Anime rating game

……

It was evening inside a hot spring inn.

"Shizuka-nee, I still can't understand that kind of feeling."

Sakaki Shizuka remained silent. Unlike in the story, the real Setsuna had never been in love, nor had she ever experienced heartbreak, so it was difficult for her to understand that feeling.

"Do you have someone you like? Excluding family and same-sex friends. It doesn't have to be to the point of wanting to date, just having a good impression is fine."

Yukina hesitated for a moment, then nodded gently:

"So there is."

"Try to imagine that your partner will get married within two or three years, while you will be alone for a long time, silently watching them walk down the aisle, watching them hold their child, and the three of them living happily together. How would you feel then?"

"It's a little heartbreaking."

"Our company doesn't have strict rules about dating, but whether you're a voice actor or an idol singer, it's a profession where it's better not to be in a relationship. Unless you want to ruin your career, you'll most likely remain single until you're 30."

Shizuka Sakaki paused, then continued:

"How do you feel about all this? Has it changed?"

"Shizuka-neechan is wicked."

"I'm sorry. Voice actors can't experience everything. When they encounter emotions they don't understand, they usually look for similar experiences to substitute for them. This usually allows them to perform quite well, at least a 90 out of 100."

"Shizuka-nee, I think I can understand a little bit of what that 'me' in the story felt."

"Let me hear it."

"Why did it turn out like this? For the first time, I felt a real sense that my dream was about to come true, and for the first time, I met many amazing friends. Two joys overlapped, and these two joys brought me even more joy... Why did it turn out like this?"

That feeling of grievance and wanting to cry was exceptionally strong. Shizuka Sakaki gently ruffled her hair and said with a smile:

"Good job, remember that feeling. But don't change the lines."

"Shizuka-nee, thank you."

"You're welcome. This is what the president requested. By the way, the president will cover all expenses today."

"Why……?"

"I also want to thank you. Thanks to you, I can now understand Kitahara Haruki's feelings a little better."

The person he likes is probably Touma Kazusa, or rather, he leans more towards Touma, and his feelings for Setsuna are mostly guilt and apology.

This means that the vocal range needs to be adjusted when speaking with the two people.

Chapter 236 Whatever the matter with Masamune-kun, please help me think of a solution.

On the third weekend of October, the third episode of the current season of Musashino Anime aired.

As always, "Himouto! Umaru-chan" is excellent and a hot topic of discussion. The hamster pajamas worn by Umaru-chan are in high demand.

"Shirobako," which "truthfully" exposes the internal workings of Musashino Entertainment, has also garnered significant attention. Both the minor supporting characters with limited screen time and the female lead, Aoi Miyamori, have become well-known.

"I never expected to see Masamune-kun again, but in another anime. I feel like this anime could be renamed Masamune-kun's Workplace."

"Didn't Masamune-kun confess his feelings to Adagaki-hime? How come he's fallen for someone else now?"

"Is it a parallel world setting?"

"It's obvious from the upstairs neighbor that their intelligence work wasn't done properly. In reality, Masamune's surname is Hayase, and he doesn't have a younger sister... Based on this, we can infer that he didn't confess to Adagaki Aki in real life. Last year's anime was a farewell between him and his childhood 'protagonist'."

"The person upstairs is awesome! I agree."

"I think that last year's anime was less of a romance anime and more of a love letter that Masamune wrote to himself."

"I like this perspective, but it's a bit of a shame that while Masamune overcame the psychological trauma of his childhood, he also gave up his wonderful childhood."

"There's nothing we can do about it. It seems like there's no romance in Shirobako, and Masamune-kun is just a supporting character. But even so, we can still see some clues. Compared to all the young beauties in the company, Adagaki Aki has absolutely no competitive edge."

"I voted for Shiina Mashiro, what about you guys?"

"I'm rooting for Miyamori Aoi, because she's the female lead!"

"I support Erika Yano. She has a warm personality and is very likable."

"I voted for Shizuka Sakaki. She was tortured so badly, failing auditions one after another. I'm guessing that Musashino will join later."

"Nonsense! Everyone knows that Shizuka Sakaki is the No.1 female voice actress in Musashino Productions."

"I support Akiyama Mio! When I watched K-On!, I liked Azusa the most, but now that I've watched Shirobako, I still think Mio is the best."

"Shirobako" is a 24-episode long-running anime series that airs two episodes a week, with the plot progressing very quickly.

However, the anime went into too much detail, so much so that after six episodes, Shizuka Sakaki still hadn't joined Musashino and remained with her previous voice acting agency.

