Chapter 72: 《terrifying Touch》 Filming Complete!
This heartfelt compliment, everyone present could clearly feel the weight and preciousness of recognition from an industry titan.
Upon hearing this, Hiroshi Nohara’s smile of humility remained unchanged.
He simply bowed slightly again, his voice gentle and sincere, “Director Kurosawa, you flatter me. I am merely standing at the right moment in this era and happened to seize things that young people enjoy.”
His demeanor was very humble, without any arrogance from early success.
This composure and clarity only deepened Eiji Kurosawa’s admiration.
“No, this is not luck,” Director Kurosawa waved his hand, his eyes, which had witnessed countless ups and downs, now held a touch of melancholy and sincerity he hadn’t noticed himself. “Nohara-kun, to be honest, I came with a personal motive.”
He surveyed the familiar yet strange faces in the office, his former subordinates who had filmed historical dramas with him and once held sway at Kanto Television Station, now surrounding this young man like retainers who had found a new lord, their eyes gleaming with long-lost light.
“I have spent my life filming samurai, telling stories of loyalty and glory.”
Director Kurosawa’s voice carried the stubbornness and pride of an artisan from a bygone era, yet it also held an undeniable sense of desolation. “But in the end, I’ve found that no one in this era is willing to listen to my old stories anymore.”
He smiled self-deprecatingly, a hint of bitterness in his laughter:
“My last film was a box office disaster. And the historical war drama I wanted to film at the television station was indefinitely shelved by the higher-ups due to not meeting market expectations. Asumi had to go to the Board of Directors to face rejection on my behalf quite a few times.”
“Sometimes I wonder if I have truly… become old, left behind by this era.”
Director Kurosawa’s gaze returned to Hiroshi Nohara. His look was no longer that of a senior scrutinizing a junior, but the pure focus and desire of a seeker facing a wise man who had grasped a new truth.
“So, I wanted to come here and see how you young people work. And I want to truly learn how this so-called ‘urban legend’ you mentioned… captures people’s hearts.”
He said these words with utmost frankness, without any concealment.
A legend standing at the pinnacle of the industry could so openly admit his predicament and humbly seek guidance from a young man of his grandson’s generation.
This magnanimity and bearing moved all the old soldiers of the Kanto Faction present.
Their eyes even welled up slightly.
A genuine respect welled up in Hiroshi Nohara’s heart.
He looked at the elder before him; his impeccably tailored suit seemed a bit loose due to the years, making him appear somewhat thin, but his straight spine and eyes, though slightly clouded, were still sharp as an eagle’s, exuding the unyielding spirit of a top creator.
A thought, like lightning piercing the night sky, instantly illuminated Hiroshi Nohara’s mind.
“Director Kurosawa,” Hiroshi Nohara’s face suddenly broke into a brilliant smile, a smile with a fitting hint of cunning and sincerity. “If you don’t mind, I do have a role here that might… be very suitable for you to ‘learn’ from.”
“Oh?” Director Kurosawa raised an eyebrow, intrigued.
“Our 《World of the Strange》 needs a ‘storyteller’ who runs through the entire series.”
Hiroshi Nohara spoke unhurriedly, but with a captivating magic. “He is a mysterious man in a black suit, wearing sunglasses. He is both an observer and a guide. At the beginning of each story, he will use an emotionless tone to draw the audience into a bizarre and wondrous world; and at the end of the story, with a few insightful remarks, he will inspire the audience to deeply contemplate humanity.”
“He doesn’t need much acting; what he needs is the composure of someone who has seen it all, the sharpness of someone who understands the world, and an aura that makes the audience willing to believe that the story he is about to tell is absolutely not simple, just by looking at him.”
Hiroshi Nohara’s gaze met Director Kurosawa’s directly, without evasion.
“I believe this role is perfect for you.”
The office instantly fell into a dead silence.
Everyone was completely stunned by Hiroshi Nohara’s audacious, almost insane idea.
To ask a national treasure, a first-class director, to guest star as the host of a unit drama?!
This… this was simply unheard of!
Even Director Kurosawa himself was slightly taken aback, then, his always-serious face couldn’t help but curve into a wry, amused smile.
He had been a director his entire life and did enjoy making brief cameos as a passerby or a minor character with a few lines in his own films.
But to be formally invited to play a core character who appears throughout the entire series was a first.
And it was at a time when he was at his lowest ebb and needed a way out the most.
He picked up the 《Terrifying Touch》 storyboard draft from the desk and looked at it again.
The novel superpower settings, the stimulating and suspenseful killer sequences, especially the earth-shattering twist at the end that could overturn everything and leave people in awe…
Just by looking at the images on the paper, countless ideas flooded his mind.
This proposal would definitely succeed!
And.
It would be a great success!
To be a part of such a work that was destined to become a classic, even if only as a ‘narrator,’ was an extremely attractive and perfectly respectable matter for him.
