novelraw Chapter 128: 39.8%! National-Level Variety Show Kasou Taishou Season 2!
Chapter 128: 39.8%! National-Level Variety Show Kasou Taishou Season 2!
In the following few days, TV Tokyo's Studio 3, this massive auditorium that had been forgotten for several years, transformed into a place of pilgrimage full of miracles and marvels.
The representative teams from the eight major regions of Japan, those ordinary people full of rustic charm who had stood out from the audition army of hundreds of thousands, stepped into this dream palace they had only ever seen on television for the very first time.
Many among them brought ideas that were plain and full of the wisdom of life, yet also found it hard to conceal that clumsiness and roughness belonging to amateurs.
However, a drawing of lots full of fate and coincidence thoroughly changed all of this.
Tanaka Kei, following Nohara Hiroshi's instructions, dismantled those god-tier ideas into independent elements one by one, wrote them on slips of paper, and placed them into a seemingly ordinary drawing box.
Then, like the most impartial dealer, he smiled as he watched the temporary assistants of those representative teams step up one by one, drawing their destiny from that box full of unknowns and possibilities.
"... 'Human Washing Machine'? What is this?"
"'Ghosts Walking at Night'... oh my god, this idea is simply absolute!"
"'The Ramen Chef's Fury'... Hahahaha! This is too interesting! Why didn't we think of this?!"
When those seemingly random ideas were distributed into the hands of the various representative teams, the entire backstage was instantly submerged by a wave of irrepressible exclamations and gasps of admiration!Those contestants who had originally been feeling smug over their little "cleverness", after seeing these god-tier ideas sufficient to subvert all their cognition, that pride belonging to amateurs was instantly and thoroughly ground into dust!
They looked at that thin slip of paper in their hands. That gaze was like a group of mortals who had groped in the dark for half their lives, catching a glimpse of the light of wisdom from the gods for the very first time!
Thus, in the subsequent recordings, a wondrous chemical reaction occurred.
Those amateur performances that were originally still full of uncertainty, under the blessing of those flawless creative scripts long designed by Nohara Hiroshi, erupted with an unprecedented, marvelous energy!
The recording was unprecedentedly smooth.
When the final group's performance concluded, Tanaka Kei looked at the monitor, at those perfect frames one by one full of imagination and pure joy. His heart, which had long been filled with shock, unexpectedly and uncontrollably began to pound violently.
He knew, a massive storm sufficient to subvert the rules of the entire Japanese television industry had been formed just like this, manipulated by a pair of large hands.
...
The first Saturday of September, 2:25 PM.
The entirety of Japan beneath the starry sky seemed to have the pause button pressed on it at this moment.
From Sapporo in Hokkaido where the ice and snow were just melting, to Naha in Okinawa with its coconut breezes and ocean rhymes;
from the bustling and noisy Ginza in Tokyo, to Shinsaibashi in Osaka full of the Vitality of Life of the marketplace...
Countless pairs of eyes, as if drawn by a formless gravity, uniformly focused onto those small, glowing square boxes that were about to stage an unprecedented carnival.
[Nohara Hiroshi - Independent Production Department].
In the massive office, the air seemed to have been pumped dry, coagulating into a piece of heavy and icy amber.
Tanaka Kei and his reborn team sat perfectly straight one by one. Written all over those faces was irrepressible excitement and anxiety.
And behind them, in that Department Manager's office capable of overlooking all of Tokyo, Asumi and Takada Toshihide, these two number-two figures belonging to different factions, were unprecedentedly acting together with the patriarch of the Production Bureau, Sakata Nobuhiko, sitting on that genuine leather sofa symbolizing power.
In front of the three of them similarly sat a massive Sony television. That pitch-black screen, like a door leading to a deep abyss of the unknown, reflected their three faces, each harboring their own thoughts.
On Takada Toshihide's face hung an icy sneer of watching a good show.
At the bottom of Asumi's eyes hid a trace of a gambler's madness that even he himself hadn't realized.
Only Sakata Nobuhiko, on that face that was always smiling, joy or anger could not be discerned. However, within those eyes that occasionally narrowed, flashed the bottomless shrewd light belonging to the ultimate adjudicator.
Half past two arrived promptly.
That brainwashing melody full of childlike innocence and demonic charm once again resounded through the clouds!
Kasou Taishou Season 2, Episode 1, officially started broadcasting!
