When Gen Urobuchi happened to pass by the president's office, he heard Aoki Haruhi's voice from inside.
"Look, if you want a game to touch people's hearts, whether it's moving them to tears or making them feel gut-wrenching pain, the most important thing is that the buildup in the early stages must be done right... Actually, people don't empathize because of the tragedy itself, but because they have experienced that empathy..."
Huh?
Hearing this, Urobuchi's heart tightened.
Is the president giving guidance to Jun Maeda?
Why does only Maeda get a private lesson?
I want to listen too.
He knocked on the door twice. Aoki Haruhi stopped and said, a bit surprised, "Come in."
Urobuchi's thick-browed, small-eyed face immediately poked in.
"Um... President, I'm terribly sorry. I accidentally overheard, not on purpose, but I'm very interested in this lesson. Please let me listen in as well. I also want to learn."
Ah, this...
What do you want to learn?
I'm not giving a lecture here.
Aoki Haruhi couldn't help but frown.
I am guiding Jun Maeda, hoping to lead him to write the plot for CLANNAD. What are you barging in for?
If Urobuchi writes for Clannad, I'm afraid he'd end up killing off the protagonist's entire family.
Jun Maeda, sitting on the sofa, had the same expression.
***
It's just that Jun Maeda didn't know enough about Aoki Haruhi. In his mind, although the President had made a few games and had plenty of experience, he wasn't the "great god" he envisioned.
The "great god" in his heart was Kogahara Tsubakiaki.
And Kogahara Tsubakiaki had already resigned.
Since Gen Urobuchi wanted to listen in, Aoki Haruhi thought about it for a moment, decided it didn't really matter, and approved his request.
Less than a minute later, he saw this guy walk in clutching a notebook.
Gen Urobuchi was taking notes seriously, making it look like a big deal.
Aoki Haruhi ignored him and continued his brainwashing of Maeda:
"Regarding the act of 'stabbing'—ahem, regarding the act of moving people..."
"Beyond romance, there are many other forms it can take, such as friendship, family bonds, or even an individual's own efforts and growth."
"In this 'Blanket Man,' Maeda actually did a great job portraying friendship. Later on, when the female lead struggles to push past her mother and rushes toward the male lead, it's also a major tear-jerker. These are all things very much worth learning from and emulating."
"In this 'Futon Man', Maeda actually portrayed the element of friendship very well. The later scene where the heroine struggles to push her mother away and rushes towards the hero is also a major tear-jerker. These are all very worthy of reference and learning."
"Thank you, President." Jun Maeda nodded earnestly.
Was he praised by the President?
Gen Urobuchi felt a bit sour. This guy actually got praised by the President after making only his first game since joining?
Aoki Haruhi picked up a piece of chalk and wrote on the blackboard:
[Family]
[Eternal Bond]
[Promise]
[Affection]
[Love]
[Friendship]
[Miracle]
[Future]
[Fate]
etc...
Then, he explained them one by one.
"Tragedy has a very strong emotional impact, but having an emotional impact doesn't necessarily mean it must be a tragedy," Aoki Haruhi analyzed. "The essence of emotional impact is [experience], or what can be called [memory]. If a stranger dies, you don't feel much grief. But if this person has lived with you for a while, and you have all sorts of good and bad memories about them, then when they pass away, you will be moved. This is also what I said earlier about how foreshadowing is very important."
Mm-hmm!
Gen Urobuchi nodded in strong agreement!
He quickly took notes with his small pen and summarized the gains and losses based on his previous work.
For example, in The Witcher, when the queen returns to her human form, no matter how tearfully it is portrayed in the game, it cannot evoke recognition from the players. On one hand, it's because no one has the experience of turning from a vampire back into a human.
For instance, in The Witcher, when the queen returns to her human form, no matter how tear-jerking the game's presentation is, it fails to resonate with players. On one hand, none of us have the experience of turning from a vampire into a human.
We also haven't experienced that feeling of longing after a long wait, of wanting something but being unable to attain it.
On the other hand, it's also constrained by the game's main storyline, which doesn't leave enough time and space to flesh out these aspects.
It is quite a difficult task to fully develop a character.
Aoki Haruhi explained for quite a while, occasionally glancing at Gen Urobuchi's small notebook, feeling even more apprehensive inside.
After all, the main purpose of today's lesson was to help the current Jun Maeda evolve into a mature version of himself, to help him quickly grasp the power of familial love, friendship... and other forms of emotional resonance.
Once he masters these, Jun Maeda's skills will be greatly enhanced; it certainly wasn't about teaching Gen Urobuchi how to twist the knife or induce tears.
