"Time sure flies."
A hint of nostalgia flashed in his eyes as he changed into casual clothes for going out.
Even if he wanted to stay home, the girls wouldn't allow itnot on a day like this.
"They even said they had a surprise planned. I wonder what it is."
Recalling how Mahiru and Eriri blushed and averted their eyes a few days ago, Akifumi had a strange feeling about it. His anticipation grew.
Meanwhile, somewhere else
"What a waste of a weekend."
Tanaka sighed as he fiddled with his phone, bored out of his mind.
His thoughts drifted back to two, three, even four months ago.
Sure, his wallet had been suffering back thenso much so that he had to work several part-time jobs just to stay afloat. But those were still enjoyable times!
Now? His favorite mangaka was only releasing one volume per month. The painfully slow pace made him scoff.
"And to think we trusted you, you damn bastard! How did your updates become so short and weak all of a sudden!?"
Readers were like menalways falling for the next pretty girl they saw.
But for other mangaka were even worse, only releasing one chapter a week! It was like they were scraping words out from between their teeth!
After getting used to Akifumi's feast-like releasesseveral volumes at oncehow could he go back to nibbling on breadcrumbs?
"It's not even enough to make me take my pants off!"
Suddenly, a message popped up in the "Love & Hope Enthusiasts" chat group.
"Damn! Sensei is stirring up trouble again!!"
Tanaka's eyes sharpened. At the sight of the words "stirring up trouble," he didn't feel fearhe felt excitement!
Everyone knew that if a celebrity got involved in "trouble," they were probably doomed.
But if it was the old thief? There were only three possibilities:
New work!
New work!!
NEW WORK!!!
His heart pounded, his hands trembled.
Rather than rely on hearsay, he had to see it with his own eyes!
But
"Nothing!?"
Tanaka blinked in confusion at his screen.
The SNS account "Warrior of Love and Hope" still had its latest post from late Maythe one promoting Akame.
Everyone knew that whenever the old thief stirred up trouble, he would post about it. No updates meant one thing
He wasn't stirring up anything!
Tanaka's anger skyrocketed.
His weekend was already miserable, and now some liar was messing with him? Unacceptable!
Back in the chat, more messages flooded in.
"No update, and you say sensei is up to something?"
"Do you think lying about this is funny?"
"Admin, I suggest kicking this guy out!"
Tanaka's fury cooled down at the sight of the mob's reaction.
"Glad to see everyone's on the same page."
Still, it wouldn't feel right if he didn't join in.
Just as he was about to send his own elegant and refined criticism, the so-called liar sent another message.
Attached was a screenshot. Below it was a caption.
Screenshot: Title — "CLANNAD," Author — Warrior of Love and Hope
"Guys, I swear I'm not making this up!! Just look at the author's name! With how famous the old thief is, who else would dare impersonate him?!"
!!
Could it be!?
Tanaka was stunned.
Without hesitation, he deleted the message he had been typing and immediately sent a new one.
"Where did you see this?! When?!"
The chat exploded.
"Did I wake up too fast? Is this real?!"
"Unforgivable! Sensei, how dare you keep this from us?!"
"Link! NOW! Don't make me beg!!"
[Admin has enabled slow mode.]
Admin: "Calm down, everyone! You're spamming too fast! Let the guy speak!"
"Now that I've silenced everyone, tell us everything!"
A minute passed.
Admin: "??"
"WHERE DID HE GO!?"
"Damn it, say something already!!"
"I CAN'T TAKE THIS ANYMORE! I'M ABOUT TO SHAVE MY HEAD RIGHT HERE!"
Another minute passed.
Admin: "Big bro, please! Just tell us!"**
"I was too loud earlier, I'm sorry! Forgive me, I beg you!"
Tanaka stared at the messages, frustration building.
Everyone was desperate for information, which was understandable.
But
"At least unmute him first, you idiot admin!!"
[214] The Notorious sensei's Bold Move!
A few minutes later
[The group admin has lifted the mute.]
Admin: "Ahem, my bad, my bad."
If an apology was enough, we wouldn't need the police!
All that wasted time How are we supposed to Mute Warning.jpg
"No worries, no worries."
"Mistakes happen! Totally understandable!"
