"You want to see my manga?" Shizuru blinked several times in surprise. If anyone else had asked such a question, she might have been worried about her unpublished story being plagiarized. However, when it came to Haruto, she felt remarkably safe. It was impossible to plagiarize someone's raw artistic skill, and as for the plot... given Haruto's own creative track record, the chance of him needing to steal from her was pitifully low.
After a moment of hesitation, she stood up and hurried over to her bag sitting in the corner of the clubroom. She pulled out a thick stack of drawing paper, roughly forty or fifty pages in total.
'Lush Green Years.'
Haruto didn't even need to think once he saw the title; it was obvious what kind of manga she was drawing.
A shoujo romance. He flipped open the first page and was immediately struck by the visuals. The artwork was magnificent. It was a black-and-white manuscript, but the level of detail was exquisite. Even the heroine's hair wasn't just a simple block of ink; every strand of her bun had been drawn with painstaking precision. The backgrounds, the flowers, and the scenery weren't simplified or neglected like in some lazy amateur works.
Everything was rendered with professional care.
Haruto's eyes widened. Even if he wasn't an artist, he had consumed enough media to have a solid aesthetic standard. He knew quality when he saw it.
"Your art style... it is incredibly refined," he remarked.
"Isn't it?" A flicker of pride crossed Shizuru's face. "I have been obsessed with manga since I was four years old. I grew up tracing the works of famous artists. The only reason I took the art school entrance exam path was because of how much manga influenced my life."
"When did you start submitting your work to magazines?"
"In my first year of high school."
"The first year?" Haruto was surprised. "And how many series have you created between then and now, your second year of university?"
"Seven."
"Seven works, and I have submitted them to a total of thirty-six different manga publishers. But those editors have zero vision."
"Not a single one of them has ever approved my work for serialization," Shizuru said, her tone turning quite indignant.
"Actually, I wasn't always rejected outright," she added. "Back in my hometown, the head of a small manga publisher actually took a liking to my art. He said I drew beautiful female leads and offered to sign me on the spot."
"However... he wanted me to tailor my work to their adult-oriented monthly magazine. Obviously, I turned him down."
"Adult... manga," Haruto muttered, falling silent for a moment. He understood exactly what she was implying.
Something felt wrong. With her level of skill, she should have had no trouble making a professional debut in the manga industry. Haruto picked up her manuscript and began to read the actual story.
Five minutes later, he looked up with a look of utter bewilderment.
'What did I just read?'
After finishing dozens of pages, Haruto still couldn't tell who the male lead was supposed to be.
Was the story about romance? Youthful rebellion? Friendship? It touched on all of those themes, but only in the shallowest way possible, never digging into the meat of the narrative. Despite reading so many pages, the only name he could remember was the heroine's; even the secondary male characters were a complete blur.
"Well? What do you think?" Shizuru asked with an expectant look.
"The art is fantastic."
"And?"
"The heroine's character design is very elegant."
"And what else?"
"The supporting cast is also drawn beautifully..."
Shizuru stared at him. "Is there anything you can say that isn't about the art style?"
"Well... it is just that your artwork is so prominent that it tends to overshadow your other qualities," Haruto said with an awkward smile.
Low EQ interpretation: Your art is so outstanding that the other elements seem less noticeable.
High EQ interpretation: Aside from the art, the rest is a total disaster.
Shizuru wasn't stupid. She caught his drift immediately.
"You think the story is boring, don't you?" she asked after a pause. As she watched Haruto remain silent, the light in her eyes began to dim.
Deep down, she knew. Many editors had told her the same thing: her technical skills were flawless, but her storytelling was abysmal. That was why she had acted on a whim when she recognized Haruto at the café. She wanted him in the Manga Research Club for a reason.
Her teaching him music theory and illustration wasn't an act of charity; she wanted him to owe her a favor so that she could eventually ask him to teach her the secrets of narrative construction.
After all, while manga required artistic skill, a light novel lived or died by its plot. Haruto had taken first place in the Ascent of New Gods competition, proving his mastery of storytelling beyond a shadow of a doubt.
He might not be the absolute best in Japan yet, but he was certainly the strongest creator she had access to. She hoped that over the course of their university years, she could learn enough from him to save her career.
"Actually, senpai... have you ever considered a different approach?" Haruto asked after carefully examining her work again. "It seems your talent for narrative might not be as developed as your artistic skill."
'Which is a polite way of saying it is non-existent,' Haruto thought to himself. If someone has been drawing for years and still produces a plot this disjointed, it isn't a lack of experience. It is a fundamental lack of storytelling talent.
You couldn't blame the magazines for rejecting her; no matter how pretty the pictures were, a story that went nowhere was a non-starter.
"But your art really is exceptional," Haruto praised her again. It made sense why that small publisher wanted her for adult works; her character designs were vivid and appealing. "Why don't you find a partner to handle the story for you?"
Haruto looked at her seriously. "Some people are masters of the brush, while others are masters of the word. When you combine those two strengths, you solve the problem perfectly."
Through his memories of Shiori, Haruto was well aware of how the industry worked in that other world. One of the top artists was a man whose style was incredibly versatile and detailed, a once-in-a-generation genius.
However, his storytelling was his Achilles' heel. He eventually realized his limitations and decided to focus entirely on his art while collaborating with others. That decision led to the creation of classics like Hikaru no Go and Death Note. Even though he didn't write those stories, his incredible art made him a legend.
In manga, the art is the hook that makes people want to discover the story. Plot and art are two halves of a whole.
"Find a partner to handle the script?" Shizuru asked, looking stunned.
"Do you find the idea of a collaboration distasteful?" Haruto asked.
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