manga artist Kirito

Page 149

"I think it's okay."

"I don't think that's right. Image quality isn't the most important thing. Look at ONE's One-Hit Man."

"Shut up! We don't have any works like ONE's here, and like I said, the storytelling isn't strong enough!"

Amano Touko rolled her eyes. Most of the manga artists who submitted their work were young people in school. They might have an absolute passion for manga, but passion alone is not enough for many things. The quality of a manga's artwork is based on its story.

"Well, then the fifth one is the storyboard I mentioned before that wasn't very good."

Bottle glanced at Amano Touko, who was covering her nose, and stubbed out her cigarette in the ashtray with a hint of helplessness. "What was that called again... Gintama?"

"Dark Souls - its style is very similar to Gintama."

Amano Touko is actually quite interested in this work. The art style is unique, the story is also good, it's exciting when it needs to be exciting, and it doesn't hold back when it needs to lose its morals... It's a very interesting work.

What Amano Touko was even more interested in was the five well-known creators represented by the pen name Houraisan Kaguya. In particular, she later discovered that Fujiwara Echizen, whom she had never met, and Shiina Mashiro, who used the pen name Fujiwara Hakutaku, were actually genius painters.

What an amazing lineup!

Although they didn't win the championship... it's a bit of a pity with this lineup.

"Besides, Editor-in-Chief, I've told you before, right? The pen name Houraisan Kaguya has tremendous potential, you can absolutely trust me!"

"Ah, that's certainly believable. Although it's a collaborative work, every creator involved is well-known, especially Fujiwara Echizen-sensei, who recently became a hot topic in the industry. I heard she's still a high school student. It's truly astonishing that she achieved such results!"

The bottle nodded wistfully, "It would be even better if we could bring the person over by kidnapping."

"...Forget about that."

Amano Touko gave a slight wry smile, "Fujiwara Echizen was part of Akane Kousaka's team from the very beginning. If they could really poach him, they wouldn't have submitted Sword Art Online to them."

So, in terms of ranking, is Dark Souls second or third?

The bottle is still troubled by this problem. As for the fourth one, which has not yet been decided... well, we can talk about it later.

"Editor-in-Chief, do you know why you're the editor-in-chief?"

Amano Touko pushed the unranked artworks in front of the bottle.

"why?"

Isn't this inexplicable problem due to my own abilities?

"Because you're the one making the decision!"

Calmly deflect blame.

P.S.: I've banned that person in the book review section who kept mentioning CMN. Their manners are terrible. Although I was indeed the one who made the mistake, manners are very important.

332

[Ranking No. 328 Confirmed]

Inside the meeting room, the atmosphere suddenly became tense because of Orange's words.

The first choice to take the blame is naturally one's own boss, and coincidentally, all the editors think so. However... Orange, you went too far! How could you say such a thing to someone's face? If you want to screw over the editor-in-chief again in the future, won't that be very troublesome!

The editors collectively wiped their sweat, speechless.

"...Let's continue our discussion about Dark Souls."

The meeting room was quiet. The bottle, whose expression was slightly ambiguous and whose face was somewhat dark, glanced at the editors before finally speaking first.

"Dark Souls..."

Orange scratched his head. He had initially placed high hopes on this work, thinking it could win the championship.

In terms of plot, Orange thinks Dark Souls is better than My Hero Academia, but...

The work "My Hero Academia" is even more relevant, as many children have had this kind of hero dream since childhood. Targeting the readers of JUMP, it is easy to evoke their resonance. The reason why JUMP's classic battle manga is so popular is precisely because classic manga depict the dreams that children yearn for. One Piece, Naruto, and Dragon Ball are all examples of this.

The author of My Hero Academia portrays the protagonist as remarkably ordinary, which allows readers to empathize with him more. Even his abilities are borrowed, and each time he uses them, he pays the price of near-crippling, much like Rock Lee in Naruto. Although ordinary, he works hard and eventually stands on the same stage as geniuses. That feeling of passion is far greater than that of Dark Souls!

"This work belongs to the genre of action, inspiration, and comedy. With Gintama as a precedent, as long as the later plot of this work does not have too many problems, I think this work can become the second Gintama."

Amano Touko gave this evaluation.

"Ah, I've seen this work too. It's quite interesting, but it imitates the former, so it lacks a lot of originality."

An editor opened the window, lit a cigarette, and said...

