Chapter 294: Shinji: "Hmph. Smells Pretty Good After All."
Not long after the press conference ended, major international media sites were already racing to publish coverage.
Naturally, it was the Western outlets who posted first.
The Japanese press? Well, they had their traditional order to follow—print it in newspapers and magazines first, then repost it online after the ink had dried.
But in contrast to the excitement buzzing at the venue, the actual articles… were a little more lukewarm.
Most outlets adopted a wait-and-see attitude toward Shinji's new Fate project.
To the media's eyes, Shinji Matou was once again—yes, again—cooking up another helping of reheated Fate leftovers.
"Shinji Matou is directing yet another Fate film. Given his style, it's no surprise he chose an action-heavy project—but rehashing Fate again? Isn't that a bit lazy?"
—The New York Times
"Instead of reheating the already-overcooked Fate franchise, he should've launched a brand-new IP. That would've been easier with the name recognition he has now."
—Yomiuri Shimbun
Compared to those subtly backhanded comments, Shinji's fans were far more enthusiastic.
On social media platforms and real-time discussion sites, they were posting reactions by the second.
"If anyone can make Fate shine again, it's Shinji!"
"Can't wait to see what this new Fate will be like!"
"With the latest 3D tech backing him, Shinji's definitely gonna bring Fate/Apocrypha's visuals to a whole new level!"
…
It wasn't surprising, really.
Of course the fans and the media would be heading in opposite directions.
The press saw it as beating a dead horse. The fans?
They thought the man was a Michelin-starred chef making cold rice into gourmet fried rice.
Sure, Fate/Stay Night's story had already been remade three times under Shinji.
But each version had a fresh angle, a unique spin, and unforgettable moments.
Each adaptation told a different story using the same characters, and every time the audience walked out wanting ten more.
Even Magical Illya, still airing to great success, was a completely new take with its own tone and identity.
From a fan's point of view, the real question wasn't whether Shinji's reheated Fate would taste good—it was—
"Why the hell do Mordred and Jeanne look exactly like Arturia?!"
According to the official materials, Mordred was Arturia's younger sister, so their resemblance made sense.
But Jeanne?
Jeanne was officially listed as having zero blood relation to Arturia.
And yet the two looked like they'd popped out of the same gene pool.
At the press conference, Shinji had laughed it off.
He claimed it was pure coincidence—he'd simply found it fascinating that Jeanne and Arturia looked nearly identical despite having no connection, and that became the whole point of casting her.
He even admitted he chose Jeanne for the lead role just to patch up that one awkward plot point in Fate/Zero, where Gilles had mistaken Arturia for Jeanne.
To that, fans replied:
"Okay, sure, that explains it… but it doesn't make it less confusing! Without the hairstyles, we can't even tell who's who!"
Unfortunately, Shinji had already vanished from the public eye post-conference.
He couldn't care less about what the fans or media were saying. His plans weren't going to change either way.
As far as Shinji was concerned, Fate/Apocrypha was already in the rearview mirror.
Most of the filming was done. All that was left was to polish it up in post-production—something he'd tackle after finishing his obligations at the Venice Film Festival.
Right now, Shinji had shifted his full attention to something much closer to his heart:
The Garden of Sinners.
The set construction for the film was underway, and that was Shinji's top priority.
He would be serving as producer and screenwriter, with Sakura assisting as a junior production assistant.
Li Shuwen was in charge of actor training, choreography, and designing the film's action sequences.
Archer—still the same eternally grumbling man in red—was once again their cinematographer and props designer.
As for the cast, Touko and Shiki would be playing themselves.
That said, Shinji was still planning to hire a professional stunt double for Shiki.
There's no helping it.
Shiki could strike a beautiful pose and give off that ice-cold assassin vibe like no one else, but when it came to full-scale fight scenes?
"Yeah… we're gonna need a real Heroic Spirit to make that look good on camera."
Although the issue was just finding a stunt double for Shiki, Shinji was already torn between two female swordmasters: Musashi and Okita Souji.
From a character-fit perspective, Musashi-chan definitely had the edge.
But… Shinji was worried about one thing: what if he accidentally summoned that version of Musashi—the one with the old-man energy and the thing for cute boys?
Okita, on the other hand, was sharp, quick, and even had the right build.
But then there was her curse—that pesky [Tuberculosis] passive.
Shinji was terrified she wouldn't survive the shooting schedule.
What if she coughs up blood and returns to the Throne of Heroes before filming's even done? Who's going to finish the fight scenes then?
Putting Yan Qing in drag?
Shinji wasn't entirely against the idea—but he was pretty sure if he asked, Yan Qing would either try to assassinate him at night, pull a reverse Uno card and crossdress himself just to mess with Shinji's head, or maybe go all in and permanently erase his own "problematic parts" just to better fit the role.
Ahem. Shinji wasn't about to roll the dice on that outcome.
Still, a stunt double was just a small piece of the puzzle.
What Shinji really needed right now was far more critical:
A director.
That's right. Even though The Garden of Sinners had already been publicly greenlit, they still didn't have someone to helm the film.
Why?
Because Shinji's standards were way too high.
