Tokyo life starting with painting

There is actually a reason why Higashinoji has many male fans.

Mainly because "Cold" is a horror comic, most of its readers are boys. It is not an exaggeration to say that the ratio of men to women is seriously imbalanced.

In addition, Kumamon is the kind of mascot that kills both men and women, which will of course bring some male fans to Higashinoji to a certain extent.

Therefore, although Higashinoji has a lot of male fans, they will not overwhelm the female fans, but at a glance, those who hold up the signs are all male fans, and only a portion of them are girls, Higashinoji can't help but sigh -

Good-looking people can do whatever they want, not only girls, but boys can also take advantage of them.

He smiled and nodded at the fans, then turned sideways and moved out of the way to give the media reporters an angle to take pictures.

All the way into the venue, Higashinoji was guided by the staff and put on a corsage to identify himself. At the same time, he found his seat and sat down, looking around.

This time, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology borrowed a medium-sized theater from the National New Theater of Japan, but even a medium-sized theater is already very large.

There are densely packed chairs lined up, with about a thousand seats at a glance. The interior decoration is not gorgeous, but it is decent enough.

No wonder the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Culture and Sports wants to use this venue.

Higashinoji just glanced briefly and then withdrew his gaze. His mood was very calm, but he was not as excited and nervous as some of the winners around him to the point of taking deep breaths.

After all, he was already excited when he got the news before, and now he has already adjusted his mentality.

This Japan Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Award belongs to the 55th edition.

It is mainly to reward artistic workers with outstanding achievements in eleven fields including drama, film, music, dance, literature, fine arts, television, popular arts, and media arts.

The main awards are the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Award and the Newcomer Award.

The award that Higashinoji received was the serious Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Award, and the Newcomer Award was similar to an encouragement award, given to newcomers who were just starting out.

The entire award process is not complicated, but a bit cookie-cutter.

It's nothing more than walking on the red carpet, going on stage to receive an award, and then saying a few innocuous words to show that I will still actively devote myself to art.

A TV drama actor walked onto the stage excitedly. After receiving the certificate, he even shed tears on the awards stage. He said that he called his mother, who was watching her on TV, and that she had fulfilled her filial duty by receiving such an award.

This tone of "Music is my lifelong dream, my parents died when I was young" also made Tonoji couldn't help but feel a little funny. Sure enough, no matter in which world, being miserable seems to be the best way to boost popularity. .

There is no suspense in this award ceremony, because the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology has announced the list of winners in advance. What awards everyone has won and why they have won them will be written down in detail on it. Therefore, when the host reads out the names above, Everyone knows each other in their hearts.

Those who are envious are more envious - Damn it, why did I win the Newcomer Award and that guy won the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Culture and Sports Award?

But even so, you still have to smile when you should applaud and smile. You can't lose your grace in such public situations.

Higashinoji didn't feel anything about this, and he felt that the entire award ceremony was a bit boring, and there was no one around to talk to him, so he was just about to withdraw his gaze and rest.

"Excuse me, are you Mr. Higashino, the author of "The Ring"?"

There was a sudden sound from the side.

This made Tonoji follow the sound curiously.

Sitting next to him is a man in his thirties with an easy-going face. The corsage on his chest bears his name - Ozawada, who won an award in the media arts department.

And insist on saying it

The name Higashinoji is impressive - isn't this the manga author from Iwakaku Publishing House?

As mentioned before, Ken Komori is one of the mainstay authors of Iwakaku Publishing House, and his robot comics have fascinated many comic readers.

Another pillar author of Iwakaku Publishing House is Ozawada in front of Higashinoji.

He has more than ten years of experience in serializing comics, and just finished eight years ago.

If Takeru Komori is the number two hitter, then his fame and strength are enough to be called the number one hitter of Iwakaku Publishing House - he has long held the number one spot on the Oricon O list volume sales list.

The sales volume of the Oricon list has come and gone for many years. Many comic geniuses have gone up and down, but the only thing that remains unchanged is him. Whether he is first or second, he can always linger on the Oricon list. .

