manga artist Kirito

Perhaps you all don't understand, but the fact that the female lead was chosen too early makes the subsequent plot seem a bit too bland. There's not much to write about besides the romantic moments—of course, I never expected there would be so many people who enjoy watching romantic moments.

Asuna was quite pleased with Kiritani's self-awareness, and a slight smile appeared on her lips. She then looked at Ayano Iida and said, "We were talking about the artwork earlier... Mashiro's shortcomings in terms of story are really quite significant, but that's because she didn't interact with many people much in the past. However, compared to before, she has made significant progress now..."

“Well, I can see that.” Ayano Iida nodded slightly. Just as Asuna said, Mashiro Shiina’s growth was very obvious, whether it was the emotional descriptions she poured into her manuscripts or her actions just now.

This was an action and expression that Shiina Mashiro would never have made before—but Ayano Iida originally wanted to give Shiina Mashiro some useful advice, such as experiencing reality firsthand, and in terms of emotions, the easiest thing to understand is undoubtedly socializing with people.

However, Shiina Mashiro has already done this, and Iida Ayano wants to give advice, such as going to date or something... But, in the current situation, it seems that saying it wouldn't do any good, right?

"There are no major issues with the manuscript. I will include it in the newcomer award competition. As for its ranking and potential, we'll have to wait until our next editorial meeting."

"These things depend on how much anticipation the work can generate." Asuna smiled gently. For example, she had participated in the grand prize, the easiest way to gain popularity, when she first started writing novels. However, most of her entries at that time were only so-so... Yes, Asuna easily won first place.

"Mashiro, what you need to do next is to draw your manga even better, and all we need to do is wait and look forward to it!"

…………

"Tsk tsk tsk, what an adorable scene!"

Smiling as she watched Kirito act cute on the computer screen, Akane Kousaka pushed up her glasses. "I knew something interesting was going to happen. Giving Haruno that miniature camera was definitely the right decision!"

"Okay, let's save it first!"

172

[NO.170 Non-existent Operation (Bonus Chapter)]

Log in to his personal Twitter account, and the familiar page appears. Although Kirito doesn't really care, he still checks it occasionally. After all, there are too many troublemakers, and if you don't go on Twitter for too long, who knows what kind of bizarre posts will appear?

Furthermore, Kirito has completely lost trust in Akane Kousaka, the Twitter administrator, and has even suspected more than once that she is the one who posted many of the provocative posts on Twitter.

Of course, Kirito did try to track IP addresses, but those people who stirred up trouble were actually using alternate accounts, which they would discard after one use... It was infuriating!

After quickly browsing through the latest and most viewed posts, Kirito immediately spotted a familiar name: [TAKI]...

"Oh my, isn't this the guy who heavily promoted 'Love Metronome' when it was almost canceled, and ultimately saved the day by making its sales skyrocket... Hmm, this guy who can write at least 300,000 words of commentary after reading just one volume is actually posting here..."

[Regarding Fujiwara-sensei's new work—Sword Art Online!]

Below is a lengthy text of tens of thousands of words. Kirito was naturally too lazy to read it all. After all, Kirito could generally guess what the post-viewing comments would be: either criticism or praise. This blogger never criticized any work, even if the work itself had major problems. This blogger mostly just offered suggestions. Incidentally, this guy could see many things in the story that readers couldn't see, and even storylines that the creator hadn't thought of.

To some extent, this kind of reader is quite good, both for other readers and creators. Because of this kind of person's analysis of the story, those readers who obviously don't read with their brains can easily understand the development and direction of the story that they didn't understand before.

However, if we look at it from another angle, too much analysis will only lead to spoilers—since I already know the general content of the story, why should I waste money to read the book?

Of course, if you look at it from another angle, this kind of guy is just overthinking things, and excessive analysis can even make creators want to tear up their drafts—you've pointed out the direction, but I'm still writing the story this way, am I stupid?

Actually, these kinds of people are just like you readers who think you know the next chapter will be similar after reading the previous one. But you would never know that many authors like to play with unexpected plot twists.

Kiritani-kun wasn't particularly interested in what this well-known blogger wrote, but he was a little surprised that this blogger, who supposedly cried at least ten times after reading the first two volumes of "Love Metronome" and was known for his tear duct breakdown, would actually read "Sword Art Online," which might cause him to have tear duct necrosis...

Uh, by the way, it's said that this blogger is a man—a man!

I don't know how many times I cried while reading the book...

How sentimental must one be...?

Be a little stronger, you know!

