Anime Crossover: Becoming Mangaka in Anime World

By mid-July...

"Eugh." 

Eriri let out a groan as she slumped over her desk.

"Dammit!!"

The sudden outburst startled Shiina, who had been quietly reading.

She looked up and smiled faintly at the sight of Eriri's defeated posture.

"Did Akifumi reject your work again?"

Eriri, looking as deflated as a wilted flower, sighed heavily. "Yeah."

"I was so satisfied with my work this time, but he still rejected it!!"

Recalling the events of the past week, Eriri couldn't help but grumble.

Every day was the same routine—wake up, go to the studio, then come back home to draw and revise.

The cycle was relentless: drafts, revisions, and meals.

There was nothing else in between, and the requirements were insanely demanding!

Take this latest task, for example—drawing the character Megumi Tadokoro.

At first, Akifumi insisted that female characters should have a certain "spicy" appeal.

Now he's saying it's too explicit, and the "spiciness" should be subtle and reserved, only revealed unintentionally.

"He's practically a demon!"

Shiina chuckled, "But aiming for perfection helps you improve, right?"

"I guess you're right..."

But it was just so exhausting! Revising drafts over and over was mentally draining.

Even when she had a clear direction, figuring out how to improve the artwork was still tough.

Still, Eriri had made good progress this week.

Most of the main characters for the early chapters were nearly complete.

"And yet he says I need to finish one chapter this summer! How ridiculous is that?"

At this pace, Eriri couldn't imagine how she'd only produce one chapter.

"I'm going to make sure he regrets this!"

She clapped her hands on her cheeks, psyching herself up.

"Alright, back to work!"

Shiina watched her with a warm gaze, pleased to see Eriri back on track.

Turning her attention back to her manga, she thought, What a peaceful day.

......

Outside

Akifumi Mugiho pondered over Eriri's recent sketch of Megumi Tadokoro.

"Now that I think about it, that slightly provocative vibe is actually pretty nice."

Megumi's simple attire subtly accentuated her curves, giving off an alluring charm.

Her innocent expression, thanks to Eriri's expert touch, lost some of its naïvete and gained a hint of mischief.

But this portrayal clashed with Megumi's original character as a pure, country girl.

"Though in reaction after eating a dish sequences, it's absolutely perfect."

After all, one of the highlights of Food Wars was the imaginative scenes after tasting dishes.

That's when characters should look as spicy as possible!

Frankly, having a "doujinshi master" like Eriri on this project was a perfect fit.

Her female character designs were far more captivating than the original.

Even though Akifumi kept the designs close to the source material, her touch made them instantly more appealing.

That was the difference between a pro and an amateur.

Eriri probably didn't even realize it herself, but she had already mastered the art of understanding male preferences.

She could effortlessly convey appeal through subtle details.

From what Akifumi saw, Eriri was on the right track.

The biggest challenge now was getting to the main illustrations.

.......

Back to Akifumi Mugiho

Akifumi shifted his focus to his own project, Anohana.

He had just finished the fourth chapter, and the second chapter had received rave reviews in the magazine last week.

Fans were deeply moved by the tension and drama he had carefully crafted.

Comments flooded SNS:

"It feels like the characters are coming to life—like I can see Jinta running desperately toward that frozen place in time!"

"The dialogue is gut-wrenching! How did the mangaka even draw this?"

"Crying my eyes out!!"

"Damn it, why are there knives even here?!"

"Does the mangaka even have a heart?!?"

Akifumi couldn't help but smile at the feedback.

It was clear that Anohana's second chapter was a resounding success, making all his hard work worthwhile.

Unlike anime, manga couldn't rely on voice acting or background music to evoke emotions.

Achieving the same impact required meticulous planning and creativity.

But that made the sense of accomplishment all the more fulfilling!

[Music Composition]

Having read through several books on composition, Akifumi decided it was time to start working on the music.

Though he could've skipped the books, they helped him grasp music theory faster.

Using Cubase software, he pieced together a track based on his memories.

Two days later, he successfully completed the composition for "Secret Base Kimi ga Kureta Mono."

[TL Note - ?? How?]

The next challenge was finding a vocalist.

Akifumi sighed.

His own voice was decent, but his singing could give people headaches—not ideal for this song.

'Now where can I find a good singer?'

Despite posting recruitment notices online, only a handful of samples came in, none of which met his expectations.

"Well, as long as the song is ready by the final episode, it'll be fine," he muttered.

Suddenly, his simple phone rang. It was already 10:43 p.m, and both Eriri and Shiina had gone home, leaving him alone.

"I wonder who's calling so late?"

..........

[TL Note]

Hey there! If you're enjoying this, be sure to check out

p-atreon.com/InsomniaTL

Please remove the hyphen to access the page normally! Just a heads-up, there will be new advanced chapters every week in there! And thank you so much for reading!