"Then, I'll be troubling you again this time, President Hattori."
Kazuma Takahashi, the general manager of Pokeni's operations department, raised his glass with a smile and said.
"It's no trouble at all. After all, this isn't our first time working together." President Hattori Yuji replied with a beaming face, clinking his glass against Takahashi's, and downed his drink in one go.
"Here's to wishing the game a massive success!"
"Thank you, President Hattori." Kazuma Takahashi nodded slightly, responding with a gracious smile.
In a momentary daze, Hattori Yuji mistook the person in front of him for Aoki Haruhi. He even had the instinctive urge to invite him for a round of golf or something similar, but just as he was about to speak, he snapped back to reality.
He realized that the person sitting before him was not Aoki Haruhi.
Kazuma Takahashi could be considered one of the few people at Pokeni with relatively good looks, but he still couldn't compare to Aoki Haruhi.
"Keep up the good work," Hattori Yuji said with a sigh of admiration.
After the banquet, Kazuma Takahashi personally saw President Hattori to his car.
Miyazaki Hayao looked at the screen on the television, his eyes sparkling. "I want to experience this game."
No more updates tonight.
Thank you all.
See you tomorrow.
Aoki Haruhi transferred the relevant business tasks to the company's operations department, and Kazuma Takahashi went out to dine with the distributors; small gifts were, of course, a must.
Aoki Haruhi had transferred the relevant business to the company's operations department, and Kazuma Takahashi took the distributors out to dinner, with small gifts, of course, being a must.
Once inside the car, Hattori Yuji looked at the gift box in his lap. Although it was the same packaging, now that it had come from someone else, he felt there was something inexplicably off about it.
Aoki Haruhi, as president, was young and good-looking.
He was far better than Kazuma Takahashi.
Yet, for some reason, Hattori Yuji hadn't really enjoyed this meal today.
It wasn't that he hadn't had enough to drink, nor did he find any fault with Kazuma Takahashi.
This middle-aged man handled issues with a bit more maturity and ease, which actually made it hard to get angry at him. Furthermore, drinking with Kazuma Takahashi was strictly business.
The whole dinner went very smoothly; nothing was wrong with it, but there was nothing particularly right about it either.
In short, it was just too stable.
After a while, Hattori Yuji finally realized what the difference was—
With Kazuma Takahashi, that sense of loathing was gone.
Yes, a sense of loathing.
This was the feeling Hattori Yuji had the first time he met Aoki Haruhi, a feeling that hadn't been missing even up to this moment.
Good-looking, young, capable of making money, and above all, able to win Tsuda Nao's sincere affection rather than just perfunctory kindness—all of these things made Hattori Yuji feel disgusted.
"Sigh."
Hattori Yuji let out a sigh. Without someone to hate, life lost a lot of its fun.
Since Aoki Haruhi no longer came to Pokeni for meetings, shouldn't Dongrun consider finding someone more suitable to negotiate with Takahashi Kazuma in the future?
The reason he used to eat with Aoki Haruhi was primarily because Tsuda Nao had brought him along the first time.
Later, when Tsuda Nao was no longer there, Hattori Yuji himself didn't even know why he kept eating with Aoki Haruhi.
Now that Aoki Haruhi had been replaced by Takahashi Kazuma...
A ripple of inexplicable melancholy stirred in Hattori Yuji's chest. He couldn't help but roll down the car window and light a cigarette.
He took a deep breath, exhaled a sigh, and leaned his head back against the seat, a wave of relaxation washing over his entire body.
But more than that—
He felt a sense of loneliness.
It was the same kind of dinner party, and in the end, he was the one left behind.
Hattori Yuji really wanted to switch to someone else for the point of contact.
"President, why don't you take the initiative and invite President Aoki to dinner or a game of golf?" came the voice of the driver from the front.
Hattori Yuji's fingers, holding his cigarette, paused. He looked up, glanced at the driver, and complained, "You talk too much."
The driver quickly focused on driving, though he couldn't help but think to himself—
Or is it that you miss President Tsuda?
After a few seconds of silence.
"Still, that guy Aoki Haruhi is truly annoying," Hattori Yuji muttered to himself.
Just then, the car came to a stop.
Hattori Yuji looked up, slightly dazed, and realized they were in the same old place, right by a trash can on the street.
The driver waited quietly.
Hattori Yuji thought for two seconds, then still tossed the Your Name cassette into the trash can by the side of the road.
