Shinji: Tohsaka Rin Pays Tribute to Ultraman Max. I Like It. (Thumbs Up) / Everyone's Showing Off, Whether Human or Ghost-Only Shirou's Getting Beaten Up

"We deliberately didn't use Magecraft during filming, just so we could have saved it for today's appreciation event."

Shinji smiled wickedly as he watched Akiha acting cute next to Luviya: "Ready to accept the real world, Tono Akiha?"

Medusa behind him said disdainfully, "Master, your smile is disgusting."

Chapter 193 Shinji: Tohsaka Rin pays homage to Ultraman Max, I love it (thumbs up)

Little Akiha was unaware that she was being manipulated by the Director she considered a strange old man.

She just felt that it was best to stay away from him as much as possible, except when it was necessary for work.

Did he really think she'd believe those ridiculous excuses—that he had special talents, wanted to study her, and wanted to help cure her family's hereditary disease?

If it weren't for the Director's immense influence, Akiha might have turned around and left after Shinji said he wanted to study him.

To be honest, Akiha's salary of 180,000 yen per episode for playing Miyu in "Fate/stay night" wasn't too high; it was considered mid-range in the industry.

Unfortunately, the show's executive producer and Director of the first two episodes was Shinji Matou, and its positioning as a Fate spin-off naturally gave <Fate/kaleid liner Prisma Illya> a very high level of popularity.

Akiha knew very well that if he went from one film crew to another and tried to make it through the normal acting process, he would likely still be a minor extra barely making ends meet when his illness flared up again.

However, if she plays a major role in a TV series produced by Shinji Matou, she has a high probability of skyrocketing to fame and becoming a top-tier child star.

Therefore, in Akiha's eyes, "Magic 1" is her springboard. As long as she can tolerate this Director until the filming of this drama is completed, she can say goodbye to him forever.

"Okay, let's do it one more time."

Ten minutes later, Shinji raised his hand again to signal the rest of the crew to get ready.

Akiha walked back to her designated spot and picked up her wand again.

To be honest, Akiha Xiaoluoli did sense that this production crew was different from others.

For example, the Rider actor in front of her, the blood spurting out when he was stabbed through by her spear looked incredibly realistic.

If it weren't for the fact that this fake blood completely evaporated and disappeared after being exposed to the sun for a short while, Akiha would have thought it was real blood.

"I have no idea how this fake blood is made; I've never seen it on any other film set. Apparently, that weird uncle (Shinji) likes to use all sorts of new technologies when filming, and it seems that's true."

However, Akiha doesn't dislike these new technologies; they've been a huge help to her performances.

For some reason, Akiha had the feeling that she was actually defeating Servants and collecting cards.

She even had the illusion that the Red spear she was using was piercing the opponent's heart.

This filled Akiha with both fear and inexplicable excitement.

Something within her seemed to be awakening.

But Akiha didn't stop performing because of her surprise; instead, she became even more into the zone.

This new and exciting feeling made Akiha feel better than ever before.

Following the script, she recited the true name of the Noble Phantasm in her hand as she pierced Rider's body.

"Cut! Passed!"

Shinji called a timeout as Rider took a step back.

There was nothing that could be done about calling a pause at this crucial point, because what needed to be filmed next was the scene of the mirrored world shattering.

If this were filmed like a typical Tokusatsu, a few simple cutscenes would suffice.

However, Shinji felt that such camera transitions lacked expressiveness.

To be more precise, it lacks sophistication!

In fact, many Japanese Tokusatsu dramas have interesting premises, but their visual presentation is generally mediocre, with some even making jokes like "using Star Wars cast to fight Clash of Clans."

While the younger age of the main audience for Tokusatsu is certainly a contributing factor, the main reason is the high cost of special effects.

Tsuburaya Productions is alright, but as for Toei Animation... it seems like all the money spent on special effects went into the food on set.

In Shinji's mind, even if the mirror world couldn't achieve the kind of tremors that made the whole of Paris flip up like in Inception, it should at least be on par with the space-distorting level of Doctor Strange.

