It was another ordinary workday when Nakayama Takuya's car stopped beneath the Sunrise Animation headquarters.
Months had passed since Takuya last stepped into Sunrise's main office, and the atmosphere in the air was now completely different from before.
Thanks to SEGA's investment and capital injection—along with the recently launched lightweight project Kirby of the Stars—the anxiety and fear that once weighed on everyone's hearts had completely dissipated. In their place was a busy yet orderly sense of vitality.
Today was the internal screening for Mobile Fighter G Gundam ahead of its official broadcast. The completed first three episodes needed to be jointly reviewed by the various representatives of the production committee.
As an important member of the committee, SEGA's representative was naturally him.
The meeting room was packed.
Representatives from TV Tokyo, Bandai, Sunrise, and SEGA had all gathered.
As Takuya, representing SEGA, took his seat, TV Tokyo's animation program producer, Hiroi Shirō, immediately approached him.
Hiroi, a trusted subordinate personally promoted by Nakagawa Jun, adopted an extremely deferential attitude the moment he saw Takuya.
"Executive Nakayama, congratulations!" Hiroi said with a wide smile. "Everyone at the station has been talking about your good news. Our little princess of TV Tokyo is about to be whisked away by you."
His tone was half-joking, half-flattering, earning knowing smiles from several people nearby.
Eri's status within TV Tokyo was significant. Her relationship with Nakayama Takuya was, without question, a powerful alliance—something the station viewed as an extremely advantageous match.
"Hiroi-san, no need to be so formal." Takuya smiled and shook his hand. After all, he and Eri weren't married yet. Since others were being polite, he certainly couldn't act arrogant, especially not toward a key confidant of his future father-in-law.
On the other side of the room sat Bandai's product planning manager, Mitsui Chūta.
When Mitsui saw Takuya, he squeezed out a formulaic smile and offered a distant nod. Unlike Hiroi, he didn't bother coming over.
Takuya understood instantly.
Bandai—this big fish—had been stuck in the mud for months. It looked like they were nearing their limit.
Keeping a calm expression, he returned a polite smile and moved straight toward the seat reserved for him.
Although Takuya had never intervened in Sunrise's internal decisions, fate had its peculiar ways—Sunrise ultimately chose the very same director who had been responsible for G Gundam in his previous life: Imagawa Yasuhiro.
Director Imagawa now stood nearby, looking tense as he waited for the production committee to judge his work.
Once everyone was present, the lights dimmed and the screening began.
The lights faded.
The screen lit up.
"Gundam Fight! Ready—Go!"
As the protagonist Domon Kasshu launched into a dynamic motion sequence, a wave of hot-blooded energy—completely different from traditional Gundam—burst forth.
The representatives stared at the screen, their expressions subtly shifting as they watched a Gundam clad in a "Mobile Trace System" nano bodysuit throwing punches and fighting hand-to-hand.
Is… is this still the Gundam we know, the one that fires beam rifles at long range?
Especially when the protagonist unleashed his special move, "Shining Finger," and crushed the Nero Gundam's head with his bare hands, Bandai's product planning manager instinctively pushed up his glasses, as if trying to confirm whether he had seen correctly.
This was no longer a familiar space-war epic.
This was flesh-to-flesh, hot-blooded, super-robot-style brawling.
The meeting room fell silent, with only the stirring music and sound effects echoing through the air.
Many well-dressed executives unconsciously leaned forward, their eyes locked onto the screen, as if an invisible force had seized their hearts.
Takuya, meanwhile, sat calmly with a faint smile tugging at the corner of his lips.
As expected of Imagawa Yasuhiro—it was exactly the same flavor.
He knew too well the power of this work. Some old Gundam fans might reject it, but the new market it would open would be immeasurable.
The three episodes passed quickly, and the lights brightened once more.
The room was silent for two seconds—then erupted into exclamations and admiration.
"Sugoi!"
"Incredible! Is this really a Gundam? It's practically a new species!"
"Director Imagawa, this is fantastic!"
"This is the romance of men!"
Clap clap clap!
Hiroi Shirō was the first to applaud, his excitement overflowing. "Amazing! Director Imagawa, the pacing and impact of this work will absolutely grab the attention of today's youth!"
"And even though the tone is hot-blooded, you haven't abandoned Gundam's core themes—the reflections on humanity's sins, the exploration of human nature. The depth of an artistic work is still intact."
Bandai's planning manager nodded. "The mechanical designs are unique—merchandising can begin immediately. With this level of visual impact, the model kits should sell well."
"But—" Hiroi suddenly shifted the topic, turning to Director Imagawa, "Director Imagawa, with such high production quality… is the budget holding up?"
Imagawa calmly pushed up his glasses.
"Please rest assured." He turned toward Takuya and bowed slightly. "Thanks to Executive Nakayama's optimization proposal, we outsourced a large portion of the non-core production tasks to a streamlined network of teams in Mainland China. With careful planning, costs are under excellent control."
"Not only is the quality ensured, but with the savings, we can put far more resources into the critical action sequences later on—guaranteeing an explosive peak in audience reception!"
The moment he said this, all eyes shifted to Takuya.
Admiration, respect, even a faint sense of awe.
Just how did this young man come up with such an idea?
Sunrise's president, Mr. Itō, was especially emotional. What had once been a desperate measure had now become the very engine driving the company upward.
This wasn't just about saving money—it was the optimization of the entire production pipeline, freeing the creative staff to focus on the core of the project.
"Executive Nakayama, your foresight is remarkable!"
"It's the combined effort of everyone on the production committee." Takuya modestly waved his hand, sharing the credit with everyone present.
After Hiroi Shirō finished discussing TV Tokyo's broadcast schedule with Imagawa and exchanged a few more polite words with Takuya, he finally left, satisfied.
Takuya adjusted his suit and was just about to stand up.
Suddenly, a hand gently rested on his arm.
Takuya turned—and met the smiling yet subtly calculating expression of Bandai's Mitsui Chūta.
"Executive Nakayama," Mitsui said in a low voice, eyes gleaming, "would you do me the honor of joining me for a meal?"
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