Chapter 304 - Meeting the Maestro (2/2)

His Chinese wasn’t very standard, but he could communicate without problems.

This Hiroji Wada was the referrer Meng Caiju found for Meng Fan. The man was the son of a senior person at Toei Animation. In the credits of some well-known Japanese comics-turned-animated films, one could find the name of… his father.

Hiroji Wada worked in licensing rights of Japanese animations in China and collaborations with Chinese animation and games, which was how Meng Caiju could get half an hour of Eiichiro Oda’s time with a phone call and have Hiroji Wada pick up Meng Fan personally.

“Meng-san, I’ll take you on a tour of Mr. Oda’s workshop first. Around three o’clock, he rests for half an hour. Normally, it’s excellent if he can see you for ten minutes. I hope you understand.”

As Hiroji Wada led Meng Fan toward their destination, he reminded Meng Fan of do’s and don’ts, such as no questions about the plot of “One Piece,” or any gossipy things not related to comics and more.

The Oda workshop was pretty much Eiichiro Oda’s home in Kyoto. He both lived and worked here.

Meng Fan had heard of the habits of the maestro of comics, Eiichiro Oda, such as how he slept between two and five in the morning, and how he worked the rest of the day, working 16-hour days!

Of course, he didn’t draw the entire time he worked, there was also plot discussions, looking for elements of scenarios, characters, and more.

A renowned comic artist, even though they have many assistants, still had a huge work volume. Also, Eiichiro Oda was a manga artist who insisted on doing a lot of the post-production work — such as the timeline — himself.

Very soon, they reached the Oda Workshop, a quiet place in a bustling area.

“Hiroji-san.”

Hiroji Wada had made an appointment. As soon as they walked in, an assistant in the workshop came over to greet them. These assistants all wanted to be manga artists eventually, so they were very polite and respectful toward Hiroji Wada, someone with a connected dad in the industry, and Meng Fan was treated well by association.

Hiroji Wada had been there before, so he wasn’t fascinated by everything like Meng Fan. He found a place to sit while the assistant took Meng Fan around the place.

Inside the workshop, “One Piece” elements could be seen everywhere: private bar, popcorn machine, making the place resemble a playground. There was also a claw machine filled with characters from “One Piece,” none of which were available in the stores; Meng Fan was so envious.

After their tour, Meng Fan asked for the restroom and excitedly entered the “Jaws”-themed restroom.

The workroom for Eiichiro Oda and his assistants was not open to the public, so Meng Fan didn’t go in there.

Then, Meng Fan met the maestro of comics, Eiichiro Oda.

The maestro looked like his photo. Like many OP fans, Meng Fan was most concerned about the man’s health. There were rumors of him having health problems earlier. Now that the man looked well in person, Meng Fan was so happy.

After an emotional introduction, Meng Fan chatted with Eiichiro Oda as a fellow manga artist. He didn’t rely on a translator, using just his phone to help. Since his phone was connected to a streaming device, translation was fast and communication was easy.

Initially, Eiichiro Oda thought Meng Fan was just a fan of manga rather than a colleague. The older man was happy to discuss elements of the industry and became surprised by Meng Fan’s comprehension of the art form. Drawing Skills, Settings, and Scriptwriting weren’t just a number; the information in each category made Meng Fan’s comments outstanding. While what he said wasn’t groundbreaking, Eiichiro Oda acknowledged the younger man’s level of knowledge and was into the discussion.

Meng Fan also asked some questions from his creative process and drawing experience, which Eiichiro Oda was happy to answer.

After some chatting, Eiichiro Oda then asked if Meng Fan also created comics; he took out the manuscript.

As soon as Eiichiro Oda saw the material, he looked focused and energized.

After another half-hour, Meng Fan said goodbye to Eiichiro Oda and Hiroji Wada at the workshop, leaving for Shueisha. In Meng Fan’s hand was a recommendation letter from Eiichiro Oda.