Tokyo 1970: I'll draw Doraemon?

For example, Kurata and Hasegawa were chatting near the entrance of the hall.

They had both worked as assistants to the same cartoonist, so they knew each other and had a lot in common.

"I wonder which one is the currently very popular Adachi-sensei. He's really amazing. He draws Touch so interestingly. I'd like to learn from him," Kurata said.

“I don’t know either,” Hasegawa shook his head and said with a smile, “Perhaps you can ask them one by one.”

"That would be terrible, it would offend a lot of people."

"Hahaha," Hasegawa laughed twice, then admitted frankly, "Actually, I also want to meet Oikawa-sensei and ask him for advice on how to draw shonen manga."

"Tch," Kurata waved his hand, "Who wouldn't want to meet Oikawa-sensei? Even if we can't build a relationship, getting an autograph would be nice."

He continued, "If I run into him, I'll definitely pester him to teach me his skills so I can draw a hit comic and achieve financial freedom!"

“I’ve made up my mind,” he clapped his hands. “I’m going to throw away all pride and ask them one by one.”

"Huh? Really?"

"Of course it's true!"

Just as Kurata made up his mind, a voice sounded from behind him.

"Excuse me, is this the entrance to the Future Society's annual meeting hall?"

“Yes,” Kurata answered casually. He turned around, looked at the person who had come, and was momentarily stunned.

"And...Oikawa...Teacher..."

Hasegawa stared blankly at the gentle-smiling man in front of him. Despite being just a handsome guy, he was so stiff that he couldn't utter a single word.

Asano Megumi, standing to the side, sensed Fushimikawa's status in the manga world.

In less than four years, he has already reached the pinnacle of comics.

"Thank you," Fushimikawa nodded, patted Kurata's blushing shoulder, and brushed past him.

Hasegawa breathed a sigh of relief after they left.

"I'm really worried I'll say the wrong thing."

"It feels like whatever I say is wrong."

They exchanged a glance, their expressions helpless.

Because they care too much, they are unable to express their inner thoughts.

"What a pity..."

They sighed.

……

With a tissue pressed against the glass to keep his hands dry from the condensation, Keizo Shichijo sipped his champagne, his eyes casually observing his surroundings.

"Tezuka-sensei is very willing to cooperate. Indeed, since Mushi Productions went bankrupt, he has been burdened with a huge personal debt of 1.5 million yen. Even with the popular manga 'Black Jack' in hand, it won't be easy for Tezuka-sensei to pay off such a large amount."

Although he was aware of the situation, Shichijo Keizo did not go to see Tezuka, who was surrounded by manufacturers from all walks of life.

He had only one goal: to focus his energy on Osamu Tezuka until he had achieved a cooperation with that person.

"Ah, here it comes."

Upon seeing the man who had arrived with a female companion, Keizo Shichijo's eyes lit up. He put down his champagne and strode over.

"Hello, I am Keizo Shichijo, a producer at Toei Animation. It's nice to meet you, Mr. Oikawa."

"Toei?" Oikawa frowned.

Chapter 152 Discussion on Anime Adaptation of "Nobita and the Iron Legion"

Keizo Shichijo's heart skipped a beat as he sensed Oikawa's dissatisfaction with Toei Animation.

He knew the source of this emotion, of course. After calming his heart a little, Shichijo bowed slightly and said, "I am truly sorry for the incident where our company's Takagi Masato caused a disturbance at Mirai-sha."

He first admitted to it, and then offered an explanation.

"Actually, not long after that, our company fired Takagi and issued a written apology to Mirai-sha, but I think that's not enough. So now..."

He bowed deeply again: "I want to express Toei's apologies to you in person, Mr. Oikawa. I am truly sorry."

As expected of the producer, Shichijo dispelled Fushimikawa's dissatisfaction with just a few words.

He adopted a very humble posture, which was completely unlike that of a top producer at Japan's largest animation company.

Having given so much, all he wants is more.

Fushimikawa remained vigilant. When talking to this kind of person, one must concentrate and avoid making promises too easily in a moment.

“If you hadn’t mentioned Takagi, I would have forgotten about it long ago.” Fushimikawa chuckled. “Get up, Mr. Shichijo.”

"We're so grateful that you can forgive us." Shichijo stood up, her face filled with gratitude.

Regardless of what he was thinking, he did a very good job of putting on a show.

Just then, a large crowd gathered around.

People from TV stations such as Fuji, TBS, and NET, staff from toy manufacturer Bandai, and a producer from Tatsunoko Production, a direct competitor of Toei.

Shichijo quickly turned around and found that the people around Osamu Tezuka had suddenly become sparse.

