- Pronouns
- He
[X] Plan Cadre Building
Don't Miss Your Deadline! (Manga Editor Quest)
- Thread starter zamin
- Start date
- Original Modern
zamin
The Watcher in the Dark
While it's true that Japan's labor laws have been tightened over the past few years, there are still a lot of companies that simply don't give a shit. It's gotten to the point that there's actually a term for it now: Black Company.
I've actually seen this term used in manga before, but I always expected that they were an exaggeration. Unfortunately, the truth is that they might actually be understating the situation. Hell, there's literally a Black Corporations Award where workers can vote on "the most evil corporation of the year".
this is a good nuclear option, I suppose. but first it might be wiser to instead go to our uncle and warn him that we've found out the company is violating the law and if this got reported by a grumpy worker (not us, NEVER us, but we heard rumours from stressed colleagues we will NOT name) This might actually be the final straw for the company.
While it is a possible option, it would also be wildly out of character for Maeda because blowing the whistle like that would not only nuke the company but also completely ruin his own family relations.
Also, Maeda is doing his best to save the company because he knows damn well that if it goes bankrupt he'd have to go out and *gasp* get an actual job.
Fair point. I think that 7-8 mangas could be doable, but it'd be a real pain in the ass for both me and the readers. I'm honestly hoping that you guys vote for options to reduce this cause otherwise next week's turns are gonna take forever to get through.
trooperist
Cinnamon Roll AI
Well your fault there was expecting us to vote in ways that would make things easier for you.
It's already pretty involved with just 3 series. It really will take forever if we have to go through 8 series every turn.
You know things are getting bad when Umbrella Corp and Weyland-Yutani are starting to look like more attractive prospects than the Sunday Star. I knew that conditions within the manga industry are crap, but it boggles my mind just how insanely stupid the board is that in the aftermath of a labor purge, having a reputation of being worse than scum by their fans due to sexual harassment, and scrapping the bottom of the barrel for labor that they try to take on more storie than Shonen Jump despite being understaffed. Though if Russia has been proving one thing recently, it's that there's no limits to stupidity, especially concerning Japanese Boomers.
[X] Plan Cadre Building
[X] Plan Cadre Building
Last edited:
Are that "workload reducer" action winning? If not, might need some extra oomph...
The only time were giving us bonuses with no strings attached to not make the quest slogged, lmao.
Omakes
zamin
The Watcher in the Dark
Okay, I've gotten a few questions regarding the omake thing so far and it seems that a lot of people are unsure of how to do it, so I'll try to explain everything here.
First of all, I'd like to reiterate my previous ruling on this topic:
So how exactly does this work?
To keep it simple, the Favor gain will be based on how much I like the omake. Each omake will be rated on a 1 to 5 Favor scale (think of it as 1 to 5 Stars). The rating will be based on factors such as length, grammar, quality of writing and so on. Non-writing omakes like art will be judged on the same scale, though I will probably be more generous with the ratings for that sort of work.
But seriously, don't stress out too much about it. I'm not trying to turn this into a competition or anything. Just do your best and have fun!
If you're not interested in earning Favor, I am also willing to reward omake writers with the chance to suggest new manga series. As mentioned earlier, these will NOT be manga that Maeda will be handling directly, but feel free to suggest series that John or Shion could be working on.
To give you guys a bit of inspiration, here are some omake prompts for you to check out. Bear in mind that these are just suggestions - if you have another idea that you want to write about, go ahead!
Edit: as of Week 3, omake writers will also be given a Refinement roll along with their usual Favor award. This means that during the Refinement phase I'll @ the omake writers and wait 24 hours for them to submit a roll. If they don't submit a roll within that time period, I'll just do it myself (along with all the extra rolls that aren't taken). If there are no free omake writers, then I'll just handle all the rolls myself.
- Aoki Akira: My Father is Actually A Mangaka! by trooperist (Reward: New Series Anastasia submitted for Shion)
- Kotaro observation of Maeda Hiroshi by Pokly (Reward: 3 Favor)
- Tanaka Himari: A Short Break by Underdog Emiya (Reward: 3 Favor)
- Sano Morita: The one who saw it first by Digmata (Reward: New Series Lived Once submitted. No preferences on where)
- The Secret Life of Maeda Hiroshi by ALanos (Reward: 2 Favor)
- Our Manga, Animal Crossing Style (Artwork) by QueenPally (Reward: 5 Favor + New Series Not Even the Dead Know Rest submitted for John)
- Seafood Restaurant, Animal Crossing Style (Artwork) by QueenPally (Reward: 4 Favor)
- Maeda Taishi: After the Meeting by Artemis (Reward: 5 Favor)
- Our Daughter is a Vampire Chapter 2, Animal Crossing Style (Artwork) by QueenPally (Reward: 5 Favor)
- Meanwhile, back in the office... Animal Crossing Style (Artwork) by QueenPally (Reward: 5 Favor)
- Space Racer Subaru-kun Chapter 2, Animal Crossing Style (Artwork) by QueenPally (Reward: 5 Favor)
- Cosplay Days (Omake + Artwork) by QueenPally (Reward: 5 Favor)
- Our Daughter is a Vampire & Space Racer Subaru-kun Chapter 3, Animal Crossing Style (Artwork) by QueenPally (Reward: 5 Favour + First dibs on rolling)
Last edited:
Interested in Maeda's secret life, thinking of something like a coworker find out Maeda self-studying to be at least acceptable editor.
