Tokyo Sound

Now I have finally become a 'master of hypocrisy' in the field of skills. If I can leave a mark in ice cake now, it would be a perfect opportunity.

"I was curious about what you two were talking about, but it turns out you were planning something big—"

A sigh came from behind me out of the blue.

"Two people just want to make a TV episode of drama quality within a limited time? Takemoto, you are really..." Kigami Yoshiharu smiled helplessly and shook his head.

"Well, I also know that some people overestimate their own abilities and are idealistic, and may even lead to bad chain reactions if they are not careful..." When Yasuhiro Takemoto saw the master craftsman, he remembered the criticism he had received.

"——It really makes my blood boil!" Kigami Yoshiharu's eyes sparkled and his voice was loud and affirmative.

"?"

"?"

"Yes, one of you is a professional supervisor, and the other is a skilled fast drawer. After taking care of storyboards, layouts, a large number of key original drawings, and animations, all that's left is coloring, CG, and post-processing. There's still a chance."

Kigami Yoshiharu said with satisfaction.

"The infinite pursuit of beauty and the incisive use of skills, this is art. Takemoto, you have always been a soft guy with no offensiveness, but you finally revealed the ambition and arrogance that a creator should have. Very good, let me get involved. As a master, of course I have to help my disciples."

"Ah, but you have other things to do..."

"Of course, we are doing it at the same time." Kigami said with great confidence, "I have been fighting in the early days of the animation industry. What turbulent rivers have I not crossed? The industry has never lacked amazing creative legends. I am over 50 years old and may retire from the front line soon. Before that, let me become one of the anecdotes that are admired."

"Besides, this is just an opportunity."

The old painter restrained his joyful expression towards his disciple and looked at someone.

"Yin-kun, Takizawa-kun, even though you've been painting with pen and paper these days, you're still a member of modern digital painting. No matter if it's special effects, photos, textures, or 3D, as long as it works, you'll make the best use of it. As tools improve, techniques will also be iterated, and this is natural. However, I also want you to see what the high level of traditional hand-drawn animation is like—" Kigami narrowed his eyes and said, "Look at my decades of achievements with a cold eye, take those that are useful to you, and discard the outdated ones. Don't care, and don't pity."

"I am so terrified..." Yin Ze bowed his head to show respect. He felt the stubbornness and recognition of the old painter.

"Good boy." Kigami Yoshiji looked at him with satisfaction, nodded, and turned away.

"This is bad." Takemoto Yasuhiro sighed, "If Mr. Kigami comes, you can't slack off. He really dares to ask you to redraw. When it comes to creation, you can argue with the president until your face turns red. If he doesn't agree, the broadcast may have to be postponed, and then we will have to use the compilation as an excuse..."

"Going around in a circle and back to the same place, right?" Yin Ze was speechless.

"Just a joke, just a joke." Yasuhiro Takemoto waved his hands.

"I'll go borrow the laptop from Brother Westinghouse first." Yin Ze said.

"Why?" asked Yasuhiro Takemoto.

"He has modeling software in his computer. Didn't Kigami-san say that? I am a utilitarian. As long as it produces results, I will use any means." The man said, "Now I really offer all my tricks to Hyouka."

“That’s the way it should be, to give it your all.” Yasuhiro Takemoto once again gave his fearless, childlike grin.

Chapter 49: Step, Submission, Extension

It is the darkness before dawn, the time when late night and early morning meet. The outside world is decadent and blurry.

For five consecutive days and nights, Takemoto Yasuhiro kept falling asleep and waking up at his workstation. Every time he finished a box of drawing paper, his thoughts paused, and the crouching cherry blossoms rested on the ends of the boy and girl's hair. He looked up, only to see the desolate white light of the desk lamp, and the fatigue of his body surged like a tide.

A handful of ice-cold tap water was poured on his cheek, and the cold touch spread from his face to his entire body. The stimulation made Yasuhiro Takemoto sober up instantly.

The person in the mirror looked haggard and pale. He hadn't taken care of himself or showered in nearly a week. The smell of fast food and energy drinks was still lingering. He looked as shabby as a lonely homeless wanderer.

My nose feels a little blocked, probably due to overwork and cold.

Yasuhiro Takemoto wiped the water off his hands, left the bathroom, and walked through the dark corridor without lights until he reached the painting department on the second floor. There were still a few lights on there, projecting a beam of light.

