Great Mangaka

With the broadcast of NHK news, Mirai-sensei and his manga became known throughout Japan overnight, and media outlets reprinted and reported on them.

"Although you know it's a tragedy, you can't resist reading it to the end. Mirai-sensei's manga are more of an art form. It's no coincidence that Five Centimeters Per Second has surpassed 1,000,000 sales. It's a manga worth having on your shelf and collecting for life." - Tōkai Daily.

"Love drives people crazy and fascinates them, and beauty and freshness tear at the heart. Mirai-sensei is not in love, but his love is in his manga." - Ningdu Entertainment News.

"The unstoppable hurricane brought by Mirai-sensei will turn him into a mangaka who will surpass novelists." - Wenyu Online.

"Not everyone can accept the challenge of the new. Mirai-sensei is challenging the limits of manga." - Huadu Weekly.

From Monday to Thursday, all over Japan: Tohoku, Shikoku, Saitama... From north to south, east to west, there are thousands of news articles about Mirai-sensei, and some media even interpret each of his manga.

"From reality to fantasy, there are all kinds of genres, all wonderful and popular. You never know what Mirai-sensei's next manga will be. That's his greatest charm."

His first work, Detective Conan, broke the stagnation of original manga. The impressive initial portrait and the exciting and concise plot are unforgettable. This work marks the first time we saw Mirai-sensei's name...

Inuyasha, this manga serialized in Weekly Shōjo Manga, incorporates monster legends, merges reality and fantasy, and presents a magnificent fantasy world. This world is magnificent and fantastic. Light and heavy. It is the most fantastic work in manga history...

Mirai-sensei's third manga, Five Centimeters Per Second, was published. It immediately caused a stir in the manga industry. Not to mention that sales surpassed 1,000,000, even the President of Tokyo University did not hesitate to support him...

Five Centimeters Per Second is the pinnacle of Mirai-sensei's work. Last week he launched two new works: Ouran High School Host Club and Bakuman. We cannot comment on them now, but judging by their market performance, there is no doubt that... They are two manga that perform miracles.

We are especially concerned about Bakuman. The mangaka's story has been praised by thousands of experts. The editor-in-chief of Shikoku Manga Company commented online that if Mirai-sensei led the readers of the manga industry into a new era, then Bakuman, this manga, could lead Mirai-sensei to a new level.

This newspaper does not dare to determine Mirai-sensei's success or failure based on a single manga, but the success of one manga can be considered accidental, and the success of several manga is inevitable. No one will question Mirai-sensei's talent. This boy of only sixteen years old will one day be independent and leave other mangaka behind.

Shikoku City, a roadside newsstand. The white-haired old man put down the newspaper and softly sighed.

"Manga... it's a shame...".

His voice attracted the attention of several newspaper readers around him, including the newsstand manager.

"Grandpa, what do you regret?"

"I regret never having read manga." The old man shook his head and said: "I'm old, and I don't know if I can still accept this novelty. It seems I won't be able to witness the growth of a generation of literary giants."

"Uncle, manga is the best introductory reading material." A young man beside him smiled and said: "Don't worry, manga uses pictures to tell stories, which are simpler and more vivid than novels. My father doesn't have good eyesight and gets tired after reading for a long time, but now he can read manga for longer."

"I bought a copy of Five Centimeters Per Second a while ago, and my father considers it a treasure..."

The old man's eyes lit up: "Does such a thing exist?"

He became interested: "Then I'll go buy one too. Where can I buy it around here?"

"Thousands of small bookstores should have it, but there's not much here, and NHK broadcast news about Mirai-sensei a few days ago, so you might have to look harder to find it." The young man replied: "Shikoku is a central city in the west, and there will be no shortage of manga, but if you go to the prefectures and cities, you probably won't have them."

"Doesn't Kanto Bookstore have them?"

The old man was surprised. NHK even broadcast news about Mirai-sensei. 'Could it be that Kanto Bookstore doesn't sell them?'

"Well... well, I'm not sure..." The young man frowned, shook his head, and smiled: "Perhaps Mirai-sensei and Kanto Bookstore didn't agree. Compared to this, Grandpa, did you just say 'literary giant'? Why did you say that?"

He was very curious. 'This old man obviously hadn't read the manga, but he read the report and said that Mirai-sensei would become a literary giant. Why did he come to that conclusion?'

"I've read thousands of newspapers lately."

The old man laughed happily: "Mirai-sensei's manga sales are incredible, and the content and genre are different, and the release time is also very fast."

"Such a person is a true genius, not the type of person who crumbles after one or two works. He has genuine talent."

He paused and continued laughing: "He's still young. When his life experience becomes richer, his works will be deeper. The cultural industry is different from those stars and idols who rely on youth to make a living. The author's influence will grow stronger and stronger over time. This boy named Mirai-sensei... If you look at him in 20 years, he will undoubtedly be a giant who can make wind and rain in Japanese and even world literary circles."

"Although manga are just a niche now..." The old man looked at the newspaper with eyes full of emotion: "But when I was young, novels were also a niche, and they were suppressed by traditional literature."

Reading manga was like going back to the past, when the literary market was dominated by classic masterpieces and traditional literature, which prioritized depth of thought and didn't pay much attention to the story, especially looking down on commercial novels. As a result, decades later, it was discovered that traditional literature had become a niche.

Manga are luckier than novels. Japanese cultural policy is now open, and this industry will undoubtedly prosper.

"I agree with the old man," said the newsstand owner with a smile: "Mirai-sensei will be the future leader of the literary world, but before that, he already has the potential to become a national idol."

"My daughter has lost her appetite ever since she saw his photo...". The owner shook his head and smiled bitterly: "She even told me she wants to go to university in Osaka."

National idol, a handsome boy felt dissatisfied upon hearing the word.

"Grandpas and elders, please stop praising him." He said with disdain: "It's very false. The man named Mirai-sensei is just an artist, not a singer or actor. How can he become a national idol?"

The boy was very dissatisfied with Mirai-sensei, who was the same age as him. 'Wasn't he just a lucky guy? If he knew how to draw, he could certainly write a better story than Mirai-sensei!'

However, the old man who spoke at first was very dissatisfied with his words.

"Singers and actors? Young man... If you consider them idols, you must first understand one thing." He hummed: "Singers and actors are idols born in the last few decades with the development of media technology, but before that, they were called performers and actresses, and they were not idols...".

"In Japan's  hundreds years, only literary artists are idols who will not disappear with time. At the peak of each dynasty, almost all idols were literary artists."

"Nowadays, society has made thousands of singers and actors famous, but their appearance is more important than their inner qualities, and their connections are better than their strength. These are definitely not long-term idols. With the development and changes in media and communication technology, future idols will pay more and more attention to their inner qualities," the old man said coldly to the young man.

"I can't predict what idols will be like in the future, but according to the current government's cultural strategy, cultural idols will inevitably appear, and Mirai-sensei meets this condition."

"Mirai-sensei will definitely surpass singers and actors. He is a true idol and a person who dominates the cultural market."

The young man was speechless and blushed.

"It makes sense."

The young man nodded in praise, although he noticed that the old man was deliberately exaggerating, probably to teach him a lesson. But when it comes to idols, young people also prefer to see cultural idols over pop stars. At the very least, his wife likes Mirai-sensei, so he doesn't consider her stupid.

A girl walking by overheard the topic of idols, so she couldn't help but interrupt.

"Mirai-sensei is already an idol!"

"My sister works in Osaka and said that now, when someone asks about idols, the most popular answer is Mirai-sensei. If you say any celebrity, people will laugh..."

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