After the K-On! anime project was finalized, Lin Zhiyan became even busier.
The script for the first season was already complete, so that didn't require much time or effort. The character designs were also straightforward. The most troublesome part was the music, especially the theme song and insert songs, which needed to be sung by the voice actors of the main characters. This meant the main characters' voice actors had to be decided first.
Choosing the voice actors for the main characters was the responsibility of the Supervising Director and Sound Director. Although Lin Zhiyan, as the project leader and overall production supervisor, could override them and force his own choices, it wouldn't be ideal.
Letting the Supervising Director and Sound Director take their time would be far too inefficient.
Fortunately, Lin Zhiyan wasn't in a hurry.
In October, L.S. Produ had no new TV anime releases. However, A Certain Magical Index, a half-year series, was still airing and would continue until December.
Lin Zhiyan served as the overall producer for this animation as well. Although he had to invest less time and energy compared to his previous projects, the project was still plagued by countless trivial matters.
Compared to other light novels, A Certain Magical Index proved to be a particularly challenging work to adapt. Throughout the production and broadcast of the anime, Lin Zhiyan remained constantly on edge.
Only when the first season of the anime finally concluded in late December did he secretly breathe a sigh of relief.
The release of the Blu-ray sales figures completely reassured him. The first-week sales were around 18,000 units, easily exceeding the initial cumulative average sales of 20,000 units. Including later releases, the total sales approached 25,000 units—a resounding success.
With this project completed, the next production wasn't the second season of A Certain Magical Index, but the first season of A Certain Scientific Railgun.
The same production team, the same staff, and Lin Zhiyan still serving as the overall producer.
With the success of the first season of A Certain Magical Index, the production of A Certain Scientific Railgun was met with considerably less concern.
As 2009 began, L.S. Produ released a surge of new animations.
In January, the second season of the quarterly series Natsume's Book of Friends premiered. In April, they released the first season of the quarterly series K-On! and the half-year series Sword Art Online. The half-year series Psycho-Pass was scheduled for July, followed by the half-year series A Certain Scientific Railgun and Lin Zhiyan's new animation in October.
Most of these projects had been in development since 2008 or even 2007, but the production volume had clearly increased. Fortunately, L.S. Produ was no longer the fledgling company it had once been. Even with two simultaneous quarterly releases, they had sufficient staff to handle the workload.
The production schedules were also ample, and Lin Zhiyan consistently invested generously in production costs. With him serving as the overall production supervisor and personally reviewing every stage, the quality was assured.
While the animation market was buzzing with popular releases, other animation companies also announced a variety of new projects. These included Kyoto Animation's The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya 2009 in April, Bones' Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, and Shaft's Bakemonogatari in July, under the direction of Akiyuki Shinbo.
Many other anime adaptations were also announced, including the second season of Spice and Wolf, Saki, Heaven's Lost Property, Kimi ni Todoke, Inuyasha: The Final Act, Fairy Tail, and Eden of the East.
Furthermore, some anime that had premiered in October 2008 continued into January 2009 because they were half-year series. These included the second season of After Days, Toradora!, and the second season of Mobile Suit Gundam 00.
When you factor in the ongoing theatrical film series The Garden of Sinners and Mamoru Hosoda's Wolf Children: Ame and Yuki, the entire year of 2009 could be described as a period of "overlapping masterpieces and a battle of the gods" in the animation market.
Late March.
The second season of Natsume's Book of Friends had just concluded, and Sword Art Online and K-On! were about to premiere.
Online, various uploaders were compiling lists of the April new anime releases, sparking heated discussions among netizens:
"Haruhi, Fullmetal Alchemist, Sword Art Online—this April is stacked! And that K-On! with Lin Zhiyan as assistant director might be worth a look too."
"Can't wait for Saki—that's the kind of anime real men should be watching."
"Speaking of K-On!, Old Thief Lin is only the assistant director? Is he trying to push a new director into the spotlight?"
"Naoko Yamada... wasn't she a director at Kyoto Animation? How did she end up directing for LSP? And with Old Thief Lin as assistant director, what's going on behind the scenes? Don't tell me they're having an affair!"
"I have a feeling Old Thief Lin is deliberately avoiding the supervising director role. Maybe he has zero interest in non-depressing anime?"
"Yeah, we don't know the specifics yet, but judging by the theme and PV style, there's absolutely no hint of a depressing anime. It's normal he'd be uninterested."
"LSP has two anime this season. K-On! looks like a sacrificial lamb—Sword Art Online is probably their real priority."
In the President's office at L.S. Produ,
Lin Zhiyan glanced at the online comments, a faint twitch at the corner of his mouth. He quickly turned to Naoko Yamada across the desk and said, "They're saying K-On! looks like it was sacrificed from the start."
"Really?" Yamada hadn't been following the online discussions.
"What do you think?" Lin Zhiyan pressed.
"Of course not. It wasn't sacrificed," Yamada replied with absolute certainty.
In truth, she had initially thought K-On! might be an experimental animation, likely a low-priority project within L.S., with Sword Art Online being the real focus.
However, as work progressed, she realized that K-On! was receiving just as much attention as Sword Art Online, if not more.
This type of animation, while exceptionally well-made, was unlikely to surpass Sword Art Online in commercial success, let alone win any awards. Naoko Yamada couldn't quite understand Lin Zhiyan's reasoning.
However, as the Supervising Director, she was certain this animation wouldn't be sacrificed.
Just as she was thinking this, Lin Zhiyan suddenly declared, "K-On! will be a massive success, a dark horse that takes the April season by storm."
"Uh..." Naoko Yamada was taken aback.
"What? You don't believe me?" Lin Zhiyan asked with a smile.
"No, no," Naoko Yamada shook her head vigorously.
Despite her words, she truly remained skeptical.
Lin Zhiyan could sense her doubts but offered no further explanation. Instead, he urged her to continue doing her best on K-On! and simply wait and see.
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