The past and present life of the butterfly boy
This ” Butterfly Boy” that was serialized on Zhiyin Manke ! After the suspension, ” New Butterfly Boy” was serialized on the top magazine for young people, the plot was also changed, and four single books were published. After that, Juvenile Top stopped publishing and serialized the black and white version of the new Butterfly Juvenile on the Brothers magazine Juvenile P (the plot is the same)
Then in 2020, which is the 10th anniversary of the birth of the “Butterfly Boy” series, and the 12th anniversary of the Manke version of “Butterfly Boy”, Mr. Zhang Lei decided to launch the second “New Butterfly Boy” on Weibo on June 1, 2020. Appreciation and analysis of Ji ‘s original manuscript, a total of 18 episodes [1] , which are serialized for free on the entire network, and have not yet been completed. I have also asked the teacher for verification on Weibo, and will not be updated in a short time.
Regarding the difference between the new Butterfly Boy and the old version [2] , Mr. Zhang Lei has already explained in his interview with Juvenile TOP
In the original words of Teacher Zhang Lei, it is
The new version of “The Butterfly Boy” has made a large-scale improvement in content. We do not want readers to feel that they are only watching old works when they read the new “Butterfly Boy”. Therefore, when you are surprised to find some places are different from the old version~ I hope you can understand that the old version is only a small part of this story system, and the new version will show a more comprehensive.
The first chapter of the new version has 40 pages in total. The story is divided into half and half pages, respectively explaining the two plot branches of [past life] and [this life] , which is not present in the first chapter of the old version.
“The Butterfly Boy” by Zhiyin Manke
The Manke version of “The Butterfly Boy” has been serialized since 2008, with a total of 21 episodes. It is very interesting that the work ranked first in the 21st episode, and its popularity was booming, but in the end, due to the author’s illness, it had to be discontinued.
At the beginning of the serialization, the works of “Butterfly” only ranked fifth, which was good or bad, but it was far from readers’ expectations.
“Butterfly” has been ranked fifth! Just like a small octopus, clinging to the reef tightly and not being swept away by the big waves!
Countless enthusiastic readers’ expectations and support for the author, like a giant hand, have stabilized this little butterfly in the fifth ranking position!
Over the next few months, as the story progressed and new characters were added, the rankings shifted again.
On the first anniversary of the serialization, from the third place to the second place!
The author has always been worried about whether a manga with a boy as the protagonist can be recognized by everyone in the girl’s magazine.
I am also very worried whether the subject matter of juvenile comics will take root and sprout on Chinese soil…
it turns out
Can!
Information obtained from all over the country shows that the readership of “Butterfly Boy” is growing day by day. In addition to readers aged 13-19, the editorial department was also surprised to find that big readers aged 20-30 are also paying attention to this work. !
Now, let me analyze the secrets that are not secret in “Butterfly Boy”!
1. Strong card suspense
It can be said that it is the first issue of “Butterfly” in January, and it can continue to make everyone still remember the trump card.
At the beginning of the serialization, the author was very distressed, how to make readers remember to watch their stories a month later?
Teacher Ao Youxiang once said this: the most classic part of comics is the last “unfinished” !
This sentence deeply affected “Butterfly”, so I tried to create a super-strong sense of suspense such as the “swimming event” and “the disappearance of the girls’ school”, so that readers would still remember such a one month later Little butterfly, waiting for you to come back O(∩_∩)O
2. Bright, but not dazzling colors
Given that grown-up readers keep their eyes on the entire magazine, those colorful patches are sure to tire your eyes!
Therefore, “Butterfly” is drawn in relatively close colors. For example, I began to try to unify the background as much as possible in one color, and use blue, purple and other non-glaring colors to ensure that everyone can easily watch and watch when reading. After “Butterfly”, there is enough “visual energy” to enjoy the next work!
3. Black and white comic sense
Although “Butterfly” is a color comic, in order to make the picture more realistic and realizable, we always draw the initial line draft of the butterfly as a black and white comic. But Butterfly wasn’t made that way in the early days.
For this, I also have to thank “The Devil” for the prompts and inspiration. Mr. Zhang also thanked Mr. Li Jian in particular.
4. Details that can only be seen with a magnifying glass
The preservation of details has always been a feature of Mr. Zhang’s works, and it can be considered a hobby!
For example, every strand of Monet’s hair, even if only a small head appears, will be enlarged to the maximum to draw…
Even the author himself feels that he has gone too far in BT.
5. The dialogue is as simple and easy to understand as possible, life-like, Chinese-like
Do you still have an impression of a dialogue?
“I envy you, have a son, my two are all girls!”
Yes, this is the line of “Old Company Commander” that suddenly popped up in Chapter 10.
Although it is an inadvertent dialogue, it seems that such dialogue is only possible in Chinese comics! (Some places are still patriarchal)
In “Butterfly”, we try to avoid the use of English and Internet terms, such as “grass mud horse”, “lei” and other modern Internet terms, we try to avoid it, and strive to make it easy for older readers to understand!