Without the slightest dragging of feet, following the host's opening remarks full of geniality, the very first performance, from the Sapporo representative team of Hokkaido, crash-banged into existence with an earth-shattering posture!
That was an idea full of ice, snow, and fantasy colors—"The Yuki-onna's First Love".
On that stage where the effect of a sky full of wind and snow was created using only the simplest white bedsheets and dry ice, when a girl wearing a traditional Kimono used body language to interpret the poignantly beautiful romance full of tragic colors of a Yuki-onna who fell in love with a human...
The entirety of Japan went quiet.
That cultural resonance originating from folklore, uniquely belonging to the Japanese people, like a formless pair of hands, instantly gripped the throats of all the viewers.
However, this was not the end yet.
Immediately following, "The Hakata Ramen War" from Fukuoka, "The Ninja Duel on the Castle Keep" from Nagoya, "Prayer" from Hiroshima...
Performances one by one full of regional characteristics, yet elevated to a completely new artistic height by Nohara Hiroshi's god-tier ideas, were like a never-ending tsunami full of imagination, wave after wave, beating against the mental defenses of all the viewers!
The entirety of Japan went crazy!
They had never imagined that a variety show, could actually... be so magnificent and majestic in scale!
...
"It's here! It's here! The fifteen-minute Viewership Ratings are out!"
TV Tokyo, Data Monitoring Center. A young data analyst looked at that red curve on the computer screen smoothly breaking free from all restraints, crazily soaring upwards at a nearly vertical angle, his voice full of unbelievable shuddering!
Then he began to have the staff behind him start making phone calls one by one to notify everyone.
Ring, ring, ring—
The phone was picked up.
In the Nohara Section, everyone subconsciously held their breath.
Tanaka Kei's heart instantly leaped into his throat.
In Sakata Nobuhiko's office, the sneer on Takada Toshihide's face instantly congealed.
Asumi, who personally picked up the receiver, his arm uncontrollably trembling slightly.
"How much?"
Both sides almost simultaneously inquired with one voice!
"32.7%!!"
The young data analyst, using a roar bordering on his voice cracking, shouted out that miraculous number sufficient to make the entire Japanese television industry tremble!
"Boom——!"
This number, like a true hydrogen bomb, crash-banged and exploded within everyone's minds!
"We won! We won!"
In the Nohara Section, Tanaka Kei, like a general who had successfully retaliated and killed the enemy in a desperate situation, let out a cheer full of ecstasy that had been suppressed for too long!
"Good! Hahahaha! Good!"
In Sakata Nobuhiko's office, Asumi fiercely sprang up from the sofa. On that face that was consistently refined and composed, undisguised ecstasy and excitement were written all over at this moment!
While Takada Toshihide sat blankly in his original spot. On that face that consistently carried a bit of gloominess, all the blood color faded completely clean in an instant.
He knew, he had lost.
Lost a crushing defeat.
Lost to the point where... even the final bit of hope of turning the tables was gone.
"National-level variety show..."
Sakata Nobuhiko exhaled a long breath. In that breath was carried a wondrous emotion.
He looked at the program on the screen, a scorching light erupting in his eyes!
He knew, starting tonight, an entirely new entertainment empire, belonging solely to Nohara Hiroshi, had already descended.
And he, Sakata Nobuhiko, would be the most resolute Guardian of this empire.
This was not an exaggerated description.
But rather a fact.
Because these television station leaders were very clear, any program exceeding a 30% Viewership Rating, basically could be crowned with the title 'National-level'!
Last time, the first season of Kasou Taishou, because of a 29% Viewership Rating, had already touched the threshold of a National-level variety show.
Now the entire nation was participating.
And having warmed up Kasou Taishou Season 2 for close to over a month.
It was only natural and proper.
In the first fifteen minutes, it instantly broke through the 30% National-level standard line!
Becoming a genuine National-level variety show!
One must know, even if variety shows relying on their entertainment attributes were the easiest to break records in Viewership Ratings, also because variety shows resided at the lowest rung of the chain of contempt among Japanese film and television mediums, therefore nobody took the Viewership Ratings of variety shows seriously.
Moreover, this Viewership Rating was 32.7%!
It wasn't a simple breaking of the 30% Viewership Rating.
Rather...
It was still continuing to crazily soar!
This Viewership Rating was the data from the first fifteen minutes just after the broadcast started!
According to patterns, when the entire episode finished, this Viewership Rating would still continue to rise by a margin.
