"Click~!"
The wooden door of the key animation department's private office slid open. Fujiwara Tora, with his sturdy build, stepped out holding a thick stack of key animation documents. Before closing the door, he gave a deep bow toward the office. Beside him, Kimura Jirō also followed suit and bowed.
Kamiyā Yuu noticed the stark contrast in their expressions. Fujiwara Tora looked somewhat haggard, with deep dark circles under his eyes—clearly he hadn't been sleeping well for some time. As for Kimura Jirō, he looked as indifferent as ever—not calm, not nervous, just as if he were dealing with something boring.
—Seems like nothing went wrong.
Just as Kamiyā Yuu turned back to continue his work copying key frames, Fujiwara Tora turned around, scanned the office, and fixed his gaze on him. He then walked straight over to Kamiyā Yuu's desk and bowed deeply.
"Kamiyā, I'm truly sorry for causing you trouble again this time. If you ever need anything in the future, feel free to come to me."
From Morishita Aoi, Fujiwara Tora had already learned the details of how the storyboard issue was resolved. Combined with the previous incident where Kamiyā Yuu had been hospitalized from overwork, it was clear that Kamiyā Yuu had contributed greatly to fixing the production department's mistakes twice.
Feeling the pressure from the man's imposing physique, Kamiyā Yuu quickly stood up from his desk. "No, Fujiwara-san has already put in more than enough effort. I'm just glad I could help this time."
Fujiwara Tora chuckled and awkwardly scratched the back of his head with his thick right hand. "Just call me Fujiwara—or even by my name. No matter what, it's my failure that the production department's mistakes had to be fixed by the key animation team. Honestly, there were several times I thought we wouldn't make it. If 'Mr. Onigiri Man' had been delayed because of us, I would've had no choice but to resign. You saved my position, Kamiyā. Once this project is finished, I'll treat you to a proper meal."
From behind him, Kimura Jirō greeted casually, "It's only been a few months, and you've already become a key animator, huh, Kamiyā? How about grabbing a drink at that bar on your day off? My treat this time."
The moment those words left his mouth, Fujiwara Tora's expression shifted from relaxed to terrifyingly grim. He reached out with one large hand, grabbed Kimura Jirō by the head, and forcibly turned him to face him, revealing a fierce grin.
"Kamiyā, I apologize. Just pretend you didn't hear what Kimura said. Because for the next month, he won't have any days off."
"Ah—!? Boss, that hurts, hurts! What do you mean, no days off?"
"That's enough. We won't disturb your work any longer, Kamiyā-kun. If you need anything, come find me in the production department," Fujiwara Tora said, waving his left hand in farewell while dragging Kimura Jirō out like a chicken with his right.
"Alright, I'll be counting on you then, Fujiwara-san."
—What a lively pair.
Kamiyā Yuu shook his head with a laugh. In any case, no matter what kind of trouble the production department caused, it was unlikely to directly affect him, so he didn't bother forming a concrete opinion about Kimura Jirō. But from a normal perspective, Kimura was undoubtedly the troublemaker of the production department.
The fact that someone like him hadn't been fired from Kyoni Animation Co., Ltd. was nothing short of a miracle.
"Kamiyā-kun, I can't believe you can talk so casually with that 'Fierce Tiger.' His build and appearance are just too intimidating. Every time I see him, I instinctively want to back away," a female key animator said, peeking over the divider of her desk. After this incident, Kamiyā Yuu's name had finally become well known throughout the department.
The one speaking was one of the veteran female key animators, Kojima Mizuki. She always dressed in sportswear, giving off a rather plain impression.
Kamiyā Yuu smiled. "Mizuki-san, Fujiwara-san is actually a good person."
He silently handed out a "good person card."
"I know that, everyone does… it's just instinctive…" Kojima Mizuki replied awkwardly.
Not far away, a middle-aged male key animator sitting in his chair sighed. "I heard this whole mess in the production department was caused by that Kimura guy next to Fujiwara. Why are they even keeping someone like that around? He just causes trouble."
This middle-aged animator had long hair and a scruffy beard, giving him a disheveled, worn-out appearance. His name was Ōkawa Kazuki. Despite having more seniority than even Uehara Etsuki, he had remained an ordinary key animator for over a decade.
Ōkawa Kazuki glanced at Kamiyā Yuu, took out a cigarette from his pocket, lit it, and exhaled a cloud of smoke before asking in a numb tone, "Speaking of which, Kamiyā, you've improved quite a bit. The first time I saw your key frames, it really shocked me. There aren't many promising young people like you these days."
"Yeah, yeah! I heard you became a student of Director Uehara. Did she teach you some special key animation techniques?" Kojima Mizuki's eyes lit up as she leaned forward over the divider, asking excitedly.
Kamiyā Yuu thought for a moment before answering, "Director Uehara taught me quite a few techniques and gave me a guidebook on key animation. More than half of my improvement comes from her guidance."
"So there really is some secret! A guidebook!? What kind?" Kojima Mizuki pressed eagerly, eyes full of anticipation.
"It's called Complete Guide to Key Animation Techniques."
Kojima Mizuki froze for a moment, searching her memory for books with that title. It wasn't that she couldn't find any—it was that the name was far too common. She could recall several books with that exact title, but they were all rather mediocre instructional materials.
"The 2005 edition?" Ōkawa Kazuki put down his cigarette and stroked his beard with interest.
"Yes, it was published in 2005," Kamiyā Yuu recalled from the book's cover.
"You know it, Ōkawa-san?" Kojima Mizuki turned to him.
"Well, no need to dig too deep. That Complete Guide to Key Animation Techniques was indeed a beginner's bible in the early days of the industry, but by now, many of its techniques are outdated. The art styles are completely different too—it's not much better than the average guidebooks you'd find in a bookstore today," Ōkawa Kazuki explained with a wave of his hand.
"I see…" Kojima Mizuki lowered her head in disappointment.
Soon, the key animation department returned to its usual calm.
Having finished his corrected key animation work, Kamiyā Yuu began sketching musical notes on a sheet of animation paper. Closing his eyes, he tried to recall the music he had composed in his mental space, carefully considering how each note would match the animation's background.
Now that he had more free time during work, he wanted to use it to create another piece of background music suitable for the 'Red' chapter.