Chapter 21: Even if I'm Dying, I Must Hold My Brush
When the members of the Manga & Literature Research Club quarreled, Editor Ida Shinji also got into some trouble.
During this period, Ida Shinji had looked for several mangakas who had worked with him. As a result, all of them shook their heads after hearing his plan.
Most mangakas were young people, whose hearts were still filled with dreams. Although their dreams were broken in the real world and they had to draw adult mangas, but it was too difficult to let them betray their beliefs.
To these mangakas, Osamu Tezuka was their god. How could they dare copy his name and distort his manga?!
More importantly, most of these poor mangakas still dreamed of returning to the world under the sun. They still hoped that one day they would be able to draw shonen manga honorably.
If they had really participated in this project and done such a shameless thing, it would be impossible for any of them to be accepted by any common manga companies.
These people could hide in the darkness and grind their teeth to endure pain and poverty, but they could not accept the days without hope.
Moreover, even in the 21st century, it was too niche to draw Astro Boy's porn manga. It was hard to find anyone who could break through the bottom line of morality in this time.
Ida Shinji left Kitahara Shimomura's house with disappointment. He had great expectations for this mangaka. Unfortunately, he wasn't at home.
Before Shimizu Hakuseki appeared, Kitahara Shimomura was a mangaka of "Taboo Paradise". Although he was drawing adult mangas, he was very diligent.
Of course, after Shimizu Hakuseki appeared, Ida Shinji dismissed him without hesitation.
Kitahara Shimomura was a poor person. After being dismissed, he lost his source of income and immediately fell into a dilemma. But he couldn't blame anyone. After all, this was how the world worked. If he was drawing shonen manga, "that world" was a hundred times more brutal than "this world".
Ida Shinji knew that Kitahara Shimomura was facing a financial crisis, so it would be easier for him to abandon his sense of morality than others. A person who was cornered was unscrupulous, and Ida Shinji was an example.
It was eight o'clock at night. The cold wind at the end of September made people feel chilly. Ida Shinji wrapped his clothes tightly around himself and walked toward the front block with his neck hunched.
According to what Kitahara Shimomura's neighbor said, Kitahara Shimomura wasn't at home because he had to go out every night to do odd jobs in the neighborhood nearby Shibuya. After asking where Kitahara Shimomura worked, Ida Shinji walked towards his goal.
After arriving at the neighborhood, Ida Shinji looked around but didn't find Kitahara Shimomura. He only found that there was a circle of fashionably dressed young people not far away, and these young people were making a tremendous row.
Ida Shinji pushed through the crowd and saw Kitahara Shimomura in the middle of the circle.
Kitahara Shimomura was about thirty years old. His body looked thin and short, wearing simple casual clothes. He had a pair of slit eyes and short spiky hair. Anyway, he looked like an obscene monkey in Ida Shinji's eyes.
But at this moment, this "obscene middle-aged monkey" was wearing armor and was being beaten by someone. The person who was beating him was also a middle-aged man, from the man's clothes, he should be a common office worker. This office worker was wearing boxing gloves with a look of hatred on his face, as if he was beating his deadly enemy.
"Section chief! Damn you!" The office worker shouted and punched at Kitahara Shimomura's face. Kitahara Shimomura protected his face with his hands, but his body still fell to the ground.
The crowd around them gave a burst of cheers.
"Stand up! Stand up!"
"Uncle, you are too weak! Can't you stand up?"
"Uncle, you are too thin for this work, ha-ha."
The office worker proudly looked down on Kitahara Shimomura and said, "Stand up, I can still punch you five times."
"Sorry," Kitahara Shimomura stood up and shouted, "Come on!"
"Section chief! Let me beat you to death!" First punch.
"Wife! I've endured you for a long time!" Second punch.
"Hanako! I don't have sexual impotence!" Third punch.
"Stinky girl, don't look at your dad as if you are looking at an ugly, strange uncle!" Fourth punch.
