Initially, ng Fan had plans in the afternoon and evening of the 14th: a et-and-greet and a CV concert. Since he got 10 points of attributes and the title of [Professional Manga Artist], he decided to crank out so comics and skipped the events.
It was hard to start drawing the first part of volu one, then, he couldn’t stop.
The first part for “Legend of the Mountains and Seas” was longer than “Guide to Campus RoMANce” and “There’s a Spirit Underground.” In addition, all the other parts had at least 20 panels, with an average of 22 to 25 panels, eting the daily serial criteria for Japanese manga magazines.
Naturally, he wanted to submit his manuscript in Japan, get approved, then get serialized.
It was challenging, but ng Fan was confident in himself.
He already prepared the outline, details, characters, and scenarios. While the new attributes made ng Fan start over, he also improved and fixed what he already did. With a draft in place, his drawing speed wouldn’t be slow.
He started on the second part at around midnight. He did 25 panels, with 3-5 pictures per panel, which totaled more than 100 pictures. It took him just three hours to draw all of them, including post-production work.
If people knew how quickly he did all of this, they’d be shocked.
Usually, comic artists who were serialized in Japan needed five days to a week to finish one part, and that’s assuming they had assistants doing the post-production and other work.
ng Fan’s Hand Speed at 20 was ten tis faster than an average comic artist — not including so who weren’t so skilled or who drew by hand. Fast Hand Speed alone wouldn’t be able to achieve all of this in three hours. Combined with supernatural Drawing Skills and Imagination, however, it was possible.
There were many advantages to having great Drawing Skills; he barely needed to fix anything, and he was much more expressive. An average artist would need a lot of room to express sothing, but ng Fan just needed a few strokes.
ng Fan’s drawing was not fancier. If anything, it was simpler. But, these simple strokes were striking and touched one’s soul.
OK, in spite of all this, ng Fan still overestimated himself. It wasn’t possible to draw five parts in one night.
When he finished the second part, it was already 3 a.m. ng Fan could stay up all night easily, and he was too excited to sleep. He stood up and moved a little, then kept drawing until 6 a.m., finishing the third part.
When the third part was done, he was tired and slept for around two hours. For the fourth part, he agonized over a plot developnt, spending almost two hours to convince himself and fixing the content. When he was finally done, it was around 1:30 p.m.
Great!
This will do.
ng Fan ordered food, took a quick shower, then grabbed his manuscript to go downstairs. In the corner of the hotel lobby, he wolfed down so food, then asked the hotel for a car to go to Akihabara.
Akihabara, on the boundaries of the four comrcial districts of Kyoto, was once a street of electronic stores. Now, it was a street popular with fans of the AGCN culture (animation, gas, comics, and novels).
If the Akihabara of the electronics era was a steely, masculine guy, then the district today can only make you say, ‘So pretty, like a cute boy.’
Akihabara was the purpose of ng Fan’s trip. He was a true hobody, so Akihabara, a haven for AGCN culture, was a must-see on his visit to Kyoto. He really was visiting the cca today, he was eting Eiichiro Oda!
When ng Fan got off at Akihabara, he could see elents of the AGCN culture everywhere. There were many people dressed in cosplay such as waitresses in maid costus in front of coffeeshops.
After he waited a while at the scheduled eting place, a thirty-sothing man showed up. The man didn’t need to look too hard; ng Fan was very recognizable. The man knew it was ng Fan from a distance away as he said to himself, “This guy is really tall and good looking.”
“Are you ng-san?” The man asked. After ng Fan nodded, he introduced himself. “I’m Hiroji Wada.”
His Chinese wasn’t very standard, but he could communicate without problems.
This Hiroji Wada was the referrer ng Caiju found for ng Fan. The man was the son of a senior person at Toei Animation. In the credits of so well-known Japanese comics-turned-animated films, one could find the na of… his father.
Hiroji Wada worked in licensing rights of Japanese animations in China and collaborations with Chinese animation and gas, which was how ng Caiju could get half an hour of Eiichiro Oda’s ti with a phone call and have Hiroji Wada pick up ng Fan personally.
“ng-san, I’ll take you on a tour of Mr. Oda’s workshop first. Around three o’clock, he rests for half an hour. Normally, it’s excellent if he can see you for ten minutes. I hope you understand.”
As Hiroji Wada led ng Fan toward their destination, he reminded ng Fan of do’s and don’ts, such as no questions about the plot of “One Piece,” or any gossipy things not related to comics and more.
The Oda workshop was pretty much Eiichiro Oda’s ho in Kyoto. He both lived and worked here.
ng Fan had heard of the habits of the maestro of comics, Eiichiro Oda, such as how he slept between two and five in the morning, and how he worked the rest of the day, working 16-hour days!
Of course, he didn’t draw the entire ti he worked, there was also plot discussions, looking for elents of scenarios, characters, and more.
A renowned comic artist, even though they have many assistants, still had a huge work volu. Also, Eiichiro Oda was a manga artist who insisted on doing a lot of the post-production work — such as the tiline — himself.
Very soon, they reached the Oda Workshop, a quiet place in a bustling area.
“Hiroji-san.”
Hiroji Wada had made an appointnt. As soon as they walked in, an assistant in the workshop ca over to greet them. These assistants all wanted to be manga artists eventually, so they were very polite and respectful toward Hiroji Wada, soone with a connected dad in the industry, and ng Fan was treated well by association.
Hiroji Wada had been there before, so he wasn’t fascinated by everything like ng Fan. He found a place to sit while the assistant took ng Fan around the place.
Inside the workshop, “One Piece” elents could be seen everywhere: private bar, popcorn machine, making the place resemble a playground. There was also a claw machine filled with characters from “One Piece,” none of which were available in the stores; ng Fan was so envious.
After their tour, ng Fan asked for the restroom and excitedly entered the “Jaws”-thed restroom.
The workroom for Eiichiro Oda and his assistants was not open to the public, so ng Fan didn’t go in there.
Then, ng Fan t the maestro of comics, Eiichiro Oda.
The maestro looked like his photo. Like many OP fans, ng Fan was most concerned about the man’s health. There were rumors of him having health problems earlier. Now that the man looked well in person, ng Fan was so happy.
After an emotional introduction, ng Fan chatted with Eiichiro Oda as a fellow manga artist. He didn’t rely on a translator, using just his phone to help. Since his phone was connected to a streaming device, translation was fast and communication was easy.
Initially, Eiichiro Oda thought ng Fan was just a fan of manga rather than a colleague. The older man was happy to discuss elents of the industry and beca surprised by ng Fan’s comprehension of the art form. Drawing Skills, Settings, and Scriptwriting weren’t just a number; the information in each category made ng Fan’s comnts outstanding. While what he said wasn’t groundbreaking, Eiichiro Oda acknowledged the younger man’s level of knowledge and was into the discussion.
ng Fan also asked so questions from his creative process and drawing experience, which Eiichiro Oda was happy to answer.
After so chatting, Eiichiro Oda then asked if ng Fan also created comics; he took out the manuscript.
As soon as Eiichiro Oda saw the material, he looked focused and energized.
After another half-hour, ng Fan said goodbye to Eiichiro Oda and Hiroji Wada at the workshop, leaving for Shueisha. In ng Fan’s hand was a recomndation letter from Eiichiro Oda.
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