They’re all reborn, what’s wrong with being a little more almighty?

Chapter 281 Let’s Make a “Masterpiece”

Ye Haotian handed a schedule to Zhang Wei.

"What is this?" Zhang Wei asked.

"This is your training plan. You should follow this plan to train your singing skills in the future," Ye Haotian replied.

Zhang Wei glanced at the schedule and found it was quite tight.

"Brother Haotian, there's no need to do this, right? Besides, I don't know anything and I can't practice by myself!"

"You don't understand, but I do. I'll teach you how to sing. You know how bad you are at singing, right? Fortunately, the song you wrote is good, otherwise you would have been eliminated long ago. But in the next competition, it's useless to just rely on having a good song."

Ye Haotian paused, then continued: "Besides, Xiao Lu and I sacrificed ourselves to send you to the top 10. If you can't make it to the national finals, how can you be worthy of us? In order to live up to our efforts, from today on, you must undergo special training!"

"Brother Haotian, you're going to the United States in a few months. Why don't you take this opportunity to go home and spend time with your parents? Why are you wasting your time here with me? Once you go to Harvard, you can only go home once a year or two!" Zhang Wei said.

"A good man has ambitions to go far and wide. How can he stay at home all the time? What's more, I can only go home once every year or two." Ye Haotian changed the subject and continued, "By the way, I'm not going to Harvard. I'm going to Yale instead!"

"Why did it change again?" Zhang Wei asked curiously.

"Yale allows me to take an elective course in a master's degree in law, which means I can get two master's degrees. In addition to being ranked first in the world in economics, Yale is also ranked first in the United States in law, so it is still worth learning something. I plan to focus on studying economic laws and regulations, which will be useful if I do business with Americans in the future." Ye Haotian replied.

"Why doesn't Harvard let you get a master's degree? They shouldn't mind your tuition fee, right?" Zhang Wei asked again.

"There is a professor at Yale Law School who is of Chinese descent. She was introduced to me by an acquaintance of my family, and she was willing to let me in through the back door," Ye Haotian went on to explain.

As we all know, the top universities in the United States are primarily based on connections. As long as the connections are strong enough, even a fool can get in and get a degree.

After finishing his own story, Ye Haotian continued, "There is one more thing. The news that you have entered the top ten of the Beijing competition area has spread. There are several bands in Tsinghua University who want to accompany you!"

"That's great. Which bands are they? Military band? Symphony band? Or folk band? Folk bands all play traditional instruments. Guzheng, pipa and the like don't seem suitable!" Zhang Wei asked immediately.

"You still want a military band to accompany you? What are you thinking about? Why don't you go to heaven! It's just a rock band spontaneously organized by several seniors and juniors!" Ye Haotian replied immediately.

Although National Tsing Hua University does not have a music department, it has several formal band organizations.

Take the National Tsing Hua University Military Band as an example. It was established in 1916 to assist students in practicing military exercises. It is now a century old. The National Tsing Hua University Military Band is of high standard. In addition to holding regular concerts, it also often participates in visiting performances at home and abroad.

There is also the National Tsing Hua University Chinese Orchestra, which was founded in 1924 and has been passed down for nearly a hundred years. In addition to students of National Tsing Hua University, many faculty members are also members of the Chinese Orchestra. So when the Chinese Orchestra performs, you can see the white-haired old professor playing the erhu, and you can also see the energetic young man in his twenties playing the suona.

As for the rock bands formed by Tsinghua students, there are too many to count. Many of the top students who can be admitted to Tsinghua University are multi-talented. Sometimes a dormitory can form a band, and a department can even form a symphony orchestra.

Ye Haotian continued, "Of course, if you want, you can go find the principal and ask the military band to accompany you. It shouldn't be a problem."

"By the way, you just said that the news that I made it into the top ten of the competition area has spread all over the school. Please help me find out what the reaction is from Principal Gu!"

"What other reaction can there be? Just say that you are not doing your job properly! Instead of doing research honestly, you are causing trouble everywhere!" Ye Haotian replied.

"Tell me, why hasn't Principal Gu talked to me yet? He should call me over and give me a severe scolding. I have already thought of an excuse." Zhang Wei understood this.

"I guess it's because your show hasn't been broadcast on TV yet, so it doesn't have much influence. Once you're on TV, you'll definitely become very famous just with that song 'You're Not Really Happy', and then Principal Gu will call you over and give you a severe scolding." Ye Haotian analyzed.

As the two were talking, Zhang Wei's cell phone suddenly rang.

"Speak of the devil, wouldn't it be that he will appear? Is it Principal Gu calling to scold you?" Ye Haotian asked.

"No, it's a call from Japan. It's Shintaro Kawakubo from Kodansha." Zhang Wei answered the phone: "Moshimoshi..."

After a while, Zhang Wei finished the call and looked at Ye Haotian helplessly. "Brother Haotian, it seems that our special training plan has to be postponed. Kodansha said that it plans to produce an animation for "Attack on Titan". I have to go to Japan to discuss it in detail."

