One week after the final episode of Re:Zero's second season broke past a 6% audience rating, the entire Japanese animation industry seemed to be swallowed by a single piece of news.
Specialized programs, entertainment columns, pop culture portals, and even outlets that rarely gave anime much space began repeating the same subject, as if no one wanted to be left outside the phenomenon. Promotional posters for Re:Zero covered the main commercial streets aimed at otaku culture across Japan, and at the largest conventions in Tokyo, Osaka, and Nagoya, one only had to look around to find dozens - sometimes hundreds - of cosplayers dressed as Emilia, Rem, and Beatrice, each showing in their own way how deeply the work had marked its audience.
Sora's name also spread with almost frightening speed.
A genius Kantoku of only eighteen. Three years, three animated series, and one animated feature film in production. A young man who had started from zero and, before the industry could fully understand what was happening, had already become one of the strongest names in Japanese animation.
In decades of history, the field had never seen anyone quite like him.
And if there was a more inspiring example than Sora, no one could point to it.
The second season of Re:Zero had ended, but the spread of Sora's story within the industry was only beginning. Fans who loved Re:Zero, fans who did not care for it as much, casual viewers, and even professionals in the field would all come to know that such a young man existed. More than that, whether actively or passively, all of them would end up paying attention to his next work.
After all, was a talent like his merely a fleeting spark?
Or had Re:Zero only been the beginning?
With that expectation hanging over everyone, the film Five Centimeters per Second, which was set to premiere within a month, had not exactly become the center of attention in the Japanese film market. Not yet. But within the anime industry, it had already become impossible to ignore.
Among animation-related searches, the interest index for Five Centimeters per Second was more than double that of the four main anime titles promoted by Tokyo's major television stations for the summer season.
During the final month before the film's release, Yume Animation and Qin Animation began mobilizing every front of promotion. As the assistant Kantoku of Five Centimeters per Second, Sumire took charge of the first wave of promotional events in Sora's place.
As for Sora, he had another appointment.
That night, he met with the head of the production department of the Southern Alliance Network at an upscale restaurant in Tokushima.
At first, the meeting was supposed to concern only the broadcast arrangements for Steins;Gate and the first season of AD. However, the presence of another guest made it clear that the matter went far beyond that.
The vice president of the Southern Alliance Network, Sun Hayashi, a plump old man in his sixties, had personally come as well.
And his objective was simple.
The Southern Alliance Network did not merely want priority cooperation rights for one or two of Sora's future works. Anyone with even the slightest vision could see his potential. The four major Tokyo broadcasters would most likely formulate a joint plan to pressure him once his next production was decided.
But what if that pressure failed?
If that happened, Sora would become an existence beyond the usual ranks of the Japanese animation industry. When that moment came, every television station in Japan with even a reasonable amount of scale would compete for the chance to get close to him.
An anime Kantoku with a stable fanbase, overwhelming creative ability, and popularity comparable to that of a celebrity possessed immeasurable value to any broadcaster.
That was why, if the Southern Alliance wanted to tie Sora to its own future, it needed to seize this exact moment.
Sora placed the document in his hands on the table.
First, he looked at Sun Hayashi. Then at Ryo Yukishiro, seated beside him. Both were elderly men, veterans hardened by years of negotiations and industry politics. After that, Sora lowered his gaze back to the stack of clauses before him.
There were countless complex terms, special benefits, and unusual conditions written there. Too many details, some of them even strange at first glance, but in short, almost all of them pointed toward an exceptionally favorable proposal.
The most important point, however, was something else.
If Sora agreed to cooperate exclusively with the Southern Alliance Network for the next six years and produced at least eight animated works during that period, he would be able to purchase a 4.3% stake in the broadcaster for 300 million yen.
The Southern Alliance Network would go public in just over a month. According to estimates from economic media within the industry, considering the company's current performance, its market value would hardly fall below 17 billion yen.
In other words, that 4.3% stake could be worth more than 700 million yen.
Naturally, there were conditions.
Sora's eight new animated works would have to be broadcast exclusively by the Southern Alliance Network within Japan. In addition, the broadcaster would not pay broadcast fees as absurdly high as it had for Re:Zero's second season, where the rights alone had reached 40 million yen. If he accepted, the broadcast fees for his future works would probably fall to around 20% of that amount.
Even so, from a financial perspective, the agreement remained extremely profitable.
