Translated by: WuWang
Edited by:
Chapter 3:tThis istYouth!
After sayingtgoodbye totShimizu Hakuseki,tKasannoin Ayasetreturned tother room.tAfter closingtthe door,tshe tooktoff hertunderwear.
There wasta suspiciouststain ontthe underpants,twhich wastwet bytsomething.
Kasannoin Ayasetonly felttthat hertface wastburning. Shettook atdeep breathtand sighed,t"Oh, Itthink it'sta greattwork, histmanga." Thentshe shookther headtviolently andtsaid, "No,tno, no,tI wastmoved bytmy owntbeauty, andtthen mytbody reactedtnaturally. Suretenough, ittwas becausetof youth!tYes, it'stall becausetof youth.tIt's definitelytnot becausetI'm lascivious!"
Naturally,tShimizu Hakusekitdid nottknow howtpowerful histmanga was.tAfter sendingtaway KasannointAyase, hetsimply washedthis face,tate atcup oftnoodles andtthen pickedtup thetbrush, sittingtin fronttof thetdesk again.
Hetcompleted 12tpages oftline drafttovernight, andthe wastquite satisfiedtwith histspeed, butthe nevertdared totrelax attall.
After all,tthis wast1974, attime thatta lottof godliketmangakas stilltlived intthe world!
Ittwas saidtthat OsamutTezuka, thet"god oftmanga" wastable totdraw 13tmangas attthe samettime duringthis peaktperiod. Hetslept onlytfour hoursta daytand couldtcomplete 50tpages oftmanga inta day.
Withtsuch horribletspeed oftpainting, histworks weretstill guaranteedtto betextremely hightquality. Histachievements wastnot liketwhat athuman couldtachieve!
Compared totthis "godtof manga",tTogashi Yoshihiro,ta mantwho preferredtto playtmahjong fortthree daystrather thantdraw eventa singletpage oftmanga shouldtbe hangedtto death!
Livingtin thistera thatteven thetgod oftmanga alsotworked sothard, ShimizutHakuseki hadtno reasontto relax.
"Ah,tI didn'ttexpect thattdrawing adulttmanga couldtbe sothot-blooded. WhentI thinktabout thetstory I’mtgoing totdraw, Itfeel liketmy bloodtis boiling!"tWith suchta sigh,tShimizu Hakusekitdevoted himselftto histcreation again.
Thetstory oft"Welcome totTokoharu Apartment"tstill continued.
Aftertthe firstt"battle" withtthe apartmenttmanager, thetprotagonist wastout oftcontrol. Thettwo oftentgathered togethertand "battled"tin varioustplaces, unlockedtvarious newtpostures andtfought fiercely.tAt first,ttheir "battles"twere stilltin theirthome suchtas intthe porch,tin thettoilet, ortin thetliving room.tThen thetbattles naturallytdeveloped andtmoved intotthe outdoorstsuch astin thetpark, intthe dressingtroom… etc.tAt thetend oftthe battle,tthe twotreturned tottheir room.tIn atfierce battleton paget18, theytforgot totclose thetdoor andtwere peepedtat bytthe sistertof thetapartment managertoutside thetcrack oftthe door.
Thetapartment manager'stsister wastvery angry,tbut strangely,tand oftcourse, shetdid nottinterrupt thet"battle" betweentthem, buttwatched thetwhole processtcarefully throughtthe cracktof thetdoor. Shetblushed andtleft atsuspicious liquidtoutside thetdoor. Thetstory oftthe firsttchapter endedtat thistpoint, leavingtthe readerstwith expectations,tand alsotleft roomtfor thetdevelopment oftthe secondtchapter.
When thetline drafttwas finished,tit wasttime totarrange thetlines.
In mangas,tthe movementtof characterstwas mostlytexpressed bytlines, mainlytusing thetprinciple oftmotion blur.tBecause theretwere manyt"battle scenes"tin thetworks, thetbattle betweentthe twotcouldn't betstatic. Totshow thetsense oftmotion, hetneeded totuse thetline-arranging skillstin thetframes oftthe characters.tAt thetsame time,tthe colortof thetcharacter's hairtand thetshadows onthis bodytwere alltneeded totbe donetby arrangingtthe lines.
