Japanese Entertainment: From special effects actor to action superstar

Chapter 406 My Final Work
Mangoku Company: All equipment has been loaded onto the truck and is ready to be shipped to Ikoma, Nara.

Wan Guyi crossed his arms and looked at the equipment that had been tied up on the vehicle. He was still a little worried, so he reached out and tugged at the ropes a few more times before he felt somewhat at ease.

"Furutani-kun, are we really going that far?"

Gu Ming, who was standing nearby, spread his hands upon hearing this: "After all, there is an existing elementary school. It's impossible to film in Tokyo, as the school's schedule would be difficult to coordinate."

Wan Gu Yiwei nodded.

Gu Ming changed the subject: "By the way, where's Brother Ao?"

“I haven’t seen him for the past few days. He’s been leaving early and coming home late, as if he’s deliberately trying to avoid seeing me.” Wan Guyi rarely joked, “If I couldn’t still see him, I would have thought you had him sunk in Tokyo Bay.”

"What a joke!"

This made Gu Ming laugh.

Does he really look that much like the leader of the Yakuza?

At that moment, a comedian named Beat Takeshi, who was performing manzai (a type of Japanese stand-up comedy), sneezed violently. For some reason, his whole body trembled, as if he were being watched secretly by an unspeakable being.

"Cough cough hmm!"

The sound of coughing behind them made the two of them turn around, only to find that Mango Eiji had appeared behind them at some point.

Although Mango Eiji was physically weak, he was in excellent spirits. Despite it being summer, he had changed into his old suit and his top hat was neatly worn.

Gu Ming's lips twitched slightly, and he was speechless.

Judging from his appearance, it seems as if he really intends to stay in Nara.

Wan Gu hurriedly greeted him: "Dad! Are you going in person too? It's just for location shooting. The special effects and interior scenes can be filmed in Tokyo. There's no need to go that far!"

"Let go, I can still do it. I have to be the one to film the first scene, the first act of this movie."

Mango Eiji casually pushed Mango Ichi aside, then walked towards Gu Ming as if he were flying.

"Furutani-kun, thank you for your help."

"No trouble at all." Gu Ming bowed slightly. Xiao Quan had been waiting for a long time and now reversed the car in front of them.

Gu Ming opened the back door, placed his hand under the old man, and helped him into the back seat.

Wan Guyi was about to sit in the back seat, but Gu Ming had already climbed into the back seat first.

"Um……"

Wan Gu hesitated for a moment, then shook his head: "There may still be some things that are not ready. Let me check them one more time. You guys go first. I'll take a bus to Nara later."

Gu Ming nodded slightly and urged Xiao Quan, "Let's drive."

Wan Guyi watched the car drive further and further away, vaguely seeing the figure inside the carriage, when suddenly he raised his hand and slapped himself hard across the face.

"Dad, I'm useless! I can't even fulfill your wish. Will there still be Wan Gu in the future?"

Wan Gu wiped away her tears, not wanting anyone to see, and hurriedly turned back to Wan Gu Company.

……

……

In the evening, TV Tokyo broadcast this episode of Armored Warriors on time.

"Whoosh!! The little motorcycle takes off!"

Little Ji lay on the ground, gesturing and pointing at the toy Light and Shadow Horse.

He doesn't care how valuable the footage is; as long as it's fun, that's all that matters.

Please, that's a motorcycle!

Xiao Ji plans to get a Light and Shadow Horse to drive when he grows up, and transform into a Tokyo Ghost Fire Boy!

As the episode ended, Xiao Ji felt somewhat unsatisfied.

Just then, TV Tokyo suddenly interrupted the broadcast with an advertisement.

Breaking news!

"Director Eiji Mangaya is back in action!"

"Possibly Eiji Mangaya's last masterpiece!"

"Hello everyone, I'm your host, Sayuri. You must have all heard about director Eiji Mangaya's final masterpiece. So what exactly is this final masterpiece all about? Let me tell you!"

