Chapter 276: Gundam Diva
Eiji Takashima got a new job: he was looking for voice actors.
"The fact that this anime has a Japanese dialect version depends on your interpretation."
He still remembered that Takumi had reminded him that, of course, Eiji Takashima was interested in the Japanese dialect version, but he and his wife Akiko had been going around for several days, but they always ran into an obstacle.
"Voice actor? Haha, I'm not interested in such a loose job, you can look for someone else..."
"Anime voice actor? Sorry, I've already accepted Manga Paradise's 'The Strongest Mobile Suit', yours... it's not suitable..."
"Sorry, sorry, several artists from our company have signed contracts with Manga Paradise, and the truth is, we don't have the power...".
Although there are many artists in Tokyo, recognized singers and actors look down on low-level jobs like voice acting, and the excellent voice actors who look down on them have signed contracts with Manga Paradise's anime one by one.
Manga Paradise has more than one anime, especially "The Strongest Mobile Suit" which is being produced now, and the few voice actors are not willing to help with the voices of "Gundam SEED".
"Damn it! Why would they refuse? This is too abnormal."
After returning home, Eiji Takashima looked disappointed.
"We can't do anything. Voice actors are not valued now. There aren't many professionals, and Manga Paradise must have greeted us." Akiko gritted her teeth and said: "They hinted to those voice actors not to accept our jobs. Is it necessary?"
Tsuki Animation Company is a small company. She hadn't expected Manga Paradise to hinder them.
But this is normal. Manga Paradise didn't spend energy deliberately hindering Tsuki Animation Company, but for the same type of anime, they are certainly willing to let "Gundam SEED"'s quality be worse. It's normal to tell voice actors indifferently.
Voice actors have their own small groups. They listen to what they say. Of course, if they can avoid it, they won't do it.
"Oh... It's mainly because Mirai-sensei's requirements are too high,"
Eiji Takashima sighed. In fact, they can find voice actors, but Takumi's requirements are very high, so they can only find influential people, and these influential voice actors are all related to Manga Paradise, the top manga company in Japan.
"Forget it, inform Mirai-sensei and tell him we didn't find voice actors."
The couple communicated the result to Takumi, and Takumi felt a little regretful. He hadn't expected finding voice actors in Tokyo to be so difficult. It seems the bilingual version is bankrupt.
So he assigned the voice actors for "Gundam SEED" to Osaka's voice actor agency. Hinotori Publishing's voice actor agency had already been established, and now it should be the best voice actor group in Japan.
However, after handing over the work, a selection period will be needed to decide the role.
And this is an ordinary voice actor. Takumi continued to look for singing voice actors. There's a lot of music in "Gundam SEED", more than in previous works, and it's all classic.
At least a third of this anime's charm lies in the background music and songs, which combine to create a musical festival. The original work of "Gundam SEED" features several singers.
Background music can be the band's responsibility, but the choice of singers is more important than the voice actors. Some singers must be linked to the voice actors.
So, after the official start of "Gundam SEED" production, Takumi supervised the work while listening to songs by different Japanese singers at home.
He wanted to find a suitable partner. There were no results in the first few days. He was a little dazed from listening to so many songs. But one day, while preparing the first draft for Osaka's assistants, he suddenly heard a clear and ethereal voice.
He was stunned and turned his head to look at the computer playing the song. It was a very ethereal female voice, with a touch of sadness, as if a little girl was standing among the ruins singing a war elegy.
"That's it!"
Takumi stood up. He was looking for that ethereal kind of voice. Songs like "Dawn Car" and "Flame Gate" had to be sung with that kind of voice to be outstanding.
"Who is this singer?"
He rushed to the computer and looked at the singer's name: Masako Natsukawa.
"What a strange name."
Takumi suddenly remembered Masako Natsukawa. Her voice wasn't bad. He could try some songs, but he valued Masako Natsukawa more.
However, when he searched for Masako Natsukawa on the computer, the information he obtained surprised Takumi.
"Fourteen years old!"
Masako Natsukawa is actually a fourteen-year-old middle school student, or more precisely, an emerging singer who has just appeared and has not yet released an album. Takumi was amazed. In his previous life, there was a singer named Tamaki Narimi, who also debuted at fourteen with the single "Gundam SEED". Overnight, she became famous, and many called her the "Gundam Diva".
It was destiny, so Takumi didn't hesitate to call Eiji Takashima to inform him.
"Go and recruit that singer named Masako Natsukawa, yes... She's fourteen and her agent is her mother... No, you can recruit her directly, and the price can be negotiated... We have our own agency!"
Takumi decided to incorporate Masako Natsukawa into Osaka's Voice Actor Agency. Her ethereal voice with a hint of sadness is very in line with the characteristics of anime songs, and it will be used on many occasions in the future.
But, unfortunately, Masako Natsukawa is different from Tamaki Narimi. She is suitable for singing Lux and sad songs, but Gundam themes still need a powerful voice like Tamaki Narimi's to convey pleasure.
Takumi thought of a person when he heard that explosive voice.
"..."
He took out his cell phone and called that person: "I'll give you some songs. Can you learn to sing them in the Japanese dialect in a few months?"
"Yes,"
Shiori replied. It's difficult to learn a region's language, but it's not difficult to learn the language of some songs.
"Really..." Takumi breathed a sigh of relief: "Then I'll give you the score. You can learn it in the next few months and do the dubbing at the company."
"...Okay."
Shiori seemed to have a lot to say, but in the end she said nothing.
The two singers were decided, but there were still a few more. Takumi thought he might as well gather four people to form a "Gundam Diva" voice actress lineup and, incidentally, change the status of voice actors.
Current voice actors did not meet his needs. He had to promote some voice actors, and then suddenly change Japan's disdain for voice actors, and attract more talented people to acting.
"The Diva... let's call it the Diva Project..."
Takumi wrote this down, and that he would pay special attention to the development of these voice actors in the future.
A day later, Eiji Takashima delivered the good news of his success, and during that period, Takumi also selected the two remaining candidates: Masako Natsukawa and Yumi, from the voice actor agency.
The two artists from Japan are bilingual, so they shouldn't have much trouble. The problem is whether Yumi and Shiori can learn songs in the Japanese dialect.
Takumi is a little worried, but worrying is useless. Whether they succeed or not depends entirely on themselves.
He will only take care of those who strive and progress...
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