I Thought This Was a Slice of Life

"Ms. Asagami was originally the daughter of a wealthy landowner, but under the rain of gunfire, she could not escape the fate of losing her home. Following the attacks by the American military, her parents perished and her family line was extinguished, leaving only a ten-year-old son of a samurai to escort her in flight. Along the way, she encountered all sorts of people, was swept into the battlefield, and even had deep entanglements with Dahua Special Forces... one could say her life was full of drama."

What Shuya cared more about was the "Dahua Special Forces" that had been mentioned repeatedly.

He was no stranger to this; the Japan Administrative District would broadcast television dramas from the Great Hua Administrative District, and this theme of special forces was extremely common.

Shuya had always wanted to complain about it, because he felt this genre was truly absurd.

To put it simply, it was the kind of ridiculous "god-tier" drama where people tear soldiers apart with their bare hands.

Every member of the Dahua Special Forces was a martial arts master who could leap over walls and roofs, using qigong to reach a state of invulnerability, while some of the top-tier masters could even block bullets with their physical bodies.

These experts were also incredibly skilled with firearms, which usually led to scenes like this:

A Dahua Special Forces soldier would fire a gun with his left hand while holding a blade in his right. After landing headshots with every bullet, he would toss the gun aside and charge into a hail of gunfire, swinging his massive blade to send the enemy scattering in terror.

It was even more ridiculous than the most absurd dramas.

What left Shuya even more dumbfounded was that everyone watched it with great interest; no one ever criticized it for being unrealistic.

As time went on, Shuya got used to it.

He stopped watching them altogether.

If Aoki Shin hadn't brought it up today, Shuya wouldn't have even remembered this stuff existed.

While Shuya was lost in thought, Aoki Shin had already begun the audition for Mai.

He handed the script to Mai and asked her to perform two scenes on the spot.

The result was passable.

After all, without any preparation time, the fact that she could match the character by seventy percent already made her a genius.

Aoki Shin, Horiuchi Susumu, and the others discussed it for a moment and made the decision on the spot.

"If there are no issues from Mai-chan's agency, then it's decided—you're the one."

"No problem, of course there's no problem! Thank you so much, Producer Aoki, for giving my daughter this opportunity."

Mai's mother bowed repeatedly.

Aoki Shin didn't really care; he had seen this type of person many times before—they were the most common type in the entertainment industry. He felt neither good nor bad about it; they were just ordinary.

Seeing that Mai's mother was quite beautiful, Aoki Shin was willing to say a few more words to her.

He smiled and said, "Don't thank me. If you want to thank someone, thank Shu-chan. Otherwise, we wouldn't even consider someone like Mai-chan who has never had any acting experience."

"Shuya, thank you."

Mai-chan thanked Shuya very politely, and her mother did the same.

"No need, it was just a small favor. You wouldn't have gotten this job if you didn't have the talent yourself. Uncle Aoki is a professional; he isn't the type to do things just to save my face."

"Haha, you're too modest. How could I not give you face?"

Aoki Shin said, and from the upturned corners of his mouth, it was clear that he was very pleased with Shuya's flattery.

Then, Aoki Shin said to Shuya:

"Alright. The child role for the female lead is settled, so now for the next matter. Shu-chan, can you play that young samurai? To be honest, his role is quite heavy, and the station values this character highly. Currently, there are no other candidates besides you..."

"Me? This character is already ten years old; that won't really work, will it?"

Shuya was a bit troubled: "You have to realize, I'm only a five-year-old child."

Aoki Shin waved his hand: "Don't project the height of modern people onto the past. Adults back then were only about 1.5 meters tall. Modern people develop faster, and you are even taller than your peers—you're already over 1.2 meters now, right? Playing a ten-year-old from the past is no issue at all."

"As for you being a five-year-old child... hey, ask anyone here if they think you're just a five-year-old. Besides, by the time we start filming, you'll be six and a half. I remember your birthday is coming up soon, right?"

"..."

You've calculated everything so precisely, what else can I say?

Shuya thought for a moment: "Can I see the script?"

"Of course."

Aoki Shin wasn't worried about the script leaking and handed it to Shuya.

This wasn't the full script, just the parts concerning Shuya, which were scenes from the very beginning.

Shuya flipped through the script and finished it quickly.

He fell into deep thought.

He felt this character had the potential to become popular, perhaps even a massive hit.

Ikeda Ichinosuke came from a long line of samurai. Even though the samurai class had vanished during the reforms, his family still passed down their martial arts.

Ichinosuke had trained since he was young, and because of his astonishing talent, he had long been famous in the region. Even Asagami Miin, the young lady of the household he served, secretly harbored feelings for him.

Ikeda Ichinosuke also had feelings for the young lady; they were childhood sweethearts with a close bond, and Asagami Miin's father also intended to marry his daughter to him to win over his family.

However, just then, America brazenly invaded Hokkaido, and the families of Asagami Miin and Ikeda Ichinosuke were destroyed, leaving only the two of them alive.

Driven by his loyalty to his master and his love for Asagami Miin, Ikeda Ichinosuke swore to escort Asagami Miin safely to Tokyo.

They traveled through hardships, fought life-and-death battles, and shared a blossoming love.

In the end, Ikeda Ichinosuke successfully sent Asagami Miin onto a plane bound for Tokyo.

However, to ensure the plane took off safely, he joined the Dahua Special Forces in a charge against the American army, and amidst the brutal combat, he managed to take down the American commander.

