After seeing Aoi off, Yuta immediately rounded up a few key people for a meeting in the conference room.
The production team for the second season was largely the same as the first, so assigning tasks didn't involve much hand-wringing over who was right for what.
But this meeting wasn't just about task distribution.
Yuta made a point of emphasizing that he wanted to develop the talent underneath him.
For example, a production assistant who showed real promise should be put in charge of the more important episodes.
A key animator with potential should get assigned to the more critical cuts.
An episode director with upside should be given the chance to draw storyboards now and then.
In short, Yuta wanted to build up a deeper bench of reliable production staff, rather than having the same handful of people carry everything.
The main meeting ran for over two hours, followed by a string of smaller ones.
The entire first day was basically spent in meetings.
But once everyone knew their assignments, the whole Starfall machine roared back to life.
Compared to the first season, production on the sequel went much more smoothly, though that didn't mean there was no pressure.
Season one had been a massive hit. While plenty of viewers expressed concerns about the sequel's direction, the number of people looking forward to it was even greater. Unlike season one, which had almost zero hype before it aired.
To make sure they lived up to those expectations, every aspect of the second season had to be executed with even more care. There was no room for sloppiness.
Naturally, Yuta's personal burden was the heaviest, but he kept the situation with Aoi to himself. The rest of the staff didn't need to know. As long as he had it under control, that was enough.
Time flew by, and October arrived before anyone knew it.
New anime began premiering, but Starfall didn't have anything airing this season, so Yuta only kept half an eye on what was out there. Most of his energy stayed focused on Clannad S2.
As for the anime Ryouga was funding, the PV hadn't dropped yet, but thanks to Aoi, Yuta occasionally got bits of intel.
It was indeed a mecha anime, and the studio producing it was Tempest.
Tempest had only been around for four or five years, but its core team had come from NovaLine Studios, so their capabilities were beyond question.
If they were making a slice-of-life show, they might have been out of their depth. But mecha was right in their wheelhouse.
The director and scriptwriter were reportedly both top-tier industry veterans.
Aoi didn't have all the details yet. They'd have to wait for the PV to learn more. But based on what they knew so far, the odds of Clannad season two dominating across the board were not great.
November 27th. The PV for Ryouga's anime finally went live.
Yuta and Aoi watched it together from start to finish.
The anime was called Radiant Warriors. It opened with a series of massive explosions, then a mecha burst out of the ground, rocketed into the sky, and an absolutely thunderous BGM kicked in.
The entire PV screamed one thing: hype. Pure, unrelenting hype.
The kind that set your blood on fire. Every frame practically oozed production budget.
Along with the PV, the premiere date was also confirmed: January 11th at 10 PM, airing on TV Asahi.
Arcane typically partnered more with TBS, but TBS's distribution channels were in Aoi's hands. TV Asahi was a deal that Ryouga had brokered on his own.
Online, viewers who had seen the PV for Radiant Warriors were buzzing with excitement.
"Hot-blooded mecha. Now this is what real men watch."
"This PV is insanely hype. I hope the actual show delivers on that energy."
"Just from the PV alone, you can tell they had money to burn. That's Arcane-funded quality right there."
"January 11th? I'll be there on the dot."
...
"Aoi, I feel like this isn't exactly fair," Yuta couldn't help saying.
"How so?" Aoi turned to him.
"Their budget is way too big. Based on this PV, I'd guess they're working with at least twenty million per episode," Yuta grumbled.
"They're doing mecha. Twenty million is standard for that genre. You're doing slice-of-life. If you'd gone with mecha, I could have given you twenty million per episode too," Aoi said.
"Think it's too late for me to switch my next show to mecha?" Yuta joked.
"By the time your next show rolls around, I might not be Arcane's president anymore. You'll have to take that up with someone else." Aoi sighed.
Yuta fell silent.
"Shido."
"Yeah?"
"The second season will air at the same time as theirs. On TBS."
"Okay."
"Are you confident?"
Aoi fixed him with an intense, searching look, hoping to hear a decisive answer.
Yuta said nothing.
He wanted to say "absolutely." But he wouldn't have even believed himself.
And Aoi wasn't some naive girl who needed to be sweet-talked. Blowing smoke and making empty promises in front of her would only make him look bad.
...
December 1st.
Clannad season two's PV went live.
Back when the first season's PV had dropped, it had been trashed mercilessly online. This time, that wasn't a problem at all.
"It's here. It's finally here!"
"I get to see Nagisa again. My first love is back."
"After Clannad, every other bishoujo anime just feels wrong."
"I hope season two delivers even more emotional moments."
"Wait, why is the second season also airing January 11th at 10 PM?"
"That Radiant Warriors show is also January 11th at ten, and it's also funded by Arcane, right?"
"Has Arcane lost its mind? Why would they pit two of their own shows against each other?"
With the two PVs dropping just days apart, and Radiant Warriors still fresh in everyone's minds, the identical time slots were noticed immediately.
Discussion threads popped up everywhere.
"What is Arcane doing?"
"Two anime in the same time slot. Does anyone have the inside story?"
"Hot-blooded vs. tearjerker. Which side are you on?"
"I want to watch both, but I only have one TV. What am I supposed to do?"
Since nobody knew what was going on inside Arcane, the confusion was natural.
Both shows already had massive buzz, and this rivalry only amplified it further.
But neither Arcane, Starfall, nor Tempest made any public comment about the situation.
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