Tokyo: The evil god doesn't want to be the top star

Kawasaki Airi motioned for the two to sit down.

According to the plot and historical context, members of the "Shinsengumi" continued to "sacrifice". By the last episode, only Hijikata Toshizo, who was known as the "Star of the Shogunate" and the "Demon's Vice-Chief", and the heroine Chiyo were left. They led the remnants of the shogunate all the way to Hakodate, Hokkaido, so naturally the other actors had no roles to play.

"According to the authorization contract between me and PPJ, if force majeure or major personnel changes occur on the production side and the quality of the series cannot be guaranteed, as the original author, I have the right to revoke the authorization and terminate the filming of the series."

"Now that the former director has withdrawn, PPJ has handed over the directorship to you, who has no experience in TV drama shooting. I think the conditions for terminating the cooperation have been met."

"Of course, this drama is also the result of everyone's hard work, so I would like to seek the opinions of the last two leading actors. After all, in the entire drama so far, only these two have won my approval for their acting skills."

Seeing that the contract had expired, Kawasaki Airi took out the authorization contract and showed the corresponding terms to everyone.

"Well, I have indeed been shooting video commercials for SUN Company, but I have also worked as an assistant director to assist Director Haruo Tsuchiya in shooting TV series. You don't have to worry about my professional level..."

Nakano's forehead was slightly sweaty, and he explained in a gentle and patient manner.

For the original author, comic works are as precious as children. He understands the author's feelings of not wanting to see his hard work ruined by "live-action adaptations".

"Professional level? I heard that on your first day in office, you recommended an actor with no experience in TV drama shooting to play the most important villain role in the last episode of 'Manyo Kazama'."

"You know, the audiences who can endure the crappy plot and poor acting and stick to the show until now are all fans of 'Man' Kazama', waiting for their favorite 'Lord Kazama' to appear at any moment."

"If you are like the previous director and let a 'vain' actor take care of the job, then I would rather the show end badly than withdraw the license."

With the lessons learned from the previous eight episodes, Kawasaki Airi naturally disdained Nakano's words.

"You two, the two leading actors, in the last episode, almost all your scenes were with the character of 'Manyo Kazama'. I'm sure you have your own opinions, right?"

Having said that, she looked at Sakamoto Hide and Shirakawa Rika who had just sat down.

In order to make up for the shortcomings in acting left by a number of "vase male actors", the former director specially invited Rika Shirakawa from the investor's company, who started shooting commercials at the age of three and has strong work experience and acting skills, as the "pillar".

And Sakamoto Hide, the "former young actor" and "current new singer" who was once famous for his acting skills, was also invited by the crew to play the important role of "Hijikata Toshizo" in exchange for the opportunity to sing the theme song.

After a famous model ruined the reputation of the show and her character died and left the stage, the only two "powerful actors" left in the final episode made people wonder whether it was a tragedy or a blessing.

"It's okay with me. I'm a singer-songwriter now. The reason I played the role of 'Hijikata Toshizo' was purely to sing the theme song of this drama."

"As long as the filming team is willing to continue filming, even if my opponent is an actor who can only say '1234', I will do my duty as an actor and complete the job."

Sakamoto Hide looked indifferent about this.

"So, Ms. Shirakawa, your contracted company is also one of the investors. As a child star who became famous at a young age and a talented young actress who has been in the industry for 16 years, you must have your own principles, right?"

Rolling her eyes at Sakamoto Shu's irresponsible answer, Kawasaki Airi looked at Shirakawa Rika expectantly.

"Of course, I and Sakamoto-kun, the musician who is 'that's all', have different pursuits..."

"From an investor's perspective, my company naturally hopes to have a 'good start and a good end' and does not want to see a bad ending for the series."

"As the female lead, I share the drama's success and failure, and I hope to have a good start and a good end, and even restore some reputation through an excellent performance in the last episode."

Shirakawa Rika, who was "cued", raised her chin proudly.

"However, the role of Kazama Manyo is very difficult and is not something that an ordinary actor can handle. The actor that the filming party first contacted is also one of the best young actors in the industry. Otherwise, he would not have used his connections to withdraw from the role as soon as he saw that his reputation was ruined."

"It can be said that for the last episode, Sakamoto Shu and I just need to perform normally, and most of the pressure is on 'Manyo Kazama'."

"According to my understanding in the industry, there are only a few people who can handle this pressure and perfectly interpret this role, and none of them are people our crew can hire to take over the mess right now."

"So, if I can't find the right actors, I don't think we need to force it to finish the filming."