High enough that, in this world overflowing with art-house directors and practically zero competent commercial ones, trying to find someone who met his criteria was like fishing a specific goldfish out of the ocean. With chopsticks.
If this were the parallel world Shinji had come from, it would be easy.
He'd just go poach James Wan, hand him the script, and boom—instant box office hit.
But here?
Shinji had checked Wan's entire résumé. Nada. Nothing.
The guy was probably like all the other commercial filmmakers—devoured by the Root (or, more accurately, mushroomed out of existence by Kinoko Nasu).
The only guy who might work was Denis Villeneuve, who had just finished Ultraseven X.
That guy's visual sense was stunning. His camera work was masterclass. His films were a treat just to look at.
Visually, he was more than qualified to direct The Garden of Sinners.
But his commercial record?
Shinji could only describe it as confused, dumb, and kinda adorable.
Sure, you couldn't say Villeneuve had no success. He did have one film that made some waves—a flick called "Splice".
The story was a very serious sci-fi horror.
At first glance, nothing wrong with that.
But the more Shinji thought about it… the more off it felt.
If Shinji were shooting a no-budget passion project, Denis Villeneuve would absolutely be his first pick.
Unfortunately, The Garden of Sinners needed to deliver at the box office.
The Time Group had given him tens of millions of dollars for this production—it wasn't like the wind blew that money in.
If Shinji blew this budget, the only way he'd survive would be to cling to Lissy's metaphorical tree and hang himself from it.
And beyond that… Shinji had a score to settle.
All those smug journalists brushing off The Garden of Sinners at the press conference?
Shinji was itching to make them eat their words.
As for Ryougi Shiki herself, she just gave a casual shrug at his inner turmoil.
"To those reporters, The Garden of Sinners and the Fate series aren't even in the same league."
"Exactly!" Shinji sighed. "Which is why we have to boost The Garden of Sinners's commercial value."
But boosting an IP's market value—proving its commercial potential—wasn't something that could be achieved just by wishing hard enough.
You couldn't sit on your hands and wait for the money to fall from the sky.
At least Shiki herself was pretty chill about it.
No matter how Shinji planned to handle the project, her spot as the film's lead was already set in stone.
She'd stood on the stage at the press conference.
As long as she didn't screw up royally, no one could take the female lead title of The Garden of Sinners away from her now.
And with Shinji's current script layout, The Garden of Sinners was shaping up to span at least seven to eight stories.
By the standards of today's film industry, that was shaping up to be one massive franchise.
Just this one fact alone was enough to put Shiki's mind at ease about Shinji.
◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆
"Director… director… who the hell should I get to direct this thing…?"
Shinji muttered while rolling around helplessly on the couch.
Shiki looked at him and sighed. As far as she was concerned, the problem was completely made up.
In her eyes, no one was more suitable to direct The Garden of Sinners than Shinji himself.
Say what you want, but when it came to sheer commercial success, who could beat him?
The guy was literally the #1 box office director in the world. That wasn't just some meaningless title to put on posters.
If Shinji were willing to take the reins of The Garden of Sinners's live-action film, there was no doubt it'd become a smash hit. Huge influence, sky-high earnings—maybe even enough to rival the Fate series itself.
Sure, The Garden of Sinners was technically a spinoff of Fate, but who's to say what the future holds?
It wouldn't be the first time a side story outshined the main canon.
Even if the chances were slim, Shiki figured it was a dream worth having.
"And if that dream did come true… then as the lead actress, wouldn't I rise with the tide and become a global superstar?"
Truth was, she'd already told Shinji multiple times that she wanted him to direct the The Garden of Sinners live-action series.
Until now, Shinji had been lukewarm on the idea.
To him, The Garden of Sinners just didn't carry the same weight as Fate.
Besides, he'd already done most of the groundwork—script outlines, production planning, key casting. The project didn't need a wildly creative, artistic genius of a director.
What it needed was a reliable, humble worker bee who'd follow the plan without adding their own flair.
"A good little employee," in Shinji's words.
But now… well, Shinji's thinking had begun to shift—just a tiny bit.
He didn't really have a choice. He simply couldn't find a director that fit his expectations.
So why not just hammer the entire project structure down so firmly that no one could possibly mess it up later?
As long as the first movie nailed the tone and style, any future director would just need to copy the blueprint. Paint by numbers.
Still, if Shinji was going to direct the first movie himself, then the project needed some major tweaks.
Originally, he'd planned to follow the structure from his past life—starting with the quiet, atmospheric Overlooking View.
But now?
If he was taking the helm, they needed to kick things off with a bang.
Something with fighting, blood, and shock value.
So he'd start with Remaining Sense of Pain.
Shinji shared his updated plan with Shiki.
Her response? She was thrilled.
If it hadn't been for Ophelia standing right there next to them, Shiki might've just grabbed Shinji's face and planted a big ol' kiss right on it.
Then, Shinji decided to break the news to the movie's second female lead.
"Yo, Hinako. I've got good news and bad news. Which do you want first?"
"...Huh?"
"Good news: your big screen debut won't have you playing a ghost girl anymore. Bad news: now you'll be playing a deranged, mentally unstable yandere."
"F*ck you."