Now all I need is a little more idea "kick" and free time, as well as hoping it finished before the director meet.
KidFromPallet
Pokemon Fan
- Location
- Pallet Town
Huh, i just read through and this Quest seems pretty neat.
[X] Plan Cadre Building
Is overtime a good idea in this instance? Yeah, probably. But I refuse to vote for it, so the non-overtime version of the plan it is!
[X] Plan Cadre Building
Is overtime a good idea in this instance? Yeah, probably. But I refuse to vote for it, so the non-overtime version of the plan it is!
- Location
- Philippines
let's just do the following, completely flawless sure to win no error scam free choice build:
[ ] Overtime
[ ] Overtime
[ ] Overtime
[ ] Overtime
[ ] Isekai
Overwork ourselves to death; get isekaid; live a laid back slow life as a retired SSSSS rank regressor but I'm somehow the son of the worst emperor of the tower this time around.
Completely. Ridiculously. Abhorrently. Perfect.
[ ] Overtime
[ ] Overtime
[ ] Overtime
[ ] Overtime
[ ] Isekai
Overwork ourselves to death; get isekaid; live a laid back slow life as a retired SSSSS rank regressor but I'm somehow the son of the worst emperor of the tower this time around.
Completely. Ridiculously. Abhorrently. Perfect.
Aoki Akira: My Father is Actually a Mangaka!
trooperist
Cinnamon Roll AI
Here, enjoy my crappy writing.
Aoki Akira: My Father is Actually a Mangaka!
Akira had long ago learned that her father was a pushover. He was a pushover at his work, which is what lead to his bosses pushing so much overtime on him. He was a pushover at home, which lead to her mom walking all over him and taking most of everything in the divorce. And he was a pushover for her. Which is why he couldn't refuse when she asked if she could come visit his new apartment.
That had led to her taking a three hour train ride from Kobe to Tokyo on a Sunday just so she could see him.
Her father had been distant since the divorce in more ways than one. She let him keep his space since she understood he needed time to really process. But it had been really surprising when he had suddenly quit his long time office job and moved to Tokyo with his only explanation being that he was 'chasing an old dream'.
She arrived at the address she had been given, an apartment building that looked like it had seen better days. She knocked on the door of apartment 502, the door opening after a few seconds.
"Ah, Akira. Welcome. How was the train ride?"
And there was her dad. Dressed casually in clean clothes with his usual impeccably trimmed beard. What had she been expecting? That he'd open the door drunk, sloppily dressed, with a rough facial hair like every depiction of a depressed mid-life crisis?
"A bit long but it was alright. Mind if I come in?"
"Please." Her father said allowing her inside.
Her first impression of the apartment was 'shabby'. Everything looked used or worn down in some way. At least her father's neat freak obsession meant the place was clean, tidy, and without any strange smells. Though of course the main focus of the room was obviously on the large poster of her and her band. Honestly, what kind of middle aged man so proudly displayed a poster for a teenage punk band?
"Its uh...nicely furnished." She awkwardly said. Shit, she wasn't good at this.
"Thanks. I managed to get everything pretty cheap since your mother wasn't around to push me to buy something more expensive."
Her dad had always had more spartan tastes. If something worked, even if it wasn't in the best of shape, then he was happy with it. It drove her mother crazy. That woman was always obsessed with everything being new.
Hey wait a moment, there was something in this apartment that actually looked new. A box of different pencils next to a laptop on a small desk.
"Are those drawing supplies?" She asked curiously. "You took up drawing again?"
When she was younger she remembered when he would sketch every one in a while to pass the time. He stopped after she got into middle school.
"Ah um...yeah those. I thought I hid those."
Akira saw something she wasn't used to seeing. Her normally gruff father actually looking embarrassed.
"Come on, let me see your drawings. I remember you being pretty good."
"I'd..really rather not."
Well this was new. Her father was actually telling her no.
"Really? You'd say no to your own daughter? What you draw can't be that bad. You've heard my earliest songs before and I know those were terrible."
"My drawings are really a work in progress. I don't think they're ready." He said awkwardly. "Speaking of which, how has your band been doing?"
She smiled and accepted that he was trying to change the subject. She'd just have to circle back to it later.
For the next few hours the two of them talked about what had happened in their lives. Her mostly about school and her band. Him about his time in Tokyo and different part time jobs he'd been working.
"How about some dinner?" Her father finally asked. "A decent restaurant is a little outside my budget at the moment so how about I whip up some curry?"
"Curry sounds great, but are you really sure you can cook dad?"
Her childhood was full of her mother's cooking and take-out.
"I don't think I'm that bad. I've certainly been getting a lot of practice. Haha."
