Since the 1995 broadcast and phenomenal success of Neon Genesis Evangelion, the production committee system it promoted not only pushed the industry forward once again, but also drove peripheral industries to begin establishing themselves in Akihabara.
Following the emergence of maid cafes, anime-related shops began to open in clusters, and manga magazines like Shonen Jump started holding events in Akihabara. By 1999, the ACG atmosphere in Akihabara was already very strong, and the term "Holy Land of ACG" began to appear.
Exiting Akihabara Station from the Electric Town Exit and arriving at Electric Town, all sorts of flashy ACG billboards immediately filled his vision:
Rurouni Kenshin, Cardcaptor Sakura, Inuyasha, Full Metal Panic!, Cowboy Bebop...
He admired the sights along the way, following the Original Owner's memories until he reached the shop where the Original Owner worked part-time.
It was a bookstore that primarily sold new issues of various manga magazines, tankobon, complete manga sets, setting guides, and art books. Beyond that, doujinshi and adult manga were also fully available.
The first thing that caught his eye was a poster stand for Detective Conan: The Last Wizard of the Century.
Detective Conan: The Last Wizard of the Century had been officially released since April 17 and was currently showing to great popularity. Their shop was also coordinating with the movie's promotion, placing the complete set of Detective Conan tankobon in the most prominent position.
As the third Detective Conan movie, the biggest draw of The Last Wizard of the Century was the first theatrical appearance of three highly popular characters from the original work: Haibara Ai, Hattori Heiji, and Kaito Kid.
After its official release, the content of this movie received widespread praise from both fans and casual viewers. Its box office performance was excellent, and it seemed likely to go a step further and break the box office record of the second movie, The Fourteenth Target.
"The Last Wizard of the Century..."
Although the Original Owner hadn't seen this movie yet, he, of course, had seen it long ago. Recalling it slightly, the content of the movie and other related information quickly and clearly surfaced in his mind.
He realized with a start:
"Ah, it's this movie."
The Last Wizard of the Century did indeed successfully break the previous movie's box office record. Not only at the time, but even among the many Conan movies of later generations, it remained one of the top-ranked and highly acclaimed entries.
He hadn't expected to arrive just in time for this movie's release.
He kind of wanted to go to the cinema to watch it.
Mochizuki Akira felt a momentary spark of interest, but immediately after, he thought of his shriveled wallet and let out a long sigh.
A movie ticket cost 1,800 yen. Given his current financial situation, spending 1,800 yen specifically to watch a movie was somewhat extravagant.
1,800 yen was almost enough for him to buy nine copies of Weekly Shonen Jump. Even if he were buying Detective Conan manga volumes, it would be enough for three.
Sigh, I still need to make money.
"Mochizuki-kun, are you troubled by something?"
Suddenly, a call from inside the bookstore pulled him back to reality. A woman wearing a blue work apron printed with the bookstore's logo, with a lean build and a gentle smile on her face, walked out from the shop.
Seeing her, Mochizuki Akira hurriedly greeted her:
"Manager!"
The woman was named Sakamoto Kayo. Although she didn't seem to be even thirty yet, she was already the manager of this bookstore and was a very capable person.
She was also the person who had personally interviewed and hired the Original Owner, and she usually took great care of him at work.
"You're here for your shift."
Kayo nodded with a smile, then asked:
"I saw you looking a bit distressed just now, Mochizuki-kun. Are you in some kind of trouble?"
"No, nothing like that."
Akira gave a wry, self-deprecating smile:
"I'm just laughing at how poor I am."
"'Laughing at how poor you are'...?"
Kayo couldn't help but blink, then covered her mouth and chuckled softly:
"That's a very interesting way to put it. It's just that Mochizuki-kun used to have such a serious face every day. I didn't expect you to have such a humorous side."
"Is that so?"
Akira was also taken aback by her words, but he soon realized where the issue lay.
In his memory, the Original Owner didn't actually have the serious personality she described. It was just that after coming to Tokyo, he had been under constant pressure from both financial and creative struggles, which had turned him into the "serious-faced" person she spoke of.
"What? So Mochizuki-kun never realized it?"
Kayo was suddenly caught between laughter and tears. She hadn't expected that while he looked cool and aloof, he was actually the somewhat slow-witted type.
"I'm very sorry for causing you concern."
Although he realized she seemed to have misunderstood the reason, Akira couldn't easily explain, so he could only gloss it over with an apology.
"It's no trouble at all. After all, Mochizuki-kun is our shop's ace."
Kayo chuckled, not minding at all.
She attributed Akira's previous seriousness to the unfamiliarity of their relationship, while his behavior just now suggested they were becoming more comfortable with each other.
This type of person wasn't rare; some people's behavior in front of strangers versus acquaintances was like two complete extremes, almost as if they had a split personality.
