Chapter 27: Film Distribution and Video Cassette Rentals

Not long after Yoshida Shoichi left, while Seiko was still discussing the chess piece she had been preparing for a long time with Yamagami Nobuo, the Yakuza guarding the door came to report again that a man named Ōmori Ryō had come to visit.

“Ōmori Ryō?
Isn’t he the director of that new movie of yours?”

Yamagami Nobuo still felt a little awkward discussing adult videos with his own granddaughter.

“Yes,” Seiko, however, didn’t feel embarrassed and nodded.
“He’s also the manager of Bubble Witch.”

“In that case, let Director Ōmori in,” Yamagami Nobuo said to the Yakuza.

Although Bubble Witch had been personally handed over to Seiko by Yamagami Nobuo, in reality, adult videos had never been a pillar industry for the Yamagami-gumi.
The most profitable industries for the Yamagami-gumi were undoubtedly the shops in the red-light district, followed by money lending, and then smuggling.
As materialistic desires grew, Japanese white-collar workers increasingly favored various Western luxury goods, but many people’s incomes couldn’t match the high prices of luxury items in specialty stores.
Thus, a demand for various gray market and counterfeit luxury goods arose.
The Yamagami-gumi mainly smuggled small, expensive luxury watches, which were very easy to sell in Urawa, a city full of “kaishain.”

Although the Yamagami-gumi also produced adult videos, their profits were even lower than the second and third-hand drug business they had already abandoned.
Therefore, Yamagami Nobuo had not paid much attention to Bubble Witch before and had little impression of Ōmori Ryō.

This was also Ōmori Ryō’s first time at the Yamagami residence.
He had originally intended to see Seiko, but he didn’t expect Yamagami Nobuo to receive him personally.

“I have long wished to admire the presence of the Tiger of Urawa.
To be able to see you today is truly a great honor.”

The moment Ōmori Ryō opened his mouth, he revealed himself to be a seasoned flatterer.

“Haha, the Tiger of Urawa.
It’s been about twenty or thirty years since I’ve heard anyone mention that.”

In his youth, Yamagami Nobuo was also a militant type who had fought his way from Causeway Bay to Tsim Sha Tsui with a watermelon knife.
Because he fought so often and gained some fame, he earned the nickname “Tiger of Urawa” among the Yakuza.
After Yamagami Nobuo truly became a regional boss, this nickname was mentioned less and less.

However, judging from the smile on the old man’s face, it was clear he was quite proud of the reputation he had built in his youth.

“Although fewer people mention it, your prestige in the underworld is still as great as it was back then.”

“Haha, you’re exaggerating, exaggerating…”

“…”

Seiko really couldn’t bear to watch this scene of bootlicking and directly interrupted, “Ōmori, what brings you here today?”

“Ahem,” Yamagami Nobuo also realized his gaffe and quickly brought the conversation back on track.
“That’s right, let’s get down to business.”

“Oh,” Ōmori Ryō said hurriedly, “I mainly came to inform you that Guilty of Romance has passed Eirin’s review, and to ask about the distribution issue in person…”

There were many film distribution companies in Japan.
Large production companies like Toho and Shochiku basically had their own distribution channels.
Small, unknown production companies like Bubble Witch could entrust their films to them for distribution, and then the two parties would share the profits.

Ōmori Ryō recommended three distributors for Seiko to choose from: one called Kindai Eiga, one called GAGA, and another called Nikkatsu.

The first two might not be well-known among ordinary audiences, as they were companies that focused on distributing art films.

Kindai Eiga had a very strong left-wing color.
The films they produced themselves often focused on the living conditions of the lower classes, and issues such as prostitutes and sexual exploitation were often things they advocated for.
If Guilty of Romance really wanted to win awards based on women’s issues, Kindai Eiga was indeed a good choice.

Although GAGA also distributed art films, they were not as artistic as Kindai Eiga.
Their approach was to find a “balance between art and commerce.”
An example makes it easier to understand—GAGA was the Japanese distributor for “Parasite.”

Nikkatsu…

Well…

This one was more well-known.

Nikkatsu was once a legitimate film company, known as one of the “Big Four of Japan” along with Toho, Toei, and Shochiku.

But after the 1960s, television swept through Japan, and the film market shrank rapidly.
Faced with the impact of television programs, other film companies either started making their own big productions like Godzilla or sought out big names like Takeshi Kitano and Hayao Miyazaki to collaborate on high-quality films.
Only Nikkatsu took an unusual path—they went to shoot AVs!

In 1971, Nikkatsu announced the launch of its “Roman Porno” project.
This project produced a large number of adult-oriented films at an ultra-low cost of about 1 million yen per film.
These films were called “pink films” by scholars, but uncultured Yakuza were still accustomed to calling them “AVs,” just without the final penetration shot.

