"Kise-san, is something wrong? Is there a problem?" Akimoto To asked, puzzled by Kazuchika Kise's delay in starting the inspection.
"No, nothing's wrong," Kazuchika Kise replied, shaking his head slightly.
Choosing the right approach was proving difficult. Since he couldn't make a quick decision, he decided to review Lin Zhiyan's keyframes first.
Even if none of Lin Zhiyan's keyframes seemed up to standard, he figured he could still glean some insights.
With this in mind, he flipped past the information card and began examining the keyframes.
"Hmm?"
He paused, startled.
This was a simple cut with minimal difficulty, so it couldn't showcase much skill. Naturally, it wouldn't be as impressive as the previous illustrations.
What truly surprised him was that the girls in those earlier illustrations had been exquisitely delicate, with a strong anime aesthetic. He'd assumed that was Lin Zhiyan's signature style. But the characters in Ghost in the Shell were different—tougher, more angular.
He'd expected Lin Zhiyan to impose his personal style on the Ghost in the Shell keyframes, resulting in drawings that, while technically good, would feel out of place in the animation.
Now it seemed Lin Zhiyan hadn't made such a mistake after all; it was just his overthinking.
Another common pitfall for new key animators is including extraneous lines or creating overly cluttered artwork. To avoid causing trouble for the next stage of production, animation supervisors often have no choice but to reject such keyframes and demand rework.
Lin Zhiyan's keyframes, however, contained no extraneous lines and showed not a hint of clutter. They appeared clean, crisp, and impeccably executed.
Kazuchika Kise had originally considered launching a scathing critique, determined to tear Lin Zhiyan's work to shreds. But after scrutinizing the first keyframe repeatedly, he found not a single flaw requiring revision.
As he flipped through the pages, he had initially assumed that, as an illustrator with no formal animation training, Lin Zhiyan would struggle to accurately depict the full range of motion in character actions. This, too, proved to be his own misguided assumption.
Lin Zhiyan had captured the entire range of motion flawlessly, without a single error. The character's style remained consistent, and the lines were as clean and precise as before.
"I can't believe this!" Kazuchika Kise muttered under his breath.
"Hmm?"
Akimoto To, standing beside him, looked perplexed, unsure why Kise had uttered those words.
Kise offered no explanation.
At that moment, he felt a surge of conflicting emotions.
Logically, it should be impossible for someone without prior animation experience to skip the Animator stage and directly draw keyframes—and do it so flawlessly that no corrections are needed.
Yet Lin Zhiyan's work resembled that of a seasoned professional with two decades of experience, his skills honed to perfection. He didn't seem like a newcomer at all.
He was simply a genius!
A genius that only comes along once in a decade!
"Wait!"
He suddenly remembered something.
In Lin Zhiyan's self-introduction on his resume, he had written, "Self-taught artist for twelve years, with a strong foundation in keyframe illustration." At the time, Kazuchika Kise hadn't given it much thought, assuming Lin Zhiyan had confused "keyframe illustration" with "concept art."
But now, could it be that Lin Zhiyan actually possessed a deep foundation in keyframe illustration, not concept art?
Moreover, according to Akimoto To, Lin Zhiyan had started drawing at around 10 p.m., finished the first cut by 1 p.m., and completed the entire process in just over two hours—and with such flawless precision.
Even for a genius, this was outrageously prodigious.
Kise took a deep breath, tucked the keyframe art back into its cut folder, placed it on the table, and turned to Akimoto To. "Where is Lin Zhiyan? Take me to him, now!"
Akimoto To was utterly bewildered. But as just a lowly production assistant, he didn't dare question or ask further. He could only obediently lead Kazuchika Kise to meet Lin Zhiyan.
After lunch, Lin Zhiyan began working on the second cut of his animation.
Though deeply focused on his work, the arrival of Akimoto To and Kazuchika Kise still caught his attention.
In 1995, the internet wasn't yet widespread, but images of Kazuchika Kise would later become easily accessible online. In his previous life, Lin Zhiyan had been a key animator in the Celestial Dynasty's animation industry, never having lived in Japan. Yet, he was well-versed in the legendary keyframe artists of Japan's animation industry.
Kazuchika Kise was one such legend. Having seen his photos and now working at IG, Lin Zhiyan immediately recognized him.
Of course, for creators, their work serves as their true calling card.
Born in 1965, Kise entered the animation industry in 1985. He made his debut as an animation supervisor in 1987 with Scarlet Light Bullet Zillion. His influence can be seen in numerous classic animations that followed. Renowned for his realistic style, Kise excelled at capturing balance and character movement.
Speaking of which, we can't avoid mentioning the 2019 animation Stockings Visual. This wasn't an IG production, and its name alone suggests it's not serious. Who knows who commissioned it, but Kise ended up drawing a sequence from a cat's perspective of beautiful girls, damaging his reputation in his later years. Many viewers roasted him, saying things like "The great Key Animator actually has this kind of taste?" and "Japanese animation is doomed."
Additionally, Kazuchika Kise was also responsible for the character designs in Made in Abyss.
Initially, director Masayuki Kojima wanted Kise to handle the character designs, but he was categorically rejected with the reason, "I can't stand seeing children suffer." Later, for reasons unknown, he had a "true believer" moment and not only took on the character designs but also became one of the animation supervisors.
For the theatrical version, they asked him to handle the character designs again. He initially shouted, "I absolutely won't do a Bondrewd arc!" but ended up drawing Bondrewd more enthusiastically than anyone else.
In short, he's a pretty interesting guy.
The only question is what he's doing here right now.
Lin Zhiyan swiftly finished the keyframe he was working on and turned to look at Akimoto To and Kazuchika Kise.
"Are you Lin Zhiyan?" Kazuchika Kise asked, struggling to contain his excitement.
Though unsure of Kise's intentions, Lin Zhiyan showed no fear. He turned to face him and nodded. "Yes."
Kazuchika Kise didn't introduce himself. He found a place to sit and said, "I just looked at the keyframes you drew. They're very good. I'd like to discuss drawing techniques with you. What do you think?"
"Sure," Lin Zhiyan replied, showing no objections.
Kazuchika Kise pondered for a moment before asking, "What types of things can you draw?"
"I can draw anything," Lin Zhiyan answered without hesitation.
Kazuchika Kise: (⊙_⊙)
He scratched his head, assuming Lin Zhiyan hadn't understood his question. He explained, "What I mean is, characters, backgrounds, action scenes, props, machinery, special effects—what are you best at?"
"I'm good at everything," Lin Zhiyan answered instantly.
Kazuchika Kise: "..."