How to raise a random guy's wife

"By the way," Kobayashi Megumi asked Kobayashi Sora, "you must have encountered situations where creators are slow to produce results before, right? How did you solve it back then?"

Based on Kobayashi Megumi's understanding of Kobayashi Sora, she would definitely prepare corresponding measures in the face of this situation; it's impossible for her to do nothing.

“My method…” Kobayashi Sora hesitated for a moment, “is a little inappropriate.”

"There's actually a method you think is inappropriate?" Kasumigaoka Utaha asked curiously. "What method?"

"Well..." Kobayashi Sora was thinking about how to put it more nicely when she heard a rapid knock on the door.

Kobayashi Megumi responded, "Go in."

"Megumi, something terrible has happened!" Mayu Sagara pushed open the door, her face filled with anxiety. "You must go and see!"

Kobayashi Megumi stood up. "What's wrong?"

"They were arrested while at sea!"

Megumi Kobayashi and Utaha Kasumigaoka both turned to look at Sora Kobayashi.

“Don’t look at me like that,” Kobayashi Sora defended herself. “Although it’s a method I’ve used before, I didn’t do it this time.”

Kasumigaoka Utaha put down her coffee cup and stood up. "So you actually did it before."

Kobayashi Megumi shook her head. "Let's go take a look anyway."

"Let me out..." When everyone saw Bo Island go out to sea, she was clinging to the iron railing and pitifully calling for help.

Iron gates, iron windows, iron chains... chains, though.

In the corner of the room next to the toilet, there was a cage enclosed by iron bars, where Po Island is currently being held.

“Calling for help won’t help,” Iori Hashima said, standing outside the cage with Hashima’s phone in hand. “You’re not getting out of here until the storyboard for the final episode is finished.”

"Brother..." Bodao Chuhai cried helplessly, clinging to the iron bars. "Even if you lock me up here, it won't help. Let me out..."

"Do you still think of yourself as a child?" Iori Hashima's expression was unusually serious. "This is your important debut work, and it's the result of a lot of hard work. It's related to the company's reputation and even its future development. You had such a good start, but you hesitated at the last minute. Do you think this is child's play?"

“But…” Boshima Izumi opened his mouth, but couldn’t utter a word of argument.

“I said…” Mayu Sagara spoke up, “This is illegal detention, isn’t it?”

Chapter 796 Brainstorming

“Well…” Kobayashi Sora explained, “Although it looks like illegal detention, in reality… um… this kind of thing is quite common in the industry. There are many cases of manga artists being locked up by their editors at the publishing house to finish their manuscripts.”

“You clearly hesitated just now, didn’t you?” Kasumigaoka Utaha seized on the key point. “It looks like illegal detention, and it is illegal detention.”

Xiao Lin Kong Qing: "..."

“This is between me and Chuhai,” Iori Hashima said firmly. “As the older brother, I have a responsibility to discipline my younger sister.”

Mayu Sagara commented, "This kind of talk is just like the usual excuse that parents who abuse their children use."

“If this method works,” Kobayashi Megumi said, looking at the unusual cage, “it’s not a bad idea.”

Sailing off from Po Island: "...Hui?"

Kobayashi Sora continued, "But this method is not suitable for going to sea, so there is no need to do it."

Iori Hashima clearly didn't want to give up. "How will we know if we don't try?"

“You don’t even need to try to know.” Kobayashi Sora shook his head. “Going to sea isn’t because we’re procrastinating and can’t finish the painting, it’s because we can’t make a decision that we can’t finish it.”

“Locking her up at this time will only cut off her communication with the outside world and trap her in a state of working in isolation,” Kasumigaoka Utaha further explained. “Only by allowing her to have more exchanges with the outside world can she have more ideas and choose the one she is most satisfied with.”

If you put Eriri inside, the effect might be quite good.

When Eriri encounters difficulties in her creative work, she also resorts to seclusion.

One reason is that Eriri has a procrastination problem, and this closed environment helps her to devote herself to her creative work.

On the other hand, Eriri has high standards for herself and is confident enough. In her seclusion, she will constantly push her limits and produce better works because of her high standards for herself.

While Hashima had high expectations for herself, she lacked Eriri's confidence, leading to a completely different outcome.

During his seclusion, Po Island fell into self-doubt, constantly negating his own ideas, and ultimately produced nothing.

Bo Island nodded vigorously as he went out to sea, "That's it!"

Iori Hashima sighed, "So what exactly should we do?"

Kobayashi Sora had a good idea, "Like before?"

“That’s what I think too,” Kobayashi Megumi nodded. “It should work.”

Mayu Sagara: "Hmm?"

-

“Brainstorming…” Eriri rested her chin on her hand as she flipped through the script. “There’s absolutely no need for me to do this.”

Before Kasumigaoka Utaha becomes a producer and before Eriri independently creates her own manga, the Kasumigaoka Eri mode is activated when the progress of the work stalls.

Eriri was in charge of the visuals, Kasumigaoka Utaha was in charge of the content, Kobayashi Sora was in charge of the structure, and Kobayashi Megumi was in charge of harmoniously integrating everything together.

Works such as "Sakura Promise", "Chronicles of the Universe XIII", and "Liella! Superstar" were all born in this way.

Sometimes the storyline is based on Eriri's artwork, and sometimes it is based on Kasumigaoka Utaha's storyline.

Kobayashi Sora and Kobayashi Megumi do not directly participate in the creation process; their main role is to organize and unify the ideas in the later stages. However, they occasionally offer some ideas during the brainstorming phase.

Eriri felt there was no need for her to be there, mainly because Mayu Sagara, who was in charge, was present, and her character design had already been finalized.

