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

While Jun Sakurada was having a heart-to-heart talk with Minami Hamabe and working overtime filming Saber, many people were in a state of unspeakable entanglement.

20 was an extremely special year, with the pandemic causing the entire world to be in a state of stagnation for half a year and slow crawling for the remaining half.

Before we knew it, another year was coming to an end.

But as the year draws to a close, all sorts of troubles begin to pile up.

For example, certain bureaucrats in Japan who are in charge of culture, tourism, and diplomacy are finding this extremely troublesome:

Our ambassador from last year... wasn't that a waste of time?

2020 was originally an Olympic year, and the Tokyo Olympics were determined to give Japan a six-sided, warrior-level Olympics, further enhancing Japan's cultural and tourism value.

So over the past few years, things have been relatively harmonious, and relations with all parties have been quite good.

In particular, the friendship with its neighboring Eastern power is unprecedented in recent years.

All in order to ensure the smooth running of this Olympic Games.

As a result, they had basically calculated everything, but they hadn't anticipated the arrival of the major epidemic.

Everything that was originally planned was called off, and the Olympics were forced to be postponed to 21. And no one knows what it will be like then.

After all, on November 9th, the MKK team, which designed the highly acclaimed "Tokyo Eight Minutes" segment and was supposed to be the design team for the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics, quit.

If the Olympics were to be held in 20, they might actually be able to put on an opening ceremony that is above average and has a distinctly Japanese anime/manga style.

However, with this delay, certain humanoid creatures started causing trouble, and the situation began to spiral out of control.

Over the course of a year, the mkk team experienced a series of upsetting events, including being ousted from the decision-making level by Dentsu executives, being ostracized, and being disgusted by the drastically altered plans made by the usurpers. They had lost all enthusiasm for continuing to design the opening ceremony.

As soon as he started, it signaled the cancellation of the original opening ceremony, which had included countless anime characters such as Akira, Mario, Pokémon, and Sonic.

Instead, the geniuses at Dentsu designed a new version of the plan with the core concept of "mourning the dead and observing a moment of silence for the disaster".

While the pandemic is indeed a global disaster and certainly deserves our condolences,

But... isn't it a bit too sinister to use the Olympic Games opening ceremony, which is usually used to showcase national strength, culture, confidence, and inclusiveness, to do these kinds of rubbish?

Couldn't they have separated a segment for mourning and continued the performance normally at other times?

Perhaps only the Japanese, who are obsessed with the concept of Mono no Aware (the pathos of things), could come up with such a terrible idea.

Of course, the Japanese bureaucrats haven't realized yet that not every country is as enthusiastic about the concept of Mono no Aware (the pathos of things) as Japan. They just feel uneasy about the year-long delay and the multiple changes in leadership.

By 21, the successor creative team was embroiled in various scandals, including casting female celebrities as Olympic pigs and bullying, and was forced to resign.

Only then will Commissioner Yamamoto and Representative Tanaka truly start to panic.

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Besides the opening ceremony in the underworld itself, the postponement of the Olympics has also triggered countless side effects.

For example, the position of ambassador for cultural and sports exchanges between the two countries.

Ironically, in Sakurada Jun's previous life, this position belonged to Arashi.

Lan's performance in this position can only be described in two words:

Open for business!

Ultimately, Lan's pursuit of the ambassadorial position was never about promoting exchanges and friendship between the two countries; she was simply after the benefits that the title could bring.

They even intend to turn the bonuses into part of their job duties.

They clearly lacked the ability to hold a concert at the Bird's Nest, and were forced to use their official status as ambassadors to obtain China's green light in order to complete the construction of this spectacle.

In the mouths of fans, it became "In order to promote friendly cultural exchanges between the two countries, a concert is planned to be held at the Bird's Nest in Beijing".

In fact, this was the only friendly exchange activity that Arashi had planned for 2020 that was truly worth mentioning.

Besides... does opening an official Weibo account also count as friendly communication?

How did someone who doesn't even have a China account get chosen as an ambassador? We can only say we're kept in the dark.

When the pandemic broke out and the concert was canceled, the ambassador title lost much of its value. It was worthless except for being used as a shield by the dutiful sons and grandsons after the brothers' scandals.

