The first episode of 'To the Moon' had a rather gentle pace.
Although it introduced a new concept—some kind of dream-reconstruction machine—
And clearly explained the meaning behind the show's title 'To the Moon'...
There were still too many unanswered questions.
Why did the old man want to go to the moon?
Why was it something he had to do?
If it was such an important dream, how could he have forgotten the motivation behind it?
And what about those paper rabbits and platypus plushies in the storage room?
They definitely felt like foreshadowing.
This kind of slightly art-house script required a patient audience.
Even though many viewers were confused by the first episode, it didn't receive any major criticism.
That was thanks to the fans' respect for Su Yan, Gu Qingyuan, and Qiu Junlin and his wife.
And because Qiu Junlin's performance completely carried the pacing of the episode, many viewers found themselves drawn in just by watching his acting—overall, the experience was still solid.
Later that night, after the premiere, the discussions on 'SakuraNet' about 'To the Moon' were blazing hot.
["What's Johnny's reason for going to the moon? That kind of dream is way too absurd—do normal people even think like that?"]
["I can understand wanting to be rich or powerful before dying—but going to the moon? It doesn't make sense. Unless… maybe it's about finding the Moon Palace? I mean, the paper rabbits and the moon, that's the only connection I can think of."]
["Looks like a sci-fi drama with mystery elements! That makes me feel better."]
["Yeah, after watching episode one, it's pretty clear that Johnny is definitely going to die. But he'll probably fulfill his dream of reaching the moon in the machine-generated dream just before he dies."]
["So his death won't really be a gut-punch. And since Su Yan and Gu Qingyuan are playing modern-day medical doctors, there probably won't be any tragic farewells or emotional death scenes. I'm officially calling it—this drama is safe to watch."]
["Okay, now I feel reassured. I'm watching it with my daughter, and I was worried it might be too emotionally heavy. We'll keep watching next week!"]
["Wait, didn't people online say that Takezawa Kayano's character River is the female lead? But she died in the first episode? Where is Takezawa Kayano?! I'm literally watching this for her!"]
["Based on the show's setup, I think future episodes will have Neil and Eva exploring Johnny's memories. River will probably appear inside the memories. Don't worry—it's only episode one."]
["Still, the pacing is really slow. If I didn't have faith in Su Yan as a screenwriter because of 'Rurouni Kenshin' and 'An Ancient Love Song', plus the fact that Qiu Junlin and his wife are acting in it, I probably wouldn't stick around."]
["Not me—I actually found episode one really interesting. Even without all that, I think I'd still keep watching."]
["Same here. I don't mind slow pacing, as long as the story ends up touching me like 'Rurouni Kenshin' or 'An Ancient Love Song' did. I'm calling it early—this is the best drama of the season."]
["Looking at the previews of the four A-tier dramas across the Big Three networks, I'm not interested at all. The plots are way too formulaic."]
["Agreed. There aren't many innovative writers like Su Yan in the industry anymore. I'm so sick of legal-medical dramas, domineering CEO dramas, and campus romance dramas. Supporting screenwriter Su Yan all the way!"]
Early the next morning, Su Yan woke up in his rented apartment.
After a quick wash and changing into a clean set of clothes, he got into the second-hand car he'd bought two months ago for 20,000 yuan and drove to the production site.
On the way, he tuned his car radio to a station where critics discussed the Xia Nation's current drama market.
'The Gate', 'Imperfect Divorce', 'The Crimson Magician', 'Can't Fall in Love', and 'Orange Memory'—
These were some of the A- and B-tier dramas airing this season across the major networks, and naturally, they were the focus of drama critics.
Before long, Su Yan heard his name come up.
🔊"Su Yan, the screenwriter behind last quarter's breakout hit 'An Ancient Love Song', aired his new drama 'To the Moon' last night. Online premiere rating: 8.5. Audience feedback: pretty average. The concept is fresh, but the pacing is slow."
After rattling off data and metrics, the critics gave their conclusion:
🔊"This drama will likely be a mediocre work. It probably won't replicate the success of 'An Ancient Love Song' in terms of ratings. However, because of Qiu Junlin and Takezawa Kayano's return to the screen together after 15 years, fans of the two stars may still want to watch. The biggest value of this show might be giving fans a chance to see them together again."
"Hm, just as expected."
Su Yan smiled. He could accept the audience and critics' reactions to the premiere of 'To the Moon'.
