The Iwata Section, separated by a wall from the Nohara Section, had its air permeated with superficiality and agitation.
Iwata Masao sat with his legs crossed, leaning back in that leather chair symbolizing his Section Chief status. Between his fingers he held a freshly lit cigarette, yet within his eyes carried a trace of gloom that couldn't be waved away.
The office door was gently pushed open.
"Section Chief!"
That assistant named Kojima peeked his head in and slipped inside. His face bore an excitement akin to claiming credit. He quickly walked in front of Iwata Masao's desk, lowering his voice, as if reporting some top-secret military intelligence.
"Section Chief Iwata, I've investigated everything clearly!" Kojima's voice revealed a hint of flattery: "That Nohara Hiroshi next door, what he's doing is indeed a live-action drama in episodic format! And... and..."
"And what? Stop humming and hawing!" Iwata Masao impatiently flicked his cigarette ash.
"And, they actually invited Director Kurosawa Eiji over!"
Kojima's voice abruptly pitched up, that face written full of disbelief: "I saw it with my own eyes! Director Kurosawa entered their studio, it seems... seems like he's playing a role!"
"What?!"
Iwata Masao violently sat up straight from his chair. On that face always carrying a bit of arrogance surfaced a smear of seriousness.
Kurosawa Eiji!
Although this name once shined brightly within Kanto TV.
But in TV Tokyo, especially in the hearts of these veterans of the Production Bureau, the weight it represented, even now was absolutely extraordinary.
That isn't just the title of a Level 1 Director, but a spiritual banner belonging to 'samurai dramas'.
Although this banner had slightly faded somewhat in recent years, as long as it still stood there, it was sufficient to exert an immeasurable influence onto the power dynamic of the entire television station.
He originally thought, Asumi handing that S-class project over to Nohara Hiroshi, was merely a helpless move of the Kanto Faction pushing a young man out to act as cannon fodder when they had no one else to use.
But now, even an old stubborn fellow like Kurosawa Eiji who almost never meddled in factional struggles, was invited out of the mountains...
The nature of this chess game, instantly changed.
"This is clearly the Kanto Faction starting to unleash their ultimate move..." Iwata Masao's complexion became much more stern. He ruthlessly crushed out his cigarette butt inside the ashtray, muttering to himself.
This was no longer a simple encirclement aiming at a newcomer.
This was clearly that old fox Asumi, borrowing this excessively sharp blade known as Nohara Hiroshi, preparing an open, premeditated all-out assault towards the territory their 'Tokyo Faction' solidly defended for many years!
Inside the office, everyone felt this abruptly tensed up atmosphere, one after another becoming silent as a winter cicada.
Only Hashishita Ichiro in the corner, had a complexion even uglier than Iwata Masao's.
That was a pig liver color mixing shame, unwillingness, and anger.
Just a moment ago, he merely went to the restroom once. That distance of a short few steps, yet made him feel like walking on a torture path covered in sharp blades.
In the corridor, those Kanto Faction colleagues who were once nodding acquaintances, who even drank together before, upon seeing him, without exception, all cast cold and contemptuous gazes.
That look, was like looking at a pile of nauseating garbage.
He could only lower his head, accelerating his footsteps, sorry-looking like a rat scurrying across the street.
Yet even so, inside the mirror in the restroom, he still saw a lighting technician whose relationship with him was once considered not bad, making a silent spitting motion towards him.
And after he hid inside a stall, those faint mocking voices outside, deliberately lowered yet just enough for him to hear, were truly like scorching red steel needles, fiercely stabbing into his heart.
"Did you see that? That's the 'top student' that came out of the Suzuki Section."
"Heh, top student? I say he's a traitor who sells out his master for glory."
"Truly losing the face of us Kanto people. Just for a Vice Section Chief position, he could even sell out his own people. You look at his appearance now, when seeing us, he doesn't even dare to raise his head."
"Can't be helped, dogs are exactly like this. Coming across a new master, naturally it has to wag its tail begging for pity. Only, I don't know, is he able to fall asleep at night?"
Hashishita Ichiro clenched his fists tightly, his nails deeply sinking into his palms. Yet that sharp piercing pain, was far inferior to that humiliation and anger of being publicly humiliated currently fiercely striking his heart.
It wasn't that he hadn't felt guilt.
But that bit of guilt, had long been forcefully suppressed by reasons like "The Kanto Faction never cultivated me", "I also want to climb upwards".
What did he do wrong?
In the Suzuki Section, all halos belonged to that monster Nohara Hiroshi. He was like a satellite that would never emit light, only able to revolve around the sun.
