which was drawn in a rough, visual-gag style. In Yuasa's words, "I wanted it to look as though we hadn’t worked very hard on it, though of course we had." Although the film's story stuck closely to that of the original manga, Yuasa made one significant change: he altered the ending to be more positive for all of the characters, not only the protagonist. The intent of this change would be reflected in Yuasa's future works: a desire to create positive stories, where passionate action results in the culmination of dreams and desires. Produced on a small budget, the making of Mind Game took two years and nine months from planning to completion. The production was also Yuasa's first project with frequent artistic collaborator Nobutake Ito, who was tasked with animating the film's climactic sequence; Ito would subsequently serve as a character designer and animation director on many of Yuasa's later projects. Mind Game was released in 2004 but did not achieve commercial success; following the release of the film, Yuasa struggled to find producers who would support him. However, Mind Game went on to become a cult hit and achieved widespread global critical acclaim, winning the Mainichi Film Awards' Ōfuji Noburō Award, the Japan Media Arts Festival Grand Prize for Animation, and the Fantasia International Film Festival awards for Best Film, Director, Screenplay, and Visual Accomplishment, as well as the Audience Award for Best Animated Film. Upon the film's eventual release in the United States, Mind Game achieved a 100% rating on the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes. Television directing at Madhouse Following the release of Mind Game, Yuasa's next directorial opportunity came when Masao Maruyama, the co-founder of Madhouse, provided a unique chance. Maruyama, who over his decades in the business had developed a reputation for making animated projects that no other producer would consider, offered Yuasa the chance to direct television series' at Madhouse. Moreover, Maruyama used his power as a veteran producer to push the television networks to take risks, allowing Yuasa creative freedom and the opportunity to make precisely the sort of content that he wanted to make. The first of these projects was the original horror romance series Kemonozume (2006), which Yuasa created, directed, and wrote. The production marked a significant development in Yuasa's career, as it resulted in him meeting a key collaborator: South Korean artist Eunyoung Choi, who had recently moved to Japan