Title: What Project?

Rating: T(Some language)

Character: OC(Don't judge me quite yet.)

Summary: H-How dare they! Who does he think he is?!

Disclaimer: This is in no way represented or endorsed by Kyoto Animation. All characters in this are fictional and do not represent actual workers in the animation studio or the team that worked on "Sora o Miageru Shoujo no Hitomi ni Utsuru Sekai". This is all a product of my sick imagination.

I also have no clue how an actual animation studio works. I do know some of the jobs taken, however, most of this were a guess. If you do know how an actual studio works, you may not want to read this.

Year: 2008

Time: 16:32

Location: Kyoto Animation Headquarters

Status : Limbo

He didn't seem to care.

Just came in and promptly sat down, right next to me, I add.

Look at him, smiling like a cat who had just found a discarded fish, a big one.

But it was my fish to begin with.

Hm? Who am I? Oh, I forgot to introduce myself. I'm the concepts director, pleased to meet you.

And who, pray tell, are you?

Let me see your file… … ...So you're the new kid I was told about. Well, you'll be working with us from now on. Welcome aboard the team.

Though I can't promise it'll be exactly a pleasant experience.

"Now, gentlemen…" Oh, look, boss is getting up. What, is he going to make speech or something? Well, get on with it then. "I'm pleased to inform you that Project Sora o Migeru is a go."

I'm pretty sure I froze up in my seat then.

Excuse me?

"Um…" I raised my hand. "What is 'Sora o Migeru'? This is KyoAni project. Besides, I thought this meeting was about a possible remake for---"

"Yes, the Munto franchise."

Hey, don't interrupt me!

"We're redoing the title, if we advertise it as a new series…"

Oh. Advertising.

"…more people will be likely to watch it. Not to mention that having the title of the series the same name as the main character…"

Second main character…

"…might get us sued. I don't want to look like we're copying Studio Perriot. Besides, the two titles sound alike."

I'm sorry, but "Munto" and the title of that other show do not sound alike… much.

Fine, new title. I can handle that. Oh, you don't know, do you? Munto is something I created. It's my pride and joy. Granted, it didn't do too well… but I'm really proud of it.

Boss hadn't finished talking, though.

"The series will have a run of nine episodes…"

"Nine?!" I didn't bother to raise my hand this time. "I thought we were doing a complete overhaul! I wanted a 13 episode run, at least!"

"Nah, too expensive. In this current economy, we're going to have to cut corners."

"You're kidding…" hiding my fast-developing rage was a challenge enough.

"Not at all." He was still smiling.

Bastard…

"Then… we're remaking the first two movies to match current animation levels, am I right?"

"No." My heart sank.

"We're going to keep them the same." He was being rather blunt, wasn't he?

"B-But that won't look good at all! It'll confuse viewers who haven't seen the movies! It'll turn away potential fans who think the entire series is animated in our 2003 style!"

Pardon my arguing, newbie. I spotted you from the very corner of my eye, completely confused as to what was going on.

"Well, we'll make the opening fancy, through in lots of action sequences." Apparently, he didn't understand the fact that I wasn't going to agree with him no matter how flashy he made anything. But I couldn't think of any comeback.

"…" I sat down, defeated. But perhaps he can manage to---

"And these are the new character designs."

… He's kidding, right? Tell me he's making this all up!

My hopes were shattered when he began pulling a folder out of his briefcase, inside was a pristine, unwrapped copy of Newtype USA. Not too bulky, may I add. But wait… He's already published them?!

Tearing open the package with no restraint whatsoever, he then began flipping through, eventually landing on the page where the characters where listed. The article itself wasn't bad, now that I think about it… but that's not the case.

Almost snatching the magazine right out of his hands, I could feel my eyes widen.

Sweet mother of manga-ka…

"Munto… Lord Munto has…. bangs…"

"So?" Boss's eyebrow twitched.

"And he's…"

They can't do this to me.

They can't do this to my baby.

