Anime rating game

"All of them."

"I said, record this on your phone."

"Hmm..." Aoyama Nanami quickly took out her phone to record the message, and at the same time let out a soft sigh of relief.

The president's request has been successfully completed!

Chapter Twenty-Nine: The Final Showdown in Three Months

After obtaining Shiina Mashiro's contact information, Masamune wrote it down and planned to have lunch first.

Although I really wanted to contact them immediately, the time difference meant that it was only around 4 a.m. in the UK when it was noon in Japan.

I had just gotten back into my car and taken out the lunchbox I had brought with me that morning when the phone rang.

The caller ID showed "Adagaki Aki".

As soon as the call connected, Adagaki Aki's unyielding voice came from the other end:

"Come to Musashino Restaurant, I'll be waiting for you in room 304 on the third floor."

"Now? What is it?"

"Now, I have some work-related matters I'd like to ask you for advice on."

"That's not the tone you use when asking for advice."

"What? You want me to ask you for advice in a soft and gentle voice?"

"No, that's not it, but I'm very busy. Could you at least ask if I have time right now?"

"Oh...? As far as I know, you haven't left the company all morning, and it's lunch break now, so it's unlikely that anything urgent has happened."

"You haven't been having someone spy on me all this time, have you? That's scary~"

"Coming or not?"

"Okay, wait a few minutes."

Soon after, Masamune arrived at the newly renovated Musashino restaurant next door, carrying a bento box, on the third floor.

Location-wise, room 304 was the office where I had been sitting for more than three months.

Masamune felt a certain nostalgia for this.

"So slow! Eleven minutes have passed since I made the call."

"Sorry, I often run into colleagues on the way, so I need to say hello and chat for a bit."

"is it?"

Adagaki Aki put down her phone and shifted her gaze to the deluxe bento box in Masamune's hand.

Do you bring your own lunch from home every day?

"Yes, even though I've entered the workforce and started working, my mom still prepares lunch for me every day just like before, since my schedule is similar to what it used to be."

Masamune smiled, placed the lunchbox on the table, and slowly opened it:

"Although it's a little troublesome, a bento box that takes into account nutrition and taste is just as good as what you buy in stores."

"If this bento box were sold elsewhere, it could fetch at least tens of thousands of yen."

As he said this, seeing her suddenly stand up and sit next to him, staring intently at his bento box, Masamune couldn't help but ask:

"What do you want to do?"

"Give me half! No, you definitely can't finish such a big bento by yourself, give me three-quarters."

"Uh... there are so many 'people' eyeing my bento box. I'll only give you half at most."

Although we usually can't finish it all, we can share it with stray cats and dogs in the neighborhood, so it's not really a waste.

"Deal. In exchange, this meal is on me."

This person was the one who called me over. Did you originally plan to split the bill?

Masamune sighed silently, then asked:

"Speak up, what did you call me here for? You didn't just come here to freeload a lunchbox, did you?"

"Of course not, Yoshino."

Upon hearing Miss Aihime call her name, Yoshino Koiwai immediately stood up, pushed the six plates of cold dishes on the table further in, picked up her travel bag, and took out the light novels inside one by one, placing them on the dining table.

"I've sorted out the staffing and internal issues at the animation company. The next step is to decide what kind of animation to produce."

Adagaki Aki picked up a light novel, flipped through a few pages, put it down again, and pushed the table of contents next to her in front of Masamune.

"Based on their online popularity, I bought the rights to some light novels and manga from Kadokawa. Which one do you think would be more suitable for production?"

"Kadokawa will be very reluctant to relinquish the copyrights to popular novels, won't they?"

"Yes, we'll be producing it together. It'll just be a matter of profit sharing."

"That's true."

Masamune picked up the catalog and looked through it. Almost all of them were fantasy stories about traveling to another world. He had never even heard of many of them, but he had seen the finished animations of a few of them.

"Is there a story outline or something? Reading them one by one takes too much time."

"Yoshino."

"here."

Masamune took the document from Yoshino Koiwai and glanced at it briefly.

"There's a lot of content here, let's finish eating and then look at it. But shouldn't this kind of thing be decided internally by your company? Why are you asking me, a competitor, for my opinion?"

