Tokyo: Oreimo

Sunday, Akihabara.

At the MESSE SANOH game specialty store.

Ryosuke was chatting with the store manager, Kenji Yamashita.

The other party is a game distribution channel we've been working with for a long time, and we've been selling games from this store since FSN.

This store has always been happy to place Aniplex games in prominent positions.

The two exchanged a few pleasantries.

"Takashiro-kun is really amazing. Both of his visual novels are huge hits. Recently, the sales of Clannad have been increasing rapidly."

Kenji Yamashita truly admired the young man before him.

There are relatively few companies in the industry that can have two consecutive hit products.

Moreover, when the other party was making "FSN", the company had not yet been established and was a completely unknown group.

But he was able to achieve such results. At first, he thought it was luck, but now he realizes that he was too naive.

"Mr. Yamashita, you flatter me. I actually came today to ask if you know any toy manufacturers?"

Kenji Yamashita paused for a moment when he heard the question, then laughed.

Besides games, his shop also has a lot of figurines for sale. You probably asked because you saw that.

He put down the ledger in his hand and looked at Ryosuke with interest. "Takashiro-kun, are you planning to make merchandise related to your work?"

"I guess so," Ryosuke nodded. "But we don't sell directly; it's mostly about licensing partnerships."

He had wanted to do this when he established the production committee for "Puella Magi Madoka Magica".

It's not that no toy factories have approached us, but the quality of their products can only be described as average.

If a toy manufacturer takes over the license, it could have negative consequences, and people might accuse you of taking advantage of them.

Furthermore, the royalties for licensed toys are a percentage of sales revenue, so poor quality toys won't sell well.

Kenji Yamashita leaned against the counter, a knowing look on his face.

"Indeed, this industry has developed very quickly in recent years. With the economy not doing well, you young people like to spend your money on cheaper consumption."

Ryosuke listened quietly.

"You probably want high-quality merchandise, right?" Kenji Yamashita asked.

“Yes,” Ryosuke said. “The quality can’t be too bad. The quality of the ones you have in your shop, Mr. Yamashita, is fine.”

Ryosuke picked up the cat and dog plush toys on the counter. Compared to the other figures in the store, he was quite satisfied with their design and materials.

Kenji Yamashita raised an eyebrow.

This kid has a good eye for quality. Although it's not the best-selling item, that's because it lacks brand recognition.

"I know several toy manufacturers and have collaborated with them. The most famous is Bandai, you should have heard of it."

"We've already contacted them through their official website, but haven't received a reply yet."

Ryosuke had tried contacting such a famous company through the contact information provided on their official website before the anime production even began.

But the other party completely ignored it.

"That's normal. That company is an industry giant and has its own planning department, but they won't easily cooperate with a company of your size."

Kenji Yamashita said, "Companies like Kaiyodo and Kotobukiya are a bit friendlier."

Do you have contact information for this manufacturer?

Ryosuke shook the cat plush toy in his hand. He had heard of the two companies the other party mentioned, but their products were more focused on models and car toys, and their other product lines were not very good.

He still values ​​the quality of the dolls more.

"This is SK Japan, whose main business is making prizes for claw machines. Their products are also characterized by cuteness and a sense of comfort."

Kenji Yamashita explained, "Takashiro-kun is making figures for the game, right? This company mainly makes plush toys."

"No, I want a plush toy." Ryosuke smiled and winked at him.

From the very beginning, his intended collaboration was not with character figurines, but with a certain white, fluffy contracted beast.

This kind of toy manufacturer is perfect for this, isn't it?

"is it?"

Kenji Yamashita was quite puzzled, but he didn't ask any further questions. He simply handed over SK Japan's contact card.

"Thank you." Ryosuke took the business card, glanced at it, and put it in his pocket.

"It was just a small favor."

Ryosuke was about to leave when he suddenly remembered the favor that Ryouno had asked him before he left.

"Manager Yamashita, have any new games been released recently?"

That guy was too lazy to go out himself, so when he heard that Ryosuke was going to Akihabara, he asked him to help him see if there were any new releases or anything.

"Yes, but they're all from small companies and not very well-known, so they're located a bit further inside. Do you need me to show you the way?"

Kenji Yamashita was about to give some more pointers when the wind chimes at the shop entrance suddenly rang.

"Boss, please take care of your business first. I'll go find it myself."

Ryosuke smiled and walked alone into the depths of the shop.

Kenji Yamashita turned his attention to the doorway.

A girl in a dress came into view, her face filled with disgust.

"How strange, do you think a beautiful girl would patronize a shop like mine?"

...

Ruri Aragaki was unaware that there were other people in the store.

Her entire focus was on the shelves, or more precisely, on how to find her target as quickly as possible and then get out of there as fast as she could.

"Sibling theme...sibling theme..."

The girl muttered to herself in a low voice as she walked quickly between the shelves, her eyes scanning the rows of game covers.

It felt like I was involved in some shady deal.

In fact, Ruri Aragaki did feel that what she was doing was very shameful.

Her gaze swept over the game box, and she couldn't help but purse her lips.

This row is almost entirely filled with swimsuit covers featuring beautiful girls.

"How can there be so many of these things...?"

Ruri Aragaki suppressed the urge to turn around and leave, gritting her teeth as she continued her search.

She remembered the cover she'd glimpsed in the store that day, featuring a white-haired girl with pigtails...

"found it."

The girl stopped in her tracks.

"Living Alone" lay quietly on the middle shelf, the cover showing the male and female protagonists sitting on a rural platform, the girl with her head on the boy's lap, looking much more normal than the games around them.

However, Ruri Aragaki had searched online beforehand and knew what kind of perverted content was hidden inside.

She crouched down and reached for the game box.

Just then.

A voice came from behind.

"Are you planning to buy this game, Miss?"

Ruri Aragaki turned her head and looked at him with a wary expression.

The man in front of her, dressed in work clothes, looked to be in his thirties with a gentle smile, but in her eyes, the manager of a game store was probably some kind of incurable otaku.

"It has nothing to do with you."

The girl replied coldly, quickly pulling the box of "Living in Seclusion" off the shelf as if she were afraid of contracting some virus if she held it for even a second longer.

Kenji Yamashita choked for a moment, then awkwardly touched his nose.

Young people these days are really not cute.

However, he wasn't annoyed. After so many years in this business, he had seen all kinds of customers. He found it amusing that customers who clearly wanted to buy but looked disgusted with him actually did.

Do you need a bag?

"want."

Liuli's answer was brief and forceful. She deliberately avoided looking at the explicit covers on the shelf, and gripped the game box tightly in her hand until her knuckles turned white.

All she wanted to do was pay the bill and leave this place that made her feel so uncomfortable.

Kenji Yamashita turned and walked back to the cashier, casually remarking as he went, "This 'Living in Seclusion' book has been selling quite well lately. It seems the more taboo it is, the more exciting it becomes..."

Liuli's complexion worsened.

The more taboo something is, the more exciting it is? She bought this not because...

Forget it, why bother explaining to someone like that?

She strode towards the cashier, her eyes fixed on the ground, wanting to finish quickly.

But as she stepped out from behind the shelves, a familiar voice came from the side.

"Mr. Yamashita, that's all..."

Liuli's steps suddenly stopped, and the source of the sound seemed to pause for a moment as well.

The girl stiffly raised her head, her gaze slowly moving upwards from the ground, sweeping over a pair of men's sneakers, casual pants, and a white T-shirt...

Finally, the image is fixed on a face.

Ryosuke noticed her too, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes.

Their eyes met in mid-air.

The air suddenly became quiet.