Chapter 410: Popularity in Japan
The TV series The Big Sister Head is a Teacher didn’t actually have that much heat, but it was brought out by Yu Linna. Although it might sound a bit arrogant to say so, the fact that this drama could get so much heat in Japan in such a short time was inseparable from Yu Linna. Previously, because of the news of her editor’s accident, Yu Linna had gained attention in Japan in a short period of time. When this drama came out, many people knew that it was written by Yu Linna as a screenwriter.
At the same time, many people in her home country were also paying attention to this yet-to-be-broadcast TV series, most of whom were fans of Shion-sensei. After they learned that the screenwriter of this drama was Shion-sensei, they had immediately paid attention to the trend of this drama, although Shion-sensei herself had not yet come out to explain why she had written the script for this drama. But this did not prevent everyone from paying attention to this drama.
And the summary of the drama The Big Sister Head is a Teacher, at first glance, was very similar to the plot of Shion-sensei’s new work, Dawn Assassin. Thinking that the script of this drama was completed before Dawn Assassin, this could also explain why the summaries of the two works were so similar. In other words, the drama The Big Sister Head is a Teacher was the prototype of Dawn Assassin before it was created. The fans were really excited to think about it.
During the public TV promotion, not only Japan, but also fans in her home country were paying attention. Unfortunately, the live broadcast rights of this promotional program were not bought by Bilibili, and even other large live streaming websites, Huya and Douyu, had not bought the live broadcast rights. These itchy-fingered fans could only run to second and third-rate live streaming websites to watch, just to see their favorite idol at the first opportunity.
Speaking of which, the domestic businesses had also suffered a big loss. They had not investigated clearly in advance and did not know that Shion-sensei was the screenwriter of the Japanese drama The Big Sister Head is a Teacher. So the live broadcast rights were bought by second and third-rate websites, which made them regret it afterwards.
The TV series was officially promoted. At the time of the premiere, the main creators of the crew were all on TV, accepting interviews from the TV station. Among them were the director Kinoshita, the lead actors Koyama Tomoko, Han Ying, Hadano Keita, Baoziya Liu, Haimaru Busugi, Miyamoto Nanako, the guest star and theme song singer Yusa Maho, and the screenwriter Shion. All of them were present.
After the program officially began, the host simply introduced the main creators present, made a symbolic greeting, and then opened the big screen to introduce this yet-to-be-broadcast TV series. Actually, the scene was very shabby. There were not many audience members, and not many guests present. It was a far cry from the promotional program of Yan Yu-sensei and Baihua-sensei that Yu Linna had participated in before, completely not on the same level.
The main selling point of this program was still Yusa Maho, who sang the theme song and made a guest appearance. Yusa Maho was also a well-known voice actress in Japan. She had voiced many characters. Although she was a bit old when she debuted, she had also successfully transformed. At that time, Yusa Maho didn’t want to delay for too long in the idol industry and had decisively chosen to transform. After she became a voice actress, her popularity was indeed very high. She was the main voice actress for many animations. And recently, it was said that she might join the supporting cast of a long-running hot-blooded anime.
Compared to Yusa Maho, who had been famous for a long time, the fame of the others was clearly not that great. Not to mention Director Kinoshita, just the lead actress Koyama Tomoko was not an A-list star in the country. The second female lead, Han Ying, was even a third or fourth-tier actress, and she was also Han Ying. In the end, there was only Shion-sensei, a screenwriter who was quite famous in China.
“By the way, the screenwriter of this drama is only one person, and that is Shion-sensei. She is a Eurasian mixed-race, and also a little beauty~ Shion-sensei, hello~”
“Hello.”
Faced with the host’s enthusiasm, Yu Linna just smiled calmly and greeted him. In front of such a nationally broadcast program, and in a foreign country at that, Yu Linna still had to be polite. She had heard that the Japanese were very particular about these things. Now she didn’t even dare to make random jokes.
“Shion-sensei, this time as a screenwriter, do you think this drama can meet your standards?”
“It’s hard to say yet, but I personally think this drama is very well done, and everyone’s acting is also very good. The director has also worked very hard. I hope it can be liked by more viewers.”
“So you’re saying, you’re very confident in this drama, Shion-sensei?”
“No, I don’t dare to say so yet. After all, the TV hasn’t been broadcast yet. I can’t be sure. I don’t know what the taste of our friends in Japan is. In short, I hope you like it.”
Yu Linna cleverly used her identity as a non-Japanese as an excuse, successfully letting the host shift the fire.
The director and all the actors also smiled. This Shion-sensei was quite good with her words.
“Shion-sensei, your Japanese is very good. You didn’t grow up in Japan, did you?”
The host said jokingly.
“How could that be? I’ve only been learning Japanese for less than half a year.”
“Eh? Really? That’s really amazing~ Shion-sensei, your Japanese level is so good. I was even wondering if you had lived in Japan for a period of time~”
“It’s not wrong to say so. I stayed in Japan for a short period of two or three months this year.”
“Shion-sensei, you’re so amazing. If I had lived in America for half a year, I might not have been able to speak English well. Shion-sensei is American, right? American English is quite hard to learn. It was very hard for me when I went to America before.”
