From an Asian perspective, Western aesthetics had always seemed rather strange.
The "Eastern beauties" in their eyes often did not appear particularly refined to most Asians. For example, the famous internet celebrity "Sister Feng," whose name was known by nearly all of China, was considered attractive by many Westerners. In the eyes of some Black Americans, Sister Feng was even more appealing than the artistic photos of a certain actress surnamed Fan.
This difference in aesthetics was also reflected in the animation industry.
To most European and American viewers, the representative image of an animated beauty probably involved sausage lips, a wasp waist in the literal sense, exaggerated hips, and enormous breasts. Of course, from the perspective of European and American viewers, the large eyes and line-like noses of Japanese anime characters might not look much better either.
The gap in aesthetic preferences meant that Eastern and Western animation markets had never reached much common ground.
European and American animation and Japanese animation had fundamentally different positions. Their markets and audiences were different, making it difficult for the two to form a true competitive relationship.
Even so, despite the aesthetic gap, Japanese anime still developed a certain audience base in the West. The greatest influences in that regard were none other than the representative Japanese anime 'Violet Blooming Garden' and Kamiyā Yuu's 3D animation 'RWBY.'
After more than a year of silence, 'RWBY' had never declined much in popularity in the West.
Fan artwork stayed in the top ten of Fakebook's original art section year-round. At comic conventions across Europe and America, cosplayers of the four heroines could be seen everywhere.
If one wanted to form soccer teams, 'RWBY' character cosplayers could already hold a World Cup tournament.
The biggest reason 'RWBY' remained popular in Western countries was its unique positioning.
Unlike mainstream European and American animated films aimed at all ages, it depicted an entirely new fantasy world for viewers. At the same time, 'RWBY's theme greatly catered to the heroic ideals in the hearts of European and American audiences.
In addition, there was another aspect of 'RWBY' that people loved to discuss: its filming techniques and overall construction of the animation.
What filming method should be used for each scene? What music should support it? How should the color tone and atmosphere of the animation be handled?
To put it plainly, these were all methods used to display the infectious power of film.
In this regard, 'RWBY' had already become a textbook for the entire animated film industry.
Various factors caused 'RWBY' to be highly praised by Western media and audiences.
Indirectly, Kamiyā Yuu, the creator of the animation, naturally received considerable attention from Western media as well.
When Kamiyā Yuu produced Japanese anime, he focused on domestic Japanese popularity and ignored Western audience reactions.
In truth, many European and American viewers were very disappointed when they learned that Kamiyā Yuu planned to make 2D Japanese anime.
First, it wasted his excellent 3D animation skills.
Second, most European and American viewers simply could not muster interest in Japanese anime.
Kamiyā Yuu's first 2D Japanese anime, 'Magical Girl Nanoha,' slightly reversed that impression.
The battle scenes in 'Magical Girl Nanoha,' which combined 2D and 3D, were no less expressive than those in 'RWBY.' Many grand scenes felt truly stunning.
In terms of story, 'Magical Girl Nanoha' leaned more toward teenagers. It carried through the traditional element of friendship found in Japanese anime, and its portrayal of characters and emotions reached an extreme.
When the anime ended, it harvested tears from a large number of European and American viewers who had been following Kamiyā Yuu.
When 'Magical Girl Nanoha' concluded, it squeezed into the top ten of Fakebook's Japanese anime rating rankings.
This top ten did not refer to that year's top ten Japanese anime, but the top ten across the entire development history of Japanese anime.
'RWBY' was not categorized as Japanese anime, so it did not enter the list. As a result, the work ranked first was still that stunning anime, 'Violet Blooming Garden.'
Moving on to 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica,' the people paying attention to this work were no longer limited to Kamiyā Yuu's fans.
Fakebook's promotion had made European and American viewers who liked Japanese anime basically aware of its existence.
Through the plot change in Episode Seven, 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica' caused an even greater shock among a small portion of Western users.
Its twisted and bizarre plot development, along with the strange worldview it revealed, overturned the views countless Western viewers had toward Japanese anime when these two elements were integrated into a Japanese animated work.
Now, 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica' has received a high score of 96 in Fakebook's audience rating survey.
After its conclusion, 'Magical Girl Nanoha' had maintained a score of 95.
'Violet Blooming Garden' and 'RWBY' had both received the historically highest score of 98.
The storm 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica' stirred up in Europe and America was not as exaggerated as 'RWBY,' but it had surpassed most Japanese anime.