If "Old Xu" were to become a fusion of "Old Xu" and Jun Maeda, just how terrifying would that be?
"So what I mean is, Maeda—ahem—and Wada, your future scripts don't have to be confined to 'romance'; try to expand your horizons a bit more." After finishing, Aoki Haruhi tilted his chin and asked, "Maeda-san, do you understand?"
"Yes."
Jun Maeda nodded earnestly.
For some time now, the President had been frequently discussing game and script-writing approaches with him, including his desire for him to go out and experience life; it was all, in fact, for his own good.
Because only content you have experienced firsthand can help you write more realistic and emotionally moving scripts.
Jun Maeda was currently working hard in that direction.
"I understand too!" Gen Urobuchi raised his hand high.
Aoki Haruhi rolled his eyes.
You understand my foot. Just stick to writing your dark literature!
You are on a completely different path from a Jun Maeda who specializes in "healing," "giving people infinite strength and hope," "bringing pure, touching emotions," and "making people cry while simultaneously filling them with endless joy."
Just be your "Warrior of Love" and stick to your own style—wouldn't that be great?
***
The two left separately. Old Xu nodded frequently, feeling he had gained a great deal today, as if he had attained enlightenment.
Maeda Jun was under a lot of pressure, but he was still happy to have received praise from the president.
By the way, Aoki Haruhi assigned a new project to Maeda Jun, asking him to write a few scripts centered around the themes of "family affection," "family," and "love."
He didn't require them to be perfect from the start; as long as there was an outline and the key content, that would suffice.
Otherwise, waiting for him to complete an entire script would be a waste of time.
Aoki Haruhi even told him that as long as he had an idea, he could communicate it with him, even if there wasn't an outline yet.
About two weeks later, Maeda Jun had submitted a total of about three scripts.
But Aoki Haruhi was still not satisfied.
It wasn't for any other reason; these just weren't the "CLANNAD" he had in mind.
Moreover, the "lessons" didn't seem to have helped much; instead, they had disrupted Maeda Jun's thinking, causing him to come up with some bizarre family combinations and then turn them into twisted stories that were heartbreakingly cruel.
Good grief, Urobuchi was leaning towards Maeda, and Maeda was becoming Urobuchi instead?
Aoki Haruhi couldn't help but cover his forehead.
It was truly a headache.
Aoki really wanted to give him a heavy knock on the head, but after thinking about it carefully, he decided against it.
Jun Maeda was a talented man, but he had one flaw—
Despite his usual calm, composed, and arrogant appearance, he was actually incredibly fragile on the inside.
In his previous life, Jun Maeda cared deeply about player criticism, which led to him disappearing from the public eye several times.
After the massive success of CLANNAD, he took the lead on a sequel, Tomoyo After.
Tomoyo After was a fan disc for Maeda's masterpiece, CLANNAD, meaning it was a work serving the fans of CL.
There's no need to elaborate on CL; whether as a game or an anime, it remains a representative work of the "crying game" genre to this day. Although the process was difficult, the "white magic" at the end truly elevated the theme, allowing people to better understand the meaning of family amidst their emotions.
However, with Tomoyo After, Jun Maeda did not continue the warmth of the main CLANNAD story. Instead, he wrote a realistic and ruthlessly depressing work, especially the true ending for Tomoya and Tomoyo, which could be considered even more cruel than a bad ending.
This time, Jun Maeda let himself go, completely igniting the anger of the players. Not only did the game's sales flop immediately, but it also received non-stop negative reviews, and Maeda even received razor blades in the mail from players.
Well, looking at it this way, receiving razor blades has already become a traditional art in Japan, and Aoki Haruhi has also gotten a bit used to receiving them.
For Jun Maeda, this was unacceptable, and so, shortly after the game was released, this guy suddenly "disappeared."
Maeda's disappearance was no joke; he was truly nowhere to be found, to the point where his colleagues even called the police.
Of course, in the end, it turned out that Maeda was just depressed and had cut off all contact to stay in the countryside for a few days.
The fact that Maeda would "run away" and "disappear" is actually related to his own experiences.
Maeda did not come from a professional background and had never received professional writing guidance. When job hunting, he even considered working at Champion Soft, the predecessor to AliceSoft, but eventually turned to SCOOP because he didn't understand Windows. However, he left the company because his scripts were incompatible with the environment.
So this guy has always lacked confidence in his writing skills. Even after achieving some success, he still often refers to himself as a "Useless Scenarist."
Beyond lacking confidence in his writing, Jun Maeda is also someone who cares deeply about reader reviews.
He keeps an eye on the comments for almost every new work, and discusses and tracks the experience and feedback after release with his creative team.