After entering November, Pokeni began to ramp up its promotional efforts for "Your Name".
After signing contracts with major game distributors, Kazuma Takahashi immediately began the late-stage promotional work. Not only did he put up posters for the "Your Name" game in major stores, but he also specially produced a promotional trailer for it.
With Pokeni now having money, Kazuma Takahashi, as the head of the operations department, felt much more confident.
This is what they call "having money makes you feel at ease."
Aoki Haruhi gave Kazuma Takahashi a generous operating budget and plenty of room to maneuver; as long as he could think of it, he had the freedom to do it.
In a word—
Pokeni was not short of money now.
On November 4th, the "Your Name" PV was broadcast on major television stations.
At 7:00 PM, the president of ELF, Masato Hiruta, had not yet left the office, waiting quietly in front of the television for the promotional trailer for Pokeni's new game.
ELF Corporation, also known as ELF, was a very famous galgame production company in its previous life, with its most famous work being Doukyuusei.
In this life, Masato Hiruta has been greatly inspired by Pokeni, following in the footsteps of Haruhi Aoki on the path of galgame development.
Although he has never met Haruhi Aoki, for Masato Hiruta, Pokeni is the mentor of ELF.
They have learned a great deal from Pokeni.
In the second half of this year, ELF released Doukyuusei, which imitated Pokeni's aesthetic style and was even more refined in terms of game production. As soon as this dating simulation game was launched, it immediately ignited the market and was a huge success.
So far, ELF's strategy of "crossing the river by feeling the stones" set by Pokeni has achieved quite good results.
Therefore, Masato Hiruta pays special attention to every new game from Pokeni, especially their galgames.
This time, Your Name is no exception.
From the moment it was reported in Gorotsu, Masato Hiruta had high expectations for this game. Both its art style and urban theme were things that interested him.
"Your Name" is likely to be another urban-themed work since "The Entropic Man".
ELF is now also very interested in this genre.
Hiruta Masato's own philosophy is—
If you can make the visuals and characters good, then a galgame is already half successful.
But if you have such beautiful characters, it would be a waste if they weren't paired with a good story.
Pokeni can be considered a company that perfectly embodies the ideal he has in mind.
And today, the promotional video for "Your Name" is about to be broadcast on TV Tokyo.
Although a PV can be considered a type of commercial, it differs from a standard commercial; its duration is longer, but the cost is also enormous, and the broadcast period on television is often shorter than the cycle of a general commercial.
It will likely last for about two weeks at most, leading up to the game's release.
Although the game's volume is limited, making it impossible to include too much CG content, there are no such restrictions for commercials and TV PVs.
Therefore, they can be made quite exquisite.
7:00 PM.
The "Your Name" PV aired right on time.
Hiruta Masato's eyes widened sharply.
On the television screen, an image of the night sky appeared.
Although it was a night sky, the light wasn't dim; the background was a deep purple, rich in layers, deepening further into the distance.
At the same time, several long streaks of light slowly descended from above.
They were meteors, trailing glowing tails.
The one in the middle even had a magnificent golden hue.
The entire image was rendered flawlessly, making one's heart flutter at a single glance.
Simultaneously, as the meteors fell, the background color of the sky below began to shift, rapidly transforming from the night sky into a brilliant dawn.
A sea of white clouds blanketed the bottom of the frame, and above it was a golden-orange hue rendered by the rising sun, with a faint red halo at the transition point, blending the falling meteors into it.
"What kind of god-tier animation is this?" Hiruta Masato exclaimed.
"This doesn't look like Kyoto Animation's style."
While it's said that it doesn't look like Kyoto Animation's style, no one can really say what Kyoto Animation's style actually is.
Pokeni's style, on the other hand, is becoming increasingly distinct.
And the art style of Your Name has clearly taken another step up.
Previously constrained by the expressive limitations of games, now that it has shifted directly to television, it is naturally extraordinary.
This is almost at the level of cinematic detail.
Furthermore, whether it's the night sky, the meteors, the heavens, or the characters, it possesses an avant-garde aesthetic that captivates people the moment they lay eyes on it.
At the same time, the crisp, adorable voice of a young girl rings out from the screen:
"Every morning."
"When I wake up."
"I find myself crying for no reason."
The scene cuts back to a big city, with a girl sitting at home, covering one eye with her hand.
The background light is hazily white, while the desk lamp nearby is exceptionally clear, as if corresponding to the dream she had.