“You little rascal…”
Director Kurosawa pointed at Hiroshi Nohara, his sharp eyes gleaming with a mixture of amusement and admiration. “You really know how to find a way out for an old man like me.”
He gently put down the storyboard draft and then said in a playful tone, “Alright, I accept this role. But I must warn you in advance, my appearance fee is very expensive.”
“I couldn’t ask for more!” Hiroshi Nohara’s face bloomed with a victorious smile.
He knew it was done!
“In that case…”
A sharp glint flashed in Hiroshi Nohara’s eyes, and his decisiveness and efficiency as a decision-maker were once again evident. “Then, without further ado, let’s start filming immediately!”
He turned and took out several stacks of brand-new manuscript paper and a pen from his desk, moving as fast as a gust of wind.
“I will write out the host’s lines for the first ten episodes right away. Director Kurosawa, let’s aim to finish all your scenes this afternoon!”
“What?!”
This decision once again made everyone in the office gasp.
It was already 2:30 PM. Writing scripts, setting up scenes, adjusting lighting equipment… even simple line shooting would take at least three to five hours!
And that was for ten episodes!
“No need to worry.”
Hiroshi Nohara seemed to see through everyone’s doubts. Without looking up, his pen danced on the paper, making a rustling sound. “The shooting scene for the host is very simple, in a special room. Director Yamamoto, please go to the props department immediately and find me a vintage leather single sofa, an old-fashioned desk, and a soft table lamp. Section Chief Sato, please coordinate with the studio; I need a completely black background and the quietest studio.”
“As for the script…”
He handed a page he had just written to Director Kurosawa. It was the opening for the first episode, the handwriting neat yet powerfully resonant.
“You can look at this first; I’ll be done with the rest shortly.”
Watching this young man, who was strategically planning and arranging everything methodically, operating like a high-speed precision machine, Director Kurosawa was completely speechless.
He took the manuscript page and looked at the words. After just a glance, he was deeply captivated by the unique charm of mystery and profound thought that emanated from between the lines.
…
Half an hour later, Tokyo Television Station, Studio Three.
Director Kurosawa had changed into a sharp black suit and put on a pair of dark sunglasses, sitting quietly on the vintage leather sofa.
The soft lamplight illuminated half of his face, making his features distinct, while the other half was perfectly hidden in darkness, creating an atmosphere of unfathomable mystery.
Hiroshi Nohara was personally operating the camera.
Instead of sitting behind the director’s monitor, he held a portable camera and aimed it at Director Kurosawa from a tricky yet precise angle.
“Director Kurosawa, let’s try one take,” Hiroshi Nohara’s voice came clearly through the intercom to everyone. “Don’t look at the camera; just look at the void of darkness in front of you and read the lines in your usual conversational tone with old friends.”
Director Kurosawa took a deep breath and slowly began.
“Humans are an incredible species…”
His voice was hoarse and steady, carrying a sense of worldly experience, as if every word contained an untold story.
“Cut!”
Hiroshi Nohara decisively called a stop.
“Perfect! That’s the feeling!” He put down the camera, his face full of excitement. “Director Kurosawa, your feeling is absolutely right! Let’s go straight to the next take!”
In the next hour, the entire film crew witnessed a shoot that could only be described as a miracle.
Hiroshi Nohara finished shooting all ten episodes’ worth of lines at an unbelievable speed.
Almost every take was a one-pass success.
Director Kurosawa, an old hand, displayed astonishing camera sense and line delivery skills.
And Hiroshi Nohara, with his almost prescient camera work, brought out the elder’s charisma to its extreme.
When the last take was completed, thunderous applause erupted in the studio.
“Incredible…”
“I’ve never seen shooting this fast…”
“The combination of Section Chief Nohara and Director Kurosawa is simply divine!”
The old soldiers of the Kanto Faction, watching the playback on the monitor, had eyes filled with almost fanatical worship.
However, Hiroshi Nohara didn’t give them much time to dwell.
He clapped his hands, drawing everyone’s attention.
“Alright everyone, the warm-up is over.” He glanced at his watch; the hour hand pointed to 4 PM.
“Section Chief Sato, Director Yamamoto, are the actors for the first episode ready?”
“R-ready!” Kenji Sato and Tsuyoshi Yamamoto quickly replied, having just snapped out of the highly efficient shoot.
“Very good.” A confident smile played on Hiroshi Nohara’s lips. “Announce it to everyone: all personnel, gather in Studio Five in half an hour. Today, we will film the entire 《Terrifying Touch》!”
Boom!
This decision was like a real atomic bomb exploding in everyone’s minds!
One afternoon and evening to finish an entire unit drama episode?!
This wasn’t just madness; it was challenging the production laws of the entire television industry!
“Section Chief… this… this is impossible, right?”
