I loaded the ghost talk game

Present.

GENIE Studio located in Arakawa District, Tokyo.

Today, the atmosphere here is slightly different from usual.

A professional camera team of five or six people came to the studio. This camera team was invited to shoot a documentary for GENIE Studio.

It is called a documentary, but to be more precise, it is to shoot a promotional video in the form of a documentary.

The main content of the promotion is the new series that GENIE will broadcast on TV in July this year, which is the end of this month - "Karasu Tengu's Monster Exorcism House".

The host of the camera team is named Miyazaki Mari, a young woman about 26 or 27 years old.

After entering the studio, Miss Miyazaki took a notebook to write and revise.

The notebook was written with an introduction to GENIE:

[This is GENIE Co., Ltd. located in Tokyo. Although it is an animation company that cooperates with many companies, the progress of the process is basically handled by the company's employees. Previously, "Miss Mary", which was produced in this mode, received high praise for its excellent quality...]

Miyazaki is a very serious working woman. Long before she came to shoot, she had already prepared many interview questions and two sets of narration scripts that might be used for documentary materials.

Of course, now that she is on the scene, some content still needs to be revised in time.

While revising the content on the notebook, Miyazaki was also communicating about the shooting work in two threads: "Ms. Kamiya, can we start shooting and interviewing now?"

The so-called "Ms. Kamiya" refers to Shiori Kamiya.

The human alias of Wen Che Yao Fei.

At this time, Wen Che, who is the general affairs and animation supervisor, is receiving the photography team: "The confidential content in the studio that is not open to the public at this stage has been put away, and the shooting can be carried out freely at any time. For interviews, everyone in the studio will cooperate with you."

"It's a great help."

The camera crew began to shoot the situation in the GENIE studio.

For example, the popular "Miss Mary" peripherals and half-human-high Miss Mary Q-version figures displayed at the entrance.

For example, the environment of the work area.

Even the radio gymnastics scene that is performed regularly in the studio at 3 pm every weekday was filmed.

Many Japanese animation companies will take employees to do a set of radio gymnastics at a fixed time, and GENIE is no exception.

After all, except for Wen Che Yaofei who is wearing "Painted Skin", all other employees working in the studio are human. Sitting for a long time is not good for their health, and by moving the body, everyone's spirit can be refreshed, thereby improving work efficiency.

In this documentary promotional video, Ms. Miyazaki intends to start with the situation of the GENIE studio.

So these filmed scenes should be useful later.

In addition to filming the studio material, another important task is interviewing——

Question: "As a member, what do you think is the charm of GENIE?"

Director Kawanishi: "It should be teamwork, and the personal charm of General Manager Kamiya. Haha, the important thing is the atmosphere of the process of everyone creating together."

"General Manager Kamiya pays attention to this. If the discussion process is boring, then even if there are good ideas, it may be difficult for everyone to express them. Therefore, General Manager Kamiya always maintains a good atmosphere within the studio. In fact, I also value this point. I think that GENIE is very important to me. is very important.

Question: "What do you think of General Manager Kamiya?"

"Ms. Kamiya is a little strict."

Original artist Kiyota Mari said this, but continued with a light smile: "But she is very reliable, and the team can't do without her. Because Ms. Kamiya is also the animation supervisor, she will immediately ask questions if there is a problem with the original drawing. Even if there are some unclear places, she will be sensitive and come to your seat quickly.

"For the planning of "Karasu Tengu's Monster Exorcism House", the most important thing for me is the protagonist "Crow". The most difficult and time-consuming part is How to depict the image of the ‘crow’ through the picture. ”

“The small grids drawn by Ms. Kamiya helped me a lot. When I looked at the storyboards, I could really feel that there was the ‘crow’ that Ms. Kamiya wanted to show the audience, a vivid, flesh-and-blood character. So, as long as I also blend in and cooperate with the painting, there will be no problem. ”

Question: “Are there any small details and stories in the creative process that you can share?”

Original artist Takahiro Tazawa: “I remember that in one shot, I drew a large cloud in the background. After Ms. Kamiya saw it, she told me that it would be better to just put The clouds were removed to create a large empty space in the background..."

Question: "Is there any special meaning in removing the clouds in the lens?"

