Japanese Entertainment: From special effects actor to action superstar

Chapter 191 The Bankrupt Toy Workshop

Gu Ming had a vague impression that Wan Gu'ao seemed to have embezzled Seven's funds and invested them in a company.

Of course, as the saying goes, for the sake of respecting the respected, although Wan Gu Ao was not a respected, in order to protect his descendants, Wan Gu Eiji definitely did not tell the truth. It is possible that Wan Gu Ao used the money to do other things.

That has nothing to do with Gu Ming. Family matters are not something he can handle.

This time, Gu Ming specifically asked Wan Gujie about it. Wan Gu'ao has been resting at home recently. It seems that something happened at Fuji TV.

Seeing Gu Ming preparing to leave, Wan Gujie hurriedly grabbed Gu Ming.

"Brother Gugu, when will I ever have something to do? I feel like a parasite, living a life of idleness and waiting to die! All I do every day is watch videos. I've almost memorized all those people. Look, this is Li Xiaolong, this is Ti Lung, this is Master Luo, and this is the great director Chang Cheh..."

Gu Ming laughed and said, "Why, isn't it good to just eat and wait for death?"

Of course Wan Gujie felt bad!

"It's not that bad, but, you know, I have a girlfriend. If I go out and have no money, I'll be in trouble too."

Gu Ming nodded, understanding it.

It's still for making money.

"However, you can't do much right now. Keep watching the videotapes. These are action films from all over the world, and the martial arts scenes in them. Communicate with them more often. This is the job that suits you."

Wan Gujie's small physique doesn't allow him to be an action actor, so Gu Ming plans to train him in another direction.

The effect may not be good, but after all, it is a trustworthy task.

Gu Ming's intention was to first let Wan Gujie understand the action design through those films, and then learn more advanced design methods in the agency, and finally take him to direct a few plays as an assistant in killing formations, and he would gradually learn it.

The profession of killing array master is still very important. It is better than Wan Gujie who later relied on Wan Gu’s small shares to eat and wait for death.

After settling Wan Gujie, Gu Ming set off to meet Wan Guao.

……

……

Wan Gu Ao recently took a temporary leave from Fuji TV.

It’s not because I’m not satisfied with my job at Fuji TV, but because I’m not satisfied with my life.

Wan Gu'ao considers himself to be an incredibly talented creator, but it seems that he can never compare to Wan Guyi in the job of directing.

Eiji Mantani often said that Mantani Ichi was the child who was most like him.

"Am I so bad? I'm also very good! Fuji TV is also amazing!"

In the afternoon, Wan Gu'ao sat alone in an empty izakaya, drinking beer one after another and filling his stomach with two skewers of chicken smeared only with salt.

After this corruption was discovered, Wan Gu Ao knew that his status in Wan Gu Yingji's heart had dropped another level.

Wan Gu will inevitably be controlled by Wan Gu Yi in the future. Wan Gu Ao felt very annoyed when he thought of this.

As for Wan Gujie, Wan Guao had no intention of treating him as a competitor.

Even Wan Gujie himself knew very well that even if the sky fell and the earth collapsed, it would not be his turn to control Wan Gu.

Wan Guyi has a son, and Wan Guao also has a son. In the end, the son will definitely inherit the father's throne...

Wan Gu'ao drank a large cup in one gulp, and his eyes gradually turned red.

He wanted to do something to prove that he could do better, but the fact was that he was never very successful.

There were footsteps behind him, but Wan Gu'ao ignored them and continued drinking, but he felt that the man was sitting next to him.

"What...Oh, it's you."

Wan Gu'ao thought hard for a while before he remembered Gu Ming's name.

"Furuya-kun."

"Well, I heard you were drinking here alone, and I had something to visit, so I came to see you."

Gu Ming waved and ordered a beer and two skewers. Forget the lantern, those were all things Narita Hiroshi loved to eat.

Wan Gu'ao sneered, but it wasn't really a mockery of Gu Ming or himself. He just continued drinking the wine in his glass and said to Gu Ming, "I thought you were going to look for Brother Yi."