Amano Touko silently rolled her eyes. Is it easy to find a new kind of shonen manga? What manga these days isn't based on formulas?

My Hero Academia is obviously a formulaic manga, but it has enough passion to win the championship—don't think too much about subverting the formula, the old formula can still be played.

"However, some of the transitions felt a bit abrupt, didn't they?"

"No, I feel like it's all moved to another dimension, and what's with that strong depressing vibe?"

"...EVA?"

"A bit like."

"—According to the creators, what we've seen so far is just a prequel, or simply put, a setup. The main story... I think we can look forward to it."

Yes, you might not believe it, but Amano Touko is actually a fan of hating her mother.

"There have been prequels that were more captivating than the main series. Look at Ga-Rei, the prequel was a huge hit."

"Hey, are you here to argue?"

Amano Touko glared, "Why didn't you guys nitpick at me like this before?"

"Um, wait a minute, let me sort this out..."

The bottle tapped the table, then fell into deep thought. After a long while, it slowly said, "This work, although it's just a prequel, is undoubtedly the kind of style that modern young people like the most. It's not only exciting but also very lighthearted. The various plot twists can indeed be called ingenious ideas. And how should I put it... well, once you see the beginning, you definitely can't guess the ending... Hmm, thinking about it this way, this work is much better than the rest."

"After that, the creators are all well-known creators, so we don't have to worry about the story at all. As for the graphics... I believe everyone has seen Sword Art Online, a work that the industry calls as having the potential to be a masterpiece, so we don't have to worry about the graphics either. As for the subsequent main series... I am a little concerned, but I believe Orange can solve this problem perfectly."

The solution mentioned here refers to communication between editors and creators—don't let creators force-feed you garbage.

Everyone nodded, and after the bottle's analysis, they all began to agree with the reasoning he had given.

Ah! Sure enough, the editor-in-chief was the one who stepped forward to take the blame in the end. He was so cool!

Amano Touko struck a pose reminiscent of Commander Ikari, saying, "I think it's OK."

She exchanged a glance with the editor who had just argued with her—well done!

"Then... the second one?"

An editor asked timidly.

"Okay, let's go with second place!"

"What about third?"

"Black four-leaf clover".

"...Is that the decision?"

"Of course!"

There's no need to discuss the remaining fourth place, since that's the only spot left.

"The top five winners have been decided. The next issue of the weekly magazine will publish their winning information. Editors, don't forget what you're supposed to do, understand?"

"Yes!"

"Well then, that's all. Meeting adjourned."

…………

Shonen Jump is a weekly magazine, and in Japan it is released as early as Friday and as late as the following Monday. However, that time is still a while away. Dark Souls, a work that was started on a whim and only later decided to be drawn seriously, has achieved second place. The five members of the manga club are currently unaware of this.

However, at this moment, the five of them are working hard on the script.

"Hey, isn't this a bit too dark and gritty? I know you want to write a heartwarming story, but being too dark isn't good either, especially since this work is clearly in the lighthearted category."

Kiritani looked at a certain episode plot written by Kasumigaoka Utaha and couldn't help but twitch his lips. What on earth did you go through before? Were you driven crazy by the money-grabbing warriors of the new century?

"Does this kind of transition remind you of anime?"

Eriri was also stunned. She had never seen anything so outrageous. Treat your characters a little better, you bastard!

"Yes, Kasumigaoka-senpai, it would be very incongruous if it were too dark."

Asuna revised the prequel script, so she undoubtedly knows the category best. There might be a lot of darkness, but it's mostly lighthearted. The current episode's plot... well, it's a complete mess.

"do not like."

Shiina Mashiro silently shook her head. Absolutely, absolutely not, she couldn't draw this kind of story.

"Ah, I know. This episode was just drawn as a side story, and I didn't connect it to the main story."

Kasumigaoka Utaha stopped what she was doing, a gentle smile playing on her lips. This episodic drama... was just a way for her to vent her dark emotions.

How could I possibly be the kind of writer who likes dark and tragic stories!

For some reason, Kiritani felt a chill run down his spine, as if he were being watched by some formidable person.

"Ahem, we can talk about the side stories and stuff later. Right now, the main story is more important."

P.S.: Third update...

333

[NO.329 The Creator's Hard Work]

During the first week of school, which fell on a Friday during lunch break, Weekly Shonen Jump was, as usual, placed on the bookstore shelves. After finishing his bread, Aki Tomoya sneaked out of school and went to a bookstore near the school to buy a copy of Shonen Jump and bring it back to school.

