Tokyo Sound

"Of course, no problem. And you are already popular voice actors, so you are a good match for the role." Sudo Yutoku nodded, "I think you can even directly play a cameo role, which is an extra surprise."

“…Guest appearance?” Shimazaki Nobunaga was stunned.

"Yeah, that's interesting." Sudo Yutoku thought for a moment, "In this regard, the original author has a lot of say, and can recommend some friends he trusts."

"Then is it possible to play the leading role?" Yin Ze said lightly.

"It's feasible in theory, but it's a bit shameful. How can you write your own harem and be the protagonist yourself?" Sudo Yutoku is also an old otaku. He laughed and said, "This is no longer playing GalGame and secretly inputting your real name. This Gal's script is written to satisfy himself. How can such a young and promising talent like Shimazaki Nobunaga be possible?"

"I see. Teacher Shao, what do you think?" Yin Ze turned his head and continued to pretend not to understand.

“……”Shimazaki Nobunaga.

Chapter 40: The Male Protagonist of the Light Novel

March 3th, an ordinary day.

But Matsuoka Yoshitsugu woke up very early and wanted to catch up on some sleep, but he couldn't calm down even when he closed his eyes. He was worried, anxious, and had a dry mouth.

March 3th is the day for the 12th Voice Actor Awards.

Matsuoka Yoshitsugu finally opened the quilt after tossing and turning in bed, feeling the cool morning air, and rubbing his arm with his right palm, which had goose bumps from the cold air. He charged his phone, touched his leg hair, and sat next to it to read messages. His Line account contained chat records with many people.

For example, when Yoshitsugu Matsuoka knew that Shimazaki Nobunaga went to the UFO company to discuss the animation, he asked with concern, "How is it going?", but Nobunaga replied coldly, "It's none of your business!"

Why are you so angry? Is it because the discussion of the project is not going well? This shouldn't happen.

Iwasawa Toshiki and Kamura Haruka are old acquaintances who knew each other from the training center. They have kept in touch all these years and can't help but reminisce about the past whenever they meet, the stories of their rookie days and their clumsy selves. No matter how many times they talk about it, they never seem to get tired of it.

There is also Minase Inori, who will also be appearing today. They were discussing it excitedly several days ago and said that they had prepared a very beautiful kimono.

Matsuoka Yoshitsugu sat in silence for a while before he patted his face and went to the bathroom to wash up. Then he got busy in front of the stove, making breakfast for three people, fried eggs, bacon, pepper, cheese slices, and occasionally ketchup, just right for the early morning when the appetite is not yet open.

The apartment door banged, and Matsuoka Yoshitsugu quickly walked over to open the door. His agent and good brother entered the apartment one after another.

"I parked my car nearby. I'll be in charge of the pick-up today." Kashiwa Ippei was still dressed like an office worker, with a happy smile on his face. "Why, didn't you sleep well last night? Why do you still have dark circles under your eyes?"

"I'm a little nervous." Matsuoka Yoshitsugu scratched his head and returned to the stove.

"Well, can it be more stressful than getting married?" Yin Ze yawned, skillfully sat down at the small square table and touched the remote control to turn on the TV. He had experienced the scene of being surrounded by hundreds of panoramic cameras in Roppongi, so he was immune to it. "I'll help you turn on the pre-recording function first, so that you can watch the TV show you appeared in later."

"Live, on TV, broadcast nationwide..." Matsuoka Yoshitsugu's hands were shaking slightly as he loaded the plate.

"Don't worry, there aren't that many fancy things." Kashiwa Ippei said kindly, "Rather than that, you'd better serve breakfast quickly. I'm hungry."

"With factions being such a big deal, the agent doesn't even rent a supercar, but drives a second-hand car." Yin Ze said, "The cars I drive in Roppongi are all Maybachs, all Mercedes-Benzes, and at the very least, Mazdas."

"How dare you!" Kashiwa Ippei was furious. "You are the ones who only know how to take without giving back. Even the strangers at the event can eat the food I cooked myself, but you are still reluctant to show my filial piety to me. He at least made a bacon and fried eggs breakfast today, but you still didn't realize it. How can you explain this?"

"...You are a bit yandere." Yin Ze commented.

A sofa fight was inevitable. Since ancient times, kings and princes have always had conflicts, with millions of people dead. But today, there was something important to do, so both sides stopped at the right time.