She folded her arms across her chest, showing no intention of giving face to the new director Nakano, and expressed her opinions sharply.

In the original manga of "The Chrysanthemum and the Sword", the character "Kazama Manye" possesses top-level martial arts, and a personality that is cold-blooded on the surface but gentle and trustworthy on the inside. He also has two identities as the final BOSS and the emotional line character, which makes the character's background setting and psychological state the most complex and contradictory in the whole play.

This kind of evil character, who is the ceiling of martial arts and appearance, and is honest but speaks one thing but acts another, is unique even in "The Chrysanthemum and the Sword" which is full of charming male characters, and has a large number of fans.

If it was the kind of model-vase actress before, Kawasaki Airi, who regards herself as the "mother" of the work, and Shirakawa Rika, who plays the heroine, would rather "Manyo Kazama" not be adapted into a live-action character and just stay in the comics from now on.

Chapter 83: Crushing the Dimension

2024-07-13

"Don't worry, the three of you. I am well aware of the importance of 'Man'yo Kazama' to the final episode. So, I did not recommend the actors randomly..."

Facing the questioning gazes of the three people, Nakano held the tea that was originally brewed for Kawasaki Airi, took a sip silently, and tried to start explaining.

"Of course it wasn't a random recommendation, but an 'internally selected' one. I heard from a familiar staff member that the person you recommended to play the role of 'Manyo Kazama' without authorization was an amateur actor who had worked with you in a facial mask commercial but had no experience in TV dramas."

"It looks like he's the young man who just left, right?"

"How is your partiality different from the previous director's decision to allow the investors to arbitrarily stuff a bunch of 'vases' into the production based on their taste?"

"How can I trust you to be in charge of the last episode?"

But Kawasaki Airi did not intend to give him a chance to refute and started to criticize him non-stop.

"Director Nakano, the 'regular clothes' makeup test for 'Man' Kazama's' has been completed. Please take a look first."

At the same time, the makeup artist with excited eyes came to the office door and interrupted everyone's conversation.

"The venue hasn't even been cleaned yet, and you're already arranging makeup trials for the characters? Director Nakano, I absolutely don't agree with your approach..."

Hearing these words, Kawasaki Airi stood up from the sofa in anger.

After the makeup artist turned and left, Xia Fan, dressed as a warrior, appeared at the door.

"Sorry, are you in a meeting? I'll wait outside for a while..."

Because this is a comic-adapted drama aimed at females, everything is based on "beautiful, strong and miserable" as the only standard. The "appearance-destroying" hairstyle is naturally like "contraband" in this drama.

At this moment, Xia Fan was wearing a flowing black and gray short gown and a white kimono, which perfectly outlined his tall and firm figure.

The medium-short hair with golden highlights makes his handsome features and fair skin look particularly noble.

The most special thing was his scarlet eyes wrapped in beautiful contact lenses. Although he showed no emotion, he was gleaming with bloodthirsty light.

Xia Fan had a blank expression on his face, with one hand casually placed on the hilt of the sword, his shoulders naturally tilted slightly, and his whole body naturally exuded an evil aura.

"You...you are..."

Kawasaki Airi's face flushed and she looked at Xia Fan at the door with rapid breathing.

"Teacher Kawasaki, please don't be angry. If you are not satisfied, I will immediately suspend Xia Fan's audition and find other actors to try later..."

Director Nakano winked at Xia Fan, indicating that he should go out first, while comforting Kawasaki Airi.

"No, keep trying... This is exactly the 'Manyo Kazama' in my mind!"

But Kawasaki Airi took a step forward and grabbed Xia Fan's sleeve.

"This is just 'daily attire'. How beautiful would it be if it was 'military uniform' or 'Rakshasa' costume?!"

Her eyes lit up as she looked Xia Fan up and down, and she did not forget to take out the "beautiful photos" of "Kazama Manye" in different styles from her mobile phone to show everyone.

Being able to draw female-oriented works like "The Withered Chrysanthemum and the Sword", the author herself, Kawasaki Airi, is naturally also a senior fan of BL.

Perhaps it was because Xia Fan was naturally good-looking, and director Nakano had a keen eye, his evil and handsome make-up and appearance did not have the inevitable "awkwardness" that is common in live-action comic adaptations.

On the contrary, it feels like the character "Kazama Manyo" has broken through the dimensional wall with one foot and walked from the two-dimensional to the three-dimensional.

"Wait, you are, Xia Fan?"

At the same time, Sakamoto Hide, who was sitting inside, called out his name.

"Why don't you just write songs instead of acting in a web drama?"