Of course, using computer-generated special effects to create such a scene would be incredibly expensive, potentially costing the entire budget of the series.

Fortunately, Shinji didn't intend to make the scene transition too complicated.

He is Magecraft, possessing many visual manipulation techniques that ordinary people cannot use.

To switch between mirror worlds, Shinji only needs to first record the set design using Medea's crystal ball, then play it back through the crystal ball, and finally use Magecraft to disrupt the playback.

In the current Japanese Tokusatsu) industry, this level of effect is still quite novel and impactful.

However, Shinji did not plan to film this scene today.

The Magecraft that switch between mirror worlds need to be performed in front of the entire crew, unlike the blood that Rider spews out, which can be faked with new technology.

So, Shinji plans to give Akiha a little knife slit on the butt tonight—after that's opened her eyes—before doing this scene.

"Hmm, hopefully this little girl can maintain her aloof expression on set throughout the entire night," Shinji muttered to himself with a smirk.

Rider stepped forward again. "Master, your expression right now is really disgusting."

"Stop arguing!"

◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆

That evening, in the film crew's makeshift screening room on set.

Invited by Shinji, Tono Akiha and the rest of the cast and crew sat in this small movie screening room, waiting for the fifth episode of HF to air.

When faced with Shinji's invitation, Akiha was originally going to refuse, but considering that most of the cast and crew would be attending the appreciation event, not going would make her seem out of place.

With all the stars from the Type-Moon franchise going to be there, Akiha felt that she would be doing herself a disservice by risking her chastity to participate in <Fate/kaleid liner Prisma Illya> if she didn't make sure she got some recognition.

Of course, to prevent any Director from making unwanted advances towards her, Akiha, the little loli, also made some preparations.

Pepper spray and other self-defense weapons are a must, and to avoid contact with Shinji, she deliberately chose a seat that was relatively far away from Shinji, next to Luviya.

Compared to Shinji, who doesn't seem like a good person, Luviya clearly provides Akiha with a greater sense of security.

This older sister not only played Akiha's elder in the drama, but also took great care of her off-screen. For little Akiha, who lacked family affection since childhood, Sister Luviya was truly wonderful.

It can only be said that Akiha is still too naive. She'll understand when she grows up a bit more that people who are nice to you might have ulterior motives, and gender is no longer an issue.

"Master, would you dare say something like that to her face?" Yan Qing teased with a chuckle. "Miss Edelfelt would probably smear his face with her shoe, wouldn't she?"

"Little Yi Ge, I had no choice. If it weren't for Akiha being so wary of me, would I have set this trap here today?"

Yan Qing waved his hand, leaned back in his chair with an extremely arrogant posture, yawned, and said, "It's only because Master thought of this that you let that little girl participate in the appreciation event. You were sure we would use Magecraft at will, weren't you?"

The Type-Moon Company appreciation event was essentially an insider's party; only close associates could attend.

Heroic Spirit who are usually careful about their words and actions become very relaxed, and they will do all sorts of mystical things, such as Magecraft, spirit particle applications, and ethereal manifestations.

Even without paying special attention, one would notice the unusual behavior of the Heroic Spirit.

This is precisely Shinji's brilliance: he doesn't explain with words, but lets the facts speak for themselves, allowing Akiha to personally experience the existence of the mystery.

Moreover, since everyone around at the appreciation event is his own people, Luviya, Illya, and others will appear on the spot to educate him, and Shinji doesn't have to worry about Akiha shouting and telling outsiders about the existence of Magecraft.

"Master, you've really gone through a lot, putting in so much effort for a little girl."

Shinji shrugged. "There's no other way; people are forced into it."

"Master, have you forgotten about C-sections?"

"Yan Qing, are you here to cause trouble?!"

Shinji's face darkened.

Amidst laughter and conversation, the room lights went out, the large screen lit up, and episode five of HF officially began playing.

The episode opens with Sakura heading to Emiya Residence to kidnap Illya, only to be stopped by Rin.

Facing her own sister, Matou Sakura showed no mercy and instead prepared to kill her outright.

