Tokyo Sound

"First, let me tell you about you," Kashiwa Ippei said, looking at him with the appreciation of a housewife seeing fresh high-quality pork. "You are in your twenties, with red lips and white teeth. Every smile is stunning, and you still have a youthful look. You are at the peak of your physical beauty. You are well-read and knowledgeable. In addition, you are enthusiastic and sincere. You are shining from the inside out."

"To be honest, it is true." Yin Ze nodded.

"Look at me, on the other hand." Kashiwa Ippei pointed at himself with a sad face. "I have an average appearance, no special features, and am just like everyone else. I work myself to death, and my life has no value. I have to rely on alcohol to numb myself to sleep every day, and I even have slight hair loss. I'm not even 30 yet, but I've already hit the midlife crisis, and my future is uncertain."

"To be honest, it's true... ahem. No, it's not as sad as you described." Yin Ze said.

"Of course not." Kashiwa Ippei said seriously, "I have only washed this suit since I entered the society. It is extremely hot in summer and extremely cold in winter. This mechanical watch is a replica I bought on the Internet. The gold-rimmed glasses were purchased on installment. He lives in a small apartment with a small bathroom with only a toilet. He even has to go to a nearby bathhouse to take a shower. He seems to often hang out with the big brothers in the industry, playing cards and drinking, but in fact he lives a frugal life, counting his salary every month."

"Oh, it's not easy." Yin Ze agreed.

"Do you know why I chose the industry of agent?" Kashiwa Ippei said with a sigh.

"Compared to being in the limelight, you enjoy the sense of control behind the scenes and making decisions from afar. Rather than becoming a legend, you prefer to cultivate potential artists and create countless legends with your own hands?" Yin Ze pondered for a moment.

"What nonsense! Didn't I just tell you the reason?" Kashiwa Ippei frowned, angry and helpless. "If I didn't have bad looks and extraordinary talent, I wouldn't be able to capture people's hearts. I would have gone out on my own a long time ago, taking notices and commercial performances, earning money from women and becoming the public's sweetheart."

"..."

"And then take a look at what you are doing now?" the agent accused him.

"Drink coffee."

"Not so precise, more general."

"Alive."

"Work, work."

"I'm a voice actor dubbing. I'm just on break. Can you come out of there?"

"What do you mean by it?" Kashiwai Ippei asked several times.

"In "Stupid Baby ~ Taotao's Family", I played a kind and good neighbor brother who helped Taotao, the protagonist of Shangdu Kindergarten, pick up the towel that fell on the ground and showed her the way." Yin Ze answered truthfully.

"Is this kind of advertising film for early childhood education institutions interesting?" Kashiwa Ippei asked solemnly.

"It's OK." Yin Ze thought about it and said awkwardly, "It's quite easy."

"Fallen! You have such a narrow mind!" the agent was furious.

"What? You didn't answer this for me?"

"I also asked you for the auditions of "The Endless Journey of the Holy Sword Flame Emperor", "Omega from the Other Side of the Starry Sea", "Alexander: Mechanical Era", and "The Legend of the Storm Slayer"!"

The agent beat his chest and stamped his feet, his face flushed red. It seemed that his meridians were flowing backwards and his qi and blood were attacking his heart.

"But in the end, you actually became the little brother who was in the third grade of junior high school next door to the stupid baby Taotao! Open your eyes, Takizawa-kun! You can't go on like this! This is a slow death!"

"Whether or not you get selected is decided by the production team, not by me. Besides, we are all working, there is no distinction between high and low."

"But the industry doesn't allow for unknown people. You have a popular figure and a lot of talent, so are you willing to just hang around in child care and the animal world?!"

"That's not right. Let me ask you, how many male voice actors are there in the industry now?" Yin Ze asked back.

"I've never counted them, but if you include the reserve forces in training centers across the country, there must be at least several thousand, right?" Kashiwai Ippei thought for a moment.

"So, there is no such thing as 'this voice is indispensable'. Those national-level animations on TV have been broadcast for decades, and the voice actors of the characters have changed two or three generations due to age, illness, etc. Has it affected its classics?" Yin Ze pointed out, "Not at all. Instead, the voice actors who took over benefited from it and became part of the classics."

"That's not the case. To be chosen as the voice successor to those super popular characters in evergreen anime, one's professional ability must be very strong. They complement each other," added Kashiwai Ippei.

"No matter how senior you are, this is still a seller's service, just like painting, music and scripts, it is a part of the finished product." Yin Ze continued, "But now instead of focusing on the work itself, they use the voice actors as a selling point, creating gimmicks, and making money from kind and generous otakus. Is this appropriate?"

"Well, the trend is a little off." The agent had no choice but to nod.

“So, films like ‘Stupid Baby Taotao’, where the audience absolutely doesn’t care who the voice actors are, are the hardcore projects that contain the true meaning of the kingly way and return to the origin.” Yin Ze was full of pride, “Only this can make me sharper!”

