Chapter 216: The Soulless "Kamen Rider" IP
At the same time, Ren completed the character drawings, dialogue sketches, and preliminary drafts for episode 52, and then handed the drawings over to three assistants.
"Then I'll leave it to you. The plot is like this..." Ren said with a smile, "...In the end, Denji didn't wait for Reze and ate the flowers in front of Power!"
The three assistants finished reading the drawings and listened to Ren's explanation, stunned.
"Sensei... Was Reze killed just like that?"
Yuka was holding the drawing of Reze being killed. Reze was lying limp in a pool of blood splattered by her own blood. Next to her, Denji was waiting for her sitting in a cafeteria. Also written in small characters were Ren's last words:
"Actually, I didn't go to school either."
This sentence, combined with the plot, was so sharp that it broke people's defenses.
Yuka's black-framed glasses were fogged up, and she had a hard time controlling her emotions.
"Yes, this is the only ending for Reze," Ren said with some regret.
He couldn't do anything about it; after all, this was the original plot.
And this was the only way to enhance Reze's character.
"Sensei..." Akutami Yuta, a little overwhelmed, said with mixed feelings, "Your plot is as unexpected as ever...".
"It's so that everyone will be unexpected," Ren blinked and said. "That way, everyone will be caught off guard and be carried away by the plot!"
"Well... the sensei said it before."
Akutami Yuta took a deep breath and said, "Yes, this is what a professional mangaka should do. Only a sudden plot can catch everyone off guard and move them with the manga's plot."
Hiroki took a tissue and handed it to Yuka, saying, "Okay, okay, we have to start the next job."
Yuka was also moved by Reze's unexpected inner monologue, which deeply moved her, causing her to lose a bit of control.
She also took a few tissues and calmed down a bit.
"I'm sorry, sensei...".
Yuka took the draft and apologized, "I'll continue working."
Ren gave a thumbs up and said, "Alright, carry on!"
Yuka and the other two immediately started working, and just as Ren was about to relax and read other manga on B Station...
"Ding-dong...".
The doorbell rang and Ren was stunned for a moment, but he still got up quickly to open it.
After opening it, he looked at Ayumi from the door and suddenly realized, saying, "Ayumi, it's you."
"Sensei, excuse the intrusion," Ayumi entered the apartment and apologized.
"Ms. Ito."
Yuka and the other two also hastily greeted Ayumi.
"Excuse the intrusion," Ayumi replied in unison.
"So, Ayumi, do you have something to do this time?" Ren asked with curiosity.
As mentioned before, Ayumi wouldn't come to him during work hours unless there was something.
Especially with Ayumi's embarrassed look, it was practically certain that she had come to find him for something.
"Sensei, have you been busy lately?" Ayumi asked shyly.
"I haven't had much work lately," Ren smiled and said. "You see, I'm very idle lately. With Yuka, Hiroki, and Yuta, they're getting better and better. I don't need to come alone anymore, so of course, I have a lot of free time."
At first, I thought Yuka and the other three were unfamiliar with the work, so Ren had to teach them.
Especially for coloring Chainsaw Man, Yuka already had very good skills, but only with common pigments.
Ren, thanks to his [Color Atlas (Gold)] coloring ability, can use mixed pigments to mix many "advanced colors" and color Chainsaw Man.
But Yuka didn't have a system, so Ren had to teach her.
Although it was difficult at first, Yuka became quite competent over time.
And she also learned something that made her very happy.
After Yuka could complete the color work on her own, Ren began to let go completely.
Now he draws a manga and portraits of important characters, in addition to designing dialogues.
The rest of the work is done by three assistants. Of course, he has had much more freedom lately.
In fact, he was free from the beginning, and now he is even more so. He only works a dozen hours a week, and the rest of the time he basically watches Yuka and the others work.
"Then..."
Ayumi was still hesitant.
In fact, she really didn't want to bother Ren. After all, how could that small intellectual property from her hometown deserve the sensei to use his free time to write scripts?
