Chapter 223 Your Excellency Zhang Sangbian
It took Lu Yunxiang ten minutes to read more than a hundred pages of comic manuscripts. After that, he took a deep breath and asked: "Brother, this is really what you drew. ?”
“Nonsense, it wasn’t me who drew it, it was you!”
“Brother, you are so awesome, this chirpy giant looks like something out of a disaster movie. I couldn't stop watching it! Did Allen kill the giant taller than the city wall?" Lu Yunxiang then asked.
“Want me to spoil the story? I won’t tell you!” Zhang Wei said with a smile.
"No, brother, just tell me a little bit."
"Well, when I draw the latest chapter, I will show it to you first, okay?"
"That's okay!" Lu Yunxiang nodded with satisfaction, and then asked; "Brother, you are such a giant, have you ever submitted an article to a comic magazine?"
"I have already sent it to the editorial department. No reply." Zhang Wei replied.
"Who did you vote for? "Shounen Jump"?"
"No, I voted for Kodansha!"
"Why not vote for Shueisha's "Shounen Jump"? That is Japan's largest comic magazine, "One Piece", "Naruto", and "Death" is all on "Shounen Jump". This manga of yours will definitely be a hit on "Shounen Jump"!"
"The main reason is that the style doesn't match my style. If I submit it to Shueisha, they may not be willing to accept it! In the second episode of my story, the protagonist’s mother is eaten by a giant. Shogakukan will definitely not accept such a manuscript, so I will have to submit it to Kodansha. "Kodansha has produced works like "Parasite", which are quite large in scale," Zhang Wei replied.
The three major manga publishing houses in Japan, Shueisha, Kodansha and Shogakukan, all have different styles of works.
As soon as I heard the name, Shogakukan knew that it was for primary school students. It mainly focused on children’s comics and juvenile comics. The scale of the works was not very large, and there were relatively few bloody and violent elements.
One of Shogakukan's biggest IPs is "Doraemon", and Shizuka's bathing is the largest scale that Shogakukan's children's comics can display.
Other well-known works, such as "The Boys" and "The Brothers", don't even have a bathing scene.
Among the shounen comics in Shogakukan, the largest one is probably "Ranma 1/2". Anyone who has read it will understand it.
Then there is the depiction of a corpse lying on the ground with a pool of blood in "Detective Conan", which is considered a bloody description.
In general, Shogakukan can play around with the color, but in terms of bloody violence, the control is relatively strict.
This is also caused by Japanese culture. Japanese culture is originally relatively open about color. Japanese primary school students know more about this than Chinese college students. Society can tolerate children's works that are borderline on color.
Perhaps they feel that it is just a bit of exposure and is not considered pornographic at all. Only when it reaches the level of 18+ taboos in the book is it considered inappropriate for children.
The Titan is relatively intuitive in terms of bloody violence. In the second episode, the scene of the Giant holding a living person and feeding it into his mouth will definitely not be accepted by Shogakukan.
Let’s talk about Shueisha, it is the largest comic publishing house in Japan. 80% of the well-known comics we can name are produced by Shueisha.
Shueisha's flagship publication is "Weekly Shōnen Jump", which covers everything from Dragon Ball, Tsubasa, and Saint Seiya in the 1980s, to Slam Dunk, Hunter, and Rurouni Kenshin in the 1990s, to The three major migrant manga of the 2000s, as well as Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba and Jutsu Kaisen in the 10s, were all serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump.
But Zhang Wei knows that in history, the giant did submit his manuscript to Shueisha at the beginning, but Shueisha did not accept the manuscript, so the author went to Kodansha to submit it. Since Shueisha won't accept the manuscript, Zhang Wei doesn't have to look for trouble.
Some people say that the reason why Shueisha rejected Titan is because the scale of Titan is too big. Some people say it is because the theme does not match the theme. Others say it is because the painting skills of Titan are too poor. Some people say that Shueisha's editor is blind.
The blind editor's statement is obviously the most unreliable. At that time, Shueisha had three major migrant worker comics, plus "Hunter", "Gintama", "Death Note" and "The Prince of Tennis" were all in During the serialization, if the editor was really blind, how could he have obtained these three king cards and four small king cards.
Shueisha's scale is actually quite large. In "Fist of the North Star" back then, people were beaten into pools of blood at every turn. Other movies like "Martian Alien", "Tokyo Ghoul", "Killing" "City" and so on, there are many large-scale scenes of bloody violence.
So the scale is not Shueisha’s problem. The giant’s scale is completely acceptable to Shueisha.
The subject matter is not a problem either. Shueisha is not picky about the subject matter of his works. If the subject matter is to be considered controversial, can it be more controversial than "Death Note"? Shueisha even dares to accept "Death Note", and the theme of giants is not a problem at all.
