On December 3rd, the "K-On!" theatrical film was released.
Its opening week box office exceeded 300 million yen.
One month after release, the box office had steadily surpassed 1 billion yen and was constantly pushing towards the 2 billion yen mark.
At the same time, the October anime "Fate/Zero" also achieved quite good results with its BD and DVD sales, which were not much different from the sales figures of the first season of "K-On!". The final average volume sales were certain to be over 50,000.
Both were quite successful.
In January of 2012, the fourth season of "Natsume's Book of Friends" began airing.
Logically, by the fourth season, popularity should have greatly diminished, but even by this season, the anime's popularity remained strong. While it couldn't be said that there was absolutely no loss of core fans, the attrition was minimal.
It was yet another successful anime.
However, even more successful were the second season of "Fate/Zero" in April and "Girls und Panzer" in July, both of which were super popular chart-topping works.
While L.S dominated the TV anime market, Lin Zhiyan's main focus was, of course, on the anime "Your Name".
Although the title and theme of the anime remained unrevealed, bits of information were gradually released, all indicating that it would be a "major production," which only heightened the anticipation among Lin Zhiyan's fans.
Lin Zhiyan had originally been working through production and promotion step-by-step, never thinking that his anime "Your Name" would encounter any problems, until one day he saw the promotional poster for "The Wind Rises."
Lin Zhiyan had, of course, seen Hayao Miyazaki's anime before, but he had been so focused on making "Your Name" that it hadn't even occurred to him that "The Wind Rises" was also a 2013 anime.
Fortunately, "The Wind Rises" was not scheduled for release until late July. Not only had Lin Zhiyan produced "Your Name" three years ahead of schedule, but he had also moved its release date from August to early May, effectively giving "Your Name" at least two and a half months to sweep up box office revenue before "The Wind Rises" was released.
If "Your Name" had been released in August like the original version, it would have clashed with Hayao Miyazaki's "The Wind Rises," and in the end, it would most likely have resulted in both sides suffering.
Not to mention August; in reality, even if it were released in early May, it could not be said that it would be completely unaffected by "The Wind Rises." Even though Lin Zhiyan's reputation in the animation industry was far greater than Makoto Shinkai's before he made "Your Name" in another timeline, it would likely be difficult to reach the original's box office results.
It's a bit of a pity, but it could not be helped. After all, "Your Name" was not suitable for a release before May, and if it were delayed, it would have to be pushed back until '14, which was too long. It was more appropriate to follow the established plan and release it in early May of '13.
Moreover, only Lin Zhiyan knew in his heart that it would be affected by "The Wind Rises." Besides him, no one else thought the release of "The Wind Rises" would have any impact on the box office of Lin Zhiyan's animation. After all, one was in early May and the other in late July; by that time, a typical animation would basically be finished with its theatrical run after three months.
At that time, who could have imagined the terrifying potential of "Your Name"?
Not just the public, but Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli did not even consider Lin Zhiyan's animation a rival, and both were proceeding with their promotions as normal.
For instance, regarding voice casting, it was announced that Hideaki Anno had been brought in to voice the male lead, while the heroine, Naoko, would be voiced by Miori Takimoto, the star of the 2010 morning drama "Teppan." Additionally, well-known figures from film, television, music, and the entertainment industry, such as Masahiko Nishimura, Morio Kazama, Keiko Takeshita, and Mansai Nomura, also joined the cast.
Then there are the animation and art directors, both of whom worked on "Spirited Away" and "Howl's Moving Castle," while the music is once again in the hands of Hayao Miyazaki's longtime collaborator, Joe Hisaishi.
In short, the lineup is incredibly powerful.
And this was just the initial promotion for "The Wind Rises," not even the pre-release campaign.
The pre-release promotion would only be even more formidable.
For example, Hayao Miyazaki would declare that this would be his final feature-length animated film, claiming that upon seeing the finished version of "The Wind Rises," he was moved to tears—the first time one of his own films had ever made him cry.
Although Hayao Miyazaki's "The Wind Rises" was a competitor for Lin Zhiyan, he couldn't bring himself to resort to any underhanded tactics. After all, while Miyazaki might be considered a tyrant within Studio Ghibli, his integrity regarding his animation work and certain other aspects of his character was beyond reproach.
It would certainly affect the box office of "Your Name" when the time comes, but there was no choice but to compete normally.
In August, an animated theatrical film for "A Certain Magical Index," produced by L.S., was released in theaters.
Its box office performance definitely couldn't compare to the "K-On!" theatrical film, but it was barely passable.
Moreover, this theatrical film could also be considered a warm-up for "A Certain Scientific Railgun," which was set to air in October, as "Railgun" was also part of the "Index" series.
At the beginning of its theatrical run, it was naturally a key focus of L.S.'s publicity department.
However, after it had been in theaters for more than a month, and before the film had even finished its run, Lin Zhiyan had the initial promotional poster for "Your Name" released to the public.
The image chosen for the poster was of the main female character, Mitsuha Miyamizu, wearing a yukata and standing under the night sky, watching a comet streak across the horizon, giving a very beautiful and aesthetic feeling.
Of course, it also included information about the production, with special note given to "the highly anticipated latest work from super-popular director Lin Zhiyan."
As for the content, information wasn't revealed that early, but while people previously couldn't be sure if Lin Zhiyan's new animation would be a romance, after knowing the name of the new animation and seeing the content of the promotional poster, there was no longer any doubt.
If "Your Name" is the title of the animation, what kind of animation could it be if not a romance?
The image chosen for the promotional poster certainly gives the impression of a romance-themed animation.
Lin Zhiyan had never made an animation primarily focused on romance before, but since Makoto Shinkai was collaborating on the production, it brought to mind the 2006 film 5 Centimeters Per Second. However, in that case, it was Makoto Shinkai serving as the Supervising Director, with Lin Zhiyan collaborating on the production and participating in the story composition; now, it is the reverse situation.
Furthermore, although Lin Zhiyan had indeed never made an animation primarily focused on romance, every one of his animations has been very successful. Moreover, he changes themes with every animation he makes, giving people the feeling that he can succeed with any kind of animation, which has naturally led to some anticipation among the audience.
Additionally, the promotional poster is very aesthetically pleasing, and the romance genre fits very well with an aesthetic style. Even for those who don't know Lin Zhiyan, just looking at the promotional poster would pique some people's interest.
As a result, even with more than half a year left before the movie's official release, some people are already looking forward to it.
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