Chapter 124: The World of Pirates

The chaos in this world has always been manufactured by these capitalists; at the very least, they have never served a positive purpose. Why does the U.S. have antitrust laws? It is because they are terrified of these guys. Fortunately, times have changed, and they no longer dare to pull such outrageous stunts. Regional tensions are just fine—that way, nothing catastrophic will happen. You see, it is quite strange, isn't it? On one hand, they act as the international police, while on the other, they are setting fires everywhere. If you embrace their values, your country might fall into chaos; if you don't, they will fan the flames.

Looking at the pirate graffiti on the weekly magazine, William White was very satisfied. The inaugural issue had been a massive undertaking, and the printing costs alone were astronomical. Advertising space not selling? My friend, I will run my own ads. Since I don't want to keep the wealth within the family, I won't sell the space cheaply; the time will come when you are begging for it. Because most of the pages were in color, the magazine looked thicker than others. 380 yen was not cheap, but it was not too expensive either. The current exchange rate is 250—one has to wonder what the Japanese are thinking. Is this mockery of the American Empire, or of themselves? Excluding Japan, the price is just under two dollars almost everywhere else. Regardless of the content, the printing cost alone makes this a very fair price.

"Boss, how should we decide the print run?"
"How is the evaluation looking in Japan?"
"Mr. Fujita estimates 500,000 copies, with the potential for 1.5 million within half a year."
"Hmm, that seems reasonable. He didn't calculate the impact of the advertising investment. Go urge Toei to get those ads ready; we don't have much time."
"Yes, boss."
"Alright, let's go with 1.5 million for Japan, 300,000 for the U.S. and U.K., and 200,000 for the traditional Chinese editions."
"Understood."

A print run of two million copies still couldn't satisfy the factory's capacity. The Heidelberg machines were truly excellent, and the Australian workers were very reliable. The frontline workers were either Japanese or ethnic Chinese; there wasn't a single local Australian among them. The locals weren't angry, though—it wasn't that the company didn't want Australians, but rather that the more casual jobs were given to them. Although the manga was scheduled for release on June 1st, the promotional work needed to start early, along with the supporting sales network. All of this had to be arranged in advance. And let me tell you, the Americans really do have special privileges in Japan.

Not selling? Don't joke. They have already been very accommodating, following the Japanese model. Don't cause any trouble; these Westerners are a real headache. Foreigners carry weight in Japan, and since the British Virgin Islands are nominally under British rule, with both American and British interests involved, it is best to cooperate. William White never cared about how these little guys felt. This is an upright business, not a robbery. If it doesn't sell, give it back, and I will bear the costs—but I must decide exactly how much stock each store gets. The Japanese booksellers were extremely unhappy, but as the saying goes, even if they were unhappy, they could only watch. A group of Westerners in suits and ties is definitely a difficult situation to deal with. What they didn't know was that these were all interns; the internship in Japan was a work perk, so they had to take it seriously.

"Damn, what kind of company is this? Why are there so many foreigners?"
Fujita was speechless at his boss's arrangements. This boss understood Japan too well. If they had gone themselves, bowing and scraping would have been mandatory. Now, they just had to translate what the foreigners said, and the distribution task had to be completed regardless. The terms offered by Viking were very generous: not only could they return unsold stock, but payment was also flexible—they could pay before the next batch was shipped. If the first batch didn't sell well, the next delivery would be reduced. Although the booksellers felt stifled, they didn't want to nitpick; the company was going to invest in TV commercials, so it likely wouldn't be a disaster.

The promotional campaign in Japan had begun. Posters appeared at newsstands, and magazines carried advertorials. The reviews were excellent, and many Japanese manga artists were involved. It was a weekly manga magazine worth looking forward to, officially launching on June 1st, International Children's Day.

Wait, what is this lucky draw? Ten lucky winners could go to Disneyland in Los Angeles, with Viking covering all expenses, including food and lodging for two parents. If the conditions were right, they might even have a chance to cameo in a massive Hollywood production. If a certain unscrupulous businessman insisted that *Johnny English* was a massive production, no one could argue. Twenty million dollars is nothing to the semiconductor industry, but for the Japanese film industry, it would be enough to make ten movies. Who dared to say it wasn't a massive production?

Now it was the turn of the manga sellers to be baffled. "Damn, are you people even being reasonable? Who does business like this? Wouldn't a game console as a grand prize be enough?"
"Inaugural issue? Every copy has a unique code; every copy belongs exclusively to you."
"Boss, you're selling manga, right? Why does it feel like you're selling lottery tickets?"
What shocked them most were the posters. They were all industry insiders, so there was no need to comment on the art style—if the plot was solid, these would definitely be bestsellers.
"Baka! Go find out, what kind of place is the Virgin Islands? We must acquire this company."

The Japanese manga industry was in an uproar. This promotional offensive was truly formidable. The most terrifying part was that promoting "local identity" was useless, as many of the artists were Japanese—they just didn't recognize them.
"Scripts, what's with the scripts?"
"Baka! Who is this Captain Jack?"
"I need to know the exact people! For this many manga, you need at least dozens of writers. Did they grow out of the ground?"
It was just a different industry. William White had long been famous in Japan, and this manga studio had been reported on before, but at the time, they were too arrogant to take the so-called studio seriously.
Acquisition? Don't joke. The guy earned 50 billion yen from just two movies. Even if they chopped these people up and sold them, it wouldn't be enough. Don't say the yen isn't worth much; once you start using "billions" as a unit, it's worth quite a lot. 200,000 yen is now considered a decent income. What exactly is the concept of 50 billion? The official release was still two months away—how rich do you have to be to do this?

Anyone involved in advertising knows that promotions have a shelf life; you can't wait for the hype to die down before selling. That is clearly the behavior of a fool. Is William White a fool? Obviously not. His greatest strength is his marketing ability—that is practically a consensus in Hollywood. There is no helping it; the giants care about their pride. When their box office gets crushed, they can only blame the lack of advertising, claiming their movies were good but they just didn't know how to promote them. William White found it hard to argue with a bunch of bitter old men; he simply admitted he was less skilled and only understood a little bit about promotional techniques. The result, naturally, was that he disgusted them even more.

"Damn it, I've never seen anyone act so arrogant. If you're 'less skilled,' should we all just jump into the Pacific?"
So, being a person is hard; it's difficult to be a person. If I'm high-profile, it's not okay; if I'm low-profile, you complain; if I'm humble, you say I'm acting superior. Whatever, do what you want—I'm done with you.