Chapter 1063 Dragon Ball Theatrical Version

Neon, Momoyama Town.

15-1 is an ordinary residential area. It is not well-known in the local area, and outsiders have no way of knowing about it.

However, last year, with the release of an anime called "Hyouka", Momoyama Town became very popular, attracting countless otakus to visit.

The reason is still because of the animation.

Kyoani Studio, which is famous in the neon animation industry, is located in this residential area.

The popularity of animations such as "Hyogo" and "Tamako Market" has led to the development of surrounding commercial streets and tourism, because many of the filming locations for these two animations are located near Kyoani Studio.

As a standard neon otaku, if you have the opportunity, how can you not visit the holy land?

"Ah this..."

"You're not short of money, right? Why don't you move to an office with better conditions?"

Seto followed in the footsteps of Kyoani President Miki, looked at the surrounding environment, and couldn't help but complain: "Wouldn't it be inconvenient to work in such a remote place?"

"Nope!"

Miki explained with a smile: "Many members of our team live nearby, and it would be more inconvenient to move to other places."

"Besides, for people in our line of work, it doesn't matter where we work, right?"

"makes sense."

Seto deeply agreed with his explanation.

Animators really don't care about the working environment. Rather than the convenience of urban life, it is better to say that the suburban environment is elegant and quiet, which is more conducive to artistic creation.

Besides, the production team members’ homes are nearby, so it would be inconvenient for the company to move further away.

After understanding these two points, Seto could immediately understand why Kyoani Studio did not move to the Manpower Animation Neon headquarters.

No need to move!

The place is quite comfortable, and the place is spacious. Why move out? Would it be more comfortable and convenient to move to the headquarters?

"Seto-kun, please come with me."

Because this was Seto's first time to visit Kyoani studio offline. In the past, he mostly communicated by phone or online, so Miki patiently introduced him to the main members of Kyoani.

Kyoani studio is not small.

Although it is not comparable to a behemoth like Wanbao Animation, as an animation studio with more than a hundred full-time employees, it is already quite impressive.

Of course, they also have non-staff.

The so-called non-staff refers to those people who are attached to Kyoani Studio and earn a certain amount of compensation for their work, but are not formal employees of the company and are freelancers.

"The creation of "Tamako Market" was mainly done by ourselves, and we did not hire many non-staff members to participate."

After introducing the general situation of Kyoani Studio, Miki immediately said: "But when producing the theatrical version of "Tamako Love Story", we must use a large number of non-staff personnel."

"Understandable."

Seto nodded.

Kyoani Studio itself only has a small number of people. If they don’t hire non-staff to work for them, how long will it take for the theatrical version to be completed with just these hundreds of people?

"How is the progress of the theatrical version?"

Seto's trip was not just to visit Kyoani Studio, he also shouldered a task assigned by the president of the parent company.

The wise and powerful President Gu Miao sent instructions, asking Seto to go find out the general situation of the theatrical version of "Tamako Love Story" and then write a work report to him.

How could Seto dare to ignore President Gu Miao's mission?

After receiving the call, he immediately put down what he was doing, even ignoring the "Inuyasha" that was being serialized, and ran directly to Kyoani Studio.

Miki welcomed his arrival very much. After all, he was his direct superior, so he should be treated warmly.

During working hours, there is no need to drink sake and visit custom shops, but it is still okay to be a tour guide to guide the tour and explain the work content.

"The production progress is very good..."

"With sufficient financial support, the entire project has not encountered obstacles. This is Yamada-san, the director of the theatrical animation."

"Hello!"

"Please take good care of me, President Seto!"

After greeting director Yamada and exchanging a few pleasantries, Seto got straight to the point and said, "Yamada-kun, can you tell me the general plot of the theatrical version?"

"Hey! The timeline of the movie version is later than the TV version. Both Tamako and Mochizo have entered the third grade of high school..."

Yamada narrated the plot summary of "Tamako Love Story" to the two of them.

When entering high school, everyone was worried about their future, and Tamako also accidentally expressed her desire to inherit the family business.

At the same time, Mochizo, who happened to live opposite Tamako's house in Tushan Commercial Street, seemed to have awakened to something...