But “Butterfly” does not exclude some fashionable and popular terms, such as “gorgeous” and “chaotic”. Even people who do not have access to the Internet can easily understand the meaning! And young readers will also feel very kind to these words!
Colloquialism means that the characters in the story speak very lively. For example, Geya came into everyone’s heart because of the word “slut”. In addition, the restaurant owner uses some slightly rude words in his speech. Do you feel that this boss must live somewhere around?
Teacher Zhang said in the first anniversary interview
How to make “Butterfly” the best has always been our goal. For this, we have thought a lot…
Are there fewer scenes, and are the scenes complicated enough?
Can you understand the split shots?
Will there be too many words in the dialogue, and how is the rhythm?
If it is printed in a single-line version, what kind of visual impact will the reader have every time the page is turned?
Is there too much suspense? When do you need to solve the mystery for everyone?
How many episodes are put together to make a relatively complete episode, so that readers who buy a single book can try to browse an independent story as much as possible?
Therefore, the success of the final Zhiyin Manke version of “The Butterfly Boy” is inevitable.
Finally, let me take you a little review of the Manke version of the story of “The Butterfly Boy”, which is also convenient for comparison with other versions.
The man-like “Butterfly Boy” characters will appear a little immature, after all, the audience is there, but the whole story is the most attractive and aura of the several versions. The arcs of the characters are also the most impressive.
The first is our protagonist, Shi Yu , a hot-blooded idiot with abilities similar to black holes (standard for juvenile comics)
The popular second male, the playboy Ceuta who is good at magic
In the first part, the peak of appearance, the handsome iceberg Bingshu with amnesia
In the Manke version, the emotional line between Bingshu and Monet’s sister has not yet come to an end, which is a pity, but this character has almost no chance to appear in “New Butterfly Boy”
The poisonous tongue is long and straight, Geya and the green-haired little girl Yanan who is very stealing the show (the two have a lot of scenes in the second season)
And Monet, the heroine that all boys dreamed of at that time
The encounter between the two stemmed from a hero saving beauty, because Monet wanted to represent her school to fight for glory, but her little foot was accidentally injured. Just at the critical moment, Shi Yu hugged each other.
As a result, the two had their first official introduction, and their love-hate entanglement began at this moment.
In the previous story, there is also a smart character – Zheng Zhe, his appearance always gives people a mysterious feeling, and his work is the most secure and reliable among all people. The specific role analysis will be specifically analyzed in the “Character Chapter” in this answer.
In front of this all-knowing and all-powerful Zheng Zhe, the most cherished thing is the friendship between him and Shi Yu.
In the whole story, the blackened version of Shi Yu (actually a previous life) is the coolest character in the early stage, including his abilities
And the memories that appear from time to time are also gradually uncovering the gauze of Shi Yu’s previous life. I have to say that this part of Teacher Zhang Lei’s rhythm is quite good.
And connect the core line of the whole story – to find the missing Monet’s sister
In the process, it also involves the love story of Bingshu and Monet’s sister.
Although this story is short, it has a beginning and an end, and successfully shaped the character of Bingshu’s infatuation.
But the end result was really unsatisfactory. I think this paragraph was very bold in the context of the comics at the time.
Because a story with a sad ending will resonate more with readers.
It is also this rather avant-garde story trend that makes Butterfly Boy’s popularity soar.
Just when the story officially reached its climax, our Shi Yu returned to the world three years ago, and was preparing to reveal to our readers the secret of the disappearance of the girls’ school students.
Shi Yu found out that he could have a conversation with Monet three years ago
And the portal that appeared in front of Monet, could it really transport her back to Shi Yu three years ago?
How will the misunderstanding between Monet and Shi Yu be resolved?
The mystery of all this, along with the author’s ill-hit publication, ended up being a cessation of publication forever.
Teen Top’s “New Butterfly Boy”
The “New Butterfly Boy” serialized in Teen TOP magazine has a total of 28 episodes, and there are 4 single volumes [3] (24 episodes)
Although the characters are the same, the theme and direction of the story are completely different
The story of “New Butterfly Boy” is more mature and more traditional, but it is not as interesting as the Manke version.
The story of “New Butterfly Boy” can be simply divided into the first 17 episodes and the last 11 episodes
The first 17 chapters mainly tell the modern version of the story of the butterfly boy. Ceuta came to Longjin City and started a “hide and seek” game with our protagonist Shi Yu, a love between hunter and prey, during which many new characters appeared. , such as Monet’s friend, Banxian, Yanxiong the red shark, Zhou Chan and other characters… There are also characters that appeared in the old version, such as Geya, Yanan, etc…
The interesting thing about Butterfly Boy is that the past life stories and the present life stories are intertwined . In the past version, the author just made a little attempt. Although there are parts of the past life, there are very few.
In the new butterfly, this kind of interlude will be more vividly reflected!
Starting from episode 18, the new butterfly will “completely” enter the dream of the protagonist Shi Yu , and review some interesting things that happened in the previous life. Of course, please read the magazine or single book for the specific content!
