Joker's Band Game Story

Ultimately, the Beatles' huge success at the Budokan symbolized the victory of Japan's emerging rock and pop culture over the conservatives, and the Budokan thus became a symbol of Japanese music and rock. Going to the Budokan is more of a commemorative event.

Many bands aim for the Budokan rather than the Tokyo Dome precisely because that significance is greater, so it's perfectly normal for Red Ginger to be aiming for the Budokan. Six out of ten bands want to perform at the Budokan.

"Well……"

Xiao Zhi didn't say anything, he just looked up at the photo.

What Amamiya said was similar to what Rupa had told her before; they both wanted to achieve their goal, and it was definitely not okay for the two of them to continue like this.

The number of Red Ginger's fans is only 20,000, which is not many at all. Frankly speaking, this number is considered extremely low by the band.

What does 20,000 mean? The live show before the new diamond gained 20,000 new fans in just one session.

Moreover, many bands' fans are not limited to China. Well-known bands have millions or even tens of millions of fans. Twenty thousand is indeed a bit low. After all, not all internet fans are active. Many people follow and then forget to unfollow. So, twenty thousand is indeed not a lot in terms of the number of fans.

It's not impossible for a band to debut with just two members, but with one playing bass and the other keyboard, it's extremely difficult for them to succeed. Bands usually have four or five members because they are more versatile in their instruments and can showcase their unique style.

"I see……"

Xiao Zhi finally bit his lip, realizing that if he wanted to truly achieve this goal, he had to move forward.

Whether the future holds good or bad fortune, we must rush over and see for ourselves. If we don't even dare to take this step, how will we deal with the many more problems that lie ahead? What's the point of just passively waiting?

Undeniably, opportunities sometimes fall from the sky, but the probability of that is too low. Most opportunities must be seized and earned by oneself.

"As for how to talk to them... just talk to their captain directly. If you think it's okay, I'll tell her to come over."

"There's no need to come all this way. Let's arrange a time to meet somewhere else."

Rupa heard Yu Ba N Yi k San Ling 9 Ling Qi Jiu Wu Ba Ling Meng Gong say that he wanted to call the other party over, and felt that this was too impolite.

That's why she suggested we schedule a time to sit down and talk properly at another place.

"Of course, we didn't go empty-handed. We also have some ideas about their performance today, and we called you over hoping you could give us some pointers."

"Oh? Inspiration?"

This made Amamiya a little curious. Were they planning to make another song?

"Yes, we've been working on it for a while now. You can listen to it first."

Rupa handed the earphones to Amamiya, played the song they had just recorded, and told Amamiya to listen to it carefully.

This song is the one that Renna and the others sang today—"The Sound of Decay in a Corner of the Vision." However, in addition to the original live version, keyboard sounds were added.

It has to be said that adding this keyboard really improved the effect of the song a lot. Amamiya tapped the beat in his head and listened to the song, already feeling confident.

Although only a small part was added, Amamiya was confident that if the piece was well-composed, it would be perfect for a collaboration with New Tokyo.

"That's great. After all the recordings are finished, we can give it to Momoka to listen to. She definitely won't refuse."

Amamiya took off his headphones and first expressed his satisfaction with the song. He saw Lupa's smile beside him, but did not continue to say nice things: "But if it's just this one song, I don't think they will necessarily agree to form a band."

"why?"

Before Rupa could speak, Ash spoke first, immediately asking Amamiya for the reason.

Isn't this piece a great match? Then why isn't it enough?

"Because of our shared beliefs, I need to clarify whether you two can reach a consensus."

With his arms crossed, Amamiya looked at Ash and knew that the focus of this exchange was Ash, not Rupa.

Rupa has a very easygoing personality. Among Red Ginger, she clearly supports Ash in every way, or rather, she will help Red Ginger achieve her goal—to reach the Budo Gym in her own way.

She doesn't completely listen to Ash, but she acts according to Ash's goals. This led Amamiya to skip over Rupa and directly ask Ash, whom she doesn't know very well yet: "I want to know, where is your bottom line in order to achieve your goals?"

