"Yumeta Company" "Produced by Yumeta Company" "Screenplay by Toh Nagatsuki" "Character Design by Hajime Watanabe" "Music by Toshio Masuda" "Today I start my... dream job at an animation studio." "[Studio Petit]" "Good morning!" "I'm Mikiko Oguro!" "You made it!" "Thank God!" "You don't know how glad I am to see you!" "I'm Oppama!" "The production manager!" "Oppama." "Like this." "I'm Oguro!" "I've been waiting for you!" "I was so afraid you wouldn't show!" "Well, let me show you around, Kuromi." "Kuromi?" "Oguro Mikiko." "Kuromi for short." "Come on!" "We haven't got all day!" "Uh, right!" "That was the production room." "And back there's the president's office." " Got it." " You went to animation school, right?" "Yes." "At the Greater Tokyo Animation Academy." "Good, then you know the language." "The lingo." "You've got storyboard here, animation and staging there." "This was the in-between section." "At least until everyone quit last week." "Today's youth lack patience." "So, it's all going overseas this time." " This time?" " Let's move along." "But where is everybody?" " Oh, it's way too early." " Too early?" "Ten past ten!" "They'll start drifting in around noon." "The third floor is filming and post-production." "It's all digital now." "Uh, ow...!" "I'm almost out of time." " Huh?" " Here." "What?" "Uh..." ""Time Journeys 2" is in big trouble." "What?" "Time Journeys" "I don't know if it'll make it in time to air." "What?" "The storyboard's finished, and we're into the key animation." "But none of it is done yet." "Not good at all." "Good luck, Kuromi!" "Wait a second, Mr. Oppama!" "Oppama's been working with a bleeding ulcer." " Today's his last day." " What?" "!" "He was managing the production all by himself." "He needed a successor before he could quit." "A successor?" "Sucker-cessor." "Of course." "I told him not to die before you got here." "Boy, am I ever glad he hung on this long." "Huh?" "Kuromi, I hope you know how bad it would be to miss our broadcast slot." "Here's your business card." "Studio Petit Production Desk Oguro Mikiko" "Production Desk" "Production Desk" " Animation Runner" "Uh, sir?" "You the new production manager?" "Uh, yes." "Don't die before we get another one." "Studio Petit" "Animation Runner Kuromi" "Akitaroh Daichi" " Director" "What is it?" "Uh, I'm Oguro, I joined the production department today." "I look forward to working with you." "Right." "My name is Hamako Shihonmatsu." "I'm the line director for "Time Journeys, Episode 2."" "What?" "Uh, what exactly should I be doing?" "Huh?" "Twenty-five past two!" "Here's the work schedule for all the production stages." "And here's the progress checklist." "So, the number of finished cuts is..." "What?" "!" "Just five?" "!" "Five weeks for key animation, and four weeks have already passed." "That leaves just one week." "Out of 312 total cuts, only 5 are finished?" "No way!" "No way!" "That can't be right!" "Okay, get a grip." "Hey!" "Huh?" "What's the big idea?" "Hi." "Hassaku Hozumi here." "In charge of staging for "Tai Ja 2."" ""Tai Ja 2"?" "Oh." "I'm Mikiko Oguro." "How do you do?" "Oh, no!" "I'll never get these back in the right order." "Hey, staring at those won't get the job done." "You gotta go get the keys." "The key animation." "Hassaku's right." "Footwork." "That's what you do." "Right." "I'll go get the keys." "Excuse me!" "But where am I going?" "!" "We're doomed." "This is it." "Yes?" "Oh?" "Selling life insurance?" "I'm Oguro, from Studio Petit." "Oh, you must be Kuromi." "No, I'm Mikiko Oguro." " Wait a second." " Uh, sure." "Keys for "Tai Ja 2."" "Huh?" "2...4...6...8... 10 cuts?" "!" " Yes, 10 cuts." " Oh, thank you so much!" "No sweat." "Good luck." "Catch ya later." "Very smooth." "Yippee!" "The work's getting done after all!" "Why not?" "These people are pros!" "Haryu" "Hello." "It's Oguro from Studio Petit." "Are you the new production manager?" "Uh, yes." "How do you do?" "Nice to meet you." "I'm here for the finished keys." "Keys?" "Right." "It's finished." "Thanks for all the hard work!" "Time Journeys 2" "Uh, just one cut?" "And only background?" "That's just the beginning." "Uh, Mr. Haryu!" "Wait!" "This can't be just the beginning!" "There's hardly any time left!" "Time Journeys" "Oh, nothing today." "Excuse me?" "I said not today." "What?" "Do you mean zero?" "Oh, I'm sorry." "But I'm having trouble." "The characters have too much detail." "Don't you think so?" "Well..." "I need time to get used to them." "Just a little more time." "Uh, well..." "Could you check these?" " Huh?" "You got them?" " Yes." "What?" "Is that all?" "I'm sorry." "Would you please?" "Okay, done!" "That sure was quick." "I know." "I'm good." "Time Journeys 2" "It's mostly Tanonaka's work." "Yes." "Uh, you're not leaving, are you?" "It's not enough to bother with." "See you tomorrow." "But..." "What?" "What am I supposed to do now?" "Go home." "Louis Monde III" "Louis Monde..." " Huh?" "Still here?" " Good morning!" "What's that?" "Our schedule board." "I figure the bigger the better." "Liquid Type" " Fat" "Original Artwork" "What a keener." "Petit Studios!" "I'm here for keys!" "Right." "I'm working on it." "Bye." "Finish them, please!" "Wow!" "Crazy woman!" "Here." "You see?" "I'm working on it." "Just two cuts?" "It's much better than yesterday." "It's not good enough!" "You've got to do better!" "Geez, you sure are a difficult one." "Mrs. Fukami, you had zero yesterday." "I really need you to finish up, or we're in trouble." "Is this all there is to life?" "Uh, how