Tokyo's bubble economy: From literary giants to great entertainers

Rie Miyazawa's pupils contracted slightly, and she fell silent.

Shuichi Kanbara took a sip of his cappuccino and didn't say anything more, but there wasn't much worry in his eyes.

In his past life, as a director, he often read many obscure books, as well as various social cases and celebrity biographies, in order to find inspiration. And Rie Miyazawa was an indispensable actress in the Japanese entertainment industry during the Heisei era, so he naturally paid attention to her life trajectory.

To put it bluntly, Rie Miyazawa was in a mental state similar to Stockholm syndrome during this period.

On the one hand, she hated her mother's control, exploitation, and even abuse and persecution of her.

On the other hand, because she grew up without a father, she was extremely deprived of love and thus craved her mother's affection, even developing a kind of distorted dependence and an extreme fear of being abandoned again. But the woman who made her crave love was also constantly persecuting her, and she was fully aware of all this.

This extremely exaggerated mental state led her to suffer from severe anorexia and depression at the age of 22, and she even attempted suicide. But... it must be said that Rie Miyazawa has an incredibly strong inner strength.

He debuted at the age of 11, became a national sensation at the age of 14, and reached the top in both film and music at the age of 16. He was hailed by the media as the number one artist of the Heisei era. He attempted suicide at the age of 22 and made a comeback at the age of 28.

She won Best Actress at the Moscow International Film Festival for her role in "Peony Pavilion," marking the first time a Japanese actress has won an international A-list Best Actress award.

The following year, she starred in "The Twilight Samurai," sweeping the Best Actress awards at eight major Japanese film awards and completely returning to her peak. She went on to win the award three more times, and remained a top-tier, powerful actress in Japan until the time travel he experienced.

This kind of strong woman will not be easily defeated.

All he can do is give the other party enough trust and support.

This is true.

Rie Miyazawa seemed a little uneasy handling this task independently for the first time. But gradually, as she continued to read the script and understand the characters' motivations, her thoughts began to focus completely.

Even after reading certain passages and interacting with Shuichi Kambara, she would subconsciously try to make the exaggerated expressions seen in the drama. Her mother would never have allowed her to do these things before. But this time, she received praise from Shuichi Kambara.

This sense of freedom and accomplishment made her increasingly relaxed, and the smile on her face became more and more natural. When talking to Shuichi Kanbara, her tone gradually became more intimate and relaxed.

The two chatted and laughed as they discussed the script.

As for Kento Kaku...

At this moment, he stared blankly at the script in his hand, his eyes completely vacant.

There's no other reason—he's a second-generation star who honed his acting skills under the guidance of his elders from a young age and often boasts that he's a genius at acting.

But compared to a true monster-level genius like Rie Miyazawa...

He watched as Rie Miyazawa, in just half an hour, went from being completely unable to make the exaggerated facial expressions like Kyoko Hayakawa's, to gradually becoming familiar with them, and finally to being completely adept at them, even making the passersby at the next table laugh so hard they choked on their food.

"Is this what genius is...?"

Kento Kaku slumped onto the sofa, looking like a salted fish that had lost its dreams. This scene amused Shuichi Kanbara and Rie Miyazawa.

"You spineless coward! Finish your coffee, we have an audition to attend."

Shuichi Kambara slapped him on the shoulder in an annoyed manner.

He Laixian's face immediately loomed close. "You're so easy to talk when you're not the one suffering! Do you know how long it took me to train to her level?! A full two years! I spent two whole years practicing in front of the mirror to achieve that state she was just now! Do you know how I feel right now?! Waaaaah~~~"

"Okay, okay... I know it's not easy for you... Hurry up and drink your coffee... We need to leave..."

Kento Kaku was wailing so hard it was heartbreaking. Shuichi Kanbara, who lived in Bengbu, saw that the guy was indeed quite sad and was pounding the sofa, so he could only force himself to say some words of comfort.

This scene, resembling the act of coaxing a baby, finally dispelled the aloofness in Rie Miyazawa's eyes.

"The horoscope in the morning news said that Aries will have good luck today..."

"So that's what zodiac signs are all about..."

"It's not nonsense."

Looking at the constipated look on Shuichi Kambara's face, and recalling the support and trust he had shown earlier, as well as everything he had done today, she pinched her earlobe and a sweet smile unconsciously appeared on her lips.

.

Jueyue Studio, strictly speaking, is not an officially defined film studio, nor is it a movie city like Hengdian in China.

