I, Hiroshi Nohara, the star of Japanese cinema

Chapter 121 The Su Otome Zaibatsu returns to Neon! Nohara Hiroshi's plan continues!

"Minister, this is the latest data summary of the national auditions."

Kei Tanaka, the head of the variety show department who has been completely transformed, placed a thick report sheet respectfully on Hiroshi Nohara's desk as if he were presenting a battle report.

His face was filled with excitement at this moment.

"As of midnight last night, the total number of people nationwide who signed up for the 'Super Mutant Mutant Mutant Mutant' auditions has officially surpassed the 500,000 mark! Among them, the number of applicants from Osaka, Nagoya, and Fukuoka even surpassed that of the Tokyo headquarters! This... this is simply... insane!"

Nohara Hiroshi just calmly flipped through the reports filled with astonishing figures, with a knowing smile on his lips.

Of course he knows why.

I have to say that the Japanese people in the Kansai region, which is also the Osaka area, are more pragmatic because of their business.

I also prefer performing.

Japanese citizens in Kanto and Tokyo seem to be a bit concerned about their status. They always look tense when they go out. In simple terms, they are a bit pretentious.

However, the Kanto region and the Tokyo metropolitan area are originally their own territories.

It doesn't matter even if I have to maintain my status.

After all, the meat is still rotten in the pot, so you can eat it any way you want.

The reason why Hiroshi Nohara held auditions was because he needed to keep the audiences from other regions in his hands.

The good news coming from the Kansai and Osaka regions is indeed worth celebrating.

This is a good start.

"Very good." Nohara Hiroshi nodded and turned his gaze to another document, which contained an operations report on Misae's newly established "Future Comics Club".

The report was written by Meiya herself. Her handwriting was beautiful and had a certain seriousness that was unique to young girls.

The document details the five new comic assistants recruited since the company was established half a month ago, and their ongoing work on coloring and filling in the first volume of "Doraemon".

Everything is thriving and moving steadily towards the blueprint he has planned.

"Jingle Bell--"

The intercom on the table rang at this moment. It was Kitagawa Yao's voice, crisp and clear: "Boss, Mr. Tadokoro Masato from Shueisha is here and wants to see you."

"Well, let him in." Nohara Hiroshi arranged.

After a while, Masato Tadokoro came in almost jogging. His face, which always looked a little tired, was now filled with an excitement that was almost fanatical.

"Minister Nohara!"

He even forgot about formalities and respectfully placed a magazine, still smelling of fresh ink, on Hiroshi Nohara's desk: "Look! The latest issue of Weekly Shonen Jump! Your Doraemon is featured in the first issue, and the reader survey approval rating is... 98.7%! It breaks all the records for the first issue of any new author's work since the founding of Jump!"

He paused, as if announcing something even more significant, his voice trembling with excitement. "And more! Editor-in-Chief Torishima has personally approved it! The Dark Martial Arts Tournament arc of Yu Yu Hakusho will be the main focus of our JUMP magazine for the second half of the year, with a super deluxe edition! The cover... will be drawn by you personally!"

This is already the treatment of a pillar of the platform.

"Well, thank you very much." Nohara Hiroshi just smiled calmly, as if all this was just as it should be.

He looked out the window at the sky dyed golden by the autumn sun. On the grand chessboard that had already been laid out in his mind, all the pieces were in their places.

TV series, variety shows, animation, comics...

Four seemingly parallel battle lines quietly intersected in his mind, and ultimately, all pointed to the cultural empire called "Nohara Hiroshi" that was enough to attract the attention of the entire Neon world.

Nohara Hiroshi chatted with Tadokoro Masato for a while, and when the other party knew that he was busy, he said goodbye and left.

"Minister, here are today's newspapers."

At that moment, Kitagawa Yao placed a neatly folded copy of the Asahi Shimbun next to him.

Nohara Hiroshi flipped through the pages and spotted the report on the headlines—

The Suotome Foundation announced that its headquarters will officially relocate from New York City to Tokyo this year. The new headquarters will be located in Setagaya Ward...

Suotome...

This surname, like an imperceptible embroidery needle, gently pierced his memory that had long been wrapped in countless information.

He always felt that he had heard this name somewhere.

"Suotome Ai? Xiao Ai?" Nohara Hiroshi raised his eyebrows and instantly thought of the scheming young lady who would have a romantic relationship with his destined son Nohara Shinnosuke. It seemed that her surname was Suotome.

She is also the legitimate daughter of the Suotome family and the only heir to the Suotome chaebol.

This surprised him a little.

As time went by and the plot was about to begin, unexpectedly, various characters began to appear slowly.

This made Nohara Hiroshi feel a little strange.

