Chapter 312: Shinji: Sony and Kadokawa Are Nothing to Worry About
Letting a few Heroic Spirits run around doing their own thing was fine. Shinji's real focus right now was still on the new movie.
The Case Files of Lord El-Melloi II? That project could wait until later. At most, he'd direct a couple of episodes himself. Following it all the way through? He didn't have that kind of time.
With preparations wrapped up, the next thing on the table for The Garden of Sinners: Remaining Sense of Pain was its publicity campaign.
But then, a small disagreement cropped up between Shinji and the Time Group regarding the release date.
The reason was simple: next year's first half already had both Fate/Apocrypha and The Garden of Sinners. The Time Group wanted as much breathing room between the two as possible.
"The company's stance," Cloris said seriously, arms folded under her chest in the Type-Moon office, "is to slot Fate/Apocrypha into the prime May schedule. As for The Garden of Sinners, they'd rather put it in the calmer late July or early August window. Or even push it all the way to Halloween."
"Fate/Apocrypha is clearly the main project next year. It deserves the best slot. The Garden of Sinners doesn't have the qualifications to compete with Fate for release dates."
Shinji thought for a moment, then said flatly, "My preference is March. Or June."
Because next year… next year there were still even bigger projects waiting. Whether he went with the Fate/Extra series or jumped straight to Fate/Grand Order, either one would be far more troublesome than Fate/Apocrypha or The Garden of Sinners.
So he had no intention of dragging Remaining Sense of Pain too far back. It would only scatter his focus.
And it wasn't as if he didn't have precedent. Back in his original world, Marvel had been cranking out three films a year. March, May, then December. Sometimes, if they were feeling especially crazy, they'd even toss one in July. Four explosions in a single year.
And guess what? The box office was still rock-solid.
Compared to Marvel, Shinji and Fate were far stronger in sheer drawing power anyway.
Fate/Stay Night and Fate/Zero were box office champions. The Unlimited Blade Works series topped the annual TV ratings.
With that kind of pedigree and results, how could there possibly be a problem with the release schedule he decided?
"March or June is way too close," Cloris objected. Her tone was firm, but softer than before.
It wasn't that their "beyond-zero-distance" private relationship was influencing her judgment. Rather, when it came to the movie market, she trusted Shinji—the man who'd created miracle after miracle—more than the company's old geezers.
"Shinji, it's not just me you need to convince. You'll have to win over the higher-ups too. Their reluctance for March or June isn't only because it's too close to Fate/Apocrypha. There's also the matter of competitors."
She laid out the reasoning behind the executives' scheduling decisions, hoping he'd provide a counterargument.
After all, "Because I've got a big project in the second half of the year" wasn't exactly a persuasive case for a project worth tens of millions of dollars.
"Since you've been overwhelmingly dominant starting from Fate/Stay Night, rival studios are already steering clear of that early May slot you've staked out. Which means the June window's gotten ridiculously crowded."
She gave him a quick glance. "At least you're not planning to drop Spy Among Spies II in June next year, or things would be even messier."
Shinji just shrugged. "Messy is good. Messy means the field isn't locked down yet. That means there's still room for us to outperform everyone else."
"You make it sound so simple." Cloris rolled her eyes. "Right now, you're the one everyone else is trying to catch up to."
"But the Time Group hasn't been the box office champion these past two years, have they?"
Shinji smiled faintly, striking right at Cloris's weak spot.
Sure, his movies had all topped the yearly charts. But the Time Group itself hadn't managed to take the studio-level box office crown.
Because once it rose to the corporate level… no matter how amazing Shinji was, he couldn't carry the other flop projects the Time Group dragged around.
Thanks to Shinji's blockbusters propping it up, the Time Group hadn't fallen too far, no matter how lackluster the rest of its slate looked.
Of course, Shinji wasn't here to rub Cloris's or the Time Group's failures in their faces. He brought the topic right back to the release schedule.
"Any real rivals in March?"
"Not really. The problem with March isn't competitors—it's that nobody goes to the movies then."
Cloris slid over the past few years' March box office data, this year included.
Shinji skimmed it. Sure enough, as she said, the audience numbers were significantly lower compared to later months. A bit higher than before he entered this world, but still not much overall.
'Figures. Changing people's viewing habits isn't easy. Looks like I still have work to do.'
Lifting his head, he asked, "Then what about June? Any big blockbusters there?"
"Not huge ones," Cloris replied, "but there are definitely some strong competitors."
She flipped through the schedule. "The last week of June, The Simpsons Movie is set to premiere."
Shinji blinked. The Simpsons. That name rang a bell. In America, it was a household name—an animated series that had been running since 1989, a fixture of the ratings charts. Even in the world Shinji had come from, it was still airing. Its longevity rivaled Japan's Sazae-san—a never-ending broadcast that was wildly beloved locally, if not globally.
Shinji vaguely recalled that The Simpsons Movie had once landed a spot on the 2007 North American box office charts. He couldn't remember exactly where, but he was certain of one thing: it was a heavyweight he'd rather avoid.
"So The Simpsons is the last week of June. What about the week before that?"