“I think American English and British English are still very easy to distinguish. If you get used to it, the key is to talk to others more. Also, I didn’t grow up in America. I’m Chinese.”
The interview was proceeding smoothly. She didn’t know when it started, but the host’s target had become Shion-sensei. Originally, their focus should have been on Yusa Maho. But this was just an interlude in the middle of the program.
The promotional effect of the TV series The Big Sister Head is a Teacher was quite good. At least, up to now, the director didn’t feel that there had been any mistakes, so he slowly relaxed. Next, she just had to wait for the premiere of the TV. Whether it would have ratings would depend on the audience.
“Director Kinoshita, the script of this drama was created by Shion-sensei alone. Can you tell us why you invited Shion-sensei? As far as we know, Shion-sensei seems to have a high popularity in her own country.”
The host began to shift the focus of the interview to the director. This director’s resume was not glorious. The TV shows and movies he had directed were not very well-known and only had a fixed fan base in a small circle. This time, his choice to film a mainstream comedy was really unexpected.
“Actually, it was Shion-sensei who recommended herself to the general director. In other words, it was Shion-sensei who voluntarily joined our team. Of course, Shion-sensei is very talented. Her screenwriting ability also makes me admire her. She is a dedicated person. I sincerely hope that this drama can be liked by more people. After all, we have all worked so hard. Otherwise, for Shion-sensei to have come all the way to our country by plane, we don’t want to let her go back disappointed.”
Being praised by this director in person, Yu Linna was a little embarrassed. She scratched her head and smiled.
“You seem very happy, Shion-sensei?”
“Hehe, a little shy. Director Kinoshita, arigato. Please let me say it in Chinese, thank you (Chinese).”
This program was unexpectedly not bad. The audience watching the live stream in her home country also spammed the bullet comments, causing this second and third-rate live streaming website’s popularity to soar overnight, once surpassing the old-line live streaming website Douyu, which made many big-name websites dumbfounded. After this, they had to pay attention to this super popular author from her home country, Shion-sensei.
And Yu Linna had many highlights on the Japanese TV show. Plus her cute blonde loli appearance, many Japanese people became her fans and spontaneously formed a fan club, and also called for Shion-sensei to open a Twitter account. In this short period of time, Yu Linna’s popularity in Japan continued to rise. Such a girl with both talent and looks, who wouldn’t like her? Many of the audience who had become her fans went to look for the novels that Yu Linna had written in her home country, but unfortunately, what they found were all Chinese versions. No one in Japan had translated them, and it was really hard to read the raw text. They also went to call for the Japanese officials to buy the Japanese broadcasting rights of the TV series The Smile of the Rose and Wulin Kitchen Maiden, which Yu Linna had previously written the scripts for.
Originally, the highlight of this program should have been the already famous great voice actress, Yusa Maho, but unexpectedly, Yu Linna had stolen their thunder. Her heat had suddenly rushed to the top four in Japan, which could be said to be a glorious moment.
After the program ended, Han Ying picked up the makeup-free Yu Linna and took her out, and also had her wear sunglasses and a mask, hiding her a little. Yu Linna was not like before. Her popularity in Japan was starting to increase. Was it okay not to be careful on the street? What if she was recognized?
The members of the crew left by car. They quietly waited for the premiere of the TV series, hoping that their efforts had not been in vain.
And amidst the thousands of calls, The Big Sister Head is a Teacher finally had its premiere in Japan. After the early promotion, plus the popularity of Yu Linna and Yusa Maho, it had attracted attention as soon as it was broadcast.
The first episode of the TV was broadcast. The theme song sung by Yusa Maho began. Many otaku crazily turned up the volume of their speakers, to the point where the whole building was filled with the sound of this song. Then, the main creative list, the screenwriter’s column was written “Shion.” This made the Japanese fans pay attention to this great god, and the quality of the first episode was quite good. The beginning was the gang fight of the female lead, Onimaru Kiyo. The violence and cruelty were portrayed to the extreme by Koyama Tomoko. As a result, after two minutes, Onimaru Kiyo, who had come out of prison, had changed into a different person, becoming gentle and virtuous, like a caring big sister. And by a twist of fate, she had become a high school teacher, and had also gotten to know the second female lead, the delinquent girl Mizutani Suzuon.
After the first episode was broadcast, the praise was constant, and the ratings were also very high. When the subsequent second and third episodes were broadcast, the ratings had already gone up, and many people had started to follow the drama. Some office workers and housewives had also started to follow. They were deeply attracted by the story inside. Originally, they had thought it was just an ordinary comedy. Who would have thought it would be so good? The female lead could be a gang leader while also being a teacher, and she was quite handsome when she was protecting her students. Onimaru Kiyo’s personality was portrayed very well by Koyama Tomoko. And the second female lead, Mizutani Suzuon, also performed outstandingly. Han Ying’s acting skills were not at all inferior to Koyama Tomoko’s. The acting of the two of them had greatly deepened the excitement of this drama.
Of course, it was also thanks to Shion-sensei’s wonderful script. Such a story was really interesting. Shion-sensei’s popularity in Japan thus steadily rose, and in a short period of time, she had gained the same heat as a big star. This battle, Shion-sensei had won very beautifully.
