Tokyo Sound

"Originally, he was a sure thing, but his desire to win was too strong. He clearly preferred to study literature and philosophy, but he only wrote a third-class science major at the University of Tokyo on his application."

"What do you mean?"

"Todai University's third science department, which is the School of Medicine, is jokingly called a school for people from outer space. The entire university has 3000 annual enrollment quotas, and this department only accepts 100 people. Even many geniuses who don't want to study medicine will join in, just because it is the most difficult entrance examination in the country. The president is one of these people."

"The results of it?"

"That year, 446 strong men gathered together. Academically, courageously, and with determination, they were all top choices, and they all came with nearly perfect scores in the unified examination. Among them were high school geniuses who were ambitious and passionate, Shuras who had to repeat their years and return to the stage with scars all over their bodies, and even the super-old ronin seniors who had become parents but still had obsessions."

The Dean of Studies spoke slowly, recalling the Ragnarok of the Gods, every word and sentence was filled with the dancing of pen and ink.

"The fighting and dancing of masters will only bring the average line to a higher plane and dimension. The wind of struggle will become more intense, and ordinary students will only be burned to ashes. Brains are working, sweat is pouring down, Einstein, Tesla, and Newton are watching the fighters from the sky, the ocean of knowledge is surging, the theory of relativity is showing its power, and the sense of the passage of time is broken."

"After the results were announced and converted, the final deviation value reached a terrifying 80.7... It was also the highest legend in history. The principal broke through his own limit and sublimated to the realm of 78 in this battle, but he never expected that the result would still be a miserable defeat. His heart was shattered on the spot, his pride was annihilated, and he fell into the mortal world in an instant. The next year, he mustered up the courage to take the exam again, but his academic ability was only 73.5, no longer the unparalleled power of the past. So he really cried his heart out when he was studying at Waseda University. After all, his former self, the sharp young man who looked down on the Far East, died and was left in the examination room without being able to transcend."

"..."Yin Ze.

"The three liberal arts majors [Note: referring to literature, philosophy and art majors in Japanese universities] that you applied for may not necessarily eliminate the sorrow. In fact, the real way to save the principal and appease the sorrowful wishes of three generations of his family is to take the three science majors of the University of Tokyo as his student." The dean looked at him deeply.

"That means you want me to die." Yin Ze laughed.

The phone in his pocket suddenly vibrated and Yin Ze took it out. "Excuse me, I need to answer the call."

"It's almost time for get out of class to end, and I should prepare your version of the Endless Sea - Ren Saburo's Tomb Monument."

"What the hell is that?" Yin Ze turned his head in confusion.

"The scorching sun and stars above the heads of Tokyo's outstanding high school students in the past, and a collection of science questions carefully selected by the principal." The dean of studies walked away with his hands behind his back and his big belly shaking.

Yin Ze held up his flip phone.

"Takizawa-kun, my name is Kashiwai Ippei. I have secured an audition opportunity for you this Saturday. It's time for your debut!" the manager, who had not appeared in public for a while, announced cheerfully.

"Oh, I understand... Should I make any preparations?" Yin Ze asked guiltily.

"Hahaha, I believe in your acting skills and basic skills. After all, you got first place in the selection exam. As long as you have a good mood and smile that day, everything will be fine!"

The agent was more confident than he was, and hung up the phone at this point. Yin Ze looked at the interruption interface on the flip phone and fell silent.

Shame on you, maybe today.

Chapter 17: How to write the word "卉"

Yin Ze woke up early that day, which was rare for him. He felt as nervous as if he was just a cheerful entertainment anchor playing a game in a fishing pond, but suddenly he was stuffed with a sock in his mouth, tied up, and airdropped to the finals to have a passionate gun battle with a sniper god in front of the world audience.

Everyone he meets till now praises him for his extraordinary talent...but now the dumplings have broken through the crotch of his pants and the filling is about to show.

He cooked a bowl of expensive high-end beef noodle soup and opened a can of beer, planning to eat and drink well before the execution.

It is impossible to just wait for death, you still have to struggle if you need to.

