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

Chapter 82 Harvest Time

Johnny's Entertainment is in trouble; they can't draw any more posters.

The popularity index is truly terrifying. The already enormous audience base is further inflated by this kind of data, making the numbers even more frightening.

When the milestone posters needed to generate popularity reached an astonishing 500 million views, both the art team and the publicity team were completely dumbfounded.

No, why are there so many?

Okay, okay, let's just show the popularity index first and then look at the revenue.

Then the numbers of transactions became more and more frightening.

The nearly 100,000 captains on just one platform like Ruizhan are already several times the price of a large concert ticket.

There are also gifts, SC, and other platforms —

And this is just the most obvious source of income.

As for those less obvious ones—

"President, our business cooperation hotline is ringing off the hook! In such a short time, we've already received endorsement and cooperation offers from nearly ten Chinese brands!"

"Our investigation revealed that these are mostly major brands with significant national recognition in China! Some are even household names!"

"President, this isn't just about revenue; it's also the best form of public relations for Nagano-san and his team!"

The commune members' voices were filled with ecstasy.

"Okay, let's stay calm for now. The only important thing tonight is the live stream. We can discuss business matters later."

"The most urgent task is to ensure the live stream doesn't cause any problems."

Hideaki Takizawa nodded, trying his best to maintain a calm tone, but the wildly upturned corners of his mouth betrayed his extremely happy mood.

What a wonderful Jun Sakurada!

Watching Sakurada Jun, who had finished singing on the screen and very consciously sat down on a small stool at the edge of the screen to begin translating and hosting, Takizawa Hideaki felt that only one word could perfectly describe his feelings at that moment:

Impressed.

He admired Jun Sakurada; in marketing, selling sentiment, and planning, he was a genius in a class of his own.

Because he was more involved in the entire project, Hideaki Takizawa saw more than Mary Kitagawa, and he knew that Jun Sakurada's version of the plan brought far more benefits than that.

For example, the brands that are now flocking to the market.

Logically speaking, given the fame of Ultraman Tiga and Daigo, Hiroshi Nagano should have been approached by countless Chinese brands long ago.

But in reality, almost all of them chose to wait until the live broadcast started, especially after the short film finished, before rushing to make their calls.

Why?

Because Hiroshi Nagano is not necessarily the same as Daigo, much less the same as Ultraman Tiga.

A character's popularity doesn't necessarily mean the actor's popularity; there's a big question mark between the two.

In recent years, many actors have become figures from childhood memories, but many of them only made a small fortune before leaving the scene in disgrace due to a lack of work or a career collapse.

Hiroshi Nagano is definitely much better than these people. After all, Johnny's has been a top-tier idol for over 20 years with absolutely no scandals except for the car accident.

But can he perfectly convert Daigo's popularity into his own?

Jun Sakurada answered: Yes.

In that short film, "What is Ultraman Tiga?", Hiroshi Nagano almost perfectly inherited all of Daigo's shining qualities, and added his own unique touch.

Gentle, trustworthy, kind—the key is that these qualities feel completely natural in Jun Sakurada's lens and performance.

While the most crucial reason is undoubtedly Hiroshi Nagano's consistent character, Jun Sakurada, who opened up channels for him to showcase his talents, also deserves immense credit.

After watching the short film and seeing the overwhelming feedback from the audience, the brand felt confident that they could confidently hire this handsome Japanese man.

As a result, endorsement invitations came in like snowflakes.

For the vast majority of Johnny's idols, the situation is completely reversed in this respect. Many people watch a certain show or movie not for the movie itself, but for the idol's box office appeal.

Even someone like Hideaki Takizawa, who has such a classic character as Yoshitsune by his side, didn't exaggerate to the extent that Hiroshi Nagano did.

So they wouldn't consider these things, but Jun Sakurada did. He successfully integrated Daigo into Hiroshi Nagano's work with a short film.

Now, this popularity and fan base completely belong to Hiroshi Nagano.

Throughout the live stream, Jun Sakurada incorporated countless other subtle design elements.

For example, V6, apart from Hiroshi Nagano, the other five members were actually in a somewhat awkward position on the set of Ultraman Tiga.

After all, they had no involvement in any of the recordings of Ultraman Tiga.

However, whether considering their star power or the interests of Johnny's Entertainment, the other members of V6 must have enough screen time; it's necessary to share the pie.

Even if the long-standing friendship prevents the other V6 members from being jealous of Nagano Hiroshi's immense wealth, Johnny's still has a responsibility to ensure that no issues arise that could affect V6's unity.

Similarly, Jun Sakurada also provided his solution.

He astutely noticed that when the Ultraman Tiga project was first launched, Tsuburaya Productions had envisioned bringing all six members of V6 together, along with Megumi Kijima, to form the GUTS team.