Shiori Kamiya, general affairs and animation supervisor: "When depicting the inner thoughts of Crow in that lens, the clouds seemed a bit of an eyesore. Crow's appearance was cold at first, with an indifferent, indifferent, and closed mentality towards others."

"Under that lens language, if even the environment is very depressing, it seems a bit too much. So rather than saying that the clouds are an eyesore, it's better to say that that lens doesn't need that kind of background..."

After interviewing Wen Che Yao Fei, Miyazaki Mari put away the microphone.

Then she silently glanced at the interviewee who was sitting in the office.

"This Miss Kamiya is really very professional and capable. It seems that the interview topic of the entire studio cannot avoid her... In this case, she is the so-called soul of the entire company."

Mari Miyazaki thought so.

She is a professional media person related to the animation industry. She has interviewed many people since her work, but this Miss Kamiya gives her a very special feeling.

How to say it...

Is it because of her outstanding appearance that is not inferior to that of a star?

Or is it her cold temperament that makes it difficult for people to approach her like a flower on the mountain?

It seems that neither.

It is something more internal.

It's a bit funny to say that when facing Shiori Kamiya, Mari Miyazaki feels that she seems to be able to feel a subtle sense of fear and oppression.

"But she is obviously not my leader."

Maybe some people are born to be leaders?

But then again, Miss Kamiya is very beautiful, and her iceberg beauty temperament is very consistent with a capable OL professional suit.

The slim-fitting shirt, tight hip skirt, well-proportioned legs wrapped in black stockings, and cool high heels.

Tsk tsk tsk.

Even though they are both women, and even though Kamiya Shiori looks a little younger than herself...

But Miyazaki Mari still has the urge to throw herself at her feet and call her "sister".

Such a beauty, of course, needs more shots!

Cutting more shots of Miss Kamiya into the promotional documentary will definitely add a lot of color to the finished film!

The interviews within the studio are basically done, and then some pilot images of "Karasu Tengu's Monster Retreat" will be copied, and tomorrow the voice actors involved in the production of this animation will be interviewed.

As a promotional film, some of the animation's images and shots are displayed, as well as the voice actors' related content.

This link can well show the sincerity of GENIE's new animation... and financial resources.

Miyazaki Mari has some literacy reserves in the animation industry. She has already noticed that although GENIE Studio only emerged last year, the company's operating funds are really not lacking.

This can be seen from "Karasu Tengu's Monster Retreat".

The graphics of this new show are extremely sophisticated and gorgeous, and they are not the kind of bloated and gorgeous just for show. After all, Ms. Kamiya has considered even small details such as "should there be clouds" in the camera during the animation production process.

In short, you can see the cost burning in every frame.

There is a kind of visual beauty that does not care about the cost.

The voice actors involved in the production are basically the most popular top ace in the industry.

"GENIE's previous work "Miss Mary" was a great success, but is this one work enough to bring them such a large cash flow? Or is the mysterious president behind this studio really capable?"

Of course.

Questions like this, Mari Miyazaki just thinks about it in her mind and will not ask.

After the studio had almost finished acquiring all the content materials, Ms. Miyazaki thought of something and asked, "By the way, Ms. Kamiya, can we interview your scriptwriter Mr. Soru in this promotional video?"

The script of the previously well-received "Ms. Mary" was completely written by Mr. Soru.

The industry has a high opinion of this scriptwriter who suddenly emerged.

Now the new series "Karasu Tengu's Monster Retreat" is still written by Mr. Soru, so Ms. Miyazaki wants to ask this teacher about his mental journey in writing the script, so that the old work and the new work can be connected and the promotional video can be added.

"Mr. Soru will not accept offline interviews. However, you can contact him directly by phone here."

Wenche Yaofei said this, her tone was very flat, but it was undeniable.

Mr. Soru, that is, another ghost story employee of GENIE, Chiaki Miyake, of course, he will not accept any face-to-face interviews.

"Ha, ha." Ms. Miyazaki laughed dryly to ease the embarrassment, "No wonder people in the industry say that Mr. Soru is very mysterious."

In fact, it's not just this script teacher who can't be seen.

The whole GENIE has a mysterious feeling.

