Chapter 117: Manga Progress
Kaji Keiko smiled, her gaze sweeping between Sakamoto Ken and Natsume Mio. She naturally sensed the meaning in Natsume Mio’s words.
“Alright, alright, we’ll talk about you two later.” Kaji Keiko waved her hand and said, “I still need to discuss manga matters with Sakamoto Sensei.”
Sakamoto Ken nodded accordingly: “Yeah, let’s talk business first.”
Although Natsume Mio still had some thoughts in her mind, upon hearing the editor wanted to discuss work, she immediately restrained her posture and sat obediently to the side.
Kaji Keiko looked at Sakamoto Ken, her expression turning serious: “Sakamoto Sensei, as I mentioned on the phone earlier, besides coming to pick up the manuscript, it’s also about the creation plans going forward.”
She paused, then continued: “Since you’ve been handling all the processes alone before, now that assistants are coming, how do you plan to arrange things? Will you only handle the storyboard drafts yourself?”
Sakamoto Ken had planned this out long ago. He replied: “I’ll handle the plot and storyboards. The specific drawing, including inking, backgrounds, applying toner sheets, and such, will all be handed over to the assistants.”
Kaji Keiko nodded and said: “Sakamoto Sensei previously told me about your creation method, drawing the finished manuscript directly on manuscript paper, so the future process will need to start with creating storyboard drafts.”
“I’ve already drawn storyboard drafts for several chapters.”
Sakamoto Ken stood up, walked to his workbench, picked up the completed manuscripts for chapters 21 and 22, as well as the storyboard drafts for the following chapters, and handed them to Kaji Keiko.
Kaji Keiko took the thick stack of manuscript paper, weighed its heft, and said: “I have great confidence in Sakamoto Sensei’s creative abilities, but with assistants just arriving, during the initial synergy period, I suggest you don’t let go completely. It’s best to oversee them through a few chapters until the assistants are thoroughly familiar, then you can relax a bit…”
Her words suddenly stopped here. She had casually flipped open a page for a glance, but her action of turning the manuscript paper froze.
Her gaze locked firmly on the storyboard draft in her hand.
As a manga editor, Kaji Keiko had seen many writers’ storyboard drafts.
They came in all shapes and sizes, every form imaginable.
Some renowned veteran writers’ storyboard drafts were so scribbled like doodles that probably only the writer themselves, their long-term collaborating editor, and assistants could understand what was drawn.
This wasn’t an isolated case; it was quite common.
After all, the core purpose of storyboard drafts was to quickly build the story framework and arrange shot language, not to pursue refined illustrations.
Moreover, as a work reaches its later serialization stages, with better synergy between the writer and assistant team, often just a glance at extremely rough lines allows them to intuitively and accurately draw the final manuscript.
At that point, the storyboard drafts become even more uninhibited.
When Kaji Keiko saw the manuscripts Sakamoto Ken handed over, she had mentally prepared to spend some effort deciphering them.
But when she actually looked at this storyboard draft, she was still somewhat surprised.
Every panel’s composition was very clear, with characters’ outlines, main actions, and expressions all drawn out. The background omitted details but clearly marked the main objects and perspective relationships.
The blank spaces beside them even wrote out every line of dialogue, with symbols clearly marking needed special fonts, bolding, or places indicating emotional tone.
For magazines or online platforms with lower requirements, this storyboard draft could be published directly with minor adjustments, like adding the dialogue text.
“Sakamoto Sensei, are your storyboard drafts always this detailed?” Kaji Keiko said.
Sakamoto Ken just casually shrugged his shoulders and replied in a matter-of-fact tone: “Yeah, that’s my style.”
Kaji Keiko felt her earlier worries were unnecessary. With storyboard drafts like this, the assistants’ work would be very straightforward, not requiring much time for synergy.
Moreover, working even a short time under Sakamoto Sensei would be greatly beneficial for their creation skills.
It would be best if Sakamoto Sensei had time to guide them too; the manga industry has a long tradition of writers mentoring assistants to debut.
Kaji Keiko turned back to the first page and said: “Then I’ll properly read through Sakamoto Sensei’s subsequent plot.”
“The plot pace will pick up faster going forward, and the story’s impact will be even stronger,” Sakamoto Ken said. “Yeah… popularity will definitely rise even quicker afterward.”
“I’m really looking forward to it then. By the way, Sensei, when creating, did you consider that point I mentioned before?”
Sakamoto Ken asked: “Which aspect?”
“Famous scenes,” Kaji Keiko said. “In this era of online sharing, social media has huge influence. If the manga has some scenes that easily spark discussion and get screenshot-shared by everyone, it’s especially important for boosting the work’s popularity.”
Sakamoto Ken smiled slightly and said: “Of course there are some, Kaji. Just read on with peace of mind.”
What Sakamoto Ken handed to Kaji Keiko this time was the complete manuscripts for《Chainsaw Man》 chapters 21 and 22, plus storyboard drafts for chapters 23 to 26—four full chapters in total, nearly enough for one volume.
At this moment, Natsume Mio leaned in from the side, eagerly saying: “A Jian! Can I read along with Editor?”
“Sure, you two read together then.” Sakamoto Ken nodded and said.
“Yay!”
Natsume Mio immediately cheered, nimbly shifting her chair to sit right next to Kaji Keiko.
First up was this chapter’s title.
Natsume Mio read it out softly:
“Chapter 21… The Taste of a Kiss…”
After reading the title, she paused slightly, then stealthily glanced up at Sakamoto Ken.
The taste of a kiss, huh…
She smacked her lips, wondering to herself if it was peach-flavored.
The end of the previous chapter was the kissing promise between Denji and Himeno.
But it also mentioned「that everyone present except the newbie had been kissed by Himeno」, so Himeno was just that casual—definitely not main heroine material.
But Makima was there too.
And Makima directly asked Denji:「Who does Denji want to kiss?」
Denji flat-out denied it:「No kissing!」
But in the next panel…
Himeno:「Huh? Denji doesn’t want to kiss?」
Denji:「I do want to kiss!」
What a guy with no principles—as long as it’s a kiss, anyone will do, huh…
This was Denji’s first kiss— not saving it for Makima?
What about sex then? It couldn’t be anyone would do for that too!
But… Denji kissing Himeno right in front of Miss Makima?!
The next chapter will definitely switch to Denji and Miss Makima.
He completed the demon mission before, so Miss Makima will surely reward him!
Anyway, so exciting!
Natsume Mio stared intently at the manuscript paper in Kaji Keiko’s hands.
Kaji Keiko sensed the overflowing excitement from the girl beside her. She smiled helplessly, then slowly turned to the next page…