"Fucking client, it's great to be rich, is it? You have money, so you can scribble on my legs, right?" His final punch had lost strength, but his fist still waved towards Kitahara Shimomura's face.
A hand stopped him halfway.
Ida Shinji stood in front of Kitahara Shimomura.
The office worker raised his head and glared at Ida Shinji, "What are you doing?"
"You've finished your five punches."
"Oh? Ah! That's good. I feel more comfortable now. Oh, you, I'm sorry, I'm very sorry, I didn't mean to punch you." The office worker bowed awkwardly to Kitahara Shimomura and apologized. At the same time, he drew out his wallet and handed over Kitahara Shimomura a few banknotes. "Your money. Sorry, I was so excited that I almost offended you."
"It doesn't matter. I can sympathize with your feelings. Everyone has a hard life, and I hope you will have a happy mood in the future."
"Ah," the office worker forced a weird smile on his face, "Thank you for saying so. Good-bye then."
"Good-bye."
This was Kitahara Shimomura's part-time job: being beaten by others to earn money.
After the office worker left, Kitahara Shimomura looked at Ida Shinji and said, "Why are you here?"
"I’ve come to see how bad your life is."
"You devil, isn't it enough that dismissed me? Are you satisfied after seeing this?"
"I'm not such a bored person. I'm looking for something to do with you."
"Then please wait while I do business. I haven't finished my work yet."
"How many punches before you finish your work?"
"About ten punches."
"Let me do it." Ida Shinji took off his clothes and put on the boxing gloves, then began to punch Kitahara Shimomura.
"Damn chairman!"
"Damn the capitalistic society!"
"Bastard mangakas!"
"Why are there so many perverts in this world?"
"Why is it so difficult to run an adult magazine?"
"I'm only thirty-nine years old. I'm not forty years old!"
After ten punches, looking at Kitahara Shimomura's swollen face, Ida Shinji felt more at ease now. After paying for it, Ida Shinji said, "Let's go to your house, I have something to talk over with you."
After going back home, Kitahara Shimomura first put some ointment on his face, and handed over Ida Shinji a cup of hot water, "Sorry, as you can see, I'm as poor as a church mouse. I can only give you a cup of hot water."
"Hot water is enough."
"What business have you with me?"
"There's a good project going. I want you to take over it."
"You want me to draw manga for you?"
"Yes."
Kitahara Shimomura looked at him with vigilance, "Will there be such a good thing for me?"
"I'm not hiding it from you. The project is a bit special." Ida Shinji sighed and told Kitahara Shimomura his plan: he wanted Kitahara Shimomura to draw Astro Boy's adult manga for "Taboo Paradise".
"You're really crazy! Why do you want to do that? Are you short of funds?"
"The magazine is facing a lot of pressure on sales. In order to expand sales, we have to do this."
"Didn't you find that mangaka, Beauty Baijie? Isn't Sensei Baijie enough?"
"Not enough."
"Well…"
The two men fell into a brief silence. After a while, Ida Shinji opened his mouth and asked, "Will you do it?"
"I don't want to do it."
"At any rate, it's better than your current job. Making money by being beaten by others?"
"What I earn is clean money. I still have the sense of morality in my heart," said Kitahara Shimomura, "Nowadays, with the rapid development of the economy, the social polarization is becoming larger and larger. People have more and more grudges in their hearts, they need a place to abreact! Although it isn't an easy job, I have contributed to the stability of society somehow."
"It sounds as if you are doing a decent job. Don't you feel pain when you get beaten?"
"Of course, it hurts. To tell you the truth, your punches were very painful."
"Sorry, but I also have grudges in my heart. I'm under too much pressure. I had to do it."
"Yes, I can understand. You have to do something against morality, you can't feel well. But whose fault is it? Is it your fault? You just want to keep your job. Is it the president's fault? He's just doing his job. Is it the chairman's fault? He is a capitalist. Naturally, he wants to pursue higher profits. What's wrong with us? We are doing nothing wrong but we have to do something against morality."
