Chapter 433: Autograph Session

Chapter 433: The Book Signing Event

"Participate in an event? What event? A commercial performance?"

Director Xiong of the Weightlifting, Wrestling, and Judo Center, also a member of the Chinese Olympic delegation, was not surprised when he heard Meng Fan request to go out for an event. Such things had rarely happened in the Weightlifting, Wrestling, and Judo Center before, but they were common in other centers and associations, especially those with sports superstars.

Athletes participating in events, even those related to commercial performances, had long ceased to be taboo in the General Administration of Sport. As long as it didn't interfere with training and competition, it was allowed—why not generate income and promote the sport at the same time?

With Meng Fan's current popularity, receiving invitations to events was perfectly normal. Moreover, Meng Fan's situation was special: aside from following the national team's arrangements for competitions, he had autonomy over everything else, even his training.

Of course, given the special period of the Olympics, Meng Fan had to obtain approval from the delegation, and the delegation naturally needed to ask about the specifics.

"It's kind of a commercial performance."

Meng Fan briefly explained the situation.

Director Xiong was impressed after hearing it. He had seen many commercial performances, but this was the first time he heard of someone doing a commercial performance for themselves. Slapping his forehead, he recalled Meng Fan's other identity and laughed, "So that's it! Alright, no problem. Our delegation definitely supports this kind of event—culture and sports are one family. I'll approve it directly here. Of course, since it's still during the Olympics, going out still requires following the national team's rules."

"Mm, I understand."

After receiving the approval, Meng Fan called Goro Takahashi back.

The subsequent itinerary was naturally handled by Kodansha, and Kodansha was very efficient. The venue for the signing event was arranged directly at the sacred ground of Japanese judo, the Nippon Budokan, which was also the venue for the Olympic judo competitions.

Besides hosting regular judo team training and competitions, the Nippon Budokan was also the top choice for many big-name singers' concerts in Japan.

Of course, during the Olympics, even the biggest singers had almost no chance of holding any form of event there, even after the venue had completed all Olympic events. The reason Kodansha managed to secure this venue during such a special period was not only due to Kodansha's own influence but also because of Meng Fan himself.

Kodansha planned to schedule Meng Fan's signing event right after he won two judo gold medals, and the venue was initially set as the Nippon Budokan. Before Meng Fan agreed, Kodansha had already expressed its intention to the management of the Nippon Budokan.

The Nippon Budokan was initially unwilling to agree, even with Kodansha negotiating. They planned to postpone it until after the Olympics, offering the courtesy of giving Kodansha priority, since the Budokan would host many performances after the Olympics, and the queue was already long.

But as soon as they heard it was for Meng Fan, they immediately agreed without any conditions. They didn't even raise the venue fee during the Olympics, keeping it the same as usual. This decisiveness stunned the Kodansha negotiators, who only felt relieved after repeatedly confirming that the venue had said, "We respect a strong person like Meng Fan."

Meng Fan was also surprised to see the venue arranged at the Nippon Budokan. He didn't know much else, but as someone who had once followed voice actors and otaku culture, he was very familiar with this venue and understood its status in the concert world. He never expected his signing event to be held here.

Meng Fan confirmed it several times. To be honest, he had considered one reason: that the Japanese judo world might use this to make some demands, like the usual "exchanges" and "guidance." But later, when he heard there were no demands at all, only respect for a strong person, he was also surprised.

Of course, behind this, the Japanese judo world might be playing a clever game. Although they made no demands, they wanted to gain Meng Fan's goodwill through this gesture, or even owe them a favor.

Once the itinerary was set, Kodansha immediately launched publicity. The promotion didn't need to be extensive—mainly on their official website and a few promotions on major Japanese portals. The rest would be boosted by Meng Fan's "popularity buff," making it ten times more effective with half the effort.

Additionally, the Nippon Budokan hung a huge poster at its entrance.

As for the tankōbon of "Strange People of Mountains and Seas," Kodansha had long been prepared. Given the advanced state of Japan's manga industry, a reprint of up to a million copies could be done in a single day.

Of course, a print run of a million copies was still somewhat exaggerated. Kodansha had already set the initial print run at 200,000 copies, which was the largest first print run for a manga serialized in Kodansha's magazines in recent years.

A small portion would be transported to the Nippon Budokan for Meng Fan's signing, while the majority would be released normally.

Meng Fan and Kodansha finalized the deal on the afternoon of the 14th competition day. Promotion began that evening, and the signing event was the next day. The entire schedule was very tight, but neither Kodansha nor Meng Fan worried about a lack of fans, even during the Olympics.

Speaking of the timing, there were certainly pros and cons.

Holding a signing event during the Olympics had the advantage of a large crowd—not only Japanese and Chinese manga fans but also people from around the world who came to watch the Olympics. The disadvantage was that there were still Olympic competitions going on, and a large portion of people would choose to watch the games.

Of course, even if only a small fraction attended the signing event, the proportion was small but the base was huge, so the final number would definitely be higher than usual signing events.

This was one reason Kodansha chose this time. The main reason, however, was to capitalize on Meng Fan's Olympic popularity during the Games.

For overall sales, the signing event was just one part. The real bulk came from sales at manga shops, bookstores, and online.

In short, the tankōbon was released through the signing event.

The number of people coming to the signing event would be far less than those buying the manga at bookstores, because even in Japan, the vast majority of people couldn't go to the Olympics in person, and many hadn't even gone to Kyoto.

As soon as the news broke that Meng Fan would hold a signing event at the Nippon Budokan during the Olympics and that the tankōbon would be released, the Japanese and Chinese internet erupted, while most foreign media were dumbfounded.

A manga tankōbon from the five-gold Olympic champion?

Was he using his popularity to cash in?

People from other countries, even if they believed Meng Fan was a manga artist, few would believe his manga quality was any good.

What else could it be but cashing in on popularity?

(End of chapter)