"Because we believe that you, Director Sora Kamakawa, and Yume Animation under your command are stronger than any other animation studio or production team we could possibly approach."
A calm, sincere smile rested on Ryo Yukishiro's face, the kind that looked warm at first glance yet still carried a weight that was impossible to ignore.
"I watched the Tokyo Animation Festival awards ceremony from beginning to end just a few days ago. And to be frank, Natsume Yuujinchou should have also taken home Best Director and Best Anime. It was the kind of work that could have swept five awards in a single night." He let out a faint sigh, as though the thought still left a trace of regret in him. "It was only missing that last step. And that step... was a broadcast platform worthy of it."
He paused briefly before continuing.
"And honestly, I do not believe there is any team left within our reach that could surpass someone capable of creating Natsume Yuujinchou."
Sora Kamakawa did not answer immediately.
Beside him, Sumire and Yumi Noriko remained composed. In truth, none of this even needed to be said aloud. Within the industry, almost everyone already understood the same thing. If Sora Kamakawa could truly maintain the level he had shown with Natsume Yuujinchou, then he most likely had no reason to fear a direct clash with any work airing in the same season.
The problem was that Natsume Yuujinchou was Natsume Yuujinchou.
No one could guarantee that Sora Kamakawa's next project would reach the same height. Even if he chose to produce a second season, there was always the chance that everything could start falling apart at the script stage. In the anime industry, sequels that collapsed in humiliating fashion were not rare at all. If anything, they were far too common to ignore.
And yet, Ryo Yukishiro did not bring up any of those risks.
He spoke as though he had already chosen to assume that Sora Kamakawa's next work would remain on the same level as Natsume Yuujinchou. That alone was already a considerable display of respect - and of goodwill.
After a brief silence, Sora Kamakawa went straight to the heart of the matter.
"Then, Director Ryo Yukishiro... what kind of partnership do you have in mind?"
That was the central question.
"We would like to commission your studio to produce an otherworld adventure anime." The answer came simply, without hesitation. "Our network can fully finance the project, with a ceiling of up to forty million yen, while your company would take charge of the production itself. Naturally, the production fee can be negotiated separately."
Then he lifted a finger, as if adding the point that mattered most.
"But that is not the only option. You may also choose to fund the project yourselves, or to enter a co-investment model with us. As for the broadcast window, we would like to place the anime in either this year's summer cour or autumn cour. And regardless of which structure you choose... I can guarantee you one thing, Director Sora Kamakawa: we will treat this work as an S-tier title within our network, both in promotion and in broadcast priority."
This time, Sora Kamakawa, Sumire, and Yumi Noriko could not fully hide their reaction.
The offer was almost absurdly good.
Under normal circumstances, when an anime secured a slot on one of the country's top networks, that network's production department would inevitably involve itself in the investment side of the project. That was only natural. Broadcast platforms were scarce resources. Excellent anime might exist, but premium airtime and large-scale audience reach were far harder to obtain. A network that controlled something so valuable would almost never allow a work airing on its channel to generate profit without taking a share. Only after securing its own stake in the production and rights would it usually direct its full advertising machinery toward promoting the title.
But what Ryo Yukishiro was offering was different.
Southern Alliance TV could fully fund the project, take all rights to the work, and pay Yume Animation a very generous production fee.
Or Sora Kamakawa could finance the anime himself, retain complete ownership of the rights, and keep all the profits for his side. In that scenario, the network would willingly step back from the most coveted part of the equation and ask for only one thing in return: a hit anime powerful enough to raise Southern Alliance TV's standing in the market and help it correct the weakness it had long carried in animation.
And no matter which option he chose, the network would still treat the project as an S-tier title.
In other words: a massive promotional campaign, maximum priority, prime broadcast placement, first-class visibility.
It was as though Sora Kamakawa could borrow the full influence of a major network to launch one of his own works into the spotlight... without having to pay the political price that usually came attached to that privilege.
It felt almost unreal.
Of course, Japan did have major directors and major studios capable of holding controlling stakes in their own projects, taking the lion's share of the profits, and still negotiating with powerful networks from a position of strength, demanding top-tier promotional support as a basic condition of cooperation.
But that kind of treatment was absolutely not something a director with only one year of experience should have been receiving.
That was why Sora Kamakawa's first instinct was caution.
Too much goodwill often hid some bitter condition underneath.
His guard rose almost instantly.
