The temperature in early May in Tokyo was gradually warming up, but it still felt relatively cool. Especially after the light rain that fell all night, the damp morning air carried a hint of cold.
However, as the sun rose and dispelled the lingering chill of the night, golden sunlight streamed through the window, casting slanted beams into a twenty-square-meter studio apartment.
Inside the apartment, a young man stood shirtless in front of the bathroom mirror. Looking at the unfamiliar face in the reflection, he murmured in disbelief:
"...Did I really transmigrate?"
He had just happened to find a decent-looking novel before bed and accidentally stayed up all night reading it until dawn before forcing himself to sleep. Was this really necessary?
One sleep and I'm in 1999 Japan? Isn't this ridiculous?
Although he hadn't exercised in a long time, it was still a body under thirty. Surely staying up for one night wouldn't just make him kick the bucket, right?
Since a transmigration was arranged for him, why not send him to a more bizarre fantasy world with a powerful golden finger? Wouldn't that be sweet?
You tell me, as a failed web novel author whose life wasn't great but wasn't bad either, why did I transmigrate?
...
...
"Forget it."
He slapped his cheeks hard, forcing himself to stop his wild thoughts.
As the saying goes, since I'm already here...
I'll check out the situation first.
He rubbed his chin, feeling the sharpness of his jawline. Looking at the handsome face reflected in the mirror, a hint of amazement flashed in his eyes.
Why does he look somewhat like Noctis, the protagonist of FF15? Is he really this handsome?
It was a pity his body was a bit thin, and his face looked a bit haggard from long-term late-night work. If he could regain his energy and build some muscle, it would be perfect.
Of course, exercising was a matter for later.
He set aside his messy thoughts for a moment and began to organize the extra information in his mind.
The Original Owner's name was Mochizuki Akira, a handsome name to match his handsome face.
"Mochizuki" means "full moon" in Japanese, but the "Mochizuki" in "Mochizuki Akira" referred to Mochizuki-machi in Saku City, Nagano Prefecture, meaning "a person living in Mochizuki-machi." Now, Mochizuki-machi had been completely merged into Saku City.
And "Akira" means dawn or daybreak. He was given this name because the Original Owner was born during that time.
After understanding the reason, he couldn't help but feel a bit amused.
Although the name sounded cool, its origin was unexpectedly simple.
Continuing on:
Although the surname came from Saku City, Mochizuki Akira was from a farming family in Nagano City, Nagano Prefecture. His parents were local fruit farmers, and the family apple orchard was their only source of income.
Despite being from a farming family, Mochizuki Akira unexpectedly showed extraordinary artistic talent in his kindergarten art class and fell in love with drawing.
His parents were very supportive of Mochizuki Akira's hobby, buying him various art textbooks and drawing tools.
So, during elementary school, Mochizuki Akira began self-studying sketching, coloring, and speed drawing. After entering middle school, he joined the school's art club, where his talent was praised and nurtured by the advisor.
Under the teacher's recommendation, he participated in many prefectural and national art exhibitions and competitions, achieving impressive results. After entering high school, Mochizuki Akira continued to make steady progress on the path of art.
Until one day in his second year of high school, he noticed several classmates reading a manga magazine called "Weekly Shonen Jump." They would discuss it passionately afterward, which piqued Mochizuki Akira's curiosity.
On his way home from school, he passed a bookstore and saw "Weekly Shonen Jump" displayed in the most prominent position. Driven by some inexplicable impulse, he bought a copy and took it home to read in secret.
He then became completely immersed in it, and there was no turning back.
Although the drawing level of most manga in the magazine wasn't exactly superb, the wonderful worlds the authors created with words and images deeply shocked Mochizuki Akira.
He soon became a loyal manga reader, sinking into the ocean of manga and unable to pull himself out.
And at that moment, the dream in his heart quietly changed.
At the end of his third year of high school, Mochizuki Akira suddenly told his parents that he had decided to become a serialized manga artist. Despite his parents' persuasion and opposition, he gave up on going to university and moved to Tokyo alone after graduation to pursue his dream of becoming a manga artist.
"Wait, dude, what's the rush? At least finish university first?!"
He suddenly felt a bit overwhelmed.
Good grief. In his previous life, although he didn't have much talent for studying, he had worked his heart out and barely managed to get into a low-tier 211 university.
In this life, it was just great. No university to attend. He was a high school graduate!
But complaints aside, he soon realized that the Original Owner's choice wasn't just a personal whim; it was also related to the social atmosphere in Japan.
Japan officially entered an aging society in 1970. As the aging process accelerated through the '80s, the birth rate continued to decline, and the labor supply became increasingly tight. Consequently, young people became more and more sought after.
Additionally, Japanese companies generally adopted the OJT model, training while working. Even for high school graduates, companies could train them through practical work experience.
Not only that, many high schools even established connections with companies, allowing students to enter companies directly through school recommendations...
