I am a voice actor, not your emotional support

"Today is a good day."

"The audition must be won."

So he thought for a moment and decided to turn back and add a long, high-intensity run.

Momoka got up early today and finally adjusted to her normal schedule. She went out to the supermarket to buy some household necessities, and accidentally ran into Uehara Toru, who had just run back and was sweating profusely.

"Yo."

"Uehara-san...?"

"Good morning, have you had breakfast?"

"Not yet."

"I bought too many rice balls, so I'll give you one."

"Eh?" Momoka felt a little confused, because the Toru Uehara in front of her was talking to her with a smile. His energetic and sunny temperament was completely different from his previous cold and aloof attitude, as if he had become a completely different person.

"Uehara-san, are you going for a run...?"

"Well, I'm sweaty, don't come near me."

Taoxiang actually wanted to say that she didn't mind, but she instinctively felt that this sentence might cause misunderstanding, so she didn't say it.

"How many kilometers did you run?" Taoxiang asked.

"It was a little over 20 kilometers, and I walked back. Well... I felt really good after running." Although Toru Uehara also exercises regularly, most of them are indoor exercises, such as high-intensity interval training or other compound strength training.

But as expected, the feeling of indoor exercise and outdoor running, enjoying the scenery along the way is completely different.

He could more or less understand why Zang Yuan Zou loved running so much.

It really is a simple and extremely fun thing to do.

“That’s a half marathon, right? That’s amazing, Uehara-san.”

"The pace is very slow, basically around six minutes per kilometer. You need more practice." Uehara Toru smiled and shook his head, then gave the extra breakfast he bought to Momoka, and then prepared to turn around and leave.

Before leaving, he turned around and said something to Taoxiang.

"By the way, the song you made made it into the top 50, right? Niina already told me about it, and I listened to it."

"That's really good. Now that you've reached this stage, you can start preparing your own music. Just go for it boldly."

"Then I'll go first."

Toru Uehara's appearance was sudden, but his departure was equally sudden, giving people the feeling that he was a rare elf that appeared at irregular intervals.

Momoka opened the bag that Uehara Toru handed over, took out one of the rice balls, began to slowly unwrap it, and ate it in small bites.

“Should I start trying to run in the future?” She whispered to herself, savoring the faint sour and salty taste of the rice ball.

Volume 1: Chapter 64: Naonao's embarrassment

When Toru Uehara arrived at the audition site, he found that in addition to the three audition competitors, other voice actors participating in the formal recording were also present.

This was clearly an unusual audition.

Toru Uehara was a little surprised after just a quick glance.

Several male voice actors present were heavyweight veterans in the industry, and their careers started a decade or more earlier than Matsuoka's.

The most famous among them is Irino Miyu. He is not only an early child star, but also a blockbuster in the field of animation dubbing. He once dubbed Haku in "Spirited Away".

This voice actor lineup...

Toru Uehara's experience in the past five years is indeed equivalent to that of a newcomer who has just debuted, so he walked forward and greeted his seniors in a proper manner.

The seniors were also very friendly, and after nodding to him, the audition was about to begin.

The task this time was obviously very important. Not only did it require the dubbing process to begin immediately after the audition, but the audition method was also different from others.

In fact, the requirement is to directly participate in the official recording and cooperate with the already confirmed voice actor lineup.

Then, through several screenings, the best candidates are immediately selected to proceed.

Toru Uehara looked at the three competitors. It was obvious that none of them were novices. Each of them appeared calm and composed, as if they were fully prepared.

"Um... who of you will go first?"

"Huh?" Faced with the director's question, several voice actors were stunned for a moment.

Toru Uehara exchanged glances with the three voice actors, then he showed a determined look and took the first step.

Although being the first person to audition may put him at a disadvantage, he believes that true strength does not require any tricks, and it is enough to just go all out and show yourself.

Voice actors’ job is to showcase themselves.

Toru Uehara always remembered what Matsuoka said to him.

"I'm Toru Uehara from CIM, please give me your guidance."

"Well, let's start." The supervisor's voice sounded obviously a little lazy. Even though it was an urgent moment, he didn't seem to be in a hurry at all.

Toru Uehara took a deep breath and closed the script as usual, holding it with one hand. Toshiyuki Toyonaga, who was standing beside him and preparing to start dubbing, was also stunned when he saw this scene.

However, the character of Kurano Zou does not have many lines, so it is understandable that he dubbed without a script, but... this person is indeed very confident.

With a smile on his face, Toshiyuki Toyonaga immediately began to dub the character Haiji Kiyose who was riding a bicycle in the scene.

His voice was slightly breathless, and in the well-lit night, he finally caught up with the young man running in front of him.

"Na!"

“Do you like running?”

With just one line of dialogue, Toru Uehara was able to completely immerse himself in the role in an instant, and he gradually experienced the feeling of actually acting opposite excellent voice actors.

At this moment, he is Zang Yuanzou, and Zang Yuanzou is himself.

The memory of running yesterday and even this morning quickly formed a picture in his mind: the fatigue from running, the slight pain in his legs caused by improper posture, the hot soles of his feet, and the sweat that kept sliding down his forehead.

And the faint taste of blood and iron in his throat, at this moment, Uehara Toru seems not in the dubbing room, but on the way to run. His voice and spirit are completely integrated into the role of "Kurahara Zou".

The animation continued to play, and the voice actors began to dub the characters one by one. The director, who was supposed to stop at some point, stared at Uehara Toru without saying a word.

The audition was not over until he had completed the dubbing of an entire episode.

Although there are not many lines throughout the whole process, the fluency, sense of harmony, and the emotional tension that can be truly felt between the voice actors in the drama are all things that cannot be faked.

