"I'm heading out."
As usual, Kurokawa Kōsuke called out toward the house before slowly making his way out the front door.
A middle-aged housewife who had heard him hurriedly chased after him, carrying a lunch box as she shouted, "Wait, honey! Your lunch!"
Kurokawa Kōsuke smacked his forehead and quickly turned back to take it.
"Sorry. Even after all this time, I still haven't gotten used to it."
The housewife stepped in front of him and helped straighten his collar before sighing.
"If you don't have your lunch, what are you going to eat at noon? How can you have the energy to draw if you don't eat? Honestly, it's about time you got used to working a regular job."
"Actually, the company provides lunch too, and it's basically free."
Kurokawa Kōsuke smiled awkwardly, placed the lunch box into his briefcase, and set off again.
He had originally been a moderately well-known freelance key animator. However, competition in the industry was fierce, and as he grew older, he failed to make adequate plans for the future.
"Freelance key animator" sounded nice, but when he was younger, he had practically worked day and night just to make enough money to survive. By middle age, he had gained some recognition, yet his income was actually worse than when he was young because his body could no longer withstand such intense workloads.
Over the past few years, he had felt an increasing sense of crisis regarding his family. If he collapsed, the entire household would lose its source of income. He wasn't even sure whether he could scrape together enough money for his daughter's high school tuition. Yet given his age, finding a stable position at a company wasn't easy.
Japan was a powerhouse of animation, with talented professionals emerging one after another. Compared to him, young people had more energy and greater creative potential.
Recently, through the recommendation of an acquaintance, Kurokawa Kōsuke had finally gone to an animation studio called Yosuganosora Animation Studio.
What surprised him was whether he had somehow misread the employment terms of this little-known animation company.
The salary alone was good enough, but the employee benefits were several times better than those offered by first-tier companies in the industry. They were comparable to those enjoyed by full-time employees at major corporations.
Was it a scam?
Following his acquaintance's suggestion, he had asked his daughter to look up information online about the animated film 'RWBY'. On the day she learned he might work at Yosuganosora Animation Studio, she had looked at him with both astonishment and excitement.
If Yosuganosora Animation Studio was legitimate, then it was the studio responsible for producing the animation that had become wildly popular throughout Europe and America. In that case, such employee benefits made perfect sense.
After confirming everything, Kurokawa Kōsuke joined Yosuganosora Animation Studio with the feeling that he had won the lottery.
However, despite his extensive experience as a key animator, he found himself completely lost after joining the company.
Not only did the company require key animators to use all kinds of sophisticated computer equipment, but there were also the growing pains associated with a newly established company. After several weeks of training, he finally understood how the company operated and became capable of serving as a qualified key animator.
The company's president and chief director was an extremely young man.
On his first day, Kurokawa Kōsuke memorized his name—Kamiyā Yuu.
Had it been his younger self, he was sure he would have been intensely jealous of the president, probably assuming he was some incompetent rich kid who had succeeded through money alone. After all, achieving such fame at such a young age was remarkable.
But the longer he stayed at the company, the more ridiculous that thought seemed.
Even now, Kurokawa Kōsuke's mastery of key animation was far inferior to that of the young president. For the first time in the field he was most proud of, he wholeheartedly admired someone else's abilities.
Not to mention the young president's astonishing performance in every other area. Every crisis the company had faced had been resolved by his own hands.
After an hour-long train ride, Kurokawa Kōsuke arrived at a commercial street that was not particularly busy.
Perhaps it was only because Yosuganosora Animation Studio's headquarters was located there that the area had even this small amount of foot traffic.
"Oh, Mr. Kurokawa, good morning."
"Mr. Kurokawa, I'm heading in first!"
"Morning."
Along the way, several key animators greeted him proactively. Some were young, while others were around his age.
All of them had survived the company's selection process and possessed considerable skill in key animation. None would drag down the Key Animation Department.
Entering the rather plain-looking office building, he stepped into what had become a well-known animation studio within the industry.