As long as the latter plot remained strong, its popularity would sooner or later reach the same height as 'Violet Blooming Garden.'
...
"Alger, Harry's here for you. How about going out and getting some exercise? What's so good about staying cooped up at home all day at your age?"
A middle-aged woman's rough voice came from outside.
Alger, who was lying on his bed playing with his phone, raised an eyebrow.
He opened the bedroom window and, sure enough, saw his childhood friend Harry downstairs playing with a basketball. From the looks of it, Harry intended to drag him to the court.
Pulling open the curtains, Alger's eyes struggled to adjust to the dazzling sunlight.
Squinting, he waved toward the window and shouted,
"Hey! Harry, come up!"
Harry, who was practicing switching the ball between both hands, nodded and soon arrived in Alger's bedroom, speaking with great enthusiasm.
"Alger, there's a new team at the court. I heard one of them is even a retired player."
"Sorry. I feel like resting today."
Lying on the bed, Alger spread his hands and answered.
"What! It's Saturday. You, a seventeen-year-old male, are actually staying home to rest?"
Harry put down the basketball with an expression like he had seen a ghost.
"I was online until really late last night. My body still hasn't adjusted. I'm exhausted. In this state, there's no way I'd play well."
"That Japanese anime again? I really don't know why you like those big-eyed cartoon characters so much."
Harry sat on the chair and sighed helplessly. He looked at the basketball in his hand, then tossed it aside dispiritedly.
He knew his friend had recently been watching a Japanese anime late at night. Unfortunately, the anime aired late on Friday nights. Several times now, when he had come to ask Alger to go out on Saturday, he had been rejected for the same reason.
"Then do you want to watch it? I think it's a pretty good work. You like 'RWBY' too, right? This anime was made by that animation director, Kamiyā Yuu."
Alger raised an eyebrow, got up, and went to his computer.
After turning it on, he entered Fakebook's Japanese anime channel and clicked into the 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica' section.
He believed 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica' was a work that exceeded expectations, and Harry should like it too.
Harry sighed.
"Alger, you know I'm not interested in this stuff."
He said that, but in truth, he was a little interested.
The last time Alger recommended 'RWBY' to him, it had left him with an excellent impression. He especially liked Yang, whose figure was fiery and sexy, and whose personality was also great. She was practically the perfect goddess in his heart.
...
Ten minutes later, the somewhat impatient Harry said in a strange tone,
"Fine~! Magical girls! Magical girls? Are there going to be those embarrassing transformation scenes? If Mary and the others find out, I'll probably be laughed at for the rest of my life."
...
Half an hour later, Harry looked at the witch's domain in 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica' and rubbed his forehead with a headache.
"The art style is way too weird. Oh! Is this one of those headache-inducing oil paintings?"
...
An hour later, Harry stared intently at the computer screen. From time to time, he turned to Alger behind him and commented,
"The plot is finally getting a little interesting."
...
"What? Is that a nuclear bomb? Using a nuclear bomb as a weapon? WTF!?"
Seeing the weapon Homura Akemi used, Harry's mouth fell open. The visual presentation of the anime left him shocked.
...
"WTF! WTF! WTF!!! Oh! What the hell is this! You can't do this to me! Oh! Shite!"
Crude curses kept ringing beside his ears, but Alger, seemingly already used to it, calmly lay on his bed and flipped through the magazine in his hands.
Harry was staring fixedly at the screen, anxiously scratching his ears and cheeks. His appearance made Alger wonder whether he might tear the screen off just to vent his feelings.
Alger moved his magazine aside, glanced at Harry's anxious and astonished face, and smiled knowingly.
"Harry, please keep quiet. You're disturbing my magazine reading."
"This anime you recommended is bullshit! What the hell is this damn plot!?"
Harry turned around, pulled off his headphones, and complained indignantly.
Alger put down the magazine and looked at his friend with a strange expression.
A grown man was actually crying.
"You're crying?"
"Crying?"
Harry froze.
He touched his face with his right hand and realized there really were traces of moisture.
Just now, the plot development of 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica' kept his nerves tense the entire time. The oppressive atmosphere had made it hard for him to breathe.
Harry did not deny that the anime was extremely well-made.
He had been constantly immersed in Madoka Kaname's perspective, and combined with the anime's emotional impact, it had forced even a man like him to feel a silent sadness.
By the time the plot of Episode Seven reached its end, the annihilation of the magical girls finally made him lose control of his emotions.
