At the end of September, 'Your Name' officially finished its theatrical run, with its final box office total settling at 3.212 billion.
Back in Su Yan's previous life, when the film was released in Japan, it drew a total of 18 million viewers. Based on Japan's population, that meant roughly one in every seven people went to see it in theaters.
In Xia Nation, however, such a ratio was impossible. The country's vast size, uneven regional development, and the fact that many rural areas didn't even have cinemas all affected the final box office.
Even so, the film still managed to surpass 100 million viewers in Xia Nation. And that alone was enough to secure its position as the annual box office champion.
Although it was only late September, both industry insiders and audiences already had a clear sense of things.
In the remaining months—October, November, and December—what major films were even scheduled for release?
Nothing but minor productions. The chances of any of them threatening Su Yan's dominance were about as likely as winning the lottery jackpot.
So on the very day 'Your Name' left theaters, Su Yan gathered the available members of the production team and officially held a celebration banquet.
In front of reporters, Su Yan remained modest. But with his own people, he didn't hold back—his opening line was a direct celebration of 'Your Name' winning this year's box office championship in Xia Nation.
Having spent years in the industry, Su Yan handled such occasions with ease. He was especially experienced in gracefully refusing toasts during the banquet to avoid getting embarrassingly drunk.
The celebration ultimately ended with Su Yan, as chairman of Dimensional Pictures, concluding:
"Next year, we'll keep pushing forward and aim to surpass this year's achievements!"
And just like that, the summer season came to an end.
Whether in film or television, this quarter had been completely dominated by Su Yan's works. His competitors had no room to fight back.
After several years, Su Yan had come to understand why the works he brought from his previous life were so popular in Xia Nation—the biggest reason was their novelty.
Some of the stories he introduced even felt cliché or ordinary to him.
But to Xia Nation audiences, they felt fresh and innovative.
Sometimes Su Yan found many domestic productions quite good, yet local audiences dismissed them as old-fashioned and boring.
For viewers, this "new style" of storytelling was something only Su Yan could provide. Although others had tried to imitate it in recent years, they were still just imitators.
Slightly drunk, Su Yan returned to his villa in Tokyo.
At present, three projects under his company were either in production or awaiting release:
The winter season in January—'Fate/stay night' and the second 'Rurouni Kenshin' film.
And 'Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion', scheduled to air across two consecutive seasons starting in April and July.
At this point, filming for 'Fate/stay night' and the second 'Rurouni Kenshin' movie was basically complete, with post-production underway.
By now, Dimensional Pictures had developed a kind of momentum.
Hundreds of employees were engaged in filming, promotion, or expanding into overseas markets.
And at the core of all their work—
Were the scripts provided by Su Yan.
After years at the company, employees had gone from shock, to numbness, to calm acceptance of Su Yan's seemingly endless stream of high-quality works.
As for Su Yan, he had grown accustomed to this lifestyle as well.
Whenever a project neared completion, he would choose the right moment to "exchange" for a new one.
Like tonight.
In terms of television, Su Yan had essentially reached the ceiling in Xia Nation.
Producing one or two shows a year was enough to maintain stability and secure profits.
His energy was limited—there was no way he could exchange a new TV script every quarter.
So when he entered the system space that night, he didn't consider television projects.
His focus was on films.
Su Yan's reputation in Xia Nation's film industry had largely been built on Makoto Shinkai-style works and the 'Rurouni Kenshin' series.
The 'Rurouni Kenshin' film series consisted of five movies in total. Su Yan planned to release one every one or two years, and depending on future circumstances, he might even adapt it into a full television series.
As for the film sector—and the coming year just a few months away—
The first name that came to Su Yan's mind was Makoto Shinkai.
Among Shinkai's works, the remaining options worth adapting were 'Weathering with You' and 'Suzume'.
After a moment of thought, Su Yan made his decision without hesitation—
He exchanged for 'Weathering with You'.
In truth, among Shinkai's films, 'Your Name' was the peak. The later works like 'Weathering with You' and 'Suzume' did feel somewhat repetitive.
They all followed a similar formula—fantasy elements combined with disaster-driven romance.
But since Xia Nation audiences loved this style, Su Yan respected the market.
He wasn't about to get carried away just because people praised him as a genius of the film industry.
He understood his own situation clearly—
Prioritize market demand, use the original works' past success as reference, and leverage his current fame and financial strength in Xia Nation.
In other words, combine strong source material with overwhelming external resources to force these works into becoming blockbusters.
Still, Shinkai only had a limited number of famous films. Su Yan couldn't rely on them forever.
After some thought, he checked the remaining emotional points in the system space.
Taking a deep breath, he made another decision—
He also exchanged for 'Howl's Moving Castle'.
This film ranked among the top box office hits in Japan in his previous life. Among Hayao Miyazaki's many works, its overall performance and quality easily placed it in the top five—possibly even the top three.
Moreover, it also blended fantasy and love, making it similar in genre to the works Su Yan had been producing in recent years. His audience wouldn't feel any abrupt shift in style.
As for the differences in storytelling between Makoto Shinkai and Hayao Miyazaki—
Su Yan only thought about it briefly before dismissing the concern.
No matter how famous Shinkai was, he still couldn't compare to Miyazaki. There was no reason Xia Nation audiences would love Shinkai's works but show no enthusiasm for a true master.
That night, after exchanging both films, Su Yan didn't linger—he went straight to sleep.
The next morning, he got up early, went to the 'Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion' set to finish filming his scenes, then at noon met with the VFX company and the company's game development department to discuss work on 'Fate/stay night', 'Rurouni Kenshin', and 'Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion'.
In the afternoon, he reviewed and signed off on funding plans for various projects.
Finally, he began working on the scripts for the two films he had exchanged the night before.
Naturally, Su Yan's actions couldn't escape Shinozaki Ikumi, who interacted with him daily for work.
By now, she had long since given up complaining about his productivity, merely accepting with a strange expression that such an anomaly could exist in the world.
Amid all this busyness—
September came to an end.
And October arrived.