Saturday, 4 July 1993 — ZAGE Event Building (ZEB)
At precisely 8:00 AM, the ZAGE Event Building opened its doors to the public, and within minutes, it was packed with excited ZAGE fans from all corners of Japan. Tickets for the event had sold out weeks in advance—leaving many hopeful attendees disappointed. However, their spirits weren’t entirely crushed; Zaboru had arranged for the event to be broadcast live on TV Tokyo. That decision paid off—whenever ZAGE events aired, ratings surged, and advertisers eagerly paid a premium for comrcial slots. TV Tokyo, more than satisfied with the revenue boost, was eager to continue their partnership with ZAGE. A strong relationship with ZAGE brought undeniable benefits—especially since every ZAGE ani the company aired on TV Tokyo turned into a consistent ratings hit. Executives at the TV Tokyo understood the value of staying on good terms with Zaboru’s company, and they were more than willing to support future collaborations. For TV Tokyo, maintaining ZAGE’s favor wasn’t just good business—it was a strategic priority.
Although the main tournant was scheduled to begin at 10:00 AM, the building opened early by tradition. Every ZAGE event ca with its own exclusive rchandise, and fans knew to arrive early to grab limited edition items. Among the crowd were the salaryman’s Bakudan boys, though today only three of them were present: Sakaki and Sawada, who worked at ZAGE, and Kumogi, a dedicated salaryman. Their fourth mber, Rikki, wasn’t with them—not as a spectator, but as one of the tournant’s competitors!
Sawada sipped from his juice box and sighed, "Man, I’m loving the event, but I can’t help being jealous of Rikki. I an, the guy made it to the top four in the Tokyo qualifier! and he only got beaten by Endo! I an, Endo’s the reigning champion of the Tokyo Qualifier, and he’s always been a top-tier gar! The fact that it took soone like Endo to knock Rikki out says a lot—and even then, Rikki managed to steal a round from him! That’s not sothing many players can brag about. It just shows how far Rikki’s co—he went toe-to-toe with the best and held his ground!"
"Yeah," Sakaki replied, nodding. "He really climbed up there. His Chun-Li is no joke."
Kumogi chuckled. "He only started playing Chun-Li because of her thighs, but hey—who knew he’d actually get this good? Unreal."
Rikki’s performance in the Tokyo regional event had earned him a place in the grand tournant. In preparation for this major event, Zaboru had organized regional qualifiers in 7 key prefectures across Japan: Tokyo (split into two separate tournants due to the sheer number of participants), Osaka, Kyoto, Fukuoka, Shizuoka, Shiga, and Yamaguchi. These locations were chosen based on detailed player activity data gathered by the ZAGE team. The top four players from each region advanced to the national finals, resulting in a roster of 32 elite fighters.
To make the experience even more morable, ZAGE covered the travel and accommodation costs for participants traveling from outside Tokyo. Simply making it to the main event guaranteed prize money, a generous and motivational move by Zaboru. Participants were housed in upscale hotels booked by ZAGE, all within close distance of the ZEB venue.
Most of the participants were genuinely surprised by how well they were treated by ZAGE. From the mont they arrived, everything—from the elegant hotel accommodations to the warm hospitality and professionalism of the staff—exceeded their expectations. This exceptional care wasn’t a coincidence; it stemd directly from Zaboru’s personal instructions. He believed that professional gars and e-sports competitors deserved to be respected and valued, just like athletes in any other discipline. In Zaboru’s vision for the future, gars would no longer be seen as hobbyists or outliers—they would be recognized, supported, and celebrated as proper athletes similar to modern day in his previous life. H
Rikki, one of the few Tokyo locals who accepted the accommodation, sat in his hotel room nervously adjusting his wristband. "Man, I still can’t believe this... these hotels are way too fancy!" he muttered to himself while eating so fancy hotel food. He glanced at the clock—it was nearing 9:00 AM. By then, all participants were required to check in. ZAGE did not force all the participants to stay at the hotel , especially for Tokyo participants that have houses near ZEB but, they were expected to arrive at the hotel by 9:00 AM to regroup and board the special ZAGE bus that would take them directly to the venue in style.
Back at ZEB, the excitent was already buzzing. It was now 9:00 AM—just an hour before the big event—and the atmosphere was electric. Cosplayers wandered through the crowd, photographers snapped pictures of elaborate costus, and rchandise booths were drawing long lines. One major attraction was a limited-edition Yu-Gi-Oh! booster pack created just for the event. The information said that the packs had a slightly increased chance of pulling a rare card, sparking a frenzy among collectors.
But what really caught everyone’s attention were the countless Zabo-man cosplayers. Ever since Zaboru began featuring cosplay at ZAGE events, the community had embraced it wholeheartedly. The result was a colorful sea of Zabo-man, each representing a different version of the character from various ZAGE titles—Zabo-man from Mario, Zabo-man from Ninja Gaiden, gaman Zabo-man, and even the Little Nemo variant, complete with bird-like humanoid features.
"Too many Zabo-man," Sakaki grumbled.
Kumogi and Sawada laughed. "Co on, they’re cool," Kumogi said. "Honestly, man, we’re looking way too plain. Next ti, let’s show up in costu."
"I’m down," Sawada nodded. "Let’s go all out next ti."Sakaki then said, "But why should we cosplay?" Kumogi grinned and said, "Well, for you Sakaki, Donkey Kong is a perfect match!" Sawada laughed, and Sakaki gritted his teeth. "Damn you, Kumogi! And you should wear a casual ninja costu so you can be a Ninja Gaiden mob!" Kumogi’s eyes widened, then he said, "What did you say!?" Kumogi was unusually sensitive about the word "mob"—ever since a girl he once had a crush on, who also happened to be a passionate gar on bakudan arcade, cruelly rejected him. She had offhandedly told him that he gave off the presence of a background video ga mob character—forgettable, generic, and easily overlooked. That sting stayed with him, and ever since then, being called a mob or even being associated with one hit a nerve he couldn’t ignore.
Sawada only laughed at his friends’ banter.
As fans mingled and the excitent mounted, a sleek black bus rolled up to the venue. It was the special shuttle transporting the main participants.
The real show was about to begin.
To be continued...
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