"007," Cloris said simply.
"Quantum of Solace?" Shinji guessed. He remembered that being the 2007 Bond release.
But Cloris shook her head. "No, it's Casino Royale—the reboot of the 007 series. MGM saw what you did with Spy Among Spies and decided to copy the formula. That's why they're relaunching Bond. …Why did you think it was Quantum of Solace?"
"..."
Shinji had forgotten. In this world, the Bond franchise hadn't yet been rebooted into the Daniel Craig era. And in truth, even in his own world's history, Quantum of Solace didn't release until 2008.
He brushed it off smoothly. "What about early June?"
Sometimes, the best way to dodge embarrassment was simply to pretend it never happened.
Cloris checked. "Kadokawa and Sony are teaming up for a tokusatsu project—Shin Gamera. That one's—"
The moment Shinji heard the title, his eyes lit up. "Lisie, let's go with that week."
He had never heard of this film. Maybe it was his own ignorance, maybe it was a butterfly effect from his meddling in this world. Either way, it didn't matter. Whatever its quality, Shinji had no intention of taking it seriously.
"Are you sure about that?"
Cloris frowned. She wasn't convinced. "Kadokawa and Sony have poured an enormous budget into Shin Gamera. They even requested 3D tech licensing from Type-Moon. Their ambitions are serious."
Shinji waved it off with absolute confidence. "Ambition means nothing. Tokusatsu has never been mainstream in the West. Especially not Japanese-style tokusatsu films."
He leaned back, voice dripping with certainty. "My Super 8 only stood out because of the unique edge 3D gave it. That kind of success can't be replicated."
The first to do it is a genius. The second, a mediocrity. The third? A complete fool.
Shinji didn't know whether Kadokawa and Sony were merely mediocre or downright fools. He only hoped their executives' hearts were strong enough to handle what was coming.
After all, Type-Moon's 3D tech wasn't exactly cheap. Hopefully, they wouldn't bleed too much money.
And with that, the discussion over Remaining Sense of Pain's release schedule came to an end.
Of course, the exact date would still have to be decided after Cloris returned and hashed it out with the Time Group's higher-ups.
Once she left, though, Shinji's curiosity got the better of him. He pulled out the summer schedule documents she'd left behind and gave them a good look.
According to the info, this so-called "blockbuster" Shin Gamera was a joint production between Kadokawa—one of Japan's Big Four—and Columbia Pictures' Sony. The project team had even gone out of their way to brag about adopting the same 3D tech used in Super 8.
On paper, it looked impressive. With a reported budget north of $50 million, it was supposedly on par with Shinji's The Garden of Sinners. But in reality? It was nothing but a soft persimmon waiting to be squeezed.
Without Shinji's production philosophy guiding it, they were still clinging to the old-fashioned Japanese tokusatsu formula. And that simply wasn't going to fly with Western audiences.
Now, if Sony and Kadokawa were willing to spend real money and put in the effort—say, build something on the scale of Legendary's MonsterVerse from Shinji's memories—then sure. Even the weakest of those, the much-maligned 2014 Godzilla, had raked in a tidy sum.
But unfortunately for them, Shinji couldn't find even a hint of that level of ambition in their project brief. He'd read it front to back, between the lines, and all he saw written there was one word:
"Cliché."
So, farewell and good luck~
"Speaking of Sony… Stringer doesn't take over as CEO until 2009, right? Wonder if this flop will make him step in early."
He muttered the thought absently, staring at the big Sony logo on the report.
…Probably not. Sony was big enough to absorb one failed film. Columbia Pictures had been losing money for years in his past life, and they were still standing.
And besides, this time they had Kadokawa helping to shoulder the burden. Surely, things wouldn't get that bad.
…Probably.
His left eyelid twitched twice. Experience told him that meant something good was on the way.
And if it was good news for him… then for Sony, it could only mean—
Heh.
A week later, the Time Group sent word: they'd accepted Shinji's proposal. The Garden of Sinners: Remaining Sense of Pain would officially premiere worldwide on June 1st, the very start of the summer season.
And sharing that exact date, in a full-scale head-to-head release, was none other than Shin Gamera.
The industry's reaction was immediate:
"Good grief, here we go again."
Last year, Shinji's Super 8 had clashed with Toho's Godzilla. Next year, his The Garden of Sinners would be going toe-to-toe with Kadokawa & Sony's Shin Gamera.
And this time, it was even spicier—both films dropping on the exact same day.
Talk about needles against awls, point against edge.
"Is Shinji Matou really Japanese? Why does he keep butting heads with Japanese studios?"
"I heard back when Fate/Stay Night was made, none of Japan's big studios wanted to distribute it. Now he's taking revenge, one by one!"
"Wow~ Shinji Matou's grudge is really something else."
"No kidding. Young people, huh? Hot-blooded, ambitious, and petty as hell."
"Exactly, exactly."
…
And so, in the days that followed, a new nickname began making the rounds in the industry:
"Shinji the Vindictive."
Or more colorfully—"Never-Forgives-a-Grudge Shinji-rō."
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