"Bottom line?"

"That's right, the bottom line, or rather, have you figured out what you're willing to sacrifice to get into the martial arts dojo?"

Amamiya tapped his headphones. He wasn't going to keep him in suspense any longer. After asking the question, he added a more specific one, afraid that Ash wouldn't understand what he meant: "Music style, are you willing to do anything to get into the Budokan, even if it means changing your music style or betraying your teammates?"

This is an inquiry, a reminder, and a warning.

Which one it is exactly depends on what Xiaozhi herself thinks.

Without waiting for Satoshi's reply, Amamiya continued to explain the situation to her. This exchange was, of course, aimed at achieving a win-win situation, so there was no need to hide anything. It was best to clarify things beforehand to avoid conflicts and eventual dissolution after cooperation began.

"Momoka cares a lot about this. She left her previous band because she was unwilling to change her musical style. I think you've all learned about her musical style by now, right? This kind of style makes it difficult to gather fans in the early stages, but the fans you do gather are very likely to become die-hard fans. So if you're worried about this, it's best not to collaborate."

The downside of niche songs is precisely this: they already lack the financial backing to become popular, and if this is added to the mix, it becomes even harder for them to become hits. There's even a possibility that a song might become popular while the band itself remains unknown.

Therefore, it is almost impossible for them to quickly and easily break into a martial arts dojo. It may take them a very long time to grow step by step.

With their combined strength, and after some further training, they certainly have the ability to compete in the martial arts gym, but the problem lies in their lack of fame.

Want to perform at the Budokan, or even the Tokyo Dome? It's not that difficult, it's not. All you need is money, connections, and popularity. Having any one of these three things can get you on stage, but you also need to have real skill. Otherwise, if you're too bad, going on stage will only be embarrassing and will only tarnish the Budokan's reputation.

They only have talent; they can't get money or connections right now, so all they have left is popularity. Building popularity is very difficult for them; it will take time. So…

"So you guys should think this through first. Your goals and their goals don't conflict, but they're not exactly the same. It depends on how you think about it."

Amamiya said all that in the hopes that Chip would carefully consider whether he was willing to make this move.

After all, this isn't child's play. It's not like you can form a band just because you have a good personality. They plan to form a commercial band, which means that career is more important than relationships. But Xiaozhi still cares about relationships, which means that career and relationships can't be at odds for them to move forward together.

After saying this, Amamiya sat on the sofa and drank his beverage, intending to wait for Ash's reply. He wasn't in a hurry, after all, Ash would definitely need to think it over carefully.

'〡、【灵猛艺II另（三）侕球l〡旗飼⑧铃铃铃~'

But at that moment, Amamiya's phone rang. Hearing the ringtone, Amamiya picked up the phone, glanced at the caller ID and the name, and his brows furrowed involuntarily.

"Sorry, it seems I have to go. I have something else to discuss. That's all my advice. You two are compatible musically, but if your goals are different, I suggest you don't form a band."

After saying this, Amamiya hurriedly left Rupa's house. Rupa could tell that Amamiya was leaving as soon as he saw the caller ID, so he knew that Amamiya really had something important to do.

She didn't stop him, and only answered the phone after watching Amamiya leave home.

"Why are you calling me all of a sudden?" "Want to talk some more?" "Okay, I'm in Ikebukuro. Give me your address, I'll come over now." "Want to pick me up? Well, it seems this is really urgent. Okay, I'll send you the address."

Unexpectedly, the other party was in such a hurry, so Amamiya stood by the roadside and waited for their arrival.

To be honest, he didn't expect the other party to come looking for him again so soon. It hadn't been long since their last meeting, so it should have been later.

Unexpectedly...

Just as Amamiya was lost in thought, a Maybach slowly pulled up to the side of the road. The driver got out and opened the car door for Amamiya.

Inside the car, a sprightly old man with white hair sat, clearly the person Amamiya was waiting for.

He had indeed met the other party once; the other party was Toyokawa Shoko's maternal grandfather, who is now the head of the Toyokawa family.

When the other party came to see him, Amamiya did not refuse, because he knew there was no way to refuse, as the other party's attitude was sometimes quite forceful.

