Chapter 1180: A bright and passionate blonde, but a Puritan on the other side?

Skyscrapers rose from the ground, supporting the pillars of Tokyo, and the glass curtain walls shone brightly in the sun, highlighting the prosperity of the city~

And under the clear sky, the buzzing sound of propellers came from afar, and several airships flew slowly over their heads, pulling huge banners congratulating Momoe Yamaguchi on her comeback.......

The Shibuya crossing, the Shinjuku commercial district, the Minato Ward subway station...

A new advertising cycle began, and wherever there were poster advertisements before, they were all replaced with photos of Momoe Yamaguchi, making people realize that the heat of the major event of Momoe Yamaguchi's comeback had not yet cooled down!

The secondary idols of the entertainment industry collectively slowed down the release of new songs to avoid conflict with this predecessor who had returned as a king, while those who had already occupied the top spots had to defend their positions~

Just like the person who was effectively the number one in the entertainment industry today... Akina Nakamori!

"Akina-chan, I heard that you knew about Momoe Yamaguchi's comeback a long time ago?"

At the TBS program recording site, the host asked this.

"Hai... Because of Naoki-san, I knew about it after Momoe-san agreed to appear in *Departures*."

Akina was wearing a golden stage costume, and her breathing after just finishing the dance was still a bit rapid, but she was still very skilled in responding to the host's questions,

"But it had to be kept secret at that time."

"Ah... so this is what you meant when you said there would be a surprise on the show before?"

"Hai~"

"Then Akina-chan, does Momoe Yamaguchi's comeback this time give you a sense of crisis?"

The host continued to ask,

"As the number one idol, seeing Momoe Yamaguchi's popularity so high, there are still so many supporters!"

"Hahaha, of course not. Momoe-san is my good friend. I'm just happy that she can make a comeback!"

Akina replied very appropriately, full of emotion,

"After so many years, to still have so many fans who love and support Momoe-san, it is truly moving..."

"Sometimes I envy her. If I still have so many fans supporting me ten years later, and many people still want to listen to me sing, that would be truly great!"

Hearing this, the audience at the scene all cheered. A few who were too excited even shouted, "Akina, we will always support you!" "Forever Akina fan!"...

Making Akina on stage bow repeatedly to express her gratitude~

However, the host didn't intend to let this popular artist go, but instead raised another very attractive question:

"Akina-chan, Akina-chan... We all know that Naoki-san was once a fan of Momoe Yamaguchi...

But I heard a piece of gossip from a nurse at a hospital before...

I heard that Naoki-san was once so sad because of Momoe Yamaguchi's retirement that he even fainted and was sent to the hospital. Is there such a thing?!"

Actually, from the nurse who had once taken care of Naoki Nagayama, what was heard was that Naoki Nagayama had attempted suicide.

However, in Japan, this kind of suicide behavior was a huge negative, and the host didn't dare to casually label the current Naoki Nagayama without evidence... He could only ask from the side...

"Eh?"

Akina Nakamori naturally knew, but she wouldn't give others room to speculate at this time,

"Is there such a thing? I heard from Naoki-san before that it seemed like because of Momoe-san's retirement, he turned his grief into appetite and ate until he had a stomachache, which is why he went to the hospital..."

"Haha, so that's it. Ate until he had a stomachache~"

The host smiled and nodded,

"It seems that Naoki-san was indeed very fond of Momoe-san!"

"Now Naoki-san is my fan!"

Akina Nakamori said as if declaring sovereignty, making the audience at the scene all laugh.

This well-known couple in the entertainment industry never shied away from showing affection in public, and they were always joyful... The whole family was a sacred body of entertainment!

After recording the program, Akina Nakamori didn't go back, but took a car to the headquarters of Ken-On. Today, in addition to participating in a program, she also had to conduct a discussion on her new album.

The members of Akina's promotion department had long been sitting in the conference room waiting~

"Akina-chan!" "Akina..." "..."

The crowd, who were originally chatting about something, saw Akina Nakamori walk in and stood up one after another to greet her... This was completely unlike the attitude towards other artists; towards other artists, they would at most nod and smile.

Even when the current pillar Yukiko Okada came in, musicians like Ryomei Tanaka and Yuzo Shimada would only wave their hands and say things like "Yukiko-chan is back~" with a smile.

Their attitude towards Akina was already that of a subordinate to a superior. Today, it was called a discussion, but it was actually letting Akina make the final decision.

"Minasan, sorry to keep you waiting~" Akina nodded with a smile and then sat down. "Today, the cover decision for the new album *BLONDE*..."

