"What's with the grim face? You look like a soldier returning from a battlefield soaked in blood." Kazuhei Baii was lounging in the break room, scrolling on his phone. When he saw Yin Ze walk in, he looked surprised. "Don't tell me you botched your lines and got chewed out?"
"Not exactly sure. The sound director didn't look especially upset... probably just average." Yin Ze scratched his head.
"That's totally normal for someone just entering the industry. Even veterans mess up auditions sometimes. There's so much to consider—suitability for the role, pay grade, popularity, the production team's preferences..." Baii said warmly, patting him on the shoulder.
"It's rare to pass on your first try. Don't put so much pressure on yourself. For a first audition, just having a good memory of it is enough."
"Baii-san, you seem particularly invested in me?" Yin Ze asked, suspicion creeping into his tone. He'd had this odd feeling for a while now—this man always looked at him like a housewife eyeing a cut of prime pork.
"Haha, you noticed?" His agent didn't even bother hiding it, grinning breezily. "Actually, it's the agency that's interested in you."
"Why would they care about some average rookie like me? Unless... someone from management is a relative?"
"Unfortunately not." Baii explained, "Do you know much about how I'm Enterprise is structured?"
"It's a voice actor agency, right?"
"Sure, but we're a little different from the rest."
Baii rubbed his hands together as he organized his thoughts.
"Originally, IM was just a subsidiary of another company, Arts Entertainment. It was meant to be a pool for backup talent. But with the steady flow of trainees from our in-house training school, the roster filled out, and we gradually built our own brand. Arts, on the other hand, is famous for cultivating what people call 'idol-style voice actors.' You remember the first round of the rookie audition you joined, right?"
"Nope." Yin Ze said, deadpan.
"You had to send in a photo." Baii sighed.
"...Huh?"
"Good-looking candidates were immediately bumped into the top tier. Sure, you did well in the acting and interview rounds, but it was your face that opened the door. In fact, the reviewers originally thought you'd sent your application to the wrong place—maybe meant for Johnny's? You fit their profile too well."
"Wait, I'm working behind the scenes, right?" The trauma of waiting tables and forced smiles at the western restaurant came flooding back, and Yin Ze shuddered.
"That might've been true twenty or thirty years ago, back when anime voice acting was far from glamorous. It paid less than other similar jobs, and the status was... let's just say unclear."
Baii pushed up his gold-rimmed glasses.
"But once the game and music industries got involved, everything changed. Special voice actor magazines started popping up. Voice actors began attending live events, releasing albums under their character and real names, even headlining concerts. Nowadays, record labels are producing anime first, then casting their own signed talent to voice the leads."
"That sounds... chaotic. Isn't it disrupting the natural flow of the industry?" Yin Ze asked.
"Some veterans do complain it's ruining everything. But after those commercial successes, 'voice actor booms' have happened more than once. The job is way more glamorous now. Right or wrong, who's to say?"
Baii shrugged and took a sip of water.
"It's tied to the shift in TV too. Kids' shows have been pushed out of prime time by variety shows. Aside from a few long-running classics, new anime barely gets exposure. In the old days, you'd work on a show for over a year, learning directly from seniors. Now it's single-season stuff. The show's over before the newbies even warm up."
He let out a sigh.
"These days, just acting chops aren't enough. You've got to release photobooks, singles, perform live. That's the climate, that's the trend. Agencies and talent alike just have to keep up."
Yin Ze was quiet for a while. "No matter how fun the job looks, once it lands on the table of capitalism, it's just a mix of compromises and profit margins."
The two men sighed in unison.
In the end, they were just people chasing their daily bread. Standing at the noisy station platform, watching the train named 'money' roar by. Some jumped on. Others got run over.
Just then, the door creaked open, and a calm voice spoke.
"Times have changed. But as someone chosen for this path, a voice actor should never forget their truest calling."
The speaker wore a brown shirt and a gray sweater vest. His short hair and unassuming looks gave him the air of a random retiree you'd pass on the street—but in the recording studio, his word was law.
The sound director had wandered in, staring at the two of them with a serious expression.
"If by fate, you encounter a role that feels like your mirror image—when your performance, your emotions, and the animation align—that moment when another world becomes real... it's like a miracle. Unspeakably beautiful."
Baii quickly stood and greeted him. "Thanks for the hard work. Is the audition session over?"
"A few left. I'm just taking a break. Thought I'd stop by to share some news." He looked at Yin Ze. "You passed. Seems like this might be your debut? That's worth celebrating."
"Thank you very much," Yin Ze said immediately.
"Looks like you owe us a treat," Baii grinned.
Yin Ze instinctively reached for his wallet—then deflated.
"How about inviting Nagasaki-san too? Casual dinner? It'd be a great learning opportunity for our rookie," Baii offered.
"You've been angling for this all week. I don't often see you this motivated," the sound director grumbled.
Yin Ze glanced between the two, sensing a deeper connection. After hesitating, he awkwardly asked, "Baii-san... you didn't bribe him, right? Or plan this days in advance just to rob me of my savings?"
"Pfft!" The director burst out laughing. "Relax. You passed fair and square—no tricks. I've got standards too. But your agent and I do know each other. He's been bugging me for days—just wanted to help you build your network."
"A newbie going all out to treat a big-shot director—that's sincerity worth rewarding!" Baii jumped in.
"Fine, fine. I've been craving that restaurant in Harajuku anyway. After this is over, let's go." The director nodded.
Before Baii could nudge him, Yin Ze had already stepped forward with an eager but polite tone. "It's an honor to have your time, Director. I've looked forward to this. Please, teach me about the side of animation most never see."
"You did well today—especially that shift in tone halfway through. I've been meaning to ask what went through your head then." The director smiled and held out a hand. "Nice to meet you, newbie-kun. I'm Yukikusa Nagasaki. Just a humble sound engineer, as you can see."