Shirataki 

This is not the mysterious world of the Gunma Prefecture, where talking animals and humans live in harmony… but rather the nearby Ibaraki Prefecture.
Beneath the gentle sunlight and the calm, sparkling sea, marine animals lived cheerfully in the crystal-clear waters.
The sea creatures living there absolutely loved entertainment, constantly enjoying games and leisure facilities.
What should have been mere amusement had become an indispensable part of Ibaraki Prefecture’s daily life.
With such high demand, entertainment naturally formed a massive market. Various companies fiercely competed to entertain the residents and rake in huge profits.
Amidst this, one company had reigned supreme in Ibaraki Prefecture for a long time. It was the giant conglomerate entertainment company, Seapolis.
Everyone had experienced Seapolis’s leisure facilities and games at least once; it was such a famous conglomerate that virtually no Ibaraki resident was unaware of its name.
However, despite appearing to have reached the pinnacle of prosperity, Seapolis’s management had begun to falter in recent years.

“If this keeps up, we’ll be in the red again this term. Maybe I just lack talent…”

Otohime was the current CEO who inherited Seapolis from her late father. Yet, by the time she took the helm as president, Seapolis was already in a dire situation, with no way out.
Even so, she worked late into the night that day, drafting proposals for new content in a desperate attempt to turn the company around.

“Overthinking isn’t good for you, Otohime-sama.”

Hearing the gentle, well-mannered voice, Otohime turned around. There stood a handsome middle-aged oarfish man holding a tea set.

“Shirataki…”
“Ho ho ho. Why not have some cocoa and get some rest? Shirataki here will handle everything else.”

Shirataki poured cocoa into a cup and offered it to Otohime. He was a butler-like figure who had supported her since her childhood.

“…I’m always putting you out.”
“Not at all, Otohime-sama. Shirataki here is very pleased to be of service to you.”
“Well then, I’ll take you up on that offer…”
“Yes, please rest well.”

Otohime took the cup of cocoa and headed for her private chambers. After seeing her off, Shirataki turned his attention to the documents she had compiled.

“Rest assured, Otohime-sama. Shirataki here will revive the Seapolis you hold so dear…!”

With that resolve, Shirataki threw himself into drafting proposals with renewed vigor.

It was the very height of the Sengoku Era of Entertainment. Countless entertainment companies were born, ushering in an age of rival factions vying for dominance.
In an era lacking significant fun options, Seapolis was considered one of the entertainment industry’s two giants, alongside Shangri-la.
But now, it had fallen so far that even small-to-medium newcomers were outselling it.
Adding insult to injury, an entertainment company from overseas invaded the industry.
It was Chinchilla Land, featuring the wildly popular mascot character, Chicchi.
Chinchilla Land appeared in Ibaraki Prefecture like a storm, taking all of Seapolis’s customer base.
Seeing this as dire, the previous owner, Otokyu, made a desperate gamble for recovering.
He developed an epic 30-chapter saga called Seamue, aiming to win back customers.
Its groundbreaking motion capture for realistic performances, full voice acting, a system replicating real-world weather and time changes, and above all, its high degree of freedom that foreshadowed the later open-world games, captivated many even during the promotional phase.
However, few employees could keep up with such an enormous and reckless project, and even Otokyu himself collapsed from exhaustion.
As a result, only chapter 1 of Seamue was released, and development was stopped.

“I’m sorry, Otohime… Because of me, Seapolis is ruined. It’s over now…”

A weakened Otokyu murmured these words. But Otohime shook her head and gently held his hand.

“I won’t let it end like this. It’s okay, Father. I will restore Seapolis…!!”
“Otohime…”

Otokyu wept at Otohime’s resolute declaration. Shirataki watched this scene unfold from the shadows.

(Otohime-sama… how splendid you’ve become…! Shirataki here will support you for the rest of my life!)

And so began the challenge of Otohime and Shirataki to rebuild the company, exhausted by enormous development costs and labor expenses.
However, Seapolis was already certain to post its third consecutive quarterly loss from the very start…

“Haa…”

Today, Otohime was utterly exhausted from the task of rebuilding Seapolis, now facing its third consecutive year of losses, and preparing explanations for the extraordinary shareholders’ meeting.
Shirataki approached her, who sat slumped in her chair, her head bowed in defeat.

“Otohime-sama. Shirataki has prepared your favorite meal today. Please eat it and regain your strength.”
“Shirataki…”
“Ho ho ho. Shirataki has also prepared your futon. Please rest today and leave everything else to him.”
“But I feel bad. Always leaving things to you… I can’t just slack off.”
“What are you saying? Otohime-sama, you’re working hard enough. In fact, Shirataki absolutely cannot have you collapse, as the pillar of this company. Now, please rest.”
“…Thank you.”