Even making a conservative estimate, perhaps it could reach... above a 35% Viewership Rating!
Even... around 38% was entirely possible!
This was also the reason why Bureau Chief Sakata Nobuhiko sat on the sofa, looking at the program before him, a smile appearing on the corners of his lips.
This time, he had truly picked up a treasure!
If the second season of Kasou Taishou truly reached a 38% Viewership Rating.
Then.
Number one variety show in the history of Japanese film and television, the record-breaking Ichiban variety show, that would once again be born on their TV Tokyo!
Then he, this Bureau Chief of Production at TV Tokyo, the First Deputy Station Chief who personally planned TV Tokyo's acquisition of Kanto TV and merger of Kanto TV's talents.
Could he not leave a heavily inked and brightly colored stroke in the history of TV Tokyo?
Would that not be considered a political achievement?!
"Hehehehe... Hahahahaha!"
Thus, right when Takada Toshihide's face was ashen like dead ashes, he heard a loud laugh going from deep to arrogant.
It made Takada Toshihide subconsciously raise his head.
And look over in astonishment.
Only then did he despairingly discover that the one laughing arrogantly was precisely the Bureau Chief Sakata Nobuhiko whom he had always highly respected!
...
Osaka, Kansai TV (KTV) Headquarters Building. That top-floor meeting room that could overlook the entire dazzling night scenery of Dotonbori, was currently shrouded by a deathly silence.
The air permeated with the bitterness of a burnt-out Cigar, interweaving with the unspeakable despair in the hearts of a group of people, forming a silent elegy.
Waya Ichiro, this man who had summoned the wind and called the rain in the Kansai television industry for half his life, was currently staring dead-on at that Viewership Rating report just faxed over from Tokyo that still carried a bit of warmth.
On that face always full of irritability and unwillingness, all expressions had faded.
Leaving only a powerlessness and awe stemming from the marrow produced after being crushed by absolute strength.
"Monster... that guy... he simply isn't playing the same game as us..." He muttered to himself. In that voice was full of the hoarseness after being thoroughly routed.
He recalled his "Anti-Nohara Hiroshi Alliance" full of dark humor from back then, recalled his "encirclement and suppression" declaration full of confidence, recalled his disdain toward "amateur variety shows" full of the superiority of a professional.
At this moment, all of it was thoroughly, completely ground into dust by that terrifying number of 32.7%!
"Deputy Bureau Chief..." A Section Chief who was usually the most capable spoke with a dry voice, attempting to break this suffocating silence: "We... what should we do now? Do we need to... immediately initiate our 'New Tales of Ghost Stories' project, to... to fight him in the arena?"
"Fight in the arena?" Waya Ichiro slowly raised his head. In those bloodshot eyes surfaced a self-mockery bordering on fear: "Fight with what? Use that set of out-of-date stories the audience is already tired of seeing, to confront a rule-maker capable of toying the entirety of Japan in the palm of his hand?"
He lightly tossed that report sheet, like discarding a piece of waste paper, onto the center of the meeting table.
"Have you all still not understood clearly?" His voice wasn't loud, yet like a heavy hammer, viciously struck the hearts of everyone present: "This is already no longer a simple battle of Viewership Ratings. This is a... slaughter. A one-sided Dimensional Strike launched by that young man named Nohara Hiroshi against us old fogeys stubbornly clinging to the old rules!"
Right at this moment, the heavy mahogany doors of the meeting room were fiercely pushed open, and a young assistant rushed in Scrambling with rolling and crawling, his face written full of terrified-beyond-belief panic.
"Dep... Deputy Bureau Chief! Bad news! The final... the final Viewership Ratings are out!"
"How much?" Waya Ichiro already had a prediction, but seeing the assistant's panicked appearance, his heart still instantly sank to the bottom of the valley.
"39.8%!"
The young assistant, using a roar bordering on his voice cracking, shouted out that miraculous number sufficient to make the entire Japanese television industry tremble!
"Boom——!"
This number, like a true hydrogen bomb, crash-banged and exploded within everyone's minds!
39.8% Viewership Rating!
In the Saturday afternoon slot!
What did this mean?
This meant that in that time period, in the entirety of Japan, among all households that turned on the television, nearly forty percent of people were watching the exact same program!
This was already no longer a simple "National-level"!
This was a cultural fanaticism bordering on religion!
"It's over..."