many cuts do you have for me today?" "They're right next to you." "Three cuts, right?" "How many can you finish by tomorrow?" "I won't know until I do them." "Well, that's no help!" "I've got a schedule to keep!" "I'm sorry, but it's so hard." "You know the characters designed by Marizaki?" "It's so, you know..." "The characters are not that good." "Yet I get all the detailed ones." "Uh, how many cuts today?" "Uh, well..." "So, uh, nothing yet." "Nothing?" "!" " Look!" " Yes?" "We don't have time!" "Oh, really?" "Don't you know the deadline?" "!" "Oppama didn't say anything to me." "Oppama!" "If this keeps up, we're in big trouble!" "Gosh, I'm sorry." "Time Journeys" "All done." "Here you go." "There's 2...4...6...15 cuts!" "Oh, you're the best!" "Just doing my work." "Time Journeys" "Hey, I'm getting worried about Episode 2 of "Time Journeys."" "Production Schedule" "Oh, my God!" "We're in serious trouble!" "What's with you all of a sudden?" "At this rate, there's no way we'll make it by the air date!" "It's not our job to worry about that." "Maybe it's too much for that rookie to handle." "Has the boss gone mad?" "He's already starting work on Episode 6." "Episode 2 was completely left up to Oppama." "Well, don't blame me." "Me either." "Hey, she's back!" "Here I am." "I got 15 cuts from Tanonaka." "Him again?" "Yep." "He's the only one I can count on to get the work done." " Let me see." " Sure." "That rat!" " Kuromi." " Yes?" "He's fast, but I always have to redo his work." "I try to tell him it's wrong." "But he just doesn't get it." "What?" "Really?" "But Hassaku said they checked out." "He barely looks at them." "Try matching this with the other keys." "How many cuts has he been assigned, anyway?" "Uh, ninety cuts." "Ninety!" "Yes, he's got the most." "Darn!" "I guess I'll have to redo them from scratch." "How about the others?" "Zilch." "Louis Monde III" "Are you gonna be okay?" "Don't give me sighs." "Are we really gonna make the air date?" "I wonder." "Don't wonder!" "You know what it'll mean if we can't air it?" "Artists are all very eccentric." "It's your job to fire them up, or you'll get nothing from them." "I'm trying my best." "But don't overdo it either." "Kuromi, wanna know the secret of managing productions?" "The secret?" "Yeah, I used to do production myself." "I'll tell you ifyou want to know." "First, never tell them how much trouble they're causing." "Never talk to them like that." "Those are all the producer's problems." "Not the artists'." "And don't ask them how many cuts they have." "Or how many sheets they've done." "And never, ever count the cuts in front of their faces." "It's an insult." "They need to feel good about themselves." "Good relations means good work." "What's wrong?" "You didn't..." "Time Journeys" "It's no use." "I'm a failure." "In other news..." "Due to the incompetence of production manager Mikiko Oguro..." "Episode 2 of "Time Journeys" will not be airing tonight." "We're terribly sorry." "That was just a dream." "My stomach." "I'm burning a hole in my stomach." "I quit!" "I quit!" "I quit!" "I quit!" "I quit." "President's Office" "I quit!" "He's not here." "What is it?" "I quit!" "Is that so?" "You're quitting, huh?" "Yes!" "Okay, go ahead." "If you wanna quit, it's best that you quit." "Uh, but I'm not waiting until you find a replacement." "Fine." "I guess that's the way it is." "Right." "Don't worry." "I felt the same way." "You did?" "I quit after a month." "I drew 250 sheets in a month without a wink of sleep." "And for only $400." ""You've got to be joking!" "How could I live on that!" I told them." "I didn't know." "But..." "But now you're a director." "Yeah, but it was a tough road." "It was?" "Yeah." "People have to go through some tough times." " Kuromi?" " Yes?" "What made you choose this line of work?" "Uh..." "Well..." "In high school, I liked "Louis Monde III."" "Oh?" "An anime freak?" "No!" "Actually, "Louis Monde III" was the only anime I liked!" "He was so cool." "So, I thought someday... that I want to create something like that." "Before I knew it, I was in anime school." "I suppose that was my first mistake." ""Louis Monde III," huh?" "My debut work." "What?" "Is that right?" "Original Character Concept" "Have this." "Wh-What is it?" "Louis Monde III Operetta George" "I got it from the creator of the story." "He was impressed with me." "I-I can't accept this." "Go ahead." "It's our good-bye present." "Now what?" "Hold onto it a little longer." "Okay." " Here." " Huh?" "Useful pointers." "(Listen to Fukami's Complaints / Abduct Haryu, Steal Toys / Horaguchi, Praise Her / Tanonaka, Keep Status Quo)" "With Fukami, you have to listen to her complaints." "She's a newlywed coming to terms with the realities of marriage." "Waiting there isn't going to make it go any faster." "Oh, take all the time you need." "You're acting funny today." "You look listless." "I was just thinking how my life's a bore." "I envy you." "You've even got a dependable husband." "Dependable?" "Don't make me laugh!" "Huh?" "What do you mean?" "Let's just say, you won't get far in life if you have to depend on men." " Oh, my." "You don't say." " Darn straight!" "Life changes only for the woman!" "Before marriage, it's all lies." ""I'll help with the chores," he'll say." "Well, it's been six months, and he hasn't lifted a finger!" "He still has no idea how to work the washing machine!" "Leaves dirty socks everywhere!" "Making a mess like a kid, I tell you!" "Then, he'll get all sappy and beg me not to leave him!" "Done!" "Living