The Other World’s Animator

At the end of September, the anime of the summer cour began to wrap up one after another.

That season had given birth to two absolute phenomena: Dragon's Breath and Re:Zero kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu. And by a perfect coincidence, both were productions planned for two consecutive cours.

By that point, there was already a near-unanimous consensus across the entire Japanese anime industry. With the level of popularity those two series had built up, once the fall cour began in October, the rest of the season would be like lambs thrown before two beasts. The real issue, however, was not how the next phase would begin, but what would come after it.

The crucial point was something else: how would the ratings and momentum of those two works evolve once autumn arrived?

That answer mattered too much.

More than likely, the performance of both series in the next cour would directly influence the distribution of awards at the Tokyo Animation Festival at the end of December.

From the current outlook, Dragon's Breath still had a ninety percent chance of maintaining its lead over Re:Zero in the fall cour and preserving its position. But what if that unlikely remaining ten percent became reality?

Deep down, quite a few people in the industry actually wanted to see that happen.

On September 23, Touga Kuze published the promotional video for Dragon's Breath's next cour on the anime's official NatsuYume account. Seiun TV aired the material simultaneously, and the teaser dropped several major plot hooks into the public eye. In just two days, the video surpassed ten million views on NatsuYume.

In contrast, by September 26, neither Yume Animation nor Southern Alliance TV had made any new announcement at all regarding Re:Zero's position in the fall market. No teaser. No promotional video. Not even a single article.

That level of carelessness was almost absurd.

A great many industry insiders were genuinely surprised. Even if the fall cour was, in practice, merely an extension of the rivalry that had already begun in summer, it was still normal to run some kind of promotional campaign.

But at seven in the evening on September 27, Sora finally made his move.

Using both Re:Zero's official NatsuYume account and his own personal account - which was already approaching seven million followers - he released a whole set of documents and videos in one go.

A few minutes later, some of Re:Zero's more idle fans, who had made a habit of checking those accounts every day to see whether there was any news about their favorite series, stumbled across the update.

The first thing they saw was the teaser for the second half of Re:Zero's first season.

That, by itself, was still normal.

But right beneath it was an announcement that made everyone's minds go blank.

The second season of Re:Zero kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu had officially been greenlit, produced, and scheduled for broadcast.

The moment the fans read it, their brains froze.

What?

The series was really getting a second season?

And when they looked more closely at the air date, the shock only deepened.

January of the following year.

Which meant the first and second seasons of Re:Zero would air back to back without any gap.

In less than two hours, the announcement regarding the production and broadcast of the second season had already shot to the number one spot on the site's trending list. One discussion thread after another sprang up, and the entire community erupted.

"I'm dizzy. Re:Zero is really getting a second season?"

"What kind of question is that? Of course it can get a second season."

"That's not what I mean. The problem is the gap. It's way too short. This doesn't match my image of anime studios here at all. This level of efficiency is insane."

"To be honest, I'm excited and worried at the same time. Being able to watch season two of Re:Zero without waiting is amazing, but can Kantoku Sora really guarantee the quality of the script and the production at this speed? There are tons of writers and Kantokus who can barely handle a single series in a year."

"I'm not going to overthink it. I trust him."

"The production side is one thing. What really worries me is the writing. Anyone who's been watching anime for years knows that a story like Re:Zero isn't easy to write. What I'm afraid of is the Kantoku rushing the continuation and destroying the very thing that made the series so strong."

"I agree. Re:Zero isn't an anime that lives off visual spectacle. The reason it exploded was the strength of its story. If Sora rushes season two and the writing quality drops, I'd rather he spend years polishing it before even thinking about a sequel."

"Don't try to measure a genius with the mindset of ordinary people."

Thanks to the impact of the second season announcement, the news that the first season would resume on Friday, October 4, at eight in the evening spread right alongside it, as if it were part of the same package.

Over the following days, the internet was buried under news, discussion, and speculation surrounding Re:Zero.

On the other side, inside the production department at Seiun TV, several emergency meetings had already been called one after another.

And, as expected, the center of all of them was Shiori.

In more than one meeting, her name was dragged out as an example of failure. People said that if she had not been so arrogant in the past and had managed to bring Sora into Seiun TV, then that year the station could have achieved something historic: airing two anime with ratings above five points in the same season.

There were even people who said, without the slightest restraint, that if Re:Zero really managed to overtake Dragon's Breath in the fall cour, then she would be the station's greatest sinner that year.

Under mounting pressure, Shiori ended up being forced to take a clear stance in that day's meeting. With her voice tight in her throat, she declared that if Re:Zero truly surpassed Dragon's Breath in autumn, she would accept responsibility and resign.

But the moment she stepped out of the building, the pretty composure on her face collapsed completely.