Waya Ichiro could no longer hold on. This man who had summoned the wind and called the rain in the Osaka television industry for half his life, like a puddle of mud, dejectedly tumbled into his chair.
On that face always full of irritability and unwillingness, only a deathly grayish pallor remained.
He knew, in this war, they had already lost.
Lost a crushing defeat.
Lost to the point where... even the final bit of hope of turning the tables was gone.
However, this was not the most terrifying part.
The most terrifying part was that raging fire named "National Carnival" personally ignited by Nohara Hiroshi had already crossed over the icy screens, and with an unrivaled posture of a prairie fire, burned into the real lives of every single one of them.
Beep! Beep beep!
A rapid electronic prompt sound pierced the deathly silence of the meeting room.
A Section Chief responsible for program planning subconsciously pulled out the Pager in his pocket, took a glance, and that already pale face instantly went three degrees paler.
[Yamada-san, I am Mrs. Yamada from next door. I heard you work at the television station? Could you... could I please ask you to help our useless son cast a vote? He is representing our shopping street to participate in that Kasou Taishou! I'm begging you! Another day I'll have the child's father deliver our family's newly brewed plum wine to you!]
"Bakayaro!" He cursed in a low voice and was just preparing to delete this harassment message full of "worldly wisdom/social networking".
Beep! Beep beep!
Beep! Beep beep!
In the meeting room, rising and falling Pager prompt sounds, like a poked hornet's nest, instantly rang together into one mass!
Everyone frantically pulled out their own Pagers, and then, without exception, all saw that message with an almost identical format, full of the polite yet resolute "begging" unique to Japanese people.
[Section Chief Watanabe, I am your child's homeroom teacher. Regarding your son's grades for this midterm exam... ah, sorry, sent to the wrong person. I mean to say, that program Kasou Taishou, our school also has a team participating. Would you see to it...]
[Director Ito, I am the manager of that 'Kikugero' you frequently visit. Regarding the private room you reserved last time... ah, sorry, my hand slipped. Actually, I want to beg you to please cast a vote for our Fukuoka team...]
This was already no longer simple canvassing for votes!
This was an all-pervasive general mobilization of the entire nation!
It was a massive net of personal favors with no escape, laid down for them in the real world by that young man named Nohara Hiroshi using a method they completely failed to comprehend!
"Preposterous! This is simply preposterous!"
Waya Ichiro looked at his own Pager which was similarly vibrating crazily. On that face already like dead ashes surfaced a hysterical furious rage of having his private domain thoroughly violated!
He fiercely stood up, grabbed the phone on the desk, and using a tone bordering on roaring, shouted into the receiver: "Immediately! Connect me to TV Tokyo! I want to find that bastard named Nohara Hiroshi! Immediately! Right now!"
But at this time, he also didn't know what he could possibly do even if he truly connected the call.
There was only an incompetent, impotent rage.
...
Whereas in the center of the storm, inside the office of [Nohara Hiroshi - Independent Production Department], the atmosphere was a carnival of victory.
Nohara Hiroshi calmly looked at that 39.8% Viewership Rating report. The corners of his lips hooked upward into a Calm and Indifferent smile belonging to the victor.
He knew, this war was already over.
From the moment he decided to bring that Proposal sufficient to subvert the era from that dimension belonging to the future to this world, the ending was already foreordained.
"Department Manager."
Kitagawa Yao, this office director who had long since been Reborn, gently placed a cup of freshly ground Blue Mountain Coffee onto his desk. On that capable pretty face carried a trace of teasing of watching a good show: "Osaka, Nagoya, Fukuoka... the production bureaus of almost all local stations have called, singling you out by name seeking you. Saying it's to celebrate you and TV Tokyo breaking the new Viewership Rating record for variety programs. And expressed their respect for you and TV Tokyo. It's just their tones... sounded as if they weren't too friendly."
"Tell them I'm in a meeting." Nohara Hiroshi didn't even bother lifting his eyelids over it.
He stood up and walked to the massive floor-to-ceiling windows, overlooking that steel metropolis beneath his feet that had already gone crazy for him. In those clear eyes flashed a high-spiritedness of being about to set off for an entirely new battlefield.
Television dramas, animations, variety shows...
Three seemingly unsurmountable soaring mountains had all been stepped beneath his feet.
This feeling was actually quite nice.
Yet in reality, regarding the waves stirred up by Kasou Taishou Season 2, it truly wasn't that simple.
It even exceeded the expectations of the Japanese people themselves!