T/N:
If you've been following my translations for a while, you might have noticed that 'We Agreed to Make Trashy Anime—So What's with Attack on Titan?' has been taken down from Webnovel due to copyright issues, so I won't be able to continue working on it 😔🙏
I'm not sure if this one will run into the same issue, and if there's already an official version or another translator working on it here, please let me know—I'll stop accordingly 🙏 Thanks!
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Tokyo, DOS Animation Company.
The atmosphere inside was heavy, with people sighing from time to time.
"Finally got the chance to make our own anime, and the sales turned out this terrible."
"The president probably wants to kill the director right now, huh?"
"Of course. He funded this anime himself."
"From now on, our company will probably only take outsourcing jobs."
…
President's Office.
Takagi Makoto was also sighing, though for a slightly different reason than the others outside.
"Getting transmigrated out of nowhere is one thing, but starting already buried in debt?"
This was Tokyo in a parallel world, on January 10, 2006. His current identity: president of DOS Animation Company.
Five years ago, the original owner of this body graduated from high school and joined an animation company as a production assistant. Thanks to his strong abilities, he became a production manager within two years.
However, not long after his promotion, that company went bankrupt.
Although other companies later extended offers, the original owner declined them. Instead, he borrowed money, gathered a team, and started his own company—what was now DOS Animation Company.
At first, the company could only outsource work. After two years, full of ambition, the original owner decided to produce their own anime.
A few days ago, the anime 'Heartbeat Cabin', produced by DOS, was released. Its sales, however, barely exceeded 600 copies.
Generally speaking, sales needed to reach around 3,000 just to break even. Selling only a bit over 600 was a catastrophic loss—especially considering this was 2006, when the physical media market hadn't yet declined.
Most of the blame lay with the director, but he had already run off. And even if he hadn't, the losses couldn't realistically be shifted onto him.
The original owner wasn't completely blameless either—just less responsible by comparison.
"Trash animation company!"
"Trash Takagi Makoto!"
"Why the hell did you have to fund your own anime?"
"Making anime is a dead end!"
Takagi Makoto muttered to himself.
That said, he'd probably still have to stick with animation.
Before transmigrating, he had been a key animator and an amateur singer in China. He could draw, knew a bit about music—but beyond that, he had almost no other skills. Leaving the anime industry wasn't exactly an option.
Besides, this was a parallel world—and it was only 2006. There was plenty of opportunity.
"DOS is on the brink. I need to stabilize things first."
"Best case scenario, land a new project immediately."
"With a tiny company like ours, we probably can't secure a full contract. I'll have to create a proposal and seek investment myself."
A "full contract" meant being the main contractor.
Typically, the studio producing an anime isn't the one funding it—and very few studios fully finance projects on their own. After all, a 24-minute episode usually costs around 10 to 12 million yen. And in 2006, a series had over twenty episodes. Very few companies could afford that.
'Heartbeat Cabin' was an exception. It wasn't broadcast on TV and was sold directly on disc, so episode length was flexible—only about 10 minutes per episode, with just six episodes total.
Six short episodes didn't require that much money. Even if "Takagi Makoto" couldn't afford it himself, he could borrow it.
Of course, that was exactly why, after the anime failed, his debt only grew worse.
Self-funded anime rarely succeed. Even when they do, they're usually small-scale projects. This time, Takagi Makoto had no intention of repeating that mistake.
Besides, he was already drowning in debt—he simply didn't have the money anymore.
He needed investors. And to attract investors, he first needed a solid proposal.
An anime proposal typically includes the title, genre, synopsis, budget estimates, and so on.
Since this was for pitching, it didn't have to be overly detailed—but at the very least, it had to clearly explain what kind of anime he wanted to make.
"Time to think about which anime to 'borrow'… I mean, produce."
Before transmigrating, he had been just a key animator and part-time singer—not a producer or scriptwriter. Creating an original proposal guaranteed to secure investment for DOS was beyond him.
Better to be a "porter" of existing works.
However, Takagi Makoto soon realized a serious problem.
For some reason—perhaps due to the transmigration process—out of the thousands of anime he had watched in his previous life, the only ones he remembered vividly were tearjerkers.
Tearjerkers often became classics, and classics were rewatched over and over. But in his current state, he could recall every frame and detail of those emotional anime perfectly—while for other genres, even famous hits remained only vague impressions.
"Looks like I can only make tearjerkers."
"Don't blame me for being ruthless—I've got no choice."
With a sigh, Takagi Makoto opened a Word document on his computer and typed a few letters:
'CLANNAD'
'CLANNAD', produced by Kyoto Animation, was adapted from Key's visual novel of the same name. It had two seasons, each with 22 episodes (excluding specials).
Given DOS's current situation, there was no way they could pitch a high-budget spectacle. A slice-of-life anime would be far more suitable.
There were many slice-of-life anime, but this was 2006.
Animation styles from the 2000s differed from those after 2010. If he brought something with a later aesthetic into 2006, it might feel too ahead of its time—who knew if audiences would accept it?
Better to choose from successful tearjerker slice-of-life anime from the 2000s.
With the scope narrowed, the choice was obvious:
'CLANNAD'.
In many people's eyes, it was a masterpiece of its genre. Even by 2021, it remained a peak tearjerker. If DOS could successfully produce it, their reputation would soar—and securing investment for future projects would become much easier.
Having settled on the project, Takagi Makoto quickly began drafting the proposal.
Knock, knock.
A sudden knock came from the office door.
Without looking up, Takagi said, "Come in."
The door opened, and a young woman walked in.
Takagi glanced up—it was production assistant Esaka Noe.
She was petite, with a youthful face that made her look fifteen or sixteen. In reality, she was already twenty-one—just two years younger than Takagi.
After entering, she said, "President, Taiyo Company just called. They're asking if we're interested in taking outsourcing work."
"No."
Takagi rejected it without hesitation. "An animation studio that only takes outsourcing jobs—isn't that just a salted fish that's lost its dreams?"
"Huh?" Esaka Noe froze, completely confused.