How to raise a random guy's wife

“I…” Bo Island gradually realized his problem. “I was supposed to tell a good story, but in the end I turned the story into a tool to express my own thoughts.”

“I don’t think this is a bad thing,” Kobayashi Megumi chuckled. “A work of art is an expression of the creator’s self. If it doesn’t contain the creator’s ideas, it will be soulless, like the wood carving in the story of ‘The Tree with a Human Face.’ Moreover, the story you created is very interesting, and the content you want to express is well integrated into the story structure.”

“But getting your message to be perceived isn’t so easy.” Kobayashi Sora thought of Hashima Iori. “Do you know what kind of works Iori likes?”

"Brother?" Bo Shima thought for a moment. "Hmm, the kind with a mature structure, vivid characters, and intense emotions?"

"There's no need to make it sound so appealing," Kobayashi Sora said more bluntly. "Classic formulas, somewhat flat and stereotypical characters, and clear points of enjoyment—these are all elements that make a good product."

The scene of Kobayashi Sora going out to sea on the island of Hajime seems to be alluding to many works.

"Your expression makes it seem like I'm mocking those works." Kobayashi Sora shook her head. "I really admire those works."

"Eh?"

"Those are works created by creators who clearly understood their own needs and the needs of their target audience, and precisely controlled their creative desires and abilities," Kobayashi Sora explained one by one. "Classic formulas represent time-tested success, flat and stereotypical characters are easy to understand and remember, and clear 'satisfaction points' provide a full stimulation of emotions. The plot design of these works is very simple: anger is anger, happiness is happiness, sweetness is sweetness, and pain is pain. You can understand it after watching it once, and once you understand it, you will be stimulated. The simpler the emotion, the easier it is to understand; the more complex the emotion, the harder it is to empathize."

When Bo Island went out to sea to examine its own story, it felt that because it wanted to express too much, every emotion was present, and therefore none of them were intense enough. "Was I too greedy?"

“If your story isn’t interesting enough, that’s just greed that’s beyond your capabilities. But now that your story is great, it becomes a courageous challenge to yourself.” Kobayashi Megumi gave an example: “It’s very similar to Shiyu’s works. At first glance, it’s confusing, but after reading it multiple times, you’ll find layers of enjoyment. So people who dislike it can’t stand it, while people who like it can read it over and over again.”

Completely confused about what to do after setting sail from Bo Island, I thought, "What... should I do?"

“You should face reality, the reality that Iori has already faced long ago.” Kobayashi Sora said bluntly, “You have chosen this kind of subject matter and this kind of style, so it is difficult to have a large audience, and the content you want to express is destined to be difficult to be fully understood.”

Creating niche stories while simultaneously seeking mainstream attention is a pipe dream.

“It’s not that you did anything wrong that you’re facing these difficulties,” Kobayashi Megumi gently added. “It’s because you’ve done so well that you’re bound to face these difficulties.”

Just like scientific research, when researching topics that everyone is researching, there are naturally many references.

To study problems that no one has studied before, you have to face many difficulties on your own.

"So what's your choice?" Kobayashi Megumi's eyes softened. "Do you want things to be easier, or do you want to work hard to overcome the difficulties?"

It was only at this moment that Hashima realized the purpose of Kasumigaoka Utaha's sending him to find them.

Whether it's Kobayashi Sora's sharp and incisive observations or Kobayashi Megumi's gentle guidance and encouragement, both can help her better understand her current thoughts and state of mind.

Kobayashi Sora analyzes things from an external perspective, helping Hashima understand his environment and the situation he faces.

Kobayashi Megumi delves inward, helping Hashima Ueko discover his true thoughts and hidden intentions.

They may have limited understanding of the creative process, but they have an excellent grasp of the objective environment and subjective thoughts of the creators.

By recognizing the objective environment, creators can achieve material satisfaction.

By recognizing their subjective thoughts, creators can gain spiritual satisfaction.

Kobayashi Sora and Kobayashi Megumi, with their different ways of thinking and deep understanding of each other, helped Hashima find a delicate balance between two kinds of satisfaction through their back-and-forth dialogue.

As Bo Island looked up from the sea, the previous confusion and unease in his eyes were gone. "Thank you. If it weren't for you, I would still be..."

