Crossover Anime: Starting with Adopting the Homeless Melon God

"Then you continue your cultivation, senior. Yuna and I will be leaving now."

"Huh? Leaving so early?" As she spoke, Yukiko unconsciously erratically breathing, and then felt a wave of annoyance after realizing what she had said.

Kitagawa Yu looked at her adorable, childlike appearance and couldn't help but smile.

"Yuna and I are working on a manga together, which is why I haven't had time for club activities," Kitagawa Yu explained.

He didn't think there was anything shameful about drawing comics, so he didn't hide it.

Unexpectedly, Yukiko's eyes lit up immediately after hearing this.

"Hey! Yu, you can draw comics? Ayako didn't even tell me! Can I take a look?"

"Uh, of course."

He can even teach Yukiko breathing techniques, so there's no problem with manga.

However, seeing Yukiko's excited expression, a strange look couldn't help but flash in his eyes.

Subconsciously, she exchanged a glance with Yuna, who was also looking at her strangely, and a startling guess popped into her head at the same time.

"So excited?"

"Should it be"

"Is she actually a hidden otaku?"

"Oh no! We've been exposed!" Yukiko seemed to have seen through their thoughts and playfully stuck out her tongue at them.

"You all absolutely have to keep this a secret for me, okay? Besides Ayako, you're the first people to know this secret!"

"Kawaii!"

Kitagawa Yu couldn't help but gasp inwardly. Even when he was fighting Kokushibo to the death and was in dire straits, his breathing technique, which had remained intact, was now in disarray.

Even Yuna, who is also a girl, couldn't help but feel the urge to hug the adorable Yukiko.

It's absolutely irresistible to both men and women!

"As expected, cuteness is the ultimate weapon! The only one who can rival Yukiko-senpai in terms of cuteness is probably Ai-chan."

Kitagawa Yu couldn't help but think.

Yuna then took the sketch out of her bag and handed it to Yukiko.

It's clear that Yukiko really loves manga; she took it and immediately started examining it, her eyes growing brighter and brighter.

As mentioned earlier, the original Demon Slayer manga wasn't particularly outstanding. Although it was serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump, it still fell short compared to One Piece, Attack on Titan, and Jujutsu Kaisen.

It's not that the plot is bad, it's just that the original author's drawing skills are insufficient.

Once it came into the hands of UFO Studio, its level of detail improved by two or three levels. Combined with its distinctive art style and exciting storyline, it exploded in popularity at an astonishing speed, like a rocket taking off.

It can be said that the exquisite and unique art style is the foundation of Demon Slayer's immense popularity.

Since Kitagawa Yu knew the shortcomings of this manga, he naturally tried to make up for them. Therefore, the version of Demon Slayer that he and Yuna created is so exquisite that it is close to the effect of the anime adaptation.

As a hidden otaku, Yukiko was captivated by the exquisite and unique art style after reading only a few pages.

To be honest, this version of Yukiko doesn't quite fit her image as a pampered young lady.

While Yukiko is undeniably cute, she also possesses an indescribable air of nobility. This nobility doesn't make people uncomfortable; instead, it inspires awe and reverence.

If people knew that she was an otaku in private, it would indeed damage her image and temperament.

"Ah! That's all?!"

Five minutes later, a sweet voice filled with deep disappointment rang out from Yukiko's mouth.

This is undoubtedly a huge affirmation for a work.

"There's no way around it, Yuna and I only started drawing last week."

Kitagawa Yu shrugged and explained with a wry smile.

35 pages a week—that's already a result after skipping the time spent thinking about the plot and drawing storyboards, since they still have classes during the day.

However, this speed is already faster than that of many professional comic artists.

"I see," Yukiko said, her expression showing surprise.

Have you submitted your work?

“Not yet,” Kitagawa Yu shook his head and said, “The basic plot of Demon Slayer needs to be laid out in three chapters, which will take about two weeks, so we plan to submit it again in two weeks.”

"That's great!" Yukiko exclaimed excitedly, clapping her hands together in celebration. "Then Yu, you should apply to Kodansha!"

"Huh?" Kitagawa Yu couldn't help but be taken aback.

The three major manga publishers in Japan are still Shueisha, Kodansha, and Shogakukan. Although the works have changed, the styles of each publisher have remained largely the same.

Shogakukan primarily targets younger readers, while Shueisha focuses on shonen manga.

As for Kodansha's style, it's quite diverse. Although it started with more shoujo manga, it now basically collects everything, including popular works of all genres.

Therefore, his initial target was Shueisha.

After all, Demon Slayer's hot-blooded style is best suited for Shueisha, so getting it published in Weekly Shonen Jump wouldn't be difficult.

Yukiko took a deep breath and said seriously, "I bet you guys are planning to submit this to Shueisha, right? With the quality and style of your Demon Slayer, as long as the editor has a good eye, it's really easy for it to be published in Weekly Shonen Jump, and even become a featured work."

"However, as a complete newcomer, it is impossible to get a lot of promotion at the beginning. It will take at least ten or so chapters. After all, their current main works have only been serialized for more than thirty chapters, which is exactly when they need to increase promotion."

"Furthermore, even if your work is excellent, as a publisher, they are unlikely to make an exception for you. The royalties per page will be around 15000 to 18000. As for the revenue sharing for standalone books, it will increase depending on the performance, but it will not exceed 10%."

