tokyo voice

"I'm coming."

Asamiya Xiangyue who tied the post went to open the door.Then I saw two strangers, one was wearing a very formal business suit with a briefcase in his hand, the other was a casual sweater with his hands in his pockets.

The temples of both of them are slightly gray, which is the proof that they have gone through many years in their lives.

"May I ask who you are?" Kazuki Asamiya asked with some doubts.

"Excuse me, is this Mr. Takizawa's residence?" the man in the suit asked very politely, and even bowed slightly to the children who were much younger than him, as a sign of courtesy.His stature is not tall, but his temperament is very upright. Although he is no longer young, his eyes are still full of vitality.When I smile, my face also has many wrinkles.

"May I ask who you are?" Kazuki Asamiya did not answer, but asked again.She knew that her brother was a voice actor and was also an artist, so she still had to pay attention to the address information.

"Excuse me, I am an animation producer and the president of Kyoto Animation." The man took out a business card from his old briefcase, handed it with both hands, and introduced himself kindly and simply, "My name is Hidero Hatta. "

"President, President?!"

Kazuki Asamiya is studying in middle school, and she has never seen any entrepreneurs or big bosses.She took the business card hesitantly, looked at it for a few more seconds, and finally turned around and shouted softly.

"Brother Takizawa, a president is looking for you."

"?"

The sound of slippers was approaching, and the man soon appeared behind the girl, staring at the two outside the door.He didn't know the man in the suit, but he knew the old painter in the sweater.

"Kinogami-san? Why are you here?" The man was surprised, "Couldn't you come from Kyoto, it's a long way away."

"No way, let's go out with the boss." Masaharu Kigami smiled cheerfully. He pulled the cotton cap on his head, stretched out his hand from his pocket, and waved hello.

"This is...?" The man looked at the one who was not tall

"President Hatta of our company, I mentioned it when I was chatting with you before." Masuji Kigami shrugged.

"You are—" the man was surprised.

"Come here in a hurry and cause trouble. But after listening to their report and knowing your help to the society, I want to thank you in person no matter what, and see the teacher with my own eyes." Hidero Hatta said with a smile.He was also a little surprised. Although he knew something, it was still a little unexpected that the person in front of him was really so young.

"Oh, you can just talk about it on the phone, and you still have to sit in the car for so long." The man scratched his head, feeling a little embarrassed.

"I'm sorry to bother you, teacher. If possible, can I take some time? I want to talk to you. I see a nice coffee shop downstairs." Batian Yinglang said.

"No, no, just go straight into the house. It's just that I live alone, and the house is inevitably a little irregular. It's fine if you don't mind. By the way, don't use honorifics. You are so much older than me, how can you bear it?" Get up. Come on, come on, it’s cold outside, aren’t you?"

Master Yin said kindly, and took the initiative to pull the two of them to sit at home, and dragged the heater commonly known as "Little Sun" to the two elders to take care of it. This thing was bought from China Street.It consumes a lot of power, and I usually don't turn it on by myself.

Kazuki Asamiya poured three cups of hot tea and brought some snacks.

"You just said that you live alone, so who is this little girl?" Kisami Masaharu asked curiously.

"Oh, it's my neighbor who lives upstairs. She is a very kind child. She is studying near here. Her hometown is not in Tokyo. She studies and lives alone. I help her with her homework when I have time, and occasionally I also show off my cooking skills. , cook some good dishes, the little girl lives very frugally, and saves her daily food." The man explained without any lag in his speech.

"That's really good." Masaki Kigami nodded affirmatively at his kindness.

"..."

Asamiya Kazuki did not break the only loophole in this passage. After setting out the tea, she neatly put away the textbooks, test booklet, pencil case and other things.

"Brother Takizawa, if you want to talk about something, I'll go back first."

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

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

At the same time, I thought to myself, the president, he actually came to look for him on his own initiative.

Although my brother is very lazy at home, sleeps until noon, fails repeatedly to catch mice with mousetrap, and is even more confused when he encounters cockroaches.

I have to work hard too!

"I'm sorry to disturb you." Hatta Hidero said apologetically.

"It's okay, her homework is already very good, and my help is just icing on the cake. I just occasionally 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 you really just want to meet you, would you believe it?" Hatta Hidero warmed his hands while holding a teacup with a smile.

No.70 Chapter [-] A Peaceful Night

"Your house is very simple." Masuji Kigami said with emotion after turning his eyes twice.

The home perfectly fits the definition of a bachelor's home and a dwelling.The winter wind blows dead leaves on the window panes from time to time, and the outside is cold and windy. The orange light from the heater fills the room, bringing warmth together with the hot tea in hand, creating a small but happy atmosphere.

The old feeling of the furniture is obvious, especially the walls are peeling a lot, so posters are pasted and patched for repairs. If you look around, they are basically idol singers who are familiar to you in the 80s and 90s.This reminds the old painter of the time when he was working hard to rent a house.When sleeping at night, as long as you turn over, you can see Akina Nakabayashi and Chie Yamaguchi on the wall.These are golden years that cannot be returned.

