Chapter 294: Kanto's Investigation
Ryo and Daichi also arrived at the Cultural Plaza.
"There are a lot of people, but it's simpler than I thought."
Daichi observed the crowd in the plaza. The influx of people surprised him, but some of the shops and facilities disappointed him.
The shops are very simple. Most are just a huge umbrella with some tables and chairs underneath. Some sell things in this simple environment. It's just a temporary market.
"I think it's fine..."
But Ryo accepted it, "This is originally a plaza. It's impossible to expect it to be like a shopping street... And there are many places to rest. Hinotori Publishing has done a good job."
Although the shops are simple, each has a special place to rest, and Ryo also saw several large rest areas in the distance. In the middle of summer, having a place to shelter from the sun is enough.
"Come on, don't forget our mission."
Ryo accompanied Daichi. They came here to investigate the situation of the celebration. Seventy percent of the activities of this celebration were organized by the readers, a very important fact.
"But speaking of which, I feel like this place is more like a food street!"
Ryo said. He discovered that although there were many shops, most sold drinks and food. "Does this food have anything to do with manga?"
"I think so, just a moment..."
Daichi turned around, bought two ice cream cones, handed one to Ryo, and said, "Look."
Ryo took it curiously and saw that the cone was decorated with a yellow face, "Is this... Pikachu?"
"Yes, the Minister knows it too." Daichi nodded and then pointed to the side, "Pikachu is very popular, look at that balloon, it's also shaped like Pikachu."
Ryo looked and saw a child holding a balloon, and the shape of the balloon was exactly that of a yellow Pikachu. Moreover, if you look further, you can see many people holding balloons of different elves.
"I see... this is also possible." Ryo looked at the ice cream in his hand. Deep down, he understood that everything there had some creativity inspired by manga.
"Do you want to write it down?"
Daichi asked.
"Write it down,"
Ryo replied, and continued walking while eating the ice cream. He saw a very crowded area. There seemed to be several manga shops. Many people were coming out with manga.
"Haven't I seen those manga before?" Ryo asked, frowning. He wasn't impressed by the manga in those people's hands. "And the quality of the pages isn't very good."
"It's a fan comic,"
Daichi replied. As a manga editor-in-chief, he was somewhat excited, "Minister, maybe we can find new mangakas here. You go to other places first. I want to see these manga."
Fan comics?
Ryo was a little surprised. It's not that he hadn't heard of fan comics, but this area is very crowded. It's much livelier than those places for eating. Are fan comics so valuable?
"Go take a look..."
Since there were so many people, Ryo didn't want to go. He agreed with Daichi's suggestion and they both acted separately. Ryo went ahead and saw more interesting shops.
Selling manga items, food, clothes, pillows, etc., this place is like a commercial experiment...
"Mirai-sensei. Does he want to..."
Ryo was worried. He felt more and more that this place was not a celebration, but a commercial testing ground. This place reminded him of the movie street in Tokyo; although it was only a prototype, it felt very similar.
Could it be that Mirai-sensei planned to build a real "manga street" or "manga city"? Seeing the vitality of this plaza, Mirai-sensei's appeal was so strong that it seemed he could really achieve it.
"Did we underestimate his ambition?"
Ryo thought. They always knew that Mirai-sensei was exploring the business opportunities of manga, but they didn't think he would reach the top in a single step. He would implement drastic reforms in reality.
But if he did, Mirai-sensei's manga street would become a "manga holy site" and his influence would increase enormously.
"No...! It's not that easy to succeed!"
Ryo shook his head. In fact, Mirai-sensei is the only one in Japan capable of building a manga street right now. He is the symbol of the Japanese manga industry. Without his participation, the manga street built by others could not achieve authority.
And if Mirai-sensei founded it personally, he could make a difference even without anyone else's participation. Especially if this celebration concluded successfully, many local governments would surely be aware of the possibility of the manga street. They would be willing to support Mirai-sensei.
The problem is that it's very difficult to build such a street. It requires not only a great economy and comprehensive strength, but also contacts. Hinotori Publishing does not have this capacity at the moment.
"I must be overthinking it..."
Thinking that Hinotori Publishing hadn't even reached its most basic point of strength, Ryo breathed a sigh of relief. Mirai-sensei's pace couldn't be that fast. The expansion in Japan consumed a large part of Hinotori's funds, and then it would go to Suhua. In a year, Mirai-sensei couldn't establish a manga street.
And with the current pace of development of the Japanese manga industry, in a year, the entire market will be booming. Even if Mirai-sensei remains the first, Kanto Manga Company will also be qualified to establish its own manga street.
They all have this economic capacity now, but it's very embarrassing that their headquarters are located in Osaka. If Mirai-sensei does not participate, the manga street will not be recognized by readers.
"In short... he should leave soon."
Ryo concluded that his influence in Osaka has increased a lot this year. If Mirai-sensei leaves for a while, Osaka will completely become Kanto's territory.
An hour later, Ryo and Daichi met in the rest area.
"How about it, Minister? There's a lot of activity everywhere!"
Daichi asked.
"Well, order is maintained very well. I just found someone causing trouble and a group of girls came to mediate." Ryo said with surprise, "Letting girls mediate is a good idea, I don't know who came up with it."
