Tokyo: My obsession with China led me to become the king of Japanese entertainment.

Jun Sakurada sat back down in front of his computer camera. This time, he didn't even bother with lighting or anything like that. He simply opened the live streaming software on Ruizhan and started broadcasting.

As a Japanese person, at least physically Japanese, his social media accounts as a game producer were all Chinese apps: Sweet Potato, Ruizhan, Douyin, Kuaishou...

On the contrary, he doesn't bother to manage the social media platforms commonly used in Japan, such as Instagram and Twitter.

Jun Sakurada understood this very well: if he wanted to go back to his old profession and continue making indie games, he could not rely on the market of these Japanese otaku.

Whether it's the deeply ingrained user habit of using consoles as the core platform and rarely playing PC games, or the extremely high standards for art, anime girls, and Japanese culture, neither of these can be satisfied by him alone now.

Besides, there are only so many Japanese users on the Steam platform, why should he bother to please these picky and non-paying idiots?

In contrast, the domestic market at this time, although the number of Steam users had not yet exploded during the pandemic, was still far greater than that of the Japanese, who were mostly shut-ins.

Moreover, as long as there is something that can move them, our lovely Chinese compatriots will really support them with real money!

Before his transmigration, Jun Sakurada had seen similar news stories more than once: a game made by a small foreign studio was accidentally discovered by Chinese players, resulting in hundreds of thousands of sales and bringing the entire studio back to life.

If foreigners can make this money, why can't a pseudo-Japanese person with a pure Chinese core make this money?

At this point in 2018-2019, Meiliya hadn't filmed Sisters Who Make Waves yet, and Xiao Gao and Gang hadn't been repeating "Please support 100 Days of War" every day.

Shizuku Lulu and Mashiro Kanon, these chosen Chinese VTubers, haven't even started airing yet, and even Vlav, an industry veteran, has only just begun his transformation.

Since there are always people who can monetize the growing patriotism of the Chinese people, why can't it be Jun Sakurada?

At least he is a genuine Chinese, and his love for his fellow Chinese and China comes from the bottom of his heart, unlike some hypocrites who say one thing to your face and another behind your back.

"Huh? Jun is streaming again? Didn't he just end his stream an hour ago?"

"Is there some new work to be done?"

Click to start the live stream, and the software will start streaming. Soon, many people will flood into the live stream room, and curious comments will start to appear.

Over the past year, Jun Sakurada has been dedicated to building an image on the Chinese internet as a "15-year-old Japanese developer who has learned Chinese and Chinese culture on his own and loves China," which can be considered very successful.

After all, who wouldn't like a foreign teenager who is exceptionally good-looking and genuinely willing to spend time learning about and understanding Chinese culture?

After the Early Access version of Yokai Survivor was released, his fan base grew rapidly, now exceeding 100,000.

"Dear Chinese players, hello everyone, I am Jun from Hakimi Studio." Jun Sakurada gave the camera a charming smile, using the same unchanging opening line as always.

"I apologize for broadcasting twice in one day, because a slightly unexpected and special situation just happened."

The comments paused for a moment, then surged even faster.

"Special circumstances? Did he get confessed to? Or has Jun finally come to his senses and decided to debut as the center?"

"I'm guessing the latter. Jun's face is probably the reason he gets confessed to all the time. He probably just finished filming and went out for a walk, which caught the eye of a talent scout."

"Can't it be a family problem?"

"What do you report to us about family problems?"

"That's right, so every day we shout three times: Debut! Debut! Debut!"

The comments section was full of nonsense, but surprisingly, it was quite close to the truth. Fans almost didn't think too much about it and concluded that Jun Sakurada's so-called "special circumstances" were likely related to his debut.

There's no way around it; being too handsome has its advantages. More than half of his hundreds of thousands of fans were attracted by his good looks and then gradually became his game players.

Seeing that the comments had guessed most of it, Jun Sakurada didn't keep them in suspense any longer. He picked up the notice from beside him and said seriously:

"Although the process was a little different from what everyone guessed, the result was pretty much the same as what everyone expected:"

"Johnny's somehow obtained my personal information and sent me an interview invitation."

As he spoke, he showed the audience the invitation he had received.

The chat, which had been going on for a moment, suddenly paused, and then exploded:

"No, we were just kidding, are you serious?"

"Holy crap, my bro's made it big! I'm so proud!"

Amidst the commotion, someone suddenly posted a comment that was both hilarious and absurd:

"But, what exactly is Johnny's? Is it that world record organization?"

It's no wonder that the commenters are ignorant; expecting a group of young Chinese gamers to understand the highly Galapagos-like idol ecosystem of the neighboring island nation is indeed a bit too much to ask.

Jun Sakurada's tone remained calm:

"Johnny's is the largest male idol agency in Japan, and it almost monopolizes the male idol market in Japan."

"The TV programs I watch at home, whether they are dramas, variety shows or music programs, always feature artists from their agency."

