Cartoonists and their assistants

His parents gave him lucky money and blessings.

He responded with a smile, "Wishing you both a Happy New Year and good health!"

Meanwhile, fireworks began to bloom continuously in the night sky outside the window.

The young boy and girl, though in different places, were looking at the same scenery, both wearing similar smiles, and sending each other a blessing via LINE.

"Happy New Year!"

Early the next morning.

At this time, people usually visit nearby temples or shrines to pray for blessings in the past year and to wish for happiness and health in the new year.

Because their homes were nearby, the Sawamura family and the Mizuki family 'coincidentally' bumped into each other.

"It's been a long time, Mrs. Sawamura."

"It has indeed been a long time, Mrs. Mizuki."

The two adults got so engrossed in their conversation that they acted like longtime best friends, leaving their children behind.

There was nothing they could do, so the two childhood sweethearts exchanged a glance and went off to do their own thing.

"Come on, Zhenzhi, let's see who's luckier!"

Eriri pointed to the area next to where people were drawing lots and shouted loudly.

"Of course you're lucky... after all, you got to meet me."

"...That's really shameless."

Joking aside, they still tried their luck, and both of them got a "small win," which was just so-so, but still acceptable.

Afterwards, the two continued the worship process, first washing their hands at the purse-washing station, then passing through the torii gate, and finally ringing the bell and bowing in front of the offering box.

What did Eriri wish for?

"Hmph, are you an idiot? Saying it out loud won't work."

"Is that so? Then I won't say anything more."

"Fine, don't say it then, stop emphasizing it!"

After drawing lots and making their wishes, the two left the shrine.

"True knowledge".

Just before they parted ways at the crossroads, Eriri suddenly called out to him.

Please continue to take care of me this year!

The girl turned her head, revealing a childlike and adorable smile.

"Um...please take care of me."

He looked at the girl's face, red from the cold, and smiled gently in return.

The threat of 40 new serializations!?

Winter break is over, and students are returning to campus.

After a week of fun, it's time to get back to work.

Although Eriri was enjoying her leisurely days, her yearning for her dream never ceased.

She used to only think about making her debut, but now her goal has changed to becoming the number one most popular manga artist in Monthly Shonen Gangan.

This goal is clearly much more difficult than before.

After all, it seems unlikely that they will make their debut.

Even so, she still wanted to take it seriously and didn't want to waste the effort the two of them had put in.

During my free time.

"Speaking of which, the Newcomer Awards ended last month. If nothing unexpected happens, 'The Name of Heroes,' which ranked first, will continue its serialization. As for 'Otherworldly Outing Daily Life,' which ranked second, it seems a bit lacking and might be eliminated. That means there are still two veteran authors starting new serializations..."

Chie Takasago came over for a chat.

Mizuki Machi understood the girl's unspoken meaning.

These three new serializations are likely to compete with "Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day" for popularity rankings, making them formidable rivals.

"It's too early to worry now. We should at least see the quality before making any judgments. Besides, worrying about this kind of thing is useless. What's important is the quality of the comic itself. As long as it's fair competition, being surpassed or surpassing others should be perfectly acceptable."

"Kanzuki-kun, your level of awareness is a bit too high!"

Chie Takasago couldn't help but exclaim, immediately attracting the attention of many classmates.

She felt awkward and had no choice but to keep a straight face and pretend that nothing had happened, trying to get away with it.

The others didn't pay much attention, except for a blonde young lady in the seat in front of them, whose scrutinizing gaze turned displeased.

"Makoto, what did Takasago talk to you about after class last time? Come to think of it, this kind of thing has been happening a lot lately! Could it be that he likes you?"

During lunch break, Eriri called him to the school's small garden, intending to question him.

The air seemed to be filled with the smell of vinegar.

"It's just about the new manga series, Eriri, why are you so excited?"

Kanzuki Masashi gave a flippant smile.

"I...I'm not excited at all! I'm just worried that you'll get distracted by other things and affect our important business."

Eriri's mind clicked, she found a legitimate reason, and asked the question.

"By the way, what's the new serialization?"

"You forgot, the winners of the Newcomer Award have already been confirmed, and this issue is the time to publish the new serialization."

"Depend on!"

The girl immediately swore.

"In that case, wouldn't our ranking possibly drop further?"

Those eliminated are usually the bottom few, while new series usually perform better. The advantages they had as newcomers will now become their disadvantages.

"We haven't even confirmed who the new serializer is, and you're already this scared? Eriri really is a coward."

Machi Mizuki used reverse psychology on Eriri.

"Who's afraid?! I refuse to believe that anyone can be compared to us, hmph!"

Eriri's voice suddenly rose in pitch.

Such confidence is clearly temporary and blind.

