The immense popularity of sailor moon brought fame to Kotono Mitsuishi.
At the same time, Kotono Mitsuishi was also the voice actress for Yuuki Rei, the female protagonist of the onmyoji anime.
It could be said that from January to April this year, and perhaps even longer, it was Kotono Mitsuishi's world.
Although there wasn't a Voice Actor Award this year, it was enough to make Kotono Mitsuishi's name famous nationwide.
Kotono Mitsuishi received continuous offers for roles, and her contract fees also increased by several levels.
Affected by this, the biggest winner should be Pokeni Company.
...
The animated series onmyoji, apart from some reasonable modifications, largely followed the original work, meaning it was produced based on the main storyline of the game.
Coupled with Kyoto Animation's efforts, the quality of the animation improved as it progressed, especially in the final episode, where the battle between the characters and Yamata no Orochi not only brought Kiue Masaharu's storyboard talent to its fullest, but also showcased a very high level of production.
No, it should be said, a production level close to the top tier.
This indicates that Kyoto Animation had already put in considerable effort.
Their high demands for quality and respect for the original game won the favor of players.
Many players even expressed their strong desire to experience the onmyoji game again after watching the anime.
With the popularity of the onmyoji anime, Pokeni's game of the same name was hyped to the sky.
However, the relationship between Pokeni and Nintendo was not very good at the moment; Hiroshi Yamauchi had already forbidden the game from being released on Nintendo's platform, which, of course, included onmyoji.
The game cartridges released previously were one thing, but without Nintendo's permission, it was impossible to produce new onmyoji series cartridges.
If produced, it would be an illegal act, and Nintendo could sue them into bankruptcy.
Naturally, Aoki Haruhi would not take that risk.
Therefore, the onmyoji cartridges on the market could be described as having demand but no supply; supply could not meet demand. Sales were already very good before, and basically all distributors' stock had been cleared out. Now there was simply no new game cartridge supply.
It was entirely through players sharing with each other, exchanging experiences, or private transactions that more players who wanted to experience onmyoji after watching the anime were able to play the game smoothly.
After many players experienced onmyoji 1 and 2, they all expressed a strong desire to collect them.
"I regret not discovering such a classic game until now."
"If it weren't for the anime, I wouldn't have gotten into onmyoji, but now, after playing onmyoji, I can only say—
Pokeni is truly a god.
Furuhara Tsubaki is truly hateful, give me back my Yuuki Rei!"
"The anime is good, and the game is good; they complement each other.
I've never seen an anime adapted from a game before. I originally thought that knowing the plot beforehand would make playing the game less exciting, but at the strong recommendation of my friend, I still finished onmyoji 1 and 2.
Now that I've played it, I truly feel the game is excellent.
It's truly a blessing for Neon to have such a game company.
I hope that the regrets from the previous two works can be compensated for in onmyoji 3."
"Hehe, when Onmyoji 2 came out, we also hoped for that, but as you saw with Onmyoji 2, Old Thief Furuhara truly isn't human, and he even brought in Gen Urobuchi, that trash Author.
Onmyoji 2 really made me cry terribly."
"Don't trust Pokeni!"
"Don't trust Pokeni!"
"Don't trust Pokeni!"
"Important things are said three times!"
...
Just as the anime sparked the onmyoji craze and players were discussing it with relish, Pokeni revealed shocking news—
[The onmyoji series will be released on Sega's MD, with not only a complete improvement in graphics quality but also the addition of some small easter eggs.]
The Famitsu report also included a beautiful illustration—
Yuuki Rei, holding her and Masakura Haruka's child, stood atop a mountain, smiling brightly into the sun.
[If...the past could be changed]
[Then...what would the world be like?]
This instantly broke the hearts of countless players.
"Nani?! Is it real or fake?" As a loyal fan of Pokeni, Furukawa Hirozawa's eyes almost popped out when he saw the report.
Unable to believe the fact, he rubbed his eyes carefully and reconfirmed it several times.
