Anime Crossover: Becoming Mangaka in Anime World
InsomniaWL
Описание
Akifumi Mugiho transmigrated into a world thats like a mashup of various manga.
As someone whos been reborn, what could be more familiar than the industry he worked in during his past life?
His debut work, Madoka Magica, was chosen for the Tezuka Award and was confirmed for serialization, causing endless anticipation!
Shizuka is so cute, hehe~
Senpai is amazing! That waist, those curves... mmm.
For kids, it's too childish, but for high schoolers, just right!
But as the subsequent chapters came out, the readers were left stunned.
Wasnt this supposed to be a magical girl story? Why is it full of knives instead?!
Is this the true value of a Tezuka Award-winning work?!
...
Years later, having achieved fame and success, Akifumi was interviewed by the press.
Reporter: Mr.Akifumi, what was your mindset when creating works like Madoka Magica, Anohana, CLANNAD, and Your Name... this whole series?
Akifumi: I just wanted to create works that could warm peoples hearts!
Reader You call this warming peoples hearts? Seriously?!
Disclaimer: All rights to the original content belong to their respective creators. I'm just translating here. I don't own anything!
[Original Name : !]
[Author: ]
[001] The living are in Tokyo, and death is the end!
"Ugh"
A groan of pain escaped him, like his brain was being set on fire. It was agonizing, suffocating.
This strange sensation lingered for almost ten minutes before it finally eased up.
A few minutes later, drenched in sweat, the young man slowly opened his eyes, blurry and disoriented.
He glanced around at the familiar surroundings and managed a wry smile.
"Well, that's an unexpected."
To explain, we need to go back about an hour.
That was when Akifumi Mugiho, on his way to Toyogasaki Academy, witnessed the tragic scene of his close friend, Tomoya, dying in a car accident.
There was bloodred and whiteeverywhere, a scene so horrific it was almost beyond words.
He held back the sorrow, fear, and nausea long enough to call Tomoya's family before collapsing.
When he woke up again, he found himself in the school infirmary, for some unknown reasons.
That's when things got weird.
"Did the shock trigger the awakening of my past life memories?"
Well, that's a dramatic way to start things.
Akifumi Mugiho couldn't help but let out an inward sigh.
But
"Other than the extra memories, everything feels pretty much the same."
It's still him, so there's no need to get caught up in the typical online debates about body swaps or soul reincarnations.
The relationships he's built over the years are real, no question.
Thinking about it, he couldn't help but remember the friend whose death had brought back his past life memories. He sighed, feeling a little conflicted:
"Life is fragile, huh."
He didn't feel the usual bitterness toward his friend like some might in online discussions.
This was still a real world, after all. If you put aside the messy handling of emotions, from a "friend" perspective, he really was a great friend, with no flaws.
But
"Dead is dead."
There's no need to dwell on the event that will happened in the anime.
Not to mention, according to his memories, the anime plot hadn't even started yet.
"Come to think of it"
"I didn't expect this world to be like this."
After accepting his past life's memories, Akifumi Mugiho realized this wasn't the Japan he remembered.
[TL Note — That was fast lol]
It was a world where various anime worlds collided.
And why is that?
"Wait a minute, I've actually interacted with that many female protagonists since I was a kid?"
If you count the female protagonists, it's like five different worldviews combined.
The good news? All five are just ordinary, everyday worlds.
So
"Even though this is a crossover anime world, there's no threat of some terrorist just blowing up the Earth."
"Now that's something to celebrate."
Maybe only a teenager that deep in their chuunibyou phase would daydream about being the hero with incredible powers, saving people.
But after all these years without some kind of system or supernatural event, he didn't expect his past life memory suddenly appear.
For Akifumi Mugiho, an adult who had already matured, this kind of peaceful, everyday world was just right.
There are some cute real life waifu, and he's 16perfect age, with his parents' stunning good looks.
Using his memories to make a little cash, dating beautiful girls, going to class, and enjoying lifejust the thought of it put him in a good mood.
As him who had already live once, making money isn't hard.
The easiest way? Just pick up your old job.
"Drawing manga."
Sure, he'd been in the business for over a decade and was getting a bit tired of it, but hey, money is money.