The anger she had tried to suppress during the meeting darkened her eyes at once.

When she spotted a promotional poster for Re:Zero pasted along the street, showing Rem, Emilia, and Subaru Natsuki together, something inside her snapped. Pulling a marker from her bag, she stormed over and began scribbling all over the image without any restraint.

"As if it would be that easy for Re:Zero to overtake Dragon's Breath..."

"Those bitches at the station really only know how to kick someone when they're already under pressure, huh? They saw that my performance this year was too good, got jealous, and now they want to force me out so they can take the deputy chief position next year? Keep dreaming."

Even after that outburst, the resentment inside her barely faded.

Ever since the moment Re:Zero broke past the five-point ratings mark at the end of the summer cour, she had already been feeling suffocated.

Because deep down, she knew perfectly well that the situation was also her own fault.

If, during the initial negotiations, she had adopted a less rigid attitude and offered less outrageous terms, then considering the attitude Sora had shown at the time, there had been a high chance he would have chosen to join Seiun TV.

And if both Sora and Touga Kuze had produced, under her supervision, two works with ratings above five points, then the deputy Kantoku position in the production department - soon to be left vacant at the beginning of next year by someone about to retire - would most likely have fallen straight into her lap.

Instead, she now found herself facing the possibility of having to carry the blame for pushing Sora away from the station and, because of that, being forced to resign if the standings were reversed.

But by then, the direction of events was no longer hers to control.

All she could do was place her hopes in Touga Kuze. Place them in Dragon's Breath. Entrust everything to the performance of that work in the fall cour.

Because as long as Dragon's Breath held firmly to the lead, all those fears would vanish on their own.

Time passed, and September slipped away in silence.

October arrived.

For anime fans across Japan, the new premieres of the fall season no longer held that much appeal. Everyone's eyes were fixed on only two works.

Dragon's Breath.

And Re:Zero kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu.

On Friday, October 4, as evening fell, the NatsuYume forum was completely overtaken by Re:Zero fans. Everyone was active, everyone was waiting, everyone was eager to see what kind of impact the return of the Royal Selection arc - interrupted for two weeks - would bring that night.

For Souhei, even though less than three weeks had passed, the wait had felt as long as three months.

The twelve episodes aired during the summer cour had already fully expanded the scale of the Royal Selection arc in Re:Zero.

The struggle among the five royal candidates, Emilia included, had pushed the story in an entirely new direction almost all at once. Five heirs, five forces colliding, schemes and clashes taking shape from every side. And at the center of it all, Subaru Natsuki would step forward as Emilia's strongest support, determined to carry her all the way to the throne of that country.

And when Emilia became queen, Subaru would shout before everyone that he would be the man of the future sovereign.

Just thinking about it already made the story feel thrilling beyond measure.

Souhei had watched the two arcs of the summer cour with enormous enthusiasm, and he had also been deeply moved by everything Subaru had gone through up to that point.

But that story could not keep making Subaru die in such miserable ways forever.

At some point, it also had to deliver catharsis. It had to give the audience a measure of relief, triumph, and exhilaration. That was how tension and payoff were meant to balance each other.

So when the clock struck eight that night, the Southern Alliance TV broadcast flickered for a brief moment.

In the very next second, the familiar scene of Re:Zero appeared on the screen.

The next day, episode 11 of Re:Zero aired without a hitch.

It was the episode where Rem, completely and irreversibly, gave herself over to what she felt for Subaru. The image she had of him ceased to be that of a stranger who had barged into her daily life and became that of someone who had crossed not only into her world, but into her heart as well - a man who had risked his life to save her, and who, in the darkest and most desperate moment of her existence, had given her comfort, courage, and a reason to keep moving forward.

On the surface, it could easily be mistaken for just another familiar romantic setup: the hero saving the girl after a crisis, followed by love at first sight. At first glance, it seemed like the kind of development built on far too many convenient coincidences.

But was it really coincidence?

Every murder, every trap, every dead end that Subaru Natsuki seemed to avoid so effortlessly had been paid for with his own life. Every piece of information he held, every correct decision, every step taken at exactly the right moment had been bought through previous loops - through weeks of death, pain, and failure piling one on top of another.

That supposedly ordinary man, the one so many dismissed as mediocre, had been killed twice by Rem's own hands.

And even so, when she - crushed after failing in the battle against the demon beasts, only surviving because Subaru had thrown himself recklessly into the swarm to drag her back - murmured in a low voice that her sister surely would have done better than she did… his answer came without hesitation, without theatrics, and without the slightest trace of pity.

Maybe that was true. Maybe her sister really would have done better. But the one standing by his side was her. She was the only one he could see. Having her there with him was something he was genuinely grateful for. And because of that, all he wanted was for her to smile.

