novelraw Chapter 11: Viewing
Chapter 11: Viewing
Inside the Audit Department office, it was so quiet that one could hear the faint sound of the air conditioning vent.
Takeshita Ai sat behind her desk. Neatly arranged on the surface were documents and stationery, as well as a bulky desktop computer, including a small playback device connected next to it.
First, she picked up the proposal for "Onibo Samurai" sent by Iwata Masao.
Opening the first page, she saw gorgeous concept art and the cast introduction.
Well-known novelists, veteran directors, popular actors... every name sparkled.
She flipped through the pages one by one. The proposal was indeed very detailed. From the script outline to the storyboard sketches, and then to the scene settings, everything revealed an aura of 'money is no object.'
However, when she turned to the budget page, her brow finally couldn't help but furrow.
"Two million dollars for a single episode?"
She tapped her finger lightly on the desktop, making a rhythmic "tap-tap-tap" sound.
This number was somewhat absurdly high for a late-night horror short drama.In her experience, this amount of money was enough to produce a quarter of a prime-time animation episode.
She could tell that there were too many unnecessary expenses and too many flashy gimmicks involved. This felt less like executing a project and more like hosting a cash-burning banquet.
'The deputy bureau chief's project, huh...' she muttered softly to herself, a trace of helplessness and disgust flashing in her eyes.
In a place like a television station, professional judgment sometimes had to bow to power. She could raise questions, but the final outcome would likely be difficult to change.
She pushed this magnificent proposal aside. Thinking of that Deputy Bureau Chief Takada, who had always been known as a greedy glutton, she already had a preliminary judgment in her heart, and her eyes were filled with absolute abhorrence.
Then, her gaze fell upon that rather ordinary-looking proposal and the cheap videotape.
"Yamishibai".
The name was somewhat interesting.
She picked up the few simple explanatory documents again. There were only a few brief words summarizing the project, along with a budget spreadsheet.
When she saw the total amount at the very bottom of the budget spreadsheet, her usually placid, well-like eyes revealed a look of genuine surprise for the first time.
She even doubted if she had misread it, leaning in closer to take a careful look once more.
Then, she placed this budget spreadsheet side-by-side with the one for "Onibo Samurai".
Two million.
And... one million.
One was in the heavens, and the other was on the dirt.
A playful, highly intrigued expression appeared on Takeshita Ai's face. She leaned back in her chair, her slender fingers gently gliding over the videotape.
In this world filled with lies, exaggerations, and exchanges of interests, the sudden appearance of something so "real" that it bordered on crude actually piqued her utmost curiosity.
She picked up the videotape, stood up, and walked over to the projector in the corner of the office, intending to insert it for a screening.
But after a moment's thought.
Takeshita Ai still hesitantly placed "Yamishibai" back on the desk, picked up "Onibo Samurai", and slotted it into the playback device.
Her expression was somewhat ugly, as if she was forced to obey.
She returned to her chair and sat down. She turned on the small playback control device next to her computer. With a 'click', the animation began to play on the screen hanging on the wall.
Accompanied by a faint, eerie flute melody, the title "Onibo Samurai" also appeared on it.
The screen flickered, and the imagery belonging to "Onibo Samurai" completely occupied the entire display.
...
The visual texture was excellent. A film-like graininess, paired with carefully adjusted gloomy tones, instantly pulled one back to that Edo period where ghosts and monsters ran rampant.
A spooky ancient temple, a dim long street. A samurai wearing heavy armor flashed by like a phantom, accompanied by shrill screams and the dull sound of a blade slicing into flesh.
The opening minutes had indeed established a top-tier terrifying atmosphere.
Takeshita Ai leaned her body slightly forward, her gaze sharp and focused behind her gold-rimmed glasses. She was like an experienced hunter, scrutinizing the prey before her, assessing its every bit of value.
Sound effects, musical score, editing... everything on the technical level was undeniably first-rate.
However, as the plot unfolded, Takeshita Ai's forward-leaning body slowly and gradually leaned back against her chair.
The focus in her eyes was gradually replaced by a customary blandness.
The storyline's progression was almost exactly as she had anticipated.
A samurai, poisoned to death because his wife committed adultery, refused to let his resentment dissipate. He transformed into an evil spirit and began indiscriminately slaughtering passersby on the streets at night.
Then, a compassionate wandering monk and a highly skilled Onmyoji happened to meet by chance and decided to join forces to subdue the demon.
The battle scenes were flashy. The glow of talismans and the cold gleam of the katana reflected off each other. The special effects burned through a massive chunk of the budget.
In the end, the evil spirit was defeated. Before dissipating, his hideous face reverted to its handsome appearance from when he was alive, and he wept tears of blood as he recounted his grievances.
The monk and the Onmyoji teamed up and found that adulterous couple. Using Buddhist dharma and shikigami, they forced them to witness the terrible state of the evil spirit, ultimately making them see the error of their ways and repent before the evil spirit's grave.
The story ended.
Very complete, very standard, and also... very boring.
Takeshita Ai pressed the stop button. The buzzing sound from the projector came to an abrupt halt, and the office instantly returned to silence.
She took off her glasses and gently rubbed the bridge of her nose.
Those bloody visuals and jump-scare sound effects from earlier had indeed caused her adrenaline to spike a bit, making her face appear somewhat pale as a result.
But this was just like riding a roller coaster. The thrill was thrilling, but once it stopped, apart from a momentary dizziness, nothing would be left behind.
She could see dozens of versions of this kind of story in various proposals over the course of a year.
The ingredients were the same, only the soup was different.
It was nothing more than swapping the samurai for a princess, the monk for a shrine maiden, and the poisoning for a framing.
The core would always be that little bit of romantic love and hateful vengeance between men and women, eventually forcefully elevated by a theme of "letting go" and "forgiveness".
"Two million dollars..." Takeshita Ai looked at that exquisite proposal, a barely noticeable hint of mockery curling the corners of her lips. "Just to tell a stale story that even a street-side rakugo storyteller would be too lazy to repeat?"
Money could indeed buy gorgeous packaging.
But beneath the packaging, if the soul was hollow, it would be nothing more than somewhat expensive garbage.
She pushed the proposal for "Onibo Samurai" aside, as if it had been tainted by something unpleasant.
Then, her gaze landed on that cheap videotape.
"Yamishibai".
Those three somewhat childishly handwritten characters on the cover instead radiated a simple, unadorned sincerity in Takeshita Ai's eyes at this moment.
She picked up the videotape. Its weight was very light, and she could even feel some rough edges on the plastic casing.
Could this thing really be watched?
Carrying a trace of curiosity that even she herself hadn't noticed, Takeshita Ai slotted this videotape into the projector.