Bonus Chapter at 600 PS
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"A movie with this kind of emotional weight and they didn't reveal a single hint of its true nature in the trailers?" Masuyo muttered a complaint to herself while frantically wiping away her tears. But the story hadn't reached its final curtain call yet.
On the screen, Dr. Eva Rosalene made the executive decision to remove River from Johnny's memories.
Johnny's life story was successfully rewritten: in this new timeline, he studied relentlessly, was accepted into the space program, and achieved his lifelong dream of becoming an astronaut. And then...
The melody he had once composed for River was born again in his new consciousness. This time, he titled the piece "To the Moon."
As the mission progressed, River reappeared, manifesting not as a distant memory, but as his partner and co-pilot for the moon landing. The film approached its climax. As Johnny and River sat side-by-side in the spacecraft, the lunar surface finally loomed large in the window. They shared a look and a small, knowing smile.
"What if you forget... or if you get lost?"
"Then we'll always meet on the moon, you silly."
The voiceover of the boy and girl from their childhood festival echoed through the speakers, soft and ethereal. It was immediately followed by a sharp, rhythmic beep... beep... beep...
In the real world, the heart monitor attached to the elderly Johnny flatlined, emitting a continuous, final warning.
To the Moon: End.
At that moment, aided by the faint reflection of the house lights coming up, Masuyo looked around. Almost every face in the theater was shimmering with the glint of crystal-clear tears. Even the boy who had walked in grinning and whispering to his girlfriend about how "cheerful" the movie was, hoping to trick her into a fun date, was now slumped in his seat, clutching her hand with red eyes. Animation, when paired with masterful art direction and a soaring score, possesses a narrative power that is far more direct and piercing than prose.
If a novel deals magical damage, an animated movie deals true damage. Even if you've read the book and think you've built up enough emotional armor, you realize in the dark of the theater that your defenses are utterly useless.
A profound silence filled the hall as the credits began to roll to the full version of "For River." For the first time, the audience had a chance to scrutinize the names behind the masterpiece.
Scriptwriters: Shiori Takahashi, ******.
Music: *****, Shiori Takahashi, ********.
To the Moon (Composer): Shiori Takahashi.
Although Haruto hadn't been involved in the day-to-day production of the film, every piece of music he had composed for the original novel serialization had been kept and integrated into the final cut.
Shiori Takahashi... who is this guy?
Masuyo felt a surge of intense curiosity about this reportedly young novelist. Until the final note of the credits faded, the audience sat in a daze. After two hours and twelve minutes, the journey was over. A moment of silence was followed by a thunderous wave of applause.
Couples walked out into the night with somber, contemplative expressions.
As for Masuyo, she felt a hollow ache in her chest. Usually, she moved on from a movie within minutes, but today was different. On her walk home, her mind was a loop of scenes from the film, and the melody of "For River" refused to leave her heart.
She found herself reflexively pulling out her phone to search for the scriptwriter, Shiori Takahashi.
Real Name: Haruto
Age: 19.
Current Status: Sophomore at Minazuki University.
Creator of the hit novels: "To the Moon," "Anohana," "Parasyte," "Blue Spring Ride."
Creator of the hit manga: "Initial D."
"This is ridiculous," she whispered.
She knew nothing about the subculture industry, but these revelations were mind-blowing.
A nineteen-year-old college student had written the source material for this movie while he was still in high school? What kind of genius was this?
October 3rd. The results for the six films premiering in Japan were finalized.
1. The Lame Detective: 94 million yen (26% screen share), Rating: 8.3
2. Trees in the Distance: 65 million yen (22% screen share), Rating: 6.8
3. Fallout: 41 million yen (26% screen share), Rating: 6.0
4. To the Moon: 29 million yen (7.3% screen share), Rating: 9.6
5. Twin Gates: 12 million yen (10.7% screen share), Rating: 5.6
6. Bad Bear: 7 million yen (9% screen share), Rating: 6.8
Total Box Office: 248 million yen.
Masuyo spent her night obsessing over these numbers, unable to sleep even as 2:00 AM passed. Every time she closed her eyes, the music swelled in her mind. She realized she had been "poisoned" by this movie. She looked at the digital ticket she had already booked for a second viewing the next morning and sighed. "How is the box office this low? It makes no sense."
The official movie forums were equally electric that night. In the anime world, fans argue about power scaling and lore. The movie world is much more vulgar; they only care about the money.
"Is Fallout already dead? 26% of the screens and only 41 million yen? The return on investment is pathetic compared to To the Moon, which has almost zero marketing."