In short, with the support of various factors, it was not uncommon for Japanese high school students to enter the workforce directly after graduation; in fact, it was quite common.
At its peak, the proportion of Japanese high school graduates going directly into employment once reached 60%.
Even though the economic bubble burst in the '90s, leading to an economic recession and reduced hiring by companies, this situation persisted until 1999. The proportion of Japanese high school graduates going directly into employment was still 26.9%, accounting for a quarter of all high school students, which was quite high.
Many anime also reflected this phenomenon:
For example, in "Clannad," which was originally a gal game and adapted into an anime, the male protagonist, Okazaki Tomoya, entered the workforce directly after high school, married the female lead, and started a family.
In recent years, some people online criticized Okazaki Tomoya as a delinquent who couldn't even get into a vocational college. This was due to a lack of understanding of Japan's unique national conditions. Okazaki Tomoya's education and employment experience were actually a microcosm of the employment experience of ordinary Japanese people in that era.
Setting aside Japan's national conditions and going a step further, among the Japanese manga artists he knew, there were those who went to university, those who dropped out halfway, and those who never went at all. All three cases were common.
Those who went to university:
For example, Gosho Aoyama, the author of Detective Conan, and Rumiko Takahashi, the author of Inuyasha, etc.;
Those who dropped out of university halfway:
For example, Eiichiro Oda, the author of One Piece, and Kishimoto Masashi, the author of Naruto, etc.;
Those who never went to university:
For example, Toriyama Akira, the author of Dragon Ball, and Nobuhiro Watsuki, the author of Rurouni Kenshin, etc.;
Considering that there were very successful and famous manga artists in all three cases, it was indeed hard to say how much going to university actually helped with drawing manga.
"But having said that..."
He couldn't help but let out a long sigh. It still felt a bit awkward.
Perhaps this was the difference in thinking between ordinary people and geniuses?
If it were him, even if he wanted to be a manga artist, he would choose to go to university and then try it during his spare time.
That way, even if he failed, he wouldn't suffer too much loss; at most, he would just return to the path of an ordinary person.
But from another perspective, Mochizuki Akira's way of acting, "once a goal is decided, act immediately and give it your all," was clearly more likely to succeed than his own attitude of "trying within a safe range; even if it fails, it doesn't matter."
Of course, the price of failure was also more severe.
Regardless, since what's done is done, he temporarily composed himself and continued reviewing the memories:
After high school graduation, Mochizuki Akira came to Tokyo alone. After some tossing and turning, he rented this studio apartment and found a temporary job at a bookstore in Akihabara. He worked while preparing his first manga.
However, at this time, Mochizuki Akira finally encountered a serious problem:
Drawing manga was not as easy as he had imagined.
Admittedly, Mochizuki Akira had a talent for drawing and might become an excellent artist, but to create a manga, storytelling ability was just as essential as drawing skills.
After Mochizuki Akira began formally creating his first manga, he suddenly discovered that he didn't seem to be good at storytelling.
This wasn't actually a fatal problem. In the manga world, people like Mochizuki Akira, who were good at drawing but not at storytelling, were not uncommon. The usual solution was to find someone good at storytelling but not at drawing and debut as a duo.
For example, famous duos like Obata Takeshi and Tsugumi Ohba, or ONE and Yusuke Murata. By combining their strengths, they could also stand at the top of the manga world and become world-famous manga artists.
However, after realizing this problem, Mochizuki Akira didn't immediately choose to give up the path of creating manga alone. Instead, he started drawing even more extensively, hoping to improve this way.
This life continued until Golden Week at the end of April.
Golden Week in Japan is a collective term for a series of consecutive holidays composed of several adjacent festivals. The holiday lasts from 7 to 10 days and is one of the few important long holidays, as well as the busiest time for most shops.
Due to the sudden increase in work pressure during Golden Week, coupled with the frantic work on his manga after hours, the double pressure finally caught up with him. Last night, while in the middle of a marathon drawing session, Mochizuki Akira's vision suddenly went dark, and he collapsed, dying suddenly on the spot.
"...Sigh."
After finishing Mochizuki Akira's memories, he let out a long, emotional sigh.
Although the Original Owner had perished before he could even formally enter the manga world, his way of dying could be said to be very "manga artist-like."
Manga artists, especially those with weekly serializations, are recognized as a high-risk profession.
While being welcomed and pursued by countless readers on the surface, weekly serialization deadlines force countless authors to sit at their desks year-round, staying up late and working like crazy. They also frequently face huge mental pressure from declining performance and exhaustion of inspiration.
With various factors combined, the vast majority of serialized manga artists in the industry, especially popular ones who maintain serializations for years, suffer from various illnesses to some degree.
There are quite a few manga artists who pass away due to their conditions worsening from overwork, or even die suddenly due to overwork!
"...So, is it absolutely necessary to become a manga artist?"
Thinking of the Original Owner's obsession before his death, he, the current Mochizuki Akira, suddenly felt a massive headache.