The main reason is that there are many campus filming locations here, which are specifically used for shooting school dramas. In addition, it is located on the hill behind Horikoshi High School, so it is known in the industry as the Horikoshi film set.

When Shuichi Kanbara, Kento Kaku, and Rie Miyazawa arrived at the gate of a school, it was almost 1 p.m. As for Granny Miyazawa, she was out handling some matters with the help of her secretary, Kurohime.

"They actually rented a school from the Horikoshi film set. Matsuzaka Entertainment is still a giant even when it's down on its luck."

Kento Kaku stood with his hands on his hips, panting, looking at the school in front of him with a touch of emotion in his eyes.

As a second-generation star, he naturally knew the name Matsuzaka Entertainment.

However, compared to Matsuzaka Entertainment Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of the Matsuzaka Group that once spanned the underworld, yakuza, and business worlds, Matsuzaka Entertainment, which is now cutting off its yakuza business and going through a painful period of transformation, is significantly smaller in scale, but it is still a medium-sized entertainment company with a solid foundation.

"After all, it's a large family business; it won't collapse so easily."

Kanbaru Hideaki nodded and led the two into the film set to meet Matsuzaka Keiko. They hadn't gone far into the school when a figure, both strange and familiar, came into view.

In the corridor on the third floor of the school, a stylish old man wearing a baseball cap and sunglasses was leaning against the railing, while a tall, fierce-looking man stood next to him, the two chatting and laughing and smoking.

"Mr. Kinji Fukasaku?!"

Shuichi Kanbara was slightly taken aback, but when he saw the fierce-looking man next to him, his expression of surprise deepened—Takeshi Kitano.

Yes, Takeshi Kitano.

The face was so distinctive that even from three floors away, he could still see the other person.

Moreover, this Takeshi Kitano appears to be a middle-aged Takeshi Kitano before the car accident that left half of his face paralyzed. When he was smoking and laughing with Kinji Fukasaku, his facial expressions were quite rich.

"Kitano Takeshi and Fukasaku Kinji..."

"Could it be... they're filming Battle Royale?!"

Takeshi Kitano and Kinji Fukasaku are both directors he admires, and in his memory, the two only collaborated on the film "Battle Royale," which is indeed set in a school classroom.

Shuichi Kambara was very surprised. Just then, with the sound of wheels rolling over a gravel road, a familiar Mercedes appeared behind him.

Keiko Matsuzaka, wearing a red shirt and pencil skirt, stepped out of the car and gave a polite, slight bow. "I'm sorry to have kept you waiting, Mr. Kanbara."

"No, we just arrived too. By the way, this is my classmate, Kento Kaku, a first-year student in the Department of Performing Arts at Nichigo University of the Arts."

"Hello, President Matsuzaka! This is Kaku!"

Hideichi Kanbara returned the bow, while Kento Kaku bowed respectfully at a ninety-degree angle.

Matsuzaka Keiko wasn't as respectful to him, nodding with a smile: "You must be the second young master of the Kaku family, right? I've heard Chikako mention you before."

It was just normal polite conversation, but when he heard the other party address him only as the second young master of the Kaku family, a serious look flashed in Kento Kaku's eyes, but he still bowed at a ninety-degree angle without rising, "It is a great honor for President Matsuzaka to know me!"

Keiko Matsuzaka nodded, then her gaze lingered on Rie Miyazawa and Shuichi Kanbara with amusement.

Seeing Rie Miyazawa bow slightly nervously, she then parted her lips slightly, "You actually brought a girl with you... It seems that Mr. Kanbara is quite confident in his script."

"Your company will see soon enough."

Shuichi Kanbara smiled and gave a perfunctory reply, but his eyes were still fixed on Kinji Fukasaku and Takeshi Kitano on the third floor. At that moment, perhaps sensing his gaze, Kinji Fukasaku also looked down.

To my utter surprise, the interesting junior from my alma mater whom I met an hour ago while waiting for someone out of boredom actually showed up on the film set.

He was also very surprised, but interestingly, perhaps he really valued Kanbara Shuichi's talent, or perhaps he was just a very cheerful old man.

He didn't put on airs; instead, he waved at Shuichi Kanbara with the hand holding the cigarette, but before he could say anything, Takeshi Kitano grabbed his neck and led him into the classroom.

Seeing this, Keiko Matsuzaka asked in surprise, "Mr. Kambara, do you know Mr. Fukasaku?"

"Well... I guess you could say we know each other."

Shuichi Kambara laughed and recounted what had happened at school that morning. Keiko Matsuzaka listened with amazement, and became even more interested in his script.

