Claire's version of Inuyasha definitely had some stylistic differences compared to the one Ren remembered from his past life.
The art was neat and refined.
It didn't have the delicate feel of a typical shojo manga, nor the ruggedness of a shonen style. Instead, it struck a balance that was visually pleasing.
Claire, who had drawn Your Lie in April, demonstrated once again her skill in creating deep, compelling characters.
Ren was particularly impressed with how Claire handled the emotional aspects of the story. Like Takahashi Rumiko, Claire had a knack for bringing her characters to life with distinct personalities.
"Phew…"
Time passed, and Ren soon finished reading the Chinese version of Inuyasha.
Even though some of the plot points differed from the original Inuyasha, Ren couldn't help but feel nostalgic as he looked through Claire's setting and storyline.
In Claire's version, the protagonist Kagome was transported back to ancient China—though it was a fictional dynasty, not an actual historical one.
Many of the Japanese-style demons were swapped for Chinese-themed ones, like spider demons, centipede demons, and dog spirits.
The concept of a shrine maiden was changed to an ancient Chinese shamaness.
Even names with the Japanese "-maru" ending, which sounded distinctly Japanese, were altered.
For Ren, it was a bit disorienting at first, likely because he had been familiar with Inuyasha in his past life. But for readers who had never experienced the original, this new version would be easier to embrace.
The story flowed smoothly, filled with vibrant energy, and the plot was both exciting and unpredictable.
The antagonists were inspired by creatures from Chinese mythologies like those found in the Classic of Mountains and Seas.
In terms of structure, the plot felt a bit like Journey to the West, a beloved Chinese classic.
While Journey to the West followed the journey of the monk and his companions in search of sacred scriptures, Claire's story followed Inuyasha and his team as they hunted down the shards of the Shikon Jewel and battled their archenemy, Naraku.
Although Claire had only shown a portion of the storyboard, Ren, who knew Inuyasha well, could already picture the vivid world filled with demons and supernatural occurrences.
However, being a female artist, Claire seemed to excel at portraying emotions but fell a little short in depicting combat scenes.
The fights in the story felt more like turn-based battles, where characters took turns attacking rather than fluid action.
"How was it, teacher?" Claire asked nervously after seeing Ren remain silent for a long time after reading the storyboard and character designs.
"It's excellent!" Ren smiled and praised Claire. "But you do need to work on the combat scenes a bit. Right now, they feel too much like a turn-based RPG. You should try showing actions like this, and maybe this…"
As Ren began to explain, many of the other artists and assistants gathered around.
After all, when the Porter gave advice, everyone wanted to listen!
But after spending half the morning in the studio, Ren had to leave in the afternoon.
Picca Land was about to open!
Ren and his wife, Jada, were scheduled to attend the ribbon-cutting ceremony.
Of course, Picca Land was a massive project, and not all parts of it had been completed yet.
Only the areas that were ready for visitors were set to open.
For instance, the Ultraman Park was fully finished. Visitors could see Ultraman suits, monster costumes, and even models of planes from the series. There would also be live Ultraman stage shows.
There was also the Cells World, based on Cells at Work!.
Another section was Academy City, which was related to A Certain Scientific Railgun.
Despite these sections being ready, there was still much more to be built.
Still, even with only some parts open, the park had enough attractions to draw in visitors.
So, Picca Comics had launched a large-scale promotional campaign for the park. Given the significant investment, they couldn't afford not to advertise.
They didn't just rely on ads but also brought in celebrity endorsements.
The actors who played Ultraman and Kamen Rider were, of course, part of the promotion.
Big-name stars like Zhou Tianwang and Liu Tianwang, as well as popular internet influencers, were all invited to endorse the park.
Ren and the team didn't mind spending money on marketing. After all, you have to invest to get returns. Building Picca Land cost far more than the advertising, so skimping on promotion would have been foolish.
Soon, the news about Picca Land's opening spread all over the internet, quickly climbing the trending charts.
Online, people started discussing the park.
"Wow, it's opening so soon? How did they build an entire theme park that quickly?"
"What's the big deal? Our country is great at construction. They can build a hospital in days, so building a theme park this fast isn't impossible as long as you've got the money!"
"Don't get too excited. Only part of the park is opening for now. It's not fully finished yet."
"Huh? What's the point of going if you can't experience the whole thing? This feels like a quick cash grab from Picca!"
"Yeah, and with it being built so fast, is it even safe?"
"I don't care. I'm definitely going. I went fishing near the park the other day and saw this gigantic statue of Ultraman! I heard it's a full-scale model of Tiga. Just for that, I'm going!"
"What? A full-scale Ultraman statue?"
"Awesome!"
When this news hit the internet, it immediately grabbed the attention of Ultraman fans.
With the online buzz, the opening of Picca Land quickly became a hot topic.
...
Although Liu Lei's family was just an ordinary working-class household, he was very indulgent when it came to his son.
Even though his kid could be quite a handful, Liu Lei always tried to fulfill his son's requests as long as they weren't too outrageous.
For example, he would buy Picca merchandise whenever possible, trying to satisfy his son's requests within his financial means.
As a result, Liu Lei had gradually become a platinum member of the Picca online store. When the Picca Land promotional campaign launched, both his phone and app sent him push notifications.
Of course, his son saw the messages.
The moment Little Chubby found out when Picca Land was opening, he started begging to go.
This left Liu Lei in a bit of a bind.
After all, this month's allowance had already been spent on Little Chubby's Dyna transformation device and the combined planes toy.
He wanted to refuse his son's request, but when he saw the hopeful look on his son's chubby little face, he couldn't bring himself to say no.
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