Animation Producer in a Fantasy World

While Ragna was having a friendly conversation with the imperial princess.

‘This is annoying.’

Serika was watching the two of them with a very irritated expression.

She was currently in a really bad mood.

It wasn’t that Serika had been in a bad mood from the beginning.

Until this morning, Serika had been in a very good mood.

That’s because she had heard that the imperial princess would personally come to see Ragna about animation-related issues.

“Amazing. To think even the imperial family is interested in the animation you made! I’m really happy for you, Ragna!”

Serika had given Ragna such words of congratulation with truly sincere feelings.

To be honest, Serika had been feeling a bit heartbroken watching Ragna until now.

That’s because she learned that Ragna had received a lot of investment from her father, Duke Grinewald, to produce “The Disappearance of Elli and Hamel”.

And because of that, she found out that he had signed a contract to hand over a significant portion of the ticket sales to the Duke.

Well, in return for that, he did get the rights to sell various character merchandise related to “The Disappearance of Elli and Hamel”.

But honestly, Serika thought that Ragna must have suffered an enormous loss.

Because no matter how much animation-related merchandise is sold, it’s impossible for those sales to compare to ticket prices, right?

In fact, from what Serika had heard, “The Disappearance of Elli and Hamel” was currently causing a huge box office sensation in the capital.

Not only nobles but even commoners were clamoring to get tickets for “The Disappearance of Elli and Hamel”.

And in that process, Duke Grinewald, who had promised to take a significant portion of the ticket revenue, must have gained enormous profits.

On the other hand, Ragna, who only had the rights to character-related merchandise or whatever, probably didn’t make much profit.

Considering the various budgets and efforts Ragna spent to create “The Disappearance of Elli and Hamel”, he might as well have done free service.

That’s why Serika couldn’t help but feel sorry for Ragna.

That’s why.

When she heard the news that the imperial family would visit Ragna for anime-related issues, the reason she was overjoyed was.

‘The more interest the imperial family shows in Ragna, the more benefits he’ll clearly be able to get through animation in the future!’

But.

“…I see, so that’s how it was. As expected, you had a grand plan…”

Grab.

“Um… Your Highness? It would be better if you could speak while letting go of my hand…”

The moment the imperial princess grabbed Ragna’s hand while talking to him.

“…..”

For some unknown reason, Serika felt as if her emotions were being plunged into an endless quagmire.

‘This is really annoying.’

She wanted to say something to the imperial princess, telling her to let go of that hand.

But even with Serika’s status as the daughter of Duke Grinewald, it was unthinkable to directly say anything to the imperial princess.

No matter how much of a duke’s daughter she was, there was a line that had to be kept in front of royalty.

‘…Ragna.’

So Serika could only blankly watch Ragna holding hands with the imperial princess.

Clench.

Although she didn’t know the reason herself, she unconsciously clenched her fist tightly.

“…Ah, damn. I’m going crazy.”

After the conversation with the imperial princess ended normally.

I sighed, holding my throbbing head for some reason.

“I didn’t expect her to ask me to make a TVA animation of all things.”

Of course, there’s nothing like Earth’s television in this world.

But unfortunately, there was an artifact that performed a similar function.

To be more precise, it was an artifact that the imperial family used to deliver announcements to major cities or government offices.

The imperial princess had proposed to me a plan to modify it slightly and broadcast anime throughout the empire.

Well, since it’s an animation broadcast to the entire empire, it would be good if it could be broadcast for a long time. So, for example… how about making it about 50 episodes?
…You want me to make a 50-episode animation?

Naturally, I was at a loss for words when I heard the imperial princess’s proposal.

It took me a full two months to create “The Disappearance of Elli and Hamel”, which was just a two-hour anime.

I couldn’t even calculate how much time and effort it would take to create a 50-episode animation.

By the way, you don’t have to worry about costs. The imperial family is prepared to provide you with a considerable budget.
……
As expected… it seems you’re unable to speak because you’re so moved by the opportunity to fully spread your wings. Put aside your gratitude. I’m always cheering for you.
No, that’s not…
If you make this work well, the imperial family might be able to sponsor your next work as well. So, do your best.

…Please, can you cancel what you just said?

Anyway, as I sighed deeply while reminiscing about my painful past.

Serika, who had been pouting next to me until now, opened her mouth in a grumpy tone.

“…Well, all things considered, it doesn’t seem like particularly bad news for you. The fact that the imperial family is directly supporting you means you can make whatever you want as much as you want. Isn’t that right?”

By the way, Serika had been pouting since the moment I was having a conversation alone with the imperial princess.

What is she so displeased about to make such an expression?

It seems that I, who am just an untouchable commoner by birth, cannot understand the mind of the noble duke’s daughter.

“So just accept the imperial princess’s proposal. You can’t refuse anyway, and it can be said that it’s beneficial for you too.”

“Well… I wonder if it can really be said to be good for me.”

“What?”

In the first place, I was planning to enjoy a NEET life stuck at home for at least a few years.

But if I end up making a 50-episode animation with the support of the imperial family, I won’t be able to live a leisurely life at all.

Moreover, there was an even bigger problem.

‘If things go wrong… I might become an unpaid slave of the imperial family and spend my whole life making anime!’

That’s right.

Let’s assume that I create an awesome 50-episode animation as requested by the imperial princess, and it becomes a huge hit throughout the empire.

Then the imperial princess will most likely order me to make another follow-up anime.

Why?

Because it’s more efficient to reuse an existing slave diligently than to find a new slave somewhere.

Moreover, why would they look for another slave when this slave has already experienced hitting multiple home runs in a row?

There was a reason why professors don’t let capable graduate students who have once come under them graduate and use them like slaves.

‘But I can’t deliberately ruin the animation made with the support of the imperial family…’

If I make an anime like Kimchi Warrior with the imperial budget, the enraged imperial princess might behead me and hang my head in front of the imperial palace.

It’s entirely possible because the empire I live in is not a democracy but a world run by a dirty caste system.

Also, no matter how much I dislike working, as an animation producer myself, I was somehow very reluctant to deliberately ruin an anime.

‘Then what should I do? Is there any good way?’

How can I make a high-quality anime and at the same time prevent the imperial family from telling me to make a follow-up work?

After pondering for a long time, I came up with a good idea.

“…Mecha anime.”

“…?”

“And LCL… no, orange juice ending.”

“Huh? What did you say?”

“If all of humanity turns into orange juice in the ending, everything would be neatly resolved…!”

In the past, there was a certain legendary animation that struck all of Japan.

An anime that is praised as a masterpiece to this day, to the extent that it was evaluated to have brought a kind of ‘syndrome’ to Japan as soon as it was broadcast.

At the same time, an anime that destroyed people’s mental state by completely exterminating humanity in the ending part.

Well, actually, there are quite a few anime that exterminated humanity in the ending part when you look into it, but that anime was just the most famous, so it was taking all the aggro and getting cursed at until today.

And I was thinking of plagiarizing… no, benchmarking that anime.

The anime itself is a masterpiece, but at the same time, getting cursed at for having a crazy ending was exactly the situation I wanted.

“Hehehe.”

Yeah, let’s see if they still want to entrust me with a follow-up anime even if all of humanity turns into orange juice in the ending.