Anime rating game

"Huh...? Producing two animations at the same time?"

"That's my hope, but I don't know if we've recruited enough people."

"It should be about right. However, if it's all original, the risk will be very high, and the financial pressure will be extremely tight."

"It's alright, don't worry about funding. Now is the perfect time to make a big splash. If all else fails, I can always ask my family for some more financial support. By the way, where's the meeting room?"

"The meeting room is on the third floor. As for the president's office, there are two options: the third floor or the twenty-third floor. We have not made a decision on this for you."

"The 23rd floor is too high, the 3rd floor is fine. When the elevator is occupied, we can take the stairs, which is more convenient."

"Yes, yes... That's what I thought too. That's why I suggested in the previous meeting that we start from the third floor and work our way up, letting the newcomers go to the upper floors. It's a pity that the voice acting agency didn't occupy the second floor from the beginning, that would have been the best choice."

After entering the building via elevator, Masamune, led by Aoi Miyamori, first looked at the president's office on the third floor before entering the conference room.

Because Musashino Animation has always followed the routine of holding a morning meeting, even without any prior notice, everyone still goes to the meeting room on time in the morning.

Generally, key animators, directors, and animation supervisors do not need to attend the meeting, but character designers and chief animation supervisors are required to attend on time.

Those responsible for producing individual episodes also need to attend daily meetings and report their respective work progress.

"President, you're here. After the first episode of the anime aired last weekend, the response was very positive, so we immediately started selling the Blu-ray."

After entering, Yuka Okitsu sat down next to Masamune and began to report what she considered to be the most important matter at present:

“In the past, Blu-rays were usually sold in sets of two or in a 12-episode bundle, but this time, due to the many requests online, we are selling them one episode at a time.”

"Today is Thursday, and three days have passed since the first episode's Blu-ray sales began. As of last night, the total Blu-ray sales for the first episode reached 1.4."

"Compared to popular works from the same period and previous years, sales have increased more than tenfold."

"This clearly reflects the rapid expansion of the animation market."

"Conservatively speaking, the total sales after the anime finishes airing should reach more than 30 copies."

"The price of a single Blu-ray episode is 6500 yen for the standard edition and 10500 yen for the special edition. Considering that Musashino has not released any outstanding works in recent years, we will be offering a 8% discount for two consecutive months."

"Since it's an original animation, after deducting the costs of the sound company, taxes, and other expenses, we can get about 7% of the profits."

Masamune subconsciously started calculating in his mind, using the standard calculation method: 30 multiplied by 6500 multiplied by 0.8 and then by 0.7 equals 10 billion.

Moreover, DB sales will accumulate gradually, rather than being a one-off transaction.

The cost of an empty CD is at most a few hundred yen. The burning process itself only incurs electricity and labor costs.

In addition, the revenue from Blu-ray sales is only a part of the total revenue of the animation; other revenue includes music, global viewership revenue, and so on.

"A wildly popular anime really makes money."

“Yes, the prerequisite is that it has to be a huge hit.” Yuka Okitsu nodded slightly, also in a good mood. “Moreover, it must be an original animation; otherwise, most of the money will go to the original creators who own the copyright.”

"Can Blu-ray sales reach 25?"

"No problem. Our animation is fully completed, and there won't be any issues due to rushing the production. The quality of the story, art style, and production has not declined in any way. Moreover, the animation market will only continue to grow in the future."

"That's true."

At 8:00 a.m. sharp, after all the attendees had arrived, Okitsu Yuka stopped her work report and began introducing the many newcomers to Masamune.

Among them are recent college graduates, but most are experienced professionals who were poached from other small companies.

Among them are several former Musashino Animation employees who left after Musashino suffered from poor management, downsizing, and inability to pay salaries, but have now been invited back.

“Very good, welcome to Musashino…”

After Masamune finished greeting everyone, he turned his gaze to Kinoshita Seiichi and asked:

"Director Kinoshita, with the current manpower, are we able to produce two anime series simultaneously this season?"

"No problem, we have plenty of manpower."

Kinoshita Seiji stood up and introduced the other man beside him, who was slightly thinner than him but still considered overweight:

"This is Yasuyuki Takeuchi, a former employee of Musashino Animation. He has been in the industry for many years and is highly capable. If we are going to work on two projects at once, we can rest assured that he will be the director of the second anime."

"No problem, then it's decided."

Masamune nodded slightly to Yasuyuki Takeuchi, signaling to Yuka Okitsu to begin distributing the scripts that had just been printed.

"This season will also feature original animation, with two works produced simultaneously. You can discuss among yourselves and decide who will be in charge of which one?"

Two copies of the script were given to each person and were quickly distributed.

Kinoshita Seiichi first glanced at the titles of the works, "My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong As Expected" and "K-On!", and then picked up the script for K-On! and began to read it carefully.

Judging from the names, the former sounds like a light novel, while the latter gives off a cute anime vibe.

Chapter Twenty-Seven: Leading the Industry by a Step

Compared to the document for "Masamune-kun" three months ago, which could only be described as a story outline, this script is much more complete and detailed.

However, as an animation script, it still has many shortcomings.

Of course, Kinoshita Seiichi was more interested in the storytelling aspect.

As you turn the pages, scenes of the five girls playing and laughing together gradually appear before your eyes.