Although the interior decoration was simple, it never felt crude or shabby.
The Key Animation Department's equipment was the best available in the industry. Even the desks and chairs seemed to be expensive, custom-made imports from overseas.
Sometimes Kurokawa Kōsuke wondered whether that young president actually wanted to make money at all.
Was it really worth spending this much on key animators?
The lounge's free drinks were replenished daily. Employees who had not eaten could also take nutritious lunch boxes from the storage cabinets.
Of course, enjoying these benefits came with rules.
Anyone caught wasting food, intentionally damaging company property, or stealing would be immediately dismissed. Serious cases would be reported to the police.
Several key animators had already been fired over the past few months for violating company rules. Due to the terms of their contracts, they had not received even a single yen in severance pay.
Among those dismissed were people who had violated confidentiality agreements by leaking company secrets.
Those secrets referred to the animation production technologies that allowed the company to stand head and shoulders above the rest of the industry.
Because of the company's strict management, however, outsiders could only claim that Yosuganosora Animation Studio possessed animation technology beyond industry standards without being able to reveal any details.
There had even been cases involving corporate spies.
Not long ago, a young key animator turned out to be a spy sent by some unknown company. He had intended to use hacking techniques and a USB drive to copy the animation production software from company computers.
The moment he tampered with the computer, however, it automatically locked itself and sounded an alarm.
The unfortunate corporate spy was arrested by the police in full view of everyone.
Kurokawa Kōsuke wasn't particularly concerned about any of this.
As far as he was concerned, the company benefits were excellent, and those regulations were far more relaxed and flexible than those of most companies.
"Today I'll be working on the key animation for Episode 11."
He flipped through the storyboard drafts on his desk.
All of them had been personally drawn by Kamiyā Yuu.
The level of detail rivaled finished key animation itself. There were also extensive written instructions. The numerous depictions of fine details constantly amazed Kurokawa Kōsuke.
Kamiyā Yuu's storyboard drafts reduced the difficulty of drawing key animation by an entire level.
"Ah, it's President Kamiyā!"
While working, a sharp-eyed key animator in the department noticed Kamiyā Yuu entering Uehara Etsuki's office.
Another key animator leaned over and asked with obvious curiosity, "Say, what do you think the relationship between Director Uehara and President Kamiyā is?"
Lowering his voice even further, he added, "I heard from one of the female employees in Ayumi's department that Production Director Morishita and Director Uehara are both part of President Kamiyā's harem."
"I don't think so. At least not right now."
"But what about Director Uehara's gentle smile? I've never seen her smile like that except when she's facing President Kamiyā."
"Uh..."
"President Kamiyā calls Director Uehara 'teacher.' Apparently, she used to be his key animation instructor."
"I know! I know! That was back when President Kamiyā and Director Uehara were still at the now-defunct Kyoni Animation Co., Ltd.! Miss Morishita was there too..."
Was gossip really that interesting?
Kurokawa Kōsuke couldn't quite understand young people these days.
Although Uehara Etsuki was undeniably a stunning beauty, someone like her would never choose an ordinary employee regardless of whether she ended up with President Kamiyā or not.
Compared to discussing such things, drawing a few more cuts of key animation seemed far more practical.
...
Kurokawa Kōsuke focused on drawing key animation from nine in the morning until noon.
After a one-hour break, he resumed work and continued until six in the evening.
As long as the company was not in a crunch period, employees were free to leave at that time or choose to stay and work overtime.
He decided to leave at six-thirty, just in time to catch the seven o'clock evening train home.
His monthly salary was enough to support his family while still leaving a considerable amount in savings for emergencies.
This was a typical day in the life of Kurokawa Kōsuke, an ordinary employee of Yosuganosora Animation Studio.
Aside from occasionally feeling that he was falling behind the times, everything was good.
He was satisfied with this life.
If nothing unexpected happened, he intended to remain at Yosuganosora Animation Studio until retirement.