How to raise a random guy's wife

"Huh?" Kobayashi Ran looked puzzled when she noticed that Kobayashi Sora didn't react. "It didn't work?"

"Daddy's itchy spot isn't there." Kobayashi Megumi gently traced the area on Kobayashi Sora's collarbone with her fair fingertips.

Ran Kobayashi clearly felt Kobayashi Sora's body move slightly.

Kobayashi Megumi also noticed Kobayashi Sora's actions. "Did Mom win?"

“Such small movements don’t count!” Ran Kobayashi added to the rule, “It has to be a more obvious, big movement.”

Ran Kobayashi pondered carefully, trying to find a way to get Sora Kobayashi moving.

Curious about what the family of three was doing, Nian Gao couldn't find a good spot to observe them on the floor, so he jumped onto the back of the sofa to observe from above.

Upon discovering that Kobayashi Ran was on Kobayashi Sora, Mochi, who often spent time with Kobayashi Ran, jumped directly towards Kobayashi Sora.

The rice cake is no longer the little kitten it used to be... although it was already quite big back then.

Being pressed down by this big cat is no joke.

Kobayashi Sora quickly raised her hand and caught the rice cake that jumped down.

"Ah!" Ran Kobayashi announced the result, "Mochi won!"

Chapter 775 The Tree with Human Faces

"Hmm?" Kobayashi Megumi frowned slightly. "Is it not finished yet?"

Kobayashi Sora placed the coffee in front of Kasumigaoka Utaha, saying, "At the previous pace, the storyboard for the final episode should have been finished long ago."

He specifically allocated three times the time for the voyage to Po Island, and with the time for the subsequent animation production, it was more than five times the time.

“Creation is not something that can be easily quantified,” Kasumigaoka Utaha said, “and the more pressure you put on it, the more difficult it becomes.”

Sometimes creators need to be pushed, but other times, the more time is tight, the less they know what to do.

The so-called pressure is a driving force, but there is a very subtle issue of degree involved.

Kobayashi Megumi recalled the schedule, "According to the normal progress, the final episode should have already reached the coloring stage, but now even the storyboards aren't finished..."

She looked at Kobayashi Sora and began to understand his previous concerns.

"There are still eleven weeks until the final episode airs." Kobayashi Sora patted Kobayashi Megumi's hand. "Everyone will be working overtime. We'll outsource the in-between animation and coloring, and with my connections, we can finish the final episode's production within a week. Considering the risks, we'll need to allocate another week. That leaves only ten weeks for Go-Shi (the production team). During this time, I'll find someone to complete the storyboard for the final episode. If she still can't produce a result in the end..."

"You absolutely mustn't say something like that to Izumi," Kasumigaoka Utaha sighed.

"That's why I said that, precisely because she's not here," Kobayashi Sora confessed. "In situations like this, where the replacement is changed in the final episode, the person who takes over is very likely to offend people, and if something goes wrong, they'll have to take the blame. Not to mention Izumi, who was replaced."

That would be a huge blow.

Considering this is Poshima Izumi's official debut work, this blow could very well ruin her future career.

The problem is that if the final episode isn't produced, it will be difficult for Poshima to make a living in the future, and it will also affect RER's reputation.

Taking everything into consideration, it's best to focus on completing the work.

Kasumigaoka Utaha frowned slightly. She was well aware of the pros and cons involved, which made it even more difficult for her to make a decision.

Po Island takes this animation very seriously. If it weren't so important, they wouldn't be so meticulous about it now; they could just draw a random storyboard.

However, placing too much emphasis on it can lead to difficulties in the production of the work.

If the final episode cannot be broadcast smoothly, then no matter how much importance is attached to the voyage from Hashima Island, it will be meaningless.

“In that case,” Kobayashi Megumi suggested, “how about having Eriri draw the storyboards?”

"Huh?" Kasumigaoka Utaha looked at Kobayashi Megumi in surprise, not expecting her to make such a cruel suggestion.

Although they have a good relationship now, for a considerable period of time, Izumi Hashima regarded Eriri as his nemesis in his creative work.

Having Eriri draw the storyboard for the final episode that Izumi Hashima couldn't finish was pure torture for her.

This is no longer at the level of punishment, but at the level of abuse.

