Inside the recording studio, the voice actors were recording the first episode of Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day:
"Satoshi, you've grown so much! Dad... my hair's gotten quite gray. Mom..."
"Stop doing this all the time."
"Satoshi?"
"You always make sure to give your sister a portion of the curry every time we make it. It's an eyesore."
"But it's your sister's favorite."
"She won't be eating anymore if she's dead, will she?"
"Don't say that. Your sister is so absentminded, she might not even realize she's dead."
"I know. Meima still knows she's dead."
The entire first episode, excluding the opening and ending credits, lasted just over twenty minutes. The voice acting wasn't recorded in segments, with pauses between each line. Instead, it was a continuous process, with voice actors automatically moving to the nearest microphone when it was their turn. This situation put considerable pressure on the newcomers.
Fortunately, the voice actors for the main characters were no longer complete beginners. Even though Hayami Saori and Tomatsu Haruka were still high school students and had only recently debuted as voice actors, they had both already experienced voicing lead roles.
Still, because the recording was done simultaneously by multiple people, there were inevitably pauses and sections that needed re-recording. As a result, what should have taken just over twenty minutes of content ended up taking about two hours to record.
Of course, there were other factors. Before recording, there was usually a test run, meaning each scene had to be recorded at least twice.
During the recording of the first episode, the voice actors were still unfamiliar with each other, and their teamwork was not yet seamless, which also contributed to the delay.
It usually took about two hours to complete the dubbing and mixing. However, if they encountered particularly difficult scenes, it could take much longer—sometimes even exceeding two hours for a single episode.
Fortunately, the first episode of Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day didn't present any particularly challenging scenes.
By the time they finished, it was past midnight. After the voice actors said their goodbyes and went home, Lin Zhiyan remained, as he had other work to do there in the afternoon.
He ordered lunch from outside, found a place to eat, and browsed online news while he ate.
October 2008 was a period of intense competition among animation studios, but April had surprisingly few strong contenders. This was largely because the second season of Lelouch, which was originally scheduled to premiere in April, had already been completed by Lin Zhiyan.
Although a new animation Lin Zhiyan had never heard of had replaced Lelouch in 2006, it only ran for a single season of twenty-six episodes and never had a second season.
With other animations falling short, anime enthusiasts naturally turned their attention to Lin Zhiyan's new work, Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day.
While the plot of the original animation remained unknown, Lin Zhiyan's involvement as Supervising Director was a guarantee of quality, and audiences had high confidence in the project.
The PV's art style was also highly appealing. Coupled with LSP's formidable production capabilities and ample funding, the animation was highly anticipated by a vast audience.
Puella Magi Madoka Magica had been the most anticipated anime before its premiere. Now, Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day was poised to become the most anticipated April anime, with audience anticipation even surpassing that of Puella Magi Madoka Magica before its debut.
This was understandable. After Puella Magi Madoka Magica, Lin Zhiyan's popularity and reputation had soared. Moreover, before Puella Magi Madoka Magica aired, everyone assumed it would be just another ordinary magical girl anime.
Magical girl anime typically appeal to a niche audience. It was only through its top-tier script and production that Puella Magi Madoka Magica managed to transform from a niche title into a mainstream phenomenon.
Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day is different. Looking beyond the specific content, its theme has a broad appeal. Not everyone might be drawn to magical girls, but most people have friends and experience growth.
The only question is whether it can capture the audience's attention. The theme itself has a wide reach.
When an animation with such a broad theme meets a super popular Animation Director like Lin Zhiyan, it's a guaranteed hit. The pre-release anticipation naturally surpassed that of Puella Magi Madoka Magica.
Many netizens expressed their excitement online, saying things like, "I hope April comes quickly."
Of course, many people are still debating whether the new animation Anohana will be depressing or not:
"Old Thief Lin is such a tease! Without even revealing whether the ending will be depressing, he's just letting us speculate... Forget the original work; apart from the theme of friendship and growth, we don't even know the general content of this animation. How are we supposed to guess?"
"Actually, if he'd come out and firmly stated that the new animation would definitely not have a depressing ending, I'd have a strong suspicion it would be a depressing anime. Now, it's anyone's guess."
"It's a shame he's not holding a Project Announcement Conference this time. Relying solely on magazine interviews makes it really difficult to judge."
"I don't know if it'll be depressing or not, but growth often comes with pain, so there will definitely be some heartbreaking moments in this animation. We can only hope the ending is good. Also, the female lead probably won't die this time. Even if it's heartbreaking, it'll likely just be heartbreaking without her dying, so as long as that's acceptable, we can watch it with peace of mind."
"Exactly. Only battle anime kill the female lead. If an animation themed around friendship and growth were to kill her too, I'd say Old Thief Lin is absolutely doing it on purpose—that's just insane."
"If the female lead dies, shouldn't we blame Takagi Makoto?"
"Takagi Makoto? Neither of his two animation scripts has ever killed the female lead! Even The Girl Who Leapt Through Time had a slightly bittersweet ending, but that wasn't because the female lead died—it was because the male and female leads finally confessed their feelings, only to be forced apart. So if there's a plot where the female lead dies, it must be Old Thief Lin's demand."
In non-battle-focused anime, the probability of the female lead dying is still very low. Moreover, it was 2008, and Naoshi Arakawa's manga Your Lie in April hadn't even begun serialization yet. While the Clannad game had been released long before, the anime had only completed its first season. The second season wouldn't premiere until October 2008.
As for AIR from earlier, it contained slightly more fantasy elements, so it couldn't be included in this comparison.
Based on past anime viewing experience, even if Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day turned out to be as heartbreaking as it was, it shouldn't have a plot where the female lead dies. At least, that's what everyone thought at the time.
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