Chapter 1084: The first grand champion of *Voice of Japan* is born!!!

A few days passed in a flash.

While the lyrics of "Burning Love" echoed in the record stores along the street, Naoki Nagayama brought Akina to the filming base in Ota Ward.

In the studio of the park, the crew members had already gathered, the altar had been set up, and even Granny Murata and her apprentice had already put on colorful divine robes, closing their eyes and resting, waiting for the auspicious time.

Today, the crew of *Ghost* was going to hold a blessing ceremony for the start of filming!

After Naoki Nagayama and Akina arrived, they greeted everyone in the crew. There weren't many main roles this time, but Masahiro Motoki was invited to play the villain in the movie.....

Hmm, this guy seems to be Akina's fanboy, and it fits perfectly with the role in the movie of secretly loving the heroine and wanting to take advantage of the situation!

I heard that when they found him, this guy was super happy!

And for the role of the psychic witch, Nana Okada, who had played a witch in *Legend of the Eight Samurai* before, was chosen to perform, being both lively and mysterious~

Of course, this time the couple went out, they also brought little Xia Hua and the nanny Mari Nonaka, after all, they would be out for a long time.

"Ah..... little Xia Hua has grown so big!"

Tomotomo Yoshimura and Shuichi Itou both came over, looking very intimate at the little baby in the portable baby basket.

"Children grow the fastest in their first year."

Akina said with a smile. Since the blessing ceremony hadn't started yet, she picked up Xia Hua from the baby basket and greeted her friends,

"Now she can even smile, smiling so sweetly~"

It seemed like she was showing off her daughter~

And Naoki Nagayama here was checking the equipment with Masataka Komori and Shizhi Araki, after all, after the blessing ceremony, the first shot still had to be filmed.

"Naoki-san.... next Wednesday is the Tokyo International Film Festival. After today's opening blessing ceremony, are we going directly on holiday?"

Masataka Komori was a bit puzzled, as it was clearly said before that it would be after the film festival.

"Sigh..... but it can be said that the auspicious day is just these few days.... the next auspicious day is the film festival, so it can only be today~"

Naoki Nagayama didn't want to be so fast either, but since it was a blessing ceremony, he always had to pay attention to these things.

"......"

Masataka Komori stopped talking. Since it was like this, what else could be done~

"By the way, Masataka-kun, has your *Once a Thief* found actors?" Naoki Nagayama asked. *Once a Thief* was to be released early next year, and the preparation work had already begun.

"Ah..... for the heroine, I hope Chikako Aoyama can perform it. Chikako-san has that kind of amorous feeling...."

Masataka Komori answered honestly.

"......"

What amorous feeling, you just want that kind of big chest! I'm too embarrassed to expose you!

Naoki Nagayama shook his head. The film atmosphere was slowly being corrupted by directors like this:

"Then what about the male lead?"

"For one of the male leads, Araki strongly recommends Leslie Cheung from *Tiger of Ginza* before..... saying we can borrow the popularity of foreign actors to make the movie more international, and his image indeed fits...."

Masataka Komori continued to explain,

"As for the other more dashing male lead, I want to invite Toshihiko Tahara, and then for other supporting roles, I also want to invite Tetsuya Watari temporarily......"

Listening to the names of the actors one by one, Naoki Nagayama didn't express too many opinions. After all, Masataka Komori was already a director who could stand on his own, and he had his own judgment about movie roles.

"Since you already have ideas, then finalize them as soon as possible. I don't know if their schedules can be cleared."

Naoki Nagayama patted Masataka Komori on the shoulder,

"I will be filming here later, and I don't need too many people....."

As for Shizhi Araki, his next movie would have to wait a long time, so he could be considered a god-given labor force.

"Hai...." Masataka Komori laughed. "After the Tokyo International Film Festival ends, I will start preparing for the filming of *Once a Thief*..... by then, maybe I will be at this filming base with Naoki-san."

"Forget it, *Once a Thief* has many shots in Europe. You guy can also go abroad for tourism by the way!"

"How can that be?! We are going to work!"

Although he said it righteously, the smile on Masataka Komori's face couldn't be hidden.

This was a proper publicly funded trip. Even if they had to film, they needed good light; it was impossible to film at night, right!

Just at this moment, Shuichi Itou walked over:

"Naoki-san, it's about time, the blessing ceremony is about to start!"

"Okay, then let's go over!"

Led by the bosses, the crew members quickly formed a square formation, and Naoki Nagayama and Akina Nakamori stood in the center of the front row with Shuichi Itou and Tomotomo Yoshimura, while the leads and other members stood behind.......