On the empty flat floor, between the connected tables and chairs, two figures were working silently.

The mechanical breeze from the standing fan and the humming sound of the computer case are all around my ears. Compared to the daytime, it is more boring and lonely here. There are no dogs barking and passers-by laughing on the street, and no energetic young employees discussing interesting things. The breath of life is so barren. What is here is the most realistic creative hell, without the sparks of collision of ideas, only repetition of one stroke after another.

Yasuhiro Takemoto let out a light breath, slowly returned to his seat, picked up a brand new pencil, ignored the fatigue that was quickly brought back by the cold water, and returned to the imaginary cherry blossoms again.

But the touch is still there.

Are the two people behind me monsters?

Yasuhiro Takemoto asked himself silently.

It has been almost a week, and I have been staying in the studio almost all day, solving hygiene problems as quickly as possible, eating in the shortest time, and getting the shortest sleep. It is like cooking oil in a raging fire, with a candle flame blown by a strong wind, burning to the limit.

In this state of asceticism, the two men remained silent and became taciturn, as if they had turned all the energy used for the emotional part of their bodies into fuel and poured it into the manuscript paper.

Looking at the exquisite original paintings that were constantly being produced, the director felt a little terrified. Only then did he realize the weight of his impulsive ambition and what kind of assistance he had called for.

Yasuhiro Takemoto started from the bottom and grew up step by step. He also experienced lows and difficulties, but he still believes that these few short days were one of the most painful experiences in his career.

The best, constantly giving the best, facing the huge workload, taking it out as if there is no end, until the soul and energy are vomited out, feeling exhausted both physically and mentally.

The two behind were indifferent and expressionless, and they efficiently and steadily pushed themselves to the limit again and again.

Are they really human...? Their internal structure is definitely different from mine.

Yasuhiro Takemoto couldn't help but open another can of energy drink and drank it roughly, with liquid flowing down from the corners of his mouth, wetting his collar and making it dirty.

I can't lose either. I'm the one shouldering the new future, and I still have the energy to spare!

The clock on the wall faithfully records the passage of time, and the hour hands move slowly.

Long night, long silence.

Yin Ze and Kigami Yoshiharu stopped writing at the same time and turned their heads away.

Yasuhiro Takemoto was slumped over the table, still holding a pen in his right hand, but he had fallen asleep on his arm without anyone noticing, and was snoring loudly and persistently.

The old man and the young man couldn't help but look at each other.

"Thinking about the ending of the entire animation and producing it at the same time is not an easy task. He spent too much time making ice cream." Kigami Yoshiharu stood up, took a thin blanket, and gently covered the student.

"How about you take a rest too?" Yin Ze said.

"No, there is only the last batch left. As long as we complete these, it will be like having bones and muscles, which means we are halfway to success. If we work harder, maybe we can hand it over to coloring and post-production today." Kigami Yoshiharu shook his head and returned to his seat.

"It's rare for an old man to have such physical strength."

“It’s rare for young people to have such strength.”

"Does smoking relieve fatigue and refresh the mind?"

“I’m quitting now.”

"You are very skilled in using 3D assist... A scene can be reused by simply changing the angle of view and lens. It is really convenient." said Kigami Yoshiji. On someone's desk is a computer with a complex interface and various spliced ​​models on the screen.

"There are pros and cons. If you want to modify something like hair, you only need to swipe a few times with a brush, but 3D requires precise adjustments, and the charm of two-dimensional art cannot be achieved in three-dimensional art." Yin Ze sighed, "In fact, this is the case in many fields, but the advantages are easier for people to see."

"When I was young, I was good at background animation, which was barely my signature skill. At that time, my goal was to create a scene in "Sute Cat Tora-chan" by Mr. Masao Kumakawa. I used dozens of watercolor backgrounds and completed the scene rotation purely by hand-painting. Even if you look at it from today's perspective, the visual effect is still shocking." Kigami said slowly, "But after my first contact with 3D and CG, I found that it could be so simple. At that time, I thought that the future would definitely be very different."

"I heard that when you first arrived at Kyoto Animation, you were responsible for almost all the processes by yourself. You are a well-known all-rounder in the industry." Yin Ze paused, but did not slow down his movements. "I think so-called talent is the result of learning, something that comes from learning, not something that is innate. People like you will not stop easily. Why don't you learn something new? How about it?"

