Chapter 288: Manga Paradise Crumbles
A bowl of noodles, a fried egg, and a glass of milk made up the breakfast Takumi had set on the table. He took off his scarf and hung it in the kitchen. Then, he sat at the table, turned on the television, and ate while watching TV.
"...Reporter Miyata Huimei reporting to you!"
As soon as he turned on the TV, Takumi heard a crisp female voice. He bit into the fried egg, looked at the screen, and a hint of surprise crossed his face.
"Good morning, everyone. I'm at the headquarters of the Manga Paradise Company..."
The television was broadcasting live news. A beautiful reporter held a microphone and spoke in front of the camera, surrounded by many other reporters with cameras and microphones.
These reporters gathered at the entrance of a building. Takumi saw the name engraved on the wall. It turned out to be the headquarters of Manga Paradise. Why were there so many reporters there?
"Did Ryuji have an accident?"
Takumi suspected, but then thought that if Ryuji had been in an accident, the journalists should go to the hospital for interviews first.
He continued reading while eating noodles. He frowned slightly, and his expression gradually softened. It turned out that Manga Paradise had held a press conference last night to blame the mangakas.
The press conference took place after Tokyo TV's interview with Takumi. Manga Paradise didn't seem to realize what he was saying and ended up walking right into the trap.
"They're digging their own grave..."
Takumi thought. Manga Paradise was too impatient this time and was courting disaster. The most tragic thing is that some mangakas broke the news at the press conference.
Manga Paradise used 100 million yen to bribe the mangakas to take the blame. Once this happened, the reputation of the company and those mangakas was practically ruined.
Takumi shook his head. Manga Paradise's reputation was ruined, and it was difficult to continue developing. He turned off the television and calmly finished his noodles. Then he arrived at Tsuki Animation Company for work.
"President, good news!"
"Manga Paradise is in an unprecedented crisis of confidence. They're finally finished!"
As soon as he entered the office, Eiji Takashima and Akiko entered excitedly. They both handed Takumi some newspapers. Takumi skimmed through them and found that they all contained reports on the Manga Paradise crisis.
"President, I admire you so much. You see, all these newspapers praise you, and the entire article is full of sarcasm and mockery towards Manga Paradise. It's so exciting!"
"Yes, President, I've heard that the president of Manga Paradise, Ryuji, is also in the hospital. Manga Paradise is in chaos. The board of directors is meeting and has to present a new president." The one who
spoke from behind was Akiko. Takumi was a little stunned to hear this, "Is Manga Paradise going to introduce a new president? Is this news reliable?"
"Totally reliable!" Akiko smiled and said, "Ryuji is still in a coma, and Manga Paradise is in crisis again. Of course, a new president must be chosen to manage the situation." "
New president..."
Takumi frowned slightly and waved his hand, "I know, you can go to work first!"
After the couple left, Takumi got up. After taking a few steps in the office, he contemplated the prosperous scene outside through the reinforced glass window.
"Ryuji has a heart condition, Manga Paradise shouldn't do anything too extreme... But if that's the case, it will be problematic..."
He reflected for a moment, then returned to his desk and called the central office in Osaka.
In the following days, Manga Paradise continued to receive criticism and condemnation from the outside world. After a long board meeting, Manga Paradise proposed a solution that satisfied the shareholders:
"In a few days, Mr. Nohara Jun will assume the presidency of the company."
That day, Miyazawa Taro heard this sentence in the vice president's office. He was shocked, "Nohara Jun? How is that possible? Why him?"
Many people at Manga Paradise know Nohara Jun. In a word, he's a young man from a good family; bluntly put, an ignorant playboy. If they hand Manga Paradise over to him, won't he lead it to ruin?
"No way. Who told him he was the only son of the main shareholder?" The vice president shook his head and sighed, "Our company is in crisis, performance has dropped drastically, and the capital chain could break at any moment. Only the main shareholder, Mr. Nohara, can solve this problem." Manga Paradise
faces many external threats and can only allow the shareholders' children to be presidents to attract a large amount of funds and have the opportunity to regroup.
But Taro Miyazawa didn't like this Jun Nohara. The next day, Jun Nohara, who had not yet taken office, arrived at the Manga Paradise headquarters and openly occupied the president's office. He also spoke frivolously with the secretary.
Taro Miyazawa suppressed his anger and asked, "President Nohara, there are voices all over society denouncing the company now. How can we resolve this crisis?"
"Crisis? It's easy... Just shift the blame for Mobile Suit onto others." Jun Nohara crossed his legs and said with a relaxed air, "As long as we shift the blame onto others and minimize our losses, and then let my father keep the money, Manga Paradise will rise immediately!"
"Shift the blame onto others? No... This method can't be used anymore. Those mangakas..."
"Aren't there better people?" Taro Miyazawa was impatiently interrupted by Jun Nohara. The handsome playboy said, "My father's original agent, the guy who's in the hospital, pin all the blame on him."