Plus, now he didn't have to think too hard. He could just copy some of his past life's best works and still make money. What's to complain about?
"Wait...?"
Akifumi Mugiho's expression shifted suddenly.
As a professional mangaka, he'd naturally come across plenty of amazing works in his past life.
But as he thought back just now, he realized that he couldn't remember any of them clearlyjust a few vague impressions.
"Is this a memory issue?!"
Damn it!
So this is how it's going to be, huh?
Am I only gonna get some fragment of a memory form my previous life?
He sighed, feeling disappointed.
Just as he was about to give up on his original plan, a flash of memory came to him, showing different images.
The more the images flipped through, the brighter his eyes became.
"It's like I just saw itstoryboards, dialogue... everything is so clear!"
"It's not a memory issue, but I got a full prompt to make the story!"
Well, if it's just a prompt, it's fine.
As long as he can make money with it, it works for him.
But
"Even though this work is great, where should I submit it to?"
The three biggest publishers in this world are similar to his past life: Kodansha, Shogakukan, and Shueisha.
Kodansha is known for its Weekly Shonen Magazine, focusing on action, sports, romance, and mystery.
Shogakukan mainly targets elementary school students, with Shonen Sunday as its representative.
Shueisha publishes Weekly Shonen Jump, aimed at teens.
Although all three are big names, Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump is the clear leader in sales.
Since he and Tomoya shared similar interests, Akifumi Mugiho knew these basics well.
In terms of art style, Shogakukan might be the best fit.
But
"If this is really for kids, isn't that a bit inappropriate?"
He sighed, feeling conflicted, and shook his head.
"Forget it."
"Which publisher to choose can be figured out later. For now, let's just get the drawing done."
With that in mind, Akifumi Mugiho pulled out his phone and dialed a number.
Beep... Beep...
A few beeps later, the call was picked up.
"Sorry, Sensei, I'm not feeling well, so I'd like to take a few days off."
"Mm-hmm, okay, thank you, sensei."
[002] "Madoka Magica" is Complete! Enter for the Grand Prize!
Five days flew by in the blink of an eye.
With the curtains tightly drawn, the white light in the room felt like an old oil lamp that had been burning forever.
"Ha..."
Akifumi Mugiho, hunched over his desk working tirelessly, let out a long sigh, stretched, and grinned excitedly.
"Finally done!!"
Storyboards, line art, base colors, shading effects, background textures...
Five straight daysaside from eating, drinking, and taking care of basic needshe poured all his energy into his work.
Having been used to such intense work in his past life, Akifumi Mugiho didn't feel the exhaustion. If anything, he kind of missed it.
And the result? It was definitely worth it.
The first chapter of Puella Magi Madoka Magica, 29 pages in total, was finally finished!
When you think of magical girls, you usually picture a beautiful girl full of love and courage, who gains special powers through a contract and fights evil forces.
Since the concept first appeared, it became super popular in the 2D fan community.
Sure, as people got older and the industry evolved, the theme might've seemed a little childish, but as long as kids liked it, it stayed hot!
Even in Akifumi Mugiho's past life, it was the same.
But it wasn't until Puella Magi Madoka Magica came along that people started to change their views on magical girls.
It started as an anime, then later became a manga.
At first glance, the first few episodes seemed just like any other magical girl anime.
Cute characters, beautiful transformation outfits, a transfer student, and Kyubey, who looked like a doll.
And the magical girls, as symbols of hope, fight witches born from despairpretty normal, right?
But then, by episode three, when the graceful and heroic senior gets her head chopped off, you start to feel uneasy. Things clearly weren't as simple as they seemed.
As the story unfolded, it became clear that the witches were actually former magical girls who had fallen into despair.
From then on, the term "magical girl" didn't seem so one-dimensional or childish anymore.
More and more conspiracy theories popped up.
Of course, the formulaic tropes started to get old, and by the end, viewers found themselves missing the pure, beautiful magical girl image from the beginning.
But as the groundbreaking work that changed the genre, Puella Magi Madoka Magica would definitely be remembered.
Coincidentally, in this world, magical girls were still developing as they did in Akifumi Mugiho's past life, and there was no Puella Magi Madoka Magica yet.