"Wow, if it's true, that would be great. This image almost explicitly states it, right? It means that in the new Sega onmyoji, Yuuki Rei doesn't die, and it's a happy ending, right?"
"Although not explicitly stated, judging from the pictures and text in the report, it should be correct."
"Doing things like this secretly, has Pokeni really found its conscience? Has Furuhara Tsubaki found his conscience? Has Gen Urobuchi found his conscience?
Or did our razor blades finally work?"
"Oh my god, I'm literally crying. I've thought countless times about such a happy ending, and I've been sad for Yuuki Rei for so long. I used to resent Pokeni so much, and resent Furuhara Tsubaki for being so heartless, but I never expected this day to actually come.
My Yuuki Rei has actually returned."
"Wuwuwu, me too, I'm so touched. Just seeing the picture of Rei holding her child is incredibly moving. This is a scene I only dream of.
To see it so realistically portrayed in Famitsu's report, it's truly, truly touching."
"No, no, no, I think everyone shouldn't get too happy too soon." A rational and calm player poured cold water on everyone's heads.
"Have you forgotten? Pokeni also promised this before, with reverse degree person."
"Yeah, at that time, it was also a Famitsu report, saying that they would absolutely not 'cut' (kill characters), and the male and female protagonists would definitely live well.
That's true, both of them lived well, but after the intertwined timelines, there was no way for them to be together again. What's the difference between that ending and death?
It would have been better if they had just been 'cut'."
"Exactly, exactly. So, Pokeni's words must be carefully considered and broken down. Don't be fooled by appearances.
You must see the hidden tricks behind it."
"Hmm, that makes a lot of sense. Now that I think about it, that painting showing Yuuki Rei's return could very well just be a dream of Masakura Haruka's, not a reality at all."
"Right, right, the picture itself isn't clear enough, it's hazy. You can interpret it as an artistic mood, but more likely, the official wants to convey that this isn't real."
"Hmm, the more I think about it, the more I feel that's the case. Otherwise, with Furuhara Tsubaki's usual habits, how could he be so good to players?"
"It's possible we'll be tormented again, in different ways."
"Uh... hearing you guys say that, I'm afraid to play this game anymore."
...
That being said, players were still very much looking forward to the new onmyoji game that Pokeni was about to release on Sega.
Deep down, they all hoped the report was true. If they could truly see Yuuki Rei's return on Sega instead of her death, then it would be fulfilling a wish of theirs.
The more they sympathized and loved her, the more they inexplicably hoped this was true.
...
"Hehe, as expected, useless guys," Hiroshi Yamauchi of Nintendo scoffed twice when he saw the report.
"After being rejected by Nintendo, they fully turned to Sega, huh?"
"And Sega is truly spineless, just accepting a trash company like Pokeni. No matter how well others speak of it, it doesn't change the fact that onmyoji is a galgame."
And in Hiroshi Yamauchi's mind right now, galgame was synonymous with trash games.
Moreover, every time he thought of Aoki Haruhi's curse to him at that time, Hiroshi Yamauchi frowned in anger.
An arrogant young man, it was the first time someone like Aoki Haruhi had humiliated him to his face.
What's more, he was getting involved with arch-rivals like Sega, and Sony too.
These guys are truly something else.
Gathered together, they were all people Hiroshi Yamauchi disliked.
Sony might still have a chance for cooperation in the future; at least on the surface, Nintendo was the one who dumped it. But Sega and Pokeni would absolutely never be his partners, Hiroshi Yamauchi was very clear about that.
However, as much as Hiroshi Yamauchi disliked them, he didn't take them to heart.
Just as he expressed to the media, if anyone wanted to challenge Nintendo, those with the ability should give it a try.
From the day Nintendo became the game overlord, it was destined to face all kinds of challenges.
Only those who truly love games can make it to the end; this was a philosophy Hiroshi Yamauchi had always upheld.
...
"Come, come, Presidents, you two have worked hard."
In the izakaya, Hatta Hideaki, the President of Kyoto Animation, wore a radiant smile and lifted a sake bottle to pour drinks for Aoki Haruhi and Nao Tsuda.
