01x07 - Buzz

[bunniefuu]

No! Let me go!

Calm down!

I don't mean you any harm.

Please just calm down.

Aqua how come?

Mem said you went out in the typhoon,

but you wouldn't return,

so she's looking around for you.

So I was following the route

to the convenience store.

You idiot.

Hey, you two!

That was dangerous earlier!

What are you guys doing?!

Akane Kurokawa's getting roasted.

Well, with that incident,

it's no surprise.

Don't you get used to this type of thing

once you're a public figure?

More or less.

But it depends on the person,

so some people never get used to it.

Even for me,

depending on my mental state, there are

days when I think of actually dying too.

The mind of a teenage girl receiving

a storm of criticism for the first time

must be something unimaginable for you.

It's enough to make you believe

that your life is over.

Reality dating shows are popular

in countries all over the world,

but it's produced

nearly 50 suicides up to now.

Depending on the country, counseling

for the cast is mandatory by law.

If 50 people are dead, then you should

think there are ten times more than that

who have thought of committing suicide,

but barely escaped death.

Reality shows are a program

where you expose your true self.

The one who gets slammed is yourself,

not the show.

Of course that's tough.

My brother said, "Lies are also

the best way to protect yourself."

That's well put.

It's good if you created a persona

to some degree,

but the more you show your true self,

the damage is deeper.

Social media makes the slander

toward celebrities visible.

By freedom of expression

and in the name of justice,

someone is getting lynched

every day somewhere.

Everyone thinks of themselves

as an exception,

but they are in fact cornering someone.

Your casual remark can k*ll people.

I wonder if Bro is okay.

Even if you're careful, it's useless.

Like they say,

"Everyone has their quirks."

Every person has some kind of flaw.

We all possess fuel to spark controversy.

Yes. That's correct.

What? Is that true?

Yes. I'll be over right away.

Is something wrong, CEO?

Aqua

seems to be in trouble

with the police right now.

What?!

My daughter told me

not to watch the program,

and I'm not familiar with the internet.

I never knew she was in such a situation.

Why didn't you tell me?

Because I didn't want to worry you!

When I was called,

I prepared myself for the worst.

But good job, Aqua. I'm proud of you.

You look uninterested in others,

but you're watching over people.

It's not like that.

People can die easily.

If someone screams for help, you gotta

move quickly or it'll be too late.

But I'll charge Akane

for the taxi fare later.

You're cheap.

Akane!

You idi

Why did you make us worry?

Why?! Why didn't you talk to us?!

Sorry

Akane.

What do you wanna do from here?

What do I wanna do?

I'm saying you have an option

to quit the show this way.

But what about the contract and stuff?

This is an issue that questions

the supervisory responsibility

of the program that uses minors.

Now that it's reached this point, they

wouldn't complain if you wanted to quit.

You're exposing your real name,

Akane Kurokawa, on the show.

You decide where to draw the line.

I've been working hard all this time

to become more famous as an actress

and to continue acting.

Everyone's helped me out so much too

But it ended up like this.

Akane

I'm scared

I'm really scared

But I'm gonna continue.

I don't wanna quit like this!

Alright.

You heard her. There's no problems, right?

Of course.

That's what we've been saying

from the start.

We'll try to back you up

as much as possible too.

You all get along on this set.

Well, this set's entire cast is

around the same age.

I'm sure everyone's going to work together

and go through with the show

despite what's being said.

But this leaves a bad aftertaste.

The show that fueled the fire and those

online who said whatever they wanted

they all piss me off.

PRESS CLUB

The police station has something

called a press club.

Various media journalists stand by

24 hours to pick up the latest news

and they're all waiting eagerly

for a scoop.

TEENAGE ACTRESS ATTEMPTS SUICIDE

Now you've gone and done it

I was a fool for complimenting you.

I hope you know where this is going.

Yeah, although I don't know

if it'll go well.

Now this is where

the real reality show begins.

The news of Akane's

suicide attempt spread,

and it sparked various debates

in the community.

Of course there were those who backed off,

but new disputes

and slander increased too.

It gained attention,

but there's no net positive outcome.

This kind of thing just isn't a good

countermeasure against backlash.

In fact, Akane Kurokawa

is still on hiatus right now,

and she has no plans of returning yet.

You selfish child.

Can you take responsibility

for making this a big issue?

I don't think this is a bad bet.

The amount of attention is the same

as the poker chips on the table.

If she folds now, Akane will lose big

without having put up a fight.

You can't win if you don't raise.