Back to the small square table, warm up a bottle of milk and two cups of coffee.

"Are your clothes ready?" Kashiwai Ippei asked as he picked up the bacon elegantly.

"Of course." Yin Ze stuffed bread into his mouth and replied.

"I didn't ask you." Kashiwai Ippei said coldly.

"Yes, it's at the dry cleaner's," said Matsuoka Yoshitsugu.

"You must have tried it on, right? Does it fit?" Kashiwa Ippei asked, trying to be as tactful as possible. "...After all, compared to the beginning, you have indeed changed a lot, uh, a lot."

"I'm strong, not fat," Matsuoka Yoshitsugu emphasized. He also realized the problem of fat and had already started to exercise with dumbbells. He took this opportunity to become a handsome man.

"If you don't take off your clothes, who can tell if it's a belly or a sumo wrestler-style abdominal muscle underneath?" Kashiwa Ippei recited like a poet, "What people see is not the truth. People only want to see what they want to see."

"Come on, let's have a clink." Yin Ze picked up the coffee cup by muscle memory.

Many years ago, the agent roamed around in pubs and had an amazing capacity for drinking, so he compared himself to a wine bag and called Xiao Bailong a good-for-nothing. Now, it seems that this guy can bear both titles by himself, and he is indeed a rare evil beast.

The three grown men finished their breakfast, washed the dishes, and went downstairs together. Matsuoka Yoshitsugu first went to the dry cleaner to pick up his clothes and changed his clothes. His suit was ironed neatly, and he looked very elegant after putting it on. With a bow tie, he looked like a baritone singer.

"That's right, you look so energetic." Kashiwai Ippei was pleased and appreciative as if he were an uncle.

"Indeed." Yin Ze was still wearing the midnight suit.

"Hmph, greasy hair and powdered face, pretentious, a gentleman scum." Kashiwa Ippei changed his face and said three times in a row.

This guy, once he doesn't want to go to work, he is invincible. In the past, he would coax people to do things for him, but now he is just short of pointing at people and calling them Niu Gongzi.

They got in the car, and Kashiwai Ippei, who was also an experienced driver, drove smoothly towards the venue.

The overall size of the voice actor industry is here. As a behind-the-scenes profession that relies on the animation industry, it has not been developed for a long time to become what it is today. The industry's annual voice actor award was only established in 2006, and it has only been 10 years since then. The foundation and depth are not enough.

Yin Ze had attended a series of mainstream film awards before, and he could intuitively feel the insignificance of the voice actor award. Not to mention Kashiwa Ippei, who used to be outside the entertainment industry's contempt chain. But both of them have a positive attitude. Sometimes fate is something that cannot be expressed in words, and secular values ​​and interests are eclipsed in front of people's hearts. Voice actors, for both of them, have a special meaning.

The venue was relatively small, and the stage in the center was not very big. To be honest, it gave me a sense of a mid-range wedding banquet. But the significance was greater than the so-called pomp. There were very few irrelevant people in the venue. Except for a small number of media people, everyone else was in the industry. In addition to colleagues, even company presidents like Masao Eda were present.

The three men from the Kashiwai family all appeared in formal attire. The appearance of the two leaders of the famous IM agency immediately attracted a lot of attention.

"Matsuoka-san~" a sweet female voice came from afar. Minase Inori waved gently. She was wearing a classic pink furisode kimono today. The color was a very delicate Nadeshiko color. The pattern design was green and beautiful. The hairstyle was also very delicate. Her hair was tied up high, revealing her delicate neck.

My home is near a hill where plum blossoms are in full bloom, and in spring there is no lack of early oriole singing. It is not an exaggeration to say that she is dressed in gorgeous beauty and has a graceful and graceful figure.

After all, at the age of a flower, it is natural to be dazzling.

"Someone is calling you, why don't you go over and talk?" Kashiwa Ippin said calmly.

"Oh, then I'll go say hello first." Matsuoka Yoshitsugu nodded and walked straight over.

"Mr. Matsuoka looks so handsome today." Minase Inori smiled.

"You are also very beautiful, and the clothes look great." Matsuoka Yoshitsugu has always been quite direct.

"That's good. You may not know this, but it's very troublesome to wear this."

“It was really hard work, but it was really beautiful.”

Yin Ze and Kashiwa Ippei stood at the far side with their hands behind their backs, with an intriguing smile on their faces. They didn't bother to show off their presence, as not only their appearance, but also their exit was also very important.

