After running back and forth for three days, handling every procedure and matter that needed attention, Kamiyā Yuu's 'Yosuganosora' Animation Studio was finally officially established.
At present, 'Yosuganosora' was located inside an old office building in a remote part of Tokyo, without even a company signboard outside. Compared to the original key animation department, the office space felt much colder and emptier both in terms of room and atmosphere. However, considering future development possibilities, all five computers were placed in the same office to make communication easier during animation production.
A week had passed since Yūki Chinatsu joined 'Yosuganosora' Animation Studio. When Kamiyā Yuu arrived at the office that morning, the three of them were already carrying out their assigned work in an orderly fashion. The atmosphere almost felt like the days back in the key animation department at Kyoni Animation Co., Ltd.—everyone only spoke when necessary to exchange opinions.
Wearing a black classical kimono, Uehara Etsuki sat upright in her office chair. Whenever she encountered a bottleneck while drawing, her slender hand would lift the Japanese tea beside her for a light sip before she quietly pondered for a while and resumed sketching the three-view scene designs for 'Yellow—Ashen Paradise.' That calm and composed demeanor was enough to leave Kamiyā Yuu amazed.
Uehara Etsuki was responsible for supporting character designs and scene design. The character designs included the red-and-blue sisters—Mitiad Mallakat and Melanie Mallakat—as well as the mafia boss Johnny. As for the scene designs, she was working on three-view diagrams of an entire city.
Morishita Aoi was carefully examining the detailed storyboard script recorded by Kamiyā Yuu. She assisted Uehara Etsuki with key animation design while also handling various studio affairs, including contacting Shindō Tsukasa regarding voice acting matters and communicating musical requirements. Compared to her previous role as assistant key animation supervisor, her current duties resembled those of an all-purpose assistant even more, acting as the interlocking gear that kept 'Yosuganosora' running smoothly.
Yūki Chinatsu lounged lazily in her office chair, holding the mouse with only one hand as she rapidly sorted and modeled the key animation submitted by Uehara Etsuki. After receiving an entire day of wholehearted instruction from Kamiyā Yuu some time ago, she had completely mastered the use of the MAYA 3D modeling software. Her main responsibility was converting Uehara Etsuki's key animation into models as well as handling real-time script staging.
Lastly, Kamiyā Yuu himself was responsible for the overall design of the short animation, chief direction duties, special item design, and the character design of the animation's protagonist, Yang.
"Morning."
Carrying a small bag, Kamiyā Yuu walked in and greeted them.
Hearing his voice, Uehara Etsuki stood and gently nodded toward him.
"Morning," Morishita Aoi also stood and replied.
Only Yūki Chinatsu's eyes lit up. Leaning back in her office chair, she tilted up her small head and lazily raised both hands while shouting, "Yuu, did you bring it?"
A single week had been enough for her terrible personality to become familiar with everyone, and at some point, she had even changed how she addressed Kamiyā Yuu.
Kamiyā Yuu helplessly placed the bag containing lunchboxes into her hands and said, "Yeah, yeah. Your breakfast."
Not long ago, Kamiyā Yuu had finally come to understand the true personality of this adult loli. A few days earlier, she had made a strange request, asking for permission to use one of the empty office rooms that hadn't yet been furnished. After Kamiyā Yuu agreed, that office became her bedroom the very next day.
Perhaps to accommodate situations like this, the old office building unexpectedly even had washing facilities besides the restroom.
Through Morishita Aoi, Kamiyā Yuu learned that Director Yūki had basically lived at the company in the past as well. Normally, she would just set her bedding aside, then spread it out beneath the desk at night when it was time to sleep.
Yūki Chinatsu herself explained it this way:
"Running back and forth is way too troublesome. Besides, companies usually support this kind of thing, right? Don't worry, I'm not going to ask you for overtime pay."
Support employees "living" inside the company?
Kamiyā Yuu now fully understood what real Japanese corporate slaves were actually like. Still, Yūki Chinatsu truly excelled at her work. She could clearly understand what Kamiyā Yuu wanted to express and turn it into 3D animated scenes. Moreover, she was the most diligent person in the entire animation studio. By the time Kamiyā Yuu arrived in the morning, she was already working. Even after the others left at eight in the evening, she was still working. Thanks to her being an interest-driven "workaholic," the projected production time for the modeling of 'Yellow—Ashen Paradise' had been greatly shortened.
"Thanks!" Yūki Chinatsu grinned.
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Yang Xiao Long.
Yang was the Chinese character for "sun," symbolizing a blazing, burning sun. Xiao Long—no Chinese person would find that name unfamiliar. It belonged to Bruce Lee, the most famous Chinese martial arts actor in Hollywood from Kamiyā Yuu's previous world.
The name Yang Xiao Long was also meant as a tribute to that kung fu superstar, and even her fighting style contained the "kung fu" elements as perceived by Americans.
Just from the name alone, one could clearly see the expectations Monty Oum had placed upon Yang's character setting.
A girl as wild as the sun itself, the type who would burn others if they got too close.
This could be seen both from Yang's character theme song and from her voice actress Barbara's evaluation of her:
"She's the type who would push someone into the water to teach them how to swim."
How should such a tough American-style heroine be designed?
In Kamiyā Yuu's eyes, Yang's character setting was probably the most complete among the four protagonists. The western cowboy-style outfit paired with fluffy golden curls created a vivid and distinctive appearance at first glance.
—There was no need to alter the overall design style. It only needed further refinement on top of the original concept to give Yang even more standout qualities and fitting characteristics.
Kamiyā Yuu focused intently as he recalled the "real person" he had constructed in his consciousness space last night. Only after quite some time did he begin sketching the passionate young girl onto the animation paper in his hand.
An endless stream of inspiration surfaced within his mind. While designing Yang's appearance, he was simultaneously setting her speech patterns, personality, behavior, gestures, and even facial expressions. All of these were part of Yang's character design.
Time passed.
When Kamiyā Yuu finally put down his drawing pen, the animation paper already depicted a wild young girl dressed in western cowboy fashion. Her fluffy, long hair resembled blazing flames, and combined with her carefree expression, the first impression she gave was that of an exceptionally cheerful girl.
Kamiyā Yuu did not alter Yang's core design itself. Instead, he focused heavily on refining her cowboy outfit and her mechanical arm guards.
As a young woman, Yang possessed an extremely mature and curvaceous figure. Combined with the brown jacket she wore, she appeared both valiant and alluring. Beneath her long boots, her slender and straight legs were wrapped in black lace garter stockings that extended beneath her ultra-short skirt shorts, adding an extra layer of seductive beauty.
Passionate, wild, cheerful, fierce, confident, mysterious, alluring—these were the key attributes of Yang's character design.