"Trees in the Distance deserves it. They dared to cast that woman as the lead? Of course the female moviegoers are boycotting it."
"But guys, look at To the Moon. That rating... 9.6? What kind of black magic is that? Is that the highest opening day score in the last three years? Are they using bots to manipulate the rating?"
"Manipulate your head! Go buy a ticket and you'll see exactly why the score is that high."
"Exactly. A piece of trash like The Lame Detective gets 94 million while To the Moon doesn't even hit 30 million. There is no justice in this world."
"I haven't seen To the Moon, but don't trash Detective just to hype your niche show. I saw it; it was entertaining. Plenty of twists and great atmosphere. It's a solid thriller."
"Oh, please. How much did the Lame Detective studio pay you to shill on the forums? Do you think we're idiots?"
"Why is everyone praising To the Moon today? Is it really that good, or is the 'Shiori Takahashi' marketing team just that powerful?"
"If they had the money for a social media army, they would have spent it on television ads instead of letting their screen share drop to 7%. Use your brain."
"Look, To the Moon isn't about being 'good' or 'bad.' I walked in laughing and walked out sobbing. I'm telling you now, if you miss this, you'll regret it."
"I'm begging everyone to go see it tomorrow. If you think it wasn't worth the price of the ticket, come back here and curse me out."
"Honestly, I've only seen To the Moon so far, but I don't even need to see the other five to know they don't compare. I'm going for a second viewing the moment the cinema opens tomorrow. Take my word for it or don't, I don't care."
---
Inside Sugar Man Pictures, the production team was actually quite pleased with the 29 million yen opening.
For a project with a 300 million yen production budget and a 100 million yen marketing spend, earning 29 million on a Friday before people were even off work was a strong start. If they could maintain that pace over the next five days, they would break even on the box office split alone.
The staff were in high spirits, and they even called Haruto to congratulate him.
"I understand," Haruto said over the phone. "I can't make it back out for any more roadshows, but I'll do what I can to push the movie online over the next few days."
After hanging up, Haruto exhaled.
In the original world, To the Moon was a niche indie game.
He had no idea how it would translate to a mainstream box office. But 29 million yen for a mid-tier production was a respectable debut.
He decided to log into his "Warrior of Love" account. With nine million followers, it was one of the most influential handles on the anime boards.
"I went to see Shiori Takahashi-sensei's 'To the Moon' animated movie today. I ended up crying like a baby in the middle of the theater. I highly recommend everyone check it out!"
He was essentially playing both sides of a puppet show, but he didn't care. A wave of comments from his followers immediately flooded the post. Some joked about a "secret alliance" between the Warrior of Love and Shiori Takahashi, while others argued that their fanbases were rivals and he shouldn't be promoting the competition.
Haruto ignored the noise. While he didn't get a cut of the box office, a hit movie would drive sales for his original novels. He wanted as many people in those seats as possible. But the trajectory of the next forty-eight hours would blindside even the industry experts.
Because To the Moon had outperformed its modest expectations on day one, the major cinema chains made a swift adjustment. They slashed the screen share of the poorly-reviewed Fallout by 6% and handed those slots to To the Moon. They also trimmed 3% from Bad Bear and Twin Gates, giving that time to the current box office leader, The Lame Detective.
Consequently, for the Saturday schedule, To the Moon jumped to a 16% screen share, while Fallout dropped to 16% and The Lame Detective swelled to 32%.
This was standard procedure. Cinemas are not charities; they follow the money. If a movie has a high occupancy rate, they give it more screens.
Saturday, October 4th.
The national daily box office reached 190 million yen. Despite its increased screen share, The Lame Detective actually saw its revenue drop to 74 million yen. It stayed at number one, but the trend was clear: poor word-of-mouth was killing its momentum. Marketing can get people in the door on Friday, but only quality keeps the seats full on Saturday. But it was the number two spot that sent shockwaves through the industry.
Trees in the Distance had cratered, falling from 65 million to 42 million yen in a single day. In its place stood a new challenger.
To the Moon: Day Two Box Office – 51 million yen (16% screen share), Rating: 9.7.
It had seized the number two spot with a ranking that no one had deemed possible. While every other film on the charts was trending downward, To the Moon had nearly doubled its previous day's earnings.
When the final tallies were confirmed that night, the industry fell into a state of uproar. The pros were baffled.
How did a low-budget animated film achieve a 100% growth spike?
Inside the Sugar Man Pictures office, the production team shared that same stunned expression.
"Fifty-one million?" the director whispered.
"Did we buy more ads without me knowing?"
"No... something is very, very right about this situation!"