Nighttime
"Watch me, Daddy!" Yueyue waved her magic wand, making "biubiubiu" sounds as she pretended to cast magic spells.
Ren clutched his chest, pretending to be in pain. "Argh! I'm dying~"
While Ren and Yueyue were playing their magical girl game, Jada suddenly walked in, looking at Yueyue with a pretend stern expression. "What time is it? Why aren't you asleep yet? You have school tomorrow."
Yueyue's face instantly fell. "Do I have to?"
She had cried a lot today, and her legs were really sore!
She had no idea that dancing would be so hard... If she had known, she wouldn't have taken it up.
But if she quit, her snacks would be confiscated by her mom, so she had to endure for the sake of her treats.
"Go to bed."
"Okay." Yueyue pouted and looked at her little companion. "Come on, Little White."
"Woof!"
Watching the pair leave, Jada sighed and turned to Ren. "Maybe you should stop publishing 'Ultraman Tiga' for now."
"What? Why? Is there something wrong with it?"
Hearing Jada's words, Ren, who had been lying in bed, sat up immediately.
"In a way, yes." Jada nodded. "I looked at your storyboard. Even though it's a good comic, don't you think it would be better as a live-action series?"
"…"
Ren nodded.
That was true.
In his world, "Ultraman Tiga" was a live-action series. Its main plot wasn't very strong; each episode featured a battle with a different monster, giving it an episodic feel.
It was a story made up of individual monster fights, with a straightforward plot.
While it might attract some fans due to its novelty, as a comic, "Ultraman Tiga" probably wouldn't have much impact.
In his previous life, there were Ultraman comics like "Story 0," which covered events like the destruction of Planet L77 and Leo Ultraman's first transformation. It also told stories of a young Zoffy before he earned his chest insignia and Ace Ultraman's girlfriend, Rutia Ultraman, being turned into a robot.
But "Story 0" had a significantly different plot from the TV versions of other Ultraman series and was more interesting.
In fact, not only was "Ultraman Tiga" unsuitable for a comic adaptation, but even his previous work "Your Name" was similar.
In his previous life, "Your Name" was hugely popular in many Asian regions, though reactions differed in the West due to cultural differences.
However, in this world, while it revived Picca Comics, it didn't reach the same level of success as in his previous life.
This wasn't just due to Picca Comics' size; "Your Name" simply wasn't suited to being a comic.
Despite the system's abilities helping him make "Your Name" as beautiful as possible, comics couldn't fully capture the essence that animation could.
But what could he do?
Jada's company was primarily a comic company. They couldn't exactly start making animations or live-action series.
This kind of self-sufficiency was currently only achievable by the top five companies in the industry.
These top five companies in the country had integrated animation production, merchandise manufacturing, printing, film distribution, and magazine publishing.
This was one of the main reasons these five companies remained industry leaders.
Years ago, Jada's parents led Picca Comics, which had the potential to challenge the top five. But the top five didn't want anyone splitting the market and began pressuring Jada's parents' company at the slightest sign of competition.
This led to Picca Comics' decline. Now, it was barely surviving as a comic company and almost went under due to the competition from Jiarong Real Estate recently.
"So how does this relate to not publishing the comic?" Ren looked at Jada, already suspecting something.
Jada wouldn't bring this up for no reason.
"Look at this." Jada handed her phone to Ren. "This is Gu Yuan Production Company. It used to be quite famous, but after several failed projects, it's now up for sale. I plan to get involved."
Ren looked at it. This company was indeed famous back in the day, producing shows like "Super Thieves" and "Space Detectives."
In this world, Ren had watched some of their productions as a child.
Unfortunately, recent poor decisions and internal conflicts led to the company's downfall.
"That's not all. I'm also looking to acquire an animation production company," Jada continued. "But none are for sale right now, and funds are tight. For now, I can only afford to compete for Gu Yuan, and Jiarong seems interested in buying it too."
"It'll be expensive, right?" Ren couldn't help but worry. "Even if you can afford the acquisition, and even if you manage to buy an animation company, live-action series are costly to produce. Aren't you afraid 'Ultraman Tiga' might fail?"
He still wasn't confident about it.
"You're my husband. If I don't trust you, who will I trust?" Jada smiled softly. "Besides, didn't you say you wanted to make my company bigger and stronger? I can't rely on just you to do all the work."
Jada sat next to Ren, leaning against his shoulder like a cat. "So I have to do my part. After all, making the company big and strong is my dream. You help me, and I have to work hard too."
"Aren't you afraid of going bankrupt?" Even Tsuburaya Productions went bankrupt due to live-action series and later focused on selling toys through Ultraman.
"Because you created it, I trust the content is good. And even if we go bankrupt, you can still support me with your comics." Jada laughed softly. "Besides, thanks to Jiarong Real Estate, we received a large compensation for poaching our artists. Otherwise, we wouldn't have enough money for this acquisition."
"I'll do my best." Feeling Jada's trust, Ren hugged her tightly.
...
The Next Day
"Ah, teacher, why?" Felix exclaimed when Ren told him to stop working on "Ultraman Tiga."
Did he do something wrong?
"Because we might turn it into a live-action series," Ren explained. "So, you can help me with 'Madoka' for now. I'll come up with a new plot for you soon."
After all, he had exchanged for this work on the 17th of this month when he went to see Six Dance. It would soon be next month, and he could exchange for another work.
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