"Who knows, Minister, I found some new mangakas, but they've all been hired by Hinotori Publishing..." Daichi, a little regretful, added, "And I've confirmed that those fan works that are sold are very popular, and they're simply scarce. Mirai-sensei's celebration this time must be a success."
"That's right. In terms of business, it should be a success."
Ryo nodded. There are many tourists at the celebration, and every shop can generate income. Mirai-sensei has done a good job in this regard. If there is another celebration next time, it is estimated that his readers will be more enthusiastic and participate in spontaneous activities.
"Those who opened shops should have benefited the most from this celebration..."
Ryo said.
"No! Minister, Hinotori Publishing also has shops. They sell genuine peripheral products, and the shops are even more popular..."
Daichi said, pulling out a fan. He explained, "This is the fan I bought when I passed by the Inuyasha flagship store. It costs 1400 yen. I queued for three minutes before I could buy it!"
"1400 yen?"
Ryo asked, taking the fan and examining it from top to bottom. This fan was not very different from the usual 400 or 600 yen fans. Simply, when opened, you could see the Inuyasha poster and the Hinotori Publishing logo. Just like that, the price doubled?
"The cheapest items are celebrity photos and bookmarks. They cost 80 or 100 yen, while the more expensive weapon models and clothing cost 12,000 or 14,000 yen..."
Daichi said solemnly. "I've heard that every work of Mirai-sensei has a flagship store. Inuyasha should be a relatively well-known work, but it's crowded, not to mention other stores." "
Hinotori Publishing rented the Cultural Plaza at a very high price, but I think they can recover the money by selling accessories."
Ryo's eyes widened.
"Impossible. That lively?" he said hastily. "Take me to take a look."
Daichi wiped his sweat.
"Let's finish eating first, okay?" "It's almost noon and people haven't gone down at all. There won't be room in a while."
It was almost 11:30, but the people in the plaza had not decreased. There were long queues outside many shops. Daichi and Ryo searched for a long time, but couldn't find a place to sit and eat. They could only pack up and return to the rest area.
There were also many people eating there. It seemed to be very full and there were no seats.
"Forget about sitting on the floor. I hope there are fewer people in the afternoon."
Ryo took a newspaper and sat on the floor. He said while eating fried noodles:
"Me too."
Daichi attended to them. Neither of them would leave so early, "Mirai-sensei won't appear until night. I don't know what time it is."
"Are you also waiting for Mirai-sensei?"
Daichi had just finished speaking when the young man next to him said excitedly, "Us too. There are so many people here. It's too tiring to walk. What do you think if we play cards here together this afternoon?"
He also brought a companion and looked at them with anticipation.
"No, we still have things to do this afternoon."
Daichi refused immediately. Although playing cards is a good way to kill time, he and Ryo still have a lot to see. There was no activity this morning, but it will gradually pick up in the afternoon.
Several stages have been built in the cultural plaza. Starting in the afternoon, some fan groups will perform on them. They want to go see it.
"Oh, forget it then."
The young man felt a little sorry and then spoke to other people.
Ryo and Daichi were eating. They felt that the rest area was very noisy. Everyone was talking animatedly about manga.
"Have you seen the latest episode of Gundam SEED?"
"Yes. The original heroine finally appears, and she's an idol... I like this atmosphere!"
"The protagonist can pick up an idol while picking up trash. But, by the way, I heard that the voice actress for Lacus will appear tonight. Do you know who she is?"
"Hey, I know. The voice actress for Lacus is Miss Yumi. She's very beautiful."
"Damn, Yumi? Isn't she the voice actress for Miss Joy?"
Hearing these conversations, Daichi and Ryo felt that the food seemed a little bland.
"Daichi... Gundam SEED has only been on the market for two months, right?"
"Yes,"
Daichi nodded, with a suddenly somewhat embarrassed expression, "Our animations are not very popular, but Mirai-sensei's second part is popular again. My wife has also been watching Gundam SEED lately. She said it's like a romantic drama."
Ryo's face cooled.
"Mirai-sensei is good at everything. The other day, Reina recommended Gundam SEED on Twitter. Do you know what's wrong?"
He suddenly remembered something unpleasant.
"Reina debuted as a writer of romantic and idol novels, and I think this work should be up her alley." Daichi commented, "The plot of Gundam SEED has an idol drama feel: friendship, love, war, and complex interpersonal relationships... It fits the hobbies of today's young people." "
Reina's recommendation of Gundam SEED on Twitter shouldn't have any special meaning; the minister doesn't have to take it to heart... He's a mangaka, and I think respecting opponents is a great step forward."
Ryo fell silent. In fact, compared to blind hostility, it is more valuable to cultivate mangakas capable of objectively analyzing the advantages of their opponents.
"You're right."
He stopped thinking about it, took a break after eating, and then began the afternoon tour with Daichi.
The content of the afternoon was much more interesting than that of the morning. There were plays, cosplay and singing contests, as well as awards, entertainment activities, etc.
These activities organized by the readers greatly surprised Ryo, but he was not satisfied. In the evening, when the entire venue was filled with lights, the official stage lit up.
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