The people blaming Yuta for starting a bad trend were mostly joking around. But what happened next was a different matter entirely.
About half an hour after School Days episode twelve finished airing, a post appeared online.
[I just saw someone say that everything is Yuta Shido's fault. You might think that is a joke, but I am here to tell you that the hatchet ending of School Days actually does have a connection to that Tearjerker Devil.]
[It is not just because his Clannad set a bad precedent. It is because that bastard was indirectly involved in this anime's production.
You might be wondering how that is possible when his name does not appear anywhere in the credits and no one from Starfall worked on the show.]
[First off, the studio that made School Days, TNK, handled outsourced cuts for Clannad. Nothing major, but saying they were not influenced by Clannad at all would be a stretch. Second, according to my sources, the protagonist's name was actually chosen by that bastard Shido himself.]
[Third, TNK's President originally planned a happy ending when he first wrote the project proposal. But somewhere along the way, the script started going sideways, so he went to that bastard for advice. After coming back, the result was the hatchet ending you all just watched.]
[In short, if you were traumatized by this ending, going after TNK is fair game. But saying it is all Shido's fault is not really wrong either.]
The post was fairly long, but plenty of people read it all the way through.
And then everyone was floored.
"It really is connected to that bastard?"
"Shido is absolutely unforgivable. Calling him the root of all evil is not even an exaggeration."
"Who was it that called that bastard decent just now?"
"I specifically avoided anything that bastard worked on, and I still got wrecked."
"Didn't they say that bastard turned over a new leaf?"
"Apparently that bastard's new anime is a mecha show that is supposed to be exciting and not depressing at all. I'm suddenly suspicious that it is false advertising."
"Anyone planning to watch his new anime better be careful. Don't get blindsided."
...
Yuta obviously could not monitor the internet around the clock.
It was not until the next morning, after arriving at the office, that Rika told him, "President, you got put on blast online again."
Yuta: ...
What did she mean, "again"? Did this happen that often?
Well, actually, it kind of did. Never mind then.
He opened his computer, checked online, and got the gist of the situation.
His first reaction was: "There's a mole!"
TNK doing outsource work for Clannad was easy enough to find out. But the poster had known that Yuta named the protagonist and that Daigo had consulted him about the script. That kind of detail screamed insider leak.
Even if it was not a mole directly, someone on the inside had talked.
Then again, could Daigo himself have posted it under a fake account?
The hatchet ending had drawn massive backlash. It would make sense for Daigo to want to redirect the hate. Pinning the blame on Yuta would take the pressure off TNK.
Of course, that was just speculation. He could not be sure it was Daigo's doing.
Should he confront Daigo about it?
He was still deliberating when a phone call came in.
"President Shido, it's me, Daigo." The caller was Daigo himself.
Yuta paused, decided not to open with accusations, and said, "President Daigo, what can I do for you?"
"That post online, have you seen it? The one about..."
"Just read it."
"I'm terribly sorry. Please believe me, I didn't leak any of that. We're already investigating where the information came from. I'll make sure you get a satisfactory explanation as soon as possible."
"It's fine. I don't mind."
"Regardless, this is entirely TNK's fault. I'll come to Starfall in person later to apologize properly."
"..."
Saying he did not mind at all would be a lie, but what was done was done. Blaming Daigo would not help.
The man's attitude was at least decent. He was offering to come apologize in person. And without proof that he was behind it, there was no point getting angry.
After hanging up, Yuta considered how to handle this.
Getting put on blast online was nothing new for him. After enough times, it almost did not feel like a big deal anymore.
But Code Geass was about to premiere. He had worked hard to make everyone think it was a pure power-fantasy show. He could not let anything tip people off now, or all that effort would go to waste.
With that in mind, he logged into his social media account and posted.
[Woke up this morning to find out people are yelling at me again, saying I traumatized them. I was thoroughly confused until I looked into it and realized they are talking about School Days.]
[I will admit that I am the one who named the protagonist. But I was never involved in the production of this anime. Before it started airing, I did not even know what the story was about.]
[At the Clannad season two celebration party, President Daigo did ask me a question about whether he should stay true to his characters' established personalities. Of course I told him he should. How was I supposed to know it would lead to this?]
[In short, I am being wrongly accused. That depressing ending has absolutely nothing to do with me.]
[On a completely unrelated note, our new anime at Starfall, Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion, premieres on October 6th. It is a really exciting show. If anyone is feeling down after School Days, give our new anime a watch.]
Deflecting blame was critical. And slipping in a plug for the new anime could not hurt either. Even if the effect was minimal, every little bit counted.
Besides, some people were already suspicious he was falsely advertising Code Geass. A quick mention was warranted.
The audience had no way of knowing what Code Geass was actually like.
Those who had been looking forward to it as an exciting action show were at least reassured after reading his explanation.
"Looks like we misjudged Shido."
"As long as the new anime is not a depression fest, I'm good."
"I knew it. President Shido must be innocent. Those people trying to pin the blame on him were way out of line."
"October 6th. That is only a few days away."
"Looking forward to the premiere. I'm definitely watching."
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