Nowadays, Akina was not only the heroine but also the wife of the director and producer, and her status in this crew was second only to the big three.

Granny Murata, who had rested for a long time, took a breath and began to chant spells loudly, while her one-eyed apprentice began to dance the shaman dance in a crazy manner.

After the shaman finished the dance to thank the gods, Granny Murata led the crew members to offer incense one by one, worshiping the gods and praying for good fortune.

"Gods bless, may the filming of the movie go smoothly!"

Naoki Nagayama took the lead and inserted three thick incense sticks into the incense burner. The altar full of offerings was shrouded in smoke, and the spirit tablet seemed to be endowed with divinity at this moment, having a sense of mystery and solemnity......

After the blessing ceremony ended, Tomotomo Yoshimura and Shuichi Itou had already left, and the rest were crew members.

And Naoki Nagayama also began to exercise the power of the director, arranging for the crew members to enter the filming state. Today, at least one shot had to be filmed as part of the opening ceremony.

In the hall decorated as an apartment, sofas, rugs, crystal lamps.... it looked like a wealthy family.

Naoki Nagayama was filming a relatively simple scene in the movie, which was the scene where the male and female leads hugged gently under the music, dancing the dance they often danced before.

Actually, this was a scene after the medium possessed them, but this movie had many shots at night or outdoors, and there were not many scenes indoors......

Today was just the start of filming, so a scene that didn't require much acting was chosen to "warm up."

"Naoki-san~" Under everyone's gaze, Akina was slightly nervous. "Just dance like this?"

"Ha, is Akina afraid of stepping on my feet?" Naoki Nagayama laughed. "Clearly you are very good at dancing!"

"......"

Akina's little face was embarrassed. Was he talking about dance skills?!

Now there were three cameras aimed at them, and the entire crew's eyes were watching the two of them!

Although singing and dancing under the gaze of hundreds or thousands of people before wasn't a problem, at that time it was one person, and now she had to be intimate with her husband in front of the camera......

"Can't let go?"

"A little..... everyone is not very familiar...."

Seeing Akina's nervous look, Naoki Nagayama also understood very well, after all, he was also slightly embarrassed.... after all, he hadn't acted for too long!

And now the crew was in the early stage of running-in, which was the most unfamiliar time~

But he was the director, such a small scene couldn't stump him!

Naoki Nagayama looked at the actors and staff on the set and said directly:

"Minna-san..... staff members without tasks, gather in the middle of the living room..... let's dance a piece of music together!"

"???" "Really?" "!!!" "Us?" "What is this doing?" "....."

"After all, everyone wasn't very familiar before. For the first scene, let's all be relaxed....." Naoki Nagayama laughed. "Everyone treat this as a dance floor! Let's dance together, and the shots later can also be used as behind-the-scenes footage....."

Although they didn't understand, the director was the biggest on set, so everyone slowly came to the middle of the living room and danced.

The dance moves were slightly stiff at first, but with the change of melody, they soon relaxed, and the atmosphere on the scene began to become relaxed and happy......

The entire set seemed to have turned into a disco dance floor~

Shizhi Araki laughed behind the camera. Sure enough, Naoki-san's approach was eye-opening.

When filming *Tiger of Ginza* before, just to let the crew run-in, it took about a week. During the period, there were constant instructions, slow adaptation, and even quarrels.....

And now, in ten minutes, everyone in the crew seemed to have become familiar with each other~

Presumably, the running-in of the subsequent filming would be even faster!

"Araki-kun, what are you doing hiding behind the camera?! Today is just the start of filming, and it didn't say that a certain shot in the movie must be filmed well!" Naoki Nagayama called out. "Come and dance! Always hiding behind the camera, how can you find a girlfriend?!"

"......."

Everyone knew now that Shizhi Araki was still single!

He, who originally didn't have a high sense of presence, felt embarrassed by the gaze for the first time.....

Clearly a promising new director, yet he didn't have a girlfriend?!

For a time, the eyes of some crew members lit up~

At 8 PM, during the prime time of Nippon Television, the final of *Voice of Japan* officially began to air.

This summer, *Voice of Japan* stood out like a dark horse among many variety shows, attracting the eyes of countless viewers.

The momentum of this show even exceeded *The Best Ten* and *Music Station* in a short time, becoming the strongest music variety show.

And today, the grand final of *Voice of Japan* had made a large number of viewers look forward to it for a whole week!

In a family in Nakano Ward, the father who should have gone to have a drink with his boss, the mother who should have been busy in the kitchen, the eldest daughter who should have been doing homework in her bedroom, and the younger son who was playing games, all sat in front of the TV in the Japanese-style room.