"Brother, are you still there? We need answers! Urgently!"
Faced with the oppressive tyranny of the admin, the group members all played along, pretending nothing had happened.
And after all the summoning and pleading, the guy who started it all finally responded.
"Go to the Story Creation Contest official website and search for entry #60285!"
"Thanks for the tip, legend!"
"As expected of the notorious sensei, always stirring things up! He slipped away unnoticed and joined a whole new competition!!"
"Wait what even is the Story Creation Contest?"
"Seriously? Do you not have the internet? Go look it up!"
"Even if it's just a script and not a final product, given the sensei's storytelling skills, it's bound to be another masterpiece!"
"I just hope this story has a happy ending unlike Steins;Gate!"
One by one, the fans in the group shared their thoughts and then promptly disappeared.
No need to ask where they went.
As for Tanaka, the moment he saw the contest entry number, he immediately closed the chat. No hesitation, no second thoughts.
Of course, he knew about the Story Creation Contest.
Held once every four years, it was a massive event, full of hype. The extravagant prize pool drew attention from both inside and outside the industry!
For professionals, it was a golden opportunity to earn fame and fortune.
For the audience, it was a chance to witness groundbreaking stories and see which lucky soul would claim the grand prize!
On top of that, the TV show based on the contest was a ratings juggernaut, always topping the charts the year it aired.
Then again, the fact that it only aired every four years played a big role in that.
Even the most delicious food would get boring if you ate it every day. But if you had to wait years between bites? You'd crave it like crazy.
As for the other reasons behind its success? Tanaka wasn't an industry expert, so he couldn't say.
All he knew was that he loved the show. That was enough.
Since the contest attracted countless submissions, and most were amateur entries made for fun, the overall quality varied wildly.
That's why Tanaka never paid much attention before.
Some people enjoy sifting through a sea of average works to find hidden gems. Others prefer to dive straight into the main event.
Tanaka was the latter.
Besides, as a student, he didn't have the luxury of time to waste on filtering through entries.
Ahem, back to the point.
Following the instructions from the group, he quickly found the entry titled CLANNAD.
After confirming the author's name, Tanaka couldn't help but grumble:
"Sensei! Pulling stunts like this without telling us?!"
"Do you have any idea how long we've been suffering, waiting for your updates?!"
"So what if it's just a script? Do you doubt our loyalty?!"
Despite his complaints, Tanaka had no intention of spreading the word. Instead, he clicked on the story immediately.
"Tomoya Okazaki, protagonist, attends a private high school. A delinquent. Lost his mother in an accident at a young age and now lives with his father"
"Nagisa Furukawa, heroine. Fell seriously ill at five and nearly died. Weak constitution. A year older than the protagonist but had to repeat a grade. Meets Tomoya under the falling cherry blossoms"
The moment Tanaka saw the words "serious illness", his forehead twitched.
A blonde girl immediately came to mind.
Once again, a terminal illness subplot? Just like Your Lie in April?
Tanaka's head started throbbing.
"No way Not again?!"
He grimaced at the screen.
Sure, Your Lie in April was an incredible story. Kousei was saved by Kaori's influence, but in the end, she still
Just thinking about it filled him with overwhelming regret.
"The contest's theme is 'Life' So it's not impossible for it to follow a similar pattern."
The Notorious sensei's works always took different approaches, but that didn't mean he wouldn't reuse a heartbreaking formula someday.
As a devoted fan, Tanaka was rational and mentally prepared!
"Well, let's just read it first."
With that thought, he kept going.
"Kotomi Ichinose, Tomoya's childhood friend. A genius girl. Lost both parents at a young age"
"Fuko Ibuki, a first-year student who spends all her time carving wooden starfish in the art room. Eccentric. Loves daydreaming about her wild fantasies. Awkward in social situations"
"Tomoyo Sakagami, a former delinquent. Insanely strong in fights. So powerful, people call her 'The Martial Emperor'"
"Kyou Fujibayashi"
""
By the time he finished reading through ten detailed character profiles, Tanaka rubbed his temples.
"This time, sensei is going all in!"
He wasn't an expert, but after reading so many stories over the years, he had a good sense of things.
So many characters. Such intricate backstories.
