This Animation Director Has Serious Issues

When he first became known for an avant-garde animated short, people said, “He’s just a clown who got famous for making weird, lowbrow stuff!”

Then he released a standalone OVA with animation so spectacular it could outclass the entire industry. People said, “It’s all technique and no soul. What kind of anime is that?”

Next, he brought out the tearjerkers from his previous life: Clannad, The Garden of Words, 5 Centimeters per Second, Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day, and Your Lie in April.

People started crying, “All you know how to do is make viewers cry. You don’t know how to make them laugh. What kind of anime director are you?”

So he followed up with Gintama, Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun, Kaguya-sama: Love Is War, Daily Lives of High School Boys, and Yosuga no Sora.

At last, people gave in. “Director Lin, please make another episode! I get restless all over if I don’t watch one!”

To cure their itch, Lin Xin went on to create long-running animated series like One Piece, Naruto, Detective Conan, and Bleach.

And so he was showered with honors, becoming the brightest diamond of his age.