Chapter 38 Idols and Tokusatsu Drama

Ryuichi Hanai's speech brought the atmosphere of the entire program to its climax. Although everyone still wanted to have a better understanding of the relationship between Nanaya Kiryu and Ori Ryougi, they were ultimately unable to do so.

Although Fujimura Taiga doesn't know how to write the word "enough is enough", as a host she should at least know when to end the topic.

because--

The show time has come.

With a series of reminder sounds, the live broadcast time of this birthday festival has arrived.

"Eh————?! The end??!" Fujimura Taiga's face was full of regret, but she had to say the closing words, "Thank you all for watching this show, see you next time~ Tsk, I must ask you after it's over!"

"Ahhhhh?!"

Countless viewers expressed disappointment like Taiga.

Obviously, the next scene is about the love confrontation between the elders and the younger generation. We also want to see Director Kiryu face his teacher's obstruction and argue with reason! Why does it end here?

If Nanaya knew what these guys were thinking, he would definitely curse them.

What are you thinking about? It's obviously not happening!

Although Nanaya did not have the ability to read minds and did not know what these people were thinking, he could see that Fujimura Taiga's big eyes were still flashing with gossip - it was obvious that he would not give up even if the show was over.

In order to avoid this gossipy tiger who was going to continue to pester him, Nanaya immediately walked out of the studio after the director told him that he could leave.

"Director Kiryu, thank you for your hard work."

"Well, thank you for your hard work."

In the corridor, many staff members who had left the studio were walking around. When they saw Nanaya, they hurriedly greeted him. Nanaya did not get tired of returning the greetings, but his pace was getting faster and faster.

"Director Kiryu, please stay!"

A TBS staff member who stayed at Nanaya's house was his acquaintance Naito Hiroya.

"I'm really sorry, Director Kiryu." The old man came up and apologized to Nanaya, "Fujimura didn't know the seriousness of the matter, please forgive her."

"I see you guys from the show are all smiling happily. It looks like the ratings are pretty good. Congratulations."

Nanaya said with a dark face.

"No, no. It's only 27.4% of the viewership." Naito chuckled, his face filled with a happy smile. He found that since he met the young director in front of him, everything has been going well for him. Not only did the ratings of the previous late-night movie show rise, but the special interview he planned for the station also achieved good results.

In Naito's eyes, he has already regarded Nanaya as his lucky star.

[27.4% is already high! Do you want a rating of over 30%? ! ]

Nanaya kept thinking to himself, you know, this is no longer the Showa era when the ratings were easily in the dozens, and a rating of over 20% is already considered a super popular show.

Naito also knew that Nanaya must be upset right now, so he immediately got down to business: "Director Kiryu, the production crew will have a celebratory supper in the harbor later. Do you want to join us?"

"No, I'm afraid that if Sister Fuji catches me, all my little secrets will be exposed."

Nanaya's words made Naito smile awkwardly.

"Anyway, I'll leave my new play to you, Naito-san, to take care of it."

"That's natural." Naito's eyes narrowed into slits. He was already somewhat superstitious about Nanaya, so of course he would fully cooperate with the other party. "Regarding the idol group that Director Kiryu mentioned before, I have already contacted them. You can go tomorrow."

"Thank you so much."

Naito waved his hand, as if he had done something insignificant: "No, after all, it's Director Kiryu's new drama, and it's their blessing for those little idols to appear as the protagonists."

"Oh right." Nanaya said the idea that came to him just now when he was doing the show, "I want Sister Taiga to play a cameo in my new drama to boost its popularity. Is that possible?"

Having Fujimura Taiga play Taiga is a very cost-effective thing no matter how you look at it. As an artist outside the play, he is very popular; as a supporting role in the play, Taiga's role is not too much, which can be said to be a very cost-effective approach.

Naito's eyes flickered. "Of course, just invite Fujimura as usual for a commercial performance."

[That means you want the official price. No discount? Tsk, you old fox.]

Hearing what the other party meant, Nanaya curled his lips in dissatisfaction, and then he said his second idea: "Also, I have an idea about Sister Fuji's program. I hope Naito-san can bother to consider it."

"Please go ahead."

The smile on Naito's face disappeared, and he now exuded an aura of majesty without even being angry. Naito had completely transformed into a seasoned TV producer.

However, Nanaya was not frightened by the other party, but expressed his thoughts calmly.

—————————————————————————————

Just as Nanaya thought, the little thing between him and Ori really made it to the entertainment news the next day.

"Fuck, don't make it sound like Ori and I are childhood sweethearts. We've only known each other for a few years! These guys are really on par with the UC Shock Club!"

In the taxi, Nanaya threw aside an entertainment newspaper with the title "More than close friends? Less than lovers? A new director and his muse are undergoing a test from their teacher!" and complained viciously.