She looked at the cover design on the table. Although the song name was *BLONDE*, Akina Nakamori, with black hair and a black dress, boldly showed her body curves, expressing the visual sense of an "Oriental blonde"~

There were a few other alternative photos, but Akina was already very satisfied with this cover, so she decided on it without hesitation.

Important things had already been decided, and next was to discuss the B-side songs:

"Akina-chan, *BLONDE* is charming and affectionate, so we want to reflect the opposite element on the B-side."

Akina Nakamori looked at Ryomei Tanaka, and a song flashed through her mind:

"Ah... Ryomei-san means *Puritan*?"

"Hai..." Ryomei Tanaka nodded to confirm. "*Puritan* is fresh and lively. Putting it on the B-side can just form a contrast with the A-side... It can also be a gimmick in promotion."

The song *Puritan* was requested by Ken-On to be written by Yasushi Akimoto...

The current Yasushi Akimoto, in addition to being a producer of well-known outdoor reality shows, also showed talent in music production, collaborated with many singers in the industry, and was considered a little famous as a lyricist~

"A bright and passionate blonde, but a Puritan on the other side... This idea is very interesting!"

Akina Nakamori smiled and encouraged,

"Let's put *Puritan* on the B-side!"

"Okay..."

Confirming so quickly twice in a row made everyone in Akina's promotion department full of joy, and they continued to chat about the release time of the record and promotion measures, etc.

The current Akina, although she appeared less on announcement programs and didn't hold concerts, the records seemed to be even more popular.

Maybe the original idol fans started to transform into music fans. This was a good thing. You know, music fans are much longer-lasting than idol fans~

"The next record is tentatively scheduled for release in June, avoiding the heat of Momoe Yamaguchi..."

Ryomei Tanaka made the final statement for this meeting,

"Next, we will carry out the production of promotional materials and various warm-ups..."

"Hai!" XN

After the meeting, Akina still didn't go home, but came to Ken-On's styling design room and found stylist Yoyo Ochi.

"Yoyo-san..."

"Akina-chan!" Yoyo Ochi, who was drawing, was very happy to see Akina Nakamori. "Are you here to see the stage costume for the new album?"

"Hai~"

After Akina Nakamori arrived at the design room, she felt very relaxed, and her eyes searched around,

"That stage costume made of Hermes silk scarves..."

"Haha, I knew it!"

Yoyo Ochi smiled and pulled Akina Nakamori to her seat, took out a packed box from the drawer,

"The silk scarf is very smooth, so it doesn't have to be hung in the closet... Akina-chan, try it on quickly. When it was finished, I felt it was very outstanding!"

"Hai~"

Akina Nakamori placed the box on the table, opened the lid, and took out the clothes sewn from the limited Hermes silk scarves... The silk product was fine and smooth, and even had the feeling of flowing water sliding through her hands.

Holding it in her hand, she couldn't see the whole look, so Akina went to the changing room next door and put on the stage costume directly.

When Akina Nakamori walked out, Yoyo Ochi and Maki Ueda both felt their eyes light up!

The unique Hermes silk scarf pattern, bright and colorful, immediately grabbed people's attention. The silky and smooth clothes fit Akina's body, highlighting her curvaceous figure...

Coupled with Akina's jet-black hair and delicate, fair cheeks, a radiant and charming lady appeared in the design room!

"Akina-chan, you are indeed charming after putting it on!"

Yoyo Ochi looked at Akina Nakamori's image with satisfaction. The person who makes clothes most wants to see is the clothes worn on the right person!

"Sure enough, using silk scarves is very good, the pattern is very beautiful, and the clothes are very light..."

Akina moved her body in front of the full-length mirror, tried the casual dance moves, and suddenly felt the upper body a bit tight,

"Why is it a bit tight? Yoyo-san, did you make the size smaller?"

"No, it's the same size as last time..."

Yoyo Ochi walked over in surprise. Since they were both women, she directly reached out to test the tightness of the clothes...

"It seems it is indeed a bit tight..."

As she said this, she measured it with a tape measure,

"Eh?" Yoyo Ochi looked at Akina Nakamori in surprise. "Akina-chan, how come your bust has become a bit bigger again?"

"??!!"

Maki Ueda, who was open-minded, suddenly had a strange look in her eyes and asked about the reason with great concern,

"Did you eat something? Or did you do something?"

"I don't know either... I didn't do anything..."

Akina Nakamori shook her head. Generally speaking, the things that couples love to do wouldn't affect the bust size, right?!

If it had an effect, it would have happened a few years ago!

