Anime rating game

Just as Setsuna Ogiso was about to speak, her younger brother Takahiro, who was sitting next to her, suddenly interrupted with a smile:

"I know that! President Hayase of Musashino is a big name in the animation industry. He was introduced in great detail in last year's anime."

"Of course, if he is the same in real life as in the animation, then he should be a pretty good person."

"Her personality is hard to describe, but her appearance is definitely very similar to her anime counterpart," Setsuna Ogiso pondered. "She's about two or three years older than in the anime, but the difference isn't very noticeable..."

"What animation?" Kogiso's father asked, looking puzzled.

"Dad, wait a minute. Musashino Animation is of very high quality. I've recorded every episode. Last year's episode is still available."

Although he was still having dinner, in order to let his parents know who the other person was so that they could make the right judgment, Takahiro Kogiso immediately put down his chopsticks and hurriedly ran back to his room.

Soon, he ran back to the living room with the CD he had recorded last year. After a few simple adjustments, the TV started playing the anime "Masamune-kun's Revenge".

"Hmm... Looking at it this way, the art style of Musashino's July anime from last year is incomparable to that of this July anime; they're not even in the same league."

"Dad, this overly narcissistic male protagonist must be the President Hayase that my sister was talking about."

"According to information online, he did not change his surname to his mother's original surname in real life, so he is still Hayase, not Makabe."

Listening to their son's explanation, the Ogiso parents watched the anime intently while eating.

With frequent fast-forwarding, the first episode finished playing quickly.

After watching two episodes in a row, just after finishing dinner, Xiao Muzeng's father pressed the pause button on the remote control and said:

"That's enough for now, Setsuna. In your opinion, how different is President Hayase's personality compared to that in the anime?"

"Hmm...it's hard to say, since we're not very familiar with each other and haven't exchanged many words. Besides, there's definitely a big difference in personality between adults and high school students."

Ogiso Setsuna paused for a moment, then continued;

"By the way, President Hayase said he will be visiting tonight and will bring the contract to discuss the details."

“Alright. We can make a more accurate judgment after talking to each other in person.” Kogiso’s father nodded slightly and said in a deep voice, “Our family is just an ordinary family. If you want to become an idol voice actor, we can’t help you. You will probably have a very tough future.”

Ogiso Setsuna shook her head slightly and said with a smile:

“It’s okay. I used to think a lot that it would be great to become a singer in the future. But I didn’t have any connections or systematic training, so it was just a dream.”

"So, when President Hayase invited me to join the agency this afternoon, I was actually very happy."

"No matter what the future holds, taking the first step is always better than doing nothing."

"Compared to the routine of going to school, graduating, and finding a job, I would rather do a singing job."

......

Shortly after, at about 7:30, Masamune arrived at the Ogiso house with Watanabe Jun and Ando Miki.

"President Hayase, please have a seat."

"Thank you."

Welcomed by Setsuna Ogiso and seated in the living room, Masamune then asked:

"Have you already told your family about this, Ms. Setsuna?"

"Hmm... I talked to my parents about it at dinner, but I didn't go into much detail, so I didn't explain it completely."

"It's okay, I'll take care of the rest."

Masamune smiled, shifted his gaze to Ogiso's father, and slowly began to speak:

"Mr. Ogiso, I am Masamune Hayase, the president of Musashino Animation Company. I have two main purposes for coming here today."

"Firstly, regarding the authorization for animation production, we need to sign a relevant agreement with you."

"Secondly, we invited Ms. Setsuna to join our Musashino Agency, and we brought the relevant contract with us."

At Masamune's signal, Watanabe Hayato opened his briefcase and placed the animation script and several contracts on the table.

"In any case, you should take a look at the animation script first, so we can discuss what to do next."

"Alright, then please wait a moment."

Kogiso's father took the script and sat down to quickly flip through it.

At dinner, Setsuna's explanation was too brief, but now that he has seen the script, he understands what kind of story it is.

As he turned page after page, he would occasionally frown and show concern.

The character Setsuna in the script is so similar to her in real life that, despite being a fictional story, it gives the illusion that something similar has happened in real life.

But remembering that Setsuna said she wasn't familiar with Touma and Kitahara, he temporarily suppressed his worries and continued reading the script.

Setsuna in the story is so pitiful, while Kitahara Haruki is so infuriating.

After flipping to the very end, Kogiso's father put down the manuscript and looked at his daughter expressionlessly:

"You really don't know those two people?"

"Yes, we're not very familiar with each other. I only know their names and what they look like."

