In mid-December, as Aoki Haruhi entered the Pokeni Company and sat down in his office, HR-chan came over, flushed with excitement, holding something.
Since he stepped into the Pokeni Company's main door, she had been staring at him the entire Time.
"President!"
Ayase Akane called out mysteriously.
"What is it?" Aoki Haruhi stepped back. "Don't be like that; it's a bit creepy."
"Hmph! President Aoki, you bad guy, I'm kindly bringing you something important."
Ayase Akane pouted, glaring at Aoki Haruhi with a resentful look.
"What important thing?" Aoki Haruhi asked, puzzled.
"Do you know?"
Ayase Akane smiled, seemingly not taking President Aoki's earlier rudeness to heart. Instead, she took out an envelope from behind her back and handed it to Aoki Haruhi.
Aoki Haruhi frowned, not daring to reach out and take it.
"It's not a blade, is it?"
Ever since Ayase Akane told him the correct way to mail blades last Time, he now had a natural fear of envelopes, especially those of unknown origin.
The worst part was that Aoki Haruhi glanced at it and saw that the recipient's name on the envelope was not Furuhara Tsubaki, but Aoki Haruhi himself.
Oh no.
Could his identity be exposed?
"President Aoki, do you have paranoid delusions?" Ayase Akane gently smoothed the envelope with her hand, as if afraid of a speck of dust, then held it by the left and right corners with both hands and handed it to Aoki Haruhi again.
"This is a letter from Studio Ghibli."
"Ghibli?" Aoki Haruhi was stunned, even more puzzled.
He certainly knew Studio Ghibli, the famous Hayao Miyazaki. Aoki Haruhi had watched many of the old man's movies in his previous life.
However, unlike others, in his mind, Hayao Miyazaki's best work was not spirited away from 2001, but princess mononoke from 1997.
In Aoki Haruhi's view, although spirited away was very famous and internationally acclaimed, princess mononoke seemed more representative in terms of ideological depth and level.
Of course, Aoki Haruhi basically liked all of Hayao Miyazaki's works.
"Why Ghibli? We don't have any connection with Studio Ghibli." Aoki Haruhi was completely bewildered, unable to make sense of it.
"You'll know once you read it," Ayase Akane said with a smile.
Then, as if remembering something, she added, "Don't worry, it's the real Studio Ghibli; no blades."
...
Aoki Haruhi nodded, took the envelope, tore it open, and began to read.
This was an invitation from Studio Ghibli.
In this Time, computers and the internet had not yet become widespread, let alone email.
So the invitation was sent via a physical invitation letter.
In this invitation letter, Hayao Miyazaki wrote the entire text by hand, sincerely hoping that Aoki Haruhi could attend an interview next month, specifically on January 24, 1993, at Studio Ghibli.
[...]
Although it might seem presumptuous and boastful, as this interview is about porco rosso, I don't know if President Aoki has seen this film.
It seems quite impolite, as if this invitation letter has become a 'Urge'.
And President Aoki will surely be thinking whether I, Hayao Miyazaki, who has never met him, am worth talking to.
It doesn't matter if you haven't seen porco rosso.
It doesn't matter if we haven't met.
It is precisely because we have never met that it is called an 'invitation'.
The reason for inviting President Aoki is not to talk about porco rosso with you.
On the contrary, after playing your your company's Your Name, I gained a lot of inspiration and would very much like to have a heart-to-heart talk with you.
Regarding game, regarding animation, and regarding the relationship between these two and their future development, these are what I truly want to discuss with you.
Sincerely invited.
Please do consider it.
Studio Ghibli, Hayao Miyazaki.
After reading it, Aoki Haruhi was a bit bewildered and confused.
Although Hayao Miyazaki's words in the letter seemed very reasonable, he still had a sense of unreality—
Why am I invited?
I'm the President of a small Pokeni Company, with no reputation at all.
He handed the letter to Ayase Akane, signaling her to read it.
"Wow!!!"
Before Aoki Haruhi could even speak, Ayase Akane excitedly shouted.
"President Aoki! This is Hayao Miyazaki!
"Can you take me with you?"
Aoki Haruhi gave her a blank look.
"Please," Ayase Akane quickly clasped her hands together and pleaded, "I love Hayao Miyazaki's movies. I'll pour tea for you then and definitely won't interrupt your conversation. When you go for such an important interview, don't you consider bringing a secretary or something?"
Heh heh.
Aoki Haruhi sneered twice.
You're a secretary now?
"But why am I invited?" Aoki Haruhi found it incredibly unbelievable.
In his previous life, after porco rosso was released, Hayao Miyazaki had an interview and invited a guest for a tea party-style program.
Although this conversation was relaxed and casual, with everyone mainly discussing their ideals centered around porco rosso, it was called a peak dialogue.