When Toyonaga finished recording his last line, he looked directly at Uehara Toru and grinned at him: "Sure, Uehara-san, you are a perfect match for this role."

Uehara Toru had already stepped out of his role at this point, and he replied a little sheepishly: "Thank you, senior."

In order to be fair, the next three voice actors also auditioned by recording a whole episode, but compared to Toru Uehara's one-shot, the others all had more or less minor problems and some aspects that did not satisfy the supervisor.

After everyone finished their audition, the director announced without hesitation that Toru Uehara was the one who passed.

This guy's voice acting performance is so impressive that it's kind of funny, the kind that fits the character so well that you can't help but laugh.

The three voice actors who completed the voice acting were more or less regrettable, but they all saw Toru Uehara's performance, which was indeed better than theirs.

But why does it feel like I'm meeting him for the first time?

……

According to the previous arrangement, the formal recording will be carried out immediately after the audition.

As someone who knows the script by heart, Toru Uehara can switch to dubbing seamlessly, and the first episode that was used as audition material was directly approved and decided to be used directly.

For the next second, third, fourth, and fifth episodes, everyone completed the dubbing in one go with almost no rest.

Such work efficiency surprised everyone. Not only did Toru Uehara not have any NGs, but even other senior voice actors gradually got into the state, and there was not even a single place that needed to be modified midway.

The whole supervision process only requires enjoying the process without calling a halt.

"Okay, let's stop here for today. Everyone has worked hard. I'll treat you later!"

When the director announced the result generously, the voice actors present all smiled. But what made them happier than being treated to a meal was the dubbing process.

It felt like the joy that battle maniacs experience in battle, with only the three words "battle is fun" in their minds. They just entered a very wonderful state of exhilaration. They just needed to devote themselves wholeheartedly, without worrying about who would hold them back, and completely immerse themselves in the story and pictures, and release their energy as voice actors.

Dubbing, cool!

Being able to enter this wonderful state... is probably because of this newcomer?

Everyone's eyes were focused on Toru Uehara.

-

Toru Uehara seems to be attending dinner parties hosted by others these days and drinking a lot of alcohol.

From the celebration party of "Firefly Forest" to the dinner party after the first recording of "Run with the Wind", he suddenly realized that no matter what, getting along with people and socializing is inevitable.

After all, humans are social animals, and living in society, many social activities are unavoidable.

And…building good relationships with people doesn’t mean you can’t get the role based on your own merits.

In his communication with these predecessors, Toru Uehara learned that many of them had similar experiences and ideas.

He realized that he might have been too stubborn in the past.

He needs to change and improve step by step, both in dubbing skills and interpersonal communication.

Of course, this doesn't mean that you have to completely imitate Mizuno Inori's method. That method is too extreme and may make you feel too stressed.

Uehara Toru just needs to find a balance point, which can maintain his own personality without making others feel uncomfortable. Perhaps finding a balance between these two is the best state.

Uehara Toru was walking on the way to the station while thinking about his future direction. Night had already fallen, and people were rushing home around him.

It is almost mid-April now, and the night temperature is gradually warming up. It is no longer as cold as before, but is replaced by a slight chill.

While passing by a shopping mall, Toru Uehara heard an advertisement of a very popular idol star playing on the big screen.

"Everyone, can you still be energetic today~?"

"Everyone, I like you the most too!~"

Listening to the clear and sweet voice of a girl, singing those songs that sound a little childish, although the lyrics are simple, they all talk about the theme of love.

Toru Uehara shook his head and couldn't help but sigh.

It turns out that simple and easy-to-understand songs are more popular nowadays. Compared to those songs with absolutely neat and exquisite compositions, the songs that can really become popular are often catchy or extremely brainwashing.

While truly outstanding works can sometimes transcend these rules, this also places stricter demands on the creators.

Toru Uehara looked up and found that the video of the live performance had begun to switch to a distant view, and he lost interest in continuing watching.

When he walked to the station entrance, he noticed that a bakery next to it was still open even though it was already ten o'clock in the evening.

At first, he was not very interested in this bakery that was still open at night, because he thought that the bread left over at night would definitely not be as soft and delicious as those freshly baked in the morning.

But he noticed the name of the store and realized that this was the store where he received the bread yesterday and the taste of the bread from that store impressed him deeply.

Thinking of this, Toru Uehara decided to push the door and go into the store to take a look.

However, at this moment, a hurried figure ran over from the side, and the two of them put their hands on the door almost at the same time.

Uehara Toru was stunned and looked at the person next to him. After recognizing him, he was a little surprised: "It's you?"

Nana Toyama also blinked briefly, then pulled down her mask and greeted Toru Uehara with a smile: "What a coincidence."

Outside the house, the aroma of the bakery was still tempting, and Toru Uehara casually bought a raisin toast.

He had been drinking at the party just now and didn't actually eat many carbohydrates, so he could use this to supplement.

On the other side, Nana Toyama also bought herself a meat floss bread and was eating it happily and contentedly.

Uehara Toru looked at her round little face, which bulged when she ate, and couldn't help asking, "I remember you wanted to lose weight, didn't you?"

Nana Toyama replied with a smile: "After finishing work, I have to reward myself, and I can't lose weight in a hurry.

By the way, uncle, why are you here? "

Originally, she wanted to explain that she was not as young as she looked, but considering that no woman would refuse the opportunity to act younger, she continued to call Uehara Toru "uncle", even though Uehara Toru looked like a brother at most.

"Just like you, I just finished a work party and happened to feel a little hungry." Toru Uehara stood in front of the railing, watching the passing cars, and said lightly.

"Hey... Uncle, what's your job? A model?"

"Voice actor."

"Eh?"

Nana Touyama never thought that he would be her colleague...