Otohime gave a faint smile and returned to her room.

“…Well then, time to buckle down!”

Shirataki, renewing his resolve as he took over Otohime’s duties, suddenly recalled the past.
Since childhood, Shirataki had served as Otohime’s tutor, supporting her all along. He had originally been an excellent strategist, but his policies clashed with those of the previous president, Otokyu, leading to his removal from management.
Otohime had been a terrible tomboy in her youth, and Shirataki was often at her mercy, struggling with his role of tutor. At times, he had even considered resigning.
But spending time with Otohime, who always greeted him with a genuine smile and charged at him with full force, Shirataki found himself genuinely pouring affection into her and gradually became capable of educating her.
Then, one day, the usually energetic Otohime was terribly depressed.

“What’s wrong, Otohime-sama?”
“Shirataki… Is our company lame?”
“W-What are you saying!? Seapolis is a venerable major corporation! It couldn’t possibly be lame!”
“But everyone says it’s lame and boring. They say it’s on its last legs…”
“W-Well…”
“Sniff… Shirataki… I’m so frustrated. Father works so hard, yet everyone makes fun of us! I, I will absolutely prove them wrong…! I’ll show them a Seapolis that everyone will think is cool and amazing!”
“Otohime-sama…!!”

Seeing Otohime vow so powerfully through her tears, Shirataki also shed tears.
…From that day onward, Shirataki vowed to make Otohime a splendid leader and support her for life.
Time passed. Even after Otokyu passed away, Shirataki continued to support Otohime as her tutor and as a surrogate father. Recalling those old events lightly, he smiled.

“…Otohime-sama always strived to be a splendid leader. Then Shirataki shall support her with all his strength! For the sake of protecting Otohime-sama and Seapolis, Shirataki will do anything!”

Shirataki renewed his resolve and set to work.

…But no matter how resolute Otohime and Shirataki became, the company’s finances wouldn’t recover. Three consecutive quarters of losses had damaged the company’s credit, making it difficult to secure new loans from the bank.

“Couldn’t you please do something…?”

Faced with Otohime’s feeble plea, the bank employee were at a loss.

“We’d love to help, but… it’s difficult for us to extend further loans. It pains us to say this, but perhaps you should consider reducing staff to cut labor costs?”
“What?! Our employees have desperately supported this struggling company! We can’t possibly lay anyone off!”
“Even if you say so… we truly have no further advice to offer…”
“No…”

After being denied a loan and instead being forced to lay off employees, Otohime returned home deeply depressed.
Shirataki, who greeted her, realized the situation from Otohime’s tearful eyes and listened as she calmed down.

“It’s so awful. They’re all important colleagues… We just can’t lay off them…”
“Yes, but Shirataki can understand the bank’s perspective.”
“Shirataki, even you?!”
“Otohime-sama… If things continue like this, there is no future for Seapolis. If we don’t lay off our employees now, it will go bankrupt, and that would truly leave many colleagues out on the street.”
“Uuugh…”

To the utterly exhausted Otohime, Shirataki gently explained that implementing an early retirement program and layoffs was the best course of action for both the current employees and Seapolis. After a long persuasion, Otohime finally nodded in agreement.

“A wise decision, Otohime-sama.”
“We must act immediately… I will personally inform the employees…”
“No, that won’t be necessary. Shirataki shall handle informing the employees, so that you won’t be burdened with such hardship alone.”
“Shirataki…”

Taking the fall for Otohime as she had made a painful decision, Shirataki volunteered to do the dirty job.
And thanks to such wise decision, Seapolis managed to pull itself back together.

Thanks to Otohime and Shirataki’s tragic yet wise decision, management at Seapolis had begun to stabilize. But now, it was about to be swallowed by rough waters once more.
A new wave of entertainment had crashed ashore.

“Chi-chinchilla Sea!? They created yet another new entertainment…!?”

Chinchilla Land, the powerful rival company, had launched their new attraction, “Chinchilla Sea”.
The result was that Chinchilla Sea was a huge success. Many Ibaraki residents had started flocking to it.

“…Shirataki, what should we do… We’ve lost customers again.”
“Mmm…”

This was an unexpected turn of events, even for Shirataki. Having customers snatched away just as they were poised to profit was a significant blow.

