Delaying the production schedule of an entire anime for the sake of a single shot seemed rather laughable nowadays, but in the industry of the past, it was not rare at all.
The golden age of District 11 anime was an era that did not lack production funding. It was also the era Fujiwara Tora had previously mentioned, when animation production companies had advertising revenue.
In the golden age of Japanese anime in Kamiyā Yuu's previous world, 'Wolf's Rain,' produced by the industry-conscience animation studio BONES, had spent a full half year on just its first episode. For the ending sequence of wolves running, no fewer than a hundred rough sketches were drawn. Because wolves in District 11 had already gone extinct, it was said that some key animators even went overseas into the wild specifically to observe how wolves ran.
This kind of serious, real-world research and refined production allowed 'Wolf's Rain' to be praised as one of the most meaningful anime of 2003.
The golden age of Japanese anime generally referred to the late 1990s, when a major announcement was made by the television stations in Tokyo—
Late-night programming slots were being sold.
This did not mean selling advertising time, but selling the entire program timeslot.
Because of its audience, late-night programming avoided the time periods with the fiercest market competition. All-day slots occupied by works like 'Detective Conan,' 'One Piece,' and 'Sazae-san' were the targets of the industry's giants.
Late-night slots had stable prices and no excessive competition, so they naturally became the first choice for some anime that did not have national-level popularity.
Why did the sale of late-night slots create the golden age of Japanese anime?
As long as one bought a thirty-minute program slot and the work passed review, anything could be aired at will.
For example, if an animation studio wanted to produce an anime, it would first gather a group of sponsors. The money would be used to buy the broadcast slot and serve as production funding.
After the anime was completed, it would be aired on the television station's late-night slot.
Setting aside the opening, anime content, and ending, a thirty-minute slot would more or less still have around five minutes left. That portion became advertising time and returned to the sponsors.
The animation production company had essentially produced an anime for free. Afterward, it could also earn quite a bit of revenue from viewers.
It was precisely this model that made the golden age of Japanese anime an era that lacked production funding the least.
Of course, not every late-night timeslot on every television station was sold this way, and not every late-night anime aired through this model.
Some otaku who had witnessed the changes in the animation industry often sighed:
"Since ancient times, fanservice anime produce fiery songs, and old anime produce masterpieces."
The latter half was the best interpretation of the changes in District 11's industry.
Although Yosuganosora Animation Studio was not yet mature, its conditions were far superior to those of ordinary animation production companies. Therefore, what Kamiyā Yuu valued most was still the quality of the animation.
The plot progression of 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica' was actually revealed through the five magical girls.
The cruel ending of the headless senpai, Mami Tomoe, shattered the protagonist Madoka Kaname and the viewers' understanding of magical girls.
The red-blue pairing of Sakura Kyōko and Sayaka Miki further revealed the setting and the tragic fate belonging to magical girls.
All the foreshadowing was ultimately unified through the true protagonists, Madoka Kaname and Homura Akemi.
The plot advanced layer by layer, with each layer more exciting than the previous one.
However, because of the original anime's episode-count limitations, its handling of this plot gradient was not particularly good. The red-blue pairing arc was ultimately too plain and failed to become the true second plot explosion of the anime.
...
Office.
"Magical girl Sakura Kyōko's smile. Fuck! By comparison, even Mona Lisa's smile feels easier to draw!"
Having lost count of how many times he had torn up the key art in front of him, Kamiyā Yuu cursed in English.
In frustration, he used his key animation pencil to doodle wildly across the paper, venting his dissatisfaction.
The three hours of effort just now had gone completely to waste.
For nearly a month, Kamiyā Yuu had been in an irritable state. Dozens of redraws had consumed countless hours of his effort.
Once, he had thought he had finally drawn the ideal image. But after coloring it, he felt deeply dissatisfied again and overturned everything to redo it.
That single failure had wasted an entire week of his time.
There was less than a week left before Episode Seventeen of 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica' officially aired.
Episodes Eighteen and Nineteen had already been completed. Only Episode Seventeen had fallen into a production bottleneck.
"Sigh..."
Kamiyā Yuu felt deeply unwilling.
During this period, he had forced himself every single day. Even so, he still had not found the ideal finished product.
In the consciousness space, he lacked understanding of emotions. Every time he simulated Sakura Kyōko's emotional changes, it was as though a layer of white fog covered them, preventing him from lifting it and seeing their true appearance.
In the real world, he felt completely unable to begin.
Clap, clap, clap!
Kamiyā Yuu slapped his cheeks hard with both hands.
The stimulating pain temporarily numbed his anxious emotions. After letting out a long breath, he repeatedly warned himself inwardly:
"Calm down. The more anxious you are, the harder it is to grasp inspiration."
"Calm..."
Even though he was warning himself, for some reason, he became increasingly unable to control his rampaging emotions.
Bang!
Another loud sound rang out.
This time, it was not Kamiyā Yuu slapping his own face, but the sound of his right hand striking the desk heavily.
A burning sensation spread through his palm.
A month of effort with no result would be hard for anyone to accept.
Kamiyā Yuu ignored the pain coming from his right hand. His thoughts were restless and irritated. At that moment, he even felt the urge to use a baseball bat to smash everything in front of him.
"Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!"
"Calm down, my ass! Fuck!"
Kamiyā Yuu stood up and inhaled deeply.
No matter how he warned himself inwardly, he could not remain calm.
The blankness in his mind was even more painful than the writer's block he had experienced when writing novels in the past, and this state had continued for an entire month.
Powerlessness, irritability, unease, anger—
All kinds of negative emotions surged continuously, yet there was nowhere to vent them. Maintaining his rationality was already his limit.
"Sigh..."
Kamiyā Yuu let out a long sigh and pulled off his black tie, throwing it aside.
The irritation in his heart spread to his body. Waves of heat flowed through him, making him sweat nonstop. His breathing became heavy.
Kamiyā Yuu found a random spot and lay down.
He lightly struck the floor with his right hand again and again. Only after a long while did he feel his mood calm slightly.
As this repeated, deep fatigue spread through his mind.
With the broadcast deadline approaching, Kamiyā Yuu had no choice. Under poor mental conditions, he had already gone two consecutive days without sleep.
There was no room to sleep right now...
Thinking this, his eyelids were no longer under his control.
The moment he closed his eyes, deep darkness came over him.
Kamiyā Yuu's consciousness did not actively enter the consciousness space. Instead, it drifted in an extremely subtle state.
It felt like a lucid dream, where he knew he was dreaming but had no intention of waking up.
Kamiyā Yuu deliberately recalled the plot of 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica.'
The negative emotions that had erupted just now seemed to merge into the dream, vaguely constructing a wondrous world.
In the dream, he both existed nowhere and everywhere.
He merely served as an observer, witnessing everything.
What happened in the dream was Episode Seventeen of 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica,' which he had been constantly conceiving.
In that subtle dream, he was both Sayaka Miki and Sakura Kyōko.
He could very calmly feel the changes in both of their emotions.
Following his imagination, entirely different developments unfolded.
----
In this novel, "District 11" (11区) is being used as a Chinese internet slang term for Japan.