Shibahama High School
Did you manage to lose them, Mizusaki?
Yep! That shortcut you told me about worked great!
Asakusa, your bag looks really durable.
You have quite the eye for quality, Mizusaki!
It's made for military use!
It looks cheap, from what I can tell.
I spent all of my New Year's money on it!
It's a big ticket item, Kanamori.
Wow, so around 100,000?
Well, you said used all of your New Year's money...
We're working-class folks, so my New Year's money was 21,000.
O-Oh...
Emergency Exit
No Running
The faculty office isn't in that direction, Asakusa.
We're going to submit our proposal for a new club, right?
Can't we all just join the anime club?
But my parents said I couldn't.
Since Mizusaki is unable to join the anime club,
we absolutely need to create a new club to make anime.
Are you chickening out?
You make it sound easy, Kanamori, but the idea of actually going in there...
I don't mind! Starting a new club sounds like fun.
Do you really think that they're going to let us start a new club for anime,
when one already exists?
Good point.
I'll settle that issue with money or violence, if it comes to that.
Please don't!
Faculty Room
A film club?
That's kind of a vague idea. What exactly would you be making?
Shorts? Feature length?
We already have clubs for anime and CG...
We don't have one for feature-length films, though. How about it?
There's a poster for a competition back there.
The clubs at our school tend not to be very competitive.
Maybe you girls could make a feature and enter?
It'd be a big help if you could do video stuff for school events, too.
Accepting Submissions! Live-Action Movie Contest 1 Million Yen Prize
Live action...
Mr. Yokota...
If we get a club that produces films off the ground,
what kind of budget would we be receiving?
W-Well, it depends on what you accomplish,
but if the club is officially established,
your annual budget could be as much as 150,000 yen a year.
Hang on, Kanamori!
He's talking about a club for live-action movies!
We want to make anime, Kanamori!
Huh? You can't make anime!
We've already got an anime club!
What are you two talking about?
Anime is film too, isn't it?
So we call ourselves the film club, and produce anime. It's that simple.
We'd love to start a film club!
I see. Should be interesting, with you involved, Mizusaki.
But hang on... you don't have an advisor.
You're not going to do it?
Heavy...
My beard feels heavy.
Mr. Fujimoto?
Lately, this beard of mine feels so heavy. It makes my shoulders stiff.
It's Darius I
It's Shamshi-Adad I
It's Leonidas I
Maybe my circulation would get better if I was a club advisor.
So I think I'll take on that role.
There's an open space for a club, so let's go check it out.
This is great! He gets it!
The eizouken is taking the stage!
Episode 2 The Eizouken Takes the Stage!
Keep
Your
Hands
Off
Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!
This is the place?! It's huge!
It's got those wavy metal plates for walls! That's so stylish!
It's just old sheet metal.
Man, get a load of that!
Hey! Double fans! Cool!
Huh? They're big, too.
I'm going to go ahead and take some video. It'll help for a plan of action.
It's really hot in here.
There's no air conditioning, after all.
Can't the school arrange for an air conditioner?
You girls are still a loose association with nothing to your name.
Once you've been officially recognized, you might net yourselves an AC.
Well, good luck.
Holes in the ceiling and walls, and no financial support from the school.
It cost 20,000,000 yen to get the roof redone at our house.
I don't have that kind of money!
We don't need to do renovations like your house would call for.
I bet 30,000 will be enough!
That is very unlikely.
I suppose we should clean up for now,
and make this place a bit more tolerable.
I wonder where the switch for the fans is!
I found a broom!
Our priority should probably be fixing the walls and ceiling.
Between labor and materials, it's likely to be more than 50,000.
I suppose we should do it ourselves, if we can.
Hey, listen!
This place is going to be our base of operations, right?
That's right.
So it's like a villa just for us!
We should bring in a sofa, and a TV, and bookshelves,
and make it a lot more comfy!
I want it to be like the animation studios in Hollywood!
With big mirrors for recording performances!
And a screening room for checking footage!
And a recording studio!
And while we're at it...
We can make the entire roof into a big hatch!
If the roof can open up, we can take off from here!
Whoa! What is that?!
