One morning in February, Shiga Taka, who was off work due to a day off, was idly scrolling through videos on N Station.
Suddenly, a video caught his eye. Its title read: "Promotional PV Released for Super Popular Director Lin Zhiyan's New Work!"
A promotional PV for Lin Zhiyan's new anime? This must be fake, Shiga Taka thought, but he couldn't resist clicking on the details page to check.
He had assumed it was a fake or a prank, but to his surprise, the video's uploader was "L.S. Produ"—Lin Zhiyan's animation company.
Moreover, it was an officially verified account.
The video had been uploaded just about an hour ago, yet it had already garnered over 300,000 views.
No way... this might actually be real!
With that thought, Shiga Taka quickly clicked play.
The promotional PV was about a minute and a half long. It opened with this scene:
A girl in a white dress stood on a railing, turning to say to a boy in a red t-shirt, "Jinta, grant me one wish."
The warm-toned visuals were accompanied by gentle background music.
Next, the name of the Animation Director appeared: Lin Zhiyan.
Seeing this name, Shiga Taka felt an inexplicable jolt of dread.
The comments section exploded with activity:
"It's Old Thief Lin after all!"
"Run! It's too late if you don't!"
"Let's see what kind of material Old Thief Lin is going to poison this time."
"Such a cute main character... too bad she won't survive till the end."
"Another girl about to be slaughtered by Old Thief Lin's killer touch. Terrifying."
"I bet this main character won't make it to the finale."
"Even though I don't know her name yet, Main Character, you're going to die so tragically."
At first, Shiga Taka almost burst out laughing.
It was his first time seeing an original animation PV where the main character was "killed off" before the plot was even revealed. It was just too funny!
But the more he thought about it, the less he felt like laughing.
In Lin Zhiyan's first anime, Death Note, the main character commits suicide out of love at the end. The female lead did die, and that was correct. In his second anime, Lelouch, the main character was undoubtedly C.C., who was immortal and couldn't die. However, Lelouch did kill off Euphie and Shirley, who, though not as central, could still be considered female leads.
In his third anime, Gurren Lagann, the main character Nia disappeared in the final episode and was never revived. In his fourth anime, Puella Magi Madoka Magica, if you ignore the theatrical film, Madoka becoming a god might not count as death, but it was close—even worse, in a way. At least the dead are remembered, but after Madoka became a god, no one could recall her except Homura Akemi.
Looking at it this way, every single one of Lin Zhiyan's anime had a female lead who died.
In the new animation, the girl in the white dress—whose name we don't yet know—is clearly the main character, given her prominent appearance at the beginning of the PV.
She does indeed seem to be in danger, giving the impression that she won't survive until the final episode.
Just as he's thinking this, the PV continues, revealing new information:
Scriptwriter: Takagi Makoto
"Hmm?"
Shiga Taka suddenly felt bewildered.
What's going on?
This new animation isn't being scripted by Lin Zhiyan himself?
No way!
It's normal for the supervising director and scriptwriter to be different in other animations, but in Lin Zhiyan's works, he's always handled both roles personally. In all his years since his debut, there's never been an exception.
Why would he entrust the scriptwriting task to someone else this time? What's going on?
For a moment, Shiga Taka even doubted if he was seeing correctly.
After confirming he wasn't mistaken, he began to speculate: Could it be that Old Thief Lin finally developed a conscience? Realizing he only knows how to write scripts for depressing stories, he decided to hand the scriptwriting to someone else?
As for Takagi Makoto...
Shiga Taka didn't know much about Takagi Makoto personally, but he had seen both of the animations he wrote the script for, The Girl Who Leapt Through Time and Summer Wars, and found both to be excellent.
The Girl Who Leapt Through Time had a slightly bittersweet ending, while in Summer Wars, although the main character's great-grandmother died, that plot point primarily served to advance the story. Moreover, the great-grandmother was very old, nearing the end of her life, so it wasn't particularly tragic, and the ending was happy.
From this perspective, Takagi Makoto was far superior to the old thief Lin Zhiyan. Having him write the script made one feel much more at ease.
As expected, after the initial confusion, the viewers of the PV quickly flooded the comments with messages:
"My mistake! My mistake! The main character might not die after all."
"It's actually not written by Old Thief Lin himself? What a surprise, but it feels so reassuring."
"Takagi Makoto? The guy who wrote the scripts for The Girl Who Leapt Through Time and Summer Wars?"
"This combo is way better than letting Old Thief Lin do everything himself."
"I take back my words. I apologize to the main character."
"As long as Old Thief Lin isn't writing the script, I'm relieved."
"Peace of mind, peace of mind."
After the Supervising Director and scriptwriter were announced, the other characters in the animation were gradually revealed, along with their voice actors. At the same time, the animation's core themes were highlighted: friendship and growth.
This meant the animation would focus on stories about friendship and personal development.
Given these themes, it was likely that the animation would feature nuanced emotional portrayals.
Lin Zhiyan's previous works—Death Note, Lelouch, Gurren Lagann, and Puella Magi Madoka Magica—were undeniably brilliant. However, it was hard to say they excelled in delicate emotional depiction.
In contrast, the two animations scripted by Takagi Makoto did showcase more refined emotional depth. The Girl Who Leapt Through Time primarily focused on romantic love, while Summer Wars centered on family bonds.
No wonder Lin Zhiyan didn't write the script himself this time, but instead had Takagi Makoto do it. Takagi Makoto is indeed more skilled in this area, so changing the scriptwriter isn't entirely unreasonable.
After the character and voice actor information was revealed, the anime's title was finally announced: We Still Don't Know the Name of the Flower We Saw That Day.
What a long title!
Fortunately, there was a smaller line below it: "Abbreviated as Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day."
The title was followed by production information. Lin Zhiyan remained the Character Designer and Chief Animation Director, while the animation company was undoubtedly L.S. Produ. This time, however, it would be a joint production with Fuji Television, airing every Thursday at 0:45 AM from April to July.
After watching the PV, Shiga Taka had only one thought: This looks great!
Although he didn't know the specific story yet, he was determined to watch it when it aired.
Lin Zhiyan, Takagi Makoto, and LSP were all trustworthy. Judging by the PV, the animation style was also quite appealing. There was no reason not to follow this.
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