Inside the President's office at L.S Production, Mamoru Hosoda sat down and sighed. "I don't even have the face to go back to Toei now."
The reason was simple: he had been fired from Studio Ghibli.
Ghibli had originally tasked him with producing [ Howl's Moving Castle ]. He had rallied his friends and painstakingly assembled an animation team, but they had consistently failed to produce satisfactory storyboards and scripts.
On July 20th, Hayao Miyazaki's [ Spirited Away ] was released to massive success, igniting a viewing frenzy.
After wrapping up [ Spirited Away ]-related affairs, Ghibli executives reviewed the production status of [ Howl's Moving Castle ] and were deeply dissatisfied. The entire animation team was immediately disbanded, and Hosoda Mamoru was fired.
Hayao Miyazaki would now take over the production of [ Howl's Moving Castle ].
On the surface, this was the official explanation. Whether there were other underlying considerations, only Ghibli's top executives knew for sure.
A more conspiratorial theory suggested that the real reason was that the team Hosoda had assembled consisted entirely of his own loyal followers, who would have followed his every command. Ghibli executives might have feared these outsiders would usurp their authority, a possibility not entirely without merit.
In any case, Mamoru Hosoda had become a complete laughingstock in the industry. After the scandal broke, no animation company dared to invite him to submit proposals.
The friends who had previously helped him found themselves in a similar predicament. Instead of benefiting from the association, their resumes were now tainted with a stain, and they had drawn unwanted attention. All of them turned their anger on him.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say he was now a pariah in the industry, hated by everyone. Yet, at this very moment, Lin Zhiyan not only treated him with kindness but even offered him a proposal invitation, which deeply moved him.
Of course, he was somewhat embarrassed. After all, Lin Zhiyan wasn't some senior figure or industry veteran; he was even several years younger. He was practically his junior.
When Hosoda had achieved fame, Lin Zhiyan hadn't even started his career yet. Now, Hosoda was a pariah, while Lin Zhiyan had soared to the top. To accept help from such a person felt humiliating.
But humiliation was irrelevant. He needed to survive, to make a living.
Though he now claimed he had no face to return to Toei, the truth was that without Lin Zhiyan's intervention, he would have eventually returned to his old company. In 2005, he would have directed his first feature-length animated film, One Piece: The Baron Omatsuri and the Secret Island, which would have grossed 1.2 billion yen.
Face?
That was the last thing Mamoru Hosoda cared about. Otherwise, after failing to get hired at Studio Ghibli, he wouldn't have dared to shamelessly call Toei and ask if they still remembered him.
Lin Zhiyan knew Hosoda's talent and wanted to cultivate a second animation team within the company. Since Hosoda had just been fired, it would be absurd not to offer him a job.
He had someone pour Hosoda a cup of tea and then said, "Don't worry about going back to Toei. You must have been through a lot at Ghibli, right? Come work for me, and I'll help you get your revenge. We'll show them how foolish they were to fire you."
"Help me get my revenge?" Hosoda was taken aback.
"Exactly."
Lin Zhiyan nodded and casually added, "I don't think you need to prove yourself at the box office anymore. So, let's start by winning some awards—the Big Three Animation Awards, the Japan Academy Film Prize, and so on."
Hosoda: (⊙_⊙)
He stared at Lin Zhiyan, dumbfounded, his mind struggling to process the words.
Well, I'll be damned.
Treating winning awards as casually as eating or drinking water.
Was it really that simple?
Does he look down on these awards or something?
He took a deep breath, choosing not to undermine Lin Zhiyan's confidence. Instead, he changed the subject: "So, what's the first animation we're going to work on?"
"This one," Lin Zhiyan replied, pulling a book from his drawer and handing it to Mamoru Hosoda.
The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, a short science fiction novel by Yasutaka Tsutsui, was first published in 1965. Over the decades, it had been adapted into numerous TV dramas and films, but there had never been an animated version.
Hosoda Mamoru knew the novel well. However, learning that Lin Zhiyan intended to adapt it only made him feel less confident. "The Girl Who Leapt Through Time? Are you sure this project can win awards?"
"I can't guarantee it will win, but if we adapt this novel into an animation and execute the production flawlessly, the probability of winning is very high," Lin Zhiyan replied earnestly.
Hosoda Mamoru took the book and flipped through it, still feeling utterly unconfident.
Given his current situation, Lin Zhiyan was willing to trust him and even offered him the position of Supervising Director. He couldn't afford to be picky, so he had to focus on finding ways to make this animation project a success.
With that thought, he nodded. "Alright, if you're so sure, then let's go with that."
After a pause, he asked, "What about the production team?"
"You'll naturally be the Supervising Director. I'll handle the Character Designer role, and I'll also be writing the script," Lin Zhiyan replied. "However, the style of this animated film will be completely different from Death Note and the animation we're currently working on, so I'll use a pen name for the scriptwriting work."
He continued, "As for the rest of the production staff, the company will assign some personnel. We won't leave it entirely up to you to find everyone, unlike Studio Ghibli. If you want to bring in anyone from outside the company, just let me know."
"What's the completion deadline?" Mamoru Hosoda asked.
Lin Zhiyan pondered for a moment before replying, "The release date will likely be around July 2003. You just need to finish by May 2003. I'll send out a detailed proposal in a couple of days, and we can discuss the specifics then."
"Okay."
Mamoru Hosoda was quite satisfied with this schedule. Over a year and a half for production gave them ample time. As long as the script was strong, they should be able to create a good animation.
He glanced down at the novel in his hands and quickly said, "If there's nothing else, may I take this back to study it?"
"Sure, but don't rush," Lin Zhiyan waved his hand. "After all, this is a novel from 1965. It might not be suitable for today's audience. I'll be making significant adaptations, possibly retaining only the core elements. So you can wait until my script is finished before diving in."
"Will that take a long time?" Hosoda Mamoru frowned.
"Not too long, just two or three days, probably."
Hosoda Mamoru: "..."
He had already lacked confidence in this animation. Now, hearing that Lin Zhiyan planned to write the script in just two or three days, his confidence plummeted even further.
So careless, and he still wants to write a good script?
Without even a decent script, how can he expect to win an award?
He let out a hiss, feeling like he'd boarded a pirate ship. But it was too late to turn back now; he had no choice but to follow Lin Zhiyan down this path to the end.
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