"The company is in a heated argument, and in terms of popularity, these light novels and comics are neck and neck. Besides, I think your opinion is more important."

"Thank you for your trust. Let's eat first, and we can talk more later. Wait a minute, don't take my lunchbox. We agreed to share half with you, not the whole thing."

"You've been eating the same bento box every day for over ten years. Aren't you tired of it?"

"Not at all. Besides, my mom can cook a lot of dishes. I might not see this bento box again for two months, so I won't get tired of it."

As they were talking, he noticed that she was finishing her bento at an extremely fast pace, and Masamune couldn't help but try to take it from her with his chopsticks.

"Don't steal my side dishes! There are so many dishes on the table, and there are only three of us. Isn't that enough for you?"

"I like the dishes that my aunt makes by hand."

"Thank you for your kind words. Mom will be very happy to hear that, but this is for me, so please be a little polite."

Lunch lasted for nearly an hour before it ended.

Then, Masamune picked up the document containing the synopsis of each light novel and began to read it carefully.

"Hmm... most of them are mainstream works, some with excellent writing, some with excellent plots, no wonder they are so popular."

"But when adapting light novels into anime, the plot and pacing of the story are the most important."

"Some works are excellent from the perspective of light novels, but it is very difficult to adapt them into anime. If you are not careful, you will be criticized by fans of the original work."

"If you ask for my opinion, I recommend this one."

Adagaki Aki subconsciously leaned closer, looked at the book title that Masamune had marked with a pen, and softly read aloud:

"KonoSuba: God's Blessing on This Wonderful World!"

"That's right. This light novel has great character designs and a good plot. As long as the story's pacing is maintained during production and the art style doesn't fall apart, its reputation and popularity are unlikely to be too bad."

Masamune paused, then added:

"While the other works are also good, this is the only one that I want to take away from you to the extent that I created it myself."

“I understand, then I’ll choose this one.” Adagaki Aki nodded slightly.

“Wait a minute,” Yoshino Koiwai couldn’t help but interject, “This light novel is currently too short to be suitable for a season of anime.”

"Then lock the author in a dark room and make him write day and night, without feeding him until he finishes." Masamune did not hesitate at all.

Is it illegal imprisonment?

"No, if you contact the editorial department and get your family's permission, then it's a reasonable and legal way to urge someone to submit their work."

"I'll do it your way!" Adagaki Aki smiled.

Yoshino Koiwai stared speechlessly at the two of them. Was it really necessary to go to such lengths to produce an anime? They could have easily waited until the next season or even next year to produce this light novel.

"Um... we can do something else this time, and then do it next time..."

"Given the current market situation, time is of the essence." Masamune shook his head slightly, then added, "Moreover, from the perspective of building a reputation and establishing prestige, if the first installment can achieve a good rating, it will be easier to attract people and reassure them."

"Let's do as you say, and settle this in three months!" Adagaki Aki chuckled.

"no problem!"

Chapter Thirty: Do You Like Comics?

That afternoon at six o'clock, not long after he got home from get off work (he got off work at five-thirty), during dinner time, Masamune, having calculated the timing, sent a letter he had been pondering all afternoon to Shiina Mashiro's email address.

The content was roughly as follows: first, I briefly introduced myself, attached materials to prove my identity, then I complimented her painting skills, and finally extended an invitation, hoping that she could return to China to guide everyone's painting skills.

Considering that she had little concept of money, Masamune focused more on dreams, goals, and future prospects in the email.

'Although Mashiro's drawing skills are outstanding, she's not good at talking. If she were really willing to come, we'd probably need a translator during her lectures—someone who could convey all her feelings without her saying a word.'

'Huh...? Come to think of it, Ema Yasuhara seems perfectly capable of taking on this role.'

'No, it's not even close to happening yet, there's no point in thinking about it now, we can only wait for her reply.'

If she doesn't reply, contact her by phone again in the evening.

During dinner, Masamune was lost in thought, pondering what to do.

Mashiro's drawing skills are outstanding. The question is, how far do I need to go to acquire her drawing skills?

Should we make the greatest effort? Or should we spare no expense and try every possible means to bring them over?

If it's the latter, is it necessary to go this step?

Thinking of this, Masamune took out his phone and opened the Shiina Mashiro art collection that he had downloaded from the internet that afternoon.