Depressive Screenwriter

Everyone at Sakura TV's production department has been treading carefully these past few days.

They can all sense how terrible the mood of the production department head, Yoshitoki Akasaka, is.

After the ratings for 'April' came out on Sunday night, he tore into the producer of 'Scarlet Romance' during the Monday meeting.

'Scarlet Romance' had a higher budget and more promotion than 'April,' and it also had the advantage of airing on Sakura TV at the same time.

However, the result was that its viewership was completely defeated by 'April.' His initial goal in moving 'Scarlet Romance' to Sunday was to undermine 'April's' performance.

Now, the result is completely reversed, making him a laughingstock in the industry.

Not to mention the two dramas being neck and neck for a few weeks before a winner was decided.

'Scarlet Romance' was crushed in the first week.

It's too embarrassing.

And most importantly, it was department head Yoshitoki Akasaka himself who offered his face to be slapped.

"So that idiot, it's hilarious, insisting on moving 'Scarlet Romance' to Sunday night to compete head-on with 'April,' it's such a pig-headed move."

When Aya Sekita talked about this with her people in the production department, she couldn't stop smiling.

"The director is right. Yoshitoki Akasaka just got promoted to department head and needs to stabilize his position and establish authority. He wanted to kill the chicken to scare the monkeys for the industry, but now he's found out he's humiliated himself."

"It's a pity for 'Scarlet Romance.' The drama is actually very good in quality. If it had been broadcast on the originally scheduled Saturday night slot, the premiere ratings might have broken 3.0%, but now it's only at the 2.5% level."

"Small mistakes can accumulate into big blunders. If Yoshitoki Akasaka continues to make such wrong decisions, his subordinates and the TV station's higher-ups will definitely have opinions, and his department head position may not be stable."

Aya Sekita's close confidants spoke one after another.

Aya Sekita's smile grew even wider when she heard this.

Although her situation in the station is more difficult than before, Yoshitoki Akasaka is in a higher position, and his responsibilities are also greater.

He is now primarily responsible for the success or failure of the TV station's productions.

Although Aya Sekita is a Sakura TV employee, seeing Yoshitoki Akasaka being thwarted allows her to briefly abandon her position and mentally support Suyan and her little niece, Ikumi Shinozaki.

She even hopes that for a long time to come, the station's revenue performance will be much lower than during the previous department head's tenure!

Suyan, Qian Shen Li, Yoshitoki Akasaka, Ikumi Shinozaki, and others' grievances were naturally not missed by the gossip news media in Xia Country.

[Summer Season Premiere Ends: Xia Fenghua is Number One in Ratings, 'Your Lie in April' Becomes a Dark Horse of the Summer Season.]

[In the Same Time Slot Competition, 'April's' Ratings Crush 'Scarlet Romance.' Sakura TV's Attempt to Undermine Traitor Suyan Has Become a Complete Joke.]

['Scarlet Romance' May Be the Most Miserable TV Series of the Season. The Word-of-Mouth is Clearly Good, But Unfortunately, It Met 'April,' Which Has Even Better Word-of-Mouth.]

[Among the Summer Season's Premiere TV Dramas, Suyan's New Drama 'April' Once Again Tops the Score.]

['April' Premiere Ratings are Sixth in the Season, Rave Reviews!]

[The Director of the Music Department of Shanghai University Praises 'April'! Calling the Performance Level of the Actors in the Drama Extremely High, This Drama May Help the Broad Masses of Xia Country Understand the Charm of Classical Music.]

[Qian Shen Li's Ranking on the Xia Country Female Star Popularity List Has Re-Entered the Top Ten After a Year, 'Your Lie in April' Has Helped Her Gain Countless Fans.]

[Although the First Episode of 'April' Only Has a Rating of 3.6%, Everyone Understands That Suyan's Dramas Are the Type That Gain Momentum Later. Is It Possible for 'April' to Recreate the Miracle of 'Going to the Moon' a Few Months Ago?]

