Chapter 448 Two or three things about the Undying River
Chapter 448 Two or three things about the Immortal River
Saturday morning.
Immortal River Building, Comics Department, Jimbocho.
In order to submit the manuscript, Kato Yusuke came here, and the person who received him was the old editor Suzuki.
Under the warm invitation of the other party, the two came to the editor-in-chief's office together and chatted while making tea.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Fujimotoshu. There is a small situation at a bookstore that cooperates with us. Komumura has been sent to solve the problem. During this time, I will chat with you for a while. I hope you can
Don’t dislike it.”
"You're welcome, Editor-in-Chief Suzuki, I'm just here to deliver the manuscript today. If you have something to do, don't worry about me."
"It doesn't matter, it doesn't matter." The old editor smiled and waved his hand, "Young people are doing everything, but I have a lot of free time here. It's a dream for me to have someone to chat with."
"Then excuse me." Kato Yusuke politely replied.
"Don't worry about it. Teacher Fujimotoshu, is it okay to drink tartary buckwheat tea?"
"Okay, please."
"No, it's just a little coarse tea. The teacher is really polite."
After brewing tea in the teapot, the old editor poured a cup of tea into a disposable paper cup and sat down on the small sofa used for entertaining guests.
"Tea, please."
"thank you."
Kato Yusuke reached out and picked up the paper cup, brought it to his mouth, and blew lightly on the rim of the cup a few times, and a scent of wheat came to his face.
The tea soup is golden in color and clear in texture, with a few tartary buckwheat grains like small black pearls deposited at the bottom.
After taking a sip, a strong bitter taste filled my mouth, and the hot tea overflowed in my mouth. There was basically no other taste except the bitter taste.
The old editor added a lot of tartary buckwheat, so the bitterness is more intense than usual.
Kato Yuu took two sips without changing his expression, and then put down the cup. It felt like he had taken two sips of Chinese medicine.
"How is the taste?"
"Well, it feels very healthy. The texture of the tartary buckwheat is of high quality and it's not burnt. It's very good."
The old editor let out a surprised sound and sat up slightly, "Do you usually drink tartary buckwheat tea at your age?"
Kato Yusuke shook his head at this and explained:
"That's not true. I usually drink more oolong tea. It's just that I drank it for a while with my grandfather. He said that this bitter taste is the intoxicating taste of life, which can make people remember the bitterness and think of the sweetness."
"The excitement of life..."
The old editor murmured and nodded with deep understanding. The expression on his face suddenly felt like he had heard the truth, so he added some tea to his cup and said with emotion:
"This is really true. Very few young people drink this today. Mr. Fujimotosuki's family tradition is very upright. No wonder he can cultivate such an outstanding child like you."
"You're flattering me. I'm just paraphrasing it. I'm not that high-minded yet. If I were outside now, I would have bought oolong tea from a convenience store."
"Haha, just by having this attitude of not being arrogant or impetuous, teacher, you are already very different from your peers. There is no need to be so arrogant."
Kato Yusuke didn't say anything more and picked up the tea again to sip.
The old editor was also holding his own thermos cup, his eyes fell on the brown paper bag he placed on the coffee table, and asked: "Speaking of which, the manuscript Mr. Fujimotoshu will submit today is still ten chapters...?"
"No, this time it's five chapters. Sorry, there's been a lot going on lately."
"No, no~ I didn't mean that. Rather, it's surprising that there are five chapters. After all, the deeds of you and Mr. Kasumi Shiko are few even in the industry."
"No, do you want to take a look?"
"In that case...just wait for me."
Faced with Kato Yusuke's suggestion, the old editor nodded first, then stood up and walked behind the desk to get a magazine.
"This is a sample issue that will be released on Monday. It's not good for Mr. Fujimotoshu to keep idle. If you don't mind, go ahead and read it."
"It's time to work."
After Yusuke Kato reached out and took the sample issue, editor-in-chief Suzuki also began to look at the manuscript he sent this time.
After taking the manuscript out of the brown paper bag, the first thing that caught my eye was the familiar sketch style.
