"I've been found."
As Menma's tearful face froze on the screen, the volume of the background music, Secret Base: What You Gave Me, swelled suddenly. The girl's light, melodic singing felt like a blade, carving into the hearts of every viewer sitting in front of their television sets.
Why? Why did it have to end like this?
No matter how much of a slow burn an anime might be, once it captures a massive audience, people are willing to see it through. Furthermore, it had been a full month and a half since Anohana's popularity and reputation had started to skyrocket in episode five. Across Japan's prefectures, countless viewers had been drawn in midway, falling hopelessly in love with the character of Menma.
However, the emotional critical hit delivered by the series finale felt like a massive backstab to the audience. Many people sat in a daze for ten minutes before finally remembering something important.
Oh, right. This was based on a novel from the Minamijo region.
Information is easy to find on the internet. It took very little time for the anime audience to dig up the details regarding the original source material. That night, the traffic on the Crimson Maple Literature official forums and KyoAni Studios' website exploded, surging several times over.
Even on AniSphere, Japan's largest gathering place for anime fans, the front pages were completely dominated by posts about the Anohana finale after 9:00 PM.
"Guys, I feel terrible right now. I just want to cry."
"Wait, you haven't started crying yet? Who wrote this? Seriously, what kind of human being comes up with a plot like this?"
"I finally understand why the light novel sold a million copies per volume."
"We told you this series was special! We told you to be patient and you'd be surprised, but you didn't believe us. Haha! We novel fans have already suffered through this. Tonight, we're just sitting back and laughing while you anime-only fans get destroyed. [Smiley face wearing sunglasses]"
"Hey, you with the emoji! Take those sunglasses off right now. Show us the teary-eyed emoji underneath. Damn it, I thought I was stone-cold. I've read the novel three times. I thought I was a heartless assassin. But the anime... the anime is different! Who wrote that new ending theme? I was so mentally prepared, and it still took me out. The music and the visuals just obliterated me."
"I'm typing this through blurry eyes. Honestly, even for us novel fans, seeing Menma fade away like that was too much. That ending theme was a total cheat code."
"You guys aren't paying attention. The production details have been out for a while. KyoAni Studios' site says Secret Base: What You Gave Me was a collaboration between the author, Shiori, and her best friend, Airi. They didn't use the song for the earlier episodes, and I thought they had scrapped it. I had no idea they were saving it as a secret weapon to steal everyone's tears in the final episode."
"Wait, the original author wrote the music?"
"Looks like it. The credits list the composers as Shiori Takahashi and Airi."
"I'm a mess. My younger sister is crying even harder than me. She keeps asking if Menma is really dead. This show is a masterpiece."
"To the experts on the forum: Does the novel say what happens to Menma afterward? Is there any way she survived? I feel so empty, I can't even sleep."
"You should go buy the physical volumes. There are side stories in there that are actually quite beautiful."
"Are you serious? There are side stories?"
"Of course. But good luck finding a copy right now. Anohana has been selling like crazy because of the anime, so it's been out of stock nationwide for two weeks. Crimson Maple Literature said it'll take a week or two for the new prints to hit the shelves, but you can pre-order them on their website now."
"Out of stock? It's selling that well?"
"It's a short story that finished nearly six months ago. There weren't many copies left in the stores to begin with."
"I heard the author is just a high school student. Is she really that talented?"
"She's incredible! And it's not just her. Both of those creators are light novel authors from Minamijo who debuted last year. They're both amazing."
"Wait, they're students? Seriously?"
"Would I lie to you? Every bookworm in Minamijo knows about Airi and Shiori Takahashi. Their new novels, Fate of the Rainbow and To the Moon, are currently being serialized in the Ascent of New Gods magazine. If you have the time, you should go support them and cast your votes."
"The author of To the Moon is the same person who wrote Anohana? I read Ascent of New Gods, and I've read To the Moon, but I never made the connection. I gave all my votes to Cyberpunk: Sin Domain. Damn it!"
"Holy crap! I've been reading Fate of the Rainbow but never paid attention to the author's name. Airi and Shiori Takahashi wrote that song together?"
"I'm so confused. I'm a Minamijo reader, and I thought those two were bitter rivals. Why are they so close? They're even composing music together?"
"Man, I used to be wary of Airi. I've even argued with her fans a few times. How are they this tight?"
"I'm a fan now. Total fan. From this day forward, I am a devotee of Shiori Takahashi and Airi."
"To the Moon, right? Just for the sake of the emotions Anohana gave me, I'm giving my next Ascent of New Gods vote to To the Moon."
"My younger brother bought the magazine. I'm going to borrow it from him. If it's good, I'm going to force him to vote for To the Moon as well."
That night, every major anime website and forum was flooded with discussions about Anohana. It left many casual anime fans across Japan utterly bewildered.
What was going on? What happened in the finale to make so many fans wail like this?
Influenced by the massive public outcry, many people began to look into the series. It was easy for them to become intensely interested. An anime they hadn't seen, being recommended through tears by so many people during the spring season? For anime fans currently facing a "content drought," it was an irresistible attraction.
The final episode of Anohana achieved an average rating of 2.79%. In the rankings for the spring season, it was the third-highest-rated single episode of any show. After all, the true essence of the series only exploded in episodes ten and eleven. With only a week between them, it wasn't quite enough time for the influence to spread to every corner of the country. Even though the finale drew in a massive number of viewers, it still landed in third place.
However, the fans who watched the broadcast live spread the word so aggressively that the show became the hottest topic in the industry by the very next day. Ratings are just one way to measure a show's popularity.
The staff at Tokyo TV-7 weren't fools.
A 2.7% rating for a finale was a result that far exceeded their expectations. Seeing the wave of new viewers being driven by the die-hard fans who spent the entire night praising the show on social media, the station made a quick decision to adjust their programming.
They canceled some low-priority segments the following day and replaced them with a rerun of the Anohana finale, giving fans who missed it the night before a chance to catch up.
The following day, Thursday, at 10:00 PM...
The rerun of the final episode achieved an average rating of 3.3%, surpassing the original broadcast. That night, a flood of requests hit the station's official website, with fans demanding that Tokyo TV-7 rerun the entire series over the coming days.
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