It is worth mentioning that in the previous life story, a completely reversed order of appearances of the characters was arranged in the previous 18 episodes. Next, according to the order of appearances of the characters, a list of life comparisons in the past and present life is given, which is regarded as a small drama. Get through it!
present life – past life
Shi Yu – Thousands of Ghosts
Goya – Demon Maiden Kaikawa Chiko
Ceuta – Adventurer Pello
There are more new characters from the previous life, etc., so I won’t introduce them one by one!
But there are still new characters, such as Reaper, Sun, Moon, Hanged Man, which have never appeared before.
In the following stories, more previous life stories of the characters that everyone is familiar with will appear one after another, and even the little puppet Misha has a previous life.
The beginning of “New Butterfly Boy” is the story of Qianhu (Shi Yu’s previous life) in ancient times using the Gate of Qiankun to defeat Japanese pirates
And the follow-up of this flashback will not even be seen until chapter 18, which is really a foreshadowing that can withstand loneliness
The modern version of Shiyu is almost the same as the Manke version. It is equally reckless, a pure-blooded idiot, and continues to deliver food.
And our heroine Monet is more beautiful and moving with the progress of the author’s painting skills. But this version of the story of Shi Yu and Monet has changed a little bit.
And Shi Yu’s best friends Zheng Zhe and Mosquito remain the same, but they don’t seem to have as many scenes as their predecessors.
And our magician Ceuta has become more composed and sophisticated
His goal is still – to kill Shi Yu
In this version of Monet, he is still a girl’s school student and a swimsuit model.
However, Shi Yu and Monet here have known each other since childhood. This is the biggest difference between the two versions.
And in “New Butterfly Boy”, Monet has more scenes, mainly controlled by Jocker, who is Ceuta’s ability.
The bad relationship between Ceuta and Shi Yu has been fighting from the previous life to this life.
This kind of time and space interlaced pleasure, as a reader, is worth savoring.
And Shi Yu, who lacked ability, failed to save Monet’s soul completely. At this time, Monet, who was manipulated, was moved to tears.
It is precisely because of this that Shi Yu decided to use his own gate of different dimensions again.
Even if you have to fall from a height of 10,000 meters, even if you have to shatter your bones, even if you lose all your strength
Also save Monet and protect the people you love
After Shi Yu’s entire arm was shattered, his body naturally “died”
But it is here that the concepts of “soul” and “curse soul” are introduced
Really enriches the combat system of the entire work
And the popular female supporting role in the Manke version also appeared, because next, it was her home court.
So until the 17th episode, they are telling the current story. I believe that most of the comic fans have followed the serialized plot.
But starting from chapter 18, I entered the memory chapter. The content of the memory chapter is not much, but it does fill in a lot of holes and enriches the characters of many characters.
At the end of the booklet, Shi Yu incarnates as a soul, has experienced everything that Qianhu has experienced in his previous life, and gradually understands his mission.
Because the story of the 4 single books only goes to 24 chapters, and then the follow-up story of Butterfly Boy needs to continue to be watched in the serial magazine. I finally found episodes 22-28 on the post bar, you can watch it yourself [4]
The general plot is that Shi Yu went back to the past, saw himself as a child, understood his mission as a butterfly boy, and returned to the modern age again. Ceuta gave up killing Shi Yu, and Shi Yu finally saved Monet.
The follow-up story of “New Butterfly Boy” reborn on Weibo
In 2020, it will be the 10th anniversary of the birth of the “Butterfly Boy” series, and also the 12th anniversary of the Manke version of “Butterfly Boy”.
Teacher Zhang Lei decided to launch the second season of “New Butterfly Boy” on Weibo on June 1, 2020. The full text is on the teacher’s Weibo ” Zhang Lei Comic [5] “
It can be watched for free, and the plot is connected to the 28 episodes of “The New Butterfly Boy”
The first half of the second season’s plot is more routine, and the second half is more focused on combat and emotional portrayal
So there is a key prop of “blood amber”
As the times change, we can also find changes in the author’s mentality
So we can even see pictures of the “realm of pure love” in the main comics
In the early stage, the main line was that the protagonists went to Antarctica to shoot advertisements together. We can see many new and old characters.
And Shi Yu has also developed a new ability – the concealment of time
In terms of story, Tanger, who has been with Shi Yu all the time, reveals her life experience. Both Shi Yu and readers will cry in this passage.
Finally, through Tang’er’s mouth, the brilliant achievements of thousands of households thousands of years ago were also portrayed, which is considered to be filling in the hole.
In the final episode of the second season, Ceuta and Shi Yu were used by the enemy to impersonate each other through alienation, so that the two ended the story with a misunderstanding. Teacher Zhang’s technique of leaving suspense at the end is really tried-and-true.
“Character”
Our protagonist – Shi Yu
“The Butterfly Boy” was originally serialized in the inaugural issue of the cute magazine in November 2008.
