A new phenomenon is that in addition to the maturing North American market, Japan has become a new choice for some short drama companies to go overseas. Some time ago, TopShort, a short drama platform owned by Shanghai Jiashu Company, entered the overall list of iOS app downloads in Japan for the first time, and its ranking and revenue have soared since then. As of May 9, it ranked 11th on the best-selling entertainment app list of the iOS App Store in Japan, surpassing streaming giant Netflix.
In terms of plot, the three-piece set of "wealthy, contract, and revenge" is no longer popular. In Japan, the daughter who hides her identity and works part-time and reorganizes the workplace is the mainstream of short dramas.
The eldest lady's short drama, why did it hit the audience? How far can the wind of the short drama go to sea?
Chinese short drama companies go overseas, and Japanese producers shoot short dramas locally. Photo courtesy of the interviewee
The eldest lady's short drama dominates Japan
"I'm sorry I just met the customer and didn't reply in time." At ten o'clock in the evening, Wang Weixuan sent a message to reporters. This May Day holiday, he has not stopped after returning from Tokyo, "This year's small goal is to shoot 30 short dramas in Japan, so I have been busy docking resources." ”
Wang Weixuan is the head of Japan's Win Wings company, which was originally mainly engaged in filming and actor management. In August last year, he began to cooperate with domestic short drama platforms and served as the producer.
At the beginning of this year, the short drama "お嬢様のパワハラ Retirement (Eldest Lady's Rights Harassment Retirement)" filmed and produced by the company's team became an instant hit. The play tells the story of a president's daughter, who hides her identity, joins the company as an intern, does not succumb to bullying and stands up. In the play, classic dramas such as "True and False Daughters" and hand-torn "Green Tea" female supporting roles are eye-catching, and have become one of the most watched and best-received Japanese short dramas on TopShort.
"お嬢様のパワハラ退治 (Miss's Rights Harassment Retirement)". Photo courtesy of the interviewee
Why does the audience prefer "Big Miss"?
Xiao Fan, who likes Japanese culture, told reporters that one of the major characteristics of Japanese short dramas is that the plot is jumpy, and even a little nonsensical. "I brush it up after work and during my lunch break, which can quickly withdraw from the ordinary real life and provide myself with some emotional value."
For the Japanese society with a repressive personality and strict hierarchy, perhaps the "contrast" of the eldest lady's revenge on the mobile phone screen is a cost-effective way to "escape for a short time".
Reversal, blood, and climax have always been the "nirvana" of short dramas. The important things in traditional film and television dramas are not important in short dramas. Danger often begins in the first episode, where an episode is about a thousand words long and eventually converted into a 90-second video.
Hangzhou screenwriter Rivet said frankly: "Now that the company is doing short dramas, everyone is also watching it while vomiting blood." ”
After the blockbuster was filmed, there were more people looking for Wang Weixuan. He described himself as "stiff in waist", and he also has the confidence to negotiate conditions with the platform and pick scripts.
"Japan is a new market, and it's overseas, and everyone is cautiously testing the waters. Only when there is a hit can you gain the trust of the platform. Wang Weixuan said.
Before this, Wang Weixuan also tried the theme of cute babies, but the response was mediocre. Now, he confidently grasps the "traffic password", and the short dramas currently in preparation are basically the theme of the eldest lady, interspersed with scolding, fights and other clips that are most likely to attract traffic, and each episode has a "cool point".
Many people also smell business opportunities and want to get a piece of the pie when the wind comes. "Seven or eight short drama platforms have been consulting me about the Japanese short drama market one after another, and they have the intention of cooperating." Wang Weixuan revealed.
Under the involution, a "gamble"
The first time Rivet heard of vertical screen skits was in 2022. At that time, he didn't think much about it, and he didn't think that this kind of content of 1 to 2 minutes per episode and 80 to 100 episodes of the whole drama would have anything to do with him.
But since last year, data has continued to show the broad prospects of this industry: the God of War drama "Wushuang" was launched for 8 days, with a recharge of more than 100 million yuan; Tencent Video's "Please! Don't Spoil Me" is known as "the box office of account sharing broke 30 million yuan......
In the WeChat group of more than 100 people's "short drama exchange", from time to time, some people send "receive domestic finished short plays" and "who wants to write the script". "Open Maimai and Boss Zhipin, often receive greetings from the HR of the short drama company, and often give favorable conditions such as 'you can not sit on duty, project cooperation system'." Rivet admitted, "It's false to say that you don't want to be impressed." ”
However, the domestic short drama industry from the blue ocean to the red ocean seems to have only happened in an instant.
