Compared to real professional manga artists, doujinshi artists could be said to be somewhat beneath notice. It was not that they were particularly despised, but that they were not accepted openly.
If it were not for making a living, how many people would draw doujinshi? Do not be fooled by how doujinshi artists seemed famous in anime, like idols... that was only on the surface.
Was becoming a real manga artist not better?
It was just that... although everyone wanted to become a real manga artist, to be called "sensei," and even wanted their manga to be sold all across the country, how many could actually achieve that?
More people could not even make it past the submission stage!
But all that applied to ordinary people. It was completely useless when it came to Shiina Mashiro. Otherwise, she would not have given up traditional art in order to draw manga.
Compared to the traditional art Shiina Mashiro had initially studied, manga was likewise something beneath notice.
The gap was even greater than the one between legitimate manga and doujinshi.
Yet Shiina Mashiro did not care about any of that. The only thing she cared about was what interested her. As long as she liked it, no matter what others thought... she would work hard toward that goal.
Looking at the first page she had opened, Rita felt a little embarrassed to read the doujinshi in front of Shiina Mashiro. Shiro looked like a pure angel, making people unwilling to let her be tainted by anything bad.
Although... Shiina Mashiro had drawn this doujinshi herself.
The first page was an erotic illustration of Enma Ai. Wearing a sailor uniform, Enma Ai lay by the riverbank, with vivid higanbana decorating the background around her. Her... clothes only half covered her, one small