Full-time cartoonist

This was the first time I met Mr. Souma Hibiki Higashino, but I had a good impression of him. He is the kind of person who draws comics down-to-earth.

His personality is a bit shy and he doesn't like to take the initiative to speak.

Higashino Hibiki chatted with him for a while and roughly understood Soma Ichiro's situation.

He started working hard to become a cartoonist when he was in high school. In 1990, he finally drew an animated cartoon called "Space Railway Heroes", but it was not popular after that and was cut in half.

""Cosmic Railway Heroes"!" Someone beside him shouted in surprise.

Higashino Hibiki and Soma Ichiro looked over and found that it was Yamamura Morimichi.

The three people's eyes met, and Yamamura suppressed his expression of surprise. He crossed his arms awkwardly, turned his head to the side, and explained: "I was not eavesdropping, I just happened to hear it here. It was your voice that came through. Into my ears."

Souma didn't mind and greeted Yamamura with a smile.

"You are Mr. Soma Ichiro, the author of "Space Railway Heroes"! I like this comic very much. The protagonist's spirit of repeated defeats is really inspiring." Yamamura finished speaking enthusiastically and sighed, "It's just a pity. It was cut in half in 1993."

That was before Hibiki Hibiki's "Soul of the Game" began to be serialized. No wonder Hibiki Higashino had no impression of it.

Yamamura Shodo really couldn't spit out ivory, but Mr. Souma didn't care. He smiled bitterly and said: "It was November 1993. It was snowing in the sky, the air was very cold, and the fog was clearly visible. I My fingertips were frozen stiff. When Editor Sasaki informed me that I would be cut in half, my heart was even colder than my fingertips. Haha, ha..."

He joked to himself and laughed. When he saw that Hibiki Higashino and Morimichi Yamamura did not laugh with him, the laughter became smaller and smaller.

Higashino Hibiki breathed a sigh of relief. He was really worried that Mr. Soma would be cut off in half. It was Christmas Day on December 25th. It was at this time that "Spirit of the Game" passed the serialization meeting. Fortunately, it had nothing to do with him.

"Souma-san," Yamamura asked, "have you never drawn comics again? I've been looking forward to it for a long time."

Souma's mouth froze, "I'm sorry, after "Space Railway Heroes" was cut in half, I didn't get another chance to serialize it. That's right, six years have passed and I haven't written a manga that satisfies the editorial department. Haha. ……Hahaha……"

Yamamura bowed quickly, "I should apologize! I'm sorry! I took the liberty!"

The more he behaves like this, the more embarrassed Souma becomes.

Higashino Hibiki smoothed things over, ""Space Railway Heroes"? I'll take a look."

Souma breathed a sigh of relief, "It's very different from Tori Akino-kun's works."

Yamamura nodded, "That's true."

The air became silent again.

The three people stared at each other.

Higashikata couldn't bear it anymore, so he left here.

…

The waiters at the New Year Party wore red uniforms and shuttled through the hall.

Higashikata walked through the crowd, walked to the corner, and began to enjoy the peace amidst the noise.

But not long after, a handsome man came to Higashino Hibiki with two glasses of champagne and a red suit.

"Thank you," Higashino Hibiki took the glass, walked to the sofa aside and sat down on it as if no one else was around, and drank slowly.

"Eh?" The visitor was stunned.

He walked up to Higashikata Hibiki again.

"Is there anything else?" Dong Yexiang asked.

He introduced himself, "I am Xu Feigang. My painting "The Prince of Tennis" is being serialized. Hello, Mr. Tori Akino."

Higashikata was stunned, then quickly put down the champagne in his hand and apologized, "I'm sorry, it's me..."

He regarded Xu Feigang as a waiter.

This is all Shancun Shoudao's fault!乆

I was infected by his stupid gene.

Xu Fei just glanced at his red suit and said indifferently, "It doesn't matter, it's just a coincidence."

Higashino Hibiki breathed a sigh of relief, stood up and shook hands with him, "Hello, nice to meet you. "Prince of Tennis" is a sports-themed comic. I have been reading it. It is very interesting."

For a period of time after "Slam Dunk" ended, "Prince of Tennis" became the most popular comic.

Xu Feigang found a new way, he is a genius.

"I'm glad you think so," Xu Feigang laughed.

He said with relief: "Actually, when "The Prince of Tennis" was first serialized, I was competing with Tori Akino-sensei's comics. It turned out that "Millennium Actress" was a landmark comic, and I was still far away from the teacher's level. Even though we are far away, we have benefited a lot.”

