Creed

Just as Gu Xue was busy performing her "true fragrance" routine, Mihara Chisa took the original drawings and sought out the episode director, Misawa Hiroshi.

The relationship between the two was no longer as tense as it had been during the initial production meetings. Perhaps due to some things director Abe Shinichi had said, Misawa Hiroshi was now quite willing to show Mihara Chisa a bit of goodwill, within the limits of his tolerance.

Just like today, when Mihara Chisa asked him to come to the office at three o'clock to check the original drawings and L/O, he had only grumbled a few times while on the phone before showing up with an ethereal, detached air.

Although the goodwill he displayed was, in Mihara Chisa's eyes, nothing more than self-righteousness, it didn't hinder her work. She handed the original drawings to Misawa Hiroshi with a blank expression and then stood behind him.

As she stood behind him, both Misawa Hiroshi and Abe Shinichi immediately became somewhat nervous. After all, not everyone could focus on their work while being watched, and Misawa Hiroshi was the type who couldn't stand being observed.

Abe Shinichi, who was also serving as the director for the final episode, noticed Misawa Hiroshi's discomfort and said with a smile to Mihara Chisa, "Ms. Mihara, why don't you go take a break? I'll notify you once the check is finished. We can take them to the next department ourselves, or we'll let you know. You see, Misawa isn't really used to being watched while he works..."

"Please learn to get used to it now," Mihara Chisa interrupted him.

Abe Shinichi: "..."

Misawa Hiroshi sighed, realizing the other party's style: she insisted on being hands-on with every step, needed to know the exact progress, and absolutely would not tolerate anyone wasting time.

Dealing with her really felt like having a blade held to your throat, and the person was constantly whispering in your ear, "If you don't hurry up, I'm going to cut you..."

In short, the pressure was immense. In fact, after just one day, some of the animators had already expressed dissatisfaction; they were truly getting annoyed by Mihara Chisa.

As an ordinary person, not many would like the current Mihara Chisa, but as a production manager, she was truly beneficial to the project. Even Misawa Hiroshi couldn't deny that.

If all production managers were like this, it was doubtful many staff members could handle it, but the overall quality of the work might actually rise to a new level. Unfortunately, there weren't many such production managers; after all, they were human, and humans cared about what others thought—no one wanted to be hated by everyone.

Suppressing the displeasure of being "supervised" at work, Misawa Hiroshi opened the original drawings that Mihara Chisa had just delivered. He had expected them to be some ordinary cuts from an animator, but to his surprise, they were the action cuts Gu Xue was responsible for. Misawa Hiroshi's expression turned serious instantly. He had already pinned most of his hopes on Gu Xue; in fact, among the original drawings submitted so far, only the ones Gu Xue drew were excellent. The others were unrecognizable, and Misawa Hiroshi had returned them all for a full redo. Now, while he had time, he intended to be a bit stricter; it wouldn't be too late to give up once he ran out of time.

But precisely because Gu Xue drew well and fast, Misawa Hiroshi's standards became even stricter. That was just how he was: the more perfect something was, the more he wanted to pursue even greater perfection. As for those mediocre works, if they were drawn just a little better, he would pass them. Simply put, his different expectations for each person led to different standards—in other words, he was a double-standard jerk.

If Gu Xue knew this, she would probably vomit blood.

After roughly flipping through the cuts, Misawa Hiroshi showed a satisfied expression. Then, he flipped through them carefully again, and he was speechless. This cut of the grassland scene not only met his expectations but even slightly exceeded them. Whether it was the sense of speed and explosive power displayed by one of the Four Heavenly Kings rushing forward, or the fluidity of the protagonist lifting the Heavenly King and turning into a knee strike, it was full of impact.

If the name "Gu Xue" wasn't written in the name column, Misawa Hiroshi wouldn't have believed it was drawn by a young girl.

"Damn it, I've been in the industry for so long, and this is the first time I've seen original drawings with this level of completion. I don't know whether to cry or laugh." Misawa Hiroshi handed the drawings to director Abe Shinichi and cursed.