But Yumi Noriko caught on to what was happening inside him. After hesitating for a second, she leaned in ever so slightly. Her rosy lips nearly brushed his ear as she spoke in a voice so soft it barely felt like sound at all.
"Southern Alliance TV is at a critical moment right now. They're trying to push through an IPO, and at the same time they're negotiating to become the fifth network with true nationwide reach. At a time like this, they need ratings, results, and market confidence more than anything. Under those circumstances, offering terms outside the norm does not necessarily mean there's a trap."
Sora Kamakawa listened in silence.
His gaze brushed over Yumi Noriko's pale, delicate profile before shifting back to Ryo Yukishiro, seated across from him with that same courteous, easy expression.
So that was it.
Compared to the two major goals Southern Alliance TV was pursuing, the slice of profit they were willing to give up in order to secure Sora Kamakawa was almost negligible.
The year before, he had released two works that had ended up with the first- and second-highest online ratings of the year. And Natsume Yuujinchou, despite premiering on a regional station like Tokushima TV, had still become one of the top three best-performing anime of the year.
If Southern Alliance TV bet on him and he exploded once again with another major success, then any concession they made now would come back to them many times over elsewhere.
After thinking for a few moments, Sora Kamakawa looked up.
"You have no other requirements regarding the performance of the work?"
"Other than the fact that we want it to be an otherworld adventure anime, no," Ryo Yukishiro replied without hesitation. "Of course, our hope is that the work will be produced with the goal of placing among the top three most popular titles of the season."
He smiled again, calm and steady.
"But even if that does not happen, we will not include punitive clauses to bind you. You will have complete freedom."
The answer made perfect sense.
Otherworld adventure anime were, at that moment, the dominant commercial current in the market. When a work in that genre took off, the impact it generated across the industry usually surpassed that of romances, slice-of-life dramas, or quieter stories. Its commercial value was in a different league altogether.
If Southern Alliance TV wanted to push forward with its expansion plans and strengthen its position in the eyes of the market, then it was only natural for them to focus on exactly that kind of project. Even if Sora Kamakawa chose to fund the production himself and keep all the profits, the influence, discussion, and buzz generated by the anime would still be shared by both sides. And for the network's broader ambitions, that alone was worth a great deal.
It only took a bit of thought for Sora Kamakawa to understand the logic behind the proposal.
At its core, Ryo Yukishiro was making a bet.
A bet that Sora Kamakawa might truly be that rare kind of talent the industry only saw once every decade. A bet that his third work would remain at an exceptionally high level. A bet that he could still deliver another result large enough to change the weight of an entire network in the market.
And from Sora Kamakawa's perspective, the partnership held enormous value as well.
Southern Alliance TV would not become a shareholder in Yume Animation. His company would not gain a fourth investor. There would be no strange non-compete contracts, no clauses forcing priority collaboration for three or five years. If the work made money, that money would remain his.
Honestly...
He was tempted.
In pure influence, Southern Alliance TV could not compare with Seiun TV.
But what it offered in return was something extremely valuable: almost complete creative freedom.
Even so, Sora Kamakawa restrained himself. Keeping his expression earnest, he replied calmly,
"Director Ryo Yukishiro, this is far too important a decision to make lightly. I'll need one week to think it over. But within that time, regardless of what I decide, I will give you a definite answer."
At that moment, he had already made up his mind.
If Yumi Noriko was right and Seiun TV truly intended to approach him, then it was worth waiting a little longer to see what kind of terms the number one network in the country would place on the table.
Maybe they would be even better.
And if Seiun TV failed to appear within a week, then he would sign with Southern Alliance TV without hesitation.
After all, he had no time to waste.
The system's library contained more works than he could ever produce in a single lifetime. Waiting endlessly for perfect opportunities would be a ridiculous waste.
As for the condition that the new project had to be an otherworld adventure anime...
To him, that barely even counted as a restriction.
Sora Kamakawa did not particularly like the genre. In fact, he considered most isekai anime to be disposable junk packaged for easy consumption. But even in a pile of trash, true gems occasionally appeared.
Shingeki no Kyojin, for example - even if he only considered the anime's first season - required such an absurd amount of emotional points that he was still nowhere near being able to redeem it. Maybe someday in the future.
But after the success of Natsume Yuujinchou, he had already accumulated more than thirty million emotional points in the system.
And the moment he began comparing options inside his own mind, one work that fit within his reach emerged with striking clarity.
Among the great otherworld adventure anime he could afford at that moment, one title rose before him as though it had always been waiting there.
Re:Zero kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu.
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