He laughed but he could see the brief look of pain in his eyes even as he gave her an uneasy smile.
As her father readied the ingredients her phone vibrated. She pulled it out of her pocket only to see the word 'MOM' displayed.
She swiftly hit reject and put it away.
"Ah, damn it."
She looked over to the kitchen to see her dad stepping away from a cutting board with a partially chopped onion on it, tears rolling down his face.
"I think I got some onion in my eyes. Akira could you finish chopping while I wash up?"
"Sure, I got it."
Her dad stepped into the small bathroom and she could hear the sink in there start flowing. She swiftly chopped the remaining onion before returning to the living room.
Her eyes were drawn to the box of drawing supplies and the drawer of the desk.
Her father as still in the bathroom and couldn't stop her.
Just a peak at his drawings couldn't hurt right?
She moved stealthily and slowly eased open the drawer.
The very first page on top was a young girl dressed up in stereotypical vampire clothing (which actually looked similar to her punk clothing come to think of it). The girl was giving a toothy smile showing off her fangs. In the background was a tall middle-aged man seemingly trying to keep out of sight while looking at the girl with worry. And of course there was the large title across the page reading "Our Daughter is Actually a Vampire!". And was it just her or did the girl look a lot like her?
Really there was only one phrase for this.
"What the f-"
Her father choose that moment to walk out of the bathroom. He looked over to see her holding the drawing.
"Shit." He cursed. "I knew I should have got a lock."
~~~
"So they actually published you? That's actually really cool!" She said after her father got done explaining how he was now an actual mangaka.
The two of them sat around the table, dinner forgotten for now.
"Only one chapter. Honestly it's more than I expected to get. Most don't even get this far."
"Still, Sunday Star? Aren't they the ones that..."
"Yeah, that's probably why I even got a chance at all. A few of their popular series jumped ship. And it's not like any other magazine was biting at the manuscript." He said with a frown.
"So about that manuscript. I couldn't help but notice some similarities."
"...I'm not the best when it comes to creative ideas." Her father said with slump. "I can't think up something strange and incredible like Dragon Ball. I seriously tried for days to think up something unique like that. But I can only draw what I know."
"So you drew me." She stated.
"Technically it's only a character based on certain aspects of you." He said with a practiced bit of legalize that had been routine at his last job. "...Should I have asked permission?"
"Nah, I really don't mind. Much."
It was kind of a cute premise really. A bumbling well meaning father trying to make sure his daughter was safe while misunderstanding the weird things she did. It mirrored a lot of when she first got into punk rock and started hanging out with her bandmates.
"Sorry. I'll try to be considerate in the future." Her father apologized.
"It's not like it's one of those manga where the girls always end up half naked and there's tons of panty shots."
"I-it's a feel good family comedy! It's not smut!" Her flustered father said. "Now let's just eater dinner already."
She laughed as her father all but fled the short distance to the kitchen. The resulting curry was decent enough.
They talked for another hour before she had to go. It was a three hour train ride back to Kobe and she had school in the morning.
"If you ever get stuck just give me a call. I'm sure I can help you brainstorm." She said as she moved to leave.
"I appreciate it. I think I need all the help I can get to not get cancelled."
As she opened the door there was a lot of things she wanted to say. Like how she hated living with her mother and wanted to move here no matter how impractical it was. How the divorce wasn't his fault. Instead she settled for just hugging him.
"I love you dad."
"I love you too Akira." He said as he hugged her back. "Have a safe trip back."
On her way back to catch her train, she bought a copy of Sunday Star. Her father had always supported her, even if he was confused by her passions. She could at least support him in this.
Aoki Akira: My Father is Actually a Mangaka!
Akira had long ago learned that her father was a pushover. He was a pushover at his work, which is what lead to his bosses pushing so much overtime on him. He was a pushover at home, which lead to her mom walking all over him and taking most of everything in the divorce. And he was a pushover for her. Which is why he couldn't refuse when she asked if she could come visit his new apartment.
That had led to her taking a three hour train ride from Kobe to Tokyo on a Sunday just so she could see him.
Her father had been distant since the divorce in more ways than one. She let him keep his space since she understood he needed time to really process. But it had been really surprising when he had suddenly quit his long time office job and moved to Tokyo with his only explanation being that he was 'chasing an old dream'.
She arrived at the address she had been given, an apartment building that looked like it had seen better days. She knocked on the door of apartment 502, the door opening after a few seconds.
"Ah, Akira. Welcome. How was the train ride?"
And there was her dad. Dressed casually in clean clothes with his usual impeccably trimmed beard. What had she been expecting? That he'd open the door drunk, sloppily dressed, with a rough facial hair like every depiction of a depressed mid-life crisis?
"A bit long but it was alright. Mind if I come in?"
"Please." Her father said allowing her inside.
Her first impression of the apartment was 'shabby'. Everything looked used or worn down in some way. At least her father's neat freak obsession meant the place was clean, tidy, and without any strange smells. Though of course the main focus of the room was obviously on the large poster of her and her band. Honestly, what kind of middle aged man so proudly displayed a poster for a teenage punk band?
