Chapter 11
Chapter 11
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 011
Chapter Title: FGT
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The reaction to the PV was explosive.
No, even "explosive" didn't do it justice.
📰 Bixiv Post — Kirin Holy shit, haven't gotten this hyped off a PV since the WoW trailer lololol These guys have been bombing their recent new releases, but they've finally pulled their heads out of their asses lololol 💬 Comments (Newest First) — Anonymous For real lololololol — Anonymous How much cash did Enson dump into this lolololol — Anonymous Guys who can make stuff this good lololol — Anonymous The PV hype is on another level, for real lolol 📰 Bixiv Post — Anonymous Out of all these girls, who's the hottest for you guys? 【PV screenshots captured by character】 For me, the Operator at the end is the sexiest, for real. Never been into loli chars in my life, but she hit me right away lololol And tbh, capturing these made me realize their character designs are completely insane lololol Even compared to anime chars coming out these days, these are on a whole other level? 💬 Comments (Newest First) — Anonymous Damn, so hot lolololololololol — Anonymous This guy's at it again lololol — Anonymous They're all my wives. — Anonymous All of them are getting added to my list, right? — Anonymous For real, too many to pick from lololol 📰 Bixiv Post — Aebungi That Girls Memorial illustrator tweet we talked about yesterday dropped ㄷㄷㄷㄷㄷ 【Screenshot of Yerin's Twitter main page】 Reaction to the PV was so good it doesn't feel real, so she posted a thank-you tweet with a special illustration. 【Operator illustration making a hand heart with a straight face and winking】 Never seen communication this good from a Korean company—not even in Japan lololol 💬 Comments (Most Viewed) — Anonymous Thinking about it, the PV quality aside, how the hell did this come out of Korea lololol ⭐ Top Comment — Anonymous Ji Hojin << Absolute GOAT director for weebs, upvoting hard lololol — Anonymous ↳ Reply Getting all hyped up again lololol — Anonymous ↳ Reply Games that had killer trailers and then bombed aren't exactly rare lolol — Anonymous Fuck, why are the Blue Archive simps coming out of nowhere to get smacked lolololol 📰 Bixiv Post — MM The Japanese weebs are losing their minds over Girls Memorial right now lololol 【4chan anime char board capture screenshot】 Just from the screenshots I grabbed, the Japs are going absolutely feral lolololol Rough translation of what I can see: - Watching the live stream, almost took my pants off wwww - Saw the PV and thought some Japanese studio made another banger ww, but nope ww - Angels gathered... it's heaven.... - Operator-chan best!!!! Strike!!!!!!!!!!! - Ah~ Kotone-chan's cuteness is the best~ლ(´ڡ`ლ) Never seen this level of hype from just a PV before lololol 💬 Comments (Most Viewed) — Anonymous No different from the weebs on the anime gall lololol — Anonymous Anyone who actually watches the PV properly couldn't NOT react like that lololol — Anonymous Finally getting that hype fix, for real lolololololol — Anonymous So when's it launching, Enson GT!!!!!!!! It blazed up like oil-soaked kindling.
Not just domestically—communities in both Korea and Japan were the same.
The emergence of a game called Girls Memorial was that shocking.
After all, it had popped out of Korea, a wasteland for otaku subculture.
It would've been weirder if it didn't catch fire.
While the starved fans in the communities were rolling around the Girls Memorial bait, building up their hype,
I boarded a flight to Japan with Yumi and Yerin in tow.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ This overseas trip had come up out of nowhere.
We'd originally planned to run the FGT domestically after the PV drop, but the boss shot it down.
No point when we're opening the Japan server first, or whatever.
Instead, a totally unscheduled overseas business trip got added.
The team members coming along for this sudden jaunt: Yerin and Yumi.
Once we excluded the folks who couldn't make time due to work, just these two were left.
"D-Director... this is my first time in business class...!"
"...Mine too."
Yerin wasn't showing it on her face from the next seat over, but she was glancing around like it was all so novel.
Honestly, for a trip to Japan, did we really need business class? But whatever...
I figured I'd just enjoy it as a perk from the boss.
