Abiko Samejima

"I hated the Sweet Today drama. Your manga... Was so much better than that... I hate seeing manga I like ruined... I understand that the most..."

Samejima Abiko was an assistant of Kichijouji Yoriko, the mangaka behind "Today will be Sweet." She is now the author of the popular manga series "Tokyo Blade."

Appearance
Abiko sports short and messy dark hair. In her meeting with Yoriko, she wore overalls and a dark long-sleeved dress. A coat and a skirt were what she dressed in when visiting the stage-play of her manga.

Personality
Abiko is seen as the definition of an introvert. She never talked much with her colleagues as an assistant. Yoriko saw how she felt inside through the art she made, seeing that she was suffering wanting to be understood. Reaching out to Abiko, she concluded that she's actually affectionate, sweet, and becomes passionate when manga comes into the conversation.

However, after Tokyo Blade became serialized, Abiko only knew success, and thus, grew an ego. She saw herself as infallible and often conflicted with her editors, using her busy schedules as excuses for inappropriate behavior, much like any other successful mangaka. Though, this is revealed as a coping mechanism for her to avoid communication.

Story
Samejima Abiko first approached Kichijouji Yoriko about how much she loved the Sweet Today manga and wanted to become her assistant. In her work, rarely did she ever converse with her colleagues, but opened up with her sensei, Yoriko, about herself and her in-the-works manga. Not long after, Abiko's manga, Tokyo Blade, began serialization and surpassed Sweet Today in sales and popularity.

Due to only knowing success, she grew an ego, often butting heads with her editors and berating media and even the stage-play of her manga. This behavior caused her to have bad relations with her editor and no assistants to help her: She saw their art as lifeless. Her behavior escalated to the point where she threw away her own health for the sake of maintaining her manga's vision. Yoriko saw this decline and decided to course-correct by talking things out with her.

Relationships

 * Kichijouji Yoriko: Her mentor and longtime friend. They met when Abiko wanted to assist her on the Sweet Today manga. Yoriko wanted to get to know her more because of her introverted personality. She found out that underneath this was an affectionate girl that yearned to be understood. After Tokyo Blade gained popularity, they parted ways, but Yoriko started seeing how that fame affected Abiko. Her concern grew until she, with the support of the actors of Tokyo Blade's stage-play, decided to talk to Abiko. In this, she saw how devastating repercussions the fame of her manga had caused her. They butted heads in conversing about which manga was better, work ethics, and Yoriko berating Abiko for using excuses to avoid communicating. In the end, they reached a common ground, Abiko stating that she just doesn't want manga she likes ruined by more popular media.