"Its uh...nicely furnished." She awkwardly said. Shit, she wasn't good at this.
"Thanks. I managed to get everything pretty cheap since your mother wasn't around to push me to buy something more expensive."
Her dad had always had more spartan tastes. If something worked, even if it wasn't in the best of shape, then he was happy with it. It drove her mother crazy. That woman was always obsessed with everything being new.
Hey wait a moment, there was something in this apartment that actually looked new. A box of different pencils next to a laptop on a small desk.
"Are those drawing supplies?" She asked curiously. "You took up drawing again?"
When she was younger she remembered when he would sketch every one in a while to pass the time. He stopped after she got into middle school.
"Ah um...yeah those. I thought I hid those."
Akira saw something she wasn't used to seeing. Her normally gruff father actually looking embarrassed.
"Come on, let me see your drawings. I remember you being pretty good."
"I'd..really rather not."
Well this was new. Her father was actually telling her no.
"Really? You'd say no to your own daughter? What you draw can't be that bad. You've heard my earliest songs before and I know those were terrible."
"My drawings are really a work in progress. I don't think they're ready." He said awkwardly. "Speaking of which, how has your band been doing?"
She smiled and accepted that he was trying to change the subject. She'd just have to circle back to it later.
For the next few hours the two of them talked about what had happened in their lives. Her mostly about school and her band. Him about his time in Tokyo and different part time jobs he'd been working.
"How about some dinner?" Her father finally asked. "A decent restaurant is a little outside my budget at the moment so how about I whip up some curry?"
"Curry sounds great, but are you really sure you can cook dad?"
Her childhood was full of her mother's cooking and take-out.
"I don't think I'm that bad. I've certainly been getting a lot of practice. Haha."
He laughed but he could see the brief look of pain in his eyes even as he gave her an uneasy smile.
As her father readied the ingredients her phone vibrated. She pulled it out of her pocket only to see the word 'MOM' displayed.
She swiftly hit reject and put it away.
"Ah, damn it."
She looked over to the kitchen to see her dad stepping away from a cutting board with a partially chopped onion on it, tears rolling down his face.
"I think I got some onion in my eyes. Akira could you finish chopping while I wash up?"
"Sure, I got it."
Her dad stepped into the small bathroom and she could hear the sink in there start flowing. She swiftly chopped the remaining onion before returning to the living room.
Her eyes were drawn to the box of drawing supplies and the drawer of the desk.
Her father as still in the bathroom and couldn't stop her.
Just a peak at his drawings couldn't hurt right?
She moved stealthily and slowly eased open the drawer.
The very first page on top was a young girl dressed up in stereotypical vampire clothing (which actually looked similar to her punk clothing come to think of it). The girl was giving a toothy smile showing off her fangs. In the background was a tall middle-aged man seemingly trying to keep out of sight while looking at the girl with worry. And of course there was the large title across the page reading "Our Daughter is Actually a Vampire!". And was it just her or did the girl look a lot like her?
Really there was only one phrase for this.
"What the f-"
Her father choose that moment to walk out of the bathroom. He looked over to see her holding the drawing.
"Shit." He cursed. "I knew I should have got a lock."
~~~
"So they actually published you? That's actually really cool!" She said after her father got done explaining how he was now an actual mangaka.
The two of them sat around the table, dinner forgotten for now.
"Only one chapter. Honestly it's more than I expected to get. Most don't even get this far."
"Still, Sunday Star? Aren't they the ones that..."
"Yeah, that's probably why I even got a chance at all. A few of their popular series jumped ship. And it's not like any other magazine was biting at the manuscript." He said with a frown.
"So about that manuscript. I couldn't help but notice some similarities."
"...I'm not the best when it comes to creative ideas." Her father said with slump. "I can't think up something strange and incredible like Dragon Ball. I seriously tried for days to think up something unique like that. But I can only draw what I know."
"So you drew me." She stated.
"Technically it's only a character based on certain aspects of you." He said with a practiced bit of legalize that had been routine at his last job. "...Should I have asked permission?"
"Nah, I really don't mind. Much."
It was kind of a cute premise really. A bumbling well meaning father trying to make sure his daughter was safe while misunderstanding the weird things she did. It mirrored a lot of when she first got into punk rock and started hanging out with her bandmates.
"Sorry. I'll try to be considerate in the future." Her father apologized.
"It's not like it's one of those manga where the girls always end up half naked and there's tons of panty shots."
"I-it's a feel good family comedy! It's not smut!" Her flustered father said. "Now let's just eater dinner already."
She laughed as her father all but fled the short distance to the kitchen. The resulting curry was decent enough.
They talked for another hour before she had to go. It was a three hour train ride back to Kobe and she had school in the morning.
"If you ever get stuck just give me a call. I'm sure I can help you brainstorm." She said as she moved to leave.
"I appreciate it. I think I need all the help I can get to not get cancelled."
