"Come, come, Editor-in-Chief Hamamura, let me pour you a drink."
Aoki Haruhi raised the sake carafe, and Hamamura Hirokazu hurriedly held out his cup with both hands, lowering it to receive the pour.
Aoki Haruhi gently tipped the carafe, pouring a little into his cup—not much, just a polite gesture.
The two of them raised their glasses and took a small sip.
"Mmm~ It's so rare to have the opportunity to dine with Editor-in-Chief Hamamura," Aoki Haruhi said with a smile. "Thank you very much for giving Patema Inverted a perfect score."
Hamamura Hirokazu had a typical Japanese appearance: short in stature, with a mustache above his lips, a small round face, and a somewhat high hairline.
He wore a pair of gold-rimmed round glasses.
In Aoki Haruhi's eyes, this man looked exactly like Colonel Kameda from an anti-Japanese war drama.
As he drank, Hamamura Hirokazu felt flattered.
In Aoki Haruhi's view, this guy was the spitting image of Colonel Kameda from a war drama. Hamamura Hirokazu drank his drink, feeling flattered.
Aoki Haruhi, that guy, his face-changing speed is just too fast, isn't it? Back then, when I wanted to ask you for some of Kogahara Tsubakiaki's materials, you kept giving me the runaround.
Aoki Haruhi indicated that he couldn't possibly give them Kogahara Tsubakiaki's materials now either.
"I can empathize with the difficulties your publication faces. To be able to withstand the pressure from Nintendo and not care about offending the player base, insisting on giving such a score is truly remarkable," Aoki Haruhi said sincerely.
These were indeed his true feelings. It was precisely because Famitsu could go to such lengths that Aoki Haruhi genuinely respected Hamamura Hirokazu, as well as Nishi Kazuhiko. Given Nintendo's powerful influence over all of Japan, having the courage to withstand the pressure and judge fairly was truly rare.
"Not at all," Hamamura Hirokazu said. "This is just what we should do."
"Credibility is important. For us, being able to be honest with our hearts and give an accurate score is what matters most. 'Patema Inverted' is indeed a truly remarkable game. The reason we gave it a perfect score is that it truly deserves it. Please, President Aoki, don't have any mental burden."
This...
"The reason we gave it a perfect score is because it truly deserves it. Please don't feel any burden, President Aoki."
"This..."
Aoki Haruhi was stunned for a moment, suddenly feeling a sense of being moved, like a parent being sincerely praised for their child.
It wasn't because of the parents' face, but because the child was genuinely excellent.
This kind of praise was just too gratifying!
"Indeed. Credibility is very important. Thank you, Famitsu, for all your support over the years. It's a real blessing for the gaming industry to have a magazine like yours."
Recalling the past, Aoki Haruhi sighed from the bottom of his heart, "Come to think of it, if there hadn't been a magazine like Famitsu capable of making fair judgments, small companies like ours might never have had a chance to stand out."
"Not at all, not at all." Hamamura Hirokazu responded earnestly, "As long as it's a good game, it's our responsibility to discover it. As long as your company's games are good enough, there will always come a day when they become big hits."
***
The two chatted for a while. Aoki heard many interesting anecdotes about the game industry from Hamamura, and he shared a few of his own as well.
Honestly, he might have misunderstood Hamamura and Famitsu magazine before.
However, respect is respect, but his intention to support Gorotsu would never change.
One impartial Famitsu is enough for this world; Aoki still needed Gorotsu as Pokeni's own backyard.
They didn't conflict with each other.
At the very least, through this incident, Aoki realized that Famitsu wasn't biased towards Nintendo, and that alone was enough.
"Oh, by the way, Mr. Hamamura," Aoki suddenly remembered something and asked tentatively, "With your Game Awards, why do you only give out trophies without any prize money or gifts? Doesn't that make it feel a bit informal?"
The corners of Hamamura's mouth twitched—Aoki had touched a sore spot.
"Where would we get the money?"
Famitsu really didn't have much money. To be precise, ever since the parent company ASCII separated from Microsoft, Nishi Kazuhiko had repeatedly failed and suffered setbacks in his expansion plans, leading to current cash flow difficulties.
Although Famitsu has a high reputation in the gaming industry, the magazine itself is not profitable. Not to mention having money to give out as prize money.
"I see..." Aoki Haruhi was stunned for a moment.
But he couldn't very well offer to sponsor them himself. You can't be both the athlete and the referee; it would also compromise their credibility. However, since he had brought it up, he couldn't just leave the topic hanging, or it would make him look bad.
So, Aoki Haruhi tentatively suggested, "How about I introduce some sponsors to you?"