"In the end, this is also my fault." Kobayashi Megumi brought up the past. "If I hadn't asked you to shorten the two stories and speed up the pace, 'The Tree of Human Faces' would have been the last story. It's the most appropriate way to end a story that is complex and requires repeated appreciation."

"The cuts were made to maintain the overall rhythm," said Hashima Izumi, not blaming Kobayashi Megumi for the current difficulties. "If we hadn't cut them, the problems would have been even bigger."

After reading online comments recently, I've gained a deeper understanding of Kobayashi Megumi's advice regarding the trip to Po Island.

This kind of original story, which is told in the first three episodes, does have a very high viewing threshold.

Megumi Kobayashi's suggestion was reasonable and effective, and the story of the Human-Faced Tree remains a three-part story without any cuts.

Even if Kobayashi Megumi didn't suggest cuts, the problems still need to be faced.

"So," Kobayashi Sora raised an eyebrow, "what's your thought?"

Bo Island, her eyes bright, said, "I don't want to run away when it's my debut."

Chapter 779 Completely Identical

“I have chosen this creative style, so I have to face the problems that this style encounters.” Izumi Hashima’s gaze was firm. “Instead of being anxious about the choices I have already made, I should spend my time solving the problems at hand.”

"That's your decision." Kasumigaoka Utaha nodded approvingly. "Very good."

“If you hadn’t suggested that I go to Huihe Kongqing, I probably would have been struggling for a long time.” Bodao Chuhai recalled the process of communicating with them. “Huihe Kongqing is really amazing. They helped me analyze things through different approaches and different ways of thinking. They didn’t make decisions for me, but helped me to better understand my own mindset and the environment I was in, and make my own choices at the balance between emotion and reason.”

"Hmm...hmm?" Kasumigaoka Utaha was a little stunned.

Seeing Kasumigaoka Utaha's expression, Hashima Izumi asked, puzzled, "What's wrong?"

"So that's how you understand it... Well, that's fine too."

"Huh? What else?" Hashima Izumi realized, "Isn't that what you meant?"

"I originally wanted you to experience different feelings and get some inspiration through observing them... but it's fine as it is now."

On a boat trip to Bo Island, the question was asked, "What did you feel? What inspired you?"

Do you think Sora Aoi and Megumi look similar?

“I feel like their personalities are completely different…” Bo Shima hesitated for a moment, “But if you ask me this, they do have some similarities, right?”

“You can’t say they’re similar.” Kasumigaoka Utaha crossed her plump legs. “You should say they’re exactly the same.”

"Huh?" Po Island asked incredulously. "Really?"

“They are all people who see through appearances to the essence, and they will eliminate all distractions and strive towards their goal,” Kasumigaoka Utaha explained. “It’s just that they eliminate distractions in different ways, which makes them seem different.”

"Hmm..." Hashima Ikkai thought for a moment, but couldn't figure it out. In the end, he could only look to Kasumigaoka Utaha for help.

"To put it this way, if they both want you to do something, Sora will make you feel that doing it is your only option, while Megumi will make you feel that doing it is your best option," Kasumigaoka Utaha further explained. "On the surface, for you, one is passive and the other is active, which are completely different. But in essence, they are both making you do something, so it's the same for them."

“That’s true…” Hashima Izumi could understand the two situations and the essence that Kasumigaoka Utaha was talking about, “But is Megumi really that kind of person?”

Throughout the trip to Hashima Island, I always felt that Megumi was very gentle, unlike Kobayashi Sora who liked to force others.

Kasumigaoka Utaha looked at Hashima Izumi with some sympathy. "What were your initial plans when you first came up with the story of Mononoke?"

When recalling her visit to Megumi Kobayashi's office to discuss her ideas, Hashima recalled, "Initially, I wanted to serialize a manga..."

"now what?"

While sailing out to sea, Bo Island vaguely sensed something: "Making animation..."

Why did you change your mind?

“Because Megumi said… Ah!” Hashima seemed to be electrocuted. “It was because of Megumi’s suggestion… No, no, no!” She refused to believe it. “It’s because this story theme is more suitable for animation, and Megumi felt I lacked a debut opportunity, so she gave me a lot of resources to make original animations. At that time, RER had just decided on a series of development plans, and she was still able to allocate so many resources to me…”

“Among those development plans is support for original animation within the company,” Kasumigaoka Utaha pointed out. “Megumi needs a capable, passionate, reliable, and approachable person to produce an original animation to enhance RER’s original capabilities.”

