Chapter 82: Neon In Turmoil! 203 Episodes’ Ratings!
That oppressive silence weighed more heavily than any hoarse roar, pressing down heavily on the hearts of every member in Iwata’s Classroom.
Toshihide Takada said nothing more; he simply used those bottomless eyes to calmly scan each of his subordinates, who usually prided themselves as elites of the Tokyo Faction, one by one.
Wherever his gaze fell, everyone instinctively lowered their heads, like a flock of trembling lambs under the inspection of a fierce tiger.
“Iwata-kun.” After a long while, Toshihide Takada’s voice rang out again.
That voice was calm without a single ripple, yet it made Masao Iwata’s body tremble violently.
“Your An Shizhi Season 3 airs at ten-thirty sharp tonight, right?”
“Yes! Yes, Deputy Director!” Masao Iwata hurriedly bowed in response, his voice trembling from fear.
“Very good.” Toshihide Takada nodded, picked up the cup of long-cooled sake in front of him, and gently swirled it, the clear liquid tracing elegant arcs on the cup’s walls, as if appreciating a work of art.
“I hope it gives me a… surprise.”
After saying that, he drained the sake in the cup in one gulp, then slowly stood up and straightened his slightly wrinkled suit.
“I have other matters to attend to, so I’ll take my leave first. You all, ‘celebrate’ well.”
He turned and left, his back shadow showing no anger, yet carrying a disappointment and indifference cold enough to freeze a person into ice.
Because he, as Executive Deputy Director, truly had no need to be here.
Victory and defeat had been decided.
Since victory and defeat had already been decided, what was the point of being here or not?
‘Click—’
Only after the heavy private room door was closed again, shutting out the outside noise, did Masao Iwata slump as if exhausted, his legs giving way as he heavily fell back onto the tatami.
“It’s over…” he muttered to himself, his face, always carrying a touch of arrogance, now ashen with despair.
He knew that Toshihide Takada’s final words were not encouragement, but a last ultimatum.
If An Shizhi Season 3’s ratings did not have a barely passable number.
If it could not achieve a sufficiently eye-catching result, what awaited him would be something more terrifying than failure itself… a reckoning.
Of course, everyone knew An Shizhi Season 3 could not surpass World of the Strange.
After all, the slots were different.
Not to mention that in the sub-golden slot, it reached 10% ratings in five minutes, plus an estimated final 18% ratings.
It was already in the sub-golden slot.
Not even said to be at the prime time slot level.
It was already…
At the prime time slot level!
To know, reaching 10% ratings in five minutes in prime time slot, and 18% after the full episode, were considered good data.
Now they were facing only a sub-golden slot program.
What to fight with?
What to compete with?
What to compare with?!
“Sec… Section Chief…” Ichiro Hashishita’s voice was hoarse as if sandpapered, looking at Masao Iwata with bloodshot eyes filled with helplessness and fear: “What… what do we do now?”
“What to do?” Masao Iwata suddenly raised his head, a ferocious expression like a trapped beast fighting back appearing on his ashen face; he grabbed the wine bottle on the table and took a huge gulp, the spicy liquid burning his throat and igniting the last spark of madness in his heart.
“Wait! Wait for our program to air!”
He roared: “I don’t believe it! I just don’t believe it! We have the reputation from the first two seasons! We have the most loyal audience base! That Hiroshi Nohara just got lucky with a crowd-pleasing twist ending!”
“This kind of thing is fresh the first time, but gets tiresome after a few watches!”
“Now this ratings is just the first episode! With so many episodes after, I don’t believe he can sustain it! And we are the true shonen! The true classic continuation!”
His words were more like self-hypnosis than rallying morale.
But no one responded.
The private room remained in dead silence.
……
In stark contrast to the despair in this high-end izakaya in Ginza, the office of Hiroshi Nohara’s Special Production Team was at this moment immersed in an ocean of victorious ecstasy.
“20.3%! Final ratings! 20.3%!!”
Deputy Director Asumi practically jumped up from his seat, holding the report just faxed from the data center, his usually refined and steady face now full of unmasked ecstasy and excitement!
Without hesitation, he immediately pushed open his office door, bringing along his waiting secretary, and came to Nohara Classroom.
To tell them this news.
As Deputy Director, he naturally had the right to know the ratings immediately, not waiting until the next day.
Instantly, the entire Nohara Classroom erupted.
“We… we broke the record! We broke the highest ratings record in the sub-golden slot in nearly a decade!!”
“No! Not nearly a decade! Probably nearly twenty years!”
The entire office was instantly drowned in a tsunami of cheers!
