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Chapter 157. Truly... Heaven Helps Me!
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Yes.
Although in her heart, she regretted that Polnareff's fate didn't befall Jotaro instead.
But wasn't this also the outcome she wanted to see?
So after witnessing the scene she desired, Cujoh Jolyne naturally found no further reason to continue watching the rest of "Stardust Crusaders".
In fact, her reason for watching in the first place wasn't just to see "Stardust Crusaders" lose money.
Another motive was to use "Stardust Crusaders" as an experiment.
After all, in Cujoh Jolyne's eyes, "Stardust Crusaders" was bound to lose money no matter the outcome.
The difference was only between losing a lot or a little.
But this loss was specific to "Stardust Crusaders"...
Had it not been for the huge expenses required for the development of new technology, which were also counted as part of "Stardust Crusaders'" costs...
"Stardust Crusaders" might not have even lost money?!
This phenomenon was quite serious.
Up until now, Green Dolphin Studios had already made three films, three!
According to the law of probability, at least one of those films should have lost money, right?
Even if "JoJo's Bizarre Adventure" was a series...
Isn't it a common occurrence for series to start losing money by the time they reach their second or third installment?
Yet that wasn't the case for them at all!?
"Phantom Blood" had recovered her investment in just one week, no need to mention that.
Even "Battle Tendency" surpassed expectations, especially after Kars was defeated and Joseph managed to break the Joestar family's curse of short lifespans.
And with the airing of "Stardust Crusaders", after tying up the final loose end from "Battle Tendency"'s opening sequence, "BLOODY STREAM"...
The profits from "Battle Tendency" were enough to fund Pucci's continued spending spree!
If not for Pucci diverting most of the budget to the new technology for [Stands], they probably would have run out of money long ago.
And now, somehow, the public opinion of "Stardust Crusaders" had unexpectedly turned around, even improving...
If Cujoh Jolyne didn't sense that something was wrong by now, then she would really be the one with a problem!
But where exactly was the issue?
When she had briefly reviewed the script earlier, she didn't notice any problems.
Moreover, in "Battle Tendency", Joseph's personality had changed so drastically compared to Jonathan's.
And in "Stardust Crusaders", they had abandoned the familiar Ripple system to adopt a new Stand battle system.
To her, this was nothing short of self-destruction!
So how, when the episodes aired, had these elements—which in her eyes... no, in other productions, would have been disastrous—turned into what the audience hailed as "brilliant" setups?
She couldn't comprehend it.
Could it be the director's fault?
Recalling the resumes of Pucci and Akiyuki Shinbo...
And considering that even when she personally took over as director of "Battle Tendency", it didn't stop the show from becoming a hit, Cujoh Jolyne...
Surely it couldn't be that she was actually a genius director.
Could it?
Even if she just messed around with filming, trying to make a flop, she'd still end up with a hit?
While Jolyne was confident in her abilities, she at least had enough self-awareness to know that wasn't the case.
So after ruling out all the impossible answers, the truth remained!
—The problem was with the actors!
The Joestar family members were born acting geniuses! Prodigies!!
No matter how bad the script was, they could still turn it into a massive hit with their bizarre charisma!
...Wait, wasn't there one person who wasn't part of the Joestar family?
Anyway, that's the gist of it.
Now that Cujoh Jolyne had identified the problem, she knew what to do next.
First, she planned to test whether making the script worse, like removing all the Joestar family members' scenes, would prevent them from salvaging it.
Next, she would personally take charge of casting for the next production!
Having lost faith in Pucci's judgment—or rather, becoming suspicious of Pucci's fool's luck—Jolyne meticulously pored over the recruitment resumes in her hand.
"Kobayashi Tamami, who apparently lost all his money in the financial sector and, after gambling away borrowed money, is running out of time before the repayment deadline. He's here trying his luck with the recruitment."
"Oyanagi Ken, who lost a game of rock-paper-scissors with his friends and was forced to come here as a punishment."
"Yangu Shigekiyo, who seems to suffer from some sort of mental disorder, causing a disconnect between his mental and actual age."
"Nijimura Okuyasu, same as above."
"..."
The more she read through the resumes, the more satisfied Cujoh Jolyne's expression became.
These people, who would never be chosen by other production teams, were practically tailor-made for Green Dolphin Studios!
To prevent any unexpected situations...
Cujoh Jolyne also used the SPW Foundation's resources to confirm the candidates' backgrounds.
Without hesitation, she placed a large "○" next to each of their names!
("PS: In Japan, the "×" symbol means incorrect, while the "○" symbol means correct.")
"Who would've thought that such an ordinary little recruitment event would gather so many talents all at once? Truly... heaven helps me!"
As if the sunlight had finally pierced through the darkness, Cujoh Jolyne's ever-present smirk never faltered as she cheerfully remarked to herself.
…
Meanwhile...
In "Stardust Crusaders", [Hanged Man] and [Emperor] had reunited.
Upon seeing that Polnareff had indeed come alone, they both thought the same thing—
—Truly, heaven helps us!! x2