"Those who are relatively well-known in China... let me think... such as Masahiko Kondo, Takuya Kimura... and Hiroshi Nagano, who plays Daigo Mado, are all artists under Johnny & Associates."

If it were a native Japanese person, when giving examples of Johnny's artists, besides Takuya Kimura, they would mostly cite some currently popular ones, such as Ryosuke Yamada or Tomohisa Yamashita.

But as a Chinese at heart, Jun Sakurada naturally knows best what kind of people can arouse the audience's interest.

really--

"Holy crap! What a scumbag! Give me back my Nakamori Akina!"

"So it turns out that the rumored reason Gatko's contract wouldn't allow him to return to play Ultraman Tiga was Johnny's Entertainment! I want to see Ultraman Tiga!"

"Takuya Kimura... I feel like I've heard that name before..."

Takuya Kimura, who is considered the GOAT of Japanese male idols, actually generated the least discussion, with most viewers' attention drawn to the scumbag and Daigo.

Jun Sakurada was very satisfied with the effect. The higher the audience's enthusiasm and the stronger their curiosity, the more attractive the show he was going to announce would be.

Look at the skyrocketing number of viewers in the live stream and the soaring SuperChat chat volume—that's all the hype!

"If that's the case, then Jun isn't really going to consider debuting, is he?"

Finally, after a while, someone in the live chat asked the question that Sakurada Jun had been waiting for.

Sakurada Jun immediately pretended to have just seen the comments, frowned and thought for a while before solemnly speaking:

"Please rest assured, I have no plans to enter the entertainment industry at the moment."

Immediately, the live chat was filled with question marks again.

What do you mean? You called everyone out, but after all this time you didn't plan to go?

"There are two main reasons for making this decision. First, I have always considered myself a game developer and producer, and with everyone's support, my first game has achieved a small but significant success."

Jun Sakurada's gaze was sincere.

"If I really join Johnny's, the work and study pressure will be enormous, and I definitely won't have enough time to make games. Also, Johnny's won't allow me to freely manage my social media accounts."

"It would be absurd and unacceptable for me to lose you, my fans, just to become an idol."

This statement unsurprisingly sparked a wave of gifts and numerous comments praising Jun for his generosity.

"Besides that..." When he got to the second reason, Jun Sakurada paused, looking troubled. "It involves some negative news about Johnny's Entertainment, and I can't say anything here for fear of being sued."

This is obviously a ploy to lure people in. The things that are inconvenient to say are not secrets on the Internet. With so many viewers in the live stream, there must be some who know what's going on.

Sure enough, not long after, someone posted a striking comment:

"Johnny Kitagawa, the president of Johnny & Associates, has been embroiled in scandals for years. He is keen to imitate the old stories of Beast Senpai and Dong Zhuo. I remember that even about 10 years ago, when that old man was already eighty years old, there were still similar rumors."

"And he probably drove them to a psychological breakdown. Many Johnny's executives who started as idols have had similar scandals to varying degrees."

"A handsome boy like Jun would likely face severe consequences if he went to Johnny's Entertainment."

The moment the eye-catching comment appeared, the live chat exploded without any suspense.

2019 was a time when philosophy and homo culture were flourishing on the website, and at that time, a scandal involving a Japanese old man was enough to ignite the emotions of the audience.

Once emotions are ignited, the live stream becomes lively. And when it's lively, more and more newcomers will join.

it's time.

Jun Sakurada skillfully suppressed the slight smile at the corner of his mouth, his face still full of sincerity:

"In conclusion, at least in the short term, I will not consider transitioning into an idol or actor and working in the entertainment industry."

"But—" he changed the subject, "I might attend this interview."

Seeing the screen full of question marks, he smiled slightly and explained while searching on the Rui website:

"Originally, I didn't want to go, but I suddenly remembered that there was a video that seemed to be very popular on the Chinese internet recently."

"And this... seems to be considered an idol dance as well."

As he clicked on a video, a self-introduction that was familiar to almost everyone in the audience began to play:

"Hello everyone, I'm an individual trainee who has been training for two and a half years... I like singing, dancing, rapping, and basketball."

After the video started playing, the comment section was frozen for almost ten seconds, followed by an overwhelming flood of comments.

"Holy crap! All because of that!"

"What am I doing? I saw Chicken Bro in a Japanese person's live stream?"

"I suddenly realized what Jun was up to! Are you serious?!?!"

The live stream was filled with chatter, gifts, discussions, and mostly question marks, raising its popularity to unprecedented heights.

Amidst this fervor, Jun Sakurada smiled faintly and nodded vigorously:

"That's right, consider it a way to thank all the esteemed Chinese players for their strong support of Hakimi Studio and 'Yokai Survivor'."

"I'll be participating in the upcoming Johnny & Associates Jr. audition, and I'll be performing 'Because You're Too Beautiful' in front of the interviewer—who might just be Johnny Kitagawa himself!"