"Ah... I'm weaning Xia Hua recently! Sometimes it's a bit swollen..."

Akina suddenly remembered that little Xia Hua was almost 1 year old, and it was time to wean. However, if weaning, shouldn't it shrink instead?!

"That might be a temporary reason..." Yoyo Ochi was an experienced person. "Most of it will become smaller later!"

"..." Maki Ueda was disappointed.

"However, for the sake of later rehearsals and filming, I'll change it a bit first~"

Yoyo Ochi decided to change it slightly. What if it stays at this level later...

In the Tree Friend building in Ikebukuro, due to the filming of *Departures* and *Long Vacation*, there were suddenly many fewer staff members, and several floors of the building seemed empty.

In contrast, the Anime Department on the fifth floor was even more lively.

The popularity of the *Slam Dunk* animation made the workload of the Anime Department increase greatly. Peripheral products, volumes, extra chapters... Manpower became even more scarce, so many more painters were recruited, and the department was now very lively.

And on the other side of the same floor, in the area of Studio Ghibli, it seemed much quieter.

Hayao Miyazaki lowered his head and drew the original drawings seriously, and Isao Takahata was preparing the storyboards. The current *My Neighbor Totoro* had already drawn most of the key frames, just waiting for the painters to draw the middle action frames, as well as the subsequent coloring and recording onto the film...

And Toshio Suzuki was communicating with Gosho Aoyama about the subsequent movie production!

"Suzuki-san, there is only one machine... Now *Slam Dunk* is so popular, we must definitely take care of this side!"

"Department Head Aoyama, you can't say that..."

Toshio Suzuki was an old employee, and his words pointed directly to the point. He shook his head,

"*My Neighbor Totoro* is a project that Naoki-san is concerned about, no matter what, it must be made... And after *My Neighbor Totoro* is produced, it will definitely sell well, and it can also bring profits to the company!"

"Oh my, Suzuki-san, it's very difficult for me to handle it if you say so!"

"It must be handled even if it's difficult!"

It wasn't that Gosho Aoyama didn't want to let Ghibli use the machine for producing animated movies, but *Slam Dunk* was indeed very busy now, and a new episode needed to be produced every week, and there were some side stories from time to time... Every day, the machine was needed to flip the drawings onto the film!

And this kind of machine couldn't be bought simply by buying another one!

"Suzuki-san..."

"Department Head Aoyama..."

The two continued to pull back and forth for a long time. In the end, Gosho Aoyama really had no choice, because *My Neighbor Totoro* was indeed a project that Naoki Nagayama and Shuichi Ito were very concerned about.

If they waited until the gap in the filming of *Departures* or Shuichi Ito's attention shifted from the Tokyo Film Industry Association and saw that *My Neighbor Totoro* had no progress, they would definitely be held accountable!

"Suzuki-san... How about this..." Gosho Aoyama said, "How about, let the machine run at night... We will divide into two batches for production!"

"Department Head Aoyama... You mean we use the night to produce?!"

Toshio Suzuki was a bit dissatisfied. Who would want to work overtime at night!

"How can it be like this..."

"This is also a matter of no choice..." Gosho Aoyama said, "After all, *Slam Dunk* is the main business now..."

"But this doesn't mean we have to work overtime at night!"

"We can take time off in lieu!"

Gosho Aoyama self-taught the concept of taking time off in lieu,

"Your production cycle is not tight. After the department staff work at night, they can rest the next day!"

"You write the report, I approve the slip! Salary and performance will be paid in full!"

"... This..."

Toshio Suzuki was a bit tempted... Anyway, these painters basically work overtime until very late...

"It's a deal!"

Gosho Aoyama made the final decision,

"Wait until *Departures* filming is completed, *My Neighbor Totoro* can also produce certain results..."

"..."

Thinking of the final result, Toshio Suzuki acquiesced, but still mentioned:

"Wait until *Slam Dunk* has a semi-annual break, in addition to the machine, your department's staff must also be lent to us!"

"Uh..."

"Anyway, they can't take a holiday when the anime is on break!"

Toshio Suzuki told the bloody reality of the anime industry. The anime break is actually mainly due to the main manga artist, for example, the old thief Togashi needs to rest, lacks inspiration, wants to go mountain climbing, etc....

As for other creative personnel, such as ordinary painters and post-production personnel, they don't have holidays!

If it were an outsourced studio, they would have to find work again, and at Tree Friend, they could be assigned to other teams... although there are currently only two teams...

"Okay, then it's a deal!"

Gosho Aoyama could only nod like this.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 1181 =====