When it came to Kyoto Animation, Aoki Haruhi knew them all too well.
In his past life, Kyoto Animation produced countless masterpieces, and one could easily list a whole bunch of famous ones.
For instance, there was the well-known Violet Evergarden, also called Kyo-Violet.
Then there were healing series like CLANNAD and AIR, which only achieved such refined art styles and became timeless classics because of Kyoto Animation's production.
Beyond that, there were plenty more: The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, Full Metal Panic!, Love, Chunibyo & Other Delusions!, Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid...
There were simply too many to count.
The core advantages of Kyoto Animation lay in the high skill level of their animators, a sound talent cultivation mechanism, stable salary and benefits, as well as the independence of their production and the stability of their team.
The hallmarks of Kyoto Animation's works were their aesthetically pleasing backgrounds and exquisite visuals.
Unlike most companies in the industry that primarily pursued volume and commercial profit, Kyoto Animation had always upheld the principle of meticulous craftsmanship. By maintaining a "low efficiency" of one to two works per year, they ensured the super-high quality of their productions in terms of visuals and cinematic language.
But that was Kyoto Animation in its prime.
The current year is 1991.
As for the Kyoto Animation of today, although one of its founders, Yoko Hatta, had previously worked on finishing and coloring at Tezuka Productions, coloring was the only thing Kyoto Animation could really show for itself.
The company had been doing nothing but subcontracting work up until this point.
This meant assisting other large animation production companies by helping with coloring, and drawing the final content based on storyboards completed by others.
It was only after seeing Pokeni's tender this time that President Hatta (Hideaki Hatta, who is Yoko Hatta's husband) finally mustered the courage to give it a try.
Mainly, they felt that their drawing standards and production workflows had matured to the point where they could independently complete a project.
The game Onmyoji possessed strong dramatic potential; if they could pull it off, it would be a golden opportunity for Kyoto Animation.
To put it bluntly—
If they had a choice, who would want to remain a subcontractor forever?
To that end, they had prepared a great deal of work.
"President, this is the director of our studio, Yoshiji Kigami. He will be responsible for the storyboards and animation production this time, and he will now present the project proposal we have prepared for you."
Huh?
Upon hearing the name Yoshiji Kigami, Aoki Haruhi was slightly stunned.
Wow, so it turns out this man I'm with is actually Yoshiji Kigami?
Yoshiji Kigami could be considered the driving force behind Kyoto Animation, a true legend.
Born in '57, he is only 34 years old now, and he looks quite young.
He is hailed as a genius in the animation industry. If it hadn't been for the need to return to Osaka to take care of his ailing mother, he would probably still be in Tokyo right now.
Yoshiji Kigami is to Kyoto Animation what Hayao Miyazaki is to Ghibli, and what Hideaki Anno is to Gainax.
It can be said that without Yoshiji Kigami, there would be no Kyoto Animation in the future.
Yoshiji Kigami was a true genius. After graduating from Tokyo Designer Gakuin College in 1980, he joined the then-young and up-and-coming Shin-Ei Animation.
Although Shin-Ei had not been established for long, the list of heavyweights within the company was truly terrifying—Hayao Miyazaki, Yasuo Otsuka, Isao Takahata; any one of them would be considered a legendary figure.
Moreover, Japanese animators at that time practiced a hands-on mentorship system. Under the tutelage of these masters, Yoshiji Kigami grew at a rapid pace.
Just two years after his debut, Yoshiji Kigami was promoted to animation director for Ninja the Wonder Boy.
In animation production, the director's position is equivalent to that of a producer at a game company.
Just think, to be able to climb to this position in just over two years shows how exaggerated and terrifying Yoshiji Kigami's talent was.
To Kyoto Animation, Yoshiji Kigami was what Hayao Miyazaki is to Studio Ghibli, and what Hideaki Anno is to Gainax.
It can be said that without Yoshiji Kigami, there would be no future Kyoto Animation.
Yoshiji Kigami, who was originally set to shine brightly in Tokyo, learned last year, in 1990, that his mother was seriously ill and needed someone to take care of her, so he resolutely returned to Osaka.
Yoshiji Kigami, who was supposed to shine in Tokyo, learned last year, in 1990, that his mother was seriously ill and needed care. He made the resolute decision to return to Osaka.
He found a job nearby, and, partly due to the earnest entreaties of Hideaki Hatta, he joined Kyoto Animation.
Hideaki Hatta can be considered a very bold president; in pursuit of a breakthrough for the company, he granted Yoshiji Kigami extremely high authority and a generous compensation package—
He gave Kigami full responsibility for establishing the company's internal production system and talent development.
He was an executive from the moment he joined.
Furthermore, Uji City, where Kyoto Animation is located, is very close to Kigami's hometown of Osaka.
After joining the company, Kigami taught new employees everything hands-on, from the most basic in-between animation, key animation, and storyboarding, to photography.
He was even involved in every detail of the scripts. It could be said that he had no weaknesses; he was truly a versatile talent.
After joining Kyoto Animation, Kigami established several rules for the company:
1. Abandon the elimination-based training system and insist on not firing any new recruits.
Provide them with a base salary that exceeds the industry average to effectively protect the rights and interests of new employees.
The grueling piece-rate system does not exist at Kyoto Animation.
2. Constantly tell employees to infuse their own emotions into the characters they create.
Use the medium of animation to convey the power of dreams.
3. Regardless of the position, pour everything into every single frame of animation and thoroughly implement one's own ideas.
Maintain a spirit of struggle to take on challenges.
My goodness, what an incredible director Yoshiji Kigami is!
Later on, the top-tier key animators mentored by Kigami were numerous, and it was precisely this training system of his that laid a solid foundation for the Kyoto Animation of the future.
Honestly, if not for Kigami Yoshiji, Aoki Haruhi would never have considered the animation studio Kyoto Animation at all.
But with this person here, everything would be different.
After inserting the videotape, exquisite images appeared on the television screen.
Under a cherry blossom tree, Tsuki Kurai held a baby, her face filled with sorrow.
A cherry blossom petal rose with the wind, and the camera followed it, swirling as the petal danced.
The next second, the entire scene underwent a drastic change.
Amidst raging flames, Yuki Rei held a bow and arrow, releasing a shot that sent the cherry blossoms swirling with the airflow...
The scene shifted again, and Yamata no Orochi stood proudly on the surface of the sea.
Asakura En gripped his ritual sword, while his Shikigami, along with Yuki Rei and Hakuro, rushed forward in unison.
Wow, even after it finished, Aoki Haruhi still hadn't come back to his senses.
In less than 20 seconds, it displayed excellent and perfect cinematography.
At the same time, the color palette and character designs were impeccable.
Hmm...
Aoki Haruhi flipped through their storyboard.
Although it was only less than one episode's worth of content, just from the storyboard alone, one could see an extremely high level of animation.
Kyoto Animation lives up to its name, and Kigami Yoshiji truly is exceptional!
At this very moment, Aoki Haruhi had basically made up his mind.
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