As she opened the door there was a lot of things she wanted to say. Like how she hated living with her mother and wanted to move here no matter how impractical it was. How the divorce wasn't his fault. Instead she settled for just hugging him.
"I love you dad."
"I love you too Akira." He said as he hugged her back. "Have a safe trip back."
On her way back to catch her train, she bought a copy of Sunday Star. Her father had always supported her, even if he was confused by her passions. She could at least support him in this.
Kotaro observation of Maeda Hiroshi
Kotaro observation of Maeda Hiroshi
Kotaro Tanaka decided, that Maeda Hiroshi is a smug, out-of-place slacker.
It is an open secret or more accurately unspeakable truth that Hiroshi only got the job, and keep it despite his work ethic due to being related to one of Sunday Star's owners. Otherwise, a prick like him will never be able to step foot in the Editor's office.
This is unfair considering what you have to do to get a seat in the office, on top of avoiding purge when those trashy editors try to bring as many people as they can down with them, once their scandal is revealed by accusing they "have a partner in crime".
…You're sure all Fukuyama did is bringing the adult magazine to the office, but that trash Momiki "admit" that Fukuyama was also one of the sex assaulters like him.
Back to the topic, the scandal a while back is absolute hell, and this guy Hiroshi just waltz in like a clueless slacker prick.
The fact is, all of us have to work on at least six manga at once from start, and all of them have to be good, or else we got the boot. Then this guy only needs to work on three series, on top of beginner luck where he immediately catches a manga that took the number five spot on the Sunday Star ranking. And his other two manga while not good, are not bad to boot!
And he has the gall to get all of those without needing to stay at the office at the weekend! How unfair is that!
Food bribes and good taste in coffee and muffins are not enough to quell your anger at this unfairness dammit!
Especially when your workload increased from six manga to eight the day after, and he still only works on three!
Fuck nepotism! Why the hell does it have to be the under-qualified, boot-licking slacker that got everything you want on their very first week!
At least the next batch of newbies are not as bad as that slacker, an experienced weirdo gaijin from America, and a former mangaka girl who took a wrong turn to shonen division rather than shojo division.
Once again Hiroshi licking boots by "volunteering" to lead the newer newbie orientation. Heh, let the weirdo squad gather in one place. You heard a wonderful rumor that those three will be getting as much series to handle as other did starting next week. Let's see how an incompetent bootlicker, a gaijin, and a girl handle it.
As if on cue, all three of them are called to the Chief Editor's office, heh, you want to see their faces when they are faced with the reality of being an Editor in Sunday Star.
As you force yourself to not daydream and go back to work, you happen to see Hiroshi's desk where he left some kind of open notebook.
Maybe it is filled with his list of bribe-able guys or favor list?
Okay, you just have to take a peek, and maybe warn those guys to not fall for that slacker trickery.
Seeing the office is sort of empty, you scoot over to take a peek, and are blue-screened at what you see.
Diagrams, footnotes, and a list of good points and bad points of classical Manga like Astro Boy, Doraemon, and others.
You would have dismissed it as him reading at work if not for half of the Manga Editor's job is to read manga, what attracts your attention is those points are semi-accurate reasons why those classics are being regarded as classics.
And also, there's yet another list on the front, classics that have strikethrough, Big three, Cult Classics, 20s Hits…
It seems that the slacker studies old manga.
Impossible, no way that bootlicker tries to be good at his job. That guy must be just finding excuses to slacking off at work, isn't a bootlicker suppose to be a slacker? Yeah, it has to be. This must be just a one-off thing he will get bored at.
You think you are just overthinking it, and your deduction is right when he returns to the office while grumbling "slave-like workload". But then you overhear that he's worried that Masaru-Senpai might collapse from overwork, and that the new girl Shion didn't get a computer is like a magazine trying to shoot itself in the foot.
And he needs to do something on both before they explode.
Did you hear that right? Does the slacker genuinely want to help his fellow editors?
It is not yet another one of his bootlicking plans right?
But as you see Hiroshi day by day after, you're starting to think that maybe he's not just a smug out-of-place slacker.
But a smug out-of-place slacker that tried his best anyway.
Kotaro Tanaka decided, that Maeda Hiroshi is a smug, out-of-place slacker.
It is an open secret or more accurately unspeakable truth that Hiroshi only got the job, and keep it despite his work ethic due to being related to one of Sunday Star's owners. Otherwise, a prick like him will never be able to step foot in the Editor's office.
This is unfair considering what you have to do to get a seat in the office, on top of avoiding purge when those trashy editors try to bring as many people as they can down with them, once their scandal is revealed by accusing they "have a partner in crime".
…You're sure all Fukuyama did is bringing the adult magazine to the office, but that trash Momiki "admit" that Fukuyama was also one of the sex assaulters like him.
Back to the topic, the scandal a while back is absolute hell, and this guy Hiroshi just waltz in like a clueless slacker prick.
The fact is, all of us have to work on at least six manga at once from start, and all of them have to be good, or else we got the boot. Then this guy only needs to work on three series, on top of beginner luck where he immediately catches a manga that took the number five spot on the Sunday Star ranking. And his other two manga while not good, are not bad to boot!
