By the time the New Year holiday arrived, Yume Animation had already crossed the three-hundred-employee mark between its Tokyo headquarters and Tokushima branch.
By the standards Sora remembered from his previous life, a studio of that size would already be considered a top-tier giant in the animation industry. But in this world's Japan, with its massive market and an audience that demanded consistently high visual quality, that was only just enough to qualify as a large production company. The broader the market, the higher the production standards, and naturally, the number of people needed on each project rose with it.
That was why, when it came time to hand out year-end bonuses, Sora did not hold back.
With Re:Zero's popularity, performance, and profits, there was no reason for him to be stingy. In practice, each employee received a bonus equivalent to roughly six months of salary.
Even during the New Year break, however, Sora had no intention of slowing down.
A large portion of Five Centimeters per Second could be entrusted to Sumire. He trusted her abilities completely. But what made Makoto Shinkai's works truly unforgettable, aside from the emotional power of the story itself, was the breathtaking beauty of their background art - the almost dreamlike skies, the cityscapes drenched in light, the loneliness hidden inside vast scenery. That part, Sora knew, had to remain under his direct supervision. Only then could he faithfully recreate the tone and atmosphere he remembered so vividly.
During the holiday, most departments at Yume Animation temporarily stopped working. The only exception was the background art department. Dozens of artists remained in constant online contact with Sora, exchanging revisions, references, and corrections at an intense pace.
There simply was not enough time.
There were only seven months left before Five Centimeters per Second was scheduled to premiere, and Sora could not afford to waste half a month. Many members of the art department brought their computers home and continued working remotely through the holiday. Of course, since he was asking people to work during the New Year, he paid them in full accordance with Japanese labor law, and on top of that, he added a personal holiday bonus himself. Because of that, almost no one complained. Most of them were more than willing.
On New Year's Eve, Sora received a call from Yumi.
The moment he answered, he could hear the excitement in her voice.
She proudly told him that her father had praised her - something that apparently did not happen often. He had been astonished to learn that her investment in the anime industry had earned more than a billion yen. Among all the children and grandchildren in the family, most of whom only knew how to spend money, party, and enjoy themselves, she was the only one who had shown real business sense.
Sora naturally played along, agreeing with everything she said and giving her all the praise she wanted to hear. After all, Yumi had been one of the earliest and most important investors in the company. Keeping a key supporter happy was only common sense.
Not long after that, Sumire called as well.
Like Sora, she no longer had her parents. The two of them were the sort of people who could only call the place they worked "home." At the end of the year, after receiving her share of the shareholder dividends - one billion yen distributed in total, of which her nearly three percent stake brought her around thirty million - she had finally gained some breathing room. Combined with the salary she had saved over the years, it was enough for her to buy a small one-bedroom apartment in Tokyo. After living there for a year, she could finally say she had secured a place for herself in the city.
The two of them talked for a long time.
They talked about one thing after another, and as always, the conversation gradually circled back to work. Then, at a certain moment, the sky above Tokyo exploded with light. Fireworks bloomed one after another, brilliant and colorful, painting the night outside their windows.
Without planning it, they both said the exact same words at the exact same time.
"Happy New Year."
"Happy New Year."
Two days after the holiday ended, another Friday arrived.
From early in the morning, Shomei had been dragged around by his parents to visit relatives for New Year greetings. As if that were not bad enough, he had also been cornered by endless nosy aunts and older relatives pressing him about when he planned to get married. By the time he finally made it home, his entire face was drained with exhaustion.
The moment he got back, he slipped into his room, shut the door, and turned on the television.
Back when he was a student, he never would have imagined that at the age of twenty-eight, he would already be dealing with marriage pressure.
He let out a long sigh, took a deep breath, and fixed his gaze on Nankai TV.
Anime was still the only place where he could escape reality.
At exactly eight in the evening - the time that had been permanently carved into the minds of Re:Zero fans over the past six months - the familiar opening theme began to play. As soon as it did, the noise in Shomei's mind slowly began to settle.
In the previous loop, Subaru had been killed inside Roswaal Mansion by Elsa, the Bowel Hunter, and now the return point was still the same familiar place: the Sanctuary.