"It turns out that not long ago, director Eiji Mangaya announced his return to the screen to film a new tokusatsu work. Considering director Eiji Mangaya's age, this is very likely to be the last work of his career!"

"So that's how our final masterpiece is. We hope you'll continue to follow it..."

The slightly brainwashing, repetitive words made Xiao Ji's eyes widen in surprise. What on earth is going on?!
"What? That old man is so old, is he still not willing to admit defeat? But then again, the market these past few years has been dominated by Kamen Rider and Armor Sentai, and all sorts of other tokusatsu shows. We haven't heard from Mango for a long time, and we haven't had any outstanding works like before."

Kinoshita Danjiro crossed his arms and couldn't help but marvel.

If Eiji Mangaya is still making films at his age, then these are probably truly his final works.

Xiao Ji looked up at his father, unusually refraining from making a fuss.

“Father,” he asked Kinoshita Danjiro, “what is your posthumous work?”

"that is……"

Kinoshita Danjiro remained silent for a long time, but still did not explain this topic that was too heavy for a child. He simply raised his hand and patted Xiaoji's head.

"Watch closely, because you probably won't have another chance like this in the future."

The man named Eiji Mangaya is about to pass away, and the era of Japanese film and television from the 1940s to the 1960s has also passed.

Those were twenty years belonging to Toho, Eiji Mangaya and Akira Kurosawa, sword films and tokusatsu.

And now, that era is finally coming to an end.

……

……

We finally arrived in Nara.

The mountains and rivers here are completely different from those of a metropolis like Tokyo. Rather than a city, Nara is more like a small town.

The car stopped outside the gate of 'Furuya Elementary School'. Eiji Mangaya put his hands behind his back, looked up at the big sign, and then looked down at the school building in the distance.

"Furutani-kun, this is the elementary school you donated to."

"Yes."

As Gu Ming spoke, he subtly raised his hand and spun around.

Koizumi understood, started the car, drove around, and entered the school through the back gate, intending to talk to the principal.

“Let’s go,” Gu Ming said. “Let’s go in and take a look. If it doesn’t suit our taste, there are other schools.”

“No, this is fine.” Mango Eiji said this and walked into the school first.

Gu Ming quickly followed, and the two walked into the school together.

After walking a few steps, two rows of primary school students lined the road to welcome them, cheering and celebrating. The principal stepped forward, his face beaming with smiles.

"This must be Mr. Mangaya Eiji, right? Oh, and Mr. Furuya too... Welcome, welcome, a warm welcome! It's a pleasure to have you both at Furuya Elementary School! We can film anytime the children aren't in school, no problem!"

"Okay, that's good." Mango Eiji looked at the slightly balding principal in front of him and suddenly asked an unrelated question.

"Was this school the work of Mr. Furuya?"

"Yes and no, after all, Mr. Furuya also graduated from this school! The playground, the new buildings, the school uniforms, and those books have really helped a lot! The children are very energetic in their studies here now, which is a real source of pride compared to the past!"

"Yeah."

Mangaya Eiji lowered his head slightly, shifting his gaze from the principal to the elementary school students lining the street to welcome him.

The neat and uniform school uniforms certainly look impressive.

"That's great!" He smiled. "Let's film here. I really like it here. Tell Xiao Yi to get ready to start filming."

He looked at Gu Ming: "Gu Gu-kun, Xiao Jie has been with you all along, hasn't he?"

"Yes, he has made great progress and is now a capable killing array master."

"Really... That's good. If possible, please bring him back to be my co-star in this film."

Gu Ming nodded first, then sighed.

"What a pity, it would be great if Brother Ao were here too."

"Xiao Ao".

Mango Eiji looked around and, sure enough, couldn't see Mango Ao anywhere.

He let out a deep sigh, seemingly filled with disappointment and dissatisfaction.

Then he looked up at Gu Ming and repeated himself.

"Let Xiao Jie come back and be my partner."

(End of this chapter)