February 4th, Hinotori Publishing's dubbing studio.
"Thank you for your hard work."
The voice actors left the studio, and the staff immediately offered them water.
"Hey, the animation just now...".
After drinking the water, a voice actor excitedly said, "Have you finished watching it yet?!".
"Oh, I've finished watching it...".
"Me too; I didn't leave after the dubbing, I just stayed and watched it."
The other voice actors replied happily.
"This animation is quite good!"
"Yes, I have a feeling it will be a masterpiece."
Shiori was also somewhat excited. She looked around and suddenly saw Haru.
"Supervisor!" Shiori ran over and asked, "Has the first episode of the animation finished?"
"Yes, it's time to finish." Haru looked at Shiori with a smile: "Congratulations, you'll be able to go home soon. I won't talk to you for now. I have to report to the team leader."
She said goodbye and left.
Shiori watched Haru's back as she walked away and then told the voice actors that the first episode of Pokémon had finished, and everyone immediately applauded.
"Great, the work is done, I can go now!"
"The next episode should be after the New Year, right?"
"I don't know; there will be an official announcement later."
The voice actors waited for the final notice, and Haru quickly found Takumi and informed him: "Mirai-sensei, it's ready."
Takumi was prepared, but he couldn't help but smile when he heard it and nodded: "Very well, prepare a sample, I'll notify the president to take a look."
"No problem." Haru went downstairs to make the preparations.
Takumi called Tsukimoto Genji, Alice, and Kenji Sato, and the four of them watched the first episode of Pokémon together.
After the broadcast, Alice's eyes sparkled.
"I think it's better than The Cat and Mouse Couple."
"I agree with Alice-san." Kenji Sato replied excitedly: "The first episode is charming, and the story is very compelling. I think it will be suitable for more than just children. It has a high chance of surpassing The Cat and Mouse Couple."
He had already done a small mental calculation. Kenji Sato had a premonition that the hidden value of this animation could surpass his imagination. 'Perhaps he could generously allocate funds for advertising and other spaces, and it would undoubtedly be worth it.'
"You've given me another surprise."
Tsukimoto Genji seemed calmer than Alice and Kenji Sato, but he couldn't hide his satisfaction: "The quality of the sample is good, very good! The content is good. If there are no problems with the broadcast and subsequent sales, it will help our company succeed."
"Takumi, have you read Kanto's latest manga?" he turned to ask Takumi.
"Yes, I've read them."
Takumi nodded solemnly. He had also been reading Kanto's manga lately. The manga magazine hadn't been published for a long time, but it had surpassed Hinotori Manga in several aspects and had become a very strong rival.
Even Hoshi, which once left Takumi behind, has established itself as the number one female manga magazine and appears in various reports.
The main reason is that Kanto magazine's sales have surpassed Hinotori Manga's. In addition to the advantages of its own channel and its incorporation into Tatsuryū Publishing, Kanto Daily's high quality also boosts sales.
Manga quality consists of two parts. One is the content. Kanto mainly develops original manga and uses a strategy similar to Tatsuryū Publishing's in the past: a combination of mangaka and novelists. The difference in Kanto's strategy is that the combination is dominated by the mangaka.
Although this merger of Kanto Manga Company still presents many problems, the content of the manga has reached a certain level. With guaranteed content, the only thing that affects quality is drawing skill, and in this regard, Kanto Manga Company has surpassed Hinotori Publishing.
If we compare Weekly Shōnen and Kanto Daily, readers will find that Kanto Daily's drawing style is very consistent from beginning to end, while in Weekly Shōnen, except for Mirai-sensei and several mangaka who hold top positions, almost half of the mangaka are not as good as those in Kanto Daily.
Readers buy magazines to collect at home, and of course, they prefer Kanto Daily.
The sum of various factors means that the sales difference between Hinotori Publishing and Kanto Manga Company is growing. Faced with this unprecedented challenge, it's impossible for Tsukimoto Genji and Takumi not to feel pressured.
Tsukimoto Genji placed his hopes on Takumi, and since Takumi and Hinotori Publishing were closely linked, he would naturally do his best.
Both had high hopes for Pokémon. While animation depends on channels, as long as it can be broadcast, it is not easily limited as in the case of manga. The pressure on Kanto Manga Company in the animation sector is not as great as that on manga, so the possibility of a breakthrough is relatively high.
Kanto Manga Company is rich and powerful, and
once Hinotori Publishing achieves a breakthrough, it will be a miracle in the manga industry. The impact on public opinion and the market that this generates will have a ripple effect and boost Hinotori Publishing's manga sales.
At that moment, if Takumi launches new manga, or creates new themes like Gundam and Magical Girls, and improves the quality of Weekly Shōnen and Weekly Shōjo Manga, Hinotori Publishing will be able to overcome its stagnation.
"It's good that you've seen it, and now you have a general understanding of the situation."
Tsukimoto Genji was very satisfied with Takumi's sensitivity to external competition. He said: "Then I won't explain further. I'll leave the subsequent work to you. I believe you can do it well."
"You've worked hard during this time. The company will host a party at Umi no Kanata restaurant tonight. You can invite the employees and voice actors from the animation production department to celebrate."
"Okay," Takumi nodded with a smile.
In the evening, Hinotori Publishing hosted an appreciation banquet at the Umi no Kanata restaurant. The atmosphere was very warm. Both the voice actors and employees were very excited. They ate and drank in anticipation of the future broadcast of Pokémon.
Before the banquet ended, Takumi announced that the voice actors' work was finished, but that the others had to go to work as usual and hurry to produce the second episode, trying to complete half of it before the holidays.
This decision was normal, and no one questioned it.
At night, Takumi sent Shiori back to the hotel.
"Aren't you going back to Saitama?" Shiori asked on the way.
"No, I still have to contact the television station." Takumi shook his head: "I have to set the broadcast time."
"Oh...", Shiori replied, thinking Takumi was very busy.
Suddenly, she, who had been thinking of going home, felt a sudden reluctance.
"How about I stay too? I want to wait for you to go home together," Shiori asked as she got out of the car.
- - - -
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