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

"I'm going to become Smail Superman?"

Even as the moon rose high in the sky and he walked home after completing his initial plans, Junya Sakurada was still awestruck by this possibility.

No, aren't you guys at Johnny's pretty good at creating buzz? How did this even remind you of something?

To be fair, Jun Sakurada seriously considered whether or not he should act in tokusatsu (special effects) films.

It's no exaggeration to say that, aside from filming *that*, tokusatsu actors are probably the easiest to gain popularity in China among all live-action Japanese art forms.

The numerous tokusatsu actors with hundreds of thousands or even millions of fans in China are proof of this.

Compared to niche circles like Japanese music, dramas, and movies, tokusatsu (special effects) may not be a huge market in China, but it definitely has a considerable following.

However, the specific show he considered first was certainly not Triga, but rather—Kamen Rider Saber, to steal the job from the Evil Sword Immortal.

Although the special effects were lackluster and the show didn't have a great reputation in Japan, Saber was one of the few Reiwa Knights series that managed to tell a fairly classic story without compromising moral values ​​or creating a jarring plot.

With its likable characters, touching story, and decent popularity in China, the series has also spawned the highly discussed "Evil Sword Immortal" meme.

Saber is the undisputed number one in the Reiwa era until early 2026.

As for the Okubang, neither Superman nor Captain Sakurada are suitable for Jun Sakurada in terms of image and temperament.

Although his acting skills have greatly improved after the enhancement, his handsome face is not quite suitable for portraying the innocence of Superman or the experience of Captain America.

But... what if it were Smail Superman?

Without a doubt, Triga is a terrible movie, a disastrous one, especially compared to its predecessor, Ultraman Tiga, which it pays homage to. Triga is utterly humiliated.

However, even when something is bad, it needs to be analyzed on a case-by-case basis.

The hardware of Trigger is not bad at all, and it's clear that Tsuburaya Productions put a lot of effort into making a lot of money from this commemorative work.

The suit design is outstanding, the action scenes are the strongest in the entire Reiwa era, the budget is sufficient, the set construction is excellent, and the foundation is absolutely solid.

Its flaws mainly lie in its plot and character development:

The main characters are too flat and stereotypical; Smail's slogans in the early episodes are tedious; and the numerous episodic segments with unclear meanings take up a lot of screen time, causing the pace of the main storyline to accelerate at an alarming rate later on...

But at the very least, it didn't suffer from the same level of awfulness as those other "dark" works from the neighboring Knight's Pavilion, which were so bad they undermined their own foundation and shattered their moral compass.

Moreover, after experiencing the Hellish Battle in the later stages, the character of Smash Kenjiro still has a high level of recognition. Smail is Smail, but Superman is Superman.

Thinking about it this way... it seems like Triga really is a good choice?

After all, Jun Sakurada has Johnny & Associates standing behind him!

Back then, the Ultra Eight Brothers changed the plot at their request. Now, with Daigo's return, it doesn't seem difficult to get them to remove Hisaya Naoki and replace him with a more reliable screenwriter.

Once Triga's storyline catches up, coupled with its top-notch hardware and Hiroshi Nagano's personal return...

It seems to have a much higher potential than the Evil Sword Immortal!

Jun Sakurada had to admit that Johnny's Entertainment did have a knack for creating something interesting; they were able to come up with such a plan unintentionally.

What else could he say? He could only feel flattered and reluctantly agree to follow the arrangements of the agency and President Takizawa, and resolutely obey orders.

After a preliminary discussion with the V6 members, it was already 9 PM before we knew it.

After the initial excitement of pursuing his career wore off, even someone with Sakurada Jun's superhuman physique felt a bit tired.

This day was filled with the fatigue of travel and the high intensity of work, so the pressure was still quite high.

With a sigh of relief, Jun Sakurada took the train back to Nakano Ward, not in a hurry to go home.

It happened to be a little past nine o'clock in the evening, and the discount gurus at the nearby convenience stores should have already started their sales.

I just moved, and my home isn't yet big enough to cook for myself, so I'll just grab a half-price bento and make do.

Wearing a mask, Jun Sakurada strolled into the convenience store, casually glancing at the food items and their price tags.

Seeing that it was half price and the contents were to my liking, I just grabbed it.

In 2019, the yen had not yet depreciated so badly, rice prices were still at a reasonable level, and food in supermarkets was still relatively inexpensive and of good quality.

Although it's all cold food, sweets, and carbohydrates and fats, it just doesn't look healthy at all.

Before long, after selecting various bento boxes worth about a thousand yen, which he estimated would be enough for a meal, Jun Sakurada carried the basket to the beverage section, thinking he would just grab a drink and call it a day.

But after walking around a shelf, he paused, his gaze freezing slightly.

I know someone there.

The petite girl, just over 1.5 meters tall, was bundled up tightly and walked with a slightly shy gait. Surprisingly, behind her thick-rimmed black glasses were a pair of very beautiful eyes.

Her gaze was somewhat evasive, consistent with her overall introverted and shy demeanor, but in the fleeting moment when her eyes met Sakurada Jun's, he could see a glimmer of light within them.

She was the girl who was hit by a human-bombing gang on the road that day and lost her glasses, and was eventually found and picked up by Jun Sakurada.

In the instant their eyes met, the girl seemed to recognize Sakurada Jun's highly distinctive features based on only the upper half of his face, and was momentarily surprised and at a loss for words.

Sakurada Jun raised an eyebrow slightly and gently lifted the basket as a gesture of greeting to the girl.

He didn't approach her or chat with her; he was already practically a member of the entertainment industry, so she had to restrain herself from unnecessary interactions.

If he gets photographed by Wen Chun or some other busybody, he'll have nowhere to turn for help.

But after he finished getting his drinks and paying the bill, and walked quite a distance toward his rented old apartment building, he discovered that the girl was following him from a distance.

It seemed like it wanted to come up and talk to me, but it kept its distance.

"Hello, is there anything I can help you with?"

After circling around again and confirming that there were no loitering people nearby, Jun Sakurada stopped, pulled his mask down, and gave a fairly friendly smile.

You must behave appropriately; otherwise, you'll scare the little girl to tears and then there'll be no reasoning with her.

"No, I'm so sorry!" The girl was indeed startled by Sakurada Jun's sudden turn of his head. His voice, which was usually full of mature and sophisticated charm, somehow came across as weak and timid.

"I didn't mean to walk with you, but I just happen to live in this area! It's that apartment building!" the girl stammered, pointing to the Laoshi Apartment Building not far away.

It happened to be the building where Jun Sakurada rented.

"Oh? You live here too?" Sakurada Jun chuckled as he realized he had made a misunderstanding.

Thinking that we were neighbors after all, I decided to exchange names, so I pulled my mask down and introduced myself: "Sakurada Jun, I just moved to the seventh floor today. I'm here in Tokyo to attend high school. Nice to meet you."

"Aie? What a coincidence!" The girl belatedly realized what was happening and quickly took off her mask and glasses, revealing a cute little face with a slight blush.

"My name is Sawaki Ao... nice to meet you!"