January 1, 1992.
The Goraiko appeared at the summit of Mount Fuji, like a radiant sun carried on its back, setting the entire summit ablaze with a fiery red color.
At the same time, goose-feather snowflakes were falling from the sky.
They landed on everyone's shoulders and hair, dusting them in a layer of white.
Aoki Haruhi held Tsuda Nao's hand as they headed to Oji Inari Shrine to pay their respects.
It was the two of them at this time last year as well.
Celebrating the New Year together seemed to have become an unspoken tacit understanding.
Tsuda Nao, her hand held by him and tucked into his pocket, felt a chill in her palm.
She rolled her eyes. "I don't even know who is warming whose hand."
"Is there a difference?" Aoki Haruhi said dismissively. "In the end, the temperature will become the same, right?"
"Besides, the temperature in the heart won't change."
Tsk, tsk.
Look at that smooth talk; this guy's level is getting higher and higher.
A bright smile bloomed on the corners of Tsuda Nao's mouth.
Paying respects to the deity.
Aoki Haruhi stood before the offertory box, tossed in a 500-yen coin, clapped his hands twice, and pressed them together with his eyes closed.
May the gods bless us!
I hope this year's game sells well!
After making his wish, he drew an omikuji, and the characters "Great Blessing" were written on it.
Seeing this, the corners of Aoki Haruhi's mouth couldn't help but curl upward.
"Oh? Looks pretty good."
Tsuda Nao handed over the fortune slip in her hand, showing it right before Aoki Haruhi's eyes.
It also had the characters "Great Blessing" written on it.
Here in Japan, there are quite a few customs surrounding making wishes and drawing fortunes at shrines; they don't just fake the fortunes to please the visitors, and "Bad Luck" (Kyo) fortunes make up about 30% of the total.
Of course, later on, to please tourists, some shrines lowered the proportion of "Bad Luck" fortunes to around 10%.
However, the well-known Senso-ji Temple in Tokyo still retains the 30% tradition, which led to the saying, "Senso-ji has many bad luck fortunes."
But even so, as one of the three major shrines in Tokyo, countless people still go to worship at Senso-ji every year.
However, if you draw a "Bad Luck" fortune, there's no need to be too afraid. As long as you tie it to the nearby ropes or tree branches to ask for the "gods' intervention," it will be fine.
Of course, this is just a superstitious practice, intended purely as a source of psychological comfort.
Whether it's a blessing or a curse, you can actually just take it home with you.
"What was your wish this year?" Tsuda Nao smiled mischievously and nudged Aoki Haruhi with her elbow.
"Hmm?"
Aoki Haruhi hesitated for a moment before saying, "I hope Pokeni's games sell well this year."
"Eh? Is that it? You're too unambitious! I thought you'd at least wish for Pokeni to become the number one game company in the world."
"Becoming the world's number one isn't that easy," Aoki Haruhi complained. "No matter how much of an idealist I am, I'm not so blindly optimistic as that."
Although Pokeni is now on the right track, it still has a long way to go before it can become the best in the world. Never mind Nintendo, even Square is still ahead of it.
Having just one million-selling game this year would already be quite an achievement.
"By the way, what about yours?" Aoki Haruhi asked.
"Guess?"
Tsuda Nao clasped her hands behind her back and took a few steps backward, her eyes crinkling into crescent moons.
The spring breeze blew, and snowflakes fell onto her hair.
Against this white backdrop, Tsuda Nao's smile was bright and moving.
"Hope DUN becomes the world's number one blue-product company?!" Aoki Haruhi asked.
Pfft...
"What kind of strange wish is that?" Tsuda Nao retorted.
"Then what is it?"
"I'm not telling you."
Tsuda Nao smiled slyly.
"What kind of strange wish is that?"
Tsuda Nao retorted.
"What is that?"
"I'm not telling you."
Tsuda Nao smiled mischievously.
Damn it.
That fox!
January 1, 1992.
This day was rather special for Kyoto Animation, as it was the day the promotional video for Onmyoji was released.
January 1, 1992.
This day was quite special for Kyoto Animation, as it was the day the PV for Onmyoji was released.
A PV, or promotional video, is essentially a trailer, and in this case, it was less than 20 seconds long.
Generally, these are made as teasers for an upcoming anime, intended to give the production some exposure and build anticipation among viewers for the new series.
Building hype before the official premiere helps achieve better viewership ratings.
In addition to PVs, there are also new series promos, which are even shorter—some are less than 5 seconds long.
Often, these are compiled together with other shows airing in the same season and shown at the end of an anime currently airing on television.
Along with the release of the PV, the approximate broadcast time was also confirmed.
Onmyoji would premiere on January 24 at 7:00 PM on TV Tokyo.
The PV aired, and a melodious, healing melody began to play.
An exquisite and beautiful face appeared on the screen.
Yuki Rei was wearing a red and white miko outfit, her face turned towards the rising sun.
The camera circled around her, and when it returned to its original position, it changed into the face of the male protagonist, Asakura En.
Asakura En was dressed in an Onmyoji outfit, holding a magic sword in his hand.
It shifted again, turning into Tsuki Kurai...
The voices of several people sounded simultaneously:
[Is it fate's choice?]
[Or our convictions]
[That brought us together?]
At the same time, the camera shots switched rapidly.
Battle!
The clash of the magic sword and monsters.
Cherry blossoms flew.
The attack of a Shikigami unleashed a brilliant blaze of fire across the screen.
[What will happen to the world?]
[What will happen to us?]
[Is this the destiny of an Onmyoji?]
[Or is it...]
The protagonists gathered together, while Yamata no Orochi stood proudly from the surface of the sea.
The screen flashed white, and several lines of large text appeared.
[Onmyoji]
[Adapted from the game of the same name by Pokeni Corporation]
[Official broadcast on January 24th at 19:00]
Yuki Rei's voice actress is still Mitsuishi Kotono.
As it happens, her new show, "Sailor Moon," will air on TV Asahi in March.
It will be just around the time of Onmyoji's series finale that "Sailor Moon" is in the middle of its popular run.
It was a staggered release, but for Mitsuishi Kotono, this year would be her year of great fame.
"Ah! It's actually an Onmyoji anime?"
When he stumbled upon this PV, Hirozawa Furukawa was so surprised that the instant noodles in his hand nearly fell.
Long-buried memories were attacking him.
Upon hearing Mitsuishi Kotono's voice acting, combined with the familiar, ethereal, mournful, and vintage-style background music, Hirozawa Furukawa couldn't help but lose his composure.
"No way? This game actually got an anime adaptation?"
Moreover, judging from the PV just now, the production seemed quite good, especially the transitions between shots, the storyboarding, and the character designs...
They all moved him quite a bit.
It's just...
Just thinking about how Yuki Rei dies at the end, he didn't dare to watch it.
Besides, what if the anime turned out to be bad? Wouldn't that tarnish the game?
January 24th?
Should he watch it or not?
But, he didn't have the courage.
Hirozawa Furukawa couldn't help but feel distressed.
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