Anime rating game

"President, this is Shibasaki Manyo, who voices Adagaki Aki. Their aloof and arrogant personalities are very similar, and their voices are also a good match."

Because of Kinoshita Seiichi's gleaming eyes and incessant introduction, Shibasaki Manyo, who was being introduced by him, showed a clear expression of disgust.

"Hello, I am Hayase Masamune, the temporary voice actor for the male protagonist Makabe Masamune."

"?? Rumor has it that this anime is based on a true story. So it's true." Shibasaki Manyo's face showed a hint of curiosity.

"No, only my childhood experiences are true."

"... "

"This is Momoka Sono, the popular voice actress who voices Yoshino Koiwai." Kinoshita Seiichi then introduced another person, "When choosing the voice actress for Yoshino, I hesitated for a long time, but in the end I chose Ms. Sono."

"Although she is very young, she has been working for a long time, and her acting skills and popularity are guaranteed."

"Moreover, as an active female high school student, she is only sixteen years old this year, which is a very suitable age, and she should be able to perform perfectly."

"In addition, his cunning is exactly the same as Yoshino's, it's almost like he's playing himself."

Masamune was speechless. "Maybe you shouldn't continue with the introduction?"

The other person was clearly angry, but found it difficult to vent, so much so that they seemed to be holding it in.

"That's right, the selection of personnel is indeed very suitable."

Chapter Twelve's rehearsal proceeded smoothly.

After Kinoshita Seiichi left, the recording studio was unusually quiet during the time it took to wait for the dubbing to begin. The only sound was the constant swiping and tapping of fingers on a smartphone screen.

There were only superficial social exchanges between the voice actors. Two people sitting together would talk quietly, as if they were whispering, but most of them were looking down at their phones.

"Hello everyone, I am..."

The new voice actors, who were playing minor roles, went up one after another to greet their seniors from different agencies, and Karasuma Gojo also mingled among them.

After he returned to his seat, Masamune asked curiously:

"Karasuma, who is the character you voice?"

"Tanabe Akio."

"One of the few male supporting characters? He can be considered a minor villain."

Masamune instantly realized who the character he was referring to was: a slightly overweight man who, after being rejected and humiliated by Adagaki Aki, attempted to attack her with a knife but was stopped by Makabe Masamune.

This kind of minor villain, who advances the relationship between the male and female protagonists without actually causing any serious consequences, often appears in many works.

Although the name comes from Adagaki Aki and he only has a few lines, he is still one of the few male characters in this work to have a name.

"This role requires some acting skills. How do you plan to portray it better?"

"After taking on the role of Akio Tanabe, I did a lot of preparatory work, delving into the character's inner world, analyzing his psychology, motivations, and so on, and imitating his behavior to get closer to the character."

? ?

Masamune paused for a moment, then couldn't help but ask:

"You didn't commit a crime, did you?"

"Of course not. What I mean by imitation is practicing alone at home. At the same time, I accumulate anger by being scolded by my parents."

Do you live with your parents?

"Yeah, renting a place alone would be too stressful, and it's really unnecessary."

“Me too.” Masamune smiled, then fell into deep thought.

These days, while receiving voice actor training, he is also thinking about how to do better voice acting.

Although Masamune Makabe was playing himself, the only thing they had in common was their childhood experiences; their circumstances as adults were completely different.

Having not seen Adagaki Aki for many years, he could not comprehend Makabe Masamune's burning desire for revenge.

At times like these, one can only rely on imagination and try one's best to immerse oneself in the role, thereby minimizing the acting element.

Soon, with the sound supervisor's shout of "Action!", the recording studio gradually became busy.

Several main actors, including Masamune, stood in front of microphones and spoke their lines as the storyboard on the screen progressed.

With the testing phase over, the formal recording process began.

"Stop! President Hayase, your lines here are too forceful. Please try a more relaxed tone."

Masamune nodded slightly and gave an OK sign to Kinoshita Seiichi on the sidelines.

After two re-recordings, the voiceover was successfully captured, and the storyboard on the screen continued to move forward.

“Ms. Shibasaki, your voice acting here isn’t just purely cold; it also carries a touch of playfulness.”

"Understood, please allow me a moment to prepare."

Shibasaki Manyo closed his eyes slightly and recited the lines again, perfectly capturing the personality of Adagaki Aki.

