Japanese Entertainment: From special effects actor to action superstar

Chapter 112 Star Wars, Extreme Shock

The Star Wars series is, of course, amazing enough.

Even Americans' imagination and creativity in special effects and various shooting techniques are far inferior to those of Japan.

but.

but!

but! !
The level of special effects shown in Star Wars: Part I alone is enough to silence them for a long time.

Almost instantly, everyone could imagine the impact this technique would have on special effects once it matured.

No matter how powerful the traditional special effects are, they are still traditional special effects, not real special effects!

But the Americans, with Star Wars and the achievements of Industrial Light & Magic, shattered all the pride in their hearts in an instant.

The various arts that Toru Narita excels in, such as the visual effects created by combining various small devices, can be achieved by Americans in just a moment.

The weaknesses in the script and the deficiencies in the special effects models can all be compensated by special effects, and that terrifying battleship shot and the vast starry sky are effects that Wangu cannot achieve today.

Gu Ming put away the videotape and turned to Wan Gu Eiji with sincere feelings.

"The United States has already produced such advanced works. Even if the technology is not mature now, once the technology matures, combined with this kind of visual effects, the final result will be obvious. So, how to shoot and what to shoot, I hope Dad will think carefully about it."

Gu Ming really hopes that Wan Gu Eiji can consider it.

Being old doesn't mean one's mentality is old too. Eiji Mantani is one of the first directors in Japan to embrace new technologies.

The reason why Eiji Mantani spent a huge amount of money to buy the optical synthesizer was for new technology and new shooting techniques.

Later people often said that if Eiji Mantani were still alive, he would definitely be very angry when he saw Shin-Ao, but in fact, he would not be angry.

He might be a little annoyed because the design deviates from the concept, but he would feel particularly excited and curious about the shooting technology demonstrated by Xin Ao.

In the original time and space, Eiji Mantani had never seen Star Wars, and after his death, no one else in Mantani had the courage that Eiji Mantani had.

After all, in the special effects industry, Mantani is the best in Japan, and if he goes to great lengths to transform, he is likely to fail.

So instead of spending huge sums of money to embrace the new era, Wangu is more conservative and prefers to maintain the old special effects technology.

As of today in 2025, Wang Gu's special effects technology is still the best in the world, but that is no longer useful. Many techniques can be easily solved with computer special effects, and they are better, easier and more cost-effective than traditional special effects.

No one can make Wangu turn around, except Wangu Eiji.

Now, Gu Ming hopes that Wan Gu Eiji can make a better choice.

But Mantani Eiji did not say anything.

After a long time, he raised his hand and made a gesture.

"Sorry... Let's end today's meeting here. I'll have Xiao Jie notify everyone before the next meeting."

"Today... the meeting is adjourned."

Gu Ming put away the various forms he brought and put them into the bag one by one.

From the trembling tone of Wangu Eiji's voice, Gu Ming heard the collapse and shattering of faith. Something that he had insisted on for many years was easily shattered by someone. This was not so easy to accept.

He was about to take the videotape when Eiji Mantani suddenly raised his hand and held it down.

"Sorry, could you lend me this tape again?"

Gu Ming nodded, said nothing more, and turned around silently.

Several people left the Japanese-style room in silence.

After walking a long way, Narita Hengcai let out a long sigh.

"So, we're all done, huh?"

Gu Ming shook his head.

"It's not over yet."

But, soon.

The current special effects of Industrial Light & Magic and the United States are not that terrible yet. They cannot make up for everything with special effects, and it takes a lot of time to produce a special effects set.

However, in another decade, special effects would reach a level that was unbelievable. In the 1990s, Ultraman Tiga, through its extensive use of special effects, easily surpassed visual effects that could never be achieved with special effects techniques in the past.

If we fail to transform in time, the ultimate outcome will be being abandoned by the times.

At present, only the United States can do this, but in another twenty years, every country in the world will have its own special effects team, and in thirty years, special effects teams will even become a business.

——Zhou State has a large number of special effects teams, with real-life collection, motion capture, and all kinds of special effects. Countless carefully produced film and television dramas have proved that it is not that good special effects cannot be produced, but that no one is willing to spend money on special effects.

Wan Guyi sent everyone to the outside of Wan Gu's gate. After hesitating for a long time, he still bowed to Gu Ming.

"Thank you for bringing this tape to me just in time, Furuya-kun. Before this, I never imagined that foreigners could create such amazing works. But... I'm afraid my father won't be able to handle it for the time being."

Gu Ming shook his head, his expression extremely solemn.

"No, he will bear it, because he is 'God'."

Wan Gu was stunned for a moment, but then he showed a determined expression.

That’s right, because it’s God.

……

……

At night, Eiji Mantani sat alone in the Japanese-style room. There were snacks and tea on the kotatsu, but the tea was already cold.

This is the fourth time he has watched Star Wars. He has watched it over and over again, and each time he has a different feeling.

Eiji Mantani looked down on the inferior special effects techniques of Americans, but he was shocked by the various scenes in Star Wars.

That was an effect that Wan Gu could never achieve in his entire life.

"If we were to make a sequel... we couldn't dwell on the past, or it would be all over! However, this kind of effect is simply impossible to achieve, and even if we wanted to, we wouldn't have the money!"

Industrial Light & Magic spent 14 million US dollars in the s, which converted into Japanese yen of the same period would be a whopping billion yen!
TBS invested 7000 million per season to produce Ultra Project, which is already the ceiling of Japan's ratings.

The investment of 120 million per season for Seven is a rare big production.

but.

even so.

Compared with the consumption of Industrial Light & Magic, it is still far behind!
Star Wars had not yet been released in Japan, and Gu Ming brought a pirated tape.

Historically, Star Wars was officially released in Japan in July 1978, and eventually took in more than 7 billion yen at the box office.

Star Wars also ultimately marked the demise of special effects techniques.

Whether it was Toei, Bankai, or other companies, for a long time afterwards, they only produced low-cost special effects, and no longer produced high-cost, large-scale special effects works.

Toei certainly held up, but during this period, Banka produced almost no large-scale works, mostly small ones. It was not until the 1990s that he made a comeback with Ultraman Tiga.

The production style of Star Wars is a complete copy of the swordplay film, and its core comes from "Sengoku no Hiroyuki" directed by Akira Kurosawa.

Of course Mantani Eiji could see it, but because he could see it, he felt even sadder.

Others use their own country's culture to create works that are more popular than their own country's.

What’s even sadder is that there’s nothing I can do.

After a long time, Wang Ya Yingji stood up, trembling, his legs a little weak and numb, he had been sitting for too long and was staggering.

He tried to support himself with his hands behind him, but ended up tearing the paper door and nearly falling to the ground.

Fortunately, I finally grabbed the door frame and regained my balance.

"I am really getting old..."

Eiji Mantani removed the videotape from the camera and carefully saved it.

"Hey, hey...it's Kagi Wei, right?"

"Sorry to interrupt your rest, I'm Eiji Mantani."

"If I have time tomorrow, I'd like to visit you in person. There's something extremely important that needs to be discussed in person!"

Interview this videotape and any future work you produce!
(End of this chapter)