Tokyo: Starting with the Gear-Conscious Male Gods!

Chapter 20 Wu~S Kingdom 1

Even though she was already sitting in the editorial department's reception room and had the original manuscript in her hands, Imai Chinatsu still found it somewhat unbelievable.

The drawing that amazed her was actually drawn by a student who had just entered high school, especially since the student was so young.

After staring at Shirakawa Yuta for a long time, he finally couldn't help but ask:

"Shirakawa-san, I need to confirm again, was this really created entirely by you?"

Yuta Shirakawa nodded somewhat helplessly. The other party had asked him no less than three times since they first met him.

I should have just said he was 18. Even though it would still need to be confirmed when signing the contract, it would be better than him asking me all the time now.

Seeing the other person's somewhat impatient expression, Imai Chinatsu finally withdrew her gaze and returned her attention to the manuscript, beginning to slowly read through it page by page.

Although she is a new editor, she is also an outstanding graduate of the Faculty of Fine Arts at Tokyo University of the Arts, and her sensitivity to lines and colors far surpasses that of others.

If she didn't really like comics, she wouldn't have come here to suffer this humiliation.

Upon opening the first page and seeing the comic, a sense of seasoned expertise immediately came through.

Previously, on the phone, the details were slightly blurry and not very clear.

But now the original manuscript was right in front of them, and the clean and crisp lines, the distribution of the figures' proportions, the contrast of light and shadow, and the detailed depiction of the wrinkles in the figures' hair were all incredibly well done.

It doesn't look like something a high school freshman could draw.

Thinking of this, she couldn't help but take another deep look at Shirakawa Yuta.

As I continued reading, I became increasingly alarmed.

If the earlier parts only tested the author's basic drawing skills, then the later paneling and plot design truly tested the author's storytelling ability.

The first episode of Rurouni Kenshin is quite simple, first explaining the background and core settings of the story.

The protagonist, Kenshin Himura, was once the most feared swordsman in Kyoto, known as "Battosai the Manslayer." Now, he has become a wanderer who has vowed never to kill again, and he wears a reverse-blade sword at his waist to show his determination.

Then we got to the specifics, which can be summarized as follows:

Because someone impersonated Battosai to commit evil deeds and tarnish the reputation of the Kamiya Kashin-ryu dojo, the dojo's acting master, Kamiya Kaoru, encountered Kenshin while investigating the culprit and a misunderstanding ensued. Subsequently, the real culprit appeared and provoked them.

Kenshin subdued the villain with his superb swordsmanship, upholding his vow of non-killing, but inadvertently revealed his true identity. After learning the details, Kaoru Kamiya invited him to stay overnight at the dojo.

The story is simple, but amazing.

Unlike other comics on the market that start with the protagonist as a nobody, this one boldly adopts a new narrative mode, using the reference of a "legendary god" to highlight the protagonist's formidable strength.

It unconsciously creates a sense of anticipation in people, making them wonder what will happen next, whether he can save the gradually declining dojo, and whether he will break his vow not to kill in the end.

Editor Chinatsu Imai, who was reading the manuscripts, felt the same way. After reading through all the manuscripts, including the parts of the second and third chapters that only had storyboards, she was still somewhat unsatisfied.

Unable to resist, she asked Shirakawa Yuta, "Did he end up with Kamiya Kaoru? Did he kill someone and break his vow?"

Yuta Shirakawa smiled but didn't reply. Instead, he asked, "So, can you sign it?"

"Yes, my initial review will definitely be fine, and I can guarantee it will pass the final review as well. If it can't even pass this, then the entire editorial department won't be able to find many good manuscripts."

Chinatsu Imai agreed quite readily. She was very optimistic about the manga and it really brought back memories of reading manga when she was a child.

After thinking for a moment, she continued, "If you're not in a rush to publish it, I plan to submit this manga for the Tezuka Award. If we win, we can get more resources. Of course, the prize money is also quite generous."

Upon hearing this, Shirakawa Yuta's eyes lit up.

The Tezuka Award, one of the two most prestigious newcomer awards in the Japanese manga industry, is an important benchmark for newcomers to debut in the manga world. Winning the award brings tremendous rewards.

So Shirakawa Yuta had no reason to refuse and agreed immediately.

"Sure, no problem."

The rest was much simpler. Shirakawa Yuta and Imai Chinatsu chatted about the rewards and resources they would receive after winning the Tezuka Award, signed a letter of intent, and then left the editorial department.

It's not a formal contract yet, so guardians don't need to sign a consent form or jointly sign the contract.

However, it will still be troublesome when it comes to signing the contract, as his parents will have to make a trip.

As he pondered this, Yuta Shirakawa boarded the train home.

He had a very good impression of this editor. Not only did he recommend him for awards, but he would also proactively tell him about potential pitfalls when signing a contract during casual conversations. For example, some editors would use high fees per chapter to trick authors out of their copyrights, which was completely unlike what an editor should be like.

After seeing Shirakawa Yuta off from the editorial department, Imai Chinatsu, carrying the manuscript, walked into the third group's office area with a beaming smile and returned to her workstation.

Her colleague, sitting next to her at her desk, teased her, "Chika, what good thing happened? You seem so happy."

Chinatsu Imai is, after all, a young girl who has only recently graduated from university. When she encounters something she loves, she can't help but want to show it off.

So he held up the manuscript and said, "I've received a really good manga that has a chance of winning the Tezuka Award. Would you like to take a look?"

"The Tezuka Award? That's amazing?"

My colleague happened to be free and immediately became interested when she heard what Chinatsu Imai said.

After taking the manga from Chinatsu Imai, she immediately started reading it.

Before long, his colleagues started calling out "Si Guoyi" frequently.

People in the office area began to look this way, and soon Rurouni Kenshin began to circulate throughout the office.

Every now and then, shouts of "Siguo Yi" would be heard from some corner.

The noise outside caught the attention of Kudo Sakae, who had a private office in the office area. She called her secretary over and asked:

"What's going on outside? Why is it so noisy?"

The secretary lowered her head and said, "It seems that Imai's employees received a good manga submission, and they're passing it around. Should I remind them to keep their voices down?"

"An employee of Imai?"

Kudo Sakae suddenly remembered that not long ago, Imai Chinatsu wanted to go down to pick up a newcomer but was scolded by her. She was a little curious. Could it be the work brought by that newcomer?

Thinking of this, she instructed her secretary, "Go and bring the draft to me so I can take a look. Don't let it turn out to be a terrible draft that keeps circulating in the office, making everyone lose face in the end."