with him, I've learned what pathetic creatures men are!" " Really?" " Done!" "Time Journeys" "Horaguchi is a pessimist." "She doesn't seem to have any confidence." "You have to praise her." "W-Wow, you're so good!" "I mean..." "I'm so jealous of people who can draw." "I think it's amazing." "It's my job." "It goes with the territory." "But I'm not good with this character." "There's too much detail." "B-But your drawings are the best of the bunch this time." "Really?" "Yes. "I'm so glad we have Horaguchi on the project."" "Shihonmatsu's exact words." "What?" "!" "She never praises people's work." "Uh, well, she did yours." "I believe..." "Really?" "Shihonmatsu?" "Imagine that." "Hey!" "Look at the little palm tree!" " What?" "This?" " It's so cute." " I call him "Takuro."" " Takuro!" "As for Tekkamen..." "This guy here." "You have to keep an eye on him." "Or he'll start playing." "Uh, whatcha doing?" "I'm moving your stuff to the studio." " Why?" " To avoid distractions." "Hey!" "Be careful with that!" "She's very delicate." "Leave it." "You won't need it for work." "W-Wait!" "I wanna work here." "I can't concentrate if I move to a new environment." "And I'm scared of Shihonmatsu." "Nothing to be afraid of." "I can't watch you here, so come along!" "Just let me bring "Vampiress."" "What the heck is "Vampiress"?" "Th-This schedule isn't funny." "Thanks to you." " You!" "Scary Shihonmatsu!" " Yeah, right." "Mr. Haryu!" "I have your desk ready for you!" "Off to work!" "Evening, morning, animator's morning, 10 o'clock." "Good morning!" "Nobody here as usual." "Huh?" "I finished all these!" "You're kidding!" "All this?" "!" "I got on a roll and couldn't stop." "Oh?" "What brought that on?" "Well..." "I looked at this impossible schedule and thought... just do it." "Finally." "Don't start dancing yet." ""You coward!" "I'm disappointed in you!"" ""Y-You'll regret this!" "No!" "I'll never let you do it!"" "Hassaku's timing the lines, and Kuromi is frightened by it." "Let me add that this is the storyboard for "Time Journeys, Episode 6."" "Just a little plug, there." " Good morning." " Oh, it's Mrs. Fukami." "Well, I had a fight with my husband." "Can I work here?" "Okay!" "Please show the animator to a desk!" "Well, if it isn't Fukami!" "Hey, what's the deal with this schedule?" "!" "Don't tell me you were serious!" "I mean, don't you work in a little buffer?" "She's new here." "She hasn't learned such tricks yet." " Yes, I can't do that." " This is serious, lady." "All right!" "Let's draw!" " Morning." " Morning!" "It's mid-afternoon." "And then, right around now the box just explodes!" "The middle of the meeting Original Art Men" "And everyone's covered in soot." " Uh..." " Yes?" "Any specifications on the box?" "I'll get it." "Something's here." "Hi, there!" "Shihonmatsu!" "Oh, I like what you said." "Horaguchi!" "What a surprise!" "Hello." "Wh-What are you doing here?" "!" "I kind of want to work next to her." "What?" "Me?" "Uh, well..." "Your desk is over here." "Come on over!" "Over here!" "Huh?" "Mrs. Fukami is here." " Well, well." " Cheers." "Today, I decided to bring it in myself." "Huh?" "What's going on?" "Tanonaka!" "I'm hurt." "Why wasn't I invited?" "That's not it." "Just kidding." "But I think I could work here." "That'd be great." "Now I can pound the basics of key animation into you." "Uh, what do you mean?" "You dropped your pants." "Time Journeys" "Like that!" " Here you are!" " Right." " Here you go." " Gotcha." " And some more." " Yup." "3 Days Left Original Art End!" "Only three days left." "Oh, we'll never make it." "Just draw." "We'll never make it if you don't draw!" "I suppose." "Night, day, night, day." "Hey, Kuromi." "How many more days?" "Just one." " Pretty tight." "We can do it!" " What's wrong?" " You smell." "Oh, I haven't bathed in a while." "What's this?" "Found the backdrop." "Great, thanks." "See?" "Now, this is sloppy." "I'm sorry." " And this doesn't work." " Has anyone seen my Peg-bar?" "I can't draw this character without my special Peg-bar!" "I know." "I've seen you sleep with it." "I haven't seen the studio this busy in a long time." " Here you go!" " Yeah." " These, too!" " Ah." "And more!" "Listen, guys." "All this energy is pretty cool." "But I can't check these all at once." "But you will, right?" "Oh..." "Louis Monde..." "I haven't given up." "Everyone's working so hard now." "Some even work through the night." "If only they'd done this earlier." "Almost there!" "Over here!" "Bring it over here!" "You can do it!" "Yes!" "The official last cut!" "In the nick of time!" " I'm speechless." " I'm so touched." "Now comes the pencil testing." "And some fine tuning." "Then we ship to in-betweeners, overseas." "We just need to take it to the studio." "The studio's only 10 minutes away." "No sweat." "We pulled it off." "Unbelievable." "What's up?" "Some cuts are missing." "What?" "!" "What are these three cuts?" "!" "235...236...237..." "What is it, Hassaku?" "!" "I-It's the motorbike scene." "Motorbike scene?" "That's Hayama's, of Studio Offshore." "I totally forgot." "I asked Hayama specifically because that's his specialty." "How could you forget?" "It was last year when we assigned these!" "No way." "I bet he hasn't done them." " I'll go!" "Where is he?" " The beach." "What?" "!" "I'll never make it!" "Offshore!" "Mr. Hayama!" "Mr. Hayama!" "Mr. Hayama!" "Mr. Hayama!" "Looking for Hayama?" "Yes!" "Are you Mr. Hayama?" "!" "No." "Hayama's out there." "Here!" "Right here!" "Mr. Hayama!" "Are you Nonki