Anime rating game

"How are you doing these past few days, Misa? Are you adjusting well to your work at Musashino?"

"Yes, all the work here is related to animation. Although I just joined the company, everyone has been very supportive, and I've received several CG production jobs..."

When the topic of work came up, Misa Todo's unease vanished instantly, and she began to talk at length.

Compared to the repetitive tire modeling she did every day last year, she really enjoys her current job and is full of enthusiasm.

"One of the anime this season, 'Chuuni Koi,' features many 3D scenes, and we will have a lot of collaborations with it. Also, Ema will be one of the animators."

"I still have to go to school, so I probably won't be able to take on too much work." Yasuhara Ema also felt a little hopeful.

"Speaking of which, how's it going at Tokyo University of the Arts? Is it easy to keep up with the course schedule?" Misa Todo asked curiously. "That university has a pretty high deviation score."

"It's alright. In oil painting, teachers value painting techniques more, and academic subjects aren't that important."

During their casual conversation, the four of them soon arrived at the Hayase residence.

"Sōkun brought his friends back again. Dinner is ready. Everyone, come and sit down. Aoi and Ema, it's been a long time."

"Excuse me, Aunt Kinue," Miyamori and the other three said almost simultaneously.

With the help of Masamune and others, the table was quickly filled with food.

"Don't be shy, everyone. You've all worked hard all day."

Seeing the expectant look in Hayase Kinue's eyes, the group picked up their chopsticks one after another and began to eat.

"You've worked hard," Masamune said, then introduced the other two to the young girl's mother.

Compared to Aoi Miyamori and her companion, Misa Todo and Shizuka Sakaki were visiting for the first time.

"...Toudou, although this is our first meeting, I have heard a lot about you."

"Where did the club president hear about me? Aoi and the others don't seem to have talked about their high school days."

"I have my own sources of information."

Masamune smiled and shifted his gaze to Shizuka Sakaki:

"Our company is currently producing two animations this quarter, and following the usual practice from last quarter, we will first hold an internal audition."

"As long as your voice is suitable, you can get the role. Since it's an internal audition, if you're not suitable, they'll tell you directly. They won't make you go back and wait for news, and then never hear from you again."

Do you have any favorite characters from these two anime?

“Dansheng Valley, I guess,” Shizuka Sakaki quickly said. “I quite like this character design, but my acting skills might not be up to par.”

Indeed, acting skills are a very important factor for voice actors.

There are too few suitable female characters in "Barakamon", while there are many female characters in "Chuunibyou".

"If there's an audition tomorrow, which role do you think you'll get?"

At that moment, Shizuka Sakaki unconsciously stopped eating, held her breath, and lowered her head into deep thought.

Since it was an anime produced by her own company, she immediately went to buy a copy of the light novel "Chuuni Koi" the moment it was released and read it several times.

It must be said that the novel was very interesting; on her first reading, she was completely immersed in the charm of the words.

On the second viewing, I began to think about what role I would be suitable for if an audition were held.

The lead actress, Rikka Takanashi, has very high acting requirements, and I'm not yet able to easily switch between different modes, so I was eliminated first.

"To be honest, when I listened to the recording at home, I felt that the voice acting for Takanashi Toka was more in line with my imagination."

"Imagine?"

Masamune muttered something to himself, took out his phone, and edited the addresses and contact information of Takanashi Touka, Rikka, Nibutani Morika, and others into a text message, which he then sent to her.

"These are the addresses of several parties involved. If you want to increase your chances, you can go and talk to them."

Looking at the text message on her phone screen, Shizuka Sakaki was somewhat surprised.

Most of Musashino's anime from last year were adapted from real-life events, and this one is no exception.

"President, since the male and female leads are real people, why not have them do the voice acting? That would be more appropriate."

"Unfortunately, all of the parties involved are currently suffering from severe adolescent delusions, making communication extremely difficult."

"I see. Thank you, President. I'll take some time these next couple of days to visit the individuals involved and observe and simulate their speech patterns and behavior."

Thinking of Shizuka Sakaki's past earnestness, Masamune couldn't help but remind her:

"Don't go overboard. Besides the anime 'Chuunibyou,' we should also seize opportunities outside of our company."

"By the way, how far along is Kaori Miyazono's recording?"

