New Century Anime Warrior

Chapter 111 You're putting me in a difficult position.

"President Matsutani, it's been a long time."

Si Hua shook hands firmly with Matsutani Takayuki, who had come from afar.

"Oh, you're too kind, Mr. Si."

Matsutani Takayuki was dressed in a dark suit and smiled very kindly. You would never guess that this little old man was a titan of the Japanese animation industry and a frequent visitor to Sino-Japanese cultural exchanges.

"I already know the purpose of Chairman Matsutani's visit." Si Hua led Matsutani and his group into the conference room.

"Who are these people?"

Matsutani Takayuki composed himself and introduced, "You already know Sasaki-kun, Saegusa-kun, and Kanzaki-kun, so I won't go into further details."

"Of course, we're all old friends." Si Hua nodded.

"This is Mr. Masaki Okada, the head of the copyright division of Tezuka Productions."

People who talk about copyright revenue.

"This is Mr. Hideki Fujii, the Managing Director of Toho's Film and Theater Business Division."

Someone from Toho Pictures? It seems he's the key figure in this delegation.

"The last one is Mr. Shinichi Hasegawa, the exclusive specialist of the Island Nation Film Ethics Management Committee."

Are they film rating managers?

Wow, these are all core personnel at the top of the industry in island nations.

They didn't bring a single junior staff member; the entire team was precisely and professionally configured. They truly deserve to be called professional sages from the island nation.

Moreover, he gave Si Hua a lot of face, after all, in addition to being a Chinese genius, he now has an even more important identity: co-creative director of Disney.

Meanwhile, the film this director is leading is aiming for the top spot at the global box office that year.

This can be considered as a clear and thorough implementation of the ironclad rule of "absolute equality of hierarchy" in the island nation's industry.

"It's a pleasure to meet you all. Thank you for your hard work, fellow industry professionals," Si Hua replied politely.

The first to speak was Hideki Fujii of Toho Films.

"Director Si Hua's Japanese is very good. No wonder he was able to create such an excellent work as '5 Centimeters Per Second,' which can profoundly reflect our island nation's culture of mono no aware (the pathos of things)."

They adopted an extremely humble attitude, clearly indicating they needed something from someone.

"Oh, not at all. It's only good for everyday conversations. For real business negotiations, you'll need a professional translator."

As soon as Si Hua finished speaking, Fujii Hideki abruptly bowed at a 90-degree angle.

"Director Si Hua, I apologize for my unauthorized visit today on behalf of my colleagues in the industry in Japan."

"Oh dear, Mr. Fujii, what are you doing? What apology are you offering?"

Si Hua felt a little confused. Why did he bow and apologize right away?

Is this really the code of the ethnic minority's lowest level?

When in doubt, bow first?

Or is it an attempt to feign weakness to the enemy?

Are they really this desperate for negotiations?

Has it gotten to the point where people start by scolding themselves?

"That's right. Previously, due to our inherent prejudices, we misjudged the artistic value and global potential of 'Perfect Blue' and overlooked your industry influence. It was our shortsightedness, and we hope you can forgive us."

Damn it, why does this family speak in such a formal, literary way—it's all so garbled and nonsensical.

Si Hua smiled and accepted the baffling apology.

"Mr. Fujii, you flatter me."

I was just about to exchange a few polite words, but Fujii Hideki didn't give me the chance.

He immediately launched into a long, rambling monologue, like trash talk on a sports field, without caring whether the other person could understand him or not.

"We are aware that this work is based on island culture, and we are fully aware of the special nature of the R15 rating. We also know that Director Si Hua once intended to actively promote the release of the work in island countries."

"But now you have proven your top-notch content control and global operational capabilities with Frozen."

"With your support, 'Perfect Blue' will not only be limited to the niche market in Japan, but will also become a calling card for Japanese art animation to go global."

"Our visit this time is to fully demonstrate our sincerity, and we only ask to secure the exclusive screening rights and domestic distribution rights for 'Perfect Blue' in Japan."

"All local matters, including but not limited to review, rating, theatrical scheduling, publicity and distribution, award applications, etc., will be handled entirely by our Japanese side. You won't have to spend a single bit of effort on our side."

"We will push 'Perfect Blue' to the Tokyo International Animation Film Festival and the Island Nation Film Academy Awards, and at the same time, we will do our best to win Best Animated Feature Film, giving the work the best artistic treatment."

Please trust us!

After saying that, he bowed again.

Besides Matsutani Takayuki, the other representatives behind him also bowed their heads.