Moreover, I was also puzzled as to why the other party would come to see me at this time, since there was still a long time before the agreed time.

"You're quite straightforward."

After watching Amamiya get into the car, Grandpa Toyokawa finally spoke.

"After all, it's quite surprising that someone as important as you would want to see me. After all, the time for our last appointment hasn't arrived yet, has it? Or have I done something wrong?"

Amamiya got into the car, appearing neither humble nor arrogant, intending to hear why the other party had come to find him.

That's right, the agreement was a promise he made with Grandpa Toyokawa last time.

The agreement was quite simple—not to help Toyokawa Shoko form a band and debut, and not to help her after her debut.

As a 'reward' of the agreement, the Toyokawa family would support Amamiya's parents' work, so it was a deal that wasn't a bad one no matter how you looked at it.

But the deal didn't end there, because he also proposed another aspect of the deal—marrying into the wife's family.

He could never forget the words his grandfather, Toyokawa, said that day, which almost completely stunned him—'Amamiya, come and be a child of the Toyokawa family.'

He only said he would think about it further, without giving a complete agreement. After all, it would be troublesome to refuse directly in person. When he said he would think about it, he had already implied that he was going to refuse.

"How's that thing you were considering last time?"

Unfortunately, Grandpa Toyokawa didn't respond to Amamiya's words. Instead, he brought up the old matter again, asking him about the matter he was considering, the matter of marrying into the family.

To be honest, marrying into the Toyokawa family is indeed a wonderful thing. If many people had the choice, who wouldn't want to join a wealthy family?

The Japanese practice of marrying into a wealthy family is different from that in China. In Japan, a man who marries into a wealthy family is truly raised as if he were his own son. So, marrying into a wealthy family is not about being a dog; it's about becoming the master.

But Amamiya really didn't care much about this matter. He wasn't interested in it, or rather, he had no ambition. He just wanted to play music. He didn't want to get involved in power or politics.

So he actually really wanted to refuse.

"Don't rush to refuse, Ling p. Mengying (II) ⊙彡Wo Lingqi h飼ba I don't intend for you to inherit the Toyokawa family."

Grandpa Toyokawa added another sentence, and it was precisely this sentence that made Amamiya decide to listen to what he had to say.

Of course, just listening doesn't mean he'll agree.

"I know you're close to a few girls, but it doesn't matter. The Toyokawa family doesn't mind, as long as it doesn't get out."

Negotiations are all about talking about the benefits first, and Grandpa Toyokawa continued to talk about more things that would benefit Amamiya.

It's true that wealthy families often have very messy affairs, especially those involved in arranged marriages who end up with people they don't like due to family reasons, and then both sides keep lovers, which can be described as quite chaotic.

Therefore, Grandpa Toyokawa didn't mind this at all; he even investigated the situation of the girls who were close to Amamiya.

The fact that he was being investigated made Amamiya frown slightly. He disliked having his private life observed, but there was nothing he could do. The other party had too much power, and it would be difficult for him to fight against them.

"Don't you like making music? With the Toyokawa family backing you up, you can do whatever you want with music without any worries."

"Really? Then what's the price? What is the price?"

Hearing these empty promises, Amamiya leaned forward slightly. "But what's the price?"

The pigs are lured in to be slaughtered. Now that we've covered the benefits, what about the drawbacks?

"The price? As expected, you G-flow⑧镹〥（五）VIIv I邻⒋灵鬬 are not blind people, and I admire that about you."

Grandpa Toyokawa leaned back slightly in his chair, and it was clear that he was in a good mood and in good spirits.

Because he knew he had chosen the right person.

(PS: What kind of genius could come up with skill names like Lightning Brilliant Breasts, Hime-shining Brilliant Shield, Embracing Brilliant Starry Sky, and Tempting Sound Wave Attack after episode 10? I really need to hire a Hakiko at home. I feel like I'm watching a pirated version of Lolo's Adventure.)

End Summary

The content of Volume 2 is less than that of Volume 1, mainly because page 5 is indeed shorter.