Full-time cartoonist

"There is only one person who knows Tori Akino Mirai better than me."

Higashikata stood up, put his hands on his hips and said loudly.

Sōma Satoru asked in disbelief: "Uncle Higashino, who are you?"

Soma Ichiro smiled, pointed at Hibiki Higashikata, and said as if reciting a poem.

"He's my colleague at Jump."

Hibiki Higashino then boasted: "A genius cartoonist who started serializing at the age of 17!"

Soma Ichiro: "The "Soul of Go" that injects fresh blood into Go is his work."

Soma Satoru listened blankly, feeling dizzy.

Hibiki Higashino: "I have also drawn comics with love themes."

Ichiro Soma lowered his head and recalled: "Those were "The Garden of Words" and "Five Centimeters per Second". You portrayed love and separation so well."

Hibiki Higashino: "Thank you for the compliment. Later I drew a sports inspirational comic, that was..."

""Slam Dunk"!" The child came back to his senses, looked at Hibiki Hibiki and shouted loudly, "So you are Mirai Tori Akino's teacher!"

Seeing his extremely excited look, Dong Yexiang puffed up his chest and his vanity was greatly satisfied.

"Yes, that's me." Hibiki touched Soma Satoru's head and said with a smile, "I am Tori Akino Mirai."

It is really a sense of accomplishment to draw works that children like.

Many people serialize their works on Jump just for this reason, so that their works can be seen by more people and promoted more widely.

"Hehe." The child laughed happily.

but……

"Uncle actually knows Mr. Tori Akino!" Sōma Satoru looked back at Soma Ichiro, "I'm really surprised."

Soma Ichiro rolled up the storyboard and patted Soma Satoru on the head, "You look down on me too much, uncle."

"It hurts." Sōma Satoru shrank his head.

"Hahaha." Dong Yexiang laughed.

Afterwards, Hibiki saw Sōma Satoru's paintings. At the age of eight, his paintings were very immature, but as long as he worked hard, he would definitely be better than his uncle. Hibiki looked forward to his future.

He gave Souma Satoru instructions and told him how to draw.

Soma Ichiro nodded thoughtfully, as if he had understood something from the basics.

Hibiki Higashikata was speechless. He didn't expect Teacher Souma's foundation to be so poor.

Soma Ichiro smiled bitterly, "At the beginning, I didn't know that I needed to use a g-pen to draw comics. When I wanted to revise it, I couldn't correct my bad habit."

What he means is that he is a monk and has no choice.

With paranoia and hard work that even scares editors, I got where I am today.

"It's really hard work."

…

"Tori Akino-sensei, while you're drawing comics, you should also take a break."

"Thanks."

Hibiki Higashino, who is loved by children, did not leave Soma Studio until dusk today.

He originally wanted to comfort Soma Ichiro, but ended up getting concern in front of his nephew.

What an amazing experience.

Hibiki Higashikata walked towards the parking lot.

When passing by a coffee shop, someone saw him. As the doorbell rang, the person chased him out.

"Is it Tori Akino-sensei?" he asked nervously.

Dong Yexiang nodded, "Hello."

"What a blessing." He clenched his fist. "Please sign it for me."

He took out the signature pad and Higashino signed his name.

"Well," he scratched his head in embarrassment, "can you please write a sentence? "I wish Shanghejun will serialize it soon." "

Higashino Hibiki was taken aback and wrote these words with a smile on his face. He asked: "Are you drawing comics?"

"Well," he nodded and smiled shyly, "I'm not good at painting, but I'm trying my best."

"Come on." Higashikata patted him on the shoulder and handed him the signature pad.

"Thanks."

Higashikata turned around and left. He bowed deeply to Higashikata's back.

…

The "Shogakukan Manga Award" has a total of 4 categories, namely the children's department, the juvenile department, the girls' department, the general department, and there are also occasional special awards from the review committee.

There are five of the so-called Four Heavenly Kings, and the same is true for Shogakukan.

Every February, this is the time when one of the most authoritative awards in the Japanese comics industry is announced.

"There will be Tori Akino-sensei's comics this year, right?"

"I think that every year."

""Soul of Chess" and "Slam Dunk" are both very outstanding works."

"Last year's award winner in the youth department was Mr. Minagawa Ryoji's "ARMS". Although it was interesting, I don't think it was as exciting as "The Soul of the Game"..."

"Um."

In February, there is still cold in the air, and the cherry blossom trees are withered and black.

