Chapter 22 - the Defiance of a Mangaka
"Hey Mom, what are you doing?"
Her mother was hugging him by her blossom in a worried state after she came back from the supermarket with his sister. Ueno and Aya explained that Alex has just suffered from fatigue and had fallen down to the floor and collapsed due to that.
"You're not well Alex, you don't have to work so hard anymore, just rest, you're only starting to get better with your health, I don't want you to push yourself, let mommy deal with it."
her phone slip through her purse and drop to the floor, the screen blared at on that screen were the login details of a VIP Jamp account. Alex saw what her mom just did on her phone, she owned one of those VIP accounts for JAMP Portal, Alex never knew she read his manga too, Alex was rather too shy to show it to his own mother, even though he reincarnated into this Alex and retained his memory, there's a part of his personality that sticks from the previous body.
"uhh...a VIP account?"
Alex saw what was on the phone. It was a legitimate VIP account. That's rare. She had a VIP account?
"Oooh, mom, Onichan knew about it, busted!" Yukari smiled and puffed out her cheeks cheekily as she reprimanded her mother, looking very cute as she took the phone from the floor and give it back to her mother.
His Mother could only smile and showed him the phone, the name on the account was written as " Hiro" It was his father's account. Her mother was using his father's account to vote for him. There was a tinge of sadness and at the same time happiness as well,
" Your father would have wanted this, I don't think he would mind if I use it for this to help out his son"
Her mother simply smile at him gently and patted down his sister as she giggled in her arms
"Okay, I was going to draw the next volume, but I'll take your advice and rest for today"
Said Alex as he turn himself in and lie down on his bed, His mother let go of the hug and gently took the blanket to cover him, even if it was the summer, he wouldn't want his son to be uncomfortable.
"Don't force yourself, Alex, take some breaks, I know your hand is still injured, you need to take better care of it"
Alex looked back and looked at his mom, she was rather stern about it, It seems that she knew about how the injury still bothers him. He looked at his right hand and nodded, the rest of the people left his room and close the door so he could take some rest. as he took a deep breath, the deer on his chest kept beating wildly, not because of nervousness, but because Alex was really happy for some reason!
After all, Alex's mental age is thirty-two years old, and he was an orphan in his previous life, But even if he had no parents, He really didn't know how to act around his mother, and his memories aren't helping either, the previous him was an anti-social guy, he hardly talks to his family. He was very happy that this little event happened to him. he could really feel his mother's care and love, He needs to repay her as soon as a possible, system or no system he will try to find a way so they may live comfortably. A sister and mother who loves him very much. Those 5 little votes mean everything to him to this day.
He had to think about the future even more now. being an ordinary Mangaka just doesn't cut it. he wants to be independent. He wanted to become the best in the industry, but he doesn't know how to proceed from here on. He only hoped that the system will allow him some leeway to build his way to the top. Regardless if he wants to even consider having a serialization with JAMP, he needs to see the whole manga and anime industry as a whole since it's clearly very different from his previous world, perhaps there might be a way he could use his current popularity to do that?
Alex pondered in silence in his bed on what to do next but looking at the time, it was a few more hours before the voting ends. He would use the time to catch some shut-eye and sleep. Perhaps when he wakes up he would see the voting ended.
Meanwhile-
At this very moment, Aya Gozen is also at her home, afraid to check on the JAMP Portal website as she is praying for Alex's success and victory and also his recovery. She wasn't the type of person to pray for someone, but today she prayed and ask for Buddha for some enlightenment, After what happened to him, she desperately wants him to win this.
The wait is long! But it will always pass! Aya Gozen clicked on the website and lo and behold, she was surprised. Her prayers...did it really work?
As soon as the voting time ended, Aya took out her mobile phone nervously! Looking at the phone screen, swallowing her saliva nervously, with shaking fingers she clicks on the link and slowly clicks on his Manga Page on the JAMP Portal website. The Kyoto Ghoul manga was under review it was greyed out the time is up. he couldn't see the link with an error 404 showed up. Slowly she put her phone down and sat on the floor dazed. She simply doesn't know what to do.
What if he didn't win this time?
