After the voice recording was finished, the next steps were audio-visual synchronization, editing, and V-Edit. There was still a lot to do.
However, by mid-March, the first two episodes of Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day had been successfully completed.
After that, production continued while pre-broadcast promotion ramped up.
Relevant advertisements were placed everywhere, voice actors were roped into various events, and even Lin Zhiyan himself appeared on a Fuji Television program to promote the new animation.
The anime was scheduled to premiere on April 10th at 12:45 AM.
On April 3rd, a special program dedicated to promoting Anohana aired, featuring Supervising Director Lin Zhiyan and the voice actors for several main characters.
The program received a positive response, generating even more anticipation for Anohana. Many fans of the noitaminA block were people who hadn't previously paid much attention to the animation industry. They had seen few animations before, and even during the peak popularity of Puella Magi Madoka Magica, they had only heard of it without watching it. Few even knew who Lin Zhiyan was.
After watching the promotional program for the premiere of Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day, people were surprised to discover that the animation industry had such a handsome and talented director as Lin Zhiyan. When the program aired, some even wrote to or called the TV station, hoping for more programs featuring him.
Someone even posted online, suggesting that if Anohana were ever adapted into a live-action drama, Lin Zhiyan should play the second male lead, Atsumu Matsuyuki.
The reason he wasn't suggested for the Male Lead was that his height of over 1.8 meters was considered too tall for Japanese people, and his striking handsomeness and aura didn't match the character's.
Of course, this was just a suggestion. The animation itself hadn't even aired yet, so discussing a live-action adaptation seemed premature. Nevertheless, it clearly demonstrated how popular Lin Zhiyan had become with noitaminA fans.
The animation was produced, promoted, and then, finally, April 10th arrived.
At 0:45 AM, Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day aired right on time.
Tokyo, a single-person apartment.
Nakamura Mizuki glanced at her watch and saw it was exactly 12:45 AM. She quickly grabbed the remote and changed the channel.
On the TV, a couple was discussing lewd topics as they slowly walked across the screen.
Inside the room, Jinta Yadomi, a boy in a red t-shirt and blue pants, sat in front of the game console. He furiously mashed the buttons, playing the game and muttering curses: "Go to hell!"
"Go to hell, go to hell, go to hell!"
He repeated the curses, sweat dripping down his forehead in the stifling heat.
After a while, he couldn't help muttering, "Don't leave your pathetic genes behind, you horny machines!"
With that, he resumed his curses: "Go to hell, go to hell!"
"Huh?"
A voice rang out.
Standing beside Jinta was a girl in a white dress.
It was Honma Meiko, nicknamed "Meima" (pronounced "Menma").
She leaned her head toward Jinta and asked, "Is that a Lickitung?"
"No," Jinta denied without hesitation.
"But it looks just like one! See, its lips are so thick." She pointed at the game screen as she spoke.
"If we're going by your logic, then the uncles at the abacus class would be lip-obsessed too..." the Male Lead said impatiently, only realizing afterward that he'd said something wrong. His pupils dilated slightly, his mouth fell open, and the bamboo stick of the popsicle he was holding dropped to the floor.
"But, Jinta..."
The Main Character tried to say something else, but noticing his strange reaction, she grew puzzled. "Jinta?"
The Male Lead said nothing, put down the controller, and walked away on his own.
In the kitchen...
As the Male Lead boiled noodles, he thought to himself, "Summer Monsters are truly ferocious."
Before the noodles were ready, the Main Character ran in, clamoring for a bowl too.
The Male Lead ignored her completely. Only when his father asked him to make an extra portion did he finally agree.
Throughout the father-and-son's conversation, the Main Character kept chattering away, but no one paid her any attention.
Only after her father went to the living room did the Male Lead mutter to himself, "Just as I thought, Dad's no different than usual. That means... it's true..."
Nakamura Mizuki had felt something was off from the beginning. Now, she suddenly realized: the Main Character didn't seem to be a normal person.
Could she be some kind of ghost?
She continued reading, and soon one of the Main Character's identities was revealed: one of the Male Lead's childhood friends.
During his childhood, the Male Lead seemed to be quite the leader of the pack.
In a flashback scene, several children were playing in the forest, catching rhinoceros beetles. Suddenly, the Main Character found the Male Lead and said seriously, "I have something I want to ask you."
We never learned what it was. Before the Male Lead could ask, the flashback ended, and the animation's opening sequence began.
The OP, titled "Blue Bookmark," was written and composed by Lin Zhiyan. It was beautiful and perfectly matched the animation's atmosphere.
As the OP played, Nakamura Mizuki couldn't help but wonder: If she was one of his childhood friends, what happened back then? Why did she become a ghost and appear by his side now?
What a huge mystery right from the start!
She felt curious, but thinking about it would get her nowhere. She quickly gave up.
After the minute-and-a-half OP, a short GG sequence played, and then the main story resumed.
Her father finished his noodles and left.
Thinking this, he said to the Main Character, "Anyway, first, try to remember your wish."
The Main Character replied, "This wish can only be granted with everyone's help."
"Everyone...?" The Male Lead was surprised.
He didn't finish his sentence, but it was clear that "everyone" referred to those childhood friends. The next scene showed the grown-up childhood friends making their appearances one by one: Anjou Naruko, Atsumu Matsuyuki, and Tsurumi Chiriko.
However, several years had passed, and everyone had changed.
The Male Lead, once a lively and outgoing person, had become socially anxious, reluctant to leave the house, embarrassed to greet people, and even pretended not to recognize his middle school classmates.
Anjou Naruko attended the same school as the Male Lead, yet their relationship seemed strained. Atsumu Matsuyuki and Tsurumi Chiriko had both enrolled in prestigious high schools and treated the Male Lead with cool indifference. Atsumu, in particular, seemed to harbor a strong dislike for him.
The plot wasn't complicated, but the subtle shifts in their interpersonal dynamics were vividly depicted in just a few lines, making it easy for viewers to empathize and even reflect on their own circumstances.
"This animation... it's really good, just as you'd expect from a noitaminA program," Nakamura Mizuki murmured to herself as she watched.
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