I still bet even if I have only one ace.

Real life is nothing like poker.

What? You want videos and pictures

with everyone in it?

But I don't have that many.

Maybe only 100 or less.

You've got a ton.

What do you wanna use it for?

Love For Real

is content edited by a pro, right?

So there's an intent there to make Akane

the villain to make the show interesting.

If you just cut out parts of a story

and patch it together,

even a saint can look like a criminal.

That's what staging does.

I have the filmmaking skills,

so if I just have the materials

I see.

In other words, you want to make

a Love For Real in our own perspective.

Whose advice was that?

Did you think of it yourself?

Hm? I did.

Really, that's not a bad idea.

This situation now

in advertising agency terms is called

"A situation with many active viewers

where many impressions can be expected."

Akane's backlash stands out

at first glance,

but that's just the tip of the iceberg.

In reality, that's only a small percentage

of the viewers.

The sensitive topic of attempted suicide

Most of the audience are wondering

if they should support or criticize.

They're the silent majority.

In other words,

many users are looking for an answer.

That's where you provide

a highly relatable opinion,

then most people will believe

that's what's correct in this market.

We're the focus of attention right now,

so we might be able to

completely overwrite public opinion.

And we have the access to upload

your video to the official accounts too.

The user flow is secured.

Depending on the video's quality,

we can expect it to go super viral.

Once it's finished, gimme the data!

I'll upload it!

Well, I could do that much

Do you know which day and time

is best to upload to get the most retweets

and how many characters in a post

gives the highest impressions?

No

I came this far through online marketing

and self-promoting, you know?

I may not look it,

but I'm a pro at making content go viral.

Hm. Then I'll provide the music.

You can do that?

Well, I am a pro who belongs

to a record label, living off music.

I write the songs for my band

and offer music to others too.

I just gotta make

some teary emotional songs, right?

Piece of cake!

Whoa.

But you know,

don't we want that one scene?

Which scene?

You know, the scene where Akane hit me

and I kindly hugged her!

Ah! Oh, but the camera

wasn't rolling there

Don't underestimate me.

You think a pro model like me wouldn't

take notice of the static camera position?

I put us in a position

that'd make us perfectly appear on camera.

So much for a natural reaction

The staff definitely has the footage.

They're hiding it on purpose!

It's so unfair!

Well, yeah, we do have it.

But it's prohibited to carry out

video data. I can't lend it to you.

That's true.

If that gets out,

it's like admitting the show set up

a cast member to look like a villain.

If that happens while we're attracting

this much attention,

Akane's bashing may shift

towards the show.

You catch on quick.

What we're doing is a form

of entertainment known as a reality show.

Everyone watches the show

looking forward to the real drama.

We don't force anything onto Akane.

She makes the decisions,

and we're just staging it

so that the audience easily understands.

If she refused the job,

we wouldn't have used her either.

Am I wrong?

Akane has

a highly responsible personality.

I know, I've been filming her.

Akane is a pro,

but we're also doing this as a profession.

A pro, huh

Director, how old are you?

I'm 35.

Akane's 17.

Whether she's a pro or not,

a 17-year-old is just a damn brat

who makes a bunch of mistakes.

If the grown-ups won't protect the kids,

then who will?

You got a point there.

Ugh, no, no!

Make that shot long, so it'll look more

like an amateur worked on it!

This is where you add my song!

Make it go "Bang!"

Shut up

The staff gave me this photo!

Awesome! Let's use it!

Um, the composition

Nice!

Looks real nice!

Come on, Director, it finished encoding.

We're gonna post it.

Damn it, that computer

has some good specs.

Let me sleep more

I wonder how many views it'll get.

I hope it hits at least 5,000.

Even that's pretty hard.

The videos you put more effort into

don't take off as expected sometimes.

If we can get 100 retweets

in the first minute,

it should ultimately

become a pretty viral video.

A hundred?

Well, we did all that we could.

Now, let's go for the showdown!

You haven't done anything though.

Why are you acting like the leader?

VIEWS 0

VIEWS 50

3 RETWEETS

VIEWS 257

6 RETWEETS

VIEWS 1,282

58 RETWEETS

VIEWS 2,546

92 RETWEETS

This'll work! This'll go viral!

Here it comes!

VIEWS 8,576

226 RETWEETS

Alright!

I understand, you just panicked.

Sorry Your face

And you have a magazine sh**t

Don't worry.

Akane, do you hate me?

I don't hate you.

You're strong and kind, I like you.

Me too. I like you

and your hardworking, earnest self.

