At the end of June, the promotional campaign for the live-action drama 'Yu-Gi-Oh!' officially kicked off.
In the past, Jing Yu's games were usually adapted after his dramas became hits. This was the first time a popular game was being turned into a live-action series.
To be honest, Jing Yu didn't expect much in terms of word-of-mouth after the series aired.
After all, a work like 'Yu-Gi-Oh!' was ultimately just flashy and light-hearted—a commercial-oriented genre through and through. The original storyline mostly came down to how creative the writer wanted to get. If the protagonist ever got stuck in an unwinnable duel, some god-tier card that hadn't been shown before would just show up to save the day.
It felt powerful on the first watch, but by the second or third viewing, that manufactured feeling was hard to ignore.
Jing Yu created this series purely to promote 'Yu-Gi-Oh!' and boost the upcoming release of its merchandise and second-gen game.
So after doing some early appearances to build up hype, Jing Yu didn't focus too much energy on it.
Right now, the company has a backlog of projects already in motion for next year—like 'Bleach', 'Slam Dunk', and others—with loads of worldbuilding details still waiting on him.
BlueStar Media had more than a dozen projects underway, from movies to games to dramas. Even if Jing Yu only handled the most critical parts of each one, the total workload was massive.
On July 1st, when 'Yu-Gi-Oh!' officially aired,
Jing Yu didn't stay at the company to watch it with the production team.
Instead, he went home to watch the premiere with his wife, Yu Youqing.
Though the series had been in production for less than a year, BlueStar's industry partners were solid, and the special effects for the many monsters featured in 'Yu-Gi-Oh!' were actually quite decent.
Of course, with only a 100–200 million yuan budget, it wasn't realistic to expect 'Avengers' or 'Transformers'-level effects like in Jing Yu's past life.
But it was still miles better than those "five-second effects" dramas.
After the premiere aired, the audience's response was overwhelmingly positive.
Nationwide, it got a 9.2 rating and a first-episode viewership of 10.11%.
Seeing the numbers the next day, Jing Yu sighed.
Honestly, 'Death Note' had far more storytelling depth than early episodes of 'Yu-Gi-Oh!'.
But the ratings told a different story.
Just like in his past life, critically acclaimed masterpieces like 'The Shawshank Redemption' might not crush the box office, but popcorn flicks like 'Avengers' always did.
Some fans had started complaining that Jing Yu's recent works were too commercialized, that they lacked the emotional depth of his earlier creations.
He agreed.
The most touching, impactful works often didn't perform that well. Their commercial appeal was limited.
Yet it was the flashy, action-heavy shows that always brought in the numbers.
With over two thousand employees depending on him, Jing Yu couldn't afford to make low-revenue works anymore.
Even if he had a bottomless vault of material from his previous life, his time was still limited.
So while some people were still complaining during the first week of airing, by the second week, everyone was happily immersed in 'Yu-Gi-Oh!''s story.
Between the game and the drama, which made more money?
No contest: the game.
But which got more public attention?
Also, no contest: the drama.
A game with 10 million buyers could make a studio rich and its creator financially free for life.
But a drama with only 10 million viewers?
In Great Zhou, that's barely considered a pass.
So while 'Yu-Gi-Oh!''s drama wasn't a massive moneymaker through ads, sponsorships, or streaming revenue...
It excelled in another area: merchandise.
The card game and figures that had already exploded among gamers last year were now going viral again thanks to the drama.
Jing Yu remembered that in elementary school, his classmates would spend their breakfast money to buy 10-card packs of 'Yu-Gi-Oh!' Cards are sold at the school gate for 50 cents each.
Even if they weren't serious duelists, kids just loved collecting the cards, showing them off, or playing silly versions of the game like card flipping or marble wagers.
That same vibe was coming back.
Now, it wasn't just gamers buying cards.
Everywhere on streaming sites, teens were uploading duel card battle videos.
Students across the country were scrambling to buy card packs just for a shot at pulling a Blue-Eyes White Dragon.
If you got first place in a class test, only the second-place student might envy you.
But if you had a Blue-Eyes White Dragon—even a standard one, let alone a rare—
You'd be the center of attention among all the boys in class.
So in July, while BlueStar Media's drama revenues for 'Yu-Gi-Oh!' were just average,
The merchandise profits skyrocketed.
In fact, sales might have been 2–3x higher than the best month during the game's release in Jing Yu's previous life.
And the numbers were too big to hide.
Anyone in the industry who wanted to know could easily get their hands on BlueStar's sales data.
And when they did—
Envy. Jealousy. Resignation.
"You can't even copy this if you wanted to."
"Back when he made 'Hikaru no Go', people copied him with chess-themed dramas. When he made 'Attack on Titan' or 'Gundam'-style works, others followed with knock-offs. But 'Yu-Gi-Oh!'? What do you even copy? The mechanics? The cards? The rules? You'd have to design the whole system from scratch."
