On 'SakuraNet'—
["So what exactly does the rabbit mean?"]
["Is there a difference between the yellow-and-blue paper rabbit and the others?"]
["The show's called 'To the Moon', and the central plot is about uncovering why the protagonists want to go to the moon. Right before River dies, what she cares about most is whether Johnny will look after Anya, and whether he understands the meaning behind the paper rabbit. That has to be the key."]
["This really is such a weird show. We're two episodes in, and I still have no idea where the plot's going… but hey, as long as Takezawa Kayano is in it, I'm staying."]
["Honestly, I felt a bit emotional during that scene. When River looked at Johnny with hope in her eyes and asked what the rabbit meant, and he just said it was 'just a rabbit'… the sadness in that moment… That rabbit must mean a lot to her."]
["The structure of this show really reminds me of 'An Ancient Love Song'. That one went backward through time, and 'To the Moon' is diving through Johnny's memories via a machine, all the way to his youth—even his childhood—to find the true source of his desire to reach the moon."]
["Exactly. To be honest, if I hadn't just finished watching 'An Ancient Love Song' and didn't trust Su Yan's ability to handle a story arc, there's no way I'd have stuck with two full weeks of riddles like this."]
["Same here. I'm only holding on because of the structural similarities to 'An Ancient Love Song'. But surprisingly, it's really captivating. I might not fully understand the story yet, but Qiu Junlin and Takezawa Kayano's performances have completely drawn me in."]
["That's why the script is the soul of a project, but the director and actors are the flesh and blood. A brilliant soul still needs a beautiful form to match. If you pair an amazing script with trash actors, no one's gonna stay. Su Yan really cast the right people here."]
["But no matter how good Qiu Junlin and Takezawa Kayano are, they can only carry the ratings for so long. If this riddle-style storytelling keeps up, audiences will start losing patience."]
["That's true..."]
["Slow-burn storytelling has its limits—it can't go too far."]
The next day, the ratings for the second episode were released.
3.41%—not much different from the previous week. The show held steady at #8 in the weekly rankings.
But the Xia Nation's entertainment media could no longer hold back.
Last week, they'd kept their takes reserved, since it was just the first episode and there wasn't enough to fairly judge. But now it was week two, and 'To the Moon' was still buried in riddles.
Other shows airing at the same time had predictable, even cliché plots—but at least they were steady.
But you, 'To the Moon'? Are you doing something "innovative"? Two episodes in and still playing riddles?
Then don't blame us for how we write our headlines.
Especially you, Su Yan—the so-called genius rookie screenwriter who's constantly under the spotlight.
And you just had to go make such a bold statement about Kiyota Sanji a few days ago?
And with two legendary stars like Qiu Junlin and Takezawa Kayano onboard, the show naturally drew in older viewers. Any review mentioning them would instantly pull traffic and engagement.
So, by Sunday afternoon, critics and media outlets all started dogpiling on 'To the Moon':
📰'To the Moon': Two Weeks of Nonsense. Does the Screenwriter Even Know What Story He's Telling?
📰Don't Be Fooled by the Ratings—They're Riding on Qiu Junlin and Takezawa Kayano's Fame. How Long Can That Last?
📰Genius Screenwriter Su Yan: Out of Ideas Already? New Drama's Ratings Propped Up by Loyal Fans Alone.
📰Two Episodes of Gibberish. Viewers Are Drowning in Riddles.
📰The Freshness Will Fade—And When It Does, 'To the Moon's' Ratings Will Plummet.
📰Winter's Most Boring Drama? Su Yan, Stop Using Nostalgia for Aging Stars to Exploit Your Audience.
📰The Success of 'An Ancient Love Song' and 'Rurouni Kenshin' Was Pure Luck. This Could Be Su Yan's First Major Flop.
📰Qiu Junlin and Takezawa Kayano's Return After 15 Years—Heading Straight for Embarrassment?
Critics were out in full force, using every dramatic headline they could craft.
Ironically, while actual viewers of the show still had patience and curiosity, it was the media that had already decided to turn on it.
Even though Shinozaki Ikumi trusted Su Yan's script completely, she couldn't help feeling a bit anxious.
Many great dramas had been sabotaged by media backlash and bad press—even if they were strong works.
"These outlets will write anything for traffic," she muttered, slamming her laptop shut. "The first two episodes of 'To the Moon' are slow-paced. They're nothing like what the critics are saying."
Su Yan, meanwhile, had just loaded some files from a USB into the crew's production computer and was printing something out.
"There's no need to care what the media says. If anything, their negative coverage is basically free advertising for us."
He handed the freshly printed pages to Shinozaki Ikumi with a faint smile.
"Here. Right on time."
"This is… episode 7's script?" she asked, accepting the stack with both hands.
"Yup. This one's important. You'll need to allocate extra budget for this episode. Episode 7 is the real turning point of 'To the Moon'. But honestly, from episodes 4 and 5 onward, the emotional beats will start landing."
Su Yan sat down beside her.
"The toughest part to get through is the first three episodes. The pacing is slow, and we've just been laying groundwork without payoff. But we're lucky. We made it through because of Qiu Junlin and Takezawa Kayano's star power."
He was still trying to reassure her—but when he looked up—
He realized Shinozaki Ikumi was no longer listening.
Her full attention was now on the script for episode 7.
Su Yan chuckled to himself and didn't interrupt.
Instead, he leaned back and studied her expression with mild curiosity.
Minute by minute, her face began to shift. At first, she looked indifferent, probably assuming Su Yan was still burying clues like always.
But as she read deeper—
And reached the part where Neil and Eva finally breached the terrifying memory barrier in Johnny's childhood…
Before his tragic youth began—
And discovered that River and Johnny had already met back then...
Her eyes widened.
!?