Hayama?" "!" "Yeah!" "The sea is calling me!" "You're hearing things!" "Now, draw!" "What have you been doing all this time?" "Overseas mail coming through!" "I got them!" "That door opens outward, Kuromi." "I'm afraid you're too late." "What?" "Haryu's taken the cuts to the in-betweeners." "And they're airborne." "That's because the in-between work is done overseas." "You did your best, Kuromi." "I never thought it was possible." "You did yourself proud." "A superhuman effort." "Right." "What about these three cuts?" "Let me see." "Hm." "Amazing!" "Way to go, Hayama!" "When it comes to stuff like this, no one can touch him!" "It'd be tough to do the in-between though." "I'll do it." "What?" "Can you do that?" "Of course." "That's where I started." "Wow!" "This is history in the making!" "Hayama's keys and Shihonmatsu's in-betweens." "So, without a second to spare, Time Journeys, Episode 2 was finished." "Thank goodness!" "Back in the film days, we did a screening." "Now it's reviewed in a video editing room." "If we find something interesting" "We'll go and see faster than light" "We are Time Journeys" "Time Journeys" "Episode 2:" "The Ballad of Cape Mammoth" "Ken, where to now?" "Let's see." "I keep coming back to this." "Nihonbashi, 1814." " Ah, friends." " Professor!" "What's with the outfit?" "Oh, this?" "Well..." "Professor, you old letch!" "Kuromi, the bike scene's next." "Leave it to me!" "After them!" "That's all." "Wow..." "You know all the bike scenes in Louis Monde?" "Hayama did all of them." "What?" "He insisted I do the in-betweens." "He paid me a special visit to ask for my help." "That was after I'd quit." "So, then..." "That's when I decided to give it another shot." "Production Desk" " Mikiko Oguro" "Well, it's done." "Yes." "Thanks to you for whipping the production department into shape." "When's the next one due?" "Gosh, I don't know." "Hey, wanna grab a bite?" "Sure!" "Great work." "Hope to see the same quality on the next one." "Yes, sir!" "Thank you!" "Hey, Kuromi!" "Uh, yes?" "I'll go on ahead." "The restaurant's by the station." "Okay." "Good work." "You did a magnificent job." "Thank you very much." "Here you go." "Huh?" "What's this?" "Episode 6's current status and schedule." "What?" "This one should be a real challenge." "W-Wait a second, boss!" "Boss!" "Along the same old river banks" "Over the same old crossroads" "I hear the same old panting train" "As I race to chase my dreams" "Though often doused in waves of tears" "They dry to leave a softened heart" "In a sun-baked city" "On winds to an unknown future" "I'm shining like never before" "Deliver me, oh wind" "To the one I love" "Carry my dreams over to tomorrow" "Over to tomorrow" "Yumeta Company" "I want to produce anime for the anime industry." "We did it, didn't we, Mr. Daichi?" "Animation Industry?" "Animation Runner Kuromi:" "Director's Diary" "Anyway, have someone write the screenplay." "With a little effort, the script was done." "And then, storyboards." "Solitude..." "Complete!" "Crashing the party!" "Then, keep making art." "Enjoy watching Hajime work as an animation director." "At the same time, working on the background." "And then finishing up camera work" "Engineering" "Recording" "Recording Theme Song" "We did it!" "Members of Yumeta Company who produced Kuromi" "Good Job!" "My name is Mikiko Ohguro." "I work for an anime company." "They put me in charge of production." "I don 't have any experience, and I have to do it all alone." "My three months in this job have just flown by." "My first assignment was Time Journeys." "It survived only one season!" "Ended already?" "Things are so busy at the company on this crazy schedule." "Okay, I've got them." "Your next assignment is Episode 7 of Soreike Charmy." "What?" "Already?" "I just came up with the storyboards now." "We have to start preparing." "Okay." "We've got no time to lose." "It was easier three months ago." "At least we had time to think." "Our boss must be crazy!" "We can't work on three anime at once!" "Is three too many?" "Let's go back to before Time Journeys was axed." "Three?" "That's right, three." "You mean three?" "Yes, three TV series." "But what about the crew?" "Don't we have them?" "So there's Shihonmatsu, Fukami, Horaguchi, Haryu, Hassaku, Tanonaka..." "Three series, right?" "A triumvirate of three!" "So who will do the other two shows?" "Those guys too." "Just these guys and three shows?" "It was hard enough for us to finish just Time Journeys!" "Kuromi..." "Yes?" "You can do it, can't you?" "Well, I don't know..." "But it's your job to get them to do it." "Animation Runner Kuromi 2" "Kuromi is feeling pretty nervous." "I know we're a small company, and so we have to share the work, but... why do we have to work on all three?" "Because the company is tiny." "Oh, right." "I've never worked on three at the same time." "It's totally ridiculous." "The characters are all different." "It's hard to get a handle on them." "This one's Soreike Charmy." "This is Zombie Hunter Yamitaro." "And here's Catman." "No wonder it's confusing for the crew." "Really?" "I'm doing all right." "Those drawings are all horrible!" "*Uoooh*" "Shihonmatsu is angry." "Yeah." "Who do you think has to be the animation director on all three shows?" "No." "Actually, I think she quit smoking." "Quit smoking?" "*Uoooh*" "Cut!" "She's usually so placid." "It's like a wild animal!" "Quitting is hard." "Right." "She was a chain smoker." "Shihonmatsu and cigarettes were like the best of friends." "Okay you lot, stop lazing