Morning at L.S Produ.
Lin Zhiyan was in high spirits. After the broadcast of as Episode 9, while his usual critics and detractors hadn't changed their minds, the number of posts online attacking and slandering him had noticeably decreased.
This was a promising sign.
His next step was to create more uplifting animations, gradually transforming his image. He believed that one day, he would achieve this: though his name would remain legendary in the Depressing Anime genre, audiences would no longer label him as a purveyor of gloom.
He didn't care about the criticism or slander itself. As long as it wasn't based on lies and he was genuinely depressing his audience, he felt he deserved it—even finding a strange satisfaction in it.
Yet, he wasn't inherently drawn to Depressing Anime. He had always pursued popular animation, and it just so happened that his early successes had all been dark and depressing.
As the company approached its tenth anniversary, he knew that many of its future hit animations would be neither depressing nor soul-crushing. This meant he would be producing plenty of lighthearted, uplifting works, and he didn't want the "depressing" tag to follow him around forever.
With the company trending in a positive direction, he naturally felt pleased.
Of course, he didn't show his happiness. Instead, he maintained a stern, serious expression as he inspected various parts of the company.
The company was about to celebrate its tenth anniversary. What had once been a small firm with only a few dozen employees had now grown to several hundred. With departments covering animation, 3D, photography, coloring, production, and publicity, it had become a well-rounded organization. While still trailing behind industry giants like Toei and Sunrise, it could now be considered a major company.
The company had moved its offices twice. Its current headquarters was a five-story building that it had constructed itself, featuring not only offices but also a staff cafeteria, recreational areas, a screening room, and event spaces—a truly exceptional working environment.
L.S Produ attracted top talent not only through its excellent office environment but also through its industry reputation, growth prospects, and benefits.
The company had already recruited numerous renowned Key Animators, photographers, 3D artists, colorists, Directors, Supervising Directors, and Producers from another timeline, making it a hub of talent.
As long as they had a solid plan and maintained strict quality control, other aspects would fall into place effortlessly.
Whether the animation industry was doomed or not remained to be seen, but L.S Produ was clearly thriving.
While not every employee was completely free of fatigue, most maintained a positive and energetic demeanor, even greeting Lin Zhiyan proactively.
Lin Zhiyan walked around the office and noticed a new Key Animator struggling with his work, looking completely stuck. He offered a few helpful pointers.
After completing his rounds, he returned to his office.
With a few minutes to spare before the animation production meeting, he checked online discussions about the anime as and then posted a message on the forum under his own account:
"It seems most of you have already discovered it. That's right, my latest animation, as, is not a Depressing Anime at all. Instead, it's a work brimming with positivity, designed to inspire and uplift.
From now on, please stop calling me the 'Master of Depressing Anime.'
I, Lin Zhiyan, am a propagator of positive energy!"
Naturally, the post drew a flood of mocking replies:
"What? A 'propagator of positive energy'? Where's your face?"
"Old Thief Lin, doesn't your conscience ache even a little saying that?"
"The Male Lead in as is indeed positive and uplifting, but were your previous animations positive? I don't see it."
"My God, after spreading so much negativity for so long, you're now claiming to be a 'propagator of positive energy' just because you happened to have one positive Male Lead? How shameless!"
"[ as ] isn't a Depressing Anime? Good grief, do you think anyone will believe that? Say that to my face if you dare, and I'll bash your skull in!"
"Here's a joke: Old Thief Lin is a propagator of positive energy."
"Absolutely unconvincing. No one's buying it, not a single person!"
Lin Zhiyan wasn't actually trying to convince anyone, nor did he genuinely see himself as a purveyor of positivity. He was simply engaging with his audience and fans, even though his most enthusiastic interactors were often his detractors.
No big deal.
Whether the comments were teasing or critical, he paid them no mind.
He didn't continue posting to defend himself, quickly closing the relevant pages to browse industry news instead.
About two minutes later, a knock sounded on his office door. His assistant entered, reminding him it was time for the production meeting. Only then did he shut down his computer, leave his office, and head to the conference room.
The animation [ as ] had thirteen episodes in total. With Episode 9 having just aired, four remained. In reality, Episodes 10 and 11 were already completed, leaving only Episodes 12 and 13 in production.
For these final two episodes, the design drafts had been finalized long ago, and all voice acting was complete. All that remained was to follow the plan and proceed methodically.
Therefore, this production meeting wasn't actually about discussing how to make the animation. Instead, it was about checking if each department head had completed their tasks according to the plan, identifying any issues if they hadn't, and determining how to resolve them.
Plans are plans, but even at L.S Produ, not every step can be completed on schedule every time.
Problems would occasionally arise, but they were relatively few on their end. When the team below couldn't resolve an issue, Lin Zhiyan would personally step in to ensure it was resolved. This was a crucial reason why their company's animations had consistently maintained such high quality.
A single production meeting lasted over half an hour, followed by keyframe preview checks, animation preview checks, color checks, photography checks, and more.
They worked busily until afternoon, and before they could even rest, reporters from an animation magazine arrived for an interview.
Since this interview had been scheduled in advance and wasn't a sudden visit, they couldn't refuse.
By the time the interview was over, it was past 4 PM. They finally had a moment to catch their breath, but new visitors arrived immediately.
This time, it was an editor from the monthly magazine Dengeki G's Magazine, one of the project partners for the L.S Produ animation.
Of course, the visit had a purpose, but the editor hadn't revealed it to Lin Zhiyan beforehand. He could only welcome them and speculate silently as he did so.
Please Support me by becoming my patreon member and get 15+ chapters.
[email protected]/Ajal69
change @ with a
Thank You to Those who joined my Patreon