I am a literary giant in Japan

The sudden popularity of "Kitagawa" and "Children in the Dark" in Thailand really shocked the Japanese literary world.

In the past, they had only heard of cases where novels praising the beautiful things of other countries became popular in those countries.

All the examples in recent years were created by Hide Kitagawa.

For example, "Remembrance of Things Past" was exported to France, "The Old Man and the Sea" was exported to the United States, and "One Hundred Years of Solitude" was exported to Colombia.

But they have never heard of a novel that became popular by criticizing the dark side of other countries. "Children in the Dark" may be the only one of its kind in the world!
The trolls in the Japanese literary criticism circle also fell silent.

Although they have long stopped targeting Mr. Kitagawa, and many of them have secretly joined Tetsutaro Mori's Japanese Literary Criticism Association and secretly cheered for Mr. Kitagawa on the Internet.

But these fence-sitters, if they smell something strange, will definitely turn against us faster than anyone else.

In the war years, they were definitely "Japanese traitors".

However, this time, such an uncharacteristic phenomenon caused all the trolls to fall silent.

They suddenly felt like they didn't know whether they should praise or suppress and criticize Kitagawa Hide.

Do Thais use courtesy before force, or do they really have a masochistic nature and enjoy being tortured to death?

The changes in the Thai literary market have little effect on the competition between Hideo Kitagawa and Evander Johnson in terms of sales, but the impact of the events they have caused is world-class.

Originally, as Kitagawa Hide had predicted, in terms of the overseas market, Southeast Asia was relatively close to "Kitagawa", while countries like the United States watched both, and Europe and countries and regions with a large number of white people and the middle class were basically captured by "New Wenxiang".

There is no doubt that "Children of the Dark" is a top-notch book.

However, the dark side of society and illegal phenomena revealed in the film are related to too many upper-class people, and many people from the middle class and above have benefited from this chain of interests.

This is a problem of the butt, and it is more than just a problem of the quality of the novel.

Therefore, no matter how much these groups like Kitagawa Hide's novels and style, they will not support him openly.

Having mastered this group of basic fans, Evind Johnson has basically become invincible in the overseas market.

As for Japan, he could easily cover it up with excuses like "That's the other party's territory, and the book's performance to that extent has completely exceeded my expectations."

After rounding off, this game could be considered a draw at most, or he might have lost slightly.

This result is harmless and is good news for the Arnault Club and Seiji Maehara and others.

However, the official response of the Thai government suddenly changed the nature of this literary war.

When a literary work comes to an end, what matters more is often its influence on countries and people around the world, and whether it can always shine brightly in the hall of world literature.

Leo Tolstoy, who never won the Nobel Prize for Literature, proved this with his long life and masterpieces that stand the test of time.

Even if you can't win an award or get recognition from certain groups, as long as your work is good enough, time will prove everything!
In the competition among top literary works, influence is more important than depth, more important than literary quality, more important than sales, and more important than anyone's evaluation.

That’s right, in competitions at this level, the factor of human judgment has the smallest impact and is the least recognized.

After all, top literary works are eternal masterpieces that will be passed down through the ages and enjoy a reputation in the literary halls. They are traces that cannot be washed away or erased by time, and they are proof of human existence and progress!

Such a miraculous work is certainly not something that can be defined or concluded by just one generation, or even several generations.

What is the influence of literary works?
There are many different opinions on this point. Everyone has his or her own criteria for judgment, and no one is convinced by anyone else.

But there was one thing that everyone agreed on.

That is the change and impact that the work has brought to a country, which can definitely be called top-level influence.

Don't worry about what country it is, what has been changed, whether it is sincere or insincere, just see if other people's works can achieve a similar level.

If yes, then we are all on the same starting line. If no, then we are not on the same level.

This is a concept that no one can refute or confuse.

Previous literary wars, big or small, basically did not involve this level.

After all, a country is a huge machine. Whether in terms of economic size or various resources and operations, it is far beyond the reach of a company, an industry or even an ecosystem.

In other words, the state apparatus can do whatever it wants. No matter how weak or unknown it is, it is still a country and is capable of covering any industry and organization.

It doesn't need to follow anyone's lead.

