Japanese Entertainment: From special effects actor to action superstar

Chapter 50 A Hundred-Year-Old Joke

Sunday night, after the ratings come out.

A bar in Roppongi, Tokyo where Manatsu Ryuu performs.

Before entering the bar, Narita Toru turned to Tani Akira and Yamada Masahiro.

"Be sad, but don't let him see it."

Yamada Masahiro was a little embarrassed: "I'm just a scriptwriter, don't hold me to the standards of a professional artist!"

Narita Toru shook his head and said, "If you can't do it, just lower your head and watch our performance."

After saying that, Narita Heng took out eye drops from his pocket.

Gu Ming, who was standing by, was instantly shocked: "Mr. Narita, you are really preparing props for something like this."

Narita Heng didn't answer. He tilted his neck back, put in the eye drops, blinked, and looked like he was crying.

"That's what it means to love what you do! Okay, let's go in. Let's all be sad, but don't let anyone see us!"

After saying that, he was the first to walk into the bar, followed closely by Gu Ming.

It was the same group as the last time they came to the bar, still the three of them.

But this time it's not just because of the content of the next episode, there is another thing, which is to inform Manatsu Ryu about the ratings of the eighth episode and the investigation report given by TBS.

The ratings were good and he passed!
The three of them found a booth and sat down. Narita Heng raised his hand to order drinks and asked the waiter to help call Manatsu Ryu to order songs.

Seeing Manatsu Ryu coming over, Narita Toru suddenly raised his face.

“How could this happen!!”

He covered his face and cried bitterly.

Gu Ming took a breath of cold air.

This kind of acting is a bit too exaggerated!
On Zhen Xialong's side, when he heard that Gu Ming and the other two had come to see him, he was naturally very excited.

Although Pigmon is a costume character, it is also his first chance to play a supporting role with a lot of screen time, and he may even become a regular character in the future. Manatsu Ryu is quite looking forward to it.

However, before entering the booth, Manatsu Ryu heard Narita Toru's sorrow.

“How could this happen!!”

Manatsu Ryuu was startled.

Could it be that the ratings are bad?
He looked at the few people cautiously. Yamada Masahiro lowered his head and remained silent, while Narita Toru covered his face and cried bitterly.

"No, no way! You must be kidding! I'm obviously trying my best to perform!" For a moment, Manatsu Ryu was a little flustered.

He couldn't help but look at Gu Ming.

Brother Gugu is such a good person, you definitely won’t joke with him!
However, Manatsu Ryu saw a solemnity as great as a mountain on Gu Ming's face.

Manatsu Ryu came over and greeted him with difficulty.

"Brother Furuya, Mr. Narita, Mr. Yamada."

Yamada Masahiro lowered his head and said nothing.

Narita Toru continued to cry.

Manatsu Ryu could only look at Gu Ming.

Gu Mingze shook his head with difficulty: "Along, the ratings are not ideal."

In an instant, Manatsu Ryu felt as if he was overwhelmed by great sadness.

"How could this happen! You must be kidding!"

However, Gu Ming's expression did not look like he was joking.

With only a hint of luck in his heart, Zhen Xialong asked cautiously, "So, it's not ideal, so how much is it?"

Gu Ming raised four fingers.

"This episode only had a measly 40.7% viewership rating. Sigh, before it aired, Wangu's father predicted it would reach 42%. It's really not ideal!"

Manatsu Ryu sighed.

It’s really not ideal…

But wait.

What is that? 40.7%?

Manatsu Ryu felt like his brain was freezing for a moment.

Damn, is this number good or bad?

I can’t do anything about him!
Faced with Manatsu Ryu's bewildered expression, the few of them finally couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"Ha, haha... Sorry, just kidding!" Yamada Masahiro grinned. "Actually, it's a very impressive number. Although everyone had a feeling it would be very popular, I didn't expect it to catch up to the first episode in such an instant."

Narita Toru wiped his eyes and smiled, "I'm also taking this opportunity to inform you of this good news. TBS has approved the addition of Pigumon as a permanent character in Team Kot. Although your scenes won't be many and they're all small, you'll still have the opportunity to appear frequently. Congratulations!"

Gu Ming also added: "Although it's a temporary job, it still pays 6000 yen."

6000 yen, so scary! It’s higher than Moroboshi Tuan’s salary!

In Ultra Seven, although Akira Moritsugu played the male lead, because he was a newcomer, his salary was only 5000 yen, the lowest among all the human bodies and main characters of Ultraman suits.

Faced with such sorrow and joy, Manatsu Ryu was speechless for a moment.

Zhen Xialong clenched his fists, his face flushed red, and in the end he could only say something in a low voice.

You can search Yalu!

The three people in front of him are a hundred years old in total, and they actually joked with him like this!

He almost believed it!

……

……

TBS's meticulous investigation gave the results early on. Not only did the ratings of this episode return to the level of the first episode, but the audience survey results also showed that Pigumon's handling method was unanimously praised by the children.

Everybody loves Pigmon!
Thanks to this, TBS successfully approved the proposal to add permanent characters.

Manatsu Ryuu had formed some kind of connection with Okuten in advance.

Thinking that there is a high probability that Ryu Manatsu will star in Ultraman Leo again in a few years, Gu Ming feels that he has done a great deed this time.

Audiences decades from now will definitely find this incident interesting, and that expression will definitely be quite funny.

We agreed to be monsters together, but you secretly transformed into Ultraman Leo!
Do you think I am the rare beast in the universe, Pigumon?

Actually, I am Ultraman Leo!
In this way, Wangu started filming the ninth episode in a joyful state.

The ninth episode is a lightning-fast battle, directed by No Nagase Sanmadashi, and the monster that appears is the uranium-eating monster Gabra, played by Haruo Nakajima who has not been seen for a long time.

For this episode, the ratings went further than before, reaching 42%, but there was not much time left for everyone to rest.

No Nagase Sanmadashi spends a lot of money and really likes to take his time to do things, so much so that it slightly squeezed out the filming time for the next episode.

For this reason, the tenth episode had to be filmed in full swing and launched immediately.

Tetsuo Kaneshiro worked at full speed and successfully came up with the script for the tenth episode.

In the tenth episode, the mysterious dinosaur base appears, and the monster that appears is the curled-collar dinosaur Gilas, played by Haruo Nakajima again.

At the Wangu Studios, after finishing today's filming, Gu Ming emerged from his suit, sweating profusely.

As September approaches, I feel like the weather hasn't changed at all. It's still so hot that it makes me want to die.

Haruo Nakajima on the opposite side also yawned and got out of the suit.

Seeing that he was obviously sleep-deprived, Gu Ming was slightly surprised: "You didn't go play marbles again, did you?"

"You must be kidding! How could I possibly go play marbles?" Nakajima Haruo rolled his eyes. "Even if I did, it wouldn't be your money."

He had made some money recently, so of course he couldn't help but play marbles secretly, but there was no need for him to tell Gu Ming about this.

Gu Ming clenched his fists.

For some reason, he sometimes really wanted to beat up Nakajima Haruo.

Director No Nagase Samadhi came over and took the opportunity to inform the two people.

"We're filming the final battle scene tomorrow, and it all depends on your efforts. Time is tight, and we have to send the tape to TBS on Tuesday. You must get enough rest tonight."

Gu Ming nodded, and Nakajima Haruo opposite him also waved his hand casually.

Don't worry, I'll be in good spirits, so just play one or two fewer games of marbles today.

(End of this chapter)