Anime: Similarity

Somewhere deep in the lair of KyoAni, a few years past...

A man stands nervously in front of a large desk, wringing his hands slightly as his boss smokes a cigar while looking out the window. This man is in charge of art - you could call him an art manager, or a character design coordinator, or any number of things, but right now what he is is terrified.

"So," says his boss, watching the night city through the rain. A bolt of lightning strikes in the distance. "You wanted to see me?" He turns around and taps ash off the end of his cigar, eyes narrowing.

No, thinks the man, but "Yes," he says, making himself as small as he can. "It's... about the... character designs we were given. For our new project." What a terrible mistake this was, he thinks. I wish I were at home and in bed.

His boss raises an eyebrow and sits down in his big leather swivel chair. "What about them? I trust they are not... inadequate?"

"No, no, no, of course not!" stutters the man, doing his best to deflect the intense eyes of his boss. "It's just... I... Some of the team members, we..."

"Yes?"

"Well..." He puts a folder down on the desk. 'Ryou Fujibayashi,' it reads, and then another, 'Kyou Fujibayashi.' "Twins. Lavender hair. Kyou is older, more assertive, a bit coarse to her close friends, but a little emotionally insecure. She has waist-length hair and pointy eyes. Ryou is younger, timid, not particularly good at anything, but hardworking and faithful. She has short hair and droopy eyes."

The boss nods, leaning back in his chair. "Where are you going with this?"

"It's just..." The man hesitates for a moment. "Didn't our last project have characters... exactly the same?"

The boss's eyes narrow.

He stands, slowly walks around his desk to the man, and backhands him solidly across the face. The man falls to the floor, face screwed up in pain.

"Back to work," the boss says coldly.

"...Yeth thur," the man slurs sadly, and crawls out of the office.