Do Kobayashi Sora and Kobayashi Megumi usually play this aggressively? Kobayashi Megumi wasn't this ruthless before.

Kasumigaoka Utaha shook her head.

Having lived with Eriri for so long, her thoughts have become tinged with the color of Eriri's hair.

Her way of thinking has taken on the shape of Eriri.

“It’s not that I’m sure I’m going to use Eriri’s storyboard,” Kobayashi Megumi explained. “I just wanted to give the idea of ​​going to sea a bit of excitement.”

"Exciting..." Kasumigaoka Utaha imagined that if Hashima Izumi saw the final chapter's storyboard drawn by Eriri, he would either be devastated or stimulated to unleash his inner power. Judging from Hashima Izumi's previous behavior, the latter was very likely.

"I'll discuss it with Eriri later." Kasumigaoka Utaha finished her coffee. "I feel much better now. I'm going to participate in the voice acting. See you later."

The first episode had only been airing for a short time, and the eighth episode was already in the post-production dubbing stage.

In recent years, during the animation production process, it is common practice to record audio before drawing, mainly to meet deadlines.

Depending on the production schedule of the work, voice actors face different situations when dubbing.

The most common types are line shots that combine line art into images, or original sketches that are used for ground shooting, and even more advanced original shots that are made from completed original artwork. Of course, there are also storyboard shots that turn storyboards with very low completion levels into videos.

While it helps to meet deadlines, it also leads to many voice actors not being able to accurately grasp the characters when dubbing, especially when dubbing supporting characters, they often don't even know what the supporting characters look like.

Mononoke is relatively better, with fewer characters and almost no supporting characters. The story mainly revolves around a few main characters.

As Bo Island looked at the blank storyboard in front of him, he kept twirling the pencil in his hand.

According to the schedule, the storyboard should have been completed long ago, but the last story of the "Storyteller" was added later. After the animation production started, there was a lot of work to be done for the Bo Island expedition, so now we can only make the most of every minute.

The sound supervisor looked towards the sea at Po Island and asked, "When will the storyboard be finished?"

"This..." Bo Island hesitated for a long time before going out to sea. Finishing it wasn't difficult; she had already drawn several versions, but none were satisfactory. "It should be done soon..."

Kasumigaoka Utaha remembered the plans she had discussed with Kobayashi Megumi, opened her mouth, but ultimately didn't say anything.

There are still ten weeks left, let's wait a little longer.

The sound engineer checked the personnel and reminded the sound supervisor, "Everyone is here."

"Hmm..." The sound director walked into the recording studio. "Today we will be doing the post-production recording for episode 8 of 'Mononoke,' please take care of me."

"Nice to meet you~" the voice actors replied with a bow.

The sound director gave a brief introduction to the voice actors and the characters they played, and then the Apart test began.

Considering the voice actors' condition, a sound check is conducted before the official recording. The director and production manager also analyze the lines and make certain modifications during this process.

After all, written lines and spoken lines feel different, and some problems only become apparent when they are read aloud.

Episode 8 is the opening of the fourth story in Mononoke, "The Human-Faced Tree." The story is divided into three episodes. The general plot is that the medicine seller is attracted by the lifelike wooden carving. He discovers the aura of a monster on the beautiful wooden carving, so he finds the sculptor who carved the wood and discovers the truth hidden under the extraordinary skills. In the end, he kills the Human-Faced Tree.

Although there wasn't a swimsuit episode due to the story's style, the beautiful wooden sculpture of a beautiful woman was, in a way, a treat.

Chapter 776 Expression of Emotions

"So you're a pharmacist! Welcome, welcome! I have the utmost respect for pharmacists; it was a very skilled pharmacist who cured my eyes. What kind of wood carving do you want? I'll do my best to make it for you. Trust me, the beautiful woman wood carving I create will be the most beautiful ever..."

The voice actor playing the woodcarver narrated the story in a leisurely manner, his voice carrying a sense of pride and boastfulness.

Outside the recording studio, the sound supervisor and Boshima Shimokai frowned.

Kasumigaoka Utaha's expression was also not good, and the atmosphere became somewhat serious for a moment.

"Um..." After the sound check was over, the sound supervisor pressed a button to communicate with the voice actors in the recording studio, "Everyone, please take a break. We will begin the formal recording shortly."

