Tokyo: Oreimo

"I did some research through connections, and the company was only recently established, so I'm really worried that the student council might be going down the wrong path."

Older men tend to be talkative, and Ritsu Saito found it somewhat difficult to keep up.

Fortunately, after chatting with the other party about Ryosuke for a while, the teacher finally felt relieved and became less talkative.

.....

With ten minutes to go before the interview started, Inoue Rina was a little nervous.

She hadn't originally planned to attend the interview, since she knew more about the company's history than any of her classmates.

Last week, she personally received the president of the same company and led him all the way to the Employment Support Office.

Aniplex's only current work is an R18 galgame, and there are reportedly plans to adapt it into an anime.

Based on Rina Inoue's speculation, it's highly likely that it will be an erotic work.

To be honest, this company wasn't very attractive to her. She figured she'd start as a cog in the machine no matter where she went, so why would she want to draw erotic content?

Is it all for a few extra tens of yen in royalties per print?

At the time, I was just disappointed that I didn't get to meet Rumiko Takashiro. I was even thinking about whether I could volunteer for the position of assistant, which would sound good to others.

Having worked as an assistant to a bestselling comic artist will make your internship resume look better, and it will also make it easier to get orders from outsourcing companies after you enter the workforce.

But as she stood listening from the sidelines, the salary and benefits offered by the excessively young 'president' made her heart race.

The chosen approach is a fixed salary model.

We are recruiting trainees for original artwork and in-between animation. The monthly salary is a fixed 160,000 yen. There are a total of 40 trainees.

This kind of treatment made Inoue Rina wonder if this company was running a charity.

In the industry, recent graduates like them, even those who have received professional education, are almost always "free" upon graduation.

Once you embark on the path of animation, it means uncertainty; academic qualifications are irrelevant, only drawing skills matter.

A recent graduate just starting out in the industry can only begin with the most basic job, such as cutting.

Even with the best efforts, monthly income can only be maintained between 5 and 10 yen, which is even less than what one could earn from part-time work.

This is also why many predecessors changed careers or even went into business.

"So you're saying it's possible to start directly as a concept artist, with such a high and stable salary?"

"But even drawing erotic content wouldn't earn this much, right?"

"No, I should say that even if I were asked to draw that kind of thing, I would be willing to pay such a high salary."

Rina Inoue made her decision almost immediately.

What does an assistant or a cog in the machine have to do with her?

If she could pass the interview at this company, a bright future awaited her.

But she wasn't the only one who realized how good the company's benefits were; almost everyone in the room was there because of those benefits.

Damn it, in that case, we can only rely on our true abilities to break through the encirclement.

"Cough cough!"

Just as her mind was wandering, a boy coughed from the office's speakers, seemingly checking if the microphone was working.

She immediately looked ahead and confirmed that the person who was about to speak was the young 'president' she had received last week.

"Everyone, I am Ryosuke Takashiro, the president of Aniplex. It's a pleasure to meet you all here."

Chapter 103 Animation Supervision

As soon as he spoke, the noise in the room quickly subsided, but some people were still whispering among themselves.

"Is this the president of this company? He's so young."

"There's nothing to worry about, right? This company was originally the TYPEMOON group, and it's said that they were the initiators of the FSN project."

"These are all mentioned in the recruitment brochure, and I also collaborated with Rumiko Takashiro on 'Cardcaptor Sakura'."

"CLAMP-sensei? The real person is so young."

"You're focusing on the wrong thing, aren't you? Shouldn't you be concerned about the salary? I really can't believe it's true that they're offering such generous benefits."

.......

"Before we begin the interviews, I'd like to address the question that everyone is most concerned about: salary."

Ryosuke directly addressed the topic that everyone present was most concerned about.

This caused a moment of tension in the room, and everyone became alert.

“I know that piecework is the norm in the animation industry now, but at Aniplex, we want to try a different approach whenever it’s within our capabilities.”

"As for the reason... it's actually very simple."

Ryosuke paused for a moment, his gaze sweeping over the hundreds of university students below the stage.

"I don't want my members to look back on this creative period in the future with nothing but anxiety about meeting deadlines and quantities."

