Walking home, Akira mumbled the girl's name to himself again, feeling that it was quite strange.
"Shimizu Rin..."
Unlike the interpersonal relationships inherited from the Original Owner, such as with Kayo, the manager of the manga bookstore, the girl, Shimizu Rin, could be considered the first person he met after transmigrating to this world.
A friend?
It didn't seem quite right to call her that.
She could only be considered someone he could barely manage to talk to.
But that wasn't important, because there were more important things at hand.
He shook his head, casting aside the distracting thoughts in his mind.
Upon returning home, he took off his shoes, changed his clothes, and washed up. He then sat back down at the work desk by his bed, chin resting on one hand while the other unconsciously twirled a pencil, lost in thought.
So, if he were to draw manga, what should he draw?
In the Japanese manga industry of the future, there is no longer a forced pursuit of ultra-long-running series, shifting instead toward long and medium-length series. However, in this current era, it is undoubtedly still the age of ultra-long-running manga.
When it comes to ultra-long-running manga right now, especially those serialized in Shonen Jump, the typical representatives are the future "Big Three" of mainstream manga: One Piece, Naruto, and Bleach.
One Piece began serialization at the end of 1997 and is now a popular new pillar of Shonen Jump. Naruto, if all goes as expected, will also begin serialization this year.
As for Bleach, although it won't start serialization until 2001, when he flipped through this issue of Shonen Jump this morning, he had already noticed a short-run manga titled Zombie Powder, and the author of Zombie Powder is none other than Kubo Tite.
Although Kubo Tite has not yet begun creating Bleach, he will also begin serializing a short manga called Zombie Powder this year, in which many character designs, settings, and art styles already bear the early hallmarks of the future Bleach.
In other words, One Piece is naturally out of the question, and trying to copy Naruto or Bleach is definitely a no-go.
However, he had never intended to draw an ultra-long-running manga from the very beginning.
Although drawing manga is much easier for him than for the average mangaka, and he likely won't have any pressure to meet deadlines, the serialization time for ultra-long-running manga is simply too long, which is unacceptable for him right now.
After all, he just wants to earn his first pot of gold by drawing manga and incidentally fulfill the Original Owner's dying wish, rather than actually wanting to tie most of his life to drawing manga.
Therefore, his criteria for selection are long or even medium-length manga, preferably popular works that have already been verified by countless readers in the future and are capable of making money.
Despite having so many constraints, he could still immediately think of quite a few: Death Note, Fullmetal Alchemist, Parasyte, Attack on Titan, Jujutsu Kaisen...
"Wait, hold on?"
When Jujutsu Kaisen appeared in his mind, he suddenly couldn't hold it together.
"Not a moment of mourning for the conclusion of Rurouni Kenshin; the next series to hit Shonen Jump serialization is Jujutsu Kaisen!"
"Will I win?" "I will win!" "Seriously? I'm going to beat the Big Three?" "Save me, Golden Finger-sama!" "I'm sorry I couldn't make the Big Three go all out."
Thinking of all the memories from following the serialization, he couldn't help but sigh.
"I have to admire you, Gege Akutami. I'm afraid I'll never forget you for the rest of my life."
However, putting the memes aside, he thought about it carefully and realized it might actually be viable.
Although some say that the reason Jujutsu Kaisen was able to become a new pillar of Shonen Jump during its serialization was that it benefited from the anime adaptation, just like Demon Slayer, this is, of course, an undeniable fact.
But before Gege Akutami pulled the major twist involving "2.5 Gojo," the quality of Jujutsu Kaisen itself was actually quite solid, and the plot was consistently improving.
Even after the plot of Gojo Satoru vs. Ryomen Sukuna, the overall quality of Jujutsu Kaisen was indeed worthy of the title of a new pillar of Shonen Jump among contemporary works.
As for the criticism that the early plot was somewhat clichéd, it wouldn't even be an issue in this era; after all, Hunter x Hunter had only just begun serialization, and Naruto hadn't even been published yet.
More importantly, Gojo Satoru was indeed a very well-crafted character before the later developments, and his popularity and mainstream appeal even exceeded the work Jujutsu Kaisen itself.
As for what comes later, there's no need to say much more. What's quite absurd is that after that point, the popularity of Jujutsu Kaisen actually rose instead of falling; it truly embodied the idea that any publicity is good publicity.
Of course, that's just a thought. He definitely wouldn't make Jujutsu Kaisen his first choice. After all, there are so many good works to choose from, so why deliberately pick something so controversial?
Back to the main topic.
Besides the manga mentioned above, if he didn't mind the extra effort, he could expand beyond the manga field. He could also look toward works in anime, light novels, and visual novels, and adapt these works into manga.