At that moment, the image of his girlfriend, Tsuda Nao, appeared in Aoki Haruhi's mind. DUN wasn't making games yet, so its connection to the gaming industry wasn't that deep, and it was financially strong, making it a suitable "sugar daddy."
Hamamura Hirokazu's eyes lit up, but they quickly dimmed, and he shook his head, politely declining. "We'd better find a way ourselves."
His main concern was that once they accepted favors from Pokeni, it would be difficult to make fair and impartial judgments in the future, which would undermine the very foundation of Famitsu. Hamamura Hirokazu took this very seriously.
However, Aoki Haruhi had reminded him that while cash prizes wouldn't work, prizes themselves could be a good idea.
Making a few trophies, engraving them—it's cheap and still serves the purpose of recognition.
Just like the Oscar statuette.
But how exactly to design them, that would have to be discussed in a meeting after getting back.
With spirits high and the conversation flowing, time flew by in the blink of an eye. It was nearly 10 o'clock at night, time to part ways.
Aoki Haruhi took out two boxes of gifts he had prepared from behind him and pushed them towards Hamamura Hirokazu.
"I'm truly happy to have been able to chat so much with Mr. Hamamura today. These are some small gifts I've prepared for you. I hope we can look out for each other in the future."
Hamamura Hirokazu was taken aback. He glanced down and realized they were two beautifully packaged boxes of cigars.
These two boxes of cigars were not cheap.
Each cigar was around 5,000 yen, and with 10 in a box, that's 50,000 yen.
Of course, compared to the high-end golf set worth 1 million yen he had previously given to Hattori Yuji, these two boxes of cigars were relatively inexpensive.
For a first dinner, it wouldn't have been appropriate for Aoki Haruhi to give an overly expensive gift.
50,000 yen worth of cigars was just right.
He knew how to strike that balance perfectly.
Who knew that as soon as Hamamura Hirokazu heard it was high-end cigars inside, he immediately panicked and hurriedly declined:
"I am very happy to be able to have dinner and chat with President Aoki, and to receive the relevant game data is all I could wish for, but I cannot accept the gift."
Hmm? Aoki Haruhi looked at him, puzzled.
"I'm afraid that if I accept it, I won't be able to make impartial judgments in the future," Hamamura deflected, "So I absolutely cannot accept it. I hope President Aoki can understand."
Tsk, tsk.
Aoki Haruhi smiled, not out of awkwardness, but with a sense of appreciative joy.
Sure enough, Hamamura Hirokazu is an upright person.
It is precisely because he possesses such rare qualities that he is able to give fair ratings and withstand the pressure from Nintendo, isn't it?
It seems I underestimated Famitsu before.
Then how did this magazine later come to be considered "Pay-to-Pass" (Fami-paid) by players?
"I see. I didn't think that much about it, nor did I think that giving a gift would affect your company's judgment.
But since Hamamura-san has said so, I shouldn't force you to accept it.
In that case, I look forward to your continued support in the future."
"You are too kind. I look forward to your support as well."
"Mr. Hamamura, if you ever need anything, please feel free to contact me. You can have information on any Pokeni game you want," Aoki Haruhi promised.
This was a case of returning a favor.
"Really?" Hamamura Hirokazu was exceptionally excited.
Aoki's promise was worth far more than that.
"Ah, well, if it's possible, Master Kogahara Tsubakiaki..."
Eh?
Aoki's heart skipped a beat. He thought to himself, In your dreams. Kogahara Tsubakiaki involves our biggest secret. I can agree to anything but that.
But then Hamamura Hirokazu continued, "If the new game Master Kogahara Tsubakiaki is working on is completed, please, by all means, get the relevant information to us first! Please!"
Hamamura Hirokazu placed his hands on the table and rested his forehead on the back of his hands.
Aoki breathed a sigh of relief and quickly helped him up.
"You're too kind, Mr. Hamamura. We certainly will."
***
However, speaking of Kogahara Tsubakiaki's new works, things are going fine with CL, but a problem has arisen with LIFE-LINE.
The problem is neither big nor small.
In short, it has to do with one person—Master Hayao Miyazaki.
As the animation director in charge of these two games, Miyazaki has hit a creative block!
Yes, just like an author who suddenly stops writing, Miyazaki is now facing the same problem.
The art style was determined quickly, and the character designs were all completed one by one.
But for the most important original drawings—the key creative pieces that would serve as the finishing touch for the LIFE-LINE game—Miyazaki has absolutely no inspiration.
He has fallen into a state of stagnation.
Although he has tried creating a few, and others have all felt that "a master is a master, these are truly awesome," they are far from meeting his own standards.
This can be considered a common ailment of Miyazaki's: if the inspiration isn't there, he simply cannot put pen to paper.