around!" "She's so scary!" "I'm sorry." "We've never had this kind of workload before so..." "I'm going to have to be strict with you." "Get used to it!" "Excuse me, but..." "I have to go." "But it's only six o' clock!" "I have a dentist appointment." "Dentist?" "Yes, 6:10 at the Oka Clinic." "Oh well, in that case, I'm relying on you from tomorrow on." "You can count on it." "Uh, I have to go too." "I have to pick up my husband's shirt from the cleaners." "It's closing soon." "What a housewife!" "Oh, I guess it can't be helped then." "So, big day tomorrow!" "Sure, a big day!" "Oh no!" "I can't believe it!" "What's wrong, Haryu?" "I forgot to set my VCR to record the Vampiress Special I." "I see!" "That is a problem!" "I'd better not be late!" "Oh..." "Hey, wait!" "Was that really a problem?" "Well, well, looks like I'm the only one left." "Tanonaka!" "Don't worry, Kuromi." "I'm not going anywhere." "Here you are." "Thanks a lot!" "I knew I could count on you." "I'm just doing my job." "I wonder if these'll be okay?" "Night!" "I'm a con man..." "Drunk!" "Let's see... 50 for part A." "100 for part B." "Such slow progress." "But everyone already has their hands full." "Oh!" "I could ask Haryu to draw 10 more cuts a day!" "No." "He couldn't handle it." "But if he cuts down on his meal times, maybe he'll be okay!" "And he'll lose weight." "Sore-Cha progress chart." "Episode 7 of Catman." "Storyboard by Senro Nakano." "That guy, huh?" "No good." "No good?" "But I understand that you're trying." "So that was..." "Who?" "What?" "This is a problem." "Three productions are running at the same time!" "That's right." "That's right?" "We usually avoid overlaps!" "Yeah." "Voice recording for Sore-Cha and Yamita are on the same day!" "Editing is on the same day for all three?" "Is that not good?" "Of course not!" "I have to stage all of them!" "It's just me!" "How can I do voice recording for Sore-Cha and Yamita at the same time?" "What should we do?" "Uh..." "No problem." "I'll just use my clone." "Okay!" "Thank you very much!" "Hey, I was kidding!" "I hope she got it..." "I don't think so." "Yamita is finished." "Thank you very much." "Right." "Next is the next Yamita." "What?" "Yamita again?" "Please, no more Yamita." "It's just awful." "But you don't like Catman either." "Yeah, it's awful too." "I can't stand American-style comics." "You said you didn't like Sore-Cha either." "I don't like that cute stuff." "It's awful." "Is this cute?" "Yamitaro might be right for you." "I don't think grotesque stuff is my type at all." "Grotesque!" "But..." "Kuromi looks cute!" "I always thought your zombies were really good looking." "Give it up, Kuromi." "Good looking?" "How should I put it?" "Grotesque... but handsome." "Stop!" "Grotesque but handsome?" "Dirty but sexy." "Dirty but sexy?" "Forget it." "Not so cute now." "You thought so too?" "I always thought so." "Okay, I'll do it." "It's all zombies!" "Okay, leave it to me." "Thank you!" "How to Clone People" "Studying cloning, huh?" "Can you check this?" "Cut!" "Horaguchi's zombie is so grotesque." "You're so mean." "I'm not grotesque." "No, I meant your style of zombie is grotesque." "Meaning me!" "I'm never drawing another zombie again!" "You've got it all wrong." "Shihonmatsu, that's a pencil." "Here are today's key animations." "Sorry, there aren't very many." "Right." "If this keeps up, it looks like you're going to be overloaded later." "It's part of my job." "But, have you ever directed three shows at the same time?" "No, I'm turning over a new leaf." "So you can handle it?" "You never know until you try." "Well, thanks and good luck!" "Excuse me, Shihonmatsu." "There's this new cake shop near the station with great cream puffs." "Would you like a nice..." "Bafun cream puff?" "I'm just heading over there." "That shop went bust the day before yesterday." "Their cream puffs were big but revolting." "It had a bad reputation." "Really?" "I didn't know that." "Kuromi." "Yes?" "Don't worry so much about me." "Okay." "Um, that's a scallion." "Smoking a scallion?" "Six o'clock." "See you tomorrow." "Horaguchi, off to the dentist again?" "The optician today." "I have to go grocery shopping and cook dinner for my husband." "Double feature on TV." "I need to be there to change tapes." "Haryu!" "If things go on like this, I wonder if we'll be okay?" "Completely impossible." "I'm still here." "Just you is not going to be good enough." "Oh my god!" "Tanonaka shattered!" "Shihonmatsu is having withdrawal symptoms." "Night!" "We are people..." "Drinking again!" "Kuromi." "Nobody can handle three shows!" "Uh, but I can!" "I can!" "Leave it to me!" "It's me, Kuromi." "Shihonmatsu." "It's finished and on your desk." "I'm off for home." "Thanks for your hard work." "You should go home, too." "You've been here three days straight." "I stay up checking things, and the next thing I know it's morning." "It's important for girls to stay fresh and clean." "I bought a change of underpants at the convenience store." "I'm not talking about that." "Are your underpants fresh?" "This is a list of freelance artists." "I guarantee their quality." "But they are quite popular." "They're probably busy, but..." "Maybe you can get them to work for us." "Shihonmatsu." "You should go home and take a bath." "You're a bit stinky." "Am I?" "Shihonmatsu, not a single puff today, right?" "Yeah." "Impressed?" "Good girl!" "Yes, Catman." "Catman is a great show." "Yes!" "It's very funny." "I've wanted to do something like that." "Of course!" "Excuse me." "I see." "Well, I'll