02x02 - Game of Telephone

[bunniefuu]

What do you think, Sensei?

They're all very good actors.

I think the play will be great.

Well, of course.

Lalalai only has first-class actors.

I bet everyone has been

practicing really hard.

Sensei, you should say "rehearse"

instead of "practice" for a play.

Oh, really? I'm sorry.

I don't know anything about it.

They're amazing.

I could never do what they do.

But that's why I should, right?

I should say this myself, shouldn't I?

The script.

Can it still be changed?

Of course. But, which part?

"Which part?" Well

All of it.

STAGE PLAY TOKYO BLADE,

CAST MEETING DAY

I thought Theater Lalalai

was a traditional group.

I'm surprised they accepted a 2.5D play.

But half of the actors

are from outside agencies.

You don't have to be nervous.

I'm not nervous.

Melt.

Hey.

Apparently, Mr. Kaburagi is involved with

casting outside agencies for this play.

So, that makes us Team Kaburagi.

Great to be working with you again.

Same here.

What's with that pause?

Well, I get it.

"The guy who can't act is here."

You thought, "It's the Sweet Today

nightmare all over again," right?

Busted.

I won't ask you to cut me slack

just because that was my first acting gig.

But it's been nine months.

I've been working pretty hard too.

My acting should be a little better,

so just tell me if I'm doing badly.

B STUDIO

I'll be playing the role of Kizami.

I'm Melt Narushima from Sonic Stage.

Nice to meet you all.

I'll be playing Tsurugi.

I'm Kana Arima from Ichigo Production.

I'm Aqua, also from Ichigo Production.

I'll be playing Touki.

You're all here early.

We still have ten minutes.

Since everyone's here,

shall we introduce ourselves?

I'm Raida, the producer of this play.

And this is Kin-chan, the director.

I'm Toshiro Kindaichi.

Mr. GOA, the playwright.

That's Sakuya Kamoshida,

who has a lot of experience in 2.5D.

Hi, everyone.

-He's Team Kaburagi as well.

-I see.

Next up are the Lalalai actors.

Rio Mitano.

Mei Adashino.

Koyuki Yoshidomi.

Kiiro Hayashibara.

Ryoma Funato.

Akane Kurokawa.

Nice to meet you all.

And last but not least, the lead actor

-Wake up, you idiot.

-Ouch!

Sorry.

I'm playing the protagonist.

What's his name again?

Oh, well. I'm Taiki Himekawa.

Hi.

Let's all work together

and make this stage play,

Tokyo Blade, a success!

Pleasure to be working with you.

Today's just a cast meeting day,

but the main cast all seems to be here.

Might as well do the script reading too.

We'll start at half past.

You guys can chat or prepare for it

until then.

Yes, sir.

Aqua, long time no see.

Long time? We meet from time to time

to keep up the act.

That's true, but still.

I'm happy I get to work with you again.

During Love For Real,

I only caused you trouble.

But, theater is my forte.

I'll back you up, Aqua.

You seem confident.

Oh, no. That's not what I mean.

I still have a long way to go,

so I'm not confident.

It's just, we have

a lot of scenes together in this play.

So I wanted you to count on me

if you need help.

I see. Thanks.

-I'll keep that in mind.

-Sure.

They're dating, aren't they?

Since that reality show.

T-The show seemed to have

made it look that way.

But apparently, it's strictly business.

They've kissed, so I guess it'd look bad

if they broke up so soon.

They do seem to get along well though.

I see.

Well, she is playing his fiancée

in this play too.

Maybe that's why they were cast.

I guess it's a good match.

I don't like it when they link

actors' real lives to their characters.

I find it distracting.

More people will be touched by the show

when each audience gets

the same amount of information.

But the promoters like to add on

a little something for no reason.

That hasn't changed

for the last two centuries.

Well. You seem to be on edge.

During Sweet Today, you were more

I was the leader for that show.

I didn't want to ruin the atmosphere.

This is the real me.

You didn't have to act nice.

If you had been more open from the start,

I could've realized

how bad my acting was sooner.

No, that's an excuse. Forget what I said.

We have a lot of scenes together,

so I'll prove myself to you then.

Cheers!

Sensei, thank you for coming

when you're so busy.

Mine is a monthly serialization.

I'm only busy when the deadline is close,

so don't worry.

Still, you came for someone like me.

