I, Hiroshi Nohara, the star of Japanese cinema!

Takashi Yasui and Nagaan Ito came in.

"Deputy Director Takada." The two men bowed respectfully to the mountain-like figure.

"Yeah." Takada Shunying didn't turn around, but just made a nasal sound in response, and then asked in a voice that was so flat that it was almost indifferent: "Iwata, how are things going?"

Iwata Masao's body trembled violently, and he quickly raised his head. His voice was hoarse, but filled with an eagerness to take credit: "Hey! Deputy Director! It's all done! I've mobilized all my connections, from the Tokyo Sports Daily to the Nikkan Gendai, and all the entertainment sections of mainstream media, and I've even contacted several major local newspapers in Osaka and Nagoya!"

He tremblingly took out several newspaper drafts from his briefcase and presented them with both hands, his posture like a hound eager to present its prey to its master.

"This is their front-page preview for tomorrow's show. I've already drafted the headline: [From 'Urban Tales' to 'National Variety Show'! Can the talented Nohara Hiroshi's crossover legend continue his brilliance?!]"

"Very good." Takada Toshihide finally turned around slowly. He took the drafts and glanced at them casually. Finally, a satisfied smile appeared on his gloomy face.

He turned his gaze to the two silent variety show aces and asked, "Have you two been to the show? What was it like?"

"That's just like that." Yasui Takashi shrugged, his gesture like a cat playing with a mouse, full of undisguised contempt. "Deputy Director, with all due respect, that wasn't even... a variety show recording."

"Oh?" Takada Toshihide asked curiously.

"What I saw wasn't an impromptu collision, nor was it a random joke, nor was it the kind of 'live feeling' full of uncertainty that belongs in variety shows."

Yasui Takashi shook the glittering gold Rolex on his wrist, a hint of sarcasm curling up his lips. "What I saw was a group of actors following an incredibly detailed script, like puppets, precisely executing every movement and every expression in front of the camera."

"That's right." Ito Changan's eyes flickered with cold sarcasm, and his assessment was more concise and harsher: "He's not filming a variety show, he's using the style of a movie to shoot a show... full of childish fantasies, a kindergarten-level pretend game!"

"Playing house game? Such a low evaluation?" Takada Toshihide's smile curled up even more.

He believed in the professionalism of these two people.

"He simply doesn't understand the soul of variety shows! The soul of variety shows is 'people'! It's the inimitable chemistry that occurs in that instant between the stars and the audience! And yet he's trying to stifle that soul with a script! It's simply... putting the cart before the horse, incredibly foolish!"

Ito Changan's words were absolutely confident, and they also revealed an iron rule in the variety show field that they firmly believed in.

"Very good." The smile on Takada Toshihide's face became even more intense.

He looked at Iwata Masao, and his expression immediately turned cold: "Iwata, did you hear that?"

"Yes! Deputy Director!" Masao Iwata replied immediately.

"Add their 'professional reviews' to the mix. Find a few strong writers to raise the tone a bit, saying things like... 'the arrogance of genius,' 'the paranoia of an amateur,' 'using movie logic to challenge the ironclad rules of variety shows is bound to be a spectacular suicide.'"

"I want everyone to know that the young man who was praised as a god, he can't even do a variety show!"

Takada Toshihide said it in a more sophisticated way.

"Hi!"

Iwata Masao nodded heavily, and a faint, will-o'-the-wisp light of resentment yet excitement rekindled in his hollow eyes. "Deputy Director, don't worry! I've left the pager numbers of numerous presidents and editors-in-chief at various newspapers! I promise to push this torrent of public opinion to its climax in the shortest possible time!"

“Don’t worry about the funding.”

Takada Shunei waved his hands, his gesture like a king in control of everything: "What I want is not a simple victory. What I want is a public execution that will humiliate the entire Kanto faction!"

……

The next morning, when the first ray of sunlight pierced through the clouds, a long-planned storm of public opinion swept across the entire Neon with an unmatched momentum.

There were crowds of people in front of the major newsstands.

The entertainment sections of all mainstream newspapers used the most eye-catching headlines and the most sensational writing to push the young man named Hiroshi Nohara and his mysterious variety show "Super Change", which has not yet been aired but has already piqued everyone's appetite, to a shining altar built with countless praises and expectations.

