Traveling Through the Tokyo Bubble Era

Chapter 1080: The deck for summoning "The Kindaichi Case Files" is complete.
Upon arriving at the restaurant where he had booked dinner, Hideki Hanyu discovered that there were more people from the "Tokyo Love Story" film crew than he had expected.

In addition to Fumiaki Saimon and Kenji Hirokane, who were mentioned by Akira Tadashi, and Kazumasa Oda, the theme song composer, a scriptwriting team led by Yuji Sakamoto also came.

Many of them belong to the Cloud Film Projection and Screenwriting Department.

When these people saw Hideki Hanyu, their expressions were more exaggerated than if they had seen a ghost.

Hideki Hanyu guessed that if these people knew he was coming, they would never have attended tonight's party.

Fortunately, given Hideki Hanyu's status, there weren't many people who could sit with him tonight. Apart from the producer, director, Fumikaze Saimon and her husband, Kazumasa Oda, Yuji Sakamoto, the head of the scriptwriting team, there were only a few lead actors.

In the spacious private room, everyone enjoyed a set meal of Japanese cuisine, each eating their own food, and there was no need for them to do anything else.

However, in such occasions, which are often gatherings of entertainment industry crews, certain unwritten rules are inevitable.

For example, after the dinner party started, actresses Honami Suzuki, Yumi Arimori, and Akiho Chido began to serve customers.

Pouring wine, serving food, handing out towels, and even drinking with customers when necessary—they seemed busier than the waiters at a restaurant.

Of course, not everyone can enjoy this service.

They must be seniors with high status and extensive experience.

Producers and directors are naturally included in this category.

However, since Hideki Hanyu is here today, he is the most qualified person here.

If it weren't for the fact that he couldn't bring himself to do it and that it was really inappropriate, even the coach, Ota, would probably want to take the job and curry favor with the big boss, Hideki Hanyu.

After all, from the moment the dinner party started, Da Liang's various flattering and ingratiating words showed that this guy really wanted to improve.

Unfortunately, there's no room for a third person next to Hideki Hanyu.

Just as Hideki Yuzuru agreed to Akira's request and joined the others, several pairs of eyes in the crowd locked onto him.

Two of them had the most obvious gazes.

First, there's Arimori Yami, who was taken advantage of and then forgotten by that scumbag. Even without looking, Hideki Hanyu could feel the resentment in her eyes.

There was also a look of surprise, joy, and anticipation from another actress, Chido Akiho.

When Hideki Hanyu arrived at the restaurant with the others and entered the private room, Arimori immediately followed the "rules" and sat down next to Hideki Hanyu to begin serving him.

But then Arimori noticed that Chido Akiho had already sat down on the other side of Hanyu Hideki before her, and was already smilingly asking Hanyu Hideki whether he wanted warm or cold sake.

Not to be outdone, Arimori was naturally not going to be outdone, after all, she and Hideki Hanyu had a past relationship, so she took a towel and went to wipe Hideki Hanyu's hands.

What followed was naturally a battle of wits and sarcasm between the two women, each trying to outdo the other.

Everyone present could see that the two actresses were interested in the big shot, so even if the two women didn't pay attention to them, no one would say anything about it.

Even Suzuki Honami, who originally wanted to make a gesture, saw the two women's posture and only offered a drink before decisively walking away.

Although Suzuki Honami, who already has a relationship with Akira, also has feelings for the big shot Hideki Hanyu, it's not appropriate to show it in this situation.

After all, Da Liang was still there, and she didn't want to neglect one thing for another.

If you make your intentions too obvious, you might not be able to build a relationship with the big shots, but you'll definitely lose the favor of most of them.

Besides, with Mori Yuzuri and Chido Akiho currently competing with each other, it would be too unsightly and beneath her dignity if she joined in.

After all, as the lead actress in "Tokyo Love Story" and the most likable character in the drama, she benefited the most from the drama's huge success, unlike Arimori Yumi and Chido Akiho who were in a hurry.

Hideki Hanyu naturally noticed the reactions of those around him.

This wasn't the first time he'd experienced something like this, so he handled it with ease.

He had heard too much flattery from Da Liang and others. Although he showed a satisfied expression on the surface, he didn't care at all in his heart.

Of course, this does not diminish his appreciation for these individuals.

The desire to improve is simply human nature.

Looking back at the development of later generations, these people were indeed highly capable, and their contributions were indispensable to Fuji Television's dominance in the 1990s.

As for how these people, after being promoted to high positions, brought their shady work styles into Fuji Television's management due to their "grassroots" backgrounds, causing numerous scandals involving "unspoken rules," that's a matter for later.