[Sakura TV Production Department Head Yoshitoki Akasaka's Attempt to Slap His Face Backfires, Lifting a Stone Only to Drop It on His Own Feet.]

The performance of "April" definitely exceeded the initial expectations of many peers.

The fact that "Scarlet Romance" couldn't even compete with "April" even when it was broadcast on Sakura TV already said a lot.

Those media outlets that were pessimistic about Suyan, thinking that Suyan would show his true colors and become mediocre after leaving Sakura TV, suddenly became mute.

On Wednesday, the Aozora TV production department even held a celebration banquet specifically for the premiere performance of "April."

Suyan and a group of key members of the "April" crew were invited to meet and get to know many senior executives of Aozora TV.

Although Suyan is not an employee of Aozora TV, the two sides are, after all, in a cooperative relationship, and the performance of the collaborative work is unexpectedly good.

Even if Aozora TV doesn't have more copyright revenue from the work "April," the senior executives in the TV station also asked Suyan and Ikumi Shinozaki in detail about the difficulties in the shooting process of the drama, some personnel transfers, and some issues in the review of on-location shooting procedures, and expressed that they could use the TV station's connections to help deal with them as soon as possible.

After all, the better the ratings of "April," the more benefits the TV station can reap from other aspects.

The premiere ratings of "April" were already sixth.

If it can advance a few more places later, then the entire Aozora TV production department will definitely receive awards this year.

The "April" crew.

Since the first episode of "April" aired, the crew has received calls from various companies and manufacturers in Xia Country expressing their intention to cooperate.

In the past, the GG implantation fees that Suyan filmed basically had to be handed over to Sakura TV, and only a very small portion could be left in the crew for filming use.

But now.

All of this money belongs to the film and television companies of Suyan and Ikumi Shinozaki.

Although the specific amount has to wait until the episode is broadcast before it is deposited into the company's account, the sum of the GG implantation fees pre-negotiated in the early stage of filming and the GG implantation fees newly negotiated in the past few days has accumulated to several million Xia Country coins.

In addition to the broadcast fee given by Aozora TV.

It can be said that "April" has only aired one episode, and it is estimated that most of its 20 million investment has been recouped.

What's more, the online broadcast platform has not yet been launched.

Suyan, who was calculating the possible revenue range of "April" in the office, was refreshed at this time.

Although being your own boss is tiring and risky, the benefits are self-evident.

"Judging from the current situation, if everything goes smoothly, in the next work, maybe our company's revenue can support our new drama to be filmed and produced according to the standards of an A-level drama," Ikumi Shinozaki said in a light voice as she put down the documents in her hand.

The most feared thing about starting your own business is that the first work flops.

And the premiere performance of "April" compared to its production costs and broadcast platform can definitely be called a hit, and her mood is naturally extremely good.

These well-known producers and screenwriters in Xia Country don't have much capital in their hands. If the first independent work is not successful, then there will basically be no second chance.

On the contrary, being a hard-working employee in a large TV station, as long as you have achieved certain results in the past, even if one or two works flop, the TV station will trust you. At most, the resources will be downgraded, and the investment in A, B, and C-level episodes will continue to decline. If it really can't be reduced any further, they will completely abandon you.

Similarly, any producer, screenwriter, or actor who can be invested in A-level drama resources has also risen all the way up, and eventually when you have a very high reputation in the industry and fan stickiness

When the TV station has sufficient funds, it will even form a luxurious lineup and allocate huge investments to film S-level dramas.

Basically, as soon as that kind of drama is established, the goal is to go for a 5% rating.

"Set the goal a little further... Maybe in the future we can build an S-level drama crew. Not only do we have to win the seasonal ratings championship, but we also have to win the annual ratings championship," Suyan thought for a while and said.

"S-level drama?" Ikumi Shinozaki's expression was a little yearning when she heard this, but she didn't dare to think too much.