"He's wearing a color… other than… red." I gripped that magazine so hard, I'm pretty sure I would have torn through it with my fingernails, but alas, I had cut them two days ago.

"We thought it was time for a color change." Boss was obviously getting annoyed.

I'm pretty sure shed tears that day. Granted, manly tears one weeps for his child who has just gotten into the prestigious Tokyo University… wait, wrong show… Manly tears for one who was just ripped open as a holy lance penetrated the hull of his precious mecha… nope, that one doesn't work, either…

Ah! I got it! Manly tears for one who has just seen his parents vanish into the surrounding Akuto without him, leaving only a scarce goodbye and silent prayer…

Wait, he didn't cry during that scene, did he now?

Just pretend you didn't hear that.

"There'll be a night scene, so we thought…"

Correction: You thought.

"… it would be appropriate."

"It's not like made major change like to the other characters…"

Oh, thank heavens. (Was that a pun?!)

"They're not important enough."

"…Excuse me?" I looked up from the papers.

Oh… he's going to get it.

"Well, we made a change to Gntarl, but that's because he's the villain."

"I wanted both Guridori and Gntarl to be the villains for the final part."

"We have no back-story, so I told the writers to get rid of him."

He couldn't possibly mean…

"Get rid of him... how, exactly?" I asked, but I already had guessed as to what he…

"Told the writers to kill him off."

"Kill him off?!" Yes, that was definitely a yell. A pure, unadulterated yell. Thank you, I'll be here all week.

The room was silent for a moment. If this was an anime, we would have all had a little blue sweat drop run down the side of our heads by now. Well, except me. I've got that bright red twitching anger mark over my head, see?

"… Calm down."

"I will most certainly not." I tried to resist grabbing him by the collar, or perhaps chucking a 100-page Newstype at him. Those pages are sheeted in plastic, and let me tell you, they leave awful paper cuts. "You take my creation, twist it, create a seemly awful piece of crap with it, and you're telling me to calm down?" I was nearly yelling again, trying hard to settle myself after that outburst only a few moments before.

"… Is now a bad time to tell you Gass dies, too?"

"…"

"He… kamikazes Guridori. Kill two birds with one stone, you know? But at least he goes out with a bang!" He gave a small chuckle.

Please, newbie. I suggest you leave. This is going to get rather violent.

"Show me… " I nearly whispered, slapping the magazine down on the table. "What do Yumemi, Ichiko, and Suzume look like?" I didn't know yet. The article I currently pinned down was Heavenly-cast only.

He went back to his bag, and pulled out yet another folder, this one had some illegible scrawl of some sort on it, probably a name.

"Here." He passed me the files. You were watching me now, newbie. Oh yeah, I'm going to call you that from now on, until you go through initiation. You don't happen to have a pink western tutu, do you? If not, we can make due with a rubber duckie.

I began to sort through them. I'm pretty sure no one wanted to interrupt at the moment, there were at least ten people at the meeting, but so far, no one had made a peep. I was curious as of why.

Ah, found the page I was looking for. Yumemi, my own daughter (seeing as how I could never find myself a woman top produce a real one with) how good it was to see you after these five years. The special girl who belonged in the sky, the one who I have given a good three sleepless days of planning, time, and energy, a labor I'm sure most women don't go through.

But the character sheet contained a face I did not recognize.

"No."

"Hm?" Boss only grunted.

"This isn't Yumemi."

"'Course it is, see? She's got the outfit from the second movie…"

"But her eyes are… so big…"

"So?"

"Her legs are… so long…."

"Your point?"

"Her face, she… looks like a little kid."

Where was the young woman I had tailored through blood, sweat, and tears?

"This is… not her."

"Come again?"

Oh, question me, will you?

"This is… a moe character." Huge, round eyes, supple body, prefect in every way that only a true lolicon would dream about.

I couldn't be wrong. She had been re-tailored, violated and fitted for, dare I say it…

"Fanserivce…" I nearly said aloud. I'm glad I didn't, the word is slightly taboo in studios. But just slightly.

