Join the Manga Club, I Want to Draw Doujins!

Tsukishima sighed inwardly. What a shame—he hadn't managed to earn that 250,000.

After a brief moment of regret, he went back to memorizing vocabulary.

He had to admit, a fresh brain was really something. He could glance at English words a few times and remember most of them, like he'd activated some kind of cheat.

Who would've thought that in his past life, he'd barely scraped by English exams, and now he was actually memorizing vocabulary? Heh, nice.

The day passed quickly. Tsukishima followed the straggling stream of classmates out the classroom door—after Horikita finished speaking, Yamauchi and the others had led a group to skip class and hit up a karaoke place.

Before leaving, they tried to drag Tsukishima along, talking about starting some kind of brotherhood. Full of energy, those guys.

He pulled out his phone and messaged the Archangel.

[Tsukishima]: Your Highness the Archangel, does our school have a Manga Club?

Ichinose replied instantly.

[Ichinose]: Of course we do. Are you thinking of joining the Manga Club, Tsukishima? And please, stop calling me Archangel. It's so embarrassing.

[Tsukishima]: This is a necessary stage of personal growth.

[Ichinose]: I'd rather grow up healthy... But I do know about the Manga Club. Want me to take you there?

[Tsukishima]: No need, I can go myself. Class AC is probably still looking for whoever gave you that intel, and I'd rather not get harassed.

[Ichinose]: I definitely won't reveal you, Tsukishima! (Manga Club location)

[Tsukishima]: As expected of Lord Archangel. When my doujinshi is done, I'll let you be the first to see it.

[Ichinose]: Huh?? Doujinshi? What doujinshi?

[Ichinose]: Answer me!! Tsukishima!!

Joining a club had been on his mind for a while.

He really wanted to draw doujinshi!

He wanted to turn all kinds of people into lewd characters, damn it!

The Manga Club.

Tsukishima knocked on the door and, after receiving permission, stepped inside the activity room.

"Hello everyone, I'm Yuto Tsukishima from the first year. I'd like to check out the Manga Club."

"Check out" meant just seeing what the club did. If it worked out, he'd join on the spot.

The activity room was more spacious than he'd imagined—a few long tables pushed together, piled with manuscript paper, ink, screen tones, and various reference materials. Several well-done manga pages were taped to the walls, and in the corner sat a scanner and computer.

By the window, three people were hunched over their own drawings.

A bespectacled third-year boy looked up and stood up enthusiastically.

"Welcome, welcome! I'm Chiba Yamada, the club president, third year."

He gestured for a junior to pour Tsukishima a glass of water.

"Our Manga Club is different from other schools'. We focus more on creation." Yamada pushed up his glasses. "At some schools, the Manga Club is more like a fan club—everyone chats about manga plots and happily reads manga together."

"Here, we systematically teach manga techniques and story creation. We encourage members to create any form of manga."

Any form—including doujinshi, right?

"Club members are expected to submit to various publications, like Jump." Yamada continued. "Of course, it's not mandatory, but if your submission passes, you get a generous point reward and one-on-one guidance from a professional editor."

He paused and smiled.

"It'll be tough."

Tsukishima's eyes lit up slightly.

Submissions passing gave point rewards?

And professional editor guidance?

"Um..." he asked, "Are there any restrictions on the subject matter for submissions?"

Yamada thought for a moment. "As long as it's an original manga, there's no restriction on subject matter. Of course, it can't violate school rules or public order and morals."

Tsukishima fell silent.

Can't violate school rules or public order and morals...

So doujinshi was definitely out.

Too bad.

But he wasn't too disappointed—earning points through official submissions, selling doujinshi privately for cash. Two legs to walk on, after all.

"I want to join," he said.

Yamada's eyes lit up. "Great! Finally, a new member!"

He pulled Tsukishima further inside, showing him the club's facilities.

"This is the creation area. Everyone has a fixed seat. Over there is the reference area, with various manga magazines and art books. You can use the computers and scanner freely. If there's anything you don't understand, ask me anytime."

Tsukishima looked at the manuscript paper and screen tones, feeling pleased.

"How many people are in the club right now?"

Yamada sighed.

"Uh... counting you, a total of... seven."

Tsukishima: "..."

"That third-year senior's been busy prepping for entrance exams, so she basically never comes. The second-year junior drops by to draw every now and then." Yamada scratched his head. "Honestly, most days it's just me and two others."

"Plus, this school... it keeps you pretty busy during normal hours... yeah, busy in all sorts of ways."

Got it—everyone's too busy scheming against each other to actually study, right?

"That's fine," he said. "I like the quiet."

Yamada assigned Tsukishima a seat by the window.

"The light's good here. Great for drawing."

Tsukishima sat down, looking out at the view—it lined up perfectly with the bench on campus where he used to sit all the time.

"By the way, have you drawn manga before?" Yamada sat down next to him, curious.

"I've done some... sketches." Tsukishima thought for a moment. "Never a full one."

"No worries, take your time." Yamada patted his shoulder. "When I joined, I hadn't even done sketches."

He pointed to the bookshelf nearby.

"Those are all the creation notes and storyboard drafts left by past members. Feel free to look through them."

Tsukishima nodded.

"Thanks, President."

"Don't call me President, just Yamada." Yamada waved his hand. "So, what kind of manga are you planning to draw?"

Tsukishima paused for a second.

"...A hot-blooded shonen manga."

Yamada nodded. "Nice, nice! Ambitious! Draw it well, and you can try submitting it!"

Tsukishima's expression didn't change.

He wasn't lying—it really was a "hot-blooded shonen manga."

It's just that the "hot-blooded" part between the protagonist and the heroine might be a little different.

Over the next few days, Tsukishima headed straight to the Manga Club after school.

His main focus was learning various manga techniques and story creation.

The techniques were taught by Yamada himself: storyboarding, composition, character design, linework and brushstrokes, onomatopoeia and dialogue...

Story creation came from reading—the activity room had plenty of popular current manga, and after reading each day, he had to organize the story outline and detailed outline.

"Generally, the earliest creations rely on imitation. For example, in a standard shonen manga, the protagonist's personality, abilities, and goals..."

"At the start, don't think about layers in the characters or story. Begin with the most stereotypical impressions."

"Then expand the character's personality, along with the actions and psychological descriptions that stem from it..."