Bo Island opened his mouth, "But...but..."

"Looking beyond the surface, Megumi needs someone to create original animation, and you want to serialize a manga." Kasumigaoka Utaha snapped her fingers. "And the final result?"

Bo Island looked down at his hands as he went out to sea. "I'm making animation."

Kasumigaoka Utaha spread her hands, giving off a "What did I tell you?" look.

"Ah... um... uh..." Hashima Izumi's mind was a little foggy. "But... Mononoke is definitely better suited to animation... I really want the opportunity to produce an animation... This animation would be a good debut for me... and I've certainly received a lot of resources..."

"Did you think about these things before you talked to Hui?"

"......No."

Kasumigaoka Utaha smiled easily, "This is Megumi."

After a moment of silence, Hashima Shiwa had a deeper understanding of Kasumigaoka Utaha's description. "What about Sora Ao?"

“Oh right, Yu Hui handles internal affairs, so Sora rarely takes action internally, so you didn’t experience it.” Kasumigaoka Utaha recalled, “I personally experienced his methods. Go back and ask your brother, he should know too. You also experienced the production committee incident before. Do you feel that after Sora took action, Hosoya had no other choice?”

Bo Island shook his head as he went out to sea, "No more..."

"Think about it again?"

“Hmm…” Bodao tentatively voiced his thoughts, “In that situation, we could only listen to Kong Qing. If we really had any choice, it would probably only be to take revenge secretly afterward.”

"Whether it's Hosoya's colleagues or even his servants, they could all be on Sora's side. Sora even has information that one of Hosoya's backers was imprisoned. Under these circumstances, how can we retaliate?"

"Hmm...do it personally?" After saying this, Izumi Hashima felt that he was being a bit argumentative. How could someone like Hosoya possibly take revenge on someone personally?

"Hosoya is seriously ill and hasn't been able to get out of bed for two months."

As they sailed out to sea, Bo Island gasped, "Huh?"

Kasumigaoka Utaha's eyes were icy. "This is Kobayashi Sora."

It felt like I'd wasted my time talking to Kobayashi Sora and Kobayashi Megumi. Not only that, after spending so much time together, I realized that I seemed to know absolutely nothing about them.

“Neither their personality nor their way of doing things will harm us, so we don’t need to take it too seriously.” Kasumigaoka Utaha pointed to her head. “As creators, we should draw some inspiration from them and apply it to our creations.”

After sailing out to sea, Hashima finally understood that this was the real reason why Kasumigaoka Utaha had asked her to talk to them.

Chapter 780 Max-Level Player

At this point in the conversation, Kasumigaoka Utaha realized the difference between Hashima Ikari and herself, or rather, between her and the other members of the Kasumigaoka Eri group.

When they encounter problems in their creative process, Kasumigaoka Utaha and Eriri's first choice is to talk to each other.

Although the conversation may not be very pleasant, some sparks of inspiration will always be generated during the collision of ideas.

When there's no harvest, they'll go to find Kobayashi Megumi and Kobayashi Sora.

In the process of discussing and exchanging ideas with them, I can learn from their thoughts and adjust my own thinking accordingly.

During discussions, Utaha Kasumigaoka and Eriri would brainstorm without restraint, coming up with all sorts of ideas.

Megumi Kobayashi would constantly affirm and analyze the merits of these ideas.

Kobayashi Sora would repeatedly deny these ideas, pointing out the problems with them.

Eriri is a pressure-driven creator; the more she is challenged, the more her creative abilities are stimulated.

The more Kobayashi Sora rejected it, the more determined she became to come up with something even better.

Even if Kobayashi Sora and Kobayashi Megumi come up with great ideas during this process, she will subconsciously reject them, then absorb the good parts of those ideas and use them as a basis to come up with even better ideas.

Kasumigaoka Utaha is a writer who hones her craft; she first establishes a main theme, then branches out to fill in the entire story.

Kobayashi Megumi's affirmation allows her to clearly identify the main connections between branches and the main trunk, strengthen the connection between subplots and the main plot, and ensure that the style of the entire work is harmonious and unified, the content is rich and the structure is clear.

At this point, Kobayashi Sora's denial serves as a pruning measure for the tree, decisively discarding content that clearly crosses the line or causes unnecessary trouble.

Some logical errors and inconsistencies will be corrected by Kasumigaoka Utaha, thus creating a coherent narrative.