Kenji Sato and Tsuyoshi Yamamoto, these two veterans who had seen all kinds of storms, now had flushed faces.
Trembling with excitement.
10% in five minutes.
Over 20% at full episode end!
What kind of concept was this?
What level?
What grade?!
They knew it full well!
This was invincible! This was unmatched in the world! This was Tokyo number one!
No.
This was Neon Number One!
Kenji Sato and Tsuyoshi Yamamoto clenched their fists, no longer knowing how to think, just red-faced, looking at the old brothers around them who looked much the same, gasping for air as if they could hardly breathe from the excitement!
“We did it! We really did it!”
“Section Chief Nohara! You are a god!”
Everyone was cheering, everyone was shouting, everyone was panting heavily, adrenaline surging, excited beyond control!
They looked at that young person who had been calmly smiling from start to finish, their eyes as if worshiping a deity they had just personally forged, radiating dazzling light!
“Everyone, calm down a bit.”
Amid this sea of fanaticism, Hiroshi Nohara’s voice was like a clear spring, instantly soothing the restlessness in everyone’s hearts.
He walked to the still-lit television, glanced at the time.
Ten twenty-eight at night.
“Alright everyone, the real judgment is just beginning now.” The corner of his mouth curved into a meaningful arc: “Let’s all appreciate the An Shizhi Season 3 brought by our ‘excellent colleagues’ in Iwata’s Classroom.”
These words instantly quieted the office.
Good-natured, expectant smiles appeared on everyone’s faces.
On the TV screen, that familiar opening with a eerie and dated feel appeared right on time.
However, when the story officially began, everyone’s brows furrowed instinctively.
In the image, it was no longer the familiar masked Kamishibai Uncle.
In its place was a young onmyoji in hunting clothes, holding a talisman, looking righteous.
And the story’s content made everyone drop their jaws.
No longer those urban legends rooted in life, profoundly terrifying upon reflection.
Instead, it was a blue-faced, fanged evil spirit spewing black gas, chasing several high school students who had mistakenly entered an abandoned shrine.
Finally, at the critical moment, the handsome onmyoji descended from the sky, chanting unintelligible spells, and with a shining golden talisman, shattered the evil spirit’s soul.
“…”
When those four big words ‘Evil Spirit Begone’ full of chuunibyou vibes appeared on the screen, the entire Nohara Classroom first fell into an eerie silence.
Then, it erupted in a roof-shaking burst of laughter filled with contempt and disdain!
“Hahahahaha! What the hell is this?!”
“Exorcise demons? Do they think they’re filming Yu Yu Hakusho?!”
“My god, they turned An Shizhi into this mismatched urban ghosts and monsters battle anime? This is the greatest insult to the original work!”
Even the usually steady Eiji Kurosawa couldn’t help shaking his head, a wry, regretful expression on his always serious face.
“A waste of heaven-sent resources, a waste.” He sighed deeply: “They fundamentally don’t understand that An Shizhi’s terror comes from the unknown, from anomalies in everyday life. Once ‘ghosts’ are made concrete, even eliminable, all their terror vanishes.”
Hiroshi Nohara just watched quietly, a knowing smile on his face.
He knew this war was already over.
……
At the same moment, on the top floor of Tokyo Television Station, in that luxurious private room overlooking the entire city nightscape, the atmosphere was starkly different from the relaxed mood in Nohara Classroom.
This was the true power center of Tokyo Television Station.
Director of Production Bureau Nobuhiko Sakata was holding a cordial regular dinner party with directors from the news bureau, sports bureau, overseas bureau, and others of equal rank.
Nobuhiko Sakata’s face always bore an amiable smile, but his occasionally narrowed eyes flashed with the sharpness of a superior.
“Director Sakata, I hear your Production Bureau has produced an extraordinary newcomer lately.”
The news bureau director, a rather capable and strong-willed woman, held her red wine glass and teased with a smile: “First An Shizhi, then Yu Yu Hakusho, now this World of the Strange stirring up all the young people in Tokyo. You’ve given our news bureau quite a few topics.”
“Hahaha, small matters, nothing to laugh at.” Nobuhiko Sakata waved his hand humbly, but the pride in his eyes could not be hidden.
At that moment, his secretary hurried in and whispered a few words in his ear.
The smile on Nobuhiko Sakata’s face instantly froze.
Then, that smile became unprecedentedly radiant, as if fueled anew!
He slowly set down his wine glass, cleared his throat, and announced to everyone present in a casual yet boastful tone:
“Everyone, just received the news.”
“Our Production Bureau’s somewhat immature S-grade proposal, World of the Strange, premiere final ratings—”
He paused deliberately, enjoying the curious gazes from everyone.