send you the script... and some sketches right away." "Well, I'm quite busy at the moment." "Oh, really?" "When will you be available?" "About the fifth of next month." "The fifth?" "Around the fifth." "Thank you very much." "Okay!" "I've found one!" "We are saved!" "The next day..." "Okay everyone!" "The new crew will be in... next week so I'm sure you'll be... able to hold out until then." "Great!" "Well done!" "Four new workers!" "You did it, Kuromi." "Right." "Let's get this thing rolling!" "Oh, right!" "I've taken some art classes." "I think I'll give you a hand!" "It's okay, it's okay!" "You're the animation runner." "Give it up!" "Leave the art to us professionals." "I love a lively studio." "You're pretty easygoing." "A few fruitful days passed." "I was counting on the animators who promised to help." "Kuromi, can I have a word?" "Sure." "This is Takashimadaira, a veteran producer." "From now on, you can just do it the way he says." "I'm sorry for having made you do everything yourself." "He has had a Iot of experience pulling through difficult situations." "We'll be fine if we leave it to him." "Okay, let's go." "You've done well considering we have three shows on the schedule." "Not too terrible at all for an amateur." "But I see now you need some exposure to how a true pro works." "Okay." "Attention, animators!" "It's okay now!" "I'm here!" "It's Takashimadaira!" "Oh no!" "What's happening?" "What's this idiot doing here?" "They say he chews up his crew for breakfast." "What was the boss thinking?" "I hate to say this, but if we don't... pick up the pace, we'll never finish." "I know you haven't had true supervision, so I understand... but things are going to change." "Presenting Monsieurs Tokahara and Kumegawa." "I'm Tokahara." "I'm Kumegawa." "Who are they?" "My animation crew." "Crew?" "Top veterans of such productions as Star of the Nile and Fix-It Daddy." "Star of the Nile?" "Fix-It Daddy?" "Never heard of them." "Maybe we weren't born yet." "Speaking of extra crew..." "What?" "I've got a few people lined up." "You have?" "Yes." "Who are they?" "Shihonmatsu introduced them to me." "Well done, Kuromi." "Go, go." "They'll be here tomorrow or the next day." "They sound first class." "Why don't you call them... to confirm?" "Sure." "You can't come?" "So you didn't say you'd do it?" "You just said it sounded good." "You're working on the big screen until next year?" "I see." "Well, good luck." "Oh no." "So you'd like to do it... but you can't fit it in." "It's been a long time, Hamako." "Yeah." "Sorry for the complete failure." "Did you put her up to it?" "You have a habit of meddling in things." "Stick to animation." "Production is none of your business." "Okay, everyone, the professionals are on the premises." "I'm going to take this bull by the horns." "Good, a Sankisha desk." "Ooh, I haven't seen one of these in a long time." "You know you can't handle three shows." "I'm going to let them do the animation direction on Cat and Yamita." "Huh?" "Do they have direction experience?" "Of course." "They did both Nile and Daddy." "But that was 25 years ago." "You can't take on all three yourself." "You know how that will end up." "I'll give you Sore-Cha if you still want it." "Though it'll be tough on this schedule!" "What the hell do you think you're doing, smoking in front of me?" "Takashimadaira!" "Take a look and see... how a true professional does it." "Yes." "Daira!" "Hm..." "Um..." "Don't stop moving your hands." "It wastes time." "Draw!" "Draw!" "It would be faster if you didn't use the eraser so much." "What?" "Oh, don't worry about me." "Draw!" "Draw!" "You're distracting." "You're really good!" "Huh?" "That's because I'm an animator." "If you're an animator, speed is important too." "The show is on once a week." "We can't slack off and miss our spot." "Become a great artist." "If you want perfection." "Who does that slimeball think he is?" "And I'm faster than most!" "Become a great artist!" "Hmph!" "The gall!" "I'm sorry, Shihonmatsu." "You went out of your way to help." "Oh, that was my fault." "I should have told you to warn them." "Of course!" "Hey, I saw you talking to the slimeball." "You know him?" "Yeah, he worked here for a while." "A while?" "How well did you know him?" "You fought tooth and nail, right?" "What about?" "It's a lng story." "Very long." "We can use him, that pretty boy." "You mean Tanonaka?" "Yeah." "We need more animators of his class." "I'm glad I brought that crew in." "Another great idea." "Excuse me, but..." "What?" "I'm a little worried about Shihonmatsu." "Why?" "I wonder if taking two shows off her... might affect her motivation to get the job done." "Real professionals don't let that sort of thing affect them." "But..." "You..." "You just don't understand the situation we're in." "Yes, I do!" "No, you don't." "If you did, how come they're slacking off?" "I disagree!" "Everyone is doing their best!" "Your job is to make them do better than their best!" "We have three shows to do!" "It's okay if they're a bit rough." "Just get them moving." "We have to get them to air." "Rough?" "But... that's..." "You still don't get it, do you?" "These are the kind of decisions a producer has to make." "Professionals, that is." "I see." "Six o'clock." "I'm off." "See you tomorrow." "I have to help my husband pack for a business trip." "I have an appointment with my Chinese therapist." "Okay, thanks for your hard work." "*sigh*" "But don't come back." "There are tons of animators that can replace you." "Well, well." "I