Beneath the soft light of morning, Subaru's face and Rem's smile were etched not only into the scene itself, but into the hearts of countless fans watching in front of their televisions.

It was almost healing.

After the first loop marked by the curse…

the second, with the curse followed by a brutal death…

the third, with a savage beating and decapitation…

and the fourth, ending in a suicide by freefall…

that resolution in the fifth attempt allowed anime fans across Japan to feel, almost physically, the weight of what it meant to be rewarded after relentless struggle.

The moment the episode ended, the name "Rem" shot straight to the top of the trending list on the NatsuYume forums.

"Damn… I'm so jealous of the protagonist."

"If you're not going to marry her, then stop messing with her feelings. If Emilia is already obviously the main heroine, then why keep making Rem fall harder? Subaru, you idiot, knock it off. Rem is mine."

"Funny how you people are acting now. Weren't you the same ones trashing Rem a few weeks ago? Watching you switch faces like this makes me sick."

"One thing was one thing, and now this is this. Who could've guessed that Rem and Ram's entire village had been wiped out by the Witch Cult? After seeing the full mansion arc, all I can think is that if I were in their place, I probably would've snapped too after running into someone reeking of the Witch the way Subaru did in the third loop."

"Ah, whatever. Let the past stay in the past. Better to just move forward."

"The hard part is choosing between Rem and Emilia. Which one would be the number one wife?"

"Go touch grass. Stop daydreaming."

"Does anyone know when the Emilia and Rem figures are coming out? And when's the Re:Zero BD release?"

"I heard it's early October. Both Re:Zero and Dragon's Breath are releasing their first BD volumes in October. And since Re:Zero's licensed merchandise is being handled by Noriko Animation, the figures should launch at the same time too. No need to worry."

"Noriko Animation's products are great quality, sure, but the prices hurt too."

"You get what you pay for. And apparently the first-edition Rem figure is limited to one hundred thousand units nationwide. If you keep hesitating, you'll miss the preorder."

"If it sells out, it sells out. I don't care. I'm on Team Emilia."

"Guys, let's show Re:Zero some support in October. In terms of ratings, it's probably still too early to talk about surpassing Dragon's Breath right now. Maybe once the autumn cour starts we'll see if that becomes possible. But for BDs and figures… I do not want us losing again."

"You can say that all you want, but ratings speak volumes. They determine the size of the actual viewer base. If Re:Zero wants to turn the tables in BD sales, it needs to overtake its rival in both buzz and ratings."

In early September, with the broadcast of episode 11, the mansion arc of Re:Zero officially came to an end.

That episode's rating closed at 5.09%.

A week later, episode 12 aired.

Driven by the fans' continuing support, it finished with a 5.16% rating.

This was the episode that marked the beginning of the cruelest and, at the same time, most brilliant stretch of the first season: the Royal Selection arc.

It was also the arc that, in Sora's memory, had transformed Re:Zero into a legendary work in his previous life.

The reason he believed so firmly that the latter half of the first season would surpass Dragon's Breath was simple: he had lived through it. He had been one of those viewers who waited week after week for the next episode with the kind of anxiety that came from knowing they were watching something special unfold. He had seen with his own eyes how the series started under a cloud of mixed reactions and skepticism, only to explode completely once it reached the Royal Selection arc and Rem's defining moments - until the entire site was flooded with videos, essays, edits, and tributes dedicated to her.

Episode 12 showed Emilia, Subaru, and Rem heading to the royal capital, where the five candidates to inherit the throne - including Emilia herself - were introduced.

To Sora, that episode served as the perfect conclusion to the first half of the season. It closed one stage cleanly while leaving behind a massive hook: the promise of the Royal Selection arc opening up before the audience.

At the end of the episode, a preview for the second half of the season aired, scheduled to begin on October 3.

Alongside that, the release dates for the first Re:Zero BD volume and the nationwide launch of the series' licensed merchandise were announced as well.

Saturday, October 11.

That date had not been chosen at random. It was the result of calculations Sora had made with painstaking precision.

By that point in the broadcast schedule, the story would have reached the part where Rem was attacked by the Sloth Archbishop of the Witch Cult and brutally murdered while trying to save Subaru.

Just thinking about that sequence made Sora feel physically uncomfortable.

Even while writing the script, that stretch of the story had unsettled him more than once. He was deeply attached to Rem. Even knowing everything that came afterward, even knowing the full structure of the story, that did not make the scene any easier for him to accept.

And if even he reacted like that, then the viewers following the anime week after week would have an even harder time swallowing it.

When that episode aired, discussion around the series would undoubtedly explode.

As for what kind of final sales result the first BD volume would reach…

That was no longer up to him.

From there on, it had to be left to the market.