"Ah, good morning. Kashiwai-san, and you too." Hayami Saori, who was wearing a dress, greeted. For a well-educated and well-mannered girl like her, it would be perfectly natural for her to attend such occasions.

"And me? Who am I?" Yin Ze asked back unhappily.

"You are a good-for-nothing." It was Kashiwai Ippei's turn to spread rumors, and he even upgraded his title to two without authorization.

"Oh, you're still so energetic." Hayami Saori said, "Big star, can you give me an autograph?"

"You don't have one?" Yin Ze thought. After he appeared in the news, he basically signed up everyone he knew in the agency. They were all so enthusiastic.

"You can never have too many good things. It would be even better if you could upgrade it to an autographed photo." Hayami Saori was clearly teasing.

"Huh, you wishful thinking." Yin Ze raised his head.

The venue can basically be seen in its entirety at a glance.

Led by their own president, several old uncles and elderly people, following Eda Masao's introduction, looked towards Yin Ze, smiled and nodded.

"They are the management of the association." Kashiwa Ippei briefly introduced, "The two to the right of the president are the presidents of Aoji and 91 Production."

"I felt the call to change jobs." Yin Ze said righteously.

"I felt the resentment of my own president," said Kashiwai Ippei.

Indeed. Although Masao Eda was also smiling and saying something, his eyes were clearly a bit wary, like an old farmer guarding his domestic pigs in the face of a ferocious tiger.

The two did not join in the fun, but just waved their hands in the same way. They walked to the side and poured water to drink.

"Voice actors were originally just part-time jobs for various actors, so the income of this type of work is extremely low, not to mention the status. In the early days, they were not even recognized and protected. Various labor and performance conditions, rules, and remuneration arrangements were not clear. In order to enhance the rights and voice of the group, a number of industry associations were established one after another."

Kashiwa Ippei explained softly.

"The industry, with the Japan Voice Actors Union as its base, has been negotiating and fighting with many parties to improve their pay. From the 70s to today, 16 major and minor income systems have been adjusted to form the current voice actor salary system, and negotiations and improvements are still ongoing."

"Is it the hierarchy?" Yin Ze asked.

"Well, the voice actor profession originated from the commentators of the silent film era, originated from the radio industry, and stabilized in the television industry. In order to fight against the rise of the television industry and protect their vested interests, the five major film companies decided to stop supplying relevant content to TV stations and restrict the activities of their actors. In the early days, TV stations had insufficient production capacity and relied on importing foreign works, which required dubbing, and the localized dubbing profession began to slowly take shape. Then the animation industry represented by Astro Boy rose... You know everything that happened afterwards. If you have to say, you are the only example of a dubbing actor returning to ancient times and becoming a movie actor."

Kashiwai Ippei said.

"The animation industry is not what it used to be. There are only a few annual shows these days, and most are seasonal shows. If the upper companies are like this, then the business of voice actors in the lower companies will inevitably become decentralized. As the chosen party, there is no way to resist this change. If the agency cannot make money, it will go bankrupt."

“That’s why they live in many places.” Yin Ze sighed.

"The association helps the voice actor community, and it also needs the assistance of great voice actors. And you should not underestimate your own popularity. This time, the voice actor award even specially added an influence award for you." Kashiwai Ippei said leisurely, "... Although some people jokingly call this a pork-sharing conference, after all, the industry is only lively once a year, and there is only this one. It is still an honor for practitioners."

"From your perspective, how should the industry adjust?" Yin Ze asked curiously.

"Traditional actors are historically considered actors, and multi-talented artists are considered actors in the future. There is a clear line of demarcation between them and announcers and news reporters. They move forward in the gap, and even the most compact animation has its drawbacks accumulated over the years." Kashiwa Ippei said, "So your question is too big, and I can't answer it. Let's see where the wave will take people with ideals. In short, just make your own choice."

"So there will be fewer and fewer voice actors like Matsuoka Yoshitsugu." Yin Ze turned his head and looked at the boy in a suit and the girl in a kimono who were in a very harmonious atmosphere.

"Same to you. Hey, you really look a bit like the male protagonist of a light novel." Kashiwa Ippei laughed.

Chapter 41 He Came to the Center of the Story

The award ceremony officially began, and everyone sat in rows on movable folding chairs.