The audition was for a minor supporting role in a regular isekai battle anime, the kind that wouldn't survive more than a single episode.

To roughly summarize his life, he was a knight accompanying the princess to guard the team. He was ambushed by dark forces and fought to the last second, persisted until the male protagonist appeared, and finally ended with his last words.

Therefore, the audition lines are also these few sentences.

"As a commoner, I am powerless to interfere in transactions between royal families. But no matter how thorny this road is, Your Highness Panisse, I will definitely protect your safety."

"Don't panic! Organize a defense centered around the carriage!"

"Are you the leader? With such swordsmanship and skills, why do you still wear a mask and do such a shameful act? How dare you offend the majesty of the royal family? Who instructed you?"

"...Ah, Your Highness, please do not shed tears for me. This body and life were given to you when I became a knight and swore an oath. Unknown brave boy, I beg you, I beg you to protect Your Highness to Snow Peak City."

To be honest, Yin Ze could already imagine the character after reading the lines.

The child of a common people went through untold hardships to become a knight and fell in love with a beautiful princess, but the huge difference in class made it impossible for him to express his feelings and he could only accompany her silently. In the end, he lost his life and handed the princess over to the real male protagonist. The story begins.

The ultimate tool man, is this the character that I am about to inject soul into... It really is a good horse and a good saddle, they complement each other.

While eating noodles and gathering his emotions, he recited words to the air, trying his best to imagine and feel the Knight's sadness.

It was time to clean up the dishes, put on my programmer's battle suit and plaid shirt and go out. There weren't many office workers crowding the subway on Saturday, so I followed the map and address to find the area nearby.

Kashiwa Ippei, who had arrived early and was waiting, stopped him with his eyes, took his hand affectionately, and led him into the building and took the elevator, as impatient as a mother taking her child with a cold to get a shot.

"Takizawa-kun looks in good spirits and seems to have a sure win," Kashiwai Ippei said with a smile.

"Okay……"

"Don't be too nervous. The scene is actually not that scary. Just treat it as another interview and perform normally."

"I try to be normal..."

"There were only 9 people auditioning for this role, including you. After all, it's just a small role, not that exciting. By the way, Takizawa-kun, please don't mind me finding a small role for you to debut." Kashiwa Ippei said jokingly.

"No matter where there is..."

"Although he only has a role in less than one episode, he still has a name. The credits won't say Knight A or Guard B," Kashiwai Ippei said. "And it seems he will appear in the princess's memories in the future."

The conversation room had arrived at the corresponding floor. When Yin Ze stepped out of the elevator, the first thing he felt was that it was very quiet. The corridors and the vending machines were full of people, but no one spoke.

Kashiwa Ippei led him to a small lounge, and along the way he chatted with all kinds of people, seeming to have a wide network of contacts. He handed him a bottle of water and said with a smile, "The voice actors for the main characters have already been chosen, and today is the audition for the supporting roles, so there are no scary seniors present. Just relax and be natural."

"I see a lot of people are here." Yin Ze said.

"After all, the production budget of this animation is not small, and the sales of the original work are also good, so it is a very good resource." Kashiwai Ippei also sat down and said.

"What are the requirements for auditioning?" Yin Ze asked tentatively.

"Just do it the same way you did before, but make adjustments based on the sound monitor's response."

"…Is it a one-on-one audition?" Seeing that he couldn't get any words out of him, Yin Ze asked again in despair. If he didn't even have someone to copy him, he would be in trouble.

"There are relatively few people here today, and the supporting characters don't say much, so they should line up and go on stage individually." After Kashiwa Ippei said this, he discovered that Yin Ze exuded the aura of someone who was aware of the fact that he was about to die.

"Kashiwai-san, if you succeed this time, I'll treat you to a meal. If you lose, how about you treat me to a meal as a consolation?"

"Of course." Kashiwai Ippei readily accepted this little fun gambling game.

Thinking that he could get something for free, Yin Ze's cold heart felt a little warmer.

After chatting with the agent with a fake smile for more than ten minutes, someone knocked on the door and notified me.

