Chapter 129: Neon’s Changed Atmosphere! Meeting Neon Executives! Gaining Recognition!
This storm named “National Carnival,” stirred up by 《Super Change Change Change Season 2》, swept through every corner of the entire Neon Archipelago in an instant that Saturday afternoon, with a posture surpassing the speed of light, via telephone lines, radio waves, and the most primitive word-of-mouth between people.
Tokyo, Chiyoda Ward, the top floor of a heavily guarded trading company building.
“Section Chief! Please! Just one vote! Vote for us in Hokkaido!”
A long-time employee from Sapporo was making a request filled with courage and hometown honor to his section chief, who was usually as imposing as the King of Hell.
The section chief frowned, intending to reprimand him for this unseemly behavior, but when he saw the subordinates from Osaka, Fukuoka, and Hiroshima in the office looking at him with eyes full of “fellow townsman bond,” the rebuke on the tip of his tongue turned into a helpless sigh.
“Got it, got it. No next time.”
……
Osaka, a Showa-era style single-family home.
“Hello? Dad? It’s me, Miyuki!” A girl attending university in Tokyo clutched the telephone handset and said in a coquettish tone: “Dad, turn on the TV and watch 《Super Change Change Change》! Our Tokyo team is amazing! Hurry and vote for us!”
From the other end of the phone came a vigorous roar full of Kansai Dialect: “Idiot! You unfilial daughter! Elbowing outward! I’m from Osaka! Osaka for life! Let me tell you, not only will I vote for the Osaka team myself, I’ll have your mom, your uncle, your second uncle-in-law, and all your relatives in Osaka vote for our ‘Soul of Naniwa’! Just you wait! Osaka’s creativity is number one under heaven!”
The phone slammed down with a “click,” the girl stunned for a moment, then pouted: “Damn old dad! I’m going to marry a rich Tokyo guy someday! I don’t want to be a villager!”
……
Inside a train running on the Yamanote Line, the space that should have been as crowded and silent as a sardine can was now ignited by an unprecedented fervent atmosphere.
“Hey, bro, which ward are you from? Seen 《Super Change Change Change》?”
“Me? Fukuoka! Our Hakata ramen creativity is unbeatable!”
“Tch, that’s nothing. Nagoya’s castle keep ninja, that’s real art!”
“Quiet down! Tokyo’s Snow Woman is the true masterpiece!”
Strangers broke through that invisible barrier of indifference because of a shared topic.
They argued and boasted like fanatic fans cheering for their teams, that heartfelt sense of belonging and honor for their hometowns burning fiercely in the small carriage like never before.
This was no longer just a simple variety show.
This was a national holy war, with the entire Neon as the stage and regional honor as the stake!
And the flames of this war were soon thoroughly ignited by the media, whose noses were sharper than bloodhounds!
The next morning, as the first ray of sunlight pierced the clouds, a long-planned public opinion storm swept across the entire Neon with an unstoppable posture.
The society section of 《Toyo Keizai》 used a tone nearly of amazement to elevate last night’s national carnival to a whole new height of economics.
【Dawn of a New Variety Era: Nohara Hiroshi, a Man Who Leverages “Sense of Participation” to Move a Billion-Yen Market!】
“…We must admit, we all underestimated that young man’s ambition. While the entire industry was still trembling at that terrifying 39.8% ratings, he had already laid out, in a higher dimension, a earth-shattering game capable of subverting the entire consumer market. What he sells is not the program, but ‘sense of participation.’ What he builds is not a television station, but a platform. A massive emotional consumption vortex that pulls in all 120 million Neon nationals. This may be, after the ‘idol economy,’ the new wealth code belonging to our era.”
Meanwhile, the commentary section of 《Asahi Shimbun》 interpreted this phenomenal cultural event from a grander, more humanistic perspective.
【In a Cold Era, a Young Man’s Creativity Quietly Melts the Ice.】
“…For a long time, ‘indifference’ and ‘alienation’ have been like two invisible mountains pressing down on our seemingly prosperous society. We live in the same city, ride the same train, yet live like Robinsons on isolated islands. However, last night, this firm ice was miraculously cracked open by a variety show named 《Super Change Change Change》.”
“We saw strangers shouting together for hometown honor; we saw relatives thousands of miles apart laughing and chatting over a shared topic. That young man named Nohara Hiroshi used the simplest, purest creativity to rediscover, for our nation accustomed to indifference, a reason to connect and warm each other. What he changed is perhaps not just a program’s ratings; what he changed is the distance between people in our era.”
This idealism-tinged argument further elevated Nohara Hiroshi’s personal prestige to an unprecedented, near-sacred height as a “social reformer”!
