Tokyo Sound

"Okay." The man waved his hand, "Remember to eat fish later."

Asamiya Kazuki ran upstairs with the books in her arms. Before leaving, she looked back curiously.

At the same time, I thought to myself, the president actually came to me on his own initiative.

Although my brother is very lazy at home, sleeping until noon, failing to catch mice with a mousetrap, and being at a loss when encountering cockroaches, and suspected of having procrastination, he never fails in serious matters. He is really excellent.

I have to work hard too!

"Sorry to bother you." Hatta Hideaki apologized.

"It's okay. She's already doing well in her studies. My help is just the icing on the cake. I just have to urge her to finish her homework as soon as possible." The man said, "President Hatta and Mr. Kigami came here specially. Is there something urgent?"

"If I really just want to see you, would you believe me?" Hatta Hideo said with a smile, holding up the teacup to warm his hands.

Chapter 78 Peaceful Night

"Your house is very simple." Kigami Yoshiji said with emotion after looking around twice.

The house perfectly fits the definition of a bachelor's home and a small apartment. The winter wind occasionally blows dead leaves against the window glass. It is cold outside, but the warm orange light from the heater fills the room, bringing warmth along with the hot tea in my hand, creating a small but happy atmosphere.

The furniture is obviously old, especially the wall is peeling a lot, so it is repaired by pasting posters and patching them. Looking around, they are basically well-known idol singers from the 80s and 90s. This reminds the old painter of the time when he worked hard outside and rented a house. When he sleeps at night, as long as he turns over, he can see Nakabayashi Akina and Yamaguchi Chie on the wall. They are all golden years that can never be returned.

"The bed and TV are built-in, and the table and wardrobe are left by the previous tenant. It's very comfortable. The most amazing thing is that there is a private bathroom and a small washing machine." Yin Ze said lightly. But there was obviously a bit of boasting and complacency in his words.

That's not the case. It's located in Shinjuku, with good quality and low price, convenient transportation, and harmonious neighborhood. Even an experienced real estate agent may not be able to find it easily.

"The only bad thing is that there were mice these days and they chewed the light cord, forcing me to reconnect the cord," Yin Ze said regretfully.

"You also know how to connect wires?" Kigami Yoshiji's expression became strange.

"That's not difficult. Have some tea. Oh, by the way, this is the imported White Rabbit milk candy. You must try it." Yin Ze once again enthusiastically took out the snacks that enjoy a certain reputation in the Chinese-speaking regions around the world.

"I was wondering why Takemoto started eating candy. Turns out you brought it to him."

Hatta Hideo took it, peeled off the sugar coating, and smiled.

"Although we didn't spend much time together, you left a deep impression on everyone. When I first heard them talking about you, I was quite puzzled, because I really didn't know how you could gain so much recognition in just a few weeks. When I asked Mu Shang to come along, some people, especially the girls, were quite excited when they heard the news."

"What's the matter?" Yin Ze couldn't help but ask.

"I wanted to ask if you have any plans to come to work." Kigami Yoshiharu's teeth were stuck with candy and he spoke in a mumbling voice.

"...I told you about this at the time." Yin Ze didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "Besides, it's more convenient to call. Why bother the president to make this trip in person?"

"Don't say that. Twenty or thirty years ago, he was so energetic and came to my door to recruit people."

Kigami Yoshiharu shrugged and said with a bit of nostalgia.

"When we first started the transformation, he always made persistent phone calls to thank people who were willing to work for the company. It was very powerful."

At that time, the old painter, who was at the peak of his physical strength, often saw Zhou Zheng’s president sitting in his office in the countryside of Kansai, speaking fluently and clearly to others with great energy.

Some of the contractors simply drew a character illustration, but they also received thank-you calls and heard the owner of the small workshop excitedly tell them about his dreams for the future.

"——Although the company is basically outsourcing single episode work now, we also plan to produce our own works. In the near future, we will definitely achieve this goal!"