And he has the gall to get all of those without needing to stay at the office at the weekend! How unfair is that!
Food bribes and good taste in coffee and muffins are not enough to quell your anger at this unfairness dammit!
Especially when your workload increased from six manga to eight the day after, and he still only works on three!
Fuck nepotism! Why the hell does it have to be the under-qualified, boot-licking slacker that got everything you want on their very first week!
At least the next batch of newbies are not as bad as that slacker, an experienced weirdo gaijin from America, and a former mangaka girl who took a wrong turn to shonen division rather than shojo division.
Once again Hiroshi licking boots by "volunteering" to lead the newer newbie orientation. Heh, let the weirdo squad gather in one place. You heard a wonderful rumor that those three will be getting as much series to handle as other did starting next week. Let's see how an incompetent bootlicker, a gaijin, and a girl handle it.
As if on cue, all three of them are called to the Chief Editor's office, heh, you want to see their faces when they are faced with the reality of being an Editor in Sunday Star.
As you force yourself to not daydream and go back to work, you happen to see Hiroshi's desk where he left some kind of open notebook.
Maybe it is filled with his list of bribe-able guys or favor list?
Okay, you just have to take a peek, and maybe warn those guys to not fall for that slacker trickery.
Seeing the office is sort of empty, you scoot over to take a peek, and are blue-screened at what you see.
Diagrams, footnotes, and a list of good points and bad points of classical Manga like Astro Boy, Doraemon, and others.
You would have dismissed it as him reading at work if not for half of the Manga Editor's job is to read manga, what attracts your attention is those points are semi-accurate reasons why those classics are being regarded as classics.
And also, there's yet another list on the front, classics that have strikethrough, Big three, Cult Classics, 20s Hits…
It seems that the slacker studies old manga.
Impossible, no way that bootlicker tries to be good at his job. That guy must be just finding excuses to slacking off at work, isn't a bootlicker suppose to be a slacker? Yeah, it has to be. This must be just a one-off thing he will get bored at.
You think you are just overthinking it, and your deduction is right when he returns to the office while grumbling "slave-like workload". But then you overhear that he's worried that Masaru-Senpai might collapse from overwork, and that the new girl Shion didn't get a computer is like a magazine trying to shoot itself in the foot.
And he needs to do something on both before they explode.
Did you hear that right? Does the slacker genuinely want to help his fellow editors?
It is not yet another one of his bootlicking plans right?
But as you see Hiroshi day by day after, you're starting to think that maybe he's not just a smug out-of-place slacker.
But a smug out-of-place slacker that tried his best anyway.
- Pronouns
- He
What a great story, is relly sweat to the rhat even those two dont understand so much still try to becouse the love each other
RoyallyLilac
Young Gamera
- Location
- USA
[X] Overtime Cadre Building
It's gonna be funny that when someone said Akira-san to the two of them and they both turned to your attention. Like father like daughter. Makes me want to know why she was named after dad.
trooperist
Cinnamon Roll AI
Uh....yeah. Yeah I totally planned it that way and didn't forget the mangaka's name and just assume Akira was his daughter's name. Totally planned.
Eh it's already a gender neutral name so whatever.
Last edited:
zamin
The Watcher in the Dark
I really like this! The only weird part is that both father and daughter have the same name for some reason. I suppose the kanji is meant to be different, but it's still a bit confusing.
I'd give this 4 Favor, but if you'd prefer one of the other rewards just let me know.
Hmm... not quite what I was expecting from this. The writing feels a bit muddled, but I do like the idea.
I'd give this 3 Favor, but once again if you'd prefer one of the other rewards just let me know.
I take the favor, and thank you for the advice.
trooperist
Cinnamon Roll AI
Yeah the name thing was an error on my part. Also serves as a reminder to me why fiction almost never has two characters with the same name unless it's to play a bit joke or a plot point. It can get confusing.
Really I wrote this so my previously suggested series didn't end up going to waste. Just have it as a new series under Shion.
Tanaka Himari: A Short Break
Underdog Emiya
God-Emperor of Underkind
- Location
- Brazil
- Pronouns
- He
Tanaka Himari: A Short Break
"Aaaaaahhhh..." sighed Tanaka, finally finishing giving the last touches to Subaru's ship as the race was about to begin. She took a second to appreciate her and Endo's works, then took some time to watch page for page to look for any glaring weaknesses in the text or the art. There weren't any, but Tanaka knew for an experience that she would find at least half a dozen after she took some time to rest, and Endo would likely find the same amount.
"Ugh," said her assistant, putting his back against the chair. "That's the part of the work I didn't miss."
Tanaka chuckled.
"Yeah, me neither. But it's rewarding. I saw the top 10 from last week, and our story sure made a splash. I didn't remember Starlight Princess Kyu getting so popular in the first week. Now we're at the top 5 favorites!"
"Eh, kind of a low bar, if you ask me," replied Endo. "The stories ahead of us are no Jujutsu Kaisen if you ask me."