"A jack of all trades... Ha, is that how they describe you?" Kigami Yoshiharu continued to draw, and a voice floated from behind him, "But being good at everything also means being mediocre. I would also be willing to be the best in something. However, the higher you go, the narrower the road becomes. Before you know it, there are cloud peaks that cannot be climbed by legs and abysses that cannot be jumped over. That is the limit that only those with wings given by the gods can fly over."

"I have met many talented juniors over the years. They are either very perceptive, creative, or very determined. But among these people, there are only two that I cannot express in words, and I can only envy. The first one is a guest lecturer at Tokyo University of the Arts. He is a person who deserves the evaluation of 'Fiery Sky Wind' and will definitely be recorded in art history."

The old man said softly

"…The second one is you. You've been behind me these past few days, and it feels like I was fighting side by side with Inoue Toshiyuki, Okiura Keiyuki and the others in the past."

"I am unworthy of such praise." The man lowered his voice.

"I think you should also understand your own uniqueness. You, like that lecturer, have mastered incredible and superb skills at such a young age, smoothing out decades of wasted time in one go." Kigami Yoshiji rubbed his waist and said, "This is definitely not something that can be explained by precocity. This is true genius."

"Having more time than others is the most enviable thing." The old man sighed, "That means there are endless possibilities, and that also means that I can continue painting for a longer time. How can I not make others jealous..."

"Kumikami-san?" The man sensed something was wrong and turned his head slightly.

"The frontline work is too tiring. I probably won't be able to do this for many more years. Although I am very reluctant to leave, there is nothing I can do about it." The old man said calmly. If you look closely, you can see that his eyeballs are already bloodshot, and he has changed several blood-activating and pain-relieving patches on his hands without noticing.

Yasuhiro Takemoto marveled at the tenacity and willpower of the legendary original artist. In fact, this man, who was 20 or 30 years older than the supervisor, must have suffered more burnout.

"You really like animation." Yin Ze blurted out from the heart.

"Ever since I was old enough to understand, I decided to spend the rest of my life on this path," said Yoshiharu Kigami.

"But there is one thing I don't quite understand."

"what?"

"With such a determination, why did you leave Tokyo and come here?" Yin Ze asked puzzledly, "Tokyo has more opportunities and stages, and there are many masters. Why did you come to Kyoto, which is far away from the creative center, to this quiet town, and work for a small company that could only do color outsourcing at that time, until today?"

Yoshiji Kigami's writing movement paused for a few seconds, as if because of a hand injury, as if he was thinking about how to answer, and inevitably fell into memories.

"That was thirty years ago," the old man murmured.

Just like in the movie "Sunset on 3rd Street".

In 37, I first saw this world.

There are steam trains, yellowed city buildings, and loud neighbors. Milk puffs are a luxury that he can only look up to. The son of the shop owner opposite his house is actually a talented but unappreciated writer. He works hard to become a writer, but can only write children's books for third-rate magazines.

He also came from a very poor background.

Life is full of worries and frictions, but it is also full of sincere warmth, not like it is now, where we have to consider the sense of distance, atmosphere, and reading the air.

What I like most is to go to my friends' houses that have TVs to watch TV programs. Coincidentally, it was also the time when Japan's first long-form TV animation, Osamu Tezuka's "Astro Boy", was released.

At the moment when I was moved by those black and white pictures, there was only one future in front of me. At every low point afterwards, I never hesitated or wavered.

Without asking his father for money for the trip, he just informed him and said goodbye to his parents and neighbors, and said goodbye to that small street. He came to Tokyo from his hometown of Osaka alone, moving from one simple rented house to another, practicing hard, shouting at the fish stall, helping the master who made marshmallows, and delivering newspapers in the snow.

Once I have saved enough tuition fees, I can't wait to enter a professional college for further studies.

At the age of 23, I finally entered the industry. In my first and third years, I participated in Doraemon the Movie: Nobita's Dinosaur and the Castle of the Undersea Devil. In my fourth year, I participated in Macross: Do You Remember Love? In my fifth year, I participated in Romance of the Three Kingdoms. In my eighth year, I participated in Akira.

With a flick of a finger.

The young boy who used to watch TV at his classmate's house has become a talented painter with a professional disease.

