บท 17: Chapter 17: Kariya: Always Feels Like Someone Is Manipulating Me

Bandai Visual was the film distribution department of Bandai Corporation, a name that anyone interested in Japanese animation and tokusatsu would surely know.

As the largest toy manufacturer in Japan and even in the East Asian region, the name Bandai was practically synonymous with fame and recognition.

For Bandai's customers, they both loved and hated the giant conglomerate. The nickname "Financial Group B" truly encapsulated fans' attitudes towards the company.

Shinji himself didn't hold much resentment towards Bandai, being an otaku who had been a tokusatsu enthusiast for two generations.

Though he disliked Bandai's strategy of fishing for profits without concern for sustainability when it came to selling toys, he couldn't deny the substantial support the group gave to tokusatsu works.

Without Bandai's consistent interest in tokusatsu, the genre might have faded away after the 1990s. Even if Bandai's ultimate goal was profit, their support for tokusatsu was undeniable. After all, during that time, no other company was willing to invest in the tokusatsu industry.

In fact, the financially-focused Bandai might actually make Shinji's FSN promotion plan smoother.

The only dilemma Shinji felt was Bandai Visual's distribution capability. This subsidiary of Bandai, while known within the Japanese film industry, mainly dealt with animated films. Their experience with tokusatsu films was sporadic at best, with occasional releases like Ultraman movie adaptations.

Nevertheless, Bandai's sincerity was greater than Toho's. The distribution manager, Keigo, hadn't contacted Shinji after the preview screening. On the other hand, a representative from Bandai called that same night, expressing interest in watching the movie.

So, early the next morning, Shinji and Kariya welcomed representatives from Bandai at Tsuburaya Productions. This screening was much humbler compared to the preview screening. They found a meeting room in Tsuburaya's offices and turned it into a makeshift screening room.

Inside the room, all the windows were tightly covered with black curtains, leaving no space for light to filter in. At the front of the room, a small screen hung on the broad wall. Shinji sat behind the projector, personally controlling the screening of FSN. In front of him, Kariya and the Bandai employees were seated, watching the film attentively and exchanging comments in hushed voices, enthusiastically hyping up their relatives.

A special effects film like FSN couldn't truly shine with such basic equipment. Shinji would have preferred to take them to a movie theater to experience the grandeur of a large screen. However, theaters had their schedules, and arranging an additional screening like yesterday's preview would have required advanced booking. The cinema owner wouldn't agree to a last-minute request from Shinji. Furthermore, other cinemas were too far from Tsuburaya Productions, making the situation quite inconvenient.

In response, Shinji couldn't help but complain about Japan's scarcity of cinemas. The whole country had barely 400 cinemas, which was fewer than the cinemas in just one province of a developed region in China.

Similar to the preview screening, Shinji observed the Bandai employees' expressions throughout the movie. To his surprise, the leader of the Bandai delegation was an elegant-looking businesswoman.

It wasn't Shinji's playboy tendencies that made him recognize her—she was someone he was familiar with, Nao Udagawa, the future president of BANDAI SPIRITS CO.

'But wasn't this girl working in the game department before becoming the president? How did she end up in the film distribution department?'

Despite his confusion, Shinji continued the screening as planned. As the screening neared its end and Bedivere bid farewell to Arturia, Shinji didn't show the end credits. Instead, he turned off the projector and turned on the lights.

"Udagawa-san..."

Kariya was about to speak, but Nao raised her hand to interrupt him. "Could we discuss this privately?"

"Of course, no problem. Uncle, let's step outside."

Shinji knew they needed to discuss their opinions in private, so he promptly pulled Kariya and left the screening room.

From the expressions they had during the screening, it seemed that they had a favorable view of the film. However, whether Bandai would accept FSN depended on their assessment of the movie's market potential. Ultimately, Bandai was a full-fledged commercial company, not a charity or an art institution.

Leaving the meeting room, Shinji and Kariya stood in the corridor, waiting for the negotiation results.

Kariya lit a cigarette and whispered, "That woman brought an entire team from Bandai. It shows that Bandai is very interested in your movie."

After all, being a member of the Matou family, Kariya was deeply invested in the movie.

"Probably. Without those idiotic film critics causing trouble this time, it should be easier," Shinji said nonchalantly, looking up at the ceiling.

"Hey, hey."

Hearing Shinji's words, Kariya showed a helpless expression.

Inside the meeting room, Nao and several Bandai representatives were sitting together, discussing their opinions on the movie.

"Udagawa-san, wasn't I right? This is amazing work."