As the saying goes, "When the birds are all gone, the good bow is put away; when the cunning rabbit is dead, the hunting dog is cooked."

These people still have value to Fuji Television, so Hideki Hanyu naturally wouldn't do anything to them for something that hasn't happened yet.

If you want to discard these people after they've served their purpose, you should at least squeeze them dry first.

Therefore, when Hideki Yuzuru faced these people, he presented himself as a respectful and courteous boss.

As for Arimori and Chido Akiho, who were surrounding him, the scumbag's attitude was to enjoy himself as he pleased, completely ignoring their rivalry.

Even more so than the two women, Hideki Yuzuru felt a pang of regret after noticing Honami Suzuki's reluctance to go.

He wasn't interested in Honami Suzuki.

But he still harbors fantasies about Rika Akana from the TV series "Tokyo Love Story," after all, who can refuse a fictional character coming to life?

Often, when audiences like an actor, they like not the actor himself, but the character he plays.

If you had the other person dress up in a costume from a TV drama, play the song "Sudden Love," and then directly cosplay Rika Akana in real life, and then...

Just thinking about it makes even a scumbag a little excited.

This is the ultimate level of stamp collecting!

Hideki Hanyu suppressed his emotions, feeling regretful, thinking that today's occasion was not suitable, but there would be plenty of opportunities in the future.

Anyway, he just wanted to collect stamps, not to be with someone forever.

However, at this impromptu gathering, the people he chatted with the most were not actually the ones mentioned earlier.

Instead, it was musician Kazumasa Oda, and Fumi Saimon and her husband Kenji Hirokane.

The former, in fact, can now be considered a member of the Cloud System.

Kazumasa Oda entered the Japanese music scene as the lead vocalist of a band called "Off Course," which he co-founded with his high school classmates.

However, in 1989, due to a series of reasons, Kazuka Oda disbanded the band and chose to pursue a solo career.

During his time in the band "Off Course," Kazumasa Oda was signed to a record label under Sony.

After going solo, Kazumasa Oda did not receive much attention.

After all, in the previous twenty years, although he debuted as a singer-songwriter in a band and gained a certain degree of fame and attention, he could hardly be called a star.

At this time, Kazumasa Oda, who was once again facing the choice of a record company, received an invitation from an old friend to join a small label called Shin-On Records. Although it was called a small label, its background was actually quite impressive.

First of all, the person invited was Kazumasa Oda's old friend, none other than Takayuki Mukaiyama, the head of the sales department at Cloud Music.

Back in the 1970s, before the Cloud System was even established, when Takayuki Mukai was still working at Sony Music, the two had already met.

Takayuki Mukoyama, who has always admired Kazumasa Oda's talent, promptly invited his friend to join Shinon Records after learning that his friend was going solo.

Here we must explain the origins of New Sound Records.

This is a record label jointly founded by Cloud Music, Cloud Film, Cloud Satellite TV, and later Fuji Television.

Its main function is to recruit and invite independent musicians to create soundtracks and theme songs for its TV series and movies, and to commercialize these songs.

Therefore, Takayuki Mukayama's original intention in inviting Kazumasa Oda was to find Kazumasa Oda a stable income.

After all, with the Cloud Group plus two TV stations, they are never short of work.

But no one expected that the success of "Tokyo Love Story" would lead to the explosive popularity of the theme song "Sudden Love" composed by Kazumasa Oda.

Currently, this song has been at number one on the Oricon Singles Chart for two consecutive weeks.

Hideki Hanyu also knew that this song would achieve a staggering sales volume of nearly 2.7 million copies this year, and take the top spot in singles sales in 1991.

Takayuki Mukai's kind offer of help resulted in such a pleasant surprise for the company.

The song "Sudden Love" became a turning point in Kazumasa Oda's career.

Hideki Hanyu also really likes this song.

At the dinner table, he even asked Kazumasa Oda for a limited edition autographed vinyl record.

This gesture made Kazumasa Oda feel somewhat flattered.

After talking with Kazumasa Oda, Hideki Hanyu then spent the rest of his time chatting with Fumi Saimon and his wife.

As they talked, the conversation turned to the "Neon Youth Manga Award," for which Fumi Saimon served as a judge this year.

This award, jointly organized by Elf Publishing and Elf Entertainment, has been held since 1987 and is now in its fifth year.

Although the time frame is not long, its influence has grown year by year.

The reason is simple: firstly, the comic book authors who stand out in the awards not only receive substantial prize money, but also development opportunities provided by Elf Publishing.