It has been two months since the "Tokyo Newcomer Music Awards", and Xia Fan was dressed in this "two-dimensional" outfit again, so he only recognized the other person now.

"Sakamoto-kun? I'm just doing a part-time job as a photographer. You're a singer, so aren't you here too?"

Xia Fan asked back with an innocent look on his face.

"I...I agreed to come here to play a cameo role just to sing the theme song of this drama."

"If I had known that 'Hijikata Toshizo' would live to the last episode, I should have played the role of Yamanami Keisuke who was the first to die!"

When asked about this, Sakamoto Hide's face suddenly became indignant.

Although he cannot be compared with monster musicians like Xia Fan who wrote "Sakura" and "Red Lotus", his "Don't Want to Leave Bed" is still holding on to the fifth place in the "Tokyo Newcomer Music Award", which is also a good result.

But since he has already debuted as a "singer", he can't polish out new works in a short time.

In order to get more opportunities to sing songs, Sakamoto Hide was forced to return to his old job of acting to open up a path for his musical dream...

Then, I fell into the pit of the bad ending of "The Chrysanthemum and the Sword".

"What? This guy, who is a music producer by profession, actually came to act instead of doing his job?"

Hearing the conversation between the two, Rika Shirakawa, who was standing next to them, covered her forehead weakly.

As a professional actor, she doesn't usually pay much attention to the pop music market. In her mind, music producers should be unkempt otakus who stay in the studio every day.

"Teacher Airi, please control your obsession with looks. Didn't those 'vase models' in the past also trick you with their handsome makeup photos?"

"If it's just 'good looking but not practical', it won't save the reputation of the last episode."

Although Shirakawa Rika also admitted that Xia Fan's "Manye Kazama" look was 100% restored, and his appearance level was far higher than those of the previous models...

But the painful experience in the previous episodes when she was actually acting opposite someone reminded her all the time that she should not be deceived by the glamorous appearance and ignore the importance of acting skills.

"That's right. Although this guy's temperament and image completely match the 'Manyo Kazama' in my mind. But Manyo Kazama's evil charm and gentle personality hidden in her madness are not something that an ordinary actor can interpret, let alone a novice."

"So, for the sake of prudence, I decided to exercise my contractual rights and withdraw the authorization for "The Broken Chrysanthemum and the Knife"."

Recalling the many bad reviews of the previous dramas and even the tragic scene where her personal blog was destroyed, Kawasaki Airi calmed down and returned to her original intention.

"Teacher Kawasaki, your concerns are understandable. How about we make a bet..."

"I will continue to take over the filming, but the final result needs your approval before it can be put on the platform. How do you think?"

Nakano pondered for a moment and boldly made a new proposal.

"Betting? Do you know how much extra money the investors will lose if the film cannot be broadcast after it is shot?"

This made Shirakawa Rika, who was standing by, completely unable to understand.

"Don't worry, I will go and convince the platform. Mr. Kawasaki, please consider this as one last chance for me, the actors, and The Broken Chrysanthemum and the Sword."

When talking about filming, Nakano changed his submissive look and his eyes became very determined.

Chapter 84 Booting up

2024-07-13

"Give "The Withered Chrysanthemum and the Knife" one last chance..."

As if touched by his words, Kawasaki Airi's face froze for a moment.

"Since you've said that, I look forward to your filming results. Please note that I will review the quality of the final episode with very strict standards."

After thinking for a while, she nodded slowly, took the contract, stood up and left the office.

"Director Nakano is so cool that he actually convinced such a determined author."

Xia Fan exclaimed and clapped his hands.

"Phew, luckily I had a burst of acting skills at the last minute and managed to get through it. It almost ended before the filming even started..."

"But, after making such a boast, how can we explain it to the investors?"

Director Nakano's expression fell, and he sat down on the sofa in a daze, gulping down the tea.

"Anyway, starting tomorrow, the official shoot will all be up to you three!"

Then he humbly bowed to the three "starring actors" in the room.

"What? That confident aura just now was actually acting?"

"In other words, they made such an exaggerated gambling promise to the original author without the knowledge of the investors."

"If I mess up like this, my career as a director will probably end early, right?"

This time, it was the turn of the three actors in the office to turn pale and look at each other.

……

"The Withered Chrysanthemum and the Sword", final episode, first day of filming.

Hatchobori, Chuo-ku.

The dilapidated brick walls surround several old and decaying wooden houses, giving off the feeling of a dangerous building that could collapse at any time.

In front of the door of one of the largest wooden houses, there is a wooden plaque with the words "Jingxin Mingzhiliu Scholars Academy".