"Whether in the past, present, or future, Aniplex's purpose is to create works that weave dreams, beauty, hope, and inspiration for all people in the world."

"To allow creators to sit at their desks with peace of mind, I believe the first thing to address is their concerns about making a living. A base salary of 160,000 yen is the most basic promise we can offer."

In order to ensure the survival of employees, they offer a guaranteed minimum wage that is twice the market price?

In this era of bubble economy, it is already very difficult for companies to survive, and increasing revenue and reducing expenditure are basic common sense.

Especially in animation production companies, industry exploitation has become the norm, but today, the common sense that the students present believed in has been shattered.

A brief silence fell over the audience.

Rina Inoue hugged her interview portfolio tightly, watching Ryosuke speaking eloquently on stage.

"Weaving dreams?"

After more than a decade of study, she was admitted to Tokyo Polytechnic University and entered the animation department. What drove her to work hard and keep moving forward was her love for animation.

But passion, when coupled with the pressures of survival, often fades away.

From first-year students to fourth-year students, the seniors I've met have all graduated, but the feedback they've brought has been worse year by year.

Many people fall by the wayside in their pursuit of dreams; only a small number persevere.

If they pass this interview, it will be a very high starting point for their animation major.

"After joining the company, you will be given a training period of about six months to adapt and learn. After six months, we will officially start producing our first animated work and gain practical experience."

"Oh, right, that..."

The boy on the stage suddenly paused, seemingly looking down at the audience. Rina Inoue could see his gaze fixed on a blonde girl.

"Another point to mention is that the animation director for this work will be Rumiko Takashiro, whom everyone is familiar with."

"!!!"

......

"You're so annoying. You could have just stayed off the stage and not said this kind of thing."

After Ryosuke stepped down, Takashiro Ryouno couldn't help but glare at him.

After he finished speaking, the girl felt a lot of eyes on her.

Fortunately, she was well disguised this time, wearing sunglasses, a mask, and a sun hat.

In short, as long as she puts on these three pieces of equipment, she is confident that unless she runs into someone she knows, no one will recognize her.

"Because this makes it easier to motivate everyone, right? It's something like being able to collaborate with Rumiko Takashiro."

Ryosuke smiled.

He changed his pen name to avoid being targeted by razor blades, but the original artist 'Rumiko Takashiro' didn't have such concerns; rather, the name was a golden brand.

If my face were to be exposed, it might have some impact on my daily life, but now that I'm all covered up, it wouldn't matter if I were exposed, right?

Anyway, I'll have to show my face in the company sooner or later.

"Hmph, even if you flatter me like that, I won't be happy."

Takashiro Ryou gave a soft snort, turned around and walked towards the interview table, but her light steps still betrayed her mood at the moment.

.....

With salaries more than double the industry average and the allure of collaborating with 'Rumiko Takashiro', the recruitment process went quite smoothly.

After three hours of reviewing the interviewees' work and conducting a personality test.

The most outstanding group of students was selected, a total of forty.

After the offer letters were issued on-site, the employees would gradually report to the company the following month.

"If we have that kind of budget, wouldn't it be better to just hire experienced people from the public? That way, we can start animation production much faster."

After all the work was finished, Ritsu Saito offered his opinions to Ryosuke.

To be honest, he didn't understand why Ryosuke was spending so much money recruiting new people.

Although we are alumni and can empathize with the difficulties faced by animators at the bottom of the industry, from the company's perspective, Ryosuke could have gotten a better return for the same amount of money.

Ryosuke explained it to him.

"No need to rush, my view is to focus on high-quality products."

"And times are changing, Director Saito."

"The reason for recruiting new people is that they are like blank sheets of paper that can be molded into any shape, and they learn much faster than experienced people."

Just like the evolution from CD to DVD.

At the intersection of the 20th and 21st centuries, animation production is in a critical period of transition from traditional hand-drawn animation to digital animation.

In the next few years, technology and software will develop rapidly, and it will be too late to transform once the ecosystem matures.

For established artists in the market, their past experience has often led to the formation of their own painting habits.

Making changes would be quite painful for them.

According to his understanding, Tokyo Polytechnic University has made digital courses a compulsory subject in its animation department for several years.