Ice Age Generation AD, in the corner of the TV screen. #25 "Terry laughed and the dream came true. Everyone's life has a story"

Two daughters were born to me.

Since my daughters were born,

there is something I have thought about.

My parents raised me with care.

I was raised with love.

So now,

I think it is my turn to make my daughters just as happy.

Just as my parents did for me.

It is not just about that one million yen.

No matter how many times I failed,

it also includes the fact that they watched over me.

Someday, when my daughters are grown,

"I was happy"

"I was raised with love"

I hope they will think that way.

Holding onto those feelings,

I am still working on the TV set.

From the corner,

I think I have managed to reach

at least a little bit to the right of the center.

A lot has happened, but

I don't want to turn my past

into a heartwarming story.

The absurdity of my time as an AD.

Power harassment.

Every day being yelled at.

Unemployment.

I was so absorbed in it at the time,

that I thought it was just how things were,

but looking back now, it was pretty rough.

That kind of experience,

if you could avoid it,

you definitely should.

Thinking about it normally,

it's just too grueling.

But,

I also think it wasn't a waste.

Back then,

in an environment where nothing could be done,

I was trying to survive somehow.

Perhaps,

that experience is what made me who I am today.

And,

the reason I am still working in television,

is not because I had talent.

Part of it was just good luck.

I was helped by so many people.

But,

if there is one thing,

it might be that I didn't quit the world of television,

the thing I loved.

During my time as an AD,

I saw many people quit.

It wasn't that they were all weak.

In fact, some were quite talented.

It's just that,

that environment was genuinely tough.

So I think it was only natural that they quit.

I also changed my environment many times.

I even left my production company.

I even became unemployed.

But,

I never quit working in television itself.

I clung to it.

That is perhaps why even now,

I am able to make what I love

my job.

Looking back on my life, I thought,

"My life has had quite a lot happen in it."

I thought that.

But,

I think that is probably true for everyone.

In everyone's life,

there is a story that belongs only to them.

The story of becoming a TV director

is not the only story.

Even for someone who hasn't been able to leave their room for years,

there is a story.

They want to go out, but they can't.

They think, 'I'll go out tomorrow.'

But I couldn't make it out today either.

Even in such struggles,

there is a story unique to that person.

In a story,

there is a protagonist.

There are allies, too.

And there are also "villains."

They were in my life as well.

Left-Eye-Punching Tanaka.

Chocoball Nishiyama.

Intimidating Perverted-Glasses Takeda.

Thinking about it now,

those people,

were the great villains of my life.

Because of those people,

I was troubled,

I got angry,

and I even felt like crying.

But,

my story became a little more interesting.

That is why,

I am grateful.

Of course,

I don't want to see them again, though.

Perhaps,

the scale of the drama in life doesn't matter.

A life on television,

or a life unknown to anyone,

is equally someone's story.

And the protagonist of that story,

is only yourself.

That is why I think.

Since we're here,

we might as well make it a story that's a little interesting.

I don't know if it will be a happy ending.

But,

as long as I can write the continuation myself,

it's not over yet.

Your own story,

you can decide for yourself.

The world is

full of unreasonable things.

It's not limited to the TV industry.

Sometimes you work hard and it doesn't pay off.

There are also unpleasant people.

But,

there are also good people.

And what makes it difficult is that

the person who is unpleasant to you

might be a good person to someone else.

The reverse is also true.

People are

complicated.

On the other hand,

every time I changed my environment,

I also had new encounters.

My fellow directors, my comrades in arms.

Naoko Hirosue (my beloved wife).

General Ouki.

And,

The many people I have met until now.

If,

I had kept enduring at my first company,

I think there are many people I would never have met.

That is why now,

I do not think that changing my environment back then,

was a mistake.

Because of some jerk,

giving up on the things I love,

is ridiculous.

So,

if there is someone right now,

who is in a tough place,

I think it is okay to run away.

It is okay to change your environment.

Of course,

I am in no position to act high and mighty.

I myself,

still have many things I am not good at.

My handwriting is as messy as ever.

I often get lost, too.

I often feel that I'm not good at simple things.

But,

I loved thinking up stories.

I loved coming up with project ideas, too.

That's why,

I think people have their own strengths and weaknesses.

It's okay if you can't write well.

It's okay if you're not great at studying.

It's okay if you can't do simple things well.

Instead,

you just need to find the things you're a little good at,

the things you like just a little bit.

For me, it just so happened,

that it was television.

Somewhere out there,

there might be a place that fits you.

Of course,

there's no guarantee you'll find it.

No one knows.

So,

you should just keep looking until you find it.

Just having one thing you love makes life a little more fun.

So,

things like ending your own life,

you should absolutely never do.

Right now,

television,

is called 'old media'

or,

'mass garbage'

or,

it's called all sorts of things.

In reality,

I think there are many bad parts too.

But,

in this industry,

there are also many truly interesting people.

There are TV station employees who graduated from the University of Tokyo.

There are production company staff who used to be delinquents.

There are some people whose roles I don't quite understand.

People like that,

are making the same show.

Perhaps,

I don't think there are many workplaces like this.

That might be why it's interesting.

Come to think of it,

after I became a director,

the person who created 'Genki ga Deru TV',

which I was obsessed with watching when I was a child,

Terry Ito,

appeared on a show I was in charge of.

During the recording,

Terry-san,

watched the video I made,

and laughed the whole time.

And after the recording ended,

'That was funny,'

he told me.

It was just one word.

But,

I was so happy.

When I was a child,

to the director of the show that made me laugh out loud in front of the TV,

I was told that it was interesting.

Perhaps,

the dream I wrote about in an essay in elementary school,

'TV director',

I think it really came true.

A long time ago,

just like how I watched 'Genki ga Deru TV'

and longed for this world,

someday,

if there is even one person

who becomes interested in the world of television

after watching a show I made, I would be happy.

I hope I can make someone's own 'Genki ga Deru TV'.

And,

this writing, too,

I hope it reaches someone.

And,

"Ice Age Generation AD, in the Corner of TV."

Movie adaptation confirmed.

Cast.

Me... Ryo Yoshizawa.

Naoko Hirosue... Suzu Hirose.

Sakurai-san... Hitoshi Ozawa.

I hope it turns out like that.

It won't, though.

Thank you so much for reading until the end.

"Ice Age Generation AD, in the Corner of TV." is now, for the time being, complete.

However, there are still a few stories I remembered while writing.

Letters to my family,

projects that could never be broadcast today,

or phantom project proposals.

They are like bonus material for the main story, but

I will write about it little by little as an aside.

If you would like,

I would be happy if you could continue to join me.

Thank you very much.

#TVIndustry #CreativeAwards2026
#WorkFictionCategory #TrueStory

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#26 (Aside) "A Last Will and Testament. No, I'm still going to live! My story continues!"

What I thought after finishing the series.
To my wife, to my daughters, to my parents, to my grandparents.
And, I wrote a letter to my younger self from my AD days.
👉 Click here for Episode 26

📚 Click here to read the series from the beginning

"Ice Age Generation AD, in the Corner of TV. Complete Series Summary"

▼ Click here for the list from Episode 1 to the latest episode