"Tori Akino-sensei, can you give me some pointers on the comics?"

Higashikata lowered his head, thought for a while and said, "Pay more attention to rest. Your body is more important than your career. That's all."

"Hey...thank you!" Xu Feigang bowed in shock and apologized.

…

The New Year's party officially started, with Editor Yahagi as the host. After Shueisha's chairman took the stage, Sasaki took the stage to speak and summarized Jump's work.

Torishima Kazuhiko stood aside and applauded Sasaki.

After more than an hour, the New Year's Eve party ends, and everyone is free to move around and gather together to chat.

Several people from Toei Animation Production Company found Hibiki Hibiki and walked towards him. Director Kaede Inoue looked depressed.

Torishima Kazuhiko saw this and stopped them.

"The end of "Slam Dunk" is an unchangeable reality." Torishima Kazuhiko told Toei's executives: "So please don't bother Mr. Tori Akino."

Someone from the top asked anxiously: "Editor-in-chief Torishima, "Slam Dunk" has just entered the national competition, how can it be finished so quickly? There is still a lot more content that can be drawn. Just like "Dragon Ball" back then."

He craned his neck to look at Higashikata, who shook his head.

Torishima Kazuhiko said firmly: "I promised him that he would decide the time of completion."

The top management of Toei had an ugly expression, "You will regret it!"

In the New Year's Party venue, the quarrel gradually became louder, and many people looked over with curious expressions.

"What happened?" Yamamura asked Akimotoji next to him.

Akimotoji shook his head slightly, even with his seniority he didn't understand.

Yamamura looked at Hibiki Higashikata and thought, "What happened?"

"Is it because Akino Tori is dissatisfied with the cartoon of "Slam Dunk"?"

"No, it's the people from Toei Animation who are more anxious."

"Tori Akino has taken back the animation copyright of "Slam Dunk"?"

As a mystery comic author, his brain was working rapidly.

"It must be breaking news!"

…

Torishima Kazuhiko persuaded Toei's senior management to leave, and did not let them affect Hibiki Hibiki.

Sasaki came to Higashino Hibiki and said, "Mr. Torishima has paid a lot."

"I know." Dong Yexiang nodded.

The completion of a pillar-level comic must be full of turmoil.

Sasaki silently patted Higashino Hibiki's shoulder.

After a while, Sasaki sighed, "Mr. Torishima would not have done this in the past. As he grows older, he has really changed a lot."

However, the most important thing is the timing of Hibiki serializing "Slam Dunk".

That was after "Dragon Ball" ended, Jump's sales dropped significantly, and it was about to be overtaken by "Weekly Shonen Magazine", which was a very dangerous time.

Shueisha needs a savior, and Torishima Kazuhiko needs a pillar of support.

So he could agree to the harsh conditions.

Nowadays, jump has "One Piece", "Hunter", "End of the Century", and "Naruto", which is the most luxurious moment.

With the completion of "Slam Dunk", the impact will be reduced.

Hibiki Higashino's completion of "Slam Dunk" was the result of the right place and right people at the right time.

After a while, the calm gradually subsided, and there were no more concerned eyes on Higashikata Hibiki.

He found Souma Ichiro standing alone and walked over.

"Mr. Souma, why are you here alone?" Hibiki smiled kindly, "Are you not used to this place?"

Soma Ichiro looked at Hibiki Hibiki with inquiring eyes, and he was also curious about what happened just now.

After realizing that it was not polite, he tilted his head slightly, pressed his glasses, and gave Hibiki a soft smile. He said, "That's not the case. I am thinking about how to unfold the manga I want to draw now."

He had just had a long chat with other cartoonist teachers and had some ideas.

"That's really hard work, so I won't bother you anymore."

"It doesn't matter, I'm also a little unfamiliar and at a loss," Soma Ichiro said: "Many of the teachers I knew back then didn't attend the New Year's party. It's really different."

"Jump is like this."

The jump is too cruel. Except for a few evergreen pines, no one can guarantee that they will always be eligible for serialization.

There are always old people going up and down. New people come.

"Actually, I don't want to attend the New Year's party today because I haven't produced any results." Soma said with a smile: "But Editor Sasaki said that my mind is easily rusty because I am immersed in drawing comics. It's better to come out and chat with others. Maybe it will help." Be inspired.”

"There's really nothing we can do." He shook his head helplessly, but the smile on his lips remained.

Hibiki Higashino said: "Mr. Sasaki cares about you very much."

