After the announcements of the 'Fate/stay night: Artoria Route' drama broadcast and the 'The Girl Who Leapt Through Time' film release, both the film and TV industries began to panic a little.
For the TV industry, it was obvious. While 'Fate/Zero' hadn't been quite as dominant as 'Neon Genesis Evangelion', it had still far outperformed any drama from the Big Six networks in recent years.
And based on Jing Yu's track record, his sequels always performed better than the first season.
Even the Big Six networks were naturally getting anxious, already thinking ahead about how to fight for second place in the fall lineup.
Yunteng TV was even more aggressive. Just like before, 'Fate/stay night' would be released on all platforms, but Yunteng paid extra tens of millions more — just to have Jing Yu delay the series' online release by one hour. After coordinating with him directly, they even pulled all their other primetime ads and instead flooded the airwaves with hypnotic promos for the July broadcast of 'Fate/stay night: Artoria Route'.
As for the film industry, while they weren't in direct competition with Jing Yu, the pressure was still real.
Jing Yu's previous films, like 'Rurouni Kenshin: Trust & Betrayal' and 'Love Letter', had both been heavy hitters during the Qixi Festival season. The box office numbers didn't lie.
Of course, there's a difference between film and television. Jing Yu's popularity and influence were such that, even if one of his dramas wasn't all that good, it wouldn't suffer too badly in ratings. After all, dramas cost little to watch — most viewers just wanted to kill time, and even if the story was weak, they could still enjoy the cast's good looks.
But with films, even if you're a top-tier screenwriter or director whose last movie made ten or twenty billion, if your next work flops, audiences won't pay. Box office flops making less than a hundred million were common — because films cost money and time, and no one wants to waste either on garbage.
Just because Jing Yu's previous films did well didn't mean 'The Girl Who Leapt Through Time' would succeed. And yet…
The pressure Jing Yu exerted was very real. Other Qixi-season contenders tried to comfort themselves with logic, but all it took was one glance at his record:
Over the past five years, with roughly a dozen seasonal slots, Jing Yu had dominated ratings in over ten of them.
He had released only two films, and both had been box office champions of their respective release windows. In the last two years, his popularity had only grown stronger.
To his competitors in the film industry, it was simply terrifying.
Everyone began adjusting their fall strategies, trying to figure out how to contain the impact of Jing Yu's new works.
As for the fans:
"My youth is back."
"After a whole season of garbage, Old Troll Jing Yu still understands us."
"I've rewatched 'Neon Genesis Evangelion' three times already — it's about time he announced a new project!"
"I saw the news and literally jumped out of bed. Suddenly, I don't feel so dead inside."
"When there's no Old Troll drama airing, I have no idea how to kill time."
"All I want now is for Old Troll to live to 100. That way, I'll probably die before he stops writing, and I'll never run out of shows!"
"Let's be real — we all know the plot of 'Fate/stay night', especially if you played the game. It'll probably be like 'Fate/Zero', but what the heck is 'The Girl Who Leapt Through Time' even about?!"
"I checked the official site. Seems to be a story about a girl who can time-travel."
"Gee, thanks, Captain Obvious. I didn't even need the website to guess a time-traveling girl was in the movie — I read the damn title. I'm asking if the time travel is mixed with suspense, horror, sci-fi, or something else?"
"Do you even have to ask? It's being released on Qixi Festival — what do you think?"
"I'm betting there's romance."
"Yeah, same."
"Honestly, if Old Troll makes a Qixi movie without romance and it's all plot, that would be bold."
"Bro, if that happens, I guarantee a horde of Qixi couples will go to theaters and complain. Like, what kind of psycho makes a non-romance film for Valentine's Day?!"
"Then again, maybe most of Old Troll's fans are single. Even if they're alone, they'll still show up for the premiere."
"Anyone here got a date? Going alone to a movie on Qixi and being surrounded by couples sounds miserable. At least find someone to fake a couple with."
"Bro, stop caring about what others think. A bunch of couples cuddling in the cinema with one lone single guy in the middle? Honestly, they're more awkward than you are."
"It's only May now. Two months until July, three until August. One word: endure!"
Those two announcements from Bluestar Media & Film Company lit the industry on fire.
From early May to late May, companies and organizations were lining up to work with Jing Yu's studio.
In Great Zhou, most advertisers still focused on placing ads with TV stations. And the top-tier ad slots in the country? Right inside Jing Yu's dramas.
Some product placements had already been inserted during the filming of 'Fate/stay night', but even post-production watermark ads in the episodes were being sold at premium prices.
Although 'Fate/stay night' cost over 200 million to produce, by the time the series was about to air, Yunteng's licensing fees and ad placements had already recouped nearly all the expenses.
Jing Yu's workload was also rapidly increasing.
He had to shoot promotional videos for 'Fate/stay night', manage social media accounts, film advertisements in cooperation with sponsors, and grant countless interviews to boost exposure.
On top of all that, he still had to oversee the quality of each production.
Even with Jing Yu's incredible stamina, half a month of non-stop work had visibly worn him down.
"What's the point of making so much money if I don't have time to spend it?" he muttered in a rare moment of leisure.
The company now had over 2 billion in accumulated assets from a dozen-plus productions over the past few years. Even if they stopped doing anything, the licensing fees alone — domestic and overseas — were bringing in tens of millions each month.
In the past, making a drama meant struggling with tight finances. Now, they were making money before anything even aired — and yet Jing Yu was busier than ever.
"It's like they say," Cheng Lie commented. "The richest guy in the world still flies around the globe looking for more ways to make money. As long as you're still working, life means more than just money. But once you stop, all you've got left is money."
"I mean, I'm not as rich as you, Jing Yu," he continued. "But I own 4% of the company. With over 2 billion in cash, that means I've got almost 100 million in equity. That's more than enough to live three lifetimes. But I still work. You couldn't pay me to retire and go live quietly in the countryside. That'd be so damn boring."
Cheng Lie glanced at Jing Yu.
Jing Yu, being the major shareholder, obviously had the biggest cut. But more importantly, all the copyrights to his works were still fully in his name.
Truth be told, the long-term value of his IPs made the company's current cash flow look like pocket change. From his perspective, money wasn't even the point anymore.
"True," Jing Yu nodded. "Imagine I retired now and spent the next 50–60 years growing flowers and vegetables…"
"Way too boring."
He didn't smoke, didn't drink, didn't play mahjong. And he wasn't about to follow in the footsteps of Yoshihiro Togashi either.
"Forget it. No need to get sentimental. Just like you, I wouldn't know what else to do with myself if I weren't making shows."
"It's June already. Time to kick off the first wave of promotions for 'Fate/stay night' and 'The Girl Who Leapt Through Time'."
"Naturally."