Tokyo: The Manga Begins with the Funeral of Frilian

The sky was already bright, and she placed the completed double-page spread on the table.

He then lay down on the table and drifted off to sleep.

After getting out of bed, Shiori Shirakawa walked towards her desk.

She looked down at the double-page spread of text on it.

Above the blue flames of the campfire, there was an extremely subtle detail.

Two figures, their backs to each other, standing at the edge of the crowd.

One is dark gray, and the other is beige.

Two people stood side by side, their shoulders touching, looking up at the lights shining from the clock tower.

.........

Christmas Eve has passed by a day.

Ryota Onodera stepped through the door.

The chill in my body had not completely dissipated.

He placed his briefcase on the low table.

He didn't pick up the teacup first, as he usually does.

Instead, he simply sat down. Then he took a fax paper from the inside pocket of his suit jacket.

It was slammed onto the table with a loud thud.

"The record company has backed out."

Shiori Shirakawa was brewing tea in the kitchen when she heard the noise and turned around.

Which record label?

"Songzhu Music & Entertainment. That's the company that agreed to invest 20 million last time at a discounted price."

Ryota Onodera spoke in a low voice.

"This morning, the planning manager told me that the head office had received a 'business risk warning' requiring them to suspend investment in the 'Frilian' animation project."

Business Risk Warning

Written by Koichi Matsumoto

Ryota Onodera tapped his finger on the fax paper.

  

"He sent a letter in the name of Yamato Toys to several major investors, mentioning that the 'Frilian' animation project had significant commercial risks. The original text was too slow and did not fit the positioning of the shonen animation market."

"The production committee was controlled by an individual studio with no experience in animation production, and the director was a problematic figure with a history of box office flops. The conclusion is—investment is not recommended."

After placing the teapot on the table, Shiori Shirakawa picked up the fax paper.

I watched it carefully from beginning to end, and then handed it over to Yuma Kamiya.

Kamiya Yuma took the item, glanced at it, and then put it aside.

"What else?"

"And television stations."

Ryota Onodera picked up his teacup and took a sip. It was so hot that he grimaced, but he didn't put it down.

"Originally, TV Tokyo was going to use its broadcast resources to invest in the company at a discount of 30 million yen. This afternoon, their programming manager called to say that the schedule has changed, and our new anime series might not be able to be scheduled for April next year."

What does it mean if I can't get a spot?

"The real meaning is that Matsumoto has already informed them. This is the amount Daiwa Toys spends annually on airing ToyGG on TV Tokyo..."

Ryota Onodera raised three fingers.

"Three hundred million yen. Because of the three hundred million yen contract, it's worth it no matter what if we don't produce an anime."

Shiori Shirakawa walked to the opposite side of the low table, sat down, and opened the folder.

Then he picked up a red pen.

"The record company gave us 20 million, and the TV station gave us 30 million, that's a total of 50 million. How do we cover the 50 million shortfall?"

"It can't be made up for."

Ryota Onodera put down his cup and took out a piece of paper from his briefcase.

"And there's something even more troublesome. Dongyang Animation Company is in trouble."

Lay the paper flat before unfolding it.

This is the internal meeting record of the Dongyang Animation Production Department, which bears the company's official seal.

"Toyo Animation's production department held an internal meeting yesterday. Several senior animation directors jointly expressed their opposition, believing that Keisuke Fujita is unsuitable to direct 'Frilian'."

"The reason is that his previous theatrical film, *Winter Stardust*, was a box office flop, causing investors to withdraw their funding and the studio to go bankrupt. He's considered someone with a history of failure in the industry. Having someone like that oversee a $150 million production is very risky."

"This reason is untenable."

Hoshino Rin looked up.

"The visual quality of 'Winter Stardust' was recognized by the Tokyo Anime Awards. The box office failure was due to problems with the marketing and distribution strategy, not with the production itself. This is a widely acknowledged fact in the industry."

"It's a fact that's generally accepted in the industry, but using it as a reason is another matter."

Ryota Onodera smokes.

"The key point is that the production manager put forward a condition: if they want to use Dongyang Animation's production resources to invest in the company at a discounted price of 40 million yuan, they must replace Keisuke Fujita."

"They will recommend a commercially viable supervisor to replace the original supervisor. If they don't change, they won't advance the salaries of the pre-production team."

"How much are the salaries for the pre-production team?"

"It's between three and five hundred million. The key artists, animators, color designers, photographers, and other staff must be in place before the official start of production, and their salaries are paid monthly. If Dongyang doesn't advance this money, we'll have to pay for it ourselves."

Shiori Shirakawa's pen paused on the paper.

She raised her head and looked at Yuma Kamiya.

When a light screen appeared in front of Yuma Kamiya.

The convergence point of the world lines represents the strangulation of capital.

[Fork in the road 1: Compromise and back down, accept the conditions proposed by Dongyang Animation, replace Keisuke Fujita, and accept Koichi Matsumoto's sponsorship offer. Reward: 100 million yen in bailout funds, and the animation project proceeds smoothly.]

Warning: If you choose this option, the core style of the animated version of "The Burial of Frillian" will collapse, its reputation will plummet, and it will ultimately become a mediocre work.

Branch Two: Stand firm to the end, accept no strings attached, and tear through the censorship network with the work itself. Reward: Perfect pitch and "hidden clues connecting to a master composer."

Warning: This option may result in a significant short-term funding gap for the project, but the quality of the work will be guaranteed.

Yuma Kamiya chose the second option.

Absolute pitch.

In the first episode, Keisuke Fujita used a storyboard approach to write out the eight-note clarinet melody.

He already had a general understanding of the matter.

However, this melody is missing something.

The sound that would move people to tears is gone.

The work of a composer.

"I choose option two."

What I was thinking was...

A clear stream of information entered my mind.

All the sounds suddenly became very clear.

The sound that Shiori Shirakawa makes when she opens the folder.

Rin Hoshino drew various patterns in her sketchbook with a pencil.

It makes a rustling sound.

The snow on the ginkgo trees outside the window was falling, making a rustling sound.

Ryota Onodera's fingers still bore traces of cigarette butts.

Every sound has color and form.

An address came to mind very clearly.

Karuizawa.

Qianlong Villa District.

The address is 3-chome 7-banji.

"Kamiya?"

Shiori Shirakawa's words brought him back to his senses.

"So, what are your plans to do?"