Elsewhere-
As a well-known manga magazine in Japan and one of the best in the Industry, JAMP Magazine not only has its own manga website and API but also has produced its own physical Tankabon magazines since 1968. It used to be called Shuesha Jamp weekly publications. It is the best-selling manga magazine, as well as one of the longest-running, with the first issue being released with a cover date of August 1, 1968, till today. Among the many magazines, JAMP Magazine is not the most profitable and largest manga magazine company, but JAMP Magazine has the best reputation and quality!
Even against Marbel or Penguin publications, they don't hold a candle to this Japanese giant in the industry.
The editor-in-charge of many comic magazines just contracted the author's work and then review the contract. After the contract is signed, it is basically a form of stock for the company. The more attentive the series is, the more retention it can hold, the more exciting it will be, and the more manga it will sell!. But if the sales are bad, then the author basically just gets the ax in the Weekly series and is basically forced to end the series, with other contracts. There was a discussion about moving forward with the industry mentality and well-being of Mangaka's treatment, but with such a mentality, how can the manga industry improve?
However, JAMP Magazine tries it differently. It is willing to diversify and move towards digital format, tried to reach out to International fandom, and provide proper translation in other mediums and even different languages. And now they are big enough to choose 20 manga to be featured in the next Tankabon special as a competition award with over thousands of submissions. Only twenty works will be chosen as their weekly Series all around the world. Being published in the weekly series is a dream for many aspiring mangaka artists. If your popularity ranks in the top ten then you're good, if you're on the lower brackets, then! Your work will be forced to stop its serialization and end abruptly, This is also known as the "half cut" in the industry!
Under such severe competitive pressure, the quality of comics published in JAMP magazine is surprisingly high. The standard has always represented the best of the best in the industry. So, If anyone wants to be featured in JAMP Magazine? The difficulty is as hard as entering Harvard or Yale University for some of these aspiring Mangaka artists. It is simply the highest standard in the industry in Japan.
The next day, After the last day of the submission, inside the JAMP magazine headquarters, there was an air of stillness within a particular room, At this moment, all the editors of the magazine locked themselves in a room quietly. This room is the conference room of JAMP magazine. Since it is guarded by the high-strength glass, everyone can usually see the situation inside, but now, all the sight is currently blocked by the curtain. The eight top Editors from each region for JAMP Magazine all grouped up in the same room today.
"The meeting shall now begin!"
Following the editor-in-chief's announcement, everyone else took their place and took out the folders they had prepared for a long time from their bags. In the dimly lit conference room, only the sound of papers being flickered and turned over could be heard. The Head Editor touched his nose, rubbed his eyes tiredly, and opened the folder. His tone was a bit lazy and casual, but it gave people a very serious feeling.
the top three content will be reviewed to see if the votes actually portray the quality necessary for the top three series to be in their rightful place, although this is only a formality, it is simply to check if there isn't any foul play and external manipulation towards the votes to artificially upscale a bad manga to the top three spots, If there are any discrepancies then an investigation will be sent out to check if the votes correlate the proper accounts in vote counts and to see if there is any external interference, that is why this meeting was held today.
"This time, there were many aspiring candidates, and the response was very good. A total of 3,750 entries participated. After a week of voting, the final winning work is also of the best quality we've ever seen. Now, there isn't much to say, let's start the voting process, starting with the third place."
"Kekite's Daily Life"." One of the editors say
"I voted for this"
As soon as his voice fell, The head of the department spoke frankly.
" I voted for it too, it's has a lot of potential"
"As for why..." The man dragged his words slowly "Well now..." He was looking for a certain document as he flips the papers in the document bag looking for it.
"I have it."
After finding the document, one of the editors threw the paper on top of the table and continued to say,
"Kekite's Daily Life" is a campus-style slice of life manga, the author's painting art style is delicate, and the story is warm and sweet. It is innovative, and the cuteness of the protagonist Kekite is perfectly expressed in the art, but the jokes and from com delivery are dull, and the style of storytelling is a bit old-fashioned, so I agree, this series can only be in the third place"
"Anyone else? Okay, I'm done."
"I also voted for "Kekite's Daily Life"," said the Editor from the Kyushu Region, holding his chin and flipping through the printed copy he had and smiling comfortably.
