manga artist Kirito

Hey, what color would appear if the rain were replaced by snow?

160

【NO.158 Satisfactory】

"Hmm, I'm very satisfied with the illustration, thank you teacher."

With a mix of emotions, including a sense of satisfaction, Kasumigaoka Utaha hadn't expected Kirito to reach this level; it completely exceeded her expectations. But without a doubt, Kasumigaoka Utaha really liked these illustrations.

In light novels, there are many scenes that cannot be described in words, and the existence of illustrations is largely for this reason. The emotions that Kasumigaoka Utaha poured into her words were realistically depicted by the illustrator Kirito.

"It's my duty, and it's not really a hassle, since it's my best art style. If I weren't in such a rush, I could have drawn it even better. Unfortunately, the deadline is approaching, and I don't have any extra time to improve it."

Kirito calmly sipped his coffee. Although hearing praise from others was undoubtedly pleasing, after years in the industry, if he couldn't even do his best job—illustrating light novels—it would be utterly embarrassing, and he would lose all face.

"It's a bit of a shame that the teacher didn't do her best, but compared to top-tier illustrators, this level is still beyond her reach." After giving Kirito a slight compliment, Kasumigaoka Utaha breathed a sigh of relief, "Once I finish writing the rest of the manuscript, I should go find Machida."

"Hmm, if possible... could I invite you to continue being my illustrator?"

With a hint of anticipation, Kasumigaoka Utaha looked at Kirito and said very sincerely.

It's important to know that Kirito was only invited by editor Machida to temporarily replace Kasumigaoka Utaha as the previous illustrator, and it was only a verbal agreement; no contract was even signed.

In other words, Kirito is only responsible for the illustrations of this volume, and the rest will be done by the same illustrator as before.

But do you think gentlemen who are used to seeing uncensored content will still be very interested in uncensored content?

I feel nothing at all; I'd rather read a book.

The illustrations displayed here are at least a level above those drawn by the previous artist. With such a good illustrator, why not cherish what you have now and instead look back at the one who lacks skill?

"Speaking of illustrations... Kirito, how much do you get paid for these illustrations?" Eriri chimed in, asking with a hint of curiosity.

"Uh, this..." Kirito was a little confused when it came to the compensation. He didn't think they had discussed this before. He remembered that Editor Machida said the compensation would definitely satisfy him, and since Kasumigaoka Utaha was his classmate, he hadn't paid too much attention to it at the time. But now that he thought about it... Hey, when did I become so stupid?

Looking up at Kasumigaoka Utaha, Kirito silently gazed into the beautiful girl's wine-red eyes—Hey! You guys won't mess with me, right!

"I don't know about that either. If you want to know, you'll have to ask Machida. She's always been in charge of that. I'm only responsible for the creation and negotiating with the illustrator. I don't need to get involved in anything else." With an amused expression, Kasumigaoka Utaha really didn't expect that someone as shrewd as Kirito would be so clueless, not even caring about the most important thing: the reward.

"Tsk, you really are... you started doing things without even asking about the payment, aren't you worried?" Eriri sneered, her arms crossed over her thin chest. If the payment didn't meet her expectations, she'd be laughing her to death.

"Well, it's just illustrations after all." Kirito wasn't worried at all. After all, the person negotiating with him was Editor Machida, and besides, she knew Kousaka well. Plus, a few illustrations wouldn't cost much; Machida wouldn't try to rip them off for such a small amount...

Offending a well-known artist in the industry for such a trivial matter... it's not worth it!

If Kirito hadn't received the salary card from Kousaka before, he might have cared a bit about the money, but now... would the illustration fees even amount to a fraction of what's in the card?

Furthermore, would a talented illustrator be worried about not receiving the expected compensation from collaborators?

Kasumigaoka Utaha extended the invitation again, "So, could you please be my illustrator?"

"Sure, a few illustrations won't take much time anyway, so let's just treat it as a relaxing activity in our spare time." Kirito readily agreed.

The time interval between each volume of a light novel is very long. Unlike manga, which is published weekly, bi-weekly, or even monthly, it is quite unusual for a light novel volume to be released within two months.

Therefore, even if Kirito agrees to be Kasumigaoka Utaha's illustrator, he definitely won't be able to spend much time on illustrations.

Of course, it might seem bad to others that he can't focus solely on the manga and has to prepare for other things, but Kirito not only doesn't think it's a problem, in fact... yes, Kirito even plans to work on two projects at once.

However, although he had this idea, Kirito did not have any plans to implement it for the time being, because Sword Art Online had just begun to be officially published. In any case, he had to focus on this, and he would wait until the summer vacation to think about the other work.