Aoki Haruhi's face was flushed; it was his first time being a Party A's Father, and the feeling of being held in someone's palm was truly wonderful.
After the onmyoji anime concluded, Kyoto Animation was quite excited.
Because they gained recognition from the audience, Kyoto Animation also earned a good reputation, and most importantly, Kyoto Animation's skill level improved significantly over these past few months.
Of course, the sweat and hardships involved were also extraordinarily abundant, and sometimes the employees were so exhausted they truly wanted to smash something to vent.
Fortunately, they endured through it all.
What surprised Hatta Hideaki even more was that—
Although it was constantly compared to Sunrise Animation's "first cherry blossom battle chronicle," it became more resilient with each setback, even gaining recognition from many viewers later on.
Despite such a large gap in animation quality, the ratings were inexplicably good.
Even now, Hatta Hideaki hasn't quite figured out this matter.
"No, no, you all worked hard." Aoki Haruhi raised his glass, "To President Hatta, to Director Kiue, to Kyoto Animation."
The few of them clinked glasses, each taking a sip, and while slightly clicking their tongues, their hearts were overflowing with joy.
Although Aoki Haruhi was in a good mood, the corner of his mouth twitched slightly.
Kyoto Animation had made significant progress.
However, Pokeni Company, on the other hand, had lost quite a bit.
It's hard to believe, but as an animation kingdom, how could an anime with good ratings still lose money?
But that was indeed the case; if the TV station didn't provide subsidies, then the main income for anime would come from selling video tapes, and in the future, from selling discs.
A 13-episode season anime could produce about 4 to 6 volumes of video tapes, and a complete set of season anime video tapes could sell for about 20,000 Japanese Yen.
It sounds like a lot, but anime, like this, simply can't compare to game sales.
In Japanese history, selling over 20,000 units (cumulative average per set) was already considered an excellent achievement; over 40,000 units could be called a masterpiece, and over 100,000 units would make it one of the top three in history.
In his previous life, up until 2023, the number one ranked anime was still the 1995 "neon genesis evangelion," which achieved a cumulative average sale of 209,000 units.
But for games, it's hundreds of thousands, millions, and even freaks like super mario exceeding tens of millions.
Aoki Haruhi was well aware that half of the reason for the good ratings of the onmyoji anime was due to piggybacking on the popularity of Sunrise Animation next door; otherwise, it wouldn't have achieved such good results.
Thus, the sales of video tapes were predictable, reaching a cumulative average of less than 3,000 units so far.
This was already beyond Aoki Haruhi's expectations.
A cumulative average of 3,000, with total sales of 12,000 units, calculated at 5,000 Japanese Yen per unit, would only amount to 60 million in sales, from which production costs still needed to be deducted.
It was a huge loss.
Fortunately, Aoki Haruhi had brought in DUN to share the burden beforehand, otherwise, 200 million would have been wasted.
As for Kyoto Animation, they worked for money; when Pokeni Company outsourced the animation to them, the 200 million income was entirely theirs, and the remaining sales of video tapes and other income were actually irrelevant to Kyoto Animation.
They could only make a profit by finding ways to save costs during the production process, but the problem was that Kyoto Animation, eager to prove itself, burned through a lot of funds, and in the end, it didn't have much left.
The one who truly made money was DUN.
Because DUN not only had live-action video tapes of onmyoji but also many peripheral products, after all, this company originally started by manufacturing toys, and they made quite a few corresponding toys around Yuuki Rei, Masakura Haruka, Kurai Rui… and even Yamata no Orochi.
As the onmyoji anime aired, these toys naturally sold at a higher price.
In comparison, the 100 million invested in the anime seemed like nothing.
Thinking of this, Aoki Haruhi couldn't help but roll his eyes at Nao Tsuda.
What a fox.
… …
The few of them drank and chatted for a while.
