….
It had been exactly a month since [Spider-Man: Web of Destiny] hit theatres - and by now, the word "hit" didn't even begin to cover it.
For the insiders, Regal's gamble to choose a forgotten comic charters and turn into a global box office success was like nothing before.
[Spider-Man: Web of Destiny] had crossed the $750 million worldwide box office mark in exactly thirty days - a feat that positioned it not just as the highest-grossing superhero film of all time, but as one of the most successful theatrical releases in cinema history.
The domestic numbers told their own story of cultural impact.
$285 million in North American theaters represented more than just ticket sales.
It reflected audience enthusiasm that translated into repeat viewings, word-of-mouth marketing that money couldn't buy, and cultural penetration that would sustain merchandise sales and home video revenues for years to come.
International markets had responded even more enthusiastically, with $465 million in overseas revenue demonstrating the film's universal appeal across diverse cultural contexts.
But perhaps most significantly for Regal's long-term ambitions, the film's success had established his reputation as someone who could deliver both critical acclaim and commercial success on a global scale.
The 92% fresh rating on review aggregation sites, combined with audience scores that remained consistently high across all demographic categories, proved that his approach to filmmaking could satisfy both artistic and commercial imperatives simultaneously.
Industry analysts were already projecting that [Spider-Man: Web of Destiny] would finish its theatrical run somewhere north of $1.2 billion worldwide, potentially challenging the all-time box office records set by previous blockbuster franchises.
The film's innovative use of 3D technology, combined with IMAX presentations that showcased Manhattan's verticality in unprecedented detail, had created a viewing experience that demanded theatrical presentation in ways that would sustain premium ticket pricing throughout its run.
As alway… The press called Regal the golden boy.
Studio executives sent congratulatory baskets, merchandising arms were struggling to keep shelves stocked with toys, T-shirts, and masks.
Without a doubt, all the major studios began to dig their decades worth of libraries of Superheroes scripts that caught dust.
Now that there is proof that superheroes films still work, they won't hesitate to jump in for profits.
And yet, the man at the center of all of it?
He wasn't in Los Angeles.
He was in northern hemisphere part of the world.
….
Japan.
….
While entertainment journalists dissected box office numbers and industry executives scrambled to understand the formula behind such spectacular success, Regal sat in a traditional Tokyo coffee shop, three time zones away from Hollywood.
The contrast between his current surroundings and the entertainment industry circus he had left behind struck him as almost surreal.
Instead of conference rooms filled with studio executives analyzing profit projections, he found himself in centuries-old neighborhoods where tradition and innovation coexisted in ways that American entertainment culture rarely achieved.
Tokyo's creative districts offered a different kind of energy than Hollywood's deal-making environment.
Here, artists gathered in small cafes to discuss technique and inspiration rather than box office performance and market positioning.
The pace of conversation moved more slowly, allowing for the kind of deep creative exploration that his recent success had made possible but that his schedule had rarely permitted.
It had been three days since Regal arrived in Tokyo, slipping through Narita Airport.
Rock had come with him, of course - part bodyguard, part reluctant travel nanny, but the real purpose of this trip wasn't Rock.
It was people.
The first was Nanami, his short time long friend.
The second person, though, was why he was really here.
Masashi Kishimoto.
Not the legendary Naruto creator the world would one day know.
Right now, he was nobody famous at all, just a 29-year-old Managaka from Kyushu, nervously clutching sketchbooks and spending nights in a cramped Tokyo apartment, quietly trying to get something accepted by Weekly Shōnen Jump.
He hadn't published anything major.
Just raw talent and a half-formed idea about a mischievous ninja boy that wouldn't leave his head.
And Regal wanted to support him.
But here's the thing - that wasn't simple.
Not even close.
….
Japan's manga industry wasn't built to let outsiders slide money across the table and 'own' anything.
Even if Kishimoto hadn't debuted yet, there were very real barriers between Regal's world and this one:
Regal couldn't directly 'buy into' Kishimoto's potential manga as an individual foreigner.
Japanese law required him to either create a registered Japanese company or partner with an existing one if he wanted to provide financing or handle revenue on Japanese soil.
Even if Kishimoto agreed to take Regal's funding to focus full-time on drawing, the actual rights would still belong to Kishimoto until he submitted to a publisher.
Once accepted, Shueisha, or any magazine publisher would take control of publication and distribution rights, only offering Kishimoto a creator contract, and Regal's involvement would not be recognized unless there was a formal pre-contract.
New series were selected by Jump's internal editorial boards after one-shots and contests.
Any external financial backer would be viewed cautiously, if not outright refused, especially a foreign one.
To even get a meeting, Regal would have to build trust and credibility, showing he wasn't trying to interfere editorially, only supporting Kishimoto as an artist.
Paying Kishimoto or contracting him from abroad would mean navigating Japanese tax law, foreign remittance rules, and residency requirements.
Without a local legal entity, Regal couldn't even open a business bank account for payments.
So while it was possible to support Kishimoto at this stage, it could only be done indirectly and delicately.
The most realistic path was: Give Kishimoto a personal living stipend as a 'private patron', while having him retain full IP ownership of anything he created, and then separately negotiate rights-sharing later if and when a publisher accepted his series.
In other words: Regal could keep him afloat, not own his work.
….
The practical challenges facing Regal's investment ambitions proved far more complex than simple financial transactions between willing parties.
Japan's entertainment industry operated according to cultural and legal frameworks that had evolved over decades to protect domestic creators while maintaining quality standards that sustained the medium's global reputation.
