312 - Autumn 13

< Autumn (13) >

Inside a huge van driving through downtown LA. Miley Kara, with blonde hair down to her chest, glanced at Kang Woo-jin across from her and asked back in English.

"······You took first place?"

Kang Woo-jin answered casually.

"yes."

It was about the animation 'Boyfriend: Remake' that he worked on in Japan. The animation in which Woojin participated as the male lead's voice actor took first place. But for some reason, there was a bit of confusion in Kara's blue eyes.

'What, what on earth?'

Because she was confused about whether she should congratulate him or not. It was thanks to Woojin's extremely static or dry reaction.

'Are you saying that winning first place isn't enough? Perhaps there is a higher ranking than that – no, that doesn't make sense. Or, even though it came in first place, the viewership ratings weren't that great?'

Normally, if a work wins first place, you have to celebrate, right? If you can't do it, you have to at least laugh. However, Kang Woo-jin's face was full of indifference. It was impossible for her to guess what was inside.

'This is a character I've never seen before, and it gets crazier every time I see it.'

Miley Kara cleared her throat slightly.

'First of all, since you're in first place, it's right to congratulate you, right?'

After coming to an appropriate conclusion, she spoke to Woojin, who was looking at his phone. Kara's unique tone was cold, but her congratulations were sincere.

"You got first place, congratulations."

There was no change in Woojin's poker face when he raised his head.

"thank you."

"But- are the viewer ratings not as good as you thought?"

Woojin stared into Kara's blue eyes for a moment before answering in his mind.

'not really? What's wrong with this all of a sudden?? Is the dog satisfied?'

I lowered my voice to the bottom.

"No, I am satisfied."

"It doesn't look like that at all."

"I guess it's my mood."

"······Would it be the same if you asked someone other than me? You're so calm!"

"Is that so? I'm liking it."

Kara once again realized Kang Woo-jin's eccentric side. He said he liked it, but the smell he gave off seemed heartless. Even so, Kara also understood Woojin's condition to a certain extent.

'Yes, I guess I can control my emotions because I have that level of cynicalness. Otherwise, it would have been impossible to have so many abilities. Even in extreme situations, pushing yourself is probably part of everyday life.'

It was somewhat true. Kang Woo-jin, who was hidden by the concept, was now dancing on his shoulders. Of course, only on the inside.

'Ooh! First place??! It's crazy, hehe. As soon as I saw the results, I almost broke down!! Anyway, first place! Shit!!'

Of course, he had expected it based on the subspace level, but seeing the results in reality was a different feeling. Regardless of the viewership ratings, the fact that 'Boyfriend: Remake' won first place was enough to make Woojin happy in another way.

'Mr. Ao, one thing has finally exploded.'

In fact, it was the first time Woojin's work was released in Japan. 'The Stranger' started out early, but it was 'Boyfriend: Remake' that released first. What does the order matter? Whatever it was, it started and took first place. All he had to do was keep this momentum and run all the way to 'The Stranger'.

How can you put it, it feels like one of the accumulated tasks is being sorted out.

'Kkeuk, let's go!'

Although he was dancing on the inside, on the outside he was extremely solemn. A few tens of minutes later, the entire team except Kang Woo-jin and Kara settled down at a Korean restaurant. It was a very famous store in LA, and it was around the time Woojin entered the spacious room.

-Ugh.

-Ugh.

Short vibrations began to pour into Kang Woo-jin's cell phone. It was a congratulatory call. DMs arriving from Japan, messages from Korea, etc. Woojin wanted to check the reactions of Japan and Korea right away, but he held back. Calming down was the priority now.

However, Seong-geon Choi and his team sitting next to Woo-jin are already excited.

Among them, pigtail-haired Choi Seong-geon smiled and said.

"Did you see the ratings for 'Boyfriend: Remake', Woojin? 14.8%, 14.8%! No, I won the 'magic turn'??!"

Choi Seong-geon's state was close to madness.

"What is this now?? It's huge. Do you know how long it has been since the viewership rating of an anime exceeded 10% in Japan?"

"well."

"At least five years, five years. No, maybe even more!"

Choi Seong-gun, who forgot to order, explained the impact of the viewership ratings of 'Boyfriend: Remake'. He was so passionate that Kara and her team of foreigners sitting across from him were surprised. Well, Choi Seong-gun's reaction wasn't strange.

It is true that 'Boyfriend: Remake' has achieved record-breaking results for the first time in several years.