The plot of "Tamako Love Story", in the most understandable terms, is the youth love story of Tamako and Mokozo, childhood sweethearts, who finally realize each other's feelings and achieve positive results.

Childhood sweethearts lose to the sky?

That's another animation. In "Tamako Love Story" or the TV version of "Tamako Market", there is no such thing.

This is a great victory for the Qingmei Party!

The growth of adolescent boys and girls, the delicate depiction of the heart-warming atmosphere like spring rain, and the human atmosphere of the commercial street make this animated film as beautiful as a painting.

This was Seto's first feeling.

It's not that he has never seen excellent animated movies. Born in a big animation country like Neon, he has watched all the animated movies since childhood, at least hundreds of them.

But among the hundreds of animated movies he has watched, "Tamako Love Story" is definitely a special one.

What's so special about it?

The reason is that after watching it, he won't receive too much sensory stimulation, but more of an emotional resonance.

It doesn’t matter if it’s a cake or jade.

In the male and female protagonists, he saw the shadow of youth, and it felt very familiar and familiar, as if he was watching his own experience.

"The picture is very clean!"

After praising him, Seto said with regret: "It's a pity that there are not a lot of materials and I can't see the complete samples."

"no way……"

Yamada rubbed his hands in embarrassment: "We have just started production not long ago, and there are not so many materials for you to watch."

"Haha, I don't blame you, don't be nervous! You have done a great job. I will truthfully report your work situation to President Gu Miao. I believe he will be very satisfied."

"Really?"

"of course it's true!"

Seto explained with a smile: "Don't think too scary about President Gu Miao. He just checks on the progress of the project as usual and won't pay too much attention to you."

"I can rest assured that."

Yamada breathed a sigh of relief after hearing this.

After learning that Seto was here for inspection with instructions from President Gu Miao, he became extremely nervous.

President Gu Miao? !

That's a legendary figure! Not to mention Yamada, even Mr. Miki, the president of Kyoani Studio, has never gotten along with President Gu Miao.

Who knows what the legendary president’s temper is like?

If you are dissatisfied with their work, woe betide you! The economy is in recession. If the president is upset and loses his job, where can he find another job at his age?

Seto didn't know what Yamada was thinking. If he knew, he would definitely laugh uncontrollably.

Made the president unhappy?

Who are you? President Gu Miao may not even know your name, and even if he knows it, he may not be able to remember it. To make him angry is to think too much.

What's more, from Seto's point of view, President Gu Miao is usually so busy with work that the "Tamako Love Story" project can't attract attention at all.

…

Seto thought that Mr. Gu was just asking about the animated theatrical version of "Tamako Love Story" as a matter of routine and would not take it too seriously.

But he was wrong.

Not only did Gu Miao take it seriously, she even gave him the instruction to "fully cooperate" after reviewing Seto's work report.

This left Seto confused.

Fully cooperate?

These four words are so confusing. What should he do to make him try his best to cooperate with the production team of "Tamako Love Story"? Or just pretending?

Seto, who was unsure of Mr. Gu's attitude, simply made another phone call and asked Mr. Gu about the arrangements for the "Tamako Love Story" animation.

"I ask you to cooperate fully, are you deaf?"

"Since the production progress is a bit slow, won't you allocate manpower? With so many idle people, except for the "Inuyasha" project, which cannot be suspended, is it difficult to allocate manpower from other places?" Gu Miao said angrily.

"It's not difficult, it's not difficult!"

After being scolded for no reason, Seto quickly patted his chest and promised that he would allocate manpower to support the production team of "Tamako Love Story" and strive to have the film released as soon as possible.

"By the way, Mr. Gu."

"Even Kyoani Studio has released theatrical versions. When will the theatrical versions of "Pretty Cure" and "Dragon Ball" be arranged?"

"Guangmei and Longzhu?"

Hearing this, Gu Miao, who originally wanted to hang up the phone, frowned and couldn't help but ask: "Which animation do you want to make the theatrical version first?"

"Dragon Ball!"

Seto probably had a premeditated plan, and when faced with Mr. Gu's question, he spoke his true inner thoughts without hesitation.

He said that Dragon Ball is the most suitable animated series for a theatrical version.

On the one hand, the IP of Dragon Ball is famous all over the world and its influence is large enough. The box office foundation of the theatrical version is guaranteed.

