Anime rating game

"Hmm... I just finished reading it. Isn't that method a bit too tragic? With your intelligence, you should be able to come up with a better solution."

"You think too highly of me."

Hachiman Hikigaya smiled unconsciously, then said:

"Moreover, this is just a fictional scenario in a novel; those things won't happen in reality."

"Will it really not happen?"

There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the phone before Ebina Hina's slightly deep voice came through again:

"If in reality, both the Ministry of Revenue and I were to seek help from the Ministry of Service, and given the urgency of the situation, would you really not do that?"

"..."

Hachiman Hikigaya remained silent. Having read the light novel, he knew that Tobe would likely have two possible responses.

First, considering Ebina's feelings, he gave up confessing and frankly said that he didn't like Ebina that much in real life.

Secondly, he felt that she did not dislike him, so he decided to confess his feelings ahead of time regardless of the consequences.

Given the limited capacity of the Ministry of Revenue, it's impossible for them to overthink things; the latter option is actually more likely.

However, with so many people reading light novels, the teasing from those around him might make him give up.

The reason Ebina called might be because of this concern.

Furthermore, revealing the relationship between Tobe and Ebina in the light novel leaves Tobe with only two options: confessing or stating that he doesn't like Ebina. This is also his responsibility.

"Don't worry, this time... I'll find a better way."

"I'm not rushing you. Rather than letting you get hurt again because of me, I'd rather handle it myself. If the Minister of Revenue were to confess to me in real life, I would definitely reject him decisively."

"Is this alright? Your relationship is bound to become very strange."

"It's okay. Actually, I just suddenly feel a little envious of your Service Club. Perhaps, submitting an application to join the Service Club would be quite an interesting thing."

"No way! It's already a mess here."

"Um...I know, I was just saying."

To avoid being alone in social interactions, after entering school, both boys and girls will almost always find one or two people they get along with to talk to, and over time they will form small groups.

Now that the first semester of the second year of high school has ended, various groups have been formed. If you suddenly find yourself alone, you will definitely end up in a terrible situation where no one will talk to you and you can only pretend to sleep silently during your free time.

The evidence is Hachiman Hikigaya himself.

Thinking of this, he spoke again:

"If you really want to join, that's fine, but you'll need to pass a very rigorous entrance test. There were too many people wanting to join before, so this is a rule we agreed upon with the school."

"Thanks, I was just saying it offhand, you don't need to worry about it. Has anyone ever told you that Hachiman is actually quite charming?"

"People often say this, but it's mostly boys who say it."

"In the anime, you once said that girls like Yui are very nice to every boy, which can lead to misunderstandings and make boys think that the boy likes them. But in reality, if boys do the same, it can also easily cause girls to misunderstand."

"Why...?"

"Actually, I quite like you. If there weren't so many competitors, and if the quality of the competition weren't so high, I would definitely have entered the fray."

The phone call was suddenly disconnected. Hachiman Hikigaya was stunned for several seconds before he came to his senses and unconsciously laughed.

What is this? A confession that doesn't need a reply?

Unexpectedly, I myself have become one of those people who were once hostile to me.

Although it's impossible to be with her, the feeling of being liked by one person is quite nice, and it seems to be the first time in my life that I've experienced this.

Leaving the subway station, Hachiman Hikigaya was still immersed in the feelings he had just experienced, unable to come back to his senses for a long time.

It wasn't until Masamune took two photos with his phone that he came to his senses.

"What are you doing?"

"Did something good happen?" Masamune showed him the photos he had taken and asked with a smile, "This is the first time I've seen you smile so naturally."

“Huh…?”

Seeing his own smiling face after so long, Hachiman Hikigaya was stunned.

Having dead fish eyes, my facial expression always looks very strange when I smile at myself in the mirror.

At this moment, there is not a single discordant element.

"I guess I had a little...good luck, like finding a hundred yen on the street. No, a thousand."

“That’s something that will make me happy for days,” Masamune nodded slightly.

"One thousand yen is nothing to you, right?"

"It's not the amount that matters; finding money is something to be happy about in itself. Even if I only find a ten-yuan coin, I can be happy for a long time."

Hachiman Hikigaya chuckled to himself. This guy was really down-to-earth in this respect, without any of the airs of a big company president.

"Let's get down to business. What did you call me here for today?"