While the former may attract many people, the latter is actually more important.

After so many years of development, Elf Publishing has long been a top-tier publisher in the Japanese comics industry.

Even in terms of sales alone, it is an absolute leader in the top tier, surpassing even established publishers like Shogakukan and Shueisha.

The reason for this is simply the positioning of Elf Publishing House.

From its inception, Elf Publishing House was founded to support the development of Elf Entertainment's ecosystem, and this original intention remained unchanged even after its later collaboration with Cloud Entertainment.

With ample capital and a pure purpose, Elf Publishing House operates without being overly profit-driven, allowing it to grant comic book authors greater creative freedom and treatment that surpasses that of its peers.

Leveraging its internal ecosystem advantages and strong capital backing, Elf Publishing House rapidly expanded its business, launching one publication after another, and sales increased rapidly as a result.

This also gives comic book authors who sign with Elf Publishing greater exposure, better sales, and more copyright revenue.

Therefore, in today's Japanese manga industry, if you ask a new manga artist which publisher would be their first choice for submissions, almost everyone would answer Elf Publishing.

However, with fierce competition, it has become increasingly difficult to successfully sign a contract with Elf Publishing House and have the comics published.

Therefore, the "Neon Youth Comic Award" has become the quickest way for new comic book artists to join Elf Publishing.

Even if you only get the lowest award of shortlist, excellence, or champion, you can still get the chance to publish your comic in Elf Publishing's trial monthly magazine.

In the previous four editions of the "Neon Youth Manga Award," many manga artists have made a name for themselves and achieved both fame and fortune through this opportunity.

As the saying goes, many hands make light work, and the "Neon Youth Comic Award" has been rising in status in the industry precisely because of everyone's support.

With the support of the Cloud Sect, the Elf Sect, and Hideki Hanyu, the "Neon Seishin Manga Award" has gained widespread recognition in the manga industry.

So even though it has only been held for five sessions, its prestige is comparable to those of established awards, making it the first choice for many newcomers to enter the industry and helping Elf Publishing House continuously acquire talent.

Every year after the awards ceremony, Hideki Hanyu would go through the list to see which manga artists who would later become famous had been acquired by Elf Publishing.

After talking with Fumi Saimon about the "Japan Youth Manga Awards" today, Hideki Hanyu asked about it.

"If I remember correctly, the preliminary rounds for the Japan Seinen Manga Awards should have already ended. I wonder if Mr. Shibamon has discovered any outstanding authors?"

After thinking for a moment, Fumi Saimon said, "There are so many excellent authors, but there are a few that have left a deep impression on me. There is a female author named Fumiko Sato whose art style I really like."

Fumiko Sato?

The moment the name came up, a manga immediately popped into Hideki Hanyu's mind.

A representative work of Japanese mystery manga, it sparked a detective manga craze in Japan and is also the famous manga that led to the creation of "Detective Conan".

Kindaichi Case Files

If I remember correctly, the illustrator of "Kindaichi Case Files" was Fumiko Sato, though she used the pen name Fumiya Sato in the manga.

Interestingly, the original author of "Kindaichi Case Files," Seimaru Amagi, also known as Shin Kishi, signed a contract with Elf Publishing as early as 1987 through the first "Neon Seishin Manga Award."

Meanwhile, Yozaburo Kanesei, the scriptwriter of "Kindaichi Case Files," signed a contract with Elf Publishing last year after participating in the 4th "Neon Youth Manga Award."

Currently, his first manga, "Girl Detective Silver Wolf," is being serialized in "Monthly Shonen Sun," published by Elf Publishing.

So what is this?
Five years later, I drew three SRR cards and assembled a deck to summon "The Kindaichi Case Files"?

Now that the three are back in their positions, with just a little push from him, Elf Publishing House will soon have a top-selling comic.

Most importantly, this manga has a very strong advantage in live-action TV series and movie adaptations, far surpassing Detective Conan.

In another timeline, one of the most important ways Johnny & Associates promotes its idol artists is by casting them in the live-action version of "The Kindaichi Case Files".

With this comic, Yunshang Satellite TV has gained another regular drama series, and Yunshang Entertainment has gained another way to promote new talents.

Of course, if "The Kindaichi Case Files" is successful, Gosho Aoyama might be spurred on and soon create "Detective Conan".

Thinking this, Hideki Yuzuru immediately said to Fumi Shibamon.

"What Mr. Shibamoto said has piqued my interest in this year's Japan Youth Manga Award. If time permits, I will definitely attend this year's awards ceremony."

(End of this chapter)