I, Hiroshi Nohara, the star of Japanese cinema

Chapter 40 breaks 6%!

On Wednesday, Nitto Shimbun and Yomiuri Shimbun...

Those papers that were scrutinized by countless pairs of eyes on the commuter train were now like declarations of war splashed with ink. On the entertainment page, the largest font and the most gorgeous words were used to play a deafening song of victory for the animation called "Onii-bo Samurai".

In the photo, Masao Iwata stands side by side with the famous Mr. Matsumoto, smiling so confidently as if he had already won the entire April in advance.

What is even more glaring is that in the gaps between these eloquent hymns of praise, there will always be a few "objective evaluations" about "Anzhiju" that are filled with contempt and pity.

"...the painting style is crude, the production is rudimentary, and it relies on cheap shocks to attract attention. It is ultimately not worthy of being presented in a high-class setting."

"...the short-lived popularity of late-night blockbusters will eventually reveal their small-scale nature in the face of truly epic blockbusters."

"asshole!"

In Suzuki's classroom, Nancun Xing slammed his fist on the table. His young face flushed crimson, filled with anger at being publicly humiliated. "What is this? Stepping on us to get to the top? That's despicable!"

"This is no longer propaganda, it's a personal attack!" Hase Luzui was so angry that he was shaking all over.

Suzuki Seito's face was as gloomy as the sky before a rainstorm.

He stared intently at Iwata Masao's smug face in the newspaper. His old-school producer dignity was completely ignited by this blatant slander. He abruptly stood up and said in a deep voice, "I'll go find him! This despicable tactic is a disgrace to us in television!"

"Professor."

A calm voice, like a cup of tea, extinguished the rage that was about to spread throughout the office.

Nohara Hiroshi had stood up from the corner at some point. He walked up to Suzuki Seito, gently pressed his shoulders and shook his head.

"There's no need to go."

He picked up the newspaper, his eyes scanning the harsh words, a playful smile curling his lips. "You see, the more they curse, the more they tie us to 'Kibo Samurai'. Tokyo audiences are extremely curious. They'll wonder what kind of 'trash' is that this newspaper would go to such great lengths to criticize?"

"So they'll come to watch 'Dark Zhiju' to see how bad it is. But once they come, can they really escape? Once they find out they've been deceived, they'll retaliate angrily!"

He paused, and in his clear eyes flashed an almost demonic light that seemed to see through human nature.

"Traffic that is tainted by the negative is still traffic, and black fans are still fans. Sometimes, curses spread faster than praise."

He gently placed the newspaper back on the table, turned around and returned to his seat. He took out another thick stack of drawings from his bag, which was the newly completed opening chapter of the Dark Martial Arts Tournament, "Yu Yu Hakusho".

He carefully put the manuscript into a special envelope and prepared to send it to Shueisha's editor Tadokoro.

Seeing his composure and calmness, as if he was detached from the matter, the anger in their hearts miraculously subsided a lot.

As expected, Nohara Hiroshi's prediction was verified with an almost eerie accuracy in the following days.

On Wednesday, the ninth episode of "Dark House" titled "The Trouble" was aired, and the ratings broke through the 5% mark, reaching 5.02%.

However, the brief cheer in the office was soon overshadowed by another report - the second episode of "Ghost Shop Samurai", 5.68%.

On Thursday, the tenth episode of "Anzhiju" "Moon", 5.22%. "Onibo Samurai", 5.89%.

On Friday, the eleventh episode of "An Zhi Ju" - "Videotape" - had a 5.35% share, while "Kimono Samurai" - had a 6.07% share.

Masao Iwata's reckless publicity campaign, like a flood and a beast, brought with it huge capital power, pushing the ratings of "Onibo Samurai" to a new peak.

The wind direction within Tokyo TV also began to change quietly. The praise for "Kibo Samurai" was endless, while the miracle of "Anshiji" was gradually exaggerated into a "lucky" accident.

In Suzuki's classroom, the fire of hope that had just been ignited was suppressed by the cold data, leaving only a faint flame.

The air became oppressive again.

Everyone worked in silence, as if holding their breath underwater.