After all the hell we'd been through on this project.
We deserved a little company welfare like this at least once.
Without saying it out loud, the three of us all shared that thought and started making the most of it.
It was a short-haul flight, so nothing too fancy, but the in-flight meal was decent, and the free wine was nice.
We even caught a quick nap in the lie-flat seats.
By the time we were deplaning, having savored every business-class perk, I felt surprisingly refreshed.
And I wasn't the only one—Yerin and Yumi both looked way happier than before.
"Whoa, stepping off the plane really makes it feel like we're in another country!"
Leading Yumi—who'd said this was her first overseas trip and was gawking everywhere—we headed out of immigration.
"Senior, over there."
Yerin gestured toward something.
A middle-aged guy holding a picket sign amid the crowd waiting for arrivals.
[Enson Korea]
Seemed like the Japan branch staffer the boss had mentioned.
As we approached, he greeted us first.
"Nice to meet you. You're Ji Hojin, director at Enson GT, right?"
"Y-Yes, that's me."
"I've been waiting after getting the heads-up. I'm Seong Inhyeok, section chief at Enson Japan."
"Nice to meet you. Can I call you Chief Seong?"
"Sure thing."
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ One thing I noticed five minutes into the ride in Chief Seong's car: the man could talk.
"I watched the PV you dropped yesterday. The reaction's been scorching hot in both countries."
"Thank you."
"By the way, where'd your staff head off to...?"
"Truth is, I didn't bring the team members who came along for work. Wanted to give them a break, so I told them to chill while I handle things solo."
Chief Seong looked touched at my words.
"If I'd had a boss like you, my time at the company would've been a lot smoother... Shame."
"Haha..."
Once some ice-breaking chit-chat was out of the way, Chief Seong handed me a stack of documents.
"Info on the FGT participants. Give it a quick scan, and flag anything off right away."
"Bigger pool than I expected. 100 people...?"
"Decision based on the PV reaction. Upper management's expectations for Girls Memorial are sky-high."
I could only manage an awkward smile at Chief Seong's words.
No matter how you sliced it, the bumped-up participant count screamed boss's influence.
After that, things went smoothly.
We arrived at Enson Japan's HQ, checked over the recruits with Chief Seong, and I left after a "please take good care of them."
To block any potential variables, project staff couldn't interact with participants.
Hell, even accidental eye contact was banned as a risk factor.
In the end, the whole overseas business trip wrapped up in just over two hours after landing in Japan.
All that was left: get the FGT report and head back to Korea...
Before hailing a cab, I called Yerin. Her voice came through soon after.
[Done already?]
"Yeah. Wrapped up quicker than expected. Where are you now?"
[Here with Yumi in Akihabara. She wanted to do some market research.]
"Akihabara? I'll head that way—just send the exact spot."
[Meet us in front of Radio Kaikan.]
"Got it."
I hung up, hopped in the cab that pulled up right after, and headed for Akihabara's Radio Kaikan.
"Here you are, sir."
"Thanks."
I paid and stepped out to a massive, garish yellow sign welcoming me.
'See it in manga all the time, but surprisingly, this is my first time here in person...'
I spent a bit getting nostalgic, snapping some pics.
Then the doors opened, and Yerin and Yumi emerged from Radio Kaikan.
"Senior, you're here?"
"Director! This place is a whole other world!!"
Seeing chill Yerin next to Yumi—who was even more hyped than usual—brought a smile to my face.
"Whatcha buy?"
"Oh, this?"
What Yumi pulled from her plastic bag: a set of Nendoroids featuring various girls.
"Couldn't find these in Korea no matter how hard I shopped, but got lucky—they were right there."
I nodded at Yumi's words and turned to Yerin.
"What about you, Yerin? Get anything?"
"Me? Nah... I usually just ask my little sis to grab what I really need. More importantly, Senior, did you see that?"
"See what?"
"Our game's already got ads up."
"No way?"
I couldn't believe Yerin's words and double-checked. Yumi chimed in with a grin beside her.
"Yup! It was right by the station—must've missed it on the way."
"Took a cab, so yeah."
"Then let's go check it out now!"