"I can't look for Brother Yi every day." Gu Mingxian took a big sip.

Although it is already autumn, a big glass of cold beer is still particularly refreshing.

"You know, the first time I met Mr. Narita Toru was in an izakaya. The izakaya wasn't open yet, and the owner didn't want to see us. But when he pulled out a big bill, the owner's expression suddenly changed, and he welcomed us. Then Mr. Narita Toru treated me to a string of lanterns. It was my first time eating lanterns...it was truly awful."

Wan Gu'ao raised his sleepy eyes and glanced at Gu Ming.

"The lantern is indeed quite unpalatable. But why are you suddenly telling me this?"

"Oh, I just suddenly recalled the past." Gu Ming leaned half of his body on the counter, and talked about the past with Wan Gu'ao intentionally or unintentionally.

"Speaking of which, about that toy company..."

"Forget about that crappy company. I originally planned to use that company to complement Wangu. Wangu would produce the works, and they would produce the toys. But then something went wrong. Their toys were too expensive, and even after marketing the toys they sold, it was almost impossible to turn a profit. Just distributing the products would cost a huge amount of money... Damn it, why didn't I think of that then?"

Gu Mingxin said that this was the result of not doing enough market research.

Having a factory doesn’t mean you can make money!

The things produced by the factory need to be sold, and where they are sold is the sales channel.

For example, Zhou Guo’s Chen Guang Stationery can be regarded as a cancer in the industry.

If you sell Chen Guang stationery, you are not allowed to sell other stationery. Chen Guang is a well-known brand and many consumers have only heard of this brand. In this case, no matter how good the quality of other brands is, they can do nothing without sales channels. In the end, Chen Guang stationery can only drive out the good with the bad money.

There is a similar situation in Japan. Sony and Nintendo have been fighting for so many years, and it once reached the point where users of both sides regarded them as enemies. Nintendo would not be allowed to appear where Sony appeared, and Sony would always be mentioned in any activities organized by Nintendo to be stepped on.

Although Sony is a large company, Sony Games is only a part of Sony, and it is evenly matched with Nintendo.

Gu Ming doesn't care, he plays both.

Gu Ming said, "So the company is not doing well?"

Wan Gu'ao didn't answer, but just waved his hand.

"That seems quite bad... Can you take me to see it?"

Wan Gu'ao suddenly looked up and stared at Gu Ming.

"Furuya-kun wants to sell toys."

"Almost. I'm just a little interested in this industry."

"It's an unlisted company, run and produced entirely by a joint venture of several owners. The boss is Naoji Yamashina. Not long ago, due to some turmoil, he opened up to investment, so I invested a small amount. I didn't expect that crappy company to screw me over so badly!"

Wan Gu'ao spoke of this matter indignantly.

This company originally engaged in textile business. After the war, the textile industry was in recession, so Yamashina Naoji decided to transform and started producing rag dolls and bouncy ball toys. The results were good, so the company transformed into a toy company.

It was very popular at first, and even got the authorization of Astro Boy to make a particularly ugly Astro Boy toy.

But soon, because the company insisted on "no returns", it was boycotted by dealers. In addition, the company had no background, and its rapid progress in the industry caused joint suppression from other toy companies. Eventually, it declined all the way and relied on mergers with several other small companies to survive for a while, but this also brought greater impact.

——We are all small companies, and we all have our own leaders. Now everyone has their own ideas, and there are too many heads inside, and we can’t handle it all!

Not long ago, the company acquired a bankrupt plastic chemical factory in Fukuoka Prefecture and planned to produce some soft rubber toys. At that time, Wan Gu'ao went to cooperate with them, but problems soon arose.

The cost of producing soft-gel toys is too high and the price is too low. Distributors are unwilling to continue cooperation due to the previous turmoil. For various reasons, there is a large backlog of toys.

"If Furuya-kun is interested, I can transfer my rights to you."

Gu Ming seemed to be thinking: "What's the name of this company you're talking about?"

"What's the name... Endai? It sounds like a lousy company with no one investing in it. It's definitely going to fail and never develop!"

(End of this chapter)