Full-time cartoonist

On October 8, Takeda Fuyume came to Toriyama Akira’s house.

"Is it about the Tezuka Prize? "

Akira Toriyama took him to the study and asked casually.

He is a judge on the Tezuka Prize judging committee and is responsible for scoring.

His evaluation of the final result is very important.

"Yeah," Takeda nodded. He was Akira Toriyama's editor, chubby, and the prototype of Fat Buu.

"But I have some ideas about "Dragon Ball" that I want to discuss with you first."

Compared to the "Tezuka Prize", Dragon Ball is obviously more important.

It took half an hour for Takeda to finally enjoy himself.

Akira Toriyama was not interested. Over the years of serialization, his initial passion had been exhausted.

Now I am forced to do it, and based on the professionalism of the cartoonist, I create it for the readers.

Rather than "Dragon Ball", he wants to see the works of new people.

Although often immature, there is a sense of freshness.

Maybe it can bring some inspiration.

"You will be surprised," Takeda snickered, "This time, there is a particularly wonderful comic created by a seventeen-year-old boy. It may be selected."

If selected, there will only be one quota, which is equivalent to the championship.

There are also semi-selected and outstanding works, and the quota is uncertain.

It has been five consecutive years that no works have been selected for the tenth Tezuka Prize.

"Seventeen? I'm more interested."

Toriyama Akira thought of someone.

"On Jump, you will see my work!"

The assistant I had missed for a month once said this.

"No, no, no, it won't be so soon, just a month!" He shook his head in disbelief.

"What?"

"Nothing, just show it to me."

Takeda handed him twelve photocopied comics.

The editorial department selects outstanding works from hundreds of entries, which are then judged by the judges.

These twelve works are from auditions to finalists, and each has its own merits.

First he took out a comic called "Hyabusa" and he read it patiently.

Ten minutes later, he breathed a sigh of relief.

"The newcomers now are really amazing."

After thinking carefully about it for a while, he wrote his own evaluation in the evaluation column of "Hyabusa"'s document bag.

Illustration: 3.5 points, the movements and expressions are stiff, the drawing method is more like a sketch, and the exaggeration and imagination of the comics are not expressed. It is recommended to study Mr. Hirohiko Araki’s comics and not stick to common sense.

Plot: 4 points, the story is very interesting, the beginning and the end echo each other, and the final ending is even more unexpected. I look forward to the author's future works.

After "Hyabusa", I didn't stop and continued to read many works.

There are also many works that meet the criteria for selection and are excellent works. It seems to be a good year.

I haven’t seen it just yet, but it’s only included in the selected works.

""Soul of Chess"..."

When I got this comic, Toriyama Akira felt a little nervous.

"Yes, it's this comic!" This idea popped up in his mind.

Taking a deep breath, exhaling it, and regaining his inner peace, he calmly took out the comic and read the first page. His pupils couldn't help but shrink.

"This comic is!"

…

After school, Higashino Hibiki stood in the corridor, looking up at the test results.

One month into the school year, Yanyan High School held a comprehensive test for the whole school, and now the results have been announced.

There are 124 students in the second grade.

There are 24 students in the fine arts department and 100 students in the general department.

"Higashino, how are your results? I'm ranked 36th!" Nishimura stood on the right side and patted his shoulder, saying proudly.

In art class, Hibiki Higashino didn't have much time to study. Although he tried his best, his grades were always in the 40th-50th place.

It can be regarded as a rare existence in the art department.

"Higashino, you are so awesome." Kitamoto stood on the left side. He looked at the rankings and said in surprise: "It's actually 26th! I didn't expect the improvement to be so great."

"Didn't you go from being in the top 20 to being seventh in grade?" Hibiki Higashino asked.

Among the trio, Kitamoto has the best results.

During the summer vacation, Higashino Hibiki gained an extra soul and became a talented small-town problem solver.

The memory is greatly improved, and the textbook can be memorized after reading it two or three times.

High school math problems are also very simple. After he became familiar with it, he could answer it easily.

If it weren't for the fact that he didn't devote his energy to studying in order to draw comics, Hibiki thought there would be no problem if he got the top three this time.

But Kitamoto is strange.

"You two are so cunning, you will definitely have a lot of tutoring during the summer vacation!"

Nishimura looked at his two companions in disbelief, and unknowingly fell behind.

"You are too playful." Kitamoto was speechless.

"I don't care! I don't care!"

The two started making noises as usual, and Higashikata just felt noisy.

"It would be nice if it could stop."

Thinking this, my ears suddenly became quiet.

"Higashino-kun, you have made great progress, keep up the good work." Teacher Matsuzaki, the head teacher, encouraged, "But don't forget about art."

It turns out that the teacher is here.

"yes."

After the teacher left, Nishimura shouted: "If a person progresses to the top ten, please treat Higashino and me to ramen!"

"Yes..." Kitamoto lost interest.

He looked at Matsuzaki's back and didn't know what he was thinking.

"Oh! Higashikata, let's go eat ramen together after school. Just Kitamoto said he would treat us." Nishimura seemed to have won the battle.

Just when Higashino Hibiki was about to agree, he saw Akimiya Akemi waving to him like a lucky cat at the corner.

"Pfft", Dong Yexiang laughed.

"Sorry, I have something to do in the afternoon, so I have to leave first."

"Then there's nothing we can do."

…

Rooftop.

There was no one else on the rooftop after school.

In front of the barbed wire fence, Higashino Hibiki faced a blushing Akimiya Akemi.

She lowered her head and wanted to say something, but she couldn't open her mouth.

"Don...Higashino-kun...I want to tell you one thing. Promise me not to get excited."

"How could you not be excited!" Higashino Hibiki was very excited now.

Miss Akimiya, is this? Have you fallen in love with each other for a long time?

No need to hold back, just say it.

What a genius confession and brain battle, nothing could be more stupid!

"You know?" Qiugong raised his head, "Then I'll tell you directly."

"Yeah." Hibiki Higashi looked forward to it.

"The short story "The Spirit of Chess" was shortlisted for the "Tezuka Award"! " she shouted, looking forward to seeing Hibiki move excitedly.

This must have been an overwhelming volcanic eruption of emotion.

Unexpectedly, Higashikata was stunned, "Huh? That's it?"

He was lost and looked downstairs boredly at the bustling classmates leaving the school.

"You didn't understand?" Akimiya Akemi was surprised. "Teacher Akira Toriyama said that he saw "Soul of the Game" among the shortlisted works. You are very likely to win the masterpiece or be selected! This is a rare honor."

"Yeah." Higashikata nodded, "I know."

That's all, just a finalist.

"But isn't that natural?"