Tokyo: Earth Online Manga Artist.

Chapter 108 Akira Toriyama Advises on "Pear"

To put it bluntly, Akira Toriyama is a very traditional manga artist who likes classic shonen manga like One Piece.

The protagonist always looks forward, the partners are always trustworthy, and if they lose, they get up and fight again. There will never be a plot that makes people doubt their life, like "I realized that everything I did was wrong".

The main character can never make mistakes, but they also cannot be completely negated.

If the protagonist has been doing the wrong thing all along, then what's the point of continuing to persist?

Therefore, the protagonist must have sound values ​​and believe that he is mostly right.

This is Akira Toriyama's bottom line.

Attack on Titan is more dark and unorthodox, and the characters keep dying, which is not the kind of manga that Akira Toriyama likes.

He respects this kind of work, but he subconsciously feels uncomfortable when he watches it.

However, Akira Toriyama actually liked not eating pears.

The reason is actually because————

"The two short comics by 'Not Eating Pears' are really well drawn, especially 'Fog Hill of Five Elements'."

At this moment, Akira Toriyama thought of not eating pears and then thought of "Fog Hill of Five Elements," which was serialized in the short manga section of Weekly Shonen Jump last week.

When he turned to that page, he sat up straight on the sofa and looked at it intently for a long time.

He really liked the style of traditional Chinese painting from the People's Republic of China, with its freehand brushwork and ink splashes, which was completely different from the precise and clean style of Japanese manga.

He himself is a so-called enthusiast of the culture of the Republic, otherwise what is Dragon Ball?

Isn't it because he really likes the traditional culture of the People's Republic of China, especially martial arts films?

He frankly told the outside world, "Without 'Drunken Master,' there would be no Dragon Ball," and that Jackie Chan's kung fu movies had a decisive influence on his creative style.

He also greatly admires the Four Great Classical Novels, and even named the characters in Dragon Ball after characters from Journey to the West.

The names Sun Wukong, Somersault Cloud, Bull Demon King, Flaming Mountain, etc., are all taken directly from "Journey to the West".

He had also read the other four classic novels and was familiar with the heroes in "Water Margin".

So, he took notice of Eri Aragaki when she drew "Wu Song" and it was published in Weekly Shonen Jump.

Akira Toriyama was also full of praise when he saw "Wu Song". He was full of praise for the plot, the storyboard and the unique art style.

Although it's a revenge story, which isn't exactly lighthearted or enjoyable, he still praised it highly because the artwork was simply superb.

Then last week he saw Eri Aragaki's "Fog Hill of Five Elements" again, and he liked it even more.

Aside from its art style, the plot of "Fog Hill of Five Elements" is a classic, action-packed story with a setting where a hot-blooded young man gets into trouble and makes mistakes, eventually embarking on a path of redemption.

Wenren Yixuan got into trouble while trying to save his mother, and then fought monsters along the way to atone for his sins, which reminded him of Son Goku in the early days of Dragon Ball.

Isn't this the template for Sun Wukong?

They are all carefree young men, each with remarkable skills, and both willing to fight tooth and nail to protect the people they care about.

Moreover, he was amazed by the traditional Chinese painting style "created" by Eri Aragaki. To paraphrase an old saying from martial arts films of the People's Republic of China, it's like "new talents emerge in every generation."

In terms of painting skills, even Akira Toriyama felt somewhat inferior.

Moreover, it's not just that he doesn't eat pears; he also thinks that the drawing skills of the new generation of comic artists are amazing, and that they are comics that he can hardly imagine being drawn by a human.

Erika Aragaki's "Five Elements in the Mist" greatly impressed him.

Even Akira Toriyama was somewhat disappointed. He really wished that Eri Aragaki would stop drawing "Attack on Titan" and just start drawing the long-running series "Fog Hill of Five Elements".

Kid, action-packed shonen manga is the way to go, while dark and edgy manga is just evil and crooked!

He felt a tightness in his chest every time he watched the dark and angsty plot of "Attack on Titan".

He wanted to talk to Bu Chi Li Zi about this idea, but felt it wasn't appropriate, since it's their freedom to choose what subject to paint.

As Akira Toriyama was thinking this, he opened "This Manga Is Amazing! 2008" and began to add to his "watching list," which was also his "collection list" of signed works.

He turned to the first page and read through the books one by one from left to right, marking down anything that interested him with a pen.

He wasn't interested in all the works on the list, such as the number one "81divr," because he didn't really like shogi or any board games.

This is unlike traditional Japanese people.

But thinking about it carefully, there are also people in the Republic who don't like chess. It's not that they hate it, they just don't like it, and they're not good at it either, so that's normal.

81diver was therefore not included in Akira Toriyama's list of "anime to catch up on".

Then he gradually saw One Piece ranked 15th, and then he flipped further and found Attack on Titan also on the list, ranked 27th.

