Tokyo: The evil god doesn't want to be the top star

Chapter 396: Using Drama to Support Songs
This office is obviously many years old. The staff busy in front of the computers in the cubicles are almost overwhelmed by the piles of old and yellowed documents.

Several cameras, lighting boards, fill lights and other recording equipment, as well as props and costumes for filming, were placed together in a chaotic yet orderly manner...

"Eh?"

In the only slightly empty "recording guest rest area", a tall and thin young man with a beautiful face was already sitting there...

"Sakamoto-kun?"

Xia Fan subconsciously called out the other person's name.

This person is the young singer who won the second place in this year's "Tokyo Newcomer Music Award"...

The new actor who played Xia Fan's nemesis "Hijikata Toshizo" in the web drama "The Broken Chrysanthemum and the Sword" and contributed to the classic "Chrysanthemum Field Fencing" scene...

Sakamoto Hide.

"Xia Fan?!"

Sakamoto Hide looked in the direction of the sound and also showed a look of surprise.

"You are a hot new idol now, you should have many cooperation invitations, but you don't take advantage of your popularity to make money by shooting commercials, but participate in a crappy show like "The Secret of Immortal"?"

He asked in a complicated tone.

Ever since Xia Fan participated in the recording of the "Idol Birth Festival", everyone in the contact group of the "The Broken Chrysanthemum and the Knife" crew has been sending links to vote for him every day...

In his spare time, Sakamoto Hide also helped to cast a lot of votes, so he was naturally very clear about Xia Fan's performance on the show and the final result of his popularity crushing his debut.

"TBS invited me to join the collaboration, so the company arranged for me to come here..."

When he met an acquaintance, Xia Fan, who had been a little reserved, relaxed.

"What's up? I took some time to watch an episode of the show "The Secret of the Immortal" yesterday. It was quite interesting."

"Besides, Sakamoto-kun sounded so disgusted, but didn't he come to participate in the recording?"

He asked Sakamoto Hide with a teasing look on his face.

"Tsk, your agency is either blind or deliberately trying to trick you..."

"The principle of 'casting a wide net' has always been to invite people to collaborate with 'The Secret of the Immortal'. They shamelessly invite people who are popular, without caring whether their own announcement fees and status meet industry standards..."

"It is said that in one episode, the production team sent out dozens of invitations for cooperation. In the end, there were so many invited guests that they could not fit into the camera, so they had to be divided into two groups to visit the immortals separately, and recorded two episodes at a time."

"I'm different from you. I came to participate in this crappy show that pays little and no one watches it. I did it purely to exchange resources with TBS and to debut my new song on one of their music variety shows..."

Sakamoto Hide curled his lips and explained with a superior look...

After the online drama "The Broken Chrysanthemum and the Knife" was broadcast, his "Tufeng CP" with Xia Fan became very popular, and he gained a lot of fans. His acting skills were once again recognized by the industry, and he regained the status of "powerful young actor"...

Although the online drama was very popular and his acting career was progressing steadily, the theme song of the TV series sung by Shu Sakamoto with all his heart was ignored because the plot was too exciting.

However, this did not dampen Sakamoto's dream of becoming a singer.

He learned from his mistakes and turned down many TV drama invitations. He concentrated on creating a new song and was willing to sacrifice the traffic of a "well-known young actor" and participate in such a "unworthy" program to pave the way for the release of the new song.

"Tsk tsk, Mr. Sakamoto's spirit of 'using drama to support singing' is truly awe-inspiring." Listening to Sakamoto Hide complaining about his "singing difficulties", Xia Fan did not know whether to laugh or cry.

"Look, another guest is here..."

"That person is Kyoji Tetsuda, a veteran manzai artist whose popularity is average but whose face is familiar to the audience. He basically rushes to make announcements for various variety shows within TBS and is known as a 'variety show civil servant' in the industry."

Seeing a square-faced uncle walking over after signing, Sakamoto Xiu whispered an introduction to Xia Fan.

"It's too loud, everyone heard it, Sakamoto-san!"

"I'm not a 'Variety Show Civil Servant'. I'm burning with passion, and today I'm working hard to become the 'No. 1 Comedian in District 11'!"

Hearing Sakamoto Hide's mumbling, Tetsuda Kyoji used an exaggerated tone to demonstrate a "biceps display" move commonly seen in bodybuilding to the two of them.

The performance form of "Manzai", which tells jokes at a very fast speed and revolves around themes such as misunderstandings, puns and homophones, originated from the ancient traditional performance form of "Banzai" in District 11. It has been reborn with the blessing of modern television, the Internet and short video media.

This kind of performance is similar to the "crosstalk performers" in Longguo. Although they look ordinary in front of the screen, their temperament is ordinary, and the only thing they do is just to be funny...

But in fact, "Manzai" artists need several years to practice basic skills such as eloquence, expression, and movement. They also need to accumulate a large number of funny jokes, rack their brains to create original jokes with personal characteristics, and cultivate the instinct of "even breathing is funny". Only then will they have a chance to stand out from the vast number of "funny colleagues".

This is also why debuted manga artists are ranked higher than idols.

"The guy next to you, is he Xia Fan?"

"My daughter watches your show at home every day. Last month, she even asked me for an advance on her pocket money and spent it all on buying your support merchandise!"

Tietian Ti'er sat down next to Xia Fan in a familiar manner and patted his shoulder.

"Since my old father fully supports me in chasing stars, let's take a photo together so that she can respect my 'status in the world' and not think that my father is a 'beggar with a smile'..."

Then, he skillfully took out his mobile phone and took a photo with Xia Fan, who had a stiff smile.

This kind of "photo stamp collecting" between artists is a commonly used means of expanding "network performance" and is not within the scope of "business activities" prohibited by the agency.

"Excuse me, I'm Yukiko Kobayashi, the newcomer participating in today's recording. Please give me your guidance!"

Then, the only female guest arrived.

This Yukiko Kobayashi seems to be an idol artist who has just debuted. Her sweet makeup and dress, coupled with her feminine and friendly temperament, give people a "harmless" feeling.

"Excuse me, you...are Xia Fan?"

When Kobayashi Yukiko saw Xia Fan sitting on the sofa, her eyes suddenly lit up.

"I'm Xia Fan, and I'm also a newcomer. Please give me your guidance."

Xia Fan could only respond awkwardly and politely.

Of the three guests in front of him, except for Hide Sakamoto, the other two were complete "strangers" to him who didn't care about the entertainment industry at all.

Xia Fan was very afraid that the other party would bring up topics like "You must know my famous work, right?" or "Have you seen the movie I starred in a while ago?"

Fortunately, Tetsuda and Kobayashi were very self-aware and just exchanged pleasantries normally without causing themselves the embarrassment of asking, “Have you never seen my work?”

(End of this chapter)