To be honest, many young people don't know her very well. Among the six winners of the Rookie Award, only Uesaka Sumire is known to him. The Singing Award was also won by an idol group, a voice actor group.

This makes people feel that time flies so fast, and the next batch of people have already entered the market and grown up.

However, it is regrettable that a top-tier star didn’t even get a rookie award.

Although the rule is that anyone can win the award within 5 years, in practice, there are voice actors who have debuted for 6 years who have won it, so if they want to give it out, they can actually give it out... But the association probably doesn't dare to give this guy the Rookie Award now. Even the person involved thinks this is a bit too talented without morals. Even Sumire Uesaka has to call her a senior, how can she have the face to win the Rookie Award together with him?

The lights in the venue dimmed, leaving only the stage.

The two hosts stood on the left side of the stage, speaking in authentic broadcasting accents.

"Since his debut, he has contributed wonderful acting skills in many animations, sometimes elegant, sometimes wild. His changeable and resilient voice is unique. In recent years, he has also been active in many fields, conveying the charm of dubbing to the audience. Please allow me to announce that the winner of the 10th Voice Actor Award Toyama Award is Mr. Takizawa Satoru."

Amidst the applause, the man walked briskly onto the stage from the right, buttoning his shirt to appear more formal.

"Please welcome the presenter, Mr. Michimitsu Kitazawa, a member of the selection committee of the Voice Actor Award of the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare and a member of the board of directors and advisor of the Japan Audio Producers Association."

The title is very long, but to put it simply, he is the uncle next to Masao Eda, the president of 91 Production.

President Kitazawa was surprisingly young, with a fashionable hairstyle. The two sides handed over the trophy, smiled politely at the camera in front of them, and took a photo to commemorate the event. President Kitazawa also put his arm around the winner's shoulder in a friendly manner.

Masao Eda in the audience clapped vigilantly.

The Toyama Award is an award established in memory of the late voice actor Toyama Takashi, who voiced Yang Wenli and Gu Daojin. It is mainly awarded to voice actors who participate in various media activities in the name of voice actors. However, in practice, it is more often awarded to senior industry veterans, with the meaning of recognizing career achievements.

Therefore, this class is very likely to have the youngest and most qualified winners in history.

Everyone present is a professional, there is no need to put on a business tone.

The remarks were quite peaceful.

"It has been so many years since I became a professional voice actor, and I have felt a lot of changes. I am fortunate to have met many friends in this industry, and I slowly began to think about what I will do and where I will go tomorrow. I also deeply understand the charm of dubbing work, maybe it is fate... If, if someone can also feel that charm from me, then my performance is valuable. Thank you, thank you."

The dashing man raised the trophy gently and bowed.

Kashiwa Ippei nodded gently. He knew this was the truth. The formula in the Junpao was too polite and used a template, and was not as sincere as this one.

The host paused, then announced clearly again.

“As a voice actor, he has appeared in person and is active on the big screen. With his impeccable performance, he has received a lot of recognition and has raised the public’s attention to the entire voice actor industry. This achievement and dedication is unprecedented and has a far-reaching impact. In recognition of Mr. Takizawa Satoru’s remarkable achievements last year, this year’s Influencer Award has been specially added to be presented to outstanding people who have a positive impact on the industry.”

Even though I knew a little bit about it beforehand, I still felt it was a big deal when it actually happened.

It is of great significance to create an award specifically for a certain person and to encourage those who come after him.

The people in the seats applauded again.

The man who had just gone down came up again from the right.

"Please welcome the presenter, the Executive Chairman of the Voice Actor Awards and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Cultural Broadcasting Co., Ltd., Katayose Soyoshi, to present the award."

Normally, this award would be presented to the Best Actor, but now it is presented ahead of time.

It really shows importance in every aspect.

Moreover, Kashiwa Ippei knew more information. The committee even discussed whether to name the newly added award directly the Takizawa Satoru Award. At that time, it was the top film award in the country. The time when the results were released by the Junpo was the time when that guy won the Grand Jury Prize at the Tokyo International Film Festival for four consecutive years. Although this proposal was calmly shelved because of concerns that it would force the issue and seemed a bit impatient, it showed its importance.

"It's my honor." The man who took the stage for the second time shook hands with the Executive Chairman.

"Thank you too. When you received the award at the Junpo, and during the interview after the event, you still called yourself a voice actor." Katayose Soyoshi said in a serious tone.

The two sides handed over the trophy.