"That would require an investment of at least 50 to 60 million or more, to obtain a time slot to broadcast in the golden time period of one of the three major TV stations, and to have an extremely interesting and commercially viable script. Do you think we will have that day?"

"What's impossible... It's up to people to make it happen," Suyan said with a smile.

In the afternoon, at a music hall in Shanghai.

The daily and school scenes of "April" are filmed at the Shanghai Film and Television Base.

However, the music scenes can only be filmed by renting these expensive music halls and hiring a large number of fan extras.

The salary expenditure on the leading and supporting actors in this drama may not be very large, but the expenditure on venue fees and instrument rentals is definitely two or three times higher than that of the same level of romance dramas.

The plot of the fifth episode is the music solo of Arima Kousei, played by Suyan, at the music hall competition site.

The memories and spiritual dialogues with Kaori Miyazono during Arima Kousei's piano playing, and the inner monologues will be interspersed in the later editing.

But Suyan, Qingyuan Gu, and Qian Shen Li's fans who were invited to the scene.

They originally thought that they were just coming to play, meet their idols, and get a cameo shot.

But as a result, they heard a musical performance that they will never forget.

Although the skills given by the system do not involve extraordinary or fantasy powers, these life-based skills often have unexpected effects depending on the mental state of the user, Suyan.

Musical performance often requires someone with a relatively high level of music to understand how outrageous the performances of the masters are.

If you ask someone who is tone-deaf whether Beethoven's music or Two Tigers sounds better, they will most likely choose the latter, because without any sense of music and knowledge accumulation, they will definitely not be able to hear anything.

But Suyan was too invested in the role of Arima Kousei during the afternoon shooting.

The piano playing skills originally customized by the system for the role instead presented an exaggerated performance effect that Suyan did not expect.

Even these extra fans who didn't understand any music knowledge inexplicably felt a sense of inexplicable tears and emotion after hearing Suyan's performance in the filming of this music hall scene.

Suyan's inner emotions when playing these pieces.

For the first time, those tone-deaf extras felt what is called musical resonance.

For the first time, they realized the charm of these classical music.

The playing skills given by the system may not make Suyan the number one pianist, violinist, or Yangzhou player in the Xia Country plane.

But obviously, it will make Suyan's performance effect far exceed that of ordinary professional performers.

His performance will resonate more strongly with the hearts of the audience.

So when this scene passed once

Without the surrounding filming staff reminding them in advance, the extras at the scene collectively applauded and cheered.

"Too strong!"

"I thought that Qian Shen Li was being humble when she said that Teacher Suyan's music level was very high. I didn't expect it to be so outrageous!"

"I'm someone who doesn't understand music and I got goosebumps listening to it."

"I almost burst into tears."

"Is this a musical genius?"

"No wonder Qian Shen Li said that Suyan is a musical genius who was delayed by TV dramas."

"So the effect of listening to a performance live in a music hall is so shocking? I used to watch other people play the piano on TV and didn't feel so excited!"

"Although the effect of listening to a concert live is indeed much better... but Suyan's is an exaggerated level of effect! This performance expression is too strong, he is not a student of the conservatory, really?"

"No wonder Teacher Suyan dares to create a music-themed drama, he not only has some skills! He is a brush factory!"

Outside the camera, Qian Shen Li, Qingyuan Gu, Ikumi Shinozaki, Peihua Shi, Yuan She, Ji Chen, and other important leading and supporting actors in the crew looked at Suyan with changed eyes.

It turned out that the most suitable person for the script role in this drama was not Kaori Miyazono played by Qian Shen Li.

But Arima Kousei played by Suyan!

The piano performance that Suyan just did for several minutes without a single note played wrong and passed once was all recorded by the equipment. When the fifth episode airs, won't the audience's viewing experience after the broadcast directly explode?

No matter how much the script of "April" brags that the protagonist Arima Kousei is a piano genius, it is not as direct as Suyan's performance.