"The bed and TV are brought in, and the table and wardrobe are left by the upper tenant. It is very comfortable. The most amazing thing is that there is an independent bathroom and a small washing machine." Yin Ze said lightly.But there is obviously a bit of showing off and self-satisfaction in the words.

No, it is located in Shinjuku, with good quality and low price, convenient transportation, and harmonious neighborhood. Even experienced real estate agents may not be easy to find.

"The only bad thing is that there are mice these days, which bit the light wire and caused me to reconnect a section of the wire." Yin Ze said regretfully.

"Are you still able to connect wires?" Masayoshi Kigami's expression became weird.

"That's not difficult. Drink tea, drink tea, oh yes, this is imported white rabbit toffee, you must try it." Yin Ze once again passionately brought out a snack that enjoys a certain reputation in Chinese-speaking regions around the world.

"I said why Wu Ben started eating candy, so it was you who brought it."

Hatta Hidero took it, peeled off the icing, and smiled.

"Although we didn't spend much time together, you left a deep impression on everyone. When I first heard them discussing you, I was quite puzzled at first, because I really don't know how you gained so much in a few weeks. How much I agree. When I asked Kigami to come here together, some people, especially the little girls, were quite looking forward to it after hearing the news."

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

"I want to ask if you have any plans to come to work." Masaharu Kigami grumbled as his teeth were stuck to the sugar.

"...Didn't I tell you about this at the time?" Yin Ze didn't know whether to laugh or cry, "And it's more convenient to make a phone call, so why would President Lao make this trip himself?"

"Don't say that, 30 or [-] years ago, he was so energetic, he came to my door to recruit people himself."

Kigami Masaharu shrugged and said with nostalgia.

"At the beginning of the transformation, he always persistently called and thanked those who were willing to take over the company's work, which 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, talking to others neatly with great energy.

Some contractors just drew a character illustration, and also received a thank you call, and heard the owner of this small workshop happily tell himself about his future dreams.

"—Although the company basically does single-episode outsourcing work now, we also intend to produce our own works. In the not-too-distant future, we will definitely achieve this goal!"

Later, the signature of Kyoto Animation gradually became known, and as they said on the phone, they achieved their goal.

"So I'm not at all surprised by his behavior of pulling me over, even though I have said that you have no intention of engaging in the art industry for the time being." Masaharu Kigami took a sip of hot tea calmly.

"That's it." Yin Ze scratched his head, "Forgive me for not being able to respond to this enthusiasm, and I really have no plans to change jobs at the moment."

"I've heard a little bit about you before. Final Fantasy 14 is a very tortuous project, and there are too many burdens. It is said that after rebirth, many employees voluntarily resigned. It must be because they are too hard. In my heart After the conclusion, they all chose to leave." Hatta Hidero 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 it, so he didn't refute it.

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

Hatta Hidero laughed and sighed.

"Now people in the industry are full of praise for this work. 'Improve the standard of the TV animation industry', 'give general audiences a benchmark for high-quality animation'... I never imagined similar praise from peers before. of."

"I have to tell the truth in advance. The scene in the last episode can only be an example. With my body, I can't bear that kind of suffering a few times." Masaharu Kigami joked.

"Of course I know, it's just a blink of an eye, and they've all come here."

Holding the cup in both hands, Hatta Hideo recalled it as if chatting at a tea party.

"My wife and I got married in 1975, and because she had done coloring work in Tokyo, we also set up a studio. At that time, animation production methods were expensive, and celluloid coloring was outsourced a lot, so we So I placed a job advertisement in a newspaper in Osaka, looking for non-technical people who can learn basic production. There is a sentence in the content, "We teach painting."

"Non-technical personnel?" Yin Ze asked.

"Yes, because coloring is really not difficult. There are original manuscripts and designated colors. Just fill in the colors step by step. At that time, many employees were housewives of the first generation of baby boomers. Want to be involved in jobs and economic development."

Hatta Hidero said slowly.

"At that time, it was very rare for such a woman to come out of the house to work in the mass society. It was in the first studio...you have been there, it is that ugly building."

"Well, the touch of the tatami is very good, I want to praise it." Yin Ze said.

The wall paint of the little yellow duck is painted, and the golden wood is arranged outside the wall, which looks warm under the clean and bright sun.There are tatami mats in the corners of the second and third floors. At noon, the men finish their work and go to sleep. When they leave in the evening, you will see the sunset dyeing the Kamogawa River red along the road. The bridge crosses the bicycle and it is crisp. ringtone.

Then came the smell of rice in the restaurant, the foam of beer, Director Takemoto who was urged to go home by his wife's phone call, and Director Ishihara who laughed at him.

“I grew up in a small village in a coastal area in the Northeast. The people I knew the most were old people who had worked hard for half their lives in the rice fields. In order to grow rice, it is necessary to prepare the land, plow the land, water, fertilize and transplant. Miao, the harvest is the last. I think it should be the same when doing other things, like animation.”

Hatta Hidero took a sip of hot tea and said.