With this author's style, there was no way these were just filler characters meant to show up for a few brief scenes and disappear.
If they had such detailed setups, they were bound to have their own deeply intertwined arcs within the main story!
Just imagining the amount of work required to weave all these stories together made Tanaka's scalp tingle.
But more importantly
"For a preliminary round, this is total overkill!"
Looking at the corresponding character illustrations, Tanaka let out a sigh.
Sure, plenty of writers could create a perfect character profile.
But how many could also draw their own characters?
Just that alone put this entry on a whole different level from 99% of the competition!
Seeing these well-crafted character designs, Tanaka's curiosity skyrocketed.
He couldn't wait to see what kind of story the Notorious sensei would craft for this tale called Life.
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[215] Life: Arrival, Encounter, Companionship, Farewell
After the character profiles and background introductions, the next section detailed the outlines of each Chapter.
[Chapter 1]
On a spring day, as cherry blossoms drift through the air, delinquent high school student Tomoya Okazaki meets a girl named Nagisa Furukawa on his usual walk up the school hill.
As they talk, Tomoya gradually learns more about Nagisahow she had to repeat a year due to illness and now feels uneasy about her new school environment.
Meanwhile, Nagisa, who dreams of joining the drama club, is devastated to find that the club had been disbanded long ago.
Seeing her disappointment, Tomoya decides to help her revive the drama club.
Accompanying the outline were a few black-and-white illustrations.
In the first image, a lone boy walked along an empty slope. Next to him, lines of monologue were written:
I hate this town. Because it holds nothing but memories I want to forget.
Every day, I go to school, chat idly with my friends, then return to a home I don't want to be in.
Day after day.
Will my life ever change?
When will something finally be different?"
Just a few simple lines, yet they evoked a deep sense of melancholy.
Recalling the protagonist's backstory, Tanaka immediately understood why he would think this way.
The scene shifted.
"Do you like this school?"
"I love it very much."
"But nothing lasts forever."
A girl, wearing the same school uniform as Tomoya yet completely unfamiliar to him, stood still about 200 meters away from the school.
In the illustration, Tomoya looked at her in surprise, his thoughts written beside him.
"She's not talking to me."
In the next panel, the girl gazed at the sky, her thoughts drifting elsewhere.
"No matter how joyful or happy something is it will never last forever."
"Even knowing that, do you still love this place?"
Tomoya knew she wasn't speaking to him.
But
"Then just go and find more of it."
The words escaped his lips before he even realized it.
Startled by the sudden voice, the girl's eyes welled with tears. Her shoulder-length hair swayed gently in the wind as she turned to look at him in surprise.
Unfazed, Tomoya continued, "More happiness, more joyjust go and find them."
The girl remained frozen, as if she still hadn't processed this unexpected conversation.
"Come on, let's go."
With those words, Tomoya took the lead, walking ahead. The girl, still wearing that bewildered expression, hesitantly followed behind him.
The final caption read:
"Everyone has experienced those naive and clueless days. Together, we begin climbing this long long hill."
After reading this, Tanaka couldn't hold back his frustration.
"This outline is way too brief!!" Without the illustrations, the first chapter's summary wouldn't have captured even a fraction of the story's charm!
If someone had told him this was supposed to be a Warrior of Love and Hope-sensei type of story, he would have taken it as an insult.
But just from a few pages of artwork, Tanaka could already feel the depth of this tale.
So
"Yeah, outlines are just references."
Seriously, who actually enjoys reading outlines?
"The preliminary round has plenty of time, so why not just write out the full chapter scripts?"
Even though the added manga panels were a plus, not including full chapter breakdowns was definitely a huge drawback!
And if other contestants were also relying solely on outlines
Well, none of them were Warrior of Love and Hope-sensei!
As a well-known manga artist, light novel author, anime screenwriter, and game developer, this guy had higher expectations from his fanswasn't that only natural?!
With those thoughts swirling in his mind, Tanaka continued reading.
[Chapter 2]
Encouraged by Tomoya, Nagisa decides to rebuild the drama club. Meanwhile, Tomoya unexpectedly crosses paths with the genius girl Kotomi Ichinose in the library...
This chapter was also illustrated with a few manga panels highlighting its core moments.
