A blog post appeared online:
"Today I had the honor of meeting Mr. Lin Zhiyan, the Supervising Director of L.S. Production, the creative genius behind Death Note, Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion, and Gurren Lagann. He's as handsome as he is on TV—I almost turned into a fangirl and asked for his autograph (though I ended up getting one anyway, lol).
Also, with Mr. Hayashi's permission, I can reveal that his new animation project is a magical girl series! He said he wants to create the world's most healing animation. I can't wait!"
The author of this blog post was, of course, Aoki Ume. Since her account was verified, there was no need to guess who the author was.
Aoki Ume's fans saw the post immediately and left comments:
"Is he really that handsome?"
"Where did you run into him? Was it a work-related matter?"
"The world's most healing animation? Could it be that Mr. Hayashi's new project is looking for Teacher Ume to design the characters?"
"No way! Teacher Ume has been a professional for a while, but her popularity still pales in comparison to those senior manga artists. Why would they ask her to design the characters?"
"I think so too, but I'll still hold out hope. What if it's actually true?"
With few fans, there weren't many comments.
However, Lin Zhiyan had so many fans that it was inevitable someone would see Aoki Ume's online journal. The post was soon shared on forums, sparking widespread discussion:
"Lord Hayashi's new animation..."
"Exactly! Magical girl anime is such a niche genre. Why would he ever make something like that unless he's completely gone off the rails and abandoned all commercial sense?"
"Magical girl anime? That's basically for elementary school kids. They don't have much spending power. It makes no sense for him to make an anime like that."
"The only magical girl anime I recognize is Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha. Even though it's primarily aimed at kids, teens can watch it too. At least it's not as childish."
"Forget the genre for now. The idea of creating the world's most healing anime... that actually seems somewhat plausible."
"After three straight dark anime, has Old Thief Lin finally developed a conscience? Good. I'll set aside my blade for now and let you live a little longer."
"If it's truly a healing anime, I'll watch it no matter what—magical girl or not."
Aoki Ume herself made no comment on whether she was the original character designer for Puella Magi Madoka Magica. Some suspected she was spreading false rumors, but she didn't step forward to refute them.
After posting her blog entry, she continued her daily manga work while also finding time to create the character designs for Puella Magi Madoka Magica, based on the character profiles provided by Lin Zhiyan.
As for Lin Zhiyan, he was exactly what he wanted. He had no intention of stepping forward to confirm or deny anything.
Although the project had been greenlit, he didn't immediately rush into production.
After entering 2005, he spent the first two months busy with the production of Kill la Kill and Summer Wars. He also spent considerable time discussing new animation ideas with Makoto Shinkai after The Place Promised in Our Early Days—ideas that would eventually become 5 Centimeters Per Second.
He participated in the project and even lent some of his staff to assist Makoto Shinkai.
Summer Wars was scheduled for release on July 29, 2005, while Kill la Kill would begin airing in July and run until December.
Puella Magi Madoka Magica, on the other hand, was slated for a January 2006 premiere.
One reason for avoiding Kill la Kill was to prevent competing with another work from the same animation company during the same broadcast period. The other reason was that he wanted to make Puella Magi Madoka Magica the first high-definition television anime in Japan.
In another timeline, Japan's first high-definition television anime was Mobile Suit Gundam 00, which premiered in October 2007. However, the project for this anime had been in development since 2006.
As for HD animation technology, it wasn't particularly difficult to implement. Animated films released in theaters already had higher resolution and stricter quality standards.
So, why weren't there any high-definition television anime before Mobile Suit Gundam 00?
Several reasons contributed to this. Firstly, creating HD content was pointless without HD broadcasting. Viewers had to tune into dedicated HD channels; otherwise, even a high-definition production would be broadcast in standard definition.
Although Japan had been researching high-definition television technology since the 1980s and 1990s, by 2006, there were only about twenty HD channels—a relatively small number. Before 2006, there were even fewer.
By 2009, the number of high-definition channels had increased to over a hundred. This is why many viewers felt that the quality of Japanese animation had generally improved and become more refined starting in 2009.
With HD channels already becoming widespread, producing standard-definition animation would be unacceptable. It would look visibly cheap and be heavily criticized unless aired on non-HD channels.
TV stations had long had HD channels and the necessary technology. However, there was another problem: producing HD animation required more time, effort, and money.
Major animation companies were constantly trying to cut costs when producing their shows. After all, the audience didn't have particularly high expectations; a quick SD animation would suffice. Why bother with such meticulous work?
Even if the Supervising Director and staff wanted to produce HD animation, the company president, the animation planning representative, and the investors had no interest. They might even want to kill anyone who suggested such a thing.
Spending more money and taking on greater risks, with no guarantee of increased profits—in fact, it was more likely to be a thankless task.
Furthermore, high-definition production and playback weren't the end of the story. Viewers' televisions also needed to support high-definition resolution. Otherwise, even if the animation was produced and broadcast in HD, viewers would still see standard-definition animation.
In 2006, although Japan already had over a million HDTVs, this number was still insufficient. This meant that even with HD production and playback, only a million or so TVs could display the HD version; others would still see the standard-definition version.
Under these circumstances, it made little sense for most animation companies to invest in HD.
Wouldn't it be more profitable to use that money to produce several more TV animations?
Lin Zhiyan was different. As President of his company, he personally oversaw the animation's planning and supervision. Moreover, Death Note, Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion, and Gurren Lagann had earned him immense profits.
With a net worth approaching ten billion yen, spending one billion yen on Puella Magi Madoka Magica was pocket change for him.
If you're going to play, play big.
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