"No good."
Inside the editorial departnt of Weekly Shounen BLAST, Honjou Nia's editor finished reading the manuscript in her hands and shook her head seriously.
"Eh?!"
Seeing her manuscript returned to her, Nia widened her eyes in confusion.
"W-What happened? Did the review departnt start acting up again, saying so panel isn't suitable for children and needs to be changed?!"
"Ah… There are so issues in that area too, but that isn't the main point."
The editor pressed a hand to her forehead with a headache. After glancing over the manga again, she explained.
"In this volu's plot, after the War of the Gods arc, Fatima successfully kills the leader of the allied army. However, she then discovers that her world has not welcod peace because of that. A radical human faction with ideals opposed to Fatima's suddenly appears, and a conflict begins over different expectations for the future of demon exorcists… The idea itself has no problem. For Silver Bullet, which has always centered on fighting monsters, adding an antagonistic organization from the human side does make things more interesting. But—"
After a brief pause, the editor said helplessly,
"This new character who represents the radical faction is excellent, both in motivation and personality. But in contrast, Fatima's performance as the protagonist is too ordinary. It makes the reader unable to feel the legitimacy she should have as the main character. Especially here at the ending. Why is Fatima scolded until she can't say a word back?" (TL:Was Fatima and a man or a woman again?...well....don't worry about it! *Thumb up*)
Facing her editor's question, Nia awkwardly looked away.
"Because… in this part of the story, the enemy's motives really are quite convincing. The antagonist's goal isn't completely bad for Fatima either. From the logic of the story and Fatima's own characterization, this is really how she should—"
"Souji-sensei."
The editor interrupted Nia and spoke earnestly.
"I can understand that you want to innovate and make a breakthrough within your own creative style. But please also consider the genre of your work and your target readership. This kind of developnt might be acceptable in a deeper, more serious seinen or adult work, but as a shounen manga, the readers will only feel that the characterization has collapsed. In fact, ever since the new arc started, Silver Bullet's sales and reader response… have both been less than ideal."
"Ugh—"
Nia clutched her chest in pain.
For a mangaka, this was the kind of fact that could easily seal away every possible excuse.
"In short, there's still so ti before the deadline this round. Please go back and reconsider the plot, Souji-sensei."
"…I understand."
Nia could only obediently nod.
Looking at Nia's dejected appearance, the editor cleared her throat and said,
"Ahem— By the way, Souji-sensei. I also have so good news for you."
"W-What good news?"
"No need to be nervous. This is good news for you." The editor smiled and congratulated her. "Congratulations, Souji-sensei. Silver Bullet has officially been approved for an ani adaptation."
"…What?"
————————
"I see… An ani adaptation, huh. That really is amazing. Well… congratulations."
Inside Nia's apartnt studio, after hearing the news, Natsumi showed slight surprise and offered her congratulations.
"Ehehe— It's not actually that big a deal~ After all, with my ability, getting an ani was only a matter of ti. If I hadn't been forced to stop updating twice before, forget an ani adaptation, a console ga, mobile ga, and stage play would have been practically guaranteed too. Haha~ Hahaha—"
Although she said she did not care, the corners of Nia's mouth had completely risen into a blissful grin, and her whole body radiated smug happiness.
(This woman… She just wanted soone to praise her, so she deliberately showed off like this.)
Looking at Nia's self-satisfied expression, Natsumi could not help feeling speechless.
"Then, about the direction for fixing the manga's plot, have you already thought of sothing?"
"Guh—"
The mont she heard those words, Nia looked as if a fish bone had gotten stuck in her throat. Her expression visibly darkened.
"You have no idea at all! Were you just escaping reality again?"
Seeing Nia's reaction, Natsumi could not help retorting.
"Eh— Even if you say that, being told to suddenly change the plot doesn't an I'll instantly get inspiration… Don't ask the impossible."
With that, Nia flopped onto the bed, answering lazily like a salted fish.
"What's the problem… Can't you just go with your usual style, shout a few hot blooded slogans, muddle through, and then have Fatima righteously lecture the villain?"
"Mm… I could do that, but it feels a bit shallow." Nia answered with a conflicted expression.
"From the readers's perspective, maybe they'd prefer a familiar and comfortable developnt. But for , repeating a familiar formula without any change is no different from slow suicide."
"…So before that could happen, you charged forward recklessly and killed yourself instead?"
"Hehe, pretty much. After all, being a mangaka is a gamble in itself."
"I wasn't praising you…"
Looking at Nia snickering on the bed, Natsumi replied with a speechless look.
"All right! Let's not talk about annoying things for now! What about you, Nattsun ? Has your serialization been going smoothly lately?"
Throwing her worries aside, Nia asked with great interest.
"I-It's been fine. I just gave the finished manuscript to my editor yesterday… I heard the reader response has been pretty good too."
Natsumi scratched her cheek and answered sowhat shyly.
"That's good, that's good. Ah, how nostalgic… Back then, I also had a honeymoon period like that with my editor."
Seeing Natsumi's innocent reaction, Nia suddenly felt deeply moved.
"At that stage, because of the freshness, readers will mostly give the work tolerant and fairly high evaluations. The mangaka also still has plenty of inspiration to quickly turn into manuscripts, so everything looks very smooth. But as the story moves forward, the readers's demands for the plot will beco higher and higher. In contrast, creating will beco more and more difficult for the mangaka. Maybe you didn't consider future developnts carefully in the early stages, so the story starts strong and ends weak. Maybe your creativity becos tied down as the setting grows more detailed. One careless step can cause the characters to collapse. Then you'll find that every page becos as hard as climbing to heaven, and your editor's face will slowly change from a rciful buddha into a furious asura. For several days before the deadline, you will inevitably experience hell in a locked room…"
"T-That sounds terrifying…"
Hearing Nia's description, Natsumi's slightly happy expression gradually turned pale.
"B-But… weren't you the one who recomnded I submit my manga to a publisher?"
"That's right. Precisely because I'm the one who brought you into this industry, as your senior, I have to take responsibility and tell you in advance about all the pits you might fall into."
Nia spoke with righteous seriousness.
She swore that she absolutely was not saying all this because Natsumi's start had been too smooth, making her feel unbalanced and unable to resist pouring cold water on her.
"I-I'll be careful…"
Natsumi weakly lowered her shoulders.
Although she felt uneasy, she did not dwell on the topic for too long. After all, Nia's words were not malicious, and she had already boarded this pirate ship. She could not back out halfway just because she had been frightened a little.
"Anyway, if there's nothing I need to help with today, I'll go ho first."
"Mm, sorry about that, Nattsun. Wait— Speaking of which, what's your family having for dinner today?"
Nia first lazily waved her hand, then seed to suddenly think of sothing and sat up from the bed.
"I think… Yoshino and obaa-chan said today's dinner is seafood?"
Natsumi thought for a mont and answered.
"Seafood....."
Nia could not help swallowing.
Then she hurriedly got off the bed, swiftly put on her coat, and grabbed several cans of beer from the refrigerator.
After finishing all preparations, Nia patted Natsumi on the shoulder, her eyes shining as she shouted,
"Let's go, Nattsun! To celebrate Silver Bullet getting an ani adaptation! Fragrant seafood is waiting for us!"
At this very mont, Natsumi silently swore in her heart.
She would absolutely never beco an adult like this.
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