Crossover Anime: I'm Kasumigaoka Utaha's Brother

Page 26

She knew what animated films were, of course, but that was all.

"Yes, whether it's the original artwork, storyboards, or dialogue, they are very different from the novel. More importantly, to compress the novel's content into two hours, we have to extract important scenes and turning points, and also prepare foreshadowing, etc..." Kasumigaoka Utaha answered before Baili Xiao could reply.

She took off her glasses, shook her slightly dizzy head, and when she looked at Eriri and the others, she gave a "thankful" smile: "Compared to Sawamura-san and the others' work, mine is relatively easy. They have a lot of work to do to ensure the quality of the animated film!"

For an animated film to succeed and receive positive reviews from audiences, many factors are required.

First, it needs a compelling storyline. An animated film with a bad storyline is like a person without a soul—no one is worried about that, after all, the light novel of "5 Centimeters Per Second" is there, and even if an amateur were to make it, the storyline wouldn't be too bad.

Secondly, a large number of exquisite original drawings are needed! This is equivalent to the skeleton of an animated film.

The more exquisite the artwork, the better the viewing experience for the audience. The more original drawings there are, the smoother the playback will be, achieving the often-mentioned "every frame is a high-definition wallpaper"!

That's why Kasumigaoka Utaha said that Eriri's task was more demanding—even with three illustrators working together.

After a week of instruction and learning, Izumi Sagiri has approached the drawing level of Eriri and Hashima Saiyuki. From this, it is clear that it is not unreasonable for her to become the extremely famous Eromanga teacher in the erotic world at such a young age.

Even the last few illustrations in the third volume of "5 Centimeters Per Second" were entrusted to Sagiri for drawing, which can be regarded as an assessment of her learning results during this period.

"Ugh, I thought it was no big deal, but now it seems like my break time is ruined again?" Eriri sighed, put her work aside, and looked at Baili Xiao with resentment in her eyes.

The latter's release date is set for mid-August, around the time of CM, the world's largest comic convention. So, after deducting the time for film production, censorship, and negotiations with theaters, Eriri and her team will have at most one month to create the film.

If this task were given to any other artist, they would look at you like you're an idiot and say "impossible!"

"Eri-senpai, you seem to have plenty of time to rest every day. I remember yesterday when you were lying in bed with a face mask on, playing on your phone, you even exclaimed, 'So leisurely!'" Hashima Izumi exposed Eriri's little complaint. Eriri blushed, glared at Izumi fiercely, and whispered in her ear, "Hey Izumi! Whose side are you on?"

Izumi Sagiri tilted her head to look at the two of them, her silver-white hair swaying slightly with her movement: "Of course, Senpai Izumi will help Hyakusato-kun, but Eriri-senpai, whenever she has a chance, she complains to Hyakusato-kun about this and that..."

"Huh?" A slight blush crept onto Eriri's cheeks as she feigned surprise. "No, no! You must be mistaken! What did I complain about to him about, right? Ha, ha..."

In fact, she was genuinely surprised, but in a different way—"Huh? Was I being that obvious?"

As Eriri finished speaking, everyone (including Baili Xiao) looked at her helplessly.

Everyone in the room knew that Eriri was a tsundere. She wanted to talk to Hyakuri Akira, but she was worried that she would be too obvious. So she kept using almost complaining words to strike up a conversation, such as "The third volume is finished, won't you let us rest? Hyakuri-kun, you're like this..." and "There are too many original drawings needed! Hyakuri-kun, can you..."

At first, it was fine; Eriri only said a few words occasionally. But as time went on, she started thinking, "Since they can't find out anyway, I might as well talk to Hyakuri-kun a little more in this tone," and would often start complaining-style conversations with Hyakuri Akira...

"We just didn't say it out loud, but I didn't expect you to have such a high opinion of yourself?" Kasumigaoka Utaha chuckled: "Even a loser should have the self-awareness of a loser."

"!" Eriri froze, her eyes fixed on Kasumigaoka Utaha, and she called out the latter's name through clenched teeth: "Kasumigaoka Utaha! What did you say?!"

