Chapter 304 - Meeting the Maestro (1/2)

Initially, Meng Fan had plans in the afternoon and evening of the 14th: a meet-and-greet and a CV concert. Since he got 10 points of attributes and the title of [Professional Manga Artist], he decided to crank out some comics and skipped the events.

It was hard to start drawing the first part of volume one, then, he couldn’t stop.

The first part for “Legend of the Mountains and Seas” was longer than “Guide to Campus RoMANce” and “There’s a Spirit Underground.” In addition, all the other parts had at least 20 panels, with an average of 22 to 25 panels, meeting the daily serial criteria for Japanese manga magazines.

Naturally, he wanted to submit his manuscript in Japan, get approved, then get serialized.

It was challenging, but Meng Fan was confident in himself.

He already prepared the outline, details, characters, and scenarios. While the new attributes made Meng Fan start over, he also improved and fixed what he already did. With a draft in place, his drawing speed wouldn’t be slow.

He started on the second part at around midnight. He did 25 panels, with 3-5 pictures per panel, which totaled more than 100 pictures. It took him just three hours to draw all of them, including post-production work.

If people knew how quickly he did all of this, they’d be shocked.

Usually, comic artists who were serialized in Japan needed five days to a week to finish one part, and that’s assuming they had assistants doing the post-production and other work.

Meng Fan’s Hand Speed at +20 was ten times faster than an average comic artist — not including some who weren’t so skilled or who drew by hand. Fast Hand Speed alone wouldn’t be able to achieve all of this in three hours. Combined with supernatural Drawing Skills and Imagination, however, it was possible.

There were many advantages to having great Drawing Skills; he barely needed to fix anything, and he was much more expressive. An average artist would need a lot of room to express something, but Meng Fan just needed a few strokes.

Meng Fan’s drawing was not fancier. If anything, it was simpler. But, these simple strokes were striking and touched one’s soul.

OK, in spite of all this, Meng Fan still overestimated himself. It wasn’t possible to draw five parts in one night.

When he finished the second part, it was already 3 a.m. Meng Fan could stay up all night easily, and he was too excited to sleep. He stood up and moved a little, then kept drawing until 6 a.m., finishing the third part.

When the third part was done, he was tired and slept for around two hours. For the fourth part, he agonized over a plot development, spending almost two hours to convince himself and fixing the content. When he was finally done, it was around 1:30 p.m.

Great!

This will do.

Meng Fan ordered food, took a quick shower, then grabbed his manuscript to go downstairs. In the corner of the hotel lobby, he wolfed down some food, then asked the hotel for a car to go to Akihabara.

Akihabara, on the boundaries of the four commercial districts of Kyoto, was once a street of electronic stores. Now, it was a street popular with fans of the AGCN culture (animation, games, comics, and novels).

If the Akihabara of the electronics era was a steely, masculine guy, then the district today can only make you say, ‘So pretty, like a cute boy.’

Akihabara was the purpose of Meng Fan’s trip. He was a true homebody, so Akihabara, a haven for AGCN culture, was a must-see on his visit to Kyoto. He really was visiting the mecca today, he was meeting Eiichiro Oda!

When Meng Fan got off at Akihabara, he could see elements of the AGCN culture everywhere. There were many people dressed in cosplay such as waitresses in maid costumes in front of coffeeshops.

After he waited a while at the scheduled meeting place, a thirty-something man showed up. The man didn’t need to look too hard; Meng Fan was very recognizable. The man knew it was Meng Fan from a distance away as he said to himself, “This guy is really tall and good looking.”

“Are you Meng-san?” The man asked. After Meng Fan nodded, he introduced himself. “I’m Hiroji Wada.”