July 7th. Starfall's big move.
The new office was located in Suginami Ward, Tokyo, not far from where Aoi's new company White Dove was set up.
Compared to the old place, the new office was significantly larger and much more comfortable.
Before, production assistants, episode directors, key animators, color designers, and everyone else had all been crammed together. Now there was enough room to give each team its own section.
The new space also had far more workstations than before, which was deliberate since Starfall was planning another round of hiring.
The old headcount had been enough for Clannad, but for Code Geass, it was nowhere near sufficient.
Outsourcing would still be unavoidable, but the same principle held true: it was always more reliable to bring people in-house.
Hiring could wait though. The priority right now was getting the move done.
Inside the new office, Yuta directed traffic on site: original drawings went with original drawings, the hundred-plus boxes of razor blades all went into the storage room, and computers were matched to their assigned workstations.
"President Shido, your company has so many razor blades. You could literally open a shop and sell them," Sumire Kanzaki said, caught between laughing and crying.
She was there on Aoi's behalf to check on how things were going.
As Aoi's assistant at Arcane, she had briefly considered whether to stay after Aoi left. But the moment Aoi started her new company, Sumire jumped ship without hesitation and was still serving as her assistant.
Hearing her comment, Yuta replied with perfect composure. "Opening a physical store is a bit much, but after a few more anime, I'm definitely launching an online razor blade shop."
Sumire: "???"
They had hired professional movers for the relocation, so it was not too physically exhausting, but it still took nearly the whole day.
The next day, everyone reported to the new office.
The comfortable environment nearly had people whooping with joy.
"Now this is how an office should feel."
"It's great having a company with money."
"We finally have a big TV! I'm going to work so much overtime."
"Zenba, that's not overtime. You just want to watch TV!"
"Watch out or the president will charge you for electricity."
...
While the staff were buzzing with excitement, Yuta himself felt oddly out of place.
Maybe it was because he was the sentimental type.
He figured he would get used to it eventually.
That afternoon, two visitors arrived at the new office.
Natsuki Takase and her cameraman.
She had wanted to interview Yuta right after Clannad ended, but he had been swamped with various matters and could not be bothered. So the interview had been pushed back until after the move.
When they met, Natsuki congratulated him first, followed by the usual pleasantries.
Once everyone was seated, Natsuki asked, "President Shido, no face reveal again this time?"
"Do you think showing my face would be a good idea?" Yuta countered.
Natsuki laughed. "Fair point. You're so handsome that if we showed your face, readers would probably think we hired a male model."
"Now that's something I like hearing." Yuta neither denied it nor acted modest.
"Originally I was going to ask you about Clannad, but it's been a month since it ended. Rehashing it probably wouldn't be very interesting."
Natsuki shifted gears and probed, "Has President Shido started thinking about a new project? Can you share any details?"
"The new project is actually already planned out. We just haven't entered full production yet," Yuta answered.
"Oh?"
Natsuki perked up immediately.
Yuta chose his words carefully. "The new anime is a mecha show, though straight mecha is hard to pull off these days, so we've added some supernatural ability elements. The mecha isn't the main selling point though. The real draw is the protagonist's character arc."
Natsuki scribbled notes rapidly, then asked, "Will the new anime still have tearjerker elements?"
"Nope. Not even a little bit," Yuta answered without hesitation.
"Will it be brutal?"
Yuta added, "Not brutal at all! It's actually going to be really satisfying and exciting."
Natsuki studied his face for a moment. Something about the way he said that felt a little suspect.
Perhaps sensing her skepticism, Yuta added, "The new anime will have thrilling tactical battles, hot-blooded mecha combat, deep bonds between brothers-in-arms, and heartwarming sibling dynamics. It's going to be an exciting, satisfying watch all around. Look forward to it."
"I see."
Natsuki mused, "Based on what you're describing, it sounds like a very mainstream, crowd-pleasing kind of anime."
"Whether it's mainstream or not, you'll know once it airs," Yuta said without committing to a clear answer.
Mainstream versus unconventional were two opposite concepts, originally coined in the manga industry.
Mainstream manga focused on hot-blooded battle themes with generally positive messaging. Typically, the protagonist gathered companions and fought for some cause, growing stronger along the way.
Series like Naruto and Dragon Ball were textbook mainstream.
Unconventional manga was not so uplifting. It often felt like it was deliberately going against the grain, though this type usually featured bigger twists, more originality, and was better suited for exploring the darker sides of human nature.
The most iconic example of unconventional manga was Death Note.
Going purely by Yuta's description, Code Geass sounded like a very mainstream anime. But this show was far from that simple.
Natsuki did not dig deeper. She just sighed and said, "Honestly, President Shido, your tearjerker anime was phenomenal. Switching to mecha feels like a bit of a waste to me personally."
"Nothing to feel bad about."
Yuta shook his head. "There's a ceiling on tearjerker anime. Clannad had incredible reviews, but its sales still couldn't break forty thousand. Rather than keep making tearjerkers, it makes more sense to try something exciting and hype-driven instead. Plus, I'd like to reach some new audiences."
"But if you keep making tearjerkers, you have a built-in fanbase. With Clannad's track record, plenty of those viewers would happily pay for a new show. Switching genres means those same fans might not be interested anymore," Natsuki pointed out with some regret.
Yuta was completely unbothered. "If they want to support the new anime, great. If not, I'm not going to force anyone."
"Fair enough."
Natsuki let it go. "Regardless, I wish you the best with the new anime, President Shido. And congratulations to Starfall on the new office. May everything keep going up from here."
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