Of course, if you look at Japan's past, there would have been greater results, but it should not be compared to the current poor viewership ratings. Competitors whose original works are popular cartoons scored in the 9% range, but 'Boyfriend: Remake' surpassed 14%.

It was safe to say that it was a major disruption.

Therefore, Choi Seong-gun and Woojin's team members had no intention of hiding their excitement.

"There must have been some promotion for A10, but after all, more than half of these crazy viewership ratings are thanks to Woojin oppa, right?!"

"What are you talking about?! If it weren't for Woo-jin, it wouldn't have gotten 5%, let alone 10%!"

"Wow- Woojin oppa, social media has exploded now! Japanese fans flock in!"

Soon, Choi Seong-geon, who was sharing his cell phone screen with the staff, turned to Woojin and whispered.

"Obviously, there are a lot of people who watched the animation to criticize you for these ratings. Like let's see how good you are at things you learned? But what can I do? Anyway, thanks to that, we got 14.8%, so we can just enjoy it."

If they were to be honest, it was an ironic situation where enemies became allies.

"Anyway, due to the nature of the animation, it airs once a week, so I guess I'll have to keep promoting it until it airs next week."

They say we need to continue the explosive trend. Although there may be some viewers who leave during the first episode, it is highly likely that more than twice as many viewers will come in as the viewers who leave due to this explosion in viewership ratings.

Because you might be curious.

Kang Woo-jin answered calmly, hiding his feelings as much as possible.

"'A10 Studio' will do a good job."

Woojin then turned his gaze forward and saw Kara. Her staff gathered around her as she looked at her cell phone, and Miley Cara's expression showed a little concern. There was already not much interest in Kang Woo-jin, and Kara, who noticed Woo-jin's gaze, brushed her blonde hair and showed her cell phone.

"It may be a good day for Woojin, but something happened in Hollywood."

A foreign news article that had just appeared as breaking news was being printed on her cell phone.

『[Breaking News] Brad Willis is attacked by a knife-wielding assailant who breaks into his home!』

Although the title and content were entirely in English, it was no problem for Woojin at all.

"It was dangerous."

"Yes, I know the actor well – I should contact him."

At this time, the manager with half-shaved hair standing next to Kara muttered.

"Haven't incidents like this increased quite a bit these days? Terrorism or something. You were there last month, right?"

"Ah, the crazy guy who went to Tom's house?"

"okay. SNS, YouTube, and Toktik are the problem. The number of mentally ill people is increasing. Huh – even though this happens all the time, I'll add more guards."

"Yes, thank you."

Woojin, who was indifferently watching the conversation between the two, reacted purely in his heart.

'Terrorism always happens? Hollywood is scary-'

Afterwards.

Unlike Kang Woo-jin, who ends the day with the harshness of LA, the morning has now begun in Japan and Korea, and the prelude to the 'Boyfriend: Remake' issue has begun.

Of course, Japan was several times stronger.

Kang Woo-jin, who returned to the hotel, confirmed it. Even at a quick glance, the Japanese media was all about anime.

『Original Korean work 「'Boyfriend: Remake'」, ranked 1st with a viewership rating of 14.8%』

『In the third quarter of this year, the #1 viewership rating went to "'Boyfriend: Remake'," breaking everyone's expectations! 』

Woojin, who returned to the hotel room, erased his thoughts and put a smile on his face. His smile stretched towards his ears.

"Hehe, it's a mess, it's a mess."

It was like that. The Japanese media has been constantly publishing articles about 'Boyfriend: Remake'.

It was definitely worth it. Because for the first time in several years, an animation was released that exceeded 10% viewer rating. Even though it was not based on a popular cartoon or light novel, the main material was 'Boyfriend', starring a Korean actor, so it was inevitable that people would be shocked.

In addition, the viewership rating increased by more than 14%.

『Kang Woo-jin effect? ​​"'Boyfriend: Remake'' achieves record viewership ratings as a romantic comedy after several years!』

It was surprising that the Japanese media wasn't excited. Public opinion was also outraged by the result of the reversal. Either way, it was noticeably rampant. The Japanese media and public opinion are in this state, so what do you think of 'A10 Studio', the production company of 'Boyfriend: Remake'?

"14.8%??!! Isn't there an error?!"

"It can't be an error! It's official!"

"Wow, oh my!! Did it exceed 10%???!! Tongue, is this reality?"

"Wahahah!! It's 14.8%! It's a big difference from 10%!"

"Hey, gather everyone together first! No! Spread the articles first!"

