"Station Director!"
The respectful greeting from the staff behind her startled Kuroda Akiko, who was sitting at her computer compiling program ratings data. She quickly stood up and turned around.
Sure enough, an elderly man with a kindly face and a figure as round as his cheeks was slowly walking over. Facing the respectful greetings from the staff, he smiled and nodded in response.
Tokyo TV was one of Japan's five major private terrestrial television networks. Founded in 1996, Shimada Yukimasa had inherited the family business and served as both the station director and chairman of Tokyo TV.
As he grew older, Shimada Yukimasa rarely appeared personally to manage the company. He was mainly responsible for guiding the station's direction of development.
The [Strongest Legend of Tokyo TV] had been personally forged by this kindly-looking old man.
When Shimada Yukimasa managed Tokyo TV in his youth, no matter what breaking news occurred, the station would remain unmoved and continue broadcasting its normally scheduled programs. By now, this had evolved into Tokyo TV's glorious tradition.
"Station Director."
Kuroda Akiko also bowed respectfully in greeting.
Shimada Yukimasa smiled and waved his hand, saying to the surrounding staff:
"Everyone, don't mind me. I just came here today because I had a few questions I was curious about. Um, you're Miss Kuroda, yes?"
"Yes. What can I do for you?"
"I heard Toshihiko and the others mention it. What was the name again? That program whose broadcast slot was temporarily changed."
"Are you referring to 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica'?"
Shimada Yukimasa slapped his forehead and muttered to himself:
"Ah, yes, that's the one. My memory really has declined with age. I clearly only saw the name of that program yesterday. I wanted to ask how the ratings were after this anime was moved to prime time."
"Please wait a moment, Station Director. The ratings data is currently being compiled."
"Haha, looks like I've disturbed your work, Miss Kuroda."
Shimada Yukimasa glanced at the computer screen and laughed heartily. With his casual manner, it was hard to tell whether he meant it or not.
Kuroda Akiko sat back down and continued using the keyboard as she replied:
"No, the statistics are almost complete. Rather, Station Director, you came at just the right time."
Click.
Kuroda Akiko pressed the Enter key, and a data table soon appeared on the screen.
She adjusted her glasses, and when she saw the displayed data, she was also extremely surprised as she reported:
"The data has been compiled. During yesterday's 8:00 p.m. prime-time slot, 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica' had a rating of 28% and a share of 41%."
Shimada Yukimasa walked over and stared at the computer screen, so surprised that his mouth would not close. After pausing, he asked hesitantly:
"'Puella Magi Madoka Magica' is an anime, correct? And there are no errors in the statistics?"
"It is an anime. The data should be accurate. The difference from the data released by Fuji TV is less than one percent."
Silence followed.
Shimada Yukimasa stroked his chin and asked uncertainly:
"Um, what is the current highest rating for TV Asahi's prime-time drama 'Hanako and the Sunflower'?"
Kuroda Akiko typed the drama's name into the search engine.
"'Hanako and the Sunflower', correct? Please let me check. Um... It should be 26%, achieved during the broadcast of Episode 27 in April. That broke the highest drama ratings record of the past five years. Yesterday's rating was 15%, down 2% compared to the same period."
"What was the rating for 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica' again?"
"28%."
"An anime!?"
Shimada Yukimasa asked in shock again, feeling as though his worldview had been refreshed.
Japan was known as a major animation nation, but in reality, the overall output value of anime was still considerably inferior to that of television dramas. For an excellent anime to reach a 10% rating was already the ceiling, while an excellent drama could reach over 20%.
The base difference was nearly double.
Under such circumstances, 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica' breaking 28% ratings had also broken the highest historical ratings for both anime and television dramas over the past decade.
Generally speaking, this was an impossible myth.
When Shimada Yukimasa recovered from his shock, his face was already full of smiles. He patted Kuroda Akiko on the shoulder and said excitedly:
"Good. You handled this matter very well."
After saying that, he turned around and had already taken out an old-fashioned phone, dialing as he spoke in a strange tone:
"Hello, Daisuke? What were the ratings for 'Hanako and the Sunflower' that your station aired last night again?"
Only after seeing Shimada Yukimasa leave did Kuroda Akiko let out a breath of relief.
