Inside a private room at a karaoke bar, the music faded and Lin Zhiyan finished his song.
"Until the end of the world, we'll never be apart..."
The room erupted in thunderous applause.
"You sang beautifully, Senior!" Nanase Mayumi exclaimed, clapping enthusiastically.
Suddenly, she cried out, "Next up is 'Butter-Fly'! Mine, mine!"
She snatched the microphone from Lin Zhiyan and began to sing along to the music.
When she finished, she handed the microphone to the next person and immediately turned to Lin Zhiyan, her eyes shining with anticipation. "Senior, how was it? Did I sing well?"
"Full of emotion... You sang very well," Lin Zhiyan replied with a straight face.
In truth, what he really wanted to say was:
No technique, just raw emotion.
You sang well, but please don't sing that song again.
But that would be too cruel. She had asked with such earnest hope, and of course she wanted to hear a positive response. At times like these, honesty had to take a backseat.
Moreover, the main issue was that the song simply didn't suit Nanase Mayumi's voice. While her voice was naturally beautiful, so even her poor singing wasn't completely unbearable—it was at least somewhat listenable.
Nanase Mayumi, however, was blissfully unaware of her shortcomings. Hearing Lin Zhiyan's words, she genuinely believed she had sung well. Overjoyed, she declared enthusiastically, "In that case, I want to sing a few more songs!" and ran off to select another song.
Lin Zhiyan's lips twitched slightly.
This was the downside of a karaoke system without a scoring system. If there had been scores, Nanase Mayumi probably wouldn't have dared to sing another song after the first.
Fortunately, the problem wasn't too serious—it wasn't exactly "hellish" singing.
The reason Lin Zhiyan had come to karaoke in the first place was that he realized he hadn't properly sung since his rebirth.
Since he would soon be responsible for the music and performing the animation's theme song, he needed to test his singing skills at karaoke first. He had to confirm that his previous life's vocal abilities were still intact before taking on the project. Otherwise, it would be mortifying to decide to sing only to discover that after being reborn in a new body, he had lost his voice.
After singing "Until the End of the World," Lin Zhiyan was certain that his singing skills from his previous life were still intact. He could now confidently take on the task of singing the animation's theme song.
The next morning, upon arriving at the office, Lin Zhiyan first attended to his regular work.
At ten o'clock, when formal working hours began, he called Nanase Mayumi into his office and instructed her: "Mayumi, contact external music studios. Tell them we want to record the animation's music in late June or July and ask which studios can accommodate us."
Music studios differed from sound studios. The former specialized in music, including arranging and recording with orchestras.
The latter focused on sound effects and voice actors. While they could technically record music, their expertise was far inferior, and they weren't well-connected with major orchestras.
Nanase Mayumi naturally understood the distinction between music and sound studios. She nodded and replied, "Understood."
Before long, she couldn't help but ask, "Senior, have we found someone to handle the animation's music yet?"
"Yes," Lin Zhiyan nodded.
"Who were you looking for? I've never seen you look for anyone before," Nanase Mayumi asked, puzzled.
Lin Zhiyan smiled and pointed at himself. "Me."
Nanase Mayumi: "???"
"It's normal you've never seen me look for anyone, because I've never actually looked for anyone," Lin Zhiyan explained. "I'll be personally responsible for the music in this animation, and I'll even sing the theme song myself."
Nanase Mayumi: "[?_??]"
She stared blankly for two or three seconds before her expression turned priceless. "Senior, are you kidding me?"
"Not at all."
Lin Zhiyan shook his head slightly. "I'm not just good at drawing; I know a little about scriptwriting and a little about music too."
He made a "little bit" gesture with his fingers.
The "little bit" about scriptwriting was actually a lie—he'd just copied everything. But the music part was true; he really knew a little, enough to say it without feeling guilty.
At this point, Nanase Mayumi had no choice but to believe him, though she couldn't resist grumbling, "I never heard you mention you knew music before. Senior, how many more hidden talents are you keeping from me?"
Lin Zhiyan smiled. "It doesn't matter if you didn't know before; the important thing is you know now. As for my talents, what you've learned so far is everything—oh, except for those three."
"What three things?" Nanase Mayumi couldn't help but ask immediately.
Divine Tongue, Divine Hand, and the 108 Forms of the Bedroom—those three things.
Of course, he couldn't tell her about those skills in this context; it would be no different than being a pervert.
Lin Zhiyan put on a look of reluctance, saying, "Maybe you'll have a chance to find out in the future."
Naturally, Nanase Mayumi couldn't guess what those three skills were. She clenched her fists and declared with utmost seriousness, "I will absolutely, absolutely find out all of them in the future!"
Lin Zhiyan smiled without saying anything.
After Nanase Mayumi left with her mission, he quietly turned his thoughts to the next problem—animation promotion.
If a Production Committee is formed, the animation production company only needs to handle the actual production. Once the anime is complete, the committee members will naturally help with the promotion.
However, Death Note animation was not following the typical Production Committee model. Instead, they produced it themselves, spent money to secure a half-hour slot on a late-night TV channel, and commissioned a DVD distributor to handle distribution. They then negotiated rights with other companies for music releases, merchandise, video game adaptations, and more, either through partnerships or by selling the rights outright, depending on the animation's popularity and buzz.
This approach meant Lin Zhiyan had to handle all promotion himself, with no help from other companies.
Lin Zhiyan was responsible for the Supervising Director, script, character design, and Chief Animation Director roles. Yet, he was still relatively unknown to the audience. Now, he also had to manage the music and theme song vocals. In this situation, promoting the animation became a crucial and extremely difficult challenge.
How could they increase Death Note's popularity and awareness before its premiere?
Spending money was a given.
But there were different ways to spend money on promotion, and the results varied depending on the approach.
They needed to choose a promotional strategy that maximized impact with minimal cost, one that could genuinely boost the animation's popularity and draw viewers in. And that, precisely, was the hardest part.
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