He glared at the people who had interfered with his communication with Oikawa, feeling dissatisfied: They were too greedy!

……

At this annual meeting, Fushimikawa did nothing but accept business cards and connect with strangers.

Asano Megumi could only watch helplessly as Fushimi River was surrounded by many men.

Even after the crowd dispersed, Fushimikawa was called away by Fujiwara Maki under the pretext of work.

"How awful!"

In a corner of the venue, Fujiwara Maki was indeed discussing work with Fushimikawa.

“That…that Nanajo, is…the producer of Mazinger Z. He’s trying to get close to you,” Fujiwara Maki said, slightly out of breath, her chest heaving as she kept her business in mind, “in order to get the animation license for Nobita and the Tetsujin Corps.”

Touching his slightly swollen lips, Fushimikawa understood.

Mazinger Z achieved an average viewership rating of 22.1%, placing it among the top shows in the industry.

In addition, there are the high toy revenues generated by the mechs.

This revenue even surpassed the anime's income. It's only natural that Toei wanted to replicate the success of "Mazinger Z" and set its sights on "Nobita and the Tetsujin Corps".

Although everyone is struggling to make ends meet these days, it is precisely at times like these that we should concentrate our funds to produce one or two top-tier works to demonstrate our presence.

"Is it going to be made into a theatrical version?" Fushimikawa asked.

“Yes,” Fujiwara Maki nodded. “Toei said they’re going to release a single feature film nationwide, targeting children and teenagers, on a large scale, and to usher in a new era.”

Modern animated films tend to follow a mixed bag model, combining two or three short animated films with a tokusatsu short film, or a live-action series, all packaged together to attract audiences with rich content.

An animated film running for two hours is unprecedented in the mainstream market.

Only experimental animated films with limited releases receive this honor.

In other words, the production company doesn't trust that an animation can shoulder the responsibility.

However, at Toei Animation, "Nobita and the Iron Man" seems to be an exception.

"What are the conditions?"

"It's negotiable. If you're willing to invest, you can get a share of the movie toy copyright and box office revenue."

Maki Fujiwara spoke with great confidence.

Fushimikawa nodded: "I'm leaving this to you. I'm entrusting you with all the communication with Toei Animation and Shogakukan."

"Don't worry," Fujiwara Maki patted her chest. "Leave it to me."

Fushimikawa has to put all his energy into manga.

Weekly cartoonists, when do they have time for anything else?

It would be great if the original manuscript could be submitted on time.

This is also why Fushimikawa sought partners to start a company.

Perhaps out of pity for Fushimikawa's hardship, Fujiwara Maki stopped bothering Fushimikawa after that.

So after the annual meeting, she left with Megumi Asano.

At 10 p.m., several manga artists, including Fushimikawa, Osamu Tezuka, Mitsuru Adachi, Kenshi Hirokane, Ryo Watanabe, and Fujiko Fujio, walked the streets of Tokyo in different ways, arm in arm, chatting about life.

“That’s outrageous,” Osamu Tezuka complained. “My Black Jack manga has been serialized for over twenty chapters and I still haven’t gotten first place.”

Adachi Mitsuru shrugged: "I can't help it, I just took advantage of you a few times. Oikawa-sensei is the real culprit."

When Oikawa is mentioned, Osamu Tezuka gets furious.

He ruffled Fushimi's hair, somewhat exasperated.

"Seriously, I've put so much effort into drawing this, racking my brains every day—it's harder than serializing a dozen manga at the same time. And yet, it's all been blocked by your 'Naruto'! And..."

Before, he still had the desire to take on challenges.

But facing the Shadow in battle, Osamu Tezuka truly didn't know what to do.

At this stage, Oikawa is invincible.

To compare achievements with his, one must wait until the peak period of "Naruto" has passed.

"This is really a headache. Are you still drawing comics lately?"

Fushimikawa licked his lips, worried that Tezuka Osamu's jealousy and resentment of talented people had relapsed.

"It's practically indistinguishable from animation. I never imagined that comic paneling would evolve to this extent in such a short time. Its art form is not far from animation."

Fortunately, Osamu Tezuka's heavy breathing relieved Fushimikawa.

“In every era, different people create different forms, and those who can keep up with the times are truly remarkable,” Fushimikawa said, glancing behind him at Fujimoto Hiroshi, who was talking with his friend Abiko Motoo.

"Tezuka-sensei is, and Fujiko-sensei is too. You are both manga artists who make it impossible for people to relax."

At the back of the line, listening to the conversation of the big shots, Watanabe Ryo nodded silently.