"Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day is surprisingly good, isn't it?"
"Yeah, I thought Lin Zhiyan might not be able to handle such an emotionally nuanced subject, but I underestimated him."
"I couldn't get into any of the other Fuji TV noitamina series, so I thought I wouldn't like this new one either. I only tried the first episode because of his reputation, but I ended up watching the whole thing and I'm really enjoying it so far."
"This God-tier Animation Director is no joke."
"They used 'Secret Base ~Kimi ga Kureta Mono~' as an insert song, which is just unfair."
"I haven't heard that song in so long, it brings back so many memories."
"I'm starting to suspect Takagi Makoto listened to this song while writing the Anohana script. It fits so perfectly, it's like it was tailor-made for this anime."
"Just finished the first episode. Now I really want to call up my old friends and talk, but I don't know if they'll kill me for calling them in the middle of the night."
In fact, after the release of Puella Magi Madoka Magica, the animation community adopted the "Three-Episode Rule." Many viewers now wait until the third episode has aired before reviewing an original animation, fearing that the seemingly harmonious first two episodes might be a deceptive setup, only to be proven wrong by the third episode.
However, Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day clearly isn't the kind of anime that would pull a sudden, dramatic twist in its third episode. The first episode had already left a strong impression on many viewers. Moreover, with Lin Zhiyan as the Supervising Director, there was a natural confidence in the quality of the animation, making it unnecessary to wait for the third episode.
By the time the first episode finished airing, it had already garnered a significant amount of praise.
Of course, alongside the praise came a wave of voices claiming to have been deceived:
"(-"-怒), who said non-battle anime don't kill off the main character?"
"The last anime, Puella Magi Madoka Magica, was supposed to be a magical girl story, but someone died in the third episode. I thought Old Thief Lin was completely insane back then, but I never expected him to throw in a ghost Main Character right from the first episode. He's really outdone himself this time."
"The art style is so warm and cozy, but then it hits you with such a depressing start. And the promotional material was totally misleading again!"
"Does Old Thief Lin have a death obsession? I never thought even this kind of subject matter would involve deaths."
"Just confirmed: Old Thief Lin will never make an anime without someone dying. If I ever believe him again when he says no one will die, I'm a pig!"
"I thought since Takagi Makoto wrote the script for this new animation, it wouldn't be too depressing. Turns out I was too naive. As expected, any anime by Old Thief Lin is bound to be depressing and full of deaths."
"He's really in the late stages of 'dead main character syndrome.' I suggest Old Thief Lin hire more bodyguards, or one day you'll end up at the bottom of Tokyo Bay."
One or two dead main characters might be acceptable, but the problem is that every single one of Lin Zhiyan's animations features a dead main character. This time, he's gone even further, introducing a ghost as the main character from the very beginning, making people want to strangle him.
Lin Zhiyan was already infamous for his "dead main character" trope. After the first episode of Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day aired, his reputation plummeted even further, with some even coining the nickname "Main Character Slaughterer" for him.
Many people joked:
"You can always trust Lin Zhiyan's animations—just like you can always trust that his animations will kill off the main character."
"Other animation directors might not kill off the main character, but you can bet your life that any animation supervised by Lin Zhiyan will."
"Lin Zhiyan's animation without a dead main character? The sun rising from the west is more likely than that!"
Fortunately, not everyone was bothered by the main character's fate. In fact, many of Lin Zhiyan's fans actively defended him, such as:
"Stay calm. After watching so many of Lord Hayashi's animations, dead main characters are the norm. I've long since gotten used to it. This time, she just died a little earlier."
"Overall, there's nothing to be surprised about. As long as the animation is good enough, nothing else matters."
"Actually, having the female lead be a ghost from the start might be a good thing. Even though she's dead, she's still by the male lead's side, so it's like she never died, right?"
"Strictly speaking, it's not that the female lead dies in the first episode; it's that she's already dead by design. That's different."
"You could say it's insane to have a ghost female lead in an anime about friendship and growth, but you can't say this anime kills off its female lead. Rather, this anime would never kill off its female lead, because she's already dead from the start."
"It's already good that she doesn't die suddenly after the emotional buildup in the middle or later. I'll just say Old Thief Lin is really persistent when it comes to killing off female leads, but I don't think he's that insane."
As the person at the center of the controversy, Lin Zhiyan only saw the online discussions the next morning.
The animation's positive reception and the personal backlash he received were largely as he had expected.
He didn't particularly like the title "Main Character Sacrificer." It wasn't as catchy as Gen Urobuchi's "Warrior of Love" or Jun Maeda's "Great Demon King of Tears." Still, whether good or bad, it was all a form of love. Since the majority of viewers had agreed on this title, he had no choice but to accept it, even if he didn't much like it.
Unfortunately, despite his perfect memory and max-level keyframing skills, he lacked a "System." If only he had a negative emotion collection system! In that case, he wouldn't just passively accept the criticism; he would eagerly embrace it and go even further next time.
Being criticized didn't bother him much—in fact, he didn't even feel the need to respond. But since some fans were actively defending him, he decided to say a few words.
After careful consideration, Lin Zhiyan posted a message online:
After a long production period, the first episode of Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day finally aired last night. Thank you all for your interest in this animation, and for your love and support.
This new animation features a ghost as the main character. I originally thought this would put everyone at ease, as some of you pointed out, a ghost protagonist would never die. It seems I was mistaken.
This is how the story is set up. In my opinion, whether the main character lives or dies isn't the point of an animation. If you want to curse me, I have no words to say. As I've always said, whether it's uplifting or heartbreaking, I will pour my heart into making this animation, and I promise its quality will not disappoint you.
Finally, I want to thank those friends who have been speaking kindly of the show. There are still ten more episodes to go, so please continue to support us.
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