Anime rating game

"It hasn't even started yet. The script will take two months, and the planning will take two months. There's no need to rush at all."

"I also want to try to complete the plan and script in a week."

He knew she was referring to the interview he gave yesterday afternoon, although he himself hadn't seen it on TV because it aired after 10:30 pm last night.

"Alright, let's have a short meeting to briefly discuss the animation progress."

After dismissing the numerous employees gathered in the lobby on the first floor, Masamune led a few people to the conference hall on the third floor.

Soon, the directors of the three currently ongoing animation projects all gathered here.

"Director Nakamura, how far has the 'Four Lies' progressed?"

"The storyboard has been completed and is currently in the first key animation stage. Including the annual leave, it is expected to be completed in early February."

"Is one month enough? This is a 24-episode anime."

"President Hayase, to be precise, it's about one month and five days."

"Too."

As an animator, I always pay close attention to terms like "week" and "day".

A month is about 4 weeks, but a month plus 5 days is 5 weeks.

With an extra week, a lot of work can be done.

Masamune then looked at the other two and pondered for a moment:

"Director Kinoshita, Director Takeuchi, how far along are the animations you're in?"

Kinoshita Seiichi immediately sat up straight and, while thinking, said:

"The initial expectation was to complete it by the end of this month, but due to the fact that many artists were assigned to work on 'The Lie in the Four Months,' the project has been delayed again and again."

"Starting two weeks ago, we have recruited a large number of new employees, all of whom are experienced and skilled. As of today, our workforce has actually increased significantly compared to the beginning."

"Although coordination is quite difficult, with enough manpower, the animation production is much faster than before."

"To avoid having to keep thinking about animation production during the annual leave, everyone has been working overtime these days."

"If nothing unexpected happens, no, with so many people, even if something unexpected does happen, we're not worried. My 'Rose Eyes' should be finished by the afternoon of the day after tomorrow."

Today is the 25th, and the day after tomorrow afternoon, which is December 28th.

年假是从12月30日清晨开始，1月5日晚上结束，1月6日清晨正常上班，为期一周时间。

Thinking of this, Masamune hesitated and asked:

"We've only allocated one day. If we discover any mistakes or omissions, will we have enough time to correct them?"

"Thanks to the strict performance evaluation system, and based on the production experience from the previous season, there weren't that many mistakes."

Kinoshita Makoto paused for a moment, then smiled and said:

"Moreover, we adopted a work-in-progress approach this season. The final inspection after completion was just to check if there were any shortcomings in the post-production."

"Of course, if the president wants to revise the script and make major changes to the plot, that's another matter."

"Without any major modifications, it should be able to be completed normally."

"As expected, the white box will be delivered to the TV station before the end of the workday on the 29th."

A white box refers to a white box containing videotapes with sample footage and other content.

Once it's sent to the television station, the animation production is completely finished.

Even if there are new ideas or regrets, it's impossible to make any changes.

Seeing Masamune turn his gaze over, Takeuchi Yasuyuki followed up with:

"The 'Student Council of Delusions' project that I'm in charge of has reached its final stage and is expected to be completed by tomorrow afternoon."

"Thanks to the great cooperation of Amakusa Shino and others, the original production schedule was a week ahead of 'Rose Eyes,' but these days there are more new employees working for Kinoshita, so the production schedule there has gradually caught up."

Are both animations nearing completion?

So, we'll have to start making a new animation after the New Year.

To avoid redundant work and staff, just like this season, two animations will be produced simultaneously.

"Alright, I'll finish the scripts for the two animations we're producing next quarter as soon as possible. Everyone should have a good rest during the Lunar New Year holiday, and we'll get right back to work after the holiday."

"President, will the two anime series next season still be original works, or will they be adaptations of light novels or manga?" Kinoshita Seiichi asked curiously.

"Let's make it original. Both works have already obtained permission from the parties involved. We should strike while the iron is hot."

? ?

Is this another story based on real events?

Seiichi Kinoshita was speechless.

Of course, he had no complaints about the adaptation of true events into reality.

