Tokyo: Oreimo

"Ling Nai is right. There's really nothing to be proud of. At this age, you should be studying hard. Drawing comics is a waste of time. I really feel sorry for their parents."

It was rare for Takashiro Isamu to respond to his daughter's words at the dinner table, and he even nodded in deep agreement.

Takashiro Ryouno's expression froze instantly.

Huh? Dad, I was just being polite, why did you take it so seriously?

Ryosuke lowered his head and ate his rice, his shoulders trembling slightly.

Perhaps in this father's heart, even the most popular female celebrities on TV cannot compare to his own daughter?

The elderly father, following his daughter's words, never imagined he would make a mistake.

“But speaking of which,” Mieko said, glancing at the commercials still playing on a loop on TV, “this new anime is also a magical girl anime, isn’t it? It’s kind of like Sakura?”

"...I guess...I guess so."

Takashiro Ryouno answered somewhat guiltily.

Although they are both magical girls, the only similarity between them and Sakura is their names and authors.

"Would you like to watch it with Ling Nai?" Mieko smiled gently. "Just like watching Sakura, our whole family can watch the premiere together on TV."

"puff!"

Ryoko Takashiro almost spat out her miso soup.

Want to watch it together?

Watching "Puella Magi Madoka Magica" with my dad and aunt?

That's not a good idea; images of heads falling off might scare them.

Imagine that scene...

After the third episode finished airing, the living room was deathly silent.

What would Takashiro Isamu say?

What will Mieko think?

As for her, as "Rumiko Takashiro" herself, she could only keep a straight face and pretend that she knew nothing the whole time.

Too tormented.

"What's wrong?" Mieko asked, looking at Ling Nai, who had reacted so strongly.

"N-nothing..." Ling Nai wiped her mouth. "I just feel that... this anime might not be suitable for the whole family to watch together, and I heard it's scheduled to air at 9 pm, which is a time for academic tutoring."

Due to its content, the animation was rated 15+ after review and was not scheduled for prime time.

"Not suitable?" Mieko was even more confused. "Isn't it supposed to be a heart-healing film? It's perfect for the whole family to watch together."

"For academic tutoring, it's okay to take a day off occasionally, since it's a weekly schedule, right?"

Ryoko Takashiro couldn't help but glance at Ryosuke.

The culprit was nonchalantly drinking his miso soup, as if none of this concerned him.

“Furthermore,” Mieko added, “since it’s a work by that Rumiko Takashiro teacher, it should be just as wonderful as Sakura, right?”

It was indeed wonderful, but it was the kind of wonderful that left people feeling depressed.

Takashiro Ryou couldn't think of any reason to refuse, and she looked at Ryosuke with an indifferent and amused expression.

Gritting her teeth, she stuck her foot out and kicked him under the table.

She'd like to say something; she certainly didn't want to watch this type of animation with her parents.

I might end up crying in front of them.

Ryosuke found Ling Nai's slightly embarrassed appearance amusing. He put down his chopsticks and coughed.

What does Ryosuke think?

"Well, let's watch them together."

Ryosuke said with a serious expression, but his feet under the table moved away without him noticing.

Mieko smiled even more gently, "Then we'll watch it together."

This guy!

Takashiro Ryou lowered her head and poked at the rice in her bowl with her chopsticks.

A family of three, all neatly together, sat in front of the TV watching a magical girl lose her head?

Are you kidding me?

Takashiro Ryouno glared fiercely at Ryosuke.

Does this guy have absolutely no sense of shame?

No.

Ryosuke winked at her.

He just thought that teasing Ling Nai was interesting in itself.

.....

The premiere date for the anime is getting closer.

The entire Aniplex company was filled with a vibrant atmosphere.

Production is currently at the stage of 4-5 episodes, and at least 8 episodes will be completed before the anime officially airs.

The employees have begun to adapt to the high-intensity overtime work, and Ryosuke is never stingy with material rewards in order to ensure their performance.

Overtime pay on Saturdays and weekdays is calculated at three times the daily wage. In addition, there is a group performance bonus of 200 million yen after completing a single episode.

The animation teams, divided into two groups, began to compete with each other. The faster and higher the production speed, the sooner they could start production on the next episode.

If the work is done in order of priority, the group that finishes faster will get one more copy.

It's said that once this project ends, the president will immediately launch a new project, which means their good days are far from over.

"Do these two people really need to be reminded when it's time to leave work?!"

"The president is really something. It's good to motivate people, but these guys don't care about their health at all. If we don't control them, they'll work themselves to death."

At 10 p.m., the company was brightly lit.

According to Ryosuke's request, overtime work should not exceed 2 hours a day, but none of these guys listened.

Working an extra few hours is equivalent to earning an extra day's pay.

Even though it was 5:30, the time to leave work, no one left in order to meet the group's deadlines.

"It's time to leave work. How long are you going to linger at the company?!"

"Just because you're young doesn't mean you can neglect your health? Get back home and rest right now!"

It wasn't until Ritsu Saito got angry that the employees left work one by one with regret on their faces.

"Then let's go. Director Saito, you should get some rest too."

Rina Inoue walked past him, waving and greeting him.

"Get out of here! The only reason I'm still at the company is because of you guys!"

Ritsu Saito waved his hand, his face showing exhaustion.

He even made a special appointment to drink with his friends today. If he wasn't worried that they would sneak off to work all night, he would have left work long ago.

"laugh."

Rina Inoue stuck out her tongue and walked away, looking rather embarrassed.

These guys have absolutely no sense of self-awareness.

Ritsu Saito felt both pleased and worried about the strong creative passion of his members.

After all the members left the company, he went to the lounge and greeted the people inside.

"I'm off work, Nomura. Have you been waiting long?"

"Wow, I must say, you're really busy here, Saito."

His former colleague from the company stood up in the lounge and grinned at him.

Chapter 132 King vs. King

Inside the izakaya, two middle-aged men were exchanging drinks. Although they hadn't seen each other for a while, they didn't seem estranged.

"It's been a long time. You've been away from Kadokawa for half a year. Are you adjusting well here?"

"Of course, it's much freer than before, and spending more time with young people always brings back a long-lost passion."

Saito Ritsu took a sip and poured himself another glass.

The average age at Aniplex is around 25, and he is the oldest person in the company, so he is often called "uncle".

"What about you, Nomura?"

"It's still the same, but this year, with the 'Cardcaptor Sakura' that you handed over to me, it's enough for me to get through the year-end assessment."

At this point, Nomura expressed his sincere gratitude and took a swig from his glass.

"There's nothing to thank me for. It's normal to hand over the reins to you. Besides you, very few people in the editorial department speak up for me."

Ritsu Saito waved his hand dismissively.

This guy, when he received the bonus after the Cardcaptor Sakura anime became a huge hit, specifically asked to give it to me, saying that he hadn't done anything since taking over, and he wouldn't feel at ease accepting it.

But he still didn't want it.

That's all in the past, and he doesn't want to bring it up again. He's already gotten what he wanted from Aniplex, so now he needs to move on.

"You really are..."

Hideo Nomura thought the man in front of him was really foolish. He could have stayed at Kadokawa for a few more years until the editor-in-chief retired. Instead, he gave up so many years of service and chose such an unstable job.

"Nomura, do you think I ran away?"

Seeing the expression on the other person's face, Saito Ritsu guessed what the other person was thinking.