Chapter 515: Before the New Year

Chapter 515: Before the New Year

The members of Damei Studio were primarily current students and recent graduates of the China Academy of Art. After over a year of development, the studio was no longer what it had been, yet the staff composition ratio remained similar, though a group of renowned painters, designers, and other big names in the industry had joined. For the CAA students working at the studio, it was essentially like working while undergoing secondary learning alongside these masters.

Combining academic theory with practical experience, the growth rate of CAA students who entered Damei Studio was astonishing, and naturally, the studio's business grew in tandem with this development.

Orders from many government agencies in Hangzhou and even Zhejiang Province, along with orders from websites like Penguin Animation Network and Station 8, plus a large number of orders from film and television companies starting last October—Damei Studio's business volume had already reached the tens of millions level. Reaching the fifty million level by mid-year was basically assured. The momentum of its development was absolutely top-notch in the industry.

Initially, Qin Jiao founded Damei Studio simply because there was policy support and the rent was not expensive. He thought of setting up a studio to solve some employment and internship issues for students. He dared not hope for more—just covering the rent, letting these students earn a bit, and not losing money himself. He never expected it to develop to its current scale.

Among these, Meng Fan's role was beyond doubt, and Meng Caiwei's contribution was also significant—she brought in many orders from film and television companies. Support from the school and various units also played a part. But most importantly, their professional capabilities were solid; otherwise, no matter how good the external conditions, such excellent development would not have been possible. Favor and connections are useful, but overused, they lose their effectiveness.

Currently, Damei Studio's main business consists of three areas. First, advertising, including promotional posters for government agencies, film and television companies, and TV stations, as well as commercial advertisements. Second, illustration, where the bulk has always been online literature, including adaptations of online novels into comics. Third, animation, outsourcing work from many animation studios, including, of course, Shanhai Animation.

After New Year's Day 2021, the studio expanded into a fourth area: comics.

This was more of a 'cause' than a business, really; it certainly couldn't make money in the short term.

The operating model of Damei Studio's animation and comics department was similar to most comic studios—signing or even collecting comic works and helping to promote them collectively or individually to major platforms. However, unlike most comic studios, after signing a work, Damei Studio would first ensure the creator's working environment and living necessities, regardless of whether the work could be 'nurtured' to success.

In plain terms, it meant 'supporting' authors, and they planned to support a large number of them, even intending to support a batch of niche manga artists who would find it very difficult to generate profit but whose existence was necessary for the animation and comics industry.

This comics department was also linked to the 'Shanhai Animation Scholarship' that Meng Fan had established outside of CAA. Signed manga artists would receive partial funding from this scholarship.

Of course, in the long run, this comics department would surely make money in the future, given that someone with Meng Fan's massive influence was helping to promote it, along with so many partner platforms. As long as there were good works, there was no worry about a breakout.

Getting back to the point, with such business volume and with bosses like Qin Jiao and Meng Fan who had a conscience, the members' incomes naturally could not be low. Even part-time animation department students could earn enough in a month from odd jobs to cover their monthly expenses—and the expenses of art academy students were indeed considerable.

At the end of the year, all members received substantial year-end bonuses and a red envelope. Overtime pay was as much as five times the usual rate. Although they didn't get time off until the twenty-eighth of the lunar month, no one complained. In fact, a few even voluntarily stayed in Hangzhou for the New Year, just in case the Animation Awards needed them unexpectedly.

The situation at Shanhai Animation Studio was similar, with the difference that Shanhai Animation had yet to start turning a real profit. Although the first season of 'Spirits Below' sold quite well, the investment was also genuinely high. Recovering the costs for this animation would depend on later operations.

So far, apart from 'Spirits Below' generating revenue, everything else at the studio was investment upon investment. Making a profit was simply impossible. A large number of collaborations and product placements also required continued investment.

However, the studio was not worried at all. Given the current situation and development trend, the time for profitability was in sight; they just had to wait for these invested animations to complete production.

For the studio at present, it was all about accumulation—accumulating a large body of work as well as reputation, waiting for a moment of thick accumulation and thin release—no, an explosion.

"You're finally back, damn it!"

Kun Ye picked up Meng Fan from the airport upon his return from Japan, grumbling all the way. Amid his complaints, he also filled Meng Fan in on some matters regarding the Animation Awards that he hadn't had time to mention while Meng Fan was in Japan.

Meng Fan had gone to Japan on the twenty-second of the lunar month. There was no help for it—although Takahashi from Kodansha had helped invite some big names, there were still some that required Meng Fan to go in person.

And indeed, although Takahashi was a senior editor at Kodansha who had promoted many manga artists and works, and was a prominent figure in the Japanese anime and manga world, his words didn't carry as much weight as Meng Fan's.

First, although Meng Fan's work 'The Extraordinary Man of Mountains and Seas' had only been in Japan for a year, its popularity had fully taken off. The circulation of the serializing magazine, though not greatly increased by this manga, was still a miracle for a declining magazine. The key was the online clicks, positive reviews, and the terrifying sales of the tankōbon volumes. Currently, the Japanese edition of 'The Extraordinary Man of Mountains and Seas' had released ten volumes, with sales exceeding ten million. The first volume's sales were absolutely unmatched in its period. Although its peak didn't surpass the earlier volumes of One Piece, not a single volume of One Piece released in the past year had outsold the first volume.

Second, Meng Fan's personal fame was immense. His judo performance at the Olympics had pushed his reputation in Japan to its peak.

Meng Fan mainly did three things during this trip to Japan. First, a tankōbon signing event. Second, a friendly judo exchange with Japanese judo practitioners. Both events were held at the Nippon Budokan, the holy land of Japanese judo.

During the signing event, many judo athletes came; during the judo exchange, many manga fans came. On those two days, the Nippon Budokan was packed to capacity.

During the judo exchange, Meng Fan also took care of the third thing: inviting the big names in anime and manga whom he planned to invite to the Animation Awards to 'observe' the judo exchange. Naturally, the success rate of extending invitations increased significantly afterward. Of course, the various collaborations after the Animation Awards were the fundamental reason for ultimate success.

(End of chapter)