Depressive screenwriter.

Chapter 22 Thoughts
The overall feeling of Rurouni Kenshin's second volume is not as bloody as the first volume, and there are not as many fighting scenes, but the final scene of the fight between Kenshin and the Shinsengumi is as stunning and bloody as ever.

The audience who came for the fight were very satisfied.

Audiences who wanted to see romance also saw the emotional entanglement between Kenshin and Yukishiro Tomoe in the second episode.

It is an episode that connects the previous and the next.

Of course, Rurouni Kenshin, which has only aired its second episode, is just a martial arts drama with plenty of action scenes, stunning actors, a deep plot, and elements tied to family, country, and the world.

It can certainly be called excellent, but it is still a long way from the word God.

But compared with Qingfeng, the most popular web drama on Sakura.com this quarter, people who have watched both dramas on the website can clearly feel the excellence of Rurouni Kenshin in terms of the script.

Website comment posts appear one after another.

"What a pity, such a good show is just lacking in funding, and the quality of the costumes and makeup is still a little lacking."

"Given Seifu's budget to Rurouni Kenshin, this show will be a killer."

"Screenwriter Su Yan is really amazing. Not only did he write such an excellent martial arts drama, but he also played the male lead Jian Xin himself."

"Is it possible that the male protagonist Kenshin was actually created by the screenwriter based on himself?"

“I always feel that Kenshin’s swordplay and smooth movements don’t seem like acting.”

"I studied Jianxin's moves in the drama frame by frame in slow motion, and I didn't find any special effects, and it wasn't the result of fast-forward editing. What I can be sure of is that the moves that Jianxin can do in the drama are likely to be done by Su Yan in the real world. It may just be a matter of success rate."

"Actually, after watching it till now, I don't care about the fighting anymore. What's more exciting than the fighting scenes is the entanglement between Kenshin and Yukishiro Tomoe. Where will these two people end up, enemies, or will they resolve their hatred?"

"It must be that Tomoe Yukishiro forgives Kenshin and lives happily with Kenshin. This kind of plot is a bit cheesy, but I love watching it!"

"Exactly. What era is this? You don't really think Kenshin would kill Tomoe Yukishiro just because he wanted to avenge his fiancé, do you? He's not such a petty person."

"Damn it. Why did screenwriter Su Yan let the second episode end in this place? I have to wait another week. It makes me so upset."

"It's been a long time since I felt the pain of following the update. What will happen to Tomoe Yukishiro and Kenshin in the future? It's so painful!"

On the first day of the release of the second volume of Rurouni Kenshin, the number of paid views reached 36.

At this time, the first-day paid broadcast volume of the fifth episode of the drama Qing Feng was only 31.

The four major online broadcasting platforms in Xiaguo have launched a total of more than 40 low-cost online dramas this quarter.

The general production cost is between four million and six million.

Among them, Qingfeng has high investment and support from Sakura TV, so the industry is not surprised by its good performance.

You are willing to spend money to hire good actors, a good production team, and buy publicity, but there is nothing to brag about with such results.

But Rurouni Kenshin, what the hell is this?

Four episodes, with a total investment of 1.2 million.

Because the screenwriter was too poor, he became the male lead.

The heroine is a recent college graduate.

The producer is a marginal figure who is almost certain to be fired by the TV station because of his poor historical performance.

The director is an old lady who has been retired for several years and has nothing to do at home.

This combination of forces has shown its fangs to the drama "Qing Feng" in the summer online drama market and has threatened Qing Feng's market position.

It really surprised the industry.

Does this work too?
The first volume of Rurouni Kenshin is close to the level of Qingfeng.

But after the second episode of Rurouni Kenshin was aired
There is already a trend of catching up.

[Sakura TV's talented new screenwriter has shocked the web drama market. 】

[Low cost can also bring big returns. Rurouni Kenshin may pass on the record of the highest return on investment for Sakura TV this year. ]

[Rurouni Kenshin is on Sakura.com, and the most searched online drama category surpassed Qingfeng, topping the website's most searched online drama category. 】

[Rurouni Kenshin scored 9.3, the highest rating for a Chinese online drama this summer. ]

[Rurouni Kenshin's genius martial arts action design, who is the mysterious genius Su Yan who serves as the screenwriter, male lead, and martial arts instructor of this drama? 】

[I thought Qingfeng would be the debut masterpiece of the genius screenwriter Kiyota Sanji. But now it seems that there is more genius than genius. 】

[Since there is Qingtian, why is there Su Yan? If the average paid viewing volume of Rurouni Kenshin is finally equal to that of Qingfeng, then the entire Qingfeng crew will become the biggest victim. ]

The word-of-mouth spread of online dramas is faster than that of hit TV dramas.

As soon as Rurouni Kenshin showed the slightest sign of surpassing Qingfeng, a bunch of video websites and media started to take action.

Kiyota Sanji was feeling very uncomfortable staying in the TV station's scriptwriting department today. He had to refresh the paid playback volume of the second episode of Rurouni Kenshin in a few minutes to compare it with the fifth episode of Seifu.

It wasn't until his uncle Akasaka Yoshitoki called him and scolded him, telling him to find a solution quickly.

But what can he do?
Can he control Xiaguo's netizens from going online to watch Rurouni Kenshin?
After thinking about it, how could Rurouni Kenshin's achievements compare to Qingfeng's?
And in the Rurouni Kenshin crew
The beautiful woman in white clothes, stained with blood and pale in complexion, used the knife in her hand to slash the face of the handsome young man, who was also covered in blood and had a painful expression.

The new knife marks and the old scars formed a cross.

"I'm sorry, husband."

