In Japan, there's a widely circulated saying among the people referring to the "Six Major TV Stations." These can be further divided into one public broadcaster, NHK TV, and five private networks: Nippon TV, Fuji TV, Tokyo TV, TBS, and TV Asahi.
For a long time, NHK's drama programming had relied heavily on its morning dramas (asadora) and year-long historical epics (Taiga dramas) to support its ratings. However, while these formats have a relatively stable audience base, they are difficult to innovate with and rarely produce massive hits. Several other private TV stations, on the other hand, manage to produce hit series with ratings exceeding 25% every year. In contrast, NHK's Taiga dramas, occupying the prime 8:00 PM slot on Sundays, typically deliver only stable ratings between 13% and 16%. If the quality is poor in a given year, that number can drop even lower.
Based on these factors, NHK's management had set a goal two years ago to produce high-quality, high-rated TV dramas and had specifically increased investment in this area. However, for a station with NHK's deep foundation and large scale, they had no shortage of excellent directors, actors, professional equipment, or studio conditions. What they needed most was an excellent script. Just as the TV drama production department, from top to bottom, was worrying about this, Hikigaya Hachiman appeared.
"Believe me, Mr. Hachiman," Yagami Takashi, who was driving, said confidently to Hachiman in the back seat. "We will have the absolute advantage in the negotiations with NHK."
Today was July 11th, a Saturday. Hikigaya Hachiman and his lawyer, Yagami Takashi, had come to the headquarters of the Japan Broadcasting Corporation (NHK) in Shibuya, Tokyo, to formally negotiate a cooperation agreement for Hachiman to provide scripts for their TV drama production department.
"Six million yen per episode. Is this price acceptable to you, Mr. Hachiman?" Yagami asked, giving Hachiman one final confirmation while they waited in the lounge.
"If I said I wanted more, could you do it, Mr. Yagami?"
"Hmph," Yagami smirked. "If it were just to help you confirm a contract that was already verbally agreed upon, any lawyer could do it. Since I'm taking such a hefty commission, I must provide some real value."
"NHK made that verbal agreement with you at the end of April," Yagami analyzed. "At that time, your Clockwork Museum Incident hadn't been released, and the Confessions movie hadn't been greenlit. So, the price of six million is indeed a bit outdated now."
"Then I'll have to trouble you with the negotiations later, Mr. Yagami," Hachiman instructed. "I'm definitely willing to make more money. But try not to completely fall out with them. I'll give you some hints during the talks." He still preferred to cooperate with NHK. After all, only at a place like NHK, where the drama production capability was relatively weaker, could he maintain absolute initiative.
"Understood, Mr. Hachiman. I'll know when to stop."
"Well, Mr. Hachiman," Daichi Fukunaga, the director of NHK's TV drama production department, asked tentatively after the initial greetings, "can you tell me what the script you are preparing will be about?"
"Please wait a moment, Mr. Fukunaga," Yagami interjected before Hachiman could speak, taking on the role of the tough negotiator. "The negotiations haven't even started yet. Your question is a bit hasty."
"Well... that's true," Director Fukunaga said with some guilt, "but I was hoping to get a preliminary impression, to make things easier to discuss."
"I think as long as everyone can be open and honest, the negotiations will go very smoothly," Yagami said, crossing his arms and leaning back in his chair. "To put it more bluntly, my client has been writing since his debut, and not a single one of his works has failed to be well-received. So, Mr. Fukunaga, you can rest assured. As long as your conditions are good enough, you don't have to worry about the quality of the script we can produce."
Fukunaga Daichi was so angry his teeth itched, but NHK couldn't find another writer of Hachiman's caliber, so he really had no leverage. He figured the other party must have realized this and come here today specifically to squeeze him.
After about forty minutes of verbal sparring (which was more like a one-sided crushing), the two sides officially finalized the contract details. Hikigaya Hachiman would provide NHK with scripts for a 12-episode season, and NHK would pay him up to 7.5 million yen per episode. The total amount would be paid in one lump sum after Hachiman delivered all the scripts.
"Mr. Hachiman," Director Fukunaga said, wiping the sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief despite the air conditioning, "I can assure you that 7.5 million yen per episode is an astronomical figure in the industry. Perhaps the combined appearance fees of the entire cast cannot reach that level. Of course, this also represents NHK's trust in you." The sense of oppression from the lawyer opposite him had been immense.
"I recognize your sincerity," Hachiman replied. "And I have actually started writing the script. I've already completed the first episode. If you still have any doubts, Mr. Fukunaga, you might want to take a look." He signaled to Yagami, who handed the script to Fukunaga. The director looked very excited and took it with both hands.
"Inspector Furuhata Ninzaburo?" he read the title. "It looks like this is another mystery story with a detective protagonist?" NHK had previously acquired the rights to Malice and The Newcomer, both featuring detectives.
"That's right," Hachiman confirmed. "But this time, the script is a pure episodic drama. There's no connection between the episodes, and it's an orthodox reasoning format."
"Good! Good! This is the safest way," Director Fukunaga said happily. Considering Hachiman had previously written a fine collection of mystery short stories like Disintegration of Various Causes, he had no doubt about his ability to create such scripts. Another advantage of episodic dramas was that the ratings wouldn't plummet due to a single weak storyline; each episode told its own story, so while quality might vary, there wouldn't be a series-wide plot collapse.
"This is a particularly excellent story, Mr. Hachiman," Fukunaga said, his excitement growing. Having worked in the industry for many years, he keenly recognized the potential. "I can practically visualize the scenes and the dialogue in my mind. Please forgive my forwardness, but how many stories like this can you create?" This was a potential long-term meal ticket, as long as Hachiman could keep providing stories.
"Well, the story well will run dry eventually, who knows?" Hachiman said thoughtfully. "I guess I can write at least forty."
"That's enough! Writer Hachiman," Director Fukunaga said happily. "I can't wait to see your next script!" He now felt that not a single yen of the 7.5 million was wasted.
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