On the evening of March 31st, in the banquet hall of a certain hotel.
Lin Zhiyan, as President of L.S Production and Supervising Director of the Death Note animation, stood on the stage, raised his wine glass, and addressed the crowd below:
"The tremendous success of the Death Note animation wouldn't have been possible without everyone's collective efforts. Our company's name is Loving and Successful Production—a company that loves and strives for success. I propose we raise our glasses to love and success... Cheers!"
"Cheers!"
The crowd responded, raising their glasses in unison.
After the opening remarks, Lin Zhiyan stepped down from the stage, and the celebration banquet officially began.
"President..."
Hakuba Yūki, who had recently been appointed Head of the Online Promotion Department, suddenly approached Lin Zhiyan, looking like he had something to say.
"What is it?" Lin Zhiyan asked.
Hakuba Yūki hesitated, then mustered his courage and said, "Someone suggested you sing a song on stage. They said if you sing well, it could become promotional material for our company in the future."
"Hmm?"
Lin Zhiyan frowned.
They're looking for promotional material, and they've come to me? Who has the nerve to suggest that?
"It wasn't me! Absolutely not me!" Hakuba Yūki quickly denied, eager to dispel any suspicion from Lin Zhiyan, even before Lin Zhiyan could ask.
"If not you, then who?" Lin Zhiyan asked, puzzled.
Hakuba Yūki lowered his head, looking like he was waiting to be scolded, and showed no intention of answering the question of who had suggested it.
Lin Zhiyan glanced around but quickly abandoned the inquiry. Regarding the earlier matter, he said, "Let's skip the singing for tonight. We have a lot to discuss. Next time. But if you want to perform, you can go on stage. I'll arrange it for you."
"Me?" Hakuba Yūki was taken aback, then shook his head. "President, I'm not as handsome or talented as you are, and my singing is terrible. Even if I wanted to perform, no one would watch."
"No worries. If all else fails, you could cross-dress," Lin Zhiyan said, patting Hakuba Yūki on the shoulder.
Hakuba Yūki flinched in panic, but quickly regained his composure and waved his hands frantically. "No, no, no! President, you're joking! How could a man like me, full of manly vigor and wild charisma, ever wear women's clothes? Even if you made me a board member and gave me a promotion and raise, I wouldn't wear women's clothes! I'd rather die than wear women's clothes!"
Lin Zhiyan: ( ̄ェ ̄;)
At the previous Winter Comiket, someone outside the venue was enthusiastically cosplaying as Misa Amane, and I still don't know who it was.
Full of manly spirit? Radiating wild energy?
Your "wild energy" is quite wild indeed.
Though he felt somewhat speechless, Lin Zhiyan didn't dwell on it. He withdrew his hand and said, "The decision is yours." Without waiting for Hakuba Yūki's response, he turned to find Nanase Mayumi.
Nanase Mayumi was handling the reception of special guests on Lin Zhiyan's behalf. There were three groups, all interested in acquiring the overseas distribution rights for the animation Death Note.
In 2001, the animation market wasn't as internationalized as it would later become.
While some animations could still sell their overseas rights before their premiere, securing early funding, L.S Production was a new company, and Death Note was an original animation. Even in Japan, few people had high hopes for it before its debut, let alone overseas animation distributors.
After the animation became popular, overseas distributors approached L.S. about distribution rights, but they could never agree on a price, which delayed the process until now.
Although they were negotiating for global distribution rights, the agents present that evening were all from North America.
As Lin Zhiyan approached Nanase Mayumi, he overheard one of the agents complaining loudly, "Five years of distribution rights for four million dollars? Are you crazy? Your animation is called Death Note, not Pokémon, Gundam, or EVA! Its distribution rights aren't worth that much!"
"Exactly," another agent chimed in. "Four million dollars could fund an entirely new animation, even a twenty-six-episode series. You probably didn't even spend that much producing Death Note itself, did you?"
The third agent remained silent, but he turned to Lin Zhiyan and asked meekly, "Could you lower the price a bit? Four million dollars is really too much."
Nanase Mayumi opened her mouth to respond, but Lin Zhiyan raised his hand to interrupt her.
Lin Zhiyan looked at the three agents across the table and said, "[ Death Note ] isn't [ Pokémon ], [ Gundam ], or [ EVA ]. But if it were, do you think four million dollars would be enough to buy five years of exclusive distribution rights? This covers the entire region, not just a single broadcast license."
For a single broadcast license, the price would certainly be lower. But for exclusive distribution rights across an entire region for five years, four million dollars seemed like a bargain to Lin Zhiyan. After all, this wasn't just any animation; it was one that had already proven immensely successful in Japan.
A garbage animation might not even fetch forty thousand dollars, but a high-quality one that had already achieved such success in its home market naturally commanded a higher price.
Moreover, Lin Zhiyan knew that, barring unforeseen circumstances, this animation would likely be a massive hit in North America. Four million dollars was practically a steal—a sure profit.
The only reason Lin Zhiyan was still willing to sell at this price was his current lack of renown in North America. Had he been more established, he wouldn't have let it go for less than ten million.
For the agents, the risk was substantial. But if they weren't willing to take even this level of risk, there was nothing more to discuss.
As for using four million dollars to produce a brand-new animation... it's a good idea, and four million dollars is indeed more than enough to make an animation. But the question is whether the animation they produce with that money would be of the same quality as Death Note.
To put it bluntly, if these people were truly capable of producing high-quality animation, they wouldn't be coming to Japan to buy distribution rights.
"Four million dollars. Not a single cent less."
Lin Zhiyan held up four fingers, his attitude unyielding. "If you're not willing to pay this price, you can leave. I'd rather let the distribution rights for your region rot in my hands than sell them for less."
Hearing this, the two agents who had been complaining earlier stormed out, muttering angrily.
Only the agent who had asked about a discount lingered. After a moment's hesitation, he inquired, "President Lin, if we agree to pay the four million dollar fee, would you consider giving us priority when selling the distribution rights for your new animation?"
"If the offers are equal, we will definitely prioritize you," Lin Zhiyan replied clearly.
"Then it's settled."
The agent nodded, then extended his hand to Lin Zhiyan. "Then, I wish us a successful collaboration."
"To a successful collaboration," Lin Zhiyan replied, extending his own hand and shaking the agent's.
Please Support me by becoming my patreon member and get 15+ chapters.
[email protected]/Ajal69
change @ with a
Thank You to Those who joined my Patreon