From the audience's perspective, it's like being constantly tortured.

Audition—disappointment—part-time job—party with Aoi Miyamori and the others—smiling and saying she didn't care at all—secretly feeling extremely disappointed—keep practicing—continue auditioning.

However, the real-life Shizuka Sakaki looks exactly like her character in the anime, to the point that every viewer knows she is the pillar of Musashino's agency, which adds a lot of humor to the situation.

In addition to the many young women at Musashino Productions, Akiyama Mio and others also appear in K-On!, the anime produced for the first half of Shirobako, and have quite a few scenes.

Because there were too many female characters, some netizens started a public poll, the content of which was:

Guess Masamune-kun's lover.

……

Chiba City, within Sobu High School.

Two days before the school festival, the five members of the Service Club, who had completed all preparations ahead of schedule thanks to the concerted efforts of many students, arrived at the clubhouse at the same time.

With nothing else to do, Mii Haba took the initiative to chat with the others about current hot topics.

"Teacher Da, which one do you support in the online poll?"

"What vote?"

"This! A contest to guess Masamune-kun's lover."

"When did it start?"

"After episodes five and six of Shirobako aired yesterday, a poll appeared this morning, probably because Masamune appeared more often in those two episodes."

"Is there even a need for a vote? Isn't the answer obvious?"

Hikigaya Hachiman found the relevant website, clicked on it, and cast his vote for Shiina Mashiro.

After the voting ended, the current vote count and rankings appeared, and he was surprised to find that Shiina Mashiro had very few votes, ranking only 4th.

"Why is Shiina getting so few votes? Is someone manipulating the votes?"

"How could that be? It's simply because she had too few scenes and her personality wasn't appealing enough, right?"

"Aren't characters with no personality, no background, and no skills appealing?"

"Compared to other characters, she's not really that appealing. I like Akiyama Mio."

"What's the use if you like it? This isn't a popularity contest."

"However, judging from all the beautiful women at Musashino Company, Masamune-kun's aesthetic sense is the same as everyone else's. So, he must like what everyone else likes."

"The animation is too simplistic; you can't tell if someone is good or bad. Besides, you can't judge their appearance or temperament just by their art style."

“Masamune-kun is not such a superficial person; he certainly wouldn’t choose someone based on their looks.”

Realizing the two seemed poised to talk for a long time, Iroha couldn't help but interrupt:

"Senior, whatever Masamune-kun's matter, you all watched the third episode of Oregairu yesterday evening, right?"

"When I arrived at school this morning, many students told me that they would definitely vote for me in this year's student council president election so that I wouldn't end up in the embarrassing situation of not getting a single vote."

"Hurry up and help me think of a solution. After a while, when the later plot unfolds, I'll have no choice but to become the student council president."

Hachiman Hikigaya felt a pang of anxiety; this was also his most pressing problem at the moment.

After searching the entire school, the two people most suitable to be student council presidents were both from the Service Club.

"Is there no possibility that you will honestly accept it?"

"No. If I become the student council president, wouldn't I have to spend less time in the Service Club? That would be a huge loss for me."

"It's possible to balance both sides."

"Hehe... If you insist that I become the president, I have one condition."

"What? Tell me about it."

"Yukinoshita-senpai will serve as vice president, senpai will serve as accountant, Haba-kun will serve as secretary, and Yuihama-senpai will serve as mascot."

"Huh...!?" Yui exclaimed in surprise, "Isshiki, do you think I'm an idiot?"

"Sorry, just kidding. How about we move the department directly to the student council? That sounds like a lot of fun."

"Stop joking around." Hachiman Hikigaya sighed helplessly.

"I think it's okay."

Yukino Yukinoshita suddenly spoke:

"The issue of the new student council president is an obstacle we cannot overcome."

"Now that the anime has aired, the student council president really only has two choices: me and Isshiki. This is a reality that everyone can see."

"Instead of running away from it, it's better to accept it honestly."

“But…” Hachiman Hikigaya hesitated.

Upon seeing this, Yukino Yukino sighed softly:

"I really didn't want to run for office because of my sister, but some things can't be avoided."

"In the anime, you almost forced Isshiki to become the student council president. I hate that, but I can't stop it."

"In reality, I won't give you the opportunity to act recklessly."

"However, whether Isshiki or I will serve as president and vice president will depend on the election results."

Noticing the atmosphere had suddenly become very tense, Mii Haba smiled and said:

"Things haven't gotten to that point yet. In such a big school, it's impossible that we can't even elect a suitable student council president."