But as an animation company that mainly promotes monster stories, maybe it's not a bad thing to have a mysterious temperament?

...

Wen Che Yao Fei called Miyake Chiaki in the studio.

After a brief communication, she turned on the speakerphone and signaled Ms. Miyazaki to conduct an interview.

"Hello, Mr. Soru. I want to ask you some questions about the new work "Karasu Tengu's Monster Exorcism House."

"Well, just ask."

The voice of Mr. Soru seemed to have been processed in some way, and it was not his real voice transmitted through the phone.

But it was good to be able to contact, and Ms. Miyazaki naturally wouldn't care about this.

The conscientious host flipped through her notebook and found some questions she had prepared:

"Both "Miss Mary" and "Karasu Tengu's Monster Retreat" revolve around the theme of monster stories. Can you please tell us what the biggest difference between the two works is?"

Miss Mary's plot is mainly based on modern times, and against this background, it incorporates many modern urban legends. Even traditional monsters are presented in a more modern way."

"The initial stage of the story of "Katsutengu no Yokai Retreat" was set during the fall of the curtain before the Meiji Restoration, not long after the Black Ship Incident."

"This is a special background of the era, and there is a lot worth describing. Feudalism struggled with the emerging capital forces, and at the same time was accompanied by the influx of Western ideological trends. There were disputes between feudal lords and heroes, and many townsfolk who were originally at the bottom, Ronin rises in the tide of the times. Against this background, the monster story unfolded from the perspective of the two protagonists has a traditional style and novelty. I believe it will give the audience a brand new visual experience. "

Mari Miyazaki: "Well, what were the considerations behind the design of the male protagonist?"

Chiaki Miyake: "Crow, one of the protagonists, is the incarnation of the vanished Ainu belief in the Kamui Karasu Tengu. From the moment he appears on the scene, he has a negative attitude towards human nature and has a relatively rigid personality. However, deeper inside, he has the ability to be a Kamui. sense of justice."

"As for the second protagonist Ryuken Igarashi, as a representative image of the town people who have accumulated a certain amount of wealth in the context of the Overthrow Movement, he is young, optimistic, and willing to accept new things that emerge with the trend of Western thought. At the same time, he has the characteristics of a small citizen at that time. The two protagonists with different personalities can collide with each other in daily life. "

The story design of "Katsutengu no Monster Retreat" has two male protagonists.

Among them, Ryuken Igarashi is a descendant of a wealthy human businessman. He inherited the family wealth and is very business-savvy, but he doesn't like making money and doing business.

On the surface, he is a folklorist who is keen on writing articles and novels about supernatural phenomena. Privately, he relies on his strong inspiration ability to run a monster retreat house.

The story begins when Igarashi accidentally liberates the Ainu Tengu Kamui "Crow" in an ancient shrine during a mission.

Since then, the two have been acting together. Although sometimes Igarashi would play pranks and cause the two to quarrel, in the process of solving the incident, the relationship between the two began to change slowly, and they gradually accumulated a deep friendship...

In the main line of the story, although the two protagonists have had contact with heroes from both the overthrowing and supporting forces, they have not directly participated in this vigorous social change movement of the times.

Chiaki Miyake only used the perspectives of the two protagonists to slowly unfold a luxurious and gorgeous picture of strange monsters with the style and temperament of a special era.

Basically this is the story.

Mari Miyazaki: "Also, I heard that Miss Mary, the much-loved protagonist of "Miss Mary," will also make a guest appearance in the new series."

Chiaki Miyake: "Yes, Miss Mary will appear as a supporting character in episode 10."

"But at that time, there seemed to be no telephones, right?" Miyazaki, who had done his homework, chuckled.

Miyake on the other end of the phone also laughed: "This involves the origin story of how Miss Mary was born. Perhaps the tenth chapter of the new series can be regarded as an independent story about how Mary, who traveled across the ocean at that time, related to the God of Fortune. Prequel. We at GENIE are committed to creating a splendid monster universe.”

Chiaki Miyake did not hide GENIE’s “ambition”.

This "Katsutengu's Monster Retreat" is indeed a tailor-made work for Kamiya's subordinates, the Karasutengu, to spread their faith, but it is also a stepping stone to the GENIE monster universe.