"Isn't he the former president of Manga Paradise? Say he did everything wrong. I'm the new president, the messenger of justice. I came here to eradicate the cancer of Manga Paradise and make Manga Paradise flourish again..."
Nohara Jun looked proud, "I'll also take care of Mirai-sensei, that boy."
Miyazawa Taro was stunned and turned pale, "Are you referring to President Ryuji? Do you want to blame him for everything?"
It's undeniably a good idea. Ryuji is the president of Manga Paradise. Blaming him can have an immediate effect. Although it's impossible to completely save Manga Paradise's situation, at least there's no problem in maintaining the base.
And with Jun Nohara's financial support, it won't be very difficult for Manga Paradise to resurface, but...
"President Ryuji has a heart condition! President Nohara, you can't do this. If you do, if President Ryuji finds out, he'll be furious!" Miyazawa Taro exclaimed, panicked. Ryuji has been hospitalized and cannot bear another blow.
"What are you afraid of? That he won't find out?"
Jun Nohara didn't believe it. He waved his hand and said, "Come on, go down to work! Let that secretary in! Ryuji's matter is already decided. Don't let him find out. Wait until he's discharged before telling him..."
Miyazawa Taro took two steps back. He looked grim. It sounds good, but can he hide it? Even if he hides it temporarily, Ryuji will undoubtedly get sick and be hospitalized again after receiving the news after being discharged.
Cruel, this action is truly cruel...
A few days later, Manga Paradise issued a statement. The former president of the company, Ryuji, was fired for leading the Mobile Suit problem. Manga Paradise assured all readers in Japan that the new president, Nohara Jun, would transform the atmosphere of Manga Paradise and build a conscientious company.
After several weeks of turmoil, the Manga Paradise crisis eased.
However, even so. Now the market value of Manga Paradise has fallen to a third of what it was a month ago, and there is still great suspicion about them in society.
When Takumi saw the new announcement, his premonition, unfortunately, came true. The new president of Manga Paradise blamed others, and his behavior was almost the same as his predecessor's.
If such an enemy is allowed to emerge, another annoying problem will be generated...
"Let's make a quick decision..."
In early July, Manga Paradise held a grand banquet. The new president of the company, Nohara Jun, officially took office today. His arrival brought hundreds of millions of dollars, and the management of Manga Paradise was delighted.
At the banquet, the lights shone, and the celebrities and nobility were splendidly dressed. Nohara Jun was the true host today. He felt unprecedentedly flattered.
Beautiful noble ladies surrounded him, competing for the favor of this promising new president. Jun Nohara stood among the flowers with his eyes half-closed, feeling that he had never been so happy before.
"That Mirai-sensei is a slob, how can he compare to me?"
he thought. Lately, the media often compared him to Mirai-sensei, and many said that Mirai-sensei was better than him, which left Jun Nohara very dissatisfied. To him, Mirai-sensei was a slob. Jun
Nohara saw the video of Mirai-sensei's interview. What a poor guy! None of the clothes he wears are top brand. He doesn't look like a high-class person at all.
But who considers him a commoner!
"If that kind of person shows up at my party, I'm sure everyone will laugh at him." Jun Nohara looked down on Mirai-sensei. That guy has no taste at all. The servants at the party dress better than Mirai-sensei.
"Dears, the next time I defeat Mirai-sensei, I'll bring him here and make him shine my shoes!"
Jun Nohara, flattered by the women surrounding him, couldn't help but brag. But he was only proud of that night. On the second day of taking office, before he could calm down, several department heads suddenly approached.
"President, dozens of painters and programmers from the animation department have resigned and joined Tsuki Animation Company!"
"President, Tsuki Animation Company wants to help Hinotori Publishing expand its manga business and recruit mangakas in Japan. Some editors and mangakas from our manga editing department have resigned!"
"President, something bad has happened! Booksellers who collaborate with us in various places have signed new contracts with Tsuki Animation Company. They will sell Weekly Shōnen and Weekly Shōjo Manga. We can no longer monopolize the manga distribution!"
Hearing these reports, Jun Nohara felt as if a bucket of cold water had been poured on his head, and his mouth opened in an O-shape.
"Shit...! What, what's wrong!"
He stood up in a panic. No matter how stupid he was, Jun Nohara understood that the matter was very serious.
However, no one answered him. Several department heads looked at each other in surprise.
"President, we also want to resign."
A supervisor stood up and said, "Tsuki Animation Company has contacted us."
"We don't want the outside world to question us anymore. Manga Paradise has a bad reputation... Besides, we don't want to become abandoned children one day like President Ryuji and Mr. Hiroki..."
Nohara Jun was stunned...
At that moment, Takumi was sitting on the plane bound for Osaka. While reading a magazine, he sighed, "The new president of Manga Paradise is too slow to react. I've been recruiting people for a week, but he didn't notice."
A helpless man became president... Manga Paradise crumbled!
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