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

"I've been keeping an eye on your comments section and public opinion in China lately, especially regarding Saber."

"After all, I'll be acting in it too, so I'll have to watch it."

"The most common thing I saw was, 'Run-ge is so splendid now that he doesn't have to act in bad movies.'"

Hamabe Minami lowered her head, her tone slightly out of control.

"You believe what they say?" Jun Sakurada couldn't help but chuckle.

"I don't have many film and television fans in China. Among those who started this, not to mention all of them, more than 70% haven't watched a single Japanese drama or live-action Japanese movie except for Kamen Rider."

"They probably only saw some clips of the movies I acted in, or maybe they didn't even see those clips, and they were just led astray by some sensational film reviews."

"In their eyes, films with a Douban rating below 7.5 probably aren't considered good films," Jun Sakurada comforted him.

To be fair, both Love's Unknown Path and Corpse Manor have their own problems and shortcomings, but it would be unfair to simply label them as bad movies.

To be precise, they are all ordinary works with small to medium investment and certain flaws. They are neither good nor bad, and while they won't be criticized, they won't accumulate much reputation either.

There were definitely criticisms, but there were also praises, and the box office results were quite good. For Jun Sakurada, who was still a young actor at the time, it was a good thing.

Therefore, he never blamed Minami Hamabe, even though she kissed him until his lips were swollen. She was willing to help him many times when she was still on the rise, which was a favor, not hatred.

"Are there any of my previous works that scored 7.5 or higher?" Minami Hamabe asked.

"Let me think... If it's the lead actor, the Kakegurui series should all have around this high score, right? The Battle of Archimedes seems to have around 7 points, but for the others... I haven't paid attention."

Jun Sakurada thought about it for a moment, but still didn't tell the truth.

If Minami Hamabe knew that all her works to date, including her representative work "I Want to Eat Your Pancreas", only "Kakegurui" scored over 7.5, and "Archimedes" scored 7.4, she would go crazy, right?

Hamabe Minami nodded, her expression finally looking a little better. If she could control her tongue from now on, and Sakurada Jun could coax her a bit, things might be fine.

But she couldn't resist asking, "And what about your name and 'Continue the Love Journey'?"

Sakurada Jun was silent for a few seconds before finally admitting honestly, "Around 8.3 or 8.5."

Minami's smile drooped again.

It can only be said that Minami-chan is really pitiful. As a child star, she once had slightly better resources than Kamishiraishi Mone, especially in terms of film appearances.

However, Mone Kamishiraishi already has two nationally acclaimed and commercially successful works: "Your Name" and "Love Lasts Forever."

Especially considering that "Your Name" is an exception, with no other lead role by Mone Kamishiraishi besides "Your Name," it alone can surpass the combined box office of all the films Minami Hamabe has made over the years.

"Love Will Continue" and "Our Love Is Abnormal" aired in the same primetime slot, but thanks to the support of a certain traitor, the former's ratings were twice that of the latter.

It also has an outstanding reputation. Not to mention in Japan, it is a masterpiece with a score of 8 or above in China. In fact, it is even higher than in the previous life because of Jun Sakurada.

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Mone Kamishiraishi also won Best Actress and Best Drama at the 104th Television Drama Academy Awards, making it a huge win.

Considering that Jun Sakurada, who played the second male lead, didn't even get a nomination, it's hard to say whether Shiraishi and Takeru Satoh benefited from Jun Sakurada's fame.

Poor Minami, she was unintentionally betrayed by her good neighbor and junior. The films she got were not as good as those of Shiraishi Mone to begin with, and now the gap is even wider.

The two were basically from the same age group, but now she's almost half a step behind Kamishiraishi Mone.

These past two days, Mone Shiraishi has been winning an award, while Minami Hamabe has taken on a new Kamen Rider series. The production quality is high, but it doesn't quite look like a representative work she can be proud of.

When outsiders mention her, the most common thing they talk about is the movie "I Want to Eat Your Pancreas" from a few years ago.

It would be a lie to say you're not anxious.

She has a pretty good relationship with Mone Kamishiraishi, who often inquired about Jun Sakurada and Minami Hamabe's relationship on set to gossip.

But seeing her best friend surpass her step by step, and the guy she cared about taking off at a rocket-like speed, how could Hamabe Minami possibly be happy?