Even 《Shukan Bunshun》, renowned for its venomous tongue and gossip, unusually set aside its pen full of sarcasm and mockery this time.
Senior film critic “Spicy Tang Lion,” in his column, wrote with a nearly confessional brushstroke a new headline that would make the entire Neon television industry break out in a sweat.
【God, Indeed the God of Variety Shows!】
“…I must offer my sincerest apologies to Teacher Nohara Hiroshi for my previous superficiality and ignorance. I thought he was just a genius storyteller. But I was wrong, terribly wrong. He is not making a program at all. He is setting rules. A brand-new set of entertainment rules named ‘Nohara Hiroshi,’ belonging only to him!”
“He rewrote the entertainment attribute of variety shows! Gave the nationals attributes to strengthen connections, reject indifference, reject numbness! Nohara Hiroshi is changing the era with his style! Changing Neon!”
“With the simplest, purest creativity, he injects into our era, long eroded by boredom and numbness, the strongest heart stimulant named ‘happiness’! From tonight, allow me, as the most devout believer, to offer my highest respect to this true deity already standing at the peak of the era.”
“He changed Neon!”
For a time, praise surged like tides.
The name Nohara Hiroshi was no longer just the creator of a ratings myth; he was jointly elevated by the media, critics, and countless fanatic fans to an altar named “Symbol of the Era.”
……
【Nohara Hiroshi · Independent Production Department】.
In the huge office, the air seemed to heat up from the avalanche of ratings reports and public opinion analyses faxed from all over the country.
“Department Head! Department Head! Look at this!”
Kei Tanaka, this variety show section chief who had been completely transformed, rushed over excitedly with the report in hand, filled with the latest data on 《Super Change Change Change》 from across the nation.
“Our paid phone voting line, in the twelve hours after the show aired, total votes have… officially broken through the three million mark! At fifty yen per vote, just this one item has generated over 150 million yen in revenue!”
“And this!”
He flipped to another report, dense with letters of intent from major advertisers, nearly filling the entire screen: “From last night till now, our department’s cooperation hotline hasn’t stopped! From cars to appliances, food to beverages, virtually all industry leaders have sent requests for naming rights and product placement! The advertising department is going crazy! They say the exclusive naming rights for season two have now… been bid up to five hundred million yen!”
Five hundred million!
The number exploded in the office!
“Five hundred million?! My god!”
“Just the exclusive naming rights are almost covering the production cost?!”
“This is terrifying!”
Everyone present instinctively gasped, their faces filled with incredulous shock.
They knew the show would be a hit, but never imagined it would explode to this near-mad degree!
“Department Head… we… we’ve created… a monster that lays golden eggs…” Kei Tanaka’s voice trembled uncontrollably.
However, Nohara Hiroshi just calmly looked at those numbers that would drive anyone mad, his clear eyes like a bottomless lake, without the slightest ripple.
He smiled calmly: “This is just the beginning.”
At the same time, Nohara Hiroshi turned, looking at his thoroughly convinced subordinates, a confident smile curling his lips: “The real feast is just pulling back the curtain. We need to work even harder!”
He knew this fire of “National Carnival” he had personally ignited had only just begun.
And what he had to do was keep adding the best fuel to make it burn down all the old era’s rules.
All of this.
Would be unveiled at the start of season two’s first episode, when announcing the previous round’s winning list!
……
The first Saturday of October, when the historic ratings report for 《Super Change Change Change》 season two episode one descended like a divine oracle upon Tokyo Television Station, the entire Neon’s television industry fell silent.
The name Nohara Hiroshi was no longer just a symbol; it became a towering sacred mountain straddling the river of the era, making all who came after gaze in awe and reverence.
Yet, in the midst of this boiling ocean of revelry and shock he had personally created, the young man at the storm’s center seemed in another dimension’s spacetime, deaf to the outside world.
Saturday afternoon, autumn sunlight streamed through the seventeenth floor’s huge floor-to-ceiling window into his overly spacious department head office, casting warm, tranquil golden spots.
The air was filled with the rich aroma of top-grade Blue Mountain Coffee intertwined with the ink fragrance of fresh paper, forming a reassuring scent.
Nohara Hiroshi did not bask in victory’s joy; he quietly sat behind the huge desk, pencil gliding like flowing clouds over the white drawing paper.
He was building another world, a warm late-night harbor filled with gourmet food and human warmth, unique to him.
‘Ring ring—’
The red internal telephone on the desk abruptly shattered the tranquility.
“Department Head.” From the other end came Yō Kitagawa’s increasingly capable and steady voice, “Call from Director Sakata’s office secretary. The director asks you to come over.”
“Mm.” Nohara Hiroshi set down his brush, his clear eyes unmoved.
He knew when one’s power grew strong enough to change rules, the rule-makers would inevitably descend personally.