……

If a comic work really wants to have an impact, it still has to rely on animation.

If it were only comics, even if the work was excellent, it would only be popular in Japan, and at most would attract a few loyal fans who were very interested in Japanese comics.

But if it is made into an animation, it will easily become popular outside of Japan and attract fans from all over the world.

Most anime fans still learn about the works through cartoons. After all, movies and TV shows are more enjoyable to watch than pictures. The same plot in cartoons with dubbing and music can make people excited or sad. However, it is difficult to achieve this with just pictures and dialogues.

For example, when Xiangbei defeated Ryonan in "Slam Dunk", the song "Until the World Ends" was played, and the audience was so excited that they wanted to cry;

For example, in "Naruto", when Naruto fought back against Neci in the Chunin Exam, the battle song "Naruto Main Theme" sounded as BGM, which instantly created a strong atmosphere and made your blood boil.

These cannot be reflected in the comics.

Moreover, animation can also boost the sales of comics. Because the progress of animation is definitely slower than that of comics, many viewers will buy comics to catch up with the latest progress after watching animation and want to know the subsequent plot.

Now that "Attack on Titan" is about to be published as an animation, it is one step closer to becoming a global hit.

……

In the Kodansha editorial department, Shintaro Kawakubo is explaining animation production to Zhang Wei.

"There are many animation production companies in Japan, and those that can cooperate with our Kodansha are all the most powerful companies," said Shintaro Kawakubo.

"Then which is the most powerful animation production company?" Zhang Wei asked even though he knew the answer.

"Of course it's Toei Animation Co., Ltd." Kawakubo Shintaro decisively gave the correct answer, and then he continued:
"Toei is the largest and oldest animation production company in Japan. Its registered capital was even higher than that of Toho Co., Ltd. It is the only S-level animation production company in Japan. However, Toei's requirements are relatively high, and we have not cooperated with them for a long time."

"High requirements? The quality of "Attack on Titan" should be pretty good, right? Doesn't it meet Toei's requirements?" Zhang Wei asked.

"I mean the high demands are from Toei, which wants a relatively high share of the copyright for the animation, and we can't accept this share," Kawakubo Shintaro explained. "Then there should be other options, right?" Zhang Wei asked.

“Of course, in addition to Toei, we have many options, such as Studio Pierrot, which is also a company that has been established for more than 20 years. The previous popular "Yu Yu Hakusho" and "Hikaru no Go", as well as the recently popular "Naruto" and "Bleach" were all produced by them.

There is also SUNRISE, which is a company that is best at producing animations related to robots. The Gundam series is their work, and they also made the animations for "Inuyasha" and "Gintama".

In addition, Madhouse, BONES, and Kyoto Animation are also well-known animation production companies that have produced many well-made works, and they are all within the scope of our cooperation. "

In Japan, when it comes to animation production, Toei is undoubtedly the only giant. When domestic TV stations were still able to broadcast Japanese cartoons, almost all Japanese animations were produced by Toei.

The earliest ones were "The Clever Ikki" and "Flower Fairy", followed by "Saint Seiya" and "Dragon Ball", and later "Sailor Moon", "Slam Dunk", and the Digimon series. Throughout the 1990s, Toei's works almost monopolized the time period from 5pm to 6:30pm on TV channels.

In the mid-to-late 1990s, as Japanese anime gradually went global, the conflicts between Toei and Japan's three major comics companies also intensified.

The big cake of the international market is so lucrative. Not only the copyrights of comics and animations, but also the various peripheral products derived from them can bring huge profits. Therefore, the three major comics companies are unwilling to share more copyright income with Toei, so they began to seek other companies to produce animations.

The last masterpiece made by Toei was Oda's "One Piece". After that, Shueisha and Toei failed to reach an agreement on the two big IPs "Naruto" and "Bleach", so they were not handed over to Toei. Since then, Toei has not received any top-level big IPs.

For "Naruto" and "Bleach", Shueisha turned to another animation production company, Ichibansha, which had previously produced the animation of "Yu Yu Hakusho" and the animation of "Hikaru no Go" in 2001.

The animation of Hikaru no Go was well-made, especially the image of the little devil Sai, which impressed Shueisha, and Joker also successfully obtained the two top IPs of Naruto and Bleach, becoming a quasi-S-level animation production company.

The subsequent "Tokyo Ghoul" animation was also produced by this company. The pictures are very exquisite and the music is top-notch, which is enough to illustrate the strength of this company.

Therefore, when Zhang Wei asked about other animation production companies, Shintaro Kawakawa first recommended Jokersha.

However, the Clown Club was not the answer Zhang Wei wanted.

Right now, Joker's main focus is definitely on "Naruto" and "Bleach", and the animation progress of these two works is almost catching up with the progress of the comics. Therefore, the animation screenwriters began to add various original plots, making the main line fragmented and causing the audience to curse.

