Chapter 133: Judge Hoshihara Ai
Traffic flow was still slow, but Sakamoto Ken drove very steadily.
A few minutes later, he spotted a gap and decisively turned the steering wheel, smoothly moving the car to the outermost lane, then turning into the nearby residential area path.
After driving a bit further, there were almost no vehicles, and Sakamoto Ken slightly increased his speed.
Soon, they arrived at the parking lot next to the studio.
As soon as the car stopped, Mikazuki Haruna impatiently pushed open the car door and rushed out, slamming the door shut behind her, and ran barefoot toward the studio.
Sakamoto Ken and Natsume Mio got out of the car unhurriedly.
When they reached the studio doorway, Sakamoto Ken happened to see Kaji Keiko opening the door for Mikazuki Haruna.
“Kaji, you’re here!” Mikazuki Haruna’s voice carried a sense of relief after surviving a disaster. Without saying much more, she sidestepped and squeezed inside.
Mikazuki Haruna kicked off her small leather shoes and dashed quickly toward the restroom.
“Bang!”
The restroom door was slammed shut.
After a full five minutes, Mikazuki Haruna came out looking relieved.
She leaned against the wall by the restroom doorway, letting out a long breath, her face showing some lingering fear.
Kaji Keiko was sitting at the desk deepest in the studio, with her laptop and some printed information on the desk, clearly handling work there.
Ryū Kōshin, Kaku Yuji, and Endo Tatsuya saw Sakamoto Ken return and all stood up to greet him.
“Sakamoto Sensei!”
Kaji Keiko waved to Sakamoto Ken and said, “Sakamoto Sensei, the results for that short story call for submissions you entered before are out now. The official announcement will be released soon.”
Sakamoto Ken immediately asked, “How did it go? Did it place?”
The smile on Kaji Keiko’s face grew brighter, and she nodded vigorously: “More than just placing!”
“Sakamoto Sensei took first place in the Campus Star track! And because a judge strongly recommended it, it also got the highest score in the entire Reality Group!” Kaji Keiko said. “If all goes well, Sakamoto Sensei, you’re the Gold Award winner in the Reality Group for this competition!”
Endo Tatsuya immediately started clapping: “Congratulations, Sakamoto Sensei!”
The three of them had been in the studio the whole time and had just heard about it from Kaji Keiko, now clapping together to congratulate Sakamoto Ken.
Ryū Kōshin looked at Sakamoto Ken with admiration. “Sakamoto Sensei, we just read that short story… Honestly, it’s too strong! The storyboard, the emotional rendering—it’s textbook level!”
Kaku Yuji nodded vigorously in agreement, clearly deeply moved: “Yeah, the ending gave me goosebumps! Gold Award, well deserved!”
Natsume Mio proudly lifted her chin, as if she were the one who won: “The first time I read A Jian’s short story, I knew it would definitely win the Gold Award!”
Mikazuki Haruna came over at this point, puzzled: “Eh? What short story? How come I didn’t know? Which manga is it?”
Natsume Mio glanced at her and said, “Knew you didn’t care about A Jian at all! You didn’t even know about the call for submissions he entered! And he mentioned it during your live broadcast last time! You just let it go in one ear and out the other, huh?”
Mikazuki Haruna was slightly stunned and carefully recalled.
It seemed… like that did happen?
At the time, her attention was completely on Sakamoto Ken himself, her mind full of thoughts about her “dream guy,” and she hadn’t paid any attention to what he said…
Damn it! This guy beat me to it again!
Mikazuki Haruna hurried to Kaji Keiko’s side and eagerly said, “Kaji! Can I see it? Which manga is it?”
Kaji Keiko smiled and nodded, turning her laptop screen toward Mikazuki Haruna, and on the call for submissions event webpage, clicked on the manga page titled 《Look Back》.
“Here, this one. Miyuki Haru Sensei, take a look too.”
Sakamoto Ken sat back at his seat, but his mind was pondering what Kaji Keiko had just said.
“A judge strongly recommended it…”
This judge…
Was Hoshihara Ai, right?
…
Meanwhile, at the Netflix Japan branch office in Minato Ward.
Several key figures were seated around the long conference table.
Leading them were two Netflix executives: one was the vice president in charge of global content acquisition, a typical Silicon Valley elite older white man in a suit.
The other was the newly appointed Japan region content head, a sharp and capable Japanese woman in her forties.
Netflix planned to officially enter the Japan market this year. Before that, Japanese users could only subscribe to other regions and unlock IP restrictions through technical means.
To quickly break into the market, they planned to launch some local original or adaptation film and animation works.
The Future Film Star manga call for submissions was part of this strategy.
