I, Hiroshi Nohara, the star of Japanese cinema!

Is this thing really watchable?

With a hint of curiosity that she herself was not aware of, Takeshita Ai stuffed the videotape into the projector.

Chapter 12 Genius!

There was another soft click and the screen lit up again.

The picture comes out.

"and many more?"

But with the scene that just appeared, Takeshita Ai was stunned.

She had watched so many exquisite cartoons in the past that she couldn't believe that the pictures she saw now even had the style of an ancient era, an era before she was born.

"What the hell is this!?" A trace of anger arose in Takeshita Ai's heart.

She thought she was being teased.

Because what appears on the screen is an extremely rough static painting style similar to "Paper Shimbun" - that is, a shadow puppet show.

The characters look like paper figures cut out from yellowed old paper, with stiff movements and simple scenes.

In the background, there was a masked man, clapping castanets and reciting the opening remarks in a hoarse and strange tone.

"Don't miss it if you pass by, it's time for Anzhiju..."

Takeshita Ai's brows frowned instantly.

What is this? Student work?

Is that stubborn old Suzuki Seito crazy? Submitting this to the review department?

She leaned back in her chair, her arms folded across her chest, a look of impatience and disappointment on her face.

She decided that if it didn't show any redeeming qualities within a minute, she would shut it down and write "amateurish, crude, and rejected" in the review.

The story of the first episode begins.

The title is - "The Talisman Girl".

The picture shows a young man moving into a new apartment. There are many strange charms on the walls, doors, walls, and even the ceiling of the apartment.

The narrator uses an emotionless tone to tell the story that the man didn't care about it and just thought the previous tenant was a little superstitious.

Then, he noticed.

In the window of the apartment opposite, there was always a long-haired woman, quietly looking at him.

No matter whether it was day or night, as long as he looked out the window, the woman was there, motionless, her long black hair covering her face, and only a vague outline could be seen.

Seeing this, Takeshita Ai unconsciously lowered her arms.

Her body silently leaned forward slightly again.

An indescribable sense of familiarity quietly spread from the bottom of my heart.

She recalled how, in her early twenties, she had also rented an old apartment in a remote corner of Tokyo to save money. The building was similarly dark and damp, with the lights in the corridor flickering on and off. The neighbors were all blurry, with the apathy and alienation unique to urbanites.

It seemed like she...had a strange neighbor once.

And at this time, Takeshita Ai found that as the plot deepened, she seemed to have gotten used to this crude animation production in the shortest time.

I even feel that this kind of slide-like animation has a unique sense of contrast after watching so many exquisite animations.

"Then I'll continue watching." Takeshita Ai pursed her lips and chose to continue watching.

The story continues.

The man began to feel uneasy. He drew the curtains, but he felt that the sight could penetrate everything. Things in the house began to move for no reason, and he could hear strange scratching noises at night.

He became more and more frightened and remembered the talismans. But when he came back from get off work, he found the door was not closed and the talismans were pasted on the wall again.

Just when the man was about to take off the talisman in anger, the woman suddenly appeared.

Kill with a sudden attack!

"Hmm!" Even Takeshita Ai was startled. Before she knew it, she had been immersed in it.

Then the police came and took away the woman who had broken into someone else's room. But before leaving, the woman was still saying something to the man, which seemed to be a warning.

But the man didn't hear clearly and was still confused.

So the man didn't take it seriously, thinking it was just a mental illness.

When he returned home, he looked at the footprints all over the floor and wiped the room with a rag helplessly.

Until he lifted up a round table and found that the bottom of the table was full of talismans.

"These spells..."

Takeshita Ai's heart skipped a beat for no reason.

She thought of her own home, where a traffic safety amulet from Senso-ji Temple was hung at the entrance. Her mother also sent her a so-called blessed shrine talisman and asked her to put it in her wallet to ward off evil spirits.