"It's a pity that he didn't study music and became a screenwriter," Peihua Shi said with emotion.

"What else does he know?" Ikumi Shinozaki sighed.

Having worked with Suyan for a year, this person is still a mystery to this day.

These skills that others may not be able to learn in a lifetime, he easily showed them.

Qian Shen Li didn't speak, looking at Suyan who was communicating details with the photographer.

She was really hit hard.

She, who has always prided herself on being a genius, met another genius who completely crushed her in all aspects.

She must be a little uncomfortable in her heart at this time.

"I'm a little curious. What is the performance effect of Emi Igawa that I play presented in the drama?" Qingyuan Gu said softly.

In fact, in the fourth episode, there is a solo plot of Emi Igawa.

But Qingyuan Gu's own piano playing level is only average. She only learned it for a few years before college, and can be considered to have entered the door.

It can only be said that there were no problems with the playing, and the effect of the playing can be heard. Under the wrong camera angles and editing, it is no problem to cut out a heroic Emi Igawa.

But in that scene, the piano dubbing of this character will have to be done by Suyan at that time.

If the dubbing also has a similar effect to Suyan's scene, then this drama will definitely be full of topics starting from the fourth episode.

After all, to set off how powerful the protagonist Arima Kousei is.

The level of the opponent character Emi Igawa cannot be weak either.

No one knows the answer to Qingyuan Gu's words.

Everyone's hearts are actually drifting to another place now.

I thought it was a musical youth romance drama, and the focus was on youth romance.

But now it seems that this drama will not eventually become a benchmark for Xia Country musicals, right?

Soon, it was the weekend again.

From Friday to Saturday, the second episodes of "Summer Rhapsody," "Hope Seeker," and "Singles" concluded their broadcasts with viewership ratings of 4.42%, 4.23%, and 4.03%, respectively.

With this, all four A-tier dramas in the summer lineup have surpassed the 4% viewership mark.

Meanwhile, the second episode of the B-tier fantasy drama "Words of Power," which premiered on Friday on Shanghai TV with a total investment of 30 million, also saw a slight increase in viewership, closing at 3.79%.

This result brought a sigh of relief to the "Words of Power" crew, whose viewership rating of 3.70% last week ranked fifth for the season.

A full 0.1% higher than the 3.69% of the first episode in April. With this trend, they should be secure in the second week of the summer season, right?

No matter how amazing Su Yan's dramas are, they always gain momentum later. Could he possibly achieve such a huge leap in viewership from the second episode to the first?

"April"'s viewership this week should not exceed "Words of Power."

However, by this point, the media in Xia Country had recognized the high quality of this season's dramas.

The second episodes of the top-rated dramas all saw slight increases in viewership.

Unsurprisingly, the viewership ratings for Sakura TV's "The Simplest Love," "Scarlet Romance," and Qingkong TV's "April is Your Lie" which are premiering tonight, are also expected to rise.

"The Simplest Love"'s viewership rating was slightly lower than "Summer Rhapsody" last week. Whether it has a chance to surpass the latter in subsequent viewership ratings depends heavily on the viewership performance and word-of-mouth for this week's second episode.

As for "April"...

The media and fans are hoping that its second episode can surpass "Words of Power" and advance to fifth place in viewership rankings.

If that happens, "April" will officially become the best-performing B-tier drama that premiered in the summer season.

Even if "April" doesn't advance any further in the viewership rankings and finishes the broadcast with a fifth-place rating, it would still be an absolutely brilliant achievement for Su Yan.

Isn't it normal for a B-tier drama to be unable to beat an A-tier drama?

It's impossible to ignore objective conditions and assume that Su Yan's new drama can still dominate everything just because his previous two dramas had outstanding performances, right?

Even if "April"'s performance stops at fifth place for the season, the media will definitely not question Su Yan's ability because of it.

In the evening, the second episode of "The Simplest Love" premiered.

As with last week, it received rave reviews, and the plot was even more interesting than the first episode.

