PDLP Chapter 149 Anti-Japanese Pioneers - Xinghua Entertainment?
Chapter 149 Anti-Japanese Pioneers - Xinghua Entertainment?
For the next few days, the animation department of Xingyao Entertainment was immersed in a depressing atmosphere.
Because of Starlight Entertainment's progress, Starshine Entertainment has been put in a passive position.
Lu Ran returned to the office area and clapped his hands.
Everyone looked up.
"I know everyone's been under a lot of pressure lately." Lu Ran looked around. "Seeing your competitors' work go online and the comments must be tough."
Everyone fell silent.
"But I want to tell everyone—we're not making an ordinary animation." Lu Ran's voice was clear. "What we're making is a nation's memory, a generation's sentiment. This kind of work can't be rushed, nor can it be done hastily."
He walked to the whiteboard and drew a timeline: "Starlight seized the initiative, and Japan came on strong, but this is actually our opportunity. When the audience gets tired of those gorgeous and grand settings and weary of those lofty heroes, they will crave our kind of warm and flesh-and-blood stories."
"So, don't let external factors distract you." Lu Ran put down his pen, his gaze resolute. "Keep to our pace, perfect every detail. Until the day we launch—"
He paused, then said, word by word:
"We want everyone to know what the true glory of Chinese animation is."
Lu Ran's words were like a shot in the arm, revitalizing the entire team.
After some reflection, everyone realized that Lu Ran always seemed to face seemingly unsolvable situations, but he always managed to give everyone an unexpected surprise at crucial moments.
The anime club members, who had been on edge, relaxed quite a bit.
They also knew that this animation was a groundbreaking work in terms of character design, plot planning, and symbolic meaning.
Such works cannot be rushed; they must be completed with utmost care and attention.
All the employees in the animation department returned to their workstations and continued to work on the intense production.
...
A week later, Japanese anime returned to the Chinese market.
The first three works released are all well-received works from Japan in recent years.
The excellent production, mature storytelling, and vivid character design quickly won over a large audience.
Although the two countries of Japan and China have temporarily restored their relations, there are still many silent struggles going on behind the scenes.
This animation, for example, can be seen as a cultural invasion.
The Japanese manga has just been released, and discussions about it are everywhere on Weibo, forums, and video websites.
"I have to say, Japanese animation is really strong..."
"The difference between 'Dragon Fighting the World' and these other films becomes apparent."
"Starlight Entertainment has tried its best, but it still lags behind in terms of technological expertise and creativity."
"Chinese animation has a long way to go."
Starlight Entertainment's "Dragon Soars Across the Seas" suffered a rapid decline in viewership and critical acclaim due to the impact of Japanese manga.
Although it is still in first place for now, it is about to be overtaken by other Japanese manga.
Furthermore, many netizens supported "Dragon Soars Across the Seas" out of patriotism, but the objective quality gap is undeniable, making it ultimately difficult to compete.
However, this time, the online response to Starlight Entertainment was overwhelmingly positive.
As a pioneer in the fight against Japanese pirates, Starlight Entertainment has to admit that this animation is quite decent.
If we can continue our efforts, Chinese animation may very well surpass Japanese animation.
At this very moment, Starlight Entertainment's official Weibo account posted a cryptic message:
"Thank you for your support of our animation 'Dragon Soars Across the Seas'. This animation was indeed recently produced by Starlight Entertainment. There will be more exciting animations in the future, so please look forward to it."
However, it's true that Chinese animation can't rely on just one company; we hope other entertainment companies will step forward and join us in carrying the banner of Chinese animation together.
Starlight Entertainment's Weibo post, while seemingly normal and without any issues, is actually quite straightforward.
But viewers familiar with their relationship with Xingyao know very well.
This is a direct challenge to Xingyao Entertainment.
Having always been outmatched by Xingyao, they finally gained the upper hand in this anti-Japanese war anime.
After all, Starlight Entertainment was among the first to receive news of a major push for the development of animation.
This Weibo post immediately sparked heated discussion.
Starlight Entertainment's fans and online trolls all jumped in:
"Starlight Entertainment, at least, has produced some decent works, putting them on par with Japanese comics! And what about Xingyao's animation? They've been hyping it up for so long, but we haven't seen a trace of it!"
"Could it be that they can't make it? They were so strong with both short and long dramas before, why are they failing with animation? It seems their previous success was just luck!"
"That Lu Ran guy, has he run out of ideas? He's okay at songwriting and directing dramas, but he can't do animation!"
"Support Starlight! Just for this anime, I'll be a ten-year fan of Starlight Entertainment!"
It turns out that Starlight Entertainment's Weibo account was subtly criticizing Xingyao, but it didn't say it explicitly.
However, those stirring up trouble deliberately steered the narrative towards Xingyao Entertainment, leading many viewers who had just seen the news to believe that Xingyao was deliberately not putting in any effort.
Moreover, although everyone knows that Starlight Entertainment's "Dragon Soars Across the Seas" is inferior to Japanese comics in every aspect, it still managed to firmly hold the number one position by relying on its patriotic sentiment.
Xingyao Entertainment's public relations department has repeatedly asked Lu Ran for his opinion on whether a response is needed.
Lu Ran simply replied, "Ignore it."
Because he knew that this anime war between Japan and China was not only not over, but had only just begun.
After being dormant for so long, Japan has finally welcomed the opening of the Chinese market. However, anime of this caliber is not enough to conquer the Chinese market.
Lu Ran was certain that the opponent must have a trump card up their sleeve, the kind of trump card that couldn't be defeated by sentiment alone.
Lu Ran planned to wait until the opponent had revealed all their cards before making his move.
Sure enough, not long after Starlight Entertainment posted on Weibo, the Japanese anime industry also responded.
In an interview, a well-known Japanese anime producer even bluntly stated: "Putting aside personal feelings, although the production of the anime 'Dragon Rising' is not bad, it still falls short of the works of our great Japan."
Next week, we will be releasing a brand new film again, and we hope the audience in China will enjoy it.
These words were extremely arrogant.
At a time when relations between China and Japan had just eased, they dared to so bluntly denigrate Chinese animation.
When these words were translated into Chinese, they completely ignited the anger of netizens.
"That's outrageous!"
"But what they said is also true. If they bring even better works next week, who else can Chinese animation rely on?"
"If Starlight Entertainment is no match, who else can step up?"
"What about Xingyao? Didn't they say they were going to make an anime?"
"It's probably dead, there's been no news for so long."
"I heard that Xinghua Entertainment is also making animation, and it seems to be coming out soon."
"Then we can only pin our hopes on Xinghua Entertainment, as Xingyao is making no moves at all."
Looking at the escalating emotions online, Lu Ran chuckled and said, "This is nothing yet. Let this little clown be smug for now."
Looking at his colleagues in the animation department working diligently, Lu Ran felt confident.
...
Many online trolls from Xinghua Entertainment were also involved in this public opinion storm.
Some time ago, they, along with Starlight Entertainment, were completely crushed by Starshine Entertainment.
They received the news about the anime a few days later than Starlight Entertainment, so their anime production was a step behind, allowing Starlight Entertainment to seize the initiative.
But they understand one principle: the nail that sticks out gets hammered down.
Let Starlight Entertainment draw the attention first, while StarHua Entertainment will take its time and do its best.
If they can withstand the pressure and defeat Japanese comics when they face higher-quality ones later on, then Starlight Entertainment will have paved the way for them.
As for Xingyao? Their animation department didn't react at all; Xinghua had already ignored it.
This time, Xinghua Entertainment aims to be the leader among "Samsung" (a group of three major entertainment companies).
...