What everyone may not know is that the work “Butterfly Boy” is not a work that was selected by the magazine after one submission. Before that, three other works were eliminated from the review. Now it seems that these three works can be regarded as the aborted brother of “Butterfly Boy”, and “Butterfly”, the “brother”, he is lucky.
“Summoning Sky” has the highest degree of completion among the three eliminated works
The reason for the tragic elimination is that the “Manke” magazine at the time believed that the readership of these works was too low, and hoped to create works with a higher level of readers.
At that time, the representative works of “Manke” included “Spirit of the Spirit”, “Kutou and Hamei”, etc. The positioning of these works made me confused and puzzled.
Does “Manke” need pure juvenile comics?
However, for this point, since Guoman himself also started after many setbacks, there was no absolute conclusion in the comics industry at that time as to what kind of works should be made in order to gain the recognition of readers.
So… this thinking is two years, from 2005 to the beginning of 2008.
In May 2008, there was a disaster in our motherland that made the whole world mourned – the Wenchuan earthquake.
On May 12, 2008, an unprecedented earthquake broke out in the Wenchuan area, causing heavy casualties.
And in this disaster, the most impressive thing is that many children were killed in this disaster.
Looking back on it to this day, it still makes me feel sad and regretful.
Watching the news in front of the TV, I thought to myself: What a pity it would be for a person who can’t even understand the 16-year-old flower season…
After several days and nights of tossing and turning, I found the editor of “Manke” who I had worked with, hoping to use this idea as a source of inspiration for new works, in order to cherish the memory of those children who died in the disaster.
After several discussions, I finally confirmed the main tone of this work: teenagers are like butterflies, and life is beautiful but short. In this only one year left, how will every teenager face it?
But even so, this still can’t be called a “story”. At best, this idea is just like a flame that trembles slightly in the wind. If it does not continue to build, it may go out at any time.
When it comes to the choice of story topics, the first choice is the type of “superpower + campus” that I am good at.
With such vague directions, on the night I ended the discussion with the editor, I began to think through the character design, hoping to find a breakthrough in this work: once the protagonist is determined, the next work will become easier. some……
The next day, when the sky was a little brighter, such a character appeared in front of me.
When this profile was submitted to the editor in charge, the editor in charge only replied with one word: Ugly!
It hit me hard because my original intention was to make a character that was not so handsome, but felt bad and cool.
After some thinking and fruitless, I decided to go to the official forum of “Manke” to find out, hoping to find more answers from the interaction of readers.
So after a few days of research, I made a new version, and the only thing that didn’t change was the golden eyes.
In this version, Shi Yu began to have bangs, and his facial features became more delicate
I found the editor in charge again and got a reply: “Well, he looks much more handsome than before!”
It’s a good start, but I still can’t relate to this new character.
To me, “he” is just an image on a piece of paper at the moment, not a living “person”.
From observing the editor-in-charge and the readers’ reactions, I also vaguely noticed that the concept of “beauty type” seems to occupy a very high position in the minds of Chinese comic readers.
Later, in order to have more resonance with this character, I began to practice drawing this character repeatedly, and in the process of drawing, I kept thinking about this character’s character, preferences, and how to live in this world.
Finally, one day, this character came to life!
The finalized version of the male protagonist – Shi Yu
From the character profile in the picture above, it is not difficult to see that the setting of “Golden Eyed Boy” has been used and highlighted. The root cause is that “Manke” is a color comic magazine.
If the protagonist’s eyes are black or brown, it will definitely “collide” with the protagonists of other works. At the same time, this will also make the character look very ordinary, not like a guy with super powers.
At the same time, the setting of “Takeaway Kid” will also be liked by readers in the future, and in fact, the confirmation of this identity suddenly appeared in my mind at the moment when I took the box lunch from the delivery staff.
Think about it, if the protagonist is a food delivery person, then he has many opportunities to run around, and may also generate various stories because of this!
Just like the American DC’s “Superman” and Marvel’s “Spider-Man”, the characters are all journalists, making full use of their occupations to create many opportunities for their characters to confront danger.
Since the protagonist Shi Yu is a takeaway boy, what kind of environment needs to be created to allow him to have such conditions?
So a new character was born along with Shi Yu!
The owner of the Dream Food Restaurant, Shi Yu’s adoptive father
The appearance of the role of “boss” has added a lot of “color” to the creation of “Butterfly Boy”.
Since it was originally considered to be a middle-aged uncle who is stingy and mean, but has a good heart, and is very lustful, I hoped that he could create more troubles for our protagonist in the early stage of the setting.
Hence the episode in which Shi Yu was besieged by a group of girls in the later “Crazy Intrusion – Haixing Girls’ School”. In terms of the root cause, it was the boss’s “Oolong Gift Incident”.
The reversal of the seventh chapter has made readers’ popularity unprecedented
It is precisely with such an interesting supporting role that the later stories of “Butterfly” become interesting.
Even in the subsequent “Steamed Bread Rice” supplement, the story of the boss and Shi Yu was devoted to a certain length of explanation, and I believe that many readers and friends can still remember it.