At the conference table were also representatives from the partner for this call for submissions event: President Horiuchi from Shueisha, and several invited judges.
Hoshihara Ai was among them.
At this moment, the meeting had reached the discussion stage for the final Gold Award work.
The scoring statistics were already on the table, but the final Gold Award wasn’t solely based on score; it also considered whether the work had potential for film adaptation or animation adaptation.
“For the Reality Group, the highest-scoring works so far are here.” Japan region content head Watanabe Maki pointed to the list on the tablet computer in front of her. “What do the judges think?”
A retired veteran manga editor spoke first: “In terms of completion, 《Look Back》 is undoubtedly the highest. The story structure is complete, and the storyboard usage is very mature. I nominate this work.”
A nearby animation director also agreed: “The visuals are strong; many scenes have a cinematic composition feel. Plus, this writer is currently serializing in JUMP, so you can see the skill.”
“Exactly, future adaptation works can borrow the popularity of his serialized work for promotion and distribution.”
The Netflix global content vice president looked at the translator beside him and said in English: “You all know the Japan market better than I do. What’s the market potential for this work? In terms of audience and genre.”
Shueisha’s President Horiuchi said: “Youth growth themes always have a stable audience base, and this work has very strong emotional impact, especially the part about the manga artist being killed by a random murderer—it reminds people of the 2007 Kyoto University of the Arts murder case, which was a nationally watched case of a manga department student being murdered. I think it has potential to become a hot topic work.”
The animation director sighed and said: “And it’s still an unsolved case; the perpetrator hasn’t been caught even today. Public discussion of Japanese police capabilities hasn’t stopped. If adapted, this work will definitely spark heated debate.”
He paused and turned to Hoshihara Ai: “Hoshihara Sensei, as a judge for the Campus Star track, you’re also one of the first to give it a perfect score. Why not hear your opinion?”
Hoshihara Ai nodded and said: “I believe the core value of 《Look Back》 lies in its profound exploration of the themes of loss and creation.”
“It touches on universal emotional cores that everyone can feel, not just for the Japan market—it’s capable of wide resonance even globally.”
She looked at the two Netflix heads and said directly in fluent English: “Netflix’s goal is the global market. I believe this work, whether adapted into animation or live-action film, can gain high recognition internationally.”
She knew this global content vice president held the final decision here, and this mention of “international recognition” precisely hit his interest.
These Americans had been thinking that way from the start.
In fields like research and teaching, she often dealt with foreign universities and institutions, so she knew their mindset well.
No need for translation relay made the global content vice president feel comfortable; he nodded slightly with a smile and said: “Hoshihara Sensei’s analysis is very insightful.”
Seeing her boss speak, Watanabe Maki immediately agreed: “Indeed, the universality of emotions is something we value greatly.”
After some discussion, the other judges also endorsed Hoshihara Ai’s view.
Mainly because the translator hadn’t translated her English into Japanese earlier, most people there didn’t fully understand, just seeing Hoshihara Ai talking animatedly with the global VP.
Finally, Watanabe Maki looked at President Horiuchi: “So, President Horiuchi, what’s Shueisha’s opinion?”
President Horiuchi smiled and nodded: “We fully agree to award the Reality Group Gold Award to 《Look Back》.”
The decision was finalized.
The meeting moved to the end, discussing subsequent promotion and follow-up matters.
At this point, Hoshihara Ai spoke again, making a suggestion: “I think, besides announcing the results online, we could consider holding a formal award ceremony.”
“Award ceremony? Inviting everyone to participate offline?” Watanabe Maki said.
“Yes.” Hoshihara Ai said. “I’ve published works before and was a writer myself, so I understand these writers’ mindsets. Offline award events have a strong encouraging effect on them. Plus, we can invite industry notables, directors, producers to attend, boosting the event’s exposure and influence, and creating a platform for future film adaptation collaborations. Maybe some producers will take a liking to other works and negotiate adaptations.”
“As for the budget for the offline event… it shouldn’t be an issue, right?” Hoshihara Ai looked at the global vice president.
Hearing this, President Horiuchi immediately agreed: “Hoshihara Sensei’s suggestion is excellent. An award ceremony is also a promotion opportunity, and Shueisha is very happy to cooperate in hosting it.”
Ultimately, the offline award ceremony was confirmed, to be arranged by the relevant staff.
The meeting ended, and Hoshihara Ai stood and walked out of the office building.
Reaching the parking lot, she got into her car, and the corner of Hoshihara Ai’s mouth curved up slightly.
You’ll come, right.
Sakamoto Ken.
Up early to write, two chapters done!
Continuing to write this afternoon, more tonight!
Begging for monthly tickets, end of the month, they’re about to expire~
