Chapter 146: The Patriarch of the Manga Industry
Haruki's father was paralyzed from the waist down. Although Japan has advanced medical care, he has not recovered after so many years of treatment.
The doctor said that the main reason was his severe mental state. In fact, his illness could be cured, but the prolonged paralysis had accustomed him to that state. He didn't believe he could get up.
If he didn't believe it in his heart, no matter how good the treatment was, it couldn't cure him.
But now...
Haruki was stunned for a long time, and his eyes began to become bloodshot. He looked at his father with a stupid expression, and he was about to speak, when suddenly... a flash of light appeared to one side.
Haruki, furious, looked back, only to see a man taking out his camera and writing something in a notebook.
"Damn it, what are you doing?!"
Haruki exclaimed, reaching out to grab him. 'This damned man must be a journalist.'
"Don't misunderstand me."
However, the man cunningly avoided him and smiled: "I'm not a reporter. I'm just investigating. I just want to investigate the effect of the animation on the broadcast."
His voice had a distinct Tokyo accent. Haruki was skeptical, but the man walked quickly and left soon.
"Damn it, don't let me see that photo in the newspaper or I'll sue you to death!"
Haruki, indignant, turned his head and continued to look at his father, afraid that he would sit down again.
Today is the tenth day of the first lunar month, and a group of relatives came to Kazuo's house.
This group belongs to his uncle's family. There are five or six of them. They left Osaka and moved to Osaka District (capital) more than ten years ago. They don't have much contact. In the crowded house, the adults chatted and toasted, while some children turned on the television to watch animations.
"I remember Osaka used to broadcast the evening news at this time more than ten years ago,"
Kazuo's uncle glanced at the television.
He sighed and said: "I didn't expect them to change it to animation now!"
"Uncle, you don't know." Kazuo's wife smiled as she poured wine: "It's the work of a very famous mangaka. Although it's animation, we can also watch it."
Everyone had started eating. But as soon as the broadcast began, those who were toasting at first were stunned.
Their gazes, especially those of the relatives from Osaka, almost stared blankly. 'This animation was unexpectedly attractive, comparable to television dramas!'
Everyone stopped eating and stared at the television until it ended. Only one person raised their glass.
"It's truly revealing. I didn't know that animation could be recorded like this." He raised his glass: "Come on, everyone, cheers! My daughter and I will have something to watch in the future!"
"Hahahaha..."
The others laughed and raised their glasses: "Cheers."
"By the way, Kazuo, is this animation broadcast elsewhere?"
"Yes, of course. Times have changed. If you want to watch it in Osaka, you can also watch Osaka TV!"
"That's right. In fact, in Osaka, we are also developing animation... Well, did you just say that this animation was made by a mangaka? Tell us about the mangaka you mentioned."
"No problem."
Kazuo hadn't seen these relatives in several years and didn't know them well. But thanks to Pokémon, the relationship between the two families was re-established. Kazuo was excited and had to thank Mirai-sensei for it.
It was simply incredible!
And next to Kazuo's house, Keiko also watched the live animation.
She is a devoted fan of Mirai-sensei. This morning, the fan club invited them to the plaza to support Mirai-sensei's animation. But Keiko thought it was crazy, so she didn't go.
Ever since Mirai-sensei's identity was revealed, his fan group has undergone a great change, with many radical fans becoming obsessed with him.
The original "Alliance of Older Sisters Who Love Shota" has changed its name to "Alliance of Sisters." While it remains the largest fan group, it is divided into several teams, and its original administrators have conflicts with each other.
The largest team is the "Alliance of Older Sisters Who Pursue Mirai-sensei," which has thousands of female fans. Its goal is to venerate and pursue Mirai-sensei, promote, develop, and organize various activities on various occasions, and there are also competitors hostile to Mirai-sensei.
On the occasion when Pokémon was broadcast, this team launched a plaza occupation activity, seeking to grab headlines in newspapers and resist news from Kanto Manga.
There are now 10 plazas in Osaka with this team, and thousands of male fan groups have joined, with astonishing influence. However, they have made it clear that they will not cause trouble, so the problem will not be serious.
Relatively speaking, another smaller team of the "Sister Alliance" is much more terrifying.
The "Guardians of Mirai-sensei." The purpose of this squad is to protect Mirai-sensei's privacy. The leader is named "Shiori." The starting point seems to be good, and the purpose is to protect Mirai-sensei's privacy. This group refuses to actively pressure Mirai-sensei or allow others to interfere in his life.
However, these guardians have a mission: to monitor and prevent anyone from investigating Mirai-sensei and getting close to him. Whether it's a reporter or a fan, if anyone wants to find him, they will be attacked.
There are not many people in this group, but they are very reserved, often hiding in the dark, and their influence is also very high.