As for the painting skills, the Giant's painting style has indeed been criticized by many people, especially the fact that there are always a lot of lines growing inexplicably around the character's eyes. But this kind of problem is definitely not a problem for Shueisha.
The author's drawing skills are not good. Shueisha has a professional art team to help the author optimize the character image, and can also introduce you to a comic assistant with good drawing skills.
For this point, you can compare Naruto Uzumaki in the first chapter with Naruto Uzumaki during the Chunin Exam, or compare Ichigo Kurosaki in the first chapter with Ichigo Kurosaki in the Arrancar Chapter. , completely two people.
For those who don’t know, they think it’s because the author’s painting skills have improved. In fact, Shueisha invested resources in upgrading the painting style of the work.
Since it is not a problem of scale, subject matter, or painter, and the editor is not blind, there is only one reason for Shueisha's rejection of Giant, and that is the ideological incompatibility between the editor and the author.
Shueisha is a famous shop for cheating customers. Shueisha's editors often interfere with the author's creation. This is something that many cartoonists cannot accept.
The most well-known example is Takehiko Inoue's "Slam Dunk". At that time, Takehiko Inoue wanted to end it, but Shueisha asked him to continue the series and at least finish the national competition, and let Shohoku win the championship. As for after Xiangbei wins the championship, you can refer to the young football player.
Takehiko Inoue didn't want to, so the two sides broke up, which ultimately led to the hasty ending of "Slam Dunk" after beating the King of the Mountain. Takehiko Inoue also left Shueisha.
Shueisha dares to interfere with a cartoonist of Takehiko Inoue's level, and Shueisha will not let go of a young newcomer cartoonist.
The work "Giant" originally relies on its setting and connotation to attract readers. In this type of work, Shueisha's urinary nature will most likely interfere with the author's creation.
If this work had been published in Shueisha, maybe we would still be fighting giants on the island now!
......
In Kodansha, Shintaro Kawakubo sent the giant's manuscript to the section chief's desk.
"Section Chief, I received a submission from a newcomer. I think this work has great potential." Shintaro Kawakubo said.
"Submission from a newbie?" The section chief hesitated for two seconds. According to the normal process, the editor receives a submission from a newbie. If he thinks it is good, he will directly recommend the work to participate in the Newcomer Award instead of sending the work to himself.
Kawakubo Shintaro specially sent this work, which means that he is extremely optimistic about this work.
The section chief just glanced at the name of the work, then turned to the first page and started reading. After a while, he finished reading the entire one hundred and fifty pages.
"Is this really the work of a newcomer? Many of the award-winning works in the Manga Awards do not have this quality! I think this can be serialized directly!"
The section leader said I turned to the cover to see what the name of this so-called new author was.
"Zhang Wei? Not Japanese?" The section chief was startled. Foreigners submitted articles, but they were rare.
Kawakubo Shintaro said: "If you were Japanese, I would definitely suggest to you without hesitation that you try serializing this work. But the other party is not Japanese, and we still have to Don’t give him such a chance?”
“Yes, we at Kodansha have never serialized the works of foreign cartoonists. Not only us, Shueisha and Shogakukan have also not serialized foreign cartoonists. "
The section chief looked down at the manuscript and continued: "But the beginning of this work is indeed very attractive. The setting of the work and the current plot direction are very interesting. It’s suitable for serialization.”
“Professor, I think this cartoonist should have serialization skills. Maybe he has published serialization works in his own country. How about me. Let’s contact the cartoonist first and get to know his background. If his past works are not bad, then we can consider serializing them?” Shintaro Kawakubo asked.
"Okay, let's do what you want!" The section chief nodded.
......
When Shintaro Kawakubo called, Zhang Wei happened to be doing academic seminars with several Japanese scholars and did not answer the call.
When he saw a Japanese number later, Zhang Wei estimated that it was probably Kodansha who had replied.
Zhang Wei thought about it for a moment and felt that he could exchange it with the devil for Japanese language skills. Among other things, even if he wanted to publish comics in Japan so that he could communicate with editors, he would also need this Japanese language skills.
"Devil, I want to change my Japanese skills. I don't need to be too professional, just be able to communicate with Japanese people proficiently."
"N1 level of Japanese only requires three months of life!" the devil replied.
"What about the other options? Are you still single and having nightmares?" Zhang Wei asked. He remembered that when he changed his English level, there were three options: life span, being single and having nightmares. "
"That's right, being single for three years, or having nightmares for a month! "The devil replied.
"The price is much less than English? I used to exchange English proficiency for one year of life, ten years of being single and three months of nightmares. Is Japanese so worthless? ”
"The popularity of Japanese in the world is far less than that of English. Except for Japanese, no one speaks Japanese. And you only need to communicate with Japanese people proficiently, and you don't need to be very professional in Japanese, so the cost is relatively low."