Ultimately, no matter how much you talk about it, quality should always be the top priority in animation.

Regardless of the story's origin, animation is fine as long as it's entertaining.

It just feels a bit strange, and I can't figure out where my boss found so many interesting stories.

As a fellow Tokyo resident, why couldn't I find anything? Is it because I lack the eye to spot interesting things?

"How did you manage to produce three anime series at the same time?" Adagaki Aki couldn't help but ask. "It takes me a lot of time and effort to produce just one anime series."

"??"

Masamune looked puzzled, paused for a moment, then quickly realized what was happening and asked:

How many people are in your company?

There are 73 full-time employees.

"Isn't that too few? Our company already has 723 employees."

"The difference is so huge, no wonder your animations are produced so quickly."

Adagaki Aki did a quick mental calculation and pondered:

"With so many employees, according to your company's salary system, each employee's monthly salary would be 200 million."

"Even if you produce two animated films in a quarter, can you withstand the pressure if one of them fails?"

"In addition, based on what I understand, many artists are freelancers and do not want to be bound by contracts."

“From the perspective of animation companies, there is no need to recruit a large number of illustrators, which is both a waste of money and increases the risk.”

"An animation takes six months to produce. If it fails, 300 million yuan will be wasted."

"Unless there is a major fire, it is difficult for most animation productions to even break even. If they continue to operate at a loss, it will be difficult to sustain even with sufficient funds."

Masamune pondered for a moment, shook his head slightly, and smiled:

"You're assuming that the animation produced is garbage and no one cares about it at all."

"Otherwise, even if the Blu-rays and related merchandise don't sell, we can still recoup our costs and make up for the deficit through the copyrights and music merchandise sold by the beach."

"The animation market has expanded several dozen times this year. Let me just give you a simple figure."

"As of today, K-On! Blu-rays are sold in 12 volumes. The first volume has sold 51 copies, and the remaining eleven volumes have sold about the same number."

"You know what Blu-rays are. They're not worth much on their own. You can make a net profit of about 5000 yen for every Blu-ray you sell."

Adagaki Aki's expression froze, and her eyes showed a lot of surprise.

Previously, she had been calculating how to avoid losing money should the animation fail.

Surprisingly, the wildly popular animation is making so much money.

Moreover, this is only the sales volume of BD.

Although Musashino doesn't sell figurines or body pillows, it does sell lightweight items like posters and paper fans in conjunction with K-On! concerts.

"According to my investigation, many companies that make original animations have gone bankrupt this quarter and have been burdened with a lot of debt."

"In fact, several animation company presidents jumped off rooftops."

"Why is your company's original work, 'K-On!,' able to make so much money?"

"Besides, what's the point of all this? Why does an anime that doesn't even have a male protagonist become so popular that everyone knows about it?"

Feeling that anything he said would sound like something out of Versailles, Masamune smiled but didn't reply.

Chapter Ninety-One: My Life Has No Regrets

Wow, K-On! is amazing!

Since April of this year, Kinoshita Seiichi has been working on animation in seclusion. Although he often hears about several animations produced by Musashino and his own company from people around him, he has not made any special inquiries and has no real understanding of them.

And at this moment——

"President, did the K-On! Blu-ray really make tens of billions of yen?"

"More or less, but it's almost Chinese New Year, and most of the accounts haven't been settled yet."

"Are the online reviews also very good?"

"Yeah, there are all sorts of opinions, but most of them are positive. Otherwise, Yui Hirasawa and the other four wouldn't have been able to go to the Budokan."

"President, has my dream already come true?"

"What is your aspiration?"

"To create excellent animations that everyone loves and that are also commercially successful."

"I see... Congratulations, your dream has come true."

Seeing the smile on Masamune's face, Kinoshita Seiichi also smiled.

After a long silence, he sighed:

"This is wonderful. Is this what it feels like to have a dream come true? My heart is warmed. Even though it's winter, it feels like I'm basking in the summer sun."

"I have no regrets in my life."

Masamune chuckled and shook his head slightly.