Na Lan naturally became too lazy to operate it. When some people questioned it, she said that the pandemic made it inconvenient, and she had originally planned to do it but was forced to cancel. Anyway, they always had a reason.

Therefore, in Jun Sakurada's previous life, the few things Arashi did throughout 2020 that could be considered as promoting exchanges between the two countries were... posting on Weibo.

Even the quantity and content of their posts are lackluster, far inferior to the management of some artists with a positive attitude towards China.

By the end of 2020, we're sorry to say, but we'll be suspending our activities indefinitely. Goodbye!

After some deliberation, the Japanese officials realized that the ambassador's efforts hadn't really been effective, so they decided not to send him next year.

Therefore, in 2021, the so-called "Year of Promoting Cultural and Sports Exchanges" was discontinued, and there were no more so-called ambassadors.

Even though this year is the actual Olympic year.

But in this life, the situation is clearly different.

Lan neither opened the Bird's Nest that she had always dreamed of nor obtained the position of ambassador. Instead, V6, which was far more popular among Chinese people and had a better business attitude towards China, took their place.

The guys at V6 are honest people; they really do their jobs.

A year has passed since the official announcement, and even though the pandemic prevented offline activities from taking place, they have been diligently promoting the event online.

Japan's culture and cuisine, along with its promotion of Olympic-related content before the Games even began, made Chinese people, who already had a positive impression of the Tokyo 8-minute segment, even more eager for the Tokyo Olympics.

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Especially Hiroshi Nagano, whose fame and popularity in China are so high that even before resigning, MKK was considering whether to put Ultraman in the opening ceremony.

In conclusion, the diligent V6 did a good job, at least satisfying the Japanese authorities.

If this was achieved even with offline interactions cut off and no official events, wouldn't the effect be even better next year when the situation improves and events can be organized?

Therefore, the winds shifted. Rather than canceling it outright and causing a huge mess, the relevant departments were more inclined to let V6 continue operating for another year, at least to fulfill its responsibilities during the Olympic year.

However, while the idea was beautiful, reality was cruel.

When Commissioner Yamamoto contacted Johnny's, he saw President Fujishima Keiko, who had recently seized power, turn pale and, after a long while, manage to squeeze out a sentence:

Sorry, v6 is disbanding.

In fact, V6 is already in a state of being physically in one camp but mentally in another, and six resignation letters have long been placed on Fujishima Keiko's desk.

The only reason they haven't officially announced their departure from the company yet is that their farewell tour hasn't finished.

According to the plan, although the six members could continue to work together after moving to Hakimi, without the copyright to their old songs, the three MN and NTY members each wanted to focus on their own careers.

It seems unlikely that this concert will ever be held again.

In addition, although he harbored resentment towards Johnny's Entertainment, he didn't want to upset the fans who had been with him for over twenty years.

That's why they were willing to stay a little longer, at least to finish the farewell concert.

If the situation improves next year, then we'll start offline patrols.

If things don't improve, then we'll settle for second best and hold a few grand online tours as a farewell to our 26-year career.

However, in any case, Johnny's V6 could not maintain its system until the Olympics.

Well, I finally found someone reliable and hardworking, but they disbanded their own team.

Should the ambassadorship still be established?

Fortunately, when the message was relayed to the V6 members themselves, Hiroshi Nagano provided a solution:

He recommended Jun Sakurada as his successor to the ambassadorship.

In response, relevant departments in Japan held a special meeting.

Does Jun Sakurada qualify? Absolutely.

In terms of popularity in China, he and Hiroshi Nagano are far ahead of all Japanese stars. In terms of their dedication to their work, there is no one else in Japan who is more hardworking than him.

Putting everything else aside, her Mandarin is absolutely at a native speaker level. In the entire Japanese entertainment industry, apart from Chinese people with green cards, is there any other Japanese person who can compare?

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Even considering the Olympics, Jun Sakurada, who is widely recognized in the sports world for his superhuman physical abilities, could certainly play a role in promoting and advancing sports.

Objectively speaking, it's good in every way.

Just ...

"Isn't Jun Sakurada's attitude towards China a little too friendly?" Someone raised this question at the small meeting.

Although Jun Sakurada has always been restrained in his statements on China in order to avoid being labeled a "daytime critic" too early.

But even with his best efforts to restrain himself, his instinctive strong bias towards China was enough to make some conservative old folks uneasy.