"Take it easy, take it easy. You're only 21, two years younger than her. What's the rush?"

"Someone like you, who's always been so successful, wouldn't understand how we feel... What are you doing with your hands?"

Minami Hamabe was muttering something when she suddenly felt a warm sensation on the top of her head.

She then noticed that someone's hands seemed to be wandering, and her face immediately turned red.

"Oh no, it's become a habit. The main thing is that your lack of confidence and anxiety just now were quite similar to Xiaoqing before her debut, and I got used to it back then."

Sakurada Jun was annoyed and wanted to pull his hand back, but seeing that Hamabe Minami didn't seem to be so resistant, he simply left his hand alone.

"In short, I don't think you need to rush for now. Your Name is an anime, and it doesn't really boost the status of the two non-professional voice actors who are the main characters that much."

"At least in my personal opinion, you and Ms. Kamishiraishi are at about the same level, the only difference is that she got a good role this year."

"And then someone gave her such a big boost. People online are saying that you deserve at least 2-3% credit for the ratings of 'Love Will Continue'." Minami Hamabe pouted.

"Isn't that just a rumor?" Jun Sakurada chuckled.

Previously, the viewership ratings he contributed online were generally below 1%, but he single-handedly boosted the ratings of a tokusatsu series to a level even more exaggerated than prime-time dramas.

Public opinion has been forced to re-evaluate Jun Sakurada's box office and viewership appeal, naturally leading to all sorts of exaggerated claims.

But those who actually watched "Love Will Continue" carefully realized that although Jun Sakurada acted well, he was not particularly eye-catching. He wasn't good at handling such delicate characters and was purely there to hone his acting skills.

"If that's really the case, then wouldn't the reputation of Saber be even more outrageous this year? You were even the lead in the movie," Jun Sakurada retorted.

"Can you guarantee that things won't go wrong this time?" Minami Hamabe looked up, her expression miserable.

"I'll do my best, okay? After all, it's about my reputation." Jun Sakurada nodded solemnly.

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He is currently working with Keiichi Hasegawa and others to polish the script for the theatrical version. As it stands, it has some similarities to the Trio of Deep Sin, but it is also different.

Most importantly, at someone's insistence, the adult version of Luna, who had little presence in the TV series, had an absolutely leading role in the movie.

If they can maintain the quality of the TV dramas and further refine the already excellent action scenes and special effects... it seems they might be able to directly suppress the new Kamen Rider who plays the villain.

In any case, Jun Sakurada had high expectations for this film.

Having received Sakurada Jun's assurance, Hamabe Minami's mood finally improved considerably. "Then I'll be counting on you."

"This trust is incredibly heavy." Sakurada Jun nodded with a smile, then suddenly remembered something, hesitated for a moment, and finally spoke:

"As for catching up with me... that proposition itself is invalid."

"Not to mention that my experience in the film and television industry is far inferior to yours, and you still have so much room for growth in the future."

"Isn't your potential for advancement even more incredible? You even have international opportunities—"

"As for me, I'll probably gradually fade out of the film and television industry in three years at most."

Jun Sakurada's calm words abruptly interrupted Minami Hamabe's question, her bright eyes widening as if she had heard some utterly absurd joke.

"You? Retired? How old are you?" Minami Hamabe was stunned.

You mean a teenager who's not even eighteen yet, whose career is just beginning, is already thinking about retirement?

Three years? In 2023, three years later, Junya Sakurada will have just turned twenty, and he'll already be considering retirement?

Even Momoe Yamaguchi was 21 years old; you're even more amazing than her.

"It's not a complete retirement, it's just that I might not be as proactive in taking on acting roles in the future," Jun Sakurada explained.

Minami Hamabe exclaimed in disbelief, "You're just throwing away such a bright future?"

"I'm too busy." He shook his head slightly.

"I'm now a multi-talented person: agency owner, game producer, actor, singer, wrestler, internet celebrity... basically, a whole host of jobs to do. There's just too much backlog."

"For the past six months, I've basically left the game studio alone, letting them develop completely independently, which has freed up so much time for filming and songwriting."

"This is under the premise that the pandemic objectively gave me a long break."

He started counting his upcoming tasks on his fingers: "Once the pandemic is over and offline activities resume, I want to film Saber, I want to film Trigger, I want to make games, I want to go on tour, I want to sell albums, and I also want to find time to mess around with Johnny's Entertainment..."