Interesting excerpts from the official spoof version of “The Boy with a Bow” in the bonus issue
Since he has a family, then as a 15-year-old protagonist, he must also have classmates…
As a kind protagonist who doesn’t have much experience with the opposite sex, what kind of classmate should he give him as a supporting role?
After reading many manga materials and recalling my high school life, I decided to integrate the characteristics of several high school classmates I personally experienced and contacted into the same character.
Although he is not handsome, he is a very lustful Mosquito classmate
I believe that those who have campus memories will always meet such a friend in their life:
1. Lustful: I often give you some small knowledge about “physiological hygiene” in popular science.
2. Narcissism: Although he doesn’t look good, he feels that he is a mess.
3. Shijing: There is always nothing to look for, and if something goes wrong, I will ask you to help me out.
Although the role of Mosquito is a supporting role, there are not many scenes about his frontal appearance, but…the super trouble he brought to the protagonist Shi Yu, but not a lot at all.
The mosquito that appeared in the second episode
In the interaction with the protagonist, the nose as an iconic feature is ruthlessly ravaged
These divine acting skills of classmate Mosquito made the readers of that year laugh out loud
So far, Shi Yu, the male protagonist of “The Butterfly Boy”, and the bad situation he lives in have been determined.
Blonde Magician – Ceuta
Once “Butterfly Boy” is mentioned, the role of Ceuta will inevitably be remembered. The reason is that this character is too conspicuous, and the relationship with the protagonist Shi Yu goes hand in hand.
“Magician” Ceuta, a curser who has the ability to manipulate poker illusions, this character can be said to be the most eager to kill his companions to gain life in the early stage of the work “Butterfly Boy”.
It is precisely because of this that Ceuta appeared from the first episode of “Butterfly” and participated in the advancement of almost all the story lines, which shows how important its role in promoting the plot is.
However, how the character was born and where the inspiration came from is less known.
Today, let’s take a look at the whole process of the birth of this popular character!
“The Butterfly Boy” is a pure juvenile hot-blooded comic work. The moment the protagonist Shi Yu is set, he is destined to be liked by the majority of male readers.
But at least two-thirds of Manke’s readers are women. Although some editors guessed that the ratio of male to female readers is 5:5, I still insisted that the ratio of female readers is greater than that of male readers through the on-site inspection of the forum.
Since there are so many female readers, if none of the characters can be accepted by female readers, then the work “Butterfly Boy” will be published in Manke magazine, and it will definitely be unsatisfactory.
Therefore, it is very important to create a character that can be liked by female readers.
First of all, it needs to be clear that “Butterfly” is a juvenile manga, so the character I want should not be a handsome guy in the girl manga routine of “become surrounded by girls and scream so handsome”.
The first version of Ceuta is mostly cute, but seems to be missing something
My favorite supporting role, Liquid Robot (played by Robert Patrick) in James Cameron’s second installment of the Terminator series, is impressive.
Since Ceuta wanted to hunt down the protagonist Shi Yu to gain life from the beginning, the attribute of “killer” is similar to the villain in “Terminator 2”.
After some thinking, I finally decided to combine the two extremely contradictory attributes of “cute” and “cool”.
Until this time, Ceuta, a character full of “extremism”, was finally confirmed.
From the later comics, we can also see that this character’s character is as “changeable” as his abilities.
Attribute 1: Ruthless
When the protagonist was sleeping, Ceuta was thinking about how to kill Shi Yu all the time.
Attribute 2: Cute
When the “cute” attribute of Ceuta appears, it can be roughly divided into two types, the first one is pretended.
For example, when he is with the protagonist, in order to reduce the protagonist’s guard against him, he always appears harmless to humans and animals.
Ceuta often also participates in comedy in the story
From time to time, it will also appear in the image of the Q version
On the other hand, Ceuta’s most “cute” side is often revealed only when she is with her little puppet “Misha”.
During the serialization of “The Butterfly Boy”, there was a scene between Ceuta and Misha, which made many readers have conjectures.
In the dim space, Ceuta was unkempt as a child, when a bright red juicy apple was delivered from a hole in the wall.
When the camera zooms in, we are surprised to find that Misha’s hands are not familiar puppets, but flesh and blood.
Seeing this, many readers came to me for spoilers: Was Misha not a puppet in the past, and how could she be a human in the past? !
In fact, Misha was originally a human being, and she was the little maid of the Ceuta family, her actual age was only one year behind Ceuta.
It was only later that he sacrificed his life to help Ceuta, and finally the soul was transferred into the body of a puppet, and the little puppet Misha we saw later appeared.
The reason why Ceuta and Misha’s past experiences were explained when “Butterfly” was serialized to chapter 18 was actually to explain the setting of “souls can be stored in puppets and continue to live”.
And the plot around chapter 18 happened to explain that “Monet’s sister Momo disappeared and became a ghost”, and in the story, there happened to be a little cow doll given to Momo by an ice tree…
Having said that, I believe that smart readers can roughly guess why the childhood story of “Ceuta and Misha” appeared in this plot!