However, she then gave a relieved smile and said:
"Seeing Mochizuki-kun like this, I can finally stop worrying."
"Even though every time I asked before, your answer was always 'it's nothing,' that look of being troubled by something was really worrying."
"But today's Mochizuki-kun feels completely different. It looks like the problem has been successfully resolved?"
The problem hasn't been resolved, but the person has been replaced.
Akira almost broke character for a moment. He was also a bit surprised; he hadn't expected her to care so much about the Original Owner.
"Sorry for making you worry. As for the problem, well... something like that. At least I won't be like I was before."
"Is that so? That's good then."
Kayo heard the ambiguity in his words and didn't intend to probe further.
Suddenly, she changed the subject, teasing him with a smile:
"But speaking of which, a serious-faced Mochizuki-kun is actually quite nice too, just like Rukawa Kaede from Slam Dunk."
"Handsome guys of that type are very popular with girls right now, you know?"
"Rukawa Kaede?"
Akira mused:
"Well, I do quite like sleeping too."
"That's not the type I meant!"
Kayo gave him a playful, annoyed look, then couldn't help but giggle again, finding it very amusing.
And she had to admit, today's Mochizuki-kun really was very different from before.
Back to the main topic.
The peak hours for foot traffic in Akihabara were from 11:30 AM to around 4:00 PM, but for a bookstore, the busiest period started at 2:00 PM and ended around 5:00 PM.
His shift today started at 12:00 PM. It was precisely because the peak hours hadn't arrived yet that Kayo had time to stand at the shop entrance and chat with him for a while.
"Anyway, I'm counting on you for today's work, Mochizuki-kun! I'm going to grab some lunch first."
"Yes."
Akira put on the blue work apron, stood behind the checkout counter, watched the manager leave temporarily, and began his day's work.
By the time Kayo returned from lunch, it was around 1:30 PM. Two other temporary employees, besides him and the manager, arrived at the shop one after another; the busiest time was about to begin.
"Welcome!"
"The total is 1,700 yen. Out of 2,000 yen, your change is 300 yen. Please take it."
"Do you need a bag?"
"Alright!"
"Thank you for your patronage!"
During peak hours, the busiest person was undoubtedly the manager, Kayo. Whether it was customer guidance, restocking shelves, or cashiering, she had to personally oversee every part. She was practically a human spinning top.
He primarily served as the cashier, occasionally helping with some physical labor. Overall, his work intensity was relatively light.
The reason he was assigned easier work, besides Kayo's care, was another important reason she had mentioned before: he was the shop's ace.
As for what kind of ace exactly:
"Thank you for your patronage!"
After checking out two girls who looked like friends, Akira focused on continuing his work. However, the two girls kept looking back every few steps, and as soon as they reached the shop entrance, they began whispering eagerly to each other:
"That cashier guy is really handsome!"
"Right? I didn't lie to you...!"
That kind of ace.
According to Kayo, since he started working part-time at the shop, there had been a noticeable increase in sales, along with a significant rise in female customers. The reason was, of course, self-evident.
There were many bookstores like theirs in Akihabara. Only a small portion of the types and prices of goods sold by each bookstore differed; otherwise, most goods were not much different. For customers, it was the same no matter where they bought them.
Since they could buy the desired goods here just the same, and there wasn't much difference in price, why not take the opportunity to look at a handsome guy?
Thus, he became one of the few highlights of their bookstore, which was a major reason why the manager, Kayo, took such good care of him.
Of course, part of the reason was simply because he was a handsome guy.
It had to be admitted that good looks were indeed an important resource. When other conditions were similar, handsome men and beautiful women were simply more likely to gain an advantage than others.
Especially in this era, where plastic surgery technology was not yet very advanced, the advantage of naturally handsome men and beautiful women was even greater.
Speaking of which, since he had these looks now, becoming an idol seemed like...
No, that's absolutely out of the question!
He suddenly snapped out of it halfway through his thought. He wasn't in China right now, but in Japan.
And Japanese idols were a very complicated subject.
The industry's status was low, it was competitive and exhausting, there were extreme sasaeng fans, and company requirements were strict to the point of being abnormal. Even the companies themselves were abnormal.
In fact, just this past April, the Japanese entertainment industry had experienced a major shock.
Weekly Bunshun had published a special titled "Johnny Kitagawa: Allegations of Sexual Assault of Minors" and released two consecutive issues that month, completely exposing the sexual assault scandal of Johnny's founder Kitagawa against his own artists.
Setting aside what far-reaching impacts this event would have in later generations, for the idol industry at the moment, it was definitely a heavy and nearly fatal blow.
Tsk, tsk, tsk...
Thinking of this, Akira silently shook his head, his disdain fully exposed.
Being a Japanese idol these days is something even a dog wouldn't do!