……

"Thank you all for your hard work. That concludes today's schedule. We will continue at the same time tomorrow."

Upon hearing the sound supervisor's words, Masamune breathed a sigh of relief; it was finally over.

The voice acting work was more difficult than expected. Fortunately, I only planned to voice this one character and had no intention of continuing down the path of voice acting.

However, today's event served as a preview for other ordinary people as well.

Playing oneself is indeed feasible. In this way, when producing other animations in the future, we can simply ask the person who played the role to do the voice acting.

"President, you've worked hard. We're planning to have a get-together later, would you like to come along?"

"Hmm... okay, I'll call my mom and tell her I'll be home a little late tonight."

Watanabe Hayato turned to Karasuma Gojo and said with a smile:

"Let Karasuma come along too, and we can discuss work-related matters while we're at it."

"No problem, thank you very much."

"Don't mention it, it's all for work."

Watanabe Jun smiled and waved his hand, then turned to contact the others.

After he left, Masamune hurriedly made a phone call to his youngest daughter and mother at home.

He told her that he was having dinner with his colleagues today and would be home a little late, so she didn't need to wait for him to have dinner together.

"Karasuma, shouldn't you tell your family?"

"I just texted my family and told them not to wait for me."

The dinner was held at a small to medium-sized izakaya near the audio company. In the pre-booked private room, everyone sat at different tables according to their company and job title.

It was only through Watanabe Jun's introduction that Masamune learned the identities of the people at the same table.

The president and vice president of the audio company, the president of the agency to which popular voice actresses such as Hyakuka Ensei belong, and several other people of similar status.

Since the table was full of middle-aged men, Masamune was somewhat reserved. It was only thanks to Watanabe Jun's help that the atmosphere gradually became more relaxed.

"President Hayase is truly young and promising. This anime is very interesting and will definitely be a big hit."

"I also hope it will sell well, but it all requires everyone to work together."

"Yes, only by working together can we create excellent works. Hayase-kun, can you drink? I'll toast you."

"Sure, I have a low alcohol tolerance, so drinking a little won't bother me."

"President Hayase, I actually mentioned you when I was chatting with your father at a dinner party a while ago."

Tokyo is so small.

Masamune suddenly became interested and asked curiously:

"Oh...? What did Dad say about me?"

The president of the audio company, Noma, smiled and then said:

“Your father said at the time that he had been busy with work and rarely had time for his family, and he was very worried about your grades.”

"But I never expected that you would improve your grades from the lower middle to the top of the grade in just three months and get into the University of Tokyo."

"I was really surprised when I saw your name on the Musashino project. It's so rare to get into the University of Tokyo, wouldn't it be a waste not to go?"

Masamune nodded slightly, a smile appearing on his face.

"It is indeed a bit of a waste. I worked tirelessly for three months to get into the University of Tokyo."

"However, time waits for no one."

"I was admitted to the Department of Economics and Management at the University of Tokyo, which has nothing to do with the animation industry. At most, after graduation, I will join my family business and work hard to inherit my father's business."

"But that afternoon, golden subtitles suddenly appeared in the sky."

"At that moment, I immediately made up my mind to do whatever it takes to join this feast."

"Oh...?" Noma toasted Masamune again, looking curious. "Aren't you worried that it's just a flash in the pan? Or that other industries will gradually be evaluated in the future?"

"Life offers few opportunities to take a chance. Compared to going to the University of Tokyo and living a routine life, I think it's more worthwhile to give it my all here."

"Haha...you're right, life is short and you only get a few chances to take a gamble. Lately, people have been asking me about the future of the animation industry and whether it's worth getting into. Hearing Masamune say this makes me even more confident; the future lies in animation."

"Come, let me toast you too. Actually, my next animated film is related to music, and I might need your help a lot then."

"No problem, Masamune-kun, please feel free to ask if you need any help."

Chapter Thirteen: If you have time, watch some dramas featuring domineering CEOs.

Around 11 p.m., Karasuma Gojō was sent home.

After lying on the sofa for a while, my mother brought me some hangover soup and a basin of warm water.

"Let's do a quick wash first, and then get some rest early tonight."

"Aren't you going to ask anything, Mom?"

“When Dad first started working, he often came home drunk. But the economy has been getting worse these past few years…”

As the two were talking, Karasuma Chitose, wearing pajamas, came out of the room.