……

All glass is soundproof vacuum glass, the doors and windows are sealed with rubber bands, the floor is suspended, a layer of keel is laid first, and then the floor and carpet are laid. The wall is also a multi-layer structure, and the surface is covered with sound-absorbing materials to ensure that there is no echo, and the air-conditioning fan is also a special silent version.

This completely silent room allows only one sound to exist - the voiceover that brings the characters to life.

Yin Ze walked in quietly in his slippers. Even when he was a child, he was greedy and tried to steal the Transformer toy with a broken leg from next door, but he had never been so cautious.

The microphone stood very conspicuously in the center of the room, facing the glass window. Behind the window were the elderly sound director and assistant with gray hair, who were sitting like Nio.

The microphone is expensive just by looking at its appearance, and there is a gauze membrane a few centimeters away to prevent splashing.

He moved to the microphone and stood there. He glanced at the sound monitor secretly. He looked quite friendly. After waiting for a few seconds, he realized that he should speak first.

"Good morning, I'm Takizawa Satoru from I'm Enterprise, and I'm auditioning for the role of the princess's guard knight, Elredo Charles Treves Jasin."

He also didn't know why Japanese people like to say "good morning" when meeting in the workplace, even if the actual time is evening or noon.

"Let's start with line D. Feel free to improvise." The sound director's voice came through the broadcast port.

Sentence D was the last words. Although there was an A4 script in his hand, Yin Ze didn't need to look at it. He turned away from the microphone, cleared his throat first, then imagined the scene, and spoke slowly and carefully.

"Ah... Your Highness, please do not shed tears for me. This body and life were given to you when I became a knight and swore an oath. Unknown brave boy, I beg you to protect Your Highness to Snow Peak City."

Although he has never worked in the broadcasting industry and has never performed at a wedding, the first time in his life when he recited lines so affectionately and seriously was when he was reading "Kong Yiji" in his favorite Chinese class.

So Yin Ze is a complete layman.

——But "Takizawa" is not.

He felt smooth the first second he opened his mouth. His words were clear, and his pronunciation, pauses, and breathing were all natural. Even his upper body leaned forward by muscle memory to find a sense of distance.

The essence of exercise is self-denial, that is, the taming of instincts.

Arcade game masters can close their eyes and rely on experience and memory, that is, memorizing the game board and calculating the time to dodge enemy bullets and jump over traps.

The lazy and leisurely Beijing people like to swallow words, and Sichuan people do not have nasal sounds or curled tongues. However, a qualified announcer can naturally eliminate the influence of the environment through long-term training and complete the evolution of correct pronunciation.

This body has been through a lot of practice.

Even if the soul is replaced.

Still aware of this.

The sentence was not long, and Yin Ze had finished reading it when he came to his senses. He was a little unsure, because in that moment of trance, he neglected his own performance, and now he could only wait for the instructions of the sound monitor.

"Please read sentence A again." The sound monitor's voice sounded like a reef on the coast, calm and unmoved by wind or lightning.

This time, Yin Ze was extremely alert, trying his best to adapt to and follow the combat memories left by this body.

"A transaction between royal families... I am a commoner and I can do nothing about it. But no matter how thorny this road is, Your Highness Panisse, I will definitely protect your safety."

After a few seconds of silence, the sound monitor's voice came faintly, "Can you adjust it to give a different feeling? It's still sentence A, start when you are ready."

There is no detailed feedback, only a general "make adjustments", which is like the client frowning and shaking his head and saying no after looking at the drawing. But when you ask him about it, he thinks for a long time and answers "I feel it's weird", "It's not very good", "There are some problems".

Of course Yin Ze didn't believe that the sound supervisor was unable to guide him... This was obviously just a small test question, but he was not sure. After thinking for a while, he cleared his throat and recited sentence A again.

The sound supervisor behind the glass window glanced at him and said, "Thank you for your hard work. That's all. Please wait for the others to audition. We will get back to you as soon as they are finished."

Yin Ze exhaled silently, bowed and turned to leave.

