"May sickness" refers to the feelings of fatigue and apathy that arise in May, during the transition from spring to summer, due to the gap between one's ideals and reality or because interpersonal relationships have failed to develop as expected. It is fairly common among Japanese office workers.
Unfortunately, such a luxurious ailment was destined never to affect animation studios.
At this time of year, animation companies were usually so busy that even bathroom breaks had to be timed. Yosuganosora Animation Studio was no exception. Every employee was occupied with the production of the latter half of 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica'.
The social impact of Episode 17 had simply been enormous.
It had pushed the popularity and attention surrounding 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica' to an entirely new level. In particular, the ending sequence personally drawn by Kamiyā Yuu was hailed as one of the most moving scenes in anime history.
Because of that single scene alone, pre-orders for the Blu-ray had doubled.
The number had already surpassed eighty thousand reservations and was still climbing.
In the previous world, the original 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica' Blu-ray had sold only around fifty-three thousand copies during its first week, and that had been during the peak era of the anime industry.
Now, Kamiyā Yuu's remastered version had exceeded eighty thousand pre-orders before release. First-week sales would almost certainly surpass that number rather than fall below it.
It was a result so astonishing that it left the entire industry speechless.
Meanwhile, 'Adventure King' was still a long-running series and would not release Blu-rays anytime soon. 'Mobile Suit 007', which had previously been able to barely compete with 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica', had only a little over forty thousand Blu-ray pre-orders.
After a single episode, it had been left far behind.
Such unprecedented success brought immense pressure upon Yosuganosora Animation Studio.
Everyone in the company knew that the ending Kamiyā Yuu wanted would have to surpass even that episode and elevate the entire series to a higher level. The quality standards for the final chapters were therefore self-evident.
Episodes 21, 22, and 23 of 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica' were completed during the first half of May.
Only Episode 24 had been stalled for more than two weeks.
Previously, under full-speed production conditions, Yosuganosora Animation Studio could complete a high-quality episode in three days.
But the amount of artwork required for Episode 24 was simply too massive.
Overall, its production difficulty was nearly ten times that of a normal episode.
During these two weeks, every employee had been working to the point of exhaustion.
Working overtime until midnight was commonplace. Kamiyā Yuu had even rented a luxury hotel nearby to serve as temporary lodging for employees.
During this period, the studio staff followed a schedule like this:
Start work at six in the morning.
Lunch at one in the afternoon.
Resume work at one-thirty.
Dinner at seven in the evening.
Leave work between midnight and one in the morning.
Sleep at around two.
Wake up at six and eat breakfast on the way to the office.
Their average sleep time was only four hours.
Despite this brutal workload, Kamiyā Yuu, as both animation director and company president, led from the front. Because of that, the employees had few complaints.
After all, Yosuganosora Animation Studio was famous throughout the industry for its excellent treatment of staff, and overtime work came with appropriate compensation.
The company's cash flow was also far from strained.
The hundreds of millions of dollars earned from 'RWBY' had not yet been fully spent before new revenue streams began arriving. Combined with the money-printing powerhouse that was 'Warship Girls Collection' and top-selling anime such as 'Magical Girl Nanoha', it was actually difficult to spend all that income under normal circumstances.
...
*Knock knock~*
*Knock knock knock~*
*Knock knock knock knock knock~!*
The knocking grew increasingly impatient.
*Bang!*
"Urusai! (Shut up!) Urusai!! (Shut up!!) Urusai!!! (Shut up!!!)"
A heavy object struck the wooden door with a dull thud, followed by the irritated voice of a girl speaking through clenched teeth.
"Yuu, are you an alarm clock!? I've never hated you as much as I do today! I don't want to see you! Get lost!"
It was obvious she had developed a deep hatred for the knocking.
Soon, another girl's sleepy mumbling could be heard from inside the office.
"Chinatsu, you shouldn't speak so rudely to Mr. Kamiyā. And pillows aren't supposed to be thrown onto the floor."