That is to say, Ozawada's work is completed, otherwise Higashinoji might have a chance to touch him.

This is a general from the enemy publishing house, and his relationship with Higashinoji should be considered tit-for-tat.

After all, many people in the industry know that Ken Komori of Iwakaku Publishing House did not win against Higashinoji in the ring last time.

But since the other party took the initiative to say hello, Higashinoji naturally did not lose his etiquette and immediately nodded in reply.

"I am Higashinoji, Mr. Ozawa. I have long admired your name."

This statement is truly sincere.

Recently, Iwakaku Publishing House had some vague intention of establishing Ozawada as the father of Japanese comics. At that time, the slogan seemed to have been thought out, but due to some reasons, the promotion in this area was shelved.

As for whether the other party came here to start a fight about the publishing house?

Higashinoji is also true in this regard. Although Ozawada is considered a senior, he still doesn't know who will win in a real fight - whether it's a real person or a performance competition.

"You're welcome, Mr. Higashino, I've been reading all of your works "The Ring", "The Winner is Justice" and "The Lonely Gourmet". They are indeed very good works."

Ozawada praised; "Congratulations on winning the award from the art planning department this time."

"Congratulations also to Mr. Ozawada for winning the Media Arts Award."

Higashinoji smiled and nodded. The Media Arts Award should be an award for comics.

After all, eight years of accumulation, not to mention that the Internet was not that developed in 1996, and the world was dominated by print media and TV media. Ozawada had a great advantage, so it was natural to win this award.

"Thanks to the accumulation of time." Ozawada did not mean to be aggressive, on the contrary, he was kind: "I took the initiative to talk to you, but I actually wanted to tell Mr. Higashino that Iwakaku Publishing House and Mozhu Bookstore have begun to formulate some countermeasures for you. ”

"Countermeasures?" Touyesi was a little dumbfounded, he could see clearly.

Although my reputation is rising now and my career is on the rise, if I am involved in the capital interests behind these major publishing houses, it is actually not a big deal. Why did the other party suddenly formulate countermeasures?

You shouldn't be so arrogant.

"Well, Mr. Higashino has just been in the industry for a year, so it's natural that he doesn't know some secrets in the industry." Ozawada smiled and explained the current specific situation to Higashino.

There are different capitals behind the three major comics companies. Among them, Mozhu Bookstore and Urashima Publishing House have a monopoly on the publishing of Japanese high school to elementary school books. This aspect is not fixed, and there will basically not be much change in their share.

But comics magazines are different. As the most popular paper communication carrier among young people nowadays, the three major magazines attach great importance to the development of this area, and the competition between them is actually fierce.

But this fiercely competitive situation has undergone earth-shaking changes after the merger of Mozhu Bookstore and Yanjiao Publishing House——

"When Teacher Suzukiha left, it did have an impact on Urashima Publishing House, but the impact would never be too great."

Ozawada explained in a low voice: "It's just that the departure of a mainstay author will affect some sales at most, but it will not make Urashima Publishing's "Cold" so poor that it will fall out of the ranks of the three major manga publishing houses. "

The meaning of his words was already very clear, and Touyoshi understood it clearly.

The reason why Urashima Publishing House was in an embarrassing situation last year was not just Suzuki Ha's departure, but the capital operation behind Iwakaku Publishing House and Mozhu Bookstore.

"Originally, "Abominable" was indeed going to fall out of the ranks of the three major comic magazines. The original specific plan was to step down Urashima Publishing House, and Fuji Publishing House, which was less competitive and influential, would occupy Urashima Publishing House. Location. However, Mr. Higashino suddenly appeared, which somewhat eased the situation. At least the sales of "Cold" gradually began to pick up."

Ozawada sighed: "In this case, they will naturally come up with some strategies against you, Teacher Higashino?"

In response to Ozawada's words, Tonoji held his chin and nodded.

If he were from Yanjiao Publishing House or Mozhu Bookstore, of course he would be a little concerned about the people who disrupt the situation.