Therefore, for something as intangible as a literary war, the state apparatus rarely intervenes to influence the outcome of the war unless it involves the honor and status of a country's writers.

The end means that you have to use power beyond the rules of the game to achieve something, which is an act of breaking the rules and overturning the table.

Even writers from our own country may not receive such treatment, let alone writers from other countries.

Once the situation develops into this, the other side will also need a state apparatus of equal size to reverse the situation.

Is there a state apparatus that supports Evindt Johnson and Dark City?

Have.

His native country is Sweden.

If Arnault had not done anything weird and had not done something stupid like molesting the Crown Princess, then for the sake of the reputation of Swedish literature and the Swedish Academy, the Swedish government would really have stepped in to wrestle with the Thai government.

Unfortunately, the current Swedish government is preoccupied with thinking about how to eliminate the negative impact that Arnault’s stupid behavior has brought to countless people.

To this end, they even asked the Swedish Academy to suspend the selection of this year's Nobel Prize in Literature to give the public a buffer period and a period of forgetfulness, not to mention supporting Evind Johnson who traveled to Japan.

Far away in a foreign country, Evindt Johnson, who was full of confidence when he first arrived but now looks worried, finally understands what it means to be "isolated and helpless."

Seiji Maehara and others could only provide him with material and financial assistance, and at most they could help him in Japan and shout a few words to the people.

It is wishful thinking to hope that they will cooperate with you to promote "City in Darkness" to the world and make it have some influence in countries around the world.

What’s worse is that after the Thai government started to promote the film, “City in Darkness” began to be unsalable in Southeast Asian countries, and then this unsalable trend quietly spread to Europe and the United States. Developed countries such as the United States, France, and the United Kingdom, which already had a good impression of Kitagawa Hide, gradually changed their market trend, from being irrelevant at the beginning to secretly promoting the sales of “Kitagawa”.

The problem of illegal organ transplantation and trafficking is closely related to the problem of human trafficking. In many small countries, tens of thousands of people disappear every year. It is as if these people have never existed and disappear at their doorsteps overnight.

Several horrific cases of missing persons in Athens, Greece were mentioned again, and "Kafka on the Shore", which has been published for some time, also became a hot topic on the Greek Internet, with sales volume approaching that of the top local literary works.

The literary markets of these small countries are as small as the Thai literary market and were not originally included in Japan’s overseas entertainment expansion plans.

But on January 1999, 1, the European Union officially launched the euro, and the fifteen member states within the EU instantly became the hot commodities in the world economic and trade system.

The drachma, the currency used in Greece, has no stability and circulation value. Once it leaves Greece, it is not much different from a piece of waste paper.

But now most of these member states have switched to the euro or allowed the euro to circulate in various forms within their own countries.

Once the drachma was converted into the euro, all commercial markets in Greece were completely transformed, and it became a battleground for many countries going overseas.

Kitagawa Hide, who precisely benefited from this wave of Euro launch benefits, can be said to be the chosen one, making Event Johnson even more desperate.

Unlike Evint and others who were almost "abandoned by everyone", Kitagawa Hide's "Children in the Dark" became extremely popular once it was serialized. After it became a hit, many people came to him hoping to lend a helping hand.

At this time, Kitagawa Hide, who was discussing the serialization of the third book "A Wonderful Journey" with Saito Rena in the headquarters building of Kawaide Shobo, was about to give the manuscript to her when the intercom on the table suddenly rang, and the voice of Saito Rena's secretary came from it.

"Minister Saito, Mr. Kitagawa, Ms. Izumi Sakai and the band ZARD are visiting."

"Okay, let them come directly to the conference room." Saito Rena looked up at Kitagawa Hide, and seeing that he was not in a hurry to speak from the script, she said this into the intercom.

"Yes, I'll arrange for someone to receive you right away." The secretary's voice sounded again, and then the intercom was hung up.

"This should be the sixth wave of people coming to help you today. Great, Hideki." Saito Rena looked at him with stars in her eyes.

I have followed Kitagawa Hide all the way and witnessed his rise from a small security guard to the "number one" in the Japanese literary world, and now to his almost global fame.