"As you know, I like this sort of story, it's relatively light and doesn't go out to create some waves, but the supporting characters' roles aren't that memorable, If Only she could emulate Lilian's style in creating meaningful characters, it is still not enough, only the third."
"Agree" The Editor from Tohoku of Aomori said
"Agree." The Deputy Chief from Chubu of Nagano agrees too.
"I Disagree."
the editor from Shikoku Region from Matsuyama raised his hand and said, and then opened the document, this manga has too many shortcomings, but in comparison, I think "Green Sky" should be ranked third."
"The reasons are as follows "Green Sky" has a sophisticated art style and brushwork skills with enough distinctive characters, especially the women, I feel that it is painted very beautifully, which is in line with modern people's aesthetics and fantasy, but the plot seems to be..hmm, less than desired. Just know that blindly advocating NTR can only be third place in my opinion."
"Agreed, although "Green Sky" uses a full-color manga for its format, the story isn't that interesting. If you pursue the art, the book itself is nothing special, it should be placed in third." said the Editor.
After each of the eight people expressed their opinions, they entered into the free discussion (free debate). Ten minutes later, the Head editor clapped his hands,
"Okay, let's count the votes now."
"The vote is over, the third-place winner of this event is "Kikite's Daily Life" by Lady H. Kikite."
After the editor-in-chief announced it lightly, there was no objection in the conference room, but there was no cheering or the like. On the contrary, they calmly turned over the documents in their hands, put down the materials related to "Kikite's Daily Life", and started to prepare for the second place. 's selection.
"Now let's count the vote for the second place in the Awards."
The editor-in-chief's voice was still so dull another sound of flipping paper.
"For the second place, Bungoku Stray Cats."
The deputy editor-in-chief held up the glasses on the bridge of his nose.
"Although the subject matter of "Bungoku Stray Cats" is a niche for the supernatural genre, the author has a good grasp of it. From the plot, whether it is the daily warm life of the stray cats and the heroine or the interaction between stray cats and other alley cats, they are all well described. It reminds me of that cat anime a long time ago, the detective turning into a white tiger was very refreshing."
"For the second place, I too choose "Bungoku Stray Cats".the plot is interesting, I like this sort of story very much. I heard that the author has been under Junya sensei for five whole years during his time in Niko Niko Douga . Judging from this manga, it is indeed I got the true biography of Junya sensei " said the five ministers.
"If only the plot is far more amazing than this and the style of art style is a bit more robust, He could really have the ability to compete for first place. It's a pity to ignore such talents," said one of the Editors
The rest of the people posted their opinions one after another, and they had a free discussion for another 10 minutes. However, since everyone had almost the same opinion, the discussion ended after three minutes.
"Bungoku Stray Cats" won second place.
"OK! First place next!" The editor-in-chief's tone seemed to be the same as before, but when you listened carefully, you could find a little excitement and tremble in his tone. he was excited, the dull man was finally starting to cheer up
"Finally! The main event is here!" The deputy editor pulled the chair, sat up straight, and threw the document in his hand on the table.
"I'll say it first! First place! "Kyoto Ghoul"!"
The deputy editor-in-chief's tone was firm and brief as if announcing the result
"From the perspective of the plot setting, the story arc of the ghouls eating people and expelling these ghouls in the Kyoto Region is very novel, which is unprecedented at this time, and this manga has opened up a brand new genre and theme! Speaking of the devil! Whether it's the new style of combining the unique shoujo manga art style and the gore and bloody horror manga in daily life or the wonderful fights that are repeatedly using panels that are 'out of line' in the battle scenes and various explosions of ink, it can be regarded as a masterful work"
"First place! "Kyoto Ghoul" I agree!"
The editorial director from Kyushu directly interrupted the deputy editor-in-chief, because he wanted to comment for a long time.
"Aside from the plot and style of painting, under the distinct artwork of the characters, everyone has a distinct personality. a random character that doesn't serve any purpose in the manga who only appears once will be labeled as 'different' by readers! This is quite the rarest!"
"That's right, and when it comes to storytelling alone, "Kyoto Ghoul" is even more extreme! The eclectic painting uses two pages drawn together just to connect a scene! Although the approach is bold and risky! But the effect is very good Excellent!"
In addition to the editor-in-chief and the director, other people present expressed their views one after another.
