Don't Call Me Master, Call Me Director

Shinji decided to wait until the movie achieved a certain level of success before using this guy as a publicity stunt.

Compared to the troublesome Gilgamesh, Artoria was much more reassuring to Shinji.

Although her demeanor was serious throughout, it could be attributed to the newcomer Actor being too nervous, which was an easy excuse to gloss over.

As for Shinji himself, when reporters asked him questions about the movie, he mostly brushed them off with stock phrases like "I have full confidence in the movie," "The Actors' performances were all outstanding," and "Artoria is my favorite Actor."

Second Master currently had too few accomplishments to brag about in front of reporters; everything would have to wait until the movie's release.

As this interview concluded, the preview screening date set by Bandai drew closer.

Under Shinji's deliberate attention, he finally saw news and advertisements for FSN in the media.

The reason for his deliberate attention was that FSN's promotional conditions were not ideal: the time slot for TV movie trailers was late at night; the newspapers that published movie advertisements were third-rate; interviews with the Actors were published in magazines with mediocre sales; even at the preview cinemas, the movie posters were placed in inconspicuous, remote locations...

Shinji was not very satisfied with Bandai's hesitant distribution model, and even Udagawa Nao was dissatisfied with the company's overly conservative distribution.

Unfortunately, the person who set the distribution plan was not her, but her superior, Kazunori Ueno.

For Kazunori Ueno, who was about to be promoted to President of Bandai, the success of FSN would be icing on the cake, but failure would undoubtedly be a disaster, dealing a significant blow to his prestige.

At this critical juncture, Kazunori Ueno, prioritizing his future, was willing to earn money more slowly and control costs as much as possible in terms of promotion.

This promotional approach, which sought no merit but only to avoid mistakes, translated into only 30 prints for the initial limited release, even though the audience's word-of-mouth from the preview screenings was excellent.

Fortunately, the promotional advice Shinji had previously given still played a role: Bandai's promotion focused more on the 15-30 youth audience, rather than the traditional over-30 audience of the current world.

As for how effective this promotional strategy would be, Udagawa Nao, who was implementing the plan, didn't know for sure herself, but she felt the general direction should be correct.

"Heh, that movie is out, huh."

In an office in Tokyo, film critic Kouichi Ippei let out a contemptuous laugh as he flipped through a newspaper.

"Which movie?"

His assistant, standing nearby, asked obsequiously.

"The one I saw a month ago," Kouichi Ippei said, tossing the newspaper aside and picking up his teacup with a cold sneer.

"Hmph, a vulgar movie with nothing but explosions and flashes; it was a complete waste of my time."

Kouichi Ippei's words were filled with disdain and disgust, as if FSN had polluted his eyes.

"What was Toho thinking, preparing to distribute a movie like that... Honestly, Japanese film companies' taste is getting lower and lower. Can't they be more artistic like Europe?!"

Kouichi Ippei lamented with heartache, seemingly very dissatisfied with the current state of Japanese cinema, which he felt was declining in morals and changing for the worse.

"Mr. Kouichi, please calm down~" the assistant said with a wry smile. "This kind of low-quality movie basically won't get much resources, otherwise it wouldn't be occupying such a small space. I think this film will likely only last a week in theaters."

"Hmph, that would be for the best!" Kouichi Ippei said coldly.

Despite his words, he felt that a movie like this lasting a week in theaters was an insult to him.

Even though he had so thoroughly dismissed the movie, Bandai dared to distribute it. Did they even take him seriously?!

Kouichi Ippei ordered his assistant, "Put Bandai on the blacklist. From now on, we will refuse all movies from their company."

"Understood."

The assistant nodded in agreement. He didn't care much about his boss's orders. The movies Bandai distributed were either anime or tokusatsu, which were far from Kouichi Ippei's taste. The two parties were never aligned, so canceling their cooperation would result in no loss.

"Are there any new work invitations today?"

After denigrating Bandai, Kouichi Ippei finally shifted his attention to work.

The assistant quickly picked up an envelope from his desk. "There are no new invitations, but Shochiku sent a thank-you letter."

"Let me see..."

Kouichi Ippei picked up the envelope and opened it. He saw it was for a movie he had reviewed at the beginning of the year.

The movie, which told the story of a criminal's path to redemption, had appealed to Kouichi Ippei, so he had praised it extensively in his newspaper column.

The movie had currently grossed 1 billion yen and was still playing. Shochiku was very grateful for Kouichi Ippei's positive review at the time and had sent him a 1.5 million yen honorarium.

Kouichi Ippei naturally pocketed the check from the envelope. "Shochiku is quite savvy, much better than some low-class film companies."

The assistant rubbed his hands and replied, "Of course. Shochiku knows very well that this movie's success is all thanks to your endorsement, Mr. Kouichi."

"Hahaha, that's right! The prosperity of Japanese cinema relies entirely on us film critics, hahahaha!"

Kouichi Ippei, whose hearty laughter filled the office, put aside his displeasure with that terrible movie.

FSN, what was that? Was it worth the great Kouichi Ippei remembering?

Something that he found polluting to his eyes would have no audience, no box office, and would simply rot away in a corner – that would be the movie's ultimate fate.

What Kouichi Ippei didn't know was that while the vast majority of movie fans and audiences were indeed unaware of FSN's upcoming release, one group had been eagerly awaiting this movie for a very long time.

On April 14, 2003, a very ordinary Monday, FSN quietly premiered in the Japanese market with a limited release across 25 theaters.

