Illya: What Kind of Monster Is This?!

Illya's comment touches on the issue of self-esteem during a person's adolescent phase.

It's like the difference between how a person speaks and how an outsider hears them.

The same applies to embarrassing moments from one's teenage years; whether or not one makes up their own imagination makes a huge difference.

Just look at the difference between Star-Lord singing at the beginning of Guardians of the Galaxy and the same scene in Avengers 4.

Although everyone says that youth is wasted if you don't have a bit of a chuunibyou (adolescent delusions of grandeur), a sense of shame still needs to be upheld by correct values.

Just like Luviya, she herself didn't feel ashamed of wearing Magical Girl costumes; on the contrary, she made a proud declaration with great confidence.

"Hmph~ To wear this outfit so perfectly, good taste is definitely essential! Just like the perfect me!"

Such a confident statement not only left Tohsaka Rin and the others speechless, but also shocked and surprised the viewers watching on screen.

Does this seemingly perfect European aristocratic lady have somewhat peculiar tastes in clothing?

This question is not only raised by outsiders, but even by those within the Type-Moon group.

"Speaking of which, I've always felt that Sister Luviya's taste is a bit abnormal."

Illya adopted a thoughtful pose, like a Detective Conan, and spoke with a serious expression.

"Is that so?"

The little girl, Akiha, seemed somewhat incredulous.

Illya said confidently, "That's right. Every time we come up with those weird and wonderful things, doesn't she think they're alright?"

Is... is... that so?

The little girl, Akiha, blinked innocently a few times.

She thought that Sister Luviya was being considerate of the two girls' feelings, which was why she gave them a positive review.

So it turns out they really like it after all!

"Hmph~"

Rin crossed her arms and snorted dismissively.

"The aesthetic sense of those old Europeans is just like a game to them, nothing serious."

Illya gave Rin a disdainful look, exposing her lie.

"Rin-nee, you don't need to squeeze anymore. No matter how hard you try, you won't achieve the same effect as Luviya on screen. You can fool anyone else, but don't fool yourself!"

"So verbose!!"

Lin reluctantly lowered his arm from his chest, showing signs of resignation.

The banter between the main characters of <Fate/kaleid liner Prisma Illya> off-screen hasn't stopped, and the antics of the characters on-screen continue as well.

Rin and Luviya's Magical Girl outfits are not making their first appearance; they also appeared in the first episode.

Just like the previous stand-up comedy-like dialogue, the appearance of this True Magic girl (emphasis) is once again a hilarious farce.

The actors' joke-telling skills are as good as ever, making them the Duyun Society of Fuyuki City.

The laughter in the room never stopped during this time.

Fujita laughed so hard he collapsed onto the chair, bent over, one hand on his stomach and the other slapping his thigh repeatedly.

After laughing for a while, the fat man suddenly realized something was wrong.

Why is there no reaction when I pat my leg?

Just as I was wondering about this, I heard Shibamatsu complain irritably from the side.

"Please! You're filming my leg, can you be a little gentler?"

"Sorry, I took the wrong picture."

Unfortunately, Fujita showed no remorse.

◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆

Just as Japan audiences were completely immersed in the joyful ocean created by <Magical Girl Prisma Illya>,

Shinji, however, left Fuyuki City with the Ultraseven X crew and traveled to Italy to attend the annual Venice International Film Festival.

Unlike Cannes, Seaside City that Shinji had visited, Venice, although also by the Cannes, is a more bustling and prosperous city with a strong commercial atmosphere, and of course Venice, the prices are also higher.

The most ingrained impression of Shinji is that there are more bridges than roads, which is quite similar to Chongqing in China, a city with more mountains than flat land.

Like Cannes, the annual film festival draws tourists and media from all over the world, filling the streets and alleys of Venice with its vibrant atmosphere.

Especially those handsome men and beautiful women who dream of becoming stars, they will flock to every corner of the city, hoping to be discovered by film industry bigwigs and talent scouts.

For Shinji, this was practically a paradise!

"It's really nice, really beautiful."

In an open-air café on the street, Shinji, Denis Villeneuve, Cú Chulainn, and others each occupied a seat at Round Table under a parasol.

Shinji, in a very eccentric manner, used a simple telescope to scan the beautiful women in the city, revealing a slightly perverted smile.

"Wow~ grapes... apples... peaches... these are big enough, almost like cantaloupe~ really good, summer is truly the best season for eating fruit~"

"Cherry... Master, you're not talking about that girl in the green dress, are you? That's really only cherry-level, too small."

Cú Chulainn glanced sideways at the bridgehead not far away, teasing Shinji in rhythm with him.

"You two..."

Denis Villeneuve said with a sigh, "Isn't now the time to be hunting for women?"

Shinji retorted, "Why not? It's rare to have a group without any girls, how can we not have some fun! This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!"

Shinji had no female acquaintances traveling with him to Venice this time, and he was determined to let his good buddy "relax" properly.

Denis Villeneuve, sipping his coffee, reminded him, "Mr. Shinji, don't forget the important matter!"

"Certainly."

Shinji put the binoculars down with a regretful expression and got down to business.

"This year's jury president is Catherine Deneuve (France actress). That old lady is a very conventional person; it's likely that, like in previous years, one film will win one award."

Denis Villeneuve arrived in Venice earlier than Shinji, and he had already gathered this information quite thoroughly.

Unlike Shinji, who is already a seasoned veteran of film festivals, Denis Villeneuve is attending the three major film festivals for the first time, and <Ultraseven X> is also his first high-budget film.

This made Dennis take the Venice Film Festival far more seriously than his colleagues.