But as mentioned before, AVs could make money, but not big money.

Although shooting AVs solved Nikkatsu’s financial problems in the short term, it severely damaged the brand image of this veteran film company, leading to a large number of its stars and famous directors announcing their departures.
Ultimately, Nikkatsu declared bankruptcy in 1992 and was acquired by Bandai in 1996.

However, it was still 1985.

Nikkatsu’s “pink films” were at the tail end of their heyday.
Not counting the cinemas they indirectly cooperated with, Nikkatsu’s own cinema chain had nearly three hundred theaters that could show films.

By presenting these three options, Ōmori Ryō was clearly asking Seiko: “Do you want art?
Or do you want both art and commerce?
Or do you just want commerce?”

Seiko blurted out almost without thinking, “Then let’s go with Nikkatsu.”

Seriously, where did Seiko have the money to pursue art right now?

A single Guilty of Romance had already spent almost all of Bubble Witch’s liquid assets and Seiko’s own private funds.
Seiko’s most pressing thought right now was to see a return on her investment.

If Guilty of Romance were given to Kindai Eiga, it might win an award, but she couldn’t expect much from the box office.
Giving it to GAGA might result in neither an award nor a box office.
Giving it to Nikkatsu was the only way to really make money.
Nikkatsu not only had a cinema chain but also had a considerable offline video cassette rental channel.
After Guilty of Romance finished its theatrical run, it could continue to make money.

Ōmori Ryō didn’t expect Seiko to decide so quickly, but he still habitually flattered her, “Your judgment is so sharp.
I also think Nikkatsu is the most suitable.
Nikkatsu’s distribution contract is willing to take only a forty percent commission…”

A forty percent commission might seem high, but for a small manufacturer like Bubble Witch, it really wasn’t bad.
It was even possible to see that Nikkatsu really had no good films to show recently.
Because if it were a major distributor that was still in decline, like Toho or Toei, this commission percentage could be as high as seventy percent.

“You go negotiate the commission yourself,” Seiko added, “I only have one extra request: don’t sell the video cassette rights.”

“Yes.”

Ōmori Ryō agreed without hesitation.

After Ōmori Ryō left, Yamagami Nobuo couldn’t help but ask Seiko, “Can this movie make money?”

“It can.”
Seiko nodded without much hesitation.
Ōmori Ryō, that penny-pinching maniac, had managed to keep the cost of Guilty of Romance within ten million yen.
If Guilty of Romance couldn’t even earn back such a small cost, then Seiko would have to consider whether to send a hitman with a gun to ask Nikkatsu if they had embezzled funds.

“As long as it can make money, that’s good,” Yamagami Nobuo nodded.
“If you can find a new source of income for the gumi, the seniors in the gumi will be more convinced of you, and your position as Wakagashira will be more stable.”

Although successfully joining the Yamaguchi-gumi was very exciting for Yamagami Nobuo, he also had to admit that he was old and might not last much longer.
Accelerating the process of helping Seiko secure her position as his successor was the top priority he should be considering now.

After a little thought, Seiko shook her head and said, “Making movies is a skilled job.
Even if it can make money, it’s difficult to benefit the other members.
After all, many Yakuza are illiterate and can’t even write Chinese characters.
If I want to make money with the other members, I have another idea.”

Yamagami Nobuo was slightly embarrassed, as he himself came from the bottom rungs of the Yakuza who “can’t even write Chinese characters,” but he was soon attracted by the second half of Seiko’s sentence, “What idea?”

“Open video cassette rental stores,” Seiko said.
“Haven’t you seen that every household is buying home video recorders now?
With a video recorder, you definitely need video cassettes to watch movies, but buying video cassettes directly is too expensive.
After all, many people only want to watch a movie once or twice.
Renting video cassettes is the best choice.
There’s no barrier to entry in this industry, and even ordinary Yakuza can do it.
Opening ten or twenty stores can provide jobs for one or two hundred members, giving everyone something to do.
This is the kind of industry suitable for me to build prestige and win people’s hearts.”

The period from 1985 to 1990 was a time of booming development for the video cassette rental industry in Japan.
Video rental stores on the roadside were popping up like mushrooms after a rain.
This was mainly due to the invention and popularization of home video recorders.
In the next few years, video cassette rights would also become more and more expensive, which was also the reason why Seiko told Ōmori Ryō not to sell the video cassette rights for Guilty of Romance for the time being—selling them now would be a huge loss.

Seiko’s calm words about “building prestige and winning people’s hearts” made Yamagami Nobuo feel a little strange.

But on second thought, Yamagami Nobuo couldn’t help but be tempted.
This seemed like a really good idea.
“Alright, I’ll have someone inquire about how to open a video rental store.
We’ll pick some people and try opening two stores first.”