Propeller Skirt
Engine-powered, motor-propelled personal helicopter Fuel Tank (Holds lots) Engine (30cc displacement) Arms for flight control system (Multi-jointed) Position Lights (Dazzling)
An engine-powered, motor-propelled personal helicopter!
Blades Rotor (Spins lots) Radial engine and a Doremifa Inverter Sounds more like a turbofan engine for reasons unknown (makes whatever cool noises)
Flight speed: 0 km/h~55km/h Maximum weight capacity for takeoff: 90 kilograms at 0 meters above sea level Flight time: 40~55 minutes Rotor diameter: 3400 MM Overall height: 677 mm (when blades are withdrawn, 1522 mm) Functional altitude limit 1200m Position Lights are installed on the shoes
The blades are made of a special organic glass,
so they're light and really strong!
Needs to be in an upright position in order to maintain lift
And it's got a position-based control system, so anyone can fly freely with it!
Blades are made out of special organic glass that is lightweight and resistant to corrosion Resilient against heat and chemicals, as well as material fatigue Belt is hollow and houses external rotor motor. Blades are mechanically affixed to the rotors and provide driving force Altitude control and battery are installed on the arms
Shoulder belt Fuel port Rabbit Exhaust Arm Rear This comes off Flight sticks
Joint actuators are capable of flapping, dragging and feathering (Artificial muscle)
No, they can't!
You'd end up rotating in the opposite direction of the propeller!
Reverse torque?!
In that case, you have the internal rotor spin in the opposite direction...
That lets you maintain your position!
You forgot the part where the wind is enough to knock this building over!
Whuzzat?!
Dang it, don't distract me with details! You'll make me fall!
Then fall already! And quit flashing us!
This is harder than I thought!
I'm... fall... ing!
Asakusa!
The wings can also be straightened out, then slid into standby with a rail system,
where they're unlocked, for storage...
She's still explaining concepts after a fall like that.
She's most likely worked up from the excitement of getting the space.
But you did well, Asakusa. Very well.
Your death won't be in vain.
I'm not dead yet.
We can sell the footage of your fall at a high price,
and use it to fix up the room.
You can sell that kind of thing?
Haven't you seen the shows where they talk about how much
"shocking footage" sells for?
Most of the footage you see on TV along those lines is bought and paid for.
So that that bit of candid footage might mean a payout for us.
It's just me falling down. You're not gonna get a TV station to pay for that.
There are middle men who handle that part, so we don't have to do much.
You have really long legs, Kanamori.
I slept a lot, so I grew up big and strong.
And now the upload is complete.
And we're going to get paid for it?
Only if someone decides to buy it.
If I had to fall on my head, it'd be nice if we got paid for it.
Faculty Room
Well, it is on the old side.
I'm just glad you weren't hurt.
The school will handle the repairs, so don't worry about the money.
I actually managed to capture the sensational footage on camera.
As interesting as that might be to see, that's technically accident footage.
Keep it to yourselves, all right?
The higher-ups might get upset, otherwise.
Okay!
It should be fine, right?
As long as no one buys it, yes.
Though the money would be nice.
But y'know...
We get to make anime now!
Yes!
I'd say there are plenty of concerns, still, as far as gear and budget go.
I say that tomorrow we have an anime production meeting in the club room!
Roger that.
This is going to be a crucial moment for setting the course of the eizouken!
Tardiness will not be tolerated!
What exactly is this idiocy, Asakusa?
I'm spinning plates.
I can see that.
Asakusa said you'd probably complain a bunch,
so we should have our celebration before you showed up—
I have problems with people who try and use random excuses for celebrations.
Roger, dodger, and wilco on that.
Aw, it's fine, Kanamori!
We've got croquettes from the cafeteria,
and the canned milk they sell at the Ongyoku Bathhouse!
You could've just said that. What a wonderful party.
You're such a mercenary!
More importantly, Kanamori, have you noticed something?
The sofa, I assume?
That's right! Mizusaki brought it in.
We weren't using it at home, so I had the property clerk send it down here.
You have one of those?!
Using tires for chairs in your secret base is strictly for elementary schoolers.
We're in high school. That is to say, we're adults.