Without a premiere ceremony, without media events, and even without large-scale announcements, FSN was released silently.

However, Kuonji Azu, who had been following information about FSN's release, rushed to the cinema immediately.

[Last time, Aoko was making a fuss beside me, so I didn't get a clear look at some details. This time, I absolutely must...]

Arisu clenched her fists, cheering herself on, her eyes full of fighting spirit.

Fortunately, FSN was showing on a weekday, so there weren't many people in the cinema. This made Arisu, who disliked being around others, very happy.

She glanced at her watch and, seeing that the screening was about to start, Arisu stood up and prepared to enter the FSN screening room.

Suddenly, a familiar, surprised voice called out from beside her.

"Huh? Arisu, is that you?"

Arisu turned to look and saw her very familiar close friend, Aozaki Aoko.

"Aoko... what a coincidence."

Although a flicker of panic arose within her, Arisu pretended to be nonchalant and greeted her.

Aoko also gave an awkward laugh and scratched her head. "Yeah... what a coincidence."

Coincidence? Not at all. There were only 25 cinemas nationwide, and only three in Tokyo had preview screenings.

"..."

"..."

While Arisu and Aoko were standing at the entrance, playing a staring contest, someone else chimed in from the side.

"Isn't that the Young Lady of the Aozaki Family?"

"You are..."

The short-haired young man in front of her sparked a slight memory in Aoko, but she couldn't recall his name.

"I'm from the Shibamatsu family," the other party introduced himself. "Miss Aozaki, are you here to watch this movie like us?"

"You guys?"

Only then did Aoko notice the five or six people following the guy called Shibamatsu.

Although she couldn't recall their names, Aoko knew they all came from Mage Families.

"My old man thought it would be embarrassing for someone his age to come to the movies, so he specifically sent me," Shibamatsu said with a wry smile. "It's the same for all of us, so we decided to come together."

"Is... is that so?"

Aoko didn't know how to respond, so she offered an awkward yet polite smile.

However, that wasn't all. After Aoko and Arisu entered, several more groups of young men and women trickled into the theater. Without exception, they were all young people from Mage Families.

As a result, Aoko eventually realized that there were very few ordinary people in the entire cinema; most of them were from the magic world.

"What the hell is going on? Is this a gathering of the second generation of mages in the Tokyo metropolitan area?!"

Aoko, who was sitting in her seat preparing for her second viewing of FSN, was completely bewildered.

Chapter 28: A Happy Accident, A Carnival for Mages

When the movie ended and the slightly melancholic music began to play, the credits for the film staff slowly rolled down.

Shibamatsu glanced at the most prominent line at the top of the credits—a work by Director Matou Shinji.

"He's really amazing."

Shibamatsu said to his companions, "This movie he made is simply..."

Because the movie had left such a deep impression on him, with so many emotions, Shibamatsu couldn't find suitable words of praise for a moment.

Finally, he could only manage to say, "If he has another work, I will definitely go to the cinema. He changed my concept of movies. I always thought that besides actresses taking off their clothes, there was nothing else that could attract me to the cinema."

"Me too."

A female Mage companion of Shibamatsu nodded, her eyes shining as she agreed. "The young master with blue curly hair in the movie, is that Matou himself? He's truly handsome and talented. Now I understand why so many people at the Clock Tower flock to him."

"Indeed. We've truly watched a great movie..."

Shibamatsu said as he stood up, preparing to leave the theater. However, he stopped after taking just two steps, his expression as constipated as if he'd encountered a difficult problem.

"Um... I say... did any of you record the Magecraft incantations from the movie?"

Shibamatsu's face was filled with "It's over" as he finally remembered the task his elders had given him.

"Uh..."

The young female Mage, who had been admiring Master Shinji just moments ago, also quickly changed her expression. Too engrossed in the movie, she had also forgotten about it.

"I only recorded the beginning, and after that..."

Another companion weakly raised her hand and replied awkwardly.

"How much did you write? Let me see... tsk."

Shibamatsu's expectant face immediately fell when he saw that the other person had only written less than half a page.

It wasn't just Shibamatsu's group; the other second-generation Mages remaining in the theater were in a similar predicament.

Having gotten carried away watching the movie, they only remembered their elders' instructions after it ended. Each of them wore the expression of a student who hadn't written a single word of their homework on the last day of summer vacation.

"Did any of you write it down?"

"If you have any notes, please let me borrow them to copy!"

"I'm from the Takiaki Family, can anyone lend me their notes? I'd be so grateful!"

Aoko couldn't help but chuckle as she looked at the messy theater.

"Hey, hey, Azu," Aoko nudged her close friend with her elbow. "What do you think all these people are even here for?"

"Boredom."

Azu pursed her lips, as if holding back a laugh. Then, she snapped her notebook shut with a "snap."

"A bunch of idiots," Azu commented. "Why don't they just watch the movie again?"

Shibamatsu and his group, who were closer to Azu, froze upon hearing her words. Then, they all nodded in sudden realization.

"Since there's still plenty of time, let's watch it again."

Without waiting for his companions to agree, Shibamatsu immediately made the decision for everyone.

"Hold my stuff for me, I'm going to buy tickets right away."

With that, Shibamatsu rushed out of the theater without looking back.

In the cinema hallway, a Bandai staff member holding a movie survey was waiting.

Seeing Shibamatsu emerge, he quickly stepped forward.

"Excuse me, audience member, I'm..."

"Get out of the way!"

Shibamatsu had no time to deal with this guy and pushed past him, rushing towards the cinema ticket counter.

"What happened?"