"Next, will you continue to produce new anime?" Hatta Hideaki poured a drink for Aoki Haruhi, asking eagerly, "If your company wishes to continue producing "Onmyoji 2," please be sure to entrust it to us. The price can be cheaper."
Nao Tsuda, beside him, smiled without speaking.
Whether there would be a second collaboration probably depended on the sales on MD, Tsuda thought. If Pokeni Company's new onmyoji sold well and recouped this part of the loss, then there would still be room for negotiation.
However, with a businessman's intuition, Tsuda wasn't very optimistic about it.
"Hmm."
But to her surprise, Aoki Haruhi nodded.
With the experience from the first collaboration, and after being refined, Kyoto Animation's current technical level, experience, and personnel reserves have all greatly improved.
With a foundation for cooperation, of course, they should continue to cooperate.
The future of Kyoto Animation is limitless.
"That's wonderful, thank your company for your trust in us!"
"However," Aoki Haruhi interrupted, "we're not in a hurry for Onmyoji 2. The anime we want to commission is another one, but I'm not sure if you have enough staff."
Hmm?
It's not Onmyoji 2 after all?
Nao Tsuda, beside him, raised an eyebrow, looking at Aoki Haruhi with some surprise.
This guy really doesn't play by the rules.
… …
What Aoki Haruhi wanted to produce was Pokémon.
"This game hasn't been released yet, so it's still confidential, but the settings are basically complete."
Aoki Haruhi came prepared today, bringing a simple project proposal to give them a sneak peek.
He briefly explained the game's setting, and the main storyline was quite simple—
The process of a primary school student named Ash, with his Pokémon, competing and defeating enemies along the way.
"The rest is just a story outline; everything else will be handed over to Kyoto Animation for production. There's a lot of content to fill in, but that also means you have more room for creativity."
After Hatta Hideaki, Kiue Masaharu, and Nao Tsuda finished reading, they probably had a preliminary impression.
It must be said that Pokeni Company's creativity is truly endless, and they can immediately make people understand the game's selling points.
"Such cute pets have a strong appeal to both children and adults."
Kiue Masaharu reached out his hand, gently caressing the electric mouse named Pikachu on the drawing paper, internally assessing how much potential this guy could bring.
"So, how many episodes is this anime expected to be?" Hatta Hideaki asked.
"For the first part, I hope it's around 50 episodes. If possible, I hope we can keep making it," Aoki Haruhi said.
"Huh?!" Hatta Hideaki and Kiue Masaharu were clearly startled.
"For the specific content, we can discuss it thoroughly in a formal meeting later," Aoki Haruhi mused for two seconds, then said, "However, we hope to broadcast it simultaneously in August this year."
"Ah… I see." Hatta Hideaki pondered that the timing was a bit tight, but it wasn't impossible to manage. If they could take it on, spending two weeks to finalize the script content, the production would be completely on schedule.
"Please give us some time to think it over. Kyoto Animation will prepare a detailed project proposal based on your company's requirements, and then President Qing can make the judgment."
"Good, that would be excellent." Aoki Haruhi smiled.
… …
On the way back that evening, Aoki Haruhi and Nao Tsuda strolled along a cherry blossom-lined slope.
Tsuda walked with her arms crossed, deep in thought.
"Aoki-san, you could have privately discussed Pokémon with Kyoto Animation, so why did you bring it up in front of me today? That's not like you."
It should be said that Aoki Haruhi was becoming increasingly good at hiding himself.
But today, being so straightforward and unreserved was truly rare.
Aoki Haruhi reached out, pulled Nao Tsuda, and drew her into his embrace.
They stood close, gazing at each other.
Aoki Haruhi smiled slyly, wrapped his arm around Nao Tsuda's waist, and leaned close to her ear, whispering, "We can authorize DUN to produce merchandise, but Pokeni Company will take the lion's share of the profits.
How about an 80/20 split?"
"Alright."
Nao Tsuda responded with a cold and decisive smile, almost without any thought.
The corner of Aoki Haruhi's mouth twitched slightly.
Tsk tsk, did this guy see through everything already?
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