While promoting [ Angel Beats! ], Lin Zhiyan didn't forget to also promote [ A Certain Scientific Railgun ].
However, since [ Railgun ] was an adaptation and not personally supervised by Lin Zhiyan, he didn't get directly involved, simply letting the company's marketing department handle the promotion as usual.
By the end of September, the first season of [ Sword Art Online ] had concluded.
The quality of this animation was on par with its counterpart from another timeline. Coupled with the original work's immense popularity and the universally beloved character of Asuna, the first week of disc sales reached 28,000 units. Over time, sales slowly climbed to over 35,000. However, only the first two volumes had been released so far. If the remaining volumes were included, the average sales per volume for the initial release might also reach around 35,000.
These results were quite strong.
Whether the quality of future seasons could be maintained remained uncertain, but the first season was undeniably a success.
Of course, the animation that premiered at the same time, [ K-On! ], proved even more successful. The first volume's first-week sales were 34,000 units, and subsequent volumes also saw over 30,000 in first-week sales. By September, the first volume's sales had surpassed 44,000, with average sales per volume for the initial release comfortably exceeding 40,000.
The animation Psycho-Pass, which premiered in July, was a half-year series, so it hadn't finished airing by the end of September.
The series already had a considerable following, but Episode 11, "Saint's Supper," delivered a shocking plot twist: the Main Character's close friend was killed off. While this development propelled the story forward, it also sparked widespread discussion and further boosted the animation's popularity.
Many viewers jokingly remarked, "Old Thief Lin must have written this part," "Old Thief Lin: I only wrote a little bit," "As expected from Old Thief Lin's animation planning," and "Another depressing anime..." Despite the teasing, the series was overwhelmingly successful and beloved.
Time moved into October.
On October 2nd, A Certain Scientific Railgun premiered.
The opening theme, "only my railgun," sung by Yoshino Nanjo of fripside, was fiery and catchy. The ending theme was decent as well. Beyond these, there was nothing particularly groundbreaking, but for an adaptation of a popular IP, being solid was more than enough.
The animation enjoyed high popularity both before and after its premiere.
On October 3rd, Lin Zhiyan's new animation, Angel Beats, finally aired. That evening, even more viewers gathered in front of their televisions to watch it.
Tokyo, a certain household.
"Chii-chan, it's starting!" a girl in pajamas called out toward the bathroom.
"Chii-chan" was a nickname for Fujimiya Chiyoko, who was 16 years old.
The girl who spoke was Koyama Eri, 17 years old.
The two had met a year earlier in the hospital. Because they were close in age and got along well, they quickly became close.
One day, Koyama Eri suddenly thought of a topic and asked, "Chii-chan, do you have any favorite anime?"
"Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day," was the reply. Coincidentally, this was also Koyama Eri's favorite.
As they talked about the anime, their conversation turned to Lin Zhiyan.
Not Takagi Makoto, the scriptwriter, but Supervising Director Lin Zhiyan. During promotional programs before Anohana's premiere and special programs after its conclusion, Lin Zhiyan had made appearances. Moreover, the anime's marketing had heavily emphasized it as "Lin Zhiyan's latest work," significantly boosting his visibility. Under these circumstances, it was natural that more people knew of Lin Zhiyan.
Lin Zhiyan, handsome and talented, naturally drew the admiration of many girls. As they chatted, Koyama Eri and Fujimiya Chiyoko agreed to watch his next animation together when it came out.
That next animation would be Angel Beats!.
Fujimiya Chiyoko was petite, and despite being sixteen years old, she was still under 1.5 meters tall.
When Koyama Eri called out to her, she was washing her hands. Hearing her friend, she quickly turned off the faucet and replied, "Coming!"
Without even drying her hands, she hurried out of the bathroom and sat down beside Koyama Eri, ready to watch.
The animation's opening sequence, titled My Soul, Your Beats!, began. Initially, the main character, Kanade Tachibana, was shown sitting at a piano, playing it. As she played, specks of light fell around her like raindrops. One of these lights landed on her hands, and after a flash of white light, the scene changed.
Kanade Tachibana continued playing the piano, but the background now showed a distant view of the school.
Immediately, the animation's title, "Angel Beats!", appeared. Within the song, the piano's rhythm suddenly accelerated, and on the screen, vast swaths of white feathers flew across from right to left.
Next came the character introductions, accompanied by other scenes and information about the production, Supervising Director, scriptwriter, Music Director, and more.
After the one-and-a-half-minute opening sequence ended, the GG segment began.
In front of the television, Koyama Eri and Fujimiya Chiyoko couldn't help but start chatting:
"This opening song is so beautiful. Mr. Hayashi is truly so talented."
"Right? It feels as good as Anohana's opening, 'Blue Bookmark'."
"Chii-chan, Chii-chan, do you think he'd write back if I sent Mr. Hayashi a letter?"
"Probably not. He's so busy; how could he possibly have time to write back?"
"That's true. And he's so handsome, talented, and has so many fans. I bet he gets tons of letters. Whether he'd even see one is another matter."
"Speaking of which, if we really wanted to write to him, where should we send it?"
"His company, I think. The official website probably has the full address. Let me check."
While they were chatting, the GG quickly ended, and the main episode finally began.
Koyama Eri didn't even bother writing down the address of L.S Produ. She quickly put down her phone and, along with Fujimiya Chiyoko, focused intently on watching.
After a black screen, the male lead, Otonashi Yuzuru, jolted awake.
A brief close-up of his face was followed by the camera pulling back to reveal him lying on his back on the ground.
"Where... am I?"
The male lead looked around in confusion, seeing only a pitch-black sky and unfamiliar buildings.
He muttered, "I can't remember anything."
Suddenly, a female voice rang out, "You're awake?"
"Uh..."
The male lead was taken aback.
He sat up to find a girl crouching in front of him, aiming a sniper rifle at something.
The girl was Nakamura Yuri. According to pre-broadcast promotions, she, like Kanade Tachibana playing the piano in the opening sequence, was one of the main characters of the animation.
She wore a school uniform and had shoulder-length hair, with a hair accessory on her head. She was clearly a student, and her sniper rifle seemed completely out of place.
The male lead looked at her and couldn't help asking, "Who are you...?"
Nakamura Yuri didn't answer. Instead, she said, "Welcome to the Afterlife Battlefront." She glanced back at the male lead as she spoke.
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