It is worth mentioning that the reason why Ceuta became the character who most urgently wanted to live among the cursed teenagers was because his soul was “bound” with Misha’s soul, so if Ceuta died, then Misha’s life will also come to an end. Because of this, in order to keep Misha alive, Ceuta spared no effort to deprive other cursed teenagers of their lives.
However, in the actual serialization, these plots were not explained in the future, and they ended…
Finally, when the “Ceuta chapter” is about to end, I also answer a ten-year-long question for readers and friends – is the Manke version of “Butterfly Boy” cut in half?
When “The Butterfly Boy” was serialized to about 15 episodes, it won the first place in the ranking of comic works in 2009.
As we all know, magazine works can only be cut in half only at the end of the ranking. As the most popular work at that time, “The Butterfly Boy”, it is obviously impossible to be cut in half.
Not only that, the “Butterfly Boy” at that time had already decided to launch two single editions in 2010, which was one of the key packaging works of the magazine.
The reason why the serialization of the work came to an abrupt end at chapter 21, just like the rumors, was indeed because my body was abnormal and I had to choose to suspend the publication.
At that time, the editor-in-chief and editor-in-charge of Manke attached great importance to this matter. They came to visit me in front of my hospital bed from thousands of miles away, and agreed that if the body recovers after half a year, “The Butterfly Boy” will continue to be published.
However… After half a year, my body still failed to recover to a state that can be serialized. In order not to affect the follow-up plan of the magazine, “Butterfly Boy” could only bid farewell to her most beloved readers completely, and became a highly popular but A regrettable unfinished work.
Of course, the Internet rumors that the author had a car accident, or had died of illness, everyone laughed after reading it.
Our heroine – Monet
Monet, the heroine of “The Butterfly Boy” who shares the same name with the French Impressionist painter, is still very interesting to recall her birth process.
Monet’s earliest image, the color has been adjusted many times later
Cyan hair color is the most typical feature of Monet, and then in the earliest set version, Monet’s hair color is not like this.