The more the audience cursed, the more anxious the Clown Club became, and they were eager to make the work as better as possible.

At this time, there is a high probability that Joker Studios will not be able to spare too many resources to be put into "Attack on Titan", so Joker Studios is definitely not an option.

After a moment of silence, Zhang Wei asked, "Chuanwa-kun, what do you think of Production IG?"

"PIG? The one that made Ghost in the Shell? He has some connection with Kodansha." Kawakubo Shintaro thought for a moment and said, "The Ghost in the Shell produced by PIG was indeed amazing, but after that, the business of this company has never been very clear.

They first established a subsidiary, XEBEC, to spin off the animation business, then set up a branch in the United States, and then set up a game development department, and then carried out several partnerships and mergers and acquisitions.

Recently I heard that they are going to cooperate with MAG Garden. You know MAG Garden, right? It is also a comic book publishing house, but not very well-known.

"I've never heard of it." Zhang Wei shook his head and then asked, "Then what do you think Production IG has in animation production?"

"They must have some skills. They have produced works every year over the years, and three works were released the year before last and last year." Shintaro Kawakawa replied.

Zhang Wei nodded slightly: "Chuanwajun, if you don't mind, let's go check out this Production IG!"

……

Production IG was founded in 1987. Because its English abbreviation is PIG, it is also called "Pig Company".

In the first few years after its establishment, IGO was not very popular until it acquired the big IP of "Ghost in the Shell" from Kodansha. Since then, it has become one of Japan's A-level animation production companies.

After "Ghost in the Shell" became a hit, IQIYI established a subsidiary, XEBEC, which also launched many animation works. The most well-known one is the Beyblade series that was once popular in China, such as Sonic the Hedgehog, Tornado Charge, and Speed ​​​​Axe. These various four-wheel drive cars have cheated a lot of primary school students' money.

The parent company, Zhushe, has begun a diversified business strategy, opening branches in the United States, setting up game studios, changing to a joint-stock system, and forming partnerships with other companies. It seems that they just want to package themselves well and then go public to raise money.

It's just that Zhushe was born at the wrong time. When he was doing this operation, it coincided with the Asian financial crisis. So after this fierce capital operation, he ended up becoming an idiot.

What followed was the second decade of loss for the Japanese economy. In this economic environment, let alone going public to raise money, Ikea had no choice but to go back to its old business and continue producing animations.

But IQIYI still has the skills to produce animation. They took over the IP of "Kuroko's Basketball" and produced it very well, which won them back their reputation.

Afterwards, IBISHA took on the animation of "Attack on Titan", which was considered a complete turnaround and returned to the ranks of A-level animation production companies.

Anyone who has read the comic book "Attack on Titan" knows that the style of painting is really hard to describe, especially at the beginning, the characters were drawn so well that it gives you a headache just looking at them.

But the quality of the animation is indeed outstanding, and each season is better than the previous one, especially the third and fourth seasons, which have a large number of scenes of fighting giants, and the production level has reached the peak of Japanese anime at that time.

The comics were criticized so much, but the animation was produced so well, which is enough to show the production level of IBO.

It is no exaggeration to say that if it weren’t for such an excellent animation, "Attack on Titan" would probably have difficulty breaking out of the circle and would have been difficult to be hailed as a "masterpiece."

It was also after the animation was released that the sales of the "Attack on Titan" comics began to soar wildly. In 2013, it topped the list for 11 consecutive volumes, and ranked first in the list for half a year in 2014. In the end, it lost to "One Piece" with a gap of more than copies. It should be noted that "One Piece" had already published dozens of volumes at that time.

In 2015, Attack on Titan finally surpassed One Piece in sales and took the first place of the year. This is the only serialized work that can beat One Piece.

This is just the sales of the comics. The popularity of the animation is even more astonishingly high. The popularity of the final season of "Attack on Titan" is about three times that of the second place "Jujutsu Kaisen".

Due to some reasons, the animation of "Attack on Titan" cannot be broadcast in China, but abroad, the animation of "Attack on Titan" is not only incredibly popular, but also has incredibly high reviews.

Giant was the first episode to receive a perfect score of 10.0 on IMDb, and it has two episodes in the top ten IMDb episode ratings. Its competitors are top blockbusters like Game of Thrones and Breaking Bad.

In addition, there are also the highest rating record for a single episode on Twitter, the highest popularity record and the highest rating record for a single episode on Reddit, the highest rating record for a single episode on Douban Animation, and so on.

For an animation to achieve this level, it is no exaggeration to say that it is a masterpiece.

As a reborn person, Zhang Wei naturally knew all this, so when Kawakawa Shintaro mentioned other animation production companies, Zhang Wei was not interested at all. He had already determined that the animation of "Attack on Titan" must be made by IBO!
Perhaps only Zhushe can produce a "masterpiece"!
(End of this chapter)