Kotomi Is Very 'Kind'

In her previous life, Kotomi had always loved watching anime, reading manga, and enjoying novels.

After being reincarnated and deciding to pursue a creative path, Kotomi took the time to thoroughly research the current state of Japan's ACG (Anime, Comics, and Games) industry.

Although many works from her previous life had disappeared in this parallel world, the "Big Three" of manga—Bleach, Naruto, and One Piece—still existed. Their popularity remained as strong as ever, just like in her past life.

Japan's famous eternal elementary school student, Detective Conan, was also still ongoing.

When Kotomi first checked Conan, it was just out of curiosity to see if it had finally ended.

To her shock, it hadn't.

Not only that, but the number of double agents in the Black Organization was still astonishing.

Gin, Vodka—the saga continued!

After fully understanding the current ACG industry in Japan, Kotomi decided to submit Chainsaw Man to Shueisha.

In this world, the "Big Three" of manga publishers—Shueisha, Kodansha, and Shogakukan—were still going strong.

Initially worried that these three giants might not exist in this parallel world, Kotomi felt a huge relief upon discovering they were still active. She could now fully focus on her creative endeavors.

As for a manga volume release, Kotomi wasn't considering that for now.

Unlike the light novel industry, where once an author passes the editorial review and signs with a publisher, their work is published as a standalone volume and generates income, manga follows a different path.

For example, even if Kotomi's submission to Shueisha passed the initial review and was accepted for serialization, it wouldn't immediately be published as a volume.

First, the manga would have to be serialized in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump magazine. The editors would then evaluate its popularity and sales to determine if it was suitable for a collected volume release.

That's the brutal but fair reality of the creative industry—if you want to stand out, you can only rely on your own abilities.

Although starting with serialization in a magazine might seem like a long journey, Kotomi wasn't particularly concerned. This is a process every manga artist goes through.

Besides, getting serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump is already a huge win.

In Japan, countless aspiring manga artists dream of having their works published by one of the major manga publishers and serialized in a magazine, hoping to one day become a professional manga artist.

Being able to publish a collected volume is a dream that would make anyone smile in their sleep.

Especially in Weekly Shonen Jump, the top-tier magazine for shonen manga. Many manga artists vie for the chance to be featured in it, but only a few manage to compete successfully.

In Kotomi's first chapter of Chainsaw Man, the story culminates in a conversation between Makima and Denji, marking the official beginning of the Chainsaw Man saga.

["I'm here to kill zombies, as a devil hunter from Public Safety. You have two choices: get killed by me as a devil, or be kept as a human. If I keep you, I'll give you food."]

["Food… What's for breakfast?"]

["Hmm… buttered toast with jam… salad, coffee… and maybe dessert too."]

["That sounds awesome…"]

[The price of Denji's dream of normalcy is...!?]

Kotomi scrolled through the entire first chapter that she had drawn and felt deeply satisfied.

The moment Makima appeared was especially impactful. Although she stood in the light, she exuded an aura of cold darkness. Her suit symbolized coldness, while her braided hairstyle gave off a sense of maternal warmth.

Just one look at Makima, and people would feel an urge to say, "Woof woof" to her.

This was thanks to the strongest ability Kotomi possessed, granted by the God-Level Heroine System—immersion.

In simple terms, this ability allowed anyone who looked at Kotomi's art or read her writing to feel the emotions of the characters, experiencing the joy, anger, sorrow, and pleasure of the story as if they were there themselves.

This was the ultimate immersion!

"Immersion is like the king of all cheats—it captures the reader's emotions and focus from the very first glance, making them fully experience the world I create. This power is amazing… I wonder what would happen if I used it to create horror manga?"

Kotomi smirked mischievously, thinking she'd definitely have to create some terrifying horror manga and novels to torment her readers.

After all, there are always people who, despite being scared out of their wits, love indulging in horror. They usually strike the same pose while watching: covering their eyes with their hands but leaving a tiny gap to peek through.

And then there are others who don't dare to watch horror movies directly but frequently search for horror movie breakdowns and explanations.

Shueisha still maintained its traditional method of accepting submissions via mail, without an online submission system. So, Kotomi had to print out the original manuscript of the first chapter of Chainsaw Man and send it by mail to Shueisha.

"Good thing I anticipated this and ordered a printer from Amazon a few days ago."

The printer next to her desk hummed away, printing out the original manuscript page by page. Kotomi preferred not to rely on printing shops—first, printing an entire chapter there would cost a lot, and second, the idea of printing her manuscript in public felt strangely embarrassing to her.

After weighing her options, Kotomi figured having her own printer would be much more convenient.

And the moment she realized this, she had already hit the 'Buy' button.

A few days later, today, her printer arrived.

Though small in size, it worked efficiently—perfect for printing her manuscripts!

Once she organized the printed pages, Kotomi contacted a courier to send the manuscript to Shueisha.

After mailing it off, Kotomi felt a bit anxious when she returned home.

Would Chainsaw Man be chosen by Shueisha this time? Would she get a contract?

Until the editor reached out to her, everything was still uncertain.

If submitting her manga didn't work out, Kotomi planned to upload it online and serialize it digitally.

In her past life, Japanese readers preferred physical publications to online releases. Buying books from stores was a cherished daily activity in Japan.

In this world, while many still loved physical books, the rise of online serialization had also become increasingly popular.

Especially with the rise of the website Become a Novelist, which had quickly become the leading platform for web novels and book publications. Even some traditional publishing houses, which had previously only focused on physical copies, began establishing online serialization sections on their websites.

Now, in addition to reviewing mailed-in submissions, some editors spent their time browsing web serials, contacting authors whose work they deemed suitable for publication.

With web novels flourishing, web comics naturally followed suit.

Though there were many websites for reading comics online, the only platform currently supporting web comic serialization was Become a Mangaka, which belonged to the same company as Become a Novelist.

If Chainsaw Man failed to pass Shueisha's review, Kotomi was ready to upload it to Become a Mangaka.

However, Kotomi still hoped for success with Shueisha. She wanted to add another title to her creative career: manga artist.

First, she'd be a light novel writer and manga artist. Then, she'd move on to writing scripts for galgames and working as an illustrator.

Once she had made enough money, she'd start her own business and establish her own game company—Type-Moon Boundary.