Shibuya, Tokyo.
ArtsVision Inc.
"Eh? Me?" Voice actress Megumi Hayashibara pointed at herself in confusion.
In front of her lay a voice acting script.
The cover had the three large characters "Blanket Man" written on it.
"Yes, that's right." The agency manager nodded. "Pokeni specifically requested you to be the voice actress for the heroine in Blanket Man."
"Specifically requested?"
Megumi Hayashibara frowned slightly; this was a first.
To be honest, her impression of this company, Pokeni, wasn't particularly good.
Because every time her junior from the agency, Kotono Mitsuishi, finished recording for a Pokeni production, she would always end up wailing, physically and mentally exhausted, and it would take her a long time to emerge from the shadow of the experience.
However... there was also one strange thing.
Even though she was tortured so severely every time, Kotono would still agree to the voice acting requests for Pokeni's next production.
Even though she is now a highly sought-after voice actress (having become a huge hit for voicing Usagi Tsukino in Sailor Moon, along with Pokémon, and winning the Best Voice Actress of the Year award last year, Kotono Mitsuishi), it stands to reason that she would have the power to choose her roles. Yet, Kotono Mitsuishi still insists on voicing for Pokeni's works. Her dedication is so professional that it makes one wonder—what kind of strange magic does Pokeni have that could make Mitsuishi act this way?
If voicing for them brought joy, that would be one thing, but the problem is that every time, this Mitsuishi character ends up deeply hurt, even once falling into the shadow of being traumatized by Pokeni's works, and even vowing never to voice for Pokeni again. Yet, she can't help but accept Pokeni's voice acting jobs. This is something Megumi Hayashibara cannot understand.
And this time, she finds it even harder to understand. Why would Pokeni ask her to be the CV for the heroine of their new work?
"Of course, if you don't want to take the job, you can refuse, and we'll just have Pokeni find someone else."
"But doesn't Pokeni always ask Mitsuishi?" Megumi Hayashibara tilted her head, blinked her large, clear eyes, and asked in a clear, cold voice.
Although she didn't consider herself to have "stolen Mitsuishi Kotono's" job—work is work, after all, and there's no rule saying it has to go to anyone in particular—mixing personal feelings into work would only make things awkward.
However, Pokeni's behavior was indeed a bit puzzling.
Was it because Mitsuishi's asking price was too high?
Or was there some other reason?
Like, perhaps Aoki Haruhi had a falling out with Mitsuishi Kotono?
But... Hayashibara Megumi thought that seemed unlikely.
"Emmmm... how should I put this?"
"Sorry, I spoke out of turn. If it's something you can't talk about, then never mind." Hayashibara Megumi gave a slight bow.
"Ah, well... it's not actually something I can't talk about." The agent smacked his lips. "According to Pokeni, the members of the 'Blanket Man' project team, including President Aoki Haruhi himself, were unanimous in their belief that you were more suitable for the role.
That's why they entrusted our agency to ensure you take on the role of the heroine."
"Oh, if that's the case," Hayashibara Megumi nodded seriously, "I'd actually quite like to give it a try."
In reality, what she was thinking was—
I'd really like to see what exactly is so bizarre about Pokeni's works that makes Mitsuishi Kotono both love and hate them.
***
But when she carefully looked through the script and understood the character design of the heroine, Megumi Hayashibara was completely dumbfounded.
The heroine, Minami Hyuga, was a very sharp-tongued, prickly girl full of rebellion, with absolutely no trust in others, and always trapped in loneliness and insecurity.
"Huh? Is that the impression I give everyone?"
Megumi Hayashibara found it completely inconceivable.
"Why does Pokeni's president think I'm suitable for this?"
***
It was all because Aoki Haruhi was a fan of Conan, and a die-hard fan of Ai Haibara at that. So, when it came to casting, the moment he saw traits like sharp-tongued, cold, and prickly, he immediately thought of Megumi Hayashibara.
In fact, his intuition was spot on. It's probably hard to find anyone else in this world with such a unique voice as Megumi Hayashibara, someone who could voice a girl with this kind of personality so perfectly.
Even when she was sharp-tongued, it didn't make her unlikable.
Even when she was cold, it was just a tough shell used to protect herself.
This was the effect brought by Megumi Hayashibara's voice; it would be hard for anyone else to make the audience like and feel for the character as much.
Of course, the character design and story of Haibara also played a big part.
The heroine's voice actress is Megumi Hayashibara, and for the male lead, Aoki chose Toshiyuki Morikawa.