[TL Note — Probably because the timeline of this fanfiction is around 2008-2010]
That was a good thing, but it also left Akifumi Mugiho in a bit of a bind.
The indecision from five days ago returned.
"So... where should I send this to now?"
Shogakukan?
Akifumi Mugiho worried that if he sent the third chapter to the editor, it would get rejected, and such a great piece might get canceled.
Kodansha? That didn't seem like a good fit either.
"So... Shueisha!?"
Akifumi Mugiho sighed, feeling a little conflicted.
Though he'd thought about this before, his art style leaned more mature this time around, more like the manga version from Houbunsha in his past life, rather than the cute, round-faced style from the anime.
But...
"The public's still stuck on their old perceptions."
A slight change in art style wouldn't be enough to change people's biases about magical girls.
"Well, whatever. I'll send it out and see what happens."
Even if everything's as planned, things rarely go exactly as expected. Plans are never perfect.
Just do your best, and leave the rest to fate.
If Shueisha rejects it, then I'll just send it to other publishers one by one.
If the big three don't bite, there are smaller publishers.
If that doesn't work, I'll make a personal website and publish it online for free.
There's always a way.
Akifumi Mugiho opened Shueisha's official website, found the listed email, and stared at it.
"Hm? The Tezuka Award!?"
"Well, maybe I'll give it a shot."
He read the details carefully: if selected, the prize was 1 million yen, 500,000 yen for being shortlisted, and 200,000 yen for honorable mentions.
And unlike the Tezuka Award in his past life, this one didn't require original manuscriptsscanned copies were fine, as long as they didn't exceed 31 pages, with no restrictions on the story's length.
Of course, for a work like this, entering with a short story made the most sense.
"Well, since I'm sending it to Shueisha anyway, what's the harm in trying?"
With that thought, Akifumi Mugiho scanned the 29 pages, packaged them, and sent them off.
"Ha."
With the work finished, he let out a deep breath and glanced at the time in the corner of his screen.
4:28 PM.
"Tomorrow's Monday already, huh? After resting for so many days, I think my parents are going to call and check on me soon."
Akifumi Mugiho scratched his messy hair, looking helpless. His youthful face seemed a little worn from the intense work.
Taking a few days off was fine, but any longer and people might start worrying if he was okay.
To avoid that, he knew he had to return to school on time tomorrow.
"At least I still have most of the afternoon to relax. Should I read a novel, catch up on some manga, or play a game?!"
It's funnysometimes having too many options isn't all that great.
[003] Editors Approval!
In Shueisha, Story Manga Department.
April is without a doubt the busiest month for every editor.
The Tezuka Award, is Shueisha's top honor, it's represents the highest level of prestige.
In just this one month, the editorial team will receive countless submissions from hopeful new authors dreaming of the future.
The surge in workload is one thing, but the real challenge is dealing with submissions that are still rough sketches, sometimes barely more than doodles.
It's enough to drive even the most experienced editors crazy.
Mihari Otosuna, a rookie editor who just joined Shueisha, hasn't had time to adjust to the daily grind of the job when she finds herself right in the middle of this chaotic month!
"Why does someone like this have the nerve to submit something?!"
Mihari's tone was full of frustration as she stared at the screen. Her small fists clenched and unclenched, as if caught in a cycle of irritation.
It was pure torment.
She hadn't found a single good storyjust constant frustration.
Grabbing the coffee cup beside her roughly, she took a sip, and her mood calm down slightly.
"Sigh"
At least compared to other office jobs, it wasn't so bad being able to work in the field she loved as a child, though this job was nothing like what she had expected.
Shaking off her frustration, Mihari opened the next submission.
"Magical Girl Madoka."
"Magical girl? This kind of thing should be sent to Shogakukan instead"
She muttered to herself as she shook her head. At least the title was somewhat respectable, which already made it better than 90% of the submissions she'd seen so far.
She opened the file.
Instantly, Mihari's eyes widened, and a smile of surprise appeared on her face.
"What a mature art style!"
[TL Note — It's mean the thing that Akifumi sent was not a rough or a sketch, but a fully finish work]