Later, Kyoto Animation's brand name gradually became known to the public, and just as they had said on the phone, they had achieved their goal.

"So I'm not surprised at all that he pulled me over here, even though I told you that you have no intention of working in the art industry for the time being." Yoshiharu Kigami calmly drank a sip of hot tea.

"I see." Yin Ze scratched his head. "I'm sorry I can't respond to your enthusiasm. I really have no plans to change jobs at the moment."

"I have heard a little about your past. Final Fantasy 14 is a very complicated project with too much to bear. It is said that after the rebirth, many employees took the initiative to resign. They must have been overworked. After resolving their knots, they all chose to leave." Hatta Hideaki was not too disappointed, but nodded and said, "I can understand."

"......?" Although Yin Ze felt that there was something wrong with the statement, he didn't understand why, so he didn't refute it.

"But no matter what, I want to thank you in person for your help with Hyouka. By the way, I can also meet you."

Hatta Hideo laughed and sighed.

"Now people in the industry are full of praise for this work. They say, 'It has raised the standard of the TV animation industry', 'It has set a benchmark for high-quality animation for general audiences'... I would never have imagined receiving such praise from my peers before."

"I have to tell you the truth in advance. The scene in the last episode was just an exception. My body can't withstand that kind of torture several times." Yoshiharu Kigami joked.

"Of course I know. It's just a blink of an eye and I've come all the way here."

Hatta Hideo held the cup in both hands and reminisced as if chatting at a tea party.

"My wife and I got married in 1975, and since she had worked as a colorist in Tokyo, we set up a studio. At the time, animation production methods were expensive and cel coloring was largely outsourced, so we put a job ad in an Osaka newspaper looking for non-technical people who could learn the basics of production. It said, 'We teach drawing.'"

"Non-technical personnel?" Yin Ze asked.

"Yes, because coloring is not difficult. There is an original manuscript and designated colors, and you just need to fill in the colors step by step. At that time, many employees were housewives of the first generation of baby boomers. Although they were busy with their families, they also wanted to participate in work and economic development."

Hatta Hideo said slowly.

"At that time, it was still a rare thing in society to let such women leave their homes to work. It was in the First Studio... You have been there, right? It's that unprepossessing building."

"Well, the tatami feels very good, I have to give it a thumbs up," said Yin Ze.

The walls are painted in yellow duck colors, and the golden wood is lined up outside the walls, which look warm under the clean sun. There are tatami mats in the corners of the second and third floors. At noon, the man finishes his work and goes to sleep. He leaves in the evening and sees the sunset dyeing the Kamo River red along the way, and bicycles and their crisp bells passing on the bridge.

Then came the smell of food from the restaurant, the foam of beer, Director Takemoto who was urged to go home quickly by his wife, and Director Ishihara who laughed at him for being a coward.

"I grew up in a small village in a coastal area in the northeast, and most of the people I know are elderly people who have worked hard in the rice fields for half their lives. In order to grow rice, you have to prepare the land, plow the land, water it, fertilize it, and plant seedlings before you can harvest it. I think doing other things, including making animations, should be the same."

Hatta Hideo said as he took a sip of hot tea.

"Animation can be shown to children and adults. It always carries fantasy and beautiful hope. The output value of the animation industry is also very considerable, and the figures on the financial statements are very good. However, the industry itself is sick. The double harsh working hours and working environment, almost no benefits, and employees are disposable labor... Generally speaking, this is completely a description of black-hearted companies."

"I didn't say I wanted to correct these mistakes at the time. I didn't have such a shameless idea. After all, I was just the operator of a small outsourcing workshop. I just felt that this was not working, so I kept trying to find a new path."

The president, with gray hair and an increasingly thin body, looked at the old friend beside him who had been with him for decades.

"Fortunately, I met Kigami at that time. Thanks to him, we really learned the 'technique'. ... If he had returned to Tokyo to develop, with his talent, he could have had a better stage and a stronger team, and he would definitely be living a better life now."