...Although Kirito was prepared to skip the post content and go straight to the comments, the first thing he saw after clicking on the post was—Did the players who died in the game really die? Or was it just empty talk from the game designers to pressure the players?

"Tsk, this question... I think Kosaka asked me the same question before, when I had only written half of the script and hadn't even fully written out the setting... We've already aired five episodes, can't you see that the death game is the biggest highlight of this game?"

The following section briefly discusses the story's content and speculates on the protagonist, Shido Kurogiri's, behavior... As always, it's definitely in the [TAKI] style, but it's really boring...

Upon scrolling through the comments section, Kirito's brow furrowed, and he pursed his lips. "I finished my new erotic work a long time ago, okay? I can postpone it or not, I really don't know what you guys are worried about..."

Bamboo Forest Team's Big Victory: Although we'd seen the Sword Art Online promotions a while back, we never expected Fujiwara Lori to put aside her new ecchi work to draw a manga first...

Ruri Shrine: It seems they intend to hand over the erotic business to your Takebayashi-gumi...

Bamboo Forest Team: I think you're trying to make me laugh to death so you can inherit my ASS... Don't you know Fujiwara Lori is a prolific sow? (laughs)

I am a tough guy, what brings you here? (Verb: You might not believe it, but the setting of Sword Art Online is very interesting, especially since the male protagonist is created based on Fujiwara no Loli's original body - yes, that's right, a crossdressing protagonist!)

Hong: Well, I've never really understood what "going to sea" and "going ashore" mean. You guys said Fujiwara Loli went ashore—I feel like she just climbed onto a small island. Otherwise, why do you think she would use herself as the model for the protagonist? It's all so that your Bamboo Forest Group can create more of her doujinshi!

Eri Kashiwagi: The person upstairs makes a good point!

Red: I choose you, you erotic loli Kashiwagi Eri!

Kasumi Shiko: Fujiwara-sensei is still in the sea; this time she's just come up to the shore for air, she'll be diving back down soon... By the way, looking forward to related works by Fujiwara-sensei (alluding to erotic content)...

I'm from the Undying Group: I'm more curious about how Kamishirasawa-sensei, who's paired with Fujiwara no Lori, is feeling right now, if he sees these comments...

…………

"...I have a damn thing to say!"

Looking at the series of comments, Kirito's expression grew increasingly grim. Although the post was written by [TAKI] and consisted of tens of thousands of words, the comments had absolutely nothing to do with the post. If that were all, Kirito wouldn't be so angry. He just didn't understand why Eriri and Kasumigaoka Utaha would also join in the fun, especially what Kasumigaoka Utaha said...

Not to mention Fujiwara Loli would want to hit someone if she heard that, she might even have the idea of ​​slapping her!

Even worse is the last one, which seems somewhat inexplicable...

However, the female lead of the anime/manga series *Sword Art Online* is Asuna...

Forget it, there's no point in thinking about this now. I'd rather think about how to deal with Eriri and Kasumigaoka Utaha when I get back...

After calming himself down, Kirito continued browsing other posts, most of which were reviews of the Sword Art Online series, some good, some bad... and a large portion of them were comments urging for more updates, but which were ultimately pointless...

Honestly, a weekly magazine is a weekly magazine. It's so much better than those writers and illustrators whose content release schedules are irregular and who are constantly being chased by editors for their work.

"There aren't many trolls... and they even want to show off their face-rolling keyboard skills..."

P.S.: Please feed them, yes, you need to pat them!

173

[NO.171 An Indispensable Presence]

Thinking about the recent situation, Kirito casually jotted down some random thoughts—

Ah, thinking about it lately, life has really been a nightmare. My editor, with his explosive fighting skills, blocking the door is nothing to him. I'm the kind of person who could kill a bull with one punch... Also, the new work for the summer commercial was completed two weeks ago, so just keep looking forward to it~

After posting this message, Kirito closed his personal Twitter account and went to Rouge en rouge's official Twitter account. While everything was calm on his personal Twitter, it was a different story on the official account. Many of Rouge en rouge's old rivals resurfaced, and even some of the struggling manga artists that Kirito had personally targeted appeared...

No matter what a person wants to do or what they have already done, they will inevitably offend some people. Kirito and Akane Kousaka made quite a stir in the past, especially in poaching people. This is the easiest way to offend people, and most of their opponents have remembered the ID Fujiwara Echizen.

Furthermore, now that some people have landed ashore, they occupy at least a third of the magazine's space and the best positions, the best publicity resources. There are bound to be many people who can't stand it—even if this matter has absolutely nothing to do with them, they will still write a lot of posts about it.