"It's already in the top 30 after just 20 episodes, that's quite an impressive assessment."

Akira Toriyama nodded as he looked at the comment, "An undisputed rookie monster."

"Oh right, it's almost time for Shueisha's annual year-end party, isn't it? —"

He closed the magazine, leaned back in his chair, and glanced at the calendar on the wall.

Every year in mid-December, Shueisha holds a year-end party, inviting its popular manga artists to Tokyo to participate.

Generally, only cartoonists who receive an invitation can go.

But given his status, of course he can go anywhere he wants.

Even after Dragon Ball ended, and even though Akira Toriyama stopped serializing long-running manga series, Shueisha still invited him to their year-end party every year.

However, Akira Toriyama rarely went there.

He would only attend the year-end party for new comic artists he particularly wanted to sign.

I'm getting older and don't like noisy places anymore, plus it's too much of a hassle to travel from Aichi Prefecture to Tokyo and back.

As he thought this, he tapped his fingers on the table, then glanced at the color page of "Fog Hill of Five Elements" in the open magazine. The thought swirled in his mind, "Should I—go participate this year? And then get an autograph from 'Not Eating Pears'?"

By the way, try to persuade the person who doesn't eat pears to go back to the "right path".

Go draw action-packed shonen manga, stop drawing those heavy things. With your skill, you'll definitely excel at drawing mainstream works.

He considered the idea, then felt he was meddling; the other person was drawing well, and the giant's grades weren't bad either.

But as someone who's been through it all, he felt he should offer some advice.

Besides, he's a fan of pears!

As for Eri Aragaki, although Attack on Titan appeared on the list of "This Manga is Amazing! 2008".

Although there was some online discussion, and even heated arguments, Fujimoto Itsuki and the person who said "Nagato is me" were still engaged in a fierce battle with some extremely irrational Naruto and One Piece fans on the forum.

However, it hasn't really affected Eri Aragaki's life much; she's been spending less time surfing the internet lately.

-

Because I had to rush to finish the manuscript, I was also working on proofreading the second volume of Attack on Titan, drawing the cover of the second volume, and finishing the manuscript for the next two weeks of Attack on Titan serialization.

Masaya Sakurai faxed over the proofreading comments page by page, and she revised them again and again. The cover was finally finalized just now.

With Erina actively preparing for her exams at home, there was one less assistant to help her, so Eri Aragaki became a bit busier.

Although Ayane Takeda and Akane Natsume came to help, Eri Aragaki was still very busy with the combined workload of the magazine and the individual volumes.

After the deadline, she submitted her manuscript and handed over two weeks' worth of drawings in a file bag to Masaya Sakurai, who came to her door in person.

The second volume of Attack on Titan is about to be printed. All the proofreading, typesetting, cover, and afterword have been completed, and it seems that life can finally be a little easier.

However, since Erina has to take an exam at Waseda University on the 16th, she can't completely relax. Eri Aragaki has to make sure that Erina is in the best condition when she goes out on those two days.

However, they have already decided that the four of them will attend the Shueisha year-end party together after the 17th.

When Masaya Sakurai called to confirm the number of participants, Eri Aragaki asked Akane Natsume and Erina, and both of them agreed, indicating that there was no problem.

So the name has already been submitted. As an invited manga artist, Eri Aragaki can bring three family members or assistants to attend.

On the 16th and 17th, Eri Aragaki personally drove Erina to and from the written test and interview.

She got up at six o'clock on the morning of the 16th and made a sumptuous breakfast for Erina, setting a table full of food.

Then she drove her silver Audi A4 to the entrance of Waseda University, parking the car in a temporary parking space in front of the Okuma Auditorium.

Erina, dressed in the formal interview attire she had prepared in advance, with her hair neatly tied up, took several deep breaths before opening the car door.

The written test was reviewed on the spot, and after the test, candidates were called into a small classroom next door in batches to wait for the results.

There aren't many test takers, because there are only a few spots available for recommended admission, and only well-known high schools have this qualification.

It's like a summer camp in the Republic; very few students can actually participate.

The written test went smoothly, which relieved Erina and Eri Aragaki.

In general, if you have no problem with the written test, you shouldn't have any problems with the interview either.

The two went to Waseda University again the next day, and the interview results were released immediately.

When Erina came out of the interview room, Eri Aragaki was sitting in her car, waiting for Erina to come out.

She saw Erina walk out of the building, her steps quicker than usual, her scarf fluttering in the wind.

Finally, as Erina walked out of Waseda University with a smile, she raised the folder in her hand towards Eri Aragaki from afar, her smile brighter than the June sun.

Eri Aragaki knew the outcome from that expression. She breathed a sigh of relief and then gave Erina a thumbs up.

She was in high spirits and said with a smile, "Alright! Now, let's go have some fun and relax!"

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