"No, no, no, wait a moment."

Kashiwa Ippei held his forehead with his hand to stop him from continuing his dirty talk.

"Why didn't you get roles in those big movies? Instead, you came to work in cheap commercials. Am I discussing with you the big picture of the future of the industry? What I care about is whether you can rise up sooner!"

"Even if it's like a shooting star, fleeting." Yin Ze said, shaking his head.

"That's fine. That means I've brought out a popular voice actor. My reputation and qualifications as a manager have also greatly increased."

"what about me?"

"Don't worry, even if you're not famous anymore, you'll still have something to eat." The professional agent comforted.

"?"

There is no way to cooperate anymore, only separation!

"Takizawa-kun, they said your part is OK... well, it's just 'be careful on the road' and 'you dropped your handkerchief'." Matsuoka Yoshitsugu came out of the recording studio and walked over. He played the role of Uncle A who sells breakfast. "Hey, Kashiwai-san is here too?"

"Matsuoka, how are you doing lately?" asked Kashiwai Ippei.

"It's good. I have work to do every week." Matsuoka Yoshitsugu said, "Thanks to Kashiwai-san for giving me these opportunities."

"It's my job. You can't just do it this way. You need to be more ambitious! Set a small goal first and become the male lead of a certain show this season!"

"That won't do. The sound directors I met recently all said that my performance is still too immature." Matsuoka Yoshitsugu shook his head repeatedly. "Besides, even Takizawa-kun is still settling down and practicing his skills. How can I be so ambitious and have unrealistic aspirations?"

"Look! You, the lazy one, have assimilated a passionate young man!" Kashiwai Ippei turned around and criticized the man who was still drinking coffee.

"..."

"Don't you still have Sakura under your command? How is she?" Yin Ze decided to use the effect object transfer.

"I've handed it over to another experienced female agent. I was only taking her over temporarily. Besides, she's still a student, so she can take her time with the work, unlike you guys."

"I'm not a student too? Doesn't a college student count?" Yin Ze raised his head proudly.

"Repent and wake up. How long can this evasive rhetoric last?!"

"Study for a master's degree, then get a doctorate, and it won't be a problem to escape until I'm thirty."

"..."

"As expected of Takizawa-kun, you have already regarded the degree as your own and have easily accomplished things that most people cannot do." Matsuoka Yoshitsugu said admiringly.

"Alright!" Kashiwa Ippei waved his hand vigorously. "I have already made the decision and planned your route. You can't go wrong if you follow my lead!"

"Appreciate further details."

"First of all, we in IM have always had a simple social atmosphere and are like a family. We have always had a good tradition of having seniors guide the juniors. Soon you will have such a reliable senior to lead you."

"Is this reliable senior you're talking about Nakajima Maji-san?"

"No, he already has a lot to take care of, and he's a little overwhelmed." Kashiwa Ippei explained, "It's the independent, friendly Yamato Nadeshiko!"

The image of a quiet and beautiful woman with black hair and plain clothes, holding a script in her hand, smiling at him to dispel his doubts, and with a dignified temperament emerged in Yin Ze's mind.

"Then I have to be careful not to be disrespectful."

Matsuoka Yoshitsugu's mind was filled with something more conceptual: Yasha, social hell, freezing atmosphere, and pickled plums.

"I think..." he began hesitantly.

"Hmm?" The agent stared at him with a murderous look like a king.

"I didn't think about it, I didn't think about it." Matsuoka Yoshitsugu swallowed his words.

"Remember to ask your seniors if you have any questions. They are your best elder sisters and will tell you kindly. Then the most important thing is the release of King of Idols 3!" Kashiwa Ippei felt like he was about to fly when he mentioned this. "I have a feeling that this is the opportunity for you to take off. You can hold events, perform at the Budokan, and hold joint events. It's really exciting!"

"real or fake?"

"As a professional agent, how can you not understand this situation?" Kashiwa Ippei snorted, "With a consortium behind you, a big IP in hand, and a broad and deep market, isn't this just a random killing?"

"...I'm a little panicked by your opening move." Yin Ze couldn't help but think of the civilian causal weapons [Note: Don't say anymore, kill Huang Xudong! ] on the other side of the ocean, and his face was filled with worry.

Chapter 54 What's good about it?

Tokyo, weekday, Thursday, sunny.

The set of the children's work, "The Crybaby Little Pineapple", Part B, break time.

“I like paper people.”

Shimazaki Nobunaga, who played Passerby A, suddenly put down the script in his hand and spoke in the compassionate tone of a monk who had suddenly realized the mysteries of the world.

Yin Ze and Matsuoka Yoshitsugu, who played friend B and classmate C, both gave him complicated looks.

"Why are you looking at me like that? Your gaze is weird, maybe even a little rude."

