Anime rating game

"Hello."

As he greeted them, Masamune unconsciously thought:

So it turns out they were introducing people based on seating order, not job titles.

Sensing everyone's unease, Masamune waited until Marukawa Masato had finished introducing everyone before taking a deep breath and speaking solemnly:

"Now it's my turn to introduce myself."

"My name is Hayase Masamune, I am 18 years old, and I just graduated from high school not long ago."

“Previously, I was worried about my future, wavering between further education and entering the workforce. Even if I were to enter the workforce, what I would do was still a question.”

"But four days ago, around 1 p.m., scrolling text suddenly appeared in the sky, and those golden words instantly caught my attention."

"Since every animation can be rated after it is completed, and the creators of high-rated animations can be rewarded, the things to do in the future are naturally determined."

"I want to enter the animation industry and create high-scoring animations."

"The creators of the 3-star Noragami received many rewards, and the 4-star or even 5-star anime might receive rewards similar to superpowers."

"Oh..." Kinoshita Seiichi couldn't help but exclaim, excitedly saying, "I have the same idea! These past few days, I've been dreaming every day about making excellent animations with everyone, gaining the ability to never gain weight, and instantly losing weight in the future."

"Speaking of which, I wonder what kind of strange phenomenon that was? Was it the work of aliens, or a sign of the coming of gods?"

"Anyone who creates an excellent work, whether it's a movie, animation, comic, novel, or TV series, can receive a reward."

"That kind of future sounds really interesting!"

“Yes.” Masamune smiled and then said, “However, perhaps the only way to get rewards is by creating animation.”

"If that's the case, the status of animation will definitely rise rapidly, countless outstanding talents will flock to the animation industry, and the future will become the era of animation!"

“That’s right, the future will definitely belong to the world of anime and manga.” The two looked at each other and smiled.

Masamune laughed for a while, then stopped laughing and said very seriously:

"I understand everyone's concerns about the future of Musashino Animation, but I can assure you that my desire to create excellent animation is no less than anyone else's."

"Mr. Marukawa, please assume the position of vice president of Musashino Animation. All other positions will remain unchanged, and all rules and regulations will remain the same."

"Of course, salary, benefits, and bonuses can be appropriately increased depending on the production progress of the next animation."

Great.

Marukawa Masato unconsciously breathed a sigh of relief, and all his worries gradually dissipated.

Although I don't know what kind of personality the new president, Masamune Hayase, is, people who like anime are unlikely to be bad.

"Thank you. Please take care of me from now on, President Hayase."

"No, it's me. As a newcomer, I will be interning in various departments to learn how to produce animations better. At that time, I would appreciate everyone's guidance."

Kinoshita Seiichi's eyes lit up for a moment, then gradually dimmed again:

"I really want to teach you, but we haven't received a decent animation production commission in six years."

"Don't worry, I'll figure something out."

Masamune glanced at Nagano Yuri to the side and asked in a low voice:

"Aunt Nagano, it seems Musashino is short of money. Did Dad say how much financial assistance he would give me?"

In that instant, everyone present pricked up their ears and eavesdropped silently.

"Masamune-kun, President Hayase said that he will initially invest 500 million yen in Musashino as your start-up capital."

"enough?"

Seeing that Hayase Masamune's gaze had shifted to her, Okitsu Yuka quickly said:

"That's enough. The production cost of a 12-episode animation is between 200 million and 300 million. As long as the budget is well prepared, even after deducting necessary expenses such as salaries, utilities, and equipment replacement, it is enough to produce two 12-episode animations."

"Of course, this is under the condition that all the expenses are borne by Musashino. There is no need for this. As long as we find some more investors, our investment will be at most a few million or even tens of millions."

That's good.

Masamune took a USB drive from his pocket and handed it to her.

"These are the story outlines I've written over the past few days. Please print them out so we can all discuss whether we can create an excellent animation based on this story."

"Original animation? I understand."

Yuka Okitsu left in a hurry and soon returned to the conference room with ten documents.

After each person received a copy, everyone looked at it attentively.

After quickly finishing the translation, Kinoshita Seiichi couldn't help but stare at Masamune for a while longer.

"Makabe, Hayase, Masamune, could this be...?"

Realizing what he was about to say, Masamune quickly denied it:

"Unfortunately, my high school life wasn't that colorful."

"In my memory, I do not know anyone named Adagaki Aki or Koiwai Yoshino. I do not have a younger sister and am an only child."

"As for other aspects, in order to enhance the authenticity, I borrowed a little of my own situation as the character setting."

Pig's feet? I can't tell at all.

Sure enough, every fat person has potential. If I successfully lose weight, I'm sure I can... hehe...

After contemplating the "future" for a while, Seiichi Kinoshita spoke again:

"This story is very interesting, but original animation is too risky, with a loss rate as high as 85%. Rather, there are very few companies in the industry that can make money from original animation."

