In July and October 2018, there were naturally animations produced by L.S Produ and L.S animation that began airing, such as the third season of "Sword Art Online," "Run with the Wind," and "Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai." However, although each had a certain degree of buzz, none could be considered truly popular.
There was no helping it; between 2016 and 2018, there were very few animations that could be called big hits.
Entering January 2019, L.S Produ was still fully occupied with preparations for the premiere of "Demon Slayer," while L.S animation's new animation, "Kaguya-sama: Love Is War," premiered first.
This was an animation that was superficially about romance but actually a silly comedy. The male lead, Miyuki Shirogane, was the student council president of the prestigious Shuchiin Academy, and the female lead, Kaguya Shinomiya, was the daughter of the Shinomiya Zaibatsu and the vice president of the student council.
The two were attracted to each other, but because both had immense pride and were unable to be honest, coupled with the theory that "the first person to confess in a romance loses," they both liked each other but neither intended to confess. Instead, they were both trying every possible way to get the other to confess first.
While the entire internet was discussing the third episode of "Kaguya-sama," specifically the secretary's dance, Lin Zhiyan spent more of his time and energy on his new animation and "Demon Slayer," which was set to air in April.
"Rebirth of the Financial Giant"
It was set up to be a silly, joyful series, but it was a serious, straight-faced kind of silly comedy, different from that kind of nonsensical humor.
The premise itself is goofy and lighthearted, but it's a serious kind of goofy comedy, different from the slapstick variety.
With romance as its theme, combined with this goofy and lighthearted setting, this anime becomes a breath of fresh air among romance anime. It stands out from others, making it highly recognizable and definitely worth watching.
Of course, although Miyuki Shirogane and Kaguya Shinomiya are the main characters of the anime, the show's cast isn't limited to just those two; it also includes the Student Council secretary, Chika Fujiwara, and the treasurer, Yu Ishigami.
The anime takes the selling point of its title, "Kaguya-sama: Love Is War," and unfolds around the daily lives of the main cast.
The anime premiered on January 12th. As it is a manga adaptation and given that A-1 Pictures (L.S animation) consistently guarantees quality, it already had considerable popularity before and after it started airing.
However, the show really took off after the third episode aired on January 26th.
The first two episodes had standard endings, but the third episode suddenly featured a new ending with a hand-drawn dance sequence, catching all the viewers by surprise.
More importantly, Chika Fujiwara is different from the anime's main heroine, Kaguya Shinomiya. She doesn't take the tsundere route, instead giving off a cuter and more lively vibe. Her personality is naive and carefree, making it seem like she hasn't a worry in the world, which makes her perfectly suited for comedic antics—a perfect match for the otaku dance in the third episode's ED.
Far from feeling out of place, it actually makes the character of Chika Fujiwara appear even cuter.
Since the anime itself is a silly, lighthearted comedy, having a hand-drawn otaku dance in the third episode's ED didn't feel bizarre at all.
For all these reasons, the result was... after the third episode aired, discussions about it exploded that very evening, and Kaguya-sama: Love Is War shot to popularity along with it.
The "Secretary Dance" by Chika Fujiwara, the "root of all evil" behind this trend, became an absolute smash hit.
Many viewers only watched the actual episode once, but rewatched the Secretary Dance in the ED over and over. Otaku dance creators on N Station and YouTube were the first to jump on the trend, imitating the Secretary Dance, filming themselves, and uploading the videos online.
Then, because of its inherent popularity, all those videos of people dancing the Secretary Dance gained a huge number of clicks and recommendations.
After the anime became a hit, animation-related media outlets quickly caught wind of it and reached out to the production team, hoping to interview the staff involved.
It wasn't until after the interviews that many people were shocked.
It turned out that the idea of "hand-drawing a fan dance" was originally proposed by Lin Zhiyan. Otherwise, the ED of episode 3 would likely have been exactly the same as the first two, and there wouldn't have been any Secretary Dance at all.
For the entire ED of episode 3, the music, the choreography, and the storyboards were all handled by Lin Zhiyan; only the specific key animation was done by one of the key animators at L.S Produ.
When the interview articles were published and the behind-the-scenes story of the Chika Fujiwara Secretary Dance was revealed, it sparked another wave of heated discussion online:
"I thought the Secretary Dance in episode 3 of Kaguya-sama was just a display of the animation team's sheer passion, but it turns out the biggest contributor from start to finish was actually Lin Zhiyan?"
"This 'Old Thief Lin,' instead of properly focusing on his new anime, he's busy with all this other stuff, hmph! I just want to say, please bring us more good stuff like this."
"I've said it many times already, but I want to say it again: Old Thief Lin really gets me. Every time, he manages to cook up something I love to watch."
"Lin Zhiyan is truly a god. It's no wonder every one of his animations is loved by so many people."
"Back then, Puella Magi Madoka Magica had that explosive twist in the third episode, which made its popularity skyrocket. Now, he's gone and put that Secretary Dance in the ED of episode three of Kaguya-sama: Love Is War, causing its popularity to surge as well. I have to say, Lin Zhiyan has really mastered the 'Three-Episode Rule'."
"I wouldn't say he turns rot into magic, but just like with Attack on Titan, his company puts in a massive amount of effort, which is why this work is so popular. No wonder I hear that whenever LSP or LSA sets their sights on the adaptation rights for a work, the original creators prioritize them as partners as long as the price is right."
"I'm more curious to know whether Lin Zhiyan came up with this dance sequence entirely out of his imagination, or if he hired a professional dancer to help. I bet the design process itself would have been quite fascinating."
Lin Zhiyan naturally did not disclose the detailed design process; after all, he had simply drawn the storyboards based on the content in his mind.
He didn't even accept interviews, leaving them instead to the animation's Supervising Director, the Executive Producer, and the key animator responsible for the Secretary Dance.
For him, the airing of "Kaguya-sama: Love Is War" and the viral success of the Secretary Dance were just a side note. No matter how popular the animation became, it wouldn't help him achieve his goals as a producer.
While success was a good thing for the company, especially for L.S Animation as it added to their portfolio of representative works, it wasn't something Lin Zhiyan would lose sleep over, even if the animation and the Secretary Dance by Chika Fujiwara hadn't become as popular as the original in the other timeline.
Under these circumstances, he naturally saw no need to accept interviews or personally get involved in promoting the animation.
While the entire internet was discussing the third episode of "Kaguya-sama" and the Secretary Dance, Lin Zhiyan was focusing his time and energy on his new animation and "Demon Slayer," which was set to air in April.
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