So it is necessary to come up with some crooked countermeasures against Higashinoji.

But it's strange

"Is there any reason why Mr. Ozawa told me these things?"

Higashinoji looked at Ozawada and asked what he was more concerned about.

Yes, shouldn't Ozawada be a thug at Iwakaku Publishing House?

He actually disclosed such important information to his competitor?

"Haha, they are fighting for what they have. We, the fellow comics authors who only draw comics, don't have any deep hatred. At most, we just compromise on the serialization. It doesn't matter if I tell you this."

Ozawada laughed: "I am really a fan of you, Mr. Higashino. "Midnight Ring" and "The Winner is Justice" are both refreshing works for me."

When he said this, Higashino nodded, which was acceptable.

Because it is indeed the case - the affairs of the publishing house belong to the publishing house, how much does it have to do with Ozawada? You can't really stalemate the relationship, right?

In addition, he was indeed very happy to meet Higashinoji, the mud-legged comic book author who had been killing him all the way, so of course he had to take the initiative to smooth over his powerful relationship with him.

Before he could finish thinking, he heard Higashinoji next to him take the initiative to speak: "In other words, Mr. Ozawa is going to compete with me in the ring for the next comic series?"

"Teacher Higashino is indeed very smart. Well, if nothing else happens, I will publish a new comic and it will be serialized at the same time as your new comic, Mr. Higashino." Ozawada didn't mean to hide anything.

As early as when he said, "At most, we just have to compromise on the serialization," he had already given a hint.

"In fact, it's not just me who wants to compete with you at the same time, but also the science fiction comic teacher Sakamoto from Mozhu Bookstore at the same time. It is estimated that many people will compete with you, Mr. Higashino."

Ozawada's performance was very generous and he had no intention of hiding anything.

Higashino also understands his thoughts - in the final analysis, comics are about quality, and there are very few fans who can really retain them.

If Higashinoji comes up with a work that is more powerful than them, then Higashinoji will crush them. If they come up with a work that is better than Higashinoji, then they can beat Higashinoji until his nose is bruised and his face is swollen. This is the reality.

Even if it is as strong as "Naruto", the poor animation quality of the subsequent "Boruto" also attracted a lot of criticism.

However, the two major publishing houses took the initiative to allow their main pillar authors to compete with them. Isn't this giving him too much face? When I feel like I have to kill you to pieces, you will die and I will be injured.

"I don't think Mr. Ozawa wants to participate. Is it forced by the publishing house?" Higashino took a sip of the Gyokuro tea prepared at the venue and felt that it was not much different from ordinary tea.

"It's not forced. Editor-in-chief Yamano of Iwakaku Publishing House was my former editor, and he was kind to me. Of course I have to repay the kindness, and competition is not bad for the comics industry as a whole."

Ozawada answered Higashinoji's question very rationally: "Most of the current comics are stereotyped robot comics. To be honest, this kind of abnormal development is not good for the overall situation. Comic authors are too comfortable among themselves. They are completely Don’t think of new things.”

I see

Higashinoji probably understands Ozawada's thoughts.

As an old comic author who has been serializing comics for more than ten years, Ozawada is definitely a veteran in the comics industry. He is probably very dissatisfied with the current stagnant situation in the Japanese comic market, so he wants to get rid of this mess. Water, let’s have a fight with Higashinoji to see if we can stimulate the vitality of the entire market.

This professional attitude is indeed respectable.

Higashinoji had also heard in his previous life that many employees in the comics and animation industry worked hard for love, but they still worked hard with a meager salary. He didn't expect to see one today.

"Teacher Higashino, don't be merciful." Ozawada added happily: "I hope you can produce your best work to deal with the two major publishing houses' special efforts to block you."

check?

This word is used well.

Both Yanjiao Publishing House and Mozhu Bookstore took the initiative

This is indeed a bit troublesome.

I have to think carefully about what to draw next.

You can’t really be suppressed by then, right?