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Chapter 26. This Isn't What Was Promised
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Wait a minute!
This isn't right, is it?
…But upon closer thought, it doesn't seem wrong either.
She was indeed the one who suggested the advance screening.
Likewise, she was the one who chose the script for "Phantom Blood."
Dio and the other actors, as well as staff like Akiyuki Shinbo and Pucci, were all recruited by her to join Green Dolphin Studio.
But...
Weren't all these factors supposed to ensure that "Phantom Blood" would be a flop?!
Jolyne Cujoh couldn't understand it.
What's up with the audience this time around?
Why do so many people like to dig for gold in the garbage?!
No, this isn't even gold in the garbage...
Looking at the comments under "Phantom Blood," she saw that everyone who watched it indeed hated DIO, the villain targeting JOJO, and wished for his swift demise, just as she expected.
In this gold-digging scenario, you could even erase the word "gold"!
"Ryoko, do you think it's possible..."
Jolyne said unwillingly, "that the reason 'Phantom Blood' appears to be so popular is actually because of a bug in the official backend, making our data look inflated?"
That's right, there's no other explanation.
Surely this audience isn't masochistic, just enjoying a story where the protagonist suffers?
It doesn't look like that from the comments.
"Impossible, absolutely impossible."
After saying this, Ryoko Kakyoin scratched her head awkwardly, "Okay, at first, I did have such a thought."
"After all, the things you said before, Jolyne, were just..."
See, she knew that her operations specifically aimed at losing money couldn't suddenly turn profitable.
It must be a bug in the official backend.
That's why the data for "Phantom Blood" is so unrealistically high.
Choosing to ignore certain parts of Ryoko's words and only hearing what she wanted to hear, Jolyne thought happily.
Yes, once the official fixes this bug, everything will be fine.
Then the system rebate will return the money she invested in "Phantom Blood" a hundredfold.
As long as...
"But I didn't realize your real purpose for choosing an advance screening was this, Jolyne."
Ryoko gave Jolyne a thumbs-up, looking convinced, "By exploiting the fact that most advance-screened works are not well-regarded, you let 'Phantom Blood' be live-streamed by influencers, leveraging their popularity to boost our work's visibility... Jolyne, you're really smart to come up with this!"
"This way, even though we're not that popular, we can still gain comparable popularity to those hit works from the start, and then gradually convert their audience into ours!"
Yes, by premiering early, there would be influencers...
Wait a minute, what's this about influencers?!
Jolyne seemed to find the key to why things turned out this way.
So, after politely sending the praising Ryoko out of the room,
She quickly sat back in front of her computer and began a targeted search.
Soon, it seemed like the increasing popularity of "Phantom Blood" was indeed true, the reason she least wanted to admit.
By just vaguely searching the keywords "influencer" and "Phantom Blood" together, she found the culprit on the first line of the homepage.
Along with the recording of the original live stream.
After roughly watching the recording,
Jolyne finally understood.
Why did DIO become a universally despised villain overnight?
And why, despite DIO's repulsiveness, did so many people still like "Phantom Blood"?
"It turns out, it's all because of your excessive interpretations, you jerk!!"
Report!
She must report this thoroughly!
And she already had a perfect reason.
That is, the influencer [ ] spread it without her or the platform's permission...
But Ryoko's previous words suddenly echoed in Jolyne's mind.
Stopping her action to report.
If it were any other work, this behavior would naturally be unacceptable.
But this was an advance-released work.
Compared to those hit works.
Because even the creators of these advance-screened works don't believe in their success, the platforms signing these works wouldn't believe in their quality either, right?
They would generally devalue them and not provide the exclusive broadcasting terms that only hit works enjoy.
Another reason is that the creators of these advance-screened works want to submit their works to all platforms to quickly recoup their investments.
For Jolyne, who aimed to lose money and didn't plan to widely distribute "Phantom Blood" to slightly recoup her investment, this clause should've helped her lose money.
But can someone tell her?
Why did this decision boost "Phantom Blood"'s popularity instead!?
"Stay calm. The more critical the moment, the more I need to stay calm."
Jolyne forced herself to calm down, "Actually, if you think about it, I haven't lost yet, have I?"
"Although 'Phantom Blood' has gained popularity, if I successfully sell its broadcast rights and don't sell them a second time, the best outcome is just turning 'Phantom Blood' into a critically acclaimed but commercially unsuccessful work."
Realizing that even the landlord had no spare food, and having invested all her pocket money into "Phantom Blood" for the system rebate, Jolyne found herself with no money left even to file a lawsuit.
Unable to rely on allies for free help, she could only comfort herself this way.
After all, it's unlikely that with the resources available online, people would still line up to buy BD discs for special editions or other reasons, right?
Without the revenue from the first and subsequent broadcasts, in this widespread dissemination, it should be difficult to sell BD discs well.
How will Green Dolphin Studio recover the funds invested in "Phantom Blood"?
"So, it's fine, I still have a chance! I will still lose money!"
Jolyne kept encouraging herself.