Great Mangaka

"Is there such an exceptional person?"

After learning to play the piano, Takumi got into Alice's car to go home, and on the way, he heard about Kaya Hoshino.

"She's really great, and Tatsuryū Publishing has spent a lot of time promoting her." Alice nodded, and while driving, asked: "Tonight she's giving a press conference about the manga launch in Akebono Plaza. Shall we go take a look?"

Would there be a press conference before the manga's publication? Takumi immediately believed Kaya Hoshino was great.

Tatsuryū Publishing used mystery to attract attention. They only announced that the author was Kaya Hoshino and offered her a press conference. This is an advertising strategy that can keep readers' enthusiasm going until the manga's publication, which is next week.

"Let's go take a look!"

Takumi called Aika and decided to meet Alice to see Kaya Hoshino.

They had dinner at a restaurant and arrived at Akebono Plaza at 8:00 PM. There were no tickets for the press conference, and the stage was already crowded.

"Princess, princess, princess!"

thousands of young people shouted in unison.

"Princess?" Takumi turned to ask Alice: "Is Kaya Hoshino the person they're calling?"

"Yes." Alice nodded: "Young people call Kaya Hoshino the princess of romance. Since the series became popular, her fans have spread throughout the country."

The plaza wasn't large, but Takumi looked up and couldn't see the end of the crowd. The preliminary estimate was at least 1,000 people. This scene of madness was almost like a big star's concert.

It turned out that the top-tier novelist put on such a grand show. It's no wonder she chose an open-air plaza. Indoor venues shouldn't be able to create such a scene...

Takumi looked around again. There were some posters around the press conference. All were of handsome and adorable cartoon characters. They could be characters from the new work. Unfortunately, there weren't many valuable spoilers. The crowd was very noisy and the air was heavy with heat. Takumi waited for a long time, but the show was still on stage and he didn't see the princess of romance appear.

"Alice, let's find a place to sit," he suggested. Alice led him to a corner, bought two drinks, and they chatted while they waited.

About half an hour later, just as the noise and enthusiasm in the plaza died down, suddenly, an incredible ovation flooded the plaza.

"Princess, princess, princess!"

Amidst the cheers of thousands of people, the stage lights focused, and a girl in a white dress walked onto the stage. She turned to the crowd, holding the microphone, and smiled: "Excuse the wait, welcome to my manga conference."

A single sentence, and the plaza erupted in shouts again.

"She's like a star..." Takumi covered his ears; it was too noisy.

"Do you want to get closer and take a look?" Alice realized that the distance was too great and she couldn't see the situation clearly.

But Takumi shook his head and refused: "No, just listen to what she says."

After Kaya Hoshino appeared on stage, the conference topic revolved around her manga. There was no presenter on stage asking questions, and all questions were asked randomly by readers from the audience. This was very new to Takumi, and Kaya Hoshino knew how to answer readers' questions with great skill.

This girl was very ingenious and had no stage fright at all, which was very different from Mach and the others.

"Princess, why did you choose this moment to publish the manga? Is it a declaration of war against Mirai-sensei? I'm also a fan of Mirai-sensei. I hate Tatsuryū Publishing suppressing him. How could you do something like that?"

Soon, a particularly cunning reader appeared.

Alice was a little surprised. 'She thought Tatsuryū Publishing had previously organized the readers who asked questions, but it seemed that was not the case...'

In reality, it was a random question. 'But how should Kaya Hoshino answer this question? What would Takumi think?' Alice looked at Takumi, but unfortunately saw no change in his expression.

"I published the manga at this time because the company has just launched the combined model." On stage, Kaya Hoshino was not in a hurry: "I entered the manga industry to become the best mangaka, not to declare war on any specific target. Of course, if Mirai-sensei gets ahead of me, I can only surpass him."

Her subtext was that she didn't take Mirai-sensei seriously, which caused an uproar among the readers below the stage, but Kaya Hoshino continued speaking.

"As for the suppression, I've recently seen many journalists say that Tatsuryū Publishing is suppressing Mirai-sensei. But we don't hinder the sale of his magazines or launch despicable attacks, do we? All of this is normal competition; please stop talking about suppression."

The cultural market develops and thrives through competition. Tatsuryū's mangaka have published their works at the same time as Mirai-sensei on numerous occasions. Perhaps this is the reason for their misunderstanding. But so far, the result of this simultaneous launch has been a failure on our part.

Mirai-sensei won, and he did so fairly. Furthermore, Tatsuryū Publishing has many ways to suppress him. 'Can he win?' Competition between both parties carries the same risk: it intensifies it. Only in this way can an industry develop quickly. Moreover, if Mirai-sensei had not existed, Tatsuryū Publishing would not have launched the current model, and original manga would remain in silent oblivion. 'Don't you agree?'

Someone from the audience immediately replied. Kaya Hoshino smiled and continued:

"I believe that competition in the manga industry is too lukewarm. In our novel industry, every novel has to face tough competition, and no one in the company will deliberately lose to you. The future of the manga industry is the same. I am just the beginning. There will be more influential people who will join this industry. It will not be Mirai-sensei's personal ocean."

Kaya Hoshino's words are well-reasoned and convincing, but some still have doubts.

"Princess, rumors circulated that the Pokémon submitted by Mirai-sensei to NHK was burned and that Tatsuryū Publishing was behind it. Is that true?"

"It's a rumor. I haven't heard similar news." Kaya Hoshino shook her head and said: "Of course, I'm not sure if there are people with bad intentions in the company, but I believe Tatsuryū Publishing in general is innocent. We have no reason to ruin a mangaka's long-standing reputation."

"But..."

She laughed again and said: "You're right to say that Mirai-sensei is Tatsuryū Publishing's rival."

"Our two editors-in-chief for girls' and boys' manga consider Mirai-sensei a key rival." Kaya Hoshino's eyes sparkled: "This idea is also very popular in the company."

"But, princess, you don't seem to care much?"

a reader said.

"Of course I care."

Kaya Hoshino nodded: "As an original mangaka, right now... he can't compare to me."

"Don't talk about suppressing him. Anyone who stands out will be considered a thorn in the eye. I will undoubtedly be the winner of girls' manga. Mangaka will consider me their most important rival in the future."

"Mirai-sensei is my first defeated rival!"

This girl showed a little arrogance.

Takumi stood up: "Let's go, Alice, there's no need for us to listen anymore."

'Perhaps Kaya Hoshino's manga are very good; otherwise, she wouldn't be so confident.'