"Alright, alright." Baili Xiao tried hard to keep the corners of her mouth from turning up, and said in a serious tone, "There are indeed a lot of original drawings, but you only need to be responsible for drawing them. I will leave the coloring and retouching to Ms. Hongsaka's club. Her club is capable of handling this."

"So, let's all work hard! For our first animated film!"

Chapter 0074 Yamada Fairy's Persistence! (2/5, Please Subscribe)

After lunch, Baili Xiao greeted everyone and went out to the residence of Yamada Fairy—next to the Kasumigaoka family.

As soon as the door opened, a loud laugh came from the second floor: "Hahaha, this time it will succeed! It will definitely work!" Immediately afterward, light footsteps approached, and from the corner of the stairs on the second floor, a petite figure with a youthful glow suddenly appeared.

"You! What are you doing?" Baili Xiao looked at Yamada Fairy with a dark face, then looked away—to be honest, A really doesn't appeal to me, hmm, I can't afford it.

"Ah? Hyakuri-sensei, you're already here? Perfect timing! Come and see my new manuscript!" Yamada Elf didn't care that she was completely naked. No, she should say that all she could think about was "Let Hyakuri-sensei take a look! Maybe this time it will pass!" She kept waving the manuscript paper in her hand.

“I understand the reasoning. First, go and put your clothes on.” Baili Xiao took the manuscript, walked to the living room without looking back, sat down with her back to Yamada Fairy, and did not immediately look at the printed words on the manuscript. Instead, she rubbed her temples with a headache.

How many times has he seen Yamada Elf in this "A-shaped pose"? Hmm, probably no less than three times, right?

In Yamada Elf's words, this state is the "period of complete liberation," where "the amount of magic power will increase dramatically!" "The sealed power has finally returned!" "A simple little spell can summon a large number of manuscripts"... Every time, Baili Xiao would lose his temper and roll the manuscript into a stick, then lightly tap Yamada Elf on the head.

"Hey! Look, look!" Yamada Fairy excitedly sat down opposite Baili Xiao, completely ignoring the latter's instruction to "go put your clothes on."

Baili Xiao looked around—the curtains in the room were all drawn tightly, so no one should be able to see—and sighed heavily: "Next time you go out, remember to put your clothes on properly, or I'll expel you from the sect!"

The seriousness in her tone startled Yamada Elf for a moment, then she smiled, placing one hand on her waist and the other in a delicate, orchid-like gesture to shield her eyes: "Oh ho ho, my dear familiar, are you worried about me being seen by others? Don't worry, I am the True Ancestor who walks in the night. Even if I want to go out during the day, I will use my immense magical power to block out the sunlight... Ouch!"

Yamada Elf squatted down, rubbing her forehead, and looked at Baili Xiao with a resentful expression as he withdrew the paper stick. She whispered very, very softly, "Such a cool line, weren't you going to let me finish it...?"

"...You have three minutes to appear before me dressed properly!" Baili Xiao issued his final ultimatum, then ignored Yamada Elf who was running upstairs and turned his gaze to the manuscript.

(It's been a week, and even Sagiri has caught up with Eriri and the sea voyage, but the fairy's progress is nowhere to be seen. Is it too much to ask of her?)

Baili Xiao hopes that Yamada Fairy can combine the classic works and light novels in his memory to create a brand new "Journey to the West" for this world, without diminishing the "arrogant, unruly, flexible, and quirky" characteristics of the Monkey King Sun Wukong.

However, a week passed, and Yamada Fairy made many attempts, but still failed to pass Baili Xiao's review—this made Baili Xiao wonder if he had set his standards too high...

He could certainly start the story for Yamada Elf, or even help her finish the first volume (it would just take time), but if Yamada Elf couldn't grasp that point, it would all be just empty talk.

(I wonder how it will go this time...)

As his eyes fell upon the first paragraph, Baili Xiao couldn't help but raise his eyebrows slightly.

"Tap tap tap~" The slippers made a pleasant sound as they stepped on the wooden floor.