He didn't want to live that kind of life anymore!
He wanted to prove himself, wanted to stand out! Is that wrong?!
No!
Hashishita Ichiro gritted his teeth, walking out from the stall, heavily splashing his face with cold water. That icy stimulation caused his chaotic thoughts, to become clear and firm once again.
He wanted to produce results!
He wanted to use the success of the third season of 『Yamishibai』, to ruthlessly slap the faces of this bunch of guys!
He wanted them to know, he, Hashishita Ichiro, is no one's vassal, he has capabilities too!
Therefore when he returned to the office, on that flushed red face carried a breaking the cauldrons and sinking the boats-like resolution: "Section Chief Iwata! Everyone! We cannot wait any longer! Next door has already started, we must also work overtime today, we must definitely produce the beginning of the third season!"
This speech of his was like a shot of adrenaline, causing that stifling atmosphere inside the office to revive anew.
"That's right! Hashishita-kun is right!"
Iwata Masao also walked out from his office at this time. Seeing everyone being this active, he also immediately stood up clapping his hands, using an extremely inciting tone to inspire:
"Has everyone heard it? Our opponent is already sharpening their knives, we cannot be slack even more! That gold-plated sign of 『Yamishibai』, it's true Nohara Hiroshi established it, but now, it is in our hands! We must exactly let everyone see, our Iwata Section, is equally capable of making it recreate brilliance!"
He paused, his gaze sweeping across everyone, his tone becoming exceptionally solemn:
"I have already established a military pledge with the higher-ups over there! The viewership ratings of the third season, absolutely won't be worse than the second season! Therefore, I am emphatically reminding everyone here, what we need to do now, is not innovation, is continuation! Strictly follow the successful models of the first season and second season! As long as we stabilize this basic foundation, relying on the word of mouth accumulated by 『Yamishibai』, the great start of the third season, is absolutely well within our grasp!"
"Oh!!"
Inside the office echoed a cheer of agreement.
However, right amidst this forcefully incited enthusiasm, a voice carrying a bit of complaint, yet faintly sounded out from the corner.
"Um... Section Chief Iwata, Vice Section Chief Hashishita."
A young artist wearing glasses, looking somewhat frail, raised his hand, his face carrying a bit of distress: "This art style... truly is too hard to imitate."
He is the somewhat famous manga artist 岩田正男 heavily paid to invite from outside, specifically responsible for the original illustrations of the third season of 『Yamishibai』.
"Looking at it seems very crude, just the feeling of children's scribbles. But when actually picking up the pen I realized, it's simply not the case."
The artist scratched his head, pointing at the crooked and distorted lines on his own manuscript, his face full of puzzlement:
"Every stroke of his, carries a deliberately intended roughness. That feeling is extremely hard to grasp. Also this coloring, you see, it isn't purely a dark color tone, inside there seems to also be mixed with some very strange dirty colors. I tuned for several hours, but couldn't tune out that flavor carrying a bit of eeriness and antiqueness."
This speech, caused Iwata Masao and Hashishita Ichiro's complexions, to instantly become somewhat unable to hang on their faces.
They aren't professional artists, naturally they couldn't articulate the reasons either.
Iwata Masao could only dryly cough, using a tone allowing no room for interference to state: "The difficulty is great, the remuneration is also high, we only want results, you figure out the process yourself. As long as you can finish it, money isn't a problem."
"...Alright." The artist sighed, only able to brace himself continuing to bury his head bitterly drawing.
The client side 'daddy' is always right.
Life is not easy, the beast of burden sighs.
Iwata Masao and Hashishita Ichiro leaned closer, picking up those few pieces of freshly drawn manuscripts, flipping them back and forth looking.
Looking and looking, the two both frowned.
"Always feel... somewhere isn't right." Iwata Masao muttered.
"Mm." Hashishita Ichiro also nodded deeply sympathetically: "Lacks that feeling that kid Nohara drew out. His drawings, even if static, you can still feel a kind of... feeling of camera movement, possessing great oppressiveness. This... is too flat."
Hearing the two's discussion, that artist finally couldn't help but raise his head, complaining:
"Two big bosses, I was originally drawing manga, emphasizing story and composition. That camera sense you guys are mentioning, that's the job of the director and storyboard artist. I looked at the original manuscripts you gave me, that simply isn't an ordinary manga drawing method, that is using the form of manga to draw storyboards! The perspective and depth of field of every single frame, underwent special adjustments!"
