Online, many people were discussing:
"The probability of a reunion like this is one in six billion. I'm touched."
"I never expected this. Before, my only impressions of Yui were as the new vocalist for Girls Dead Monster and arguing with Hinata. I never imagined they'd end up as a couple."
"Thinking about it now, it makes sense. You only argue with someone you have a good relationship with. If their relationship were bad, they probably wouldn't even exchange more than a few words. In my opinion, the bond between Hinata and Yui is much stronger than the one between the Male Lead and Yui. If any guy is willing to marry Yui, it can only be Hinata."
"The main plot in the end is about sending people away—someone will disappear. That was to be expected. But I thought the process would be really painful. Instead, it's more heartwarming."
"Exactly! Iwasawa's disappearance in Episode 3 was also heartwarming, especially with the song 'My Song.' It's not depressing at all. This episode 10 is the same—paired with 'My Most Precious Treasure,' it's really tearjerking."
"Wait a minute! Something's off about this anime! If we go by what everyone's saying, isn't it just heartwarming now? Is this still the Old Thief Lin we know?"
"Every character's flashbacks are painfully poignant, and Episode 7 is a bit depressing too. But up to Episode 10, the overall tone of this anime is genuinely joyful and heartwarming. You can't call it a depressing anime."
While it's not entirely free of depressing moments, as long as it doesn't resort to blatant nonsense, as—based on the first ten episodes—really can't be considered a depressing anime.
Lin Zhiyan had always made depressing anime in the past, so creating one that isn't depressing feels unnatural. Some people even said:
"This isn't the Old Thief Lin I know!"
"Exactly! For Old Thief Lin to not make a depressing anime? That's absolutely impossible. I'd never believe it, even if you paid me."
"Got it. This is definitely another one of Old Thief Lin's tricks to lull us into complacency. Before, it was the Three-Episode Rule, but now that everyone knows about that, he can't fool us with it anymore. So he's changed it to eleven, or even twelve or thirteen episodes before revealing the truly depressing content."
"We can't let our guard down. The final three episodes will undoubtedly be brutally depressing. After all, this is Old Thief Lin's anime."
"The 10th episode's ED had an Easter egg. Did everyone see it? This shadowy figure appeared and started attacking people. I feel like that's the key to the depression."
"Just don't lower your guard. If you start thinking as is just a happy and heartwarming anime, and that there won't be any more depressing moments, you'll fall right into Old Thief Lin's trap."
"A trap! It's definitely a trap!"
Lin Zhiyan doesn't make depressing anime?
That's as absurd as the sun rising from the west.
Rebellion Story? It only seems uplifting at first glance. But upon closer thought, it's still a depressing anime. In the end, Homura Akemi becomes the polar opposite of the Madoka God—hardly a truly happy ending.
Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day is considered therapeutic by many, an anime that moved all of Japan. But to claim it's not depressing at all would be wrong. In the final moments, Lin Zhiyan refuses to give us even a glimpse of Menma reincarnated, reunited with her friends—a scene that would have offered closure.
As for Death Note, Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion, Gurren Lagann, and Puella Magi Madoka Magica—these are even more depressing, the kind that leaves you feeling gloomy for days after watching.
Though Lin Zhiyan had long declared his disinterest in depressing anime, most viewers remained unconvinced. They insisted that the truly depressing content must be saved for the final three episodes; there was no way it could really not be a depressing anime.
These viewers believed that the true depressing nature of as would be revealed in the final three episodes. However, when Episodes 11 and 12 aired, they discovered that even these episodes failed to justify labeling as as a "depressing anime."
A shadowy entity of unknown origin appeared, attacking people in the afterlife. Those consumed by the shadow became soulless NPCs, trapped in an eternal existence.
One member of the Afterlife Battlefront, Takamatsu, was transformed into an NPC. As the animation put it: "Unable to even disappear, forced to attend classes here forever. Worse than death... trapped here... forever."
After realizing what was happening, the members of the Afterlife Battlefront felt varying degrees of panic.
However, in reality, this was merely plot-driven tension, not genuine depressing elements.
Yuri had already discovered the Male Lead's secret actions. Previously, she had pretended ignorance, but now that this crisis had arisen, she gathered everyone together. After explaining the danger of the shadows and the need for collective defense, she had the Male Lead step forward to propose an alternative path that diverged from the group's strategy.
Not everyone could understand the Male Lead's idea. Fortunately, Hinata and Naoto stepped forward to support him, and Yuri gave everyone time to consider.
More shadows emerged. Yuri called Kanade Tachibana for help in the battle, while she herself went alone to find the mastermind. In her view, this wasn't a problem with the world's mechanics; there had to be a mastermind behind it all. If they could find and eliminate the mastermind, they could eliminate the shadows.
The battle began. Kanade fought relentlessly, and members of the Afterlife Battlefront joined in. Meanwhile, some chose to follow the Male Lead's advice and leave the Afterlife directly.
Meanwhile, Yuri ventured deeper underground, encountering danger while searching for the mastermind and nearly being devoured by the shadows. Fortunately, at the critical moment, Kanade arrived with the Male Lead, Hinata, and Naoto.
The group pressed forward. As they approached the mastermind's location, the shadows multiplied. The Male Lead suggested that Yuri go ahead alone to confront the mastermind, while he and the others stayed behind to deal with the shadows.
Yuri continued deeper, quickly finding "Computer Room 2" and the mastermind behind the scenes.
The mastermind turned out to be Takamatsu, who had been devoured earlier. However, this wasn't the real Takamatsu, but rather a person controlled by a program written by a programmer from long ago.
According to this person:
"In this world, love begins to sprout, and that is not allowed to exist here."
"Once love sprouts, this place will become an eternal paradise, but this world cannot become that way because it is a place where people are supposed to graduate and leave."
"However, occasionally, people who lived for others and lived a fulfilling life will lose their memories and mistakenly enter here, and that's when this bug occurs."
This person was the programmer who developed the Angel Player. He was also the one who discovered the bug in the Afterlife and corrected it, using shadows to turn people into NPCs. He was the true mastermind behind the scenes.
"He had been waiting all along, waiting for her—the one who left this world alone after understanding love. But because the wait was so long, he gradually lost his mind and developed a program to NPC-ize himself," the program-controlled "Takamatsu" said.
After understanding everything, Yuri didn't use her will to change the posthumous world. Instead, she fired her gun, completely destroying the computer room.
After venting her anger, her emotional knot was untied. However, she didn't immediately disappear. She fainted and woke up in the nurse's office on a hospital bed, surrounded by the Male Lead, Kanade Tachibana, Hinata, and Naoto.
The problem of the shadow had been resolved, and there was no real depression. At least, that's what almost all viewers who had watched Episode 12 believed. Therefore, those stubborn ones who insisted that as had to be a depressing anime could only secretly tell themselves that the final Episode 13 would definitely be very depressing.
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