Yamashina Makoto and Kobayashi Tetsu watched the first episode of the anime straight through in the screening room.
For Kobayashi Tetsu—whose eyes carried memories from a later era—there was nothing particularly surprising. But for Yamashina Makoto, the episode was solid and promising.
Bandai's business was toys.
So of course the work needed distinct toy-like features.
In later years, every anime or tokusatsu production Bandai invested in carried those unmistakable design cues—just one glance and you knew: That's a toy.
To put it bluntly, whether the show made money didn't matter. As long as the toys sold, Bandai wouldn't lose out.
And now, the two fighter craft in the anime clearly displayed that toy-forward design—industrial, minimalist, and in hand-drawn frames they even looked like physical toy jets. For a toy-driven project, it was perfectly acceptable.
As for the plot, it progressed in an orderly and competent way.
"But if Bandai spends that much money and only gets the toy rights, isn't it a little wasteful? In that regard, I still think…"
Kobayashi Tetsu understood Bandai's intentions all too well.
What Yamashina wanted wasn't these two fighters from Salamander. He wanted to buy out every machine under the name Salamander.
Meaning: in his view, if Atlas ever made a sequel, they'd need Bandai's permission—because Bandai wanted to own the entire category of "Salamander-class fighters."
Unless future games abandoned the name and its accompanying design language, they would remain under Bandai's thumb.
Normal enough in the industry—but Kobayashi Tetsu wasn't going to agree.
Because even if he didn't plan sequels now… you never knew when reheating an old dish might come in handy.
"I'm afraid I can't decide that on my own," Kobayashi said smoothly. "This anime is Daicon Film's production. Bandai should discuss the rights within the anime directly with Daicon Film. Atlas only needs the game rights and the related derivatives."
Yamashina clicked his tongue.
A tough opponent.
He said, "Still, before the release, no one can guarantee this work will succeed. Bandai's money isn't meant to be thrown away."
"Success or failure isn't something anyone can declare at will. And from another angle, whether the anime succeeds—or even whether it gets finished—has little to do with me. Atlas's game is proceeding regardless. So—" Kobayashi drew a clean line.
"The game-related rights and designs will always belong to Atlas. That won't change. As for the anime, I've already granted Daicon Film the rights to produce and distribute it. Toys and other cultural products—Bandai is entitled to that revenue. It's not Bandai buying those rights from Atlas; it's Atlas licensing the design to Bandai for production."
Before Yamashina could dig deeper into the implications, Kobayashi shifted topics.
"I intend to form a Special Production Committee. Its sole role will be to supervise fund allocation and provide needed support. It will not interfere with the creative process. Bandai may send representatives for full-process oversight. Atlas will also assign professional concept artists to assist."
Yamashina raised an eyebrow.
Not a bad proposition. His biggest fear was frivolous spending during production. If Bandai could supervise the flow of funds, that would be ideal.
The two men fell silent.
The projector, finished with the reel, flickered white in the dim room.
After several minutes, Yamashina finally spoke.
"You Americans are really that stingy?"
"I'm Japanese," Kobayashi said.
Meeting Yamashina's look, he added, "In Japan, I'm Japanese. In America, I'm American."
And back home? Naturally, he was Chinese.
Yamashina couldn't hold back—he burst out laughing.
When he finished, he slapped his thigh decisively.
"Once the professionals finish the evaluation, we'll get an investment report. But I guarantee this—Bandai will invest no less than 100 million yen. The detailed terms will be handled by legal."
They were only responsible for reaching an agreement in principle. All the particulars—copyright allocation, revenue sharing—would be hammered out by the legal departments.
Kobayashi knew Daicon Film would earn the least in that process. They simply couldn't compete with the legal teams of Bandai or Sega.
(Atlas's connection to Sega? Don't worry about it. That's second-game business!)
Still, as long as Daicon Film held the anime rights, future derivatives—potential films, possible home-video releases—would bring them steady income. Less than Kobayashi or Bandai, but enough to survive.
Having sealed the partnership, Yamashina, in high spirits, asked:
"Kobayashi-kun, you're impressively capable at such a young age. Would you be interested in touring Bandai's manufacturing plant?"
"Of course. Please."
Kobayashi wasn't especially interested, but since Yamashina offered, there was no reason to refuse.
The two rose and left the screening room.
…
…
Outside the Bandai headquarters, Anno Hideaki was still waiting for news.
He was baffled—what on earth was Kobayashi doing inside? It had been two hours!
When Kobayashi finally emerged, Anno was nearly in tears.
He'd been half-convinced Kobayashi had been knocked out by a hundred JKs, dragged to a basement, and blackmailed into becoming a smiling photo slave.
"Kobayashi-kun!! Why did it take so long?"
"No helping it." Kobayashi sighed heavily. "Bandai's demands were too high. I argued my best, but didn't win. I had to sell part of the rights. Bandai secured the toy license, we negotiated the project schedule, and they insisted on forming a Production Committee to supervise the entire anime."
Anno clenched his fists.
"Bandai is so cruel!"
"I know," Kobayashi said solemnly. "Bandai is so cruel."
At least a hundred million yen in investment—and he wasn't touching a single yen of it.
If he took even a little and got caught, his reputation would be ruined. Good luck ever collaborating again.
Others might skim some off the top—who knew? That had nothing to do with him. His job was only to broker the deal between Daicon Film and Bandai.
Now the money was secured. The work existed. All that was missing was a broadcasting platform.
Kobayashi urged the driver, "Let's go. To TV Tokyo!"
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