From episodes 14 to 18, the manuscripts of the five episodes are pinned with circular pins. The drawings on the comic paper are very neat, with few traces of modification, which makes them very pleasing to the eye.
The old editor-in-chief leaned back on the sofa, holding the manuscript in his right hand, and turning the pages with the thumb and index finger of his left hand.
As for the plot, he is not very worried. The previous performance of "Chainsaw Man" has already proved his imagination, so the main thing to look at is whether there is any breakdown in the painting.
After all, Mr. Fujimoto's painting speed is really extraordinary. Even with the help of assistants, it is staggering to be able to deliver such a large number of manuscripts on a regular basis.
With "Chainsaw Man" gaining momentum.
If the popularity and reputation of the work decline because of overemphasis on speed and neglect of quality, it is tantamount to picking up sesame seeds and losing the watermelon. He never wants to see this situation.
Not to mention that the old editor-in-chief also has ardent hopes for this work, hoping that "Chainsaw Man" can achieve a counterattack and reverse the current pattern of comics magazines Yusanjia in one fell swoop.
The relationship between the two parties can be said to be both prosperous and destructive.
Therefore, if he really finds similar signs, he will immediately stop the subsequent supplement arrangement, allowing the other party to focus on ensuring quality in peace and quiet.
With this idea in mind, Editor-in-Chief Suzuki went through the 96 pages of text in his hand, and finally let out a sigh of relief, secretly thinking that the future life is terrible.
As always, the style of the comic is very stable, and there is no intention of shoddy work. Both the literary and martial arts parts are stable and consistent.
Editor-in-chief Suzuki couldn't help but admire this, then raised his head and said, "I've finished reading, Mr. Fujimotosuki."
"What do you think?" Kato Yusuke put down the sample magazine that was much thicker than before and looked back.
"Yeah, impeccable." The other party nodded slightly, and then started talking with a smile.
"At the same time, it also confirms to me that teacher, you are serious about supplementing your works, and you have the strength to do this. This is really amazing."
"No, as long as you are satisfied."
The old editor put the manuscript back into the document bag, picked up the thermos cup again, took a sip of hot tea, and smiled broadly.
As long as you are satisfied? Of course you are satisfied!
After all, he could be so productive while ensuring quality. He couldn't be more satisfied with such a diligent and precious author. No publishing house would reject such a treasure.
In a good mood, he couldn't help but joke.
"To be honest, I didn't really believe that you could have such perseverance, but now it seems that maybe I can look forward to the magazine sales this time~"
Kato Yusuke shook his head, "You are joking, Editor-in-Chief Suzuki, you are still in your prime, so this title does not suit you."
"Teacher Fujimoto is good at everything, but he is quite humble. The sales volume of the magazine and the questionnaire survey are not deceiving. 30% of the extra readers we have now are brought by you. You can be more proud!"
Rather, if there is another author like you, I can retire peacefully."
The old editor-in-chief stopped here. He couldn't help but think of the last industry seminar and some unpleasant things that happened at that time, and his face became slightly gloomy.
Kato Yusuke noticed the change on his face and asked, "Is there anything wrong? Editor-in-chief Suzuki."
"No, I just suddenly thought of a few naysayers, which made you laugh, teacher."
The old editor-in-chief thought about it and told him what happened at the last industry seminar.
The thing is simple to say, in fact, editor-in-chief Suzuki wanted to take advantage of the recent popularity of "Chainsaw Man" to show off at the seminar, and it was indeed successful at first.
He didn't even need to take the initiative to speak, some representatives from the publishing house exaggerated the magazine's recent sales for him, and they praised and envied him.
The old editor-in-chief looked modest on the outside, but on the inside he was very happy and satisfied. But in the end, someone refused to let him get what he wanted.
Before he could immerse himself in this emotion for a while, the three old enemies, headed by the Manga Yusan Family, began to attack him verbally.
Although it was obviously a congratulations to their editorial department for their achievements, the damn arrogant attitude made people feel very uncomfortable, as if they were just lucky enough to be able to sign "Chainsaw Man".
One work.
Although it does mean something like this...but it is still our own business! We family members can speak our own language, so why is it the turn of outsiders like you to give advice?
