In the end, Takahashi Kazumasa still went to the Mitsui Building, résumé in hand—a résumé that listed a past Shogakukan Best Newcomer Award.
There were quite a few people on the twenty-fourth floor. It wasn't so exaggerated that the line stretched all the way downstairs, but it was long enough to make people anxious as they waited.
Takahashi Kazumasa stood outside watching for a while when he suddenly saw someone storm out, cursing under his breath.
"A bunch of bastards! They tricked me into coming all the way from Osaka, and then they won't even let me get hired. What, just because I don't have experience I can't get in? I've got passion!"
Takahashi Kazumasa's heart skipped violently.
This was bad. They needed work experience.
Work experience was absolutely the most terrifying requirement for any job seeker.
You've only graduated for five years, but we want ten years of work experience.
You don't have it? Sorry, please go back. We'll talk next time.
Takahashi Kazumasa tried to encourage himself in his heart, but instead grew more and more worried, gripping his briefcase tighter.
"No, I should leave."
He suddenly turned around.
If lack of experience made it impossible to get hired, then it was better to leave quickly.
After taking only two steps, someone behind him moved forward and took his place in line.
Takahashi Kazumasa spun around at once.
"Why are you cutting in line?"
"I didn't cut. Weren't you leaving?"
"I'm not leaving! I—I was just going to the restroom!"
The young man behind him muttered a few words but eventually stepped back a few paces, giving Takahashi Kazumasa his spot again.
Takahashi Kazumasa settled back into place and adjusted his collar.
Since I'm already here, I should at least take a look!
"Name?"
"Takahashi Kazumasa."
"Worked before?"
"No—"
Kitagawa Tsuyoshi quickly flipped through Takahashi Kazumasa's résumé.
"You won a Shogakukan Newcomer Award? Why didn't you continue drawing manga afterward?"
"Uh—"
Takahashi Kazumasa scratched his cheek, hesitating.
Drawing manga was hard. Making the cut was no easy task. Manga magazines used an elimination system from the bottom—if your results were bad, your series was cut outright. Even well-known veteran artists weren't exempt.
He had drawn a few times, but nothing took off. Eventually, he got lazy and stopped.
Kitagawa Tsuyoshi asked a few more questions. After getting a basic understanding, he let Takahashi Kazumasa leave and wait for further notice.
All day long, Atlus interviews rarely rejected people outright unless they were truly unqualified.
When the interviews ended in the afternoon, Kobayashi Tetsu came to review the list.
Not too many, not too few. Given the current transportation conditions, getting fifty or sixty résumés was already pretty good—some people hadn't even brought résumés and relied entirely on talking their way in.
"We can't set the bar too high," Kobayashi Tetsu said casually as he flipped through the papers.
His gaze suddenly stopped.
"Takahashi Kazumasa. Did you meet this person?"
Kitagawa Tsuyoshi raised his hand. "I talked to him briefly. He felt a bit lazy, like he wouldn't really fit into a regular job. But he did win Shogakukan's Best Newcomer Award, so his drawing skills aren't a problem. He also brought some of his own artwork."
Kobayashi Tetsu shook his head.
"Making games isn't the same as being a traditional manga artist. Being good at drawing manga doesn't mean you can handle game art. If we let him join to make games, that won't work."
However—
His tone changed. "I happen to have an extra job. If it's convenient, call him and have him come tomorrow. It should be useful."
It wouldn't count as joining Atlus—just an extra job.
And seeing that name, Kobayashi Tetsu naturally felt it was quite fitting.
After a few days of delay, Atlus expanded to twenty-two people, not counting Kobayashi Tetsu himself.
At this point, that size could already be considered a reasonably scaled studio in the game industry.
Nintendo might have hundreds or thousands of employees, but when making a specific title, it was usually just one development department of a few dozen people. The rest were administrative staff or members of other departments.
But among those twenty-two people, Takahashi Kazumasa was not included.
So Takahashi Kazumasa was confused.
—
They weren't letting him join, but they still called him over. And after he came, everything was so secretive.
Takahashi Kazumasa stared at Kobayashi Tetsu, barely blinking.
"Takahashi-kun, let's keep it short. I think you'd be an excellent manga artist, but the game industry is different from manga. Being able to draw manga doesn't mean you can take on the role of a game artist."
Takahashi Kazumasa nodded. "President Kobayashi is right."
"However," Kobayashi Tetsu continued, "I have a personal commission here that I think suits you very well. You can give it a try, and we'll pay accordingly."
Takahashi Kazumasa listened in a daze.
What did this mean—he wasn't suitable, but also sort of was?
Slightly bewildered, he took the folder Kobayashi Tetsu handed over.
It was a card illustration commission. The gist was that they were making a tabletop game, and he would be responsible for drawing the card artwork. The name of the game was—
Takahashi Kazumasa looked down and read it again.
"Yu-Gi-Oh?"
What kind of name was that?
Kobayashi Tetsu said, "Game King."
Takahashi Kazumasa nodded in understanding.
Even if it wasn't full employment, it was still a decent freelance job, so he agreed without hesitation.
"That works," Kobayashi Tetsu said. "If you're free these next few days, come to Atlus. You can eat lunch with us, and it'll be easier to communicate if you need anything. Sign this first."
Takahashi Kazumasa responded and signed the contract casually.
He didn't even bother reading it. He owned nothing anyway—getting scammed didn't scare him, unless Kobayashi Tetsu planned to sell him off to harvest organs.
With everything settled, Takahashi Kazumasa bowed.
Since he was already here, he might as well go over and start working.
There were still empty desks in the Atlus studio.
Kobayashi Tetsu watched Takahashi Kazumasa leave and couldn't help but shake his head with a sigh.
This really was what you'd call returning things to their rightful owner.
When he had gone to Kadokawa earlier, Kobayashi Tetsu had brought up the idea of a tabletop game.
These past few months, Atlus had been fully focused on developing Sonic, leaving no time for other sources of income.
So he figured it was time to put the tabletop game on the agenda.
At first, he had thought about making Sengoku Kill, letting Japanese players experience the joy of gacha card draws.
But after seeing the list yesterday, Kobayashi Tetsu changed his mind.
Takahashi Kazumasa was his real name. Later, he would use a pen name: Takahashi Kazuki.
Over his lifetime, Takahashi Kazuki drew many manga, but only one became truly famous.
Yu-Gi-Oh.
Later, Takahashi Kazuki would live off Yu-Gi-Oh cards for the rest of his life, achieve financial freedom, and simply stop drawing manga.
Now, Kobayashi Tetsu planned to license the Yu-Gi-Oh tabletop version to Kadokawa under Atlus's name. Whether they continued with tabletop games or made an anime afterward didn't matter to him. Atlus would only hold the name Yu-Gi-Oh.
Letting Takahashi Kazuki draw the Yu-Gi-Oh cards was, in a way, returning things to where they belonged.
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