New Century Anime Warrior

Chapter 105 The Ratings Go Wild

After working overtime to finish dealing with "0079", Si Hua is now truly ready to devote himself fully to the final sprint of Frozen.

Amidst all the turmoil and bloodshed, the first episode of "Mobile Suit Gundam 0079" was officially released.

Because the content was considered to contain a large number of war and political elements, Higurashi felt that the work might be more suitable for adults, so the first run was scheduled for late-night screenings.

Of course, it's also because the mecha sci-fi genre is weak now, and it has been skewed by the industry's trend towards children's content. When people think of robot works, they think of deus ex machina works with various sci-fi veneers.

Mecha, right?

"Waaaah, I guessed wrong! It's not the Higurashi version's art style at all. I thought I was going to have some fun!"

"That's perfectly normal. That retro art style doesn't look like a proper animated work."

"It's all propaganda. These two groups are clearly treating us like dirt and messing with us."

"But to be fair, the new art style is really nice, and the warships and colony satellites are quite exquisite."

"Yes, it doesn't have that feeling of large patches of color painting ancient armor trying to call it mecha, it's very realistic."

"I envy those of you who can see the full movie right away. People in China won't be able to see it until tomorrow night."

"Just wait and see, there's really nothing we can do about it."

"The final shot of the Gundam standing on the battlefield, taken from below, was absolutely stunning."

"Is this the Gundam standing tall on the earth that was mentioned in the trailer?"

"Have you guys noticed that this complete Gundam standing on the ground, with its perspective and camera movement, is almost identical to that video of the little thief standing angrily on the table?"

"You know what, you really shouldn't tell!"

"Alright, case solved. This video was filmed by the thief himself, and I even suspect that he spread those so-called rumors himself."

"Hahaha, awesome! There's even such a thing!"

Why do I feel like he's capable of doing something like that?

"Be confident, and let go of your feelings."

"666, I admit he's more flamboyant."

Perhaps because they've witnessed Si Hua's incredible performance all along, Chinese netizens don't have much of an idol filter for him and can even tease and criticize him, calling him "Little Thief."

But it's different for foreign audiences who haven't been exposed to such culture.

Especially in the Japanese anime and manga community, apart from a small number of hardcore illustrator fans, most of them still remember Si Hua from "5 Centimeters Per Second".

Many people don't even know that the previously very popular song "Beautiful Momo" was written by Tsukasa Kadoya.

The biggest impression that the public in the island nation has of Si Hua is his widely publicized title as Disney's first Chinese co-creative director.

These netizens were suddenly surprised to discover that there were such amazing people among Asians, and their island nation's unique admiration for the strong instantly surged, causing them to go crazy.

"Huh? You guys didn't know that Si-kun was originally famous for drawing science fiction and mecha?"

"Si Jun also has a title: the Empire's Fastest Mechanical Painter, didn't you guys know? He doesn't even need a ruler to draw machines!"

"Hand drawn sage!"

"If I remember correctly, he even has a column on Pixiv! He drew so many three-view drawings of battleships and mechs, and every single one looks like it was computer-generated!"

"What?! Please guide me to see this!"

"Huh? He's an illustrator's wife? Isn't he the animation director?"

"I remember he also composes music. He wrote the hit song 'Beautiful Me' that topped the Oricon charts for a long time! His Aibo Linlin-chan is especially beautiful!"

"This song I listen to every day was actually written by him?!"

"Oh, everyone, have you forgotten something? Si-kun is also a game producer. He just announced a new game project that supposedly has a very large world-building."

"Is this what makes Daddy Country so terrifying? Every random person they pull out is an all-around genius!"

Higurashi Publishing, Content Strategy Department.

Takashi Sasaki is giving a report to the company president who is on a business trip.

"Yes, President! The ratings for the first episode were very good; the opening episode's ratings have already far exceeded the average ratings for a typical late-night anime."

"When the first episode ended, it once reached 2.5%, and judging from tonight's data alone, it has already reached the level of the anime of the year."

"The data report is out. From the opening music, the ratings have been rising sharply, especially the scene where the protagonist Amuro activates the Gundam, which reached its peak."