If he cannot draw the effect he wants, then the work cannot proceed.
The two games, which were supposed to be completed in July, have had their schedule delayed because of this.
The progress on CLANNAD was actually quite alright, but Aoki Haruhi's vision was that there was a clever mirroring relationship between the two games, so it would be better to release them one after the other.
By launching LIFE-LINE while people still had a deep impression of CLANNAD, the desired shocking effect could be achieved.
But the schedule for LIFE-LINE had been delayed, so naturally, this goal couldn't be realized.
However, everything was now completely stuck at Miyazaki's end.
It was a situation where you couldn't really rush him, nor could you just leave him be.
It was equally awkward for Hayao Miyazaki.
If this were Ghibli, it would be fine; after all, Miyazaki is one of the founders. Even if he isn't the president, his prestige is higher than the president's, and he holds absolute sway at Ghibli—who would dare disobey him?
Not to mention being stuck for a week or two, even being stuck for a few years wouldn't be a problem.
As long as the company could keep operating and employees' salaries were paid, without those kinds of pressures, Miyazaki could easily go abroad to gather inspiration, adjust his mood, and find inspiration in the mountains and fields.
But this is Pokeni.
Miyazaki is not the president here; he is just the animation director. Although he was invited by Aoki Haruhi, he still has an undeniable responsibility.
And so...
Miyazaki went into hiding!
Can you believe it?
Hiding, seriously?
***
The members of the LL Project Team were going crazy with anxiety.
Under these circumstances, Aoki Haruhi had no choice but to pay a visit in person.
Several times, Hayao Miyazaki had sent word that "The old man is unwell and cannot receive guests."
Finally, having no other options, he had to seek out Toshio Suzuki.
After arriving at Studio Ghibli and Aoki explaining the situation, even Toshio Suzuki was shocked.
"Huh? Something like this actually happened?"
He was both exasperated and amused.
Who would have thought that the "Miyazaki Hamster" would actually flee from his duties?
"No wonder I was wondering why Miyazaki had been so focused on the production progress of Princess Mononoke lately, pouring almost all his energy into it. So that's what was going on."
Toshio Suzuki sighed deeply.
I was wondering where he found so much time and energy.
After all, juggling two jobs simultaneously is something no ordinary person could pull off.
Although he thought it was likely because the work at Pokeni was completed that Miyazaki could fully dedicate himself to the production of Princess Mononoke, he hadn't expected that he was actually hiding there because he lacked inspiration.
But thinking about it carefully, it really does fit the Miyazaki Hamster's personality.
This guy often scraps everything halfway through animation production and starts over, or goes on a spontaneous trip just to find inspiration...
If it weren't for Toshio Suzuki keeping a tight grip on the project, a single animated film might take seven or eight years to produce.
"Please wait a moment, I'll go get him."
Toshio Suzuki had Aoki Haruhi sit in the reception room, poured him a cup of tea, and then stomped up the stairs.
***
Aoki Haruhi wasn't angry at all; he just felt exasperated and amused.
After a while, he saw Toshio Suzuki come downstairs alone.
Aoki Haruhi leaned forward, looking puzzled.
Miyazaki Hayao was nowhere to be seen behind him.
"I'm sorry, President Aoki, for the trouble we've caused your company," Suzuki said, rubbing his hands together with an embarrassed expression. "I couldn't convince Miyazaki to come down no matter how hard I tried. He says he doesn't have the face to see you until he's produced what he wants."
"Ah, well..." Aoki Haruhi stood up awkwardly. Driving a man over fifty to this point—I'm the one who feels bad, honestly.
"I don't mean to blame him, Suzuki-san. Please tell Miyazaki-senpai not to put too much pressure on himself and to just work at his own pace."
"No, let's keep the pressure on him. Without it, he'll only stagnate even more."
In this context, stagnation meant laziness, not a lack of ambition.
"Of course, to some extent, the two have something in common."
Toshio Suzuki smiled bitterly, "However, Miyazaki said that you can go ahead and start developing the game, and he will find the time to provide those few important missing pieces of art later."
Aoki Haruhi frowned.
In reality, he wasn't particularly worried about the game.
Because those [test drawings] Miyazaki had previously made were already quite good; they simply hadn't met Miyazaki's own standards.
The game could indeed be developed first. If Miyazaki managed to finish in time, they could then insert the corresponding images into the game.
If it truly was too late, they could just use those [test drawings] as a substitute.
"Well then, I'll leave it to you."
Aoki Haruhi stood up to leave.
However, just as he was about to walk out the door, Toshio Suzuki called him back, "President Aoki, actually, I have another idea."
"Hm?"
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