Ren is a young and renowned mangaka who is currently at the top of the manga industry! Even if he is a screenwriter, it is also for some well-known intellectual properties or for large-scale productions of major animation companies.
How can a small special effects film like yours, famous only in a small place, deserve to hire Ren as a screenwriter?
But... Ayumi didn't know how to refuse her high school classmates' request, especially since they had also given her parents many gifts.
Especially since they only asked her to talk to Ren and didn't require him to do it.
So Ayumi's attitude improved a bit.
But in front of Ren, she still felt a little embarrassed.
"Ayumi, say it."
Ren was a little surprised. After all, he rarely saw Ayumi so embarrassed.
But still, he said it to comfort her.
Ayumi gritted her teeth and said bluntly, "Actually... it's like this. A high school classmate from my hometown found me and wanted to invite you to be the screenwriter for their next work."
"Oh..." Ren heard this and suddenly understood. "Really? So Ayumi, you're that embarrassed?".
"What a shame...".
He shook his head and said, "I'm not in the mood to be an animation screenwriter right now...".
Ren was not interested and didn't want to add more work.
"Alright."
Upon hearing Ren's refusal, Ayumi was relieved.
If Ren flatly refused, she would have no other choice.
"The most important thing is that they're not doing animation, but special effects films," Ayumi said with a smile. "So it's reasonable for the sensei to refuse."
But when she mentioned the words "special effects film," Ren was stunned.
"Special effects film?".
Ren blinked, looked at Ayumi, and asked, "What special effects film is it?".
"A series of special effects films shot by a small company in our town."
Ayumi was stunned for a moment, but still said sincerely, "They say it was popular for a while, but it hasn't been that popular since I was a child. Only some loyal fans from my hometown still support it. It's called... Kamen Rider."
"What? Kamen Rider?"
Ayumi saw Ren stunned for a moment, and soon his eyes were filled with interest.
"Yes... Kamen Rider..." Ayumi nodded cautiously and said. "Why...? Sensei, have you seen it?".
"Of course," Ren asked with interest. "But that small company... is it called Toei?".
"Yes," Ayumi nodded and replied.
"It was popular for a while, but it's not anymore?" Ren was curious and said. "I'll go see what's going on first."
He was also a fan of the semi-knights in his previous life; at least he had a good impression of those old Kamen Riders, who were very good.
After crossing into this world, the intellectual property of Ultraman still exists and is still very popular.
But the intellectual property of Kamen Rider is practically unknown.
Ren thought it was a difference in the parallel world, and the intellectual property of Kamen Rider was directly corrected.
Unexpectedly, he received news from Ayumi that the intellectual property of Kamen Rider still exists.
But... why is Kamen Rider not popular in the parallel world, and even Toei has fallen to the level of a "small company," in Ayumi's words? Ren was very curious. He sat in front of the computer and began to search for Kamen Rider in this parallel world.
The original work of Kamen Rider is still by Mr. Ishimori, which has hardly changed.
While the development in the last century has been good, the stereotypical style and story of Kamen Rider bored people.
So they experienced a period of decline in the middle of that century, until... Kamen Rider created a new story of Kuuga and Agito, and Kamen Rider became popular again.
But after that, until now, the works of Kamen Rider have returned to the vicious circle of the last century.
It's just that this vicious circle has changed from the traditional and stereotypical plot of Kamen Rider to the stereotypical plot of Kuuga and Agito...
What's going on?
Suddenly, Ren noticed something. That is... Kamen Rider Ryuki, this unique knight combat work did not appear immediately after Kamen Rider Agito! So the later works of Kamen Rider also continued the plot of Kuuga and Agito, the righteous knights who fight monsters.
Although there are innovations in the costumes and setting, the link between the knight battles that was very attractive and that must be experienced in the previous life of Kamen Rider is completely absent.
Kamen Rider is always righteous and is not confused, which is a bit false and empty.
So, of course, the intellectual property of Kamen Rider will inevitably fall into decline.
"I see."
Ren suddenly understood that this is the reason why the intellectual property of Kamen Rider has declined in this parallel world...
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