“Judging by this… it seems even the long-time fans of Seapolis are being taken. Well, it’s only natural they’d give up on us since we can’t create new content…”
“Uuuuu…”

Sure, developing new content immediately as a countermeasure was the best choice. However, having already cut staff, both in terms of morale and personnel, Seapolis had become an environment where it was difficult to come up with good ideas.
Thus, Seapolis found itself in dire straits once more.

“…No, I can’t think of anything…”

Even with employees pitching in and offering various suggestions, no ideas emerged that could break the current impasse.

“Is there… isn’t there any good idea!?”

At Otohime’s desperate plea, an employee timidly raised their hand.

“Just one…”

The project the employee proposed was a game called “Coral Jack”.
It was hardly a great idea by any stretch, but it seemed better than anything suggested so far.

“This is it! Shirataki, you’re in!”
“Understood~!”

As a last hope, Otohime began developing Coral Jack. Perhaps aided by Shirataki’s cooperation, this top-down project initially seemed poised for success.
However, Seapolis was in utter chaos due to the aftermath of personnel cuts, and development hit major snags. Repeated changes to the project scope and constant prototype reworks left employees visibly exhausted.
Perhaps this was the result of voluntary resignations and rampant poaching by other companies, plunging Seapolis into a critical staffing shortage.
Consequently, the project found itself in a critical situation, with development being led by people with no experience in upstream decision-making.
Under these dire circumstances, it was no surprise that the prototypes being created were far from promising. and Coral Jack never got finished…
Amidst this, Shirataki noticed a certain project.
It was something the exhausted employees had been creating in their spare moments as a way to relax.

“Otohime-sama! Please review these documents!”
“A new project proposal…? But right now, everyone’s tied up with developing Coral Jack…”
“Yes. And that is why Shirataki wishes to halt development of Coral Jack.”
“What!? A-are you serious, Shirataki?!”

Shirataki nodded at the stunned POtohime. The document he held bore the title “Coral Chronicle”. Reading it, Otohime geniunely found the ideas truly innovative and interesting.

“But who wrote this proposal, I wonder…”
“It’s from our junior staff.”
“…Yeah. There are some rather amateurish mistakes here and there.”

Otohime had no desire to nitpick the work of the young staff. It was just that she couldn’t help but see parallels between these fresh ideas and the failure of her predecessor, Otokyu, with Seamue.
She was deeply troubled. Could she really stake the fate of Seapolis, now in a critical situation, on these innovative, youthful ideas?
Then, Shirataki saw through Otohime’s hesitation and tried to persuade her.

“Otohime-sama! Please, let us proceed with this project!”
“But if it fails, then Seapolis will…”
“Then… Shirataki here will cut his own belly to apologize!!”
“Shirataki…!”

Moved by Shirataki’s passion and youthful potential, Otohime decided to take the gamble.
And so began the development of the great rebellion project, Coral Chronicle.

Development proved extremely difficult, but Shirataki and Otohime succeeded in releasing Coral Chronicle to the world.
As a result, Coral Chronicle was a massive success! It attracted huge crowds and generated significant profits.
Overjoyed, Otohime rapidly expanded Coral Chronicle externally. This too was a resounding success, and Coral Chronicle had become the flagship brand of Seapolis.
However, Otohime began to get carried away by the sudden success. She could no longer make rational judgments and began making rash decisions.

“Otohime-sama… Your recent work has been rather excessive.”
“Huh? But we’re still in the black, aren’t we? There’s no problem.”
“That is certainly true… However, Shirataki believes we are entering a period where relying solely on Coral Chronicle will become difficult. Perhaps it’s time to launch a new project.”
“Then I have a great idea! It’s called “Coral Chain”. It’s the sequel to Coral Chronicle!”

Hearing those words, Shirataki felt a strong sense of apprehension.

“…You absolutely must not rush into a second installment! Users will get bored, and above all, you’ll be exhausting the very content they love!”
“Hmph, you worry too much. Since Coral Chronicle was a success, it’ll definitely be fine.”

No matter how much Shirataki tried to persuade her, Otohime refused to listen. He desperately tried to convince her again and again, but really couldn’t agree.

“Shirataki, if you dislike my opinion so much, you can quit if you want!”
“Otohime-sama, are you serious?”
“Yes. The choice is yours, Shirataki.”
“…Protecting you is Shirataki’s duty. And Shirataki believed protecting Seapolis was the only way to protect you. …But if things continue like this, Shirataki fears he cannot fulfill my duty… He must take his leave!”

And so, Shirataki parted ways with Otohime.

Some time after Shirataki left Seapolis, Coral Chain was released with great fanfare. But…

“Wh-why!? Why aren’t sales coming in at all!?”

