February 7th, Musashino City, Tokyo.
The newly established L.S Production's animation department.
Several Key Animators looked around their new workplace and began whispering among themselves:
"Is this where we'll be working from now on? Hmm, it looks decent enough."
"The environment doesn't really matter. Key Animators can work from home anyway. The important thing is getting work."
"I heard from Nanase-san that our President has no intention of sticking to outsourcing. He's working on an original animation project, so we probably don't need to worry about running out of work, right?"
"Don't worry. Even if we don't get any work, we won't starve. Our President is so generous he's willing to provide basic guaranteed salaries for Key Animators and Animators. If there's no work, we can just sit back and get paid."
"I don't know where the President got all this money. The company just started, with no track record, yet he's offering guaranteed salaries. It's crazy! Few companies in the animation industry would dare do something like this. I'm even worried we'll go bankrupt soon after opening."
"Let's hope our first animation is a success. If it becomes as popular as EVA was five years ago, and we manage the budget well, we probably won't have to worry about going bankrupt."
"That's unlikely. Anyway, let's just work as long as we can."
In the Japanese animation industry, where payment is often piece-rate, animators and average key animators have always been the most exploited and oppressed.
Kyoto Animation is one of the few studios that dares to provide a basic guaranteed salary; most others wouldn't.
Of course, it might not be a matter of daring, but rather a reluctance to spend. Why waste money on such things when it could be invested in animation production? After all, the entire industry is exploiting everyone; there's no need to be so altruistic.
The basic guaranteed salary Lin Zhiyan offers isn't particularly high. As long as animators are skilled and work diligently, they'll easily surpass the minimum. In reality, this basic salary is mainly for newcomers to the industry.
Sitting around doing nothing and still getting paid? That's obviously impossible.
At L.S, there's always more than enough work to keep everyone busy, even without taking on outsourcing. How could anyone possibly sit around and get paid for nothing?
Still, these long-oppressed artists didn't think that far ahead. They simply felt that Lin Zhiyan was too kind—and too crazy.
In fact, Lin Zhiyan himself had hesitated about implementing this policy. As they said, if the animations don't make money, this approach will eventually lead to bankruptcy.
After all, he was prepared to fund the animation himself. If it failed, the company would go under anyway, so a little basic salary was the least of his worries.
This approach would also make it easier to poach talent and attract new recruits. As long as it increased the animation's chances of success, it would be a worthwhile investment.
As the team was still discussing, Lin Zhiyan arrived at the door.
"Mr. Hayashi," Sekiguchi Kanami was the first to notice.
The group turned to the door and immediately fell silent upon seeing Lin Zhiyan.
Lin Zhiyan knew the team had little faith in L.S., but he didn't take it personally.
It was normal for them to lack confidence at this stage; confidence would have been abnormal. It had nothing to do with whether they trusted him.
He smiled and entered the animation department's office. "Don't worry," he said. "Our company won't go bankrupt. Even if our first animation doesn't become as popular as EVA, it will at least be a moderate hit."
The animation department members exchanged puzzled glances, wondering where Lin Zhiyan's overwhelming confidence came from.
Without further explanation, Lin Zhiyan's gaze fell on Sekiguchi Kanami and Takeuchi Oriya. "Sekiguchi-san, Takeuchi-kun," he instructed, "come with me."
With the company established, the project plan was finalized, and they could move directly into the animation production phase.
However, before that, they needed to finalize the team.
When they arrived at the small conference room, Nanase Mayumi was already waiting.
Lin Zhiyan sat down beside Nanase Mayumi and asked Sekiguchi Kanami and Takeuchi Oriya to take seats on the opposite side.
In front of each of them lay a small, bound booklet containing the Death Note project proposal, keyframe confirmation sheets, partial character designs, and storyboards and scripts for the first four episodes.
Of course, until they opened them, Sekiguchi Kanami and Takeuchi Oriya would only see the simple title "Project Proposal" on the cover.
Lin Zhiyan picked up his booklet, glanced at the two opposite him, and asked, "We've decided on the first animation our company will produce. I'd like each of you to take on an animation supervisor role. Does that sound alright?"
The animation difficulty for Death Note wasn't particularly high, but it wasn't low either. At Sekiguchi Kanami and Takeuchi Oriya's current skill levels, each of them could handle Animation Director duties for one episode without any issues.
Unfortunately, Ishii Momoko's skills were still a bit too green. Having just become a Key Animator, she wasn't yet capable of serving as an Animation Director. Otherwise, with Lin Zhiyan added, the company would have four Animation Directors, making their animation department as solid as a rock.
Sekiguchi Kanami and Takeuchi Oriya naturally wouldn't refuse the Animation Director roles, both nodding in agreement.
However, Sekiguchi Kanami soon said, "Um... while it's fine, could I see the proposal first? I'm a bit curious about what kind of story it is."
"I'm also curious," Takeuchi Oriya quickly added.
"Of course. I was planning to show you anyway," Lin Zhiyan nodded and gestured for them to take the documents.
Sekiguchi Kanami and Takeuchi Oriya immediately picked up the proposal, opened it, and began reading intently.
"A suspenseful, mystery, and battle-of-wits type of animation?" Sekiguchi Kanami muttered as she read.
She soon said, "Mr. Hayashi, if I may be so bold, do you think this genre would be difficult to make successful? And who would write the script? That might be hard to find, right?"
While the mystery genre in animation boasts a massive IP like Detective Conan that has enjoyed long-term success, this is largely due to the enduring popularity of its original manga. Most other mystery-themed animations struggle to gain traction, often receiving critical acclaim but failing to find a wide audience.
For Sekiguchi Kanami, Lin Zhiyan was both a mentor and a friend. Moreover, L.S was the company she aspired to work for in the future. Naturally, she felt compelled to voice her concerns about the project. In any other setting or with anyone else, she would have stayed out of the planning process entirely, regardless of how outlandish the ideas might seem; it wouldn't have been her concern.
Takeuchi Oriya had initially intended to remain silent, but seeing Sekiguchi Kanami raise the issue, he couldn't help but interject, "Mystery and suspense stories seem better suited for TV dramas or films. Plus, writing the script must be incredibly difficult."
"There's no need to worry about that," Lin Zhiyan said with a smile. "Our Death Note is different from traditional mystery thrillers. Besides, while my expertise lies in animation direction, I can also write scripts—just a little. I'll be handling the script myself for this animation; we won't need to hire anyone."
"You can write scripts too?!" Sekiguchi Kanami and Takeuchi Oriya exclaimed in surprise.
Lin Zhiyan gestured to indicate "just a little" and emphasized again, "Just a little."
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