director Masamura of the Japan Basketball Association has important matters to discuss."

"Please invite him in," the president said.

Not long after, Satoru Masamura, who was in his forties, walked into the conference room and said, "Sorry for disturbing you."

"It just happened to end here, so there will be no impact," the president asked, "Is there anything wrong with Mr. Masamura?"

"It's the Basketball Association who asked me to pass on something," Masamura said: "As for this year's college basketball game, everyone in the college should be responsible for it. However, the Basketball Association wants to issue an initiative. This year's college basketball game will be specially invited to Guests, I hope to invite future teacher Tori Akino to attend. Maybe it will have a great effect."

Seeing the excited expressions of the students, he smiled proudly and continued: "This time, the single volume of "Slam Dunk" has exceeded 2 million. Teacher Tori Akino's strong appeal has shocked the Basketball Association."

"Yeah." Many people nodded.

"I queued for four hours at the autograph session to get Mr. Tori Akino's autograph."

"You're okay. I held back the urge to pee for two hours, and in the end I almost peed in my crotch."

"The teacher's cartoons are very interesting, so everyone likes them."

They whispered quietly, and the president knocked on the table, and then they became quiet.

"Ahem," Masamura Satoru coughed twice and continued: "If Tori Akino is invited to be a special guest, it will be a good thing for the audience and us. Presumably more tickets will be sold. …Well, it attracts more viewers.”

"We understand the Basketball Association's thoughts." The president murmured, "Please wait a moment, we need to discuss something."

"Yes, I'm sorry to bother you all."

The director of the Basketball Association left the meeting room, and the president's smile dropped.

"Is it primarily about profit rather than gratitude?"

He was disdainful of adults' ideas.

"But," someone raised their hand, "if Mr. Tori Akino participates, everyone will be happy. Maybe the teacher is also looking forward to watching the competition up close."

The president held his chin and thought deeply.

"Yes, I also hope that Mr. Tori Akino will be a special guest. Our school's basketball team will be very excited!"

"Maybe it will inspire the teacher."

"This basketball game will definitely be memorable."

The members of the Student Federation spoke one after another.

"Then let's vote by a show of hands," the president said: "Those who agree, raise their right hand."

As soon as he finished speaking, everyone raised their right hands. Even he raised his arm high.

"Then it will be approved unanimously," the president smiled.

Afterwards, they discussed which games to invite Higashino Hibiki, and finally decided that the two most important games were the decisive battle in Tokyo and the championship and runner-up in the national competition.

…

Tunghai University Gymnasium.

The members of the basketball team did not rest, honing the formation taught by the coach.

"The national competition is about to start," the horse field patted his chest, "My heart has been beating so fast recently, and I've become nervous all over. It's really bad."

"Me too," Xiao Lin nodded, "Although everyone has worked hard, there is still unavoidable anxiety when it comes to verifying the results."

"It's not necessary," Yagami said with a straight face: "We have to work harder than anyone else and sweat more than anyone else. We must win! Dominate the country!"

"Oh! Dominate the whole country!" Everyone cheered, and their momentum increased visibly.

At this moment, the basketball team manager ran over.

"Big...big news! The results of the friendly match between Mei...Meiji and Sports University are out!"

She was so tired that she was out of breath, but she still managed to speak out.

Everyone is waiting in anticipation. What will be the outcome of such two strong teams?

"78:124!" The manager stood up and shouted: "Sports University wins!"

In an instant, everyone present widened their eyes.

"That powerful Meiji University actually fell behind by so many points?" Baba groaned in disbelief, "What kind of monster is the Sports University basketball team?"