By late May, the central tone of 'Death Note' had become crystal clear.
You could describe it simply as a high-stakes cat-and-mouse game between two men.
In particular, the debate over which of the two leads is more intelligent had been a hot topic—even in Jing Yu's previous life, fans had endlessly dissected this. Stripping away the supernatural elements like the notebook and outside support, who truly had the superior intellect?
It's hard to say definitively, but based solely on the way they act in the story, they're evenly matched in terms of raw intelligence.
That said, when it comes to mentality, Light clearly falls short of L.
Not because he's mentally fragile, but because he lacks L's composure.
Light is full of desire—so much so that he can't maintain the same level of clear-headedness as L.
Ironically, this contrast only made L more beloved as the story progressed.
Some viewers felt the world is inherently hypocritical and needed someone like Light to "correct" it.
Others believed that in a world like this, someone like L, who still upheld absolute justice, was far more admirable than Light could ever be.
"I really hope L wins."
"No joke, Old Thief didn't exaggerate. Light and L are the most brilliantly written characters—not just in Old Thief's career, but in any TV series I've ever seen."
"At this point, L is coming out ahead. He's terrifying."
"He had no evidence, but still installed cameras in Light's home and monitored him for a week. Even with nothing conclusive, he still suspects Light is Kira."
"What if L actually wants Light to be Kira? He's probably the only intellectual equal L has ever met. If Light isn't Kira, L might actually be disappointed."
"Honestly, L feels like a more fully developed character. And Old Thief clearly wrote L to be a little smarter than Light."
"Light's downfall is his greed. He refused to give up half his lifespan to obtain the Shinigami Eyes, which would've let him kill L instantly."
"Yeah, but if the plot played out that way, it'd be boring."
"And now there's a second Death Note, and this girl named Misa Amane is obviously the female lead? Total liability…"
"Don't even mention it. I bet she's gonna get Light killed in next week's episode."
By this stage, the story had progressed through most of the war between Light and L.
From strangers to uneasy allies on the Kira Investigation Team, their dynamic had been nonstop tension. But with Misa's careless actions, Light comes under heavy suspicion again.
To protect themselves, both give up ownership of the notebook and lose their memories.
But all of it was part of Light's master plan. A high-stakes gambit to earn L's trust, using himself as bait.
By late May, 'Death Note' had reached its climax. Jing Yu's social media exploded with tens of thousands of daily comments and over ten thousand private messages, all from fans trying to convince him to let either Light or L win.
In terms of viewership, this was a clear step above even Jing Yu's earlier hits. By episode 7, it had already surpassed a 10% rating, making it his first double-digit hit since returning from hiatus.
Of course, 'Death Note's popularity also sparked controversy. As in his previous world, some critics claimed that portraying a devil-like protagonist would "corrupt the youth".
But Jing Yu didn't need to defend himself—his fans handled it for him.
Any time someone accused the show of lacking "moral values" or failing to promote "positive energy," they were immediately flamed off the platform—comment sections closed, accounts silenced.
Jing Yu, back at work, did take time to observe all this.
Still, he knew—even a masterpiece like 'Death Note' probably couldn't top Attack on Titans in ratings. So he didn't obsess over the numbers.
Back at the company, aside from managing 'Yu-Gi-Oh!' and 'Pokémon' TV releases and game rollout plans, he had a bigger focus: new content for next year's drama lineup.
Sure, both 'Yu-Gi-Oh!' and 'Pokémon' were long enough to run for years. But audiences burn out, and even more so—he would.
He still had a massive backlog of IPs he hadn't adapted yet. But most were long-form works, unlike the mid-length 'Death Note', which had already been adapted from his previous life's catalog.
Now, he was looking at adapting a longer series.
Series like 'Fullmetal Alchemist', 'Hunter x Hunter', 'Bleach', and 'Slam Dunk'.
Given his current status and workload, there was no way he could release multiple works per year like before.
There just wasn't enough time. The more projects, the more thinly he'd be stretched.
But adapting longer works had its upsides: a single show could air for a year or more, helping build momentum and boost merchandise sales.
And now, his company finally had the technology and resources to handle it.
Previously, he avoided such projects due to a lack of funding and tech. But things were different now.
Jing Yu, being a man of action, had burned off all his wanderlust during his months of "salted fish" travel.
After spending several days shut in his office, he began seriously weighing which series to adapt.
Eventually, he narrowed it down to four:
'Reborn!'