Considering that he was still in a meeting, Kinoshita Seiichi watched two episodes, quickly flipped to the end, and after confirming that the story hadn't fallen apart in the later episodes and was still interesting, he picked up another script for "My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU" and started watching it.

This script, just like its name suggests, does indeed feel like reading a light novel.

Although it's a different type of story from K-On!, it's just as fun.

After reading the scripts for two episodes, Kinoshita Seiichi carefully placed them on the table and said with great excitement:

"President, let's buy the rights to one or two light novels or manga. This time, let's do both original works and adaptations at the same time. This time, let's produce K-On!, and next time, let's produce Oregairu. I'll be the supervisor for both."

Yasuyuki Takeuchi, who was standing next to him and had only read half of the script, couldn't help but put it down, his face showing anger:

"Don't go too far! Eating alone will bring divine retribution."

“No, this isn’t about hoarding the good stuff. Everyone has seen how well the previous work, ‘Masamune-kun,’ turned out. You can rest assured that these two works are in my hands.” Kinoshita Seiichi said with a smile, “On the contrary, what kind of hit works have you produced since you left Musashino?”

"Nonsense! I just didn't come across a good script, plus the original production company kept interfering, and I lacked funding in the later stages. But in terms of experience, I'm your senior."

"When it comes to supervision, seniority is of no use at all; the quality of the work is king."

Seeing the two suddenly start arguing, Masamune was speechless and couldn't help but say:

"Director Kinoshita, that's not what you said at the beginning. You said that having Takeuchi in charge of the second film would put everyone at ease."

"I did say that, but that was based on the premise that the two works were of average quality. The quality of these two works is unexpectedly high, so to be on the safe side, of course I should be in charge."

"Alright, there are so many excellent works, no need to fight over them. There will be even better works next quarter. Which one will you be in charge of? You can only choose one."

"Well…"

Kinoshita Seiichi crossed his arms and fell into deep thought.

Both works are excellent, making it difficult to choose between them.

I choose K-On!

"Great, I'll show you something good."

Masamune took out his phone, opened the live song he had recorded earlier in the light music club, and clicked play.

The next moment, the music of the "After School Tea Party" band filled the conference hall.

As the music ended, Masamune put away his phone and explained to the curious crowd:

"K-On! is actually based on a true story, and I haven't changed the main characters' names. Yesterday, I went to Sakuragaoka Girls' High School to talk to the five members of the K-On! club and have already obtained their permission."

"I promised to pay them for the song and story copyrights, and they will do the voice acting for the other five main characters themselves."

"As for the supporting roles, Hirasawa Yu had to take care of housework and declined the invitation. Therefore, the voice actors for the rest of K-On!" will be selected from outside the group.

"In addition, I promised to find someone to provide them with a week-long training, which will be held at the company."

"Ms. Okitsu, please come to my office later. We'll discuss the contract details and sign the contract with the five members of K-On!"

"Understood." Yuka Okitsu nodded slightly.

Kinoshita Seiichi's eyes widened, his heart filled with excitement as well as curiosity.

The combination of a true story and a real-life K-On! is sure to generate a huge response.

"President, how did you convince them? This is no easy task."

"The personalities of the five girls are exactly the same as in the script, so it wasn't difficult to persuade them. The only troublesome one is Akiyama Mio, who kept nagging me to remove the scene where she accidentally fell down during the first-year school festival, revealing her blue and white stripes."

"How can this be? Such an interesting scene must be seen by more people! But, has the same thing actually happened in real life?"

“That’s right, Sakuragaoka Girls’ High School still has video backups, but as outsiders, especially men, we definitely can’t see them, so don’t even think about it.”

"No need. Rather, it's impossible for storyboards to perfectly recreate reality; they will definitely involve some imaginative processing."

"What I mean is, when you're making it, if Akiyama Mio asks about it, just make a little change to your wording and tell her that scene isn't in the anime."

"Hmm... but wouldn't that give it away during dubbing?"

"The problem is that Akiyama Mio is a girl who is easily embarrassed. If I don't lie to her a little, she definitely won't agree if I tell her the truth."

"That's true, I'll have the post-production team do some minor tweaks. But, once the anime is released, is the president sure she won't cause us any trouble?"

"Akiyama Mio is a very gentle girl. At most, she'll complain to me a bit on the phone. If that doesn't work, I'll just treat her to a few big meals. If that still doesn't appease her, I'll go to her place and let her beat me up."

Kinoshita Seiichi was speechless, then couldn't help but laugh.

"As expected of the club president, I'll go and get beaten up too."

Masamune also smiled for a moment, then turned to look at Okitsu Yuka:

"Ms. Okitsu, our first animation is of excellent quality and has received a good response. As originally agreed, starting this month, let's increase the salaries of all employees by forty percent."

"Isn't this too many? We've been hiring a lot of new employees these days..."

"As long as we continue to produce excellent animations, our salaries and benefits can continue to increase. This is just the beginning."

"Understood, I will issue the internal document as soon as possible."

"So Musashino's next task is to develop the plans for these two works, attract investment, and establish a production committee. As for personnel, please let the two directors decide on the candidates themselves, and we will discuss it at the formal meeting later."

"Okay! (Everyone)"

"Does anyone else have anything to say? If not, this morning meeting is adjourned."