Two days later, the final list of voice actors was submitted.
Takumi was in the dubbing studio for the final review.
"Next" he said outwards. He had interviewed six people in a row that day, but none passed, and he was a little disappointed.
This time, a young and beautiful woman entered, looking very nervous.
"I am..."
"No need to introduce yourself, just start; there are still many people waiting" Takumi said; 'this was what displeased him the most. Kenji had given him a long list of people, which forced him to hurry, and the first rounds of selection were too flexible.'
"Yes"
The woman nodded stiffly. When she arrived in the morning, she and other voice actors were very confident, but everyone who entered the dubbing room shook their heads and left. None passed the final audition review, which made her nervous.
"This supervisor is so young; was he born with this face?"
Although nervous, the woman couldn't help but think about it. 'No one would believe a sixteen-year-old supervisor. Moreover, the auditioner's natural low profile, and Takumi sitting in front of him, exuded a calm and mature temperament. All the artists considered him an "adult with a child's face." '
"The role I'm going to voice is Misty."
The woman stopped thinking and spoke. She didn't know how important Misty's role was in Pokémon, but the staff had informed her of the details in advance, so she had no problem demonstrating her vocal talent. She took a deep breath and began the audition.
"I'm Misty, the world-class beautiful girl! Ash, you ruined my bike...".
This woman seemed weak, but once the audition began, the feeling she conveyed to people changed. Kind when calm, sharp when angry, her audition was very good, and people could imagine a beautiful, fierce, bold, and gentle girl.
"That's it...".
Takumi was moved and continued listening. Misty had many lines, including "Well, well, that's enough for today!" "You better not go too far!" "Get out of my way!" and other words directed at Takeshi.
This woman's voice was very good.
"Not bad". After finishing the dubbing, Takumi looked through the list: "Your name... uh, Yumi, right?"
"Yumi, you've passed". He nodded with satisfaction and smiled at Yumi: "Misty is the female protagonist of Pokémon. You will voice this character in the future. Congratulations!"
The female protagonist, Yumi, was overjoyed to hear this.
"I'm voicing the female protagonist?"
"Yes". Takumi hasn't considered the next season of Pokémon yet. Misty is the female protagonist she deserves. This role is very interesting. Misty's dream is to become the best water Pokémon trainer in the world, very similar to the male protagonist Ash's dream.
"You can leave now". Takumi pressed the approval button and smiled: "Someone will be outside signing a contract with you. You can check the remuneration in the contract".
"Okay"
Yumi nodded and left.
"Next"
Takumi quickly called the next person. After a few minutes of audition, he found another qualified person.
"You are... Yumiko, you've passed the audition, you can be Jessie's voice actress."
The person who passed this time was a rather elderly woman, which surprised Takumi. He didn't want to choose her because of her age, but he hadn't expected Yumiko's voice to be so young and skilled, especially the phrase "Your things are mine, and my things are still mine!", which sounded just like Jessie herself.
Jessie is a villain in Pokémon, and her importance is no less than that of the female protagonist Misty.
Takumi was glad that two people passed the audition in a row. Next, he continued to select the remaining voice actors. The people summoned by Alice also came to the auditions one after another. There were more than a dozen. Although there were few, their strength was considerable. The voice actors for Pokémon were decided one after another.
In the end, only the male protagonist Ash was left without a suitable voice actor for this animation.
"Only Ash is left..."
Takumi worried. Ash was the most problematic person. From a dubbing perspective, few people meet Ash's requirements, but his voice actor is also responsible for the voice of several characters. With this condition, practically no one meets the standard.
"Mirai-sensei, you can consider the girl from last time."
When he was worried, Haru suddenly suggested:
"Which one from last time?" Takumi was surprised.
"It was the girl who met him once and left in a hurry. She seemed to be a high school student...".
"Ah, you mean Shiori."
Takumi suddenly realized that last time he had sent Shiori to the hospital to get bandaged, and then he had sent her back to school, and they hadn't contacted each other again. He shook his head: "We don't have to consider her. She definitely won't come to the audition."
Shiori said she didn't want to be a star, so 'how could she take the initiative to be a voice actress?' There was no hope.
"Ask again!" Haru advised. She remembered Shiori's expression when she left last time, and felt that there was something strange between her and Takumi: "Her voice is really good. It's a shame not to be able to voice Ash."
"Is she really that good?"
Takumi had never heard Shiori's audition, and he hesitated when Haru said so.
"Okay, I'll try". Takumi decided to ask Shiori.
That night, after seeing Tomato and Sakura off, Takumi called Shiori and briefly introduced himself.
"Do you want to hear my audition? Then listen carefully!"
Shiori was very proud. She coughed and shouted: "My goal is to be a Pokémon trainer!"
Takumi was instantly speechless. He had to admit that Shiori's voice was very good. Although a little stiff, her bravery surpassed Yumi's, and she had no original vocal characteristics. It was the perfect voice for a boy.
He decided to follow Haru's advice and convince Shiori to accept Ash's voice.
"Ash? I don't want her."
But Shiori flatly refused.
"Can't you consider it?" Takumi frowned slightly and quickly thought of a solution: "You just don't want to draw attention? So, how about this? We don't show your name; no one will know it was you who dubbed it."
"This..."
Shiori was stunned. What Takumi said seemed to make sense, and her voice was very different from her usual one, so even if someone recognized her, she could deny it.
Takumi continued: "We'll keep it a secret. You just have to come to the dubbing studio once a week, and the compensation can cover your expenses. Isn't that great?"
This sentence moved Shiori, who also wanted to earn some money to cover her expenses.
"Will you help me keep it a secret?"
"Of course!"
"Then... I'll think about it...".
Shiori's attitude softened, but she didn't make promises easily.
- - - -
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