[Anime Crossover] Becoming Mangaka in Anime World

Shueisha, Story Manga Department.

April is without a doubt the busiest month for every editor.

The Tezuka Award, Shueisha's top honor, represents the highest level of prestige.

In just this one month, the editorial team will receive countless submissions from hopeful new authors dreaming of the future.

The surge in workload is one thing, but the real challenge is dealing with submissions that are still rough sketches, sometimes barely more than doodles. It's enough to drive even the most experienced editors crazy.

Mihari Otosuna, a rookie editor who just joined Shueisha, hasn't had time to adjust to the daily grind of the job when she finds herself right in the middle of this chaotic month!

"Why does someone like this have the nerve to submit something?!"

Mihari's tone was full of frustration as she stared at the screen. Her small fists clenched and unclenched, as if caught in a cycle of irritation.

It was pure torment.

She hadn't found a single good story—just constant frustration.

Grabbing the coffee cup beside her roughly, she took a sip, her mood calming slightly.

"Sigh…"

At least compared to other office jobs, it wasn't so bad being able to work in the field she loved as a child, though this job was nothing like what she had expected.

Shaking off her frustration, Mihari opened the next submission.

"Magical Girl Madoka."

"Magical girl? This kind of thing should be sent to Shogakukan instead…"

She muttered to herself as she shook her head. At least the title was somewhat respectable, which already made it better than 90% of the submissions she'd seen so far.

She opened the file.

Instantly, Mihari's eyes widened, and a smile of surprise appeared on her face.

"What a mature art style!"

"The quality is impressive!"

The image on the screen was filled with thick smoke and fire.

The shading and special effects were already leagues ahead of what she'd seen in the other submissions, even rivaling those being serialized in magazines!

"Finally, a story I can actually read!"

Even though "magical girl" was a genre that might seem a little childish, Mihari couldn't help but feel excited.

It was like having eaten nothing but junk for days, and suddenly being handed a bowl of plain rice—simple, but satisfying.

That sense of relief, that burst of joy, was something only someone who'd been through it would understand.

Taking a deep breath, Mihari focused and started reading seriously.

"She's carrying too much on her own."

Amid the billowing smoke and fire, a slender figure emerged, with another girl watching her from a distance.

"This is too much."

"That's not fair…"

The slender figure turned toward the viewer, her school uniform stained with blood, her face twisted in pain.

The scene shifted, and a small, cute creature appeared.

"Madoka, do you want to change your fate?"

It was another girl, named Madoka by the creature, wearing the same school uniform, staring blankly at the figure in the distance.

When the creature asked, Madoka instinctively answered,

"Eh…?"

"All you have to do is turn this world upside down."

"You have the power within you to make that happen."

"Really...?"

The panel showed Madoka's face, but her expression was hard to read. In the distance, the other girl seemed to have overheard their conversation and turned around with a sad expression, reaching out as if to stop them.

But the distance was too great, and the words couldn't reach her.

"Of course."

The unknown creature smiled innocently.

"So, sign a contract with me and become a magical girl!"

The scene shifted again.

Madoka was now lying in bed.

"Was that a dream?"

...

The 29 pages of manga quickly came to an end.

"Wait, it's already over?"

Mihari blinked in surprise.

She was caught off guard by how much she'd gotten into it, but also…

"It doesn't feel as childish as I thought?"

Unlike most magical girl stories, this one felt much more mature.

"Based on what I've seen so far, this isn't your typical magical girl story."

Normally, the plot follows a simple pattern: the protagonist faces a crisis, gains powers, becomes a magical girl, and sets out to help others.

That's the standard formula.

"The dream at the start, the new transfer student, the warning to 'not change yourself,' the pursuit of Kyubey, meeting witches, and then Mami-senpai's dramatic entrance."

It was all unfolding in a completely unexpected way, and…

"I feel like there's something deeper going on here. Or am I imagining things?"

Mihari couldn't help but smile and shake her head.

"At this point, the magical girl genre is so overdone—what could be the hidden twist?

In the end, isn't it all just about becoming a magical girl, solving problems, and having fun?"

"Is the author's name 'Warrior of Love and Hope'? That fits."

With this thought in mind, Mihari quickly jotted down her review at the end of the work.

"While it's a very common magical girl theme, the overall quality of the work is quite high! Readers who love cute, moe art will definitely be drawn to this charming style!

It's clear the author is trying something new with the plot, but since this is just one chapter, it's hard to predict where it's headed.

There may be some unexpected twists, but it could also end up following the usual clichés. It's worth keeping an eye on.

Rather than submitting it just for the competition, it feels like the author aimed for publication from the start, and then decided to submit when they saw the grand prize.

The author has a lot of potential.

"If they switch to a different genre or approach, they might really shine. A promising newcomer to watch!"

"What a shame, I'm just a small-time editor."

Still a rookie in the industry.

With no real say in anything.

Mihari shook her head and pumped herself up, raising her fist.

"Just do my best! Go, Mihari!!"

She sent the file to her editor-in-chief, then opened the next email.

A little while later.

"Ahhh! My eyes! My eyes!!"

The girl's scream echoed through her quiet apartment in the middle of the night.

...

In the office of a certain editor-in-chief at Shueisha.

A little girl in a white dress with short green hair sat at her desk.

She was petite and looked like a young girl at first glance, but in reality, she was an adult and the editor-in-chief.

With a soft click, her eyes focused on the screen.

"Hmm? Did you find another decent work?"

"I wonder if this Tezuka Award will finally see an 'excellent' submission this time."

As Shueisha's most prestigious newcomer award, it's held twice a year, but not every time does it result in a 'selected' winner.

In fact, the last time a 'selected' work was chosen was three years ago.

"Time really flies."

The editor-in-chief shook her head, pulling her thoughts back and turning her focus to the screen.

"Magical Girl Madoka."

As she saw the title, a smile crept onto her face.

Time passed quietly.

29 pages of manga wasn't much, but it took her a full hour to finish.

"I wonder how it'll develop from here?" She muttered to herself.

"Mihari Otosuna… that new recruit?"

She remembered her from when she first started.

"She's got a good eye and a fair review. If this talent is nurtured, she could probably become an editor-in-chief someday."

After thinking for a moment, she didn't make any changes to Mihari's review.

The editor-in-chief sent the file to the "Effortlessly Slacking Every Day" discussion group on Line.