"This is just wild! When Old Devil Jing Yu previously revealed his plans for this year, I thought he just had a lot of projects. I assumed some would be high-quality and others more casual... but after seeing this info? I'm stunned."
"We already knew he had over three films coming. But now he's straight-up dropped the full list of titles."
"'Castle in the Sky'—just hearing the name makes me excited. An adventure film?"
"And 'Your Name'—is Old Devil returning to romance again? Not only that, but there's also 'The Girl Who Leapt Through Time' and 'The Garden of Words'. The latter's a short, but who cares—romance is romance. The more, the better!"
"From all the info Bluestar released, what I'm most hyped about is 'Voices of a Distant Star'! Old Devil Jing Yu is the conscience of the industry. A 20-minute short with a 50 million investment? Insane. This guy must be having an arthouse moment. You don't make money shooting shorts, especially not high-budget ones. But like 'Neon Genesis Evangelion', this one's also a mecha-type—ugh, I love this genre so much right now."
"He might be a heartless man who loves emotional trauma, but damn—he's productive! He knows we fans are starving, so he delivers like a machine."
"What shocked me most was that he's putting 700 million into these projects. Is screenwriting really this profitable? I remember reading news years ago that he lost his father, was broke, and couldn't even afford food. Now he casually pulls out hundreds of millions to shoot films?"
"He's not just a writer anymore—he owns one of the top film companies. Put it this way: an industry titan who's released top-tier hits for four or five years straight and claimed most of the profits from them… if he can't afford to invest a few billion, then this industry has no future."
"Still, over a hundred million per film is hard to swallow. He's around my age—how is he this insane?"
"Online haters always get salty when they see rich people, but even on film forums, when someone tries to diss Jing Yu, they can't find an angle."
"Can't find an angle? Just last week, I saw someone try to roast him, saying he only got popular because his dad gave him a handsome face. I laughed hard. Honestly, if he spent all his acting time focusing solely on writing and managing, he might even make more money."
"Which is exactly why he's admirable—writing, directing, and acting in his own works. And his acting? Actually good. Unlike other studios that treat films as pure cash grabs, this guy pours 50 million into a 20-minute short like 'Voices of a Distant Star'. Do you realize what that means? If you were the son of a TV station boss in one of the Big Six studios and you tried to greenlight something this niche, no board would approve it."
Jing Yu's latest round of announcements left fans and the industry speechless.
Just how much confidence did it take to go all-in like this?
Even the Big Six wouldn't dare throw around that kind of money so casually.
Still, this was just an announcement—within two days, the buzz died down.
And then came the broadcast of Episode 6 of 'Neon Genesis Evangelion'.
Episodes 1–3 focused on interactions between Shinji Ikari and Rei Ayanami.
Episodes 4–5 developed Shinji's relationship with Asuka Langley.
Episode 6? Now the love triangle officially began: Asuka, Shinji, and Rei.
From this episode onward, it was easy to see why 'Evangelion' was considered a game-changing series in Jing Yu's previous life.
Rei Ayanami was known as the originator of the "kuudere" archetype.
Asuka Langley was the blueprint for the classic "tsundere" heroine.
And the dynamic among these three—Shinji, Asuka, Rei—became the template for countless works that followed.
After Episode 6 aired, the viewership officially broke 11%.
But by this point, many viewers were starting to get confused.
"How long is this show going to run like this? From Episode 1 to now, they've taken down eight or nine Angels already. Are we just going to keep fighting until Angel No. 40?"
"To me, the Angel fights aren't the real plot—the growth and emotional development between the trio is what matters. Still, we've been setting things up for six episodes. Isn't it about time to shift gears?"
"Exactly. I'd be fine if the show pivoted into romance-first and battles-second. But come on—it's already Episode 6, and we still don't know the protagonists' long-term goals or what the organization they work for is even trying to do."
"All we've had is some vague 'Human Instrumentality Project' foreshadowing since Episode 1. And we still know nothing!"
"Yes, the show is good. Yes, the production is top-tier. But the plot feels aimless so far. Still, I trust Old Devil Jing Yu—he'll reveal it when the time's right."
"Be patient! It's only Episode 6. In 'Steins;Gate', the lead was still busy acting like a delusional chuuni at this point."
"Right? What's the rush? I actually think the story is progressing nicely. Asuka, Rei, Shinji—they've gone from mutual dislike and lack of understanding to becoming... weirdly close friends."
"What's next? Full-on 'White Album 2' mode? Honestly, this whole thing is giving me serious 'White Album 2' vibes. I bet Yu Youqing's Asuka wins in the end."
"Ah, it's that time of year again—White Album season?"
"But this episode also made me feel for Shinji. Just because his dad acknowledged him with one line, he was overjoyed. Poor kid."
"Yeah. Even if you don't like his indecisiveness, you can't help but pity him sometimes."
"Three emotionally broken teens healing each other—that's what this story's really about."
By the end of Episode 6, a good portion of the audience had grown tired of the one-Angel-per-week structure.
But thanks to the precedent set by slow-burn classics like 'Steins;Gate', many were willing to wait for the second half of the story to pay off.
And with the latest episode broadcast...
On the surface, it looked like a deepening of the trio's friendship.
But seasoned fans of 'White Album 2' were already sensing the telltale signs of a love-triangle minefield.
Meanwhile, in the real world, fan rivalry between Rei and Asuka supporters reached a boiling point.
Some film buffs who hadn't checked the forums in a few days came back to find it completely overtaken by Rei-vs-Asuka wars.