Over the next week, the box office for 'The Girl Who Leapt Through Time' gradually declined. After surpassing 500 million, its momentum slowed down completely.
After all, it wasn't some big-budget production, and Jing Yu didn't act in it either. The movie buzz had begun to cool off.
By August, 'Fate/Stay Night' had aired up to Episode 7, and the plot had largely settled into its main arc.
The narrative threads became clear, and Kirei Kotomine appeared again as the main antagonist.
At the same time, Great Zhou's TV and film industries entered a brief lull without any major new headlines.
Late August passed in a blur, and soon it was early September.
This time, learning from experience, Jing Yu had already partnered with several merchandise manufacturers and distributors before the release of 'Fate/Stay Night'. Even before the show finished airing, merchandise had hit the shelves.
The official store on BlueStar Media & Film's website sold out immediately. Offline stores were also packed—fans lined up before dawn. The result of this frenzy? Scalpers. Products worth a few hundred yuan were being resold for over a thousand.
Jing Yu was stunned. He quickly asked his team to handle the issue, but production capacity wasn't something that could be adjusted overnight.
"Feels like the citizens of Great Zhou are becoming more and more otaku…"
He muttered while reviewing the weekly report his staff delivered.
Ever since his shows gained popularity, signs of an otaku subculture—like in his past life—had begun to emerge among drama fans in Great Zhou. Though the genres differed, the emotional impact and fan behavior were surprisingly similar.
In his past life, China had tons of variety shows, so people became obsessed with celebrity culture. Meanwhile, Japan had a booming anime industry—and thus a generation of hardcore shut-ins. Jing Yu couldn't change that.
But the growth of the "otaku-fan" demographic had drastically boosted merchandise sales. Compared to last year or the year before, the revenue from 'Fate/Stay Night' merchandise alone would likely double.
Now, BlueStar Media & Film was practically minting money.
In the past, with only a few projects, even with some merch sales, monthly revenue barely hit a million. Now, with over a dozen titles active—both new and old—the combined income from licensing and IP monetization was in the tens of millions monthly.
"In the end… the universe really does revolve around IPs," Jing Yu sighed.
In his past life, many creators didn't release new works for years, living off residuals from their older IPs. 'Yu-Gi-Oh!', 'Dragon Ball'—they had been around for decades, yet their creators still earned tens of millions annally.
Companies like Nintendo made insane profits off legacy titles—and they still had the industry's top-tier capability to generate new IPs.
Naturally, Jing Yu hoped to build BlueStar Media & Film into something similar.
Franchises like 'Initial D', 'Evangelion', and 'Fate/Stay Night' were far from fully tapped. But no need to rush—he'd wait for the market and industry to mature before launching the next phase.
That afternoon, Cheng Lie chaired a departmental meeting at the company. Jing Yu, as chairman, attended but left the actual hosting to Cheng Lie.
It was already September, with just one quarter left in the year. Since Jing Yu had no plans for the winter season, the company could finally make use of its newly recruited staff.
A company with hundreds of employees couldn't rely solely on Jing Yu to survive. If they couldn't produce profitable works without him—whether in scripting, acting, music, or quality control—then the company's structure was fundamentally flawed.
The meeting quickly approved two new drama production projects and also finalized release dates for 'Voices of a Distant Star' and 'The Garden of Words'.
Jing Yu's other two works—'Castle in the Sky' and 'Your Name'—were confirmed not to release within the year.
'Castle in the Sky' was scheduled for the Spring Festival, slotting right into the high-stakes New Year window.
'Your Name' would premiere on New Year's Day.
Which meant: from September through the end of December, Jing Yu would only release those two short films to meet fans.
The meeting ended quickly. Jing Yu took the time to carefully go over the project proposals his team had submitted. Honestly, a few of them had rather refreshing premises.
"Looks like there's going to be another long gap."
After the meeting, Cheng Lie looked visibly more relaxed.
'The Girl Who Leapt Through Time' had performed excellently at the box office. 'Fate/Stay Night' was dominating viewership ratings. Jing Yu could take the rest of the year to rest—and so could he.
Unless it was a project personally tied to Jing Yu's name, Cheng Lie didn't care to micromanage every little show the staff came up with.
After all, if Jing Yu was already a legendary screenwriter and actor in Great Zhou, Cheng Lie, as his long-time partner and now legendary producer, wasn't about to busy himself with every small task in the company either.
"So, how long are you planning to rest this time?" Cheng Lie asked.
After a year of solid work, the company's cash-on-hand—not even counting the long-term value of its IP library—had grown from just over 2 billion yuan to nearly 3 billion.
And that's with most of 'Evangelion's earnings still uncollected. Once that came in, the company's cash flow would become even more flush.
The real boost came from the massive earnings of 'Fate/Zero' at the end of last year—including streaming, licensing, merch, and the 'Fate/Stay Night' mobile game.
Add in ongoing long-term income from Jing Yu's earlier works, and you could say: this company, barely a few years old, might not be industry royalty, but when it came to money, few could compete.
At this point, Jing Yu could easily take a few years off and not release a thing—and no one would question it.
After all, how many insanely rich people still had the energy and drive to keep grinding?
Cheng Lie's question wasn't just casual small talk—it was a way to help plan the company's direction over the next year.
"Relax, I'm not ready to retire yet. I'm only thirty." Jing Yu smiled. But as he said it, a trace of melancholy crept in.
He'd been in this world for quite a while now.
Thinking about it, just a few years ago, he was still a low-level employee at a TV station. Now? He had filmed a ton of works and made a fortune.
"Wait, are you getting anxious about aging?" Cheng Lie teased.
"Not really. It's just… last year I was still in my late twenties. Next year, I'll be heading into my late thirties. Makes you reflect a little," Jing Yu chuckled.
"Alright, enough of that. Back to business. I'm not retiring. 'Your Name' drops on January 1st. 'Castle in the Sky' follows at the end of January for the Spring Festival.
Before then, I'll prepare all the projects and plans related to my work for next year."