After spending a few extra days traveling around, it wasn't until March 18th that Lin Zhiyan returned to Musashino City, Tokyo.
After a one-week hiatus, episode 22 of the second season of A Certain Magical Index aired as usual. However, because of the one-week delay, the anime, which was originally scheduled to finish on March 25th, would now conclude on April 1st.
Although Shirobako was also delayed by one week, it didn't have this issue. Since it started airing a week earlier, it would finish right on March 26th, without being pushed into April.
On March 19th, episode 23 of Shirobako was broadcast. This episode could be considered quite compelling, perhaps even more so than the final episode, as the finale was mainly for wrapping things up and didn't actually contain much content.
In the previous episodes, although the Musashino Animation company, where the main character worked, frequently encountered all sorts of problems, things generally went smoothly.
Then, at the end of episode 22, a sudden major problem arose. The Third Aerial Girls Squad, being an anime adaptation of a manga, had already begun production on its final episode when they suddenly received an email from the author requesting a change to the ending.
In the manga, the main character has been unable to fly for a long time. Since the manga is still ongoing and has not yet concluded, this isn't an issue. However, if the anime were to end on such a low note, with the main character unable to fly, audiences would likely find it hard to accept—even if they knew it was only the first season and that a second or third season might follow.
The production staff for the anime also found this unacceptable, which is why they initially decided to create an ending where the main character takes flight again.
At first, they sent this proposed ending to the manga publishing house, and the editor-in-chief said it was fine and to proceed with it. However, after they started working on it, the original author saw the plans and demanded that the production team not create an original ending, insisting that it must end with the main character unable to fly.
If they were to do that, while the original author might be fine with it, the animation production company would absolutely be blasted with criticism.
The entire animation production staff was unable to accept this either.
The director, Seiichi Kinoshita, thought they had reached a dead end, until he noticed the original author's email address. He tried sending an email, and to his surprise, he received an immediate reply and arranged to meet with the author.
After meeting, the two talked and finally reached a consensus: the main character of the anime The Third Aerial Girls Squad would fly again, but on the condition that a new character, Lucy—Catherine's sister from the main cast—would be added.
During the auditions for The Third Aerial Girls Squad, the main character's friend, rookie voice actor Shizuka Sakaki, had auditioned and left a good impression on the director, Seiichi Kinoshita. However, she lacked experience and fame, and her voice was a bit too young, so she couldn't compete with the others and was ultimately rejected.
In this anime, the main character is a production manager, Ema Yasuhara is a key animator, and the other two, Midori Imai and Misa Toudou, participated in scriptwriting and 3D outsourcing, respectively.
In other words, all four of them participated in the production of this anime; only Shizuka Sakaki failed to be a part of it because she didn't pass the audition.
When they first found out about this, Shizuka Sakaki acted as if she didn't care, but she was definitely sad inside. The other four felt a bit awkward about it, but aside from comforting her, there was nothing else they could do.
That particular part of the content was quite heart-wrenching, and it earned Lin Zhiyan quite a bit of backlash.
Then, in this twenty-third episode, because a new character, Lucy, was added—who happens to be Catherine's younger sister—the supervising director, Seiichi Kinoshita, immediately thought of Shizuka Sakaki. So, there was no need for auditions; he directly called Shizuka Sakaki to voice Lucy.
The main character, acting as the production manager, also attended the final recording session. However, she didn't know at first that the person voicing Lucy was her close friend, Shizuka Sakaki. Therefore, when Shizuka Sakaki entered the recording booth and greeted the staff, she was taken aback.
Afterward, the recording began.
Inside the recording booth, Shizuka Sakaki voiced the character of Lucy very fluently.
At first, the main character tried to hold back her surging emotions and listened carefully, until the very last line Shizuka Sakaki delivered for Lucy: "I feel like I'm one step closer to my dream now."
As heartbreaking as it was before, this moment was equally touching, to the point where the main character in the control room could no longer hold back her tears.
When the recording session ended, Shizuka Sakaki turned around to look over. She hurriedly used her script to cover her face, lowered her head, and covered her mouth to keep from sobbing aloud, as tears fell like raindrops, one drop after another.
This was the most moving moment in the entire Shirobako series.
The twenty-third episode of the anime ended right there.
By this time, more than a week had passed since the earthquake. While it couldn't be said that the shadow cast by the earthquake over the people in eastern Japan had completely dissipated, the attention on the earthquake had at least decreased. Apart from those who had been left homeless, most people were going about their daily lives as usual.
People continued to watch anime as they always did, and they continued to discuss it as usual.
Some, in fact, were unable to work due to the earthquake's impact, giving them more time to watch television and participate in online discussions. Under these circumstances, the level of discussion not only didn't drop but instead became even higher.
This was exactly the case with Shirobako.
The moment the twenty-third episode of the anime finished airing, the internet was already buzzing with discussion:
"I've followed this from the very first episode without missing a single one. Watching Shizuka hit wall after wall on her path to becoming a voice actor, while everyone else got to work on the same anime, it just broke my heart. I honestly thought she wouldn't have a chance even in the final two episodes, so finding out she managed to participate in the same production in such a way—it's just so moving."
"Yeah, because the original creator rejected the original ending, they had to scrap everything and start over. I was wondering why that Nogame-sensei was being so difficult, but now I see it was all to give Shizuka an opportunity. I totally misunderstood him."
"I was just feeling a little moved, but the moment the main character in the anime started crying, I couldn't hold it back anymore. Waaaah~"
"The beauty of animation is perfectly embodied in this episode. It's truly a great anime."
"Back when the first episode aired, when the main characters said they wanted to make an anime together one day, I thought it was just like in K-On!, just a slogan they were shouting. I never expected them to actually pull it off in the end."
"It feels like Old Thief Lin is getting more restrained with the depressing stuff, but he's definitely getting more skilled at making us cry."
"It's definitely a tear-jerker."
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