Eiji Yamaura reacted instantly, slapping his thigh. "That means Tatsunoko's claim of holding the full copyright and licensing it overseas is completely debunked!"
"Exactly." Takuya Nakayama nodded in satisfaction. "Matsushima, once you have this document, take Sega's Legal Department and go straight to Tatsunoko's doorstep. Slam the document on their desk and draw a clear line in the sand. They can keep earning money from the original anime, but every other mechanical design, character design, and all future development rights must be returned to Big West. This will clearly define the copyright boundaries for Macross in markets outside North America and Europe."
Matsushima swallowed hard, a chill running down his spine. "What if Tatsunoko plays dumb and refuses to acknowledge it?"
"Then we sue them," Takuya Nakayama said, his tone as casual as if he were discussing what to have for dinner. "Sega will foot the bill, hiring Japan's top intellectual property lawyers to support Big West in fighting Tatsunoko to the end. I recall Tatsunoko hasn't been doing too well lately, their cash flow is extremely tight. Tell Big West that as long as they agree to an exclusive partnership with Sega, Sega will cover a portion of the legal fees—even if they run into tens or hundreds of millions of yen!"
The conference room fell so silent you could hear a pin drop.
Matsushima felt his palms breaking out in a cold sweat.
Back at Sotsu, he would have handled copyright disputes like this by playing both sides, treating people to drinks, or simply avoiding the issue altogether.
This was the first time he had witnessed Sega's ruthless yet surgical business tactics.
They bypassed the main battlefield, stole the opponent's trump card, and then returned to Japan to strike a decisive blow!
"Understood." Matsushima nodded heavily, a spark of excitement igniting in his eyes. "I'll arrange for someone to contact Big West immediately. With Sega backing us, I'll make sure this is handled flawlessly!"
"Not so fast." Takuya Nakayama rose to his feet. "Speaking of which, there's something I want to discuss with all of you."
He leaned both hands on the table, his gaze sweeping over everyone in the room from his commanding position.
Then, he pulled out his chair, sat back down, and flipped open the notebook in front of him.
"Macross is just the beginning. Sega's next target is every high-quality IP in the entire Japanese animation industry."
Matsushima's heart, which had just settled, leaped back into his throat. His pulse quickened.
"Managing Director, do you mean—more large-scale acquisitions?" Matsushima asked tentatively, his voice trembling slightly.
Takuya Nakayama waved his hand as if shooing away a fly.
"Sega's money doesn't grow on trees. There's no need to buy up a bunch of messes and useless non-performing assets. Our core objective is the development rights to the IPs."
He picked up a pen and drew a large circle on the paper.
"In recent years, most animation companies besides Sunrise have been struggling. Take Tatsunoko, for example—they've nearly exhausted their old reserves, and their cash flow has been bleeding out. There are also many Production Committees holding onto old IPs, all desperately looking for funds to survive."
Kiyoshi Hattori understood the underlying strategy. He tapped his fingers twice on the table, a sly, fox-like smile spreading across his lips.
"Taking advantage of their desperation," Hattori said, cutting straight to the point. "Using our ample cash flow to secure long-term, low-level contracts."
"Don't put it so harshly, Director Hattori. Let's call it 'sending charcoal in the snow'—a timely gift in a time of need." Takuya Nakayama smiled, but the expression didn't reach his eyes. "Sega provides the capital to help them revitalize their idle assets. We don't need a controlling stake; Sega doesn't have the bandwidth to manage the minutiae of so many IPs anyway. We just need to secure long-term exclusive agreements at a reasonable price, locking the development rights for games, merchandise, and even new anime firmly onto Sega's war machine. Sotsu is the best at this kind of low-cost, high-return business, isn't it?"
Matsushima nodded repeatedly, like a chick pecking at rice.
This was indeed Sotsu's bread and butter, but in the past, they never had enough capital to make such moves. They could only wait patiently for opportunities to arise.
Now, backed by the gold mine that was Sega, they could negotiate with absolute confidence—they could practically walk through the industry with their chests out!
"In that regard, Sotsu will keep a close eye on industry trends and won't let a single promising target slip away," Matsushima declared hastily.
Takuya Nakayama tossed his pen onto the table, leaned forward slightly, and fixed Eiji Yamaura with an intense gaze.
"President Yamaura, what percentage of Sunrise's internal production is currently using RETAS software for digital drawing?"
The topic had jumped so abruptly that Yamaura froze for a moment, still reeling from the shock of the previous conversation.
"RETAS? We're still in the small-scale testing phase. Our main production is still traditional cel animation. The artists are used to working on paper and are somewhat resistant to computer software—they feel it lacks soul—"
Takuya Nakayama crossed his fingers, his tone calm yet carrying an overwhelming pressure.
"Change it."
The two words, though brief, carried immense weight, making Eiji Yamaura feel as if he couldn't breathe.
"Toei Animation is already fully implementing their digital transformation. As for Sega, I've also issued a strict order to OLM, the company responsible for the Pokémon anime and movies, that they must transition to full digital production. This is the tide of the times. Anyone who stands in its way will be swept away."
Eiji Yamaura looked troubled, beads of sweat forming on his forehead.
"Managing Director, a full transition would require purchasing expensive computer equipment on a large scale and retraining hundreds of artists, not to mention delaying the production schedule. This expense—"
"Sega will cover it," Takuya Nakayama interrupted him without hesitation, his financial might staggering. "Funding, technical support, equipment procurement—Sega will handle it all. Sunrise just needs to organize the staff and get them to learn. The veteran artists can take it slow, but the new ones must adapt. And the directors—they must master it!"
Eiji Yamaura forced himself to swallow the second half of his complaint and nodded heavily.
Money really can buy anything.
Takuya Nakayama stood up, walked to the whiteboard in the meeting room, picked up a marker, and wrote "3D" in large, sweeping characters.
"2D digitization is just the first step. For works like Gundam that feature mechs, the ultimate goal is the 3D digitization of the core designs."
He turned to face everyone, his eyes burning with the fervor of a preacher.
"President Yamaura, have you ever done the math? How many hand-drawn mecha keyframes does Sunrise produce for a single Gundam anime? How many times does the Game Division have to rebuild those models from scratch for a Gundam game? How much manpower is wasted in between?"
Eiji Yamaura hadn't done the exact math, but he knew it must be an astronomical figure.
"From now on, all this inefficient, repetitive labor must be eliminated!" Takuya Nakayama tapped the whiteboard sharply with the tip of the marker. "During the initial design phase, Sunrise will create high-precision, physically accurate 3D digital models of the Gundams. The Animation Department can use these models for rendering grand battle scenes, and the Sega Game Division can import them directly—with just a slight reduction in polygon count—straight into games for the new console!"
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