Anime Crossover: Becoming Mangaka in Anime World

Akifumi Mugiho sat on the subway, but his mind kept drifting back to a scene from a few days ago.

...

Flashback

It happened at Monday, at 10 p.m.

"Even if witches never appear in this world again, the curses of human existence won't disappear."

"The world's distortion has changed shape, and now it watches from the darkness, peeking into the obscure."

"Though the world continues to repeat sorrow and hatred, and it's beyond saving, this is still the place she wanted to protect."

"I still remember clearly, I'll never forget her."

"So, I'll keep fighting."

The girl in the image arched like a crescent moon, her face devoid of much expression.

A pink satin ribbon, belonging to someone, tied her black hair into twin tails, but her face showed no emotion. In her eyes, there was an unmistakable sadness.

"—Don't forget, always, somewhere, someone is fighting for you."

"—As long as you remember her, you are not alone."

Feathers of gods and demons intertwined.

Time seemed to rewind to the day when the wheel of fate first started turning.

A pink-haired girl held the hand of another, with braided hair, her face glowing with a bright smile.

"We're already friends."

"From the past to the future, always."

"Yeah..."

The other girl also smiled back, her eyes warm and full of sweetness.

"Forever."

At the very end, the scene lingered on their backs.

As the final stroke of the pen was drawn, Akifumi let out a deep sigh of relief.

A smile spread across his face, one he couldn't hide.

"Finally finished!"

He had started this work in early April, and now, it was nearing the end of June.

After almost three months and close to 500 pages of artwork, even a full-time manga artist with assistants could only manage such a feat with difficulty!

Not to mention, all of this was completed by Akifumi alone!

A wave of intense accomplishment flooded his heart, followed by a tinge of emptiness and melancholy.

It felt just like when you finish something, only to realize the void that follows.

"Does finishing a manga really have such a lingering effect?"

Akifumi smiled bitterly and shook his head.

He took a moment to adjust his mood.

"Now, I can finally take it easy..."

But before he could finish his thought, flashes of memories suddenly popped into his mind.

It was like stepping into a scorching summer day.

The buzzing of cicadas in his ears, the sound of a game controller clicking, and the scene of a shabby room with no air conditioning, a boy covered in sweat, and a TV playing loud game sounds.

The scene shifted to an old alley.

A pair of high school students, a boy and a girl, walked side by side, chatting.

"I hate it, it's not like that."

"No way, you definitely grew up, huh?"

"Heh... but I like..."

"Nishina."

"Nishina."

"Nishina, Nishina..."

"Don't let your inferior genes survive, you bunch of horny machines."

The boy cursed with frustration.

"Eh~ Is this the Lip Monster?"

A silver-haired girl appeared out of nowhere, leaning close to the boy with a puzzled look.

"No, woman just have low IQ."

The girl didn't mind the boy's snark, rubbing against him like a kitten while explaining.

"But it does look like it, right? Look at those thick lips."

"If you say that, the uncle at the abacus class also counts as a Lip Monster..."

At that moment, the boy suddenly realized something, his gaze snapping to the side.

In the next instant, it was as if he saw something unbelievable, and the popsicle in his mouth fell to the ground.

"But, Nen-tai..."

"Nen-tai?"

The girl looked at the boy in confusion.

The boy put down his game controller and stood up from the tatami mat.

"The summer monster is really quite ferocious."

As the boy spoke, the scene sped by, like flipping through someone's life.

A few minutes later, Akifumi Mugiho rubbed his temples, a tired sigh escaping his lips.

'Is this a sign that I've been taking it too easy with drawing manga? Is the universe trying to challenge me?'

There was no doubt—the scenes he just saw were memories from his past life.

This confirmed his earlier suspicion that whenever a manga ended, more memories would resurface, stored as clearly as data in his mind.

And those memories he just saw were from a very famous anime from his past life, "Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae wo Bokutachi wa Mada Shiranai" (Anohana), also known as "That Flower" or "Anohana."

"This is really pushing it," Akifumi Mugiho muttered.

Anohana was an original anime.

He couldn't just jump from being a manga artist straight into adapting an anime, could he? That would be unrealistic.

Though there were other stories in his memories, Akifumi Mugiho wasn't planning on drawing them.

First off, the art style didn't fit, and secondly, the themes didn't suit a high school student like him who wasn't even 18 yet.

So...

"Guess I'll have to try adapting Anohana into a manga."

This was troublesome!

Just thinking about turning a 24-minute anime into a manga made his head spin.

The panel layout, content distribution, how to make the story interesting in just 20 pages...

All these problems would be on him to solve.

"Well, it's a bit of a challenge, but it's not impossible."

Maybe he couldn't have created a masterpiece like "Madoka Magica," but his years of experience in the manga industry shouldn't be underestimated.

As long as he could rewatch a work over and over again, the only challenge would be how much time it would take.

"Alright, let's give this a shot!"

His previous thoughts of slacking off were replaced with a competitive drive.

He began thinking, sketching, and working nonstop, even skipping class when necessary...

Flashback end

"Finally, I finished the first chapter last night."

On the subway, Akifumi Mugiho brought himself back to the present.

It wasn't so much about rushing today, but it was a good timing to submit the continuation of "Madoka Magica" and the first chapter of "Anohana" to his editor.

"I wonder if 'Anohana' will pass the review?"

There was no way to fully tell the 24-minute episode in just 20 pages of manga.

He had only managed to outline some background information and couldn't even get to the main storyline yet.

But...

"With all these hints, they should catch on, right?"

"Besides, Shueisha has the most professional editors in the industry. They won't just reject a chapter right off the bat, will they?"

Akifumi Mugiho was somewhat confident in his artwork, and with the healing genre of the story, there was definitely potential in the market.

As he thought this, a sense of unease started creeping in.

"I didn't feel this way when I submitted 'Madoka Magica.'"

Maybe it was because, in a way, this was an half original creation of his?

The former was like copying answers, but this felt more like reading comprehension—leaving a vague reference point for others to figure out based on their own skill.

He slapped his cheek and shook off the anxiety.

"Whatever."

"If it doesn't pass, I'll take this time to rest and refine the content."

"If it does pass... well, I'll deal with the future when it comes."

[TL Note]

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