And this sofa is the proof of that maturity!
I propose a toast to celebrate our graduation from tires!
My problems also extend to people who will use any old excuse for a toast.
I'm curious. How much did this sofa cost, Mizusaki?
About three million yen.
I thought as much.
Three mill—?!
I-I j-just stabbed a three million dollar sofa with a fork!
Oh, it's fine! It's not like we were using it.
It was basically junk, just taking up space.
More importantly, we need to talk about making this anime.
I'd say the sanctity of the sofa is a bigger deal.
I want to draw the natural movements you see in daily life,
with lots of realistic acting that feels alive.
You're just ignoring what I said, huh?
Lots of realistic, subtle facial expressions and camera angles...
Good lip sync and blinking...
And I want to focus on the timing of intercharacter conversation, too!
If we're talking about focus,
then mine is making sure the details of the settings and the gimmicks are as detailed as possible.
That's your specialty, Asakusa!
The right use of sound effects can add a bunch of texture, too.
Like making sure a "boom" puts the right emphasis on an explosion...
It'd be great to do it on paper, too!
I usually use a tablet.
Why don't we settle on a genre, first of all?
Sci-fi and romance...
We don't have brand recognition like big-name studios,
so we'll need a genre with mass appeal if we want to see any profit from this.
We don't get the club's funding from our audience, though.
I want our focus to be the animation,
and the kind of scenes we want to make!
We can settle on a genre later. It'll be fine.
It's best to let them do what they want for now, to size up what they're capable of.
We'll table the question of genre for now.
What exactly do we need to make anime?
There's lots of stuff...
But if we're doing it by hand, we'll need animation paper.
Animation paper?
It's really just paper with holes in it.
But you use pegs to hold it in place when you're actually animating.
What pegs?
The pegs are—
Whoa, hang on. We don't even have a desk yet.
Asakusa's actually fairly sharp when she's got a cool head.
A complete idiot when she's worked up, though.
That's funny!
I wouldn't say a complete idiot...
Let's talk to the powers that be about getting some desks.
Don't run in the hall
Leave this to me!
Fair enough. Just don't bring up anime production.
I'll prove to you both that I'm no idiot!
Pardon the intrusion!
Mr. Fujimoto... is not here?
Hey, it's the eizouken's shock troop girls.
What's up?
We need desks for the club room, but since we don't have any budget,
we were hoping there were some we could borrow.
Oh, right.
We've got a few long desks, in addition to the kind that are in classrooms.
What do you have in mind?
If there are any, a desk with a light box would be perfect!
Huh?
You need them for making anime—
Anime?
I said no anime!
Uh, we—
Shoot!
We've already got an anime club! You girls need to be working in live action.
Having two groups with the same focus is a bad idea.
We in the film club are operating with an eye towards general film production,
and as such, have a right do just that,
regardless of whether such films are animated or live action.
Besides, isn't the anime club's official designation the
"anime culture research group," sir?
And, as that entails, their focus is currently on researching anime,
not the production of film.
A club making claims on other activities with no actual intent of engaging in them
is a nuisance to other groups.
Not to mention how a teacher infringing on a student's right to organize
for legitimate activities without a proper reason is a matter
worth bringing up to the PTA and the Board of Education—
I get it, I get it!
Man, kids are scary nowadays.
This is the key to the storeroom the old anime club used to use.
I think they have an old desk for tracing in there.
Go ahead and use anything you need.
But try and avoid anime, if you can!
And there's supposed to be a big rainstorm later,
so hurry and take care of your business.
Copy that! Thanks!
Man, get a load of that!
There's an actual windmill!
It must've been for the wind from the canal!
It's like we have a river, too!
I never thought there'd be something like this right below our clubroom.
Careful there, Mizusaki!
Let's check out the storeroom.
Holy cow, there's a generator!
These are the folders you keep cuts in!
Monstrous Mastermind
There are cells and backgrounds, too!
You mean to tell me someone painted each one of these, individually?
Yep!
And then you put it on the background when you film it.
Too many at once makes it blurry, so generally it was four at a time.
The people who handled the coloring
would even compensate for the differences in coloring the layers caused!
I see... It's connected to the windmill outside.