have to finish this up here." "Okay, put it up." "Yes." "What now?" "This is a personal performance chart." "A personal performance... what?" "It shows what you've done and what you have left." "With this, you can see you have a target of 20 cuts a day." "20 cuts a day?" "Eh?" "Even Tanonaka couldn't do that!" "That's the situation we're in!" "Surely you understand that as animators!" "Okay, we can do it!" "You're making good time." "If we step it up a little..." "Pretty tense, huh?" "Right?" "Voice recording is double-booked?" "Yes." "Which program rates better?" "Sore-Cha." "Which one pays more?" "Sore-Cha." "Okay, do Sore-Cha." "It's best to back a winner." "That semi-pro female animation runner can take care of Yamita." "Okay." "Are you serious?" "Kumegawa, here are the completed keys." "Put them over there on the desk." "Okay." "Excuse me..." "Tokahara, one of the inbetweeners has a question." "Why is this highlight crossed out?" "I hate highlights." "Especially jagged highlights." "But the direction for a highlight is in the character designs." "Highlights are immoral." "Huh?" "We never drew them before." "Jeez." "Crossing them out takes forever too." "He crossed them all out!" "Why didn't you just not draw them?" "Do you have anything ready?" "They're over there." "Thank you very much." "This one isn't corrected." "That's Tanonaka's." "I don't correct good keys." "Eh?" "Good keys don't need correction." "But even I can see that Tanonaka's character doesn't look right." "In my opinion, it's fine." "But..." "Just take them." "Okay." "Yamita Sore-Cha Cat" "They're really piling up." "It's not good enough." "I think it's an amazing pace." "They are not reaching their 20 cuts-a-day target." "But they can't work any faster." "Hamako can draw." "She's doing direction on only one show now." "Get her to pitch in." "Drawing keys?" "Yes." "He's wondering if you can concentrate on drawing for now." "So that's his plan." "No, nothing." "Okay." "I'll do some drawing." "Really?" "Yeah." "Thank you very much!" "Whoa, no need to bow and scrape." "Yes, there is!" "I hope it's going to be okay." "The cuts began coming in at an amazing pace." "I wouldn't have been able to do this." "Takashimadaira's way was right." "Sore-Cha is the only one behind the schedule." "Why?" "Because Shihonmatsu is both drawing and doing direction." "She has to put it together very carefully." "Then you know what you should do about it." "No direction on Sore-Cha." "No direction?" "We can't do anything without the keys." "But once we have them, it's our business." "Our business?" "Do you mean we don't need direction?" "Right." "Correcting things wastes time." "But..." "In this situation, correction is the easiest stage to skip." "Nobody cares about the details in the pictures." "We're not making high art." "This is a business." "I just can't break something like that to Shihonmatsu." "There's no need." "It's a production issue." "Just finish the keys and give them to the inbetweeners." "Soreike Charmy" "So now we're friends!" "Didn 't you hear?" "I said we are friends!" "I wonder why I'm not getting anything to correct." "Kuromi?" "Not here, huh?" "What's this?" "So many Sore-Cha keys to do." "Inbetweeners receipts?" "No way." "I haven't seen any of these cuts." "Are they sending uncorrected originals to the inbetween department?" "No direction." "What?" "Hamako's not here?" "So she ran away again." "Ran away?" "Well, it's not like this was unexpected." "She's run away before." "Didn't you say you really liked Louis Monde the 3rd?" "That's right." "Watch this, then." "The Louis Monde the 3rd video?" "Whoa." "Louis Monde's face... was it like this?" "There is no direction." "Shihonmatsu did this episode." "Takashimadaira produced it." "That guy would do anything to meet deadlines." "Skipping direction is one of his old tricks." "We were running late on this one." "Shihonmatsu was here all hours correcting the keys... but he just sent them straight to the inbetweeners." "This was the result." "When Shihonmatsu found out, she stopped coming to work." "Or as Takashimadaira puts it, she ran away." "But you know, she probably didn't have enough time anyway." "I guess you could say what he did was a necessary evil." "We don't need it, right?" "What?" "That kind of... necessary evil is totally unnecessary!" "Shihonmatsu!" "The shows need proper direction!" "All of them!" "What?" "Heh." "It's impossible, you stupid fool." "We're going to goddamn well do it!" "Sorry." "I didn't mean..." "Shihonmatsu!" "Shihonmatsu!" "Shihonmatsu!" "Look here!" "If we don't send off the keys today... we'll miss the deadline!" "Don't touch it!" "It's going directly to the inbetweeners!" "What are you doing?" "Out of my way!" "No way." "These keys are the result of our blood and sweat." "Even the bad stuff." "Shihonmatsu's supervision gives us the courage to draw!" "Even the bad stuff." "There's no more time for direction!" "Besides, Hamako ran away!" "Kuromi will find her!" "Stay put until then!" "We'll lose the show!" "Shihonmatsu?" "Shihonmatsu?" "Not home." "Shihonmatsu, I'm sorry." "I'm sorry!" "Well, if it isn't Shihon." "How rare." "Yeah." "Coming all the way here to Chigasaki... to the easygoing animator Nonki Hayama's Studio Offshore... and staring out to sea." "Did something happen?" "Yeah." "I see." "May I ask what it is?" "So what's animation direction?" "Such beauty." "I'm going to make Japanese anime." "Excuse me, Shihonmatsu!" "Do you know that great cream puff shop near the station?" "I'll