After all, he was her superior's superior's superior. If she displeased him, one word from him could disband their entire operations team.
"Next is the issue with the advertisers."
Kuroda Akiko stood up and called toward a staff member in the corner of the office:
"Mr. Ōi, could you help me call Hideki over? I have some urgent work here to assign him."
The male staff member named Ōi looked left and right, then scratched his head awkwardly.
"Ah, he just called and said he caught a cold. He's taking the day off."
"Then call Miss Hirahara."
"Um..."
"What is it?"
"Miss Hirahara also took the day off today."
The male staff member reported with great difficulty. He had no idea what was going on either. Two people from Tokyo TV's operations team had taken leave today, and it was at a time when work was at its busiest.
······
After the final episode of 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica' finished airing, the comprehensive discussion board for 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica' on NICENICE remained in an explosive state.
The number of topics users frantically posted on this day alone was equal to one-third of the total number of topics accumulated over the previous twenty-four episodes.
From last night until this morning, more than a dozen new topics appeared every second.
Viewers who had finished Episode 24 could not wait to post their thoughts on 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica' and discuss the entire anime's plot.
Character roles, earlier foreshadowing, plot analysis, character popularity polls, and more—the ending of the anime had lit the powder keg of discussion.
It was even more intense than the wave of debate caused by the Episode 7 plot reversal and the airing of Episode 17.
'Puella Magi Madoka Magica' discussion board.
Total number of topics: 1,482,718.
Magical Girls: 827,392.
Activity: 18,273,612.
Announcement: Due to excessive user posting on this discussion board causing an overload on the server, temporary posting restrictions will be implemented. Each user may only post once per minute. Our moderation team sincerely apologizes for the inconvenience caused to all users.
Popular Topic: [How do you evaluate the anime 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica'?]
Views: 13,029,318.
Replies: 171,263.
"The greatest animated work in history, bar none! — Chrysanthemum and Sword."
"The savior of the anime industry. It might even stimulate the development of the entire animation industry. — Yūki Shōta."
"A work whose fame matches its strength. — Country Samurai."
"A phenomenon-level work! Even openly discussing the details of this anime in class won't get girls calling you gross. On the contrary, quite a few girls will come over and talk to you! Even though I'm clearly just a male high school student, I don't know why being spoken to by female high school students makes me feel so flattered. — Fujiwara Lily."
"It changed my view of the anime industry. For this alone, this work can be called a scripture among anime! — Cat and Dog."
"The best anime of 2018! Or rather, the best anime of the past ten years! In terms of historical status, it should be second only to the founding work of animation! — Folds of a Skirt."
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Popular Topic: [How do you evaluate the final episode of 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica'?]
Views: 6,019,382.
Replies: 201,931.
"I think Yosuganosora Animation Studio must have just come back from robbing a bank, right? Laugh. — Sakurai Hideki."
"The budget exploded! The animation quality of the final episode exploded! The special effects exploded! The plot exploded! Everything exploded! Including my head after watching the final episode! — Anonymous."
"The plot ending was both beyond expectations and within expectations. But just as the person above said, this episode itself was an explosion! Animation, effects, music, plot, characters—everything an anime can have reached its peak. Its expressive power was even more astonishing than Episode 17, which caused this work's popularity to leap forward.
I can't give this work a more specific evaluation. All I can say is that this episode is probably the best episode of any anime I have ever watched.
It feels like the previous twenty-three episodes of 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica' were all laying the groundwork for this one episode.
When demolishing an abandoned building, you must first blow up its load-bearing pillars. The previous episodes were like that. Episode 24 was equivalent to blowing up the final load-bearing pillar supporting the building.
At that moment, the effect achieved was not merely an explosion, but the incomparable shock of the entire building collapsing! — Anonymous."
"Do you all know about [Magical Girl Syndrome]? Laugh. It just reached tenth place on Yahoo's monthly word-usage ranking. And this term appeared less than a day ago, after the final episode of 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica' finished airing. — Miyamoto Zō."
"I didn't know either at first. When I heard it was related to 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica', I searched it out of curiosity.