Toshiyuki Morikawa was also a very popular male voice actor at the time, having voiced the protagonist Hanamichi Sakuragi in the anime Slam Dunk, which left a deep impression on the audience of this somewhat clumsy, single-minded, yet extremely talented basketball youth.
Lately, Aoki had been obsessed with Slam Dunk.
When he transmigrated, the Slam Dunk movie hadn't been released yet, and he didn't even know if Shohoku had beaten Sannoh. He just hoped that the anime in this timeline would be produced a little faster.
He chose Toshiyuki Morikawa because the role required it; the male lead in Blanket Man had a bit of that silly personality of Hanamichi Sakuragi in him.
Otherwise, Aoki would have personally loved to hire the voice actor for Kaede Rukawa, Hikaru Midorikawa, or someone with a more magnetic voice like Hiroshi Kamiya for the role.
***
The voice recording process went exceptionally smoothly.
It took less than three days in total.
Since it was a game, it didn't require the long, extensive recording sessions typical of animation, so it finished very quickly.
Megumi Hayashibara and Takeshi Kusao were a powerful duo.
Added to the recent popularity of the anime Slam Dunk, Aogi Haruhi could only say things were incredibly stable.
***
After returning to the office, Mitsuishi Kotono also heard about this. Somewhat surprised, she pulled Hayashibara Megumi aside and asked:
"Senpai, are you actually doing voice acting for a Pokeni work?"
"Yeah. Does it bother you?" Hayashibara Megumi asked cautiously.
After all, Mitsuishi Kotono had always been Pokeni's go-to voice actress, and she was worried Mitsuishi might think she was stealing her job.
So, Hayashibara Megumi thought it best to clear the air.
"Hmm, not at all," Mitsuishi Kotono said with a smile. "I'm happy you're participating in a Pokeni game. Work is work, right? It's hard to turn down agency assignments. So, how is it? Are you finding it hard to sleep at night?"
Mitsuishi scrutinized Hayashibara Megumi nervously throughout, and had already grabbed a box of tissues from the side, ready to comfort her at any moment.
After all, when Mitsuishi was crying her eyes out before, it was her senior who was there to comfort her.
This time, it was her turn to comfort her senior.
She understood all too well just how painful it was to do voice acting for Pokeni.
Especially for the job of a voice actor, the dubbing process is no less demanding than being an actor yourself; you need to immerse yourself completely, become the character, and experience everything she goes through.
However, almost none of the heroines in Pokeni's games have a happy ending.
This easily leads to voice actors being unable to detach themselves for a long time.
"It must be so hard. I truly understand that pain, that suppression, that torment..."
Mitsuishi Kotono recalled her own experience dubbing for Pokeni and felt incredibly sympathetic, never expecting that one day her senior would be in the same boat as her.
However, for some reason, hearing that Hayashibara Megumi had accepted a job from P-Corp, she felt a faint glimmer of happiness.
Finally, there was someone else in this world who could understand my pain.
I am no longer the only lonely, helpless little voice actor who has been tortured to death by Pokeni.
"Hmm? Well... how should I put it?"
Hayashibara Megumi recalled the recording sessions from the past few days, a faint smile on her lips. "I think the journey is quite touching, but it's not to the point of being so exaggerated that I can't sleep. Rather than not being able to sleep, I'd say that recalling what happened in the game before going to bed actually brings a hint of sweetness."
"...actually able to sleep more soundly?"
"Eh?"
"That's impossible!" Mitsuishi Kotono said resolutely.
That's absolutely impossible!
She was just about to shout it out.
Although Gen Urobuchi sometimes shows a tiny sliver of mercy—whether out of pity or because the plot requires it—he will always give you a slight illusion of happiness in the beginning, but all of that is just so he can stab you even harder later on!
Silly senior, could she have been abused until she's mentally unstable?
To think she could actually say something like "there's still a hint of sweetness."
What do you call this again?
Stockholm syndrome.
Mitsuishi Kotono figured that she understood this; if you don't accept and enjoy it, then it's just too cruel to yourself.
"But... that's just how it is." Hayashibara Megumi carefully observed the expression on Mitsuishi's face, touched her forehead with her hand, and comforted her in turn, "Are you okay? You don't look too good."
Impossible!
Absolutely impossible!
Gen Urobuchi's works cannot bring happiness to anyone.
"Wait, the script for this new work was written by Gen Urobuchi, right?"
Mitsuishi Kotono finally realized the core of the problem.