"I hope I don't go back to the original plot line." He couldn't help but pursed his lips.

"Hmph, another one of those guys who's been pampered by the US and now sees the wind is blowing in his favor and is ready to come back and reap the spoils."

At this moment, a cold snort full of disdain came from the door.

It was Kei Tanaka who had returned.

He had obviously also seen the news that Nohara Hiroshi was reading in the newspaper, and a look of disgust appeared on his face.

"Bushi, please don't be fooled by these guys' glamorous appearances." He walked over to Nohara Hiroshi and lowered his voice, as if sharing some secret that shouldn't be revealed to outsiders: "This Su Otome family is not a good thing."

"Oh?" Nohara Hiroshi became interested.

"Their family, their ancestors made their fortune by reselling arms. In modern times, they seized the opportunity of the United States supporting our Japanese economy after the war, and made a fortune by providing oil and logistical supplies to the US military stationed in Japan. Later, they moved the entire family to the United States and became the most loyal lackeys of the vampires on Wall Street, helping them to reap our Japanese companies in the financial markets."

Tanaka Kei's voice was filled with suppressed contempt. "Now, seeing our Neon economy growing stronger and stronger, these guys, with their noses sharper than a dog's, have come back in disguise, under the banner of 'Returning to the Motherland, Building Our Homeland.' To put it bluntly, they're definitely coming back to do something bad!"

These words are filled with the most basic class hatred among the lower-class people, but they also reveal a cruel reality.

A running dog controlled by the United States.

Come back at this time.

There must be something big going on!
"Is that so?"

Nohara Hiroshi looked at the newspaper and saw the face of the current head of the Suotome Group, Suotome Matsuaki, who was smiling amiably in the photo. A hint of understanding flashed in his clear eyes.

It seems that the economic crisis is really coming.

Otherwise, as Kei Tanaka said, how could the Suotome Zaibatsu, as the spokesperson for the United States or the white glove, return to Japan on the eve of the economic crisis and before the economic bubble was punctured?

You know, when an economic crisis comes, it is a good opportunity for those who control a lot of foreign capital to buy at the bottom.

Japan is a fat sheep that has been raised for who knows how many years since World War II.

The meat all over the body is very plump and delicious.

I don’t know how many vicious wolves are eyeing us, wanting to get a piece of the pie!
……

A month later, autumn had already arrived in Tokyo.

There was a hint of crisp coolness in the wind, blowing away the last trace of summer's restlessness, leaving only the high and clear blue of the sky, like fine glass washed by water.

The sign of [Nohara Hiroshi·Independent Production Department] has long become an unforgettable landscape on the 17th floor.

This is no longer just a department, it is more like a high-speed independent kingdom full of miracles and legends.

“This is crazy…”

Asukai looked at the freshly released September ratings summary report in his hand, and an almost absurd shock appeared in his eyes.

He held the long-burned cigarette between his fingers.

Ashes fell.

But he was completely unaware.

On the report, the three curves were like three giant dragons that had broken free from all restraints, hovering at the top of the data chart in a brutal and unreasonable manner.

The fourth season of "Dark House" has seen both its reputation and ratings pick up after the "rectification" of the third season, and finally stabilized at a terrifying high of 15%.

For a late-night animation, this is already a myth worthy of being recorded in history.

The second season of "Wonderful Stories of the World" is like an unshakable mountain. It has maintained its ratings at a peak of 22% steadily, even with a bit of arrogance, and has put all its prime-time rivals under great pressure.

"Yesterday's Sakura" by the goddess of love, Matsumoto Keiko, has ended, and now another program is coming up that was booked for prime time in the first half of the year.

A heartwarming program about children and single mothers.

However, the ratings during prime time were only 18%.

He was completely overwhelmed by "The Wonderful World of Stories" and couldn't even breathe.

So much so that the first-level director’s face would turn black every time he heard the ratings.

But the most terrifying one is "Super Change", which just finished its first season.

Final viewership rating – 29.8%!

This number, like an invisible hammer, hit the heart of every TV person hard.

It not only broke all records in the history of Japanese variety shows, but also announced to the entire industry in an almost humiliating way - in the field of "entertainment", Hiroshi Nohara is already the undisputed and only king.

The ratings almost broke the terrifying 30%.

Although the ratings of variety shows are already high.

But Gao Cheng is like this.

It’s too outrageous!
"He alone supports half of our production bureau."

Ming Rihai exhaled a long breath of foul air mixed with tobacco and shock, and a bitter look of both laughter and tears appeared on his elegant face.

However, when his eyes fell on the public opinion report about the grand "national audition" for the second season of "Super Change", the bitterness turned into deep confusion.

