Afternoon.
L.S Production, Production Department.
Hakuba Yūki, the Production Assistant, opened the keyframe confirmation sheet on his computer, updated the production progress for the eleventh episode of the Death Note animation, closed the sheet, and logged into an online chat room.
"Ah, Fujiko-chan, welcome back!"
"Finished your part-time job?"
"Fujiko-chan, we were just talking about you, saying how nice it must be to be a university student."
"Aoyama-kun wants to organize an offline gathering. Will you come, Fujiko-chan?"
"Come on, everyone really wants to see what Fujiko-chan looks like!"
Messages popped up one after another.
Watching everyone in the chat room address him as "Fujiko-chan," Hakuba Yūki's expression twisted into a grimace. "God, why am I, a Production Assistant, stuck doing this?"
The situation had begun three days earlier when Lin Zhiyan had suddenly decided to create an online promotion department to leverage the internet for marketing the animation.
A new department definitely needed a leader. While they could have hired someone from outside, Lin Zhiyan preferred to promote someone from within. After all, internal hires were easier to communicate with, more agreeable, and, frankly, more obedient. Moreover, at this time, no one really understood online promotion and marketing, so an outsider might not be reliable.
The company's artists, colorists, and photographers were invaluable assets and couldn't be assigned to manage online promotion. That left only the production department as a source for candidates.
He asked Nanase Mayumi, the production department head, to inquire if anyone involved in current production projects was willing to lead the online promotion department. Hakuba Yūki promptly volunteered.
Since there were no new Production Assistants joining the team yet, and building the online promotion department would take time, Lin Zhiyan gave Hakuba Yūki a task as a trial before entrusting him with the real responsibility: disguise himself as a high school or university girl and infiltrate various online chat rooms to promote the [ Death Note ] animation.
If the mission was successful and the [ Death Note ] animation finished by next March, with new Production Assistants joining the team, Hakuba Yūki would be transferred to the online promotion department as its head, receiving both a promotion and a raise.
Hakuba Yūki initially thought it would be easy. Just pretend to be a high school or college girl and promote Death Note online? Piece of cake.
He created an account that day, using the username "Hakuba Fujiko" and setting her profile to that of a high school girl. He joined an online chat room, but before he could even start promoting the Death Note animation, he was immediately identified as a man and kicked out.
Determined, he studied feminine speech patterns and asked others how to make his online posts sound cuter.
After his studies, he adjusted his profile to that of a cute Tokyo college girl and joined a new chat room. This time, he wasn't recognized as a man.
However, not being recognized was just as awkward.
As a man, being constantly called "Fujiko-chan" and "Fujiko-chan" was irritating. Even though he hadn't posted any photos, everyone automatically assumed he was cute and pretty. Every time he entered the chat room, he felt goosebumps prickle all over.
"Damn it!"
When he finally met Production Manager Nanase Mayumi, he couldn't help but complain, "Ms. Nanase, why do we have to pretend to be high school or college girls to promote Death Note online? It makes no sense!"
Nanase Mayumi had just returned from the President's office.
She glanced at Hakuba Yūki, sat down at her desk, and calmly said, "You could also pretend to be a working woman. The Senior just hadn't thought of it yet, but it's not impossible."
"No!"
Hakuba Yūki was speechless. "I mean, why does it have to be a woman? Can't it be a man?"
"If you were walking down the street and a beautiful woman asked you to help with a five-minute survey, would you do it?"
"Uh... I'd probably say yes."
"What if it was just an ordinary man asking?"
"Of course not! My time is too valuable to waste five minutes on that kind of thing."
"Exactly. Both the audience of the Death Note animation and the users in the online chat rooms are predominantly male. Without the identity of a female high school student, college student, or working woman, how could you get close to them or effectively promote the Death Note animation?"
"..."
Her logic was so sound that Hakuba Yūki was momentarily speechless.
He quickly recovered and continued his complaint: "But I'm in such an awkward position now! They're even planning an offline gathering and insist I attend. If I hadn't pretended to be a girl, I could have gone, befriended them, and recommended our animation. But now I can't go, can I?"
"Why can't you go?" Nanase Mayumi countered. "Just go in drag. If you could even cosplay as Misa Amane, that would be perfect. It would definitely make everyone interested in Death Note, wouldn't it?"
"Huh? You can do that?" Hakuba Yūki was momentarily stunned.
"You're someone who's going to do great things, someone who's going to be a department head. I think you need to have that kind of resolve. Of course, this is just a suggestion. How you proceed is up to you. As long as you pass the assessment, it doesn't matter how you do it. And even if you don't pass, that's fine too. Being a Production Assistant is a perfectly good path." Nanase Mayumi concluded.
With that, she turned back to her work, ignoring Hakuba Yūki.
Hakuba Yūki lowered his head, lost in thought.
This woman... is she a demon?
Inside the president's office, Lin Zhiyan was also browsing the internet. Unlike before, he didn't pretend to be a girl chatting online; instead, he was scrolling through various news articles.
One piece of information caught his eye: the results of the 12th DoGA CG Animation Competition Grand Prize had been announced, with the grand prize winner being Makoto Shinkai's She and Her Cat.
This news had been out for some time, but Lin Zhiyan was only seeing it now.
Of course, Lin Zhiyan knew Makoto Shinkai well. In another timeline, he had watched all the animations this man had made, even if some of his early works weren't particularly outstanding.
She and Her Cat had several versions: a full version, a 3-minute version, and a condensed version. In 2016, it was adapted into a four-episode TV anime. The version that won the award was the five-minute full version, still in black and white, which differed significantly from the 2016 version.
The animation was told from the perspective of a male cat, depicting the quiet, slightly melancholic days he spent with his female owner under the same roof.
To put it simply, it was the story of a male cat adopted by a beautiful and gentle girl, who fell in love with her but could never express his feelings.
It's worth noting that Makoto Shinkai personally handled the directing, scripting, production, and cat's voice acting for this animation. Only the music and the female owner's voice acting were outsourced.
After seeing this news, Lin Zhiyan hesitated for a moment before quickly asking someone to get Makoto Shinkai's contact information from the competition organizers. He then sent him an email.
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