What are you talking about?

Though you were my assistant,

you're a full-fledged author now.

If anything, you've already surpassed me.

A weekly serialized manga artist

whose manga and anime became a huge hit

asked me out for a drink.

Of course I'd come.

So? What did you want to discuss?

You have experience with both

anime and drama adaptation, correct?

This is my first time

and I don't understand anything.

There's a lot I want to say to them,

but I don't even know

how much I'm allowed to say.

Oh, that.

They're going to do

a stage adaptation of Tokyo Blade.

But it's a little

Sensei, could you come with me

to watch the rehearsal?

I won't be able to help you with anything.

But sure, I'll go.

Great. Thank you very much.

Can we get the check please?

I'm sorry

you ended up treating me instead.

Older people are supposed to pay

at times like this.

-Let's go to the next bar.

-Oh.

Can I brush my teeth before we go?

I feel uncomfortable if I don't

brush my teeth right after I eat.

Oh, that's right. I remember.

I'll make it quick.

The manga industry is filled with weirdos.

But even amongst them,

Ms. Abiko has a strong character.

You can draw manga on your own

if you have to.

But for adaptations,

you need good communication skills.

It's true that if you don't say anything,

the production side will do as they like.

But I also know that

meddling in their business too much

confuses the whole thing.

That's why both sides need to

compromise to a certain level.

On that point, Ms. Abiko is

I need to use the restroom too.

Hey, what are you doing?

It's double brushing.

If I use two toothbrushes,

I can brush twice as fast.

I don't want to make you wait,

so I'm doing it at double speed.

She really is a weirdo.

I hope nothing goes wrong with

the Tokyo Blade stage play.

Please change the whole script.

I knew it!

T-The whole script? That's a little

The script was approved

and we've already started rehearsing.

We only have 20 more days until the show.

I asked for it to be fixed many times.

But they told me that

if I watch the actors perform,

I'll see that this script is good.

So I said that

if it really is good, then it's fine.

But it's not, so it's not fine. Is it?

Sensei!

First, please let me apologize for

writing a script that didn't satisfy you.

Of course,

I intend to fix all the parts that I can.

However,

from the several interactions we've had,

I think I reflected your ideas

the best I could.

How should I fix it from here?

So you're the one who wrote this script.

I've already told you about the parts

I wanted fixed.

I guess you just don't get it.

How should you fix it?

Have you really read Tokyo Blade?

Of course I have!

I wrote the script in order to

bring out the appeal

And this is what you came up with?

Your script is all wrong.

All the characters are

saying and doing the wrong things.

You can change

the development of the story.

But,

don't you think it's rude

to change the characters?

My kids aren't this stupid!

But we need to consider

the nature of theater

No. If you can give me a list,

I'll fix it.

Like I said, I told you many times

but nothing has been fixed!

I thought I was being belittled,

but it seems that

the playwright is just not getting it.

If this is his best script

after reading the manga,

I don't think

he has the talent as a writ

Ms. Abiko, stop there.

-Sensei! This way please!

-Let me go!

-Just for a second!

-I have more to say!

We might be restarting from scratch.

I guess the rehearsal's over. See ya.

When doing an adaptation,

it's common for the original author

and playwright to bump heads.

The script is made in several steps.

The first draft is written

based on the meeting

with the producer and the director.

After that, they rewrite

the second and the third draft

and when it's almost done,

the original author checks the script.

I'm guessing

Ms. Abiko wasn't happy with the script.

She probably sent an angry message

listing the parts to be fixed.

However, there are several intermediaries

between the author and the playwright.

So, it pretty much becomes

a game of telephone.

Ms. Abiko relies on her natural talent

and not on logic.

Therefore, even her editors

may not understand her intentions.

This is the best part!

But there's no emotion! It's not fixed!

They've become some needy creeps

talking about their feelings on the road.

Make it better.

Ms. Abiko suddenly becomes talkative

when it comes to manga.

It's difficult to organize and summarize.

I can't send

such angry messages to the client.

I should soften it somehow.

The original author side doesn't seem

to know anything about stage play.

This correction would require a new set.

We don't have enough time for that.

And we shouldn't be cutting off

the main character's scenes.

Could you tell that to GOA?

Okay

The original author

wants the characters to be more emotional

when expressing their feelings.

Then I guess I'll add more lines here.

I think it'd be more emotional

with less dialogue.