Even Tsuyoshi Yamamoto, who had always been confident in Hiroshi Nohara, couldn’t help but question, “We haven’t even set up the scene, and the actors’ blocking hasn’t been rehearsed…”
“No need.”
Hiroshi Nohara interrupted him and distributed stacks of thick storyboards, one for each person.
“The scene, the lighting, the camera positions, every actor’s movement, every pause in their lines – it’s all clearly drawn here.”
He looked at the old soldiers, who were utterly shocked by his decision, his voice calm but with an irrefutable power.
“What you need to do is very simple.”
“Forget all your past experience, forget all your habits, and from now on, completely and thoroughly trust me.”
“Follow my rhythm, and I guarantee we’ll wrap up and go home before 8 PM tonight!”
…
Night fell, and the city lights began to shine.
As Tokyo, this vast steel forest, began to reveal its alluring and brilliant other side, Studio Five at Tokyo Television Station was a scene of bustling activity.
“Lighting crew! Lower lamp three by another fifteen degrees! I want to see a struggling light on the protagonist’s face!”
“Camera Two! From bottom to top, give me a close-up of the male lead’s hand! Yes! That angle!”
“Xiao Xunhua! Don’t be afraid! Imagine you’re really touching that icy malice! Your pupils! Contract them a bit more! Very good!”
Hiroshi Nohara’s voice echoed in every corner of the studio.
He moved around the set like an endlessly energetic war god, directing all the personnel.
He wasn’t behind the monitor; he was right beside the actors, next to the camera, telling everyone what he wanted in the most direct way.
And the entire crew, from directors to stagehands, moved like wound-up gears, operating with unprecedented efficiency and precision.
They looked at the storyboard in their hands and then at Hiroshi Nohara’s on-site direction, a sense of absurdity and shock arising within them.
Because everything Hiroshi Nohara demanded on set was exactly as drawn in the storyboard!
Not a single detail was off!
It was as if they were participating in a performance with a predetermined ending, directed by a prophet who could foresee the future.
Xiao Xunhua, Fujii Tree, and the male supporting actor Ryū Watanabe, the three chosen leads, were completely won over.
They had never seen a director like this.
He wouldn’t talk about vague feelings; he would directly tell you where your eyes should look, what angle your mouth should twitch at, and at which second your breathing should quicken.
This level of precision guidance allowed these actors, who already possessed considerable skill, to reach their full potential.
And Director Kurosawa, who had been standing in the corner, silently observing everything, his weathered face was already engulfed in an unfathomable shock.
He watched the young man effortlessly command the set, as if in control of everything, and a thought uncontrollably surged from the depths of his heart.
This young man wasn’t filming a television drama.
He was, in a way that bordered on a miracle, recreating a perfect world that already existed in his mind!
7:50 PM.
“Good! Cut! That’s a wrap! I declare, 《Terrifying Touch》, filming completed!”
When Hiroshi Nohara’s hearty announcement rang out, the studio was first met with silence, and then erupted in a deafening, post-disaster-like cheer that could have shaken the roof!
They… they actually did it!
In less than four hours, they had actually finished an entire episode of a television drama!
“Editor!”
Hiroshi Nohara ignored the cheers and, pulling over the editor who had been waiting, shoved several still-warm videotapes into his arms. “Following the storyboard sequence I gave you, combine camera A’s shots 2, 5, and 8 with camera B’s shots 3, 6, and 9. Add the sound effects I provided. Now! Immediately!”
Half an hour later, when the roughly edited, yet already filled with suspense and horror, finished film was played on the monitor.
Everyone held their breath.
The smooth narrative, the tense rhythm, and the earth-shattering twist at the end that made everyone’s scalp tingle…
This… was this really something they had filmed in just a few hours?!
“Monster…”
Someone, in an inaudible voice, murmured.
And that word, like a seed, took root and sprouted in the hearts of all the Kanto Faction veterans.
They looked at the young man calmly discussing a camera detail with Director Kurosawa, their eyes filled with respect and conviction, which at this moment had sublimated into an almost worshipful, absolute fanaticism!
They knew that from this day forward, a brand new era belonging to Hiroshi Nohara had officially begun.
“Overtime tonight!” At this point, Hiroshi Nohara still had no intention of letting them off the hook. He waved his hand and said, “Music Director! Arrange the music library for me! Complete all the music scoring tonight!”
Saying this, Hiroshi Nohara, full of energy, looked at the classroom members whose eyes held fervent gazes, clenched his fist, and said:
“Tomorrow! We will submit the proposal document and the completed first episode to the Audit Department for review!”
“Then, continue filming!”
“Yes!” Everyone present stood at attention without hesitation, bowing slightly to Hiroshi Nohara, and responding loudly.
Because Hiroshi Nohara had conquered them with his ability.
He had conquered everyone!
Strong People should receive worship, Strong People should receive respect, and Strong People should receive the support of everyone.
Hiroshi Nohara is a Strong Person.
