Chapter 304: Meeting the Maestro

Initially, Meng Fan had plans in the afternoon and evening of the 14th: a meet-and-greet and a CV concert. Since he got 10 points of attributes and the title of [Professional Manga Artist], he decided to crank out some comics and skipped the events.

It was hard to start drawing the first part of volume one, then, he couldn’t stop.

The first part for “Legend of the Mountains and Seas” was longer than “Guide to Campus RoMANce” and “There’s a Spirit Underground.” In addition, all the other parts had at least 20 panels, with an average of 22 to 25 panels, meeting the daily serial criteria for Japanese manga magazines.

Naturally, he wanted to submit his manuscript in Japan, get approved, then get serialized.

It was challenging, but Meng Fan was confident in himself.

He already prepared the outline, details, characters, and scenarios. While the new attributes made Meng Fan start over, he also improved and fixed what he already did. With a draft in place, his drawing speed wouldn’t be slow.

He started on the second part at around midnight. He did 25 panels, with 3-5 pictures per panel, which totaled more than 100 pictures. It took him just three hours to draw all of them, including post-production work.

If people knew how quickly he did all of this, they’d be shocked.

Usually, comic artists who were serialized in Japan needed five days to a week to finish one part, and that’s assuming they had assistants doing the post-production and other work.

Meng Fan’s Hand Speed at +20 was ten times faster than an average comic artist — not including some who weren’t so skilled or who drew by hand. Fast Hand Speed alone wouldn’t be able to achieve all of this in three hours. Combined with supernatural Drawing Skills and Imagination, however, it was possible.

There were many advantages to having great Drawing Skills; he barely needed to fix anything, and he was much more expressive. An average artist would need a lot of room to express something, but Meng Fan just needed a few strokes.

Meng Fan’s drawing was not fancier. If anything, it was simpler. But, these simple strokes were striking and touched one’s soul.

OK, in spite of all this, Meng Fan still overestimated himself. It wasn’t possible to draw five parts in one night.

When he finished the second part, it was already 3 a.m. Meng Fan could stay up all night easily, and he was too excited to sleep. He stood up and moved a little, then kept drawing until 6 a.m., finishing the third part.

When the third part was done, he was tired and slept for around two hours. For the fourth part, he agonized over a plot development, spending almost two hours to convince himself and fixing the content. When he was finally done, it was around 1:30 p.m.

Great!

This will do.

Meng Fan ordered food, took a quick shower, then grabbed his manuscript to go downstairs. In the corner of the hotel lobby, he wolfed down some food, then asked the hotel for a car to go to Akihabara.

Akihabara, on the boundaries of the four commercial districts of Kyoto, was once a street of electronic stores. Now, it was a street popular with fans of the AGCN culture (animation, games, comics, and novels).

If the Akihabara of the electronics era was a steely, masculine guy, then the district today can only make you say, ‘So pretty, like a cute boy.’

Akihabara was the purpose of Meng Fan’s trip. He was a true homebody, so Akihabara, a haven for AGCN culture, was a must-see on his visit to Kyoto. He really was visiting the mecca today, he was meeting Eiichiro Oda!

When Meng Fan got off at Akihabara, he could see elements of the AGCN culture everywhere. There were many people dressed in cosplay such as waitresses in maid costumes in front of coffeeshops.

After he waited a while at the scheduled meeting place, a thirty-something man showed up. The man didn’t need to look too hard; Meng Fan was very recognizable. The man knew it was Meng Fan from a distance away as he said to himself, “This guy is really tall and good looking.”

“Are you Meng-san?” The man asked. After Meng Fan nodded, he introduced himself. “I’m Hiroji Wada.”

His Chinese wasn’t very standard, but he could communicate without problems.

This Hiroji Wada was the referrer Meng Caiju found for Meng Fan. The man was the son of a senior person at Toei Animation. In the credits of some well-known Japanese comics-turned-animated films, one could find the name of… his father.

Hiroji Wada worked in licensing rights of Japanese animations in China and collaborations with Chinese animation and games, which was how Meng Caiju could get half an hour of Eiichiro Oda’s time with a phone call and have Hiroji Wada pick up Meng Fan personally.

“Meng-san, I’ll take you on a tour of Mr. Oda’s workshop first. Around three o’clock, he rests for half an hour. Normally, it’s excellent if he can see you for ten minutes. I hope you understand.”

As Hiroji Wada led Meng Fan toward their destination, he reminded Meng Fan of do’s and don’ts, such as no questions about the plot of “One Piece,” or any gossipy things not related to comics and more.

The Oda workshop was pretty much Eiichiro Oda’s home in Kyoto. He both lived and worked here.

Meng Fan had heard of the habits of the maestro of comics, Eiichiro Oda, such as how he slept between two and five in the morning, and how he worked the rest of the day, working 16-hour days!

Of course, he didn’t draw the entire time he worked, there was also plot discussions, looking for elements of scenarios, characters, and more.

A renowned comic artist, even though they have many assistants, still had a huge work volume. Also, Eiichiro Oda was a manga artist who insisted on doing a lot of the post-production work — such as the timeline — himself.

Very soon, they reached the Oda Workshop, a quiet place in a bustling area.

“Hiroji-san.”

Hiroji Wada had made an appointment. As soon as they walked in, an assistant in the workshop came over to greet them. These assistants all wanted to be manga artists eventually, so they were very polite and respectful toward Hiroji Wada, someone with a connected dad in the industry, and Meng Fan was treated well by association.

Hiroji Wada had been there before, so he wasn’t fascinated by everything like Meng Fan. He found a place to sit while the assistant took Meng Fan around the place.

Inside the workshop, “One Piece” elements could be seen everywhere: private bar, popcorn machine, making the place resemble a playground. There was also a claw machine filled with characters from “One Piece,” none of which were available in the stores; Meng Fan was so envious.

After their tour, Meng Fan asked for the restroom and excitedly entered the “Jaws”-themed restroom.

The workroom for Eiichiro Oda and his assistants was not open to the public, so Meng Fan didn’t go in there.

Then, Meng Fan met the maestro of comics, Eiichiro Oda.

The maestro looked like his photo. Like many OP fans, Meng Fan was most concerned about the man’s health. There were rumors of him having health problems earlier. Now that the man looked well in person, Meng Fan was so happy.

After an emotional introduction, Meng Fan chatted with Eiichiro Oda as a fellow manga artist. He didn’t rely on a translator, using just his phone to help. Since his phone was connected to a streaming device, translation was fast and communication was easy.

Initially, Eiichiro Oda thought Meng Fan was just a fan of manga rather than a colleague. The older man was happy to discuss elements of the industry and became surprised by Meng Fan’s comprehension of the art form. Drawing Skills, Settings, and Scriptwriting weren’t just a number; the information in each category made Meng Fan’s comments outstanding. While what he said wasn’t groundbreaking, Eiichiro Oda acknowledged the younger man’s level of knowledge and was into the discussion.

Meng Fan also asked some questions from his creative process and drawing experience, which Eiichiro Oda was happy to answer.

After some chatting, Eiichiro Oda then asked if Meng Fan also created comics; he took out the manuscript.

As soon as Eiichiro Oda saw the material, he looked focused and energized.

After another half-hour, Meng Fan said goodbye to Eiichiro Oda and Hiroji Wada at the workshop, leaving for Shueisha. In Meng Fan’s hand was a recommendation letter from Eiichiro Oda.