Anime Production, Starting With Healing the Audience

No, just say it!

At this moment, even the most patient fans couldn't help but want to reach through the screen and beat Fang Zheng to a pulp.

You can't tease us like this!

After repeated delays, just as the viewers in the live stream were about to lose it, Fang Zheng finally spoke.

"Everyone, this issue is very serious. It's serious enough to affect whether you'll be able to see new anime in the future."

Hearing Fang Zheng's extremely suppressed tone, many fans felt a jolt in their hearts.

As expected, Big Shot Fang's financial situation isn't good, otherwise, he wouldn't be so anxious, or even rash, to implement a paid membership system.

Thinking of this, many fans secretly broke out in a cold sweat.

They followed Fang Zheng because they were deeply captivated by anime and had fallen in love with it irrevocably.

If... if their Big Shot Fang really couldn't produce anime anymore due to financial reasons, it would be like a bolt from the blue for them.

Having experienced the emotion and tension brought by "Star Dream" and enjoyed the excitement of "Akame ga Kill!", they found it hard to imagine how they would live in a world without anime to watch.

Would they have to rely on those idol-driven dramas and movies that ran rampant in fan circles?

Most fans subconsciously shook their heads. The reason they liked anime was because of the pure emotions it conveyed, whether laughter or tears, without any ulterior motives.

But could fan circles provide them with that?

"Big Shot Fang, is it because the company's finances are not good?"

"Don't give up, I've already renewed my membership for a year. Big Shot Fang, keep it up!"

"Big Shot Fang, we can't live without you! If it's due to financial reasons, we can crowdfund donations to A Company, so please don't give up on yourself!"

"Wuwuwu~ I'm going to the forums right now to recruit more people for Big Shot Fang!"

"..."

Bullet comments scrolled by, and countless fans genuinely worried about Fang Zheng and A Company's financial situation.

Fans weren't stupid. Looking at other platforms, paid memberships were prohibitively expensive, and they were flooded with advertisements. In comparison, A Company was practically the conscience of the industry.

A Company provided them with a good viewing experience, but this was at the cost of sacrificing its own profits.

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that given the current popularity of anime and A Company's rapid rise, if Fang Zheng were willing to place advertisements on the platform, he could earn a fortune just from ad revenue.

But Fang Zheng didn't do that. He turned away millions in income that was right in front of him.

Everyone understood that Fang Zheng's intention was simple: to give users a good viewing experience.

Hearing Fang Zheng publicly reveal the company's financial difficulties for the first time, many fans felt it was unfair to him, especially with the forum incident that happened today, which made them even more indignant.

"Sigh~ There's nothing I can do. I've been broadcasting for so long, but there hasn't been a single tip in the live stream. If I don't get any tips, my mindset will explode. Once my mindset explodes, I'll lose my inspiration, and without inspiration, I naturally can't produce new anime."

Fang Zheng's expression was one of profound sorrow, as if he had suffered a grievance comparable to snow falling in June.

As he spoke, Fang Zheng spread his hands and said sternly, "Don't you think this problem is very serious?!"

"..."

"..."

The live stream, which had been filled with bullet comments and fans eagerly comforting Fang Zheng, fearing he would truly collapse and give up on producing anime, fell silent.

But after hearing Fang Zheng's so-called problem, all the fans let out a collective sigh, suppressing the urge to smash their keyboards. Although they were trembling with anger, they still had to comfort themselves.

Can't get angry, can't get angry. This is the Big Shot Fang they like, they absolutely cannot get angry!

Many fans had ashen faces, their gritted teeth making them seem like they would drive anyone away.

One moment they were feeling a pang of anxiety at Fang Zheng's words, comforting him with extremely nervous hearts, and the next moment, they felt as if they had eaten a fly. They were so angry they almost passed out.

Some fans even felt the need to reflect. They had been following Fang Zheng for more than a day or two; they should have known what kind of person their Big Shot Fang was.

They shouldn't have held any expectations for Fang Zheng. How could a Big Shot Fang who dared to argue with fans and repeatedly prank netizens suddenly become so serious!

Absolutely impossible!

"Big Shot Fang, stick your head out, I'll give you a buff!"

"I have a great treasure I want to show you!"

"Give me back my previous gratitude and worry, you scoundrel!"

"Big Shot Fang, I've already booked my flight to Shanghai. Tomorrow morning, I'll personally go to Qinghui Building to give you a big surprise!"

"..."

Fang Zheng didn't care at all about the fans' threats.

As the saying goes, more lice means less itching. He had pranked these fans so many times, and he was still alive and kicking, wasn't he?

Besides, if something happened to him, who would produce anime for these thirsty fans?

So Fang Zheng had more than enough confidence!

"No, why haven't any of you tipped yet? Wasn't the problem I just mentioned serious enough?"

Watching Fang Zheng teeter on the edge of self-destruction, many fans rolled their eyes while sitting in front of their computers.

If they weren't separated by a screen, they would have definitely thrown money at this guy. Did he think they weren't tipping him because they didn't want to?

