Speaking of the Shonen Jump New Years Party, one cannot help but mention the New Years Party depicted in the manga 'bakuman', which was a part that left a deep impression on him.
After all, with Ohba Tsugumi and Obata Takeshi as a well-known Manga Artist duo, having them draw this part can be said to be quite authentic and convincing.
Come to think of it, the 'hikaru no go' created by the duo of Hotta Yumi and Obata Takeshi is currently being serialized with great popularity, so if nothing goes wrong, they will likely attend this New Years Party as well.
Although he couldn't see the more mysterious Ohba Tsugumi, it would be nice to get to know Obata Takeshi first.
Then again, Hisashi said there were no dress code requirements for this New Years Party, so Akira picked out a relatively formal outfit from his regular clothes and left when it was time.
The New Years Party was held at the Imperial Hotel, and there would be a private car to pick him up.
After receiving a phone call from the chauffeur, Akira went downstairs immediately. Seeing the black sedan parked at the entrance of the apartment, and the chauffeur standing by in a suit and white gloves waiting for him, he had to admit it was quite intimidating.
The official start time for the New Years Party was 18:00. Driven by the chauffeur, Akira arrived at the hotel entrance ten minutes early.
By this time, the sky was completely dark, the streets were lit up with colorful neon lights, and the hotel lobby entrance was also resplendent with gold and jade.
At this moment, a dozen black sedans were stopping and moving at the hotel entrance, looking just like a gathering of a yakuza family from a movie; it was indeed quite a spectacle.
After entering the hotel and confirming his identity, the staff gave him a number tag, saying it would be used later for a lucky draw.
Following the flow of people into the venue, the lively scene before his eyes made Akira feel a bit novel.
There were more people present than he had imagined; a rough estimate was at least one or two hundred.
In addition, although there were quite a few people in suits, there were just as many people who, like him, arrived in casual clothes.
At the same time, many people on the scene noticed him, then whispered to their companions, discussing in low voices.
"Hey, do you recognize that person over there?"
"Damn, he's so handsome — could he be an entertainer invited to perform?"
"How come I haven't heard of such a segment?"
"Could it be a Manga Artist with a new serialization?"
"That would be too young —"
Akira had long been accustomed to this level of onlookers. Just then, a familiar call came from not far away: "Akira!"
He looked towards the source of the sound. Oda Eiichiro, wearing a down jacket, held a goblet in his left hand and waved at him with his right, walking towards him with a smile.
Not only that, a young man with a goatee and a bandana was walking over with him.
"It's Oda-kun."
Seeing the familiar figure, Akira also smiled. When he reached him, Oda Eiichiro laughed and said: "Akira looks quite eye-catching."
"I should be the one saying that to you, right?"
Akira said, somewhat unable to laugh or cry: "It's precisely because you came over that I feel the attention around me has immediately increased two or three times."
Putting aside the stranger on the side, if his own figure only made people a little curious, then the existence of Oda Eiichiro was quite eye-catching.
As the undisputed pillar manga of Shonen Jump today, Oda Eiichiro's fame and status naturally rose with the tide, and his weight was quite significant.
Except for the newcomers who were attending the New Years Party for the first time, most other people would probably find it hard to ignore his existence.
"Well —"
Oda Eiichiro was also somewhat aware of this. After two dry laughs, he helplessly spread his hands and said: "What can I do? Who asked me to have so few people I can talk to?"
To be precise, there were only two. Besides the Akira in front of him, there was only the man beside him.
And speaking of this, Oda Eiichiro took the opportunity to smile and introduce the two parties.
"This is Takei Hiroyuki-sensei, author of 'shaman king', and this is Akira-sensei, author of 'Fate/stay night'."
The reason Oda Eiichiro and Takei Hiroyuki knew each other was simple.
That was because before they each started serializing their own manga, they had both worked as manga assistants under Watsuki Nobuhiro, author of 'Rurouni Kenshin', and became friends during that time.
By the way, the other person he could talk to at last year's New Years Party was Watsuki Nobuhiro.
But 'Rurouni Kenshin' officially ended in the middle of last year, and Watsuki Nobuhiro, who was no longer a serialized Manga Artist, naturally did not attend this New Years Party.
