A feature article in an animation magazine garnered widespread attention:
"TV animation Puella Magi Madoka Magica swept three major awards, becoming the first TV animation to win the Grand Prize in the Animation Division of the Japan Media Arts Festival, the only TV animation to win all three major awards, and the most awarded TV animation in history."
The article listed the show's numerous accolades: the Tokyo Anime Awards for Best Animated Feature, Best Director, and Best Screenplay; the Kobe Animation Awards for Best TV Animation and Individual Award (Lin Zhiyan, Supervising Director and Scriptwriter); the Japan Media Arts Festival Animation Division Grand Prize; the Seiun Award for Media; the Japan SF Grand Prize...
The list of official awards numbered seven or eight, not to mention the countless others from animation magazines and online media.
In addition to detailing Puella Magi Madoka Magica's complete list of awards, the feature article included interviews with members of the judging panels for the three major awards.
For example—
A judge from the Kobe Animation Awards stated: "Without a doubt, Puella Magi Madoka Magica is the finest TV animation of the past five years. Its commercial success is dazzling, and its thematic depth is profound. There's no reason not to award it the Best TV Animation Grand Prize. Lin Zhiyan's exceptional skill as both Animation Director and scriptwriter for this work also warrants a personal award."
A judge from the Tokyo Anime Awards commented: "Puella Magi Madoka Magica's impact in Japan is undeniable. Even globally, it stands as the most outstanding anime of 2011.
A judge from the Animation Division of the Japan Media Arts Festival remarked: "Whether in its expressive techniques or its thematic depth, Puella Magi Madoka Magica reaches exceptional heights. Moreover, by pioneering a new direction for the Magical Girl Anime genre, it holds epoch-making significance. Its award is entirely justified."
The feature also includes an interview with Lin Zhiyan, the driving force behind Puella Magi Madoka Magica.
As the central figure, Lin Zhiyan said: "I'm thrilled that Puella Magi Madoka Magica has resonated so deeply with audiences, and I'm deeply grateful for the recognition from the award committees. I'll continue to strive to create more outstanding anime in the future. Please look forward to what's next."
In reality, these awards were received at different times, and each win for Puella Magi Madoka Magica was highlighted by the official animation team and major anime magazines. Therefore, for fans of the series, the news in the feature article wasn't exactly new.
However, apart from the Grand Prize in the Animation Division at the Japan Media Arts Festival, the other awards were scattered and came one after another. To fans, this felt only natural.
After all, this was a universally recognized, groundbreaking, and god-tier masterpiece. Winning a few awards was hardly surprising.
Yet, when these awards were listed together, the impact was undeniable.
When the feature article was published, it quickly sparked heated online discussions:
"With such explosive commercial success and sweeping the three major prestigious awards, this show is simply unbeatable."
"Truly a once-in-a-century phenomenon. Even EVA couldn't achieve such a combination of commercial success and critical acclaim. In that regard, it's not an exaggeration to call Puella Magi Madoka Magica the greatest TV animation of all time."
"While its commercial performance still falls short of EVA's, if you combine its commercial success with its awards, Puella Magi Madoka Magica could be called the Spirited Away of TV animation, and I doubt anyone would disagree."
"A TV animation of this caliber is truly a first in history, and perhaps it will never happen again."
"Most TV animations struggle to even win the Grand Prize at the Tokyo Anime Awards or Kobe Animation Awards, let alone sweep all three major awards. The fact that the Japan Media Arts Festival's Animation Division Grand Prize was awarded to a TV animation for the first time just proves how truly exceptional this work is."
"The animation itself is exceptional, but ultimately, Lord Hayashi was the one who single-handedly conceived and created this masterpiece. So, it's he who's truly exceptional."
"Whether Lord Hayashi himself is exceptional is debatable, but Old Thief Lin is undeniably a god. Four TV animations, and every single one is a masterpiece: a super-popular debut, a phenomenal anime, and even a hyper-phenomenal anime. He's never missed a step. With such a dazzling track record, unless he suffers a catastrophic failure in the future, the era of TV animation will likely belong to him."
The phrase "the era of Lin Zhiyan" is, of course, a form of praise. In reality, no era truly belongs to a single individual, and while Lin Zhiyan is exceptionally talented, many other outstanding animation professionals flourished during his time.
Furthermore, figures like Hayao Miyazaki, Mamoru Oshii, Hideaki Anno, and Yoshiyuki Tomino, though not strictly contemporaries of Lin Zhiyan, are still active in the industry.
It's more accurate to say that Lin Zhiyan has become one of the leading figures of a new era in animation, representing the pinnacle of excellence in the current TV animation landscape.
Regardless, after the success of Puella Magi Madoka Magica, Lin Zhiyan's popularity and recognition among audiences soared to such heights that he could rightfully be called the king of TV animation popularity.
Any future anime he releases, even without promotion, would immediately be covered by major media outlets, and fans would eagerly await and celebrate its arrival.
However, popularity is not something that can be accumulated and maintained forever.
The higher one's popularity, the greater the expectations of fans. If any future work fails to meet those expectations, his popularity would inevitably plummet.
If several consecutive animations were to fail, the more glorious he was today, the more bitterly he would be mocked in the future.
Neither could he stop producing new works nor release them too slowly. This would erode fans' expectations and potentially cause his popularity to decline, though even in such cases, there would be a certain floor to how low it could fall.
Of course, Lin Zhiyan had no intention of stopping after Puella Magi Madoka Magica. While leading his team in producing the new theatrical film Rebellion Story, he was also continuously considering new animation projects.
These weren't just his personal projects; they also included the animations that other production teams within L.S Produ would be working on next.
As long as Lin Zhiyan was at the helm, L.S Produ would remain as stable as a mountain for the next five to ten years. However, the entire company couldn't rely solely on his efforts.
Previously, Lin Zhiyan had focused primarily on his personal development. Now, he needed to shift some of his attention to the overall growth of the company.
He would continue to produce original animations, but he also needed to take on adaptation projects.
The remaining questions were: what kind of original animations should they make, and what kind of adaptation projects should they pursue?
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