Inside the president's office, Lin Zhiyan was meeting with Kaneda Koji, a producer at Fuji Television and one of the key figures behind the noitamina block—commonly known as the "Noitamina" slot. Kaneda was also the project lead for the anime adaptation of Honey and Clover.
After settling into their seats and exchanging brief pleasantries, Kaneda Koji broached the subject: "President Lin, have you heard of Fuji Television's noitamina slot?"
Unlike some other networks, Fuji Television had once considered suspending its late-night animation programming. However, viewer demand for female-oriented content, coupled with Shueisha's request to air the Honey and Clover anime before its live-action drama, prompted Fuji Television to reconsider reopening the late-night animation block.
Thus, from April to September 2005, the first season of the Honey and Clover anime aired every Thursday at 12:45 AM.
This was followed from October to December by another anime adaptation of a shojo manga, Paradise Kiss.
Both of these animations stood out from typical late-night fare, resembling more like primetime youth dramas. As a result, they attracted a significant audience of people who wouldn't normally watch late-night anime.
It was after this that Fuji Television's Thursday night slot at 0:45 AM was officially established and named "noitamina"—the reverse of the English word "animation." The name signified its mission to subvert the conventions of animation and produce late-night anime aimed at a non-otaku audience.
The Noitamina block became the only late-night anime programming Fuji Television retained after 2005.
In another timeline, over a decade later, the nature of the Noitamina block had changed. It no longer exclusively featured refined, non-otaku animation; it began airing even otaku-centric, fan-service-heavy shows like How to Raise a Boring Girlfriend and mature, restricted-content series like Scum's Wish.
In the How to Raise a Boring Girlfriend anime, the Male Lead even made a meta-commentary on Fuji Television's decision to air Scum's Wish on the same block.
Despite this, in the early days of the Noitamina block, the shows it aired were indeed refined and sophisticated. As a result, many viewers who might not have watched other late-night anime would tune in every Thursday night at 0:45 AM.
In short, it had already established its brand and cultivated a loyal fan base.
Lin Zhiyan had never worked with Fuji Television before. Moreover, the Noitamina slot hadn't produced any major hits yet, and it had only been fixed in its current form for a short time. He hadn't heard of it. Although the possibility was slim, it wasn't entirely impossible, which is why Kaneda Koji had asked the question.
Lin Zhiyan had only heard of the Paradise Kiss animation, never seen it. He'd only watched a few episodes of Honey and Clover in his previous life and wasn't particularly fond of it, but he was familiar with the Noitamina slot.
He nodded, guessing Kaneda Koji's intentions. "Of course, I know about it," he said. "Mr. Kaneda, did you come all this way to discuss a collaboration with our company to produce an animation for the Noitamina slot?"
"That is indeed our intention," Kaneda Koji replied without hesitation. "However, rather than working with your company, we'd prefer to collaborate directly with President Lin himself."
Lin Zhiyan picked up his teacup and took a silent sip, saying nothing.
Kaneda Koji continued, "The public information is that President Lin's new animation is a sequel theatrical film for Puella Magi Madoka Magica. Beyond that, there's no news of any other new projects. Given this, I believe there's at least some possibility of collaboration."
"So, your TV station wants to make an animation like a live-action drama, right?" Lin Zhiyan said, setting down his teacup and glancing at Kaneda Koji. "If that's the case, you don't absolutely need me. In fact, I think you might be better off finding someone else. Of course, if it's just a collaborative project and you leave the actual production to my company, then I think we have plenty of room for cooperation."
Kaneda Koji wasn't surprised by this response. Instead, he smiled and persisted, "President Lin, are you planning to continue making otaku-focused animations? In my opinion, you're already at the top of the animation industry and have reached a plateau. Everyone who regularly watches anime already knows you. Even if you keep making otaku-focused works, your popularity and recognition within the industry won't grow."
He paused before continuing, "Since you've hit a ceiling within the otaku community, why not shift gears? Try making a few non-otaku animations. That way, you can win over people who have never seen your work before and turn them into fans."
Lin Zhiyan: "..."
That made a lot of sense, and for a moment he was genuinely tempted.
After completing Puella Magi Madoka Magica, Lin Zhiyan felt rather lost. The anime had been an overwhelming success, with explosive commercial results and a slew of awards.
Having already won the most prestigious awards in the TV animation industry, he knew that even if his next project won a few more, it wouldn't bring much sense of accomplishment.
Commercially, the only TV anime that could rival Puella Magi Madoka Magica's success was Uma Musume (excluding EVA). However, Uma Musume relied heavily on its mobile game tie-in. Without that support, it was uncertain whether it could achieve the same level of commercial success as it had in another timeline.
Mobile games wouldn't become truly popular for at least another 13 years, so making one now was premature. Therefore, producing Uma Musume at this time was inappropriate.
As for Bakemonogatari and Love Live!, their original versions in another timeline had commercial results comparable to Puella Magi Madoka Madoka Magica. However, it was uncertain whether they would perform as well in this timeline. Even if he made them, it was likely they wouldn't surpass Puella Magi Madoka Madoka Magica's commercial success.
The theatrical films of Demon Slayer and Jujutsu Kaisen had explosive box office numbers, but both had unique circumstances behind their success. Moreover, in terms of plot, both series were merely above average.
Lin Zhiyan's career had reached a plateau in terms of vertical development, which was why he hadn't been able to settle on a new animation project since the Puella Magi Madoka Magica Theatrical Film.
Now, Kaneda Koji's words gave him an idea: if he couldn't deepen his vertical development, perhaps he could explore horizontal expansion instead?
He didn't necessarily have to make non-otaku-oriented animations, but he could experiment with a wide variety of genres, trying them all out. He should particularly focus on projects with themes and styles vastly different from his previous works like Evangelion, Lelouch, Gurren Lagann, and Puella Magi Madoka Magica.
Unaware of Lin Zhiyan's thoughts, Kaneda Koji, seeing his interest, quickly added:
"There are several reasons we want to collaborate with you, President Lin.
First, your past animations have been incredibly successful. Even if you make something that doesn't feel like animation, we're confident you can make it work and achieve similar results. Second, you're a truly unique figure in the animation industry—a rare Animation Director who can attract a large female audience.
If there's a possibility of collaboration, working with you would be a truly rewarding experience."
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