The mangaka smiled. If Tanaka was a beam of sunshine that always found the positive in anything she did, then Endo was the opposite, having a critical eye that didn't let anything pass him.
"Maybe. But given time, we-"
GRRRRRRRRRRRUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUMMMMMMMBBBLE.
Tanaka blushed as she felt her stomach roar with hunger. They were so focused on finishing their work for the Sunday Star that they spent the whole afternoon giving the last touches before sending it to Maeda.
"Oh..." said Endo, likely feeling the same amount of hunger as his boss. "What time is it?"
"Seven o'clock," stated the mangaka. "No surprise. Our only lunch was some protein bars. We really should eat something soon."
The partners stared at each other for a moment. Then, at the same time, they asked:
"Do you want to have dinner? I pay."
The two stared at each other for one more moment.
"Half-half?" asked Tanaka.
"Sure," said Endo.
"You were preparing this for how long?" asked Tanaka as she and Endo entered the Toriton.
The brown-haired man scratched his head sheepishly.
"For longer than I would like to admit," said the assistant. "Ever since the cancellation of Kyu, you seemed to be a little down, so I wanted to make something special for you, chief."
Tanaka nodded, recognizing the idea of Endo. She loved the Toriton and its plates filled with fresh ingredients from Hokkaido.
"It reminds of home, right?" said Endo.
"A little bit, yeah. But more of when we first met."
Yes, that was a life-changing day for Tanaka.
It happened when she started publishing Starlight Princess Kyu in the Shoujo Sisters Monthly. It was a pretty generic magical girl story that gathered attention thanks to its beautiful setting -like Subaru-kun. However, after the first edition, her editor wanted her to upgrade the art a bit more, as she felt that, while intriguing, lacked in depth. Unfortunately, Tanaka didn't have much time to focus all her time on the story having to take care of her sick mother, and she spent the rest of her time either trying to write Kyu or in hustles to gather some yen.
One night, after another side job, she was returning home when she passed through a sushi restaurant. She wasn't feeling hungry, but it was raining hard that day. So, she decided to take some cover until it stopped. To waste time, she decided to eat something before leaving the restaurant. She hadn't noticed that the table she picked was busy until the man talked to her.
That man, of course, was Endo.
It was almost like in a romance manga, with the two leads encountering pure fate. At the time, Endo was unemployed after writing a forgettable one-shot to Shonen Jump. So he decided to eat in the best (and most cheap) restaurant to drown his sorrows. By chance, he was carrying some of his material in a bag, certainly planning on selling it for some quick buck. And, by another twist of fate, Tanaka had sat right on top of it and noticed the storyboards.
Interested in meeting another mangaka, they talked for hours, taking notes about their personal experiences in their magazines. By the end of it, Tanaka, intrigued by Endo's work, made an offer for him to assist in the creation of Kyu, and the rest was story.
"You smelt awful that day," said Endo.
"Working in a slaughterhouse doesn't do any wonders to your smell. Almost went vegan because of it."
"Good thing you didn't, or else I would feel as if I wasted the money of the booking."
Tanaka gasped.
"You didn't need to!"
"This is what partners do, isn't it?" asked Endo. "They make the others feel better. And what kind of half-assed partner would I be if I didn't lift your mood?"
Partners. Yes, after one and a half years of work, the division between chief and assistant didn't suit the relationship between the two. Yes, partners in the work, and maybe something else.
She picked up her sake cup, raising it high to the air.
"To our success?"
Endo smirked, clinking together with Tanaka's cup.
"Sure thing."
"Aaaaaahhhh..." sighed Tanaka, finally finishing giving the last touches to Subaru's ship as the race was about to begin. She took a second to appreciate her and Endo's works, then took some time to watch page for page to look for any glaring weaknesses in the text or the art. There weren't any, but Tanaka knew for an experience that she would find at least half a dozen after she took some time to rest, and Endo would likely find the same amount.
"Ugh," said her assistant, putting his back against the chair. "That's the part of the work I didn't miss."
Tanaka chuckled.
"Yeah, me neither. But it's rewarding. I saw the top 10 from last week, and our story sure made a splash. I didn't remember Starlight Princess Kyu getting so popular in the first week. Now we're at the top 5 favorites!"
"Eh, kind of a low bar, if you ask me," replied Endo. "The stories ahead of us are no Jujutsu Kaisen if you ask me."
The mangaka smiled. If Tanaka was a beam of sunshine that always found the positive in anything she did, then Endo was the opposite, having a critical eye that didn't let anything pass him.
"Maybe. But given time, we-"
GRRRRRRRRRRRUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUMMMMMMMBBBLE.
Tanaka blushed as she felt her stomach roar with hunger. They were so focused on finishing their work for the Sunday Star that they spent the whole afternoon giving the last touches before sending it to Maeda.
"Oh..." said Endo, likely feeling the same amount of hunger as his boss. "What time is it?"
"Seven o'clock," stated the mangaka. "No surprise. Our only lunch was some protein bars. We really should eat something soon."
The partners stared at each other for a moment. Then, at the same time, they asked:
"Do you want to have dinner? I pay."
