Otonari ni Ginga (A Galaxy Next Door)

Princess!

Princess!

Your Highness!

Allow her to go.

Shouldn't you have spoken to her?

She'll probably come back soon enough.

Ah, yes.

The princess will discover a new world.

A new world...

They're so young, too.

Episode 1

I feel sorry for Machi-chan and her family.

What are they going to do?

Ichiro.

What'll happen to us now?

Don't worry.

I'll take care of everything, somehow.

rough sketches by 10AM!

Oh, no!

You got that, Machi-chan?

Yep.

The food Ichiro makes is easy to prepare.

Thank you.

You're welcome.

Is Ichiro-kun busy again?

There's a deadline coming.

Ichiro, here's breakfast.

Man, oh man!

You okay?

I-I-I'm fine.

You must've overslept.

You still haven't found an assistant?

Right.

It's hard to find anyone who'll do the finishing touches by hand.

And Sano-kun and Akita-kun both suddenly did the solo debut thing.

My deadline's 7:00 the day after tomorrow.

After rough sketches, I've got ten more pages to ink.

For backgrounds... I've got zilch.

Don't worry! I'll be sure to get it done!

And then, with the pay, we'll all go out for steak!

Steak? Come on, Ichiro.

Don't overextend yourself.

After I graduated high school and debuted as a manga artist, our father passed away.

I was already serialized in a magazine, so instead of finding a job,

I began living off manuscript fees and the rent from the apartment building I inherited.

Alice and the Knight of Thorns Momo-Tea Kokone

My stuff doesn't sell well, to be honest.

But I've got to work hard to send my sister and brother to college.

Masahiro Morikuni

Hello, Kuga speaking.

It's Morikuni.

You found an assistant?!

Understood!

I'll predict your future!

See you later!

Later.

Wait! Tell me my fortune!

What was his fortune?

It came up colorless.

Both his future and his manuscript are blank! Get it?

Right...

I'd better get going!

They were traced, but her backgrounds are pretty good!

Seriously? That'd be great!

I only just saw it via email, so no guarantees.

Accepting New Students

Dance

Ballet

Hey, I'm just thankful you got one at all!

Go and meet up with her. Seems she doesn't know the area.

Will do.

At this point, I'd go any distance.

Excuse me.

Um, are you the assistant?

Are you Momo-Tea Kokone-sensei?

Please call me by my real name, not my pen name!

It's Ichiro Kuga.

If word gets around that it's me,

it might end up being embarrassing for Machi and Fumio.

Your brother draws manga?

Is he famous? Get us his autograph!

Shut up.

I beg your pardon.

I am Shiori Goshiki, and I hope to be your assistant.

It's nice to meet you.

Likewise.

W-Would you mind if we got right to work?

All right.

Hiiragi Apartments

I apologize.

I would have liked to give you a day to get used to things.

But we're in a rush today, so we need to get to work.

Okay.

You can use the art tools here or ones you're already used to.

Here are the storyboards and some past works.

All right.

Um...

There's a room where assistants can change their clothes, if needed.

That's okay. I always dress like this.

Well...

Here.

Please borrow this, since your clothes look expensive.

Is that so?

Don't worry if it gets dirty.

Okay, please start by doing panel borders and backgrounds for these.

Will do.

Sh-She's fast! And skillful!

And also, very beautiful.

Your line work is beautiful!

Have you been an assistant for long?

No, this is my first time.

For real?!

I learned using this book, Shojo Manga Lessons.

That book's pretty old.

Oh, but it was compiled by Funeko Horehoro-sensei.

Not bad.

Excuse me.

What should I do next?

Oh, sorry.

Let's see.

Ink the highlights on this hair.

All right.

I'm done.

Okay.

Would you mind scraping this screentone?

Sure.

Finished.

What's next?

I'm so grateful! I'll definitely make the deadline now!

Um...

It's flawless!

We're home!

Home.

Welcome back.

Are you a gemstone princess?!

No, children, not gemstone.

Machi.

This is Shiori Goshiki-san, who became my assistant in a hurry.

Welcome.

Wait, have you been working her non-stop?

Taking breaks improves efficiency!

I-I'm sorry.

Does she know where to find the sink and bathroom?

Oh, that's right!

Don't forget these things!

Ten-minute break!

I'll show you around!

Please do.

Each of these has a bedroom, dining area, and kitchenette.

You're guaranteed privacy, and there's also a common area.

They're "social apartments."

Social apartments?

All sorts of people live in them: a manicurist, an office worker, etc.

Also our cousin, Chibi-chan.

Chibi-chan?

Ichiro is a live-in landlord and manga artist!

Now I see.

This is the communal kitchen and lounge.

There's an oven, so those who want to cook use this it a lot.

The rooms besides ours only have showers, but there's a public bath nearby.

That's good to know.

So, this is the vacant room that assistants use for staying overnight.

It's lovely.

You'll use it, right?

Food's here!

Huh? Where's Goshiki-san?

She said she'd eat alone in the assistant's room.

Maybe I should have told her to go out to eat.

Maybe...

She has a mouth on the back of her head!

Or she's an animal spirit who's repaying you.

Don't be weird about it.

You know what she is? She's pro-level.

No, goddess-level!

Okay!

I sure hope she stays on.