People in Tokyo, the world is clear

This was also Lin Sen's own fault. Initially, they had agreed to work together as dream builders. However, the actual implementation had led to a situation where they were practically operating separately.

He completely focused on Miss Aoyama and even part of his personal career. Meanwhile, Miss Ito was practically locked up at the Kurosawa residence all day, occasionally having to go to the Butterfly Youth Training Club to check on Niwa.

Working alone is sometimes inefficient. Especially when Lin Sen is the sole leader, all sorts of difficult situations will frequently arise and gradually pile up into major problems.

For example, the taciturn Niwa's connections in the table tennis world are all tied to Lin Sen. If he doesn't make frequent outings, it would be difficult for Ms. Ito, whose reputation and presence are relatively low, to proactively arrange for quality training matches.

For example, a stay-at-home artist had been stuck on the script for a long time, but seeing Lin Sen leaving early one day and returning late, he didn't dare to disturb him. He had to work on it behind closed doors with a cat mother who knew even less about comics. They ended up staring at each other in bewilderment every day, wasting their time playing with their two cats.

After learning about these situations, Lin Sen actually felt a little sorry for them. However, the heart of the little angel Xiguo was always warm.

So he comforted him:

"It's not like there's really no progress at all. It's just that Orange Juice seems to have unlocked a new skill."

"Yeah yeah!"

So in the Kurosawa family's apartment, the tenant who was sitting at the table and listening to the conversation between the two people also nodded hurriedly, and then held his head high and chest out like a salesperson who was showing off some great results.

She took out a strip of cat food from somewhere and pointed at the big orange cat lying on her desk.

Issue simple and childish onomatopoeia instructions:

"Orange juice! The whole thing! Ha~ah!"

Then, to the stunned eyes of the young people present, the orange cat suddenly jumped backwards, did a neat backflip and landed on the ground, then slapped the ground with its claws, making a clacking sound.

He ran with the momentum of a cartoon, threw himself at the feet of the big dog girl, and greedily licked the fishy liquid food that was torn and squeezed out with his tongue.

Indeed, a unique skill!

but--

"What I mean is, during the days when I can't draw comics, you two just train cats."

"Yes."

"It's OK."

"As the elders said. In these dry and hopeless days, we must find something meaningful to do."

Ms. Ito would have wasted her talent if she didn't travel back to the Eastern Zhou Dynasty to edit "The Analects of Confucius".

The level of memorizing and applying the mentor's words has reached the pinnacle!

In order to avoid being hit by more boomerangs from nowhere, Lin Sen quickly turned the topic to business.

When Orange Juice ran to the cat litter box to dig in the soil to satisfy his appetite, he immediately asked a stray dog ​​for the latest scrapped manuscript and listened to her trembling talk about the reason why her creation was stuck.

"So... first of all, the plot design was very difficult. Gradually, problems with the visual expression also appeared. I kept thinking and revising... and then, as I continued to draw, I even felt that my drawing skills were no longer stable. In fact, this situation has always happened before."

It sounds like this is a chain reaction caused by the ordinary plot not being self-satisfied.

But when I actually studied the manuscript in my hand, I found that things were not as simple as I thought.

I vaguely remember that the last time I discussed comics with Kurosawa, I helped her choose a theme similar to that of a socially anxious rock girl being led by another socially active girl out of the house and towards her dreams.

After that, I was restricted by various things and had no time to keep an eye on it.

I thought the sequel would develop into a work similar to the Showa version of Lonely Rock.

But now, Lin Sen saw this scene on the scrap manuscript in his hand:

In the next frame, after the extroverted guitarist leads the introverted protagonist out of the room, the two begin a duet on the Tokyo Gymnasium stage...

?

Then, there was the big cross on the note under the manuscript paper, and the soft handwriting of Ms. Ito who was checking the homework:

[This is moving a bit too fast! Why is she already on a stage of this magnitude? Besides, a novice rock girl shouldn't be able to directly perform at such a high level!]

[Also, a band doesn’t need two guitarists, nor does it need only two guitarists…]

——It’s still okay. As a normal person, I stopped this magical development.

However, when I turned to another manuscript, the plot began to exude another strange flavor.

The next moment after they left the house, they appeared in the classroom and started to stop the teacher from teaching rock knowledge on the blackboard...Huh?

The crosses and comments below the image also began to distort, clearly indicating that Ms. Ito was also distressed:

[There's no such class! And why is it in a high school classroom?]

Similar scenes lacking common sense also appeared in the following series of manuscripts.

Perhaps it was during this process that she gradually lost her confidence, ideas and even patience. In the subsequent repeated production of scrapped drafts, Kurosawa Rina's painting style began to become sloppy and unrestrained, and the entire plot began to become more and more unrestrained.

After the first act begins normally, the two guitar girls appear on the football field in the next frame. They carry guitars and play against the German youth football team with the other football girls. They start fighting with guitars to beat people in order to find the legendary "Music Dragon Ball".

There was also a story about an alien ghost tribe invading and demanding that Earth send a representative to decide whether to destroy the Earth through a "rock music" competition.

This is nothing.

There is no trend towards a normal passionate or warm music career.

It features an abstract plot that closely imitates the current popular comics.

It also had a serious impact on Lin Sen's view of comics.

As soon as I realized what was happening, I immediately asked for a few works on other themes that had been rejected before and studied them carefully.

I discovered that the plots in Kurosawa's previous comics, which seemed to be flawless, actually also had some overlooked problems.

For example, a lot of the background descriptions can be traced back to some older comics. The plot design and advancement techniques used throughout the story can also be found in the comics collected by Kurosawa.

