I, Hiroshi Nohara, the star of Japanese cinema

Chapter 119: "Super Change" National Auditions Begin! The Subversion of the Era is Coming!

In early September, the summer heat in Tokyo has not yet completely dissipated. Like a beast that refuses to leave, it still emits irritating heat waves on the asphalt roads.

However, in the air-conditioned office of [Nohara Hiroshi's Independent Production Department], which was as hot as Siberia, the atmosphere was extremely heated and exciting.

To be precise, it is the [Anzhiju Animation Production Classroom].

"Everyone is here?"

Nohara Hiroshi's arrival instantly put an end to the noisy discussions in the animation classroom.

His eyes calmly swept over the team that was beginning to take shape in front of him.

Hashijitaro, the man who had just been pulled back from the brink of hell by his own hands, was now standing straight in the front like a javelin.

He had long since lost his initial dejection. His brand new suit was ironed without a single wrinkle. His eyes, once filled with regret and despair, now only held pure fanaticism.

Behind him are the trio of Minamimura Hoshi, Hase Rozo and Kitagawa Yao, who also look refreshed.

An old veteran.

And four young assistants who had just been "poached" from other departments, with a bit of restraint and curiosity on their faces.

"Hi! Minister!" Hashijitaro bowed deeply, his voice full of energy and loud.

"Sit down." Nohara Hiroshi pointed to the conference table and walked slowly to the whiteboard.

He didn't say too much nonsense, because this time he came to explain the core of "Anzhiju" on a daily basis, which was also equivalent to business training for this classroom.

Nohara Hiroshi picked up a pen and wrote two big words on the white board - "soul".

"Let me ask you, what do you think is the soul of 'Anzhiju'?"

This question stunned everyone present.

"Is it... the style?" a new assistant tentatively replied, "That rough, unique style with a kamishiba-like feel?"

"It's a story!" Nancun Xing immediately retorted, like a fervent fan defending his idol. "It's those urban legends that are rooted in real life but are terrifying when you think about them carefully!"

"I think it's the atmosphere." Hashijitachi pondered for a moment and gave a more professional answer: "It's that unspeakable, spine-chilling feeling lurking beneath the everyday tranquility."

Nohara Hiroshi listened quietly, then shook his head.

"What you said is all right, but not the core."

“The soul of ‘Dark Zhiju’ is not a ghost story, it talks about…the ghosts in people’s hearts.”

He turned around, his eyes gleaming with seriousness.

"It tells the story of our fear of the darkness behind us when we walk alone late at night; the unspeakable vigilance we feel when facing an overly enthusiastic stranger; and the deep-seated uneasiness we feel in this indifferent city."

"It's not trying to scare you, it's trying to amplify your fear and anxiety."

These words are very powerful.

It instantly illuminated the minds of everyone present, who had long been confined by traditional horror film routines.

"Magnify the anxiety..." Hashijitaro muttered to himself, and an unprecedented light of sudden enlightenment burst out from his eyes.

He had come into contact with the core of "Anzhiju" before.

But at that time, I just regarded "Anzhiju", or "Urban Tales" itself, as a scary point.

But unexpectedly, the real core is to amplify anxiety!

Amplify the original fear!
Then it’s psychological shock!
"So, what I need you to do is not just simple imitation."

Nohara Hiroshi's gaze swept over each person, like that of an experienced general pointing the way for his soldiers: "I want you to observe, to think, to dig out from your own lives those moments that send a chill down your spine. Then, turn it into a 'Dark Zhiju' that belongs to you."

He knew that the previous version of "Anzhiju" had gradually become mediocre since the sixth season due to a lack of creativity.

What he needs to do is to use this world, this fresh blood full of infinite possibilities, to inject new vitality into this IP, enough to allow it to last for decades.

"This is the complete artwork for the fourth season of 'Anzhiju'."

He placed a thick folder on the table. "This is your textbook, and also your... graduation exam. Read it, and then, everyone, give me an original story from Season Five."

"...Hi!" The class members looked at each other, but nodded seriously and took this task to heart.

But Nohara Hiroshi didn't care about the stories they provided.

In fact, the stories provided now are reserve materials for future preparation.

After all, the current "Dark Zhiju" can last until the tenth season, and if one season is broadcasted per month, it can last until next year.

The key point is that since the tenth season of "Dark House", the production level has really started to decline and become worse and worse.

So much so that Hiroshi Nohara felt embarrassed to plagiarize again.

Think about it now.

Nohara Hiroshi still decided to give his subordinates in this world a chance and qualified to produce the short animation of "Anzhiju".

This not only exercises people.