"Since you knew that, you shouldn't have visited me so much back then." Kigami Yoshiharu snorted and said dissatisfiedly.

"I feel a little guilty. When we first made our own work, we lacked experience and confidence, so it was basically Kigami who did it all by himself. Later, when the results were not satisfactory, he took all the responsibility." Hatta Hideaki whispered, "You clearly had the opportunity to become famous, and I was the one who held you back."

"Maybe. But in my opinion, youth is like fire. We should burn desperately for something."

Kigami Yoshiharu said calmly.

"Without a system, technology alone can only do so much. From being unable to do anything to now being recognized as 'destroying industry common sense', the time we have spent has turned into firewood, which will continue to shine in the future. Besides, I am not the only one getting old, so how can I regret it?"

This is a mutually reinforcing path, from Yin Ze's perspective as a voice actor and audience, after being exposed to such a large number of animations.

The quality of Kyoto Animation is naturally excellent.

The character design, picture design, performance intention, detailed movements, and exquisite light and shadow are all of a very high standard.

Corresponding to this is the collaboration of various departments, production system, employee recruitment, working hours, schedule and budget management, as well as operational concepts and methods.

Both are indispensable.

But if we examine it again and look back to the beginning, we will find that those standing at the starting point are just two old men who shared the same aspirations when they were young.

The man had to admit that there was something romantic about this story. They had accomplished many things that others only dreamed of, and they lived up to the arrogance and fearlessness of their youth.

"As an animation production company, everyone dreams of having their own original animation planning. Although this is a difficult road, we can finally try it out." Hatta Hideaki said with a long sigh, "Adapting the works in their own library into animation is of great significance to the production company, and it is really the dream of all animation companies."

"Library?" Yin Ze was curious.

"We held the Kyoto Animation Awards in 2009 and collected many original novels and scripts. We then decided to publish some of the winning works, which led to the idea of ​​establishing a library."

Kigami Yoshiharu explained.

"So KA Esma Bunko came into being. The first batch of works included two, and it was announced that one of them would be adapted into an animation. Now the preparations have been completed and it is in production, with Ishihara as the supervisor. By the way, the corresponding dubbing invitation should have been sent to your agent."

Yin Ze was stunned.

"If you want to go further, this step is essential."

Hatta Hideo paused for a few seconds before speaking.

"No matter how well the works sold in the past, as workers, we couldn't get much profit. This is also the fundamental reason why other production companies find it difficult to guarantee the treatment of painters. It is necessary to grasp the original work. Only by owning the copyright can we get the majority of the profits and maintain the current route and further development. Unfortunately, we don't have a strong and keen producer, and so far, we lack the market sense to buy excellent original works. In the end, we can only choose social fundraising, that is, the library."

"But." Yin Ze folded his hands and was silent for a while. He was not optimistic about this matter and said cautiously, "Making animation is one thing, and running a library is another. If a library wants to do a good job of publishing, the investment will only be more. Just simply distributing the goods will consume a lot of resources, and it is possible to lose all the money. But if you don't do it carefully, it will lose its appeal and no one will come, which runs counter to the original intention of finding high-quality stories."

Brother Shimazaki Nobunaga often discusses his work on light novels.

Sales of tens of millions, popular animation adaptations, standing out as the leading actor in two lines, and achieving financial freedom through royalties, and then inviting brothers to a yacht party, etc., are all old news.

The most important point is that it is adapted from a popular novel.

Nowadays, most animations with original works on the market are produced by the library in order to boost the sales of novels.

Theoretically speaking, for those who contribute works like Shimazaki Nobunaga, the biggest income is royalties.

So there are often some series that have a lot of readers but never have a third season, and even if they do, they delay in releasing it. The reason is probably that the novels have sold well enough and the profit is high enough, so there is no need to go through the trouble of promoting them.

