The literary era since 1979

The sky gradually darkened and the street lamps began to glow.

Fangyan and Kadokawa Kojihiko walked out of Haruki Murakami's house in the night.

"I never thought that Murakami was inspired by your Love Letter to write Norwegian Wood."

Kadokawa Lehiko sighed: "How can the writing styles of these two youth novels be so different?"

Fang Yan said: "Different types naturally give different feelings, just like abstract paintings and realistic paintings, each has its own beauty."

Kadokawa Koyomi nodded in agreement, "'Love Letter' is a pure love novel, pure, clean, beautiful, and moving. Although there are regrets and tragedies, it is sad but not heartbreaking. But 'Norwegian Wood' is different. Although it is also a youth love novel, Murakami creates such a cold, sad, and lonely atmosphere in the book. The characters in it are all a little depressed. At a young age, they have to endure the pain of separation from their loved ones while growing up."

Fang Yan said: "Otherwise why is it called 'Youth Pain Literature'?"

"Mr. Fangyan, your use of this word is so mysterious and accurate!"

Kadokawa Toshihiko pondered for a moment and said, "This type of literature has never appeared in Japan. I wonder what it will be like after it is published?"

Fang Yan smiled and said, "If it were me, I would immediately notify Vice President Suzuki and ask Yuhikaku to sign Norwegian Wood no matter what the cost. I have a feeling that the sales and influence of this film will definitely be better than Love Letter."

"That...that..."

Kadokawa Koyomi hoped that he could keep it a secret and not tell Suzuki Shunjiro, so that Kadokawa Shoten could grab the publishing rights of "Norwegian Wood".

"Well..."

Fangyan grinned and quickened his pace.

"Mr. Fangyan! Mr. Fangyan!"

Kadokawa Toshihiko hurriedly followed him and saw him suddenly stop at a small stall surrounded by long benches, and then find a place to sit down.

"welcome!"

The boss bent down slightly, then pointed to the "Yakitori, Fried Dumplings, Ramen" written on the sign curtain and asked what we wanted to eat.

As soon as Kadokawa Koyomi sat down, the hot steam of the fragrant oden wafted into his nose.

Fangyan ordered everything one by one, pork bone ramen, chicken skewers, fried dumplings, oden...

"A bowl of ramen and two bottles of beer!"

As soon as Kadokawa Kojima finished speaking, he immediately turned sideways and stared at him eagerly, obviously wanting to get his hands on "Norwegian Wood".

"You really work hard for Kadokawa Shoten."

Fang Yan picked up a crab stick and took a bite. "But didn't you already make up your mind and prepare to confront President Kadokawa?"

Kadokawa poured beer into his glass. "Yes, I plan to have one last talk with Big Brother. If he still disagrees with Kadokawa's entry into the two-dimensional field that young people like, then I will completely give up this idea and 'retire' from Kadokawa Bookstore. I will accept your kindness and start our own two-dimensional library to prove to him whose 'business philosophy' is the future of Japan's publishing industry!"

it is good!
energetic!

Fangyan grinned and clinked glasses with him. That's right. How can you create a good two-dimensional world if you are with a bug like Haruki Kadokawa!
Kadokawa Toshihiko drank the wine in one gulp. "So I hope to serve Kadokawa Shoten for the last time before I retire. I hope to use Norwegian Wood to put a perfect end to my career at Kadokawa Shoten. It can also be regarded as my last contribution to the Kadokawa family."

"Since you've said so, I'll grant your wish."

Fangyan filled his glass and drank another one with him.

"cheers!"

Kadokawa Lehiko laughed, "I had originally planned to invite you to taste the delicious food of Kanagawa to thank you for your efforts in the cooperation between Shochiku and our Kadokawa Pictures, but I didn't expect to meet Murakami and the others." So he planned to hold a banquet another day to give you a grand treat.

"Speaking of this." Seeing the boss bring the grilled chicken skewers, Fangyan picked up one of them and talked about his demands for the movie "Love Letter" while eating. Just like the filming of "The Ring", the director, screenwriter, actors, etc. must be reviewed and screened by him before the final list can be determined.

