The Red Dragon Lord is OP, but Insists on a Pop Culture Invasion!

Tom and Jerry—one of the most classic works in animation history.

In terms of fame and influence, perhaps only that other copyright-trolling mouse could compare.

However, Zog was more familiar with Tom and Jerry. He had mostly just heard of Mickey Mouse, and aside from Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, he hadn’t actually seen many episodes.

But the duo of Tom and Jerry? He’d been watching them since he was a kid.

He had even watched the same episodes over and over again, to the point where he knew the plots by heart, yet he still found them entertaining every time.

That pure joy was what made it truly for all ages.

Even better, it was incredibly easy to understand. There were practically no lines, the plot was simple and clear, and localization would be a breeze.

It was the perfect choice to pioneer Feilin’s animation industry.

’Start at the pinnacle, and let future generations of animators figure it out themselves.’

’This would be the most fitting use of the Zog Film Studio opening sequence yet.’

Zog and Furin first tested whether they could achieve an animation effect using Illusions.

For the most part, it worked. The production process was more akin to 3D animation than 2D, so it wasn’t much easier, and the final result just didn’t feel right.

This was likely because Illusions don’t have a concept of "frames." What the naked eye saw was exactly what was there, and because it was too fluid, it lacked a certain punch.

So, the final decision was to put it down on paper and create the animation through drawing.

Coincidentally, the tourist season in the Northern Domain was about to end, so it was time to return to Twin Tower City. Matters in the north would be left in Assistant Zor’s hands for the time being.

The Group’s Painters were mostly based in Twin Tower City, where he would need to assemble an animation team several hundred strong.

The original Tom and Jerry was created in a similar fashion, through the combined efforts of an astonishing number of Painters. Compared to the weekly animated shows that came later, its cost was astronomical, and the difference in the final product was huge.

Nearly every frame in Tom and Jerry is dynamic. There are no scenes of two characters just standing around talking, no laughably bad animation, and certainly no flashbacks to pad out the runtime.

Of course, it wasn’t without its flaws. New episodes came out almost yearly, yet each one was only a few minutes long.

Thankfully, it was an episodic series with little plot connection between episodes. Otherwise, it would have been torture for anyone trying to follow it.

Even Old Thief Fugan would be considered prolific by comparison.

After several months away, Zog passed through the Teleportation Array and returned to the place where he’d earned his first fortune in business.

He took a deep breath of the humid air.

"Ah, that familiar feeling," Zog sighed.

Back in the Northern Domain, even though he knew his scales wouldn’t actually dry out and crack, he couldn’t shake the feeling that they would.

Twin Tower City was far more livable by comparison. Even in late winter and early spring, the temperature was still over twenty degrees.

If he had to find a flaw, it would probably be the various insects that grew to incomprehensible sizes.

Especially the cockroaches.

’If his subordinates ever found out that a mighty Ancient Dragon like himself was afraid of giant bugs, he’d never be able to show his face again for the rest of his dragon life.’

’It had nothing to do with power—the bugs certainly posed no threat to him. It was purely a visceral aversion.’

He hadn’t notified the employees in Twin Tower City of his return in advance.

Zog had no interest in formalities like welcoming ceremonies. He’d rather spend the time playing a few rounds of a game.

Holding the rough drafts for Tom and Jerry in his claw, Zog pushed open the office door.

The moment he stepped inside, he heard Elsa’s voice.

"How many times do I have to say it? Knock before you enter. When Xiaozhuo isn’t around, I’m the head of the Group."

Elsa was sitting in Zog’s chair, her back to the door. A stick, which looked like a lollipop, dangled from her mouth.

A pair of gold-rimmed glasses were perched on her ears, and she held a book in her hands, putting on an air of studiousness.

Zog took a closer look. ’Well, I’ll be damned!’

’She was reading the *High Level Elven Language Textbook*. He’d bet his life she hadn’t even finished the beginner’s course.’

’This *High Level* textbook probably served the same purpose as a mechanical watch in the age of smartphones—it was purely for show.’

"And who’s ’Xiaozhuo’?" Zog asked.

"’Xiaozhuo,’ who else?" Elsa said, impatiently putting down her book and turning to see who had arrived.

And then her brain completely shut down.

After a mental shift—from spotting the problem, to denying it, to finally facing it—Elsa rebooted.

"Boss, would you believe me if I said I was a Shapeshifter in disguise?"

"I would."

Elsa was overjoyed.

"But you’re not getting paid next month."

Elsa’s spirits plummeted.

"Alright, I’m just messing with you," Zog said, waving his claw. "Gather all of our contracted Painters and apprentices who aren’t currently working on a series. I’m going to introduce a new art form: animation."

The requirements for Animators and Painters were actually different, but since Feilin didn’t have animation yet, he had no choice but to start training people from the pool of comic artists.

At least they understood the concept of storyboarding, which would make the transition easier.

Conveniently, there was currently a surplus of comic artists. When the comic industry boomed, a large group of Painters had switched fields, only to discover that working on a serialized publication was a brutal business.

If reader feedback was poor, a series would be canceled immediately. Moreover, the market simply couldn’t absorb that many Painters.

The Zog Group had adopted a strategy of signing away the competition, casting a wide net to contract numerous Painters. Now, most of them were unemployed, and competition was fierce even for assistant positions.

He’d learned that trick from a certain evil penguin corporation.

Animation could employ far more Painters than comics. It was time to put this group to work.

「The next day.」

At the Cowboy Theater, the Zog Group’s only designated venue in Twin Tower City for meetings of over one hundred people.

Over a hundred Painters were gathered there, waiting for their boss, Zog, to introduce them to something called "animation."

The term was one Zog had coined himself, combining the word for "motion" with the word for "drawing" to hint at the art form’s fundamental principle.

"I’d like to know," Zog began from the stage, "in your traditional methods of creation, how do you depict moving objects?"

"I usually draw multiple images of the object to represent its continuous state of motion," a Painter in the audience replied.

"Excellent. Any others?"

"My master taught me to use a blurring technique," another Painter said. "It renders a moving object as a series of continuous, blurry afterimages. The technique is called motion blur."

These were essentially the two most common methods for depicting motion in contemporary oil painting.

"Well, have you ever considered using a continuous series of drawings, flipped in rapid succession, to create the illusion of movement?"

As he spoke, Zog revealed the most classic example for demonstrating the effect of persistence of vision.

A running horse.

As the handle turned, a series of sequential images of the horse flipped past, and a running horse appeared.

"Ooooh—"

The Painters gasped in amazement.

"Animation is based on this very principle," Zog said. "I want you to use this method to create a Shadow of Evil made entirely of drawings."

"But... wouldn’t the workload be immense?" someone asked. "It would be impossible to finish."

"That’s why it won’t be one person’s job. It will be all of you, working together. And you’ll start with this."

Zog then revealed a set of storyboards titled "The Flying Cat."

That name might not ring a bell. To put it another way: it’s the episode where Tom does the splits into a tree.