Tokyo Agent: Starting with Picking Up a Problem Girl

Chapter 32: The Prototype of the Debut Song

In Nakajima Hiroshi's hometown, it's common to hear people scolding their subordinates like this.

"Are you out of your mind?!"

But it turns out that sometimes being a bit brainless can actually be beneficial for thinking.

Only after being rinsed in the shower can Nakajima Hiroshi stay awake from his drowsiness.

Asuka's debut song is probably in its early stages.

Considering her appalling control of the scale, Hiroshi Nakajima plans to reduce the singing portion as much as possible.

This allows each of the two climaxes to be assigned an octave as its keynote, thus creating different auditory experiences.

For overly soothing sections, a sense of layering can be created using low tones and murmurs.

This avoids making the overall feel of the song too monotonous, while the required skills are not too demanding.

However, the opening shouldn't start with singing; perhaps it could be replaced with a declaration, followed by a rapid-fire, explosive performance.

After all, anyone who has studied music even a little knows that for newcomers, the memories of intimate moments are far less memorable than the climax.

If only acting could be as simple as love.

As for the ending, there are many ways to handle it.

However, this depends on Asuka's stamina, so let's leave that aside for now.

That's clear.

The singing portion of this performance consists of two bursts of energy with different focuses, followed by a smooth transition.

First like this, then like this...

Nakajima Hiroshi arranged musical scales in his mind and fell into deep thought.

Then, the movement naturally stopped.

"Naka...Island?"

Asuka, who had been eavesdropping the whole time, became somewhat worried when she saw that Nakajima still hadn't made a move.

She tentatively called out.

no respond.

"Nakajima! Are you alright?!"

Asuka hurriedly pulled open the door.

Nakajima then woke up with a start.

As you know, most people don't wash their clothes while taking a shower.

"This, I..."

Asuka swallowed hard.

Hiroya Nakajima, quite unexpected.

He looked down at the now quite grown-up Nakajima Hiroshi before slowly turning towards Asuka.

"..."

"Asuka, close the door first."

"Even I would feel awkward in this situation."

"ah--!"

The girl instantly became flustered and hurriedly and stammered away from the sight.

"I...no, I'll just..."

"Clang!"

The door slid shut heavily, then bounced open again, quite inconsiderately.

But Asuka has already run far away.

Therefore, the atmosphere was somewhat awkward when Hiroshi Nakajima explained the structure of the song to Asuka.

This was also true for Nakajima Hiroshi.

Although the main vocal parts have been finalized, to help Asuka understand the structure of this song, it's essential to explain the design concept to her.

"Asuka Hanabira, stage performance is actually a process of seeking resonance with the audience, which is called 'capturing the crowd' in the industry."

"The target audience for this disclosure is mainly composed of worldly-wise veterans, as well as working-class people or students who are trying to escape reality."

"What we need to target are those who are not familiar enough with the techniques of singing and dancing."

He circled the section for "working people and students".

Then, Nakajima Hiroshi paused and emphasized.

"This is also the basic principle for most industries: just be able to fool laymen."

Actually, this shouldn't be said to regular reserve candidates, as it can easily lead them to become complacent and remain at a superficial level.

But the two of them didn't have much time to think about the future.

Moreover, Asuka lacks confidence.

Hiroshi Nakajima could only guide things in a more utilitarian direction.

"Okay..."

The girl turned her face slightly to avoid eye contact.

"Our performance is mainly divided into five stages."

"Listen carefully now."

Hiroshi Nakajima tapped the table with his finger to bring Asuka's attention back.

"well……"

Seeing that she was still a little embarrassed, Nakajima Hiroshi simply put his arm around her.

"Listen carefully to me, Asuka."

"Now, follow my lead."

Asuka did not feel offended.

But the scent of the shower gel continued to tug at her thoughts.

I need to cooperate, I need to cooperate with Nakajima Hiroshi...

Don't say he's teaching me...

At once……

"Tomorrow's Flower Honoka: Obedience score 17/20"

"Come on, close your eyes and imagine that you are standing on the stage now."

"At the beginning, I'll give you a gradually increasing drumbeat, and everyone in the audience will be watching you..."

Asuka obediently closed her eyes, her breathing becoming somewhat rapid.

The scene described by Hiro Nakajima made her both nervous and excited.

"You have a great figure; even a glance from afar will leave a lasting impression, which will give the audience a great first impression."

figure……

Asuka thought of Nakajima Hiro again.

just……

"Thump!"

This time, Nakajima Hiroshi hit her directly on the head.

"Ouch, it hurts!"

"Tomorrow's Flower, who are we trying to capture?"