Foreign investment in manga development existed in a regulatory gray area that required careful navigation of multiple overlapping jurisdictions.
The Japanese Fair Trade Commission maintained oversight of international business relationships that could potentially influence domestic cultural production.
The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry regulated foreign investment in entertainment properties that might eventually generate significant export revenue.
Even more challenging were the cultural expectations that governed relationships between creators and publishers within Japan's traditional manga ecosystem.
The process typically began with artists submitting work to established publishers who provided both financial support and editorial guidance in exchange for exclusive publication rights and significant control over creative development.
For foreign investors like Regal, this system presented multiple obstacles. Publishers rarely accept outside financing that might compromise their editorial control or their ownership of valuable intellectual property.
Creators who accepted foreign investment risked losing access to traditional publication channels that remained essential for reaching Japanese audiences.
International distribution of manga-based properties created additional layers of complexity that required specialized legal expertise and cultural sensitivity.
Japanese creators typically retained certain moral rights over their work that couldn't be transferred to foreign investors, regardless of financial arrangements.
These rights included approval authority over adaptations, translations, and cultural modifications that might alter the original creative vision.
Animation rights represented a separate category of intellectual property that required different legal frameworks and business relationships.
Even if Regal could establish investment relationships with creators like Kishimoto, transforming manga into animated content would require additional partnerships with Japanese animation studios, voice acting agencies, music composers, and distribution companies.
The financial structures necessary to support such complex international arrangements had to satisfy regulatory requirements in both countries while providing sufficient creative control to ensure quality standards and sufficient financial returns to justify the substantial risks involved in long-term serialized storytelling.
Rather than attempting to force Western business models onto Japanese creative relationships, Regal had developed an approach that worked within existing cultural frameworks while providing the financial support and international expertise that could benefit all parties involved.
His proposed arrangement with Kishimoto would function more like cultural patronage than traditional investment.
Rather than seeking ownership of creative properties or control over editorial decisions, Regal would provide financial support that allowed the artist to maintain independence while developing his vision according to his own creative timeline.
The financial commitment would cover Kishimoto's living expenses during the extended development period that sophisticated storytelling required, eliminating the economic pressures that often forced creators to rush their work or compromise their vision to meet immediate commercial demands.
In exchange, Regal would receive priority access to international adaptation rights once the manga achieved successful serialization in Japan.
This approach respected the traditional relationship between creators and publishers while providing additional resources that could enhance the creative development process.
Rather than competing with Japanese publishers, Regal's support would make creators more attractive to publishers by reducing the financial risks associated with experimental or ambitious storytelling approaches.
The path from completed manuscript to serialized publication remained fraught with challenges that even well-funded projects couldn't entirely eliminate.
Japan's major manga publishers received hundreds of submissions monthly, with only a tiny percentage achieving the serialization that would allow stories to reach their intended audiences.
Weekly magazines like Shonen Jump maintained extremely competitive selection processes that evaluated not just artistic quality but market potential, demographic appeal, and editorial fit within existing publication schedules.
Even exceptional work could wait months or years for serialization opportunities that matched their target audiences and thematic content.
Kishimoto's ninja story would need to compete with hundreds of other submissions for editorial attention, then survive the reader response surveys that determined which new series would continue publication beyond their initial trial periods.
The traditional system provided little guarantee that even excellent work would find its audience, particularly for stories that challenged conventional genre expectations.
Regal's support could provide Kishimoto with the time and resources necessary to refine his work to the highest possible standards before submission, increasing the likelihood of editorial acceptance and reader enthusiasm.
More importantly, the international interest that Regal represented could demonstrate to publishers that the story possessed global commercial potential beyond its domestic Japanese market.
As their initial meeting concluded and plans took shape for the extended collaboration that would be necessary to bring Kishimoto's vision to fruition, Regal found himself reflecting on the fundamental differences between his Hollywood success and the Japanese relationships he was building.
Spider-Man's massive box office performance had established his reputation and provided the financial resources necessary for ambitious international investments.
But the instant gratification of theatrical success felt almost superficial compared to the patient, long-term creative development that manga storytelling required.
In Hollywood, success was measured in opening weekend numbers and quarterly profit reports.
In Japan's creative ecosystem, success accumulated slowly over years of reader engagement, cultural influence, and artistic development that couldn't be rushed or artificially manufactured through marketing campaigns.
The meeting with Kishimoto represented just the beginning of what would necessarily be a multi-year collaboration requiring constant cultural sensitivity, legal innovation, and creative patience that differed fundamentally from the entertainment industry relationships Regal had previously navigated.
But as he watched the young artist carefully organise his character sketches and story notes, preparing for the months of additional development work that lay ahead, Regal felt the same excitement that had driven his initial Hollywood ambitions.
Here was raw creative potential that could influence global entertainment culture for decades to come, waiting for the right support and guidance to reach its full expression.
The numbers from Spider-Man's theatrical success would continue accumulating for months to come.
But the real measure of his expanded entertainment vision would unfold over years of careful relationship-building, creative development, and cultural bridge-building that began with this single conversation in a Tokyo studio, halfway around the world from the box office charts that had made such ambitious dreams possible.
.
….
[To be continued…]
★─────⇌•★•⇋─────★
Author Note:
Visit Patreon to instantly access +1 chapter for free, available for Free Members as well.
For additional content please do support me and gain access to +13 more chapters.
--> [email protected]/OrgoWriters