But if it's not going to turn...
I wonder what this is...
You've got a real thing for high places, don't you, Mizusaki?
I guess they were using wind to power to this place...
That's a camera stand!
You're right! This thing's a camera!
It's huge! This is the real deal!
You turn this crank...
And by moving the background a little bit at a time,
you can make a single stationary cell look like it's in motion.
Each turn is 0.1mm, so a fourth of that would be 0.025mm.
Monstrous Mastermind
You can raise the camera with this crank, which lets you zoom in and pull out.
If you use the different levels, you can change the point of focus...
And you can manage light permeation
by using the mirror on the bottom to reflect the right amount for your brightness.
There's so much valuable stuff here!
What about the desk that we came here for?
One with this light box thing.
This is it!
It's just like I've seen in books!
There's animation paper, pencil sharpeners, a feather sweeper...
Clips, tape... wow!
We can use this stuff as-is! We've won!
This is a big win for us!
This is the peg I was talking about!
You run it through the hole in the paper.
That way, you can draw with a bunch of sheets at once!
And what's this?
Someone must've drawn the windmill that's outside.
Looks rough.
It's just a layout. The early stuff.
Is it any good, Mizusaki?
Well, they did a good job of drawing it, but...
What do you think, Asakusa?
I don't think it'll turn like this.
There's no angle on the blades.
Hey, you're right.
It can't catch the wind like that, so it won't spin.
Y'know... what if we finish it?
Good idea!
I underestimated animation.
Doing things analog... is rough.
It's easy to get dirty, and my fingers hurt.
It's really hard to draw any good, fine lines.
And the oil from my hands is making the paper curl up.
Animators were getting paid how much for each drawing?
We're not getting paid anything, Mizusaki!
There! All done.
Let me see.
You're good at that, Kanamori!
A knack for handling stacks of paper. Figures.
Something's still weird, though...
I think maybe the angle isn't quite right.
In terms of a face, you have the profile, and then the frontal...
Most people think that the mid-point is like this, but it's more like this one.
I think the different blades aren't visible enough at this angle.
Good point!
Let's adjust for that, then.
How's that look? It seems more natural now.
Yeah, it looks like it's spinning now.
It's still lacking something, though...
Yeah, it works, but it's got no impact.
Some color would probably help, but...
Maybe some shadows? Some faint ones, from a distance...
I think it needs wind.
The windmill is turning, but you can't see the wind.
And wind... is visible?
Some people depict wind like this,
or by showing stuff being blown around by it.
But as far as I'm concerned...
The reason this windmill isn't spinning...
is because that building is blocking the wind!
Off we go, people!
We're doing this right now?
The sun's gonna set if we don't get a move on!
Okay!
The sun is going to set either way!
You two get like this every time you're excited!
Let's go!
Run for it! It's gonna blow!
Wouldn't the building collapse after that?
It's fictional, so we'll be fine!
Why would water come out of there, Asakusa?
The whole area's flooded now.
Makes me wish we had a boat.
And just like that, a sailing dinghy floats our way!
Let's set out!
Max Height 4.3m
Overlord Bass: As its name indicates, this massive fish is thought to have originated from the black bass.
It's huge!
A close relative of the goat possessing many horns. An ancient breed of goat whose head is protected by the crossed horns on its forehead and multiple horns on its poll.
A close relative of the duck. The bump on on its bill has warped to form armor for the front of its face. Its bill is composed of dentin.
Hey!
All right! Deploy the dagger board!
We went up?!
This is our creation...
The greatest windmill!
Did we just draw this?
Girls!
I told you to take care of your business quickly!
Man, is it windy or what?!
Yahoo! I can hear it carrying my voice!
And the rain hurts!
Mizusaki, stop clinging to me!
Do you think the trains are even running in all this?
Shibama Bank
Deposit Description Transaction Number
Withdrawal, XX Hot Springs
Withdrawal, OO Shopping
Credit, Shibahama TV
Hello? Is that you, Mizusaki?
I just got a deposit of 30,000 yen.
I just saw why on TV.
I'm... fall... ing!
Today's Surprise!
Illustration by: Kenichi Yoshida
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