Abe Shinichi smiled. He understood Misawa's feelings. He, too, had fallen into a vicious cycle, having not received a high-quality project in a long time. However, he was more experienced than Misawa Hiroshi; many of his pursuits had faded with age, and for him now, supporting his family of four was more important.

Of course, if the opportunity arose, those faded pursuits would return a little, such as with the final episode of Ore-sama.

Abe Shinichi meticulously flipped through the grassland cut and also showed a satisfied expression. However, there were some places he felt could be done better, so he began to discuss them with Misawa Hiroshi.

As they talked, for some reason, the two began to discuss whether adding a wide-angle lens effect in a certain place would be better...

Mihara Chisa interrupted them in time: "Please don't add to Ms. Gu Xue's trouble. She is still working on the second key animation. If you two still want to change the storyboard, please draw it yourselves!"

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

It was indeed a bit excessive.

But it wasn't entirely their fault. They were currently trying to raise the floor for the first key animation and L/O of other animators. Having finally found an animator who could perfectly achieve the effects they envisioned, they naturally wanted to make it even better. If time permitted, they would have wanted Gu Xue to do all the original drawings herself.

Looking at the cold-faced Mihara Chisa, Abe Shinichi put away the original drawings, signed his name on them, and handed them to her. "No problem. Please take them to the animation director for checking."

Mihara Chisa took the drawings and turned to leave.

"Ms. Mihara." Abe Shinichi called out to her. "You saw it too, right? It's drawn well, isn't it? So please give Ms. Gu Xue some confidence. If she finds out you secretly contacted other animators to prepare for a fire-fighting mission, she might be very hurt."

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

"...I will judge for myself." Mihara Chisa's shoulders twitched, then she returned to normal and walked away quickly.

Abe Shinichi shook his head with a smile.

Mihara Chisa hugged the original drawings and walked out of the director's office. Always focused on efficiency, she didn't go straight to the animation director but found a quiet place and made a phone call.

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

"Hello. The matter I mentioned last time might not be necessary anymore. I am very sorry for the trouble." Even though she knew the other person couldn't see her, Mihara Chisa chose to bow.

"It's fine. It didn't cause me any impact." The person on the other end seemed very easygoing.

Mihara Chisa changed the subject. "Of course, if you have time, I still hope you can draw the last few cuts. I will pay you properly."

"..." The other end was silent for a moment, then laughed helplessly. "Ms. Mihara, you really have changed. Fine, I will squeeze out some time to draw them. Of course, I can't guarantee the quality; I can only guarantee they will be watchable. After all, I have quite a lot of work on my hands."

"That is enough." Mihara Chisa bowed again.

"Alright, I'll get back to work." The sound of paper rustling came from the other end, and Mihara Chisa was about to hang up.

Suddenly.

"By the way, I watched the anime you're currently in charge of. The animation in the final part of the sixth episode is indeed impressive. To be honest, although I'm very reluctant to admit it, I have to acknowledge that I wouldn't dare guarantee I could draw it better than them. Chisa-san, it's not that I'm lecturing you, but it's about time you forgot about the past. Not everyone is like that. I don't know who is responsible for these high-difficulty action cuts now, but please give that person some trust. For example, if you entrusted me with work but went to find someone else, I might just quit on the spot."

"...I know." Mihara Chisa spat out three words and hung up the phone.

Then she glanced at the original drawings in her arms, took a deep breath, suppressed her complicated thoughts, and strode toward the animation director's desk.

Both Abe Shinichi and the animator on the phone had mentioned the word "trust," making it seem as if Mihara Chisa was incapable of trusting others... In fact, they weren't wrong.

Mihara Chisa truly had never trusted anyone. She now only believed in her own judgment, even if Gu Xue was currently drawing fast and well.

Three years ago, during the collapse of the final episode of Falling Feathers, although director Narita Kei had caused her a lot of trouble and even slapped her twice in the end, it was actually the animation staff of that episode who had made Mihara Chisa feel even worse. On that final day, she had almost wanted to end it all.

Never overestimate the psychological and mental state of a creator approaching a deadline, or rather, never trust a creator's promises too much.

This was Mihara Chisa's creed.