sinovels Chapter 249 The Complete Version with Explosive Funding! A New Century Religion for Adults
Chapter 249 The Complete Version with Explosive Funding! A New Century Religion for Adults
Chapter 249 The Complete Version with Explosive Funding! A New Century Religion for Adults (10/71)
Taking advantage of a rare day off for the crew of "Tell Me You Love Me," Kitahara Shin took off the white shirt that symbolized the deaf and melancholic painter with remarkable ease.
The moment he changed into a perfectly tailored dark bespoke suit and a patterned tie, his demeanor underwent a dramatic transformation. The fragile young man who had broken the hearts of women across Japan on television vanished completely, replaced by a cold-blooded tycoon who controlled a vast entertainment empire and wielded billions in terrifying cash flow.
"Go to the GAINAX studio," Kitahara Shin instructed Aida's secretary as he sat in the back seat of the Maybach.
The car smoothly drove into an office building in Musashino City, Tokyo. This is the core animation production department of Kitahara Office, and the absolute heartland where the future super money-printing machine of the two-dimensional world, "Neon Genesis Evangelion" (EVA), was conceived.
As soon as I pushed open the studio door covered with various drafts, an extremely hardcore "burning-out atmosphere" hit me.
It was a strong smell of black coffee, tobacco, and various energy drinks mixed together. In the huge office area, discarded line drawings were scattered all over the floor, piles of celluloid original artwork paper were stacked up, and dozens of animators were working frantically at their desks, which constituted an extremely high-pressure battle environment here.
However, this was completely different from the miserable GAINAX of the original timeline, which was struggling to secure sponsorships, constantly racking up funds, and even so poor that it couldn't pay salaries. Everyone sitting here now, despite having dark circles under their eyes, radiated an intensely fervent and abundant light.
When Kitahara Shin took over this project, he was extremely ahead of his time and introduced an operating model similar to Netflix, which he used to violently bail out the huge cash flow earned from "Bayside Shakedown"!
He gave Hideaki Anno an astronomical budget with no upper limit, which was considered astronomical in the Japanese animation industry in the 90s. Not only that, Shin Kitahara also offered all the animators, colorists and storyboard artists in the studio extremely high salaries, more than three times the industry average.
A generous reward will surely attract brave men. Once genius creators have resolved their existential anxiety of "whether they can have enough to eat," the energy they unleash is terrifying.
These illustrators are not only burning with passion for anime and manga, but they are also using an extremely fervent "pilgrimage" mentality to repay the tycoon who is willing to spend countless amounts of real money on them.
With plenty of food, high earnings, and the ability to draw the mecha they most wanted to create, the team's extremely high level of efficiency and quality reached an unprecedented peak.
"President Kitahara!"
Hideaki Anno (the scoundrel), who was checking storyboards while smoking, saw Shin Kitahara walk in. He immediately stubbed out his cigarette and excitedly went to greet him. His messy hair and bloodshot eyes made him look exactly like a mad scientist.
"How's the final cut going?" Kitahara Shin casually pulled up a chair and sat down, his gaze sweeping over the row of extremely expensive monitors next to him.
"The progress is extremely smooth! The original drawings, coloring, and post-production dubbing for the first fifteen episodes are all completely finished. The storyboards for the subsequent episodes have also been finalized, and production is in full swing!" Hideaki Anno's voice trembled slightly with excitement.
He strode to the control panel and pressed play: "President, take a look at this gameplay footage of Unit-01 engaging the Third Angel. With the ample budget you provided, we've maximized the frame rate for all the animations!"
The screen lights up.
Accompanied by an incredibly powerful soundtrack, the purple and green Unit-01 rampages through the ruins of Tokyo-3 like a wild beast. The incredibly fluid mecha combat, the tension of flesh and blood flying as Angels are torn apart, and even the chillingly muscular feel of Unit-01's rampaging roar—all of these were painstakingly crafted by the animators with an extremely lavish budget!
Kitahara Shin looked at the screen, a hint of extreme satisfaction flashing in his eyes.
Only he, the transmigrator, knew that in his previous life, when EVA was completed, the budget was completely exhausted in the second half, resulting in extremely absurd "still frame scenes" (such as the famous scene in the elevator that remained still for a minute with only the sound of cicadas), and even the finale turned into a psychological line drawing stream of consciousness that was hard to understand.
But now, all the negative effects caused by poverty have been completely erased by the power of money! Every frame is burning through budget, reaching the top level of a true theatrical version.
"Well done, Director Anno. This is exactly the monster I wanted to see." Kitahara Shin didn't hold back his praise, and then decisively finalized the deal. "I've already had the distribution department at TV Tokyo finalize the deal. In October 1995, during the fall season, in prime time, *Neon Genesis Evangelion* will officially air. Get ready for your era."
It will officially air in October!
Upon hearing the confirmed release date, the entire studio's animators erupted in a roar of cheers that nearly lifted the roof off. They knew all too well what a revolutionary monster they were holding in their hands.
Just as the entire studio was immersed in ecstasy, the office door was pushed open again.
Several middle-aged men in sharp suits, carrying briefcases, walked in. Leading them was the representative from the copyright department of Bandai Co., Ltd., Japan's largest toy manufacturer.
They came to discuss licensing of peripheral models based on the smell of the product.
"President Kitahara, it's an honor to meet you!" The Bandai representative, seeing Kitahara Shin in person, paused for a moment, then quickly plastered on a highly professional, fake smile and handed over his business card. "We just happened to be passing by and thought we'd take a look at Director Anno's mecha designs. Regarding the development of toy merchandise for your new anime, Bandai is very interested in taking on the project—"
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As the Bandai representative spoke, he picked up a concept art of Unit-01 from the table.
