Chapter 55: Why Is Mio Such A Romance Addict?
Wednesday morning.
Sakamoto Ken sat at the desk, the G-pen in his hand moving flexibly across the manuscript paper, completing another page of content, and he set the manuscript paper aside.
He leaned back in the chair and stretched lazily, loosening his somewhat stiff neck.
At that moment, the mobile phone on the desk vibrated, and a LINE message from Kaji Keiko popped up on the screen.
Kaji Keiko: 「Sakamoto Sensei, sorry to bother you ~ How’s the progress on the new chapter’s manuscript?」
Sakamoto Ken picked up the mobile phone and typed a reply.
Sakamoto Ken: 「Chapter 15 is already complete.」
Less than ten seconds after sending the message, Kaji Keiko’s reply came.
Kaji Keiko: 「As expected of Sakamoto Sensei! Then I’ll come pick up the manuscript right now!」
Seeing this message, Sakamoto Ken’s gaze fell on the just-completed manuscript paper.
Sakamoto Ken replied: 「Actually, I’ve already drawn half of Chapter 16. Since I have to come to the agency on Friday for the live broadcast, I can bring both chapters’ manuscripts together then.」
Kaji Keiko: 「Sakamoto Sensei’s work is this fast?! Alright, we’ll do as Sakamoto Sensei says. It saves me another trip, and the agency has been quite busy these past couple of days anyway.」
Kaji Keiko: 「By the way, Sakamoto Sensei, regarding the promotional short film’s script, I’ll send it to you for confirmation. It needs to be submitted to the production department afterward.」
Soon, a short document was sent over.
The video is 30 seconds long total. The footage will be directly taken from manga storyboards, colored and made into dynamic effects, with artistic text effects and background music added.
In the short film’s design, the dialogue parts feature only Makima’s voice, while the other parts use narration.
This narration also uses the same voice actor, but with a different voice from Makima’s.
Switching between two voices is a basic skill for voice actors, and it means hiring just one person, saving costs.
Sakamoto Ken read it through and found no issues. It just combined the manga’s dialogue with recommendation text—a very standard promotional video.
Sakamoto Ken: 「The script is fine. Let’s go with this.」
Kaji Keiko: 「Got it! I’ll submit it formally to the production department right away. They’ll arrange the voice acting as soon as possible.」
……
In the two days after the audition, Natsume Mio would check her email.
Finally, a new email from “Enoshima Voice Actor Agency” appeared at the top of her inbox.
Her heart skipped a beat, her fingertips even trembling slightly as she carefully opened the email.
【Email Subject:《Chainsaw Man》 Promotional Short Film Voice Acting Audition Result Notification】
【Dear Natsume Mio: Thank you very much for participating in the audition selection for the voice actor of the 《Chainsaw Man》 promotional short film.】
【We carefully listened to your audition performance. After careful selection, we unanimously believe your professional level is qualified, and your voice and temperament fit the character image very well…】
“I passed!”
Natsume Mio practically jumped up from her chair.
She held the mobile phone, reading the email back and forth several times, afraid she’d misread it.
The email notified her to go to the agency tomorrow—Thursday—for the official recording.
Great!
She could finally become the heroine from A Jian’s pen!
She excitedly left the room and ran downstairs with thumping footsteps.
“Mom!”
Natsume Chiho, who was cleaning the living room, turned back to her daughter with a puzzled look.
“What’s wrong, Mio? You’re so excited?”
“I passed! Mom, I passed the voice actor agency’s interview!” Natsume Mio leaned in and said.
A relieved smile appeared on Natsume Chiho’s face as she affectionately ruffled Natsume Mio’s hair.
“That’s amazing, Mio. So, you can really voice the heroine from that boy you like’s manga.”
“Yeah!” Natsume Mio grinned sheepishly and nodded.
She’d already shared with her mom that the boy she liked, Sakamoto Ken, was the 《Chainsaw Man》 author.
These past few days, she’d been pestering her mom for advice on pursuing a guy.
Natsume Chiho gently patted her daughter’s back and said seriously, “Then Mio, you need to practice well and play this role perfectly. Mom’s telling you, if a girl can help a guy in his career, that charm adds a lot of points.”
“Yeah! Got it!” Natsume Mio nodded vigorously.
Back in her room, she soon received the official script email from the agency.
Besides descriptions of scenes and actions, there wasn’t much dialogue, after all—it was just a thirty-second short film.
「Narration: A boy who abandons everything, only to repay his debt…」
「Narration: With a demon’s heart, he gains new life!」
「Makima: You now have two choices…」
「Makima: Will you be killed by me as a demon? Or raised by me as a human?」
「Narration: The absolute dominator occasionally shows a grace called love.」
「Makima: I… like people like Denji-kun.」
The script noted that the narration parts also needed to be voiced with a narration-appropriate voice. Natsume Mio was a bit surprised—after all, this meant more lines than she’d imagined.
The entire short film would be her voice!
That afternoon, Natsume Mio shut herself in her room, practicing over and over.
She knew this opportunity didn’t come easy.
Though it was just a promotional short film, its significance was extraordinary.
A Jian’s manga would definitely get an official animation adaptation in the future, and the voice actor selections would surely reference collaborators from all prior related projects.
If her performance this time was outstanding enough to leave a deep impression on the production side, she’d have a strong advantage when competing for the animation version of Makima’s voice actor role.
Otherwise, as a pure newbie, getting the heroine’s role in an official animation production would be way too hard.
Natsume Mio faced the mirror, adjusting her mouth shape and expression, trying to capture Makima’s temperament.
She let her voice out, reciting the line she’d practiced countless times.
“I… like people like A Jian.”
As soon as she said it, she froze.
She misread it!
The girl instinctively covered her mouth.
How… how did she say what was in her heart.
No, no, she absolutely couldn’t mess up during the real recording…
“Ahem!” She cleared her throat and recited seriously again: “I… like people like Denji-kun.”
At this time, in the corridor outside the room.
Natsume Chiho, who was wiping the handrail with a cloth, clearly heard the voice from her daughter’s room.
She was momentarily stunned, then shook her head helplessly.
She didn’t disturb Natsume Mio, but lightened her steps and quietly went downstairs.
“Sigh.” Natsume Chiho sighed softly, muttering under her breath, “Our Mio is such a love-struck fool…”
“This manga artist named Sakamoto Ken shouldn’t be a bad man, right?”
