Hirata Heiji

Hirata Heiji is an NPC on Penacony, located in Dream's Edge.
==Profile==
Hirata Heiji is an anime artist and retired polititian from Tokiwa. He used to be the Minister of Education and Technology on his home planet before retiering and coming to Penacony. He came to Penacony to learn more about their local anime industry. After realizing that anime is completely diffrent in Penacony, he started to wonder if Tokiwa's anime had fallen from grace.
==Location==
==Voice Lines==
;(Version 1)
:: "Just what exactly is anime? I don't know for sure anymore."
;(Version 2)
:: "I suppose I can be considered an anime expert."
==Dialogue==
;(First interaction)
:Hirata Heiji: My friend, please allow me a moment. I would like to interview you — are you familiar with "anime"?
: I'm not. Tell me about it.
::Hirata Heiji: Oh... I used to think I understood what anime was but recently, I can't seem to tell... Just exactly what IS anime?
: Let me teach you. I am an anime expert.
::Hirata Heiji: You? An anime expert? It's not that I am underestimating your knowledge. It's just that no one in Penacony is more fitting for the title of anime expert than I... It's just that now, even I cannot understand what anime is anymore...
::Hirata Heiji: I originally came to Penacony to expand my outlook as an anime artist but... I find that I have fallen into confusion and no longer know what anime even IS anymore...
::Hirata Heiji: Ah... I always thought that I was an authority in the modern anime world... But now I feel like I am far less knowledgeable than I imagined.
: Are you not yourself an anime character?
::Hirata Heiji: What a strange thing to say. How could I be an anime character? Anime characters are all either cool or cute. You think I live up to that?
:Hirata Heiji: I originally came to Penacony to expand my outlook as an anime artist but... I find that I have fallen into confusion and no longer know what anime even IS anymore...
:Hirata Heiji: Ah... I always thought that I was an authority in the modern anime world... But now I feel like I am far less knowledgeable than I imagined.
;(Continue on to dialogue options below)
----
;(If Hirata Heiji's Emotion is set to Calm)
:Hirata Heiji furrows his brow, mumbling something to himself. It seems that he is deeply considering the future of the anime industry in his homeland...
: Let's talk about anime.
::Hirata Heiji: Alright. Perhaps through talking with you I will be able to expand my thinking and escape this slump.
:: Why do you think you don't understand what anime is?
:::Hirata Heiji: It's a long story... I was once the Minister of Education and Technology in Tokiwa. Once my time in that capacity ended, I came to Penacony to research the local anime industry.
:::Hirata Heiji: I actually originally came just to perform interviews, but I quickly realized that the anime industry here was completely different to how I had understood it to be.
:::Hirata Heiji: Anime works in Tokiwa have gradually formed a set of complete standards and norms... A well-formed template for what kinds of characters to write, what kinds of worldviews to feature and what kind of stories to create has been set in place for a very long time.
:::Hirata Heiji: However, animations and comics in Penacony are not this way. A lot of the characters and plot devices used here, if they were released in the Tokiwa market, would have people screaming: "This isn't anime!"
:::Hirata Heiji: I originally kept a curious mind when I came into contact with these works. The level of imagination in them far exceeded my expectations...
:::Hirata Heiji: It is a level of imagination that only the sages of Tokiwa once had, one that has not been seen in Tokiwa for a long time.
:::Hirata Heiji: So, I began to waver. Could it be that what we call "anime" in Tokiwa had long since degraded to become a boring set of tropes, and those standards that we once held so proudly... could be incorrect...?
:: What is you home like?
:::Hirata Heiji: Tokiwa is a country of sparse natural resources, and our most valuable export in the IPC trade system is our anime artwork.
:::Hirata Heiji: So, for a long time, making anime has been part of the Tokiwa people's upbringing. Any educated person can draw manga and the people never won't vote in a political figurehead who hasn't been part of an anime's creation.
:::Hirata Heiji: However, as time has progressed, our works have become more and more stale and creators are reluctant to step outside of this so-called "template."
:::Hirata Heiji: I once believed that this was a result of Tokiwa's literary creations being on the right track. That wasn't until I came to Penacony that I suddenly realized... I might have killed the creativity of countless potential geniuses.