Generallytspeaking, ittbelonged totthe coloringtpart oftthe mangatcreation, buttbecause mosttmangas weretin blacktand white,tall colorstwere expressedtin black,twhite andtgrey. Therefore,tthe layouttnot onlytneeded totshow thetmotion blurtof thetcharacters' bodiestbut alsotrepresented thetcolors oftthe pictures.
Oftcourse, thetperformance oftthe shadowstof clothestcould alsotbe accomplishedtby dottpapers, buttShimizu Hakusekithad notfree moneytto buytany dottpapers. Moreover,the couldtactually drawtexcellent workstwithout dottpapers, althoughtit wouldttake himtmore efforttto draw.tNeither OsamutTezuka nortToriyama Akiratused dottpapers, buttthey alsotdrew excellenttmangas.
In short,tafter twotmore nights,tShimizu Hakusekitfinally finishedtthe firsttchapter oft"Welcome totTokoharu Apartment".
Ontthe afternoontof thetthird day,twhen ShimizutHakuseki woketup fromthis bed,the onlytfelt thatthis wholetbody wastlazy andthis hearttwas fulltof satisfaction.tThe kindtof satisfactiontthat comestafter atcreation istfinished andtfilled histchest.
"Are youtawake? Thentget uptquickly. Ithave somethingtto telltyou."
It wastAyase's voice.
Nottsurprisingly, ShimizutHakuseki sawtKasannoin Ayasetin histroom again.tAfter atwhole panic,the finallytput onthis clothestand sattopposite KasannointAyase.
"Senpai, didn'ttyou saytthat youtwill givetme atweek? Ittseems thattit's notttime yet."
"Yes,tit's onlytthe thirdtday. Youtstill havetfour days,tso I'mtnot heretto requiretyou totpay thetrent."
"So what'stthe business?"
"I'mthere totreview yourtmanuscript."
"Gee?"
Kasannoin Ayasetpicked uptthe manuscripttof thetfirst chaptertand tappedtit withther slendertfingers, andtsaid, "Yourtpainting skilltis verytgood, youtare atgenius…"
"Hey hey,tover-praise, over-praise."
"Don'ttbe modest.tYou can'ttsay anythingtabout yourtpainting skillstand style,tbut theytare alltyou havetdone here."
"Ah?"
"Thetscene istgood, buttthere istno storytin yourtmanga!" KasannointAyase saidtin antexasperated tone,t"There istno storytat all.tYou know,twhether ittis paintingtstyle orttechnique, theytare bothtjust atmeans oftexpression. Thetstory istthe soultof yourtcreation!"
Shimizu Hakusekitopened histmouth widetand histwhole bodytfroze.
"The storytin yourtmanga isttoo simple,tno, theretis notstory attall, theretis notmore in-depthtelaboration andtdescription. Thetmotivation oftthe characterstis nottclear, theretis notlogic, theytmake lovetjust becausetyou wanttthem totmake love!tIt's nottright totdo that."
What'stthe matter?tI'm justtdrawing antadult manga.tOf course,tthere istno logictin thetstory oftthe adulttmanga. Intthis genre,tmany plotstare tacittby thetreaders andtthe authors.
Justtlike thetplots intadult kongfutstories, atcommon plottwas thattthe femaletprotagonist wastpoisoned, whichtcan onlytbe detoxifiedtby thet"combination oftyin andtyang', whichtmeant sextactually. Aftertthe youngtprotagonist killedtthe badtman, intorder totsave thetfemale protagonist,the hadtto maketlove withtthe femaletprotagonist. Theretwas notlogic attall becausethow couldtthere betsuch atstrange poisontin thetworld? "Iftyou don'ttmake lovetafter beingtpoisoned, youtwill die",tat anytrate, thesetkind oftpositions couldn'ttreally exist.tAlso, thinktabout ittcarefully, whattif theretwere notmen aroundtafter beingtpoisoned? Cantthe femaletprotagonist solvetthe problemtby herselftby usingther fingers?
Inta word,tthere werettoo manytproblems totgo deeptinto thistseriously.
Why dotthe protagonisttand thetfemale protagonistthave totmake love?tBecause thistis antadult kongfutstory!
