The next day, Haruki got up from bed and, after finishing his daily routine, Kenta, Noya, and Hayato arrived at his apartment. They settled in, ready to continue work on the next chapters of JoJo and Fullmetal Alchemist.
As Kenta and Noya took the draft pages needing background detailing, Haruki found himself watching Hayato work. It still amazed him how quickly Hayato had adapted, and how strong his talent was when it came to manga.
If Haruki just handed him the storyboards now, Haruki thought, he could probably finish a whole chapter by himself, and it would still match perfectly with all our previous work.
The thought was both a relief and a little strange. JoJo's art style was incredibly labor-intensive and exhausting. Passing some of that workload on felt like a weight lifting from his shoulders.
To his quiet surprise, Hayato was even coaching Kenta as they worked side by side.
"Kenta," Hayato called, leaning over his desk, "the panel here with Jotaro's punch, try angling the camera a bit lower. We need that impact shot."
"Got it," Kenta said quickly, already redrawing the motion lines. "And for the next page, should I go with a two-page spread?"
Hayato gave a small nod. "Do it. JoJo's fights work best when they feel huge. Just make sure the perspective lines match the last spread."
"Don't worry," he added, running his pencil along the margin. "I already mapped them."
"Show-off," Noya muttered, but his voice carried more admiration than annoyance. "You got used to this way too fast."
"That's because Haruki dumped a year's worth of work on me in one month," Hayato replied dryly, eyes still on his page.
Haruki glanced over, amused. "As your reward, how about you draw the cover page for JoJo's first volume? Surprise me."
The room went silent. Kenta actually froze mid-line, and Noya looked up like he'd misheard.
Usually, the main author drew the cover themselves. Sometimes they might collaborate, but for an assistant to get that job, it was almost unheard of. Both Kenta and Noya were impressed and maybe just a little jealous.
Hayato sat straighter in his seat. "Thank you so much, Mizushiro-sensei, for giving me this opportunity," he said seriously. "I won't disappoint you. I'll make sure of that."
"Don't let the pressure get to you," Haruki said, voice calm. "Just draw what you think fits best."
Hayato gave a firm nod. "I will."
By afternoon, half of the new JoJo chapter was drafted. Kenta stretched and cracked his neck.
"Hey, Haruki, did you check the latest Echo Shroud rankings?"
"Not recently," Haruki replied. "Last I saw, Fullmetal was at #2 and JoJo at #5. Did JoJo climb?"
He knew Fullmetal Alchemist would probably need to reach its big climax before taking first place.
"Yeah," Kenta said. "It's up to #4 now. Give it a few months. I think it could reach the top."
They were talking when Noya suddenly came in from the front room, phone in hand.
"Hey guys! The award nominations just dropped, the Liora Awards!"
Kenta blinked. "Oh? How many nominations did Haruki's anime get?"
Noya replied, "Seven nominations from his four anime this year."
— Anime of the Year: Madoka Magica
— Best Animation: 5 Centimeters per Second
— Best OST: Initial D
— Best Action: Initial D
— Best Romance: 5 Centimeters per Second
— Best Director: Madoka Magica
— Best Original Anime: Madoka Magica
Kenta whistled. "Seven nominations, wow. And with the Tokyo Awards adding the same number, that's fourteen total this year. That has to be some kind of record, right? Four works in one year and that many awards…"
Noya asked, "The Japan Awards show is in two weeks, right? Have you prepared anything?"
Kenta scoffed. "Don't bother asking. Of course he hasn't. He never pays attention to anything outside of manga."
Haruki crossed his arms. "Actually, I've prepared everything. When I went on my U.S. trip, I did all my shopping then."
There was a pause.
"So you bought award clothes while you were supposed to be on vacation?" Noya asked, half laughing.
"I call it multitasking," Haruki said.
"We call it workaholism," Kenta muttered, shaking his head. "You seriously need a hobby."
"I have one," Haruki replied, picking up his pen again. "It's called drawing manga."
Everyone groaned but smiled as they went back to work.
That evening, on JNB Channel, NGB Talk Show: Japanese Awards Special
"Hello and welcome," the host said brightly. "Tonight, we're joined by anime critic Masaki and former producer Hikaru, known for his work on several past award-winning series. Thank you both for coming."
The audience applauded as the two men stepped onstage and took their seats.
The host continued, "We're here to talk about this year's Japanese Awards and the just-announced Liora Award nominations. So, first question: who's the favorite to win the Japanese Awards?"
Masaki shrugged. "Honestly, I don't think it's even a debate. Mizushiro's anime completely dominated the year: 5 Centimeters per Second, Initial D, and Madoka Magica. The real question is who could even compete with that at the Lioras?"
Hikaru countered, "You can't just dismiss everyone else. Sure, Mizushiro has a high chance, but it's been a strong year overall. We had three new shows hit over ten million views per episode. Into the Abyss is one of them. It's definitely a contender. And there are long-running series still pulling massive numbers. Mizushiro will be a major focus, yes, but not the only possible winner."
"Maybe," Masaki admitted. "But I think Mizushiro will overshadow most of the discussion at the awards either way."
"Let's get specific," the host cut in. "Which categories do you think he's most likely to win?"
"Anime of the Year, absolutely," Masaki said immediately. "Madoka Magica has dominated global conversation for months. I think Mizushiro could win most of the major categories."
"Interesting," the host said. "Has anyone ever swept that many categories before?"
"Not since Satoru Minami ten years ago," Hikaru replied. "And that was with only two shows. Mizushiro pulled this off with four in a single year. That's unheard of."
"Stylistically," Masaki added, "he's a complete outlier. Everyone's pushing hyper-slick action right now, and he's releasing slow, emotional dramas and stylish retro racing series. It shouldn't work, but it does."
"That's why studios are watching him so closely," Hikaru said. "If he sweeps this year, next year's lineup will be full of experimental pitches trying to capture the same magic."
"Which could be good or bad," Masaki said. "We might get a wave of shallow copycats, or it could inspire more bold originals."
"Either way," the host said, smiling, "it's safe to say Mizushiro has already changed the conversation."
The host leaned forward. "Do you think his success could even change how awards are judged?"
"It might," Hikaru said thoughtfully. "Studios might start submitting more original works instead of just safe sequels. If Mizushiro proves originality can win this many awards, it could shift the system."
[Note:- Here, the title "Anime of the Year" corresponds to "Best Producer", as I have modeled this after the Oscar system.]
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