"It seems many viewers don't quite agree with my opinion, but I believe the facts will provide the answer. Those who disrespect the story's creators will ultimately swallow the bitter fruit."
Listening to the slight murmurs from the audience, Tang Sanshui remained noncommittal.
Although the production team needed to escalate conflicts to attract viewership, this didn't mean they wanted the mentors and audience to be too confrontational. So, upon sensing that things were getting a bit out of hand, Host Fang Yuan unhesitatingly and swiftly took back control.
"Alright! We thank our Teacher Tang Sanshui for his sharp critique. The creator's attitude is indeed a very important issue, but we should definitely return to the story," he said, quickly moving the topic along with his microphone:
"I see that our Teacher Dong Xuelian and Teacher Qihai both seem very focused on the plot, but since they are teachers on stage, they should probably share their opinions a bit more."
"Hmm, ah, you're right," Dong Xuelian nodded.
"Then I'll also share my thoughts."
"Although I didn't really understand much, whether it was this... male protagonist or the chuunibyou stuff, many of the scenes were unclear. But judging by everyone's reactions, it must be very interesting, right?"
She tilted her head, seemingly having finished her comments.
"Mm, mm, I see. Is our Teacher Dong Xuelian also voting 'interesting'?" Seeing that she didn't seem to intend to continue her evaluation, and despite having some opinions on her somewhat perfunctory attitude, Host Fang Yuan, being just a Host, quickly and helplessly took over the conversation to avoid an awkward silence:
"Finally, let's hear Miss Qihai's opinion!"
Click, click, click—
The camera quickly switched, and Qihai's pretty face appeared in the center of the screen.
"Ah... that..." She slowly raised her hand: "...Opinion on what again?"
"No, it's not because I wasn't watching seriously. It's just that if I lose focus for even a moment, I can't quite understand what he's talking about anymore."
Qihai gestured with her hands, up and down.
"One moment I wasn't paying attention, and the male protagonist seemed to start shouting. Another moment I wasn't paying attention, and someone seemed to have died. Is it really okay for the first episode to be like this?"
"I think, for anime, it should really be more geared towards the general public, at least simpler and easier to understand, allowing people to quickly grasp the plot's development."
"Um, mm, I mean, the camera cuts too fast. I hope there can be some improvement later."
"..."
A rare moment of brief silence fell upon the judges' panel.
Fortunately, Host Fang Yuan's excellent professionalism allowed him to quickly recover, and he swiftly let out a laugh.
"Ah haha, a very interesting perspective, Miss Qihai."
"Alright! Those were all the guests' evaluations for this contestant. The competition continues! Let's turn our attention to the other contestants!"
In truth, he wasn't unable to understand the performance of these two female guests at the moment.
From the very beginning, their positioning wasn't as professional judges, let alone to provide any serious critiques.
The production team invited them for their fans; what they wanted was their current performance.
Only this way could they better find ways to create buzz, and only their fans would tirelessly debate with other viewers.
So, the less professional they acted, the happier the director would probably be.
However, he genuinely hadn't expected it to be so... indescribable.
One not understanding the plot was one thing, but the other couldn't even seem to pay close attention... And this was just the beginning of the show!
Host Fang Yuan shook his head inwardly, calmed himself, and began operating the control panel.
The camera started switching between the other contestants' creation rooms.
If nothing unexpected happened, he should continue to find highlights, trying his best to keep the overall emotional tone of the show sufficiently high, with enough content output at every moment.
But unfortunately, this was impossible.
"Ah... indeed, the other contestants' creation speed is still quite slow. Although contestant Xin Mi and contestant Xia Chun, who were previously highly anticipated, have completed most of their settings, they still seem to be struggling with the overall planning of the script," Host Fang Yuan sighed:
"Even with a powerful tool like the 'Consciousness Editing Anime Production Machine,' which drastically condenses most of the complex work, for creators, what kind of story to create and from what angle to begin remains a challenge."
Although Host Fang Yuan considered his professionalism to be very high, in the current situation, without sufficient content, it was indeed difficult to forcibly retain the audience.
While he had many ways to stir up conversation again, using up all the tricks at the very beginning of the show would make things too awkward if anticipated works later encountered problems.
So, he had actually already prepared for a drop in popularity.
But as he continued to switch between the live streams of various contestants, he suddenly discovered that in Hua Jian's live room, steins;gate, which was supposed to take some time to brew after the ending song before continuing creation... was actually starting to play the second episode?!
"Such fast creation?!" he exclaimed subconsciously.
Not just him, Uncle Big Nose, Cowboy Hao, and Teacher Tang Sanshui all showed joy, nodded repeatedly, and raised their eyebrows respectively, each expressing a certain degree of surprise.
The audience below widened their eyes even further.
—"Holy cow, awesome!"
—"So fast!"
—"Nice!"
—"Actually, I think Qihai has a point."
—"Who the hell cares about that? I'm watching steins;gate episode two. You go watch your Qihai."
—"Makise Kurisu! Makise Kurisu! Makise Kurisu!"
—"By the way, she hasn't been on screen for long, so why are you guys so obsessed with this character? I can't quite understand it."
—"Because she wears black stockings."
And the live comments, with a whoosh, exploded.
[What do you call a Western quick-draw artist?!]
[Universal! Celebration!]
[Who understands, my friends? No need to wait a week for updates, awesome!]
[What? Too fast-paced? Can't understand the plot? The screen cuts too quickly, and if you're not careful, you can't understand it? But he updates continuously!]
[I declare, the champion has already been decided!]
[Urgent urgent urgent urgent urgent urgent urgent urgent! I am the Crimson Vanguard!]
The sky-high barrage of comments almost instantly flooded the screen. The popularity, after a brief dip, quickly surged again, making the director grin so wide his mouth almost split.
After simply adjusting the density of the comments, the screen finally returned to a density that allowed for normal viewing.
And the second episode of steins;gate officially began to play.