"Exactly! It's not just the show, it's the game that's uncopyable!"
"It's absurd. Just with 'Yu-Gi-Oh!' alone—game, merchandise, and drama—BlueStar might clear 1 to 2 billion yuan this month."
"That's probably an understatement. You're only counting domestic figures. 'Yu-Gi-Oh!' is exploding worldwide."
"On the global pre-release chart, the second-gen 'Yu-Gi-Oh!' game ranks fourth—right behind 'Pokémon Gen 2' and two other legendary franchises over 20 years old."
"It's not just 'Yu-Gi-Oh!'. 'Pokémon''s live-action drama airing this winter is expected to be just as big. I heard BlueStar is working directly with Great Zhou's top five toy manufacturers to co-develop merchandise—over 200 different Pokémon figures alone!"
"What I don't get is—both games launched almost a year ago. Why are they still trending so hard?"
"Beats me. Look at 'Attack on Titan'. Huge last year, but after ending, its merch sales dropped fast. 'Yu-Gi-Oh!' and 'Pokémon', on the other hand, have had strong sales from day one—and they've only doubled this month thanks to the drama."
"People say Jing Yu sold out, went full commercial—but isn't that normal? If one project could bring in tens of millions monthly, wouldn't you make it?"
"Sigh. Call it jealousy. The man started from zero, and in 10 years became an industry giant. I've been in gaming for 20 years, and I still have 8 years left on my mortgage. The gap is brutal."
In game developers' group chats, people couldn't stop dissecting the sales figures for 'Yu-Gi-Oh!' and 'Pokémon'.
They thought the two franchises had peaked.
But in truth, they hadn't even begun.
Everything was still going according to Jing Yu's rollout plan.
As July ended and August arrived,
Season 1 of the 'Yu-Gi-Oh!' drama wrapped up the Duelist Kingdom arc.
Due to the dense original content, many parts had to be trimmed, but overall, the viewing experience was solid.
Even hardcore gamers gave it a thumbs-up.
Viewership peaked between 11% and 12%, then plateaued.
August flew by. September came.
Now, Jing Yu's company has two main goals:
Promote the second-gen games for 'Yu-Gi-Oh!' and 'Pokémon' launching at year-end.
Promote the upcoming 'Pokémon' live-action drama.
For BlueStar, the second half of the year revolved almost entirely around these two IPs.
Sure, the drama wasn't Titan-level in impact.
People mostly watched for fun.
But those viewers were now getting hyped for the second-gen games too.
"So the new games drop at the end of November and December?"
"Yup."
"I assume 'Pokémon' will be open-world again—farming, raising, battling, collecting. But what about 'Yu-Gi-Oh!'? How do you make a sequel?"
"New protagonist. Same world. And this time, once you beat the main storyline, you unlock online mode."
"Wait—you're saying once I finish the story, I can duel real players online?!"
"Exactly."
"So for 198 yuan, I'm basically buying an online duel launcher?"
"More or less."
"Then yeah, I'm in. Online duels are way more fun."
"And side quests will matter too, since full completion is needed to unlock online mode. Nobody wants to be underpowered in PvP."
"Man, now I'm hyped. I mean, nothing wrong with physical cards, but I'm 42 years old. It's getting awkward battling my neighbor's 7-year-old."
"Haha, glad I'm not the only one!"
"I'm not dueling neighbors—I'm getting wrecked by my own kid. Same deck, same cards, and he destroys me."
"November feels so far. They had all the assets from Gen 1—why did Gen 2 take a whole year?"
"Dude, global franchises often take 5–6 years between sequels. One year is a blessing."
"Calling Jing Yu lazy is just a meme. We all know he's a content machine. We just want more!"
"Same. I just want this season to end already. I'm tired of fighting NPC bosses in Gen 1. I want to crush actual players online."
As more and more details of 'Yu-Gi-Oh! Gen 2' leaked—new protagonist, online play—the global hype kept growing.
The drama itself also ended its first season in mid-to-late September.
BlueStar quickly shifted all focus to the 'Pokémon' live-action launch.
Meanwhile, production on 'Bleach' and 'Slam Dunk' officially began, including VFX work.
After three intense months, by mid-October, Jing Yu found himself with a lighter workload.
He hadn't acted in anything for a full year, and fans had grown used to him not appearing in his own productions.
Yet in Great Zhou's film and game circles, his popularity hadn't dropped at all.
In fact, the less Jing Yu showed up, the more people idolized him.
Just like the great masters of his previous life—
Their legacies often rose after their passing.
Jing Yu was still young, but the entire industry already revered him like a living legend.
No longer a rival—he was the pinnacle of the field. Practically a god.