March 3rd.
Yuta set aside everything he was working on, put on a sharp suit, and headed to the Shiraishi Art Museum with a few members of the Clannad production team for the Shiraishi Award ceremony.
In the other world, the anime industry's three major awards were the Tokyo Anime Award, the Kobe Animation Award, and the Agency for Cultural Affairs Media Arts Festival.
Among those three, the last one carried the most prestige, though its grand prize rarely went to TV anime. The winners were almost always anime films.
The first two recognized both TV anime and films, but they leaned more commercial.
In the world Yuta now inhabited, the Media Arts Festival still existed, but the Tokyo Anime Award and Kobe Animation Award did not.
In their place were the Shiraishi Award and the Kyoto Animation Award.
Shiraishi was not a place name. It was the surname of Shiraishi Gensuke, a figure from the previous century who was known in this world's Japan as "the father of modern animation." His standing was roughly equivalent to Tezuka Osamu in the other world, possibly even higher.
Naming the award after him was a tribute.
This award roughly corresponded to the Tokyo Anime Award from the other world. At least the category structure was identical.
The Kyoto Animation Award was named after the city of Kyoto, but the quirky thing about it was that even though the organizing body was based in Kyoto, the ceremony location changed every year. Sometimes it was in Tokyo, sometimes Kyoto, and sometimes it even went to Osaka.
The timing was unpredictable too. Some years it happened at the end of the year, others at the beginning, and occasionally in the middle.
Despite all that, this award managed to recruit major industry figures as judges every year. Its prestige might not match the Media Arts Festival's grand prize, but it was extremely well-regarded within the industry.
In the other world, Clannad had been an exceptional anime, but even the legendary second season had never won any of the three major awards, let alone the first season.
In Yuta's current world, the situation for Clannad season two remained to be seen. But at least season one had won something, even if it was only the Shiraishi Award's Outstanding TV Work prize.
The reason it did not win the grand prize was that the top honor went to an anime film.
If the Shiraishi Award really was the equivalent of the Tokyo Anime Award, the grand prize probably would not be split into separate TV and film categories until around 2014.
Unlike the other world's 2006, which had been an absolute battlefield of legendary anime, Clannad stood head and shoulders above everything else in this world in both popularity and sales.
Winning the Outstanding TV Work prize was entirely deserved.
Yuta was thrilled though.
Something the other world's Clannad had never achieved, this world's Clannad had pulled off. That kind of joy was something only he could truly understand.
Inside the Shiraishi Art Museum.
Yuta and his group were guided to their assigned seats by staff.
Raiga Todo sat to his left. Rika Zenba sat to his right.
"So this is the Shiraishi Award ceremony hall? Wow." Rika looked around in awe.
Originally, Yuta had only planned to bring a few key production staff. A junior production assistant like Rika would not normally have made the cut.
But Rika was well-liked at Starfall. She begged to come along, and plenty of people put in a good word for her, so Yuta caved and brought her.
"President."
Rika piped up again. "The Kyoto Animation Award hasn't been announced yet. Do you think our Clannad might win one of those too?"
"Probably not." Yuta shook his head.
Todo chimed in. "The Kyoto Animation Award puts more weight on technical merit. The Media Arts Festival focuses more on artistic value and thematic depth. Our anime has great popularity and sales, but it's only likely to win a Shiraishi Award. The Kyoto Animation Award is basically out of reach."
He only mentioned the Kyoto Animation Award because the Media Arts Festival had already announced its results and held its ceremony at the end of last year, and Clannad had not been in the running.
Rika was only daydreaming anyway. Hearing it was unlikely did not bother her.
She quickly changed the subject. "President, I've been meaning to ask since we got here. Why are you wearing such an awful disguise? I barely recognized you."
"You could barely recognize me? Good." Yuta did not explain.
He had actually hired someone to help with his makeup. "Awful" was an exaggeration, but with the makeup on, he definitely did not look as sharp as his natural face.
He had also restyled his hair on purpose. Most people were essentially face-blind and tended to remember hairstyles rather than actual facial features.
Not being memorable was the whole point. In a few weeks, Clannad was going to start destroying people emotionally, the kind of devastation that would make a million viewers ugly-cry. He really did not want to be recognized on the street and beaten up.
Of course, that might never happen.
In the other world, he had never heard of Maeda Jun, Urobuchi Gen, or Shinkai Makoto getting attacked in public. But better safe than sorry.
Rika had no idea what was going through his head. She was about to say something else when the person sitting in front of them suddenly turned around.
"Starfall's President Shido?"
It was a middle-aged man with black-framed glasses and a face that gave off a casually unkempt vibe.
Yuta blinked, and then the man introduced himself. "I'm Shin Mikazuki, the director of Radiant Warriors."
Shin Mikazuki. A well-known director in the industry. Even without the introduction, Yuta would have recognized him. He just had not expected to end up seated right behind him.
Clannad season two and Radiant Warriors were rivals, but this man was nothing like Genma Wasabi. He had no personal grudge against Yuta. Competition was competition, and he had not stooped to any dirty tricks. There was no reason to be hostile.
After a moment's thought, Yuta said, "Director Shin, nice to meet you."
Shin replied, "You're too kind, President Shido. I've watched every episode of your Clannad. It really is excellent."
Yuta could not quite tell if the man was being sincere or just making small talk. It felt a bit like if a megastar walked up to a newcomer who had just released one hit album and said, "I've listened to all your songs. They're really great."
It felt slightly surreal.
He was still thinking about how to respond when the host walked up to the podium. So he simply said, "Looks like the ceremony is about to start."
But Shin did not turn around yet. Following up on what he had just said, he added, "It really is excellent. But I'm sorry to say, in the competition between our two shows, Radiant Warriors is going to win."
"You're that confident, Director Shin? Don't forget, we're the ones leading in ratings right now. And with this award boosting us, Clannad season two's first DVD volume probably won't sell low either," Yuta pointed out.
"That's fine."
Shin did not look the least bit concerned. "Radiant Warriors was always meant to be a slow-burn kind of show. Letting you take the lead for now is perfectly alright. In the second half, we'll surpass Clannad in both ratings and DVD sales."
"So the real fight is in the second half?" Yuta smiled.
How convenient. Clannad season two was also built around its second half. When the time came, they would see who came out on top.
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