Because in 2008, domestic animation was still in a relatively conservative era, the relevant departments clearly stipulated that the hair color of our animation characters should not be colorful, and we should not encourage teenagers to dye their hair. Except for foreigners who can have blond or red hair, Asian Persons must always be black or brown-haired.
Because of this requirement, Monet’s hair color in the early days was actually – black!
In the real first-generation Monet image, the hair color is black.
Not only that, but the name “Monet”, which everyone is familiar with later, was not determined from the beginning.
时代久远，连身为作者的我，也已经想不起最初的名字，总之不是“莫奈”。
当时正值《知音漫客》的“萌”刊创刊，编辑部异常忙碌，导致《蝴蝶少年》的女主角的人物设定并未能在第一时间审查。
某天下午，我的责编突然和我联系，并要求提交男主时宇和女主莫奈的角色设定图，并告诉我要用这两张设定图做宣传。
就这样，一场小“闹剧”上演……
编辑拿到女主的设定后，觉得女主发色和男主发色“怎么都是黑色啊?”,太不像女主啦！而且名字也太普通！
而当时杂志的美工人员又急着等待角色设定图排版制作宣传图，这一突发事件顿时让我傻了眼。
女主和男主发色太过接近是个硬伤，特别是在彩色漫画中，如果两人凑在一起，的确是黑乎乎的一大片，效果肯定会非常糟糕！
于是顶着催稿的压力，硬生生的向编辑提出“请给我十分钟时间调整”这样的要求。
就在这十分钟里，我几乎把脑细胞消耗殆尽：发色还好办，调来调去，最终定下青色；可角色的名字问题，怎么可能在十分钟内就想出来嘛！
“如果女主角顶着一个土气的名字，读者会接受吗？会喜欢吗？”答案必然是否定的。
这个问题在那短短的几分钟里如同幽魂一样纠缠着我，让我不得不逼着自己在一瞬间爆发出事后连自己都不可思议的潜力。
电光火石间，依稀记得小学看《忍者神龟》时，里头四个忍者龟的名字，分别是用四位世界级艺术家的名字命名。
女主角的名字能不能也用这个方法来命名呢？可是世界级艺术家全是男的！
就在我身处绝望，不停的在百度中搜索，疯狂催促的编辑都恨不得从电脑屏幕里爬出来向我索稿的时候，突然一张图片撞进我的眼帘。
法国大师莫奈的作品——睡莲
熟悉艺术史的我一眼就认出，这是法国印象派大师——莫奈的作品，而睡莲真是他的代表作之一，而莲花也给人一种纯洁的神圣感。
“莫奈……莫奈”口里轻声念了这个名字数遍，愈发觉得这名字和眼前的女主形象非常般配。
“还没想好吗，要出人命啦！”编辑最后的QQ留言。
我才犹犹豫豫的把稿子发了过去。
编辑看完改后的女主，给我的反馈是：比之前看起来好多了，名字也是！
我这才松口气，摊在了椅背上。
如今想想，女主设定居然是所有角色中最“草率”决定的，真是哭笑不得。
莫奈这角色，是我创作的所有作品中最喜欢的女主角，因为所有女性的优点，全部汇聚到了这个女孩身上。
在最初设定莫奈发型的时候，一直都觉得太过于普通，和其他动漫作品中的形象无法拉开本质上的区别。
记忆中，中学时代的女生，有一个特点令人印象深刻：夏天的时候，有些女生会在手腕上系着一条丝帕，用来擦去脸颊的汗水。
于是便决定将“丝帕”这个概念，引入设定中。经过几次尝试均以失败告终：把丝帕绑在头顶嘛，就是普通的蝴蝶结，扎成马尾辫又缺乏女神的气质。
于是我赌气的把女主的头上画满了各种各样的丝帕，然后进行排除法：一个个的删除，当删到脸颊两边的时候，突然眼前一亮，越看越可爱。
最终，用丝帕来绑头发的设定，决定了！
根据服装风格变化，绑着头发的丝帕也会跟着改变。
也正因为这个设定，在恶搞版《蝴蝶结少年》的四格中，才有了这样的灵感。
莫奈借走了时宇的蝴蝶结，失去蝴蝶结就会死的时宇挂了
在漫画连载中，莫奈所就读的海星女校，也来源于生活。
大学时代，学校附近有两所女校，因为是“女”校，自然成了男生们话题的一部分。
因为机缘巧合，后来与两所女校的学生认识，并有幸走访过其中一家。
于是在创作《蝴蝶少年》的时候，便几乎还原的把当时走访的所见所闻，以及所感，全都搬进了漫画故事里。
不仅仅是学校的环境地图，就连女校宿舍楼下的“风景”，也如实的再现。
相信视力极佳的读者，早已发现了许多亮点
而漫画中，海星女校的“乌鸦帮”的设定，也来源于现实中女校学生之间的“派系”斗争。
“艺术来源于生活”，这句话如今想来，还真是如此呀~^_^
人气女二–歌雅
歌雅，原本出自筹备的一部长篇作品《铁血梦》中“黑暗女神”的名字。
在《铁血梦》的世界观体系中，黑暗女神歌雅与光明女神席塔，本就是死对头。
因为这个名字个人非常喜欢，所以后来的许多短篇作品中，也曾使用过。
直到《蝴蝶少年》连载时，这个名字依旧被保留了下来，运用在了海星女校“乌鸦帮”的大姐头身上。
《蝴蝶少年》第九话，曾用歌雅的形象作为扉页，这也是唯一的一次，歌雅出现的扉页上。
歌雅在《蝴蝶少年》的整个故事架构初期，充其量只能算是一位配角，原本设定的目的，就是在女校泳赛的桥段中，给女主莫奈制造夺冠的困难，增加挑战性。
女校泳赛的最大看点之一，就是莫奈与歌雅的对决。
在最初的计划中，歌雅和她率领的“乌鸦帮”，只是在故事前五话出现，至于未来会不会再登场，并没有太多考虑。
