章節 480: Chapter 480: The Biggest Gold Mine in Island Country Animation
With Li Qian and others in tow, Xia Yu wandered around Ikebukuro & Kanda Sakuemachi, casually holding Li Qian's hand.
As they strolled along, Li Qian's eyes sparkled with excitement as she observed the colorful, cartoonish figures displayed on the sides of buildings. She asked in wonder, "Xia Yu, there are cartoon characters everywhere here, even the buildings are painted in colors. I've never seen anything like this in Xiangjiang!"
Xia Yu, too, was a bit surprised. He had never encountered such vibrant decorations before, or anything like this place. The surrounding buildings were adorned with giant billboards featuring two-dimensional characters. It seemed that such things could only be found in the Island Country.
In future China, he had never heard of such decoration styles. Even the cities with the strongest anime culture, like Magic City (Shanghai) and Sheep City (Guangzhou), did not have such streets.
"Let's just walk around. There are so many bookstores, comic shops, and toy stores here. It's no wonder this is a hub for comic publishers."
Xia Yu quickly noticed several signs for comic publishers. However, there were more signs for bookstores and comic shops. Through the glass windows, he could see various comic magazines and figurines, including those with covers glowing with holy light.
"Hmm!"
Li Qian nodded in agreement, then pulled Xia Yu into a store.
"Wow, Xia Yu, this doll is so cute, and this one too…"
Upon entering the store, which catered to a more feminine style, Li Qian's enthusiasm was piqued by the adorable dolls. Her feminine side came out as she gushed over the merchandise, occasionally whispering excitedly in Xia Yu's ear.
Seeing Li Qian's reaction, Xia Yu couldn't help but smile. It was clear that girls generally had a low resistance to dolls and cute things, and Li Qian was no exception, despite already having many Pikachu and Nine-Tails plush toys in her room.
Since Li Qian liked them, Xia Yu decided to buy them all. It didn't cost much but made her happy, which was worth it. Thus, the trunks of the few cars Xia Yu had brought were filled up with purchases, and Li Qian reluctantly stopped shopping.
"Xia Yu, you're so nice. I love you!"
"I love you too."
…
As they continued their walk, Xia Yu also saw the location of Shueisha and the headquarters of Shogakukan, which was diagonally opposite Shueisha. He glanced at them briefly and then moved on.
These were just two publishers. Even though their parent company, Ikebukuro Group, had assets that did not compare to his own, their competitors were Jiuding Animation Co., Ltd. and Jiuding Publishing Co., Ltd.
Unconsciously, they reached the end of a street, which seemed to be in a less desirable location and was quite desolate.
Noticing that Li Qian looked a bit tired, and having wandered enough, Xia Yu decided to find a café to rest.
As he turned, his gaze fell on a model inside a nearby building. He stopped his movement, focused intently, and carefully observed the model.
"Is this a Gundam model?"
"It doesn't quite look like it, but it's somewhat similar. I vaguely remember that Gundam was made by a company called Sunrise."
Thinking about this, Xia Yu's eyes moved to the previously overlooked sign. As expected, the sign prominently displayed "SUNRISE," which translated to Sunrise!
Indeed it was!
Xia Yu's spirits were slightly lifted as he carefully examined the appearance of Sunrise's building.
At first glance, Xia Yu couldn't help but frown. The headquarters looked so shabby, and the location was quite remote. Given the Gundam series' animation and copyright, it shouldn't be in such a state.
The reputation of Mobile Suit Gundam was worldwide. It was one of the most famous, enduring, expansive, and profitable series in Island Country animation.
Especially the Gundam models, which sold nearly five hundred million units in the future, were incredibly popular and highly valued.
If anything in the same field could surpass Mobile Suit Gundam, it would only be the Transformers series.
Sunrise held the gold mine of the Mobile Suit Gundam series, so it shouldn't be in such poor shape!
Unless…
Seeing the somewhat ambiguous model, a gleam of insight appeared in Xia Yu's eyes. He thought, "Unless the Mobile Suit Gundam series hasn't been released yet and Sunrise is still in its downturn."
"Xia Yu, what's wrong?"
Noticing Xia Yu's odd behavior, Li Qian, worried, held his hand and asked with concern.
Li Qian's concern snapped Xia Yu out of his thoughts. Seeing her worried expression, he gave her a bright smile and said, "I'm fine. I just suddenly thought of something. Let's go."
"Oh, okay. Let's go!"
Li Qian, relieved, gave a sweet smile and pulled Xia Yu away.
After taking one last glance at the Sunrise sign, Xia Yu's eyes were filled with contemplation. He then got into the car and headed back to Jiuding Animation Co., Ltd.'s Island Country branch.
He needed to have Ma Tengdong look into Sunrise's situation to confirm his suspicions.
If his guess was correct, then…
Soon, upon returning to Jiuding Animation Co., Ltd., Xia Yu got out of the car and immediately walked towards the office where Ma Tengdong was selecting sites for the Manga House.
"Chairman, you're back!"
Hearing the footsteps, Ma Tengdong looked up, and upon seeing Xia Yu, he immediately put down his pen with a beaming smile.
"Hmm!"
Xia Yu nodded slightly, sat down in a leather chair, and looked at Ma Tengdong with a serious expression. He directly asked, "Tengdong, I have a task for you. Look into all the information about Sunrise in Ikebukuro & Kanda Sakuemachi and bring it to me."
Ma Tengdong was taken aback, but quickly recovered. Although he was very curious, he responded loudly, "Okay!"
Just as he was about to leave, he restrained his impulse and thought it necessary to share what he knew about Sunrise with Xia Yu to see if there was any relevant information.
Ma Tengdong had worked at Shueisha for over ten years and was quite familiar with the nearby manga publishers and stores. He definitely had an impression of Sunrise, a unique company.
"Chairman, I know some information about Sunrise."
As soon as Ma Tengdong finished speaking, Xia Yu said, "Then tell me everything you know."
"Certainly!"
"Sunrise was established in 1972. Its founding staff came from Osamu Tezuka's Mushi Production, known as the 'God of Manga,' so there was a lot of talent."
"Sunrise does not produce manga but focuses on animation. After four years, in 1977, it produced an animated series called 'Invincible Super Man Zabot,' which attracted industry attention and had a successful viewership. They went on to produce several more animated series with mixed results."
"Sunrise strives for perfection, which makes their production speed slow and their profits unstable. Before I left Shueisha, Sunrise was barely maintaining operations."
"To date, I haven't heard of any notable achievements from Sunrise."
"That's all I know about Sunrise!"
"Good! That's exactly what I wanted to know."
After listening to Ma Tengdong's report, Xia Yu smiled and felt very pleased.
It seemed that Sunrise had indeed not yet risen to prominence. The opportunity had arrived!
每周推薦票狀態
-- 推薦票
榜單 
-- 推薦票