Shinji: Country Bumpkin Saintess, You're Up!

But judging from what Chloe is saying, film critics are actually quite satisfied with Matou Sakura Heaven's Feel!?

He did offer a few words of praise.

Chloe seemed to find Artoria's glaring, displeased expression quite amusing.

She smiled indulgently and resumed reading the newspaper.

[HF is a fantasy story about loneliness and love, and what allows the audience to feel these emotions is the hard work and dedication of the actors.]

Although the actors playing Shinji Matou still fall short of the average level in the film and television industry, they really tried very hard this time to break free from their previous stereotypes.

[Especially the Acting Skills of the female lead Matou Sakura; I originally thought that with her as the female lead, she would repeat the tragedy of <The Godfather Part III>.]

[As it turns out, I was wrong; this Matou Sakura is a perfect match for the character [Matou Sakura] in the story.]

[She was that insecure little girl, constantly filled with anxiety.]

[She was that lonely little girl who always longed for love.]

[She was that little girl who, because of her family's malice, ultimately gave up on herself...]

Having read this far, Chloe put down the newspaper and gave Artoria a half-smile.

See, he only offered a few words of praise.

Miss Lizzie's smug look seemed to convey this meaning.

However, before Artoria erupted, Chloe took the initiative to comfort and soothe her, saying, "Don't be too angry."

As a veteran in the film and television industry, Chloe spoke from experience, "Film critics are always more lenient towards underage actors. This is what they call a manifestation of human kindness."

Film critics are a very strange group. What they enjoy most is seeing handsome men and beautiful women make themselves look ugly on screen to please themselves; they believe this is a demonstration of Acting Skills.

But sometimes, film critics can be very "human."

More accurately, in order to become "moral exemplars," film critics often show concern for the disadvantaged.

That's why people in the industry often say: the best way to win an award is to get pregnant or to die.

Aside from pregnant women and deceased actors, underage actors are also a vulnerable group that film critics tend to pay attention to.

Matou Sakura just barely crossed that age line this year; in another year, she won't have this privilege anymore.

"Cut."

Artoria lay on the table and complained, "My body is that of an eternal young girl, so why don't I get this kind of preferential treatment?"

Chloe retorted, "You were middle-aged when you died, weren't you? Don't try to act young!"

"Hello!"

Artoria, whose sore spot had been touched, couldn't help but protest.

"I'm actually quite curious," Chloe asked with a light laugh, "When you're with Shinji, is your attitude based on your biological age or your actual age?"

"Chloe."

Artoria retorted, dissatisfied, "I think Master made a very apt analogy. He said gossip is like toilet paper."

"What? You use it and then throw it away?"

Stop talking nonsense.

"..."

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Shinji himself naturally saw the film review praising Sakura, but he didn't say much about it, only verbally congratulating his sister.

Just kidding, you can't expect a film critic to praise Shinji change the plan to make Sakura the protagonist of Fate/kaleid liner Prisma Illya or Fate/Apocrypha, can you?

Leaving aside whether Sakura has the appeal to be Lead Actor, this idea itself is highly improbable.

If the Lead Actor in <Fate/kaleid liner Prisma Illya> were changed to Illya and Sakura, then this tokusatsu series would probably be called a remake of Heaven's Feel by fans, the second installment of the battle between the two Holy Grails for Heroic Spirit.

Especially the yuri-esque interactions between Illya Miyu later on...

Tsk tsk.

"Anyway, I think it's not a good idea to have Sakura and Illya act opposite each other. It might break the immersion for original Fate fans."

"Brother Shinji, can't you think of something better?"

Kazuo Tsuburaya adjusted his glasses with his hand, his forehead covered in black lines.

"Is this kind of storyline, where underage girls are sticking to each other, something kids watch on children's channels on weekend mornings?"

"Why not?"

Shinji crossed his arms and retorted, "I'm making a positive and uplifting Tokusatsu about the bonds and friendships between girls, okay?!"

"Ah, bonds and friendship..."

Kazuo Tsuburaya picked up the first draft of the script outline for <Fate/kaleid liner Prisma Illya> without saying a word. In the first act of the first episode, it read:

Have Tohsaka Rin and Luviya Edelfelt fight while dressed as Magical Girl characters, the more intense the fight, the better.

Chapter 187 Shinji: Village Girl Saintess, I Choose You!

[Boss, is your so-called friendship just two women dressed in shameful clothing fighting each other?]

Kazuo Tsuburaya put down the proposal, took off his glasses, and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Shinji, I think it would be good to have your sister, Matou Sakura, try out for the Lead Actor. After all, she just received praise from foreign media and is quite popular."

"The Lead Actor?"

Shinji was a bit speechless. There are only a few main characters in <Fate/kaleid liner Prisma Illya>, and each one is assigned a specific role. Apart from Miyu, there aren't many other characters.

As for casting Sakura as Miyu... hehe.

Although there were many reskinned characters in the previous Fate series, Shinji will definitely use various reskinned characters in the future.

However, Shinji doesn't intend to mess things up with some characters, such as Miyu and Sakura.

"I've already said, Sakura isn't suitable to play Miyu; she's too old."

In fact, using Gilgamesh's Rejuvenation drug could reduce Sakura's age, but Shinji doesn't intend to tell Kazuo Tsuburaya.

To everyone's surprise, Kazuo Tsuburaya said directly, "I meant, why not just let Sakura play the lead role? Anyway, the official promotion hasn't even started yet, so why not just change it to <Magical Girl Matou Sakura>?"

What!?

Shinji immediately embarrassed.

When it comes to Type-Moon Magical Girl, Illya Miyu are naturally the first to come to mind, followed by the True Magic grandma Tohsaka Rin and Luviya, and then Kouhaku and Princess from Tsukihime.