Hashishita Ichiro subconsciously retorted: "But... but Nohara by himself, could finish drawing an entire episode's manuscripts in slightly over ten minutes, and completely fill in the colors in half an hour!"
Once these words came out, that artist's eyes instantly widened roundly. The look in his eyes looking at Hashishita Ichiro, was like looking at an alien.
"Slightly over ten minutes? Half an hour?!" He helplessly yelled: "What kind of international joke are you making?! This is simply impossible! Unless he's an immortal! No! Even if an immortal descended to earth, they must still abide by basic rules right?! This kind of drawing method, every single stroke must undergo calculations, every single color must be repeatedly adjusted. Don't mention slightly over ten minutes, give me a whole day and I still might not necessarily be able to draw one page well! Unless... unless it's drawn directly tracing or photocopying, otherwise, no one is possibly able to finish this kind of workload amount!"
This spiel from the artist, was like a basin of ice water, pouring down straight over Iwata Masao and Hashishita Ichiro's heads.
The two looked at each other in dismay, opening their mouths, yet not a single word could be spoken.
That enthusiasm inside the office that was just incited up, instantly cooled down.
"...You, forget it! You continue drawing." Iwata Masao's face couldn't hang on. He waved his hand, pulling Hashishita Ichiro walking out of the office.
The two stood at the end of the corridor, lighting cigarettes, silently puffing clouds and exhaling mist.
The night scenery had unknowingly already descended. Outside the window were the brilliant neon lights of Tokyo. That light shone onto the two's faces, yet made their complexions seem increasingly gloomy.
Right at this moment, an assistant who just returned from next door, saw them, rapidly running over, his face carrying an excited expression of watching a good show.
"Section Chief Iwata, Vice Section Chief Hashishita, have you heard? That Nohara Hiroshi next door, is simply crazy! He actually said, he wants to use an afternoon plus one evening, to completely finish filming the first episode of that episodic drama of theirs!"
This news caused the two to freeze.
Exchanging a glance with each other.
Soon after that suppressed emotion on their faces, after brief astonishment, instantly transformed into a gloating sneer.
"Hahahaha!" Iwata Masao was the first to unable to resist laughing out loud, that laughter full of contempt and disdain: "Finish filming one episode? Does he think this is playing house? One look and he is a newcomer who understands nothing!"
He seemed to have heard the funniest joke of the year, pointing at the direction next door, speaking to Hashishita Ichiro:
"The filming of a live-action drama, the biggest taboo is exactly rushing the schedule! The actors' emotions need time to brew, the lighting and scenes need time to polish, every single camera shot needs to be repeatedly scrutinized! Doing it like this, let alone shooting any excellent product, the thing handed over in the end, I'm afraid won't even reach the broadcast standard! When that time comes, the actors' acting skills will collapse, the final produced product will be even more manufactured in a rough and slipshod way reaching the point where it can't even be looked at!"
"Precisely!"
Hashishita Ichiro also seemed to have found an outlet, heavily nodding his head in agreement.
That gloominess on his face generated from being humiliated was swept clean, replaced by a kind of intelligence-based sense of superiority:
"He definitely floated! Thinking succeeding in making animation, implies making live-action dramas is identically the same! He simply doesn't understand, these two fields, are completely two different matters! Animation emphasizes efficiency and time, but live-action drama emphasizes accumulation and degree! That S-class new project proposal of his, I see this time he's definitely going to take a huge tumble! Moreover the kind of beyond redemption tumble!"
"Just wait and see."
The corners of Iwata Masao's mouth, hooked up a cruel arc, "Asumi placing the treasure on him, is simply blind. Wait until his project fails, let me see what face the entire Kanto Faction, still has staying in the station!"
The two smiled at each other. That laughter echoed within the empty corridor, full of self-righteous smugness and quickness.
They seemingly had already seen that young man who didn't know the immensity of heaven and earth, encountering an obstacle smashing his head until it bleeds breaking his head before the copper walls and iron barriers of reality, sorry-looking appearance.
While outside that window behind them, Tokyo Tower was gently sparkling with light, peacefully, watching these scenes of tragicomedies belonging to ambitious schemers and dreamers, being staged inside this building.
No one would hope for their opponent to obtain success.
Now.
The two of them are exactly like this!
Not to mention there was still the unfavorable production of the third season of 『Yamishibai』, pressing upon their hearts like dark clouds.
Now this kind of news appeared.
They were extremely happy!
PS: Brothers, if possible please continue to beg for some recommendation tickets! Also if everyone has any good ideas you can talk about it in the comment section~ I will read them all~
(End of chapter)