Japanese Entertainment: From special effects actor to action superstar

Chapter 128 I have three wins, he has three losses

On Sunday, Gu Ming arrived at Wangu with a report.

He didn't go to Wangu's house for dinner yesterday, but watched Silver Mask with everyone in the office.

When they met again, Gu Ming met Mantani Ichi, Mantani Eiji and others in the Japanese-style room.

"Let's cut to the chase. Yesterday I saw Silver Mask."

Gu Ming took out the report in his hand.

"I roughly analyzed the work of Silver Mask. I think Silver Mask has three losses, and we have three wins."

"First, it's about the creation of style. Mr. Jissoji Akio's level is very high, but too high for children to appreciate. His so-called aesthetic feeling in the picture can only be understood by adults, while children need to think about it."

"In comparison, Ichigo's directing style is more straightforward. Although there are advanced camera movements, the overall style is still in service of the narrative. Mr. Jissoji Akio has a style created for the sake of showing off his skills."

"The second is the content. This drama is actually a life-size special effects show. Life-size special effects is a clever way to do things. You don't have to spend a lot of time on the buildings, you just need to focus on the design. This drama has the support of Mr. Yasuaki Kurata's team, and that's Xiangjiang's action design, which is excellent. But there is also a problem. The Ultraman craze has not yet ended, and people are more accustomed to giant special effects than life-size special effects."

"Third, it's the design. While Silver Mask has some intentions, the image design is not attentive and is rather crude. Whether it's the main character or the antagonist, they all exude a sense of poverty and a lack of quality, with a strong sense of shoddy production. Even if Shokosha carefully polished the story, compared to that, the audience's first impression is the shoddy suit, not the story. The story takes time to appreciate, but the suit is something you can see at a glance."

Gu Ming clasped his hands together and bowed slightly.

"I've already written down the details here, but the general idea is as I said: Seven has three wins, and Silver Mask has three losses. This work is a sincere and conscientious work, but it's a pity..."

Gu Ming shook his head.

Silver Mask can also be called a classic, but it failed due to lack of funds.

From the inside out, there is a sense of poverty caused by insufficient funds.

Gu Ming can often see this feeling in the later years of Ultraman Taro and Ultraman Leo.

Children don’t care about profound stories or nonsense. It will take a long time for them to understand those.

At the moment, there is only one thing they can understand.

It doesn’t look good!
Eiji Mantani didn't say anything and took the report to read it first.

The report was dictated by Gu Ming and written by Sha Qin.

Gu Ming also knows that his handwriting is not good, and he has been practicing calligraphy hard recently.

Until you learn how to use it, it’s better not to use it to avoid hurting the elderly’s eyes.

Eiji Wan Gu stared at it for a long time and felt that the report was well organized and the content was particularly appropriate.

"That's right. This work has its subtleties, but it still has obvious shortcomings."

He looked at Wan Guyi, who understood and quickly wrote two numbers to Gu Ming.

"This is the audience ratings report. We've already got the report from TBS, and Xiao Ao brought back the report from Fuji TV."

Wan Gu Ao works at Fuji TV.

Gu Ming flipped through it.

Silver Mask, the first episode ratings reached 21.6%
For Seven, the ratings were 34.7%.

It seems higher, but considering that the average ratings of the previous work is 40%, Seven's result is not good enough.

"As expected, Silver Mask did have a certain impact on the ratings, especially..."

Gu Ming held his forehead, feeling a bit of a headache.

That's Fuji TV.

Among Japan's five major private television stations, TBS once held the leading position.

But around the 1980s, it was overtaken by Fuji TV, and after the new century, it was surpassed by Asahi TV, and for a time it was ranked second to last among the five major TV stations.

——The last one is called Tokyo TV. It was Tokyo TV that continued to broadcast cartoons even after Taiko's death. It is different from TBS.

At present, Fuji TV is no less powerful than TBS, and some of its channels are even better, such as the famous Fuji TV's "Monthly 9th Slot".

"However, we can continue to maintain the current style and not make any random changes. Starting from the next episode, there will definitely be decisive changes." Gu Ming firmly believes this: "Silver Mask is an excellent work, but the style is not appealing enough. Perhaps many years from now, people will be amazed when they buy the video online... or in stores, but right now, this drama will not be a favorite of children."

