Tokyo: The evil god doesn't want to be the top star

Chapter 80: The Withered Chrysanthemum and the Knife
"A webtoon-adapted comic book series... a super villain..."

"Although I appreciate your support, it's a professional TV series, especially an important villain role. With my rookie acting skills, it's not possible, right?"

After hearing Nakano say that this was a web drama adapted from a comic, and thinking of his own rookie acting skills, Xia Fan became a little hesitant.

Unlike commercials, online dramas have been booming for several years and have become a popular new track in the entertainment industry. The professionalism and strict standards of filming are quite close to those of traditional TV dramas and even movies.

"Don't worry, with Xia Jun's swordsmanship and experience in playing a samurai, there will be absolutely no problem."

"How about this, we'll discuss the details tomorrow and audition for you. I'll send you the address later!"

As if afraid that Xia Fan would refuse immediately, Nakano quickly made an appointment with him for the time and place, then hung up the phone.

"Online TV series? Anyway, I have nothing to do tomorrow, so I'll go find out the situation first and then ask Uncle Dongye for his opinion."

After taking a look at the address sent by Director Nakano, Xia Fan set an alarm and fell asleep.

……

The next day, Edo-Tokyo Architectural Garden.

Coming out of Musashi Koganei Station and walking along the street, Xia Fan soon saw a row of compact and orderly Edo-style retro buildings.

The Edo-Tokyo Architectural Park is an open-air national museum located in Koganei City. It is dedicated to preserving, restoring and displaying historical buildings from the Edo period, ranging from ordinary farmhouses to the former residences of celebrities.

"It's worthy of what Director Nakano called a 'big job'. Was it filmed in such a professional place?"

Walking on the narrow streets, surrounded by retro buildings and tourists dressed in retro style to take photos, the strong atmosphere of the times made Xia Fan feel as if he was traveling through time and space.

Following the address provided by Nakano, he soon arrived in front of a small building.

"Look at the sign, this should be the right place."

After checking the sign at the door that read "The Chrysanthemum and the Sword Production Committee", Xia Fan walked in.

"Take that thing over there for debugging, put those things here first, and put everything that has nothing to do with the last episode back in the warehouse!"

Inside the house, Director Nakano was standing in the middle of a mess of costumes, props, scripts, blackboards, and photographic equipment, directing the staff to organize and sort things.

"Mr. Xia, you're here! Come on, come this way, come this way..."

Looking back and seeing Xia Fan coming in, Nakano trotted up to him and pulled him into his office affectionately.

"Sorry, I just took over the crew and the place is a mess. Come and have some tea!"

"Thanks……"

In the equally messy office, Nakano made a cup of matcha tea bag for Xia Fan.

"This drama is called "The Broken Chrysanthemum and the Sword", and it's an online TV series adapted from the popular female-oriented comic of the same name..."

After closing the door and drawing the blinds, Nakano lowered his voice and introduced the situation to Xia Fan.

"What, female-oriented, isn't that a BL drama?!"

"Sorry, it's hard for me to play a normal warrior, let alone one with special requirements..." Xia Fan shuddered, grabbed his trouser waist with both hands, and stood up to leave.

Danmei, which means "indulging in beauty", originally refers to an artistic trend that indulges in pure beauty that has nothing to do with reality and transcends gender.

This trend of thought can be traced back to the samurai class culture called Wakajudo in District 11. Later, with the invasion of Western romanticism and social repression, it gradually degenerated from a noble artistic pursuit that was higher than reality to a means of making money by pleasing women.

Simply put, the story focuses on the bond between two innocent and beautiful boys.

"Xia Jun, don't be in a hurry to leave. Listen to me! "The Withered Chrysanthemum and the Sword" is just a girl's comic with a BL style. It's not what you think..."

"Believe me, this drama has a heroine! There really is a heroine!"

Nakano suddenly grabbed Xia Fan's pants and repeatedly emphasized the word "heroine".

"Then, let me hear you talk..."

Xia Fan tightened his hip muscles and sat back on the sofa with a vigilant look.

"The investor and broadcasting platform of "The Broken Chrysanthemum and the Knife" is the largest streaming media company in District 11, PPJ. Whether in terms of investment scale or crew configuration, it is also first-class in online dramas."

"Originally, even if the previous facial mask advertisement broke the circle and was a hit, with my qualifications, I am absolutely not qualified to take on such a popular IP web drama, let alone recommend you, Xia Jun, to audition for an important role..."

"But to be honest, the first eight episodes of this drama have already been aired, and due to poor casting, poor filming quality, and a huge difference between the content and the original novel, it has received a lot of negative reviews online."

"Although the previous director was very famous, he couldn't bear the pressure and postponed the filming due to a 'sudden illness'. As a result, the actor who played the 'super villain' who hadn't appeared yet was also scared and ran away..."

After comforting Xia Fan, Nakano continued to explain the situation.

"The Withered Chrysanthemum and the Sword" is a popular BL manga for females that has been serialized for many years. It tells the story of the heroine Chiyo, who is a "pure-blooded Rakshasa", and several samurai from the violent group "Shinsengumi" at the end of the Edo period. They unfold a magnificent story around a bloodthirsty monster called "Black Rakshasa" and the only few "magic swords" that can kill Rakshasa.

As the story progresses, Chiyo develops different emotional entanglements with the "beautiful swordsmen" in the Shinsengumi, as well as between "beautiful swordsmen and beautiful swordsmen", and gradually reveals the truth hidden in the darkness. The entire comic revolves around a variety of emotions such as love, friendship, and family affection, and also explores profound themes such as human nature, faith, and sacrifice.

Since the sales of the single-volume edition of "The Withered Chrysanthemum and the Sword" have long topped the list of similar comics, it has attracted large streaming media companies such as PPJ to invest heavily in creating the IP and invited famous directors to adapt it into a live-action web drama.

However, live-action adaptations of comics are often secretly called "original work crushers."

During the actual filming process, this famous director inevitably made several common mistakes in live-action adaptations of comics.

The first thing is casting.

Because "The Withered Chrysanthemum and the Sword" is a BL manga aimed at females, for the purpose of serving women, except for the heroine used in the "first-person substitution", all the other characters are based on real people from the late Edo period, and all kinds of styles, fetishes and sizes can be satisfied. In addition to the "beautiful young swordsman" who has an ambiguous relationship with the heroine, they also often compete with each other in swordplay and discussion.

Therefore, the director used "handsomeness" as the only criterion for male casting, and boldly used several popular young models who had no experience in TV drama shooting. Of course, this was also mixed with the selfish desire of the investors to take the opportunity to make a few handsome male artists famous.

The second is the screenwriter.

Since "The Withered Chrysanthemum and the Sword" has been serialized for four or five years and the plot span is not short, it is simply an "impossible task" to condense it all into a ten-episode web drama.

Therefore, the director and screenwriter "boldly" cut out many plots that they considered "insignificant".

Even though the scenes were real, the costumes and props were top-notch, and the filming was first-rate, the "bold decisions" in the above two aspects quickly led to a strong backlash in the "shoot one episode and broadcast one episode" online drama model...

(End of this chapter)