In other words, for hikikomori Kurosawa Rina, all her understanding of the world actually comes from her memories of her school days and the image of the world created in various comics she collected after she started living at home.

She is, fundamentally, completely lacking in much life knowledge.

So, after deciding on this new theme of music and rock, she fell into deep confusion. Because, at the moment, this was a completely new subject, and there were no related comics to refer to.

She also lacked any common sense about music - she didn't know that the other player in a rock band was holding a bass instead of a guitar, nor did she know that there was always a drummer hiding in the dark outside the lights, and she even drew a seven-string guitar.

After asking Ms. Ito to buy some relevant books and magazines for reference, I felt that things had improved somewhat. However, the magazines only showed photos of the band and their performances, rarely mentioning the process of their rise to fame.

At this point, Ito Xiguo was unable to help. She could only come up with a final suggestion with some distress, which was -

It is suggested that this person who has always been staying at home with social anxiety should go out, meet some relevant people and things, and ask some people who know about it.

however--

"Mmmmm no no no!"

"Although I have tried hard to see the sun, but..."

"Right now, it's still impossible!"

For an ultimate otaku who shakes her head like a rattle, asking her to take the initiative to contact more people from all walks of life right now is simply asking for her life.

Although I have moved the table outside the house recently, it is a good progress.

However, years of staying at home have made her feel deeply afraid and unfamiliar with the outside world.

Especially, during the day when it's not late at night, facing the streets full of people...

"My legs are going to completely give out! It's horrible! It's like, hell!"

So far, according to her, since she graduated from high school until now, there are only five living people in her life who can be called acquaintances.

"My uncle in America, the owner of the comic book magazine shop that opens at night, and you two."

“That’s only four.”

"There's one more... No, I won't tell you!"

Ok.

Everyone has privacy, so Lin Sen didn't ask who the last person was.

But it did make me wonder about her attitude of resisting any outsiders.

If he continues like this, Kurosawa will definitely not be able to create a successful manga.

She was too inexperienced. Back then, there was no super information carrier like the Internet, or even connection channels like mobile phones and computers, to provide help.

A TV is a decent choice, but Kurosawa says that if you order one, you'll be haunted by demons under the NHK banner, so don't buy one.

This is really embarrassing.

There are currently two solutions. The first is to change the subject matter.

However, this only treats the symptoms and not the root cause. I previously referred to the old comic book theme of "Dong Shi Xiou Pin" and ended up being rejected.

To be honest, the plots of old comics that tend to be dark and cruel, or the opposite of everyday warmth, cannot match Kurosawa's cute style, which is very advanced at the moment.

Then, it seems that there is only one other slightly more reasonable solution left -

That is, Lin Sen will act as the scriptwriter of the comics, designing and reviewing the plot for Kurosawa.

However, this operation may be more difficult to achieve in June this year when personal time is becoming increasingly tight.

If you think about it carefully, Lin Sen is currently a writer, a singer manager, and an athlete agent.

I really wanted to split one person into two and add a comic script writer, but it's really a bit overwhelming.

Counting on Ms. Ito for help? That wouldn't work this time. She was a complete novice when it came to comics. Asking her to assist with coloring the drawings was fine, but designing the script was out of the question.

So the problem is stuck at this point - it is difficult for a cartoonist who has lived in the dark for a long time in his life to write poems of light.

At least, for now, that's the case.

Lin Sen could only sigh and glance at the hands of the clock in the room.

It's almost time to go to Ms. Aoyama's place. Then, in the afternoon, I have to go to the university student director Ogiso's place... Oh, speaking of this.

"I almost forgot one thing. Kurosawa, have you ever heard of animated movies or something like that?"

"I saw it in a magazine."

This answer finally allowed Lin Sen to breathe a sigh of relief.

"Since Kurosawa's comic creation has reached a bottleneck, why not look for opportunities in similar fields and find inspiration? I have an opportunity here."

"About the anime you mentioned?"

"Yes."

My thoughts finally cleared up a bit. I quickly ran to Miss Ito's house, rummaged through the basket by the entrance, and found today's subscription newspaper.

Then he took it back to the painter Wild Dog's house and spread it out in front of the two girls present.

Point out any photo that is very vivid.

"There's an animated short film that's currently in need of a key animator. I've been thinking of recommending Kurosawa for this position. Perhaps this would help him gain some fame and help with future comics."

"Why not draw a similar draft today? I'll take it to the producer for an interview for you."

"Animated short films are different from comics. Perhaps they require more formal and realistic images. Kurosawa, how about copying a two-dimensional version of this photo? Just like when you made Ito into a comic."

"I'll...try."

Kurosawa Rina seemed willing to accept the opportunity. It seemed that for her, being able to draw was all that mattered.

He quickly took out a pen and paper, stared at the photos in the newspaper for a while, and then he came up with an idea and started working hard.

Only Lin Sen and Miss Ito were left sitting aside, flipping through the weekly newspaper they brought, waiting for the drawings to be approved.

They chatted in low voices:

"This week's report seems to have more photos."

"Yes. Starting last week, I think we deleted some of the text-only pages and strengthened the pages related to city life."

"Come to think of it, when did Ito start subscribing to newspapers? It seems like it happened unconsciously."

"Well, let's start in May. Kurosawa always says he can't find inspiration, so I thought I'd find some current events for her, maybe that could give her some ideas..."

Ms. Ito is always like this, doing things quietly.

Just like, she silently remembered some words that he thought she had not remembered.

For some reason, Lin Sen suddenly felt a hint of happiness.

When you have someone like this by your side, you can always feel a gentle warmth enveloping you.

Just like the sky gradually darkens. The warmth of the afterglow gradually envelops life...

"hiss."