Nobuhiko Sakata’s office was less an office and more a silent throne overlooking the entire Production Bureau kingdom.
No excessive decorations, just heavy ebony office furniture and a vigorous “Immovable as Mountain” four-character calligraphy on the wall, silently proclaiming the owner’s absolute authority.
As Nohara Hiroshi pushed the door open, Nobuhiko Sakata stood with his back to him by the huge floor-to-ceiling window.
This man controlling Tokyo Television Station’s content lifeline was not in his signature high-end suit, but loose dark blue kimono, his posture less the director’s dignity, more a return-to-purity depth.
“Here?” Nobuhiko Sakata didn’t turn, voice flat, emotionless.
“Director.” Nohara Hiroshi bowed slightly, neither humble nor arrogant.
Nobuhiko Sakata slowly turned, his usually smiling chubby face now devoid of smiles, only bottomless calm as he sized up the young man.
That gaze was no longer a superior scrutinizing a subordinate.
More like an experienced old hunter observing a young beast that intruded his territory, powerful enough to make even him feel a twinge of trepidation.
After a long while, he slowly exhaled, the breath carrying a sigh as if expelling the era’s entire weight.
“Nohara-kun, you know? This morning, I took twenty-seven calls.”
He held up three fingers, voice helpless:
“From Osaka to Fukuoka, Nagoya to Sapporo, almost every local station manager called me personally. The content was remarkably consistent. First congratulating Tokyo TV on another god-level program, then circuitously complaining that your ‘national audition’ has stirred up all the youth in their regions, making them neglect work and obsess over getting on TV for that 100 million yen bonus.”
“They say you’re… disrupting local economy order.”
Nohara Hiroshi knew it was just an excuse, so he smiled calmly: “How did you reply, Director?”
“Me?” Nobuhiko Sakata’s chubby face finally broke into an old fox’s proud grin: “I told them it’s the market’s choice, the audience’s choice. If they have the guts, make one themselves. If not, watch obediently.”
He walked to Nohara Hiroshi, eyes narrowed with undisguised admiration:
“Well done! Hiroshi-kun! This move is divine! Bloodless conquest, and Tokyo TV’s brand influence penetrates the core territories of those local powerhouses like never before! Better than spending billions of yen on ads by tenfold!”
He clapped Nohara Hiroshi’s shoulder heavily, voice carrying true ally solemnity.
“But I didn’t call you here for that.”
He turned, picked up a gold-embossed invitation from the desk, and handed it over: “Put on your best suit. Tonight, come with me to a banquet.”
Nohara Hiroshi took it; elegant Song typeface printed words that made his eyes narrow slightly—【Neon Film and Television Cultural Revitalization Association · Autumn Exchange Banquet】.
Organizer: Neon Film and Television Association.
Co-organizer: Tokyo Metropolitan Government Publicity Department.
This was no simple industry gathering.
This was a true power feast, officially staged, gathering all Neon’s top film and television forces.
……
Night fell, lights blazed.
Imperial Hotel, this legendary hall witnessing Neon’s near-century of ups and downs, tonight shrouded in unprecedented brilliance of power and glory.
Black luxury sedans with special plates flowed silently like a river into the broad plaza before the hotel.
Stepping out were names that made all Neon turn heads.
Toei’s president, Shochiku’s chairman, Toei Animation’s founder…
Fuji TV’s station manager, TBS’s director, Asahi TV’s chief producer…
They were the helmsmen of the nation’s cultural industry, backstage titans controlling countless stars and directors’ fates.
Usually elusive as dragons, they gathered here like on a sacred pilgrimage.
As Nohara Hiroshi followed Nobuhiko Sakata onto the red carpet mirroring human shadows, he clearly felt countless gazes of curiosity, jealousy, awe—like invisible spotlights—enveloping him.
“That’s… Nohara Hiroshi?”
“So young… younger than in the newspapers.”
“Him, who turned the TV world upside down with three works?”
Whispers surged from all sides like tides.
Nobuhiko Sakata moved like in his back garden, warm smile on face, deftly shaking hands and chatting with every approaching VIP, posture like a king showing off his proudest treasure.
“Hahaha! Chairman Matsuoka, long time no see! Come, let me introduce—this is our station’s rascal kid, Nohara Hiroshi.”
“Oh? The legendary Nohara-kun? Heroes indeed come from the young!”
“Director Go! You’re here too! I grew up on your movies! This is our station’s newbie, Nohara Hiroshi. Please look after him.”
“Hmph, Sakata, you sly fox, hoarding such a gem. Nohara-kun, I’ve seen your works—quite interesting.”
Nohara Hiroshi like a marionette on stage, smiling, bowing, mechanically exchanging business cards.