Harry wiped his tears and cursed again,
"Shite! You know I hate tragedies."
"That's exactly why I recommended it to you. Haha~ I didn't expect your reaction to be this interesting. It's just like what the viewers online said. Quite a few people online said they cried when watching Episode Seven. There was even someone who got so emotional that they punched straight through their computer monitor."
Alger sat up in bed with interest.
His personality was more reserved. After watching Episode Seven of 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica,' he had merely felt miserable for a day.
Now, a real example of someone crying after watching Episode Seven had appeared right before his eyes.
Alger was a loyal fan of 'RWBY.'
Like most fans, his youthful heart had been conquered by 'RWBY's brilliant battle scenes.
The roar of bullets created an exceptional sense of impact. The force of every blow landing directly on flesh made him fall in love at first sight.
Later, when he watched it in the theater, the impact of the giant screen made his entire body go numb. That blood-pumping feeling remains unforgettable to this day.
After digging deeper into 'RWBY,' he learned the names of Yosuganosora Animation Studio and Kamiyā Yuu.
When he heard that Kamiyā Yuu intended to temporarily set aside creating 'RWBY,' he was very disappointed and confused.
The charm of the 'RWBY' series had clearly only just begun to show itself, so why suddenly abandon it?
Why couldn't he learn from other animation companies and squeeze every last bit of value out of an IP once it became popular?
After that, he frequently followed the movements of Yosuganosora Animation Studio and learned that Kamiyā Yuu had turned to making the 2D Japanese anime 'Magical Girl Nanoha.'
Time had reduced much of his enthusiasm, but the feeling 'RWBY' had left in his body and heart remained unforgettable.
So he followed Kamiyā Yuu's new work, 'Magical Girl Nanoha.'
This Japanese anime was even better than he had imagined.
It did not have fist-to-flesh combat scenes, but it had extremely magnificent battles.
This Japanese anime maintained a deeper exploration of its characters. The emotional impact of the plot and the depth of the characters were even better than in 'RWBY.'
When 'Magical Girl Nanoha' ended, it was the first time he had ever shed tears for a film or television work.
Alger could no longer clearly remember what he had felt at the time.
But he still remembered Fate's experiences and the way she was redeemed from despair.
That gentle nature of hers, maintained even when facing despair, had shaken him deeply. To the point that, during that period, when he looked at the girls in his class, the restlessness of a teenage boy turned into complete disinterest.
By comparison, Episode Seven of 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica' only shocked people through its plot twist.
In terms of emotional impact, it was far from comparable to 'Magical Girl Nanoha,' which had twelve episodes of buildup.
Alger did not deny that the plot twists in Episodes Six and Seven of 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica' had also greatly shaken him and overturned his initial impression of the work.
His intuition told him that although both were magical girl series and both had "magical girl" in their titles, 'Magical Girl Nanoha' and 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica' were completely different types of works.
"Alger, next time there's someone you don't like, you really should recommend this anime to them. Damn it, my good mood for the whole day is gone."
Harry muttered resentfully while clicking the next episode of 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica' on the computer.
Holding his magazine, Alger said casually,
"The anime has only aired halfway. Other than that, Japanese director Kamiyā Yuu, no one knows the ending. If you don't like it, then stop watching."
Harry rolled his eyes and raised his middle finger at him.
"That's the worst part. Fine, this anime has successfully caught my attention. I just hope the ending won't be a tragedy like this! I really like that black-haired girl in the anime. She's cool as hell! I really should recommend this anime to Jesse and the others, too. Fuck! The anime's starting. I'm not talking to you anymore, and don't bother me either."
He hurriedly turned back around and continued his grand binge-watching mission, not even willing to skip the opening.
Alger was left speechless.
This was apparently still his room. Harry was using his computer. And Harry had been the one talking to him in the first place.
Harry's fascination with 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica' surprised Alger.
Starting from the morning, he stayed in front of the computer the whole time. After watching the latest episode, Eleven, he still hadn't had enough and went back to rewatch the first seven episodes, which he had only skimmed through before.
After finishing, he posted a review on his own social media account, then left comments in the Fakebook section and checked all kinds of discussions about 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica.'
Whenever he discovered something new, he would excitedly call Alger over to look with him.
Alger regretted it a little.
He had a vague feeling that recommending 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica' to Harry might not have been a good decision.
After all, he had never seen Harry become so absorbed in any film or television work before.
What Alger did not know was that his actions were a textbook example of successful evangelism.