“Performers shouldn’t rely too much on clever tricks, otherwise it will be meaningless.” The sound supervisor said with the tone of an experienced person.

Yin Ze was stunned for a moment, nodded and pushed the door open.

Only after he left the oppressive room and stood outside in the corridor did he realize how fast his heart was beating.

This body, which had been tempered by countless hardships, was more nervous and even trembling than the one that had been replaced now.

Chapter 18: The Original Sin of Greed

"What's wrong? You look so serious, just like a soldier who just came off a battlefield full of blood and corpses." Kashiwa Ippei was browsing his phone in the lounge and was a little surprised to see him come back. "Did you get scolded for not performing well?"

"I'm not too sure, but the sound director didn't seem particularly dissatisfied, so it should be pretty standard, right?" Yin Ze scratched his head.

"It is normal for newcomers to have unsatisfactory auditions when they first enter the industry, even for senior actors with excellent abilities. After all, there are many factors to consider, including whether the audition is suitable for the role, salary specifications, popularity and reputation, and the preferences of the producers."

Kashiwa Ippei said kindly, patting him on the shoulder.

"It's normal to fail the audition, so don't let yourself be burdened. For your first battle, it's enough to leave a good memory."

"Mr. Bai Jing, you seem to be particularly concerned about me?" Yin Ze asked suspiciously. He had felt something was wrong a long time ago. The way the man in front of him looked at him was always like a housewife who had found premium pork.

"Haha, did you find out?" The agent did not hide his feelings and smiled. "In fact, it should be the agency that cares about you."

"How can I, a mediocre newcomer, be so worthy of such a position?" Yin Ze sat down puzzled. "Could it be that one of my relatives is a member of the management team of the institute?"

"Unfortunately, not yet." Kashiwa Ippei explained, "Takizawa-kun, are you aware of the composition and nature of our I'm Enterprise?"

"It's a voice actor agency."

"There are so many people in the same industry, but we are slightly different."

Kashiwai Ippei rubbed his palms and sorted out his thoughts.

"Initially, IM was just a subsidiary of another entertainment agency called Arts. It was created to accommodate candidates, but with the long-term support of the affiliated Daily Broadcasting Training Institute, the talent pool has become thicker and it has gradually grown to be independent. Arts has always been famous for training so-called 'idol voice actors'. You have participated in the assessment of the training of new talents before, and I am sure you still remember the content of the first round?"

"Forgot." Yin Ze said righteously.

"It's about sending photos." Kashiwai Ippei seemed a little helpless.

"what??"

"Those with outstanding looks are naturally classified as excellent. It is true that you have shown pleasant talents in the subsequent interviews and performances, but your appearance is your stepping stone." Kashiwai Ippei paused, "In fact, the reviewer thought you voted for the wrong person. You might want to vote for a trainee from Johnny's [Note: a well-known Japanese idol company that disbanded in 2023 due to a scandal. Its artists include Kimura Takuya]... After all, you are too much of their taste."

"Isn't what I do behind the scenes?" Yin Ze thought of the pain of being a waiter in a western restaurant and couldn't help but shudder.

"It was true 20 or even 30 years ago, but at that time, voice actors in animation were not a glorious profession worth showing off. Not only was their status subtle, but their income was also a discount on the average price of similar jobs."

Kashiwa Ippei pushed up his gold-rimmed glasses.

"But everything changed after the gaming and record industries took action. From then on, special magazines about voice actors began to appear, voice actors began to attend events, began to go on stage, and released CDs under the names of their characters and themselves. Now there are record companies that produce animations first and then appoint their contracted voice actors to star in the opposite way."

"Is this a good thing? The industry's traditional ecology and style have been disrupted." Yin Ze asked curiously.

"It is true that some seniors are critical of this kind of thing, believing that the industry will be ruined by this kind of change. However, after the success of the voice actor business case, there have indeed been several "voice actor fevers". Now this profession is much more glamorous than before, so who can judge whether it is right or wrong?"

Kashiwa Ippei shrugged, took a sip of water and continued.