Zhang Wei compared these three options and decisively chose to be single for three years.
The last time he exchanged English, Zhang Wei did not choose this option. He was thinking that after his father-in-law and his family moved to Qinhai this summer, he would find his wife, who was still in high school. Of course, you have to raise your own daughter-in-law from a young age. It’s exciting to think about it!
Now that his wife has disappeared, the option of being single is meaningless to Zhang Wei, not to mention that Zhang Wei is only twenty years old this year and has been single for three years. , only twenty-three years old, still a good year to support the sky.
After exchanging words in Japanese, Zhang Wei called Kodansha back and made an appointment to go to Kodansha for a detailed discussion the next morning.
The next day, Zhang Wei came to Kodansha and met Shintaro Kawakubo.
After the two exchanged a few words, Shintaro Kawakubo asked; "Zhang Sang, your Japanese is so fluent. It must have been several years since you came to Japan, right? Are you studying in Japan or doing training? "Student?"
"I am currently at the University of Tokyo." Zhang Wei deliberately only mentioned his address and did not mention that he was an exchange student.
"Tokyo University! It turns out Zhang Sang is a top student at Tokyo University!" Shintaro Kawakubo suddenly showed an expression of admiration.
It is not much easier for Japanese people to get into the University of Tokyo than it is for Chinese people to get into Tsinghua University and Peking University. Being able to study at the University of Tokyo represents a kind of qualification in itself.
Japanese people inherently admire strength, and those who can study at the University of Tokyo are considered strong in the eyes of the Japanese. Faced with the strong, Shintaro Kawakubo's attitude instinctively lowered.
Just listen to Shintaro Kawakubo say: "Zhang Sang, I have read the sketch you sent. I think the setting of the story is very good and the rhythm is very compact. I think this is definitely not your first If you don’t mind, can you show me your previous works?”
“I do have other works, but they are not comics,” Zhang Wei replied.
"Zhang Sang, you mean, you are a writer?"
"And my novels are selling pretty well!" Zhang Wei continued.
"You are still a best-selling author!" Shintaro Kawakubo immediately sat upright, his posture lowered a bit.
In Japan, the status of writers is very high. Japanese writers can be printed on banknotes, and more than one has this honor. A famous best-selling author must have a much higher social status than a cartoonist of the same level.
"No wonder the plot of the giant is so tight. It turns out he is a writer!" Shintaro Kawakubo put on a serious face and asked: "Zhang Sang, what are your masterpieces? I have a chance. I will definitely go and read it.”
“Do you have a computer with Internet access?”
"Online? Are your works published on the Internet?" Shintaro Kawakubo was slightly stunned.
“No, I just want to tell you where to buy my works.” Zhang Wei said.
"Okay, please follow me." Shintaro Kawakubo said, taking Zhang Wei to the office and to his computer.
Zhang Wei went directly to the Amazon US website.
“This is Amazon, Zhang Sang, your works can be purchased on Amazon!” Shintaro Kawakubo nodded as if he was enlightened.
Zhang Wei said: "I don't know if Amazon Japan sells it, but Amazon America definitely has it. Here, the first one is."
Kawabata Shintaro looked at the position of the mouse pointer. It’s actually on Amazon’s bestseller list!
The number one book on the best-selling list is not the number one best-selling book on Amazon!
"Zhang Sang, if I read correctly, this is Amazon's best-selling book list, right? "The Thirst Game," which is number one on the best-selling list, is your work?"
"Yes, look, there is a mark on it. The author, Zhang Wei, is me." Zhang Wei clicked on the page of the book, and the author's name also appeared under the title.
"Oh my god, this Zhang Sang is actually the best-selling champion of Amazon books!" Shintaro Kawakubo took a breath of air and was stunned on the spot.
In the eyes of Japanese people, the status of a writer is inherently high, and the status of a best-selling author is even higher. A best-selling author in the United States must have a higher status than a best-selling author in Japan. In the eyes of the Japanese, the number one bestseller in the United States is equivalent to literary giants like Haruki Murakami and Keigo Higashino!
Although I have never seen Zhang Wei’s works, American dads say yes, so this work must be good!
Thinking of this, Shintaro Kawakubo bowed directly to Zhang Wei, and then said; "Sir Zhang Wei, please go to the lounge and wait for a while, I will ask the section chief to come over."
Kawakubo Shintaro's address to Zhang Wei changed directly from "Zhang Sang" to "Your Excellency Zhang Wei".
In Japanese, the title "Sir" used to be reserved for politicians or military generals. Later, people with higher status would also be addressed as "Your Excellency".