"What do you think of Mr. Dalin, Fangyan?"

The person Kadokawa Leyihiko mentioned was naturally "Ohbayashi Nobuhiko", who is the best director in Kadokawa Pictures who is good at making girl idol movies.

Representative works include "The Girl Who Leapt Through Time", "Superpower School Girl", "Transfer Student"...

"As for the director, let's wait until the script is written before deciding."

Fangyan said that romance films are not uncommon in the film industry, but this is the first time that a pure love film has been made, so the screenwriter team must be younger, because "Love Letter" is mainly aimed at young people, and the screenwriter must understand the preferences of young Japanese people.

Kadokawa Leyan said: "Since you said that, I guess you already have a suitable candidate in mind, right?"

"So far, I have only found one or two."

The dialect directly pronounces the names "Yoko Suzuki", "Yui Hashimoto", and "Yasushi Akimoto".

Kadokawa Koyomi and Suzuki Shunjiro were close friends, so they had naturally met Suzuki Yoko. And as a member of the Kyoto University Family Association and an important translator of "Love Letter", there was no objection to Hashimoto Yui becoming the screenwriter of the film given their abilities and their familiarity with the dialect.

"As for this 'Akimoto Yasushi', does Fang Yanjun know him as well?"

"I've never seen it before. It was just by chance that I saw the show 'Twilight Meow' on TV."

Speaking half true and half false in dialect, he said that he became interested in idol groups like the "Kitty Club" and then learned more about them.

"'Kitten Club' was indeed written by this man."

Kadokawa Koyomi shook his head and laughed. Fuji TV's "Twilight Meow Meow" program was recruiting high school girls as assistant hosts, and the response was unprecedentedly enthusiastic. What was even more unexpected was the selection mechanism of the Kitten Club. The threshold requirements were very low, and the members were constantly replaced.

The result is that large numbers of amateur high school students have the opportunity to appear on TV and enter the Japanese entertainment industry, so that the entire girl idol category is almost completely dominated by the Kitten Club. This is also one of the main culprits for the decline of Kadokawa Pictures' idol movies.

After all, idol movies are the intersection between idols and movies, but Kadokawa Pictures' ability to create stars lost to Kitty Club.

When he said this, he bit off a piece of chicken vigorously. "My brother said that this was the one who pushed the girl idol group to its demise, but some people also said that it was the greatest invention of the Japanese entertainment industry. Who is right and who is wrong is a matter of opinion, but the influence of the Kitten Club is really incredible!"

"What do you think if all the members of the Kitten Club cameo as high school girls in the movie?"

Fangyan cast a meaningful look.

"I understand why you want to get him into the writing team!"

Kadokawa Toshihiko suddenly realized, "But he is indeed a suitable candidate. After all, he is a member of the Nippon Broadcasting System Writers Group."

While the two were chatting, the boss brought two bowls of cooked ramen to the counter and then started making fried dumplings for them.

"Suck, suck, suck."

Kadokawa Toshihiko took a few bites and said, "By the way, Fangyan-kun, there is news about the Cinderella boy you asked me to find out for you."

I almost spit out my dialect. Japan is indeed a country that likes to give people all kinds of strange nicknames.

It’s fine to call Masayoshi Son a “monster industrialist”, but what the hell is “the Cinderella boy who makes a lot of money from computers”?

"This man is really surprising. The doctor gave him an ultimatum that he could only live for five years at most, but he actually cured his terminal illness and returned to SoftBank," said Kadokawa Koyomi. "But his misfortune doesn't seem to be over yet. I heard that some time ago, 5 capable executives and employees of his company submitted their resignation letters together and prepared to start their own companies. Several employees also jumped to competing companies."

It sounds like SoftBank's Masayoshi Son is at the lowest point in his life right now?

Fangyan tried to hold back his laughter, but he couldn't help it in the end. This laugh almost wiped out all the good deeds he had done in the past ten years. (End of this chapter)