Maria!
Mr. Unoyama,
Happyakubariki Ltd., huh?
It's premiering tomorrow, I hear.
My, how did you make it in time?
As always, it can only be
described as a miracle.
No matter who the director is,
or what his directing style is...
...you capture that style and re-
produce it perfectly to the last detail.
The man who,
despite an extremely tight schedule...
...always completes the first
work-print by the deadline.
The ghost animation director who lives
in the shadows of the industry.
My, my...
...I've heard rumors about you, but I never
thought I'd actually see you like this.
I'd say I should've arranged
a business dinner...
but having a studio as I do, though a
small one, it's really...
...you know.
Shall we talk about business?
The thing is...
Producer
Shinichi Unoyama
Studio Happyakubariki started the
all-out production of the animated movie...
..."Talking Head."
However, it has come to an impasse.
The planner and coordinator of the
entire project, Director Rei Maruwa...
...mysteriously disappeared
6 months ago.
His whereabouts are utterly
unknown to this day.
For fear of the looming deadline
and severe financial penalty...
...and in order to remedy the situation,
Unoyama summoned me.
Well, that's the story.
It's been a year since
production started.
The premiere is only 2 months away,
yet I don't even have storyboards.
Even worse, there's no script.
Not even the first draft.
I had a lot riding on him, and he seemed
to have his own goals for this project.
So I waited as long as I could.
I waited when I couldn't wait any longer.
Then came a point that if I waited any
longer, the reason for waiting...
...would be entirely gone,
but I still waited after that.
But...
But it was all to no avail.
I can't believe you waited that long.
A paragon of producer-hood.
I was boiling with anger inside.
That's understandable.
Boiling as I was, I thought,
"maybe... not today but tomorrow"...
..."no, the day after tomorrow, he might
show up with a mind-blowing trick."
Well, to tell you the truth,
untiljust a moment ago...
Pathetic, isn't it?
But I give up.
I won't wait any longer.
What are your expectations?
If I knew, I wouldn't need you.
He was going to abandon that
extremely obscure style of his...
...and break new ground
with this project.
Those around him expected
him to do so, as well.
Whatever his thoughts and aims were...
...please discover them and
put them into the film.
Make it his work from
the beginning to the end.
So I am to separate from his style
and at the same time...
...create a film that seems
unmistakably to be his work.
Is such a thing possible for you?
Of course.
Five million yen now, another five
after the answer print is completed.
Get Handawara.
He can give you the details.
Incidentally, that business card is a
one-way ticket to the movie, as it were.
You're on your own coming back.
That's the rule of the movie.
I'm sure you understand.
Production Supervisor
Gen Handawara
I have to tell you in advance,
please don't set your hopes too high.
We've already swung around the circle.
Nothing will start now,
nor will there be any new development.
Nobody expects anything like that.
Every one of them, thinks that something
that's started always comes to an end.
By itself, as a river runs
and seasons change...
Hell no!
To end it,
you have to start all over again.
That's where my job always begins.
That's what I came here for.
That's tough.
Shooting and editing are done outside,
but the other staff are in here.
I will introduce the rest, one by one,
starting tomorrow.
I say, screenwriter first.
Alright, then.
Here's the long-awaited director.
Your playtime is over.
Where is Ohtsuka!
The animation director is in hiding.
Question!
What's gonna happen if this
director runs away, too?
And what about if the
chief runs away as well?
Don't get carried away, you fools!
As requested, we left everything
like