"Hiroshi-kun, I still don't understand."

He looked at the young man across from him, who was leisurely sipping his black tea: "The format of the first season has proven to be perfect. We use the most professional actors to present the most perfect ideas; it's a sure-fire business. Why... why do we have to do this nationwide audition? Letting a bunch of inexperienced amateurs go on stage... this is too risky. What if... what if we mess it up?" These words expressed the sentiments of everyone in the industry.

They can't understand.

They really can't understand.

In their view, Nohara Hiroshi's move was like a miner who had already dug up a gold mine, but suddenly gave up the gold that was within his reach and turned to a wasteland full of unknowns to reclaim the land again.

This is illogical.

Nohara Hiroshi put down the teacup, his clear eyes flashing with absolute confidence.

He asked, "Deputy Director Ming Rihai, what do you think is the core of our success in the first season?"

"It's creativity." Asumi answered without hesitation.

"Yes, it's creativity." Nohara Hiroshi nodded. "But creativity will run out. Those fifty ideas in the first season that were enough to astonish the entire Neon world were squeezed out of my barren mind. I can squeeze out another fifty, another hundred. But one day, it will be like a well that has been drained dry, no more sweet water flowing out."

"And the national audition is to find new water sources."

He stood up and walked to the huge floor-to-ceiling window, overlooking the scenery of Tokyo city below, and explained in a calm voice:

"The wisdom of one person is limited, but the wisdom of millions of people is infinite. What I want is not a simple variety show. What I want is a platform, a platform that can inspire the purest imagination of all the people in Japan, which has been suppressed by life and worn away by reality."

"I want every ordinary person to become the source of creativity for our show. I want to make 'Super Change' an inexhaustible creative empire with 120 million screenwriters!"

Nohara Hiroshi's words were so powerful that they were like a bolt of lightning that cut through the chaos and instantly illuminated Asumi's brain!

He finally understood.

This young man, he's not even producing a show.

He is building an ecosystem.

An unprecedented entertainment ecosystem that is capable of self-circulation, self-generation, and self-evolution!
……

Meanwhile, in Osaka, Nagoya, Fukuoka...

Those local tyrants who once clamored to join forces to "encircle and suppress" Nohara Hiroshi are now gloomy and suffering one defeat after another full of black humor.

They invested huge resources, invited the best screenwriters, used the most advanced special effects, imitated the style of "An Zhiju", and borrowed the reversal of "The World's Strangest Stories".

But in the end, what was served on the table were dishes that looked similar but not quite the same, full of awkwardness like a clumsy imitation of a beauty.

“…No! Still no!”

Ichiro Gaiya, Deputy Director of Production at Kansai Television, slammed the ratings report to the ground. His face was filled with rage. "Why?! We've learned all the elements, so why aren't the audience buying it?! They all say our story doesn't have 'Nohara Hiroshi's flavor!'"

Because the report clearly stated that the ratings for the urban ghost story program they produced were only...

Only 2.77%.

Not bad though.

However, for Hiroshi Nohara's show, this is simply a joke!
"'The Taste of Nohara Hiroshi'..."

In the conference room, a screenwriter in charge of the script muttered to himself, and a look of deep fear, as if he had seen a ghost, appeared on his face, which had long been sallow from being worked up.

"I...I might...understand."

His voice was dry and filled with despair. "We...what we lack isn't creativity or technology. What we lack is that man's almost devilish, precise insight into human nature!"

These words caused the entire conference room to fall into a long silence.

They finally realized that they were not facing a simple competitor.

Instead, he is a dimensionality-reduction attacker who has already stood in a higher dimension and is overlooking the entire chess game in a way that they cannot understand at all.

……

In October in Tokyo, autumn is like a silent painter, quietly dyeing the edges and corners of this steel city with a bleak golden color.

Kanto Television.

As a direct subsidiary of TV Tokyo, it has long been like a dim satellite orbiting its mother planet.

As the acquired party, they took over the projects eliminated by their parent company, TV Tokyo, and broadcast outdated dramas. In this brutal war for ratings, they played an awkward role that was better than nothing.

Seito Suzuki, the production director who has worked at Kanto TV for nearly ten years, has had all his edges smoothed out by reality.

His life is like a morning drama with a pre-written script, dull and boring, and the end can be seen at a glance.

I thought that I could return to Kanto TV with my reputation as a second-level director and make a difference.

But all this is false.

After Suzuki Seito returned to the Kanto TV station he had longed for, he was completely trapped in a helpless atmosphere.

No rights to produce advanced projects.

There is not enough funding.

There is not even any talent.

All we have is a boring life, a future of living a life of idleness and waiting for death, and a group of people living in a daze.