What they want is people who are friendly to China, not Chinese people who are biased towards foreign powers.

However, at the crucial moment, some people chose to believe: "I think Jun Sakurada is very suitable, and he knows what he's doing."

"Although he did show a strong affinity for China, that was mainly because China accounts for the majority of his fans and revenue."

"But on important matters, he and his Hakimi are both well-informed."

"At the beginning of this year, Hakimi was the non-governmental organization in Japan that donated the most to China, but the amount of donations did not exceed their donations to their home country."

"Jun Sakurada is a shrewd and intelligent man; he knows exactly where the boundaries are."

"Furthermore... if we disregard Jun Sakurada, are there any other suitable candidates among you gentlemen?"

That's it. Apart from Jun Sakurada and Hiroshi Nagano, where else in Japan can you find a superstar who has a huge influence in both China and Japan and is willing to take on this job?

There was no Ai Fukuhara in the entertainment industry, but there was one in the sports world.

But Ai Fukuhara had already done it once in 2007, so it wouldn't be right to ask this veteran actress to do it again.

And would those artists who aren't that dedicated to their work really be willing to take on this job?

If he performs worse than Nagano Hiroshi, he will inevitably face another round of ridicule.

After much thought, it seems there are only two solutions left:

Either abandon it completely, or let Jun Sakurada take over.

Choose.

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Coincidentally, while the relevant departments in Japan were arguing fiercely, another group of people were also arguing heatedly over certain choices.

"Can I not vote for this year's Game of the Year?"

"Why doesn't any of them look like champions?"

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"Golf, reheated rice, canned goods, L... how come it seems that after looking at everything, the indie games are actually the best performing ones?"

When players saw the Game of the Year nominations from the Golden Joystick, they were instantly struck by a chilling feeling.

It's not that this year's nominations are bad, but among the twenty Game of the Year nominees given by Golden Joystick, there isn't a single one that seems 100% deserving of the title.

Twenty models... and not one of them is universally agreed upon.

The most promising sequel, The Last of Us Part II, delivered the most epic storyline of the year, making countless players start to rage at the mere mention of golf.

Even though it's top-tier in every other aspect this year, the gameplay experience is still extremely poor.

But apart from The Last of Us Part II, which at least has the makings of a champion, the other works... well, you could say they weren't even at the level to compete for the year.

Animal Crossing lacks a main objective;

Tsushima Island and Valhalla, canned goods;

The Marvel Spider-Man, Miles Morales, is too reusable and feels more like a rehash than a new film.

Half-Life: Alyx is a premium game, so the barrier to entry is a bit high and the audience isn't that large.

……

In short, they lack the look of champions.

It seems like it could be given to anyone, but it also seems like no one is really worthy of it.

However, considering the global lockdowns of 20 and the fact that many major companies delayed their projects, resulting in a slow year for the gaming industry, such disagreements are understandable.

How about we just submit some random bids?

Initially, the players thought that not many people voted, and the voting methods were arbitrary.

Animal Crossing, Hundred Demons, Tsushima Island... these games, which received both The Attraction Awards and the Golden Joystick Award nominations, garnered relatively high vote counts, but unique games such as Ori also received considerable votes.

However, at least in China, not many people want The Last 2 to win the final award.

The plot of The Last of Us Part II is no longer just controversial, it's downright atrocious.

The game begins by killing Joel, who has been with players throughout the entire game and whom they have developed deep feelings for, in the most cruel way in front of Ellie.

Then, after letting players, fueled by vengeful anger, control Ellie for half the game, they are suddenly forced to control Abby, compelled to "experience Abby's hardships?"

Then, in the end, they throw a forced forgiveness ending in front of everyone, forcing the players to swallow it?

This isn't a game; this is clearly psychological bullying.

Players' expectations as the last survivors were completely disregarded, replaced by arrogant preaching and so-called "deep exploration of the story."

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That's easy. Since you don't respect the players, then the players don't need to respect you either. You shouldn't accept any awards that players can vote for.

If the other side isn't afraid of being criticized, then feel free to do whatever they want, but for the gold joystick, the players still have some say in the decision.

However, many people don't think that way.

For example, the media, or a mentally disturbed person, or...

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First update! A big update tomorrow! Just a reminder to all readers interested in the monthly ticket giveaway, hurry up!

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