The old editor-in-chief, who was still happy at first, immediately became unhappy, and immediately started a quarrel with those three yin and yang old guys.
It's a pity that he was alone and weak after all. With the cooperation of representatives from the three participating companies, he still suffered a small setback.
Although this matter did not cause any real damage, it still made people feel depressed, and the pleasure that was originally touted by other magazines was gone.
The old editor-in-chief became angrier and angrier as he spoke, his face turned red and his neck thickened.
Kato Yusuke listened calmly, pondered for a while, and then said: "I probably understand what you mean, but have the sales of "Shounen Undead" dropped recently?"
"No, thanks to you, the current sales volume has basically remained at around 600,000 copies, but the growth has slowed down a bit."
"Slowly, that means it's still rising, right?"
"That's right!"
"So what are the sales of other magazines recently?"
"The plot of this issue of the leading works of Kodansha and Shogakukan has reached a climax. Although the statistics have not yet been fully calculated, the sales volume is expected to be around one million copies."
As for Shueisha's "Shounen Jump", the old editor didn't say anything about it because the gap between the two sides was too big.
Kato Yusuke thought for a moment and then said: "I think, Editor-in-Chief Suzuki, are you too anxious? In fact, as long as the sales of the magazine are still growing, it will be fine."
"I know this too."
The old editor smiled bitterly and shook his head.
"In the past, I wouldn't have cared about this, but now...well, probably because of your joining, teacher, I have a little more hope. I hope that one day Immortal River can become the fourth family of comics magazines.
"
As if to hide the true feelings revealed at this moment, he started to pick up the thermos cup and drink tea.
"——If you care about this matter."
Kato Yusuke pondered for a moment.
"Although I can't guarantee anything, "Chainsaw Man" is actually a late-stage work, and the dark lines and world view of the work have not yet been fully developed.
From this aspect, I think the response will not be worse than it is now."
"Thank you for your comfort, Teacher Fujimotoshu."
The old editor said in a somewhat apologetic tone: "Sorry, I seem to have added unnecessary pressure to you. I hope you don't mind."
Kato Yusuke said no at first, and then continued.
"You don't have to care too much about other people's evaluations. The content of comics will ultimately speak for itself. Being ahead today does not mean that you will always be ahead."
"There is a saying in my hometown, which is thirty years to the east of Hedong and thirty years to west of Hexi. Don't bully young people into poverty. Maybe you can think of it this way."
The old editor-in-chief was startled when he heard this, and his eyes immediately lit up.
"That's well said! Teacher Fujimotoshu!" He clapped his hands and praised, and his whole body cheered up instantly, feeling a little awakened.
——"Thirty years to the east of the river and thirty years to the west of the river. Don't bully young people into poverty!"
As if he was deeply moved, the old editor silently repeated this sentence, and his mind gradually became warm.
In this way, the two chatted for a while. Kato Yusuke, who had been waiting for Kimura to come back for a long time, did not stay any longer and simply stood up to leave.
And even after sending him away, those words still echoed in the old editor's mind.
In order not to forget, he took out a black notepad from the drawer after returning to his desk and wrote that sentence on the blank page of the first page.
Looking at the golden sentences recorded in the notebook, the old editor felt a feeling of excitement that he had not seen for a long time. He could not help but slam the table and recited it loudly and sonorously.
"——Thirty years in Hedong and thirty years in Hexi. Don't bully young people into poverty!"
At the moment when the word "poor" has not yet been completely forgotten...
"——I'm sorry, Master Suzuki..."
The door to the office was suddenly pushed open with a creak, and Kimura, wearing glasses, walked in and was stunned for a moment.
The old editor immediately stopped talking.
The two looked at each other silently.
A familiar awkwardness spread in the room.
After a long while, Editor Suzuki closed his open mouth and asked with a dark face: "...Why didn't you knock on the door when you came in?"
The dusty Kimura was stunned by this, then swallowed a mouthful of saliva, swallowed the words "I knocked it, you didn't hear it" in his throat, and then bowed his head.
"Yes! I'm really sorry——!"
"..."
The old editor looked at him sideways in silence, feeling a little suspicious whether he acted like this on purpose, and then silently put away his notepad.