Anime rating game

Chapter 162 I'm Not Someone So Easy to Talk To

At around 5:40 p.m., at Doma Umaru's request, Masamune escorted her to the entrance of the Doma Restaurant.

"Um, could you wait here for me for a moment? Just a few minutes."

"no problem."

Masamune pulled the handbrake, and after Doma got off the car, he turned to look at Mashiro beside him:

"If you feel hungry, we can eat here in Doma before going back."

"I just ate some potato chips, so I'm not very hungry."

Mashiro paused, then added softly:

"I made an appointment with Aunt Juanjiang this morning, and I will be home for dinner tonight."

"Okay, then hang in there a little longer. Judging from the time, we should be able to get home before 6:30."

"Ah."

"Have you decided what to draw for this week's assignment?"

"It's not very clear yet."

Masamune naturally understood what she meant; it referred to:

I have a lot of ideas, but none of them are very strong, and I don't particularly want to draw them.

"In that case, let's wait a little longer. I'll take you around these next few days; maybe we'll find some inspiration."

"Where to?" Mashiro asked instinctively.

“There are many places to go. However, considering the animations I'm working on next season and this season, it's best to target schools and gather materials along the way.”

"Sure, which school?"

"I just visited Sakuragaoka a few days ago, so we don't need to do any research for now. Let's choose one from Nozaki, Izumi, Hachiman, and Umaru."

"The script for Oregairu 2 is already written?"

"Yes, this is the fastest script I've ever written. It's basically finished. I'll just need to discuss it with the client later to complete it."

"Then let's go to Zongwu High School."

"it is good."

Masamune responded, then took out his phone and dialed Hikigaya's number to arrange a suitable meeting time.

[What's wrong, President Hayase? I've been busy with club matters these past few days and haven't had much time to write.]

"Is there a new commission?" Masamune wondered.

[No, that's not it. There are just too many new students who want to join our Service Club. Although Yukinoshita turned some away, a considerable number of them are still persistent.]

[Moreover, many people came specifically for the three of us.]

[Some people came to us with light novels or anime DVDs of Oregairu (My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU) for autographs, others asked for photos, and still others inquired about the novel's progress—it was really quite annoying.]

"Is this situation only starting after the start of the school year?"

[Pretty much. When the anime first aired last year, the students were very restrained; at most, they would watch it secretly and discuss it amongst themselves.]

[But this year, many new students joined Soubu High School because of the three of us.]

"That sounds like a lot of trouble. Given your style, you're not going to take on all the trouble yourself, are you?"

At that moment, a strange silence fell over the other end of the phone.

Masamune instantly realized that he had guessed correctly.

"Should I communicate with the school?"

[It's not that bad, it hasn't gotten to that point. Many students don't have any malicious intent; a signature and a photo are enough to get rid of them.]

[To be honest, it's just that there are too many people, which makes it a bit troublesome. It feels... like we're having a book signing every day.]

[By the way, what's up with your call? It's not to chase up on the manuscript, is it?]

"No, I'd like to go with Mashiro for a visit. I wonder when the three of you are free?"

Are you planning to produce a second season of Oregairu next quarter?

"I'm amazed you could guess that. That's how it is. I've already written the script. Although I feel there are no problems with it, there are still many parts that I need to discuss with you as the parties involved."

[This didn't happen last year, did it?]

“We weren’t familiar with it last year, so I didn’t show you the content because I was worried you would object after reading the script.”

[...So this year, you think that no matter how terrible the plot you write, we won't object?]

"No, that's not it. I just think that with our current relationship, everything can be discussed."

[Hmph... I'm not someone who's so easy to talk to.]

On the other end of the phone, Hachiman Hikigaya chuckled softly.

[This week, every afternoon after school we would stay in the club until around 5 p.m. before going home.]

"it is good..."

Just then, a knocking sound came from outside the car window. Turning around, I saw Doma Umaru's smiling face outside the window.

"I have something to do here, I'll hang up now, we'll talk later."

Masamune hung up the phone at the right moment, and Doma Umaru opened the car door almost simultaneously and handed in a large bag of snacks.

"This is a portion of real white."

