That evening, at Lin Zhiyan's house.
After showering, Lin Zhiyan entered the living room and found Nanase Mayumi sitting in front of the TV, sobbing uncontrollably.
"Senior~"
Hearing the noise, Nanase Mayumi turned to look at him, then frantically wiped her tears with tissues from the nearby box.
Lin Zhiyan couldn't help but find it amusing.
He walked over to the sofa and sat down beside her, smiling. "Didn't you already see the final cut of episode 19? How can it still make you cry?"
Nanase Mayumi sniffled. "I'm just a crybaby. What can I do? Besides, Rolo's part in this episode is really moving."
"It was alright," Lin Zhiyan said, feeling indifferent.
Whether something was moving or not depended entirely on the individual.
The same scene could bring some viewers to tears while leaving others completely unmoved.
Everyone's perspective and viewing experience were different.
Few animations can move over 90% of their audience to tears, especially those who watch intently. Clannad is likely one of them, though at the time, its game source material hadn't even been released yet, with the limited edition not due until April 28, 2004. Kyoto Animation, the animation studio behind it, was still considered merely a powerful outsourcing company in the industry.
It wouldn't be until the broadcast of the second season of Full Metal Panic! in August that the studio would gain prominence in the industry, and the release of Air in 2005 would solidify its reputation and make it a household name among fans.
The death of Rolo in episode 19 of the second season of Lelouch is undeniably one of the series' most tear-jerking moments. This is especially true given how detestable Rolo's actions had been earlier in the story; in contrast, his death felt all the more poignant.
However, many viewers who loathed his earlier behavior found themselves completely unmoved by his death scene.
Regardless, the episode was generally quite moving.
Many had eagerly wished for Rolo's death earlier, but now that he had truly died, and in such a moving way, the internet exploded with discussion shortly after the animation ended at 11:30 PM:
"Damn! It made me cry, even though I hated Rolo and wanted him dead sooner."
"Unfair! So unfair."
"I just wanted a fun, action-packed show, not this depressing and emotional stuff."
"Come to think of it, Rolo was actually kind of pitiful. He was always being used, always just a tool, and only at the very end did he escape that fate."
"I never actually disliked Rolo, I even kind of liked him. I can't believe they just killed him off like that! Old Thief Lin, you're the worst! Waaah~"
"That background music was so heartbreaking. The plot was moving, sure, but without that music, it wouldn't have been nearly as tear-jerking. Old Thief Lin is still a genius."
"I checked the ED, the song is called 'I Will Become a Little Bird.' It really hits you hard. Hurry up and release the full version!"
Most people were discussing Rolo's storyline.
Of course, some were also discussing the animation's overall plot:
"Those Black Knights are disgusting. Don't they realize who they owe their current status to? Do they really think they'll secure Neon's safety and stability by betraying Lelouch and handing him over? Even if they had to betray him, they should have at least kept Lelouch alive to preserve some possibility."
"Maybe they were terrified by Freya's power and just wanted to stop fighting? Besides, the Black Knights have grown into a massive organization, no longer the small group they once were. Even without Lelouch, their visible military strength remains formidable."
"The main problem is their short-sightedness. Ougi and Toudou, in particular, lack long-term vision and the qualities of true leaders. But that's how it started—it's why Lelouch was able to become the Black Knights' leader in the first place. If there had been such capable individuals from the beginning, Lelouch never would have been able to recruit them."
"I can only say that Lelouch made a mistake from the start. After building the Black Knights into a powerful force, he failed to reorganize them, failed to cultivate true confidants to take charge."
"Shirley is gone, C.C. lost her memory, Nunnally is gone, the Black Knights have betrayed him, Karen has abandoned Lelouch, and Rolo died protecting him. Looking at it all, Lelouch truly is alone now."
"Whether it's moving or depressing is beside the point. I'm just curious about what happens next. It feels like Lord Hayashi might be losing control of the story this time."
"No matter how you look at it, Lelouch has no chance of turning things around. Could this end in a super depressing way?"
Lin Zhiyan checked the online discussions about Lelouch the next morning and was quite satisfied to see that Rolo's death scene had earned plenty of tears.
When he saw some people cursing him as "Old Thief Lin" and calling him "inhuman" for Rolo's death, he couldn't help but grumble inwardly, "If I didn't kill him, I'd be cursed. If I kill him, I'm cursed. It seems no matter what I do, I'm the bad guy."
Fortunately, he had a good mindset and knew he was just a transporter of the script.
He ignored the praise and automatically assumed that the curses were directed at the Gundam SEED scriptwriter from another timeline, "Old Thief Okouchi."
After reviewing the online discussions, Lin Zhiyan checked the popularity rankings of the hit animations.
In terms of character popularity, Lelouch and C.C. still held the top spots on both the male and female lists. However, the second and third places on both lists were now occupied by main characters from Gundam SEED. Moreover, in the overall animation popularity rankings, Gundam SEED had surpassed Lelouch.
It couldn't be helped. Gundam SEED was a year-long series, giving it an advantage in that regard. In previous annual rankings, Lelouch had dominated the top spot, mainly because Gundam SEED had only aired for just over two months—less than ten episodes—and its plot had barely begun to unfold. Naturally, it couldn't compete with a phenomenal anime like Lelouch, which had already completed its first season.
Things were different now. The anime had been airing for over half a year, and the plot had developed considerably. Coupled with the tangled relationships between the characters, each week sparked intense discussion, making it no surprise that its popularity rivaled Lelouch.
Lin Zhiyan had never expected the second season of Lelouch to completely overshadow Gundam SEED in popularity. For him, as long as Lelouch's existing fanbase wasn't siphoned off by Gundam SEED, he'd be satisfied.
He wasn't surprised by this ranking on the charts.
However, looking at the vote counts for the two anime, Lin Zhiyan couldn't help but frown.
The difference wasn't a mere five or six votes, but over thirty.
Lelouch's popularity was unlikely to increase much in the coming episodes. It would probably surge only after the final episode aired. On the day the finale aired, Gundam SEED would be broadcasting its thirty-eighth episode.
To reclaim the top spot on the anime popularity rankings by the end of Lelouch's second season...
It seemed he'd need to invest more heavily in promotion around the finale.
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