However, with a thousand readers come a thousand Hamlets; the more he cares about these, the greater his psychological pressure becomes, and the less confident he feels. Despite the people around him calling him a genius, he still thinks he's nothing more than a loser.
This was especially true after the failure of Charlotte, which led to the constant stream of negative reviews after the 12th episode of The Day I Became a God aired in 2020. Unable to handle the blow, Jun Maeda deleted his Twitter and ran off.
How should I put it?
Although he is called the "Great Demon King of Tears," his heart is as fragile as a child's.
Or rather, the Japanese pedestal isn't so easy to climb; at the very least, you need a big heart. But the most critical issue is that Jun Maeda's heart really isn't in great shape (in every sense of the word—he even had surgery for a heart condition).
So, although Aoki Haruhi had intentions of guiding him toward the direction of CL, he didn't dare to pressure Maeda too much. He knew from experience what this type of scriptwriter was like.
If he were discouraged for too long, it would easily lead to learned helplessness.
What's more, the scripts Maeda provided were actually quite good and could be used with some revisions.
Therefore, even though Aoki didn't adopt his scripts, he still gave him high praise and affirmation.
"Hmm, these scripts all have their own highlights. Perhaps there will be a chance to greenlight them in the future. Keep up the good work."
"Okay, President."
Maeda took his proposals and left the president's office, looking a bit dejected.
Watching him walk away, Aoki felt a little sorry for him.
He had to find a way to encourage him; after all, Jun Maeda had already created a fairly good game like "Blanket Man." He really shouldn't let him become dispirited because of his own demands.
***
That night, Aoki Haruhi couldn't sleep, tossing and turning for a long time. Suddenly, he opened his eyes, having realized a truth—the world had changed!
Yes! The world had changed; it was no longer the world from his memories.
Furthermore, this current world contained many people and events that Aoki Haruhi had never encountered or understood.
While his arrival hadn't had a massive impact on the overall course of history, it had caused certain ripples among the people and things around him.
For instance, Gen Urobuchi hadn't written works like Song of Saya or Puella Magi Madoka Magica following their original trajectory (in reality, it was because the Great River Crab God was watching). This meant that Jun Maeda likely wouldn't be able to write CL either.
After all, the premise of these creations was intimately tied to personal experience. Without the Love Flower poison, one wouldn't lose the Little Dragon Maiden, and without losing her, Yang could never master the Melancholy Palm.
It was probably a similar principle, wasn't it?
A man cannot step into the same river twice. In this lifetime, Jun Maeda lacked his past life's experiences, so how could he produce the same work?
Aoki Haruhi couldn't exactly make him replicate those experiences; after all, that was Jun Maeda's own life.
Written as CL, read as life.
Without sufficient life experience, it was impossible to create a work like that.
However... CL definitely still needed to be made.
It seemed, then, that he would have to take the reins himself.
***
The next morning, Aoki Haruhi found Jun Maeda and invited him into the president's office.
Unfortunately, they were spotted by that guy, Gen Urobuchi.
"President, I also want to..."
Like hell you do!
"Fine, you come too."
What can I do, I spoil you.
Aoki opened the door, waited for the two of them to come in and sit down, and then said with a smile, "Maeda, please forget what I said to you earlier."
"Eh?"
Both Jun Maeda and Gen Urobuchi were stunned.
"I've realized one thing," Aoki said. "The development of all things has its own objective nature; some things cannot be artificially interfered with. I believe in your abilities, and I want you to follow your own ideas from now on.
And more importantly."
Aoki looked at Jun Maeda and said, "You must have your own judgment. Don't be swayed by other people's opinions. No one in this world is perfect, and for every work, there will always be people who like it and people who don't. But the most important thing is that you like it yourself.
Only then can you create works that truly surpass yourself."
"So, please create your own unique game script," Aoki Haruhi said.
He had truly figured it out: rather than forcing the Jun Maeda of [this timeline] to write his works from his previous life, it would be better to guide him first, help him develop a healthy mindset, and relieve him of unnecessary psychological burdens.
The soul of Key is Jun Maeda, but he has been pushed too hard by his own glory, the fans, and the Key brand. It's impossible to make good work while carrying such a heavy burden of pressure.
Fortunately, there is Pokeni now. With Aoki Haruhi in Pokeni, there is no need for Jun Maeda to bear that pressure alone.
The two of them sat on the sofa, lost in thought.
After a long while, Jun Maeda let out a soft sigh, feeling a sense of relief.
"I understand," Gen Urobuchi nodded. "Walk your own path, and don't let yourself be influenced by the players."
Ah, this...
Aoki Haruhi was speechless, a black line appearing on his forehead.
You are the last person who should be saying that, aren't you?!
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