In addition, the physical publishing industry will definitely be impacted by the Internet in the future. Moreover, the current market is basically divided up. Even if a small animation company uses all its assets, can it really gain a little profit from the big guys?

What's more, what they are good at is not in this field, which is so unrealistic.

But as I said, if you don't work hard, you won't be able to attract talented authors to submit their works, because people submit their works in order to be published and to make a living based on their skills.

Without any return, naturally no one will energize for love. Maybe it’s okay once or twice, but it’s impossible forever.

Whether it's voice actors or animation, there are too many people like this who are full of passion but choose to leave because of the hardships in life.

It's the same everywhere, there is no essential difference.

Perhaps Kyoto Animation has the ability to adapt something that is out of date and turn it into something magical. It once did the feat of adapting a four-frame comic into something truly amazing.

However, the story itself is full of uncertainties.

The man's doubts and suggestions are not without reason.

"In the end, the value of animation is still the story, the content, and the humanity," said Kigami. "Takemoto is very capable and likes warm daily life. Hyouka is really great. But from a business perspective, we should also try other fields. This is a necessary step."

"Maybe it will disrupt the existing stability and balance? Will it cause unexpected impacts?" Yin Ze asked.

“So-called management and business are actually this kind of thing. Creation and business seem to be mutually exclusive, but they are inseparable from each other.”

Hatta Hideaki said with a wry smile.

"In the past, we had the support of big TV stations and big publishing houses, and every link was done very well. As long as the animation was of good quality, it was almost destined to be popular and sell well. But now we have to work alone and rely on ourselves for everything, and we will definitely encounter many difficulties. Just like a long time ago, when we went from an ordinary workshop to a team that can produce independently, many years have passed, and now we have reached the next stage. It's just that it will definitely be much more difficult, because there are more things to consider and pursue."

From a big picture perspective, this decision is not problematic.

It’s just that some things are destined to be complicated.

“Personally, I think even if it doesn’t work out, it doesn’t matter.”

Kigami Yoshiji knew his old friend's worries and lack of confidence, so he smiled casually.

"It may be irresponsible, but we are not young anymore. If we can make it this far, then our model should be able to help our peers. As for the more ambitious idea of ​​changing the industry, it doesn't matter if we don't touch it at all, right? We are both so old, it doesn't matter if we keep the status quo and stay in Kansai forever, right?"

Kigami Yoshiharu said lightly.

"In the beginning, going against the mainstream and making animation in the countryside far away from the economic core was a shy and introverted choice. Although the work was spread inadvertently, there are audiences who love it even in other parts of the world."

The old painter said firmly.

"But we have remained the same from the beginning to the end. In the final analysis, we are still just a small workshop that likes to make animations. If we throw away something too heavy, no one will say anything."

Hatta Hideaki looked at the face beside him that was no longer young, and couldn't help but smile.

"...You're right. Before we know it, we're also reaching retirement age."

The president looked back at the young man opposite him and spoke softly.

"Perhaps that's why I can't wait to meet you. Although we have only worked together for a short time, those children often talk about you, speaking of your gentleness and strength. You are so trusted and admired."

"I suddenly remembered that decades ago, when Takemoto and his friends were still young and had not grown up yet, they also looked at Mugami with such longing. It suddenly dawned on me that you are the one who can help us complete this last part and walk this last section of the journey.

"That's why I couldn't help it and rushed over to Mu Shang. And after meeting him, I am now more convinced of this."

Hatta Hideo said these words with certainty.

"I'm really terrified." The man said modestly.

"As someone who has been through this, let me warn you not to be easily convinced by him, because it is extremely tiring." Kigami Yoshiharu gave a serious reminder at this time.

"I understand." The man also accepted the opinion very seriously.

……

dong dong.

"Takizawa-san? Have they left?" Asamiya Kazuki opened the door and saw her excellent brother coming upstairs to ask her to make dinner.

"Yeah." The man nodded.