Wangu Eiji nodded slightly. "Your report is very well written. I agree with this point of view. The Silver Mask is good, but not great enough. From now on, there is no need to worry about the Silver Mask. Since you are all here today, let's discuss the production of the next one."

After a conversation, Gu Ming also roughly mentioned his ideas.

Since the main focus is on aliens, it seems that we can add some content about Tsuyoshi Moroboshi fighting with aliens. Of course, it cannot overshadow the main focus. It will probably be a scene where they exchange a few moves and then transform. It will not be like Leo who fights people in the first half and monsters in the second half.

This would also allow the crew's outstanding martial arts skills to be fully utilized. Regarding the script, Gu Ming hoped that Eiji Mantani could rewrite the original heavy-toned setting of Seven.

No matter how good a work is, it cannot be too heavy all the time.

It is okay to occasionally add some humanistic works to some episodes, but the main theme should still be positive.

This time, Eiji Mantani did not agree.

Seven is a masterpiece that he has worked so hard on, and he still hopes that Seven can express his thoughts and feelings more.

Unable to stop it, Gu Ming stopped trying to persuade him and just let the matter go.

After another discussion, Gu Ming left Wangu.

It was already past seven o'clock when I got home.

Gu Ming lay on the kotatsu, not wanting to move.

I'm not physically tired, but I am mentally tired. Especially when I'm busy with my career, I feel even more tired.

Gu Ming vaguely heard a clicking sound and raised his head slightly to look at the cup of tea that was placed in front of him, which was still steaming.

"Want to tell me about it?"

Gu Ming pursed his lips and smiled: "It's good to talk about it."

He held the teacup and talked about what had happened in the past few days.

"The ratings are disappointing, but I was hoping for better. After all, I'm the lead actor. Even if I'm not as good as Kurobe Shin-senpai, I should be on par. But the current situation is a little disappointing."

"And that Silver Mask. Although I gave a reason for three wins and three losses, I'm not entirely sure. After all... it's different."

Gu Ming couldn't explain the reason for the difference, but he just felt a certain uncertainty about the matter.

"The most annoying thing is that I met a senior in the industry not long ago, and he actually poached one of my colleagues."

Watanabe is not important, but what is important is the fact that Watanabe was poached.

Of course, it is possible to poach people from behind or do other similar things, but Gu Ming always feels that it is not satisfying enough.

"Come to think of it, that gentleman is a martial artist, right?"

Shaqin thought about it and moved the teacup slightly.

"Try to send him a challenge."

"Furuya-kun can publish a challenge in newspapers and various public channels. As a martial artist, Kurata Yasuaki cannot refuse. Even though his career focus is not in Japan, he still needs his reputation as a martial artist in Japan. Under pressure, he has no choice but to agree."

"Then, by defeating the opponent in the challenge, you can strike down your opponent and make a name for yourself at the same time."

"At the same time, it can be used as a sales pitch, like, 'The lead actor is actually a skilled martial artist,' which will inevitably pique the audience's interest. Like, 'I say, that guy is a real martial artist, maybe he can actually defeat aliens physically.'"

After Shaqin finished speaking, she said, "But there's only one problem. Without sufficient status, I'm not qualified to issue a challenge to the other party. And if I only defeat one disciple, I believe it won't achieve the effect that Gugu-kun wants."

"But I heard that Furuya-kun already knows Mr. Kimura Masahiko. If he were to issue a challenge with that status, few people in Japan would dare to refuse."

Gu Ming hissed.

Public opinion forces people to stand up, which is a very clever tactic.

Gu Ming asked, "How did you come up with this?"

Shaqin tilted her head slightly.

"Someone did this to my father."

Under pressure from public opinion, I had to do it and then take all the responsibility.

She bowed slightly.

"However, the situation is different from that time. If it were Furuya-kun, I believe he would be able to win."

Gu Ming grinned and laughed.

"That's great. Well, let's do it. Once this is resolved, try to get some rest and we can have a good day in Tokyo."

Gu Ming said: "I've been here for so long, but I haven't really let go and had fun!"

　There's more in the evening, the time is uncertain...

　　
　
(End of this chapter)