A lot has changed in the past decade.

When the boy came, he was in a simple car. The driver was smoking a cigarette. He could smell the dust on the muddy road. In his backpack, besides clothes and coins, there was only a box of pencils and a dream in his heart.

When the man returned home, he took a comfortable train. This society became colder and more impatient, and this era became more prosperous. There was still only a box of pencils in his backpack, but he had become the dream itself.

Kigami Yoshiharu, who returned to his hometown to take care of his mother, also met a middle-aged man a few years older than him, the president of a small workshop.

"In this industry, there are already many suns and stars. You said before that it is like a wild jungle, with giant trees that block out the sun, and some that grow tenaciously and grow together, but most of them die due to lack of sunlight." The old man said, "Mr. Tezuka, Director Oshii, Mr. Kon Satoshi, and Mr. Miyazaki. There are already many brilliant and bright things. Correspondingly, there is not enough soil. At that time, I reached a consensus with President Hatta that the company would train newcomers without dismissing them, and they must have formal membership. Technical things, how animation can convey hope... these are taught by me."

Therefore, this rising star did not return to the center of creation, even though he had once been so selfless.

And the former companions and opponents who should bloom are blooming now.

Nearly seven more years passed.

The former small workshop has finally become a sound company capable of independently producing animations.

"It was my first attempt at independent production. I was in charge of the supervision, script, storyboard, performance and character design. Although I was well prepared, it was a big failure judging by the market results. The only consolation is that at least it proved that we can do it." Kigami smiled bitterly, "I am not really suitable to be a storyteller. I only have the ability to describe."

"If you have a good team, you will definitely do better," Yin Ze said.

"Maybe, but it doesn't matter anymore... Besides." The old painter looked at Takemoto Yasuhiro who was sleeping soundly, and said with some satisfaction, "I can't be the supervisor anymore. There are too many people here who are more interesting than me."

"If I stayed in Tokyo and continued to work alone, I might have a more impressive resume, but I would be the only one who became stronger. Moreover, this strength would weaken over time until I could no longer pick up a pen."

Kigami Yoshiharu whispered.

"But what if it is like this now? The strength of one generation after another can be passed down. The production of animation is difficult. Some people attribute the current adverse environment to the decisions made by Osamu Tezuka in the past. I don't want to comment, but I want to do something. A desert will never produce an oasis because of a few spit words. What we need to do is to spare no effort to cultivate and protect it. This is my answer. It started from childhood and ended with childhood."

It was a long and beautiful circle.

In the studio late at night, only the swaying fan could see the old man and the young boy.

"...Teacher Kigami, when you first told me that I would take as much of your skills as I could, and you treated me so well, was it also out of the idea of ​​passing on your skills?" Yin Ze asked.

"Yes, that's all. You're great, so it would be great if you could make an animation. But I don't want to ask or force you. I'll tell you about our story, and maybe one day you'll be interested, and that would be great." Kigami Yoshiharu said with a smile.

"Not only do you hold onto your own dreams, but you also plan to pursue the dreams of others?" Yin Ze asked with great interest, "I suddenly want to know, do you have any regrets in your life?"

"——Yes." Kigami Yoshiji paused and pursed his lips. "If it happens again, I won't be so busy. I'll spend more time with my family. My child is away from home, and we rarely have time to communicate. Oh, why didn't I notice it at the beginning."

"We keep in touch with outsiders frequently, and we only say harsh words to those closest to us. The relationship between father and son is especially respectful and implicit, and difficult to express." Yin Ze smiled, "In a few years, your child will understand. You have done so much to build dreams for children and help young people pursue their dreams. You will definitely enjoy happiness in the future."

"Those are too far away." Kigami Yoshiji nodded, "You have such a good personality, you must have a very good family, right?"

"Yeah. Of course, I love them."

"...Well, considering that I've invited you to stay at a luxury guesthouse and taught you everything I know, can you accept more requests to help me out when you have time in the future?" Kigami Yoshiji said, "It would be fine even if you just go to the training school to give theoretical lessons."

"Yes, I will. I will definitely not be late." Yin Ze nodded emphatically with his back to you and said happily, "I will definitely come when you need help the most."

The old man forced himself to stay awake, and after finishing the last few strokes, he covered his hands and let out a hissing sound.