Eriri didn't have much to contribute in terms of plot development to begin with, and now that the animation work is being handled by Izumi Hashima and Mayu Sagara, she can't offer much help in this brainstorming session.

Kasumigaoka Utaha crossed her arms over her chest. "Actually, it's not that I absolutely need you."

Eriri: "Huh?"

Kasumigaoka Utaha added, "But I can't live without you."

Eriri: "...Hmph."

“When you’re not around,” Kasumigaoka Utaha raised an eyebrow, “I always feel like we’re missing something to relax and unwind with.”

Eriri blushed. "Kasumigaoka Utaha! What kind of weirdo do you take me for?!"

Kasumigaoka Utaha could tell what Eriri was thinking just by looking at her expression. "It's definitely not as strange as you think."

Kobayashi Sora reminded him, "Let's talk about the plot, let's talk about the plot."

"Um..." Bo Island had never seen such a scene before, "How should we start talking?"

"Let me briefly explain the problem," Kobayashi Sora explained simply, "...that's about it."

"There are many possible endings, each one is good, yet none of them feel quite right." Eriri's rosy cheeks puffed out slightly. "What are the specific branches?"

Kobayashi Sora distributed a copy of the compiled plot development to everyone.

Everyone here is a professional; speed reading is a basic skill for them.

After a brief look, Bo Island was somewhat surprised. "I felt so confused before, but now that I look at it, the route is so clear."

"You'll get used to it." Kasumigaoka Utaha was already used to this. "Just use Azure as a plot computer."

Sagara Mayu flipped through the documents repeatedly for comparison. "To be honest, I feel they're all pretty good. What's the point of your dissatisfaction with going overseas?"

“Hmm…” Bo Island carefully considered his words, “I feel like something is missing.”

This feeling is hard to express, but impossible to ignore.

Kobayashi Megumi observed the expression on Hashima's face as he headed out to sea, trying to guess, "Too cliché?"

“Yes,” Poshima nodded vigorously, “that’s the feeling.”

Eriri asked, puzzled, "Do other works have this kind of plot point?"

“Of course there are, but the ‘old-fashioned’ style here refers to structural repetition,” Kobayashi Sora explained. “The advantage of works with a fixed style is that they can continuously deepen the audience’s memory, leaving a deep impression and turning complex stories into relatively easy-to-remember labels. Like your Kashiwagi Eri style, it is actually very complex in composition, but it can be summarized with a simple name.”

“That is, labeling.” Kobayashi Megumi analyzed from another perspective, “However, a unified style can also lead to aesthetic fatigue. Even though they are different stories, they feel not much different. At first, they are very fresh, but the more you watch, the more boring they become.”

"The beginning was alright," Kobayashi Sora and Kobayashi Megumi analyzed, and the vague feeling about the departure from the sea at Hashima gradually became clearer, "but if the last episode is like this, it's a bit too boring."

“You want to make some changes in the final episode, but you don’t know where to start.” Kasumigaoka Utaha realized the crux of the problem: “Because you’ve become accustomed to this style and you’re doing it very well. And the better you do it, the harder it is to innovate.”

Chapter 797 Itano Circus

Kobayashi Sora tapped the table lightly. "I don't recommend making major changes to the plot structure at the last minute."

“Of course you don’t recommend it,” Eriri retorted. “You prefer the kind of routine with occasional surprises.”

“That’s exactly what I mean,” Kobayashi Sora didn’t deny it at all. “As long as the general direction is right, some small changes can bring surprises, but if you take too big a step, it will become a shock. The audience who can watch the final episode are those who like the style of the previous episodes. If you do something big in the last episode, it will not only fail to attract new viewers, but it will also be a betrayal of the old viewers.”

"The penultimate episode is already in production. If we really want to change the style, the beginning will also need to be drastically revised." As the producer, Kasumigaoka Utaha had a simpler perspective: "The production schedule doesn't allow it."

Bo Island lowered its head as it sailed out to sea.

“I think the idea of ​​going overseas is great. The final episode should always give the audience a satisfying surprise, but everyone’s concerns are also very reasonable.” Kobayashi Megumi suggested, “Why don’t we combine the two ideas based on the current situation, and while ensuring the overall style, try to create something different as much as possible?”

Kobayashi Sora agreed, "Or something that wasn't there before, without affecting the overall structure."

“That’s true,” Mayu Sagara said with a bitter expression, “We want a consistent overall style, but we also want something different... The two are completely at odds.”

“Let’s not consider vague concepts,” Kobayashi Megumi suggested, “but rather specific routes. Which one differs from the previous style?”

“In the previous stories, the people involved all had their own reasons,” Hashima Izumi said, having come up with an idea. “How about we create a completely evil person involved this time?”

Kasumigaoka Utaha shook her head, "It's different now, but the aftertaste isn't good enough. It's like starting with a rich red wine and then suddenly turning into beer."

Eriri stared at Kasumigaoka Utaha with exasperation, "You should drink less."

“I’m drinking non-alcoholic beverages,” Kasumigaoka Utaha replied, then steered the conversation back on track. “I understand your hesitation about going to sea. The plot has multiple developments and different interpretations. The final outcome is the definitive conclusion. It feels like sawing off all the branches of a lush tree, leaving only the last piece of wood.”

Determining one outcome is tantamount to denying other possibilities.

This feeling is not good.

It's like someone can suck blood from any part of their body. After much research, many people came up with various hypotheses, but it was eventually discovered that the person was bleeding from their gums.

Is it reasonable?

That makes perfect sense.

But this would make those researchers seem a bit naive, and their various conjectures seem somewhat ridiculous.