Nohara Sato listened quietly as Aoyama Nanami spoke, slowly falling into thought. How should he put it…
When he first met Aoyama Nanami, he had heard from the ramen shop owner that she was going through some unspeakable hardship. At the time, he assumed it was due to family problems, but he never expected that the challenge actually came from within Nanami herself.
"I really didn't expect that," Sato suddenly said with a sigh.
"Didn't expect what?" Nanami asked beside him.
"Even though we haven't talked much, I always thought you were the type of girl who listens closely to her parents."
Huh?
Nanami's lips parted slightly as she stared at him, stunned. Her cheeks turned red, and she bit her lip.
Softly, she murmured, "I guess... to other people, what I'm doing must seem like rebellion."
"No."
Sato calmly shook his head.
"Sometimes they look similar, but rebellion and chasing a dream are two very different things."
"You're not someone who gives up easily. You've had the courage to dedicate yourself to your goals. That's something only true dream-chasers have. Rebels, on the other hand, act on impulse and give up when things get tough."
"In truth, they don't stick to anything. What they do is just a burst of emotion, and once they hit a wall, they regret it, retreat..."
To Sato, Aoyama Nanami was clearly a real dreamer.
From her story, he'd learned that her family wasn't poor, on the contrary, they were quite well-off. Her family ran a hot spring inn that had been passed down for three generations and brought in substantial income.
Thanks to anime and early praise from a teacher for her reading, she had become fascinated by voice acting. Right before high school, she decided to study at a voice acting agency while continuing school, but her father strongly opposed it.
Coming from a traditional family, her father wanted her to take over the family inn. He also knew that the voice acting industry had deep waters, many voice actors in Japan earned far less than regular office workers. The industry had its own murky "rules" akin to showbiz.
But Nanami hadn't backed down. After a major falling out, she left home for the city.
Her still-angry father only agreed to pay her school tuition, refusing to give her any living expenses as long as she pursued this dream.
And so, Nanami entered a life of financial hardship during high school, covering her living costs and paying training fees at the voice acting agency all by herself.
Thus was born the "part-time warrior."
And finally, one of the biggest mysteries in Sato's mind was solved.
But more than anything, he admired her... For coming to a strange city all alone, chasing her dream at such a young age.
It felt like something straight out of a teen drama.
Though he looked around the same age as Nanami, he had a lifetime more experience. While he might not be more mature in every way, he certainly had more perspective.
She was working hard, no doubt, but… effort alone doesn't always guarantee results.
Sato sat in silence, thinking.
Reality wasn't like a movie. The voice acting industry was harsh, full of rejections, and required a natural gift. Nanami was clearly behind in certain areas.
She had told him before, during auditions, her Osaka accent would sometimes slip out due to nerves and cost her the opportunity.
Other times, in trying too hard to suppress the accent, her delivery became flat and emotionless.
"Thank you."
Nanami looked at Sato, her gaze complex.
Sato smiled nonchalantly and said, "Maybe you should change your approach, like, say, play to your strengths, and avoid your weaknesses."
"Play to my strengths?" she echoed.
"Exactly. Don't limit yourself to anime. You could try voice work for films, TV dramas, even documentaries."
A lot of people didn't know that movie and TV characters also had their lines dubbed in post-production.
"Documentary narration requires emotional yet calm delivery, not too extreme. And some dramas even want dialects. All of these could train you."
"What you need right now isn't to land a character, it's to get as much practice as possible."
As he spoke, Sato's ideas flowed.
Nanami's eyes gradually lit up.
That's right!
Why was she so focused on anime voice work? What she really needed right now was experience. There were so many other ways to train, why limit herself to one path?
"And how do you usually practice?" he asked.
Nanami paused, then said, "I usually just read scripts, adjusting my emotions as I go."
Sato shook his head. "Sounds like your training school isn't all that great. If you have a TV at home, try this. Mute the sound and dub over the shows yourself."
"Sometimes the method matters just as much."
Nanami's eyes grew even brighter.
What Sato suggested... was exactly like an audition.
Being a voice actor wasn't necessarily hard but becoming a famous one? That took both talent and tenacity.
Top-tier voice actors each had their own distinct vocal signature, listeners could recognize them instantly.
"In addition to controlling your emotions, you also need to find your own unique voice. That's what'll make you stand out."
Drawing on his own knowledge of the field, Sato shared more tips with her.
After all, the publishing house Fushikawa Shoten had its own animation production department, so he had a decent sense of what made a good voice actor and what industry insiders looked for.
He didn't claim to be an expert, but he surely knew more than a newcomer or one of those so-so training schools.
In short, he had a strong feeling that Aoyama Nanami's training agency wasn't very good...