Because sitting opposite Hayao Miyazaki was another god-level figure in a different field—
Miyamoto Shigeru.
The two discussed the similarities and differences between game and animation.
During the conversation, the two mainly had an in-depth exchange on the creative concepts and techniques of game and animation.
Especially when Hayao Miyazaki's old habit of going off-topic relapsed, and he began to expound endlessly on his understanding of the'scenery' imagery, even the editorial department couldn't handle it and had to end with, "The content of the discussion was too grand and cutting-edge, and everyone gradually became unconscious and dared not speak..."
The old man should be quite talkative, and he often goes off-topic.
However...
Perhaps Aoki Haruhi and he just inexplicably hit it off.
"You'll know once you go," Ayase Akane said, looking down at the invitation letter in her hand. "It also says they want to discuss the relationship between game and animation with you. President Aoki, weren't you originally an animator? This is your strong suit."
"Hmm?"
...
He definitely had to go.
After all, it was a personal invitation from a master, but Aoki Haruhi had no preparation at all.
The relationship between animation and game was too broad, and he himself didn't know what they could talk about.
Fortunately, there was still plenty of Time, a whole month.
Aoki Haruhi asked Ayase Akane to record the Time and add it to his schedule for next month.
"Okay, President Aoki."
Ayase Akane was a diligent and responsible secretary.
And this matter should be quite important. How rare it is to have an opportunity to talk with a master in one's life, and it was even a personal invitation from Hayao Miyazaki.
Even now, Ayase Akane still couldn't quite figure out why this was happening.
Was Hayao Miyazaki, that guy, losing his mind at only 50-something?
Even though Pokeni Company had made a few good game, Aoki Haruhi had no reputation in the industry.
game and animation were completely different fields. Even if it was an invitation, it should at least be Miyamoto Shigeru, right?
According to Ayase Akane's thinking, the basis for such a master's dialogue must be that both parties are masters.
If President Aoki went, he would be completely undeserving, or rather, Aoki Haruhi was just a junior. It certainly wouldn't be a discussion; he would just be attending a lecture.
Mm-hmm.
It must be like this.
Ayase Akane could almost imagine what the scene would be like, with President Aoki probably looking like a primary school student.
Aoki Haruhi looked up and saw the person in front of him with an unpredictable expression on her face, sometimes frowning, sometimes smiling.
She's not going to become a spirit, is she?
"Oh, and arrange it for yourself too," Aoki Haruhi said expressionlessly.
"Huh?!"
Ayase Akane's face lit up with a brilliant smile upon hearing this, as if she had found a treasure.
"Alright, President Aoki!"
...
It was still early, so this matter was temporarily put aside.
Aoki Haruhi quickly returned to work.
With the New Year approaching, the Pokeni Company's employees were immersed in the excitement of the game's great sales and had no mind for work these past few days.
"By the way, how many new recruits will our Pokeni Company have next year?" Aoki Haruhi looked at Ayase Akane, suddenly remembering her HR identity, and asked.
December is not only the harvest season for "Your Name," but also the most important part of Pokeni Company's talent cultivation system.
Basically, internal offers will be issued during this period, and students who have already received an internal offer from Pokeni will be able to report to the Pokeni Company after the graduation season in March next year.
It's about to enter the 21st century.
What is most valuable in the 21st century?
Talent!
The development of any company depends on the young people of the future; if there is a shortage of talent, then the company has no future to speak of.
Aoki Haruhi's biggest advantage over others is that he knows all about the talents born in the future game field.
"Please wait a moment."
Ayase Akane bowed slightly, then ran out, carefully checked, and then returned to the President Aoki's office with a stack of documents.
"Quite a lot of people applied to our Pokeni Company this year," HR-chan said proudly as she sat on the sofa, placing the documents on her lap and flipping through them.
Her stack of documents was visibly thick.
In addition to the applicants' resumes, there were also works attached by some of them.
In the past two years, Pokeni's development has been truly rapid, faster than riding a rocket.
One game masterpiece after another, like bombs, directly blew the entire game industry with a rumbling sound, shaking the ground.
However, it is precisely in such circumstances that Ayase Akane has become increasingly happy and proud of the Pokeni Company she works for.
"You know, two years ago, university students had never even heard of our Pokeni Company's name; it was really miserable back then, no one wanted to come to Pokeni."
Back then, Atsushi Shirakawa was invited by President Aoki himself, and he even refused.
Aoki Haruhi frowned fiercely twice.
He didn't know what this fellow was so proud of.
"Yes, at that Time, I had never seen such an idle HR," Aoki Haruhi teased.
"President Aoki!"
HR-chan pouted.
"Please respect my profession, okay?"
Aoki Haruhi couldn't help but laugh.
Ayase Akane, as an HR, is actually very professional; she can also be used for amusement and as a secretary, he thinks it's really worth it.
