Wu Lan and Su Yi used to be in touch with Qin Han at the Musashino Art University Fan Exhibition, and they can be regarded as a "Brahmin" class in the fan group.

During SHAFT's production of Madoka Magi, Wu Lan and Su Yi, as well as members of the Musashino Art University Anime Club, also worked as animators at SHAFT.

However, they were not involved in the production of "Madoka Magi", but were responsible for completing some of the outsourcing work that SHAFT had previously received.

Animators are the lowest and least skilled jobs in the animation industry. In order to save costs, many animation companies will outsource this kind of work to professional outsourcing companies or freelance animators.

When making "Madoka Magical Girl", SHAFT was not exempt from vulgarity and adopted this type of production. After all, it's still a small company, and it's impossible to raise so many animators, so that's it.

The students of the Musashino Art University Anime Club still have no problem with their drawing skills, which can be regarded as instant combat power, which helps SHAFT solve his urgent needs.

Through this way of part-time work, college students not only accumulate painting experience, but also subsidize their lives with the money they earn - Qin Han's salary is still very good, which is already the highest level in the industry.

Because of their experience working in SHAFT, Wu Lan and Su Yi have a good relationship with many employees in the company, and they have also visited SHAFT. It is also a matter of course to know a little bit of inside information.

After the production of "Madoka Magi-chan" is completed, SHAFT will expand its recruitment and prepare for the production of the next anime.

This is the news inside SHAFT, which is almost universally known.

It's just that, in addition to knowing that the next animation is a sci-fi animation with a robot theme, there are not many outsiders who know more specific information.

After all, even if Qin Han is the boss, the employees of SHAFT are not necessarily his fans, and they will not stare at his Twitter all day and night to find clues from it.

On the contrary, Wu Lan and Su Yi, because they often soak in the Internet and mingle in the major ACG communities, know that Qin Han "accidentally" leaked the mechanical setting diagram when he drew a promotional board for the Dongda Robot Association last year.

After everyone saw the photo of Wu Lansu and Qin Han, they all admired it, and they couldn't help but glance at these two Chinese students.

Wu Lan also showed the concept of the Gundam RX78, a promotional billboard drawn by Qin Han for the Todai Machinery Association, to Anno: "How is this robot? It's very different from the current robot animation, right? I dare to conclude that SHAFT's next work will definitely be like "Madoka Magical Girl", subverting the concept of 'robot animation' and making something that has never been seen before." It's nice to go to Ghibli, but if you get into SHAFT, you'll be able to make a career. ”

Looking at the huge robot full of weapon-style on the phone, Hideaki Anno was moved.

As a sci-fi fan, Hideaki Anno is quite obsessed with robots. In his previous life, his three favorite TV animations were "Space Battleship Yamato", "Gundam", and "Sailor Moon".

In this parallel world, "Gundam" has not yet been born, and "Sailor Moon" has been replaced by "Madoka Magical Girl", which is in the limelight. However, in his mind, the importance of science fiction is still irreplaceable.

If you say, Osamu Tezuka's "Astro Boy" has brought animation from the big screen to TV and into thousands of households. Then Matsumoto Zeroshi's "Space Battleship Yamato" made animation, a form of entertainment that originally belonged to children, enter the inner world of adults.

Since then, people have learned that animation is not just a child's play, it turns out that animation can also reflect a grand and complex world view, and express profound and serious theme ideas.

The science fiction soul in his bones is also reflected in Hideaki Anno's painting ability. He is not good at drawing people, but he can easily and vividly draw things like machinery and explosions.

So when he heard Wu Lan say that SHAFT's next animation is a sci-fi robot animation, he was moved.

However, SHAFT is about to expand and start recruiting, which is just an inside information, and the attraction of Ghibli is really great, so Hideaki Anno still decided to go to Ghibli to try it first, and if not, then consider the matter of SHAFT.

This time, the party of the "Magical Girl Madoka Club" ended in a pleasant atmosphere. After saying goodbye to each other, the otaku went their separate ways. Wu Lan and Su also returned to school, while Hideaki Anno and Dou Sifu Okada found a nearby "guest house" for 3,000 yen a night.

This type of accommodation is popular with guests with limited budgets, as it provides a separate resting space the size of a single bed for each guest, which is more comfortable than a capsule hotel and more affordable than a regular hotel.

For otaku like Hideaki Anno and Doushi Okada, even if they have a lot of money, they will choose to spend money on anime-related goods, and will not invest too much in food and housing.

The next day, the two of them participated in the Toei Science Fiction Convention, an annual event for Toei science fiction fans.

On the third day, Okada Dousuo went to meet up with friends in Tokyo, while Hideaki Anno went to Koganei City early in the morning.

The city, like Musashino City, is an administrative district of the Tama region of Tokyo. The most famous product here is probably Studio Ghibli.

Studio Ghibli was founded five years ago with the success of the animated film My Neighbor Totoro.

This is different from the history of the Qin and Han dynasties. Hayao Miyazaki, who produced "Valley of the Wind" before Studio Ghibli was founded, is still in production.

I don't know if it's because of fate, or because of bad luck, although Hideaki Anno went out early in the morning, he rarely encountered a train outage.

When the passengers inquired, they found out that it was due to the construction of the Olympic Games.

This delay forced Hideaki Anno to change buses, but by the time he arrived in Koganei City, it was already past the interview time.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Anno, but for us at Ghibli, it's the attitude of our employees, not their capabilities, that matters most. Because with Ghibli's strength, even people who have never picked up a paintbrush can be trained to become first-class animation talents. But if the attitude doesn't work, it really doesn't work. Although you are appreciated by Miyazaki-san, you can be an hour late for even the most important interview, which in my opinion is not suitable for Ghibli. ”

Hideaki Anno was speechless by the words of the person in charge of recruitment.

Is it to blame Ghibli for not being kind? In the final analysis, it is the fault of his tardiness.

If the world hadn't succeeded in bidding for the Olympics, perhaps Hideaki Anno wouldn't have been late today. He would become a disciple of Hayao Miyazaki, involved in the production of "Valley of the Wind", and eventually grew up to become Toei's most famous animation supervisor.

But now, everything is unknown.