值得一提的是，在创作漫画连载时，我的态度是，一旦出场的角色人气不高，不被读者所接受，那么就说明这个角色在塑造上是失败的。因此很快就会离开读者的视野，被“打入冷宫”。
就像我的另一部作品《高陵先生》，连载中意识到女主小美对于剧情的推进开始变得困难，就立刻让她退出。
这是对读者的一种负责态度，也是让漫画连载故事永葆活力的一种技巧。
但歌雅这个角色后续的表现，显然逃过了一劫，而究其原因，就在于《知音漫客》举办了一场“萌战”比赛。
所谓“萌战”，就是选出杂志连载作品中“最佳男主角” “最佳女主角”以及“最佳配角”，有点类似奥斯卡颁奖的感觉。
而就在“最佳女配角”的投票中，歌雅的票数着实让身为作者的我，大吃一惊。
歌雅斩获了“最佳”，而且票数和第二名还拉开了很大距离。
甚至有读者还在论坛中喊话：如果歌雅能列为女主角，一定投票让她干趴莫奈！
甚至还有许多男性读者给我写信，要求追加歌雅的登场露面次数，否则就给我寄刀片，爆我家水管！
一个女配角，却在人气上紧逼女主角，这一点完全超出了我对歌雅的认知。
为了人身安全考量（当然这是个玩笑），在接下来的剧情上，做出了大幅的调整修改，为了引出更多歌雅与莫奈的故事，追加了“乱入——海星女校”的情节。
在剧情中，加入了更多歌雅的“香艳”镜头
说到歌雅，就不得不提起另外一个“神助攻”：亚楠。
歌雅的跟班：亚楠，配角中的战斗机。
亚楠虽然是《蝴蝶少年》中的超级配角，但在“女校篇”的一幕中，一战成名。
原因则因为，就是她的一记飞棍，竟把男主时宇的前世记忆给砸了出来，导致男主黑化，险些带领全体女生领了便当。
如果不是莫奈及时赶到，不知就这样领了便当的亚楠作何感想。
虽然在角色人气上，亚楠这个小跟班完全无法和自己的“大姐头”歌雅相比，但是对于歌雅的人气提升，功不可没。
人气智力角色–郑哲
有一次朋友的婚宴上，一位20出头的眼镜少年和我同桌。
这人话不多，从头到尾只低头吃菜。于是我想，或许这位学生朋友也和我一样，是个不喜欢嘈杂场所的人吧？
于是我凑了过去，与他攀谈起来，而这个眼镜少年的名字，就叫——郑哲。
看过并熟悉《蝴蝶少年》故事的读者，一定不会忘记：漫画中的郑哲有一句口头禅“我要考清华”，这句话无疑对当年还是学生党的读者来说，是一个饶有趣味的角色特色。
但不知道的是，这个口头禅，同样也是现实婚宴上的那个郑哲最细化挂在嘴边的一句话。
而这句“我要考清华”，则被我原封不动的放入了《蝴蝶少年》的漫画中。
被许多读者调侃的“我要考清华”一梗，就出在此处。
如果说《蝴蝶少年》中最神秘的角色，我想无疑是郑哲。
他总是会在令人意想不到的地方出现，又会无声无息的消失，但他的每次出现，似乎有暗示着什么，总能带来一系列惊天爆料。
虽然直到连载戛然而止时，也没来得及交代郑哲的具体能力，但依旧有部分读者在与我交谈的过程中猜测，郑哲的能力是：预知未来。
但标准答案是，不仅能预知未来，还能观测过去，堪称全知全能！
在创作初期做角色设定时，对于“全知”型的郑哲，一开始有担心过这种能力会不会随着剧情的推进，逐渐变成一种BUG，最终导致剧情的崩塌。
因此，在创作的环节中，就必须要给这个“能力”加入一些限制。
所以在《蝴蝶少年》开篇的前五话，就加入了对这个能力进行限制的剧情。
多年后，《复仇者联盟》的影片在国内上映，当我看到奇异博士为了找到打败灭霸而不断的寻找方法时，着实令我有些意外：因为这正是《蝴蝶少年》中所设定的郑哲使命。
一个知晓过去未来的人，必然早已厌倦了前世的杀戮，也必然在浩瀚的时间长河中寻找到了解开诅咒的方法。
但因为某个可能导致自身毁灭的原因，他不能直接了当的去告诉他人，而必须通过一系列如同“蝴蝶效应”的方法，让整个事件的发展按照能够“解开诅咒”的轨迹来运行。
于是就有了《蝴蝶少年》故事中所有的故事。
时宇和莫奈的相识，是郑哲安排的。
休达前往医院遇到莫默的鬼魂，也是郑哲诱导的。
而时宇和莫奈的矛盾激化，也是因为郑哲在关键时刻用“引导之藤”牵绊了时宇的腿。
最后又以米莎为诱饵，把休达吸引到了医院。
正因为如此，郑哲在整个故事线中，就如同一位编剧一般，推进并改变着整个命运的发展。
某种意义来说，郑哲在故事的世界观中，已然是个“神”。
因为郑哲在《蝴蝶少年》中太过于低调，所以整个故事里，仅在短短几话中偶尔登场，但每当我在漫展签售会上遇到《蝴蝶》的粉丝时，大家总会围着我，想要聊聊关于郑哲更多的秘密，以及为什么会想出这样一个有趣且神秘的角色。
其实之所以会想到设定郑哲这样一位角色，原因在于：主角时宇并不是一个“拥有明确目标”的主角。
我们都知道，漫画作品中，主角必须要有一个明确的目标，例如“成为海贼王”，或“我要成为第四代火影”之类的梦想，可是时宇的身上，我怎么也无法强行在故事一开始就给他追加一个“我要打破诅咒”这样的信念。
试想，一个每天上学放学，放学后还要去送外卖的少年，突然得知自己背负诅咒，就一下子萌生要解开诅咒的想法？甚至知道了解开的方法？这显然不真实，也不符合这个角色。
正是这样，才在故事里安插了时宇的班长——郑哲，一步步引导时宇找到解开诅咒的方法，并最终牺牲自己来唤醒时宇对抗诅咒的决心。
换句话说，郑哲的诞生，一切都是为了时宇吧！
最后说两句，作为一部曾经的大人气作品，由于自己身体原因或者杂志原因而停刊太监烂尾的作者不在少数，而像蝴蝶少年这样，即便过了十年依旧愿意给读者一个后续故事发展的作者，真心不多
虽然至今依旧没有一个完美的结局，但是章磊老师在花更多的时间去培养新生代的漫画家，把自己更多的经验传授给未来的中国漫画家们，这是用另一种方式在为中国的漫画事业做贡献，我觉得意义更加重大。
希望章磊老师越来越好。
Source: Zhihu www.zhihu.com
作者： 彬帝
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