Although he had received nominations, Su Yan didn't feel particularly excited.
After all, each award category had five nominees—being nominated didn't mean winning.
From his perspective, the Best Music nomination might actually have a real chance.
The soundtrack of '5 Centimeters per Second' was genuinely outstanding.
But as for Shen Liqian's Best Actress nomination and his own Best Screenplay nomination, the chances of winning were slim.
In the history of the Xia Nation, there had never been a case where someone won Best Actress with their debut film.
Su Yan didn't believe the judging committee would value Shen Liqian's performance enough to actually give her the award.
Still, notifications had to be delivered.
After calling Shen Liqian over and explaining the situation, she was surprisingly self-aware.
"I'll probably just be there to make up the numbers," Shen Liqian said as she flipped through the red invitation.
These awards weren't based solely on commercial success—acting performance was a crucial factor.
And last year, several critically acclaimed films emerged. Even if their box office wasn't as high, their performances were undeniably strong.
She understood that her chances were minimal.
"When the time comes, I'll need to trouble you to attend with me, Su Yan." She smiled.
"Even if we don't win, we can treat it as a trip."
"'Your Name' hasn't finished filming yet," Su Yan reminded her.
"By April, it should be done. You don't need to worry about that."
She paused, then her eyes sharpened slightly.
"And regardless of whether we win this year…"
"We'll treat this as gaining experience. Next year, when we return to the nominations together—hopefully we'll both take home the awards."
Her words weren't exaggerated.
With the performance and reputation of 'Rurouni Kenshin: Movie', it was almost impossible for next year's nominations to exclude both Su Yan and Shen Liqian.
"Why wait for next year? Aim to win Best Actress this year—and then defend the title next year," Su Yan said with a laugh.
Hope was one thing—
But before the results were announced, there was nothing wrong with thinking big.
—
Another Sunday arrived.
Episode 9 of 'Fate/Zero' aired.
Following Artoria's standout performance the previous week, the show's popularity had clearly surged.
Many casual viewers had caught up through SakuraNet and joined the weekly audience.
But this episode—
Delivered a heavy blow to Su Yan's fans.
For the past eight weeks, the show's tone had largely been strategic battles, passionate clashes, and visually impressive fights.
There were killers, knights, tyrants, kings, and mad Berserkers—
But despite their differences, everyone fought for their own reasons. Their actions weren't purely righteous, but neither were they outright despicable.
However—
This episode revealed just how despicable the protagonist, Kiritsugu Emiya, could be.
While Artoria and Lancer Diarmuid were engaged in an honorable duel—
Kiritsugu and his assistant Maiya launched a surprise attack on their base, capturing Diarmuid's Master, Kayneth, and his wife, Sola.
To save his wife, Kayneth abandoned his pride as a mage.
Using his Command Seal—
He ordered his Servant, the noble knight Diarmuid, to commit suicide.
A truly dishonorable act that desecrated their duel.
In his final moments, Diarmuid looked at Artoria—and at her Master, Kiritsugu.
Blood tears streamed down his face.
He uttered a final curse.
"I curse the Holy Grail… and your wishes, that they be accompanied by disaster."
But it didn't end there.
Even after forcing Kayneth to kill his own Servant, Kiritsugu—while technically keeping his promise not to "personally" kill him—had someone else shoot Kayneth and Sola.
A noble like Kayneth—
How could he understand such wordplay from someone who crawled out of the gutter?
Viewers were furious.
And the episode didn't stop there—
Next came Kotomine Kirei, betraying and killing his own mentor, Tokiomi Tohsaka.
This episode left countless 'Fate/Zero' fans in stunned silence.
That night—
Many were reminded of the emotional trauma from Su Yan's previous works.
That familiar feeling—
Had returned.
["What the hell?! He just died like that?"]
["Kayneth might be annoying, but he didn't really do anything that wrong, right? He just looked down on others. Why give him such a tragic ending?"]
["I don't mind Kayneth dying—it's the Holy Grail War, people are supposed to die. But why did Diarmuid have to die like that? He just wanted a proper knight's duel with Artoria. He wanted to escape his tragic fate. And in the end—Kiritsugu, you bastard!"]
["Most disgusting male lead in Su Yan's works. Forget knightly honor—this guy doesn't even have basic integrity. Said he'd spare Kayneth, then had someone else shoot him. What kind of nonsense is that?"]
["I'm pissed. I feel bad for Artoria. The most honorable knight ends up serving such a shameless Master. That's an insult to her."]
["In episode 1, Kiritsugu talked about world peace and ending war. I thought he was just a bit extreme—but now? He's just a hypocrite spouting nonsense. Someone like this wants peace? Disgusting."]
["If this show didn't have Artoria, I'd have dropped it already."]
["And Tokiomi too. I used to think he was a hypocrite, but now he doesn't even seem that bad. Giving Sakura away was at least for her future. And Kirei? Killing his own teacher for no reason? That's just sick."]
["Just because of 'pleasure'? Killing his mentor just to figure out what he wants? That's insane."]
["People like that are the scariest. The hardest murder cases to solve are random killings—no motive, no connection. Kirei is exactly that. Tokiomi never imagined Kirei would turn on him because there was nothing to gain—but he still did it."]
["This Holy Grail War is just a bunch of lunatics fighting each other."]
["Can Artoria break her contract with Kiritsugu? The only normal person in this war is Waver. Let her join him and fight alongside Alexander!"]
["This is all that old sadist's fault! Only a twisted writer could come up with such twisted characters."]
["Everything is the old sadist's fault!"]
["Everything is the old sadist's fault!"]
["Wait… is this show about to turn depressing? This episode feels completely different."]
—
If the turning point of 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica' was that shocking early moment—
Then, for 'Fate/Zero', the tonal shift began with episode 9.
Before this, it felt like a passionate battle story.
Now—
It felt like a war between broken minds.
Overnight, Kotomine Kirei and Kiritsugu Emiya rose to become the most hated male characters of the season, ranking first and second, respectively.
And Su Yan's comment section—
Which hadn't faced large-scale backlash in a long time—
It was once again flooded with criticism.