章 8: [8] Visit
Nightfall —
Kazumi lay on her bed in her room, gazing at the ceiling, lost in thought.
Onii-chan had changed.
She didn't know when it started, but he had become gentle.
Was it because of his new job?
Before, he used to search everywhere for work, taking odd jobs. He had no time or energy to take care of himself. However, ever since he became a "mangaka," he changed. Apart from the time she knew he spent drawing manga, she hardly saw him working anymore.
Whenever she was at home, he wouldn't work.
For example, this time, he even pushed back something that seemed like it was from his boss because he wanted to go out with her on Sunday...
She couldn't help but imagine the teacher's expression when he skipped school to play because she wanted to. It was frightening.
Yes, when Kazuya went upstairs to answer the phone just now, she quietly followed him, and when he was about to hang up, she quietly went back downstairs. That's why she was so flustered when he asked her questions, and she quickly ate a few bites of rice, almost choking.
But even so, Onii-chan had still achieved success.
She had even overheard her classmates discussing Onii-chan and his manga in class.
In that "Shonen JUMP" magazine.
They had asked her if she was related to that mangaka.
After all, Kurokawa Kazuya and Kurokawa Kazumi had very similar names...
In the end, it was all because Onii-chan, that idiot, had used his real name. He could have used a pen name, but he chose not to...
But... it felt good.
All these changes were because Onii-chan had become a mangaka. So, she had a dream too; she wanted to become a mangaka just like Onii-chan. It must be wonderful.
...
"Is this the place?" The chief editor looked at the house in front of him and asked.
"Yes," Iwamoto Yu nodded. "I'll go ring the doorbell."
"Okay."
The chief editor nodded. Although what Iwamoto Yu said seemed unbelievable, like drawing up to the third part, even though the length was the same as the first part and it had been serialized continuously for over two years. If it were longer...
It was almost unimaginable.
But— if this were true, the benefits were evident.
Once they confirmed the stability of the manga, they could decide whether to cut it off after it fell into a low period. If the later plot turned out to be interesting, they would know it was a pity to cut it off at this time and could wait and see.
If the later plot continued to be terrible, they would not hesitate to cut it off.
Moreover, this would make it easier to allocate front-cover color pages.
For veteran mangaka who already had a significant reputation, they might not need much promotion. But for new mangaka, front-cover color pages in "Shonen JUMC" were an important promotional opportunity!
So, it was common for mangaka to speed up or slow down their plot development when they found out they were getting a front-cover color page. This way, their front-cover color page would coincide with a small or major climax!
However, knowing the plot development in advance changed everything. They could reserve front-cover color pages well in advance, using them when the manga reached a significant climax.
This allowed for more efficient planning.
Of course, for almost all mangaka, this was an impossible feat.
In fact, they didn't even have a week's worth of backlog. Originally, they didn't need the word "almost." But... because of the person they were about to visit, they had to add "almost." If what Iwamoto Yu said was true, then he was a person who defied common sense.
The chief editor had great expectations.
Because he couldn't figure out what benefit Iwamoto Yu would gain from lying, and... even on the way here, although he thought he had hidden it well, the chief editor could tell from his expression what he was thinking deep down.
"Let's wait, and you'll be surprised." The chief editor was almost certain that Iwamoto Yu must be thinking this—
So, he could almost conclude that this was true.
But, almost, because for him, a person who had seen countless mangaka, it was still too bizarre.
It was like a modern person going back to ancient times and telling people from that era that the world was round. While it was true, in that era, almost no one would accept it without being surprised.
"Yoshikawa-san—" Iwamoto Yu stood in front of the half-open door and called out.
The chief editor looked over and saw the young man standing behind the door, revealing half of his body. 'He must be Kurokawa Kazuya...'
The chief editor thought so and walked slowly towards him.
"Hello, nice to meet you. You must be Kurokawa-sensei," The chief editor extended his hand.
"Yes," Kazuya nodded and shook hands. "Nice to meet you, Chief editor."
"No, no need to be so formal. I'm Yoshikawa Daishi. You can call me Yoshikawa or Daishi, whatever you prefer."
"Okay."
Kazuya nodded. "Then, Yoshikawa-san, nice to meet you."
"Shall we stand here?"
"No, my apologies." Kazuya stepped aside and said, "Please come in. Let's discuss things in detail."
Yoshikawa Daishi nodded and smiled. "We came here mainly because of your manga."
"I see."
Kazuya nodded.
"I heard that your manga has reached the point where it could be serialized for several years." Yoshikawa Daishi didn't mention anything about ending it. Every mangaka was full of confidence in their work. If possible, he didn't want to say anything that would dent their confidence.
For a mangaka, self-confidence was crucial.
Believing that their manga was better than others was essential.
So—
Before coming here, he had already made a judgment. If what Iwamoto Yu said was true, and if this "JoJo's Bizarre Adventure" sequel was really that exciting, then he would show some favoritism towards Kazuya Kurokawa and his manga.
As long as it didn't rank below fifteenth place for several consecutive issues and reach the point of mandatory cancellation, he would make an effort.
Of course, the manga had already reached a length that could be serialized for several years, and it had to be genuinely exciting!
"That's right." Kazuya nodded.
"In that case, may I have a look?" Yoshikawa Daishi asked, revealing his main reason for this visit.
"Of course, you can. Come, let's go upstairs."
Kazuya pointed upstairs.
---
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