"So you are Takei-sensei."
After learning the other party's identity, Akira immediately felt refreshed and began to size him up again.
Hmm, he still looked ordinary.
But that wasn't the point.
Although he hadn't mentioned it much, the anime of 'shaman king' was also one of his childhood memories, and the villain Hao Asakura was also a very popular character at that time.
However, he only learned later that due to the serialization progress, the anime had significantly modified the plot from the middle stage, and the later stage was almost completely different from the original manga plot.
In addition, as far as he knew, although the manga serialization of 'shaman king' was very popular at first, its popularity continued to decline later, causing the plot to be cut short near the end, and it wasn't until several years later that the complete ending story was filled in, which was quite full of twists and turns.
In short, he was quite happy to see this Manga Artist who had left a good impression on him.
"Very nice to meet you, I really like the story of 'shaman king'."
"— Ah, thank you."
However, looking at the Akira in front of him, Takei Hiroyuki's mood was a bit complicated.
Perhaps Akira himself was not aware of it, but in fact, ever since he started serializing 'Fate/stay night' in Shonen Jump last year, he had been a topic of concern in their Manga Artist circle.
An 18-year-old genius manga artist;
His debut serialized manga was an instant hit, and his performance remained strong to this day;
Won the top prize of the Tezuka Award as a serialized Manga Artist;
During the serialization period, he not only created a one-shot manga with excellent quality and reputation, but even crossed fields to create a light novel, and the results were equally outstanding —
Anyone who knew a little bit about manga creation would understand how outrageous these achievements of Akira were.
Where did he get so much time?
Where did he get so much energy?
And where did he get so many whimsical ideas?
Honestly, when he first read the first few chapters of 'Fate/stay night', he was a bit jealous of the other party.
Because he realized the similarities and differences between the Servant system and the spirit settings in 'shaman king', and immediately realized the brilliance of this setting.
If he had considered it more carefully back then, would he have thought of such a setting sooner?
If so, would 'shaman king' have become better?
After watching 'Fate/stay night', such thoughts would inevitably appear in his mind.
And during that time, he was not only a little jealous of Akira, but also vaguely regarded the other party as a rival.
But cruelly, during that period, and even now, the best ranking of 'shaman king' could only barely touch the other party's back.
Fortunately, although he was not as optimistic and open-minded as the protagonist Yoh Asakura, he had some similarities.
With the continuous revelation of Akira's achievements mentioned above, he clearly realized the gap in talent between himself and the other party, and gradually let it go.
That guy is simply a monster, right?
He had worked as an assistant under Watsuki Nobuhiro-sensei with Oda Eiichiro, and was good friends with him, so he knew very well how terrifying a genius like Oda, whose creative talent was almost overflowing, was.
The gap in talent between the two parties was despairingly large.
It was precisely because he had seen a genius like Oda Eiichiro early on that he understood he actually didn't have any extraordinary talent, and he never thought about comparing himself to such a genius.
So, upon discovering that Akira was also such a genius, he decisively gave up.
It's just that, now that the other party appeared in front of him like this, his heart still couldn't help but stir, and finally, he sighed with a complicated tone: "Although I had known Mochizuki-sensei was very young, I didn't expect him to be this young. No wonder he is called a genius manga artist!"
And, why is he still such a handsome guy, damn it!
Also, somewhat unable to laugh or cry, the other party would probably never know that there was a rival like him who declared war without permission and gave up without permission, right?
Akira indeed knew nothing. After exchanging a few pleasantries with the other party, he looked back into the venue and asked Oda Eiichiro curiously: "Speaking of which, are there really so many people participating in the New Years Party?"
"That's for sure."
As a senior in this regard, Oda Eiichiro smiled proudly and explained: "After all, this is the Shonen Jump New Years Party. Besides the 'Weekly Shonen Jump' main publication, there are also serialized Manga Artists and editors from other Shonen Jump sister publications who will also be present."
"I see."
Akira understood, but then, Oda Eiichiro remembered something and smiled: "By the way, this is Akira's first time attending the New Years Party, right? Then you might have to work hard later."