Or maybe, there will be unexpected surprises!
……

September, like a film with the fast-forward button pressed, was moving at a rapid pace under Nohara Hiroshi's terrifying efficiency of working on three fronts.

The Dark Martial Arts Tournament arc of "Yu Yu Hakusho" officially came to an end after that earth-shattering final battle. The sales of the single volume exceeded 20 million copies in one fell swoop, and it was officially crowned as the new generation of boys' comics king of "Weekly Shonen Jump".

On the other hand, "Doraemon", which is full of childlike fun and warmth, is like a fresh monsoon, quietly blowing into thousands of families in Japan, and planting a bright seed called "dream" and "friendship" in the hearts of those children who are still in elementary school.

Of course, the true king of this era is still the god-level program that has long broken through the scope of variety shows and evolved into a social phenomenon.

"Super Change".

When the fourth episode of the first season was broadcast on the last Saturday of September, the newly released ratings report was like a real hydrogen bomb, causing unprecedented shock in the entire Japanese television industry.

30.1%!

This number, like an insurmountable chasm, stands in the way of all variety shows.

It not only broke the highest ratings record in the history of Japanese variety shows, but also announced to the entire industry in an almost arrogant manner -

A brand new set of entertainment rules, belonging only to Hiroshi Nohara, has officially arrived.

……

Tokyo TV, the production headquarters building, the office of Asumi that has long become the power center of the entire TV station.

"Hiroshi-kun, you...you are an absolute monster!"

Asumi looked at the ratings report in his hand, which was enough to drive any TV station crazy, and his face was filled with undisguised ecstasy and excitement.

Beside him, Kei Tanaka, the man who had nearly sunk because of a failure, was now standing straight like a javelin. In his eyes, which had long since shed all dejection, were burning two raging fires that were enough to start a prairie fire.

"Deputy Director Asumi, you are too kind." Nohara Hiroshi just smiled calmly and pushed a brand new, even thicker plan to the center of the table.

"The success of the first season is just the appetizer. The real feast has just begun."

Asumi and Kei Tanaka looked at each other, and saw an irrepressible burning light in each other's eyes!

Now they all believed in one thing.

Produced by Hiroshi Nohara...

Must be a boutique!

They couldn't wait to open the grand blueprint titled "Super Change·Season 2·National Domination".

"National auditions! Regional competitions! Phone support! Text message voting!"

When these key words filled with the aura of kingship came into view, Asumi felt that his breathing had completely stagnated.

"Guangzhi-kun...you...you are going to...make the whole of Japan crazy about our show!" There was an uncontrollable tremor in his voice.

"That's right." Nohara Hiroshi nodded, his clear eyes flashing with absolute confidence.

"What I want is not just a simple variety show. What I want is a carnival that can bind all the people of Neon together."

He looked at the two people who were already shocked beyond measure by his words, and slowly threw out the final killer move that was enough to make this carnival completely out of control.

"Also, I suggest that we produce a video clip of the national auditions and broadcast it on... Kanto TV."

"what?!"

Asumi and Kei Tanaka jumped up from their seats almost at the same time!
They were a little confused.

I don’t know why this is happening.

That is their flagship program, "Super Change - National Audition Preliminary", which is originally just for selecting seed contestants. Why is it broadcast on Kanto TV?

Doesn’t this make “Super Change,” their ace variety show, less mysterious?

"You...what do you mean? Nohara-kun!" Asumi asked when she felt she didn't understand.

"That's what I mean." Nohara Hiroshi smiled brightly. "I want to tell everyone that the performances of losers are also very interesting. We can edit some very interesting clips ourselves and give them to everyone as a gift!"

"And it can also be used to warm up the atmosphere!" "Let those eliminated guys get some recognition, and let the local residents know why they were eliminated! And who will represent their region in the competition!"

“This also increases audience stickiness!”

Nohara Hiroshi said this with absolute certainty.

Because this strategy itself is a method of attracting audiences that has been played out by both Japan and China in the past!
Ming Hai stared blankly at the young man in front of him, who seemed to be born to subvert the rules. His heart, which had long been worn down by reality, began to beat violently again uncontrollably.

He felt that this was an unprecedented huge storm that was enough to involve the entire Japanese television industry!
The super thunderstorm is inevitable!
And the young man standing in the center of the storm will be the only king in this storm!

"Great! If this variety show plan is truly successful, then we'll have completely overturned the entire Tokyo variety show scene, and even directly overturned the variety show scenes of other regional TV stations!"

"It has completely penetrated the tightly guarded territory of other regions into our Tokyo TV variety show!"