Outside the door, Kamiyā Yuu wore a dark expression before smiling.
"Oh? I happened to make breakfast for two people. It seems Chinatsu doesn't need hers. In that case, I'll give her portion to someone else."
*Thud!*
"Ah~!"
A muffled impact sounded from inside, followed by a cry of pain.
After a burst of noisy commotion, the office door suddenly flew open.
A small head peeked out pitifully as it looked at Kamiyā Yuu.
"I'm sorry. I was joking just now. I've realized that, Yuu, you're kinder and more lovable than anyone else in the world. You warm my heart like family. If possible, I'd even gladly call you Onii-chan. Please, that... um... bento..."
"No, Chinatsu! Your clothes! Put your clothes on properly first!"
Gogyo Ruri's exasperated voice came from inside.
"Ah, of course."
Smiling, Kamiyā Yuu handed a bento box to her.
"Thank you! Yuu, I love you the most!"
Holding the warm bento in both hands, Yūki Chinatsu wore an expression of complete bliss.
Just as she was immersed in happiness, Kamiyā Yuu mercilessly poured cold water over her.
"That's Black Cat's bento. This one is yours."
From somewhere unknown, he produced another bento.
This one wasn't packed in a proper lunchbox but in typical convenience-store style packaging. Beneath the translucent plastic wrap, the cold food looked distinctly unappetizing.
*Smack!*
Yūki Chinatsu's eyes widened.
The bento in her hands fell to the floor.
"Yuu, please wait a moment."
With a dark expression, Yūki Chinatsu closed the office door.
Sounds of hurried dressing came from inside.
A short while later, she emerged with unkempt hair and a gloomy face. Planting her hands on her hips, she looked up at the much taller Kamiyā Yuu and asked in a low voice:
"I already apologized, so there should be a bento for me too."
Kamiyā Yuu raised the remaining lunchbox and smiled.
"I don't consider that an apology."
"So no matter what, you won't give it to me?"
"First, give me a proper apology."
Kamiyā Yuu shrugged indifferently.
Yūki Chinatsu's expression shifted repeatedly.
Finally, she seemed to make up her mind.
Tears of humiliation welled in her eyes.
She slowly lifted the hem of her shirt and said pitifully to Kamiyā Yuu:
"I'm sorry."
"That should be enough, right?!"
Kamiyā Yuu stood there with his mouth hanging open, completely unsure how to react.
What was this girl doing?!
Recovering his senses, he quickly glanced around.
Fortunately, it was only six in the morning.
The few employees present were either sleeping on their desks or eating breakfast and hadn't noticed the bizarre scene. The tall office partitions also blocked most sightlines.
Otherwise, Kamiyā Yuu felt he might have ended up taking a trip to the police station.
What he had actually seen was merely a flat chest and a pure white bra with a little bear design on it.
In terms of coverage, it was far more conservative than most swimsuits.
"What exactly are you showing Mr. Kamiyā?!"
Following behind her, Gogyo Ruri hurriedly pulled Yūki Chinatsu's shirt back down.
She herself was still wearing a simple white nightgown.
"Good morning, Mr. Kamiyā."
Gogyo Ruri greeted him properly.
It was her "stranger mode" way of addressing him.
Yūki Chinatsu replied matter-of-factly:
"Showing your chest when apologizing is common sense, isn't it?"
"Who told you that?"
Gogyo Ruri looked at the petite girl in confusion.
Why did this girl seem even more troublesome than her younger sisters back home?
"The manga you showed me yesterday. I wanted to test whether it worked."
Blinking innocently, Yūki Chinatsu no longer looked the slightest bit wronged.
Instead, she flashed Kamiyā Yuu a mischievous grin.
"Yuu, you're satisfied now, right? Give me the bento."
Kamiyā Yuu laughed helplessly and handed it over.
"You win. I never asked you to do anything that strange."