Because if he were a member of Xia's drama industry, he'd probably say the same.
In reality, 'To the Moon' was structured very similarly to a classic tearjerker anime from his past life: 'Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day'.
It began with a somewhat fantastical setup to draw people in. At first, it felt intriguing—but also like something was missing.
But the more you watched, and the more you learned about the characters—their past, their future, and became emotionally invested—
There would come a sudden moment when that "missing piece" finally clicked into place.
The plot would go from calm to emotional explosion in an instant.
In 'Anohana', that turning point was the final episode, when the female lead disappeared.
In 'To the Moon', it would be the moment when the young River and young Johnny lay under the sky, counting stars—
And delivered that one crucial line of dialogue.
That's the moment when everything—the moon, the rabbits, the platypus, the lighthouse, and the old man's obsession—would all come together.
And the audience would suddenly understand the purpose behind every bit of foreshadowing, leading to an overwhelming emotional release.
That was why Su Yan never expected 'To the Moon' to cause a huge splash with its first episode.
They were still in the setup phase.
Once on set, Su Yan quickly joined Gu Qingyuan and Qiu Junlin's couple for the day's filming.
Around noon, while having lunch, Shinozaki Ikumi's phone buzzed.
Immediately, several of the production leads in the office grew serious.
Truthfully, no one was really focused on eating—what they cared about was 'To the Moon's' premiere ratings.
Shinozaki Ikumi looked visibly tense as she opened a message sent by a friend at the TV station. After reading it, she let out a long breath and smiled.
"'To the Moon's' first episode got a 3.43% rating. Last night at 8 p.m., 'The Crimson Magician' debuted with 4.18%, putting it in the lead this season. And assuming tonight's A-tier drama 'Blue Summer' on Hudu TV performs better than us…"
"Then we'll be ranked 8th overall in premiere ratings."
Last season, a 3.4% rating would've placed a drama in the top 6.
But this quarter, all major networks had brought out their big guns, and the overall numbers were up across the board.
Still, for Shinozaki Ikumi, being ranked 8th was already good news.
The Big Three networks had launched four A-tier dramas and nine B-tier ones this season. Plus, other networks in the Xia Nation had also aired seven new B-tier shows.
'To the Moon' was airing on Sakura TV—so compared to B-tier shows on non-Big Three stations, it had a slight edge.
As long as it landed in the top 12 of the season with a rating over 3%, it wouldn't be considered a failure.
A debut rating at #8? Shinozaki Ikumi was very pleased.
Su Yan remained calm.
Gu Qingyuan's breathing was slightly unsteady.
Qiu Junlin and Takezawa Kayano exchanged a glance and smiled. Internally, they both let out a breath of relief.
In their prime, the dramas they starred in often ranked top 3 for the season—and more than a few took first place for the season or even the year.
So they didn't really care too much about small-time rankings.
But after more than a decade away from the spotlight, they couldn't help but worry that they no longer had the influence to bring in strong numbers—and feared 'To the Moon's' debut might flop.
"Looks like 'To the Moon's' premiere had a pretty good start," Takezawa Kayano said with a smile.
Despite her age, she still had that stunning bone structure, and her smile was warm and elegant.
"Su Yan once said that he hoped 'To the Moon' could climb to the top of this quarter's drama rankings by the end of its run."
"If we're starting from #8, it doesn't feel that impossible."
"If we really do hit #1 in ratings, that means I'll have starred in the top show of the season at my age. That's gotta be some kind of record in Xia's TV industry."
"Who knows," Su Yan laughed, looking up. "Maybe the Xia Flame Awards next year will have both your names on the nomination list."
"From your lips to the heavens," Qiu Junlin chuckled. "Even at this age, I don't think we're any worse than the new generation of actors."
Their half-joking, half-serious banter lightened the tension in the office.
The next day, Monday—
The premiere rating for 'Blue Summer' came out.
Only 3.83%.
And with that, the first-week drama rankings for the Winter season were finalized.
1st: 'The Crimson Magician' – 4.18%
2nd: 'The Gate' – 4.02%
3rd: 'Imperfect Divorce' – 3.84%
4th: 'Blue Summer' – 3.83%
8th: 'To the Moon' – 3.43%
With the numbers in, the TV industry's insiders, media, and critics didn't rush to pass judgment.
After all, it was just the first week.