Japanese Entertainment: From special effects actor to action superstar

Chapter 641 Crows Zero
The economic crisis of 1991 had a significant impact on Japan.

In the 1990s, the Japanese film market declined sharply, with animated films dominating the box office for a long time. As a result, Japanese dramas became the only window of opportunity during this period.

The direct consequence of this was that a large number of Japanese works in the 1990s took a sharp turn for the worse. Because they could not get enough investment, they could not create large-scale scenes. Therefore, they generally focused on small scenes and miniature gardens, and more on medical, legal and romantic works.

Such films, because they only need to be completed in specific small scenes and can be filmed with only relatively professional consultants, have low investment costs and quick results.

That year, even the Taiga drama 'Nobunaga' had a low budget, exuding a sense of poverty from the inside out.

Under these circumstances, TBS took a rare step by cancelling a currently airing romance drama and urgently replacing it with this show.

Japanese audiences also love to see big events, but they lack the funds and investment to watch smaller ones.

Now, the big one has arrived.

……

……

Hiroshi Takahashi, 28 years old, is a manga artist who lives in Sakashita-cho, Wakamatsu City, Fukushima Prefecture.

Hiroshi Takahashi is someone who doesn't look like a good person at all. He looks fierce, with a buzz cut, triangular eyes, and a big beard. At first glance, he's even uglier than Fengzi.

Hiroshi Takahashi isn't exactly an akuza, but he could be considered a biker gang member. He usually likes to hang out in bars, play darts, race wild cars, play karuta, and getting drunk and fighting is also a common occurrence for him.

Such a person happens to have a rather outstanding skill in comics.

So Hiroshi Takahashi submitted a manga.

Crows Zero

That is, Suzuran High School.

The protagonist of the manga is named Harumichi Bouya, who is not very well-known in China. Genji Takiya and Tamao Serizawa are more famous.

This manga is considered average in Japan, with some fans, but it's not among the most popular manga.

In South Korea, however, it went viral, directly influencing the clothing style of a generation. As a result, many South Korean students consider wearing a windbreaker an honor, and wearing an expensive windbreaker can even indicate that a person has a high social status.

Expensive windbreakers and exaggeratedly oversized jackets—this unique style of clothing had a profound influence.

Hiroshi Takahashi lives in such a remote area of ​​Fukushima Prefecture that, in China, it's roughly equivalent to the distance from Shanghai to Halabin. Fortunately, Japan has a television network, so he can still watch TBS dramas on other channels.

In the Ashina bar in Wakamatsu City, Hiroshi Takahashi is drinking beer and watching TV with other casual acquaintances at the bar.

"A dragon among men... Qi, it's obviously the kind of work that imitates the Yakuza but actually knows nothing about the Yakuza's lip manual."

Hiroshi Takahashi instinctively felt a bit disdainful.

Especially with recent works, the investment is not high and the scale is small, so such works are not satisfactory.

Furuya Ming has something to say.

Action movies absolutely must have action! How can you call it an action movie if there's no action?

Unfortunately, many low-budget Japanese films no longer feature action sequences.

Only those kinds of romantic gestures were particularly popular.

The drama begins with a short opening theme song before the story officially begins. Japanese dramas generally don't have very long opening or ending themes.

Hiroshi Takahashi lit a cigarette, squinting at the television screen. The camera zoomed in from a distance, finally settling on the bottles on the bar. From there, he could see two faces reflected in the bottles.

Hiroshi Abe and Dan-ge.

The conversation between the two suddenly roused Takahashi Hiroshi.

This taste... could it be...?

The dialogue between the two contained subtle tones and even some words that were not commonly used in Japanese. Subtitles on the screen explained these special yakuza terms.

Their clothing, appearance, and language all pointed to one thing: these two were involved in yakuza. And they were legitimate yakuza!

Not all yakuza are the kind that involve tongue-snatching fights. Legitimate yakuza groups have their own industries, especially during Japan's economic boom when they were heavily utilizing yakuza as a cover. The three major groups even opened a large number of their own companies.

Therefore, this kind of yakuza is not the type shown on screen.

The two characters played by Hiroshi Abe and Dan Ge in front of us are clearly high-level yakuza.

For viewers, subtitles are needed to explain, but a biker gangster like Hiroshi Takahashi can tell right away.

The two talked and introduced themselves to each other, and it turned out that the protagonist was a man named Kiryu Kazuma.

Then, the troublemaker appeared, and Kiryu Kazuma threw the man over his back, smashing several chairs in the distance before fleeing in panic.

Hiroshi Takahashi whistled.

This is beautiful!
Inside the bar, many people's eyes were fixed on them.

People who stay up all night in bars at this time are certainly not good people, but fortunately, they haven't claimed to be good people either.

As the plot unfolds, the two go outside, only to find the place completely empty.

Kiryu Kazuma muttered, "If it were me, I would never invest in the film industry. Look, the cinemas are empty on weekends."

These words elicited knowing smiles from everyone.

indeed.

Everyone's broke these days, so who can afford to go to the movies? We'll just stay home and watch TV!

At that moment, the situation suddenly changed. Many members of the opposing gang rushed out from the streets and alleys. After a fierce battle, the fight was finally over.

I didn't expect the first episode to have such a grand scene; it really gets my blood pumping.

The plot of the first episode also came to an abrupt end when Kiryu Kazuma received his mission.

A stock market investor owes money to the Tojo Clan, and now the group leader has ordered Kazuma Kiryu and Akira Nishikiyama to collect the debt.

Although the story ended abruptly, someone in the bar couldn't help but start cursing.

It's only been a short time since 1991, and many things still seem vivid in my mind. Back then, quite a few people jumped ship when it came to investing.

Even now, many people in bars are in debt due to failed investments.

Hiroshi Takahashi touched his pocket and felt a sense of relief.

Fortunately, although he made a small fortune back then, he was used to being poor, so he was reluctant to spend it and only invested a tiny bit of it, so the loss was not too great.

Now he has gained some fame with a comic book and has a stable income. He can make some money every month by lying in a bar and doing nothing.

Hiroshi Takahashi recalled his lines from earlier.

"I have money, I'd invest in bars rather than speculate in stocks! The stock market is too scary!"

Hiroshi Takahashi clinked glasses with the people around him, and finally saw the production company in the end credits.

"So it's the Furuya Detective Agency, that makes sense!"

No wonder it has this quality.

Hiroshi Takahashi wasn't very clear about the costs of film and television productions, but he always had a certain feeling about it.

This will cost them money!
The thought that Akira Furuya might now be losing money and having to take the train in Tokyo made Hiroshi Takahashi sigh.

They're so poor they have to take the tram, yet they still want to make films. What kind of spirit is that?

"...So why doesn't he act in it himself?"

(End of this chapter)