As Lin Zhiyan's latest film concluded its theatrical run and began its awards season run, his fans were already speculating about his next animation project.
After all, he had mentioned in an interview that production was underway for a new animation set to premiere in April 2008. This naturally sparked curiosity about what kind of project he would tackle next.
A dedicated thread even appeared on the forum titled "Guess the Genre of Lin Zhiyan's Next Animation." Many netizens participated in the discussion:
"He's already reached the ceiling of three genres: brain battles, hot-blooded action, and magical girl. As for Knightmare Frames, he's already done two, so I doubt he'll revisit that theme. I'm guessing his next project will be sci-fi or futuristic fantasy."
"I hope he makes something like that. Lord Hayashi was a Key Animator for theatrical films early in his career. If he'd stayed at IG, they might have even let him become a Supervising Director. It's a real shame he never got to direct and barely even participated in production."
"It's understandable. When it was being made, Lord Hayashi was busy working on an even more popular project for his own company and didn't have time to get involved. Besides, the real core of that animation was Oshii. Even if it turned out well, everyone would just credit Master Oshii anyway. So, I actually think it's a good thing Lord Hayashi didn't participate. Still, it would be nice if they made another animation with a similar theme."
"Speaking of which, has anyone noticed that animation—? It was produced by LSP, with Lord Hayashi as the overall production supervisor and Nasu Kinoko personally overseeing it. It was quite popular in theaters. Although it's part of a theatrical film series, it's not that different from a TV anime. So, could Lord Hayashi's 'New Animation' refer to this one?"
"Hmm? I don't think so. But now that you mention it, I just realized LSP seems to be starting to produce anime adaptations. So, could Lord Hayashi's new work be an adaptation?"
"I heard a rumor, though I don't know if it's true. It's said that the next animation will still be an original work and will be a collaboration with Fuji Television's noitamina block."
"Fuji Television's noitamina block? No way! Isn't that program specifically aimed at women who don't usually watch anime?"
There were all sorts of reactions: speculation, anticipation, and even what seemed to be genuine news, though no one knew where it came from.
Of course, there were also those who expressed indifference:
"I don't care what the theme is. If it's a Lord Hayashi animation, I'll definitely watch it."
"I'm different. I won't be watching his next animation. He'll just keep making depressing stuff, no matter what."
"Exactly. I was tricked into this fandom, and I won't fall for it again. No matter how good his next animation is, I won't be watching."
"Lin Zhiyan's animations are all great, but they're all so depressing. I can't take it anymore. Unless he stops making depressing animations, I'm done with his work."
"Honestly, I'm more curious about whether he'll hold a Project Announcement Conference for his next animation than about the theme itself."
"After all the hate he's gotten, he wouldn't dare host another one, would he? Unless he's suicidal."
"I agree. If they do hold one, they'll probably have a voice actor host it. He probably won't show up himself—who knows what kind of blades might be waiting for him."
Lin Zhiyan wasn't unaware of the online discussions surrounding his work, but he didn't participate, as he was swamped with work.
He was busy producing the New Animation and managing four other animation projects within the company.
When he decided to pursue anime adaptations, he had his Production Assistants and Production Managers at L.S. develop adaptation proposals. Surprisingly, they secured the adaptation rights for two works: one light novel and one manga.
Of course, many more proposals were submitted for Lin Zhiyan's review. Most were rejected outright for their mediocre quality, while others that passed his initial assessment failed to secure the adaptation rights due to the project leads' inability to acquire them.
With L.S.'s current production capabilities, two new projects weren't enough. Thus, Lin Zhiyan set his sights on another work: The Irregular at Magic High School.
The novel was still being serialized online and hadn't been published yet. Even Kazuma Miki, an editor at Dengeki Bunko, hadn't read it, meaning no one in the animation industry had noticed the work.
Lin Zhiyan directly emailed Reki Kawahara, expressing his interest in the work and offering to help publish it, while also securing the animation adaptation rights. The deal was secured effortlessly.
With three animation projects and Lin Zhiyan's own new animation, L.S now had a total of four projects, which was sufficient for the company. However, to Lin Zhiyan's surprise, Type-Moon, upon hearing that L.S was developing animation adaptation projects, also approached them, hoping L.S would produce their anime.
On one hand, Type-Moon had received investment from Lin Zhiyan at its founding, and he remained one of their shareholders.
On the other hand, even if L.S couldn't produce every animation as overwhelmingly dominant as their previous works, their production capabilities were undeniable.
Previously, L.S had no plans to produce adaptation anime, forcing Type-Moon to seek out other animation companies. Now, things were different; if possible, they naturally preferred to work with L.S.
In another timeline, this animation had saved ufotable from bankruptcy. Now that it was under L.S's wing, it was uncertain whether the company would still face the same fate.
Lin Zhiyan couldn't refuse, though. Since they had come to him, it would have been impolite to turn them away.
He was involved in five animation projects. While four of them were adaptations that didn't require his personal involvement as Supervising Director, his inherent cautiousness led him to personally review and oversee each one, serving as the overall production commander. This kept him extremely busy.
Fortunately, the broadcast schedules for the animations were staggered. One started in January 2008, another in July 2008, and a third in April 2009. The final project was a series of theatrical films, with each episode released in cinemas as it was completed.
This staggered release schedule prevented them from overlapping, making the workload more manageable.
For the first month of 2008, Lin Zhiyan maintained his usual level of busyness. It wasn't until February that he abruptly launched the promotional campaign for the new animations.
Instead of holding a Project Announcement Conference, he released the promotional PVs for the new animations directly online.
This approach served two purposes: it leveraged new promotional channels to increase exposure, and it was a more cautious strategy that helped avoid being blindsided by competitors, though he might have been worrying unnecessarily.
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