'Hunter x Hunter'
'Bleach'
'Slam Dunk'
Of course, if he just wanted raw popularity, he'd go for 'Naruto', 'One Piece', or 'Dragon Ball'—the three behemoths. But those were massively long, and he wasn't confident about doing them justice yet.
Besides, their licensing costs were astronomical.
If he messed up, it would be a blow he couldn't afford.
So, he opted for more manageable mid-to-long series to build team experience first.
His indecision lasted a while, but by early June, he made the call:
'Bleach' and 'Slam Dunk'.
That would be the company's first official long-term project slate.
With the decision made, Jing Yu finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Back at his desk, he exchanged a chunk of fan value points to acquire both works and immediately began analyzing the original scripts.
For anime adaptations, Jing Yu's rule was always: don't alter the story unless necessary.
But for long-running titles, some edits were essential.
Let's be real—every long-running series has filler.
'Naruto' had endless flashbacks. 'One Piece' was buried in setup. 'Reborn!' started as a gag series before turning into a battle manga.
And 'Bleach'? The early arcs dragged heavily—tons of battles with meaningless Hollow monsters, aside from the main cast introductions.
The story only truly picked up when Byakuya Kuchiki appeared, easily defeating Ichigo and taking Rukia back to the Soul Society.
Later on, 'Bleach' suffered perhaps the worst power scaling collapse of the "Big Three"—even worse than 'Naruto'.
If adapted faithfully, large chunks of the Thousand-Year Blood War arc would need to be cut entirely—abilities like "Almighty" were just too broken.
For a drama adaptation, tight pacing and story coherence mattered more than faithful replication.
'Slam Dunk' had the same issue. The early chapters were filled with fluff: repeating gags with the judo captain, episodes spent buying basketball shoes, or random fishing trips.
Most of it had nothing to do with actual basketball.
Jing Yu knew all this and had already decided on major edits.
Some character development might be lost, sure—but the tighter pacing would attract viewers more effectively.
Word spread quickly that Jing Yu was once again holed up in his office.
And just like before, excitement surged through the company.
Everyone at Bluestar Media & Film knew—whenever Jing Yu went into "lockdown mode", it meant a new project announcement was imminent.
But this time...
It wouldn't be just a week.
Both 'Bleach' and 'Slam Dunk' were too big to rush. At the very least, each would require several consecutive quarters of broadcast.
Even Jing Yu could only handle one season at a time, and writing these new scripts—especially while editing the originals—would take significant time and energy.
Casting, too, was a huge concern.
'Slam Dunk' was relatively easier. It's a realistic basketball series. He could even recruit good-looking pro players from Great Zhou's league—solid fundamentals mattered more than acting chops, which could be developed during filming.
As long as he avoided turning it into some superpowered basketball fantasy (like 'Hot Shot Basketball'), it would work.
But 'Bleach'...
It was the peak of anime aesthetic and character design.
Only 'JoJo's Bizarre Adventure' could rival its style.
Casting 'Bleach' meant finding actors who were both beautiful and could handle intense fight scenes. That was the real challenge.
Jing Yu spent a lot of time pondering that during the writing process, which caused some delays.
So, it wasn't until mid-June that the head of the drama department, summoned to Jing Yu's office for a meeting, finally saw it:
Two thick stacks of script drafts and character design files are sitting on Jing Yu's desk.
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📢 T/N (Translator's Note):
Hey everyone! Just a quick update 🌟 — this novel will be wrapping up in about 9–10 chapters!
I'm super happy I got the chance to translate this Chinese fanfic 💖 It's been a really fun ride — quite different from your typical fanfic, and that's what made it special for me too.
🎉 New Projects Incoming! 🎉
1️⃣ 'Starting a Plant Revolution in Another World'
This isn't originally a fanfic, but I'll be posting it under the fanfic section since it's a fan translation and has strong anime vibes — think isekai, system, anime-style game mechanics, and more 🌱🧝🎮
2️⃣ 'Depressive-style Screenwriter'
This is a brand-new novel by the same author as 'Rebirth Begins with an Anime Adaptation!'
It shares some of the anime production elements seen in this novel, but the focus is more on heavier, emotional anime themes 😭
(Yes, you might cry. I probably will not😤.)
🗓️ Tentative Schedule:
Day 1: 5 chapters of 'Starting a Plant Revolution in Another World'
Day 2: 5 chapters of 'Depressive-style Screenwriter'
...and repeat! 🔁
⚠️ Of course, releases might be delayed due to real-life stuff — thanks in advance for your understanding 💻🌧️
Thanks for sticking with me so far, and I hope you'll enjoy the next ride(s) too! 🌸