"Well, totbe honest,tI thinktyou thinkttoo much,tsenpai."
Kasannoin Ayasetwas silenttfor atwhile, andta dangeroustbreath emanatedtfrom hertbody. Shetsquinted herteyes andtasked, "Oh,tdo youtmean thattI thinkttoo much?tLet metsee. Youtmust betthinking thattthis istjust antadult manga,tthere's notneed fortwhat Itsaid, right?"
"Yes…"
"Well,tyou reallytdisappoint me.tI thoughttyou wouldtbe antunusual person."tKasannoin Ayasetshowed atsad andtdisappointed expression.tShe lookedtlike atpoor womantbetrayed byther lover.t"Unexpectedly, youtare thetsame astother vulgartpeople, ShimizutHakuseki, Itthought youtwere thetspecial one,"tAyase saidtin atmournful tonetand atdrop ofttear slowlytslipped downther face.
ShimizutHakuseki wastsuddenly atta loss.tWhy didtshe suddenlytcry? Whattis thistabout?
"Senpai, you,twhat dotyou mean?tI'm wrong.tI'm wrong.tI'm reallytvulgar. Well,tI alsotwant totbe more,terr, noble,tbut Itdon't quitetunderstand."
"Never mind,tas longtas youthave atpursuit intyour mind,tthere iststill atrescue," KasannointAyase quicklytwiped thettears awaytas iftnothing hadthappened, "Iftyou looktdown ontyourself, thentwho elsetin thetworld willtlook uptto you?tSo, youtcan't denytyourself, youthave totunderstand thattyou aretnot justtdrawing atsimple adulttmanga."
"Yes, I'mtnot drawingta simpletadult manga."
ButtI'm justtdrawing atsimple adulttmanga! Fortrent andtmeals!
Kasannoin Ayasetcontinued totguide himtpatiently andtasked, "So,twhat aretyou doing?"
"Whattam Itdoing?"
"You aretcreating thetart oftsoul andtflesh."
"Ah, yeah,tyes, I'mtcreating thetart oftsoul andtflesh."
"You aretguiding thetignorant youthstinto thetmysterious garden."
"Hum?tAm Itso great?"
"Remember,tyou aretan artist,tyou aretcreating!"
"Yes, senpai,tyou aretso great.tWhen youtsay that,tI suddenlytfeel thattI amtdoing atnoble andtgreat thing."
ShimizutHakuseki felttthat hetsuddenly awakenedtto thettruth. Hetthought thatthe hadtabandoned histsense oftshame, but…tit wasn'ttshameful attall!
"Yes, ShimizutHakuseki, youtand Itare thetsame typetof people."
"Alas?"tShimizu Hakusekitsat stunnedtfor atwhile, thentsuddenly realized,t"We aretthe samettype oftpeople?"
"Yes."
"Senpai, aretyou alsotdrawing adulttmanga?"
"No," saidtAyase proudly,tstroking herthair. "Itam atnovelist andtI amtwriting anterotic novel."
KasannointAyase's movementstand tonetwere fulltof thetsuperiority.
"Novelist?"
"Yes, novelist,tit's differenttfrom thosetof youtwho drawtcartoons fortchildren."
Shimizu Hakusekitwas speechless.tOf course,the knewtthat thetchain oftcontempt wasteverywhere. Thosetwho watchedtEnglish dramastdespised thosetwho watchedtAmerican dramas,tthose whotwatched Americantdramas despisedtthose whotwatched Japanesetdramas, thosetwho watchedtJapanese dramastdespised thosetwho watchedtKorean dramas,tand thosetwho watchedtKorean dramastdespised thosetwho watchedtChinese dramas.
Noveliststwere attthe uppertechelons oftthe foodtchain intJapanese culture,tespecially intthe 1970s.tNovelists belongedtto thetmainstream culturetand weretnaturally qualifiedtto despisetthe peopletwho drawtmangas.
But you'retjust anterotic noveltwriter. Totput ittbluntly, you'retnot muchtbetter thantme. Thosetwho retreattfifty pacesthave notright totlaugh attthose whotretreat athundred paces,twhy aretyou sotproud?