"What do you think,? Edtior-in-Chief Sanomiya?"
The editor-in-chief saw that Sannomiya Akechi was in a daze and reminded.
"I'm...I agree" she came back to her senses, folded her long hair, and said naturally, with a bit of embarrassment in her voice that was distracted during the meeting.
"Since everyone insists that the first place will be "Kyoto Ghoul", what else can I say? I was thinking that you too would agree with us that "Kyoto Ghoul" is qualified to win the first place, editor-in-chief. Isn't that right?"
The editor-in-chief could only nod in affirmation
"Well, ten minutes of free discussion, then a vote."
These people are simply going through a routine. In their minds, they already made their decision, that Kyoto Ghoul will snatch the first spot. there isn't any discussion at all, In these ten minutes, these veterans in the industry were basically discussing the various innovations in the manga industry portrayed in "Kyoto Ghoul".
For the continuous appreciation of this Manga, no one else is talking about its shortcomings, because at present, no one can find faults in its style of art or plot. Ten minutes later, the discussion was stopped by the editor-in-chief, and everyone's eyes were focused on the editor-in-chief, waiting for him to announce the final result.
"After the voting has ended, a total of four works were shortlisted, of which the first was "Green Sky", the second was "Bungoku Stray Cats", and the third was "Kikite's' Daily Life" together with "Kyoto Ghoul" " The editor-in-chief briefly summarized.
"After the final selection, the third prize Award goes to "Kikite's Daily Life", the second is "Bungoku Stray Cats", the first is "Kyoto Ghoul", as for "Green Sky?....well, we will simply eliminate it"
Chief Sannomiya stood up to say something
"There is...however the discrepancies of the voting of Kyoto Ghoul, it's an overwhelming count."
The rest of the Editors stood in their chairs and nodded in agreement.
"Yes, the entry does have an overabundance of votes even from overseas, it is almost unprecedented, some of the votes even garner International News for us, giving JAMP some free publicity. Do you suspect a third-party manipulation going on in this series? Regardless of the matter, the series is indeed one of the best entries we have received"
Chief Sannomiya then said-
"I don't know, but let's not leave it to chance. Send an investigation team towards this Alex Kenichi, also known as Tochigi the author and Illustrator of Kyoto Ghoul, if everything checks out, we will begin serialization and deposit his prize money accordingly to his Editor"
The other chiefs look around the table and nodded in agreement.
"Is that all? then..."
" Dismissed!"
Soon, the news that "Kyoto Ghoul" won first place was published on the page of JAMP magazine, and in the new edition of the manga, it was announced that "Tokyo Ghoul" would start next week! Serialized in JAMP WEEKLY Magazine! The meeting ended at 2:00 am,
In Alex's room, He was alone sitting there mindlessly staring at the ceiling as the ticks went by, he could even hear the clock goes tick-tock- as each second passes by, At this time, an electronic sound came to mind in his mind...He just woke up around 10 pm, took a late dinner, and had a conversation with his mother and sister about his series. They too are watching the site for any announcement but so far none, so Alex went back to his room to rest again when suddenly
|
"The host has completed the task" "The reward is confirmed, the host unlocks the comic "Toradora", gets 20,000 influence points, 0.5 physical fitness, "and one lucky spin on the wheel of destiny" |
"Reward? what?"
Alex who was still in a daze woke up immediately from sitting on the floor and immediately got up. the system had prompted him. At this time, a warm current slowly flowed into his own body, making Alex's body shake, and he woke up in a daze but felt very comfortable inside his body. Alex, who had just jolted from his laziness, was still confused.
"The mission is completed? Wait, how?"
Alex was a little surprised. Did he win? Does he win first place? This time, he did not let the warm current treat a certain part but let it keep flowing in his internal organs because his body was no longer damaged, but his internal organs were still a little weak. that 0.5 physical fitness improves his body even more as his blood flows better and his muscles and bones grew stronger.
After being nourished by the warm current, after three minutes, Alex felt really good and well-rested, the added 0.5 physical fitness stat increased his vitality once more.
he checks his phone on the JAMP Twatter account. 2.01 am posted the results of the competition. Kyoto Ghoul is currently number 1. He really won!
whiteW0lf· Apr 13, 2022