"Then how should we treat you?" Yin Ze asked hesitantly.

"A true brother would, of course, follow me closely and continue to share his hobbies." Shimazaki Nobunaga smiled cheerfully, "What about you? What kind of girls do you like?"

"I think people shouldn't be so narrow-minded. There are many things in life that are worth pursuing and persisting in." Matsuoka Yoshitsugu sighed at this man's vulgarity.

"What do you mean?" Shimazaki Nobunaga frowned.

"Like something that shakes the soul." Matsuoka Yoshitsugu began to gesture with his hands.

"Are you talking about the restricted paper man?" Shimazaki Nobunaga suddenly realized.

"?"

"Why is it a paper man?" Yin Ze grasped the key point.

"A wonder beyond the human dimension, anti-aging frozen in time, and unwavering loyalty." Shimazaki Nobunaga's eyes sparkled with absolute purity, and he said, "Pure, spotless, holy and pitiful."

"It's not good to be too perfect. It's just a fantasy after all." Yin Ze shook his head. "After all, you haven't dated a real beautiful girl with flesh and blood, so you think like this. The whispering with breath, the heat of rubbing ears together, the fingers clasped together, pressed against the chest, and the strong vibration of the heart. How can these be achieved with simple illustrations and predetermined voices?"

"So you know a lot?"

"We are all adults now and should do adult things. I've heard about the fame of the red-light district of the Far East Island Country for a long time, why not take a look?" Yin Ze's old illness relapsed and he handed out an invitation letter from a real man.

"It's boring." Shimazaki Nobunaga was not interested. "You are the one who is narrow-minded. Those stores also want to make money. They only care about the big bosses and presidents. Ordinary customers are just to chat on time and sell a few more bottles of wine."

"Why, have you been there?"

"To be honest, when I graduated, I wanted to say goodbye to my immature and immature past, so I stepped into the adult world with the New Year's money I had saved for many years," Shimazaki Nobunaga began to recall.

"And then?" Matsuoka Yoshitsugu was a little interested.

"Alas, they are all pretty girls who can be seen but not touched, doing a job similar to that of a psychologist. They flatter me, praise me, compliment me, and encourage me without any bottom line. They want to push me into the abyss of conceit."

"It's for relieving stress. Aren't male escort clubs that target female customers the same thing?" Yin Ze said.

"If it's like this, why don't I go to the maid cafe in Akihabara?" Shimazaki Nobunaga snorted.

In a way, maid cafes are just a place for pure otakus to relieve stress, and there doesn't seem to be anything wrong with that.

"That's not right. I'm talking about adult matters, not chatting." Yin Ze added after a few seconds.

"Which one?"

"That's it."

"Which kind is that?"

"Just the kind you'd do to a paper man."

"What?! You are simply a hypocritical beast in human clothing!" Shimazaki Nobunaga scolded loudly.

"?"

The other people on the set looked over. The three of them tacitly raised the script and put it in front of their faces to avoid embarrassment.

"But then again, in this society, if you don't have money and status, you really can't do anything." Shimazaki Nobunaga continued chatting behind the script wall, "If you don't have candy in your pocket, even children won't pay attention to you. Not to mention decorating your nightlife."

"Then you shouldn't be a voice actor. I don't think you can make much money in this line of work." Yin Ze asked, "What were you thinking at the time?"

"I want to ride a Gundam."

"That's a perfect reason. I get it."

"Ah, I don't know if I'll have a chance." Shimazaki Nobunaga said to himself, "Maybe if I'm not careful, I'll just be a minor role until I retire."

"Wait and have hope." Yin Ze comforted.

"You two seem quite relaxed and not anxious at all. Have you made a career plan and have a clear idea of ​​what you are doing?" Shimazaki Nobunaga said, staring at the two of them.

“Why should we rush for success? I have meat for every meal, I am not cold when I sleep, my computer has a fast internet connection, I am a diamond member of the arcade, I am already a bit famous among the gamers, and I lead a comfortable life.” Yin Ze was puzzled.

"This is not enough, you are just barely balancing your income and expenditure. If you get married and start a family, and accidentally have a few more children, wouldn't it be a headache? And that's not even counting the expenses of the older generation's illness." Shimazaki Nobunaga said, "Then you will have to move away from Tokyo where consumption is high, but you work here, so it's a vicious circle."

"I come from a divorced family, so I don't have the burden of support. Besides, as long as you don't get married, you won't have the pressure you mentioned." Yin Ze waved his hand and said, "Of course, it's still okay to date."

"Just for fun without getting married? This scumbag is actually next to me?" Shimazaki Nobunaga widened his eyes.

"How can you call her a scumbag if it's something we both agreed to? Besides, I'm just talking and not taking any action. We might not even be in a relationship. In most cases, women will only corrupt you and will only complain that you don't earn enough." Yin Ze said with a snort.