Anyway, there's plenty of time during summer vacation, so if there's nothing else to do, I can just stay at home and slowly draw.

"Hey, are you sure you want to get distracted by drawing illustrations?" Eriri was a little annoyed. It was really unpleasant to have your opponent get cut off halfway through, and then only be able to perform at half the level you were facing when they went all out! I've already put so much effort into this!

Can't you just let me win against you when you're going all out?!

"Don't forget, you're still my opponent. If you lose because of something like this, I won't just laugh at you."

"Don't worry, I've already prepared the artwork needed for the CM exhibition. You just need to wash your butt and wait for me to step on it." With a relaxed expression, Kirito looked at Eriri, who was so unhappy that her fangs were showing, with confidence. "Judging from your habits, you probably haven't finished many artworks yet. If you don't work harder, you'll be stuck at home in pain while everyone else is out having fun, rushing to finish your artwork."

Sorry, I forgot you didn't...

"What a joke! I'm definitely the top seller at this exhibition. You just wait and see!" Pretending not to hear Kirito's words, Eriri raised her chin arrogantly, trying her best to look disdainful.

Sigh, the artwork... looks like it's time to speed things up!

We must never let things be rushed out at the last minute like in the past.

Glancing at Eriri who had interrupted, Kasumigaoka Utaha smiled and said, "Then, let's work hard together, teacher!"

And so, the manga club's chaotic daily routine began once again!

161

[NO.159 Technical Department, what a disgrace!]

【NO.159】

The naming of the short comic was put on hold again because Hiratsuka Shizuka, Kirito's editor, had approached him. Although, given Hiratsuka Shizuka's hidden rich girl status, the part-time job as an editor was actually dispensable, the reason she took on this job was either because of her old classmate's expectations or because... this artist was her student, and a troublesome one at that.

That's really interesting!

Today is the official launch of the manga, and there's not much time left before its release. If it weren't for the exam today, Hiratsuka Shizuka would probably have dragged Kirito to find Kousaka Akane much earlier.

Yes, although Hiratsuka Shizuka was only the editor in charge, she was still very concerned about whether the popularity of this work could meet expectations. However, considering the story and the picture quality, it shouldn't be too bad.

"What's the rush? It takes a long time to get from Chiba to Chiyoda Ward in Tokyo. Even if there's a direct train line to the Sobu Line, the magazine will have already been released by the time we get there. I'm just going to take a quick look at the data and upgrade the engine for Kousaka while I'm at it." Unlike Hiratsuka Shizuka's eagerness, Kirito, who had been quite looking forward to this time just a couple of days ago, now seemed listless. Perhaps it was because he hadn't been in good spirits lately, and even looking forward to it was hard for him to muster any enthusiasm.

"How about giving us a little expectation? This is your first normal work, after all! Today is the day you finally see the rewards of your hard work!" The female editor couldn't help but facepalm. Even if you don't care about sales figures, you should at least confidently say that it won't be bad, okay? This laziness and lack of expectation... your work is crying, kid!

"Hmm, if you put it that way, I'm starting to look forward to it." Kirito perked up slightly, showing a hint of enthusiasm. "Well then, without further ado, let's go now..."

That way I can sleep in the car.

"Come with me." Speechless at Kirito's state, Hiratsuka Shizuka shook her head slightly, then walked out of the manga club room and headed towards the school parking lot, with Kirito following closely behind, carrying a can of unfinished coffee.

But before they had gone far, they saw Asuna and Shiina Mashiro approaching.

"Ah, Asuna, Mashiro... I'm going to Chiyoda now, so don't bother making me dinner tonight..."

"Oh, you're going to Chiyoda too? I was just about to go with Mashiro to Chiyoda as well." Asuna showed a slight look of surprise, but it quickly disappeared, and she revealed her usual smile. "I heard that the editor Mashiro knows is also in Chiyoda... Originally, she was planning to come herself, but she happened to have something to do today, so she asked me to take Mashiro with her."

"Submit the article!" Shiina Mashiro nodded vigorously, a hint of joy emanating from her usually expressionless face.

After waiting for so long, the time to submit my work has finally come. I'm a little happy... which is completely understandable.

"Oh! You're starting here too." Hiratsuka Shizuka raised an eyebrow. As a teacher, Shizuka knew Shiina Mashiro very well. Even though she wasn't Shiina Mashiro's teacher, Shizuka still had the position of advisor for the manga club.

Therefore, I wasn't surprised to learn that Shiina Mashiro was going to submit an article to a magazine... no, rather, Shiina Mashiro's submission was entirely expected, but I didn't expect it to happen at this time.

Emmmmm......

I'm a little curious, when will Eriri, the remaining artist in the manga club, make her way into the industry?