The Southern Alliance Network had an annual net profit exceeding 1 billion yen. Through dividends alone, that 4.3% stake could bring in two or three hundred million yen over seven or eight years, covering a large part of Sora's initial investment. If, after six years, he no longer wanted to continue the partnership, he could simply sell the shares.
But the decisive point was not merely money.
By accepting those conditions, Sora would stop being just someone hired by a broadcaster.
He would no longer be a creator working under the production department. Instead, he would become an investor in the Southern Alliance Network, the company's seventh-largest shareholder. With that position, he could access part of the broadcaster's connections, resources, and influence, opening doors for Yume Animation to continue growing and strengthening itself.
That kind of opportunity was not something one could simply buy with money.
In Tokyo, there were plenty of wealthy businessmen capable of spending hundreds of millions of yen. Even so, the board of the Southern Alliance would probably not even glance at their money.
What the broadcaster needed was someone like Sora: a partner capable of raising its stock price, improving its results, expanding its reputation, and consistently attracting an audience.
A 4% stake in a television station, if purchased after its public listing, could reach an unpredictable price on the capital market. And aside from that stake, the list of conditions still included many other benefits.
All Sora had to do was commit himself, over the next six years, to producing eight exclusive works for the Southern Alliance Network. If he signed, the next time Ryo Yukishiro met him, he would have to add the formal title of Kantoku when addressing him.
"Kantoku Kamakawa, I believe you can see our sincerity in this proposal," Sun Hayashi said with a smile.
His tone was calm, but every word carried the weight of a carefully calculated decision.
"I can say this without fear: with conditions like these, the four major Tokyo broadcasters would never make you an offer of the same level. Unless, of course, you placed a knife against the neck of every member of their boards. They would never allow the controller of an animation studio to enter their board of Kantokus and sit at the same table as an equal."
Sora remained silent for a few seconds.
And, to be fair, that was true.
If he wanted to cooperate with the four major Tokyo broadcasters at that moment, they would certainly welcome him with open arms. But deep down, their view of him would never go beyond that of a high-level worker.
A valuable creator, yes. Perhaps even an indispensable one.
But still someone hired to produce results.
"Aren't you afraid of investing this much in me and ending up with a loss?" Sora asked, setting the list of conditions on the table.
The Southern Alliance Network, more than any other partner, knew how much money he had earned from Re:Zero. The profit from the first season of Natsume Yuujinchou had been invested into the first season of Re:Zero. The profit from Re:Zero's first season had, in turn, been directed toward the second season and the production of Five Centimeters per Second.
As for the return from Re:Zero's second season, after covering the production costs of Steins;Gate and AD, it would probably leave around two or three hundred million yen. Enough to purchase that 4.3% stake in the Southern Alliance Network. Meanwhile, the box office revenue from Five Centimeters per Second would become Yume Animation's cash flow. Even if Sora came up with new ideas before receiving the profits from Steins;Gate and AD, he would not be trapped financially.
The other side had calculated his financial situation with precision.
The proposal did not suffocate him. On the contrary, it seemed designed so that he could accept it without feeling unbearable economic pressure.
"What if I'm only a passing spark?" Sora smiled, but his eyes remained serious as he faced the two men before him. "What if, after Re:Zero's second season, all eight of my next works fail one after another?"
Sun Hayashi let out a low, almost warm laugh.
"Everything in this world involves risk. If we were afraid of it, how could the Southern Alliance Network have risen among hundreds of Japanese broadcasters? In two months, once the final terms are formalized, we will become the fifth broadcaster in the country with national broadcasting rights."
He paused briefly, watching Sora with a calmness that bordered on conviction.
"At eighteen, you have already achieved things that many professionals in animation will never touch in their entire lives. We believe you are not a passing phenomenon. We believe you are a true genius, the kind of person who may appear in this industry only once every twenty years."
Sora fell silent.
Once again, he lowered his gaze to the list of conditions in his hands. He thought for a long time, as if every clause needed to be weighed carefully.
Then, at last, he spoke.
"I'll think about it for a few days."
In truth, Sora had already accepted the proposal in his heart.
But he still needed to maintain a little pride. If he immediately said that he was more than willing to accept such conditions, it would make him look far too cheap.
Dignity, after all, had to be preserved too.
Sun Hayashi and Ryo Yukishiro exchanged a glance. Then they stood, extended their hands toward Sora, and smiled.
"We'll be waiting for good news."