The production manager, sound manager, and producer all started flipping through the script almost simultaneously, discussing the various annotations they had just written.

Everyone tacitly decided to leave the dialogue from earlier for last.

But ultimately, it still needs to be discussed.

After a moment of silence, Kasumigaoka Utaha spoke first, "What do you think about going to sea?"

"I feel... something's not quite right with him." Po Island gathered his thoughts. "Here, when the woodcarver learns of the medicine seller's identity, he'll naturally think of the apothecary who healed his eyes. He'll certainly feel gratitude, but..."

“But just as his eyes were about to be completely healed, his wife fell in love with the pharmacist.” The sound supervisor flipped through the script. “So there also needs to be anger and resentment hidden beneath the gratitude.”

"The key moment comes later. Realizing that the medicine seller before him was not the same person as the pharmacist from before, the woodcarver immediately concealed his emotions and shifted his attention from the past to his current business," Kasumigaoka Utaha pointed out the difficulty. "But he used his wife's face as a reference when sculpting the beauty, so after a brief detachment, he was once again immersed in complex emotions..."

This series of emotional changes is too difficult to portray well, even for experienced voice actors.

"Mr. Guan needs to portray a more nuanced and layered performance here." The performance captures the feeling of the boat trip on Po Island. "If the complexity of the mindset cannot be shown here, the subsequent plot development will seem too abrupt."

The sound supervisor confirmed everyone's ideas, went into the recording studio to provide guidance, and then the formal recording began.

“Hmm…” The sound supervisor held the script. “This line, ‘I heard that there’s a monster living in his wood carving,’ was a bit too forceful. Mr. Sakaguchi, as one of the three people who bought the wood carving, you are the only one in the industry. Although there is an intention of jealousy and slander, you should try to show that casual attitude.”

There were three people who came to the sculptor to buy wood carvings: a medicine seller, a masked man, and a fellow craftsman.

“In that case…” Sakaguchi thought for a moment, “should we try to calm ourselves down a bit?”

"Hmm... that deliberate tranquility is nice too. Which one is better?" The sound director asked for Hashima's opinion on the sea voyage. "What do you think, Director?"

“This…” Hashima pressed the green button to allow his voice to reach the recording studio. “It’s hard to convey that contempt in a calm tone, right? After all, in his eyes, it’s still a bit resentful and contemptuous to have his business stolen by a sculptor who uses rumors of yokai possession as a gimmick. Well… there’s also jealousy and a desire to expose the other party’s boring tricks—what do you think, Mr. Iimura?”

During the performance, Jucun pointed to the script with his pen, "If it's too complicated, even if we can achieve that effect, it will be difficult for the audience to feel it. How about we reduce the emotions a bit? It's the kind of tone that can be explained from all angles. That's the tone of resentment, and that's also the tone of contempt and jealousy."

"But..." She understood the idea of ​​going to Bo Island by sea, but she had no idea how to reduce the cost.

Kasumigaoka Utaha tapped the table lightly, "How about some encouragement?"

"Huh?" Hashima thought for a moment, "That feeling of casually but deliberately bringing up a topic, waiting for others to ask follow-up questions?"

"Out of jealousy and resentment, I want to expose the sculptor's dirty secrets, but because of contempt and disdain, I am unwilling to go into details." Kasumigaoka Utaha further explained, "Those who know, know. I'm too lazy to say more unless you keep asking—that's a bit awkward."

"How about changing 'I heard' to 'After all'?" Bo Island had an idea, "and make it a little more teasing."

The sound director looked at Sakaguchi and said, "This is troublesome."

“Okay.” Sakaguchi composed himself for a moment. “After all, there’s a monster living inside his wooden carving.”

The sound supervisor suggested, "Make it a little more flippant."

"After all, there's a monster living inside his wooden carving~" Sakaguchi spoke again, his tone immediately changing from before, now filled with a sense of smugness.

"Just as I expected." The sound supervisor left the recording studio and operated the equipment. "Then let's officially begin recording Apart."

The first half of the recording went smoothly, but the formal meeting in the second half failed to satisfy everyone.

The voice actor apologized repeatedly and tried several more times, but it still didn't work.