Asumi slammed the table, his usually elegant and calm face now filled with a desperate determination: "Just as you say! If the budget is insufficient, I'll ask Director Sakata for more! If you're short on manpower, I'll move the entire production department over to you! I only have one request, Hiroshi-kun!"

He looked at Hiroshi Nohara, his eyes burning with a trust that was enough to entrust his life and death to him.

"We must win this battle!" Ming Hai's voice trembled slightly.

"We will."

Nohara Hiroshi just uttered these four words calmly.

The voice was very light, yet as heavy as Mount Tai.

Because he knew that he still held the ultimate trump card in his hand, which was enough to make all his opponents despair.

The name of that trump card is——

future.

Because Hiroshi Nohara knew that in his previous life, "Super Transform" would be successful all the way to 2025.

It's only 1990, why can't we succeed!?

……

In mid-September, when the summer heat in Tokyo was finally washed away by an autumn rain, a creative fire called "Super Change" ignited by Hiroshi Nohara himself spread across the entire Neon Islands with an unparalleled prairie fire.

This time, the propaganda front is no longer limited to the cold television screens and newspaper pages.

From the bustling Tanukikoji shopping street in Sapporo, Hokkaido, to the tropical-inspired open-air plaza on Kokusai-dori in Naha, Okinawa; from the perpetually bustling Glico sign in Shinsaibashi, Osaka, to the fashionable department store entrances in Tenjin, Fukuoka...

Bright yellow registration booths decorated with childlike fun and vitality appeared like mushrooms after a rain overnight in the most crowded corners of every core city in Japan.

Above the pavilion, a huge banner, inscribed in a captivatingly artistic font, read the slogan that would captivate anyone: [Imagination is your superpower! In three minutes, you'll be the next national star!]

Next to the pavilion, on a huge TV screen, the classic creative short films from the first season that are now enough to make people laugh out loud are played in a loop 24 hours a day.

In the pavilion, the staff, wearing uniform yellow T-shirts and with friendly smiles on their faces, were patiently distributing beautifully made brochures to every passerby who came for consultation.

Rather than being an audition for a variety show, this event was more like a grand festival that swept across the country and was filled with joy.

……

A rooftop during lunch break at a private girls' high school in Osaka.

"Hey, Mika, look at this!" A girl with a cute bob named Yuki was excitedly waving a brochure in her hand. Her bright eyes sparkled with eagerness to try. "Auditions for 'Super Mutant'! It's right here in Shinsaibashi! Should we...should we go and try?"

The girl called Mika, a quiet, literary-looking young woman wearing black-framed glasses, glanced at the comical image in the brochure imitating a "ramen chef tossing noodles" with her body. Her cheeks flushed slightly, and she said hesitantly, "This... is... too embarrassing, right? Wearing that tight outfit in front of so many people... I... I can't do it."

"Oh, what's the big deal!" Yuki waved her hand nonchalantly, her youthful face full of longing. "Don't you think it's cool to be able to express your ideas in such an interesting way? And look here!"

She pointed at the bolded rules for the prizes in the handbook, her voice rising an octave like Columbus discovering a treasure. "Sign up for the auditions and you'll get a free, exclusive, super cute 'Change Change' keychain! And if you make it through the preliminary rounds, not only will you get the keychain, but you'll also get a 10,000 yen bonus! 10,000 yen! That's enough for a luxurious barbecue buffet!"

"This...is this true?" Mika's eyes lit up instantly.

"Of course it's true! Look, this is a TV Tokyo program! It was planned by Mr. Hiroshi Nohara himself! How could it be fake?"

Yuki puffed out her chest, like a fervent fan defending her idol. "Besides, if we make it through the regional finals, not only will our appearance fee go up to 50,000, but our performance will also be broadcast on Kanto TV! That's... that's Kanto TV! Who knows, maybe we'll even be discovered by a talent scout and become real idols!"

This description full of temptation was like a key, instantly opening Mika's girlish heart full of fantasy.

She looked at the creative ideas in the handbook, and then looked at her own heart that had been imprisoned by boring textbooks for a long time and was unwilling to be ordinary. The impulse of youth finally overcame her pitiful shame.

"Then...then let's...go and give it a try?" Her voice was as thin as a mosquito, but her cheeks were already as red as a ripe apple.

"yeah!"

……

In the tea room of a large trading company in Tokyo, the air is filled with the smell of coffee, nicotine and the fatigue of middle-aged men.

"Oh, I've had enough. That bastard minister has dumped another mess on me. It looks like I won't be able to meet this month's KPI again."