The woman's eyes were filled with longing. She endured the pain of her injuries and said these words. Her hand slipped away powerlessly, and the knife fell into the snow.
The boy's eyes opened wide, with endless pain in his pupils.

"Cut! Pass!" After getting approval from director Shi Peihua, Su Yan and Gu Qingyuan, who was lying on the ground pretending to be dead, suddenly changed their expressions.

The separation and sadness that the two had experienced before disappeared in an instant, replaced by irrepressible joy.

The two stood up, grabbed each other's sleeves and jumped up and down to celebrate.

"Yeah, it's passed."

“Forty-sixth time.”

"No, it's forty-seven times. I finally got through this scene."

"Oh my God, I'm so happy that I'm about to cry. This scene took two whole days to shoot." Gu Qingyuan's eyes were a little red with joy.

"The blood in my body has solidified and I feel uncomfortable all over." Su Yan said as he rubbed the dried blood stains on his arms.

"Although I still feel that you two still have room for improvement in this shot, and you can portray a sadder look. Unfortunately, time and funds do not allow it." Shi Peihua said while watching the previous shot not far away.

"Congratulations, after the filming of this most difficult scene is finished, the entire series of Rurouni Kenshin will be completed within two days."

"Two days." Gu Qingyuan's happy expression turned a little lonely after hearing that.

"What's wrong? The filming is about to end, are you unhappy?" Su Yan noticed the change in her inner emotions.

"Of course I'm happy that the filming is over. But this also means that my first acting experience in my life has come to an end. I don't know when I will be able to meet such an excellent and pure creative team like you, Teacher Su Yan, Director Shi, and Miss Xiaozaki again next time." Gu Qingyuan sighed softly.

The Xia Kingdom's entertainment industry is not much better than Su Yan's previous life.

Unspoken rules and various insider transactions emerge one after another.

Celebrities who have made it big naturally have ways to avoid those things.

But the problem is that it is difficult for actors who are just starting out to avoid this.

Shi Peihua is a girl.

Ikumi Shinozaki is a girl.

Su Yan was completely focused on filming and had no interest in Gu Qingyuan.

There are no mysterious investors in the crew who come to give orders.

Gu Qingyuan knew very well that it would be hard to come across another such perfect crew.

"If there is a first collaboration, there will naturally be a second time." At this time, Shinozaki Ikumi walked over.

"The first episode of Rurouni Kenshin has now exceeded 130 million paid views per episode, and the second episode exceeded 36 on the first day of its broadcast. If the next two episodes can really cause a sensation among the audience after they are broadcast, and the series breaks the circle and the performance soars, there is no doubt that it can surpass Qingfeng." Shinozaki Ikumi looked at Gu Qingyuan.

"You will definitely become famous. And the same goes for Su Yan."

"So?" Gu Qingyuan realized something and asked hesitantly.

"I have no reason to leave the starring roles of two popular characters, Kenshin and Yukishiro Tomoe, unused." A smile bloomed on Shinozaki Ikumi's pretty face.

"When the time comes, if Su Yan has a new script project, I will invite you, Gu Qingyuan, to participate in it. Don't refuse me!"

Gu Qingyuan looked at Su Yan. When Shinozaki Yumi said this, Su Yan's expression did not change, which meant that he and Shinozaki Yumi had discussed this matter privately.

"Teacher Su Yan, are you saying that there is still a possibility of cooperation among us?" Gu Qingyuan asked after a pause.

"Well, the premise is that after the fourth episode of Rurouni Kenshin is broadcast, the fan group can accept and recognize this ending. Then Kenshin and Tomoe Yukishiro will become an indelible pair of lovers in the minds of the audience, and you and I, as the leading actors of these two roles, will be able to reap the benefits of Kenshin and Tomoe Yukishiro's roles for a while," Su Yan nodded.

"But if the audience doesn't accept Kenshin's ending, they will have a psychological trauma when they see you two on the screen in the future. Then you two will definitely not have a chance to work together." Shinozaki Ikumi added with a smile.

Gu Qingyuan was silent for a moment after hearing this, then took a deep breath and spoke in a calm voice.

"I believe that the characters played by me, Tomoe Yukishiro, and Kenshin Himura, played by Mr. Su Yan, will not be disliked by the audience. They will definitely be able to accept this ending."

"That's not necessarily true." Shinozaki Ikumi said softly.

“The market is not controlled by any one person.”

"Definitely."

"Because I am playing the role of Tomoe Yukishiro. Apart from the screenwriter Mr. Su Yan, I know the charm of Tomoe Yukishiro better than anyone else, and I also know the charm of Kenshin." Gu Qingyuan said in a serious tone.

"No one will hate Tomoe Yukishiro. No one will hate Kenshin Himura either."

In the next few days, the Rurouni Kenshin crew was busy with the final finishing work of filming.

The second episode of Rurouni Kenshin had a higher number of paid views on Sakura.com in the first week after its release than the first episode.

Reached 123 million.

Positive impact from the drama's reputation and media coverage
Both the first and second episodes saw a significant increase in paid broadcast volume during this week, slightly surpassing the online broadcast data for the first and second episodes of Qing Feng during the same period.

Fortunately, this drama is just a short series of four episodes. The short episodes mean that the popularity of the work will also be short-lived.

Perhaps after the fourth episode is broadcast, the surge in viewing volume caused by word of mouth will quickly disappear, and eventually, after a few weeks, Kenshin's average paid performance per episode will be far behind Qingfeng.

But this kind of thing is just speculation by a group of television industry practitioners at this stage.

Before Rurouni Kenshin finished airing, no one knew the final outcome.

The date has come to August 6th, and on this day, a large group of people are waiting for the third episode of Rurouni Kenshin to be aired.

(End of this chapter)