"You should be familiar with our Musashino animation production model, right? We usually produce twelve episodes at the same time and send them to the TV station all at once after they are finished."

"Yes, I heard people from your company mention it during a previous dinner party."

"We all agreed that the second half of episode eight was the essence of Oregairu Season 2. However, this part was also the most difficult to produce. Therefore, the production team took that part out and created a seven-minute segment to see how it turned out."

"The fragment you're referring to...?" Hachiman Hikigaya's heart skipped a beat.

"It's just like you think. This part requires a lot of animation skills. We asked voice actor Karasuma Gojo to practice repeatedly, combining the movements and voices, and with Mashiro's superb drawing skills, it barely took shape. Gojo read the script for this episode over and over again... but the final product always felt like it was missing something."

Masamune paused for a moment, then continued:

"Therefore, we have asked you to come and provide guidance. With the person in question watching it in person, they should be able to determine exactly where the problem lies."

Chapter 208 Hachiman Hikigaya's Superb Acting Skills

"..."

Hachiman Hikigaya stared intently at Masamune, knowing he was right, but still feeling a strong sense of suffocation.

In the second half of episode 8 of Oregairu 2, the part where he cries and says he wants the real thing.

When I was reading the script, I felt so embarrassed that I wanted to crawl under the covers and never come out again.

And now, they even have to come over in person to guide the production process.

I had previously thought that the light novel was still at the ninth volume.

The anime only lasted about twenty minutes. Yukinoshita and the others probably didn't have the habit of buying Blu-rays or watching the anime repeatedly. The stunt team only died that one night.

Do you know what this means to me personally?

"Knowing it means it's very embarrassing."

"Then why did you call me over?"

"You're not the kind of person who cares about saving face, are you?"

"Isn't my face a face? Or is my face made of rubber?"

Masamune observed Hachiman Hikigaya's expression discreetly and found that his refusal was not very strong, probably just a subconscious reaction. He pondered for a moment and said:

"In that case, we'll have to ask Yukinoshita and Yuihama for help."

"Although this is just Hachiman Hikigaya's monologue, as the people involved, they should be able to offer many valuable suggestions for improvement."

Hachiman Hikigaya was speechless. This was already a very risky situation, and the thought of calling Yukinoshita and the others over made him feel incredibly embarrassed.

"If you want to kill me, please use a watermelon knife or a kitchen knife, not this kind of soft knife."

“Haha…” Masamune chuckled unconsciously. “I’m sorry, I also think this is very unfriendly to you personally, but it’s something only you can do.”

"..."

Hachiman Hikigaya remained silent. This man always used such words to brush him off, and the problem was that he couldn't bring himself to refuse.

"Approximately how long will it take? Is this the only part?"

"This is the most crucial part; the rest are mostly trivial issues."

"When does it begin?"

"Now, follow me..."

Led by Masamune, the two arrived at the lobby on the thirteenth floor.

As they stepped out of the elevator, before they even got close, the voices of Yumi Iguchi, Yasuyuki Takeuchi, and others could be heard from afar.

"What exactly is wrong? Is it the animation? The tears, the cheeks... or is there a problem with the voice acting?"

"Ms. Iguchi, should I try a different tone...?"

Upon entering the lobby, Hachiman Hikigaya immediately saw the animation on the computer screen.

There was no background or music, but the three of them—Yukinoshita, Yuigahama, and Yui—were drawn very exquisitely.

The character design is far superior to that of the first season, although everything else is still in its infancy.

"Could you play it all the way through so I can see it?"

"You're here! That's great, Mr. Hikigaya." Takeuchi Yasuyuki breathed a sigh of relief. "In that case, we'll have to trouble you, Mr. Hikigaya. We feel there's something wrong with the production here, but we can't quite put our finger on what it is."

"it is good."

Yumi Iguchi clicked "start" with her mouse, and the second half of episode eight began.

Karasuma Gosho's voice then rang out.

That incredibly familiar inner monologue made Hachiman Hikigaya's heart pound and his scalp tingle with embarrassment, yet he had no choice but to watch intently.

At this moment, he was extremely grateful that he hadn't been able to agree to Musashino's request to do his own voice acting last year because he was busy writing a light novel.

Otherwise, I would be the one saying this this year.

Moreover, he kept repeating it in the recording studio.

The short seven-minute clip ended quickly.

Hachiman Hikigaya suppressed his discomfort, roughly recalled the events, and pondered: