Anime rating game

If it were adapted into an anime, it probably wouldn't be too unpopular among high school girls.

As for the rating, we'll have to wait and see what happens in the subsequent script.

"Director Kinoshita, what's your opinion?"

"Me?" Kinoshita Seiichi pondered. "That depends on whether the president wants to stick to original works or adapt them at the same time. However, compared to original animation, which has both high risks and high rewards, adapting anime is just working for someone else if you don't get a lot of revenue."

"That's alright. Adaptation is the future trend. If we really want to do it, we can discuss the revenue sharing. At least we won't end up working for someone else."

Masamune paused for a moment, then spoke as he thought:

"What I care about is quality. Adapted works fluctuate too much in popularity. Are you confident in your ability to deliver?"

"Hmm... If we can communicate well with the original author and openly discuss any opinions we have, unlike the time six years ago when we revised it again and again, which resulted in insufficient funding and time, I am confident."

At this point, Kinoshita Makoto's expression turned somewhat grave, and his body trembled slightly.

"Or maybe we should just forget about it. I'm already traumatized by adaptations."

Masamune couldn't help but smile and shake his head slightly:

"If that's how you put it, then I have no choice but to take this job."

"When the time comes, we'll invite the original author over and have him participate in the animation production process. That way, there shouldn't be any major problems with the plot."

"Are you really going to accept this role?" Kinoshita Seiichi let out a soft "Huh?" "And, the president wants me to be the manager?"

"That's right, you have to get up where you fall. Since the original author trusts us so much, we have to live up to that trust."

Masamune smiled slightly and said seriously:

"Watanabe, you contact the original author and try to get the production rights for this anime. Director Kinoshita will be in charge of the adaptation for the next season or the season after that."

“No problem, after all, the original author specifically requested that we participate.” Watanabe Hayato laughed.

At that moment, Kinoshita Seiichi suddenly felt a strong sense of nostalgia for the past six years.

Although I was constantly immersed in the regret of failure, that kind of work was also very leisurely.

And now-

"President, just in case there's a misunderstanding, I should ask in advance: you're not planning to produce an anime every quarter, are you?"

"Is there a problem?" Masamune asked, puzzled.

"President, according to common sense in the industry, many animation companies only produce one animation every six months or even a year. The preparation stage, such as planning and scriptwriting, alone takes several months, or even half a year."

"Too slow! This is the era where efficiency is king."

"But this is too tiring. Even though our company has expanded its staff several times over, it's still exhausting. I have to be responsible for the storyboards in the key parts, and I have to coordinate every aspect. President, I've lost several pounds in the past few months."

"You can't tell at all. If we don't have enough manpower, we'll continue to recruit and try to fill all the empty floors upstairs as soon as possible. With several times the manpower, it shouldn't be a problem to finish a series that originally took a year to produce in one quarter."

"Is the president completely disregarding holidays? For the past few months, I haven't used up all my statutory holidays each month. I often work night shifts or stay overnight. People aren't machines; I need rest!"

"So how long do you think a rest period would be appropriate?"

"A month-long break?"

"Rejected! Now is a crucial time to establish Musashino's reputation. Holidays can be arranged, but work cannot be neglected. Regarding working overtime at the company in the evenings, attendance will be strictly recorded in the future, and overtime pay will be fully provided."

“President, this will put a lot of pressure on our finances,” Yuka Okitsu couldn’t help but interject. “For many people, working overtime is the norm…”

"Who likes working overtime? In the end, isn't it all for work? No matter how much you like it, people still need to eat. How much was the overtime pay before?"

"No."

"Huh...? Not even a little bit? I saw many employees working overtime before, and I thought it was to earn overtime pay, but I didn't expect there to be absolutely none. That's so heartless!"

Seeing her surprised expression, Masamune immediately remembered that he was the president of the company.

Looking at it this way, it turns out I'm the heartless one?

"I'm sorry, it was my fault, I didn't notice before."

"In that case, starting today, we will implement a new system where overtime will be counted outside of the 8-hour workday."

"Payment is calculated based on the standard wage, and overtime hours are based on the time you clock out of the company on the same day."

"Don't worry about the finances. I'm confident that our company will continue to grow and will never run a deficit."

"...President, wouldn't this be a bit..." Yuka Okitsu hesitated before continuing, "It's not just the animation industry; overtime pay is rarely given in any industry. At most, a small subsidy is provided."

"We don't care what others do, our company will do as I say. After the meeting, you should immediately put it into writing and implement it starting today."

"clear."

Yuka Okitsu agreed, while unconsciously thinking:

Wouldn't it be better to stay and work overtime occasionally?

Chapter 45 Writing a novel to promote the animation

"By the way, President, thanks to the huge popularity of the anime 'Masamune-kun,' we've also gained more fans who are interested in our Musashino team. Should we open an official Twitter account?"

"Hmm... Activation isn't a problem, but what about maintenance?"

“Each message has a limited length, so maintaining it shouldn’t be too difficult. Besides, since we plan to produce one anime per season, starting an official Musashino Twitter account can save a lot on promotion costs.”

"Alright, arrange the maintenance personnel."

"clear."

Yuka Okitsu wrote it down again, thinking as she spoke:

"President, the golden rating in the sky appeared at the end of March, and since then, many people have flocked to the animation industry."

"Because other companies don't have a complete script like ours, they spend a lot of time in the preparation stage before animation production."

"But as time goes by, it is gradually being completed."

"According to my preliminary investigation, there are a lot of new anime series coming out in October this year, at least more than 300."

"Many of them are adaptations of film and television dramas, and many are animations co-produced with overseas partners."

"Due to the sheer number of slots, the prime and near-prime time slots of the five major television stations have been completely divided up."

"Thanks to the quality of the previous 'Masamune-kun,' we don't have to worry about the airing time, but there are too many anime this season, and I'm worried that viewers will be taken away."

More than 300 animations?

This issue only had about fifty titles, but it suddenly expanded sixfold.

Masamune pondered for a few seconds and asked:

"How's the quality of the new animations?"

“I don’t know.” Yuka Okitsu shook her head slightly. “If it’s an animation company within the industry, I know a little about it. But many of the newly added animation companies were originally run by people from the film and television industry.”

"That's a problem."

Although they are laymen, it cannot be concluded that the animations they produce will necessarily fail.

Ultimately, no one in the world is a fool.

Those people must have made thorough preparations before entering the animation industry.

As long as you have the will and the money, and put your heart into it, the finished product will never be bad.

The problem is that the previous setting included a popularity rating.

In other words, before even being rated, it has to compete for popularity with other animations released at the same time.

In each season of animation, if the quality is similar, popularity becomes a crucial factor.

If a work doesn't get enough popularity, it might be rated 3 stars instead of 4.

The same applies to the reverse; the difference between the two is at least half a star.

"Although the eyes of the masses are incredibly discerning, we cannot place all our hopes on them. In order to avoid losing out to other animations in terms of popularity, we must keep up with the promotion."

"Hmm...do you have any good ideas?"

Watanabe Hayato thought for a moment, then looked at Kinoshita Seiichi and said:

"K-On!, directed by Kinoshita, isn't entirely a music anime, but it has a lot of songs and the quality is pretty good."

"More importantly, the five members of K-On! are real female high school students."

"If we ask them to hold concerts around the world to help with promotion, it should have some effect."

"In addition, having Ms. Shiina, a world-class painter, as the painting instructor will also have a positive publicity effect."

“K-On is fine. You can talk to the five of them later and ask them to cooperate with the publicity.” Masamune paused. “As for Mashiro, forget it. She’s not suited to be in the public eye.”

"No problem, I'll let Hirasawa and the others know after the meeting."

Watanabe Hayato smiled, not mentioning Mashiro again, and instead said:

"Promoting K-On! is easy, and it's good for the band, but for Oregairu, we can only use traditional strategies."

"How about adapting it into a light novel?" Kinoshita Seiichi suddenly interjected. "I've always felt that a light novel adaptation of Oregairu would be very popular and interesting."

"If the president doesn't have time, we can hire someone to write the story of Oregairu into a light novel."

Adapting a light novel?

That's a good idea. If we can speed things up, it should be able to be released within a month.

Masamune seemed to be deep in thought, staring at Kinoshita Makoto for a while before asking again:

"But who will adapt it?"

“That’s true.” Kinoshita Seiichi sighed. “The female protagonist’s personality is very common, but the male protagonist’s personality is very difficult to grasp, and most people can’t write that kind of charm.”

"If the president writes it himself, forget it, pretend I didn't say anything, this proposal is off."

Masamune fell into deep thought. Even if he provided the outline, very few people could grasp the male protagonist's personality well when writing Oregairu as a light novel.

Rather, looking at the whole world, there are only two people who can truly understand Hachiman Hikigaya's heart.

One is himself, and the other is Hachiman Hikigaya himself.

"what……?"

At that moment, Masamune suddenly realized that if he provided the story outline, character designs, and overall direction, and then asked Hachiman Hikigaya to write it, he should be able to write a super interesting novel.