"Bzzz bzzz bzzz—!"
The phone vibrated with a notification. Kamiyā Yuu turned off the vibration and stretched lazily, still somewhat unsatisfied as he gazed at the half-finished key frame on the animation paper. From his perspective, this piece was noticeably better than the ones he had been copying before. At the very least, he had already learned from the mistakes he used to make in corrected key frames and wouldn't repeat them.
Even so, by the time work ended, after an entire afternoon of busy effort, he had only managed to complete roughly one cut's worth of key animation. That speed was actually slower than most professional key animators.
"I need to rehearse in the mental space tonight—adapt to drawing original key frames as quickly as possible instead of just copying them."
Kamiyā Yuu narrowed his eyes and smiled confidently. The sense of accomplishment from creating key animation filled him with satisfaction. Unlike the dullness of copying, watching each frame take shape freely under his pen brought genuine joy. Every stroke reflected what he wanted to express; every character expression—joy, anger, sorrow—came alive through his hand; every background structure was carefully designed by him.
When all of these elements came together into a complete key frame, the feeling reminded him of doing homework back in his student days. Copying key frames was like copying someone else's homework—you could complete the task, but the process was painfully dull.
Creating key frames, on the other hand, was like solving problems on your own. Every challenge overcome brought a sense of achievement, and when everything was finished, the satisfaction filling his chest was beyond words.
—Playing mahjong is really fun! (Drawing key animation is freaking fun!)
Kamiyā Yuu cheerfully thought about something completely unrelated as he tidied up the animation papers on his desk. Then he walked over to Morishita Aoi's workstation nearby and greeted her, "Morishita-senpai, these are my results from this afternoon. I hope you can review them."
Morishita Aoi looked extremely focused while drawing, her concentrated gaze seeming to shut out all external distractions, making it hard for anyone to interrupt her. Even when she heard Kamiyā Yuu, she didn't stop her pen. Only after finishing the key frame in her hand did she let out a soft breath. A faint sheen of sweat could be seen on her refined, serious face. She removed her glasses, turned to him, and nodded. "Sorry to keep you waiting."
As she spoke, she took off her anti-sweat arm sleeves and accepted the stack of key frames Kamiyā Yuu handed over, flipping through them one page at a time. After confirming that none required corrections, she spoke with a slightly regretful tone:
"Aside from a few areas that could be improved, these key frames all meet the standard. If possible, please come by again tomorrow. I'll mark the parts that can be further refined. They're not mistakes and won't affect the overall quality, but if we can optimize them, that would be even better."
Dressed in a well-fitted women's suit, her shoulder-length hair did not diminish her femininity—instead, it added a mature, cool, and serious charm. Combined with her usual black-framed glasses and intellectual aura, she gave off more of a "female superior" presence than Uehara Etsuki. Unlike Kamiyā Sora or Uehara Etsuki, whose beauty was striking at first glance, Morishita Aoi became more attractive the longer one spent time with her.
Kamiyā Yuu openly looked down at her with an appreciative gaze and smiled. "That's good to hear. Then I won't disturb your work any longer, Morishita-senpai."
Among the key animation department, he was the first to leave work. Next would be Morishita Aoi, who usually got off around seven or eight in the evening.
In truth, he also felt a sense of relief. His first original key animation assignment had at least reached a passing standard. Much of that was thanks to the training tasks and guidance Uehara Etsuki had given him during this period, which had greatly strengthened his ability to construct key frames.
After organizing the key frames he submitted and setting them aside, Morishita Aoi frowned slightly, as if wanting to say something. After a moment of hesitation, she chose not to speak.
"So it's already time for you to get out of work, Kamiyā-kun. Please be careful on your way home," she said instead, using the sentence to cover up what she had originally wanted to say.
In reality, her regret wasn't about the quality of Kamiyā Yuu's key frames. The aspects that could be improved weren't mistakes, but rather elements that didn't fully align with the production constraints of 'Mr. Onigiri Man'. Some parts were actually beneficial to the animation itself, but due to various limitations, required slight adjustments. In a sense, the quality of his work was already comparable to some of her own.
What she regretted was the quantity of his output. At this pace, it was uncertain whether he could even complete one-third of the storyboard drafts within a week. She chose not to say this because Kamiyā Yuu was, after all, just a newcomer key animator she had pulled in to help solve a problem. Reaching this level was already impressive—what right did she have to push him further?
At that moment, Morishita Aoi suddenly realized that, without knowing when it began, Kamiyā Yuu had left a peculiar impression on her—similar to how she viewed Uehara Etsuki. Subconsciously, she felt that there was almost nothing these two couldn't accomplish, and as a result, she had developed an inexplicable trust in him.
—Is this some kind of aftereffect from losing that bet last time? Trusting someone so one-sidedly… I'm quite cunning myself.
Despite her serious exterior, Morishita Aoi silently laughed at herself. She understood that this impression likely came from witnessing Kamiyā Yuu repeatedly create what seemed like miracles. If a second key animator could achieve what usually took a seasoned key animator years to master in just one month, then what couldn't he accomplish?
Kamiyā Yuu noticed the subtle change in her expression and vaguely understood what she was worried about, but he didn't bring it up. Instead, he gave a slight bow. "Thank you for your hard work, Morishita-senpai."
In Japan, it was best to observe proper etiquette in such matters.
…
On the subway train, Kamiyā Yuu opened his laptop and sat down. Instead of rushing to work on the code for the MAYA 3D modeling software, he browsed Japanese online shopping sites, selecting computer hardware and newly released high-end laptops.
"I can clearly feel that there's still a lot of room for improvement when drawing key animation. I've basically grasped the key points Morishita-senpai mentioned, and combined with the experience I gained from copying corrected key frames…"
"If I rehearse drawing key frames in the mental space, my speed should increase by at least three times—maybe even four."
"In that case, the bonus income from completing the storyboard drafts would be nearly equal to a full month's salary. Combined with my modest savings, I could buy a high-end desktop and still afford a laptop."
"Perfect!"
Immersed in his own thoughts, Kamiyā Yuu smiled with satisfaction, feeling as though a bright and open road had already unfolded before him.