The literary era since 1979

Ginza, Nimachime.

The lights were on and the place was bustling with people drinking and partying. Kadokawa Lehiko took Fangyan to a bar he often visited.

The Tokyo Bubble Era was like a dream. The entire Japanese, from top to bottom, were living in debauchery and spending huge amounts of money on entertainment venues and luxury goods.

At this moment, the restaurant was packed with people and almost all the seats were occupied. Fortunately, Kadokawa Lehiko was a regular customer and had reserved a private seat in advance.

When the mama-san with her eyebrows and noble temperament learned that the customer was Fangyan, who recently won the Oscar for Best Picture for "Farewell My Concubine", she selected the best girl in the store and even worried about not treating her well, so she went to serve customers like Fangyan herself.

After all, Fang Yan is a household name in Japan, and his popularity is no less than that of Jackie Chan. A "Fan Yan Fans Support Club" has even been established for this purpose.

It just so happened that the mama-san claimed to be a member of the fan club, and while pouring wine, she observed the expressions of the people and said:
"I have a humble request. I really like the Love Letter you wrote. Can you sign it for me and take a photo with me later?"

"of course can!"

Fangyan agreed readily.

"Arigato, dialect-kun!"

Mama-san was smiling happily.

Fangyan took a sip of the wine and knew very well that opening a bar in Ginza requires not only resources and connections, but also service and fame.

Fame, as the name suggests, is the celebrity effect.

Just like many restaurants have celebrity walls, the name of the dialect can increase the style and popularity of the entire bar.

Seeing him signing autographs for the mama-san, Kadokawa Toshihiko calmly shook the Glencairn glass, and the whiskey swayed in it.

After Fangyan finished writing, he asked about the development of publishing houses and offline bookstores.

“Everything is fine with the publishing house, but not so good with the bookstore.”

Kadokawa Kojihiko sighed. Due to the skyrocketing land and housing prices in Japan in recent years, rents have also risen, and the cost of opening offline bookstores has become increasingly expensive, so he has suspended his previous expansion plans and concentrated the bookstores in several major cities such as Tokyo and Kyoto.

In addition, he used the connections he had accumulated at Kadokawa Shoten to cooperate with bookstores in various counties and cities in Japan.

"We can only hold off for now and wait until the rent stabilizes or drops."

Fangyan smiled and thought that this day might not be too far away. When the Japanese economic bubble bursts and the real estate market collapses, that would be their opportunity.

Kadokawa Kotohiko drank from him, and when asked about "Dengeki Bunko", the corners of his mouth raised in a smug smile.

"Of course it is wonderful!"

"Oh?"

After asking Fangyan, I found out that the two-dimensional comics hosted by Dengeki Bunko have revolutionized the animation market dominated by Japan's traditional comic magazines, such as "Record of Lodoss War", and they have accumulated some well-known copyrighted works that are not inferior to those of Shueisha.

"In particular, Tokyo Love Story, which was created based on the script you provided, has sold more than 150 million copies so far."

Kadokawa Toshihiko said: "In addition, a TV series with the same name will be broadcast on Fuji TV soon."

These words immediately made the girls in kimonos' eyes sparkle, because they were all loyal readers of "Tokyo Love Story".

"What about light novels?"

Fangyan nodded with satisfaction.

"Light novels are going to be a little worse." Kadokawa Lehiko sighed. What restricts the development of light novels is the ability of current editors and writers.

Logically speaking, "light novels" should be aimed at the lively young people of the new era. However, light novels in the late 90s often still have a strong "edutainment" or "author's philosophy" color, and are not entertaining enough.

"Too artistic, huh?"

Fangyan couldn't help but sigh.

"That's right!"

Kadokawa Leyihiko said that Dengeki Bunko's current development trajectory in light novels is following the path that was explored in Kadokawa Bookstore back then. The initial launch of literary light novels also inherited Kadokawa's veins, so it seems understandable that it is now facing such a development bottleneck.

More importantly, with competitors eyeing the market covetously, Dengeki Bunko faces the crisis of "the new routes it has opened up being preempted by latecomers."

"So we must speed up the transformation and transform Dengeki Bunko from a literary and artistic direction to an entertainment direction."

Fangyan said seriously.

"I think so too, but it's easier said than done. How should we transform? Where should we transform?"

Kadokawa Koyomi frowned.

"I wonder if you've ever heard of otaku?"

There was a hint of amusement in the dialect.

Kadokawa Koyomi shook his head, and he explained that this concept was originally proposed by the famous Japanese cartoonist Nakamori Akio in 1983 to describe those who are obsessed with anime and devote their whole heart to it, but this concept can be extended to the field of "light novels".

"Even any group related to the two-dimensional world is a potential otaku."

Fangyan analyzed carefully and said: "The subculture formed by this group is what I call 'otaku culture'."

Including Kadokawa Koyomi, everyone looked like they didn't understand but were deeply shocked.

Fangyan patiently explained that today's Japanese society has begun to atomize, and the relationship between people has become indifferent, but the pressure of social competition is increasing day by day, which is bound to lead to huge obstacles for the younger generation in social interaction. Instead of making friends, they might as well seek a world in the two-dimensional world that can be truly dominated by their own will. Then he leisurely said a Japanese haiku:
“Although I am not rich, I have a warm home in the second dimension.”

"well said!"

Kadokawa Lehiko gave a thumbs up. "But if we want to do this, we need not only money, but also people. Although the number of ACG practitioners inspired by the concept of 'light novels' is increasing dramatically, the quality is uneven."

Fangyan smacked his lips. Unlike the content editing model in China where a single editor is in charge of a large number of authors, the editors of Japanese bunko are more traditional content editors of physical books. A single editor does not have many author resources, so they will have more time to intervene in the author's creation and incorporate their ideas into the finished product. Magazines like Shueisha, Shogakukan, and Dengeki Bunko all follow this model.

Kadokawa Koyomi's face flushed, his eyes sad. "So if we want to promote Dengeki Bunko to become a 'big man' in the new era, we must have a talent like you to take on the task. Otherwise, it's impossible. There's an old saying in Japan that it's not the old people who create the new era."

Then his face darkened and he sighed deeply, "Alas, I am already an old man from the old times, and I am only responsible for promoting history..."

"Don't say that, Li Yanjun."

Fangyan deliberately made eye contact with Mama-san, who immediately understood what he meant, "Is President Kadokawa old?"

The girl accompanying Kadokawa Lehiko also hurriedly added: "How could it be!"

"Hahaha."

Kadokawa Toyohiko's face was flushed, and he smiled and patted the girl's thigh. (End of this chapter)