Keiko is a member of the "Alliance of Older Sisters Who Pursue Mirai-sensei" in appearance, but in reality, she is a guardian. She considers it very important to prevent others from bothering Mirai-sensei, and for him to have a peaceful life.
Today, Pokémon was broadcast, and Keiko snatched the television from her sister.
Her younger sister turns ten this year. She is a fan of The Cat and Mouse Couple. NHK's animation is also broadcast around this time. When Keiko grabbed the television, her younger sister kept crying. Keiko could only look at her and comfort her.
But after the two of them finished watching the animation, the younger sister's crying disappeared. She sat on Keiko's lap, watching television.
"Sister, this animation is so interesting!"
"I want to watch it in the future, I want to watch it... I don't want the The Cat and Mouse Couple dolls; I want Pikachu, he's so cute!"
The younger sister's attitude changed, and Keiko felt very relieved.
"Okay, but the Pikachu doll hasn't been released yet."
"Wow, I don't care; I want Pikachu and I also want to watch Pokémon!"
the child exclaimed.
"It will be released next week."
Keiko patted her head to comfort her, but in her heart, she complained to the television station that Osaka's animation, Anime Golden Paradise, had no time to watch it again.
At that moment,
Guo Letong, a television station employee, looked at the curve on the screen, his face flushed. That was the animation's viewership curve. From the beginning to the end of Pokémon's broadcast, the curve had been rising at an alarming rate for over 20 minutes, and the final value was near the ceiling!
Guo Letong, who understood the meaning, was so excited he couldn't contain himself. He even felt like laughing out loud, but he was surrounded by employees and wanted to maintain his dignity.
So Guo Letong took out a cigarette and took a few puffs to relieve his joy.
"Damn, I made a lot of money this time! The cost of broadcasting Pokémon on television stations is 20,000,000 yen per episode, almost the same as other animations. Mirai-sensei didn't raise the price, but now, with this viewership curve, the station has recovered profits several times over!"
The curve on the screen is not the ratings. The ratings will take time to appear. Japan has a company specializing in third-party data statistics. The results from these companies are accurate and impartial, and they are widely recognized by television stations worldwide.
Studying ratings is not simple. With statistics from an external company, the television station only needs a rough idea: the curve in front of Guo Letong. This curve cannot show specific ratings, but it can be used as a reference.
According to Guo Letong's previous experience, the rating represented by Pokémon's final peak could exceed 20%. This figure is astonishing. The more he thinks about it, the more excited he gets. 'This could be among the best in the animation industry!'
"Whoosh!"
Suddenly, Guo Letong felt a stinging sensation in his hand. He quickly let go and realized he had burned his fingers with the cigarette.
"How embarrassing!"
He thought that, but the rest of the staff didn't come closer to say anything. 'What happened to these people?' Guo Letong looked and saw that these people were staring at the curve, stunned.
"Hey, the animation is about to end! Hurry up and insert the next commercial!"
Guo Letong shouted, and the employees panicked and put the commercial on the screen at great risk.
The head of the broadcasting department approached and said: "Guo Letong, have you bought the retransmission rights? This animation is truly incredible. The first episode's effect is so great that it has the potential to become our pillar!"
Guo Letong was stunned. He had only bought the transmission rights once because the television station had no retransmissions.
"No, I have to sign a contract with Hinotori Publishing again. If third-party data is published, other television stations will come to compete for them, and we won't have such good profits."
The idea crossed his mind, and Guo Letong felt relieved, but 'how much money would be appropriate?' He asked the head of the broadcasting department for his opinion.
"First broadcast rights, two broadcasts, I think 60,000,000 yen per episode is acceptable. It must be one week faster than other television stations. The effect of simultaneous broadcasting will be greatly reduced!"
"60,000,000 yen per episode!"
Guo Letong was stunned. It's not a small figure. It's comparable to popular series. Perhaps even The Cat and Mouse Couple can't be sold at such a high price. But that animation was produced by NHK, and they don't need to pay a large amount of copyright for the first broadcast.
"I'll try."
He immediately sought out Kaito, the deputy director of the television station. Upon hearing the news, Kaito jumped with excitement.
"Did you say Pokémon can surpass The Cat and Mouse Couple?"
"If nothing unexpected happens, it can."
Guo Letong nodded.
Kaito was stunned, and his expression suddenly became complicated.
"Buy it! Never mind 60,000,000 yen; even if it's 100,000,000, you have to buy it for me!"
The deputy director felt a chill in his heart. 'As long as Pokémon became popular, Hinotori Publishing would rise again.'
'He knew a lot of insider information... Pokémon was Mirai-sensei's final review by the central government, and all previous standards were approved!'
Mirai-sensei could become a patriarch-level figure in the manga industry...
Osaka TV must win over such a person.
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