As for the flaws of his old rivals, there's no need to mention them. These were foreseeable from the beginning, and Kirito didn't care about them at all. The reason he had time to browse Twitter was simply to see the readers' reactions to the work—whether they were nitpicking, engaging in mindless criticism, or just mindless mockery, Kirito could basically just ignore them. Anyway, there would be someone else to handle that.

But then again, it seems that when Akane Kosaka first established Rouge en rouge, she was criticized even more harshly, and her subsequent actions were looked down upon by most of her peers... However, no one expected that the woman they looked down upon back then would now build Rouge en rouge into a top-notch club...

Suddenly I feel like the existence of trolls... is like the reason why Rouge en rouge is considered a jinx. Is it because of them that Rouge en rouge is so popular?

I'm so curious...

However, things from many years ago are now very difficult to find, even if Kirito wanted to reread those old jinxed comments.

Of course, asking Yui for help wouldn't take long, but it's unnecessary...

…………

"Speaking of which, is this how it is in the industry?" The upright Xiao Jingjing looked at the posts on Twitter with a very subtle expression. "Although I haven't paid much attention to it before, it seems that the allocation of author resources within a magazine is completely unrelated to other magazines... right?"

Both Kirito's personal Twitter and the official Twitter account are managed by Akane Kousaka. Akane is calmly writing her drafts, while Shizuka is browsing posts on both Twitter accounts using Akane's office computer.

“That’s normal. There will always be plenty of keyboard warriors, even if they have no vested interest in it. They’ll just stand up if they can’t stand something… In short, they’re just bored and meddling in other people’s business.” Akane Kosaka was already used to this so-called online war and said without looking up. “These things don’t really need to be taken too seriously, and there’s no need to delete anything. Just use the achievements of your work to slap them in the face.”

"Besides, Sword Art Online is a work that deserves my allocation of resources like this... Oh right, Xiaojing, you should pay a little more attention to people's movements from now on."

"...Huh?" Hiratsuka Shizuka looked away from the screen and stared blankly at Kosaka Akane, blinking in surprise. "What's wrong?"

“His attention isn’t on this work at all. Knowing him as I do, if he were fully committed to creating a single work, he would definitely only show me the drafts when he’s about a third of the way through.” Akane Kosaka stopped writing and narrowed her eyes slightly. “But right now, he doesn’t even have fifteen chapters in his drafts…”

"Wait a minute, is it okay to draw so many drafts before having them reviewed by the editor?" Hiratsuka Shizuka felt this was completely abnormal. "Shouldn't we first have them reviewed by the editor and only start saving drafts after confirming they're approved? What you're saying..."

“Kazuto is different from ordinary creators. He has a unique talent in screenwriting. Every screenplay he writes is of high quality, so he has never worried about whether it will pass the editor’s review…” With a mix of pride and helplessness, Akane Kosaka rubbed her forehead. “Kazuto might be secretly working on another project next. Keep an eye on things for him.”

"Stop him, let him focus entirely on creating Sword Art Online!?" Hiratsuka Shizuka laughed heartily, clenching her fist as she did so. "I'm an expert in this area, leaving it to me is no problem at all..."

Akane Kosaka smiled faintly and asked in return, "Why should I stop you?"

"Eh, what do you want me to do...?" Hiratsuka Shizuka looked completely bewildered; it wasn't like that at all.

"Don't try to stop a creator who wants to create, because this is when they are most motivated and passionate!" Akane Kosaka shook her head slightly. In the end, Shizuka was still new to this industry and didn't know enough about many aspects.

If I hadn't been so busy at the time, I would have done it myself...

"What I mean is, when people are creating their works behind our backs, the living might also be submitting their work to other magazines without our knowledge... I'm not entirely sure, but if you, Xiaojing, notice any signs of this, it's best to intercept them."

Akane Kosaka sighed, "Every work by Kazuto is absolutely excellent, and what Rouge en rouge is lacking now is more and better works. Unfortunately, these kids are still too inexperienced, and their control over the script and plot is completely inferior to Kazuto's."

"Whether Rouge en rouge wants to go further or wants to improve the environment, it absolutely cannot do without people."

—Because this is a club that he and I built, and his presence is absolutely indispensable!

“…Okay, I understand!” Hiratsuka Shizuka nodded. Although she didn’t quite understand, she figured it would be fine as long as she did as Akane said!

"However... we can't push him too hard. After all, he's a human being, not just an ordinary creator. We need to loosen up when necessary, otherwise it will only backfire." Akane Kousaka knew Kirito better than anyone else, and no one except Asuna knew better how to deal with him!