"Yes, you're right, Si-kun's music really adds to the score."

"Don't worry, the second season is also in the works. The script and setting materials that Si-kun provided are very complete, and our production is going smoothly."

"Yes, we've already contacted Director Kaname, and the plans for peripherals like models and music have already started."

"Hi! I'll notify all department heads now to attend tomorrow's performance boosting meeting."

"We will surely win! See you later, President!"

After letting out a long sigh, Takashi Sasaki hung up the landline.

The successful launch of Gundam brought him a real sense of relief.

Let alone before the launch, the team was already filled with anxiety from the moment they received the script, especially since the script came from a foreign kid.

Even if he creates a love story that is said to be the most respectful of island culture, in the eyes of many veterans, he is just an unreliable junior.

After all, in these people's minds, the robot theme has been a rehash of old ideas and has fallen to the point where no one cares about it anymore.

Moreover, given the serious and heavy nature of the script, and the fact that it deals with an anti-war theme that many Japanese people find taboo, a pessimistic atmosphere permeated Higurashi Publishing, with some even fearing that the company would collapse.

If it weren't for the task assigned by the government, many people would have given up.

"Director Saegusa, look! It's still rising! The ratings have already broken 2!"

Unlike Takashi Sasaki, who stayed alone in his office, Kentaro Saegusa led his entire team to watch the show immediately and wait for the ratings to be released.

When they saw the viewership rating start at 1.8%, many members of the production team were already in a state of excitement.

"We made the right bet. It turns out it wasn't that the audience didn't want robot anime."

Kentaro Saegusa spoke to the heads of various groups who were monitoring the ratings together, his expression complex.

"So what exactly did we do wrong in the past?"

The popularity of "0079" spread from the island nation and continued until the evening of the following day.

The first wave of praise was overwhelming.

This has generated considerable anticipation among science fiction fans worldwide.

Many netizens outside of Japan, even before watching the full episode, have already started listening to the theme song "Unicorn" on repeat.

Even without the Gundam storyline, this theme song alone is worthy of being called a masterpiece.

This kind of epic-style instrumental music is rarely heard in the past, let alone written by a Chinese person, which is very rare among music creators.

"Look, so many industry insiders from island nations have posted comments!"

"【A once-in-a-decade mecha battle anime】, wow, that's a really high compliment."

"【To achieve godhood solely through opening themes】, wow, and that's a musician's assessment."

"The reviews are already going to be recorded in history. That's how much the island nation loves this anime. And this is only the first episode!"

Although Chinese viewers were unable to see the full episodes immediately, the series still garnered significant attention due to its being a long-running anime primarily produced by Chinese creators.

While anxiously waiting, they kept sharing the high ratings from the island nation online, making their sense of pride tangible.

Therefore, after it was officially launched on major video websites, the discussion exploded once again.

In particular, many people have discovered that this science fiction animation is not the usual good versus evil story.

Many people are more excited when the works truly depict war, humanity, and politics.

Mecha enthusiast? Sci-fi enthusiast?

No, no, no, at this moment we are all political savvy.

Robots are nowhere near as interesting as politics!

So from the very first episode, everyone started scrutinizing the world-building and political metaphors behind the work through various details.

There are many discussions about the Federation's political system, Zeon's military objectives, and why the story begins in Side 7.

According to the plot, the two sides have been at it for quite some time, making people even more curious about how the previous political situation has developed.

One of the most popular posts was a joke about the recruit in the first episode who disregarded orders, acted on his own, and even dragged his captain into a military adventure.

Netizens commented that this was too typical, truly the kind of "subordinate insubordination" and "military unilateralism" that island nations could pull off.

behavior.

Some netizens have even begun to predict that Zeon will inevitably be defeated by the attacks and divisions among the national leaders.

Many netizens even went so far as to bypass the Great Firewall to discuss these viewpoints with Japanese viewers, which directly broke many people's hearts.

Faced with such incredible viewership and buzz, many media outlets and industry peers couldn't help but marvel.

Is a "new universal century" about to begin?