Emilia had failed her first trial. The psychological blow had been so heavy that she broke down in Subaru's arms, crying as if she had reached her limit. After that, Subaru, Garfiel with his openly sour expression, Ryuzu - the old woman in the body of a little girl - Emilia, and Otto all gathered for a meeting after Emilia's first failure.
In terms of structure, it was similar to episode five. The difference this time was that Subaru openly revealed that he had also been chosen and was capable of taking the trial himself.
And the moment he said that, Ryuzu and Garfiel's attitudes changed immediately.
Seeing that, Shomei more or less understood.
So these two Sanctuary natives were hiding something too.
On the surface, they acted like they wanted Emilia to pass the trial and free everyone. But in reality, even when Subaru - who clearly had stronger mental endurance and seemed much more likely to succeed - volunteered to try, both of them looked deeply unwilling. Worse still, after Subaru offered to take Emilia's place, Emilia only fell into even deeper guilt, convinced she was useless and had become a burden on everyone.
Still, that part of the story did not feel especially fresh to Shomei.
Because the truth was simple.
He was a loyal Elsa fan.
If possible, he even wanted his future wife to be the kind of slightly insane, dangerous older woman who could smile sweetly while making your life flash before your eyes.
The story moved on.
For the most part, it unfolded similarly to the previous loop. But because Subaru had learned from last time - when Elsa caught him off guard and disemboweled him again - he brought Ram back with him to Roswaal Mansion this time. As one of the strongest fighters in the series, she provided a much-needed layer of protection.
And because they returned early, Petra - the young maid who had started working at the mansion after Subaru saved her during the mabeast incident - had not yet met with tragedy. Frederica, Garfiel's older sister, was also still safe inside the mansion.
At first glance, the plot felt strangely calm.
Too calm.
Shomei even thought the episode was dragging things out.
Then, in what seemed like a casual scene, Frederica and Ram reunited after being apart for a long time. Frederica said offhandedly:
"Ram, you really are an unlovable child."
Ram, with the same elegant expression she always wore, answered with complete composure and her usual hint of disdain.
"Ram is already adorable enough. If she became any cuter, the world would be in danger."
Sometimes, a single line was enough to define a character forever.
The instant Ram said that, Shomei straightened up in his chair. A strange but overwhelming sense of delight surged inside him. That shameless self-adoration of hers was, in its own way, an incredibly powerful charm point.
Then the story continued.
And finally, the woman the audience had been waiting for appeared.
Elsa, the Bowel Hunter.
She showed up without warning, taking Petra hostage and immediately clashing with Ram and Frederica. At the same time, in order to save Rem and Beatrice, who were still inside the mansion, Subaru ran back in with Petra beside him.
The moment Shomei saw that, a terrible feeling rose in his chest.
After all, he had been watching this anime for half a year. How many times had Subaru ever stepped into danger without needing to die four or five times before figuring things out? Based on experience, this current loop was probably just another information-gathering run.
And whenever Subaru was in one of those early failed loops, the people beside him were never safe.
Especially Petra.
The sweet little maid who adored him, trusted him, and followed him with such innocent devotion.
"No…"
Shomei muttered under his breath, a chill creeping up his spine.
"You bastard, Sora… couldn't you find anyone else to slaughter? Wasn't Rem enough? Wasn't Emilia enough? Now you won't even spare a girl that young?"
And just as those thoughts were racing through his head, the ceiling of Roswaal Mansion suddenly came crashing down.
Subaru, by sheer luck, was only gravely injured.
But Petra…
Petra, who had been holding his hand the whole time, left behind only that small hand in his grasp.
Everything else had vanished beneath the attack launched by Elsa's accomplice.
The sheer shock of the scene was overwhelming.
Petra might not have been recognized by most viewers as one of the main heroines, but she was gentle, lovable, and widely liked. As a girl who admired Subaru with all her heart and trusted him no matter what, she had always been well regarded by the fanbase. No one had truly believed that a girl like her - someone who felt so far removed from the core of Subaru's suffering - would be dragged into the heart of the tragedy like this.
She had appeared early in the first season.
Then, after months without much focus, she suddenly returned -
only to be cut down for the sake of the story.
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