"Hmm? Why?"
Looking at his puzzled eyes, Oda Eiichiro laughed: "Because according to the rules, newcomers attending the New Years Party for the first time will be taken by their editor to greet every sensei."
And the targets of the greetings not only include the Manga Artists of the main publication, but also the Manga Artists serialized in the sister publications.
Greet every sensei?
Akira scanned the scene again and immediately felt a bit troublesome.
After this round, he was afraid he would have to greet them dozens of times, right?
It was simply a social anxiety hell.
"No way, newcomers attending the New Years Party for the first time are like this. It was the same when I came for the first time the year before last."
Looking at his expression, Oda Eiichiro smiled and comforted him: "It will be better when you come next year. By then, it will be waiting for others to come and greet you."
"Next year —"
Akira cupped his chin and said: "It's hard to say if I can come next year."
"?"
Oda Eiichiro and Takei Hiroyuki were both surprised when they heard this. Oda said: "How come? Akira is looking down on himself too much, right?"
"The momentum of 'Fate/stay night' is so good now. Not to mention being cancelled, as long as it can be maintained, it is completely a super big hit!"
"Thanks for the compliment, but that's not what I meant."
Akira smiled and waved his hand: "It's just that, 'Fate/stay night' is only a medium-length manga in my plan, and it might be finished by the end of this year."
"Then next year's New Years Party will naturally be out of the question."
"Is that so?"
While the two were enlightened, they were also a bit surprised. This was the first time they had heard this news.
"But if that's the case —"
"— Mochizuki-sensei!"
Oda Eiichiro wanted to say something more, but just then, another familiar call came, interrupting his speech.
"It's Mr. Sasaki."
"Mr. Sasaki!" × 2
The visitor was none other than Hisashi.
However, unlike Akira's relaxed greeting tone, Oda Eiichiro and Takei Hiroyuki both looked slightly nervous. No wonder they were from the same school.
Hisashi still looked unaware, smiling and nodding slightly to them: "Oda-sensei and Takei-sensei are here too."
"Ah — well —"
However, the two didn't feel a relaxed and kind atmosphere at all, only feeling immense pressure.
So, Oda Eiichiro quietly gave Akira a look, and nudged Takei Hiroyuki beside him, smiling awkwardly: "Well, we're going to the restroom, you guys chat slowly."
"Ah, right. Let's talk later."
Watching the two who fled to the restroom like this, Akira said to Hisashi with some amusement and curiosity: "Was Mr. Sasaki really that scary before?"
"Scary or something — it hasn't reached that point, right?"
Hisashi said with a wry smile: "It's just that, Shonen Jump was in a relatively difficult period at that time, and 'Rurouni Kenshin', as the only pillar manga at the time, did bear a lot of extra pressure."
Fortunately, the final result was satisfactory.
'Rurouni Kenshin' not only successfully supported Shonen Jump through that dark period, but Oda Eiichiro and Takei Hiroyuki, who were still manga assistants at the time, also grew up and became the new generation pillar of Shonen Jump.
Hearing this, Akira also felt some emotion. Shonen Jump at that time was indeed not easy.
Speaking back to this New Years Party, today's Hisashi was also different from the past, wearing a well-fitting black suit.
The originally slightly messy beard seemed to have been well-groomed, looking like a social elite.
Seeing this, Akira teased: "You clearly told me that casual clothes were fine, but you secretly wore a handsome suit yourself. Isn't that bad?"
"That's not the same thing."
Hisashi said helplessly: "We editors are essentially company employees. Although we can be casual at ordinary times, we still have to pay attention to our image on formal occasions like today."
Then, he remembered something and said: "By the way, there is one thing to do after the New Years Party officially starts —"
"We have to go and greet the senseis present, right?"
Akira shrugged and said: "Oda-kun already told me just now."
"Alright."
Hisashi was a bit surprised when he heard this, but still nodded and smiled: "Anyway, that's it. It will be a bit hard for you later."
As soon as the words fell, the background music that had been playing in the banquet hall suddenly stopped, the conversations of the people gradually quieted down, and their eyes gathered towards the small stage of the banquet hall. The New Years Party officially began.