Compared to manga, which can be copied more directly, the troublesome part of choosing these works is that he would need to design the storyboards himself, but it would still be much easier than creating something entirely original.
Anyway, drawing itself is the least of his concerns. As for storyboard design, as the saying goes, "Great writers copy, great poets steal," he could simply gather the strengths of many masters.
Hmm...
Because there were so many works to choose from, he couldn't make up his mind for a moment. While brainstorming, his gaze unconsciously scanned across the desktop, as if searching for inspiration.
Just then, his gaze fixed on a piece of drawing paper, and he froze slightly.
On the paper, a blonde girl in armor stood with her hands resting on a sword, her gaze directed straight ahead with a stern expression. It was the classic character he had drawn himself that morning: Artoria Pendragon.
"?!"
At this moment, he suddenly shuddered, and a bold idea emerged in his mind. How about drawing the Type-Moon series?
He immediately sat up straight, sank into deep thought again, and began to seriously examine this idea.
To be precise, Type-Moon is not a single work, but an umbrella term for a series of works under the "Type-Moon worldview" created by the writer Nasu Kinoko.
This mainly includes Witch on the Holy Night, Tsukihime, The Garden of Sinners, Fate/stay night, and a series of their follow-up and derivative works.
Among them, the most widely known, most popular, and most profitable is undoubtedly the series of works originating from Fate/stay night, which is the Fate series.
The Artoria he drew is one of the heroines in Fate/stay night, as well as the most widely known and highly popular character in the entire Type-Moon series.
And the work that flashed through his mind just now that he wanted to draw was none other than Fate/stay night.
Fate/stay night, abbreviated as FSN, is a visual novel game that was released on the PC platform on January 30, 2004, with the two core figures of the Type-Moon world, Nasu Kinoko in charge of the script and Takeuchi Takashi in charge of character design.
The game revolves around the Holy Grail War, where seven pairs of mages (Masters) and heroic Servants engage in battle through contracts. The player takes on the role of the protagonist Emiya Shirou, who accidentally forms a contract with a Servant of the Saber class and participates in the war.
The story includes three main routes: Fate, Unlimited Blade Works (UBW), and Heaven's Feel (HF). Each route has its own heroine: the Fate route features Artoria, UBW features Tohsaka Rin, and HF features Matou Sakura.
In 2006, the 24-episode TV anime Fate/stay night, adapted by DEEN based mainly on the Fate route while incorporating elements from the UBW and HF routes, was broadcast. It was one of the hit anime of that year, and the image of King Arthur, Artoria, became deeply imprinted in people's minds.
However, for current audiences, what is more widely known might be the TV anime Fate/stay night: Unlimited Blade Works, produced by ufotable and aired in October 2014, which is adapted from the UBW route.
Back to the main topic.
As a classic IP that has remained popular for over twenty years and continues to endure, the Type-Moon series, although not on the level of the very top-tier IPs, can still be considered a highly successful and long-running franchise.
Especially the Fate series, which stands out in popularity, has had countless spin-offs over the years, generating enormous revenue, not to mention the release of the major hit mobile game Fate/Grand Order in 2015.
Fate/Grand Order, abbreviated as FGO, relying on its strong storytelling, engaging card battle system, and the support of countless Tsukihime fans, has remained at the forefront of mobile game sales rankings for years and can even reach the top from time to time. It can be said to be the most profitable entry in the series.
In short, commercially speaking, there is no need to worry about whether drawing Fate can make money.
However...
"This isn't going to be easy to draw."
Akira tapped his forehead lightly with his pencil.
If he were to draw FSN, the most troublesome part would be how to adapt it from a visual novel into a manga.
As is well known, because the stories between each route in a visual novel are different parallel lines, it is very difficult to adapt them. Whether it is a manga or anime adaptation, it is almost impossible to fully reproduce all the content of the original.
Therefore, when adapting a visual novel, two main approaches are generally used.
First, attempt to merge multiple routes into a single storyline. Second, adapt only one route.
The former is what the anime attempted, and the latter is what the 2014 UBW adaptation did.
So, if he were to adapt the original FSN into a manga and serialize it in Shonen Jump, what should he do?
In fact, in this case, rather than focusing on adapting FSN, it would be easier to abandon this idea and choose another work.
But Akira didn't think about giving up. Instead, he felt somewhat excited and began to think further.
Alright, he was coming clean.
As an anti-Type-Moon critic who had long lurked among the Tsukihime fan community, unable to stand the various questionable works produced by a certain mushroom, he had actually wanted to do this for a long time!