A few days later, the interview article was published, sparking widespread discussion:
"Lin Zhiyan has eyes that can see the future? That's hilarious! LOL"
"Case closed! No wonder Old Thief Lin's animations sell so well. No wonder he dared to fully fund animation from the moment he founded LSP."
"Could it be... could Old Thief Lin actually be a Reincarnator on his Second Playthrough?"
"Magic eyes, huh? I actually think Old Thief Lin shouldn't be called Lord Hayashi. He should be the Great Demon King of TV Animation. He's that dominant in the TV anime world, making other creators despair. And 'magic eyes' fits perfectly with 'Great Demon King'."
"After the Great Demon King of Tears and the Great Demon King Tamura, now we have the Great Demon King of TV Animation? LOL. But looking at just TV anime, Old Thief Lin definitely deserves that title."
"Even though it's just text, I swear Director Yamada's tone when talking about Old Thief Lin sounded like she was full of admiration. She's only been at LSP for less than a year—has she already been completely charmed?"
"K-On! is the best! Number one in the world!"
On television, the animation K-On! continued to air and remained incredibly popular.
Beyond its ratings and popularity, the series had other significant impacts. As Naoko Yamada mentioned during an interview, K-On! caused a surge in popularity for Light Music Clubs at universities across the country. Countless students were inspired to learn music and join their school's clubs, and some schools that had never had a Light Music Club before even revived theirs thanks to the show.
Sales of instruments like guitars, basses, keyboards, and drum sets were nothing short of explosive, with K-On!-themed instruments proving particularly sought-after.
Character dakimakura pillows, manga, and art books also sold like hotcakes.
Even seemingly mundane items like the characters' "signature teacups" and collaborative teacups featuring their likenesses, as well as replicas of their everyday clothing and K-On!-branded apparel, were wildly popular.
However, the true measure of the show's success lay in its single CDs.
The ending theme, "Don't say 'lazy'," released on April 22nd, debuted at number two on the Oricon Weekly Singles Chart. It later topped the first half of the 2009 anime singles chart.
The insert song, "Light, Fluffy Time," released on May 20th, immediately climbed to third place on the Oricon weekly singles chart. It also ranked fifth on the first half of 2009's anime singles chart.
The anime's opening and other insert songs didn't sell as explosively, but they still performed well.
By the end of June, after the first season of K-On! concluded and the Blu-ray/DVDs were released, the first-week sales reached an astonishing 34,000 units, surprising many in the industry.
Many couldn't understand why such a seemingly "moe trash" anime could achieve such phenomenal success. This led some to cry, "The industry is doomed!" and launch attacks against the show.
However, whether those people wanted to admit it or not, K-On! was a resounding success.
The anime's triumph prompted many animation planning companies to consider developing similar "moe trash" concepts.
A new era of moe anime was dawning.
The completion of the first season didn't mark the end. Lin Zhiyan had Naoko Yamada and the K-On! production team immediately begin work on the second season. They announced on the official website that the second season would be a half-year series and would premiere in April 2010.
The news of K-On!'s second season sent fans into a frenzy.
Meanwhile, Sword Art Online, which also premiered in April, continued its run into July as a half-year series.
Both K-On! and Sword Art Online were immensely popular. Asuna, the female lead of Sword Art Online, gained particularly massive popularity during the anime's run, nearly flooding doujinshi conventions with her fan-made works.
The anime also significantly boosted the original source material, further increasing its popularity and sales.
In July, Psycho-Pass, another original anime produced by L.S Produ, also premiered as scheduled.
Without Lin Zhiyan's involvement and being an original work, Psycho-Pass didn't quite match the explosive success of the other two. However, after its broadcast on Fuji Television's noitaminA block, it still captured a large fanbase. Its themes and production quality earned it widespread acclaim from both the industry and the audience.
K-On! and Sword Art Online both fell into the category of otaku-oriented anime. If they had been scheduled for Fuji Television's noitaminA block, they might have faced backlash from many viewers. Psycho-Pass, however, was different.
This animation, told from the perspective of the female protagonist Akane Tsunemori, features a unique world, cool enforcers and inspectors, stylish guns, and the thought-provoking Sibyl System that measures everyone's crime coefficient. In every aspect, it perfectly meets the demands of the noitaminA audience.
July is an intensely competitive month for the animation market, but Psycho-Pass, with its distinct target audience, remained largely unaffected by the fierce competition.
Even without the popularity boost from the original work or Lin Zhiyan, the anime became a hit after just a few episodes, a testament to its inherent success.
Of course, the undisputed champion of July's anime lineup was Bakemonogatari.
Nisio Isin's Monogatari series, with its heavy reliance on dialogue and seemingly useless "chatter," was once considered unadaptable to animation. Yet, Akiyuki Shinbo's adaptation proved to be a resounding success. It preserved the essence of the original work while fully embracing Shinbo's signature style and leveraging the advantages of the TV animation medium.
The animation's overwhelming success after its release garnered countless fans, making it the next phenomenal anime after Puella Magi Madoka Magica.
Its popularity even surpassed Akiyuki Shinbo's wildest expectations.
In truth, adapting this work presented a major challenge even for Shinbo himself.
In the entire animation industry, only Lin Zhiyan would have considered this work easy to adapt—after all, he could simply copy it directly, without needing to bother with any clever modifications.
If Lin Zhiyan had wanted to, he could have easily seized the adaptation rights for this animation and done it himself.
However, considering how strongly Shinbo's style permeated the animation, it was more appropriate to let him continue the project as in the original timeline.
Besides, after already "plundering" Shinbo's Puella Magi Madoka Magica, if they were to "plunder" the Monogatari series as well, they'd really be stripping him bare. There was no need to push it so far.
After all, there were plenty of other good anime out there. No need to keep "plundering" the same person over and over.
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