Kitagawa Yu nodded inwardly.

Yukiko is right. No matter how good Demon Slayer is, as the first work of a new manga artist, the royalties and revenue sharing from the collected volumes can't be that high.

The treatment will only be improved after the sales figures for the first volume are released and the true earning power of this work is confirmed.

Judging by the time frame, it will be at least three or four months from now.

Before this, if the payment was calculated at 18000 yen per page, 20 pages a week would only amount to 36 yen, which seems like a lot? But don't forget that this is in Japanese yen.

In addition, since he and Yuna split the profits equally, it only amounted to 18 yen, which is 72 yen a month.

He earns less than a recent medical school graduate.

But this is Demon Slayer!

Although the three songs from "Love Circulation" have all exceeded 13 paid downloads.

Even if he and Yuna split the profits equally, it still brought Yuna a whopping 780 million yen in income.

But this is far from enough to pay off her family's debts, and she needs even more money to provide a better life for her mother and herself.

"If you sign with Kodansha, I can decide to increase your royalties to 50,000 yen per page, and raise the revenue share of collected volumes to 15%. In addition, I can start promoting Demon Slayer a week in advance, starting a major promotion in the first week, and simultaneously launching an anime adaptation."

Upon hearing this, Kitagawa Yu couldn't help but frown slightly.

It's not that Yukiko's offer was bad; on the contrary, it was so good that it almost broke the rules of the trade.

The fee is 50,000 yen per page, which is about the same as many established and popular comic artists.

The 15% revenue share for individual volumes is something even the most popular manga artists can't get.

He could tell that Kodansha was either a business owned by the Asuka family or had been acquired by them, but breaking the rules like this could very well lead to a boycott from the entire industry.

"Senior, aren't your conditions a bit too high?"

Yukiko was taken aback for a moment, then burst out laughing.

"What? I thought you weren't satisfied with these conditions, Yu."

"Senior is joking. The standard you set is probably something that even the top three most popular comic artists today can't meet."

"Hehe, don't worry, I have my reasons for offering these conditions."

After a pause, Yukiko continued to explain, "As you all know, the manga industry has been dominated by three major players for many years now. With the pie only so big, the only way to make a breakthrough is to take a slice from the other two."

"I have high hopes for your Demon Slayer. I believe this work can help Kodansha attract many readers who like shonen manga from Shueisha, thereby increasing the magazine's overall sales and market share."

"So high royalties, high revenue sharing, along with vigorous promotion and simultaneous animation, are all normal practices~"

"Furthermore, Kodansha's current flagship work has just finished, and it needs an excellent work with the potential to become a hit or even a phenomenon to take its place."

"Furthermore, better treatment might help Kodansha attract some passionate manga artists who originally intended to submit to Shueisha, and perhaps they can discover outstanding talents and works from them."

Upon hearing this, Kitagawa Yu inexplicably thought of his past life's 'The Retreating Dwarfs' and its author, Hajime Isayama.

At that time, Kodansha's ranking had fallen below Shogakukan's due to a lack of phenomenal works, and it was even on the verge of falling out of the top three manga publishers.

At this time, Hajime Isayama, along with his retreating dwarves, approached Kodansha and directly helped revive the company.

Originally, Hajime Isayama submitted his work to Shueisha, but the editor at the time felt that the retreating dwarves were too bloody and violent, which did not fit Shueisha's main themes of friendship, hard work, and victory, so he rejected it.

He doesn't need to worry about his Demon Slayer being rejected, but now it seems that Shueisha probably doesn't even have the chance to refuse him.

To be honest, while Shueisha focuses on friendship, hard work, and victory, for manga artists, their pioneering cancellation system, along with their adherence to the 'newcomer exclusive contract system' and 'survey-first principle,' is like an incredibly cruel and bloody battlefield.

It's good for readers, as they can see more exciting comics, but it's not so good for comic artists.

Many manga artists have had their potential exhausted during the serialization process, so many famous and financially independent manga artists choose to run away and enjoy life after their works are completed, such as Koyoharu Gotouge, the original author of Demon Slayer.

After setting numerous records in Japanese manga history, including the fastest to reach 100 million copies sold, the highest average sales per volume, and the highest annual sales, Demon Slayer has become the most popular manga in Japanese history.

However, Koyoharu Gotouge did not continue his efforts, but instead simply lay down.

Just kidding, once you've achieved financial freedom, who would still want to draw comics!

Even if someone were to draw manga, who would still go to Shueisha?

Unfortunately, neither he nor Yuna have achieved financial freedom yet, but fortunately they have Yukiko's support.

Please give me a monthly pass! Aaaaaaahh ...

Chapter 144 My First Experience at a LiveHouse

"Master! Why are you so late! Where's my canelé?"

Under the soft lighting, the clean and tidy ward was filled with a faint scent of oranges.

Even so, Kaori Miyazono, who was lying in the hospital bed reading a novel or a comic, sniffed and put down her book with a happy expression the moment Yu Kitagawa stepped into the room. She threw off the covers, sat on the bed in a kneeling position, and opened her arms to Yu Kitagawa like a child asking for a hug. Her bright and spirited eyes immediately fixed on the paper bag in Yu Kitagawa's hand.

Kitagawa Yu could sense that Kaoru was becoming more and more fond of acting cute towards him.