"Gen Urobuchi?"
Hayashibara Megumi thought carefully for a moment, then slowly shook her head, "No, it's a young man named Jun Maeda."
Jun Maeda?!
Who is this person?
I've never heard of him at all.
Mitsuishi Kotono thought carefully. She was very familiar with Pokeni's scriptwriters; the most familiar one was Gen Urobuchi, followed by Ishino Mika...
But the name Jun Maeda didn't ring any bells at all.
"He must be a newcomer," Hayashibara Megumi said, "I heard this scriptwriter is only 18 years old this year, and seems to have only joined Pokeni recently."
"Ah~ no wonder."
At this moment, Mitsuishi Kotono finally understood everything.
"You are so lucky not to have encountered Gen Urobuchi; you're truly fortunate. It sounds like Jun Maeda must be a kind, good kid."
"Argh, damn it!
Why did it have to become Gen Urobuchi by the time it got to me?"
"Hmm... a good kid, is he?" Megumi Hayashibara looked at the expression on her face and couldn't help but chuckle. "I suppose so. I didn't see him in person at the recording studio.
But I think, to be able to write such a heartwarming and cute story, Jun Maeda must be a kind-hearted, good kid."
"Ah~ I want to take on a Jun Maeda script too..."
Kotono Mitsuishi's eyes were practically popping out with envy.
***
"Jun Maeda..."
"He's nothing short of a devil."
On the rooftop of the Pokeni Corporation building, standing in the wind, Yokoyama's fingers holding his cigarette trembled slightly. His lips were pale, and his expression was one of extreme pain.
Yokoyama was the lead animator for Blanket Man, responsible for creating all the in-game visuals.
However, he had discovered a shocking truth today.
So much so that even now, recalling it filled him with immense agony.
"Huh?"
Sakata Taiji, the art director, leaned against the railing and turned around in disbelief.
"Why would you say that?"
"It's just too heartbreaking," Yokoyama said. "Terrifying, devastating... I can feel Jun Maeda's intense malice."
"Isn't that a bit of an exaggeration? Isn't Blanket Man a modern urban fairy tale? I read it; the ending is quite warm and healing. Plus, with your animation, it really feels very heartwarming and enjoyable."
"Thank you for the compliment."
Yokoyama didn't forget to respond politely.
"But those are all just surface appearances," Yokoyama said. "When I was organizing the art materials for 'Blanket Man' today, I found some traces of something. Although they weren't explicitly written into the main plot, they led me to imagine a truly terrifying backstory."
Yokoyama recounted his theory to him.
Through his description, Sakata Taiji actually heard a story completely different from the main plot of 'Blanket Man.'
Oh, this...
Sakata Taiji felt a bit heartbroken.
This kid must have been traumatized by Wada; now he's suspicious of everything he sees.
Good grief, he's even creating his own plotlines.
Gen Urobuchi really has a lot to answer for, ruining a perfectly good artist like this.
"Since it wasn't written into the main plot, then these aren't the author's intentions," Sakata Taiji said. "Have you tried verifying this with Maeda?"
"Not really," Yokoyama said miserably. "I'm terrified that once he admits it, my imagination will become reality. That's what's truly desperate.
Right now, it's still Schrödinger's cat. As long as I don't open the box, the worst hasn't happened yet."
"It's not that bad.
The President also said Maeda's script was well-written, heartwarming, and moving, and it even had a happy ending.
Even if there are some tear-jerking parts, they can't be worse than Wada's, right?"
Sakata Taiji patted him on the shoulder. "You've even worked on a desperate project like The Entropic Man; what else is there that you can't endure?"
Uh...
Yokoyama felt that if he didn't know how to comfort people, he could just stay silent.
"No..."
"The two of them... simply put, in one idiom, they are neck and neck," Yokoyama said, clutching his forehead in distress. "The world shouldn't be like this."
"Why is it always me?"
It's over, it's over.
Sakata Taiji looked at Yokoyama in horror.
This kid is going crazy!
***
When I saw Yokoyama the next morning, the kid was back to being happy and cheerful, acting as if nothing had happened.
It seemed he had managed to process everything on his own.
Sakata Taiji let out a sigh of relief.
Working in art at Pokeni really does require a strong psychological constitution.
When asked, Yokoyama took it quite well—
"I figured it out afterwards: the truth of the plot doesn't really matter.
Whatever, it's not like I'm the one who's going to get sent razor blades in the mail."
Aoki Haruhi, passing by, suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.
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