"We'll be recording episode 18 tomorrow afternoon." Shizuka Sakaki hesitated. "The earlier episodes were fine, but I'm not sure how to handle the later ones, especially the penultimate one, where Kaori Miyazono reads the letter in a flashback style."

"President, I wonder how Kaori Miyazono is doing? I'd like to talk to her in person."

“First of all, I want to remind you that Kaori Miyazono is unaware that her story has been made into an animation,” Masamune said thoughtfully.

"I will keep it a secret."

"Alright, I'll talk to Kousei Arima and have her take you there."

"Thank you, President." For the first time since entering the room, Shizuka Sakaki smiled.

Upon seeing this, Masamune also laughed.

This person really loves voice acting; he's too serious, a complete different type from Karasuma Chitose.

On the other hand, it seems that all five members of the Ueyama High School Anime Club are this type.

"By the way, how's your singing?"

"Hmm...it's alright, not too professional, but not bad either."

“Great, now we don’t have to worry about the character songs.”

Is it Kaori Miyazono's character song?

Sakaki Shizuka unconsciously fell into deep thought, filled with anticipation, and for the first time, she truly felt like she was voicing the female lead.

She had previously played mostly supporting roles with few lines, but the female leads often sang her character songs.

As expected, I still need to meet with Kaori Miyazono.

However, how should one introduce oneself without revealing that one is a voice actress and is voicing the character "Kaori Miyazono"?

Hmm... if all else fails, I'll just pretend to be Kousei Arima's older cousin.

Chapter 109 Even teenagers like children's animation

In mid-January, with the return of Rinko Ogasawara and her team, production of the anime "Barakamon" gradually began.

Meanwhile, promotional activities for "Tom and Jerry" have also begun.

That's right, two episodes of the "Tom and Jerry" cartoon have already been produced.

Because the script and art style were simple, and almost no voice acting was needed, a lot of the work could be done on a computer. Two episodes were completed in just ten days.

Including the opening and ending themes, each episode is 24 minutes long and consists of three short stories.

Because the animation itself was too simple and produced quickly, director Seiichi Kinoshita himself became anxious and insecure.

At the morning meeting that day, Masamune called his name several times, but received no response.

"Director Kinoshita..."

"Ah...! President, what's wrong?"

"Didn't you sleep well last night?" Masamune looked at him speechlessly.

"Sorry, isn't 'Tom and Jerry' going to be released soon? I was so worried last night that I barely slept."

Kinoshita Seiichi slapped his cheeks twice, snapped out of his daze, sighed, and said nervously:

"President, this is the first time in all my years in the industry that I've completed an episode of animation so quickly."

"All things considered, it doesn't seem to have taken more than five days, right?"

"Although it's supposed to be children's animation, it's too rudimentary, and I always feel like I'll be cyberbullied."

In Masamune's own opinion, the first two episodes of "Tom and Jerry" produced by Musashino were quite good.

However, Masamune could understand his concerns.

After all, the animation itself is indeed too rudimentary.

The scene is confined to a house, and the only characters are cats and mice, maybe with a dog at most. The homeowner's face is never shown; only his legs are visible.

There was no voice acting, no special effects, and very few hand-drawn scenes. Most of the animation was computer-generated and completed by the 3D department.

"Since you're so worried, let's hold a preview screening."

"Huh...!? But the production of chuunibyou is still..."

"Well... let's put it off for a day. You can't not find a few hours to spare."

"That's fine. Who are you planning to invite to the preview screening, President?"

"First, we need to get people from the TV station, then people from our company, and most importantly, our audience—children of all ages. Let's get some of them here."

Kinoshita Seiichi's heart tightened, and he hesitated before saying:

"President, kids don't lie. If something looks good, it looks good; if something doesn't, it doesn't."

"That's exactly the effect we wanted."

Masamune smiled and shifted his gaze to Watanabe Hayato:

"Watanabe, could you please contact the TV station? We want to place an advertisement on TV."

"The gist of the content is that we are going to hold a screening of a cartoon animation and sincerely invite children under the age of 15 to attend."

"The final list will be determined based on the number of applicants at that time."

"If there are many people, we'll draw lots; if there are few people, we'll invite them all, or we'll negotiate further at the primary school."

"Understood," Watanabe Hayato replied with a smile.

……

The Hikigaya family.