"Yes, it's not comfortable to think about this."
"Yes, it's all the fault of society! Society is sick! The evil capitalist society will be overthrown by people sooner or later!" Finding that Ida Shinji stared at him in horror, Kitahara Shimomura touched his head embarrassingly and said, "Ah, sorry, I spoke some strange words. When I was young, I was a member of the Japanese Red Army. So now I still occasionally shout slogans. But you can rest assured, because I quit the Red Army a long time ago. Oh, I really miss those days, recited the Little Red Book and shouted slogans with passion, thinking that I was omnipotent and I could change the world. As a result… oh…"
"Cut the crap. Will you do it?"
"Of course, I will do it."
"What about your sense of morality?"
"I'm not a fool. Can my sense of morality fill my belly? Why should I choose to be beaten if I can choose to draw mangas?" Kitahara Shimomura sighed and said, "But in this case, there will never be a way back for me. The world of shonen manga will never accept me."
"Of course, after doing such a thing, do you expect that they will welcome you with their arms open? The only reason they don't send you to prison is that the law doesn't allow it."
"I know that, but it doesn't matter. It's good to lose hope early. I actually knew that, with my talent, I would never have a chance to fight for the highest honor in the shonen manga market. What a pity it is! I also want to fight hard in such an arena. Even if I'd bleed myself dry, I should die at a place where a mangaka should fall down."
"It is impossible for a man like you to enter such a glorious but also cruel place."
"You're right. I'm just a loser who can only dream."
"You can only accept reality…" Ida Shinji comforted him, "In retrospect, you don't lose anything. You are not young now. You’re already more than thirty years old? What can you do if you don't draw mangas? Let bygones be bygones, at least, you have an opportunity now."
"You are right, so I’ll agree to take this job. It's not a problem to imitate Osamu Tezuka's painting style, you know. But I have one condition."
"Oh? Tell me about it."
"I want to be Sensei Baijie's assistant."
Ida Shinji paused for a moment, and then he understood.
"You just don't drop the idea forever, do you? You want to steal Sensei Baijie's painting style!"
"Ha ha ha ha," Kitahara Shimomura shook his head and laughed, "What are you talking about, Ida Shinji? How can I drop the idea to improve my manga skills? As you said, what else can I do without drawing mangas? Manga is my life! Even if I'm dying, I must hold my brush!"
Even if I'm dying, I must hold my brush.
That sounded cool! For a moment, Ida Shinji was shocked by the strong will contained in Kitahara Shimomura’s words.
But he only held that feeling for a moment. Looking at Kitahara Shimomura's swollen face, no matter how powerful the words were, he couldn't take it seriously.
Thinking again, Ida Shinji understood what Kitahara Shimomura meant. He asked, "You mean, even if you die, you have to draw adult mangas. You have made up your mind to turn your attention to the adult manga market forever. Am I right?"
"Ah, that's the only way." Kitahara Shimomura laughed and said, "Since I can only draw adult mangas from now on, I can only pay attention to the adult manga market. And now, Beauty Baijie is the strongest adult manga artist."
"Yes, Sensei Baijie's portrayal of women's bodies goes beyond this era with an indescribable sense of beauty."
"Not only beauty. Sensei Baijie also knows people's hearts," said Kitahara Shimomura, "The girls under her brush have the power to touch a string in people's hearts. Whether they were naked or wearing clothes, whether they were smiling or angry, they can charm people's hearts. Such a technique, such a master! I even want to worship her!" (Kitahara Shimomura thought that Beauty Baijie was a woman so he used "her" here.)
"I'm afraid you're not thinking of worship."
"Ha ha ha, I know I can't hide it from you," Kitahara Shimomura stopped smiling and said earnestly, "Since I have made up my mind, I must do my best. Since I lack talent, I need to learn, imitate and steal other people's talents. Become Sensei Baijie's assistant, learn her painting style and then surpass her, that's what I want to do!"