White stockings encased two slender but not very long legs. Yamada Elf appeared beside Baili Xiao in her signature red and white Lolita-style outfit with lots of ruffles.

"Yo-ho-ho, how was it? I logged into the game this morning and did some gacha pulls, and I actually got several SSRs! I had a feeling today would be the day I break the seal!" Yamada Fairy said with her hands on her hips, somewhat smugly. "I'm sure you'll be satisfied with the original manuscript for this summon. I can feel the powerful magic attached to it, the kind that can destroy the world... uh..."

Before she could finish speaking, Baili Xiao's gaze shifted to her, and the cold smile on his lips made Yamada Elf shiver involuntarily.

"Game? SSR? No wonder you haven't made any progress in a week. So you've been wasting it all on this kind of thing?"

0 ····Requesting flowers···· ·········

"Uh, no, no, I misspoke. I don't play games at all. What's SSR? I have no idea!"

"..." Baili Xiao looked at the flustered Yamada Fairy and sighed almost imperceptibly, then waved to the latter.

Yamada Elf cautiously and timidly approached Baili Xiao, and tightly closed her eyes as she watched the latter slowly raise his right hand.

(Oh no, oh no, oh no! I've actually provoked the Great Demon King Baili! How could my tiny body possibly withstand his immense power? What's the point of resisting? No, resisting would only further fuel his sadistic pleasure! Waaaaah...)

Countless thoughts flashed through her mind in an instant. Yamada Elf shrank her neck, her long eyelashes trembling as she tried to suppress the nasal "uh" sound coming from her nose.

.. ...... ....

The warmth of a hand appeared on the top of her head, and it vigorously ruffled Yamada Elf's golden hair.

"I know you've put in a lot of effort, and that's great. You've finally found that feeling."

Yamada Fairy stared wide-eyed in disbelief at Baili Xiao's smiling face, which was so close to her.

"Do you think I can't tell? You and Sagiri used to study at the Kasumigaoka family's place, but ever since Sagiri caught up with Eriri and the others, you moved here."

"You've been doubting yourself all this time, haven't you? Doubting whether you're suitable to write light novels with me? But even with those doubts, every time I say 'no,' you still silently try your best."

“Come back. Everyone is waiting for you to come back, and they have kept your position open because they know that even if you can’t meet my requirements in a day or two, as long as you don’t give up, one day I will be able to say the word ‘pass’.”

A layer of mist appeared in Yamada Elf's eyes, and the soreness in her nose made her feel so uncomfortable that she was about to cry.

"What are you saying? I'm not what you think I am. I just... I just need to perform a massive magical ritual, and I have to do it alone..."

Baili Xiao shrugged, helped Yamada Fairy tidy up her messy hair, picked up the manuscript on the table, stood up, and walked towards the door.

"Let's go! Keep this up and start writing the first volume of 'The Monkey King'!" Fan said.

Chapter 0075 Shiina Mashiro: I want to go! (3/5 Please subscribe)

With the release date of the final volume of "5 Centimeters Per Second" drawing ever closer, Akane Kousaka's rouge-en-rouge circle is noticeably busier.

The group has a large number of illustrators, many of whom have serialized comics in certain comic magazines or websites. However, in the past few days, quite a few of them have asked their respective editors to "suspend publication".

"I will be going on a further education course for the next month or even longer. I am very sorry that the serialized comic has to be suspended."

Of course, after they make such a request, whether you agree or disagree, as the editor, you have to ask: "I have no objection to further studies, but can't you at least keep updating? Even the minimum amount of updates, '297,' would be fine, right?"

Everyone would answer like this: "[5 Centimeters Per Second] is about to be adapted into a movie, and I'm going to assist with its original animation production. For me, being able to access the original animation drafts created by all the veteran artists is a learning opportunity that I can't buy with anything! So, I'm really sorry about the 042... 78 years!"

Once this reason is given, no editor will say anything like, "Hey? How about you reconsider?" They all know what "5 Centimeters Per Second" means to the artist.