But if that's

what the original author wants.

They've become creepier!

Does the playwright have no talent?

The actors have to start rehearsing soon,

so the production side wants

to proceed with this script for now.

They said you'll be convinced

if you see the actors perform live.

Are you sure I'll be satisfied

if I see them perform?

I hope that's the case.

B SUB ROOM

No creator wants to

make their work worse on purpose.

While both sides are trying their best,

discrepancies and misunderstandings occur.

Due to various factors, original authors

and playwrights are still arguing today.

Ms. Abiko's anger

didn't just pop out of the blue.

I'm sure her protest is partly because

her opinion was not reflected at all.

To be frank, I don't think

this playwright is suitable for my work.

Here. Look at this correction.

Her intelligence is gone

and she became a complete bimbo.

He has no talent.

The corrections are wrong.

I doubt he understands entertainment.

Just let me write the script.

Wait, that's a little

You can't approve either, right?

Well, you know

I said I'll do it.

Or else,

I'll withdraw my approval to use my manga.

If you do that, you'll have to

The penalty charge is like

tens of millions, right?

That's fine. I'll pay.

That's not how it works!

The company will end up paying it!

Then, pay.

Since this is what she wants,

could you proceed with things that way?

But we have to think about

the playwright too.

You don't have to pay me.

Leave his name in the credits

and pay him as originally planned.

But I don't want him to be

involved anymore.

She's very childish.

Manga artists are picky

and a lot of us are socially inept.

Ms. Abiko is one of

the very extreme ones, obviously.

Are you okay with letting her say

whatever she wants?

At this rate, you'll be fired.

It can't be helped.

A playwright's position is

much weaker than you think.

If the higher-ups say something,

we can be easily replaced.

These things happen a lot.

Even if you work hard

to make something good,

if it's a little off from the

original author's taste, they'll hate you.

If it's a flop, the fans will ridicule you

as if you're a w*r criminal.

If it's great,

all credit goes to the original work.

Producers will try to include their ideas

and major agencies pressure you

for more screen time for their actors.

Still, you have to make it work

as a stage play.

The rewriting process

is what we call hell.

So, that's how it is.

I don't mind being fired.

But,

could you remove my name from the credits?

I can't take credit for

what Ms. Abiko rewrites.

I do have my pride as a playwright.

But we've already announced

the staff involved to the public

and it'll cost a lot

to reprint the poster and pamphlets.

I don't think

what you did with the script is wrong.

I can proudly say

that your script was great.

Could you please

think of it as an accident

and take the deal just this once?

Fine.

Leave my name as is.

But you owe me dinner.

I'm so sorry about this!

Eat whatever you want as much as you want!

I've been reading the manga

since its first release.

I even shifted other projects

to take this on.

I wanted to make this great,

so I poured my heart and soul into it.

When they asked to rewrite it

late at night, I worked on it right away.

I racked my brain until I got a fever

to meet their unreasonable requests.

I worked around the clock

and kept polishing it until the deadline.

I thought I did the best I could.

I don't think

he has the talent as a writ

Damn it.

So, they'll rewrite the script

from scratch.

We'll talk with the original author side

and will let you know

when the new script is done.

Until then, there'll be no rehearsals.

Things seem pretty serious, huh?

Well, we can't do anything

without the original author's approval.

I'm worried about postponing rehearsals.

This is a Stage Around play,

so I wanted extra rehearsing time.

Oh yeah, what's Stage Around?

What? You were rehearsing

without knowing what it was?

Isn't it hard to imagine

if you don't know that?

All stages are

pretty much the same, right?

What?

Aqua, you don't really like stage plays,

do you?

You realized, huh?

Of course.

It's not like I hate them.

I just won't watch if I have a choice.

Why not?

The set change for different scenes

messes up the flow.

The movable sets look cheap.

I can't really get into

a stage play's exaggerated acting.

I'd rather use that time to watch movies

that have better produc

Your answers are mostly as I imagined.

You're the one who asked.

That is indeed one of the challenges

theater has always faced.

We have less of an audience now

and people have said that

theater is a declining industry.

But I think your answers are

a little outdated.

As an actor, you should be more aware.

So, you've never watched

a Stage Around play?

I see.

What is it?

Since we have this extra time,

let's go on a date.

I'll show you

that theater is much better

experience-based content than movies.