"I originally wanted to give money directly, but I didn't have that much change. Besides, it didn't feel right to give money directly."

"So, I bought a lot of the snacks I recommended, totaling 5 yuan."

Masamune chuckled to himself; Umaru really did like this kind of junk food.

"Thank you. You're welcome then."

"Mmm...please don't be shy. If you have another opportunity to try out games like this, please remember to look me up."

"no problem."

……

In mid-May, with the basic outline of the script for "Shirobako" finalized, Masamune handed over the work of perfecting it to the scriptwriting department, headed by Maizou, and focused on writing "Himouto! Umaru-chan".

Combining the memories in her mind with her understanding of Umaru in reality, the script is gradually being improved.

He also closely monitors the production progress of the three animated series currently in production this season.

Despite the various difficulties, the work is progressing normally according to the schedule every day.

"Ha ha……"

That morning, as soon as Masamune arrived at his office on the second floor, he heard a low and tasteless laugh.

Even without looking, you can tell that the person who laughs like that must be Karasuma Chitose.

"What's wrong? You seem so happy."

"Compared to our company, Nine Emperors' production team is simply garbage, and there's a whole bunch of it."

After speaking mercilessly, Karasuma Chitose couldn't help but add:

"The producer is terrible. He doesn't care about anything and just abandons the project. He's basically a supercharged version of Taro."

"The original author has absolutely no say. He just sits there blankly every time, without saying a word, just like a statue of Ksitigarbha."

“Every day a few small problems would arise, and before we knew it, the production schedule had been delayed by several days.”

"They clearly said they would go to do voice-over work yesterday afternoon and would notify me in advance, but I waited and waited and no one ever notified me."

"I thought I wouldn't have any scenes in this episode, but it turns out the production has been delayed again."

"Since the timing isn't completely set, why do I have to clear my schedule and not be able to take on other work during that time?"

"Why? Is it because I'm not a popular voice actor? Or is it because voice actors have no say in front of directors and producers?"

“I’m very busy too. I’m the female lead, but I only get paid a little bit. They still have the audacity to ask me to free up all my time.”

"Luckily, I'm a college student and can still rely on my parents for support right now. If it were a few years later, I really wouldn't be able to survive under these circumstances."

"They have no job, all they say is 'wait for a phone call.' Have those bastards considered how the people waiting feel?"

Having finished speaking in one breath, Karasuma Chitose let out a long sigh of relief, and the indignation on his face lessened considerably.

"Well... this kind of thing is quite common," Shizuka Sakaki comforted her. "Didn't the contract we signed before also have a clause requiring us to coordinate with the production team's schedule? Besides, it's easier for us to coordinate with them than for the production team to coordinate with our schedule."

"I know, but even knowing that, I'm still very unwilling to accept it."

Karasuma Chitose pouted, looking utterly dejected.

“In the previous few times I did voice acting, the screen was mostly black or frozen, without even a storyboard. I didn’t even know what I was doing voice acting for.”

"In that situation, even if I wanted to perform well, it would be extremely difficult."

"It's obvious that with such a terrible production team, the anime won't get a high rating after it airs."

"For such a small amount of money, there's a high probability of punishment after the broadcast, and that's it? They actually dare to ask me to clear all my time and be on standby at all times. Am I some kind of idle computer?"

Shizuka Sakaki thought for a moment and tried to describe what she used to do:

"In this situation, you have to take the initiative to contact the production team, ask about the dubbing schedule, and confirm it repeatedly."

"However, it's not easy for an individual to say; it's best for the firm to handle it."

“In that case, I’ll find an agent to work with you temporarily.” Masamune said slowly. “In the future, if you encounter similar situations again, you can apply to the agency for a temporary personal agent.”

"Huh...? Is that alright?" Karasuma Chitose looked excited, but also a little nervous. "I don't think I'm qualified to have a personal manager yet, am I?"

Putting everything else aside, let's just talk about salary.

A dedicated agent can receive a portion of a voice actor's salary, and for popular voice actors, the amount taken away is negligible.

But my salary is too low to cover the expenses, and those agents probably wouldn't even consider it.

“You haven’t reached that level yet, but being a temporary personal agent is fine.”