Ah, speaking of which, there don't seem to be many magazine publishers in Chiyoda...

"Well, this child has worked so hard for so long, it's time to see if it's worth it." Asuna gently ruffled Shiina Mashiro's hair, then smiled and said, "Since we're all going to Chiyoda anyway, why don't we go together? I just called the butler, and I reckon we'll be at school in about five minutes..."

“No need for that trouble, I have a car.” The older single woman, who was actually a hidden rich girl, waved the car keys in her hand. “Since we’re both going to Chiyoda, why don’t you ride in my car? Maybe… well, it really might be true.”

Finally, Ms. Xiaojing smiled for no apparent reason.

However, the last part is infuriating; people who only tell half the story are the most annoying.

Of course, Asuna didn't say much, but just nodded thoughtfully.

Meanwhile, Shiina Mashiro tilted her head and looked at Kirito, seemingly trying to see if she could read something from his face—a skill even more powerful than secretly observing—staring!

"Let's go." Kirito rubbed his eyes, drank the remaining half bottle of coffee, casually threw the empty can into the trash can next to him, then took Asuna's hand and followed the female teacher.

Slightly helpless, Asuna didn't refuse. She took Shiina Mashiro's hand and followed, walking side by side with Kirito.

...At this moment, the students passing by all looked somewhat pained.

…………

Actually, if Hiratsuka were to quiet down and not talk or move around, she would be very much like her nickname – Quiet and Cute!

Seriously, when Hiratsuka Shizuka is quiet, she has a charm that is different from her usual self, but normally... just seeing her makes me wide awake.

If possible, I really hope that Jingkeai will remain in a state of tranquility for the rest of her life and never wake up.

Sigh, this might seem a bit malicious, but you need to look at it from a different angle. As for which angle is better, I believe you know better than I do.

Jing has few hobbies, but most of them don't quite fit the identity of an educator.

He enjoys martial arts, often using them on Kirito and Hachiman. He also likes reading action manga and driving around... and he drives quite fast.

In addition, the vehicle has excellent features and can reach higher speeds.

Although Kiritani-kun uses Fujiwara as his surname in his pen name, he actually has absolutely no connection to the Ultimate Racer Fujiwara Takumi from the neighboring Gunma Prefecture. Furthermore, Kiritani-kun has absolutely no interest in racing; in fact, he somewhat dislikes it...

"So, Ms. Shizuka, could you ease off the accelerator a little and slow down a bit?" He said he would sleep when he got in the car, but now Kirito-kun is not only not sleepy at all, but he's also incredibly energetic.

"Don't worry, I've been driving for so many years, this speed is nothing." With an unlit cigarette dangling from her mouth, Jing Ke'ai calmly glanced at the rearview mirror. "Can't you see? Shiina is still focused on drawing right now, what are you afraid of!"

P.S.: The tech department at Bookke is... embarrassing.

162

[NO.160 Industry (Bonus Chapter)]

Although the magazine company founded by Rouge en rouge has a high reputation in the industry, it is still far behind the top three weekly shonen manga magazines, Weekly Shonen Jump, Weekly Shonen Magazine, and Weekly Shonen Sunday. However, there is no doubt that the magazine company founded by Akane Kousaka has great potential.

Of course, if you want to compete with the three major magazine companies that have been established since the days when there were so many god-like figures, Rouge en rouge should just give up. After all, decades of experience are not comparable to Rouge en rouge, which was only established a few years ago. It is already quite remarkable that Rouge en rouge has stood out from many magazine companies and reached this stage.

Moreover, there are still many people who have survived from that era, and any one or two of them could support a magazine company. However, Rouge en rouge currently doesn't have many influential figures in the industry, and even fewer have gained significant fame. Whether in the manga magazine or light novel field, it is actually supported by Akane Kousaka alone.

So, I really don't know how Akane Kosaka still has time to do things with such a heavy workload—to be honest, sometimes I really worry that she might not be able to draw manga, or that she might suddenly die while writing manuscripts.

Of course, although Rouge en rouge is said to be supported by Akane Kosaka alone, it also has many promising talents, which are all talents that Akane Kosaka has slowly discovered from the public – she has a very clear understanding of the principle that there are hidden talents among the people.

Of course, it's inevitable that some talented people who believe they have the ability will be arrogant. After all, if I have this potential, why should I work for your small magazine? Wouldn't the three major weekly teen magazines be more suitable for me?

Having dreams is a good thing, but unfortunately, they're unrealistic.

