A few days later, the latest issue of the magazine, featuring an interview with Lin Zhiyan, hit the shelves.
The cover was a composite image of Lin Zhiyan and a promotional visual from Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day. In small print, it listed the issue's main highlights, including the interview article: "Anohana Supervising Director Lin Zhiyan's Past Experiences Revealed!"
The article focused on Lin Zhiyan's background, emphasizing his hardships before entering the animation industry. It concluded with a motivational message: adversity builds character, and those difficult experiences forged the man who achieved such remarkable success today.
Given Lin Zhiyan's immense popularity, his interviews were practically guaranteed to boost sales. This latest issue, which offered a glimpse into his pre-animation industry life, struck a chord with readers, resulting in even higher sales than previous issues.
Although the magazine had already been reprinted as anticipated, copies on store shelves were nearly sold out within a day.
Following the magazine's release, related topics ignited widespread discussion among netizens online:
"I never imagined Lin Zhiyan would become an orphan just as he was starting high school."
"Looking back, Old Thief Lin's past was quite tragic. I always thought he was a master of all aspects of animation. During his time at IG, he managed to earn enough from stock trading to fund his own company and even fully produce an anime. With such talent, I assumed his family background must have been extraordinary. Turns out I was wrong."
"People really can't be compared. Compared to him, my family situation is quite privileged, yet at the same age, I'm no better than a useless bum, still having achieved nothing. Sigh."
"A tragic past and a remarkable present—he's practically the protagonist of a shonen manga. No wonder he became a superstar in the TV animation industry."
"So inspiring! I hope they make a documentary about him. It's definitely worth documenting."
"Heartwarming. Hard work really can change everything."
"You might not believe me, but I was in a similar situation to Lord Hayashi's past. My parents died, I had to work part-time to support myself, had no friends, and couldn't find any joy in life. I had no hope for the future and even considered ending it all several times, but I was too afraid to die... Now, I feel like I'm rediscovering hope for life again."
Inspiring stories are popular in every country.
Lin Zhiyan's current success, when contrasted with his tragic past, makes his story even more inspiring, earning him even greater admiration and a larger fanbase.
Of course, some people questioned the interview article and Lin Zhiyan's past, arguing that his family situation couldn't have been that dire. They insisted that self-study alone couldn't possibly have allowed him to reach such a high level of skill in all aspects of animation production, especially considering that he had to balance his studies with part-time work in high school. How could that be possible?
However, as the doubts grew, people quickly stepped forward to verify his story. His high school classmates, the manager of the restaurant where he used to work, and the daughter of the landlord from the apartment he once rented all confirmed that the interview article's account was true, without a shred of falsehood.
Beyond the sighs of admiration, the moving accounts, the doubts, and the proofs, there was another type of voice:
"I always wondered why Old Thief Lin's anime were so heartbreaking and the protagonists so miserable. Turns out it's because his past was so tragic—he's basically taking revenge on society."
"'I'm very happy now'? Listen to that! Does that even sound human?"
"You bastard! He takes all the sadness for himself and keeps all the happiness. Old Thief Lin, you never disappoint!"
"He had a terrible childhood, so now that he's doing well, he wants to make everyone else miserable to feel happy? What kind of monster is this?"
"@SupervisingDirector Lin Zhiyan, you might be happy, but we're definitely not! Stop tricking us into watching these depressing anime—enough is enough!"
"Hah! Old Thief Lin, you think telling us your tragic past will make us forget our grievances? Newsflash: it won't!"
"Exactly! Anohana has two episodes left. I dare you to give it a depressing ending again. If you do, you'll regret it."
As the person at the center of it all, Lin Zhiyan never expected to become the protagonist of a heartwarming, inspirational article. Even less did he anticipate that despite insisting he wasn't as miserable as people thought, so many still felt sorry for him, making him feel guilty as if he were hiding something.
Making depressing animations and depressing the audience didn't trouble his conscience. After all, he wasn't deliberately trying to be depressing; it was simply that the animations he chose happened to be rather depressing.
It wasn't his fault.
But the current situation did make him feel a bit guilty.
Yet, at this point, it would be awkward to say anything more. He could only silently accept it and let the discussion continue.
When the interview article came out, Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day had only two episodes left to air. Although the broadcast hadn't concluded, production was entirely finished, so there was no need to rush with that aspect.
That said, the work wasn't truly done just because the animation was complete and awaiting broadcast. He personally drew the weekly promotional key visuals, and the day before the final episode aired, the Blu-ray release required his attention to the bonus materials.
After the animation finished airing, a special Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day concert was planned. Although a dedicated team was responsible for organizing it, Lin Zhiyan, as the project's planner, still needed to review and approve every aspect.
There was really a lot to do.
The question of what to do for the next animation was also worth considering.
If he continued to collaborate with Fuji Television, he would be limited to producing noitaminA slot animations. Among all the noitaminA animations, Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day had the best commercial performance, with other titles falling far short in comparison.
Although Lin Zhiyan's involvement would likely improve the commercial performance of those less successful animations compared to their original counterparts in another timeline, they probably wouldn't reach the heights of Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day.
Others might not need stellar commercial success, as long as their reputation remained solid. But Lin Zhiyan was different. Having achieved both critical acclaim and commercial success with every animation he produced, he couldn't afford to release a mediocre one. His animations had to remain popular until he eventually retired.
He really needed to think this through carefully.
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