Japanese Entertainment: From special effects actor to action superstar

Chapter 639 Throwing Technique, Whirlwind Throw
As a game, Yakuza takes up a significant portion of its playtime by exploring the map, completing side quests, leveling up, and repeatedly attempting the same level.

Therefore, if the elements of Yakuza were directly extracted, it could only be made into a movie at most, not a TV series.

Gu Ming's solution was simple.

If we can't take the picture, then we won't!
Japanese dramas don't necessarily have to be hundreds of episodes to be considered Japanese dramas; sometimes one season is enough.

There are bound to be eight parts in the Eight Dragons series, and eight parts combined would make eight seasons.

Thirteen episodes per quarter, eight quarters combined make for a major annual drama!

Nara, Ikoma. Today marks the official start of filming for the first scene.

Ikoma is a small city with a total population of only 20,000. It would be incredibly easy to close off the roads and film there. In order to film the first scene, the entire street in front of the bar was blocked off.

Gu Ming gave a token amount for the venue fee; the owner had originally planned to give it away for free if he hadn't insisted on paying.

—Once the TV series airs, I'm sure a lot of people will come here to check in and have a drink!
This is the first scene in the entire story, showcasing the brotherhood between Kazuma Kiryu and Akira Nishikiyama.

Unlike the original game scene, in this TV series, the two will first have drinks at a bar and give a brief self-introduction so that the audience knows who is who.

Then someone came to cause trouble and was knocked down by Jinshan Zhang. When the two went out again, they found that the bar street had been cleared out and a group of people rushed over to beat them up. In the end, the two knocked them down one after another.

In today's economic downturn following the bursting of the bubble, the fact that someone would invest such a large sum in producing a TV series is practically a rescue measure. Even if Gu Ming didn't ask for anything, a large group of people would still cooperate with him.

The film crew needs to get to work! No work, no food!
Inside the bar, Zhen Zidan and Abe Hiroshi had already finished their makeup and were dressed in suits. One was wearing a rock gray suit with a red inner shirt, while the other was wearing a white suit with a black inner shirt.

Using clothing to describe a character's personality is a common technique. For example, Akira Nishikiyama's clothing already reveals his fate of turning to the dark side, while Kazuma Kiryu's rock-gray coat is used to show his personality that moves between black and white.

You could say that Kazuma Kiryu is an akuza, but you can't completely regard him as a villain who commits murder, arson, and all sorts of evil deeds.

He is a very old-fashioned Yakuza who adheres to the principles of benevolence and righteousness, and is a typical anti-hero.

There are some nuances to this scene.

The scene has been completely cleared out, and steel cables have been suspended in places that are not visible from above, ready to film action scenes at any time. The lighting equipment is in place, and the props have been replaced with rubber props for the upcoming fight scenes.

Gu Ming didn't intend to make money from filming this drama; he called it fulfilling a dream or doing it for fun.

Money doesn't matter, just have some fun!

The two main characters, ready and waiting, sit at the bar for drinks. Behind them, a dancing extra and a martial arts performer, poised to cause trouble, are also in the mix.

Gu Ming raised his hand and suddenly clenched his fist.

Start!
"Kiryu, have you heard? The team leader is planning to put you in charge of a separate team."

"Oh!"

For simple dialogues, the original audio is captured directly, rather than using dubbing.

Gu Ming frowned slightly, but didn't say anything more.

Zhen Zidan's original voice is still not good, and it hasn't been corrected despite so many years of training.

Zhen Zidan's works have always used dubbing because Zhen Zidan's natural voice is not good. Although Gu Ming has been consciously trying to improve her voice, he has not been able to correct it so far.

"However, this can also be understood from another perspective. This slightly weak tone can actually highlight the character's personality of being gentle on the outside but strong on the inside."

Gu Ming moved closer to the monitor.

Thanks to the changing times and advancements in science and technology, we can now monitor the situation on set in real time via monitors, instead of relying solely on the director's experience as we did many years ago.

The two recited their lines methodically. The next scene showed an extra coming up to cause trouble and being thrown away by Kiryu Kazuma.

Of course, a person can't actually take off, so this scene actually requires being suspended by steel cables. The steel cables pull the martial artist out from behind, ultimately creating the effect of him being scattered and broken into something. "Hey, when the time comes, you walk over here, pat him on the shoulder, and make a really unpleasant sound, because you're a drunkard right now."

As Gu Ming spoke, he took a few steps, his steps were not unsteady, but his body swayed slightly and his eyes were blank.

The extra martial arts actor nodded repeatedly.

No problem, it should work!
"When the time comes, the steel cable will be pulled from behind, and you will fly out from here. When you land, you should be in a backward-facing position. You will get up from this side and then make a mess of your escape. The camera will then switch to that scene."

The extra martial arts actor nodded repeatedly.

No problem, it should work!

Gu Ming then turned to Abe Hiroshi.

"When the time comes, you need to use an over-the-shoulder throw to throw him out, but for the sake of aesthetics, you need to rotate the person around your shoulder once in the middle before throwing him out. Because of the steel cable, this move is not difficult. The key is that your movement needs to be sharp enough."

Hiroshi Abe nodded.

This throwing motion is a typical modern fighting technique. After modifying ancient fighting techniques, it is more suitable for generating power on the modern ring and belongs to the typical grappling skills.

—Actually, it's the scene where Ma Jun throws Tony. Zhen Zidan throws Chang Wei directly to the ground with her back, and the two of them fight with very sharp movements.

Gu Ming didn't have high expectations for Abe Hiroshi, since he wasn't a professional martial arts actor. As long as he could look convincing with the help of steel cables, that was enough. The key was that the actor being thrown out had to have a landing motion to absorb the force, so as to effectively show the pain of being thrown.

Seeing that everyone was almost ready, Gu Ming clapped his hands to announce the start of the scene.

Hiroshi Abe turned around and casually pushed aside the extra, offering a few words of advice. When the advice failed, the two started fighting.

The two men exchanged a glance. The extra gave a reassuring look, and Hiroshi Abe stepped forward, grabbed the extra's shoulder, and lifted him up sharply.

Pulled by the steel cable, the extra was lifted onto Hiroshi Abe's shoulder.

"And then throw it out... Ugh!!"

Hiroshi Abe really wanted to throw it, but even with the help of the steel cable, the professional force was still hard for him to bear, and he staggered and almost fell to the ground.

"Carter!" Gu Ming called out to stop.

"Let's do it again, the effect will be far worse."

"Yes!"

Hiroshi Abe suddenly bowed his head and performed a salute.

In this scene, Zhen Zidan was just an observer, but thanks to her, she was able to see the entire filming process.

It wasn't until more than ten rounds later that Hiroshi Abe finally managed to throw the extra stuntman out in a way that satisfied Taniguchi.

"After all, he's not a professional martial arts actor."

Zhen Zidan seemed to be deep in thought.

However, this design approach greatly inspired him.

Without the need for choreographed routines and chaotic sparring, modern martial arts techniques are incorporated into action films.

Zhen Zidan silently memorized it.

You might need it someday!

(End of this chapter)