That's why I won't get mad.

This video received

74,000 retweets 24 hours later.

It revamped Akane Kurokawa's image,

as well as established Love For Real's

popularity at the same time.

THE CAST IS CLOSE

YUKI DOESN'T WANT BASHING

IT'S TRENDY TO SLAM THE SHOW NOW? LOL

ALL AT ONCE TOO

The backlash had settled to some degree.

Why I word that vaguely is because

there is no complete solution to backlash.

Akane!

I'm sure this matter will continue

to be brought up again,

and even a decade later,

there will be those who mention it.

But Yeah,

I'll return starting the next sh**t.

I'm so glad!

But don't push yourself to go on the show.

Uh, that wasn't meant in a bad way, okay?

Since I want you to go on the show

even if you pushed yourself!

I know.

I feel that it's become a difficult world

to voice your opinion.

I bet I would've gotten backlash for it

if I tweeted that now.

I seriously gotta be careful.

From now on, maybe you should

create a bit of a persona?

If you show your true self,

it'll hit you harder if you get slammed.

A persona?

That's true

If you act out some kind of role,

that'll become your armor.

If you expose your true self,

you just get hurt.

This isn't exactly limited

to reality shows either.

It's a vital concept in socializing too.

Since Aqua's a man of many faces too, so

You can show us more

of yourself, you know?

I refuse.

I'm good at acting, so maybe I'll try it.

That's right,

you are an actress after all, Akane.

Rather, that's the only strength I have

But what kind of role should I act out?

Hmm.

Aqua, what kind of girl is your type?

Why me?

Because you're the only guy here.

Tell her what your ideal girl is like.

Ideal

A girl with a pretty face.

Ugh, that's the worst.

You are the epitome of lookism.

With a bright smile like sunshine.

A perfect performance.

An invincible manner and speech.

Huh?

Natural captivating eyes.

You say some difficult stuff.

That's vague

Hmm, but maybe it's like her?

Maybe like B Komachi's Ai?

Ai as in the idol

who died a long time ago?

Uh-huh.

Am I wrong?

Uh, well, that's about right.

Ah, so you like these types!

You're a sucker for pretty faces!

I'll try acting out

Aqua's type of girl then.

Do it!

Make Aqua fall for you!

Yeah!

No one can copy Ai.

She's a natural-born star.

I'll do my best.

Aqua worked hard

to make that video for me.

He also came to find me in a storm.

That made me happy.

I need to repay him.

I wonder if he'll be happy

if I act out his type and showed him.

B Komachi's Ai I need to gather data.

Her main trait must be those eyes.

Did it come from self-confidence?

NATURAL CAPTIVATING EYES

If so, that means her desire

for recognition was being satisfied.

Her social life seems limited.

But I'm sure there was something

with the opposite sex

Was her home environment good?

No, this personality probably developed

from a very bad one.

It seems she had some type of bias

towards the way she loved others.

Secretive but desired exposure.

A perfectionist despite being reckless.

Careless but overly persistent.

The type to save money.

Rather disinterested in fashion.

Good vision.

Sensitive ears and nose.

Long steps when walking.

Relatively poorly educated.

A crooked way of holding chopsticks.

Signs of developmental disorder.

An unbalance seen in girls who've had

intercourse at the adolescent stage.

From around 15 years old, you can see

an improvement in her reckless behavior.

I wonder if she met someone nice?

ICHIGO PRODUCTION

SAITOU

Akane Kurokawa went through a disaster.

Does she seem okay?

Yeah, she recovered somehow.

I see.

Aww, I wish she had just retired.

Hey

Oh! No, no, that's not what I meant!

As a business rival!

Ugh, a bad choice of words can be scary.

That would've blown up if I tweeted that.

Even as a business rival,

that doesn't make it sound any better.

Well, as someone who's the same age

with the same job as an actress

she's like an eyesore.

You can understand

when you want your rival to fall, right?

It's basically Schadenfreude.

Kana Arima feels that way

toward Akane Kurokawa?

Well of course.

Right. You had no interest in theater.

Well, you only act in front of a camera.

Akane Kurokawa of Theater Lalalai

is famous in the theater world

for being a genius actress.

Akane will return starting today.

Everyone, I apologize

for causing so much trouble.

I'd like to make up for it

with my efforts from here.

I kindly ask for your cooperation!

Now then, please stand by for the camera.

Let's go.

Yeah.

Sure, Aqua.

I'm so sleepy! This sh**t is too early.

Oh, is the camera rolling already?

Tee-hee!