Actually, given Aki Tomoya's extremely otaku nature—his absolute unwillingness to wait for the release of light novels, manga, or games—he should have gone to the bookstore to buy JUMP this morning. However, he stayed up all night rereading "Love Metronome," which caused him to wake up a little late this morning and almost be late for school... Therefore, he didn't go to buy JUMP this morning.

Speaking of which, Rouge en rouge's weekly magazine was also released today. Kurogiri Shido's adventure has reached an even higher and more dangerous level, which is really exciting...

Back at school, it was almost time for classes to start. Aki Tomoya quietly covered the cover of Shonen Jump with his textbook and began to read the manga he was still looking forward to.

Aki Tomoya is a fast reader, whether it's manga or books. However, after reading something once, he will reread it one or two more times until he fully analyzes the scene depicted in the manga and... whether there are any foreshadowing elements.

During the class period, Aki Tomoya only managed to finish reading the manga he was looking forward to. After all, the weekly magazine was quite thick and contained a large number of manga, including some that he wasn't particularly interested in. Aki Tomoya simply ignored the ones he didn't like and went to read the ones he wanted to read first...

Finally, when he turned to the last few pages of the weekly magazine, Aki Tomoya, being a well-known blogger, naturally knew that the results of the Shueisha Grand Prix were out and published in the weekly magazine, so he wasn't too surprised when he turned to the page that published the information about the JUMP Grand Prix.

First, I saw "My Hero Academia," and the creator's section listed a pen name that Aki Tomoya was somewhat familiar with.

The following is an introduction to this work, which Aki Tomoya read very carefully before turning to the next page.

The second-place entry, "Dark Souls," has "Kaguya Houraisan" listed as the creator.

"…Newcomer?"

Slightly surprised, Aki Tomoya had read the works of the winning creator before. Considering the artist's drawing skills and storytelling ability, participating in such a grand prize was indeed a bit of a steal. However, resources are very important for any manga artist, so Aki Tomoya didn't care too much.

But the second one is different. Aki Tomoya has been active on Twitter and Weibo for so many years, and I have never seen this pen name before, which confirms that it is a completely new one... uh, something seems a little off?

Closing the weekly magazine, Aki Tomoya forced a smile, turned his head to his left, and looked at the boy sitting in the second-to-last row by the window, with a long ponytail and a face even cuter than a girl's...

It's not uncommon for creators to be Touhou fans, and it's also quite common for them to choose a character's name as their pen name, at least among Aki Tomoya's circle... let's just say "circle".

The boy named Kiritani Kazuto and the girl named Yuuki Asuna, the former using the pen name Fujiwara Echizen and the latter using the pen name Kamishirasawa Hibiki—they were not only a couple, but also girlfriends.

Among those who use the names of Eastern figures as pen names, Aki Tomoya knows that only these two are relatively well-known, and now another one, Houraisan Kaguya, has appeared... Could it be that she couldn't stand the Bamboo Forest Group, so she created the Moon Princess to forcibly form an immortal group?

Although all of the above is nonsense, Aki Tomoya inexplicably feels that Houraisan Kaguya is related to Kirito.

Should we go and ask?

Well, based on past observations, Fujiwara-sensei doesn't refuse when classmates strike up conversations, but if she talks too much, it will annoy the other person...

—This is experience gained by Aki Tomoya through numerous practices, with examples mostly related to the discussion of his works.

And now, it seems that because of Fujiwara-sensei, Kasumi-shita-sensei has inexplicably started to dislike talkative people...

Ah! I'll just be patient for now, ask my questions and then leave... no, I'll ask my questions, thank you, and then leave. I won't say anything more!

Aki Tomoya made this decision in his heart.

Then, he stood up with a JUMP in his hand and strode towards a certain erotic illustrator and manga artist.

However, the person currently talking to this erotic illustrator and manga artist is a girl... uh, a female classmate? I have absolutely no recollection of her!

Perhaps this is a bit impolite, but if we don't hurry, class will start soon!

Hesitantly, Aki Tomoya spoke with a slightly hurried tone, "Fujiwara-sensei!"

With a strange expression, Kato Megumi looked at Kiritani-kun, who looked bored and seemed ready to fall asleep at any moment. "Hmm, Kazuto-kun, who are you calling?"

"Huh? There aren't any teachers here with the surname Fujiwara..."