Those gold-embossed cards like tickets to a new power world, weighing heavy in his hands.
He felt the complex emotions in the gazes behind those cards.
Genuine appreciation, polite facades, and viper-like scheming hidden under smiles.
He knew from tonight, he was no longer just a simple creator.
He was a fat piece of meat coveted by countless hungry wolves.
In this vortex of hypocrisy and probing, Nobuhiko Sakata suddenly leaned in, whispering volume only for them:
“Come, take you to meet a real big shot.”
Nohara Hiroshi’s heart stirred, expressionless as he followed Nobuhiko Sakata through the clinking revelry to a secluded lounge at the banquet hall’s deepest end, guarded by two black-suited bodyguards.
The room was quiet, no luxury—just an antique rosewood sofa and a distant-mood landscape painting on the wall.
A man stood by the window, back to them.
Simple dark gray suit, medium build—like an ordinary elderly civil servant anywhere.
But as he slowly turned, Nohara Hiroshi’s heart uncontrollably clenched.
A featureless face, plain to blandness.
“Fujiwara-sama.”
Nobuhiko Sakata, this TV emperor who ruled outside, bowed deeply like the most humble student.
A direct head-low bow of etiquette.
“Pardoning your tranquility. This is Nohara Hiroshi, whom I mentioned.”
Sama.
Nohara Hiroshi instantly understood.
In Neon, only for cabinet members or equivalent top bureaucrats is this awe-filled title used.
Without hesitation, he gave the man a standard ninety-degree bow.
“Fujiwara-sama, first meeting, junior Nohara Hiroshi.”
“Mm.”
Hideaki Fujiwara, Tokyo Metropolitan Government Publicity Department deputy minister, merely nodded calmly to the older Nobuhiko Sakata’s bow, his gaze lingering on Nohara Hiroshi.
“Sit.”
His voice carried the momentum of long-held superiority.
“I’ve seen your works,” he said straightforwardly: “《An Shizhi》, 《World of the Strange》… Interesting. Using ghost god tales to tell human evil. Methods a bit… extreme, but intent decent.”
This neutral evaluation like a scalpel precisely dissecting all Nohara Hiroshi’s works’ cores.
“But I didn’t call you here for that.”
Hideaki Fujiwara’s gaze sharpened, like unsheathed sharp swords piercing Nohara Hiroshi’s soul depths.
“《Super Change Change Change》.”
He slowly uttered these five words.
“Who told you to do this proposal?”
The question exploded like thunder in Nobuhiko Sakata and Nohara Hiroshi’s hearts!
Cold sweat beaded on Nobuhiko Sakata’s face.
He hadn’t expected Fujiwara-sama to ask so… directly.
Yet Nohara Hiroshi calmly met the gaze that would crush anyone, answering neither humbly nor arrogantly:
“Me, myself.”
“Oh?” Hideaki Fujiwara’s lips curved meaningfully, “You yourself? A newbie less than a year in the industry thinks up a national-level project capable of changing societal winds?”
“I just… happened to grasp what this era needs most.” Nohara Hiroshi’s voice remained calm.
“What it needs most?”
“Yes.” Nohara Hiroshi nodded: “Connection.”
“Our nation, after decades of high-speed growth, seems blooming, but is rife with undercurrents. Relations between people grow ever more indifferent, alienated. Regional divides deepen.”
“And 《Super Change Change Change》 merely provides these loneliness-accustomed individuals a stage to reconnect, rediscover belonging.”
“It lets people know, beyond work and family, we share ‘hometown’ identity.”
“It lets people know, beyond indifference and competition, we can laugh, shout, unite for a common goal.”
“That is the true purpose of this show.”
The words rang with conviction.
Like lightning cleaving chaos, instantly illuminating the room!
Nobuhiko Sakata stared dazedly at the young man beside him, chubby face full of incredulous shock.
He never imagined a seemingly simple variety show hid such… grand, near-political ambition scope!
Hideaki Fujiwara’s ever-calm face finally showed undisguised shock!
He looked at the young man, whose calm eyes seemed to hold a vast universe encompassing the era.
After a long while, he exhaled slowly: “Good… good ‘connection.'”
He stood, walked to Nohara Hiroshi, patted his shoulder.
“Nohara-kun.”
His voice no longer icy or scrutinizing, but filled with heartfelt recognition.
“You’re interesting.”
“This nation needs interesting people like you.”
“Go all out.”
“Any need, come find me.”
Beside him, Nobuhiko Sakata’s eyes widened in surprise.
Even swallowing hard.
He knew from tonight, behind that young man named Nohara Hiroshi was no longer just the Kanto Faction, no longer just Tokyo Television Station.
Behind him now stood this nation’s top will.
This was the true god descending.