"At this time last year, I found a short drama group performance for 80-100 yuan a day, and now the daily salary has doubled." Li Rui, the head of a leading micro-short drama enterprise in Zhejiang, said.
The competition in the domestic short drama market is becoming more and more fierce, and the cost of actors and costumes in the upstream of the industrial chain is rising. Li Rui said that two or three years ago, the production cost of a single short drama was mostly more than 100,000 yuan, but it has risen to 300,000 yuan last year, and it has reached 500,000 yuan this year, and the profit margin is constantly compressing.
The domestic short drama market is involuted, and going overseas has become a new choice. Photo courtesy of the interviewee
Going overseas has become a must for short drama companies.
"At present, North America is the region with the largest proportion of overseas output of Chinese short dramas, with the largest number of users and strong payment ability. Emerging markets like Japan have the advantage of being segmented enough to make a quick break. Li Rui pointed out that compared with the Netflix platform, the payment model of the short drama platform is more diverse, and there is more room for users to choose.
According to the Topshort platform, users can pay in the form of T coins (in-app currency) top-up or purchase membership. Among them, the quarterly membership is $69.99, and the annual membership price is $219.99 – the payment threshold is not low.
"Japanese users generally have payment habits, which is one of the reasons why the market has potential." Wang Weixuan said that at present, the platform has verified the willingness of Japanese users to pay for short dramas.
Despite the good results, the micro-short drama companies that go overseas to Japan still face the problem of profitability: compared with the domestic ones, the overseas short drama shooting cycle is long, the production cost is high, and the return of funds is slow.
Li Rui said that it is not practical for short dramas to go overseas to make quick money, and most companies are currently in the investment period of burning money to open up the market, and there are still a few who can really make money.
Can a short drama go overseas become a good business to make money? Industry insiders call it "more like a gamble", with risks but unlimited potential.
How far can the wind blow to the sea?
Domestic film and television works going overseas is a "heart disease" that the domestic film and television industry has been doing, but it has been difficult to say that it has been successful.
There are many comments from industry insiders, and at present, it is more about "screen output" - transporting the domestic big screen to overseas Chinese, so that they can see domestic films.
Cultural barriers, the gap in the level of the film industry, and even the international situation can be any factor that hinders the external dissemination of domestic films. Skits don't seem to be subject to these limitations. Common themes such as bottom-level counterattack, wealthy sadomasochism, and domineering presidents have made many netizens around the world addicted, and also made the film and television industry see another possibility of going overseas.
"Localized adaptation has always been an important part of short dramas going to sea, otherwise it will be 'unadaptable'." Dong Xin, founder of XGL Co., Ltd., said that in domestic short dramas, for example, people will call him by his name, but this does not conform to the language habits of the Japanese, so the words need to be carefully modified.
Therefore, when the domestic "domineering president" arrives in the United States, the male and female protagonists will be portrayed as evenly matched because American female users like strong female characters; Vampires, witches, werewolves and other elements will also be added, just like a short version of "Twilight".
When it comes to the "how to make short dramas" link, whether it is domestic creators going overseas to create, or inviting overseas local teams to produce, they also need to adapt to their creative habits one by one. "The classification of jobs in the Japanese film and television industry is more detailed than in China, so it is often necessary to run in and communicate with screenwriters, directors, translators, etc." Dong Xin said that compared with China, the working environment in Japan is more "one-size-fits-all", which requires longer and more detailed preparations.
Dong Xin established the short drama group "Heteroculture LAB". Photo courtesy of the interviewee
At present, the script, actors, budget and other links are still the key factors restricting short dramas from going overseas.
"The key to turning the short-term success of a short drama into a long-term success is to turn it into a cultural object that can be universally accepted, recognized, and sustained by overseas audiences." Gong Shulin, a tutor of Zhejiang University of Media and Communication and a member of the Zhejiang Provincial Communication and Cultural Industry Research Center, pointed out that in order to make short dramas go further, it is necessary to move from the "horse race" in the grass creation period to the "intensive cultivation" in the mature stage, endow it with a richer and stronger cultural core, and enhance visual expression, technical communication and cultural persuasion.
In order to improve the quality, domestic short drama companies have begun to produce drama content for overseas audiences, and recruit overseas Chinese to create scripts. Short drama practitioners like Wang Weixuan and Dong Xin in Japan are actively recruiting and promoting locally to form a better production team. Dong Xin established the short drama group "Heteroculture LAB", with the goal of creating high-quality scripts and breaking the homogenization dilemma of the current market.
The real competition in the overseas short drama market has not yet come. But what is certain is that those who have been, are and are about to enter the game always believe that the space for short dramas to go overseas in the future will be broader. (At the request of the interviewee, rivets, Xiaofan, and Li Rui are pseudonyms in the article)