The group chatted casually as they walked towards the film crew's office, led by Keiko Matsuzaka.

"So, President Matsuzaka lent that floor to Mr. Fukasaku because the computer couldn't be turned on these past few days?"

As Kanbaru Hide walked, he asked questions, and Matsuzaka Keiko nodded and explained with a smile, "They're filming a movie called 'Battle Royale.' They said there's a short classroom scene at the beginning, and renting a location directly wouldn't be cost-effective."

Just a few days ago, I ran into Wu at the TV station. Our company and Wu are old acquaintances. After chatting for a while, I said I'd lend them that floor for a few days.

Shuichi Kambara nodded thoughtfully.

Matsuzaka Entertainment used to have yakuza connections, and while Takeshi Kitano is not a yakuza member, he has close ties to the yakuza.

However, although he was very curious about the filming of "Battle Royale" and wanted to see Kinji Fukasaku and Takeshi Kitano's camera work, lighting, and atmosphere, Shuichi Kanbara knew that his priority was to finish "From Today, It's My Turn!!".

The four were chatting as they approached the corner of the stairs when suddenly two men rushed down the stairs. The shorter one, in particular, was so fast that he bumped into Keiko Matsuzaka.

"ah!"

Wearing high heels makes climbing stairs difficult enough, and Matsuzaka Keiko gasped in surprise, nearly falling over. Just then, Kambara Shuichi reached out and grabbed her waist, pulling her close.

"Are you alright?"

"No...it's okay, thank you."

As a sudden little incident occurred, Shuichi Kanbara's subconscious action brought the two of them quite close together.

When Matsuzaka Keiko looked up, her eyes met those of Kambara Shuichi, but before she could think further, Kambara Shuichi loosened his grip slightly, allowing her to steady herself.

This action caused Rie Miyazawa, standing beside her, to raise an eyebrow slightly in satisfaction, and also caused a hint of surprise to flash in Keiko Matsuzaka's eyes. After all, as a mature and sophisticated woman, she was very aware of her own charm.

However, she didn't experience the kind of heart-fluttering feeling often found in vulgar stories; she just found it amusing and smiled to herself.

"He's such a young and cute little brother."

Thinking this, her expression completely changed when she turned to look at the two unlucky guys who had bumped into her and were now bowing and apologizing profusely.

With a gloomy face, wearing a red shirt and a pencil skirt, she exuded a cold and dangerous aura, like a venomous snake, and immediately launched into a tirade.

To be fair, she can be quite fierce when she's scolding people. She's the kind of masochist who would yell "Mommy stepped on me!" and people would be terrified when they see her scolding them.

Kento Kaku and Rie Miyazawa, who were standing nearby, did the same thing, especially Rie Miyazawa, who subconsciously moved closer to Shuichi Kanbara.

However, Shuichi Kanbara didn't notice this. He was just staring at the two apologetic duo, one thin and one short and stout, with disbelief in his eyes.

Sakai Masato?

Kagawa Teruyuki? ? ?

.

While Shuichi Kambara was experiencing an accident, on the other side, at the filming location on the third floor.

"Hey, why aren't Sakai Masato and Kagawa back yet?! You idiot! Why are you taking so long to go to the toilet?! Someone go and fish them out!"

Takeshi Kitano yelled at a crew member to go find someone, while Kinji Fukasaku was still intently studying the script.

Takeshi Kitano hesitated for a moment, but recalling what had just happened, he walked over to Kinji Fukasaku and asked, "Hey, do you know that kid from earlier?"

"That kid?"

"That kid downstairs who seems to know Keiko really well."

Kinji Fukasaku paused, took another drag of his cigarette, and nodded. "Oh, you mean him? He's the kid I met at the school's entrance ceremony this morning. His script is really interesting."

"Is he a student at Nichigo University of the Arts?"

Takeshi Kitano's eyes widened in disbelief.

Old Master Fukasaku, with his legs elegantly crossed, smacked his lips in confusion. "What, looking down on people? Judging from his basic screenwriting skills and level of dedication, he might catch up with you soon."

"No, no, that's not what I meant."

Takeshi Kitano waved his hand and leaned closer, saying, "I mean... Ojiji, have you read the newspapers lately? About the Nishijo Group incident in Shimokitazawa."

"Oh, of course I saw it. What's wrong?"

"..."

Takeshi Kitano scratched the back of his head, gathered his thoughts, and then said, "If I'm not mistaken, that guy who single-handedly took down the West City Group... seems to be that kid from just now."

"What?!"