They seemed extremely determined, as if they would drown themselves in Tokyo Bay if Si Hua didn't agree.

But for Si Hua, this cacophony of words was so overwhelming that it completely crashed his basic Japanese language skills.

"Ahem, everyone, why don't we sit down first?"

"There's no rush to release the new film in Japan. Chairman Matsutani is considered my senior, so we can discuss it later."

.

After saying that, Si Hua asked Lin Xiaoxia to lead Song Gu and his group to their seats and serve them tea.

He turned to look at Zhao Yue and quickly asked in a low voice.

"What exactly did that guy from Toho Cinema say all that time?"

"Simply put, it's a huge discount promotion; they're prepared to do whatever it takes to secure the exclusive Japanese screening and distribution rights for 'Perfect Blue'."

Zhao Yue, the lawless second-in-command of Silky Studio, is one of only two people recommended by Su Wanqiu.

The other is Lin Xiaoxia, who currently holds a nominal position as executive planner and a substantive position as executive secretary-general.

Trusting Zheng Yansheng and Su Yanqiu, Si Hua extended his affection to them and didn't pay much attention to the resumes of the talents Su Wanqiu recommended to him.

During the interview, they looked directly at their portfolios, and they were definitely quite skilled.

This led Si Hua to believe that the reason Zhao Yue was recommended by Su Wanqiu was not only because of her talent for following celebrities and cosplay, but also because of her skillful 2D animation production and special effects techniques.

But to everyone's surprise, this girl, although majoring in Japanese, not only has a Japanese Language Proficiency Test Level 8 certificate, but also a CATTI Level 2 certificate, and has also studied business translation courses.

I make animation purely out of hobby.

Goodness, I knew these people were all highly skilled!

So when Si Hua instructed Lin Xiaoxia to hire a professional business Japanese translator, Su Wanqiu looked at him as if he were a spoiled brat who didn't know his family's poverty.

It is not very harmful and extremely insulting.

Now, after Zhao Yue's Japanese-to-Chinese and then Chinese-to-Chinese translation and summary, Si Hua finally understood what Fujii Hideki's bunch of nonsense was all about while everyone was drinking tea.

To put it bluntly, they panicked. They had let go of a chance to make a fortune without lifting a finger, and now they regretted it.

But they were afraid of really offending them, so they immediately apologized and softened their stance.

Even if it costs more to get back in, we must keep Si Hua in check.

Si Hua could only say that the people of Xiao Ri Zi truly live in a world of various disasters, yet they manage to conjure up so many senses of crisis.

Si Hua himself didn't think there was anything about being offended in business.

"Mr. Fujii is very sincere, but I still don't quite understand why he is willing to sacrifice so many benefits."

"What exactly do you want?"

Upon hearing this, Fujii Hideki looked at Matsutani Takayuki.

It seems that the one who truly holds the power in this negotiating team is still old man Matsutani.

"Si-kun, we can voluntarily give you the largest share of the box office revenue, Blu-ray and streaming revenue from 'Perfect Blue'."

"You also retain control over the copyright of any subsequent derivative developments."

"We are not seeking short-term profits, but only hoping to build a bridge connecting Japanese animation with Disney's global distribution channels through this collaboration."

"This will give more outstanding Japanese animations a global distribution opportunity, including, of course, '0079,' which you co-created with Higurashi."

"This is a true win-win situation."

Good grief, you're using me as a bait again. How come you're all so skilled at it?

"I see." Si Hua deliberately put on a somewhat embarrassed expression.

"But I'm just a junior co-creative director; I don't have any real say."

"As you know, Chairman Matsutani, the Western elites are actually quite arrogant towards us."

"Your request is really putting me in a difficult position."

Si Hua almost couldn't suppress the smile on her lips.

You can't just say that Disney's streaming business, under pressure from Netflix, has been looking for a suitable opportunity to quickly open up the East Asian market, can you?

In a world where the level of internet development is roughly equivalent to that of 2013 in our previous life, Netflix has long since become a true giant.

Its various acts of arbitrariness in Japan and South Korea have long made Disney envious.

Fortunately, Netflix's DNA meant that it inadvertently crossed the line between life and death for the mainstream Japanese anime community.

This also prevents the two sides from forming a genuine win-win cooperation.

Otherwise, Matsutani and his team wouldn't have had to beg Disney to come to their rescue.

Such a stroke of good fortune, if you don't eat until you're stuffed, you'll truly be struck by lightning.

"But you are all my beloved family, friends, brothers and sisters—"

"So we have to pay more."

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