"Well," Soma Ichiro nodded solemnly, "We have been friends for 10 years."

"I will definitely serialize it this time!"

…

time flies.

In a blink of an eye, February has arrived.

After drawing the manga, Higashino Hibiki asked his assistants if they had a single volume of "Space Railway Heroes".

Comic shops don't sell it now, so it's quite troublesome to go to a second-hand store to buy it.

"The comic "Space Railway Heroes", I will bring it next time." Omori raised his hand and said.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome," Omori said with a different feeling, "I am very impressed by this comic and have read it carefully many times."

Dongye Xiang asked curiously: "Why?"

Omori explained, "To be honest, Souma-sensei's drawing skills are quite poor. He can draw them even if he is a high school student with some basic knowledge. As a result, with his excellent plot, his manga was serialized and later animated."

"I was very poor at drawing at the time, and I was honing my drawing skills. "Cosmic Railway Heroes" gave me strong confidence that I can also serialize it!"

Hibiki Higashikata: "That's really good."

"But as my drawing skills got better and better, the feeling brought to me by "Space Railway Heroes" gradually changed and turned into despair," Omori confided. "The plot of the comic is much more important than the drawing skills. I can hone my skills." I am an animator, but I cannot become a plot-based manga artist like Soma Ichiro-sensei.”

"How pathetic."

His drawing skills are very strong, but he cannot be serialized. Soma Ichiro's drawing is very poor, but he can be serialized with excellent plots. Omori's motivation has dropped sharply.

The comics that once brought motivation have become a natural barrier.

Omori asked: "Tori Akino-sensei, why do you suddenly want to watch "Space Railway Heroes"?"

Higashino Hibiki talked about the New Year's party.

Omori was surprised when he heard this, "Sōma-sensei is still drawing comics. I thought he had given up long ago. After all, after "Space Railway Heroes" was cut in half, I have never seen his works again."

Hibiki Higashino said: "Editor Sasaki said that Mr. Soma has been working hard to draw new works for submission, and he is still working hard now."

Omori shook his head, "Mr. Souma's comics are already out of date..."

…

After a while, Sasaki came to the door.

Akimiya Akemi opened the door and welcomed him in expectantly.

Invite him to sit down on the sofa, and then politely bring him tea and snacks.

If he hadn't known that Akimiya Akemi was concerned about "Sakura Mission", Hibiki Higashino would have been disgusted.

"Mrs. Higashino," Sasaki said directly: "I have contacted an editor of "RIBON". She is very interested in your comics. This is her business card."

"Thank you very much!" Akimiya Akemi bowed.

Sasaki said, "It's my responsibility."

Things went smoothly for Akimiya Akemi, and Hibiki thanked Sasaki for letting him eat.

"There's no rush to eat, there's still work to be done."

Sasaki smiled, he took out three documents and handed them to Higashino Hibiki.

Higashikata flipped through the pages and said, "It's time to sign the contract again. I even forgot about it."

He was familiar with this contract. He had signed it many times, and the amount had already reached the maximum amount, so he had nothing to argue about and signed his name straightforwardly.

Sasaki put away the two contracts and stood up, "Then I'll leave first."

"Why are you so anxious?"

"I still have work to do," Sasaki's expression turned serious, with a bit of entanglement, "It's about the contract money from Mr. Souma."

"That can't be delayed, I'll see you off." Dongye sounded and stood up.

"It's not a contract," Sasaki sighed, with a hint of fatigue in his eyes. After hesitation, he said, "Mr. Souma's contract payment cannot be renewed."

"Eh?" Dong Yexiang was surprised, "Why?"

Sasaki replied, "Sōma, he hasn't been serialized for a long time, hasn't he?"

It was cut in half in 1993, and Jump's contract fee has been maintained at 2,000. Jump is already doing very well.

For the most ordinary cartoonist, his annual contract salary is as much as that of a baseball player.

It's more than a few million yen.

The initial amount Hibiki received was 20 million yen.

He didn't know the amount of Souma Ichiro's annual contract payment, but it added up over the years and it was a considerable amount.

Jump, which focuses on profit, has done its utmost to be benevolent and righteous, and Higashino Hibiki has nothing to object to.

He was very concerned and asked with a solemn expression: "Mr. Souma's new work, can't it pass the serialization meeting?"

Sasaki nodded.

Thanks to the live fish Sanchi and Ms. Menuo for the 500-point reward, and thanks for the reward for being a pioneer.

Thank you all for your blessings,