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Chapter 53. My Heart is Apollo 11
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That's right, she hasn't lost yet!
Not only has she not lost, but she's also closer to victory than ever!
As the saying goes, "third time's the charm."
As long as she keeps working hard, the accumulated anger, regret, and sadness over time will all be meaningful!
As long as she doesn't stop, the path will continue to extend!
After all, the reason she chose Pucci.
The reason she chose the script of "Phantom Blood."
Is because, in this parallel world, unlike the situation where Pucci's past life has gradually matured and even ventured into absurd plots, there has never been a work that so resolutely kills off the protagonist.
Even in works that are cruel to the protagonist.
At most, they kill the protagonist's entire family, sparing not even a dog.
But they never kill the protagonist themselves.
It seems that in this regard, the industry's inhumane screenwriters have surprisingly reserved their remaining kindness for the protagonists in their works.
Although it's true that living might be worse than death, don't you still have a life?
(PS: Although I personally likes Gundam, or rather giant robots, and doesn't hold any grudge against Yoshiyuki Tomino, who created the Gundam series, Tomino is indeed quite extreme when it comes to cruelty.)
It's easy to imagine.
The protagonist's existence carries so much emotional investment from the audience.
So much so that even those who enjoy torturing protagonists and killing entire families wouldn't dare to easily kill off the protagonist.
Now, with "Phantom Blood" about to touch this taboo and bottom line.
It is bound to...
"Dead with no place to be buried... you think so, don't you?"
In the "Phantom Blood" production team.
Facing the same concerns from Akiyuki Shinbo and others, Pucci admitted, "Seriously, I think so too."
"...Eh eh eh eh eh!!?"
Although they were happy to film the scenes of Zeppelin's death.
Thanks to the permission from Jolyne Cujoh, the filming location was cheerful.
There was no need to worry about the results or other issues.
They only needed to unleash their creativity and paint freely on this almost blank canvas.
This preferential treatment was so rare that, after hearing Pucci's words.
Akiyuki Shinbo didn't even hesitate to join in with a "Jolyne, we adore you" attitude.
After all, for any creator, especially one like him with a unique personal style, this is a dream opportunity.
Naturally, whether or not he was genuinely inspired by Jolyne's passion or wanted to create his desired story freely.
Would only make Akiyuki Shinbo make that initial choice.
Unless he wasn't a creator.
But now the situation was a bit different...
This wasn't just the death scene of an important character.
It was the death scene of the protagonist, who would be killed off in the story!
Not to mention Akiyuki Shinbo's hesitation.
Even Pucci.
After reading the script and understanding the current situation in the industry, felt somewhat intimidated.
Just like Akira Toriyama, who wanted to replace the protagonist and had to resurrect Goku in some way to save the world.
In an industry where no work has ever audaciously killed off the protagonist.
Their choice was akin to voluntarily plunging into the ocean during the Age of Exploration, opening a new route with every step requiring immense courage.
Because every step they took could potentially lead to a bottomless abyss.
Unlike previous situations with precedents to refer to, this was a real gamble capable of scaring off any challenger!
So...
"In July 1969, Neil Armstrong of Apollo 11 became the first human to set foot on the moon; it was a historic event."
"...?"
Akiyuki Shinbo looked at Pucci in confusion.
He had yet to recover from the shock of Pucci, who proposed the script, admitting a lack of confidence.
Not only did he not receive Pucci's reassurance.
But he suddenly heard a response completely unrelated to their discussion.
Although Akiyuki Shinbo was familiar with Apollo 11 and moon landing.
After all, the story itself is quite topical.
There are countless works created around this story.
Whether it's discovering aliens on the moon or astronauts gaining superpowers from cosmic radiation... it's all very intriguing.
But what does this have to do with them?
Such a story set in the 20th century, after World War II.
Has no relevance to the 19th-century setting of "Phantom Blood."
Even if Pucci wanted to set the origin of the Stone Mask as an alien artifact and have Ripple Energy correspond to something aliens specifically left behind to make vampires and Ripple warriors fight, it would be too early.
Although this setting might seem quite interesting...
As Akiyuki Shinbo was overwhelmed by this massive amount of information.
And his mind began to wander.
Pucci's voice continued.
"I have never understood where the greatness of this event lies."
"Because rockets can fly to space and the moon thanks to the scientists and engineers who designed them. Even if they carried a monkey, it would still reach space!"
No matter how you look at it, this seems a bit too much.
Listening to Pucci's words, Akiyuki Shinbo, who was slightly more awake, retorted.
But seeing Pucci's incredibly serious expression, he realized that Pucci didn't seem to be joking.
So Akiyuki Shinbo kept this retort to himself and didn't voice it.
Although it was unbelievable.
This was definitely not a joking look.
Looking at Pucci's serious demeanor, his words seemed to have a kind of magical allure, compelling Akiyuki Shinbo to listen further.
"But when I had this thought, I finally understood the true meaning of humans landing on the moon!"
Pucci's voice grew louder, and his tone became more passionate.
"The moon landing represented humanity's [spirit]!"
"Humanity's growth transcended Earth at that moment, achieving sublimation!"
"By marking the fact that anyone, even any creature, could land on the moon into the [soul] of all humanity!!"
"And this is what we must do."
Putting the final character into the script and transmitting it into the full-dive device, causing the script world to evolve, Pucci said with conviction:
"We need to create our own historic event!"