Imagine sitting in a dark movie theater when the animated film is released, and seeing a scene that you yourself colored and refined—the sheer satisfaction that comes from the bottom of your heart... just thinking about it is incredibly exciting!

"Iori! How's the original artwork going?" Akane Kousaka's hair was a little messy. She hadn't been able to get a good night's sleep for the past few days, and even her fair cheeks had faint dark circles under her eyes.

Her gaze swept across the club, and all she saw were busy figures.

“No problem, everyone’s enthusiasm is very high right now.” Iori Hashima flipped through the documents in his hand, and after a couple of seconds looked up at Akane Kousaka and gave a wry smile: “Everyone wants to be allocated more original drafts, and some people are even getting impatient. Now I realize that being too enthusiastic is not a good thing.”

"Yes!" Akane Kousaka nodded, and whispered solemnly, "You have to be careful. You absolutely cannot let them rush the work just to meet the deadline. This animated film is of great significance. Even if I didn't tell you, you should know that there can be absolutely no mistakes! I don't want to leave a bad impression on Hyakusuke-kun because of some minor oversight."

"Yes, I understand." Iori Hashima replied, her gaze subtly shifting to Akane Kousaka's faintly dark circles: "Ms. Kousaka, how are things going on your end?"

"Things over there" naturally refers to the preparations for the release of Volume 3, because the release event is officially starting tomorrow morning at eight o'clock!

"Awful!"

Akane Akasaka scratched her head in frustration: "The approval is complete. The printing press has been continuously sending out volumes three. The packaging, illustrations, and posters are all ready, and the convention venue has been confirmed..."

"?" Hashima Iori tilted her head, somewhat puzzled. "Then everything should be alright, so why does Ms. Akasaka seem so anxious?"

With a heavy sigh, Akane Akasaka picked up the coffee on the table and drank it all in one gulp.

"Because we can't estimate the exact scale of this event!"

...

Sakura-sou, a neighboring city.

"You're going no matter what I say?" Chihiro Sengoku glared at her. Today was one of the few days she hadn't been drinking, and she was quite imposing when she glared at people.

However, it didn't work on the girl in front of him.

“Yes, I’m going.” Shiina Mashiro nodded.

"I've been trying to talk you out of it these past few days, why won't you listen?" Chihiro Chigoshi shook her head helplessly, sighed, and sat down on the sofa. "I just called Grandpa, and he actually agreed to let you come over. Ugh, I've had enough! Doesn't he know what kind of person his own granddaughter is?"

“Mashiro, listen to me. You transferred here from Great Britain because I can take care of you here. If you went to the neighboring city, it would be fine if Teacher Baili didn't accept you. But if he kept you, who would take care of you? He can't be the only man taking care of you, can he?”

Chihiro Chigoku tried her best to persuade Shiina Mashiro, who was the type of person who wouldn't consider anything else once she made a decision (because she didn't understand anything else either). She had to convince Mashiro to change her mind and say something like, "Yeah, I'm not going," before she could feel at ease, otherwise Mashiro might disappear at any time...

Given Chihiro's understanding of her younger sister, the possibility of her being lured away by a painting on the street is much higher than the possibility of "luring away a little girl with a lollipop"!

Mashiro tilted her head and looked at Chihiro Sengoku, her face expressionless and her tone flat: "But I can't learn anything here."

"Learn... okay, I'll take your word for it." Chihiro's eyes widened. She originally wanted to refute Mashiro's words, but after thinking about it... well, even as an art teacher, she wasn't as good at drawing as Mashiro, let alone the students at the school.

Who can blame Mashiro for possessing such exceptional artistic talent, a talent that's rare to find even once in a century? — Such extraordinary talent is truly a headache!

(How can I make her give up?)

Chihiro Sengoku was pondering this with a troubled expression when her eyes inadvertently caught sight of a message on her computer screen: "[5 Centimeters Per Second] Volume 3 Finale Release Event, officially begins tomorrow!"

"Hmm..." With a slight twitch of her eyebrows, a thought popped into Chihiro Sengoku's mind: "Nanami!"