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

Chapter 82 Termination of Filming Discussion Meeting

"Has the meeting started yet? Sorry, I'm late."

Just as the two were talking, a slender girl with golden twin ponytails walked into the room gracefully.

She was a little over 1.6 meters tall, wearing a neat little dress, and light white tights that left marks on her legs. Her whole body perfectly blended the two auras of coldness and coquettishness.

"Ah, it's okay. You're not the only one who's late, Shirakawa-senpai."

Then, a long-haired young man with beautiful features and a gloomy temperament walked in right behind him.

"Ms. Shirakawa, Mr. Sakamoto?! As I recall, there is no work for you two today..."

The arrival of these two people made Nakano slightly stunned.

"Sorry, I invited these two to come. After all, they are the only two remaining main actors in the last episode of this drama..."

"… Mr. Sakamoto, who plays the role of 'Hijikata Toshizo', and Ms. Shirakawa Rika, who plays the heroine 'Chiyo'."

Kawasaki Airi motioned for the two to sit down.

According to the plot and historical context, members of the "Shinsengumi" continued to "sacrifice". By the last episode, only Hijikata Toshizo, who was known as the "Star of the Shogunate" and the "Demon's Vice-Chief", and the heroine Chiyo were left. They led the remnants of the shogunate all the way to Hakodate, Hokkaido, so naturally the other actors had no roles to play.

"According to the authorization contract between me and PPJ, if force majeure or major personnel changes occur on the production side and the quality of the series cannot be guaranteed, as the original author, I have the right to revoke the authorization and terminate the filming of the series."

"Now that the former director has withdrawn, PPJ has handed over the directorship to you, who has no experience in TV drama shooting. I think the conditions for terminating the cooperation have been met."

"Of course, this drama is also the result of everyone's hard work, so I would like to seek the opinions of the last two leading actors. After all, in the entire drama so far, only these two have won my approval for their acting skills."

Seeing that the contract had expired, Kawasaki Airi took out the authorization contract and showed the corresponding terms to everyone.

"Well, I have indeed been shooting video commercials for SUN Company, but I have also worked as an assistant director to assist Director Haruo Tsuchiya in shooting TV series. You don't have to worry about my professional level..."

Nakano's forehead was slightly sweaty, and he explained in a gentle and patient manner.

For the original author, comic works are as precious as children. He understands the author's feelings of not wanting to see his hard work ruined by "live-action adaptations".

"Professional level? I heard that on your first day in office, you recommended an actor with no experience in TV drama shooting to play the most important villain role in the last episode of 'Manyo Kazama'."

"You know, the audiences who can endure the crappy plot and poor acting and stick to the show until now are all fans of 'Man' Kazama', waiting for their favorite 'Lord Kazama' to appear at any moment."

"If you are like the previous director and let a 'vain' actor take care of the job, then I would rather the show end badly than withdraw the license."

With the lessons learned from the previous eight episodes, Kawasaki Airi naturally disdained Nakano's words.

"You two leading actors, in the last episode, almost all your scenes together are with the character 'Manyo Kazama'. I believe you have your own opinions, right?" At this point, she looked at Sakamoto Hide and Shirakawa Rika who had just taken their seats.

In order to make up for the shortcomings in acting left by a number of "vase male actors", the former director specially invited Rika Shirakawa from the investor's company, who started shooting commercials at the age of three and has strong work experience and acting skills, as the "pillar".

And Sakamoto Hide, the "former young actor" and "current new singer" who was once famous for his acting skills, was also invited by the crew to play the important role of "Hijikata Toshizo" in exchange for the opportunity to sing the theme song.

After a famous model ruined the reputation of the show and her character died and left the stage, the only two "powerful actors" left in the final episode made people wonder whether it was a tragedy or a blessing.

"It's okay with me. I'm a singer-songwriter now. The reason I played the role of 'Hijikata Toshizo' was purely to sing the theme song of this drama."

"As long as the filming team is willing to continue filming, even if my opponent is an actor who can only say '1234', I will do my duty as an actor and complete the job."

Sakamoto Hide looked indifferent about this.

"So, Ms. Shirakawa, your contracted company is also one of the investors. As a child star who became famous at a young age and a talented young actress who has been in the industry for 16 years, you must have your own principles, right?"

Rolling her eyes at Sakamoto Shu's irresponsible answer, Kawasaki Airi looked at Shirakawa Rika expectantly.

"Of course, I and Sakamoto-kun, the musician who is 'that's all', have different pursuits..."

"From an investor's perspective, my company naturally hopes to have a 'good start and a good end' and does not want to see a bad ending for the series."

"As the female lead, I share the drama's success and failure, and I hope to have a good start and a good end, and even restore some reputation through an excellent performance in the last episode."

Shirakawa Rika, who was "cued", raised her chin proudly.

"However, the role of Kazama Manyo is very difficult and is not something that an ordinary actor can handle. The actor that the filming party first contacted is also one of the best young actors in the industry. Otherwise, he would not have used his connections to withdraw from the role as soon as he saw that his reputation was ruined."

"It can be said that for the last episode, Sakamoto Shu and I just need to perform normally, and most of the pressure is on 'Manyo Kazama'."

"According to my understanding in the industry, there are only a few people who can handle this pressure and perfectly interpret this role, and none of them are people our crew can hire to take over the mess right now."

"So, if I can't find the right actors, I don't think we need to force it to finish the filming."

She folded her arms across her chest, showing no intention of giving face to the new director Nakano, and expressed her opinions sharply.

In the original manga of "The Chrysanthemum and the Sword", the character "Kazama Manye" possesses top-level martial arts, and a personality that is cold-blooded on the surface but gentle and trustworthy on the inside. He also has two identities as the final BOSS and the emotional line character, which makes the character's background setting and psychological state the most complex and contradictory in the whole play.

This kind of evil character, who is the ceiling of martial arts and appearance, and is honest but speaks one thing but acts another, is unique even in "The Chrysanthemum and the Sword" which is full of charming male characters, and has a large number of fans.

If it was the kind of model-vase actress before, Kawasaki Airi, who regards herself as the "mother" of the work, and Shirakawa Rika, who plays the heroine, would rather "Manyo Kazama" not be adapted into a live-action character and just stay in the comics from now on.

(End of this chapter)