Chapter 12 This comic might win a gold prize
Miyamae Ken reviewed the manga, needing to observe the artwork, style, and plot of the work.
"The artwork… it's really good, could it really be an alt account of an experienced mangaka?"
Miyamae Ken ruled out his previous guess of a new mangaka, as the artwork in a manga best reflects the author's skill, carrying the mangaka's experience and technique.
No, it shouldn't be an experienced mangaka. After all, no one would lose face by coming to a newcomer award to 'fish in troubled waters'.
It's most likely a new work published by an assistant to a mangaka, as many experienced mangaka's first manga were published after gradually learning while assisting an older mangaka.
"But then again, the style of this manga is a bit like Ito Wakaba-sensei's 'Horror Tremors Collection'."
Miyamae Ken pondered carefully, constantly associating mangaka/assistants with similar manga styles.
After a while, Miyamae Ken gave up. After all, no matter how good the artwork, a poor plot would be useless.
This was the best manga artwork Miyamae Ken had encountered today.
"If the plot is also good, winning a Silver Award shouldn't be too much of a problem," he thought.
His eyes constantly scrutinized the manga. Now it was just a matter of the plot. If it was good, he would submit it to the Chief Editor for review.
The story began with octopus p's narration.
octopus p came from Happy Planet, coming to Earth to make people happy.
When it had no food, Shizuka-chan extended her help to it.
To repay Shizuka-chan, octopus p gave her a flying tool, but Shizuka-chan refused. "Even if I can fly in the sky, nothing will change."
Miyamae Ken looked at the next panel. Shizuka-chan's schoolbag had many vulgar words written on it.
"Is it really a campus bullying theme?"
Afterward, Shizuka-chan told octopus p her story, and octopus p wanted to invite her to Happy Planet. But Shizuka-chan refused, a pained expression on her face.
"I really want Shizuka-chan to smile more," octopus p thought.
When Miyamae Ken reached the middle of the first chapter, around page 28, the plot shifted from heartwarming to depressing.
A large panel showed Shizuka-chan hanging from a beam, with a stool by her feet, suggesting a suicide scene… Miyamae Ken's mind buzzed. He hadn't expected the plot to unfold this way.
What next? How would the plot continue? With this question, Miyamae Ken continued reading.
octopus p used the Happy Camera to reverse time, stretching the timeline back to when he took a photo with Shizuka-chan yesterday. octopus p was curious why Shizuka-chan wanted to commit suicide, so he suggested to her: going to school with her.
As the first chapter ended, Miyamae Ken couldn't help but think.
"Was Shizuka-chan bullied at school? Were those the girls from the previous panels? Can octopus p save Shizuka-chan?"
Miyamae Ken's mind was full of questions. His interest was piqued, and he wanted to keep reading.
In fact, by this point, Miyamae Ken already considered it a masterpiece.
The opening narration was direct and concise, without any unnecessary details. Both the art style and the plot were quite good, and it managed to spark the reader's interest.
"It seems this manga is going to be selected."
Every mangaka has their own evaluation standards. Miyamae Ken believed that the beginning of a manga was extremely important, as it was the key to attracting readers.
"The story afterward should be like Doraemon, with octopus p taking out various tools to help Shizuka-chan. It should be quite heartwarming, right?"
With this thought, Miyamae Ken continued reading.
With octopus p's help, Shizuka-chan successfully answered the teacher's question. The students in the classroom were all surprised, except for Marina behind her.
"Sure enough, I guessed correctly. The plot direction is octopus p helping Shizuka-chan escape bullying."
Miyamae Ken saw this scene, affirmed his previous speculation, and continued reading with a smile.
Marina asked Shizuka-chan to go to the gym storage room at noon. Shizuka-chan hesitated. Seeing this, octopus p suggested that he go in her place.
"I will make the two of them get along," octopus p thought as he went to the meeting.
Slap!
A large character filled a panel. octopus p, disguised as Shizuka-chan, fell to the ground. Marina in front of him hurled insults, even taking out a pencil and stabbing him.
"Is Marina the bully? Why would she bully Shizuka-chan?"
Miyamae Ken, with these thoughts in his mind, only understood at the end of the second chapter that it was related to Marina's father.
The third chapter mainly described Marina's scheme to separate Shizuka-chan from her dog, Charlie. To reverse this outcome, octopus p repeatedly used the Happy Camera to go back in time.
On the last page of this chapter, the artwork was enlarged here, depicting the expressions of Shizuka-chan and Marina, making Miyamae Ken's heart clench. And the content of the third chapter ended here.
Miyamae Ken, holding the manga, was excited and kept muttering.
"This work is a masterpiece, at least a Silver Award or higher, if the plot maintains this level afterward."
Miyamae Ken stood up somewhat excitedly, his flab jiggling in his sportswear. It was clear he was very happy, especially having discovered a work with great potential himself.
Miyamae Ken's noise attracted the attention of the surrounding editors. Many looked his way.
"Miyamae Ken, what happened? Why are you so excited?"
A mature female editor in a business suit and black-rimmed glasses asked.
"Sorry, sorry. I got a little too excited seeing a good work."
Miyamae Ken bowed, apologizing to everyone in the editorial office for disturbing their review.
Everyone quickly responded, telling him not to be so reserved, as it was normal to be excited when discovering a good work.
However, Miyamae Ken's words also attracted their attention. What kind of work made him so excited? Everyone stopped their work and gathered around him.
Seeing their actions, Miyamae Ken consciously walked to the copier and printed five copies, distributing them to everyone.
Ten minutes later, the editorial office erupted in a clamor.
"This is really good. This kind of campus bullying theme is very rare, and it's written so well."
"Yes, especially its character portrayal is very good, and it gives people a sense of immersion."
"The title, takopi's original sin, I guess it's about octopus p's good intentions to help Shizuka-chan, which ultimately turned into bad things."
"This manga should be able to contend for the Gold Award in the Newcomer Award, as long as the plot doesn't have too many problems later on."
Many editors constantly offered their opinions. In a large company like Shueisha, every editor's professional quality was good, as the bad ones would have been kicked out of the company long ago.
After submitting the manga, Miyamae Ken once again focused his attention on the card that came with it.
"Kamiya Kyo-sensei? To be able to draw such a work, it's truly impressive."