"No, Big Shot Fang, you're just trying to scare us and play the victim, all for the sake of tips?"

"I wanted to tip you a few cents, but damn it, there wasn't even a recharge channel! How am I supposed to tip you?"

"Holy crap, now that you mention it, I just realized. Big Shot Fang has been talking for ages, but I haven't seen any recharge channel enabled in the livestream room!"

"Pfft, haha, look at Big Shot Fang's expression, it's too funny~ Hahaha!"

What?!

No recharge channel?!

Fang Zheng's mind went blank, he even froze.

After fumbling around on his computer, he confirmed that, just as the viewers in the livestream said, there was indeed no recharge channel.

"Hey! Connect me to the programming department. Ask them what's going on with this livestream room, how could it not even have a recharge channel!" After being reminded by the viewers, Fang Zheng, who had finally snapped out of it, angrily picked up his phone and made a call in front of the livestream.

"Also, tell their department manager that their department isn't getting any year-end bonuses this year!"

Fang Zheng hung up the phone and said with a light cough, "That's right, this was all part of my plan. I knew there was no recharge channel, which is why I said all that."

"Someone as selfless as me, how could I possibly scam my own fans' money? Don't you agree?"

Looking at Fang Zheng's expression, which had changed in an instant to one of selflessness and passionate generosity, if they hadn't known about the string of events that had just transpired, they might have actually believed him.

But now... Heh!

Anyone who believes him is a fool!

"The recharge channel opened right after he said that. He says he doesn't want it, but his body is honest~"

"Damn, the website's tech staff are fast. Looks like they're getting a good year-end bonus!"

"Brothers, let's go all out to prevent Big Shot Fang from going bankrupt~!"

"Brothers upstairs, share your contact info. If we have money, let's eat together, no hogging!"

"..."

Not long after Fang Zheng finished speaking, the recharge channel for his livestream room was opened. It was nothing more than a payment processing issue. With how advanced online payments are nowadays, it wasn't a technical challenge at all.

Seeing that the atmosphere in the livestream room had been sufficiently hyped up, Fang Zheng chuckled inwardly, knowing it was time to get to the main topic.

"Everyone, before we begin today's main topic, I'd like to first thank the fans and users who spoke up for A Company today." Fang Zheng straightened his expression, his face once again turning serious.

"Regarding A Company's delayed release of Akame ga Kill!, I believe everyone is well aware. Originally, according to our plan, we intended to strike while the iron was hot and use the update of Akame ga Kill! to encourage users to subscribe to membership. But what happened this afternoon was very unpleasant!"

A Company posted its membership fee announcement at noon, which was the peak time for people to rest and go online. Therefore, many users of A Company received the news immediately.

At first, for a membership fee of just over ten yuan a month, many users didn't think much of it. After all, paying for video content was already a common practice in this era.

However, a strange situation began. Starting around 2 PM, a large number of unfavorable comments attacking A Company suddenly appeared on the A Company forum, all implying that A Company was starting to milk money.

Many users initially didn't believe these comments, which seemed to have come out of nowhere. But as time went on, not only did these comments not die down, they quickly fermented.

This made many users feel uneasy. It was at this time that Zhang Siyu noticed something was wrong and quickly found Fang Zheng, wanting to control the discourse on the forum.

But Fang Zheng stopped her.

In his opinion, A Company was merely a platform for him to release his anime works, a convenience for users to find the anime they liked, not a tool for his profit.

Fang Zheng's goal for A Company was simple: it just needed to be self-sufficient. He didn't expect A Company to bring him much profit.

"A Company has rejected all advertisements, and its membership fees are the lowest on the entire network. I believe that I, representing ACG, have already shown sufficient sincerity."

In the livestream, many viewers felt a little uncomfortable seeing Fang Zheng's gaze, which seemed to penetrate directly into their souls through the screen.

"However, the environment of A Company doesn't just depend on me or ACG; it relies more on everyone's conscious maintenance, to preserve our good communication atmosphere at A Company and prevent it from deteriorating!"

A Company, the first online video platform dedicated to anime on the entire network. Although there are very few anime works available right now, A Company's good user communication atmosphere has set the tone from the very beginning.

After all, those who download from A Company are users who like anime. These people share common topics, making communication easy and enjoyable.

Many viewers in the livestream lowered their heads in thought after hearing Fang Zheng's words.

Today's events also served as a wake-up call for them. The people who spread unfavorable remarks during the day were clearly organized and premeditated. No one knew their ultimate goal.

But as long as they weren't fools, they would definitely know the identity of the opposing internet trolls.

Since A Company's inception, Fang Zheng has refused advertisements and any other forms of content uploads. Therefore, after users open A Company, the interface has nothing but anime.

Pure, extremely pure!

There was no need for Fang Zheng to make a statement himself; many fans and users could understand Fang Zheng's original intention, which was to build A Company into a sacred land of 2D online culture that they loved.

To provide a sanctuary for people like them, who truly loved anime, where they could always find refuge in the noisy and impetuous online environment.

Therefore, many fans consciously reflected after hearing Fang Zheng's words.