Japanese Entertainment: From special effects actor to action superstar

Chapter 418 The Armor Finale, Flying in the Air

At the end of August, Armor Team aired its final episode.

Despite its excellent production quality, TV Tokyo exhausted all its resources and ultimately only managed to maintain a viewership rating of over 10%.

TV Tokyo's viewership ratings are like Hiroko Yakushimaru's height.

You know it's trying to improve, but it's not really improving much.

There's no other way; this is the best we can do!

In the final episode, the five armored warriors battled the monstrous Yamata no Orochi, but despite their best efforts, they could not defeat it.

But in the end, they finally merged, summoning the Tian Ce Armor that should have been erased back into existence, and destroyed the Yamata no Orochi in one fell swoop, ushering in new hope.

Early in the morning, Zhen Xialong woke up, quickly washed up, changed his clothes, ate a few bites of breakfast, and prepared to go out.

Kayoko, his girlfriend, complained somewhat: "Why the rush? Besides, you and the president are such good friends, it doesn't matter if you're a few minutes late."

"That won't do. We can't be late just because we're close."

The two stood in front of the door and embraced briefly before Zhenxia Long left home, hopped on his bicycle, and pedaled away.

He and his girlfriend, Kayoko, met by chance at a restaurant during filming. Their relationship quickly progressed rapidly, to the point where they were living together. That's why Manatsu Ryu moved out of the shared "Araki House" and rented a small house on his own.

Everything here is great, it's just that commuting is a bit of a hassle.

He pedaled all the way to the subway station, wiped away his sweat, and boarded the subway.

It was the early 1980s, and Tokyo was full of construction sites. However, the subway system was not as well-developed as it would be in later years, so bicycles were still the preferred mode of transportation in many places.

It was rush hour, and Zhen Xialong had barely sat down when a group of elementary school students wearing yellow hats and carrying red backpacks rushed in. After hesitating for a moment, he gave his seat to a child who was nearby.

"Thank you uncle!"

"You're welcome... Huh?"

Zhenxia Long suddenly froze.

uncle.

Damn.

Is he already as old as Uncle Cheng?
Zhenxia Long squatted down to look at the child. He wanted to show a fierce expression, but in the end, he managed to squeeze out his signature silly grin.

Upon seeing that smile, the child felt a strange sense of familiarity. His mind raced, and suddenly that name came to mind.

"Earth Tiger Armor!!"

That sound was quite something.

In an instant, it attracted everyone who was preparing to go to school.

"Oh dear, this is really..."

Zhenxia Long scratched his head, a little embarrassed, but his big smile betrayed his feelings about the appointment.

Sit down, everyone sit down. They're just ordinary actors!

He signed autographs for the enthusiastic audience, and was genuinely pleased to realize that he was now an actor who could be recognized on the street.

Wow, it really is you!

"Does such a big actor need to travel by his own car? Doesn't he have a car provided?"

"How exactly was that final battle filmed? It must have cost a lot of money, right?"

"You guys can't really fly, can you?"

Zhen Xialong was a bit tired of dealing with it, so he could only laugh awkwardly. When the tram arrived at the station, he hurriedly jumped off the tram and got away from the crowd.

"Phew... I'm an actor who gets recognized on the street now!"

However, when it comes to that particular scene, Ryu Shinatsu really doesn't understand it.

Although he participated in the filming, he had no idea how it was actually filmed.

Computer special effects, my friend!
…… ……

Yes.

Gu Ming recreated the aerial battle scene from the final episode of Armor Squad. This scene utilized a large number of computer-generated special effects, requiring five computers to operate simultaneously to barely complete the production within the allotted time.

Even so, Gu Ming used a lot of tricks. The background was not so bright, but was placed directly in space, with an almost pure black background. Moreover, it was more like a PowerPoint presentation of Ace Combat than a camera shot.

After all, even with computer-generated graphics that surpass human drawing capabilities, the scene is still incredibly complex—five light-based vehicles, a villain, and beams of light clashing against each other. It's extremely difficult to create!
If Gu Ming hadn't stopped relying on ratings to make money, this production would never have continued.

Even so, seeing such a grand scene in a TV series is enough to shock the audience.

"The final episode achieved a viewership rating of over 14%! While it can't compare to those major television networks, it's an unprecedented achievement for TV Tokyo!"

On April 1st, TV Tokyo reported that the department head held Tani Akira's hand tightly.

"I heard that Mr. Furuya acquired that Manya. Congratulations! By the way, I heard that Manya has also created a new work..."

Gu Ming responded naturally.

He didn't keep April 1st in suspense and went straight to the point: "This work by Mango will continue to be licensed to TV Tokyo for broadcast."

"We are truly grateful. If you ever need our station's help in the future, please don't hesitate to ask. Within our capabilities, TV Tokyo will do our utmost."

Gu Ming was too embarrassed to say it.

TV Tokyo's total effort is roughly half that of other television stations.

After saying goodbye to TV Tokyo, Tani Akira got straight into the waiting car.

"Go to Wan Gu."

Koizumi responded and started the car.

Gu Ming has already entrusted the script to the Wangu Planning Office, and Jin Cheng Zhefu is leading a team to revise the script overtime.

Although Tetsuo Kaneshiro has always given people a melancholic impression, he is actually a fairly standard commercial screenwriter. He only occasionally adds some content to his works, but otherwise, he is confident in his ability to create commercial elements.

"Once the script is ready, we can start filming. But we still need to find Haruki Kadokawa first. What a hassle."

As Gu Ming was pondering this matter, his gaze suddenly shifted and he noticed a black Honda luxury car seemingly following them not far behind.

As the traffic light changed, the black Honda quickly passed by Gu Ming. Through the privacy film, the figure inside could not be seen.

"Brother Gugu, what's wrong?"

"It's nothing." Gu Ming shook his head slightly. "It's probably just my imagination. Let's keep driving."

Koizumi stopped asking questions and started the car, heading towards Manya.

Gu Ming tried to find the car in the traffic again, but could only see it driving not far in front of them, appearing and disappearing in the traffic.

"Isn't it?"

Gu Ming scratched his head inwardly.

For a fleeting moment, Gu Ming imagined a scene: him leading Xiao Quan out of the gate of Wangu.

It's so quiet; there aren't any other actors on the street.

Then the Honda stopped on the side of the street, and two assassins jumped out and pulled out high-end black guns, firing at him.

"Probably not. Gundam has only been filmed for the first season. Where would a black luxury car and black high-level assassins come from?"

Even so, Gu Ming still became somewhat wary, especially since the other party had actually applied a privacy screen protector, which was quite unusual.

When the car arrived at Wangu, Gu Ming gave Xiao Quan some instructions before getting out of the car.

"Keep an eye out for that black Honda from earlier. If you see it, go inside and let me know."

"Yes!"

(End of this chapter)