This family were all loyal viewers of *Voice of Japan*, all looking forward to the arrival of the grand final!

"Who will be the grand champion?" The head of the household, Noriaki Nishida, muttered to himself, "Takuro Yoshida's team's Igarashi folk music is very good!"

And the mother next to him, Kimi Nishida, said without any doubt:

"Must be Sachiko Kouchi, right?! Singing so well, and very popular."

"Kimi Kikuchi's popularity is also good! And she looks very good!"

As for the younger son, Norio Nishida, he supported Kimi Kikuchi because she fit the current aesthetics, cute and harmless~

"Of course it's Sachiko Kouchi!"

The eldest daughter, Yoshimi Nishida, interrupted. For a girl of her age, the rock-singing Sachiko Kouchi and the style of wearing jeans were really too cool and too independent!

"Too cool!"

Actually, the show was recorded a week ago. They didn't know that the grand champion had already been determined, and they were all waiting for the TV station to air it.

Families like this were in the thousands in Japan. Everyone was waiting in front of the TV screen, waiting for the broadcast of the grand final.

Just when this family was supporting their respective contestants, the grand final of *Voice of Japan* finally began to broadcast!

The host of the show led everyone to review the performance of the four contestants during the recording process, and then began to perform one by one.

"First on stage is Kenji Sawada's team, contestant Mitsuharu Omura!"

"Next is Takuro Yoshida's team, contestant Mitsuhiko Igarashi!"

"Miyuki Nakajima's team, contestant Sachiko Kouchi!"

"The last one is Hideki Saijo's team, contestant Kimi Kikuchi!"

"....."

The four finalists walked onto the stage amidst everyone's cheers, and the host couldn't help but sigh:

"After more than a dozen rounds of duels and one-on-one guidance, these four amazing contestants have reached the final night!

Thousands of votes, the support of countless people...... today is the moment of great attention!"

The host's words made people's blood boil, and the final performance of the four contestants officially began!

At the scene of the grand final, the four contestants from the teams who had gone through several rounds of screening would join the singers they each chose to perform the final performance.

This was not only the luck of the contestants but also the luck of those singers......

After all, the popularity of *Voice of Japan* was now at a national level, equivalent to the highest-level exposure notice.

Mitsuharu Omura, Mitsuhiko Igarashi, Sachiko Kouchi, Kimi Kikuchi..... these originally unknown amateurs were now famous new singers.

Together with their favorite singers, they performed the best original songs on stage. The audience off-stage and the viewers in front of the TV listened with fascination and offered warm applause.

After the performance, the mentors had to give their final evaluation!

"In my heart, you are the best!" This was Kenji Sawada's final affirmation of his own contestant.

"Standing on this stage, you are already the champion!" This was Takuro Yoshida's recognition.

And Miyuki Nakajima looked at Sachiko Kouchi and said:

"You have shown the best performance..... I have always believed that you are the best!!"

"Arigato~"

Hot tears flowed from Sachiko Kouchi's originally cold face. She was very grateful for Miyuki Nakajima's guidance and encouragement.

Amidst the cheers of the on-site audience, the host had to reach out to soothe everyone's emotions:

"I know everyone is very excited now..... soon, the champion result of *Voice of Japan* will be out."

"For the four contestants on stage, I want to say, no matter who stands to the end, they are the best!"

"Next..... is the moment to witness the miracle!"

"......."

Under Tamori's rhetoric, the studio gradually quieted down until a staff member brought an envelope!

"The first grand champion of *Voice of Japan*......"

Following Tamori's words, the spotlight flashed constantly on the four contestants......

"The grand champion tonight is......"

"Contestant Sachiko Kouchi!!!!"

The spotlight stopped on Sachiko Kouchi all at once, making her shine!

The fireworks and colorful lights on the stage were activated together, the applause on the scene was thunderous, and the cheers and music were mixed together, bursting out a warm atmosphere~

"The first grand champion of *Voice of Japan* is born!" Tamori held the microphone, his tone also very excited. "Contestant Sachiko Kouchi will receive the title of Voice of Japan! And receive a record contract from Tree Friend Group!"

"Let us congratulate contestant Sachiko Kouchi......"

Sachiko Kouchi on stage covered her mouth with both hands, surprise revealing in her eyes. Although she had a good grasp, she couldn't be sure until the last moment.

Then it was the contestants hugging each other and congratulating each other.....

Mentor Miyuki Nakajima also walked onto the stage to congratulate her student......

The grand final of the first *Voice of Japan* was successfully completed! ===== CHAPTER 1085 =====

The grand finale of the first "Voice of Neon" was a complete success!