Xiaotian tightened his clothes and heard the discussions among the students around him.

He also didn't understand why those on the organizing committee hadn't announced the "Shogakukan Manga Award" to Tori Akino Mirai?

"Shogakukan Manga Appreciation" is the icing on the cake for Mirai Tori Akino and has no substantial value.

But for their organizers, it is an indispensable act to prove their authority.

Among the shounen comics currently being serialized, no one can compare to Tori Akino Mirai.

"It's really weird."

He shook his head and went to work. He was just a clerk anyway.

…

Sports comics are in the same line, from "Giant Star" to "Tomorrow's Man", from "Slam Dunk" to "Prince of Tennis".

A steady stream of excellent works are produced.

Hibiki Higashino was reading a comic, it was also a sports-themed comic, and the topic was very rare.

It is "Chifeng!" by teacher Katsutoshi Kawai. "The King of Boat Racing".

The content is about high-speed water racing circles.

Also depicted is the protagonist's paranoia and love for rowing.

This comic in "Weekly Shōnen Sunday" gave Hibiki a lot of inspiration.

While he was watching, Omori ran over shouting, "The "Shogakukan Manga Award" has been announced! Mr. Tori Akino, come and see!"

"What teachers' works are there?" Higashino Hibiki put down the single volume and asked.

"The work for the children's department is "The Alien Tanaka Taro" by Yasunari Nagaju."

This is a comedy comic with a unique style of painting. It is very popular among children. It is a well-deserved award.

As far as painting skills are concerned, Mr. Nagaju is on par with Soma Ichiro.

However, he dug deep into children's themes and minimized this shortcoming.

Soma Ichiro's "Space Railway Heroes" is also a manga popular with children, but it was serialized in Shonen Jump and the audience is much smaller.

This is also the reason why he has been unable to pass the serialization.

Omori continued: "The most important manga for the shounen department is "The Wind! The Boat Racing King" by Mr. Katsutoshi Kawai."

This is the comic Hibiki was reading just now, and he thought it was very good. It's just that the painting style is too old-school, the characters are single, and the character settings are a bit thin.

"The winner in the Girls' category is Aya Ikue's "Rose Colored Tomorrow""

Shoujo manga Hibiki Higashino didn't understand, he just nodded.

Omori was discouraged, "The teacher still didn't win the award this year."

"Don't worry about this," Hibiki Higashi waved his hand, "I don't draw comics to win awards."

He feels that he is lucky enough, and winning awards is nothing important.

…

He didn't mind, the readers were already dissatisfied.

Editorial Department of "Weekly Shōnen SUNDAY".

The phone rings one after another.

"Ask me why "Slam Dunk" didn't win the award..." Editor Ogawa hung up the phone and said with a wry smile: "The 'Shogakukan Manga Award' has nothing to do with us, really. "

"There is nothing we can do." Colleague Xiao Lin leaned back and sighed: "After all, it is "Slam Dunk" that everyone likes."

Just as they were talking, the phone in the work seat rang again.

Ogawa quickly picked up, "Yes, I'm sorry, "Shogakukan Manga Award" and our Sunday..."

The team leader saw this scene and said loudly: "Why do you answer them? Just hang up!"

"yes!"

Ogawa hung up the phone.

The team leader added: "Please give a short answer."

"Yes." Xiaochuan nodded.

But even so, he was still busy for a long time.

"Really! What a pity!"

The declining "Sunday" once again experienced the "eagerness" of readers.

…

"Why not give Slam Dunk an award?"

When awarding the award, the award-winning teacher Katsutoshi Kawai was puzzled and said to the organizer: "I think "Slam Dunk" is more interesting."

He was born in 1964 and is the type to speak out when he has something to say.

The person in charge of the organizer had an ugly expression. He couldn't say that it was delayed due to laziness.

The recent announcement of the "Shogakukan Manga Award" is very different from the past, and has been widely questioned by readers and the industry.

His colleagues all made innuendoes and told him not to blame him for affecting the work of their department, which made him embarrassed for a while.

It's just a small matter. There will be no problem in sending it to Tori Akino in the future next year. Why make such a fuss?

Originally, because Tori Akino was still a student in the future, he was worried about the negative impact, so the award was never given to him. In terms of qualifications, "Chess Soul" is completely adequate.

After he graduated, the Manga Award Organizing Committee did not react for a while and still neglected Tori Akino, and his subordinates failed to check the omissions and fill the vacancies, which led to today's embarrassing situation.

