Anime rating game

At this time, the cell phone ringtone suddenly rang.

"Huh? Did I accidentally strum a string?"

Carefully putting down the guitar, the phone was still ringing. At that moment, Goto Ichiri seemed to wake from a dream.

I don't have any friends, and the only contacts on my phone are my family. But on holidays, now that I've just woken up, I know my family is definitely not going to call me.

In other words, the band's situation must have been resolved.

Hastily picking up her phone, she saw that the caller ID was Hayase Masamune. With a mix of trepidation and anticipation, Goto Ichiri gently pressed the answer button.

"Ah... I pressed it!"

"Goto-kun, I've found the band members. We'll meet at 10 a.m. this morning."

"Where? It's already 8:30. I don't know if we'll make it in time?"

"Don't worry about the time; the car I sent to pick you up should be here soon."

"it is good."

Almost two minutes after the call ended, there was a knock on the door, and soon the sound of a strange man being invited into the house echoed in the living room.

The next moment, her mother's voice came from outside.

"Come out for a moment, Yili. Someone is looking for you."

Because he had prepared in advance, Goto Ichiri hesitated for a moment before walking out of the room with his guitar.

"Are you Goto Ichiri? I've come to pick you up on behalf of the club president."

"The president said that because it involves signing a contract, Goto's parents need to accompany him."

"May I ask what kind of company you are? What do you need me for?" Goto's mother asked, puzzled.

Musashino Animation Company...

Musashino?

Is that boy Masamune-kun? No wonder he seemed so familiar.

Goto Ichiri paid no attention to the conversation that followed, and didn't even remember how she got into the car.

When I came to my senses, we were already on the second floor of Musashino.

Accompanying her were her mother and her younger sister, Goto Jiri.

The former is the guardian, while the latter is just there for the fun of it.

Upon opening the door, Goto Ichiri immediately saw three girls of similar age, people who appeared to be their parents, and Musashino staff.

Because of her extreme fear of interacting with others, Goto Ichiri sat down on the sofa with her mother and looked down at the ground while secretly observing the other three girls.

I noticed they were having a very pleasant conversation, so I lowered my head even further.

At that moment, Ichiji Nijika looked over and asked with a smile:

"I just looked at the list. You're Goto Ichiri, the last member of the band, right? What instrument are you playing?"

"…Guitar."

"My name is Hongxia, and I'm the drummer in the band. This is Liang, the bassist. And next is Yudai, who plays guitar and is the lead vocalist. However, she's never played guitar before and has to learn from scratch."

"Ah."

"Yili, may I call you that?"

"can."

"Ryo and I are both first-year students at Shimokitazawa High School, while Ikuyo is a third-year junior high school student. What about Ichiri?"

"National Standard III".

"Great! You two should join Shimokitazawa next year! That will make communication much easier later on. We can even form a club then, and spend our days leisurely like K-On!"

Listening to Nijika's incessant chatter, Goto Ichiri felt fear, discomfort, and a desire to escape, but at the same time, a little bit of anticipation rose in his heart.

Is this what normal high school life is like? Can I really handle it?

At that moment, Masamune and Mashiro came down from upstairs together.

Upon entering, the first thing I looked at was Goto Ichiri:

"Goto, these three are the band members I found for you. Would you like me to introduce yourself first?"

“No need, Mr. Hayase, we already know each other,” Nijika quickly said. “If you could, could you please explain why there are four of us? And why did you insist on bringing Ryo, who is in a band?”

"Actually, a few nights ago, I had a dream. In the dream, I saw the four of you. After waking up, I decided to turn the scene I saw into an animation, and I will start production in January next year."

As they spoke, Masamune took out the animation script he had prepared beforehand and distributed it to the group.

"Huh...? K-On!" Nijika muttered to herself, then asked excitedly, "From the anime Shirobako, we can see that K-On was just an ordinary band before, and they weren't very famous, but after the anime aired, they quickly went to the Budokan."

“That’s right, in that respect, you are the next K-On!” Masamune nodded slightly. “However, due to differences in talent and strength, your path may be more difficult.”

"Oh... so we can go to the martial arts gym too?"

"Let's look at the script first. For you, it's like a possible future. After you've read it, we can discuss other issues."

future?

A precognitive superpower?

Thinking of this, Hongxia became very curious about the manuscript in her hand and immediately looked down to read it.

The protagonist, Goto Ichiri, is extremely shy and overly melancholic. He wants to form a band, but he can't bring himself to invite others.