Sakura becomes Magical Girl...

Putting aside the possibility that dressing Sakura in an embarrassing cosplay outfit might land Shinji in the ICU due to domestic violence, the "Magical Girl" attribute itself is completely incompatible with Sakura, isn't it?

"Sakura is more suited to be Witch, not Magical Girl..."

Shinji shook his head, not revealing his true feelings.

"I'm sorry, but I think the cast I've given you is perfect, and there's nothing to change."

Shinji's words did not convince Kazuo Tsuburaya. He frowned and said, "Is the actress who plays Illya really suitable for the Lead Actor? Her performances in several Fate works were not outstanding. If it weren't for the advantage of her young age, her performances would only be considered amateurish."

Actually, as a child actress, Illya's performance was already quite good.

The main reason Kazuo Tsuburaya rejected Illya was because he felt the girl was too young.

Children and animals are always the most difficult to manage on set, and casting a bunch of young girls as Lead Actor can easily delay the filming schedule.

However, the cast of <Fate/kaleid liner Prisma Illya> was personally assigned to me by Shinji Matou, so it wouldn't be appropriate to directly refute it.

That's why Kazuo Tsuburaya thought of using Shinji's sister instead of Illya.

Kazuo Tsuburaya originally thought that Shinji would agree to the proposal in order to promote his sister, but he did not expect that Shinji would refuse so decisively.

[Why are you so insistent on that little girl named Illya? Who's your sister anyway? Wait, could it be because of that girl...?]

What nonsense are you thinking about?

Seeing that Kazuo Tsuburaya was looking at him strangely, Shinji asked coldly.

"Nothing, nothing at all."

Kazuo Tsuburaya quickly denied it; he didn't want to be kicked out of the company because of such a trivial matter.

He's joking, he doesn't want to get involved in this kind of mess.

However, Kazuo Tsuburaya hesitated one last time. "Is it really appropriate to cast a German-born little girl as the lead in Japanese Tokusatsu drama about Magical Girl?"

Shinji didn't know why Kazuo Tsuburaya was so insistent, but he had his own methods.

"Don't worry, I won't joke about this show. I'll prove it with facts."

"What facts?"

"Official makeup photos. And they weren't taken by your company's makeup artist."

Thinking of the genius makeup artist that Tsuburaya Productions hired from the foot massage parlor, Shinji quickly added.

"..."

Kazuo Tsuburaya responded: Thank you, I feel like I've been subtly insulted.

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As a company grows older, some quirky or unusual things can become part of its traditional culture.

For Tsuburaya Productions, what was passed down from Tsuburaya Eiji, besides the bizarre state of Japan society, was the family tradition of foot massage parlor makeup artists.

Starting with the Original Ultraman, Tsuburaya Productions' makeup artists have shown audiences what standard death makeup looks like.

Since women in the Showa era preferred lighter makeup, the actresses were not overly "enhanced" by the makeup artists and maintained their high level of beauty.

This special makeup treatment is only enjoyed when occasionally playing foreign actors or in roles required by the plot.

However, after the turn of the new millennium, Tsuburaya's makeup artists no longer limited themselves to tormenting supporting actors, but began to extend their mischievous hands to the Lead Actor.

The makeup artists at Tsuburaya Productions are truly amazing. Even after buying Tsuburaya Productions, Shinji still couldn't figure out what was going on with the company's makeup artists.

The male actors all look fine with makeup, but the female actors are all kinds of weird.

If it weren't for Japan's unique workplace environment, Shinji really wanted to fire all of them or send them back to school to relearn their skills.

Kazuo Tsuburaya eventually returned with the project plan.

He was still somewhat uneasy, but he knew that this was probably the case.

Shinji Matou has always been incredibly assertive; the so-called official photos are nothing more than empty words in Kazuo Tsuburaya's eyes.

Shinji didn't care what Kazuo Tsuburaya thought; he was more concerned about what the TV station thought.

Since it's a show intended for all the children in Japan, if the TV station really rejects the <Magic 1> project on the grounds of child pornography, Shinji can't do anything about it.

It shouldn't be too difficult. The amendment is still nowhere in sight, but given Shinji's previous achievements, the TV station probably won't refuse.

There was nothing Shinji could do if he refused; he could only throw all the Heroic Spirit he had in front of the camera to act in Carnival Phantasm.

Anyway, as long as it makes the kids happy, that's fine. Thinking about it that way, having the Heroic Spirit collectively act silly in front of the camera seems like a good option.

However, regardless of the television station's response, preparations for <Fate/kaleid liner Prisma Illya> will come to an end.

Shinji's focus has now temporarily shifted to another, more important project—Fate/Apocrypha.

"This movie should be released before the end of 2007 without any problem!"

Shinji appeared very confident in front of Chloe, the representative of the publisher.

"If all goes well, it could be released during the summer of 2007."

Shinji is more optimistic about the summer season than the year-end release window.

After all, FA is a true 3D blockbuster, and the closer it gets to the release date of <Super 8>, which is about to set off a 3D craze, the better.

Even if Shinji is confident that he can adapt Fate/Apocrypha into a decent popcorn movie, it will still just be a decent popcorn movie.

As his first work that was so drastically altered that even Higashide Kazue, the original author's mother, wouldn't recognize it, Shinji felt it was better to be conservative.

Unlike a legendary film like Titanic, which can completely disregard release dates, Shinji naturally felt that having both buzz and a release date was a safer bet.

In any case, Shinji has no intention of creating trouble for himself by trying to replicate the box office success of Titanic and Avatar with a film released at the end of the year.