"Fuck! I knew Big Shot Fang was holding back a big move!"
"Here's a joke: Big Shot Fang told us to stay calm~!"
"Big Shot Fang: After watching the latest episode of Akame ga Kill! tomorrow, please don't act impulsively. Impulsiveness is the devil!"
"My heart shattered the moment Shiru died. It felt like the whole world had turned gray. There's no love left."
At this moment, the viewers who had watched the livestream last night finally understood why Fang Zheng had deliberately added that reminder at the end.
Now they understood. They understood everything!
But if they could, they would rather not have understood. They truly couldn't accept this ending, nor did they want to accept it!
The naturally charming bespectacled girl had exited the stage in such a tragic way, and it filled every viewer with unprecedented fury.
If they could, they really wanted to send Fang Zheng all their heartfelt love and blessings!
"Heh heh, I waited two days for this ending? That's all? I'm done talking. Brothers, see you at Qinghui Building tomorrow!"
"Stay calm? Calm my ass~ Fang Zheng! You're a goddamn animal!"
"A super-heated, passionate battle anime? Big Shot Fang, do you have some misunderstanding about those words?"
"Fang Zheng, you bastard! You've lost all humanity! Give me back Shiru! Give me back my tears!"
After the latest episode of the anime Akame ga Kill! finished airing, the viewers instantly erupted. One after another, they transformed into irate men and stormed the forums and Weibo. Wherever there was somewhere to vent, their figures could be found.
Fang Zheng even discovered a post on A Company's forum where fans were conspiring.
They actually planned to form a group and come to Magic City to educate him!
Watching the post's replies increase at a speed visible to the naked eye, Fang Zheng's heart trembled.
He had thought that the viewers would go berserk and become furious after watching this episode of Akame ga Kill!, but he had never imagined that things would become this serious.
At present, thousands of fans had already signed up under that post, and the number of fans they could mobilize was still constantly increasing.
Thousands of people coming to Magic City to educate him...
Just imagining that scene made Fang Zheng feel dizzy. The apocalypse probably wouldn't be much worse than this~
"Gasp~ This is getting a little serious~" Fang Zheng worried about his tomorrow. The preventive warning he had given yesterday seemed to have had no effect at all. Instead, it had backfired~
What a blunder! This was simply too great a blunder!
Obviously, these enraged fans wouldn't care about anything else in their extreme fury. They only wanted to vent.
And as the original creator, the chief culprit behind Shiru's death, he was naturally the first target.
"No, I need to think of a way to divert the fans' attention~" Fang Zheng paced back and forth in his office, his mind racing as he considered how to placate this group of "glass-hearted" fans.
"Knock knock knock~"
"Come in!"
Zhang Siyu pushed open the door to Fang Zheng's office and entered. She glanced at him worriedly and said, "Director Fang, are you all right?"
She had watched the latest episode of Akame ga Kill! as well. After all, Esdeath, whom she voiced, had appeared at the end of the sixth episode, so she naturally paid attention.
She had also seen the viewers' reaction after watching the sixth episode. Even she was somewhat dumbfounded by that eye-catching post on the forum.
She had previously thought that something like this could only happen in fan circles, but now it seemed... Fang Zheng's suicide act had been a great success.
Although his fans had always been laid-back, even a rabbit would bite when cornered. He had failed to cherish such a wonderful fanbase, to the point that even the heavens couldn't stand it anymore~
"What is it?"
Fang Zheng stopped and looked at Zhang Siyu.
Was he all right?
He was about to be attacked in person by his fans, and she was asking if he was all right?
However, Fang Zheng also knew that this was his own fault. Who had told him to deceive the audience by claiming that this was a passionate battle anime?
On one hand, the viewers had been completely unprepared. On the other, Shiru's death had come so abruptly.
With such a violent contrast, it was only natural for the viewers to erupt as a group.
"Director Fang, TT's vice president has come to visit. He says he has something he would like to discuss with you."
Zhang Siyu really wanted to help Fang Zheng, but she also knew that the relationship between Fang Zheng and his audience was rather delicate.
This could be seen from the fact that Fang Zheng had clashed with his fans several times before, yet they still remained devoted to him.
If she rashly involved herself in the conflict between Fang Zheng and his fans, she might have the opposite effect. After thinking it over, Zhang Siyu gave up.
It was better to let Director Fang deal with this headache alone~
"TT's vice president?" Hearing Zhang Siyu's words, Fang Zheng frowned and said suspiciously, "What does he want?"
Faced with Fang Zheng's question, Zhang Siyu slowly shook her head. She didn't know the purpose of the visit either.
Compared with ACG Culture Company, TT was undoubtedly a colossal entity. Relying on its leading position in social software, TT could be called the strongest internet company in Xia Country.