Now faced with Katsutoshi Kawai's questioning, the person in charge could only say stiffly, "We have considered everything. There are deeper reasons why Mr. Tori Akino's manga failed to win the award."

"It's really perfunctory." Katsumi Kawai shook his head.

…

On Monday, "Weekly Shonen Jump" was released as scheduled.

"Everyone watching the game in the stadium agreed that Shohoku had lost."

Coach Anzai dealt with Sanno's formation, but in the competition between the two centers, Akagi was no match for Masashi Kawada.

Even in college, Akagi was a good player, but his opponent was Masashi Wada, the number one center in the country.

He has super defensive skills and rebounding ability. He is big, agile, dribbling very skillfully, and his shooting skills are also very good, forcing Takenori Akagi into a desperate situation.

Soon after, the point difference between Shohoku and Sanno exceeded 20 points.

Xiangbei has no chance of recovery. After all, his opponent is the King of the Mountain. How can he catch up with such a big point difference?

What's more, now, Takenori Akagi, the pillar of Shohoku, has been completely suppressed by Wada Masashi and has become confused.

And without Akagi's performance, other players in Shohoku would not be able to show their strength.

The game is over.

Even the readers who read it will think so.

Sanno's sense of oppression was too strong, and Xiangbei had no chance to take action.

At this time, Sakuragi Hanamichi is like a novice, Akagi Takenori has lost his fighting spirit, Rukawa Kaede is being stared at by Sawabita Eiji, and Mitsui Juranjo is insufficient and has no strength.

Even if Miyagi Ryota has the ball, he doesn't know who to pass it to.

"This is the first time that Xiangbei was beaten so badly." Yoshida Koji was speechless.

He was thinking, if he were the editor of "Slam Dunk", how should he guide Tori Akino to continue drawing in the future.

Change this scenario.

For a moment, he was a little undecided.

"It's really difficult to do a good job as an editor."

As an editor, you have to communicate the plot with the cartoonist in charge. Even a person like Oda, who has the best plot ability, has to discuss the plot with the editor for several hours every week.

What's more, Yahagi is the type of editor who can be called the second author of "Naruto".

"I can't think of a breakthrough!"

Yoshida Koji scratched his head.

In the jump editorial department, he told Sasaki that his dream is to become a member of the jump editorial department, and he has been working hard for this.

But now it seems, “It’s really hard to handle.”

"You can't do things just with passion."

…

At the end of February, Higashino Hibiki accompanied Akimiya Akemi to meet the editor of "RIBON".

Even for female-channeled comics, many of the editors are men.

However, Akimiya Akemi's editor is a beautiful woman. Just like in many novels, the beautiful editor who belongs to the author alone will create the spark of love at work.

"It's a pity," Higashino Hibiki shook his head, "Our editor is a rough guy."

Outside the coffee shop where they met, Higashino sighed.

"Huh?" Akimiya Akemi looked at Higashino Hibiki with an unkind expression.

"I was just kidding." Hibiki raised his hands in surrender.

Not wanting to keep the editor waiting any longer, they walked in.

…

"Hello, I am Akimiya Akemi. Please excuse me for waiting."

"I've only just arrived."

Ms. Tsuda looked at Akimiya Akemi and was thinking about the "Sakura Mission" article sent by the Jump editorial department.

"This is a comic that is very suitable for a girls' magazine. It would be a pity that it cannot be serialized."

She was very satisfied after reading it. It is a very interesting and inspirational comic.

Moreover, the painter is very good. In the storyboard, you can feel the author's understanding of drawing comics.

Spatial perspective, white space, character design, and the use of frames are all very mature, and are first-class excellence in girls' comics.

Can be used as a selling point.

Maybe it's possible to get RIBON rolled up.

All in all, Ms. Fukatsu picked her right away.

Not serializing such comics is simply a dereliction of duty on my part.

So not long after, she contacted Sasaki and made an appointment to meet today.

Miss Fukatsu thought for a long time, and then suddenly discovered that there was another person beside Akimiya Akemi.

She looked at it carefully and said in a daze: "Are you Mr. Tori Akino?"

Higashikata nodded, "Hello, I am Tori Akino Mirai."

But he didn't recognize the editor in front of him.

"I have to attend Jump's New Year's party every year," said Ms. Fukatsu. "Ms. Tori Akino is the focus of the New Year's party. Naturally, I am deeply impressed."

"Who are you and Akimiya-sensei?"