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Chapter 119. Yeah, Why is That?
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Jolyne Cujoh double-checked everything.
She even rewatched "Battle Tendency". During her second viewing, she turned on the comments and carefully read them one by one, trying to understand the feelings of the viewers who posted them at the time.
She was deeply affected by how the story took such a drastic turn, and how those feelings of the audience evolved just as dramatically. These emotions were imprinted on Jolyne's mind.
She finally realized one thing—
This wasn't a small loss; it was a huge one!
It was as if all the funds she had invested in "Battle Tendency" were completely wasted!
Amazing!!
But...
"How did this even end up losing money?"
It was like the situation in "Ultraman Tiga" where the Victory Team, unable to hear Yuzare's line "There's only one way to awaken the giant, and that's for Daigo to become light," suddenly saw the statue come back to life and transform into Ultraman. They were all utterly confused.
Jolyne Cujoh was similarly bewildered.
Could it be that she had a special condition where anything she took seriously was destined to fail, and only things she didn't take seriously, or believed impossible, would succeed?
...No way.
This thought had just surfaced in Jolyne's mind before she quickly discarded it.
How could such unscientific things happen?
Besides, if she really had such bad luck, how could she have obtained the system in the first place?
Looking at the system that, due to her never having lost once, was basically running but almost felt like it wasn't running at all, Jolyne Cujoh fell into deep contemplation.
Since it wasn't her problem, then whose was it?
She clearly thought that Akiyuki Shinbo and his team of "tigers pretending to be pigs" were interfering with Pucci, this "sleeping dragon," thus leading to their separation.
But why, after Pucci left Shinbo and his group, did they end up being the ones to lose money first, even though they were always backstabbing her?
"It doesn't make sense..."
"It doesn't make sense?... Jolyne, have you finally realized that Pucci's previous budget allocation had issues?"
Ryoko Kakyoin, who had come to remind Jolyne Kujo after seeing the budget approved by the Finance Department for Pucci's production team, was delighted as soon as she opened the office door and heard Jolyne's mutterings.
"It's not too late to figure this out now. Besides, Pucci still has Jotaro and the others watching over him, so they can definitely get back all the money Pucci tricked you out of!"
Just as Jolyne Cujoh believed the success of "Phantom Blood" was mainly due to the efforts of industry veterans like Akiyuki Shinbo and not the rookie director Pucci, Ryoko Kakyoin also had a moment of doubt after learning the true credentials of Shinbo and his team.
However, since Pucci was chosen by Jolyne Cujoh, and because Pucci personally wrote the scripts for "Phantom Blood" and "Battle Tendency", proving that Jolyne's judgment was still trustworthy, Ryoko continued to believe that Pucci, who had assembled the "Phantom Blood" team and managed such talented individuals, deserved significant credit.
...This belief lasted until Jolyne Cujoh suddenly pulled Pucci out of the team.
Pucci was then put in charge of a new production team separate from Shinbo's, each creating different projects.
And after forming yet another new team, Pucci kept approaching Jolyne Cujoh and the Finance Department for funding, claiming it was needed to develop new technology!?
Even though Ryoko was a newcomer to the industry due to Jolyne's whims, even she knew about Cameron, the legendary truck driver of the industry, and why every new project of Cameron's took years, sometimes even over a decade, to complete before sweeping box office rankings worldwide.
Because the development cycle for any new technology in the industry was that long.
Luck, skill, technology, experience, vision, intuition... all these factors were indispensable.
Cameron could occasionally produce works incorporating new technology over several years or even a decade, thanks to the special effects company backing him.
But even with this, the special effects company couldn't keep up with Cameron, and after helping him rise to the top, it quickly declared bankruptcy...
How could their Green Dolphin Studio have the resources to walk a path that even industry giants struggled to navigate?
Moreover, based on what Pucci had been announcing on the official account, this new technology that had just started development was supposedly already maturing according to him!?
Wasn't this just a scam?
So, regardless of Pucci's past achievements, Ryoko had to urge Jolyne Kujo to see reason quickly and stop making mistakes!
As for Jolyne Cujoh, while she was surprised by Ryoko Kakyoin's sudden entrance, she noticed Ryoko Kakyoin's expression and realized that she had misunderstood her intentions.
Jolyne Cujoh quickly dispelled her doubts about Pucci and reminded herself, "Are you even human? Pucci's already a fool, and you still suspect him?"
Then, she became confused again.
If it wasn't her fault, and it wasn't Pucci's fault either, then why did Akiyuki Shinbo suddenly "get it"?
Unable to figure it out, with an expression that seemed to say, "I know, but I just won't change," Jolyne Cujoh stopped Ryoko's nagging and said, "Alright, I got it, Ryoko. I understand everything you're saying, but take a look at this first—"
"?"
Jolyne Cujoh sent a forum link to Ryoko Kakyoin and continued, "If you don't trust Pucci, then can you explain why "Battle Tendency" was fine while he was there?"
"Why did it suddenly become filled with rumors and even the plot started to look like it was going to fall apart as soon as Pucci wasn't around?"
Yeah, why is that?
Ryoko Kakyoin fell into deep thought as she looked at the comments.