In the end, he was buried forever in the wind and snow of Hokkaido...

It was very melodramatic.

But the audience loved this kind of stuff!

Besides, this was based on a true story, so one couldn't exactly bash the screenwriter for being unrealistic.

Except for the final battle, which seemed a bit exaggerated...?

To have a few hundred special forces soldiers and a ten-year-old kid charge into the front lines and kill the commander.

Just how incompetent could the Americans be?

That was blowing things way out of proportion.

But setting that aside, the character of Ikeda Ichinosuke perfectly hit the sweet spot for the people of the Japan Administrative District.

In the Japan Administrative District, the spirit of absolute loyalty to one's master has traditionally been regarded as noble (though there is also the aspect of overthrowing one's superiors, haha).

At the same time, there is a belief that a death like a cherry blossom, falling at its most beautiful moment, is noble, romantic, and poignant.

The character of Ikeda Ichinosuke fit this cultural image perfectly.

Aoki Shin had a very precise grasp on the positioning of the Morning Drama.

Morning Dramas air from 8:00 to 8:15 AM, a time when, generally speaking, men have already left for work or school, leaving housewives as the primary viewers.

Sentimental women were the target audience.

This kind of melodrama was lethal to them.

If it wasn't lethal, it simply meant the protagonist wasn't handsome enough.

It was the difference between offering one's body in gratitude and vowing to be a beast of burden in the next life to repay the favor (laugh).

That was why Aoki Shin and the higher-ups at the television station specifically requested Inoue Shuya.

He was good-looking and his popularity was off the charts.

As long as they used a bit of makeup to hide his youthfulness, he would be a top-tier young heartthrob.

Pairing such a young heartthrob with the tragic story of Ikeda Ichinosuke would multiply the effect several times over.

It was a nuclear-level weapon.

Shuya admitted that he was tempted.

Aoki Shin said, "Besides... isn't next year the year 2000? The station really values this turn-of-the-century Morning Drama, and the resources invested are definitely the most we've seen in the last decade."

"...Since Uncle Aoki has put it that way, I'll agree to it so you don't have to resort to a dogeza."

Shuya finally nodded.

"Dogeza? Horiuchi, you really said it; that's a secret weapon."

Aoki Shin was stunned, then looked at Horiuchi Susumu and joked.

Horiuchi Susumu just shrugged.

Aoki Shin didn't take it to heart: "Then it's settled. We'll find a time to sign the contract later. We'll contact you for filming once everything is officially confirmed, though it likely won't start very soon."

"Also, we'll be releasing news in the near future to build up hype. In short, everything is in preparation... This series is scheduled to air in April next year. It's only March now, so there's plenty of time."

Shuya asked, "So we just wait for now?"

"Basically, yes, but we do have a few requirements."

Aoki Shin nodded and continued: "First, we hope you can take advantage of the time you have to improve your acting skills as much as possible. Second, we hope you will exercise appropriately to handle the grueling filming schedule."

Shuya and Mai were only playing the childhood versions of the protagonists, so they wouldn't actually have it as hard as the main lead.

Being the lead in a Morning Drama was always incredibly exhausting.

A regular TV series has one episode a week, while a Morning Drama has six. Although each episode is only fifteen minutes, the filming workload is definitely heavier than that of a regular drama.

Not to mention the grueling filming, just the lines they had to memorize were numerous.

Once filming began, Mondays were usually for rehearsing the week's content, and it was standard to film from nine to twelve every day from Tuesday to Friday.

There was no real rest on weekends either, as they had to attend interviews, promote the show on programs, and so on... This terrifying filming process would last for at least six months to a year.

The media had once said that by the time a Morning Drama finished filming, the lead actress was always on the verge of a breakdown or had already suffered one.

Moreover, Morning Dramas usually cast newcomers in the lead roles, while the supporting cast was entirely composed of famous veterans, which made it even more terrifying.

Under such pressure, a newcomer's acting would inevitably be poor, and they would certainly be scolded by the director and screenwriter; it was absolute hell.

It was only natural that any actress who could emerge from such an environment would become famous.

Shuya and Mai had to be prepared if they decided to participate. Even if they were children and wouldn't be treated quite as harshly, it wouldn't be much better.

Hanazawa Sakura was actually a bit hesitant about whether she should really let Shuya act in a Morning Drama. She knew it would be a huge help to Shuya's future, but she couldn't bear to see him suffer...

However, she decided to respect Shuya's choice.

Aoki Shin glanced at Shuya and, remembering something, added, "Oh, right, Shu-chan, don't cut your hair from now on. Ikeda Ichinosuke in the script has long hair. According to the autobiography of Asagami Miin, he is a handsome, long-haired youth."

"Oh, that's no problem."

Shuya agreed immediately. In fact, his hair was already getting a bit long, and Hanazawa Sakura had been planning to find time to trim it for him.

Since Aoki Shin had said so, he would hold off on the haircut for now.

"Alright! I've said everything I needed to. You'll receive the specific scripts before filming begins. Remember to keep up with your physical training and acting practice."

Aoki Shin gave his final instructions.

Hanazawa Sakura and Mai's mother agreed repeatedly, especially Mai's mother, who was already calculating which teacher to hire to train her daughter.

21 A Life-or-Death Question from the Quintuplets

Shuya and the others bid farewell to Aoki Shin and his team, then walked out of the television station.

"Well, I really feel like so much has happened today."

Shuya scratched his hair.

"Yeah..."

As a six-year-old child, Mai also felt exhausted.