However, the moment the representative saw the blueprints, his brows furrowed into a deep frown.
"This—this is the mecha the protagonist pilots?" The Bandai representative pointed with utter disgust at Unit-01's hunched posture, bizarre color scheme, and terrifying face with its gaping maw revealing teeth. "President Kitahara, Director Anno, forgive my bluntness, but this monster-like thing, which bleeds and goes berserk—this is completely out of a child's sync! Traditional robots should be like Gundam, boxy and upright, full of a sense of justice and heroism!"
He put down the blueprints, adopting a condescending investor's stance, attempting to use this to force a lower price: "These terrifying mecha models simply won't sell. If we're going to take on this huge market risk, then Bandai can only offer the industry's lowest standard for licensing fees and royalty sharing, which is a 3% commission."
Hearing such a short-sighted evaluation and an insulting price reduction, Hideaki Anno clenched his fists in anger, about to unleash a torrent of curses.
But before he could react, Kitahara Shin, who was sitting on the sofa, suddenly chuckled.
Kitahara Shin slowly stood up, looking down at the arrogant toy merchants. The terrifying pressure emanating from him, typical of a financial tycoon, was released without reservation at that moment, instantly freezing the air in the entire office.
"Selling to children?"
Kitahara Shin forcefully snatched the blueprints from the Bandai representative's hand and slammed them hard on the table with a "bang," his eyes as cold as knives.
"Who told you this animation is for kids who only know how to play with plastic Superman figures?"
The Bandai representative was so intimidated by this aura that he took a step back, cold sweat instantly beading on his forehead: "Then—then who is your audience—"
'
"This is a new century religion for adults."
Kitahara Shin placed his hands on the table, stared into the other person's eyes, and spoke in an extremely domineering tone, leaving no room for negotiation.
"This mecha, imbued with violent aesthetics, a biological feel, and extreme psychological pressure, will completely empty the wallets of adults and otaku throughout Japan and even Asia. Unit-01 will not only sell models, but also high-end figurines and collaborative apparel. Its value is tens of billions of yen in net profit every year!"
Kitahara Shin was actually very clear-headed. Although Kitahara's agency did have its own merchandise manufacturing department, it mainly focused on clothing, audio-visual discs, and lightweight accessories. For heavy industrial toys like mecha model kits (such as Gunpla), which require extremely high-end plastic molding technology, mature production lines, and a global offline distribution network, Bandai indeed held an irreplaceable monopoly.
This market is so large that it needs to be monetized quickly by leveraging Bandai's massive scale.
However, in terms of their cooperative position, Kitahara Shin, who holds absolute IP rights, is the true god!
From the very beginning of the project, Kitahara Shin had already used extremely forceful methods to clarify the ownership of the copyright—Kitahara Office held absolute control over EVA and all its intellectual property rights, while Hideaki Anno, as the core creator, enjoyed 40% of the copyright revenue. This meant that Kitahara Shin and Anno Shin were a united front (60/40 split of profits), and all external licensing was entirely decided by Kitahara Shin alone.
"Want to ride on the coattails of Kitahara's agency to make money? Fine." Kitahara Shin looked at the sweating Bandai representative and coldly quoted his price. "But the license I'm granting you is limited to the single category of mecha model kits. As for other merchandise and figures, all of that will be handled by our agency. Also, I want 20% of the net profit from the sale of all EVA-related models by Bandai."
Upon hearing this extremely exaggerated number, the Bandai representative nearly bit his tongue off.
"This—this is impossible! There has never been such a high royalty rate in the industry! A 20% cut is practically sucking Bandai's blood!" the Bandai representative shouted anxiously.
"That was the old rule." Kitahara Shin straightened up, straightened his suit cuffs, and issued an ultimatum with extreme coldness. "Now, I set the rules for the world of anime. You only have two choices: either sign obediently today, or get out of this door immediately. After the anime airs in October, even if you kneel here with double the money, I will not grant Bandai even a single screw license."
The representatives from Bandai looked at each other, their faces ashen.
Only at this moment did they suddenly realize just how terrifying and enormous the creature they were facing truly was.
Shin Kitahara is not one of those struggling animation directors hiding in a run-down apartment, unable to even afford instant noodles. He manages two chart-topping million-selling songstresses, Akina Nakamori and Izumi Sakai; he owns several prime commercial buildings in Tokyo's Minato Ward and Shibuya; and his film division recently achieved a box office miracle of 5 billion yen for a single film.
The total valuation of the entire Kitahara Entertainment Empire has long exceeded hundreds of billions of yen! And the terrifying amount of liquid funds he can readily access is as high as tens of billions of yen!
Facing a newly emerging media giant whose size is no less than Bandai's and who even has absolute dominance in the media and star-making fields, Bandai's previous despicable tactics of "using funds to strangle and control poor animation studios" were directly and brutally crushed into pieces by Kitahara Shin!
The terrifying pressure and do-or-die aura of a conglomerate with assets worth hundreds of billions completely shattered the psychological defenses of the Bandai representative.
"We'll sign!" The leading representative gritted his teeth and took out the official seal with trembling hands.
Looking at the red seal stamped on the authorization contract, Kitahara Shin's lips curled into an extremely satisfied smile.
He knew that with the signing of this contract, a "peripheral money-printing machine" that could reliably provide tens of billions of yen in profits every year for the next few decades had officially started its first roar in his business empire!