Reiji Kuga's Monologue [Act 2] Romance and Video are Global! The Shape of Love Drawn in the Metaverse

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This time, I'll be talking candidly about how my partner at PROJECT ALIVE, Julia Aotsuki—who I'm also a member of—is involved in the production, and why we chose the romance drama genre.

You can read Act 3 here👇

Days Spent Worrying About Genre Selection

When we started drama production, the first thing I worried about was, 'What genre should we choose?' Honestly, I thought about making the metaverse the subject.

After all, for those of us who are well-versed in the metaverse, it's a world we take for granted. But for many people in the general public, it's more like, 'What is the metaverse?'

There are still many people who know the name but don't understand what it means, or have never even heard of it.

So, I decided not to make the metaverse itself the subject, and instead chose a genre that would be more widely accepted.

However, I believe the potential of the metaverse will expand even further in the future, so I don't think this choice was wrong at all.

And so, the genre I ultimately chose was'Romance'.

Why a Romance Drama?

The first reason I chose romance is simply because it's'safe'.

Considering YouTube's terms of service, I thought it best to avoid police, medical, or suspense dramas. If characters die or violent expressions are included, there's a high risk of violating the terms.

Romance is a safe genre with few such worries.

And the second reason. Romance is something people from any country can enjoy. Emotions like 'like,' 'dislike,' and 'love' are universal, transcending culture and language.

That's why people overseas can enjoy Japanese romance dramas too. Since YouTube is connected to the whole world, I thought such universal themes would reach more people.

Actually, It's Based on Delusions

To be honest here, I'm not exactly a man of many romances myself (laughs). So, rather than being based on real experiences, I build them by watching various dramas and letting my own delusions run wild.

Delusions are free and fun, aren't they? Just thinking, 'Wouldn't it be interesting if a romance like this happened?' makes me excited.

My Production Partner, Julia Aotsuki

Now, an indispensable figure in creating romance dramas is Juria Aozuki. I met her in 2020 on the voice streaming app 'stand.fm'.

At the time, voice streaming was starting to become popular, and I jumped on that bandwagon too. She had almost no experience with social media back then, but we started working together from there, and now she is my essential team partner.

Surprisingly, she has grown tremendously in both knowledge and skill over these four years, and now there are many things she knows better than I do. We do argue occasionally, but she is a reliable partner (laughs).

Early drama production was completed entirely on a smartphone

The first three episodes of 'Crossroad' were filmed entirely on a smartphone. We used avatars in a metaverse space called cluster and utilized the emotion function to film the acting.

I would capture that with screenshots and finish it as a slide-style drama. Looking back now, it was a method like a picture-story show, but being able to start easily was a big deal.

The metaverse drama Crossroad is being reborn

The work 'Crossroad' started streaming on YouTube on January 3, 2023, and out of a total of 8 episodes, 7 had been released. ...Yes, that is in the past tense. Currently, this drama is suspended from streaming. There are various reasons for this, but I will talk about that another time...

Actually, this 'Crossroad' is scheduled to be reborn and released in the winter of 2025!

It is a work we have been producing for two and a half years, but we decided, 'If we're going to do it, let's use our experience and skills to make it even better!' and decided to re-film it from episode 1.

Honestly, my true feeling was, 'Are we doing this again...?' (laughs).

Because it is incredibly difficult.

Filming in a metaverse world using avatars, dubbing the voices of voice actors onto that footage, and then doing the editing work... I don't think you can understand how hard this process is unless you actually do it, but it's so... it's enough to make you go bald (laughs). Since we are going to do that all over again from scratch, I really wasn't keen on it at first.

But our production team member, Juria Aozuki, was very enthusiastic and was super excited, saying, 'It's amazing that we can do this again!'

She showed a positive attitude, saying, 'This is a chance to power up our acting, filming techniques, and scenarios over the last two years!' Encouraged by her words, I decided to do it, albeit reluctantly (laughs).

So, 'Crossroad' will be making a fresh start from episode 1!

We plan to announce new scenarios, avatars, theme songs, and more one after another. We are working to make this a work that both those who have supported us until now and those who have never seen it can enjoy, so please look forward to it!

Our goal is just one thing: to have people say, 'Metaverse dramas are actually interesting!' We will pour all our efforts into getting that one comment!

By the way, since there are plenty of bloopers and making-of footage born from the filming so far, we are releasing those on TikTok.

If you're wondering, 'What kind of work is Crossroads?', please take a look. The main story hasn't been released yet, but I've posted various videos, so I think you'll be able to enjoy the atmosphere.

Please look forward to the new 'Crossroads' that is about to begin!

Click here for the Crossroads TikTok account

Summary and Next Episode Preview

This time, I talked about why I chose the romance genre, my meeting with Julia Aotsuki, and the behind-the-scenes of the production.

Next time, I will focus on the specific methods of drama production and some stories about the struggles I faced. Please be sure to read it again!

See you next time!

Click here for Reiji Kuga's Monologue Act 1 and Act 3 ⬇️