Supplement: [Magical Girl Syndrome] is an internet slang term that only appeared yesterday. Similar to May blues, it generally refers to devoting too much attention or effort to something—whether watching a film, anime, or novel, following a company project, eating a favorite pudding, and so on. After the event is resolved, it brings satisfaction, but also exhaustion and a subtle anxiety about what comes next.
The reason it was named [Magical Girl Syndrome] is that after 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica' aired yesterday, a large number of viewers were unable to sleep late at night. The internet was flooded with topics about this work. Many people discussed the anime online continuously after it finished airing, only to feel exhausted the next morning.
But by then, it was already time to go to school or work. Wanting to rest and savor the entire work led these people to take leave. When the phenomenon appeared on a large scale, it was named [Magical Girl Syndrome]. — Shizuko."
"Isn't that a pretty fitting description? Speaking of which, after watching 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica' last night, my thoughts really did feel like they exploded. I discussed it online until very late, and only went to sleep after my dad forcibly shut off the computer. — Monster of the Heisei Era."
"I see. I can already predict that the internet will be full of discussions related to this work over the next few days. I never thought Japanese anime could receive this kind of treatment. I always thought this kind of situation belonged to family dramas like 'Hanako and the Sunflower'."
"Ahh, three students in our class took leave today. The homeroom teacher thought some epidemic had broken out and was really scared. Other classes also had more or less the same situation. Looks like they really are sick—with [Magical Girl Syndrome]. Laugh. — Class 2-C Boss."
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Popular Topic: [How do you evaluate Mr. Kamiyā Yuu, the animation director of 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica'?]
Views: 392,013.
Replies: 9,207.
"I have lost. He is a brilliantly talented guy. Every work in the Magical Girl Trilogy is a rare masterpiece. The third work, 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica', especially needs no further explanation from me. — Bushido Saikō."
"A genius! All-Round Director! Key animation machine! Father of Magical Girls! An animation director with a yuri soul! These are probably all the titles I can think of for Director Kamiyā! Lastly, thank you, Director Kamiyā, for bringing me such amazing work. — Go Forward, Saki!"
"Yuri Director!? That's true. Leaving aside the yuri tendencies in the Magical Girl Trilogy, even the only female character appearing in his newly released novel is King Arthur as a girl, who marries Queen Guinevere. Poor Lancelot is completely playing the cannon-fodder role~! — Fujita Mari."
"You people are underestimating him too much. 'RWBY' alone has already given Director Kamiyā a status overseas no lower than Mr. Pixar, the father of European and American animation. Many of his shot compositions and special effects have become classic teaching material for beginner Hollywood directors. For some reason, calling a person like this the All-Round Director of the anime industry feels like an underestimation. — Hino Shōnin."
"You can tell from Yosuganosora Animation Studio that he's a pretty good guy. He doesn't treat employees as harshly as other animation studios do. Also, Director Kamiyā Yuu may be the richest animation director in the industry. The Magical Girl Trilogy is entirely Director Kamiyā's original work! He is both the animation director and chairman of Yosuganosora Animation Studio. Also, although posting personal privacy is very impolite, I still recommend that everyone look up [Kamiyā Sora]. She is Director Kamiyā Yuu's younger sister and serves as his special assistant. — Anonymous."
"Ohhhhhhh~! So cute! She's completely unlike Director Kamiyā! It's decided. From today onward, I'm a fan of Lady Kamiyā Sora! ヾ(≧▽≦*)o — Anonymous."
"Cough, cough! Since that's the case, I'll mention a few more core members of Yosuganosora Animation Studio. All of the following information comes from online personal verification and was not obtained illegally. First is Yosuganosora Animation Studio's animation director, Miss Uehara Etsuki, whom people familiar with the industry should also know. Then there is the 3D Department Director, Miss Yūki Chinatsu, Production Director Miss Morishita Aoi, and Miss Gogyo Ruri from the Animation Department. — Anonymous."
"*(:з」∠)* Is Yosuganosora Animation Studio heaven!? — Anonymous."
"I know. Many members are former staff of Kyoni Animation Co., Ltd., which has already dissolved. But the anime industry has never lacked beauties anyway. As far as I know, most animators in the Animation Department are women. — Shimakawa Jun."
"Hey, haven't you people gone off topic...? — Mr. Komura Hiro Doesn't Like Cola."