"Well, well, Mr. Kiryu, calm down first." Tamari, who was sitting in the back seat with him, advised, "Anyway, the entertainment gossip media say all kinds of things these days, but not many people take them seriously."

"Why do I feel like you're watching a show?"

"Ahem."

Tamari coughed twice, put on a serious expression, and then asked from behind his notebook: "Mr. Kiryu, do you have any requirements for the role in "Magical Girl Illya"? "

"Except for the main roles, for supporting roles and extras, just post an announcement and send out the requirements for auditions."

As a TV series, there are many roles involved this time, and Nanaya decided to audition all the particularly important roles. Even if someone wants to use personal connections, Nanaya can give these roles to others. He is not a rookie or a justice messenger, and it is not unacceptable for him to use backdoors as long as it does not affect the filming.

Of course, he must personally review the main actors.

Tamari wrote in his notebook: "There are a total of four core characters in the whole drama. Illya has been confirmed. Now we need Miyu and two other high school magical girls."

"Well, the role of Miyu is definitely a child role, and the same goes for Katsura Mimi, Takema Sawa Ryuko and other classmates of Miss Illya. We need a lot of child actors this time. Do you have any good recommendations?"

"Well... there was a senior in my previous company who was in charge of child stars. He had a lot of children under his care. Should I go ask him?" Tamari answered after thinking for a while.

"Okay, take some time to go and have a look then."

Nanaya doesn't have any good candidates at the moment, but when he heard that Tamari has a solution, he plans to go and take a look.

"Okay, I'll contact him." Tamari said as he wrote down something in his notebook, "So about the two high school magical girls, are they the ones we're going to audition now?"

"That's about right."

Seeing Nanaya's confident look, Tamari immediately rushed to his side excitedly: "Does Mr. Kiryu already have a plan?"

Nanaya nodded: "Yes, thanks to Naito's connections, I found a girl idol organization."

"Idol?" Tamari didn't expect this to be the answer.

Nanaya spread her hands and said, "After all, actresses generally don't like to act in special effects dramas, so it's more practical to start with idols."

Generally speaking, people who aspire to become big-name actors rarely play the main roles in special effects dramas. As for those small-time actors, to be honest, Nanaya doesn't think much of them because their acting skills are so bad.

There are many reasons why capable actors do not want to star in special effects dramas. One of the most important reasons is that after starring in special effects dramas, it is easy to be tied to the role.

This is somewhat similar to American superhero movies, where the characters in the play and the actors outside the play are confused in the audience's minds.

Although if you succeed in starring in a superhero movie or special effects drama, you will gain extremely high popularity in a short period of time, but you will also be bound by the role you play. The result is that when the actor appears in other movies, it will be very distracting, resulting in poor box office.

In Nanaya's memory, only a very small number of people like Masaki Suda have climbed out of the special effects circle. Most people can never climb out once they step in.

If Nanaya was directing a regular TV series instead of a special effects drama, these actors would probably follow him eagerly. However, precisely because Nanaya was directing a special effects drama this time, most of the actors seemed a little hesitant.

So after being turned down by several actors, Nanaya gave up on looking for Rin and Luvia in the actor circle and turned her attention to the idol circle.

In the 1980s, idols were once very popular in Japan. Superstar idols such as Yamaguchi Momoe, Matsuda Seiko, and Nakamori Akina once dominated the Japanese entertainment industry.

However, with the passage of time and the sudden decline of the Kitty Club, the idol industry suddenly fell from heaven to earth, to the point where anyone can step on it.

Especially now in 2000, apart from Morning Musume, there are few idol groups in Japan that can be mentioned. Even Morning Musume can only play pop music, which is far inferior to the predecessors who could call the shots in the 1980s.

This period can be said to be the darkest years for idols. It can be said that it is basically a mixture of defective and eliminated products in the entertainment industry. To put it bluntly, only those who are not very good-looking or have bad acting skills but who desperately want to make it in the entertainment industry will choose to be idols.

This situation did not change until AKB48 debuted in 2005 and the 48 family swept the country.

This is also the reason why Nanaya chose the idol group. It can be said that he and the idol group each get what they need.

Because idols do not have a high status and are cheap, Nanaya does not have to pay them too much to perform; and the idols themselves have a certain degree of fame, which will be more advantageous when promoting them.

As for idol groups, it is not a loss either. Idols need popularity, and special effects dramas can bring a lot of popularity. As for the disadvantage of special effects dramas being easily tied to roles, it is not a big problem for idols. After all, idols make a living from their youth, and having a role as a long-term meal ticket is actually a good thing for them.

After hearing Nanaya's explanation, Tamari nodded, an excited look on his face: "So, Mr. Kiryu, which idol group did you choose, Morning Musume?"

"Where can I get so much money!" Nanaya snorted, "I'm looking for Trier, the group that helped us sing "Oblivious" before."