"And, and, and, and, another episode has ended!" Host Fang Yuan quickly raised the microphone and naturally stepped into the center of the camera as the production team switched the shot.
"This can already be considered four consecutive episodes."
"It's clear that our audience has many thoughts and is very eager to hear our judges' comments and analysis."
"Originally, I was going to get straight to the point, but," Host Fang Yuan slightly drew out his tone: "after all, our show isn't just steins;gate's solo stage. We still need to take a quick look at the other contestants."
"Don't worry, I'm just giving a quick introduction to the situation of two of our seeded contestants, and then we'll immediately return to the main topic."
"First up is Contestant Xin Mi, number 39. His 'The Gifted Furongwang' has garnered much audience anticipation since its character design. Although the creative progress is quite slow, this is, after all, the curse that creators should bear. It's rare to see someone like Contestant Hua Jian who never stops creating and just keeps going."
As he spoke, the screen behind him briefly switched to Xin Mi's live stream, number 39.
"Although steins;gate has finished its fourth episode and is about to enter its fifth, unfortunately, Contestant Xin Mi has only just started trying to use the editor. Perhaps because it's his first time trying to create with the editor, it's clear his movements aren't very skilled. The screen is frequently cut, and the viewing experience isn't very good."
"However, from the fragmented footage, we can still see that he initially seemed to plan to start by depicting the process of defeating the Demon Lord, but midway through the creation, he self-rejected that idea, temporarily halted his creation, and exited the editor."
Host Fang Yuan sighed: "Various situations always arise during creation. It's only when one truly creates and brings the story to life that they realize the problems. Creators are always worried, afraid, anxious, and doubtful about the not-so-good parts, trying to overturn and restart, unable to begin for a long time."
"Such a problem is also very evident in Contestant Xia Chun, number 18."
As his words fell, the screen behind him switched images again.
"The setting for 'Sharingan Xiahou Dun' is actually very complete, but this contestant still repeatedly hovers around the initial entry point, unable to advance the story."
"It's clear that the creation process like that of steins;gate is quite rare."
After a brief sigh, Host Fang Yuan suddenly raised his voice: "So, let's get back to the main topic, and let Uncle Big Nose comment on steins;gate's performance in the fourth episode!"
The lights illuminated Uncle Big Nose's stage.
"Ahem." Uncle Big Nose cleared his throat twice, raising the microphone: "Just now, I noticed that some bullet comments expressed the same view as mine."
"If you say this episode's pace is fast, it certainly isn't. The gentle narration and repeated bickering basically serve to build characters."
"The interactions between Makise Kurisu and Okabe Rintaro are quite rich, and the Felis Cup interspersed within cannot be said to be entirely useless."
"But if you say it's slow, that doesn't seem quite right." Uncle Big Nose's fingertip gently tapped the table twice: "After all, it did acquire the important item, the IBN5100, in one episode. It seems the next episode will start deciphering SERN's password."
"The IBN5100 is in hand, and the most crucial person, Makise Kurisu, who deeply understands Time Machine theory and is far more professional than Okabe Rintaro, this clumsy mad scientist, has also been drawn back to the Laboratory in an unexpected way."
"Perhaps the next step is to build a Time Machine."
Uncle Big Nose's fingertip rested on the tabletop, and he stated his conclusion.
"Personally, I don't have many major opinions on the story itself or the creative techniques. I actually quite like this kind of daily life. I can accept both fast-paced and slow-paced narratives."
"So, I will just briefly analyze and infer the subsequent plot development based on my own experience."
"As for more, I'll leave that to the other judges." Uncle Big Nose smiled, then put down the microphone.
His voice had not yet faded when, before Host Fang Yuan could proactively adjust the lighting, another mentor spontaneously raised the microphone.
Perhaps 'spontaneously' isn't entirely accurate, as the production team never actually mandated the speaking order of the judges; the Host merely tried to take over the rhythm out of habit.
But since the mentors had their own rhythm, he didn't have much of an objection.
"Let me speak." The judge who raised the microphone was Tang Sanshui.
"I think it's very necessary for me to speak first." He said: "After all, I was the one who said in the last episode that this contestant might develop path dependence."
"Although I don't know if Contestant Hua Jian already had a mature idea in his mind, or if he simply changed his mind temporarily because he heard my comments, which is why he chose to end this episode at such an abrupt plot point."
"However, hmm, I have to apologize." Tang Sanshui smiled: "He broke through his path dependence very well and tried to slow down the narrative structure."
"For this, I actually want to commend him."
"However, although I criticized the content of the first three episodes in many ways before, there's one point I think it's still necessary to remind him of."
"—Do not arbitrarily change the tone of your work."
"This is an admonition given by a creator who has been in the industry for many years, and it is also an admonition given to all other contestants." Tang Sanshui's face was full of seriousness: "Although I don't like taking shortcuts, relying on suspense and twists to attract an audience, this is only a negation of the content itself, not to make you completely change your content."
"Arbitrarily, casually, and haphazardly changing the tone of a work, and confusing the rhythm, is essentially a lack of confidence in one's own content."
"If even you don't believe in your own work, how can you make the audience believe in your work?"
At this point, Tang Sanshui gripped the microphone in his hand, looking directly into the camera.
"Be consistent from beginning to end, at least within a single work, maintain this."
"Other issues, subsequent reviews, parts that need reflection—these are all to be summarized afterward, and corrected in the next work."