"Animation can be shown to children as well as adults. It always carries fantasy and good hope. The output value of the animation industry is also very impressive, and the figures on the report are very beautiful. However, the industry itself is sick. The double harshness of working hours and working environment, almost no benefits, employees as one-time labor... Generally speaking, this is completely described as a black heart company."

"At that time, I didn't say that I wanted to correct these mistakes. I had such an outspoken idea. After all, I was just an operator of a small outsourcing workshop. I just simply felt that this was not possible, so I have been working hard to find a new path."

The president with gray hair and thinner figure looked at his old friend who had been with him for decades.

"Fortunately, at that time, I met Kigami. Thanks to him, we really learned the 'technique'. ... If we go back to Tokyo to develop, with his talent, we can have a better stage, and there are more A strong team will definitely be better off now."

"Since you know, don't spare no effort to visit the house back then." Masaki Kigami snorted and said dissatisfied.

"I actually feel a little guilty in my heart. When we were working independently for the first time in the agency, we lacked experience and confidence, so Kigami basically went into battle alone. Later, the results were not satisfactory, and he took all the responsibilities." Hatta Hidero low Said loudly, "You clearly have a chance to become famous all over the world, but I dragged you down."

"Maybe. But in my opinion, youth is like a fire, and it should be burned desperately for something."

Kigami Masaharu said calmly.

"Without systems and systems, there is only so much that technology can do. From being unable to do anything, to now being evaluated as 'destroying the common sense of the industry', the time we have passed has been turned into firewood, and will continue to be issued in the future." Bright. Besides, I am not the only one who is getting old, how can there be any regrets?"

This is a road that complements each other, from the perspective of Yin Ze as a seiyuu and audience, after being exposed to so many animations.

The quality of Kyoto Animation is naturally excellent.

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

Corresponding to this is the cooperation of various departments, production system, employee employment, working hours, schedule and budget management, as well as operating concepts and methods.

Both are indispensable.

But if you look at it again and look back at the beginning, you will find that standing at the beginning is just the figure of two old people with similar ambitions when they were young.

Men have to admit that there is some romance in this story. They have achieved many things that others dream of, and they have lived up to their youthful rebelliousness and fearlessness.

"As an animation production company, everyone dreams of doing original animation planning by themselves. Although this is a difficult road, we can finally try to get out." Hatta Hidero said with a long breath, "I will create my own library. The animation of the works in the film 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. Then we decided to publish some of the award-winning works, and then derived the idea of ​​​​building a library."

Kigami Masaharu explained.

"So the KAエスマ library came into being. There were two works in the first batch, and finally it was announced that one of them would be animated. Now the preparations have been completed and production is underway. Ishihara will be the supervisor. By the way , the corresponding dubbing invitation should have been sent to your manager."

Yin Ze was taken aback.

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

Hatta Hidero paused for a few seconds before speaking.

"No matter how well the works sold in the past, as part-time workers, we couldn't get much profit. This is the fundamental reason why it is difficult for other production companies to guarantee the treatment of painters. It is necessary to grasp the original work. Only with copyright can we get a big head and maintain the current situation. However, unfortunately, we do not have a strong and determined producer, and so far, we lack the market sense to purchase excellent original works. In the end, we can only choose social fundraising, which is the library.”

"However." Yin Ze folded his hands and was silent for a while, but he was not very optimistic about this matter, and said cautiously, "Doing animation is one thing, and running a library is another thing. If the library wants to do a good job of publishing , the investment will only be much more, and the simple distribution of goods will consume a lot of resources, and may lose all money. But if you don’t do it carefully, you will lose its attractiveness and no one will come. This is not the same as looking for high-quality The original intention of the story goes against the grain.”

Shimadzu often discusses his work on light novels.

What sales are tens of millions, popular adaptation of animation, as the leading actor double-line stand out, and can achieve wealth and freedom by relying on royalties, then invite brothers to have a yacht party or something, it is a cliché.

The most important joint is the adaptation of popular novels.

Most of the animations with original works on the market today are produced by their library to drive the sales of novels.

Theoretically speaking, the biggest income for contributors like Shimadzu is royalties.

So there are often some series that are clearly watched by a lot of people, but the third season is not coming out, and even if it comes out, it is still slow. The probably reason is that their novels have already sold well enough, and they earn a lot, so there is no need to bother. Driven by publicity.

In addition, the physical publishing industry will definitely be impacted by the Internet in the future. Moreover, the current market is basically segmented. Even if a small animation company in the area has finished its business, can it really grab some profits under the eyes of the big head?

And what they are good at is not in this field, so it is unrealistic.

But as I said, if you don’t work hard, you won’t be able to attract powerful authors to submit, because when people submit, they want to publish it, and they want to rely on their ability to make a living.

If there is no return, naturally no one will generate electricity for love. Maybe once or twice is okay, but it will never be possible.

Whether it's voice actors or animation, there are too many people who are full of passion, but choose to leave due to the hardship of life.

Everywhere is the same, there is no difference in essence.

Perhaps Kyoto Animation has the ability to transform decay into magic. It once did a feat of changing a four-frame comic into a top-middle-top.

However, the story itself is mostly uncertain.