Inside the office, Sora's thoughts slowly pulled away from the entire production schedule and rollout plan surrounding Re:Zero. His gaze dropped to the stack of scripts resting on his desk.

It was the first draft of 5 Centimeters per Second.

In practical terms, writing a script was not the sort of work that wore down the body. The real burden came from mental effort. The exhaustion did not build in the muscles, but in the mind.

And in the case of the version he was writing now, it was not as simple as copying the original work and calling it a day.

The original 5 Centimeters per Second film did not even reach one hour in length. Turning it into a commercial feature film in that state would have been impossible. But there was an obvious solution: Makoto Shinkai's original material contained a wealth of narrative details, emotions, and supplementary scenes that could be woven into the screenplay. By carefully expanding those elements, Sora could shape the Yume Animation version into a full-length animated film without betraying the heart of the original.

He rose to his feet and pushed open the office door.

Outside, the entire company was buried in work.

Between mid-September and early October, Re:Zero would go on a two-week broadcast break.

Even so - or perhaps because of it - Yume Animation was even busier than before.

At the meeting the day before, Sora had already presented the scripts for the first ten episodes of Re:Zero Season 2 and sent them off to the relevant departments for review and evaluation.

The reviewers at Southern Union TV had spent the entire night studying the first half of the new season.

That morning, their answer came by phone: they were extremely satisfied with the initial draft.

The practical result did not take long to arrive.

Shortly after that call, ten million yen was transferred into the company's account.

According to the agreement Sora had reached with the broadcaster, the total licensing fee for Season 2 - forty million yen - would be paid in four installments across the production period. This was the first one.

Everyone in the company already knew.

A new production team would be formed.

Re:Zero Season 2 was officially moving forward.

And once Sora had money in hand, he naturally stopped working with the hesitation of someone forced to second-guess every move before making it.

At the beginning of October, Re:Zero merchandise - figures, BDs, and everything else - would hit the market on a large scale, and he was confident that the fifty million yen invested in the series would begin returning in force within a short time.

Those freshly transferred ten million yen from the broadcaster would be used to launch, at the same time, the production of Re:Zero Season 2 and the animated film project for 5 Centimeters per Second.

After that, once the profits from the first season started coming in, he would gradually fill out the remaining investment for both productions.

And on that particular day, the script meeting would be held for the animated film whose concept he had been mentioning for an entire week - despite the fact that no one in the company even knew the title of the work yet.

The three major shareholders had to be there.

Beyond them, the entire upper management of the company would also attend.

Altogether, there were more than a dozen people in the meeting room.

By the time Sora walked in, everyone was already seated.

He had timed his entrance precisely. In his arms was a thick stack of freshly printed pages, still warm from the printer.

After handing a copy to every person present, they were finally able to see that plain cover and the title scribbled across it in Sora's disastrously ugly handwriting.

5 Centimeters per Second.

Neither Sumire nor Yumi had the slightest idea what to expect from a title like that.

Their first impression was simply that it sounded strange - awkward, obscure, and hard to interpret.

But before they could open the material properly, the company's Kantoku of photography - one of the people in charge of the visual side of its animation productions - muttered under his breath,

"Only five centimeters… and per second, no less?"

In an instant, the rigid atmosphere in the room collapsed.

The tension dissolved, replaced by a wave of suppressed laughter and expressions straining to maintain some shred of professionalism.

Sora cleared his throat.

"That's enough. Stop letting your minds wander. The purpose of this meeting is simple. First, I want everyone to understand what kind of film our company is about to make. Second, if there's anything in the script that feels strange, misplaced, or unconvincing, I want you to point it out without hesitation."

In the original, the story had unfolded in a different part of Japan.

But for the version he intended to produce now, a great many things had to be adjusted so they would fit naturally within the chosen setting, the cities, the train routes, and the regional sensibility he wanted the adaptation to carry. For that reason, Sora had spent a great deal of time researching cities, rail lines, and travel routes that aligned with the progression of the story, rearranging everything into something coherent.

Even so, he knew he might still have overlooked something.

Some minor geographic inconsistency.

Some small local detail that did not quite fit.

After all, no matter how careful he was, he had not grown up immersed in those realities the same way the others in that room had.

That was why he wanted their opinions.

With the thin script booklet in their hands, Sumire and Yumi still felt a little too embarrassed by the Kantoku of photography's interruption to look at the title naturally.

But when they opened to the first page, the sentence that met their eyes dissolved the joke in an instant.

They say this is the speed at which cherry blossom petals fall.

Five centimeters per second.

So that was what it meant…

As the meaning settled in, Yumi lifted her gaze for a brief moment, looking first at the Kantoku of photography, then at Sora.

Silently, she thought only one thing.

The gap between people really did begin at the level of their thoughts.

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