Tokyo: Oreimo

"So this is the company."

Iori Setsuna had heard that this company had recently collaborated with Kadokawa and participated in the investment of the anime production of "Cardcaptor Sakura".

The idol groups managed by this company have been quite popular in the industry in recent years.

"The investment should have been attracted by leveraging Rumiko Takashiro's name."

Iori Setsuna made an accurate judgment.

The opening sequence ended, and the anime officially began playing on the television.

The opening dream sequence made her raise an eyebrow slightly.

"The art style is so weird, did that blond kid design this?"

"It lacks the glamour that a magical girl should have; it's too minimalist."

Iori Setsuna only thought about it for a moment, then wore an expression of complete indifference.

"It must be due to budget constraints; they probably put all their resources into combat special effects?"

If there's anything particularly noteworthy about it, it's only the opening battle scene featuring the black magical girl.

She continued reading.

The protagonist appears: an ordinary girl, living an ordinary life.

The transitions are bland and uneventful.

Setsuna Iori breathed a sigh of relief and casually scribbled something in her notebook.

It's a standard magical girl story, just like Cardcaptor Sakura, and even more conservative than Magical Idol Yumi.

At least the first episode of the US series unfolds very quickly, getting right into the plot.

And what about this one?

Going to school, introducing myself, and being dragged by classmates to participate in club activities.

mediocre.

She could almost foresee how the story would unfold.

The female protagonist encounters a crisis, is saved by a mysterious creature, and gains the power of a magical girl.

Then they started a weekly episodic series, fighting monsters, solving classmates' problems, and finally using friendship and love to heal everything.

The standard formula for benevolent rule.

Is that all there is to it?

Setsuna Iori couldn't help but whisper it aloud, her voice echoing in the empty conference room.

She even stayed to watch this anime, wondering what amazing things Saito Ritsu, who had left Kadokawa, might do.

Is this the kind of stuff we get?

She was also wary, after all, that guy did have good judgment when he was with Kadokawa.

But now it seems this guy has lost his mind, releasing this kind of animation in the current market.

Since Sakura popularized the magical girl genre, it will suffer a terrible fate if it doesn't innovate on the original foundation.

The animation continues playing.

The mysterious transfer student Homura Akemi appears, and the sense of alienation and hostility is handled well, but this kind of suspense setting is also an old cliché.

A mysterious antagonist who will surely become the protagonist's partner later on.

Kyubey appears, a round and adorable creature, and proposes a contract in that innocent and naive tone.

Iori Setsuna almost burst out laughing.

Isn't this the standard setup for magical girl themes?

A contracted creature that resembles a mascot, with an adorable appearance.

Because of the existence of Cerberus in Sakura, most similar works will include this setting.

It's already so common that audiences won't buy into it; instead, they'll easily get tired of it.

She could even imagine the following lines, something like, "Sign a contract with me and become a magician."

The image shows Cupid saying something similar.

"boring."

Iori Setsuna checked the time.

The first episode is almost over, and the direction of this animation is completely within her expectations.

With its minimalist visuals and underdeveloped characters, aside from the slightly outstanding soundtrack and special effects, the core story appears to be a complete copy of similar themes.

Compared to the narrative pace of "Magical Idol Yumi," which introduces a novel setting and clearly defines the main storyline from the very beginning, this one is different.

Puella Magi Madoka Magica is like a lukewarm cup of water, a complete copy of Sakura.

"The worry is unnecessary."

Iori Setsuna picked up the remote and turned off the TV, not even bothering to watch the ending theme song.

She stood up, gathered her notebooks from the table, and prepared to leave.

As I walked to the conference room door, I glanced back at the television screen, which was now black.

"I'm being way too sensitive. Does Saito really think he can turn things around with something like this?"

She scoffed and pushed open the door to leave.

"The ratings will be released tomorrow, and we should be able to see the results then."

She was absolutely certain that the ratings for "Magical Idol Yumi" would steadily surpass those of this mediocre show.

Thinking of this, Iori Setsuna's mood improved even more.

"After leaving Kadokawa and going to that new company, the things they produce are just so-so."

She still remembered the scene when Saito Ritsu was at Kadokawa, where he embarrassed her in front of all the editors.

The editor-in-chief ousted him, which vented his anger, but it wasn't enough.

Once this anime ends, she definitely wants to find an opportunity to meet with Ritsu Saito and "check in" on his current situation.

After all, we've been colleagues for a while, so it's only right that we catch up.

As the elevator reached the first floor, Iori Setsuna stepped out of the building in her high heels, the night breeze brushing against her face.

"Magical Idol Yumi" will stand out in the July lineup.

As for Puella Magi Madoka Magica?

Who would remember such a poorly written story?

...

The ratings were released the next day.

Iori Setsuna arrived at the company early in the morning and couldn't wait to open the data report.

"Magical Idol Yumi": 12% viewership rating, 65% completion rate.

A good start; achieving this level of success in Fuji TV's prime time slot is already a sign of great popularity.

This is already quite impressive for an anime, considering that even a nationally popular anime like "Chibi Maruko-chan" only achieved a 24% viewership rating for its first episode.

She nodded in satisfaction and continued scrolling down.

Puella Magi Madoka Magica: 10% viewership rating, 43% completion rate.

"Oh."

She laughed and casually placed the report on the table.

Fuji TV's viewership ratings and NHK General TV's ratings are completely different concepts.

The difference in audience size is obvious. Fuji TV's 12% would be at least double that of NHK, meaning a minimum of 24%.

It seems the audience has a discerning eye; they can tell at a glance whether something is mediocre or brilliant.

In the coming weeks, this gap will only widen.

She picked up her coffee and took a leisurely sip.

Setsuna Iori leaned back in her chair, enjoying the moment.

"No doubt about it."

Having fallen behind from the start, Yumi will not give Madoka a chance to catch up; she will continue to go higher and further on this path.

The aroma of coffee wafted between my lips and teeth, carrying a subtle sweetness.

Just like the taste of victory.

Where is Chapter 134 perverted?

[Title: Rumiko Takashiro as Art Director, Script Quality of "Puella Magi Madoka Magica" is Worrying]

Posted by: Daidouji Tomoyo's Camera.

First, the rating: ★★☆☆☆

As a fan of Rumiko Takashiro, I had high expectations for this work and watched it entirely because of the previous works, but after watching the first episode, I can only say I was disappointed.

Visually, the background art is indeed exquisite; Takashiro-sensei has pioneered a new art style. If you just like cute and pretty characters, this anime is watchable. Speaking of which, that contract beast is really quite adorable! /(????)/

However, I would give the plot a score of 0 because it was too perfunctory.

This kind of standard magical girl plot—an ordinary girl encountering a mysterious creature → gaining power → fighting an enemy—is so bad. If you want to watch this kind of content, you might as well just watch "Sakura."

1: Anonymous User >> Daidouji Tomoyo's Camera

"This is hilarious. How many copycat creations have there been since Sakura became popular?"

2: Anonymous User >> Daidouji Tomoyo's Camera

"It's such a waste to use Takashiro-sensei's artwork on this kind of script. The style of the whole work is inconsistent, sometimes bright and sometimes dark, and I don't understand what the director is trying to express at all?"