A man named Tanaka Jushikaze was leaning against the window with a look of despair on his face, stubbing out the cigarette butt in his hand into the ashtray.

The face, which looked a little swollen due to long-term overtime work, was full of the numbness unique to office workers.

"Tanaka-san, don't look so sad."

A young colleague who had recently joined the company, Takeru Satoh, excitedly approached him and handed him a brightly colored flyer: "Look at this! 'Super Transformation'! That super popular variety show! They're holding auditions this Sunday in the square downstairs from our company!"

"Not interested." Tanaka Jushikaede didn't even bother to raise his eyelids, his voice filled with weariness of reality: "I don't even have time to sleep, so how can I have time for those childish games of pretending to be a kid?"

"Oh, Tanaka-san, you're out!" Sato Takeru's eyes flashed with a shrewd light: "This is not just a simple game! Look here!"

He pointed to the reward rules, also in bold font, on the flyer and explained, like a professional salesperson, patiently and persuasively: "Register for the auditions and receive a gift. Pass the preliminary rounds and receive a 10,000 yen announcement fee. Pass the regional finals and receive 50,000 yen, plus an appearance on Kanto TV. If...if we're chosen to go to Tokyo for the final taping, the announcement fee is a whopping 200,000 yen! And even if we don't win the championship, our performance will still be broadcast on TV Tokyo's official program!"

"Two hundred thousand?!" This number, like a thunderbolt, struck Tanaka Jushifeng's heart, which had long been numbed by the burden of mortgage and car loans.

"That's right!"

Sato Takeru's eyes lit up even more. "The most important thing is, look at these rules. They don't require you to have any talent, you don't need to be able to sing or dance. All they want is creativity! Aren't we two the ones in the company specifically responsible for creativity? We can just come up with an idea and sign up. Even if we don't get selected, we can still get a keychain for free. What if... what if we get selected? That would be 200,000 yuan for free! Tanaka-san, this is a sure-win deal!"

Tanaka Jushikaede fell silent.

He looked at the flyer, and in his eyes, which had long been clouded by the torture of the KPI report, there appeared a faint light of "heartbeat".

He thought of himself in college, when he was the ace screenwriter of the drama club and had an unrealistic dream of changing the world with his creativity.

However, that dream has long been worn away by reality, leaving nothing behind.

perhaps……

He looked at the energetic young man beside him, and then looked at his own heart which had been silent for a long time. It was the last little struggle of a middle-aged man, and finally, he lowered his proud head to the tempting interests.

"Then... then... let's go and take a look?" There was a little anticipation in his voice that he himself was not even aware of.

……

This creative craze initiated by "Super Change" and involving the participation of the whole nation swept across the entire Neon in an unparalleled manner within just one week.

From high school students in school uniforms, their faces brimming with collagen, to office workers in suits and ties, overwhelmed by the pressures of life; from housewives in aprons, toiling away at the daily grind of food and clothing, to retired seniors with graying hair but still a childlike innocence...

Countless ordinary people were completely ignited by the tempting reward and the huge sense of honor of "I can also become a star"!

For a time, long queues formed at the audition registration points in major cities in Japan.

The scene was comparable to the annual summer festival.

Crowded!

Behind this nationwide carnival, the young man at the center of the storm just sat calmly in his office overlooking the whole of Tokyo, looking at the registration statistics reports that were faxed in from all over the country like snowflakes.

"minister."

Tanaka Kei, the now-reborn Variety Show Manager, stood before him with a look of excitement on his face, his voice filled with uncontrollable enthusiasm: "As of 5:00 PM this afternoon, the total number of people nationwide who have registered for the auditions has... officially exceeded 100,000!"

"Furthermore, this number continues to grow at a terrifying rate! I estimate that by the time registration closes next week, the total number of applicants will reach at least... 300,000!"

Three hundred thousand!
This number made everyone present who heard it gasp subconsciously.

This is no longer a simple variety show.

This is a true carnival for all the people!
"very good."

Nohara Hiroshi just looked at the report calmly, with a faint smile on his lips.

He knew the war had begun.

And the result...

It's destined!

From the moment he decided to bring that plan that could revolutionize the times from that future time and space to this world.

The ending is already determined!
"Let the notification go."

He stood up and walked to the huge floor-to-ceiling window, overlooking the steel city below that had long been crazy about him. His voice was calm, but with enough confidence to attract the attention of the entire era.

"The second season of Super Change, the national auditions, have officially begun."

“Let the entire neon sky burn for our creativity.”

PS: I'm still asking for votes~ If any brothers can subscribe here, I'd be very grateful~
(End of this chapter)