Asahi Shimbun: [From late-night slots to primetime, from TV dramas to variety shows! Can Nohara Hiroshi's "Midas Touch" turn stone into gold again?!]

Yomiuri Shimbun: "Nohara Hiroshi's variety show 'Super Change'!" - Can Nohara Hiroshi's variety show revolution revolutionize an era?!

However, amidst this almost deification-like carnival, there are also a few "professional" voices that seem objective but are actually full of suggestiveness.

Weekly Bunshun, known for its sharp tongue, once again invited the veteran film critic "Xinkou Tang Shizi" to publish an in-depth review article titled "The Achilles' Heel of Genius: When the Logic of Movies Meets the Iron Wall of Variety Shows."

"...We never deny Nohara Hiroshi's amazing talent for storytelling. But we must clearly realize that variety shows are never about the art of storytelling. They are about the art of controlling the situation."

"According to a senior TV Tokyo variety show director who wishes to remain anonymous, Nohara Hiroshi's Super Change has completely abandoned the traditional variety show production model, instead adopting an almost paranoid, 'cinematic' filming approach. Every segment and every joke has been pre-written in the script. This undoubtedly severely undermines the variety show's 'live feeling' and 'improvisational charm'."

"We're very worried that this genius, accustomed to controlling everything behind the scenes, will eventually expose his fatal Achilles' heel when he tries to challenge the iron wall of variety shows, which is full of fire and passion, with his cold movie logic..."

Praise, and flattery.

Expectations and pessimism.

The two completely different voices, under the deliberate guidance of some people, quickly fermented into a major discussion that swept the whole country.

For a time, the name Hiroshi Nohara and his yet-to-be-revealed "Super Transformer" became the hottest and most controversial topics of August.

……

And in faraway Osaka, Nagoya, Fukuoka...

Those local tyrants who had just formed the "Anti-Nohara Hiroshi Alliance" were grinning from ear to ear after seeing these overwhelming reports.

"Hahahaha! I told you! That kid from Tokyo is a complete amateur!"

Ichiro Waya, Deputy Director of Production at Kansai Television, slammed the newspaper on the table. His sullen face was filled with gloating glee. "Trying to film a variety show like a movie? He's the one who came up with it! This is simply courting death!"

"Who says it isn't?"

Ken Yamada, the production manager of Nagoya Chukyo Television, also sneered with gloating satisfaction on the other end of the line. "That old fox, Takada Shunei, has mastered this 'praise and kill' trick. Now, all of Japan is waiting to see that brat's joke. Once his kindergarten-level playhouse game airs, the ratings will plummet. Then, I wonder how he can still maintain his arrogance!"

He hung up the phone and called someone else to explain the situation.

"That's right! This is a godsend! They're fighting among themselves at Tokyo TV! This is so interesting!"

Tanaka Shigeru of Fukuoka Kyushu Broadcasting's voice was filled with uncontrollable excitement: "The more arrogant he is, and the more he wastes his talent, the more time he gives us to catch our breath and catch up! Everyone, we must speed up our 'Urban Tales' project! Next month, when that kid's myth is shattered, will be the perfect time for us to attack him and carve up the market gap he's left behind!"

Conspiracies are woven across the airwaves.

They seemed to have seen the young man who was praised to the top of the world, falling down under the weight of reality and being smashed to pieces.

They have even begun to celebrate in advance the victory that is coming to them.

……

In the late-night diner, the nightclub guards who had previously cheered for the comeback of "An Zhi Ju" were now frowning at the variety show trailer playing on TV.

"What's going on? Why is Mr. Nohara doing a variety show?" The burly man with the buzz cut sounded puzzled. "He's clearly a genius at making urban legends. Isn't it a waste of talent to do a hilarious comedy show like that?"

"Who says it isn't?" The scarred man took a sip of beer and smacked his lips. "Besides, his reboot of 'Anshibai Shin Season 3' is a hundred times better than that idiot Iwata made, but... I always feel like it's not as amazing as the first and second seasons. It's a bit... overkill."

These words expressed the thoughts of countless old fans of "An Zhi Ju".