As for ACG, it was merely a small company that had been established less than two months ago. The scale of the two companies wasn't even remotely comparable.
Fang Zheng lowered his head and pondered for a moment. He didn't know TT's vice president and had never had any dealings with someone of such importance.
However, someone of the other party's status couldn't possibly be bored enough to come and toy with him. Since he had specifically asked to see Fang Zheng, the greatest possibility was that he had his eye on Fang Zheng, or on something Fang Zheng possessed.
And there seemed to be only one thing he could offer...
"Anime!" X2.
Fang Zheng and Zhang Siyu realized it at almost exactly the same time.
Zhang Siyu in particular suddenly remembered that when Fang Zheng had won an award for Star Dream and introduced the concept of "anime," someone from TT seemed to have published an article about it.
Zhang Siyu picked up her phone and searched online for a moment. Sure enough, she found a similar report.
"Director Fang, there's an eighty percent chance that they came for anime."
Zhang Siyu handed her phone to Fang Zheng. The headline read: "TT Vice President Sun Qian Sincerely Invites Fang Zheng to Join the Pan-Entertainment Plan."
Seeing this, Fang Zheng narrowed his eyes almost imperceptibly.
Fang Zheng had looked into TT Group's pan-entertainment plan before, but precisely because he understood it, he was astonished by the scale of TT's ambition.
This vice president—Sun Qian—was the first person to propose the "pan-entertainment" plan.
According to him, the so-called pan-entertainment plan revolved around celebrity IPs to create a fan economy. Its core was IP.
Pan-entertainment was also considered a major trend in the development of the internet economy. In this regard, TT was indeed far ahead of the rest.
At present, TT had already deployed its pan-entertainment plan through interactions across various cultural and creative fields, including games, literature, film and television, and music.
As a recently emerging form of culture, anime's popularity had remained high, so it was only natural that TT would take notice.
Given TT's scale, it absolutely had the ability to produce anime itself. Yet clearly, the other party had chosen not to do so.
"Is it because they think acquiring something already established would save more time and effort?"
A mocking smile appeared at the corner of Fang Zheng's mouth. He knew exactly what TT was planning.
They wanted to use his reputation to help perfect their so-called pan-entertainment plan? They might as well dream on!
It was true that the core of the pan-entertainment plan was IP. A good IP could be a character or a story. Anything loved by the public could become an IP.
At first glance, the so-called pan-entertainment plan seemed excellent. After all, integrating various resources could lead to the creation of even better works.
But most people didn't understand what this meant behind the scenes.
IP needed someone to endorse it, and endorsers needed great fame. Thus, the fresh-faced celebrities currently being crazily idolized had practically become the first choice.
To maximize profits, TT Group didn't care who endorsed something, how effective the endorsement was, or how good the work itself was.
They would only choose traffic celebrities who already came with their own popularity, then rely on their internet advantage to promote those works to the audience in an almost savage manner.
This was no different from forcibly feeding you shit!
Thus, the quality of the IP works derived from the pan-entertainment plan could practically be predicted in advance.
And one consequence of the development of the celebrity economy was the rampant fan-circle economy!
The thought of one of his future works being endorsed by some flat-faced sissy, or being cosplayed or awkwardly acted out by some fresh-faced celebrity with no acting ability, made Fang Zheng shudder all over.
That feeling was simply too disgusting. Just thinking about it made his scalp tingle!
"Director Fang, what do you plan to do?"
Zhang Siyu glanced at Fang Zheng worriedly. She opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something, but ultimately said nothing.
This concerned the company's future prospects, and it wasn't something a CEO like her could decide. Although she was the company's manager, the decision-making power had always remained in Fang Zheng's hands.
"What about you? I'd like to hear your opinion."
Fang Zheng looked at Zhang Siyu. Without a doubt, he would refuse.
As the creator of anime, the entire two-dimensional world was practically like his child. It was a peculiar feeling.
Fang Zheng's goal was to create a golden age for the two-dimensional world. Before that, he didn't want anyone or any group, by any means, to erode its purity and beauty.
He didn't want the "anime" he had worked so hard to introduce to become another fan circle, with all sorts of demons and monsters running rampant inside. Those brain-dead operations were simply an assault on the eyes.
"Director Fang, I think it would be better to refuse." Hearing Fang Zheng's words, Zhang Siyu pondered for a moment.
Without a doubt, TT was a colossal entity. If they chose to join, they could naturally obtain immense funding, resources, and numerous promotional channels.
But everything had pros and cons. Once they joined the so-called pan-entertainment plan, that would be the moment they pushed themselves into a quagmire.
To put it more broadly, anime joining the pan-entertainment plan would no longer be a pure work meant to bring joy and sorrow to its viewers. Instead, it would lean more toward serving the so-called celebrity IPs.
Before you continue