These seemingly superstitious things have long been integrated into the daily lives of the Japanese and have become a form of psychological comfort.

The man in the story was shaking and hysterically tearing off many talismans.

At the moment when the fragments of the talisman were torn off from the sky——

The scene suddenly changed!

One by one, the resentful souls appeared above the hero's head as if hanging themselves, with some strange heartbeat sounds, and the screen instantly cut to black!

"Shh!"

Ai Takeshita suddenly stood up from the chair, and the chair slid backwards because of her movement, making a harsh sound as the wheels rubbed against the floor.

Her chest heaved violently, and her heart pounded wildly behind her ribs, as if it was about to jump out of her throat.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

The office was so quiet that she could even clearly hear her own thunderous heartbeat.

A drop of cold sweat slid down her temple, freezing her bones.

ended?

Is it over?

What happened to that man? What was that talisman woman?

There was no explanation, no follow-up, only that sudden moment of terror that was enough to leave an endless shadow in people's hearts.

Different from the "story-based" horror of "Kibo Samurai" which has cause and effect, beginning and end, "Anzhiju" brings a pure and unreasonable horror that can be called "phenomenal"!

It is like a poisoned needle that accurately pierces the softest and most everyday part of your heart when you are off guard.

It makes you doubt the safety of your home, doubt the dark shadow outside your window, doubt the stains on the ceiling, and doubt every moment that you take for granted but is terrifying when you think about it carefully.

If you are a Japanese person on Earth, you will know that this is the essence of "urban legend"!

But the people of Blue Star Neon in this parallel world don’t know this.

Ai Takeshita slowly sat back in her chair, picked up the water cup on the table, took a big sip of water, and then she barely suppressed the palpitations in her heart.

Her hands were still trembling slightly.

She has been in the industry for so many years and has reviewed hundreds of horror works, some bloody, some disgusting, and some that play with human nature, but none of them can make her feel as real and as belatedly frightened as this simple, low-cost "shadow picture" in front of her.

She didn't even dare to think about the old apartment where she lived, or the neighbor whose face was blurry.

"Suzuki Seito... Nohara Hiroshi..."

Ai Takeshita looked at the simple plan and repeated these two names.

She picked up the videotape, looked at the three words "Anzhiju" on it, and an unprecedented light burst out in her eyes.

It was a kind of surprise and excitement of discovering a rare treasure.

"Genius..." She uttered these two words sincerely: "This is definitely a genius idea!"

Chapter 13 passed the review!

Yes, the evaluation given by Takeshita Ai is so high.

It’s just the word genius!

She could almost foresee the sensation this animation would cause when it was broadcast late at night.

It will become a hot topic that people talk about in school, during their free time at work, at the dinner table, and in the tea room.

Because there are so few such novel themes!

This is what true planning is! It’s about using creativity and wisdom to achieve miracles with minimal effort!

Without any further hesitation, she picked up the red seal engraved with "Approved" and stamped it heavily on the review document of "Anzhiju" without any hesitation!

"Snapped!"

The crisp sound echoed in the quiet office.

……

But for Suzuki Seito and his group who were on their way back to the classroom, the sky above their heads was still gray.

The lights in the corridor seemed to have become particularly pale, making their shadows long and dejected, as if foreshadowing some bad ending.

"Section Chief..."

Finally unable to hold back, Hashijitaro broke the suffocating silence, his voice tinged with reluctance and worry: "That Iwata guy...his plan does look...amazing."

He didn't want to admit it, but the facts were right in front of him.

The beautifully bound business plan, those shining names, and Masao Iwata's confident look were like a heavy stone weighing on everyone's heart.

Suzuki Seito paused for a moment. Without looking back, he said in an almost tired voice, "I know."

How could he not know.

Having worked in the television industry for most of his life, he knew better than anyone that a gorgeous business plan and a strong network of contacts were often more convincing than a good idea itself.

Deputy Director Takada's name is like an insurmountable wall.