After a while, the section chief came to the lounge.
At this time, the section chief also knew that Zhang Wei was the number one author on Amazon’s sales list, so even though Zhang Wei looked very young, the section chief did not dare to neglect him at all.
After chatting for a few words, the two finally talked about their works.
"Your Excellency Zhang Wei, we need to know something about the work before we can decide whether to publish it in the magazine. So please introduce the subsequent plot development of Giant." The section chief said.
"Actually, I also brought some of the follow-up content." Zhang Wei said, taking out another stack of manuscripts and handing them to the section chief.
When submitting previously, Zhang Wei only sent the content of the first three chapters of Giant, which ended with the second appearance of the giant giant at the city wall. And this time Zhang Wei brought the content of seven chapters, which pushed the plot to the tenth chapter.
The tenth chapter is really the chapter where the protagonist Allen turns into a giant for the first time. This can also be regarded as the first plot climax of the entire comic.
The section chief took the drawing and found that it was twice as thick as the last time, but he still looked at it carefully.
This time, he watched for half an hour, and when he saw Allen transforming into a giant, his eyes suddenly lit up, and there was a shocked expression on his face. It was obvious that This turn of events was completely beyond his expectation. And this also aroused greater curiosity from the head teacher.
"Can the protagonist become a giant? Why can the protagonist become a giant? How did he become a giant? Does this mean that other people can also become giants? In other words, giants are transformed from humans? So what? Under the conditions, humans will become giants?”
Questions appeared in the head of the department.
The next second, the class director suddenly realized that even a professional like himself was already immersed in the plot of Giant. If it were an ordinary reader, seeing this would make him sleepless at night!
"Perhaps this work can compete with Shueisha's three giants!"
Thinking of this, the section chief asked eagerly: "Your Excellency Zhang Wei, are you interested? , serialize this work in our Kodansha? ”
"Since I have contributed to you, I naturally hope to serialize it here, but as you have also seen, each chapter of my work has a relatively large number of pages, so I may not be able to serialize it in a weekly." Zhang Wei said .
"This is not a problem. We have "Monthly Shōnen Magazine" and you can publish it there." The section chief said.
Although the sales volume of "Monthly Shonen Magazine" is not as good as that of the three major comic weekly magazines, it is still among the best among monthly comic magazines. Each issue of this monthly magazine has more than 800 pages, and the thick volume is very enjoyable to read.
The characteristic of "Monthly Shonen Magazine" is that it has many long serials. "Dragon and Wolf", which Chinese readers are more familiar with, was serialized in this journal.
Giants in history are serialized in "Bessatsu Shonen Magazine", a supplement that is also published monthly and mainly contains fantasy works.
However, as a supplement, its circulation is relatively small, only more than 20,000 copies, which pales in comparison to the sales of more than one million copies of the three major weekly magazines.
Now that Zhang Wei has been serialized in "Monthly Shōnen Magazine", it will definitely be much better than serializing in a supplement.
……
Kodansha’s willingness to serialize “Chiji Giant” was completely within Zhang Wei’s expectation. In addition to the excellent quality of Giant's work itself, the timing of its publication is also really important.
At this time, Kodansha had been suppressed by Shueisha for several consecutive years.
In the past ten years, Shueisha has always had hits, and by 2005, the three major migrant comics had begun to sweep the world's animation circles.
In addition, "Gintama", "Hunter", and "Death Note" are currently being serialized, and they are all hit works. "Prince of Tennis" and "Tutor" are also considered masterpieces. There are also high-quality works such as "Soul of the Game" and "Yu-Gi-Oh!" that have just been completed.
As for Shogakukan, a copy of "Detective Conan" by Aoyama Okamasa, plus an "Inuyasha" by Rumiko Takahashi, can stabilize the sales of weekly magazines.
As for Kodansha, the last popular work was "Mala Teacher GTO" which was completed three years ago.
In 2005, Kodansha only had two works that could barely be released, one was "Ghost Eyes" and the other was "The Shining Duo". However, let alone comparing these two works with the three major migrant workers' comics, they are still a few grades behind those of Shueisha's little kings.
Now Kodansha continues to want a photo work to compete with Shueisha. Even if he doesn't reach the level of the three major comics, he still has the ability to fight against the three little kings.
At this time, Zhang Wei voted for the Giant to Kodansha, and he grasped the timing just right, which can be said to be a timely help.
If you submit your article too early, Kodansha will not feel the existential crisis yet and will not give enough weight to the giant.
It doesn’t matter if you submit your article too late, because in 2006, Kodansha had a hit work “Fairy Tail” that was serialized.
Fairy Tail has helped Kodansha stabilize the situation. If Zhang Wei waits until this time to submit another article, it will not be a timely help.
(End of this chapter)