One evening, several industry insiders from the animation world gathered for drinks.
A TV in the izakaya was playing a program titled "A Day in the Life of Lin Zhiyan, Creator of the Phenomenal Anime Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion."
The program focused on how dedicated and meticulous Lin Zhiyan was. The only particularly striking segment showed him drawing with remarkable speed and skill. Combined with his handsome looks, this captivated the young Boss Lady, who was wearing a kimono.
After watching for a while, she couldn't resist asking the animation professionals present, "Mr. Hayashi is truly amazing! He's handsome, young, and successful. Since you all work in animation too, why are you so far behind him?"
The industry insiders felt immediately wounded.
"Are you blaming me?"
"That guy's a born animation prodigy. You can't compare."
"Do you think the Boss Lady has a crush on him?"
"No way, I heard he already has a girlfriend."
"Right, and his girlfriend is apparently gorgeous. Oh, I'm not saying the Boss Lady isn't pretty, but his girlfriend is rumored to be even more beautiful than TV actresses. She apparently chased him into the animation industry; otherwise, she probably wouldn't have ended up working in animation."
After some banter, they resumed their conversation when the Boss Lady got busy and couldn't pay attention to them:
"Speaking of which, this guy's really something else. His first Supervising Director work was a smash hit, and his second was a phenomenal anime. That's just unheard of."
"In terms of commercial success, we old-timers are miles behind him."
"Good thing his anime are just entertaining. If he starts winning awards too, the rest of us might as well pack it in."
"He probably... won't win any awards, right?"
"Yeah, probably not."
Lin Zhiyan was still very young, only 25 years old. He was handsome, had a beautiful girlfriend, and was exceptionally talented. He wasn't just an animation wage slave; he was the president of an animation company. Thanks to the phenomenal success of Death Note and Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion, he had made a fortune.
By any measure, he was a super-successful winner in life.
Those who envied and resented Lin Zhiyan could only console themselves with the idea that his animations were merely entertaining and commercially successful, but lacked the artistic merit to win awards.
However, this comfort soon proved futile.
Setting aside minor awards with little prestige, the three major Japanese animation awards all recognized Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion. The Kobe Animation Awards presented the Television Department Work Award to the series, the Japan Media Arts Festival designated it as a Recommended Work in the Animation Division, and the Tokyo Anime Awards bestowed upon it the Television Department Excellence Award.
Beyond Japan, the animation also won two Best Original Animation Awards.
Five awards in total!
Although Code Geass failed to secure the grand prize or excellence award at the Japan Media Arts Festival, winning the Television Department Grand Awards at both the Kobe Animation Awards and the Tokyo Anime Awards was already an achievement many animations only dreamed of.
This clearly demonstrated that Lin Zhiyan's animations were far from award-less.
When this fig leaf was torn away, those who had already envied, envied, and hated Lin Zhiyan became even more so.
Amidst the heated discussions, they could only console themselves again: "There's a second season of Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion. Maybe the second season will be a disaster, ruining the reputation built by the first season? Besides, the Japan Media Arts Festival didn't give the Grand Prize or Excellence Award to Code Geass."
Though all three are considered the Big Three Animation Awards, the Japan Media Arts Festival's animation category carries far more prestige than the other two. Code Geass didn't even receive the Excellence Award there, only a recommendation—a clear sign it wasn't all that outstanding.
It still had a long way to go.
Of course, after Code Geass won the awards, they could no longer console themselves with "Lin Zhiyan's animations can't win awards." Instead, they shifted to: "Lin Zhiyan's animations can't even win the Excellence Award at the Japan Media Arts Festival. They're not as amazing as everyone claims. He still has a huge gap to bridge compared to those animation masters."
In truth, the Kobe Animation Awards and the Tokyo Anime Awards were also reluctant to give Code Geass awards this time. After all, the anime's style bore some similarities to Death Note, and Lin Zhiyan was still too young when he made Death Note—and still too young now.
If the Kobe Animation Awards were to give an award to Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion, wouldn't that be a slap in the face to the judges themselves?
That's what they say, but compared to Death Note back then, Code Geass this time has far greater popularity and buzz.
Whether it has depth is debatable, but its production quality is undeniably excellent.
The Kobe Animation Awards and Tokyo Anime Awards both consider commercial viability to some extent, while only the grand prize at the Japan Media Arts Festival can largely disregard commercial factors.
With no other outstanding contenders in the Television Department that year, failing to award Code Geass would likely anger Lin Zhiyan's fans and the show's massive fanbase, and the public might even question the legitimacy of these awards.
Moreover, Code Geass won two Best Original Animation awards abroad, one of which was before the Kobe Animation Awards judging.
It's hard to justify an animation winning major international awards while receiving none at home, especially since this isn't a show that would cause strong discomfort among Japanese viewers or be banned domestically. Instead, it's a show that's wildly popular in Japan.
It would be a mistake not to give the awards to Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion.
As the person involved, Lin Zhiyan never expected Code Geass to win so many awards. He had initially hoped for the Grand Prize in the Television Department at the Kobe Animation Awards and the Tokyo Anime Awards, and even not winning any would have been understandable.
Still, the more awards, the better—no one would refuse them.
Beyond attending award ceremonies, Lin Zhiyan spent most of his time after the first season of Code Geass working on the second season. He only took one or two days off occasionally to relax at home with Nanase Mayumi or to go on low-key dates with her.
While the first season had been a massive success, they couldn't afford to relax. After all, the second season's reception would inevitably affect the first season's legacy.
Moreover, during the first season's broadcast, as a late-night anime, it had faced little competition. The second season would be different, with Mobile Suit Gundam SEED as a major rival. They had no idea if they could compete effectively. If all the popularity shifted to Gundam SEED, it would be a disaster.
He couldn't afford to let his guard down.
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