go and get some." "It's closed?" "Really?" "I didn't know." "Yes, that's why she didn't know." "She was in the office so long... she didn't know it had closed." "Hayama..." "Can I have a cigarette?" "There's only filterless Lucky Sri Lanka..." "Thanks." "Oh, wow." "What's that, Shihon?" "Didn't you quit smoking?" "I'm postponing quitting smoking." "But this time I'm not going to run away." "Hey, hey now." "Time to go." "Where to?" "Hey!" "Hey, take me to Asagaya." "No license?" "Oh yeah, I have to stop somewhere." "Oh?" "Where?" "Yokohama." "That's here!" "Kuromi!" "I brought you some Bafun cream puffs from Yokohama." "Shihonmatsu!" "They taste bad!" "Oh, she's crying." "Hey Kuromi, long time no see." "Hayama!" "He's going to help us." "Great!" "Huh?" "What?" "Help how?" "Shihonmatsu!" "Kuromi!" "And... who is that guy again?" "Look, she's smoking." "A fighting spirit!" "Bravo!" "You lot!" "We're checking it." "Every single cut." "Don't be ridiculous!" "Hamako, you should know that's impossible." "I'm different than I used to be." "What?" "You can't check every cut!" "Most of them are already on their way to Narita Airport!" "I'll go and get them." "What?" "Overseas mail!" "Studio Acohida" "Hauling all the keys" "On their way" "Hauling all the keys" "On their way" "Off to Narita Airport" "To the overseas studio" "Excuse me, I'm from Studio Petit." "Give me those keys back!" "What?" "I got them!" "Kuromi, that door opens outwards!" "What?" "Are you out of your minds?" "This is really quite a lot." "Can you do this all yourself?" "No way!" "No way!" "No way!" "You can all help me." "But we've never corrected keys before." "Me neither." "please, let's all try." "Kuromi is begging!" "Shihonmatsu is praying!" "Okay!" "I'll help." "Tell us what to do." "Thank you so much." "As this chief says, we don't have much time." "We're going to do just what we need to get the best results." "Gotcha!" "Fukami, touch up all the characters except Charmy." "Everyone draws slightly differently, so you need to harmonize them." "Horaguchi, you do the zombies." "Leave the little zombies to me." "Darken the circles around the eyes a little." "Just the eyes?" "It emphasizes them, see?" "Haryu, just wag the tails of the robots and add a couple of movements, okay?" "Yeah, that'll make it more exciting." "Tanonaka, stick highlights in all of these keys, okay?" "Aye aye, sir." "Hassaku, I will make this image... powerful enough to be a still." "Okay, I understand." "What about the mob?" "They are zombies." "I'll just add a few effects and some diffusion." "That sounds great." "Kuromi, give this to Tanonaka, this one to Haryu." "This is for Horaguchi..." "Do you have anything ready?" "Hassaku, can you check this?" "You!" "Takashimadaira, we have a problem!" "We need to get back the keys that went to the domestic studio." "So it's my turn to help with this sloppy amateurism?" "Why am I taking this stuff back?" "So you're not taking my orders anymore, huh?" "No." "Do what you want!" "I don't care anymore!" "We're leaving." "Nope." "Huh?" "Sorry, but this is rekindling my creative enthusiasm." "Right." "Animation is in our blood." "What the heck?" "Go on, give us something to do." "We want to help you." "I'll even do highlights if you need them." "Hey, that's my job!" "And it suits you, too." "Well, it's a tough assignment, but you're an inbetweener." "What?" "Asking us to do inbetweens?" "Not keys but inbetweens?" "Yes." "At this rate, it's going to be too late for inbetweens." "As soon as we finish these, we'll move on to inbetweens too." "What?" "Inbetweens too?" "Can you help us?" "But we haven't done... inbetweens for 30 years." "But you've done it, right?" "You are animators." "Please help us." "Okay!" "We're going to do inbetweens too!" "I never thought I would do inbetweens again." "Are you serious?" "Okay, I'm ready." "Inbetweens?" "I'll give them a go." "That's very encouraging." "Who do they think they are?" "Bunch of amateurs!" "The studio is lively today as always." "And then..." "So now we're friends!" "Didn't you hear?" "I said we are friends!" "Ectoplasm punch!" "We did it!" "My hands are too stiff to hold chopsticks." "The TV people were angry and told us to hurry up." "There, there, you did a really great job." "Oh, that feels good." "Takashimadaira..." "Let me get one thing straight." "It's a series." "Can you do this all the time?" "So you mean we did a good job, right?" "Anyway, I didn't catch your name." "My name is Ohguro." "Mikiko Ohguro." "So your nickname must be Kuromi, huh?" "That's right!" "If you need me, give me a call." "Okay." "But don't count on it." "No way, never!" "Well done, Kuromi." "Shihonmatsu, you too!" "Thank you." "What?" "If it wasn't for you, I might never have come back." "Gee, that's..." "Listen to the praise, Kuromi!" "Battobi is also happy!" "Well then, let's see..." "Don't forget we have to prepare the next episode." "I can't quit smoking with these hellish schedules." "Shihonmatsu." "Why did you try to stop smoking?" "Well, I just think women who smoke aren't sexy." "Huh?" "Is that the only reason?" "Yeah." "Is that strange?" "No..." "Yes." "Along the same old riverbanks..." "Over the same old crossroads..." "I hear the same old panting train... as I race to chase my dreams." "Though often doused in waves of tears, they dry to leave a softened heart... in a sun-baked city." "On winds to an unknown future," "I'm shining like never before." "Deliver me, oh wind, to the one I Iove." "Carry my dreams over to tomorrow." "Over to tomorrow."