Video Game Tycoon in Tokyo-Chapter 1020: The True Nature of a Pervert

A cruel and merciless city.

That was Shinji Asami's first impression of Night City.

This opening... was really interesting!

He had originally expected a bland, boring plot, but right from the start, the script was filled with dramatic tension.

Of course, he could already think of several ways to enhance the scene's emotional impact. These techniques were hard to use with limited budgets—but with a $50 million investment from Takayuki, he could absolutely bring them to life.

In the world of TV anime, that kind of money was huge. He could afford expensive techniques like fully hand-drawn dynamic animations, which far surpassed CGI-based effects in expressive power.

And just as importantly—it was Cyberpunk.

Cyberpunk culture had once been very popular in this world too.

While there was no Akira or Ghost in the Shell, there had been similar dystopian, high-tech future stories.

The word Cyberpunk was once a youth-culture buzzword—back when Japan's economy was booming.

Asami found himself nostalgic for that era—when anime had large budgets and creators had more freedom. These days, animation budgets were slashed, animators were overworked, and quality had dropped significantly. Times had changed...

He shook his head and brought his attention back to the script.

This time, he was reading with much more care—because he realized just how much rich detail had been packed into it.

The script even came with rough scene sketches in the margins to help visualize each setting.

Immediately, he felt immersed.

David, holding his mother's ashes in a metal urn, returned to his apartment.

Ironically, the rent had expired. He had to sneak in through a side window and sat there in a daze the whole day.

Then came the second blow.

This time, from his classmates.

His school was filled with elites—sons and daughters of the rich and powerful. David's mom had sacrificed everything to get him into that school, but for the others, it was just another box checked.

They also had access to cutting-edge tech in this cyberpunk world.

Even if you had zero athletic talent, you could install cybernetic implants and become a top-level fighter or martial artist.

One rich classmate mocked David to his face, told him to crawl back to the trash, and then beat him brutally. David was all flesh and bone—he couldn't compete against someone enhanced with combat-grade cyberware.

Once again, the city's cold indifference was laid bare.

Asami felt a pang in his heart.

If it were him, he'd want to explode too.

And that's exactly what happened next in the story.

Before she died, David's mother had stolen a powerful cyberware implant during a cleanup job involving a cyberpsycho. She clearly intended to sell it on the black market.

But now she was gone. After the assault from his classmate, David stared at the cyberware—and finally went to a back-alley doc to get it installed.

From there, his world changed rapidly.

He met a crew of mercenaries on the fringes of society, and a girl named Lucy, who would become his girlfriend.

This marked the transition into the midpoint of the story.

As a veteran in the anime industry, Asami could tell: this script was solid. Definitely high-quality.

He let out a huge sigh of relief.

He'd been worried the script would be terrible and he'd have to rescue it. While he could do that, he much preferred starting with something this good.

And more than that—he was getting pulled into the story.

This was the perfect time to hit the audience with strong emotional beats.

In a cruel world like this, the only way to resonate with viewers was to show powerful personal tragedies.

And the next part of the script did not disappoint.

David's mercenary friend—the leader of their crew—had modified himself with too many implants and was constantly taking stimulants and sedatives to stay functional.

This gradually led to a mental breakdown. In the world of the story, such people were known as cyberpsychos.

During one mission, the leader finally snapped—killing his own teammates and the woman he loved.

This pushed him deeper into psychosis.

David, still just a teenager at heart, witnessed this collapse firsthand. It was his third emotional trauma.

Night City's brutality was reinforced again.

Eventually, David fled the scene with the few surviving teammates. This marked the end of the story's major emotional midpoint.

Incredible. Really, really incredible.

Asami was now fully focused. This part of the story delivered a huge emotional punch.

If handled well, it could elevate the story's core themes by several levels.

He now had only one thought: start assembling a team and begin production immediately.

If this anime turned out as good as it could, it wouldn't just prove that he could handle a $50 million budget—his entire reputation would rise to a new level.

This was not a kids' show.

Forget about the sex and violence—the emotional weight alone was already too much for most children.

This was a story for adults. Only adults could truly understand its themes.

And people who'd been through the struggles of real life? They'd understand it even more.

Maybe... just maybe... it could win an award.

Asami started to get genuinely excited.

"Mr. Takayuki, Director Asami can be a little eccentric. Please don't—"

Takayuki interrupted calmly, "No need to explain. I don't mind. As long as he's good at making anime, I don't care how weird he is."

Right now, Asami's expression was downright intense. Maybe even... a little unhinged.