However, half a month ago, a transfer order from the headquarters was like a thunderbolt that broke through the dead silence of the night sky, completely awakening his long-silent heart.

"'Super Mutant Mutant Audition Version'? Leave it to us?"

When Deputy Director Asumi personally handed the project plan to him, Suzuki Seito almost thought he was hallucinating.

He looked at the thin yet heavy plan, his eyes, which had long been clouded by the torture of reports and meeting minutes, were filled with disbelief and horror.

Of course he knew what "Super Change" meant.

It is a myth, a legend, and the scepter of God that Nohara Hiroshi used to subvert an entire era.

And now, this "scraps" of the myth, this "audition version" that seemed to be set up to appease those who were not selected and was full of consolation prizes, actually... fell on the head of him, a "second-class citizen"?

"Deputy Director Ming Rihai, this... this isn't appropriate, is it?" He stammered, trying to shirk this difficult task. "Our resources at Guandong Station... can't even compare to our headquarters. Such an important project, what if... what if we mess it up..."

After all, Nohara Hiroshi was the golden child he had promoted.

They are doing very well now.

Leave it to yourself.

If anything goes wrong, Suzuki Seito will be ashamed of his own loss of reputation!
Now Suzuki Seito doesn't dare to say that he cultivated Nohara Hiroshi. Every time he says it, he just says that he found a piece of gold.

If he still said that he was the one who trained Hiroshi Nohara, he would be laughed at to death.

"That's what Nohara meant."

Ming Hai simply patted his shoulder, his eyes filled with trust. "He believes in you. He said this show doesn't need fancy packaging or top stars. It just needs to record the most authentic, clumsy, and shining moments of ordinary people. That's enough."

So, under the confused and puzzled gaze of the entire industry, "Super Change Audition Edition", a program that sounds like a "collection of losers", was quietly scheduled to be broadcast on Kanto TV at 4:30 pm on Saturday, an awkward time period that can be called "garbage time".

Osaka, Kansai Television.

Ichiro Gawu looked at the program schedule and sneered contemptuously, "Hmph, the donkey in Guizhou has run out of ideas. It seems that kid's creativity is almost exhausted. He's actually using these unremarkable amateurs to fill the cast. It's simply self-destructive."

However, they were all wrong.

They simply could not understand Nohara Hiroshi's "ecological thinking" that was beyond this era and almost demonic.

On Saturday afternoon, when countless viewers were laughing so hard that their stomach muscles hurt at Tokyo TV's professional and perfect "Super Change", and were still not satisfied, they were pleasantly surprised to find that with just a click of the remote control and switching to Kanto TV, this carnival of creativity was... still going on!
Without the precision of professional actors, what replaces it is the clumsy cuteness of ordinary people that is full of life.

They saw a middle-aged man who tried to imitate Gundam with a cardboard box, but ended up tripping over himself on the stage and falling head over heels. His genuine embarrassment made the whole audience burst into laughter.

They saw two high school girls trying to imitate the "washing machine spin drying" with their bodies, but ended up rolling on the ground laughing because of their uncoordinated movements. The pure joy of youth infected every audience member.

They even saw a white-haired old grandfather using the simplest puppets to perform a "First Love Shadow Play" full of love and memories for his equally elderly wife. The simple romance made countless people shed tears of emotion amidst laughter.

Failure is also interesting.

Clumsy, but equally cute.

Truth has unrivaled power!
After the first audition program was broadcast, Kanto TV’s phone was almost blown up!

When the freshly released ratings report reached Suzuki Seito, he looked at the glaring number on it, which was enough to make his heart stop beating. He was like being struck by lightning and completely froze in place.

16.3%!

"boom--!"

This number, like a real atomic bomb, exploded throughout the Kanto TV station and the entire Japanese TV industry!

"I...we...did it?" Suzuki Seito said tremblingly.

He was like a traveler who had trekked in the desert for decades and finally saw an oasis, and he let out a cheer of ecstasy that had been suppressed for too long.

He won.

No, it was that man who won again.

In a god-like way that none of them could understand, but they had to kneel down to worship him.

Won!

TV Tokyo, 17th floor.

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

This is just the beginning.

The real killer move is still to come, in the upcoming show "Super Change Season 2" which has already been warmed up!
Because Hiroshi Nohara had also received the information. It was precisely because of the preheated "Super Change Change Audition Edition" that it attracted audiences in various regions who originally did not like Kanto TV or Tokyo TV and had a certain degree of regional protection.

I want to see how those actors from the local area who have entered the finals and entered Tokyo TV to record the variety show perform.

Even conflicts between regions were provoked!

(End of this chapter)