In 1926, Shogakukan, Japan's second-largest publishing group, spun off its entertainment magazine division into a subsidiary, Shueisha, which became the origin of the manga magazine Jump. Since its founding in 1968, Jump has achieved numerous incredible successes. With an average weekly circulation of 324 million copies, it has dominated the entire manga industry, and in 1995, it achieved a record-breaking circulation of 653 million copies in a single issue. Compared to Japan's total population, this means that roughly one in twelve people owns a Jump magazine. It has serialized numerous manga series, including Dragon Ball, One Piece, Naruto, Bleach, Yu-Gi-Oh!, and Slam Dunk, consistently leading the trend in Japanese manga and influencing the reading tastes of young people in Japan to a certain extent.

The legendary figures from Shueisha, such as Yoshihiro Togashi, Takeshi Konomi, Eiichiro Oda, Masashi Kishimoto, Hiroyuki Takei, Ryu Fujisaki, Hirohiko Araki, Nobuhiro Watsuki, Ai Yazawa, Yoko Kamio, Arina Tanemura, Kazuki Takahashi, Shinya Suzuki, Tite Kubo, Osamu Akimoto, Akira Toriyama, Yoichi Takahashi, Morita, Yasuhiro, Miho Kohana, Masakazu Katsura, Masami Kurumada… these can be said to be figures who created an era.

Compared to the past when even geniuses had to work hard to get ahead, nowadays, so-called talented people would probably not even make a splash if thrown in.

Of course, perhaps due to the arrival of the information age, the sales of various anime magazines have declined. Among them, the circulation of Weekly Shonen Jump has fallen below 200 million, which is the first time that Shonen Jump's sales have fallen below 200 million since it topped the charts.

Even so, Shonen Jump is still incomparable to other magazines. And although the newcomers are all monsters now, how many can reach the level of the past masters?

So, having a long-term vision isn't necessarily very useful. Even a starved camel is bigger than a horse. Even if you're talented, if you want to join one of the three major comic book magazines, without sufficient qualifications and strength, you still have to start from the bottom.

Moreover, not many manga artists will readily offer you guidance, and while Akane Kousaka may not be on par with those masters, she at least wholeheartedly mentors every talent she discovers—because this is the career she aspires to.

She desires not only the achievements she has made, but also a better path that is more suitable for the younger generation to move forward.

…………

Chiyoda

Because it was exam week and there were no classes in the afternoon, most students went home after the exams, except for those who were kept behind by the teachers or those who insisted on club activities. After all, it wasn't a holiday yet, so they wanted to play as much as possible before continuing to attend classes.

Naturally, the number of people on the streets has increased significantly. Hiratsuka Shizuka, who drove from Chiba to Chiyoda, also felt a bit of a sore spot. The surge in both pedestrian and vehicular traffic made driving difficult for her.

Well, Hiratsuka Shizuka drives quite steadily on the streets, except when there are few people around or on the highway, when she speeds up to the point where Kirito becomes Steve.

The journey from Chiba to Chiyoda must have taken quite a while, and it's already a bit too late to check on the magazine's release status.

Of course, this only applies to Hiratsuka Shizuka. Kirito, on the other hand, is not worried at all. After all, one must have confidence, and with the trust placed in Kousaka Akane, what else could he be worried about?

Furthermore, while the beginning of "Sword Art Online" can be described as mediocre, it is naturally lacking compared to works that show potential for godhood from the start. However, Kirito does manage to attract readers' attention in the first two chapters.

Similar to the "golden three chapters" (or so it's called in online novels), the early stages of a work are naturally very important because they showcase whether the work has the potential to be published. If there isn't enough potential, the work might be canceled.

This also illustrates that drawing a lot is not necessarily useful. First, you have to make sure that your work has the potential to be recognized by magazine editors, and only then will it come to your drawing speed.

However, compared to most weekly manga artists who can only produce around 24 pages of manuscript each week despite exhausting their efforts, an artist like Kirito who can produce hundreds of pages of manuscript in a week... well, even if he fails and has to start over, he can still produce a large number of manuscripts in a short time.

To be honest, if it were still the era when genius manga artists emerged one after another, Kirito might not be as lazy as he is now. After all, pressure can be a great motivator. And among the younger generation in the industry, there seems to be no manga artist that Kirito can take as a role model, or that takes Kirito as a role model.

Perhaps, the only way to get Kirito to truly dedicate himself to being a manga artist is through external pressure. Only then will he be able to focus his attention back on the path of manga.

P.S.: I got a headache from researching so much.

163

[NO.161 Castle in the Sky (Bonus Chapter)]

Rouge en rouge company, Chiyoda branch

This location is in a bustling part of the city. No matter what you choose to do here, the huge flow of people will showcase this prime location. Rouge en rouge is a branch of a magazine company, which was also established by Akane Kousaka. Kirito also contributed to the selection of the location... well, finding a place.