69novels Page 111
Page 111
"Qingshan, are you... are you alright?" a girl who had spoken to her before asked softly.
"Yes, I'm fine now, thank you for your concern," Nanami replied with a smile.
Seeing her composed demeanor, everyone felt relieved.
The previous barriers quietly melted away at this moment.
……
"A minor character?"
After class, in the teacher's office, Aoyama Nanami looked at the materials in her hand, somewhat unable to believe her ears.
“That’s right.” The teacher nodded, his expression serious. “It’s a robot anime called Mobile Suit V, produced by Asuka Pictures.”
"The role you need to voice is Citizen B in the third episode, who runs away from the street when attacked by the monster. The lines... well, there are three in total. 'What is that?', 'Run!', and a scream of fright."
Bird Movies!
The name made Nanami's heart skip a beat. Wasn't that the company she failed her audition for last time?
The teacher noticed her emotional fluctuation and comforted her, saying, "Don't think too much about it. I asked a friend who works over there to help me get this opportunity."
"Although the role is small, this is your first time stepping into a real professional recording studio and working with real voice actors and directors. This experience is more useful than ten classes in school."
"Go and experience the atmosphere on site, learn how the seniors work, that's the most important thing for you."
Nanami nodded vigorously, clutching the thin document tightly in her hand. "Yes, teacher! I will never let you down!"
As Nanami left the office, she was in a state of high excitement.
She looked at those three simple lines of dialogue over and over again, so excited that she wanted to run back and forth in the corridor three times.
This was her first "job" as a voice actress!
……
Back in her apartment, instead of making dinner as usual, she rushed to her desk and solemnly laid out the document.
Citizen B.
A character who doesn't even have a name.
But Nanami adopted the attitude of researching her graduation thesis.
She turned on her computer and searched for information about "Mobile Suit V".
This is a robot anime with a realistic style, set in near-future Tokyo.
She carefully read the plot summaries of the first two episodes, trying to understand the state of the city and the emotions of the people when the monster attack occurred in the third episode.
"Citizen B, female, aged between 20 and 30, was shopping in the commercial street at the time..." Nanami took out her notebook and began to write a character biography for this person.
"What did she see? A huge, surreal monster. So her first reaction, 'What is that?' should not have been a simple question, but a complex emotion of having her understanding overturned."
"Then..."
She wrote two full pages of analysis for these three lines of dialogue.
She even started practicing in front of the mirror, trying to express that extreme fear with different mouth shapes and breaths.
She recorded her practice sessions, listened to them repeatedly, and found even the slightest thing that sounded "fake," then started over.
Tiger Jiro sat quietly on the bed, watching his owner act like a madman, muttering to himself in the room one moment and then suddenly letting out a scream the next, frightening the passing neighbors who thought something had happened.
……
On the day of the recording, Nanami arrived at the Asuka Film Studio headquarters building in Nishi-Shinjuku an hour early.
She stood in front of the imposing glass doors, took a deep breath, straightened her clothes, and walked into the building.
After explaining her purpose at the front desk, a staff member led her through a long corridor to the recording studio.
Several voice actors had already arrived and were sitting to the side, chatting quietly.
Nanami immediately recognized two of them; they were well-known voice actors who frequently appeared in voice actor magazines, and were probably the main voice actors for "Mobile Suit V".
I quickly found a corner to sit down, shrinking like a quail, but my eyes couldn't help but wander around.
"Is everyone here? Let's get started."
A steady, slightly hoarse voice rang out. Nanami looked in the direction of the voice and saw a man around fifty years old walk in.
He is the sound director for this anime, Shinsuke Takahashi.
Nanami felt her heart leap into her throat.
Shinsuke Takahashi walked behind the mixing console and sat down. He then glanced at everyone in the recording studio before looking down at the script.
The recording proceeded smoothly.
The veteran actors truly lived up to their reputation; their portrayal of the characters' emotions and their coordination with the visuals were impeccable.
Director Takahashi rarely interrupts, and when he does make a request, it is always to the point.
"Next scene, street scene. Citizens A, B, and C, get ready."
It's finally Nanami's turn.
She felt her legs were a little weak and walked unsteadily to the microphone.
Accompanying her were two other new voice actors who were also voicing minor characters.
"Begin." Coach Takahashi's voice came through the earpiece.
On the screen, the bustling city scene was instantly torn apart by a giant beast that burst forth from the ground.
"What is that?" Citizen A's voice rang out.
It's Nanami's turn.