“20.3%.”
“…”
If the private room’s atmosphere had been cordial before, now it was like a depth charge had been dropped.
“Wha… what?!”
“20.3%?! In the sub-golden slot?!”
“Director Sakata, you… you’re not joking, are you?!”
All the directors present lost their composure without exception!
They knew full well what this number meant!
This was no mere success; it was a mythical achievement worthy of the Tokyo Television Station annals!
Even worthy of the Neon Country Broadcasting Association records!
“Oh my, I find it quite surprising too.”
Nobuhiko Sakata raised his wine glass, his chubby face full of Versailles-style distress: “Young people nowadays have such strange tastes. But since it achieved results, it’s the glory of our Production Bureau, of our entire Tokyo Television Station. Come, come, everyone drink up!”
Seeing Nobuhiko Sakata’s smug yet faux-modest look, everyone felt sour as if they had eaten ten pounds of lemons, but could only raise their glasses and offer the sincerest congratulations.
“Congratulations, Director Sakata! Felicitation, Director Sakata!”
“Under your leadership, the Production Bureau is brimming with talent, with a promising future!”
Nobuhiko Sakata chuckled and accepted the congratulations, his heart blooming with joy.
He didn’t care about Kanto Faction or Tokyo Faction; as long as there were results, securing his position as Director of Production Bureau even more firmly, or even ascending to the councilor level above, it was all great news!
As for that young person named Hiroshi Nohara…
Nobuhiko Sakata’s mind conjured that handsome and calm face.
Perhaps, it was time to personally meet this… golden egg who had earned him unparalleled merit.
……
The ratings storm stirred up by World of the Strange spread far faster than anyone imagined.
While Tokyo Television Station internally was still reeling from this shocking data, the shockwave had already crossed regional boundaries, slamming hard into the faces of those onlooking competitors.
Osaka, Kansai Television Station headquarters building, Production Bureau Director’s office.
Smoke filled the air.
Director Hiroshi Yamauchi, an industry titan known for his iron fist and venomous insight, stared fixedly at the rebroadcast of Terrifying Touch on the television before him, a solemn expression for the first time appearing on his usually iceberg-cold face.
“Investigate.”
He viciously stubbed out the cigarette butt in the ashtray, his voice icy cold without a trace of warmth:
“I don’t care what methods you use; within three days, I want the most detailed report on this Hiroshi Nohara. His background, his resume, his works, his creation habits, even what he likes to eat and drink—I want to know it all!”
“And!”
He raised his head, his hawk-like sharp eyes sweeping over the subordinates before him, who were silent as cicadas in winter:
“Immediately form a ‘Urban Legends’ special research team! Dissect An Shizhi and this World of the Strange frame by frame! I want to know how he grasps audience psychology! Why should a golden egg-laying hen be monopolized by Tokyo Television Station alone?!”
……
Nagoya, Chukyo Television Station.
“Imitate! Imitate it right now!”
The Head of Production roared in the meeting room at these subordinates he had dragged back to the office even at night, spittle flying:
“I don’t care if you copy or borrow; next quarter, I must see a work similar in style to World of the Strange in our late-night slot! If Tokyo TV can do it, why can’t we?!”
……
Fukuoka, Kyushu Broadcasting.
“The gap… is this the gap between us and the big stations?”
A white-haired veteran producer looked at the ratings report from Tokyo and sighed deeply, his eyes filled with powerlessness and loneliness.
Even inside the Neon Country Broadcasting Association, which always looked down from on high, priding itself on producing grand historical dramas and morning dramas, disdainful of commercial television operations, ripples were caused.
“This young person named Hiroshi Nohara is very interesting.”
A senior director in charge of cultural programs looked at the report in hand, thoughtfully adjusting his glasses:
“His works seem to be about ghosts and monsters, but really… they are about human hearts. This creation method of wrapping profound social issues in a sensational shell is perhaps… worth imitating.”
……
Overnight, the name Hiroshi Nohara and the ‘Urban Legends’ genre he pioneered swept through the entire Neon Country television industry like a sudden tsunami.
Those once complacent bigwigs immersed in their own little domains were, for the first time, taught a harsh, unreasonable lesson by a mere twenty-three-year-old young person!
They realized that a brand new era, full of unknowns and possibilities, had quietly arrived.
And this fire named ‘Urban Legends’ personally ignited by Hiroshi Nohara had only just begun burning toward the entire Neon Country television industry.
After all, a sub-golden slot program directly reaching 20.3% ratings level.
Had already made everyone.
Take notice!