After the broadcast, Sakura Online was flooded with discussions about the love triangle storyline of the main characters.

As for Xie Lu, without any hesitation, she switched the TV channel to Qingkong TV.

For her, the main course tonight was "April," and Sakura TV's "The Simplest Love" was just an appetizer.

As for "Scarlet Romance," which premiered in the same time slot...

Xie Lu could only say, "Good luck to it."

Su Yan's fans migrated from Sakura Online to Raccoon Online.

Here, the online broadcast of the first episode of "April is Your Lie" had been online for a day, and in just one day, the paid viewership exceeded two million.

After all, many viewers would choose to rewatch and listen to Kaori Miyazono's violin performance in the first episode.

"Su Yan's dramas are always like this, you only get the deepest touch on the second watch! I wonder if there are any foreshadowing elements buried in the first episode's plot?"

Xie Lu closed her laptop, no longer paying attention to the commotion and discussions among "April" fans in the web comment section before the second episode premiered.

After all, the time had come.

The lively and melodious theme song of "April is Your Lie" began.

Xie Lu instantly got into the mood.

The story picks up where the last episode left off, with the female lead, Kaori Miyazono, dragging the male lead, "Friend A," to a pastry shop to eat.

What she meant by "substituting" in the last episode was just accompanying her shopping.

Kousei Arima improvises piano accompaniment for some children at the pastry shop, but stops abruptly halfway through.

Because of this, Kaori knows that he can no longer play the piano due to psychological reasons.

If he forces himself to go on stage to compete, he will not be able to hear the notes he is playing in less than a minute. His ears and eyes will experience auditory and visual hallucinations due to mental stress.

But it is precisely because of this...

That Kaori is angry.

In this city, everyone of the same age who studies music knows Kousei Arima. But such a musical genius, who everyone pursues, has a mental breakdown and gives up music just because his mother died.

[Okay, it's decided. I appoint you as my accompanist. Because of a listener's recommendation, I have to perform in the second preliminary round, so you will be my piano accompanist!] Kaori Miyazono said, pointing at Kousei Arima with a smile.

Xie Lu and a group of viewers had already guessed this plot when the first episode aired.

After all, Kaori messed up her own piano accompaniment so badly in the first round.

And it just so happens that the male lead has such a background.

Just...

Although she guessed the general direction of the plot development, Xie Lu was still very moved by the process.

The plot of "April" is not complicated at all.

But the reason why this uncomplicated plot is called a tearjerker in Su Yan's previous life is the depiction of the characters' inner selves.

These inner monologues, which often last for more than a minute, dissect the most detailed and sensitive parts of the characters' hearts. It is even praised by fans as a work where watching the anime is like reading the male lead's inner monologue as a composition.

In Su Yan's previous life, only another romance anime, "Kimi ni Todoke," could rival it in terms of the delicacy of character shaping.

But it is precisely because of these inner monologues that the audience's sense of immersion is so strong, and they feel a sense of empathy and emotion for the characters of Kousei Arima and Kaori Miyazono.

Even though Kousei Arima refused in every possible way, and even bluntly said that he would ruin her music competition as soon as he went on stage, Kaori still decided on this matter on her own.

[I appoint you, Friend A, as my accompanist. This matter is decided!]

"What a willful female lead!" Xie Lu breathed a long sigh.

"However, that's what someone with her personality would do."

The plot of the second episode so far is in line with Xie Lu's expectations.

The obvious plot line of this drama is these competitions about music, and campus life is a transitional plot.

The hidden main plot is the male lead Kousei Arima's inner redemption.

His childhood trauma, the psychological trauma of not being able to play the piano after his mother's death.

When he can play the piano again without obstacles, the male lead will also have completed his inner growth. Of course, he will definitely build a deep relationship with Kaori Miyazono in the process, and eventually become lovers.

"Hmm, not bad, I like the direction of the plot." A smile appeared on Xie Lu's lips.