The two stared at each other for one more moment.
"Half-half?" asked Tanaka.
"Sure," said Endo.
"You were preparing this for how long?" asked Tanaka as she and Endo entered the Toriton.
The brown-haired man scratched his head sheepishly.
"For longer than I would like to admit," said the assistant. "Ever since the cancellation of Kyu, you seemed to be a little down, so I wanted to make something special for you, chief."
Tanaka nodded, recognizing the idea of Endo. She loved the Toriton and its plates filled with fresh ingredients from Hokkaido.
"It reminds of home, right?" said Endo.
"A little bit, yeah. But more of when we first met."
Yes, that was a life-changing day for Tanaka.
It happened when she started publishing Starlight Princess Kyu in the Shoujo Sisters Monthly. It was a pretty generic magical girl story that gathered attention thanks to its beautiful setting -like Subaru-kun. However, after the first edition, her editor wanted her to upgrade the art a bit more, as she felt that, while intriguing, lacked in depth. Unfortunately, Tanaka didn't have much time to focus all her time on the story having to take care of her sick mother, and she spent the rest of her time either trying to write Kyu or in hustles to gather some yen.
One night, after another side job, she was returning home when she passed through a sushi restaurant. She wasn't feeling hungry, but it was raining hard that day. So, she decided to take some cover until it stopped. To waste time, she decided to eat something before leaving the restaurant. She hadn't noticed that the table she picked was busy until the man talked to her.
That man, of course, was Endo.
It was almost like in a romance manga, with the two leads encountering pure fate. At the time, Endo was unemployed after writing a forgettable one-shot to Shonen Jump. So he decided to eat in the best (and most cheap) restaurant to drown his sorrows. By chance, he was carrying some of his material in a bag, certainly planning on selling it for some quick buck. And, by another twist of fate, Tanaka had sat right on top of it and noticed the storyboards.
Interested in meeting another mangaka, they talked for hours, taking notes about their personal experiences in their magazines. By the end of it, Tanaka, intrigued by Endo's work, made an offer for him to assist in the creation of Kyu, and the rest was story.
"You smelt awful that day," said Endo.
"Working in a slaughterhouse doesn't do any wonders to your smell. Almost went vegan because of it."
"Good thing you didn't, or else I would feel as if I wasted the money of the booking."
Tanaka gasped.
"You didn't need to!"
"This is what partners do, isn't it?" asked Endo. "They make the others feel better. And what kind of half-assed partner would I be if I didn't lift your mood?"
Partners. Yes, after one and a half years of work, the division between chief and assistant didn't suit the relationship between the two. Yes, partners in the work, and maybe something else.
She picked up her sake cup, raising it high to the air.
"To our success?"
Endo smirked, clinking together with Tanaka's cup.
"Sure thing."
Last edited:
- Location
- USA
To chime back in on the too many manga issues in a way that hasn't been brought up--
Another issue with so many manga is that with the rolling system being what it is, we're gonna need to properly establish how to handle manga failing. 4d20 averages 42, so while that's not an instant loss of a manga most will be on the fast track out with their bonuses to the popularity roll being ~0.
To further talk statistics, before all forms of bonuses and rerolls there's about a 1.5% chance of not needing to spend points on a given chapter of a manga (assuming it remains at just the standard 8 statistics). And by "not needing" I'm using the standard of only 40 points.
Now, the rerolls and bonus points make the actual picture harder to calculate and less grim, but considering we're gonna mostly have new and novice mangaka we're gonna have a good amount of trouble keeping them all above 40. For example, if we consider the situation of all 8 rolls being at least 30 before bonuses as the standard we get about a ~28.5% chance of that happening. For each manga.
If we expand to 8 manga we're guaranteed to run into an unsalvageable chapter eventually, and we're also likely to run into chapters where we don't have the points to push it over 40 without risking our other series.
That could be an interesting gameplay feature, but rules on how rejection of chapters works out and how we handle series failing will need to be better explained.
Another issue with so many manga is that with the rolling system being what it is, we're gonna need to properly establish how to handle manga failing. 4d20 averages 42, so while that's not an instant loss of a manga most will be on the fast track out with their bonuses to the popularity roll being ~0.
To further talk statistics, before all forms of bonuses and rerolls there's about a 1.5% chance of not needing to spend points on a given chapter of a manga (assuming it remains at just the standard 8 statistics). And by "not needing" I'm using the standard of only 40 points.
Now, the rerolls and bonus points make the actual picture harder to calculate and less grim, but considering we're gonna mostly have new and novice mangaka we're gonna have a good amount of trouble keeping them all above 40. For example, if we consider the situation of all 8 rolls being at least 30 before bonuses as the standard we get about a ~28.5% chance of that happening. For each manga.
If we expand to 8 manga we're guaranteed to run into an unsalvageable chapter eventually, and we're also likely to run into chapters where we don't have the points to push it over 40 without risking our other series.
That could be an interesting gameplay feature, but rules on how rejection of chapters works out and how we handle series failing will need to be better explained.