This is why I refused to work on the show that's planned to run in April. Have you heard of it? Well, imagine a bunch of little girls, showing off their panties and running around, playing music on guitars, with fingers that look like they were drawn with your feet. Sounds boring, doesn't it?

"We want to market this to males as well… seeing as how the show's fan base is currently 85% female…" Boss continued on, almost in a bored drone. Didn't matter, I wasn't listening.

Well, if you were a father who had just seen your precious daughter trashed, rejected, and scraped before your eyes… what would have you done?

Done what any father should do.

I screamed, I panicked, I threw a temper tantrum.

In short, I freaked.

Grabbing Boss by the shirt, demanding even a slightly plausible explanation to what he had done, muttering every curse word I could think of under my breath.

You're probably thinking I'm some psychopath.

I don't think that's the case, I think I just cracked. Just a little. Which would explain why I was hoisted, one person on each arm, and nearly thrown out the door. It's funny, because you were one of those people, newbie, trying to hold me down as I began to laugh, rather strangely. I guess this is what working for an animation company does to you.

I'll be back, my pretties…

But as I was being carried out, away from the door, I got a glance at everyone sitting, blankly, in that meeting room.

Then it dawned on me.

I didn't know any of them.

Well, besides you. We're acquaintances, I guess.

But none of them, looked like the group from the original project.

Where was my intern, the guy who bought me coffee every day as I directed production?

Where was my storyboard artist, who listened to my ideas and someone managed to fit all that anime-styled hair into one panel?

Where was my writer, who could whip up something faster than you could say "Yeah, about that screenplay…"?

Where was my legion of animators, working on slave wages to get a movie done, complaining, but at least trustworthy?

As I was dragged out of there, feeling heels pull across the carpeting, I wondered…

Year: 2008

Time: 9:03

Location: outside Kyoto Animation Headquarters

Status : Rejected

Needless to say, I was forced to turn in a resignation letter the next day, for my little "outburst". Finding a new company won't be that difficult, I've got a great resume. But that's not what's bugging me. As I stood outside, watching the newly falling snow, seeing my breath disperse as steam into the air… I worried, but couldn't help thinking, "Hey, that's not my concept."

Those weren't my kids.

I can draw; maybe I'll publish a doujinshi, later. Granted, I'm sorry we couldn't have known each other better, but hey, circumstances are circumstances.

Year: 2008

Time: 9:17

Location: inside Kyoto Animation Headquarters

Status : ???

"The plan is in motion, sir." I turned my head away from the window, where I had previously been watching the sorry sap leave the building. Not that I held any sympathy for him, he just got in the way of plans. One of the animators, or, as I should probably say, henchmen was standing there.

"He's left?" I walked over to my new desk, still a bit too small for someone of my size, and rapped my knuckles against it.

"Just resigned this morning, sir."

"Good… good. You are excused."

Without a word, he left. I must be more intimidating than I thought.

But anyhow, off with the face mask. Ugh, how I hated the thing, gave my ears absolutely no room, not to mention any of my hair. But if it was needed for the first stage of the plan, then it was only a small sacrifice of discomfort.

Oh, another visitor.

"Commander Gntarl?"

"What is it, Four?"

"All Japanese have been cleared from the design, concept, and animation team. That man was the last one."

"Excellent… you may go."

Taking a moment to pause in thought, I sneered. Victory was mine, after all…

And it was going to be a great new year.

Well, here is my poor attempt at being funny.

I'll probably write something involving the real cast when I have the time, but this idea just latched onto my brain, and I couldn't pass it up. Please support our concept-director in his future endeavors. (Though I doubt he has any to begin with.) But at least now we know why the ending of Sora was terrible for the fans of the OVAs.

Reviews are nice :P

Thanks to my friend randomlygreen, who proof read this. It would have been a lot worse if she hadn't, I assure you.

PS: The times are all Asian, and if you're wondering about month, this takes place around late 2008. December-ish. A month before the anime actually aired.