"Even if you find many companies to share the investment, the risk is still very high."

"If the animation production fails again after six years, oh my god... I will definitely break down and cry my eyes out."

As he spoke, Kinoshita Seiichi unconsciously clutched his chest, his face filled with a pained expression.

"Honestly, original animation is really too risky. Let's think about it more carefully."

"No, this is the result after careful consideration."

Masamune shook his head slightly and pondered for a moment:

"Previous original animations may have been a dead end, but with the appearance of that rating sign in the sky, the animation industry will surely rise rapidly in the future."

"If we can get a good rating, I think the audience will approve of it and sales will increase."

"After all, that's a score approved by God, without any human intervention."

“Hmm…that’s true.” Kinoshita Seiichi nodded unconsciously, thinking as he spoke, “I heard that after Noragami got a 3-star rating, its Blu-ray sales increased significantly, stealing the sales of other new anime this season.”

"Three and a half stars is already so impressive, if the rating were higher..."

“Not only that,” Masamune added with a smile, “As time goes on, if people discover that only the animation industry can receive divine approval, the entire industry will expand, and the sales of all animations will likely increase accordingly.”

“Mmm…” Kinoshita Seiichi nodded repeatedly, excitedly saying, “People will no longer discriminate against animation, thinking it’s just for kids. After all, it’s something that God has approved of. However, this is on the premise that things that people approve of more, such as movies, traditional novels, and TV dramas, will not be judged.”

"It may sound despicable to say this, but at times like this, we should sincerely pray that only the animation industry will be treated favorably."

To be honest, Masamune didn't really have much confidence either.

Although the system is named a two-dimensional rating game and modules such as light novels and comics have been abandoned, it is still bound to this planet, so it is hard to say that it will not be repaired and its business scope expanded.

“That’s really despicable, haha… But that’s what I think too.” Kinoshita Seiichi laughed along.

Chapter Four: Is this really not based on a true story?

"In that case, Musashino's next goal is to focus all his efforts on creating the original anime, 'Masamune-kun's Revenge'."

As he spoke, Kinoshita Seiichi couldn't help but steal a glance at Masamune.

Realizing his thoughts, Masamune smiled helplessly:

"As a newcomer, I will not comment on this matter. Please let President Marukawa handle the job assignments."

"However, I believe that Director Kinoshita has the ability to direct this anime."

"Is it really possible?" Kinoshita Seiichi asked nervously. "But my last anime was a huge failure. Ugh... that thing is almost a black mark on my history. It makes my heart ache just thinking about it."

"The failure or success of an animation can never be the fault of any one person."

"Can you really leave it to me?"

Kinoshita Seiichi first looked at Masamune, then at Marukawa Masato, and after receiving nods from both of them, he breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thank you so much. I will definitely do my best this time! I will never repeat the mistakes of six years ago."

"Although this story is already very complete, it still has some shortcomings as an animation script and needs to be cut."

"As for the screenwriter, I suggest we ask Mai-no-sensei to work on it again."

"I'm fine with it, it's up to you guys." Masamune said without the slightest hesitation.

"If it's written by Maitake, there shouldn't be any problems with the script."

Yuka Okitsu paused for a moment, then continued:

"However, Musashino hasn't done a large-scale production like this for six years, so we're a little short-handed. If we rely entirely on outsourcing, it will be difficult to guarantee the quality."

“How about poaching talent from other animation studios?” Masamune suggested.

"Hmm... It's really hard to find people at this time of year. Besides, Musashino is too small right now and doesn't have any outstanding works. Even if we offer high salaries, it's hard to attract talent."

"Speaking of which, it's graduation season now. Although many graduates have already found jobs during their pre-graduation internships, I imagine many others haven't been successful in their applications. How about we recruit new people externally?"

"That's not a problem. How many people does President Hayase plan to recruit?"

"Please call me by my first name. Using my surname always reminds me of my father. As for the number of people to recruit, just recruit as many as you need. I don't know much about Musashino, so you can decide for yourselves."

"In that case, I will prepare a recruitment plan as soon as possible. President... what specific area of ​​work would you like Masamune-kun to be in charge of?"

"Me? Hmm... I'm still a newbie, so if possible, I hope to learn how to write animation scripts from that Maitake writer first. That way, I'll have experience next time and won't have to spend so much time searching for information online."

"Is this Masamune-kun's first time writing a screenplay?" Kinoshita Makoto asked with curiosity. "As a beginner, this story is very interesting, with many captivating elements. Is it really not based on your own experience?"

"No. If my high school life had been that outstanding, I wouldn't have been single for eighteen years."

"Huh...? Masamune-kun is still single, even though he's such a handsome guy?"

"I'm the type of person who gains weight easily, and the food at home is very good, so I've only recently started to lose weight."