She stared intently at the screen, putting herself in the shoes of the terrified citizen B, and tremblingly uttered the line she had practiced hundreds of times: "What...what is that?"
"stop."
Director Takahashi's voice interrupted her.
“Citizen B, your voice only contains fear, not doubt. You are an ordinary person living in a peaceful era. When you suddenly see something like this, your first reaction should be bewilderment as your cognitive system collapses.”
"Again."
Nanami's face turned pale instantly. She clearly felt that she had already shown her confusion and shock.
"Yes, I'm so sorry!" She quickly bowed, trying to calm her wildly beating heart.
"start."
"What...is that?" She adjusted her breathing, trying to make her voice sound more hollow.
"Stop." Takahashi's voice began to sound impatient.
"It's still not right. Your technique is too obvious. It sounds like you're deliberately acting. I need a genuine reaction. Do you understand?"
"Haven't you ever gone shopping? Imagine you're happily strolling along the Shibuya Crossing, and suddenly Godzilla pops out from underground. What would you think? What would you say?"
"I'm so sorry!" Nanami immediately bowed and apologized.
“Next, Citizen C.” Supervisor Takahashi seemed to have lost patience with her and was ready to skip her.
"Please wait a moment!" Nanami called out instinctively.
Everyone looked at her, and Director Takahashi looked up from behind the mixing console.
Nanami mustered all the courage she had ever had and asked into the intercom, "Director Takahashi, may I... try again?"
Shinsuke Takahashi did not answer immediately; he stared at Nanami for a few seconds.
"Give you one last chance."
Nanami took a deep breath and looked at the screen again.
The moment the monster appeared, she didn't speak immediately. Instead, she first let out an extremely faint gasp, as if someone were choking her, and then, in an almost dreamlike tone, she whispered:
"……what is that?"
Shinsuke Takahashi raised his eyebrows slightly.
He neither said yes nor no, but simply pressed the call button and said in a calm tone, "Continue."
Nanami executed the following "Run!" and screams exceptionally well.
When the recording ended, Nanami took off her headphones, feeling like she had just finished a marathon, her whole body soaked in sweat.
She bowed deeply towards the control room, then silently retreated to a corner.
She didn't know if she had done a good job, but she had given it her all.
After the recording session ended, Nanami followed the crowd, preparing to leave.
As she passed the control room, she saw Shinsuke Takahashi talking to his assistant.
She instinctively stopped in her tracks, just in time to hear Director Takahashi say to his assistant:
"Let me see the information of that citizen B from earlier."
Nanami's heart skipped a beat.
She didn't linger and quickly left the recording studio.
Stepping out of the Bird Cinema building, the cold night wind blowing on her face made her feel alive again.
Instead of going home immediately, she sat on a bench in a nearby park for a long time.
My mind kept replaying everything that happened in the recording studio today.
The professionalism of the seniors, the strict supervision, and... my own three lines.
She felt an unprecedented, immense sense of satisfaction.
She, Nanami Aoyama, has officially embarked on her voice acting career starting today!
……
Volume 1: Chapter 121: So-called Family
Two weeks later, a thin envelope was dropped into Aoyama Nanami's mailbox.
The envelope was printed with the "Asuka Films" logo.
Nanami's heart pounded. With trembling hands, she tore open the envelope. What fell out was not a notification letter, but a statement detailing her voice-over payment.
The amount column had a number that made her both laugh and cry: five thousand yen.
After deducting taxes and the firm's commission, what she actually receives might not even be enough for a week's food expenses.
But Nanami just laughed like a fool.
She held the bill up to the light and examined it repeatedly.
This was the first money she earned as a voice actress.
It represents a form of recognition.
It was the discerning director Takahashi, and the top-tier Asuka Films in the industry, who recognized her work.
She carefully put away the detailed list and paced back and forth in the room, joy surging in her chest, making her eager to share it with someone.
She thought of her teacher, her friends at school, and... "Mr. X".
But in the end, she picked up her phone and found a number she hadn't dialed in a long time.
--Father.
She seems to have grown up overnight since she failed to be selected last time.
She was no longer as eager to prove herself to her father as before, nor did she regard his opposition as unreasonable stubbornness.
She began to vaguely understand that behind that sternness might lie a clumsy kind of love that she couldn't comprehend at the time.
So this time, she wasn't going to show off or to demonstrate.
She was just a daughter working hard away from home, wanting to share her small achievements at work with her family far away.
The phone rang for a long time before being answered, and her mother's familiar, gentle voice came through: "Hello? Is this Nanami?"
"Yes, Mom, it's me."