They knew that there were only two episodes left in the first season of Dark House, and the end of the month was just around the corner.

The title of "No. 1" that symbolizes glory, and the planning approval that determines whether "An Zhi Ju" can have a second season, are like swords hanging over his head.

Only Nohara Hiroshi remained calm as usual.

He seemed to be completely unconcerned with the outside noise. He only occasionally raised his head in between drawings and glanced out the window at the sky that was shattered by steel and concrete. His eyes were so deep that no one could understand.

Saturday morning arrived quieter than usual.

A deathly silence hung in the air, as if fate was about to strike. Everyone had arrived early, yet remained silently seated at their desks, awaiting the final judgment. 'Bang—!'

At this moment, the door of the classroom was suddenly slammed open by a huge force.

Hashijita rushed in.

Suzuki Seito was sitting outside at the time. Seeing Hashishita's sudden advance, which was very rude, he couldn't help but frown and said, "Hashishita, you are so rude!"

"Section Chief! Section Chief!"

But Hashijitaro didn't care. He waved the thin report in his hand. The action didn't seem like he was waving a piece of paper, but like he was waving a flag soaked in blood and glory that had just been taken back from the enemy's position!
His usually calm face was now filled with ecstasy and madness. He wanted to speak, but only a "ho ho" sound like a bellows came out of his throat.

He just slammed the report heavily on the table in front of Suzuki Seito with all his strength.

Then it seemed as if he finally recovered.

Gasping for breath, he said loudly: "Look at this! Look at the ratings!" Hashiichi Ichirō's voice was distorted!

"What's wrong?! Hashimoto-kun, did you find anything?!"

"Or is there something else going on?!"

Everyone gathered around, but when they saw the data above, everyone's heart seemed to stop beating at this moment.

"The late-night anime 'Anshiji' has the twelfth episode's viewership rating..." Hashijitachi finally caught his breath and, in a voice almost tinged with tears, read out the number that could overturn everything:

"6.01%!"

boom!
6.01%!

From 5.35% to 6.01%! A miraculous surge overnight!

In the office, there was deathly silence at first, and then, the emotions that had been suppressed for several days and were almost driving people crazy erupted like a volcano!
"We won! We won!" Nancun Xing and Chang Gu Lu Zou murmured to themselves.

But Hashiji Ichiro shook his head and pointed to another name on the report with an even more violent and trembling hand.

"No... more than winning..."

His voice was filled with an incomparable shock, as if he had witnessed the advent of a god.

"'Kimi no Sasuke'...their ratings dropped from 6.07% to...5.87%!"

Counterattack!
At the last moment, he counterattacked in the most incredible way!
The seemingly indestructible capital barriers and the overwhelming publicity torrent finally...collapsed in the face of the terrifying charm of "Dark Zhiju" that penetrates into the bone marrow and strikes the heart.

Suzuki Seito looked at the number and felt as if he was twenty years younger. He turned his head and looked at the young man in the corner who had been watching everything quietly from beginning to end.

Hiroshi Nohara simply put down the pen in his hand, faced everyone's gaze, and smiled faintly.

He knows that the audience's patience is limited.

Even the most glamorous packaging can't mask the emptiness of its core. When the novelty born of cultural barriers fades, all that remains is the boredom that follows aesthetic fatigue.

But fear, especially the fear that comes from daily life and from oneself, is like aged wine, the more you taste it, the more intoxicating it becomes.

Instead, he acquiesced to the black fans and black traffic, and attracted a large number of viewers.

Then these viewers became tap water.

Became a fan from a hater.

finally……

It’s accomplished!
"But I'm also curious, why did the ratings increase so dramatically?" Nohara Hiroshi was actually a little confused.

After all, "Dark Zhiju" was broadcast in the early hours of Saturday morning, and since many people had Saturday off, they had time to curiously see what it was like.

The drama "Dark House·The Finale·Pain" that I broadcast on Saturday is also one of the most climax types of urban ghost stories.

It will definitely attract a lot of audiences.

But I didn’t expect that the ratings it attracted would be so terrifying, right?
(End of this chapter)