"What's wrong?"
"Why don't you want to come?"
One after another, the voice actors rejected the invitation, leaving Takumi puzzled.
"I heard a rumor..." Haru said. "They say Kira Kira Animation Studio has spread the word that if a voice actor accepts our work, they won't hire them in the future."
Her words surprised Takumi, and Kenji Sato instantly became furious.
"So it's him, it's definitely not a rumor!" He gritted his teeth and said, "I know that guy, Taro Tanaka, he's getting in our way."
Takumi frowned slightly.
If Haru's rumors are true, there's practically no way they'll change. Everyone now considers Kanto Manga Company to be the future master of the manga and animation industry. Voice actors who make a living from dubbing are particularly sensitive to this trend. It's normal for them not to accept Hinotori Publishing's invitation.
"Should there be anyone willing to come?"
Takumi asked, undeterred. Taro Tanaka's words didn't scare anyone. There must be voice actors who don't believe him.
"Only two relatively famous voice actors agreed to come and try out. There are about 20 or 30 unknowns, but some are offering very high prices." Kenji flipped through the list in his hand and replied, "I think they want to take advantage of the situation."
Takumi's eyes gleamed: "Don't ask for high prices; let others come audition."
"In this case, there are only 13 people left; this amount..." Kenji crossed out the eliminated candidates with a pen, frowned, and said, "Very few."
The demand for voice actors in Pokémon is very high. Even if all 13 are selected, there are still many gaps.
"It doesn't matter, let's make the trailer first." Takumi made a decision: "The number of people in the trailer is small, and we can choose other characters later."
As head of the animation department, after Kenji Sato accepted the budget, no one could object to Takumi's words. In two days, the voice actors were invited to Hinotori Publishing.
After several hours of auditions, Takumi selected 9 of them. The proportion of selected voice actors was very high, but most were supporting actors who only needed to appear once or twice. There were only two well-known voice actors: one with a soft voice, ideal for Nurse Joy, and the other capable of playing Professor Oak.
Joy and Professor Oak starred in many scenes in Pokémon, and Takumi was happy to find them right away, but the result didn't have the expected effect.
The voice actor for Pokémon's protagonist, Satoshi, was not found, nor was the one for Pikachu, and even the trailer's production stalled.
"We will open the selection to the public."
Takumi decided to take a risk, but Haru and Kenji disagreed.
"It's absolutely impossible! How can someone without professional training dub well?"
"Mirai-sensei, let's find someone in the entertainment industry or other fields!"
"Try open selection first." Takumi also didn't believe that open selection could find suitable voice actors, but the situation wasn't very optimistic, and this method was also worth trying.
Kenji Sato agreed with this idea. If the open selection is successful, voice actors' fees will be minimized. For example, some Pokémon can even be hired for low-priced dubbing.
In addition to the characters and some special Pokémon, most Pokémon can only make simple calls like real-world animals. They can be recorded in advance and used to create animations.
Takumi knows better. If you have a suitable voice for dubbing Pokémon, you can often dub several.
After the open selection began, to intensify efforts, Takumi invited Hinotori Publishing employees to participate, turning it into a large selection wave.
"Voice actors wanted."
"You can get paid if you're selected."
He spread the news of the voice actor selection at major universities and high schools. The speed of spread in these places is dizzying, 'and what young person doesn't dream of becoming a star?' They came to Hinotori Publishing in groups and found that the voices they had to dub were all strange.
"Pika?"
"Johnny? Johnny!"
"How funny! What is this?"
Hinotori Publishing's explanation was the cries of some animals. Some were disappointed, but others were relieved. Dubbing animals saves dialogue and you won't get nervous. If you're not selected, you can play for free. If you're selected, you can earn money. How great!
But these people have not received training. Even for the simplest Pokémon dubbing, Hinotori Publishing has to go through several rounds of selection, almost one in a hundred.
There are also people with good voices. These people can sign a termination contract with Hinotori Publishing after recording. They can earn 20,000 yen for a Pokémon's cry. Each person can dub the cries of one to four Pokémon, which is equivalent to between 20,000 and 80,000 yen.
There are over 150 Pokémon in the first part of Pokémon. In seven days, 50 dubbings were successfully completed, which practically satisfied the initial needs of the animation. And there are still people coming after hearing the news. Kenji Sato felt very happy.
"It's so cheap, so cheap!"
he thought. Dubbing Pokémon is not a problem. However, there has been no progress yet in the speaking roles. The most important voice actors, including Satoshi, have not been found. This situation continued until Saturday.
That day, Takumi was resting at his desk, and Kenji found him excited.
"Mirai-sensei, we've found someone ideal for Satoshi's voice!" His words energized Takumi: "Let me listen to the recording quickly."
The first rounds of voice selection were done by the subordinates. Takumi only had to do the final review. He had the strictest requirements and rejected most of the dubbings. This made Kenji very nervous every time he handed in the list.
But today he looked very confident.
"The recording isn't done yet. The girl only said one sentence and refused to speak." Kenji smiled bitterly: "She said she just wanted to make a living by dubbing animal voices and didn't want to be a voice actress. I want you to go and convince her!"
"Does such a person exist?"
Takumi asked curiously. 'Everyone else was rushing to dub the protagonist, so how could someone give up on their own initiative?'
"Let's go take a look."
He and Kenji went to the dubbing room. Before they got close, he saw the door open in the distance and Haru's anxious voice came from inside.
"Sister, don't rush off. Our director is coming soon. Can you listen to what he has to say?"
"No!" another young woman complained: "I don't want to be a voice actress anymore."
Takumi frowned slightly. 'This voice sounded a little familiar.'
He was about to react when a girl came out of the dubbing room.
"Ah!" The girl saw Takumi, her eyes lit up, and she ran towards him: "Takumi, why are you here?"
'Shiori, what is this boy doing?'
Takumi opened his mouth to ask, but unfortunately, Haru also appeared. Seeing him, her face filled with joy.
"Leader, you're here!"
The leader is Takumi's external identity. He is the manager of Hinotori Publishing's animation department.
- - - -
Big News!
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