Matou Sakura, a descendant of the Tohsaka family, is a Shadow Manipulator whose origin is based on imaginary numbers.

As an adopted daughter of the Matou Family, Sakura also masters the Matou Family's unique Magecraft —the ability to control and restrain others.

As the product of the joint efforts of the Tohsaka family and Matou Family, Matou Sakura has perfected the power of "Shadow".

More importantly, there is a difference in magical power between the two sides.

At this Matou Sakura's stored magical power is almost limitless.

If we were to use a specific numerical analogy, Tohsaka Rin's magical energy reserves at this time would be approximately 300, which is considered the peak of a normal Magecraft.

However, Matou Sakura's magical energy reserves reach hundreds of millions, making her a truly bottomless "monster".

It's like a skilled marksman wielding a Desert Eagle, while the opponent is carrying a T800 with an unlimited Gatling gun.

With such a huge gap in skill, not even Magecraft, let alone a Servant, could necessarily defeat him.

"Then let's have even more fun, sister."

Without hesitation, Sakura turned her evil hand towards her older sister.

"Although we'll eventually catch him, before that happens, as the head of the Tohsaka family, please try to escape gracefully."

By deliberately mentioning the Tohsaka family's precepts, Matou Sakura's tone clearly conveyed a mocking intent.

Tohsaka Rin, however, was completely helpless against her younger sister.

If the other party is willing, the black "shadow" can instantly cover the entire Emiya Residence.

Running away is futile, and resistance is pointless.

The outcome of the sisters' battle was already decided before it even began.

With a single move, the shadowy figure enveloped Rin Tohsaka.

The gelatinous sludge bound, compressed, and contaminated Tohsaka Rin's body, while numerous tentacles transformed into snakes, invading the Magic Circuits within Tohsaka Rin body.

"Ah------!"

What was clearly a normal scream of pain sounded strange to Rin herself.

Unable to contain herself any longer, she punched Shinji on the head.

"You did this on purpose! Drug injection! Tentacle play! And a dark invasion! If you're going to make a doujinshi plot, go to CM!"

"Don't get agitated, this is just a normal scene where the main character gets captured," Shinji explained, spreading his hands. "You'll even see scenes like this in Ultraman web series later on, what's so outrageous about it?"

"As expected, this old man is a pervert!"

Sitting at the back, the little girl Akiha became even more convinced of her judgment.

Chapter 194 Everyone's showing off, whether human or ghost, only Shirou is getting beaten up.

As soon as Akiha finished complaining, everything went black before her eyes.

It turned out that Rider had blocked her view with his hand.

"Kids shouldn't look at this, it'll give them styes."

While preventing the innocent image of the little girl Akiha from being tainted by unclean scenes on the screen, Rider expressed her dissatisfaction with a certain scoundrel Director.

"Master, aren't you going too far? Is this something for children?"

"Um... it was my fault."

Shinji scratched his head, looking somewhat embarrassed.

When he set a trap for the little loli Akiha, he only thought that there were no nude scenes or overly bloody scenes in episode 5, forgetting about the scene where Tohsaka Rin was soaked in Black Mud.

If we were to judge this scene strictly by age, it would undoubtedly fall within the all-age range, albeit with a very tight margin.

There was nothing he could do. Since HF was positioned as R-rated from the beginning, Shinji always felt he was being taken advantage of by repeatedly circumventing the censorship line when he wasn't filming.

If Fate hadn't already gained considerable popularity, and instead started with Heaven's Feel, Shinji would have made even more outrageous predictions.

This is also the method most R-rated works use to attract casual viewers: luring them in with violence and sex.

Otherwise, why would the early episodes of "A Song of Ice and Fire" be deliberately made to be so explicit and violent, even earning it the nickname "A Song of Killing and Sex"?

If they really wanted to avoid it, those plot points could have been presented in other ways, or even received an all-ages rating.

To put it bluntly, these are just gimmicks to attract viewers.

Fortunately, Shinji's Fate series has long passed this stage, so there's no need to deliberately make the Holy Grail War exactly like the original game.