On January 12th—

"What? It's a new serialization by both Tsukimi-sensei and Narita-sensei?"

The girl was bewildered when she saw the serializer's name.

First, there's Tsukimi Rigenmai, an up-and-coming manga artist who has already made a name for herself with her first work, and her appeal goes without saying.

The key point is that the other party's story only ended not long ago, right?

That's way too much effort!

They only had the opportunity to debut early because they replaced each other; otherwise, they would probably still be competing with others for the newcomer award.

Then there's Narita-sensei, who is even more of a heavyweight. He was once a famous light novelist, and later became the original author, collaborating with a manga artist. He once threatened the top three spots, but although the beginning was good, he lacked follow-up and was almost canceled later.

But now that they've made a comeback and have spent so much time preparing, they may have already improved this problem.

"Now I'm actually under some pressure."

Mizuki Machi burst into laughter.

"Still laughing! Take a look!"

Eriri glared at him and quickly flipped open the magazine.

The first thing that catches the eye is "The Name of a Hero," which won first place in the Newcomer Award. Judging from the name, it sounds like a classic American hero story, but it actually tells the story of an unnamed knight in another world who aims to save the world. The content is more heartwarming, like a road movie, and it should tell the story of human joys and sorrows against the backdrop of a demon invasion.

In just over 60 pages, the novel sketches out the backdrop of a difficult world under the torrent of history, and the specific image of an ordinary protagonist who transforms into a fearless avenger.

"That's a pretty good drawing! Are all the newcomers this talented?"

The girl's expression turned serious.

"Of course, he was the first place winner in the newcomer award. How could he have done it without some real skills?"

He retorted from the side.

Narita-sensei's "The Necromancer Also Wants to Live a Slow Life" ranked second. The theme is relatively novel, combining classic time travel with the recent "slow life" trend, but the content is rather plain and unsubstantial. It's still the same old formula, just handled very maturely.

"A solid plot design plus a mix of popular themes? It looks quite appealing."

Eriri examined it carefully and did not underestimate it.

His assessment was: "It resonates with the thoughts of today's young people, but it may not be suitable for the current Gangan."

"You know a lot!"

The girl scoffed and continued turning the page.

In third place is Mai Tsukimi's "Tears ~The Fallen Beast~", which tells the story of the male protagonist, Maya Kurusu, who becomes a demon power user named "Dark" after signing a contract with the demon Lucifer and fighting against the Fallen Beasts in another world. Its dark worldview is very attractive to teenagers in their second year of middle school.

"Machi, I'm afraid Tsukimi-sensei will become our formidable rival in the future!"

After watching it, Eriri gasped.

Judging from the girl's previous arrogant attitude, you can tell just how high this evaluation is.

The fact that the other person was also very young gave her this premonition.

"That's it."

Mizuki Machi reluctantly affirmed her statement.

Although there is no such thing as a one-on-one competition in comic book serialization, people with similar rankings will always want to surpass others, which is a motivation for girls.

Only when there is pressure can there be motivation.

Because of this, Eriri's drawing skills, which had stagnated for some time, finally began to improve.

Episode 41, Part 3

The first page of the third episode of "Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day" is a color page.

There were only two people on the screen, Jinta Yadomi and Naruko Anjou, who were walking to school. They were both looking back, as if they were watching someone.

On the page, there were also several lines of small print—"I really want to see you"—repeated over and over again.

The story begins with a flashback of Jinta Yadomi's childhood memories, and a brief description of why he became withdrawn.

Then, back to the present, under Menma's strong insistence, he is forced to go back to school.

On the way, he encountered Anjou Naruko and her two best friends. Under their ridicule, he seemed to think he had come to his senses again and fled halfway.

He turned around and found himself in an awkward situation: he couldn't go to school, and he was too embarrassed to go home.

Bored, he decided to wander around and ended up at the secret base.

There, I met Popo, who claimed to have "seen Menma".

He was skeptical, but when he returned home, he found Menma was still there. He talked to her, and the conversation gradually turned to the game of hide-and-seek.

Menma told him that she had already gone home.

Listening to the girl's seemingly casual conversation, Jinta Yadomi was deeply moved.

On the other hand, Menma's other childhood friends also had more contact with her because of Menma's appearance.

Immediately afterwards, Jinta Yadomi saw his mother's portrait, and the images of his memories flashed through his mind again, revealing that the impact of the two deaths was related.

At the end, Popo continues his idea of ​​gathering his friends together to start the 'Menma Search Tournament'.

......

The third episode mainly focuses on 'family ties'. The mystery-solving segment that everyone was looking forward to didn't happen, but readers aren't stupid. After all, it's not a mind-bending detective novel, and the hints in the plot are already obvious enough.