However, Tsuburaya Productions didn't have enough money to hire so many high-profile figures, which is why the current Victory Team exists.

This is a very good point to take advantage of.

Throughout the interview with V6, V6 was positioned as the unlucky guys who "discovered that their brothers had made something of themselves and that they had had the chance but failed to seize it," and they kept asking the members of the Victory Team all sorts of questions.

Simply put, the questioning part was handed over to the other five members of V6, who would occasionally joke around with the original GUTS members.

Of course, it's not the kind of bullying that's common in Japanese variety shows.

These individuals have all hosted numerous television programs, and each possesses exceptional oratory skills, allowing them to ask questions and engage in lighthearted banter with remarkable ease.

As mouthpieces for the viewers in the live stream, they asked the questions that fans most wanted to ask, which in itself is a great way to bridge the gap between them.

In this way, V6's appearance can be natural and will not be questioned by the audience as an attempt to piggyback on their fame.

This is another small detail that Johnny's, accustomed to its domineering ways, wouldn't notice, but Jun Sakurada wouldn't make a mistake on this point.

Also, because Lina couldn't be brought back, they specially invited Lina's voice actress to act out a scene with Mr. Jin Feng to indirectly fill in the gaps in the storyline. And because Director Sawai passed away, a small memorial segment was specially arranged.

Countless thoughtful touches, imbued with warmth and design, together maintained the warm and nostalgic tone of the entire live stream, effectively eliminating any opportunity for idle chatter.

This is the answer sheet that Jun Sakurada has submitted. Hideaki Takizawa firmly believes that, at least within Johnny's, no one can produce a more perfect answer sheet.

"Now, V6 has officially secured its ticket to compete with ARASHI for the ambassadorship position." Hideaki Takizawa suddenly thought of something.

Originally, let alone V6, even if the entire neutral faction were united, with Kinkids as their absolute main force, they would have a hard time dealing with the freakish ARASHI.

But Hiroshi Nagano, being a unique individual, became the only possible exception.

Now, this unexpected event has become a real adversary.

Even if Hiroshi Nagano earns more in China, it will be difficult for him to surpass ARASHI, which has been operating in Japan for over two years, in the short term.

But this title is, after all, "Ambassador for Cultural and Sports Exchanges".

What about ARASHI's exchanges? Apart from holding two small live events in Shanghai in 08, it hasn't really developed properly in China. What kind of exchanges are you talking about?

There wasn't a single group in Johnny's Entertainment that was suitable for this position, so it fell to ARASHI, a group with a lot of problems but which is indeed very popular in Japan.

But things are different now. Whether in terms of popularity in China or overall image, Hiroshi Nagano can almost completely overshadow ARASHI, which has a problematic figure like Sho Sakurai.

This title, which was originally just a pie in the sky for Jun Sakurada before he joined Johnny's, and which was never intended to be used, is now something that neutral parties can really compete for.

"It's a pity. If only we had given Jun a few more years to grow up, and let him rightfully take on this title," Takizawa Hideaki sighed with some regret.

As Jun Sakurada himself judged, he couldn't compete for this title this year.

Whether in China or Japan, he is not the most popular actor in Johnny's Entertainment.

But if Japan can bring this title back in a few years, such as at the next Olympics, then Jun Sakurada can compete for it.

At this time, Hideaki Takizawa was of course unaware that, due to some unavoidable natural disasters, the Tokyo Olympics would be postponed for a year, which made him quite regretful.

Meanwhile, Jun Sakurada is already quietly preparing for his ambassadorial title in 2021.

Although I can't remember if Japan came up with this title in 21, it doesn't matter. If there's demand, there's opportunity!

"Oh, by the way, tell everyone that today's live stream is over. After we finish up, we'll have a meeting the day after tomorrow," Takizawa Hideaki instructed after a moment's thought.

Although the live stream was only halfway through, Hideaki Takizawa felt that even if the live stream was suddenly cut off, as long as V6 and Jun Sakurada were okay, Johnny's could start celebrating.

So it's time to arrange the work ahead.

In the next phase, Hideaki Takizawa believes that, apart from preparing for V6's further trip to China, his people's most crucial task is only one thing:

They will completely mold Jun Sakurada into their next generation's absolute ace!

His two trump cards, Snowman and Sitone, have already set their debut dates and are ready to make their mark.

Among the remaining JR groups, although there are promising talents like Naniwa Danshi and Travis Japan, none of them can match Jun Sakurada's individual abilities and overall potential.

Even Michieda Shunsuke, who has relatively excellent personal qualities, is still not as good as Sakurada Jun.

Speaking of this, Hideaki Takizawa started to worry again:

Speaking of which—should we just airdrop Sakurada Jun into a major group, or build a junior team around him as the absolute core?

What about combinations?

It's so hard to choose!

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