The very situation Shirataki had feared came to pass.
Users showed zero interest in this sequel, which offered nothing new and felt like nothing but a half-hearted extension. Worse, they were growing utterly fed up with the developers’ attitude of milking the content dry.
The result was a devastating loss of users.
Not only did Coral Chain fail, but even the loyal fans of Coral Chronicle were giving up and leaving. Otohime was deeply depressed.

“If this keeps up, we’ll be in the red again… Shirataki was right about everything… I have done something irreparable!”

Tears welling up, Otohime deeply regretted the harsh words she had hurled at Shirataki when they parted.

“I’m sorry, Shirataki… Father… Seapolis is over.”

Just as Otohime voiced her resignation, the door suddenly swung open.

“Otohime-sama!!”

Hearing that familiar voice, Otohime turned around.
There stood that important someone who had saved her from countless crises and reached out to help her time and again.

“Shirataki…!!”

Otohime clung to Shirataki, weeping.

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, Shirataki! I said such horrible things…! I didn’t understand anything important at all! I’m so sorry!!”
“…It’s over now. Besides, everyone makes mistakes. As long as you reflect on them and move on, that’s what matters.”
“Shirataki…!!”

Shirataki gently stroked Otohime’s head as she sobbed like a child.

“Come on, you can’t cry forever! We must rebuild Seapolis!”

Shirataki declared this with conviction, then revealed “Sango Taisen”, something that had been progressing beneath the surface.

After having reconciled, Otohime and Shirataki worked together to develop “Sango Taisen”.
The project was built upon lessons from past failures, which boosted employee morale and made development progress smoothly.
And finally, Sango Taisen was released!
The result was a huge success, significantly surpassing the sales of Coral Chronicle.
Its expandable system that kept users engaged, the regularly scheduled innovative events, and above all, an operational policy that truly loved the content captured the hearts of many users.
Sango Taisen became the decisive comeback move, successfully reclaiming customers from numerous rival companies.
And so, Seapolis brought the Sengoku Era of Entertainment to a close.

“…Thank you, Shirataki. It’s all thanks to you.”
“What are you saying?! It’s all thanks to your hard work, Otohime-sama! …But we mustn’t let our guard down. Our rivals won’t back down just like that.”
“Yes, this time I’ll listen properly to what you says. I won’t get carried away anymore… Let’s keep working together from now on.”
“Of course~!”

Though Seapolis had achieved complete operational stability, Otohime remained utterly vigilant, following Shirataki’s advice.
This was because she knew firsthand that in the entertainment industry, where trends change rapidly, even the slightest lapse in focus could lead to a loss.
It was likely that Seapolis would never truly achieve stability in the fullest sense. To maintain stability, they had no choice but to keep creating interesting projects that could outshine rival companies.
However, Otohime was burning with passion and excitement for this never-ending challenge.

“Now then, Shirataki, it’s time to create a new project! Have the employees bring in ideas!”
“Understood, Otohime-sama~~!”

With the reliable Shirataki by her side, Otohime was certain they could overcome this challenge.

“Otohime-sama! An employee has proposed a project called “Like a Dragon Palace – Kiwami”~!”
“Hmm. For an outlaw-themed work, it’s a pretty catchy system… Plus, it offers high freedom and seems incredibly fun! Let’s start development immediately!”
“Oh, what a brilliant decision, Otohime-sama! Shirataki will do his best efforts to assist you!”
“Hehe, I’m counting on you, Shirataki!”

…And so, Otohime and Shirataki would continue to work together tirelessly for the further advancement of Seapolis.

• Seapolis: a reference to Joypolis, a chain of indoor amusement parks created by Sega. It’s written as “竜宮城(シーポリス)” literally “Dragon Palace (Seapolis)” in the original Japanese. Dragon Palace is from the story of Urashima Tarou, and it’s where Otohime lives.

• Otohime is also a character from maimai, another rhythm game by Sega.

• The games are all parodies/references to Sega games.

  • Seamue = Shenmue. This game is said to be the origin of open-world games and a precursor of Yakuza. While it has a cult following, the first game was the most expensive videogame developed at the time, and, along with the second game, it was a commercial flop.

  • Coral Chronicle/Coral Chain = Chain Chronicle.

  • Sango Taisen = Sangokushi Taisen.

  • Like a Dragon Palace = Yakuza/Like a Dragon.

• Otohime saying that everyone says their company sucks is a reference to old Dreamcast commercials where kids say stuff like “Sega is so lame” and “Playstation is more fun.”