Inside the screening room, Summer Wars was being shown.
This animation, with its virtual network theme and focus on family and kinship, was a relatively rare subject in the animation market.
The story unfolds in a world where the virtual network has become highly developed. Kenji Koiso, a second-year high school student and math prodigy, is tricked by his senior, Natsuki Shinohara, into going to the countryside under the guise of a part-time job. He pretends to be her boyfriend to celebrate her great-grandmother's 90th birthday.
Initially, Natsuki lies, claiming the male lead is a top student from the University of Tokyo, from a prestigious family, and has just returned from studying abroad in North America. This earns him the favor of Natsuki's large family.
Of course, this is just the beginning. The story develops as follows:
That night, the male lead receives an email containing a string of numbers that looks like a math problem. Unable to resist, he calculates the solution and replies. The next morning, his virtual account is hacked, and the AI Hacker breaches the system of the virtual world "OZ," causing severe chaos in both the virtual and real worlds.
In the end, the male lead and Natsuki's family members work together to successfully thwart the AI Hacker's destructive plans, restoring order to both the virtual and real worlds.
From its themes and narrative structure, this animation bears some resemblance to Mamoru Hosoda's early work, Digimon: Our War Game. However, this film places a greater emphasis on family and familial bonds.
The Senior's family belongs to a prestigious and powerful clan—a super-large family with numerous members and extensive connections. Both the main and subplots of the story are closely intertwined with this family.
Although some parts of the animation are serious, there are also humorous moments. For instance, after the virtual world "OZ" is compromised, the Male Lead appears on television the next morning, labeled a "Pleasure Criminal."
In reality, the Male Lead is innocent. That night, many people worldwide received an email from the Artificial Intelligence Hacker. Over fifty people solved the math problem—but not him, because his answer had a single incorrect final letter.
The reason he was broadcast as a "Pleasure Criminal" is that the AI Hacker stole his account and used it for malicious activities. Anyone who replied to the email that night, regardless of whether their answer was correct, had their account compromised.
After the "Pleasure Criminal" appeared on television, the Senior's lies were exposed. The Male Lead was arrested and taken to the police station in a patrol car. Fortunately, he was rescued by the Senior and her family en route, and the truth quickly came to light, clearing his name.
In short, the animation was quite interesting and performed exceptionally well, grossing over 1.6 billion yen in Japan alone and winning numerous awards both domestically and internationally, including several prestigious international honors.
The success of The Girl Who Leapt Through Time combined with Summer Wars brought Mamoru Hosoda considerable international recognition, leading many media outlets to hail him as "Hayao Miyazaki's successor."
Lin Zhiyan had, of course, already seen this animation. He had watched the original version from another timeline and even the version from his own timeline as soon as it was completed.
However, he hadn't come to the animation company's screening room primarily to watch the film.
As he watched, he waited. Before long, Mamoru Hosoda walked in, sat beside him, and asked with a puzzled expression, "What made you decide to watch this animation?"
"The theatrical film project for Puella Magi Madoka Magica is confirmed, but we're still unsure what to do with the next animation. I was hoping to find some inspiration from Summer Wars," Lin Zhiyan replied.
"I see..." Mamoru Hosoda said, his eyes widening as he followed suit and started watching.
After a few minutes, Lin Zhiyan suddenly asked, "You've been with the company for over four years now. How do you feel about it?"
Hosoda paused, thought for a moment, and answered, "It's great. I don't even need to mention the benefits and compensation. Everyone here is so friendly; coming to work feels like coming home."
"Like coming home?" Lin Zhiyan couldn't help but give Hosoda a closer look.
Hosoda: [?_??]
"I've been thinking... even family members eventually move out and start their own families."
Lin Zhiyan offered an example: "Take two brothers who lost their parents early on. The older one gets married first, but the younger one isn't ready to be independent yet, so they still live together. But once the younger one grows up and is capable of starting his own family, he'll probably move out, right?"
Mamoru Hosoda opened his mouth, suddenly unsure how to respond.
He understood what Lin Zhiyan was implying. Lin Zhiyan had likely heard rumors about his desire to leave L.S Produ and start his own animation company.
In truth, he did have such an idea, but he was still hesitant.
His ability as a Supervising Director had been proven by The Girl Who Leapt Through Time and Summer Wars. Staying at L.S Produ and following Lin Zhiyan's instructions—making whatever animation he was told to make—felt increasingly uninspired.
If he could strike out on his own, he could develop his own animation projects, create works entirely of his own design, and better express himself through his art.
However, going independent would mean taking full responsibility for the risks. Although The Girl Who Leapt Through Time and Summer Wars had earned him considerable popularity and recognition, could he truly succeed with future animations that weren't planned by Lin Zhiyan but originated from his own ideas?
After all, Lin Zhiyan had pulled him up when he was at his lowest, helping him regain his footing and turn his reputation around with The Girl Who Leapt Through Time. To strike out on his own now felt somewhat excessive.
This was a major decision concerning his life and future, and he couldn't make it lightly.
Lin Zhiyan naturally didn't know what Mamoru Hosoda was thinking and didn't try to guess. He asked directly, "What do you think?"
"Me?" Hosoda pointed to himself. "I think this is perfectly normal."
"No, I mean your personal thoughts. You're now capable of striking out on your own and starting a new animation company," Lin Zhiyan said frankly.
Hosoda: "..."
Lin Zhiyan continued, "If you have this idea, I can provide funding. However, even if you start your own company, you'll need to help me complete the Wolf Children: Ame and Yuki animation project first."
It was difficult to stop him. Since he couldn't be stopped, the best course was to join him. By funding Hosoda and securing a stake in his new company, they could avoid a falling out, spare both sides awkwardness, and continue to profit.
Many companies in the industry operated this way—it was the optimal approach.
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