"I was shocked to learn that the Witches in Puella Magi Madoka Magica are actually transformed magical girls."
"It's a case of the enemy and the hero sharing the same origin, but not just any shared origin—it's the classic 'brave hero who slays dragons ultimately becomes an evil dragon' trope."
"We already had two major plot twists in the third and sixth episodes, and now another one? How many surprises does this anime need to satisfy us?"
"My scalp is tingling with shock. How did Old Thief Lin even come up with this story? It's too powerful."
"No anime has ever given me so many shocks and surprises. This anime is truly divine. If the quality doesn't drop, it'll likely become a groundbreaking masterpiece after it ends."
"This anime will probably kill off all other magical girl anime. They're just too bland in comparison."
"Exactly. I started watching this anime because of the magical girl theme, and the first two episodes felt pretty unremarkable. I never expected the third episode to explode like that. And it's only been eight episodes, yet we've had so many major plot twists. It's astonishing."
Explosion! A massive explosion!
At this point, no one really cared whether the animation was a healing genre or a soul-crushing one anymore. When something was this stunning, even if it was the ultimate soul-crushing experience, torturing viewers to the point of depression for days, they couldn't help but keep watching and kept cheering wildly.
Of course, there were still complaints:
"Hey @SupervisingDirector Lin Zhiyan, Old Thief Lin, come out here! You said episode 8 would be dark but wouldn't have any deaths? Do you have a different definition of 'death'?"
"Damn it! Old Thief Lin is using deceptive marketing again!"
"Sayaka turned into a Witch, and you still said there would be no deaths? Did you mean she only counts as dead if some magical girl kills her after becoming a Witch? You're a devil!"
"Exactly! And who says there were no deaths in episode 8? Those two scum in the train car didn't die, did they? Impossible!"
"Devil Lin! Demon Lin! Always torturing my Sayaka! Grrr, grrr, grrr, grrr!"
"I thought Sayaka would at least live until episode 9. I was such an idiot for believing Old Thief Lin's lies. What a fool I am."
"Lin, watch your back. If I ever catch you, you're dead."
The sheer volume of resentment was, in a way, a testament to how much the audience loved Puella Magi Madoka Magica.
As the person responsible, Lin Zhiyan would check the online discussions after each episode aired. After all, the threads about the anime were always so interesting and lively.
He saw both the praise and the criticism, of course.
In the past, he would have gone to great lengths to avoid making enemies, never wanting to be seen as "Old Man Kyubey" in the eyes of the audience. But Puella Magi Madoka Madoka was an animation he couldn't not make, and without deceptive marketing, it likely wouldn't have been so successful.
After finishing the animation, he had originally planned to reform his ways. But now, perhaps because he had grown accustomed to the criticism, reading these threads left him completely unfazed—even amused.
It seemed being called "Old Thief Lin" by so many people wasn't so bad after all, maybe even a little... exhilarating.
"Am I a sadist or a masochist?" he muttered to himself.
After his musings, he posted a thread online to defend himself:
"I'm a good person! I didn't lie!
After episode five, I warned everyone that the next part would be brutal and soul-crushing, urging them to prepare mentally. Did I lie? My friends who trusted me probably already had their defenses up and weren't crushed at all."
"Before the eighth episode aired, I said it would be depressing but wouldn't involve any deaths. And I was right, wasn't I? Sayaka is still alive as a Witch, she hasn't died yet! Saying she's dead is so rude!"
Since this wasn't Lin Zhiyan's first post, many people already followed his account. As soon as he posted, those followers received instant notifications.
Then, countless netizens couldn't help but vent:
"Old Thief Lin, how dare you post again! Aren't you afraid we'll crawl through the internet and murder you?"
"So, I'm supposed to thank you, Old Thief Lin?"
"Shameless! Utterly shameless! You dare claim to be a good person who didn't lie? I've never met anyone so brazen."
"I could barely accept anything else, but... you claimed Puella Magi Madoka Magica was a healing-genre magical girl anime before it aired. How do you explain that? Dare you say that wasn't a lie too?"
"Exactly! No excuses! I'll never believe your BS again."
"What do you mean Sayaka is still alive as a Witch? That's not devilish talk anymore, that's Demon King-level talk."
"Now I understand why Old Man Kyubey could calmly say 'I was doing it for your own good' even after the truth about Soul Gems was revealed. You two are cut from the same cloth—no wonder he's the contract pet you wrote."
While he was being cursed, Lin Zhiyan wasn't actually that angry. This was one of the reasons he dared to post a defense of himself online.
If the audience truly harbored such deep resentment, if they hated him to the point of grinding their teeth and wanting to kill him, then forget posting a defense—he probably would have had to flee the country with his staff overnight.
Posting this defense wouldn't invite a death threat. In fact, some might have even thought, Old Thief Lin is quite an interesting man, while they were cursing him.
Episode 8 of the animation itself had already sparked heated debate among viewers due to its shocking plot twists and massive information dump. Lin Zhiyan's defense only drew more criticism from countless fans.
Amidst this fervor, the animation's popularity and buzz surged once more.
After Episode 6, the show's popularity and buzz had already been terrifying. Now, after Episode 8, they had become even more terrifying.
Pre-orders for the first volume of the DVD had long surpassed 30,000 units, a figure many popular anime titles failed to reach in average sales per volume.
Merchandise, especially Kyubey-related items like plushies and body pillows, sold like hotcakes.
Whether buyers were using them to vent their anger or simply found them cute, it was impossible to say. After all, Kyubey looked undeniably adorable, yet he was so detestable. Buying one to squeeze as a stress reliever or use as a punching bag wasn't entirely out of the question.
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