However, the statement he gave Shinji about "one award per film" was hardly news to Second Master.

The saying that "a word from a wise man is worth more than a single conversation" is utter nonsense to Shinji.

After all, the "sit-in-a-row and share the cake" approach has always been a tradition of the three major European film festivals.

Actually, Shinji is quite ignorant. In the "historical" context of this Venice Film Festival, there was a case where a film won multiple awards—"The Queen" won Best Screenplay and Best Actress.

However, these are extremely rare exceptions, and there has never been a film that swept all the awards.

For most films, this "sit-in-the-row and share the spoils" approach is a good thing, as it increases everyone's chances of winning and prevents them from going home empty-handed.

But for Shinji, it wasn't exactly a good thing. How to allocate the management and public relations among the various awards was a big problem.

Type-Moon has little experience; focusing on just one award is already their limit, so they'll have to leave the rest of the nominations to chance.

Without public relations, it's extremely difficult for a film to win an award.

"So, which one should we choose for <Ultraseven X>?"

Looking at the list of Best Actor, Best Picture, and Best Script on his laptop, Shinji hesitated and tapped the desktop.

Chapter 300 Illya: What kind of monster is this!

As we all know, being nominated for an award does not guarantee winning.

Shinji's Versailles-esque remarks give the impression that Ultraseven X is already a shoo-in for an award and should be chosen for something.

In reality, Shinji wasn't very confident, but he did have this kind of worry.

The reason is simple: the base of the breast is too thin.

The Best Actor, Golden Lion, Silver Lion, and Best Screenplay awards require completely different public relations strategies; choosing one path means abandoning the other two.

What? You're asking why the four awards cover three different areas?

The Golden Lion and Silver Lion are the first and second prizes for Best Picture.

The first award Shinji excluded was Best Script. This award is meaningless to Shinji and Type-Moon, since he's not Second Master screenwriter.

The remaining categories, Best Picture and Best Actor, are a real headache.

The Golden Lion is the highest award at the Venice Film Festival, and its significance is extraordinary.

For Type-Moon, the Best Actor award is not only an important honor for Cú Chulainn personally, but it also enhances the reputation of the Heroic Spirit Actor.

After all, even when acting in commercial films, the title of Best Actor is very useful.

If the Big Doggy really wins the award, it will be an important step for Shinji to promote the Heroic Spirit Actor to the world.

If he had to choose one, Shinji would prefer Cú Chulainn to win Best Actor. The Golden Lion Award, no matter how influential, can only benefit the film <Ultraseven X>, and at most, it can help cyberpunk films produced by Type-Moon afterward.

The title of Best Actor at the Venice Film Festival has a more lasting effect. From a cost-effectiveness perspective, promoting an actor who will not age is definitely more valuable in the long run than promoting a movie.

But--

Looking at the man in the Hawaiian shirt in front of him, Shinji couldn't see any of the so-called movie star aura he was looking for.

Actually, Cú Chulainn was quite handsome; otherwise, he wouldn't have had so many romantic entanglements while he was alive.

However, this guy's demeanor isn't very good. Although he's a knight, he's far inferior to perfect knights like Diarmuid and Gawain, and he has the air of a street thug.

If I had to describe it, it would be like Diarmuid an upright face, and this guy's legs are straight as a character.

Another point is that after getting used to the Big Doggy's reckless and repetitive actions, this guy has already become somewhat of a comedian in Shinji's mind.

Once you enter the world of comedy, there's no turning back; seriousness becomes a distant memory.

Funny, humorous, and witty—these are indeed the most memorable qualities for audiences besides good looks, but once these labels are applied, they are hard to remove.

This leads to a situation where, if an actor appears in a non-comedy film, audiences often feel that his Acting Skills is subpar.

Is it really because their Acting Skills are bad?

No, it's just that the audience isn't used to it.

Shinji is in the same situation right now. Having gotten used to Cú Chulainn's "Lancer is dead again!", he can't make an accurate assessment of the guy's Acting Skills.

Especially with this movie, Ultraseven X, even though Shinji had previously considered letting the Big Dog win the Best Actor award, he has now become hesitant.

"Ah, if only it were Diarmuid."

Shinji retorted, mimicking Uncle Masato's tone from Legal High.

"Hey, Master! You can't do this!"

Cú Chulainn voiced his complaint.

To be honest, I'm still that Brush Knight's idol, so why would it be better for Master to see me as his little fanboy?

Shinji glanced at Shuage Cú Chulainn and said, "Because he's more popular with older women."

"Hello!"

Cú Chulainn never imagined that he would be so shorted by a single mole!

As a traditional European film festival, the Venice Film Festival, like the other two major film festivals, places absolute importance on the jury in its award selection process.

Although the Venice Film Festival doesn't have the absolute dominance of a jury president like Cannes, the award selection results show that the president's influence is definitely not insignificant.

Take this year's Venice Film Festival for example. The jury president this year is France actress Catherine Deneuve. As a traditional film actress from the 1940s, she prefers films with a strong emotional core.

Therefore, the winner of this year's Golden Lion Award is Jia Director Jia's "Still Life".

Unfortunately, what upset the Second Master was that he didn't know about this older woman's fetish for men, because he couldn't even remember who this year's Best Actor winner was.

Unfortunately, although Shinji has a good memory and is quite knowledgeable about movies, his memory is clearly not good enough to memorize the list of winners at every film festival.

Often, Shinji would only remember the glory of a movie after seeing its title.

Moreover, it has to be a very distinctive film, otherwise Shinji won't remember it at all.