It is impossible to say that I don't have any admiration and respect for him.

Rena Saito knew very well that most of a woman's love for a man came from admiration, and a small part came from other reasons.

However, admiration is admiration, if she could go back in time and choose her relationship with Kitagawa Hide again, she thinks she would probably still treat him the same way.

For both of them, love is far less reliable and strong than friendship and comradeship.

Now they are the best partners with the most harmonious relationship and the most tacit cooperation. They can know what the other is going to do with just a glance!
Reina Saito cherishes this relationship and friendship even more.

"Half of this great achievement is due to you." Kitagawa Hide said to her with a smile.

Even without Rena Saito's keen eye for talent, he might still have been able to soar to success.

But without her help in the early stages, no matter which publishing house he was in, Kitagawa Hide would probably have become an exploited newcomer.

It is said that well begun is half done, and he felt that there was no problem in sharing half of the honor with Saito Rena.

Saito Reina rolled her eyes at him, smiled, and for the first time ever did not refute.

She really enjoys everything that comes with this honor.

As the two looked at each other tacitly, Izumi Sakai, the lead singer of the band ZARD, pushed the door open weakly. She was 32 years old this year, older than both of the people present, but at this moment she looked like a girl next door who came for a job interview, making people feel pity for her.

After entering the room, Izumi Sakai bowed to the two of them as usual and greeted them softly. After getting permission, she sat down weakly in front of Kitagawa Hide, then took out a stack of music scores and handed it to him unconfidently.

"Teacher Kitagawa, I heard that you are collecting theme songs for the movie Children in the Dark. This is the song I wrote. Please take a look and see if there is anything that can be used."

"So many? Are they all written for the theme song application?" Kitagawa Hide was shocked when he picked up the heavy music score.

Izumi Sakai has collaborated with Kitagawa Entertainment several times, the most outstanding of which was writing the theme song for the TV series version of "Paradise Lost".

The theme song single "Forever" was released in August 98. It topped the Oricon weekly chart within a week of its release, and subsequently topped the monthly and quarterly charts for several times. If it had not been released too late, it would probably have topped the annual chart in 8.

The concept anthology "ZARD BLEND ~SUN & STONE~" which includes this song has sold over 200 million copies and topped the Oricon charts for two consecutive weeks.

In recent years, Izumi Sakai has successfully replaced the Showa singer Akina Nakamori and become the new generation of national singer.

It is no exaggeration to say that she is the "Kitagawa Hide" of the Japanese music scene.

In the eyes of Izumi Sakai, she could become so famous thanks to her collaboration with Mr. Kitagawa and the inspiration of the signed edition of "South of the Border, West of the Sun".

The words "To Ms. Izumi Sakai, may you always be young and happy and your records sell well!" are the greatest motivation that inspires her to move forward.

“Yes, yes, I was worried that I wouldn’t be selected, so I thought I’d write a few more songs, maybe they’d be picked.” Izumi Sakai lowered his head, clenched his jeans, and his voice was so low that it was almost inaudible.

"How could that be? You are the recognized national singer and the 'number one' in the Japanese music scene. I was wondering if it would be difficult to sign a cooperation agreement if I approached you directly."

Kitagawa Hide flipped through the music scores. These songs were all well-known hits in his previous life, but none of them had been officially released in this parallel universe.

This shows that Izumi Sakai really put a lot of effort into this matter.

To be honest, based on her fame and the relationship between them, as long as Izumi Sakai came to visit, Kitagawa Hide would definitely give her full authority to produce the theme song of the movie.

Moreover, she is a top singer who is known to everyone and whose appearance fee for a single stage performance is as high as 1000 million yen, but she is always inexplicably lacking in confidence.

Kitagawa Hide glanced at Izumi Sakai across from him, full of doubts.

The moment he raised his head, he found that she had raised her head at some point and had been looking at him. After being discovered by him, she lowered her head with a blushing face.

"It's still not working, Mr. Kitagawa." Izumi Sakai felt very disappointed when she saw that Kitagawa Hide didn't react.

She really tried her best to write songs.

If this still doesn't meet Teacher Beichuan's requirements, she really has no choice but to give up (End of this chapter)