Tokyo: Oreimo

He knew very little about it, which made him even more curious.

"Not entirely, this setting is one of the more brilliant comedic elements in the work."

A joke?

What's so funny about magical girls?

Kenta Kimura didn't quite understand.

Actually, for this kind of subject matter, submitting a monthly award would be better than participating in the Akatsuka Award.

With CLAMP's level of skill, breaking through the encirclement should be a piece of cake, right?

Kenta Kimura didn't ask any more questions, but instead focused his attention on the file folder in his hand.

The title of the work is written on the cover.

—Is This a Zombie?

Chapter 162, but why is it 2?

It didn't take Kenta Kimura much time to read the original manuscript; it only took about three chapters in total.

After giving a general overview of the characters' backgrounds, the text gets straight to the point.

He closed the manuscript, took off his glasses, and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

Then he put them back on, laid the three-part manuscript flat on the table, and read it through from beginning to end again.

"Was this drawn based on CLAMP's script?"

He rubbed the slightly stiff muscles on his face from smiling.

The most memorable part was the scenes where the male protagonist, Ayumu Aikawa, transformed by picking up a magic chainsaw.

Magical Girl Haruna: "Listen carefully! Repeat after me!"

Ayumu Aikawa: "Oh!"

"Though I am lovely and charming, I bring death..."

As the magic incantation was chanted, an otherwise ordinary, dead-eyed high school boy began to transform.

Then, the transformation began.

The five panels progress frame by frame, depicting changes in clothing, body lines, and even details such as changes in underwear.

"Here it comes."

"They're in..."

In the last frame, a "magical girl (male)" wearing a pink tutu, holding a chainsaw, and with a deadpan expression appears in the center of the screen.

Moreover, during the transformation, it seemed to be making some strange noises.

When he saw this, Kenta Kimura almost burst out laughing.

"Isn't this a complete parody of 'Moon Witch Transformation'?"

As a top-tier manga in the magical girl genre that has become incredibly popular in the past two years, the transformation effects have always been a favorite part for readers.

But when the transformation target becomes a man, the viewing experience is absolutely explosive.

This work contains a large number of jokes and parodies in its only three episodes.

He was hit by a truck and found to be a zombie. He was told that if he was exposed to the sun, he would turn into a human.

There are also 'holy light' effects that permeate multiple scenes.

"Is it funny?"

When Arina Haruba heard Kenta Kimura ask a question, she lifted her head from her arms.

"Wasn't my reaction obvious enough, Mr. Haruba?"

Kenta Kimura rubbed his face as he did the activities, occasionally twitching as he thought of a scene from a manga.

"This work is quite interesting, male magical girls and all that... I really don't know how CLAMP-sensei came up with this!"

Kenta Kimura was truly at a loss for words, both laughing and crying.

I thought this subject matter had reached its limit, but I never expected to find such a unique approach.

"Taking advantage of the current market and the popularity of Puella Magi Madoka Magica, releasing this kind of work might have a surprising effect."

Upon hearing what Kimura Kenta said, Haruba Arina did not appear particularly happy; instead, she frowned.

"Wow, Haruba-sensei's illustrations paired with CLAMP-sensei's story are a perfect match. Winning the Akatsuka Prize should be no problem."

The editor in charge had confidence in the work at hand.

The Akatsuka Prize is inherently easier to win than the Tezuka Prize, and this work, although its main storyline is somewhat weak.

However, its flaws do not detract from its overall excellence; it is "very good, but not a masterpiece."

Using the cutest art style to tell this crazy story, the clashes are surprisingly interesting.

Hearing Kimura Kenta's praise, Haruba Arina's face remained calm, but she suddenly asked a question.

"Compared to Rumiko Takashiro's new work, does Editor Kimura think mine is better?"

"Well..."

Kenta Kimura looked helpless.

He had already obtained and read the original manuscript of "Death Note" from Hideo Nomura.

"Why must we compare? Haven't we already achieved the goal of cooperation?"

"You also think I'm not as good as Rumiko Takashiro, right?"

A dejected look appeared on Haruba Arina's face.

Why say "also"?

"Because I asked CLAMP-sensei how he views me and Rumiko Takashiro."

Arina Haruba looked quite disappointed.

"I can disregard the difference in subject matter. What CLAMP-sensei provides to Rumiko Takashiro will definitely be better than what I give her."

Spring Market was mentally prepared for this kind of thing.

Given the limitations of his art style, the twin-tailed girl was already quite satisfied that Ryosuke was able to produce a work that met the requirements of the Akatsuka Prize.

"However, I didn't expect to be so far behind in other areas."

She had already received Ryosuke's opinion when she was creating the original manuscript.

Because she didn't have a deep enough understanding of NAME, she would communicate with Ryosuke from time to time.

I faxed it to Ryosuke and then faxed it back to get my feedback.

To be honest, she thought it was already quite an achievement that she was able to finish the first three episodes of the work in two weeks and gain Ryosuke's approval.

But through Ryosuke, I learned...

If Rumiko Takashiro were to draw it, there might not even be any communication needed; she could just slightly adjust the style and finish it in two or three days.

She felt an overwhelming sense of frustration.

"In terms of painting skills in a single area, you are indeed similar to my sister, both of you are geniuses, but your overall level still needs improvement."

That's what Ryosuke said on the other end of the phone.

"This project is less of a collaboration and more of an opportunity for you to hone your skills."

"Being a cartoonist isn't just about being able to draw; understanding panel layouts and the overall story is also a crucial element."

"Rumiko Takashiro has a talent that you can hardly match. If you want to compete with her, you probably can't do it right now."

.....

"I have already reviewed the work. CLAMP-sensei, the quality is excellent. I will take good care of the subsequent Akatsuka Award and serialization matters."

"However, it seems that because of my objective evaluation, Mr. Haruba was a bit discouraged. But to be honest, I really envy Editor Nomura for being able to work with you on 'Death Note'."

Looking at the text message from Kenta Kimura on his phone, Ryosuke politely replied with 'thank you'.

As for Haruba Arina being deeply affected, he felt that in a sense it was a good thing for her.

The saying goes, "Shame can inspire courage." It's perfectly normal for someone who overestimated their abilities and challenged "Rumiko Takashiro" to end up like this.

Ryosuke has released so many works, and Ayano has been able to keep up perfectly with each one, even surpassing his scriptwriting speed. This in itself is an extremely terrifying talent.

Or it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call him a 'monster'.

That guy even has time to play visual novels; he doesn't look like a manga artist working hard to meet deadlines at all.

If those cartoonists in the industry who died from overwork knew about this genius, they might be so angry they'd crawl out of their graves.

"The task is arduous..."

Ryosuke was a bit of a headache because of Ayano's writing speed. The six-episode NAME he gave her last time was already completely finished last week.

During summer vacation, Ling Nai has plenty of time, and these past few days she's been constantly asking him to urge her to finish her manuscript.

He said that if they didn't hand in the follow-up manuscript soon, he would draw Light Yagami even more like him.

Even so, the production rate won't be too fast.

Unlike the scriptwriting for the new visual novel, which can be done on a computer, the NAME for the manga still has to be drawn up stroke by stroke in a notebook.

After all, Ryosuke doesn't have the energy to adapt to something like a graphics tablet; it would take quite a long time to master it.

"Dong dong dong."

Just as he was thinking this, there was a knock on the door.

The next second, before Ryosuke could answer, the doorknob was turned from the outside.

Takashiro Ryou then pushed open the door and entered.

"What? You're slacking off again?"

As soon as the girl entered the room, her gaze fell directly on the lit computer screen.