Creed

Just as Gu Xue was having a change of heart, Mihara Chisa took the key animation and went to see Misawa Hiroshi, the episode director.

Their relationship was no longer as hostile as it had been during the animation meetings. It was probably because of some things supervisor Abe Shinichi had said. Now Misawa Hiroshi was willing to show Mihara Chisa a little kindness, within the limits of what he could tolerate.

For example, today Mihara Chisa had asked him to come to the studio at three to check the key animation and layouts. Aside from grumbling a few times when she called him, he had shown up looking as though he were floating on air.

The kindness he showed struck Mihara Chisa as nothing more than self-righteousness, but that didn't stop her from working. Without changing her expression, she handed the key animation to Misawa Hiroshi, then stood behind him.

As soon as she took her place behind him, both Misawa Hiroshi and Abe Shinichi grew tense. After all, not everyone could concentrate on their work while being watched, and Misawa Hiroshi was one of those who couldn't.

Abe Shinichi, who was also directing the final episode, noticed that Misawa Hiroshi seemed uncomfortable. He smiled at Mihara Chisa and said, "Miss Mihara, why don't you take a break? I'll let you know once we're done checking it. We can take it to the next department ourselves and inform you afterward. You see, Misawa isn't very used to working while someone watches him..."

"Get used to it now," Mihara Chisa interrupted.

Abe Shinichi: "..."

Misawa Hiroshi sighed. He understood her style by now: she had to personally oversee every step, know exactly how things were progressing, and absolutely wouldn't tolerate anyone wasting time.

Dealing with her really felt like having a knife held to your throat, while she kept muttering in your ear, "If you don't hurry up, I'll cut you..."

In short, the pressure was immense. In fact, it had taken only a day for some of the animators to voice their displeasure. Mihara Chisa was really starting to get on their nerves.

As ordinary people, few would like the Mihara Chisa of today. But as a production assistant, she really did benefit the project. Even Misawa Hiroshi couldn't deny that.

If every production assistant were like her, most of the staff probably wouldn't be able to handle it, and the overall quality of their projects might even rise to a whole new level. Unfortunately, there weren't many production assistants like that. They were only human, after all, and people cared about what others thought of them. No one wanted everyone to hate them.

Suppressing his irritation at being "supervised," Misawa Hiroshi opened the key animation Mihara Chisa had just brought over. He'd assumed it was an ordinary cut from some animator, but it turned out to be the action cut handled by Gu Xue. His expression immediately turned serious. By now, he had pinned most of his hopes on Gu Xue. In fact, the key animation submitted so far was only very good when it came to her work. The rest was god knows what, so he'd sent it all back for a complete rework. Since he still had time, he planned to be a little stricter. He could always admit defeat once time ran out.

But precisely because Gu Xue drew so well and so quickly, Misawa Hiroshi held her to an even higher standard. That was just how he was: the more perfect something was, the more he wanted to make it even better. As for mediocre work, he'd pass it if it was just a little better than average. Simply put, his standards differed because he had different expectations of each person—in other words, he was a hypocrite.

If Gu Xue knew about this, she'd probably cough up blood.

After quickly flipping through the key animation for the cut, Misawa Hiroshi looked satisfied. Then he went over it carefully and was left speechless. This rough animation didn't just meet his expectations; it even exceeded them a little. The speed and explosive force conveyed as one of the Four Heavenly Kings charged in, and the fluidity of the protagonist lifting one of the Four Heavenly Kings and turning into a knee strike, were both incredibly powerful.

If Gu Xue's name hadn't been written in the name field, Misawa Hiroshi wouldn't have believed a little girl had drawn it.

"Damn it, in all my years in this industry, I've never seen key animation this finished. I don't know whether to laugh or cry." Misawa Hiroshi handed the key animation to supervisor Abe Shinichi and swore.

Abe Shinichi smiled. He understood how Misawa felt. He, too, was caught in a vicious cycle of sorts. He hadn't worked on a high-quality project in a long time. But he had more experience than Misawa Hiroshi, and many of his ambitions had faded with age. These days, what mattered more to him was supporting a family of four.