The first to speak was an excited young man with a bright face. He was the one who had called out to Shinji at the end of the preview screening.

Attending the screening yesterday had been a complete accident for him. Originally at Tsuburaya for toy design discussions, he ended up joining the preview screening after seeing a few people from Toho.

At the beginning, he didn't expect to see an excellent movie; he was purely using it as an excuse to avoid returning to work too early.

However, when he saw FSN for the first time, he was deeply captivated by this film that was entirely different from the past.

He couldn't express how exactly the movie was, but he had a gut feeling that it was highly suitable for their company.

His view was supported by another Bandai representative. "I think so too. This movie excels in the tokusatsu aspect to the extreme. It's not just a matter of realism; it has surpassed expectations."

In this world, there wasn't a concept of "special effects movie." This representative assumed that it was a tokusatsu film made for teenagers.

He wasn't the only one thinking that way; the other Bandai representatives present thought the same.

"This movie has value."

The bespectacled man at the end of the table spoke up. "The director, Matou Shinji-san, has done an outstanding job in terms of cinematography, lighting, and color. Of course, the most impressive part is the dazzling special effects. Even Tsuburaya's effects are overshadowed by it. From this perspective alone, it meets the current demands of the tokusatsu market. However..."

He pushed up his glasses and changed the topic.

"The movie's plot is a bit obscure. Although the movie itself clearly narrates the backstories of several heroes, it might still be too complex for children, not to mention the addition of romantic elements... Let's not forget the lesson from the previous Ultraman Tiga movie."

He was referring to Tsuburaya's Ultraman Tiga movie "The Final Holy Battle" from a few years ago.

Since some years had passed since the Tiga TV series, Tsuburaya decided to make the movie's plot deeper to suit the grown-up audience. They even added romantic elements.

However, when the movie was released, the majority of the audience were still children. These kids hadn't experienced romantic feelings yet, and they couldn't grasp the concept of romantic dialogue.

"Of course, I'm aware of that."

Nao closed her notebook and looked up at the other three. "In any case, our opinions seem to be aligned."

"One more thing." The bespectacled man reminded, "The merchandise related to this tokusatsu film must be distributed by Bandai."

"Of course."

Nao smiled and nodded.

She had already considered various merchandise related to the movie during the screening. For example, she thought about creating different versions of Saber's weapon Excalibur based on various scenes in the movie: True Name Release version (standard), Wind King Barrier version (transparent), and Noble Phantasm Activation version (illuminating) for the DX toys.

A few minutes later, Shinji and Kariya returned to the meeting room.

Seeing Nao and her team sitting in a row on the left side of the long table, Shinji and his uncle sat on the right side.

Nao didn't look at Kariya. Her gaze was fixed almost entirely on Shinji.

She hadn't paid much attention to him before, but now she realized just how young this director was.

'He definitely hasn't reached adulthood!'

Nao, with her extensive life experience, immediately formed her judgment.

Youngsters like him, no matter how talented they were, lacked substantial social experience and often carried idealistic tendencies.

'Dealing with such a young person shouldn't be difficult. Just flatter them with ideals and the future; they should be easy to manipulate.'

With that thought, she turned her attention to Kariya.

This actor, who had spent many years in the entertainment industry, was the challenge in these negotiations.

However, Nao didn't really consider Kariya a significant factor. While he was indeed a somewhat famous actor, he was still just an actor. Kariya, lacking experience in buying and selling movies, had no idea how much a movie should be sold

What was more important was that Nao was from Bandai, a well-known name in the industry. Facing a rookie director and a B-list actor, Bandai had a natural and absolute advantage.

'Perhaps I can even convince their entire team to join our company.'

Nao's eyes scrutinized Shinji. His team's technical capabilities were exceptional, and if they could be brought over, it would greatly benefit Bandai's film division.

On Shinji's side, he remained quite calm. As Nao observed him, he was also considering how to gain the most benefits from Bandai.

The seating arrangement of the Bandai team indicated that Nao was clearly the decision-maker.

Shinji didn't underestimate Nao due to her being a woman; he actually held her in higher regard. Everyone knew that gender bias was a significant issue in the Japanese workplace. Standing out in such an environment and eventually becoming the president of Bandai was no small feat for Nao.

'I wonder if she's married? After all, she's a wealthy woman. Should I push Uncle with her? He's not young anymore; it's time for him to settle down.'

Shinji glanced at his uncle from the corner of his eye, considering the possibilities.

"Hmm? Why is it suddenly chilly?"

His uncle, Kariya Matou, shivered inexplicably.

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