L.S Produ.
Lin Zhiyan was busy with the production of the animation Shirobako when he suddenly received a phone call.
It was from Kyoji Mizushima.
As soon as he picked up, he heard Mizushima say, "Lin, what happened to the 'very reliable' director Seiichi Kinoshita that you said was based on me? I watched your Shirobako, and I don't feel that Seiichi Kinoshita is reliable at all."
Lin Zhiyan paused for a moment before retorting, "Did I ever say that Seiichi Kinoshita was 'very reliable'?"
"Didn't you?"
"What I said was that although he has a few minor flaws, he's reasonably reliable. And since you've watched the animation, you should know that the Seiichi Kinoshita in it is indeed reasonably reliable in terms of his directorial ability. As for the part where he wants to scrap and redraw a scene on a whim because of some internal idea he had—that counts as a minor flaw, but isn't it also a good thing? It can't be called unreliable, can it?"
"Uh..."
"Also, while the character of Seiichi Kinoshita is based on you, his experiences aren't entirely based on yours. I'll have someone post a clarification on the internet in a while, so you don't need to worry about it affecting your reputation."
"O...okay."
After hanging up the phone, Lin Zhiyan continued to busy himself.
It wasn't until his break at noon that he finally had time to check on the situation with the new anime for the October season.
Unlike 2008 and 2009, the anime that started airing in October 2010 were generally not very strong. The two anime produced by L.S Produ, Shirobako and A Certain Magical Index II, were both able to occupy spots in the top three of the popularity rankings.
It was just a pity that the most popular anime after airing wasn't Shirobako or A Certain Magical Index II, but another one: the light novel adaptation Oreimo, or My Little Sister Can't Be This Cute!.
Judging solely from the original light novels, the popularity and sales of Oreimo couldn't compare to Index. Moreover, the final volume of the "Old Testament Arc" of the Index novels had just been released at the beginning of October, and the first volume of the "New Testament Arc" would be released in a few months, which could basically be considered its peak period for sales.
Before the anime started airing, many viewers thought the most popular anime of this season would be between Shirobako and A Certain Magical Index II.
Therefore, when Tatsuya Ochiai, the production assistant in the first episode of the Shirobako anime, said that based on audience interest, people should be watching A Certain Scientific Railgun, no one felt anything was amiss; after all, he couldn't very well say they should be watching Shirobako.
It was only when the Oreimo anime aired that a large number of "imouto-con" fans who hadn't read the original work were drawn in. The result was that this anime, which had less pre-broadcast buzz than Shirobako and the second season of A Certain Magical Index, quickly staged a comeback to become the most popular anime of the season.
Initially, Lin Zhiyan didn't think much of it, because although they had been surpassed, the popularity gap between the three anime wasn't that large. However, after watching other anime that October, he couldn't help but feel a bit wry, because there was actually another "imouto-con" anime that October.
It was an anime airing on the AT-X channel that was, in some ways, even more famous than Oreimo—Yosuga no Sora.
However, aside from whether or not it crossed the line, there was another difference: Yosuga no Sora was an anime adapted from a galgame. The anime adapted several routes from the game, and Sora-chan was only the heroine of the final route. Although she appeared throughout the series, she wasn't the only heroine, so calling it an "imouto-con" anime wasn't entirely accurate.
At least in early October, when the various anime had only just begun airing a few episodes, not many people considered Yosuga no Sora a "siscon" anime, but rather a large-scale, pay-per-view H-anime.
Regardless, this October was quite special; it was unprecedented for otaku-level and mainstream "siscon" masterpieces to air in the same season.
Of course, Lin Zhiyan only felt a bit amused by this.
Even if Yosuga no Sora managed to break into the mainstream later on, its overall popularity would still not surpass that of Shirobako or the second season of A Certain Magical Index.
There was no need to worry about that.
The only real competitor was Oreimo.
However, although Oreimo surpassed Shirobako and the second season of A Certain Magical Index in popularity, it didn't exceed them by much. In particular, Shirobako, thanks to the boost from Lin Zhiyan's personal popularity and a significant investment in promotion, was much more popular than the original version in the other timeline, nearly reaching the level of a super-popular anime.
In other words, although "Shirobako" currently only holds second place on the popularity chart, having been overtaken by "Oreimo," it is not impossible for it to reclaim the number one spot.
He just needs to put more effort into promotion.
How to further boost the popularity of the anime "Shirobako" is a question Lin Zhiyan needs to study.
He checked various online discussions and had the publicity department gather relevant data. After carefully studying it, he roughly had an idea.
If one were to point out the problem with this anime, it would probably be the subject matter.
Workplace-themed stories, after all, are considered a less popular genre in anime.
As anime viewers, people actually prefer watching exciting battles, preferably with high-octane, explosive scenes. In this regard, "Shirobako" has a natural disadvantage.
Of course, "Oreimo" doesn't have high-octane, explosive scenes either, but this anime successfully captures the psychology of "imouto" (sister) lovers. Among male anime fans, a significant portion are "imouto" enthusiasts, especially those who don't have a younger sister in real life. They are more easily drawn into "Oreimo" and become loyal fans of the show.
"The Great Genetic Era"
To be frank, this animation has a relatively high "otaku" appeal, making it easier to gain the support of loyal fans.
"Shirobako" doesn't have this quality. In fact, it's even less of an "otaku-oriented" animation than those aired on Fuji TV's noitaminA block. If it weren't about animation production, but instead depicted a different workplace—like a forensic pathologist or a lawyer—it would be indistinguishable from a live-action TV drama.
The branding of the "L.S Produ 10th Anniversary Project" and Lin Zhiyan's personal popularity can give this animation a bit of a boost, making things relatively better. If it were relying solely on the animation itself, going head-to-head with "Oreimo" would be impossible; even with high quality, it wouldn't matter.
Since its core fanbase can't compete with "Oreimo," the only option is to put more effort into expanding the audience base, especially by attracting viewers of Fuji TV's noitaminA block, as a portion of them should be able to appreciate this animation.
Targeted promotion is needed, along with increased investment in advertising.
With the direction clarified, Lin Zhiyan called over the head of the promotion department to give various instructions.
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