"...Okay, okay, I got it!" Hiratsuka Shizuka rolled her eyes. "Although you've known Kazuto for longer, he's also my student, okay!"

174

【NO.172 Kaguya Houraisan】

Saturday passed quickly, and regarding the feedback from the manga magazine, there were many comments saying that the manga's premise was very interesting and requesting that it be released soon...

Of course, no matter how much readers urge him, the weekly manga will always be released on a regular weekly schedule, and there will never be a situation where it is released in advance. However, due to his sudden departure from the mainstream, quite a few readers who like erotic works have given Kirito the nickname "Fujiwara the Old Thief"... It's really inexplicable!

I already said I wouldn't miss the deadline, I really don't understand what these guys are trying to do.

Those who are called "old thieves" in the industry are not only heartless, shameless, and without any bottom line, but also frequently take indefinite breaks from publishing at any time. They also often use excuses such as not having money to play games, not having money for baby formula, or not having money to go out for research to suddenly resume serialization and then use drafts to deal with readers. A comic book is serialized from the time most readers were teenagers to their adult youths, and the plot has been forgotten by them, and it is still on indefinite break. Anyone who can read it in one go is not human.

By the way, only those who meet the above conditions can be considered veteran thieves; otherwise, they can only be considered amateur slackers.

Well, Kirito is often late with his manuscripts... but he never leaves unresolved plot holes. Oh, since he didn't say anything like, "I dug these holes with my own skill, why should I fill them in?"—that kind of rude talk—and he didn't leave you guys bleeding from the wounds while the manga was still ongoing...

Yes! I just want to say that I'm not some industry veteran!

I, Kiritani Kazuto, known in the martial arts world as the "Beater," would never be like that old scoundrel Togashi who casually draws a rough sketch, leaves the rest of the work to his assistant, and then lazily goes to play mahjong!

Please trust me!

Furthermore, the other work that Kirito wanted to create wasn't going smoothly. Although the setting for this work had been prepared long ago, it was completely different in style from Sword Art Online, and the different requirements for image quality left Kirito at a loss for words...

Naturally, Kirito isn't in a rush to finish the new work, but he's a bit conflicted if he doesn't draw the beginning... I think you can understand that once you want to do something, even if you don't know how to do it for the time being, it's quite difficult to shift your attention to other things...

Kiritani scratched his head, looking quite helpless... "Ugh, what a loser I am. What should I do now? I should find something to distract myself."

Oh right, by the way, after submitting her work, Shiina Mashiro became incredibly motivated. After returning from Chiyoda, she finished a chapter's manuscript in one night, and it was mostly fine, with significant improvement in handling the characters' emotions...

However, neither Shiina Mashiro nor Asuna are at home right now.

She's supposedly Shiina Mashiro's cousin... apparently a teacher at Suimei High School, who wanted to meet Mashiro, so Asuna had her butler pick them up and take them there...

Kirito had absolutely no interest in this kind of thing, so Hai was just staring blankly into space...

I feel like I need to find something to do. How about delivering packages?

But this game is just not fun without teammates, and that player named Iron Fist Judgment isn't online right now...

"Hmm? A message from the twin tails..." Kirito put down his drawing tablet and brush, pulled up his chat app, and opened the manga club's discussion group. There was a message that said, "Eri Kashiwagi is online."

Speaking of which, no one has spoken in this discussion group since it was created. Is there something Eriri wants to do now that she's online?

[Eri Kashiwagi: Ah... Is anyone there? I've finished the rest of the work on that short manga. Have you all decided on a title yet?]

Oh! This short comic is finished... It seems like it's almost time to submit it. As for the name... Didn't I ask you two weeks ago? What are you guys doing? Is it so hard to come up with a name?

I was just about to type a reply when I saw a notification that Xia Shizi had come online.

[Xia Shizi: Wow! Not bad speed! You only had spare time from yesterday afternoon until now, and you've already finished the rest of the process for this project... No wonder you've been single for so many years!]

[Eri Kashiwagi: Kasumi! Yu! Oka! Uta! Ha! -- Did you think I'd yell like that? Ha! You've clearly been single for years, haven't you, you second-year fat woman in black stockings!]

...How could Eriri see through such an obvious trap? Is she just a fake loser?

[Fujiwara Echizen: As for the title... how about "The Bizarre Adventure of Kurogiri Kenshin"?]

Yes, that's right. The protagonist is named Kurogiri Kenshin. When this name was decided, it caused a lot of controversy because people didn't understand what was so good about it.

Ha! Annoying wisdom!

How could you possibly understand the true meaning that the four people in Tiger Dojo represent together!