They are like the most discerning gourmets, able to taste the subtle compromise made to cater to the market beneath the familiar flavor.

In the men's dormitory at the University of Tokyo, the debate was even more heated.

"This is a betrayal! A betrayal of the 'Urban Tales' brand!" Suzuki Takuya excitedly waved the newspaper in his hand. "Teacher Nohara has been blinded by victory! He thinks he can do anything, but has forgotten where his roots are! Variety shows? What the hell is that? It's garbage for those mindless mediocre people!"

"That's right! How can Mr. Nohara be filming a variety show! Urban ghost story shows are so interesting!" Several other college students also nodded with anger on their faces.

This torrent of disappointment and worry even spread to Nohara Hiroshi's core team.

Backstage in Studio No. 3, Xiao Xunhua and Fujii Itsuki, who had just finished a rehearsal, were sitting in the corner with tired looks on their faces.

There was no excitement on their faces about stepping onto a brand new stage, but instead a thick layer of worry covered them.

"Fujii-kun...was our performance just now really...funny?" There was a hint of doubt in Xiao Xunhua's voice that she herself was not even aware of.

She recalled the scene on the stage just now, when she and several of her companions were wearing funny tights and using their bodies to imitate a working typewriter. The shame that came from the bottom of her heart made her cheeks still hot.

"I don't know." Fujii Itsuki smiled bitterly and shook his head. He lit a cigarette and took a deep drag. The swirling smoke couldn't dispel the confusion in his eyes. "We're just acting according to Mr. Nohara's script. But... will the audience really buy into this completely designed joke? I always feel that this... this is too deliberate."

They are actors, not comedians.

They can accurately reproduce every action and every expression in the script, but they cannot predict what kind of bizarre creation will appear when these fragmented "parts" are finally pieced together.

They were afraid that this group of "Kanto-style actors" who were highly expected would eventually become the last straw that broke the camel's back for this genius.

After all, they have failed for too long.

Finally, a powerful general arrived and led them to fight an invincible turnaround battle.

Now he has been thrown into another battlefield.

An unfamiliar battlefield.

They don't know what the outcome will be.

I was very worried.

However, amidst the noise and doubts that engulfed the entire neon world, the young man at the center of the storm seemed to be in another dimension of time and space, oblivious to everything in the outside world.

Hiroshi Nohara is drawing the manuscript of "Yu Yu Hakusho". After all, he is still a cartoonist and needs to submit manuscripts.

And when Nohara Hiroshi was drawing comics, he seemed to enter a state of peace.

There's nothing to worry about.

What Hiroshi Nohara has are the countless film and television works of his previous life in Japan as his foundation, confidence, and trump card.

As long as he wanted, he could move all the countless film and television works from his previous life's Neon to this Neon at any time.

So he has no need to worry.

It is others who should be worried!

PS: Keep asking for votes~

Chapter 111: Absolutely sure! A hilarious bonus from the past life of Neon!

Time quickly arrived at the beginning of August. The scorching sun of midsummer poured down on the back of Tokyo, a giant beast built of steel and glass. Every inch of air was distorted by the scorching heat, as if even time and space were trembling slightly in this endless light and heat.

TV Tokyo, production headquarters building.

Tomorrow Sea Office.

The atmosphere at this moment is like the eye of the deep sea, isolating itself from all the noise and heat from the outside world, leaving only an almost solidified, heaviness as if a storm is about to come.

"Nohara-kun, are you...really sure?"

At this moment, Ming Rihai was like a young man who stepped onto the gambling table for the first time, holding the half-burned cigarette between his fingers, with anxiety in his eyes.

In front of him, the final plan and master tape of "Super Change", which was created by Hiroshi Nohara himself and is considered the bible of variety shows, was lying quietly on the mahogany desk.

It weighed heavily on his heart.

"Deputy Director Asumi, this is the third time you've asked this question today." Nohara Hiroshi sat opposite him with a gentle smile on his face.

He refilled Ming Rihai's empty cup with boiling hot tea, his movements neither hurried nor slow, as if the public opinion storm outside the window, which he had ignited with his own hands and was now intensifying, was just an insignificant wisp of smoke in the teacup.