"yes! If we keep going like this, it's going to be a mess for a few days! You have to pull the hook several times longer than that!!"

It was more than a festival. It would be more appropriate to say that they are going crazy. The production team, including the director of ' Boyfriend: Remake', as well as the executives and employees of 'A10 Studio', all hugged each other and screamed. The viewership rating of 14.8% was the first in many years for both the Japanese animation market as a whole and for 'A10 Studio'. To be precise, it was judged by numbers that would never be possible in the future.

This was the same for all the voice actors who participated in 'Boyfriend: Remake'.

"It's a record! It's a great record!!"

There was talk of ' Boyfriend: Remake' throughout the Japanese animation industry.

"'Magic Turn' is 9.1%, 'Strongest Spy' is 8.8%, and 'Male Friend: Remake' is 14.8%??!"

"I never thought there would be such a difference."

"Differences are not the problem! Does it make sense that the viewership rating was 14.8%?!!"

"······Almost five years? It's been 6 years. I thought it would be difficult to produce animations rated above 10% in the future, but suddenly, out of the blue."

"Why did the viewership ratings get that high? why?"

"The original work was a hit in its own way – I think Kang Woo-jin's presence was big. Whether it was a fan or a hater, it was Kang Woo-jin who brought the public to the TV."

Breaking record.

'Boyfriend: Remake' brought tension to the animation market, which had been quiet in recent years. From around noon, the amount of articles doubled, and stories related to 'Boyfriend: Remake' began to spread on social media, communities, and YouTube.

The flow and momentum gained speed.

The Japanese media seemed to be in shock all morning, but from this point on, they focused on Kang Woo-jin.

『"Kang Woo-jin" achieved a record number of viewers in Korea with 20 million viewers. Does that power extend to Japan?』

There was a loud noise all day long.

And by the same night, 'Boyfriend: Remake' had dominated various rankings in Japan. In addition to the animation viewership ratings in the third quarter, it was ranked 1st in topicality on Japan's three major portal sites, 1st in trends on SNS, and 1st in real-time popular videos on YouTube, etc.

As a rule of thumb, 1st place alone achieved more than 5 things.

Of course, the next most talked about thing is.

『'Boyfriend: Remake" breaks viewership record! Kang Woo-jin, who has made all his works successful, is having a ripple effect in Japan as well』

It was Kang Woo-jin's name.

The morning of the 14th, Korea.

A day has passed since the previous day, 'Boyfriend: Remake' turned Japan upside down. However, the heat still did not cool down in Japan. Rather, it was amplified several times. So, it didn't take long for those hot temperatures to reach Korea.

-Crazy hahahaha Kang Woo-jin's anime achieved 14% in Japan hahahahaha

-Seriously??? 14% ㅁㅊㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

-No, it's 14.8%, so it's safe to say it's almost 15%.

-Big!!! The soup is filling up!!!

It was the first gift Kang Woo-jin, who went to Japan alone, gave to his domestic fans.

-no!! Kang Woo-jin again?!?!!

However, Korea showed a slightly different response from Japan. Rather than being crazy about the box office success of 'Boyfriend: Remake', they were enthusiastic about the impact of Kang Woo-jin, who turned the Japanese animation market upside down.

-Sim hahaha I didn't know if they would actually perform a magic spin hahahaha

-ㅇㅈㅈㅈIt seems like Kang Woo-jin is more popular in Japan than we thought.

In Japan, movies and dramas, including the Korean Wave, were stagnant. The only remaining heart is animation. However, Kang Woo-jin suddenly moved to Japan and became familiar with animation, so it was natural to be enthusiastic about it.

However, the animation market was not the only thing that Kang Woo-jin was familiar with.

The first thing that confirmed it was from the mouth of writer Nana Choi, who is currently in Bangkok in connection with the overseas location of 'Beneficial Evil'.

"Wow!! how!! Awesome, awesome!!"

She, the original author of 'Boyfriend: Remake', was also traveling in a foreign country. Heartfelt congratulations were also poured in from the key staff of 'Beneficial Evil', including producer Song Man-woo. At this time, writer Nana Choi, raising her round glasses, quickly tapped on the screen of her cell phone.

-Sigh.

What she accessed was Japan's Oricon chart. It was a site where you could immediately check the Japanese music market, including real-time, daily, weekly, and monthly.

"······oh my gosh."

Artist Nana Choi's eyes widened after checking the real-time Oricon chart.

"Woojin is first place."

Because the OP sung by Kang Woo-jin even topped the Oricon chart.

< Autumn (13) > End