Inside the President's office at L.S.Produ, Fuji Television producer Sato Naoya looked at Lin Zhiyan with urgency. "President Lin, are you saying you don't want to work with Fuji Television anymore?"
Previously, Kaneda Koji had been the Fuji Television producer handling matters with Lin Zhiyan. Now that Kaneda Koji had been promoted due to the success and reputation he'd gained with the Noitamina block, Sato Naoya had taken over related affairs.
Sato Naoya had originally come to see Lin Zhiyan because Anohana was down to its final two episodes and was about to finish airing. He wanted to see if Lin Zhiyan had any ideas for his next animation.
However, he never expected Lin Zhiyan to tell him that he wouldn't be making any more animations for the Noitamina block in the near future.
When Kaneda Koji had handed over the work, he had specifically told Sato Naoya that Lin Zhiyan was the "golden ticket" in the TV animation field. He had said that by maintaining a long-term partnership with Lin Zhiyan, the Noitamina block could continue to grow. Sato Naoya never imagined that Lin Zhiyan would turn out to be the type of person who just "shoots once and runs."
While this was nothing out of the ordinary for the animation industry—many studios broadcast one show on Fuji Television and the next on a different network—the fact that it was happening to Sato Naoya made it difficult for him to accept.
Lin Zhiyan didn't want to sever ties with Fuji Television completely. After all, their collaboration had been very pleasant, and the network offered excellent terms.
However, as he had feared, continuing to produce anime for the Noitamina slot might lead to a severe decline in commercial success.
This decline was understandable, given the transition from the phenomenal Puella Magi Madoka Magica to Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day, which hovered between super-popular and phenomenal. It couldn't be considered a complete failure, as phenomenal anime are not something you can simply create at will.
That said, super-popular and phenomenal anime should represent his normal standard. If the anime produced after Anohana only achieved ordinary popularity, without even reaching the super-popular tier, that would be unacceptable.
Therefore, he couldn't continue producing anime for the Noitamina slot.
He raised his hand, signaling Sato Naoya to remain calm and listen carefully to his explanation.
He quickly explained, "It's just that I won't be personally supervising noitamina-slot animations for the time being. This doesn't mean our company will stop collaborating with Fuji Television altogether. In fact, I've already brainstormed the concept for our next noitamina project, though we'll need to discuss it with you all again."
"Are you saying that for our next noitamina animation, you'll only be handling the concept and not the Supervising Director role?" Sato Naoya asked, based on his understanding.
"Exactly," Lin Zhiyan nodded. "I'll be responsible for the concept, final review, and quality control. And to put your minds at ease, the scriptwriter for the next animation will still be Takagi Makoto."
"I see..." Sato Naoya felt slightly reassured.
However, it was only slight reassurance. In truth, he still hoped Lin Zhiyan would direct the next animation. After all, Lin Zhiyan was the true guarantee of quality and popularity. No one else, not even Takagi Makoto, could absolutely guarantee both popularity and quality simultaneously.
Lin Zhiyan could clearly see that Sato Naoya still had reservations. However, allowing Takagi Makoto to remain as the script supervisor was the absolute bottom line he could offer; he couldn't compromise further.
As his thoughts raced, he spoke, "Although I won't be the Supervising Director anymore, our company's animations will undoubtedly maintain high quality under my personal oversight. Setting aside Hosoda's past works for now, haven't our recent adaptations, The Garden of Sinners and Natsume's Book of Friends, been well-received? I'm confident we can deliver excellent results. Please trust us."
The Garden of Sinners was a series of theatrical films.
While the entire series was far from complete, the installments released so far had achieved both critical acclaim and box office success.
Natsume's Book of Friends, the first season of which aired in January and concluded in March, had been hailed as L.S.Produ's true healing animation, earning even better reviews.
Its commercial performance was also remarkable, significantly boosting manga sales. With DVD sales exceeding 20,000 units, it occupied a position between popular and phenomenal anime.
Neither of these animations had been supervised by Lin Zhiyan, yet both had achieved tremendous success. This fact genuinely reassured Sato Naoya.
After a few seconds of silence, he asked Lin Zhiyan, "What kind of story will the next animation be about?"
"A social commentary theme, blending elements of science fiction, cyberpunk, dystopia, and workplace drama. More precisely, it'll be a police procedural set in a near-future fantasy society," Lin Zhiyan replied. "As for the title, we're tentatively calling it Psycho-Pass."
Psycho-Pass—in our original timeline, its story concept was developed by Gen Urobuchi, produced by IG, and co-produced with Fuji Television. It premiered on the Noitamina block on October 11, 2012, and became a popular original anime, spanning three seasons and a theatrical film—a remarkable achievement.
Of course, this anime falls into the category of "first season is a masterpiece, subsequent seasons decline." The third season, in particular, not only changed the protagonist but also gave them a superpower-like ability. Furthermore, the protagonist from the first two seasons, Akane Tsunemori, spent most of the time under house arrest, only being released at the very end.
Rather than calling it Psycho-Pass Season 3, it felt more like a spin-off. In any case, Lin Zhiyan found it incredibly irritating to watch. He only persevered until the end out of a burning need to understand why the Main Character had been confined.
For this animation, Lin Zhiyan would probably only produce the first season. Unless overwhelming demand for a second season arose after the first season's completion, he wouldn't even consider it.
He might reluctantly consider a theatrical film if necessary, but he would absolutely refuse to make a third season. He wouldn't even do it if they paid him out of his own pocket.
The ideal scenario would be to conclude the series after the first season and immediately move on to Your Lie in April. After all, Your Lie in April was another popular, high-quality animation that aired in Fuji Television's Noitamina slot. By producing Your Lie in April immediately after Psycho-Pass Season 1, they could even release it a year before the manga's original publication in their timeline.
These two animations should satisfy Fuji Television, allowing Lin Zhiyan to withdraw and focus on more popular projects.
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