"Yes, it's office workers and couch potatoes!"

Hiroshi Nakajima: "..."

Although it was too straightforward, at least it didn't go astray.

……never mind.

Hiroshi Nakajima decided to put this small problem aside for now.

tiny...

He was unaware of the changes this decision would bring.

It's okay, life is always romantic and forgiving.

Now that we've identified our target audience, we need to find common ground.

"So, after making a lasting impression with our entrance, we'll move on to the declaration segment."

"declaration?"

Asuka knew nothing about the stage as an entertainer.

"Yes."

"Clearly tell the audience what your persona is and what kind of audience you want to attract."

"Or rather, who will be the audience for the upcoming performances?"

Asuka tentatively asked, "It's that line from Onodera Mizuki..."

"I hope Mizuki's performance brings you happiness?"

It seems less embarrassing to say it using Mizuki's lines.

But if I were to shout those lines on stage...

Me, this.

Hey!

"almost."

Nakajima Hiro's answer made Asuka's heart skip a beat.

"However, that's wording that fits Mizuki's character, it doesn't suit you."

She breathed a slight sigh of relief.

It turned out to be the case.

That's good, that's good.

"Asuka, your debut song, the declaration part is roughly like this."

Nakajima Hiroshi wrote a few words on the paper.

Determine the age.

Targeting the crowd.

Establish a persona.

Then, connect them together.

"Most opening statements are essentially structured like this."

"The core function of this step is to enable the audience to quickly identify with the content."

"In other words, it's a violent implantation of a persona."

As he spoke, Nakajima Hiroshi rubbed his throbbing temples.

Damn it, I haven't been getting enough rest, and I have some tinnitus...

"Then if we mention everyone, wouldn't that mean..."

Asuka is being greedy and making a foolish mistake.

"No, if you target too many people, you'll end up not catching any of them."

"So, our declaration for this round is..."

Nakajima Hiroshi picked up his pen and wrote down the corresponding lines for each segment.

"This...this...this...this...this..."

Asuka started stammering again.

This seems even more shameful than Onodera Mizuki's declaration!

No.

I don't want to shout out such a cringeworthy line.

Absolutely not!

however……

Seeing Nakajima Hiro's calm gaze, Asuka quickly gave in.

"……All right."

"I'll give it a try..."

"I'll accept it, okay, Nakajima, I'll try my best to shout it out!"

even if...

Even if it's just for you.

Nakajima Hiroshi nodded slightly.

Not to mention the flower, he himself felt incredibly embarrassed about it.

But the audience really buys into it, there's nothing we can do about it.

"After the declaration, we need to get right to the party."

"To put it bluntly, it's about taking advantage of your peak physical condition and when the audience's attention is at its highest to quickly showcase your abilities and charm, leaving them with the deepest impression."

"So this is the stage where you need to put in the most effort."

Time is tight; we must let Asuka know the key points.

Nakajima Hiro quickly wrote down a few lines of musical score, which was a fragment he had come up with in the bathroom, adapted from a festival song.

He wasn't using the staff, but rather the numerical notation he had used when Asuka practiced scales.

The initial octave ranges from 1 to 7. After raising the octave by one, a small "+1" appears in the upper right corner of each number.

Of course, this is a complete misconception.

The so-called starting octave, strictly speaking, is "the range from middle C to B in the second octave".

This is the most comfortable vocal range for ordinary humans, and it is generally used as the starting point for melody writing.

They should be written as C4 to B4.

But for now, intuition is everything.

Compared to letters that require thought, sequentially arranged Arabic numerals are obviously easier to form muscle memory for.

There is a problem with this training method: Asuka still cannot read normal sheet music.

Let's save time for now and correct things later.

Nakajima Hiroshi sighed helplessly.

"Asuka, can you sing this song while looking at this sheet music?"

"I'll give it a try."

Asuka hummed softly, little by little.

Although it was a bit awkward, it was still manageable.

Moreover, he didn't sing off-key.

"call."

Nakajima Hiroshi finally felt a little relieved.

His biggest fear is that Asuka wo Proudmoore will still not be able to read sheet music, which would really take a year and a half to perfect a song, and he would still end up singing it terribly.

To say that he, as an agent, has no pressure is pure nonsense.

What composure? It's just a facade.

But at least...

At least there is still hope in Asuka.

Once this is clear, you can consider helping her develop a sense of purpose.

Correct.

Nakajima Hiro could naturally see the girl's unease, but before confirming that she was truly suited for the path of an entertainer, he didn't want to casually set a goal for Asuka; that would be very irresponsible.

Now is the time.