On the other hand, Nishio, the gold medal supervisor of the Manpower Neon Division, is an animation producer who is best at depicting fight scenes. Dragon Ball The Movie + Nishio is definitely a great combination.

"So what's the budget?"

After listening to Seto's story, Gu Miao admitted that he was a little excited. The combination of Nishio + Dragon Ball was indeed promising, and the possibility of losing money was very low.

But he was heartbroken, and he also knew about the situation of Wanbao Neon Division. He had a little money but not much. If he wanted to make a "Dragon Ball" theatrical version, he might encounter financial problems.

"The budget... doesn't need to be too much, about 300 million yen is enough." Seto was a little unsure.

"Three hundred million yen?!"

Gu Miao was amused by him.

Spending 300 million yen to make the first theatrical version of a super popular anime IP like "Dragon Ball", Seto might not be awake yet.

What is this money enough for?

Dragon Ball is not an ordinary anime IP. It is a super popular anime that is famous all over the world. For such a work, a mere 300 million yen is really shabby.

Thirty years ago that might have been enough.

After all, in those days, 300 million yen for a theatrical version was considered a high investment. But today, 30 years later, 300 million yen is really unavailable, and doubling it is still about the same.

"Then what do you mean..."

Seto clutched his chest, fearing that he would hear a number from Mr. Gu's mouth that would make his heart stop.

"Double it, tentatively 600 million."

"Don't be so petty. Since we are going to make a theatrical version of "Dragon Ball", we should aim at the global market. To be honest, I think 600 million is too little. Only one billion is worthy of the popularity of the "Dragon Ball" IP."

Gu Miao touched her chin: "The Neon Branch should be able to get this money, right?"

Seto: "..."

Seeing that Seto on the other end of the phone didn't speak, Gu Miao was a little confused and asked: "The company's money has been embezzled by you? Why can't you even get out a mere 600 million?"

A mere 600 million!

Listen, is this human speech?

Seto didn't want to talk anymore. He knew that no matter what he said, he could not wash away his charges of embezzlement and misappropriation of company funds.

Where can I get 600 million?

The Wanbao Neon Division is not backed by a toy company like the Jiangchuan headquarters and can produce animation peripheral derivatives on its own.

The income of the Neon Division, in addition to selling licenses, is also a matter of selling licenses. After finally saving some money, "Inuyasha", "Tamako Love Story" and "Dragon Ball GT" were thrown into it again.

Oh yes, it cost another fortune to build the company building before...

"I'm not corrupt!"

Seto said calmly: "We can't afford that much money anyway, so we can squeeze out 400 million at most."

"Four hundred million is fine. You ask Nishio to write out the plan for the theatrical version first, and we'll talk about the money later."

Gu Miao didn't embarrass Seto because he knew that Seto was telling the truth and the Neon Branch really couldn't afford that much money.

Why do you need so much money?

This has to do with the production budget of an animation, which is mainly used to pay employees’ salaries.

Take Wanbao Animation as an example.

Employees in the core studio are basically on the "hourly wage system", where wages are calculated by the hour, and there are corresponding bonuses and dividends after the project is completed.

All expenditures in this part, although recorded as wages, are still included in the "production budget" of an animation.

to be honest.

Some animations often cost tens of millions of dollars in investment, which may seem exaggerated, but it is not a one-time expenditure, and most of it is used for wages.

The most important thing is that it is just propaganda. He said that he spent 100 million to make animations, but he did not provide any evidence. Who knows how much he actually spent?

The Neon Division doesn't have much money left on its books, but it can still start an animation project with an investment of over 100 million.

Anyway, it’s not all spent at once. If you have less money, just do it in installments. Pay a little this month and a little next month. The total investment will be over 100 million.

Dragon Ball The Movie is no small project.

Gu Miao didn't expect the Neon Branch to complete the production on its own. It was really short of money. The headquarters would just allocate some money.

and……

The so-called Dragon Ball Theatrical Version didn't even have a plan, so why are you so anxious? At least a business plan needs to be written, and then a meeting will be held to discuss whether the money is worth spending.

anyway.

With the influence of the IP "Dragon Ball", the project for a theatrical version is almost 100% certain. Meetings and discussions are just a matter of process.

Isn't there really any objection?