The original owner, before he transmigrated, was also a talent for finding such an HR.
"There are quite a lot of new recruits next year; 13 people have already received offers and been internally confirmed.
Several of them have interned at the Pokeni Company."
Ayase Akane smiled and handed Aoki Haruhi a portion of the resumes from a pile of documents.
Aoki Haruhi quickly scanned them and found that he didn't recognize anyone on them.
"Anyway, you all interviewed them, so I trust your judgment," Aoki Haruhi placed the documents on the table.
The Pokeni Company is truly growing now.
He even feels this firm strength every day, that surging vitality, filling every corner of Pokeni, and filling every person.
This is the greatest confidence that successful works can bring to a company.
…
Ayase Akane explained to Aoki Haruhi, and he pretty much got a preliminary impression of these people.
"Hmm, Pokeni is getting stronger and stronger," Aoki Haruhi said with a smile and emotion, "We will strive to make two more games next year, and then become a 300-person company within 5 years!"
Tsk tsk.
Ayase Akane smiled awkwardly; this fellow just started to show some promise and he's already jumping to the sky.
He didn't even think about how Pokeni was once on the verge of bankruptcy.
"President Aoki, did you forget someone?"
Just then, HR-chan reminded him.
"Hmm?" Aoki Haruhi pondered for two seconds, then asked doubtfully, "Who is it?"
"Oh… I knew it."
Ayase Akane sighed, pulled a document from the folder, and placed it on Aoki Haruhi's desk.
Aoki Haruhi glanced at it and saw a photo of a thin male student pasted on it, with the three large characters "Maeda Jun" written in the upper left corner.
Ah!
Aoki Haruhi suddenly realized.
How could I forget him?
"Did you forget?" Ayase Akane sighed and said, "You yourself promised at the player forum that you'd let him come after he graduated from high school. Although I know you were just saying polite words, this child seems to have taken it seriously."
Aoki Haruhi opened his mouth, about to speak.
Ayase Akane spoke first, "But this guy's interview wasn't ideal; are you sure you still want him?"
"If you don't want to use Maeda Jun, I'll just find an excuse to send him away."
"Of course I'm serious!" Aoki Haruhi quickly pressed down on Maeda Jun's resume, "This guy must be brought in."
"Huh?!" Ayase Akane looked at him as if he were an idiot.
Is President Aoki a man of his word after all?!
…
Maeda Jun is known as the Tear-Inducing Great Demon King in the galgame field.
Yes, that's the title players are giving to Furuhara Tsubaki now.
His strength is definitely beyond question.
Moreover, this guy's abilities are really strong; not only can he write divine scripts, but he is also very good in the fields of original art and music.
For example, the opening song "song of bird" from "AIR" was written by Maeda Jun himself, and "Traces of Dreams" from KANON was composed by him.
He is considered a very versatile talent.
Aoki Haruhi had no reason to refuse him.
Back then, it was because this guy was still young and didn't meet the company's employment standards; now that he has graduated from high school, he can come to Pokeni to work.
However, after Maeda Jun comes, he will definitely need to train for a period of Time, just like Shinji Mikami; it's impossible for him to immediately take on the role of Producer.
Aoki Haruhi isn't sure how much of his previous life's level Maeda Jun, who didn't attend university in Tokyo, will retain.
Talent is like a flower; it needs Time to cultivate.
However, since it's Maeda Jun, Aoki Haruhi feels that it's not a big problem; by the age of 18, a person's personality and brain circuits are basically stable.
Kanon?
Or AIR?
Aoki Haruhi is very much looking forward to Maeda Jun's first future work.
Among the Tear-Inducing Trilogy, the peak is definitely Clannad, but based on his judgment of Maeda Jun, this guy probably can't write it yet.
After Maeda Jun arrives, he will definitely be appointed as a script planner, but in this way, Maeda Jun's positioning will overlap somewhat with Gen Urobuchi, so they can only be separated into different project teams.
Then, a Producer for a project team will naturally be needed to take control.
Ah…
No Producers to use again.
Aoki Haruhi felt a pang of sadness.
Producers are truly crucial, equivalent to the soul of a game, comparable to the chief director of a movie.
Such talents are abundant in Japan, but also very scarce, because the cultivation period for Producers is very long, and their loyalty is generally higher, making it difficult for Aoki Haruhi to poach Producers trained by other companies.
So the best way is to scout and cultivate internally.
So far, after two years, Shinji Mikami is only just starting to show some promise.
Where to find another one?
…
However, during the conversation with Ayase Akane just now, he thought of someone.
"Akane-chan."
"Hmm?" Ayase Akane looked up.
"Please help me look for someone in Shizuoka Prefecture; this guy should be graduating soon."
"Who is it?" Ayase Akane asked doubtfully.
"Miyazaki Hidetaka."
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