A few days later, the relevant TV program aired.
Then, to the surprise of the TV station, this episode actually became a hit.
On the internet, many people were heatedly discussing it:
"I only knew about the anime Lin Zhiyan directed, but I had no idea he was a producer for so many others? I'm shocked."
"If I remember correctly, that old scoundrel Lin Zhiyan was born in '77, right? It's 2020 now, why does he still look so young, like he's only in his twenties? Does he really not have superpowers? I find it so hard to believe."
"It's true, if I didn't know him and ran into him on the street, I'd probably think he was only twenty-five or twenty-six."
"He looked the same twenty years ago, and he looks the same twenty years later, although his demeanor seems to have become a bit more profound."
"Is this a producer's judgment? Even if it was a decision made only after the first season became a hit, it's insanely good. People used to call him a god-tier animation director, but now you could say he's a god-tier producer."
"Even without the 10 billion yen boost from the pandemic, would it still have the qualifications to challenge for the number one spot? 'Spirited Away' has a box office of over 30 billion yen, you know."
"If Lin Zhiyan had said this before the movie was released, I definitely wouldn't have believed him. But now, I feel like even without the pandemic factor, 'Demon Slayer: Mugen Train' really does have the qualifications to challenge for the top spot at the box office."
"Ultimately, it comes down to excellent production and a wide audience, plus the solid foundation laid by the first season last year. And with no other big-budget animations to compete with it during the same period, the factor brought about by the pandemic can really only be considered the icing on the cake."
"Lin Zhiyan" and "Demon Slayer" are both topics that naturally attract traffic. The statement, "Even without the 10 billion box office revenue brought about by the pandemic, the Demon Slayer: Mugen Train theatrical film would still have had the qualifications to challenge for the number one spot at the box office"—while a bit arrogant—is likely the plain truth, and it easily sparked heated discussion.
However, the main reason this episode became popular is actually Lin Zhiyan's youthful and handsome face, which remains unchanged even at over forty years old.
The last time Lin Zhiyan was on television was back in 2014, in a documentary. He looked young and handsome then, too, but he was only in his thirties at the time, so no one thought much of it, just assuming Lin Zhiyan was a person who didn't show his age.
In the six years since, Lin Zhiyan hadn't appeared on television again. Although he did interviews with animation magazines in 2018 and 2019, they were only text, and there were no photos of Lin Zhiyan.
Now that Lin Zhiyan is back on television, it is quite incredible to the public that, despite already being 43 years old, he still looks like he's twenty-five or twenty-six, as young and handsome as ever, which naturally led to a massive amount of discussion.
Someone found a photo of Lin Zhiyan from twenty years ago and made a simple comparison with how he looks now, discovering that apart from his hairstyle, clothing, and overall demeanor, he really hasn't changed at all.
At first, people were just discussing it normally, but gradually, the topic expanded, and quite a few people in the animation industry and famous figures in the film and television circles ended up being caught in the crossfire.
Other public figures born between 1975 and 1980 were compared with Lin Zhiyan. In contrast, Lin Zhiyan appeared much younger, while some others in their early forties looked more like they were in their fifties.
The gap was not insignificant, much like the famous gap between Jimmy Lin and Guo Degang.
The key point is that while Lin Zhiyan is also a celebrity, he is different from those entertainers because he works in animation, which is seen by the outside world as one of the most high-pressure industries. Being able to maintain such a youthful and handsome appearance under these circumstances made it all the more unbelievable to people.
Amidst all the heated discussion, Lin Zhiyan became famous once again.
It was only after Lin Zhiyan became popular again that some people realized the Demon Slayer: Mugen Train theatrical film was actually produced by Lin Zhiyan, and could thus be considered one of his animation works as well.
Consequently, even more people flocked to the cinemas to watch it.
The animation's promotional campaign was already very powerful on its own, and the TV program episode Lin Zhiyan participated in further drove more people to the cinemas. As a result, the box office performance of Demon Slayer: Mugen Train remained extremely strong in its third week of release.
Before the second week had even concluded, it took just nine days for the animation to rake in 10 billion in box office revenue, and over the following thirteen days, it secured another 10 billion.
In twenty-two days of release, the cumulative box office exceeded 20 billion, with the number of viewers surpassing 15 million.
When these figures were reported, many both inside and outside the industry were astonished once again.
The momentum had been so fierce that it was undoubtedly going to cross the 20 billion mark, but no one expected it to reach that milestone in just twenty-two days.
The momentum was already so fierce before; it was without a doubt that the box office would exceed 20 billion. But no one could have imagined that this animation would rake in 20 billion in just twenty-two days.
It can only be described with one word: "terrifying."
When the first-week box office figures were released, everyone felt that this animation would have no problem surpassing "Spirited Away." Now, it's a certainty; many even suspect that another month will be enough for it to surpass the box office total of "Spirited Away."
Once the 20 billion box office milestone was achieved, the status of this animation skyrocketed. It was reported on by major television stations once again, becoming another national-level animation for L.S Produ.
However, the strength of this animation is not just reflected in its box office performance.
As the animation continues its successful run in theaters, sales of peripheral products have also been driven up, with items like figures and body pillows seeing a sharp increase in sales.
But even more terrifying is the boost it has given to the sales of the original work.
Back then, after the first season of the "Demon Slayer" TV animation aired its nineteenth episode, the "Hinokami Kagura" scene became a breakout hit, causing the animation to go viral and driving a massive surge in the sales of the original manga.
Now, with the "Mugen Train" theatrical film becoming a smash hit, sales of the original manga are skyrocketing even faster.
Originally, the manga for this work, driven by the first season of the animation, could already be considered a high-seller, and in 2019, it even took the top spot with an advantage of over two million copies compared to "One Piece"...
Driven by the first season of the anime, the manga source material for this work was already a high-seller; in 2019, it even took the annual sales championship, surpassing "One Piece" by about two million copies. However, in terms of total cumulative sales, there was still a very large gap compared to the manga series that stand at the pinnacle of sales.
Now, spurred on by the "Mugen Train" theatrical film, the total sales of the "Demon Slayer" manga are rapidly catching up to those top-tier series.
According to the Oricon Chart statistics at the end of November, "Demon Slayer" remained the annual sales champion for manga in 2020, achieving first place by an absolute landslide with over 80 million copies sold—more than the combined annual sales of the second through tenth-place titles.
It's simply not in the same league.
The total sales of the "Demon Slayer" manga are constantly overtaking one series after another, and are even challenging the all-time top ten best-selling manga list.
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