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Chapter 142. Sit Down and Make Money
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Cujoh Jolyne admits it.
Previously, she was too hasty and didn't fully understand the situation!
She had doubted the reason why Green Dolphin Corporation never lost money and even suspected that Pucci was involved.
She even went as far as to separate Pucci from Akiyuki Shinbo, trying to discern who was loyal and who was treacherous?!
Although, strictly speaking, her method wasn't wrong.
But what she should never have done was cast suspicion on Pucci!
How could the prime minister be a traitor!?
She owes an apology to everyone for her suspicion!
Does she even know what a genius strategist is?
Does she understand what it means to be incredibly wise?
How could she doubt that Pucci wouldn't direct a terrible show?!
That's right!
"Stardust Crusaders" is about to fail!
Even without Akiyuki Shinbo's experience, just as he feared, the way "Stardust Crusaders" feels and how Jotaro, the main character, pales in comparison to Joseph—who makes a much more memorable impression than even new character Avdol—made Jolyne realize this series was likely heading for trouble.
And it was big trouble!
With this realization, she quickly removed her full-dive helmet, stood up from her seat, ran to the office door, locked it, and pulled the curtains shut.
Only after completing all this, like a guilty thief, did she put her full-dive helmet back on and start frantically searching on Google again!
Her search? Examples of series where the new protagonist was overshadowed by a former protagonist, and what their final outcome was.
The more she searched, the more outrageous her grin became!
Because, in all the works she found, as long as a former protagonist made an appearance, unless they were just making a brief cameo… No! Even with a brief cameo, they immediately stole the spotlight from the current protagonist!
That's the allure of the former protagonist.
Or rather, if a series gets a sequel, it's because the original was excellent.
Of course, the original protagonist is going to be immensely popular—an icon!
And even if they only made a cameo, they would still overshadow the new protagonist.
So what if the former protagonist was part of the main cast and went on adventures with the new one?
Just imagining the disastrous outcomes was enough to make Jolyne giddy with excitement!
Because "Stardust Crusaders" is exactly such a work, where the former protagonist becomes a member of the main cast, going on adventures with the new protagonist!
Even though she hadn't seen the ending yet, the way "Stardust Crusaders" was performing now allowed Jolyne to predict its eventual fate.
Most likely, Joseph would steal the spotlight, leading to a collapse of the plot!
With this in mind, Jolyne once again felt a renewed sense of admiration for Pucci.
You see, even she was almost fooled by Pucci earlier, thinking he was secretly a genius director like Akiyuki Shinbo!
But now, clearly, she had been overthinking it.
After all, unlike Akiyuki Shinbo, with his vast resume, Pucci's was clean as a blank sheet of paper.
How could he be a genius?
Not everyone has a system like she does!
Satisfied after reviewing the viewers' comments and bullet screens for this episode of "Stardust Crusaders", and realizing it wasn't just her, but many viewers shared the same sentiments, Jolyne felt a sense of clarity.
She was now even more motivated to approve funding for Pucci without fear that he would misuse it to betray her!
"But, this Stand must be that new technology Pucci mentioned, right?"
"Although it's surprising they developed new technology so quickly. I thought most of the funding would've been wasted."
"Still, even though it wasn't wasted, this new technology doesn't seem all that special. Rounding things up, it still feels like a loss!"
Jolyne cheerfully continued reviewing the funding approvals.
Of course, the technology developed by Pucci and Kars wasn't as terrible as Jolyne made it sound.
The moment the "Stardust Crusaders" plot reached the point where Stand battles filmed using this new technology were shown—like the scene where [Magician's Red] flames erupted, and the two non-Stand user police officers were shown panicking, unable to see the Stand—it immediately caught the attention of some industry experts!
In Jolyne's eyes, the success of new technology depends on the project it's associated with.
Only a successful project can showcase the advantages of new technology and encourage the industry to purchase the rights to use it.
She wasn't wrong about that.
Why do you think "Digital Domain" kept getting bought out despite going bankrupt multiple times?
It's because the technology it owned was valuable enough to warrant it. If any project uses that technology, they must pay licensing fees to "Digital Domain".
In other words, you could sit back and make money!
Similarly, the Stand technology.
Though its design was visually appealing and seemed to use some new textured material, what good was that?
Do other studios want to shoot a Stand-related project too?
If "Stardust Crusaders" were a hit, other studios might follow suit.
But right now...
This new technology is just something Jolyne enjoys herself—a money-losing venture for now!
However, what if this new technology wasn't just what it seemed on the surface?
"Did you… see it?"
Ignoring Kinoko's nonsense about watching new projects for inspiration, which had devolved into laziness, Gen Urobuchi, after repeatedly watching the scene, finally exclaimed with a trembling voice.
"It's impossible to tell that any reshooting was done… but how? How did they even capture internal monologues on film?!"