At this point, the audio on screen shifts to a boy's voice:
"The dreams I surely had."
"But I can never remember them."
"It's just..."
"It's just..." (Female voice)
The two voices speak simultaneously, as if echoing each other.
"I have always been searching for something."
"Don't you remember?!"
A red cord swings, as if trying to connect the past and the present.
Just then, the male lead's eyes suddenly snap open.
The entire scene turns cheerful, and the BGM starts playing along with it.
The scenes switch rapidly, observing the changes in the world from the respective perspectives of the male and female leads.
The male lead, attending school in Tokyo, has his arm covered in writing.
The female lead in a small town wakes up to find her notebook filled with notes that aren't hers...
The entire scene is incredibly upbeat, and everyone's interest is immediately piqued.
"In our dreams..."
"We swapped identities?!"
"Huh?!"
Hiruta Masato's jaw practically dropped.
Nani?
Body swapping?
What kind of setting is this?
As expected... Pokeni never disappoints.
Especially in terms of creativity.
In reality, body swapping isn't a fresh theme. As early as the 1982 Japanese film I Are You, You Am Me, a comedy story about two childhood friends—a boy and a girl—who swapped bodies was told.
It's just that it hasn't been used particularly frequently or widely, and besides, 10 years have passed since 1982.
Plus, the animation of Your Name is extremely appealing, and the setting is tightly bound to the present day, making it feel incredibly interesting all of a sudden.
"No, it's not a dream."
The male and female protagonists start running in their respective ways, under the sun, in the cities where they each live.
The visuals are still shockingly exquisite.
And the character designs are very modern.
The two say in unison—
"That person!"
"I can't remember that person's name!"
"I've always wanted to tell you."
"No matter where you are in the world."
"I will definitely go to see you!"
A shooting star streaks across, marking the opening.
At the same time, several lines of large text appear on the screen—
[Kogahara Tsubakiaki's retirement work]
[December 1st, 1992, "Your Name" officially released]
[Price is only 8999]
[An absolutely touching masterpiece]
[A wondrous journey of a boy and girl swapping bodies]
[Waiting for you]
After watching it, the heart of ELF Corporation's president, Masato Hiruta, could not calm down for a long time.
To be precise, his emotions had been stirred up by this PV.
It was a promotional video less than a minute long, yet it contained a massive amount of information and highlighted all the game's selling points.
After watching it, only one thought remained in Masato Hiruta's mind—
Must play it.
I must play this game.
Thinking of this, Masato Hiruta crawled over to the television, rewound the videotape he had just recorded, and prepared to watch it again.
Up until now, he had never seen a game's promotional video made like this.
Or rather, no other game's PV had ever reached this level.
"Wait a minute," just as Masato Hiruta pressed the remote control, a hint of doubt arose in his mind. "Is this f*cking... a game?!"
Was this really not a promotional video for some animated film?!
"Huh? This is actually a game promo video?!"
At the same time, inside Studio Ghibli, the bearded Hayao Miyazaki let out a sigh of exclamation.
At 51 years old, Miyazaki did not yet have completely white hair and a beard, looking more like a kind, approachable uncle next door.
It was just an occasional glance, but he hadn't expected to see such an incredible PV tonight.
"Your Name" really made Hayao Miyazaki drop his jaw in surprise.
Since computers were not yet widespread, this meant that the "Your Name" PV was basically produced using hand-drawn animation techniques, with the original drawings provided by Pokeni's Makoto Shinkai (of course, Aoki Haruhi also revised parts of it, striving to make the visuals closer to the Shinkai Makoto works in his own mind).
But even at this level, it was enough to make people notice the radiance emanating from this young artist.
His assistant nearby, Yoshifumi Kondo, nodded and said, also in disbelief, "Yeah, at this level, couldn't this already be used to make an animated movie?"
And judging by the subject matter, the story should be super interesting, too.
Yoshifumi Kondo was Hayao Miyazaki's capable assistant, who had been responsible for the production of Whisper of the Heart in his previous life.
Miyazaki pondered for a long time, then asked a question: "How is a game like this played?"
In his impression, games were supposed to be like Super Mario, where you control a little character to interact with the world.
But if it's a game with a strong narrative that looks just like an animated film, how are the players supposed to interact with it?
"Hmm... I don't know either," Yoshifumi Kondo said with an awkward laugh.
"Are we too out of touch?"
Miyazaki stared at the image on the television, his eyes shining. "I want to experience this game."
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