So, from the beginning of junior high school until graduation, for a full three years, I only stayed in the stage of imagining this.

Upon entering high school, he deliberately chose a school far from home, where the students didn't even know about his previous school, wanting to start afresh.

However, due to his personality issues, he has fallen into the same predicament as he did three years ago.

One day, while feeling down in the park, he was suddenly invited by a girl and semi-forced into joining the End Band, becoming a member of it. The story unfolds from there.

Later, Kita Ikuyo, who had run away, was persuaded to return by Goto Ichiri.

It wasn't until the twelfth episode that Hongxia finally snapped out of her tense, exciting, and incredibly novel state of mind.

At the same time, his mind was filled with images of Goto Ichiri huddled in dark corners, trash cans, and cardboard boxes.

Wow! This storyline is really good; it would be so much fun to make into an animation.

However, Pochi's personality is just too... something.

It seems I need to be more proactive from now on, otherwise she will definitely run away.

"Little Pochi, let's form a band together! It's not at Mr. Hayase's request, but my invitation to you."

"No, I should say that after seeing this original future, we had no other option but to form a band!"

"I won't criticize other people's personalities or habits, but when you run away, I will definitely chase after you, countless times."

Suddenly having his hands grabbed by Nijika, Goto Ichiri was stunned for several seconds before he came to his senses.

His eyes were filled with hesitation. He wanted to look away and find a secluded place to hide, but with her staring at him, it was impossible for him to escape.

Even knowing that the story would be made into an animation, she couldn't be shy anymore; she was filled with panic and confusion.

I really wanted to pull my collar down and disappear, but my mother and sister were watching me closely, making it impossible.

"…it is good."

While the group chatted, the parents also exchanged their thoughts.

Unlike other parents who prioritize their daughters' academic performance and believe that playing in a band is fine as long as her grades don't fall behind, Michiyo Goto is more concerned about her daughters' emotional well-being.

I don't know if it's because I didn't have time to take care of her when she was little, which is why my eldest daughter has developed such an extremely socially anxious and gloomy personality. She has never had a friend since she was a child and always stays alone in a dark place.

Forming a band is like adding three friends to her circle, which seems like a great thing to her no matter how you look at it.

Chapter 240 This is all I can do for you

Once the licensing agreement for the animation production was finalized, Masamune began to discuss his plans for the end of the band.

Of course, this is just a suggestion; whether they agree or not is entirely up to them.

"Because of your lack of skill, and some of you being complete novices, our agency will arrange vocal coaches to guide you after signing contracts with the four of you."

"Once your abilities meet the requirements, we will make further arrangements for activities. For example, we can arrange for you to participate in competitions, performances, and promotions on television programs, etc."

"In addition, considering that you are all students, we will also discuss with your parents and teachers to provide you with regular tutoring and try to improve your grades..."

Because her daughter was too withdrawn, after Masamune finished speaking, Michiyo Goto took the initiative to speak:

"Your conditions are very good, but I'd like to know the reason. What's the necessity for you to go to this point?"

"Well, after the anime airs next year, their popularity will definitely skyrocket, just like K-On!"

Masamune paused, then said again:

“When K-On! became a huge hit, our company made a lot of money through the anime, but at that time, our agency didn’t have any band business, so the five members of K-On! were all signed by other agencies.”

"After that, the five of them became very famous, but we made money from their animated characters, while in reality, almost all the money went to other people."

"Later, the firm was acquired by the Kotobuki family. Overall, we only made a small profit."

"And in many cases, a small profit is actually a loss."

"Compared to K-On!, I'm confident that this anime featuring Goto-san as the protagonist will not be much lower in ratings or popularity than K-On!."

"In other words, End of the band is destined to be a huge hit and will definitely become a very profitable and popular band. We are just investing in advance."

Michiyo Goto seemed thoughtful. From the story itself, Ichiri's story, though a bit strange and gloomy, was quite interesting and had the potential to become a big hit.

As for public opinion, she completely avoids contact with people, and her reputation on campus is already very low, with absolutely no room for it to drop.

Rather, the anime's release might reverse her public image and make her slightly more popular.

"I don't have a problem anymore."

“I don’t have any either,” Kita’s mother added.

Her biggest worry was her daughter's studies. She believed that playing in a band was unlikely to lead to a future, and most girls would give up halfway through.

But if a firm is willing to spend money and effort, that's another matter.