:::Hirata Heiji: Saying that, the more I think about "what anime actually is" and "what standards should anime really obey"... The more lost I become...
:: I have things to take care of. Let's speak again another time.
:::Hirata Heiji: Alright. If you get time, you can talk to me about your understanding of anime.
: Can I touch the fluff ball on your head?
::Hirata Heiji: It won't turn you into an anime expert you know!
: I have things to take care of. Let's speak again another time.
::Hirata Heiji: Alright. If you get time, you can talk to me about your understanding of anime.
----
;(If Hirata Heiji's Emotion is set to Angry)
:Hirata Heiji stares into the sky, his eyes wide with anger.
----
;(If Hirata Heiji's Emotion is set to Happy)
:Hirata Heiji furrows his brow, but a smile hangs at the corners of his lips.
----
;(If Hirata Heiji's Emotion is set to Sad)
:Hirata Heiji furrows his brow, with a tear in his eye. It seems that he is deeply concerned for the future of the anime industry in his homeland...
===Clockwork===
: Activate Clockwork
::
:::Hirata Heiji: Are we supposed to completely abandon these so-called "creation standards that have repeatedly proven themselves in the market," to embrace more uncertain possibilities?
:::Hirata Heiji: This may bring higher-quality works, but it may also lead to a disastrous failure...
:::Hirata Heiji: What are we supposed to do? This truly is a difficult decision...
:::Hirata Heiji: I'm actually starting to waver... Is artistic creation even supposed to have these so-called standards?
:::Hirata Heiji: If there are no standards, then what differentiates art from just random scribbing? If there are standards, then that will inevitably lead to the current situation we see in Tokiwa, with regulations and standards causing stagnation.
:::Hirata Heiji: Perhaps figuring this out is my only way to find a path for Tokiwa's future.
::;(Obtain )
::
:::Hirata Heiji: I have started to hate myself. Truly, I despise myself. The citizens of Tokiwa have selected me to be their Minister, yet I allow myself to be immersed in delusions of stability. Everyone knows that it is precisely when things are peaceful that you should begin to prepare for disaster!
:::Hirata Heiji: If the day comes — A day that I don't think is far away — when Tokiwa anime falls into decline, then my time spent as the Minister of Education and Technology was my biggest sin to my people!
:::Hirata Heiji: The only reason that our audiences are still able to accept Tokiwa anime is because they've long-since grown used to it! It is not because our works are the best in the cosmos at all!
:::Hirata Heiji: When people realize that in those corners there are countless greater works hidden in the galaxy's unexplored corners, our great anime empire will meet its day of judgment...
::;(Obtain )
::
:::Hirata Heiji: You know what, this is okay, too. Although I suffered a great culture shock, is that not a good thing?
:::Hirata Heiji: I am a retired official, a politician, and a household name across Tokiwa... But, before all these things, I am an anime artist!
:::Hirata Heiji: I like manga, as it is the greatest storytelling art form in existence. However, if I had never come to Penacony and experienced this shock, I fear that my knowledge of manga would have been forever stuck in the shallows.
:::Hirata Heiji: I shall continue to reference the Penacony anime industry, learn their techniques, and research their storytelling... Finally, I will combine them with our Tokiwa techniques and become an artist like no other!
:::Hirata Heiji: I am truly fortunate to have this opportunity, truly! I am confident that I can become a great manga artist, just like Tokiwa's founding sages!
::;(Obtain )
::
:::Hirata Heiji: I was too oblivious to our crisis. Tokiwa's market is sufficiently developed and we have always occupied considerable shares within the IPC trade system.
:::Hirata Heiji: So, I always believed that our anime industry was just fine... It wasn't until I came to Penacony that I realized how close we were to crisis.
:::Hirata Heiji: I've served as the Minister of Education and Technology for many years, so I know very well the market potential contained within the Penacony anime industry... All it takes would be for them to increase their market operations, and the Tokiwa anime empire would fall into catastrophe...
:::Hirata Heiji: It is time for change. Crisis is always closer than it seems.
::;(Obtain )
==Other Languages==
==Change History==