"To be honest, you're all grown up now, and I don't object to you dating, but someone as indecisive as Kitahara Haruki is absolutely unacceptable. If you bring him back, I'll definitely break his legs with a stick."

"Why...?"

Ogiso Setsuna paused for a moment, then couldn't help but laugh:

"You all say I don't know Kitahara-kun, so at least you can trust me a little more."

"Perhaps, I would have run away first, knowing that the other person didn't like me, but I would have confessed first, making things so complicated that the relationship between the three of us could never be repaired."

"But now that I know they've liked each other for a long time, no matter how shameless I am, I can't possibly interfere."

Chapter 224 How could humans possibly see the future?

"That's good."

Kogiso's father nodded slightly, then turned to look at the last few pages of the script and pondered:

"President Hayase, was a portion of this edited out?"

"Yes."

Masamune nodded slightly and explained:

"Because idol singers can't be associated with romance, I deleted some of the more explicit content about the relationship before and after, and I plan to add it back later with psychological descriptions or indirect descriptions."

"The missing time in this last part will be replaced with a song, or an alternative ending will be chosen."

"At the same time, it subtly indicates that Ms. Setsuna left alone in sorrow, decisively giving up and not continuing to pester him."

"Many people have romantic relationships. If handled properly, it can be a selling point and benefit record sales."

Kogiso's father seemed to be thinking about something, then asked in return:

"So, if Setsuna hadn't signed with you and hadn't become an idol singer, would you have added those 'excessive' storylines back in?"

? ?

Masamune chuckled to himself. Although that was the case, using that wording made it feel like he was threatening her with the script.

"These are two completely different things, and there is no connection between them."

"Even without the contract, if Ms. Setsuna strongly requests it, we will make certain revisions to the script based on her ideas."

Kogiso's father didn't press further, but changed the subject, asking:

"Isn't Musashino an animation production company? After signing Setsuna, do you have a way to promote her?"

"Please don't worry about that."

Masamune thought for a moment, and then spoke:

"Before last year, Musashino was indeed just a pure animation production company."

"But when we were producing the first K-On! series, because Yui Hirasawa and the others needed to take on voice roles, I temporarily set up a voice acting agency."

"The animation production company is located on the 3rd floor and above, and the studio is located on the 2nd floor."

"To this day, the agency has signed many voice actors. In addition to our company's animations, they also take on animations from other companies, just like a normal agency."

"Although the number of signed contracts is not large, the development is not slow either; it can be described as a small but excellent group."

"If Ms. Setsuna signs with us, the first thing we'll do in terms of promotion is to release anime songs."

"For the animation based on her own life, she sang the theme song, ending song, and insert songs. If it is suitable, we can also consider her for other animations that our company will produce in the future."

"Of course, this can only serve as a safety net, ensuring that she has songs to release throughout the year and that she won't be without work."

"As a further step, we can spend money to buy some songs, or ask professional composers to write songs for her."

"I debuted with songs from 'White Album,' gained some fame, and continued to release songs to further develop my career."

"And then... Ando, ​​how do idol singers usually develop their careers?"

Unexpectedly, the company president suddenly threw the question at her. Ando Miki looked surprised, but quickly recovered and said seriously:

"Although there is a lot I want to say, for singers, there are only two most important things: popularity and works."

"For the vast majority of newcomers, popularity is the hardest thing to gain. Finding ways to make more people know them and accumulate fans is their most important job."

"Through our company's animation, coupled with animated promotional activities, we should be able to initially resolve this issue."

"The key is to have some outstanding works that can attract more casual fans to become true fans."

"After the anime ends, its popularity will definitely gradually decline, and the number of casual fans will also decrease rapidly."

"But if we can keep releasing new songs, we should be able to maintain a portion of our popularity."

"If a new song has one or two phenomenal hits, and is promoted through variety shows, it can quickly make one a top-tier singer."

"But after that, if you can't keep releasing new songs and just rely on your past successes, your popularity will gradually decline. This is why many once-famous singers have gradually disappeared."

"So, the song is the key?" Masamune pondered.

“That’s right.” Miki Ando nodded slightly. “Take K-On! for example, the five members, including Yui Hirasawa, are becoming increasingly famous and their popularity remains high. Although there is the promotional effect of releasing an anime every year, Mio Akiyama’s songwriting ability is also quite crucial.”

"Although she doesn't have any phenomenal hits among her songs, they are all quite good. As long as she keeps releasing songs, she can ensure that her popularity continues to grow steadily."

That's right. Besides being a great singer, Akiyama Mio is also an excellent songwriter.

Thinking about this, Masamune fell into deep thought.