Of course, if the opportunity came along, some of those old ambitions might return. For instance, with the final episode of Ore-sama.

Abe Shinichi carefully went through the key animation and looked satisfied as well. But he seemed to think some parts could be done better, so he began discussing them with Misawa Hiroshi.

Somehow, as they talked, the two of them ended up discussing whether adding a wide-angle shot at a certain point would work better...

Mihara Chisa promptly cut them off. "Please don't make extra work for Miss Gu Xue. She's still working on the second key animation. If either of you wants to change the storyboards, draw them yourselves!"

Abe Shinichi and Misawa Hiroshi immediately stopped talking and gave sheepish smiles.

They really had gone a little too far.

But it was hard to blame them. Right now, they were trying to raise the minimum quality of the other animators' first key animation and layouts. At last, they had an animator who could perfectly achieve what they'd hoped for, so of course they wanted to make it even better. If they had enough time, they'd even have Gu Xue animate the whole thing herself.

Looking at Mihara Chisa's cold expression, Abe Shinichi put away the key animation, signed his name on it, and handed it to her. "Everything's fine. Please take it to the animation supervisor for checking."

Mihara Chisa took the key animation and turned to leave.

"Miss Mihara." Abe Shinichi called after her. "You saw it too, didn't you? It's good, right? So please give Miss Gu Xue some confidence. If she finds out you've been secretly contacting other animators to prepare for an emergency, she might be very hurt."

"Huh?" Misawa Hiroshi stared wide-eyed at Mihara Chisa's back.

"...I'll make my own judgment." Mihara Chisa's shoulders twitched, then settled. She hurried away.

Abe Shinichi shook his head with a smile.

Mihara Chisa carried the key animation out of the episode director's and supervisor's office. Though she always prioritized efficiency, she didn't go straight to the animation supervisor. Instead, she found a quiet spot and made a phone call.

The call connected, and a hoarse voice came through. "Miss Mihara?"

"Hello. I may not need the thing I mentioned last time after all. I'm very sorry for the trouble." Even though she knew the other person couldn't see her, Mihara Chisa still bowed.

"It's all right. It hasn't caused me any trouble." The person on the other end seemed easygoing.

Mihara Chisa changed tack. "Of course, if you have time, I'd still like you to draw the last few cuts. I'll pay you properly."

"..." The person on the other end was silent for a moment, then chuckled. "You really have changed, Miss Mihara. All right, I'll try to squeeze in some time to draw them. I can't guarantee the quality, of course. I can only promise they'll be passable. I have quite a lot of work on my hands."

"That's good enough." Mihara Chisa bowed again.

"Mm. I'll get back to work, then." The sound of pages rustling came through the phone, and Mihara Chisa was about to hang up.

Suddenly—

"By the way, I watched the anime you're working on. The animation in the last part of episode six was impressive. To be honest, though I hate to admit it, I can't guarantee I'd do a better job. Chisa, I don't mean to criticize you, but it's about time you let go of what happened in the past. Not everyone is like that. I don't know who's handling those difficult action cuts now, but please give them some trust. For example, if you hired me for a job but then went and found someone else, I might just quit on you."

"...I understand." Mihara Chisa said three words, then hung up.

She glanced at the key animation in her arms, took a deep breath to clear her tangled thoughts, and strode toward the animation supervisor's desk.

Both Abe Shinichi and the animator on the phone had brought up trust, as though Mihara Chisa didn't know how to trust people... And in fact, they weren't wrong.

Mihara Chisa had never trusted anyone. The only thing she trusted now was her own judgment, even though Gu Xue was drawing quickly and doing excellent work.

Three years ago, the final episode of Falling Feathers had fallen apart. Supervisor Narita Kei had caused her a lot of trouble, and had even slapped her twice in the end. But the animators working on that episode had hurt Mihara Chisa even more. On that final day, she'd nearly wanted to end her own life.

Never overestimate a creator's mental and emotional state when they're closing in on a deadline—or, for that matter, trust a creator's promises too much.

That was Mihara Chisa's creed.