"There are too many things to do, and it's difficult for me to keep up with them all."

"That wouldn't necessarily mean complete retirement, would it?"

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"Not entirely, it's just that I'm no longer taking on roles for the sake of my career. I'll probably only take on projects that I'm genuinely interested in and want to film, or maybe I'll just invest in and direct them myself."

"I probably will never have a job like yours, Minami, where you make nearly ten movies and TV series a year."

Sakurada Jun wanted to continue speaking, but then seemed to realize something and quickly shut up. Fortunately, Hamabe Minami herself didn't notice Sakurada Jun's strange behavior and was still shocked by her own thoughts.

Besides being overwhelmed with work, there was another worry that Jun Sakurada couldn't quite bring himself to say:

Filming in Japan is becoming increasingly risky.

Twenty years ago can be considered the last year when relations between the two countries were relatively normal. After that, Japan will cause more and more trouble.

This kind of antics is multifaceted and not limited to just one or two politicians.

In film and television works, all sorts of fancy and disgusting personal agendas are becoming increasingly frequent.

You never know when you might step on a landmine.

If Jun Sakurada continues to focus entirely on his career in the film and television industry, he will inevitably encounter unavoidable problems sooner or later:

Can he be sure he can identify every work that contains his own personal agenda?

Even if he could identify them, could he guarantee that each one would follow the path he remembered?

What if a director in this life suddenly goes crazy and throws in some big stuff during post-production editing and reshoots? How would Jun Sakurada handle that?

Even more so, if it's an NHK morning drama or a Taiga drama, using classic victim narratives...

They specifically requested Sakurada Jun to play the role, but his background isn't clean. If Sakurada Jun refuses, how much more trouble will that cause?

He was destined never to betray his true homeland, a stance that carries considerable risk in the Japanese film and television industry.

Since that's the case, rather than facing an abyss or walking on thin ice at the last minute, it's better to start early:

Do whatever you want, I'm retiring!

Being a well-known actor who isn't a regular cast member means less trouble. By establishing a persona of being "picky" in advance, one can have a good reason to refuse bad jobs.

In general, this decision is actually an extension of Jun Sakurada's previous strategy of "making the movies he likes," only executed more resolutely.

Hamabe Minami remained silent for a long time before saying, "You're being too willful."

She reluctantly accepted Sakurada Jun's explanation that he was "too busy," but still found it hard to believe.

"Isn't the point of living to do what you want without overstepping the bounds? Besides, it's not like I'm completely giving up acting. Maybe I can even become a director someday," Jun Sakurada chuckled.

"I'll come back to you to be the female lead then, and you can't refuse." Actually, Sakurada Jun doesn't really have any particular urge to direct anything right now, but when it comes to coaxing people, he'll say whatever sounds nice.

Hamabe Minami couldn't decide for a moment whether she felt sad for Sakurada Jun or envious.

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It's a pity that such a promising future has to be given up so easily, and that at 20 years old, one has to transition to a semi-retired state and start heading towards the Imperial Palace.

But the fact that Jun Sakurada could make this decision with such confidence... is truly enviable.

As for what Jun Sakurada said about personally guiding her and inviting her to play the lead role, Minami Hamabe should just consider it empty talk.

However, considering Jun Sakurada's resume and the decent overall aesthetic sense he displayed on the Saber set, this is at least a beautifully crafted promise.

After thinking for a moment, as if making a connection to something, she raised her right hand and extended her little finger: "So, it's a promise?"

Jun Sakurada didn't expect that a casual remark would elicit such a serious response from Minami Hamabe, but soon he remembered the pinky promise and commitment that ran throughout Saber.

Judging from the ease and naturalness of Hamabe Minami's gesture, she must have practiced how to make a pinky promise quite a bit in private.

It was clearly just a cameo role...

Thinking this, Jun Sakurada cleared his throat, made a simple adjustment to his facial expression, and revealed a standard sunny smile.

Suddenly, as if possessed by an evil sword immortal, if Minami were dressed in a white dress, she could be directly pulled into the Saber TV show and released.

"It's a promise!" They pinky swear.

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Second update, meow! No extra updates for the next couple of days, all released at once on the 8th, meow!

Give me some monthly tickets, meow! Thanks for the monthly tickets, meow!

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