Chapter 56: Official Recording
Thursday, nine o’clock in the morning.
Enoshima Voice Actor Agency.
Natsume Mio arrived at the waiting area outside the recording studio half an hour early. She was wearing a pure cotton white long-sleeved T-shirt and casual long pants of the same material, paired with a pair of soft-soled casual shoes. She looked somewhat plain, but this was attire suitable for the recording studio.
After all, during recording, the voice must be kept clean; even the sound of clothes rubbing could affect the recording quality.
She sat quietly on the bench looking at the script. Today was the official recording, and her voice would become part of A Jian’s work, even if it was just a one-and-a-half-minute promotional animation.
At this moment, Natsume Mio heard footsteps coming from the entrance passage.
Turning her head to look, it was a sharply dressed woman.
Kaji Keiko’s gaze lingered on Natsume Mio and she said, “Excuse me, are you Natsume Mio?”
Natsume Mio immediately stood up, gave a slight bow toward her, and said, “That’s me. May I ask who you are…”
“Oh, I’m Kaji Keiko.” Kaji Keiko nodded to her and continued, “I’m Sakamoto Sensei’s editor-in-charge.”
“It’s Editor!” Natsume Mio’s eyes lit up at once, and she greeted her again. “Editor, pleased to meet you. I look forward to working with you!”
“Haha, alright, no need to be so formal.” Kaji Keiko smiled and waved her hand, saying.
Kaji Keiko sat down next to Natsume Mio, leaned toward her, and looked at the script in her hand.
There were only a few lines of dialogue, but the annotations on the script were more extensive than the lines themselves.
“It looks like Natsume has prepared very thoroughly,” Kaji Keiko said.
“Yes, Editor, I take this voice acting gig very seriously,” Natsume Mio said with a very determined gaze.
Natsume Mio took this week’s JUMP out of her crossbody bag, flipped to the《Chainsaw Man》 page, and said, “I’m a fa… Sakamoto Ken Sensei’s fan. This manga is amazing.”
She flipped to the last few pages of the first chapter. Next to Makima’s dialogue, she had also written her insights on tone and manner in very small font.
Kaji Keiko had only meant to make small talk, but she hadn’t expected the voice actor they hired to be so professional. After all, it was just a 30-second promotional short video.
It was precisely because she valued promoting Sakamoto Sensei’s work so much that for other projects, she might outsource everything online to the production side and not get involved in the rest.
In that kind of situation, even the voice acting might be done via online cooperation, recorded with a regular microphone at home.
“Seeing how professional Natsume is puts me at ease.” Kaji Keiko checked the time and said to Natsume Mio, “It’s about time. Haven’t they gotten the equipment ready yet?”
No sooner had she spoken than the door to the recording studio opened.
Two serious-looking staff members came out. One of them flipped through the papers in his hand and looked at Natsume Mio sitting on the chair waiting. “You’re the voice actor, right?”
Natsume Mio stood up immediately. “Yes, I’m Natsume Mio, in charge of this voice acting.”
“If you’re ready, come into the recording studio now.” He pointed to the inside of the thick soundproof door.
Natsume Mio stepped inside, and Kaji Keiko followed right behind.
“I’m the editor-in-charge,” she said to the one at the door, then went inside.
She didn’t recognize the staff member who had come to the door earlier, but once inside the recording studio, she made eye contact with the producer sitting at the computer. “Ueno, we’re counting on you.”
Ueno adjusted his glasses, just nodded, glanced at Natsume Mio, then pointed to another door next to the control room. “Voice actor, go in from there.”
This was Natsume Mio’s first time at a formal recording, but she had seen what a recording studio was like before when she visited one with her vocal music teacher.
The place she was now in, with the mixing console, monitor speakers, computer, workstation, and various other equipment, was the recording studio’s control room. In front of her was a large soundproof glass panel, and she could see that the room opposite had the lights on. That was the absolutely quiet recording room.
Natsume Mio politely gave a slight bow to everyone present, put her mobile phone and other items in her carry-on bag on the rest chair in the control room, and entered the recording room holding only the printed script paper.
The walls of the recording room were covered with uneven dark gray sound-absorbing panels, and the floor was laid with an especially thick carpet, so footsteps felt soft when walking on it.
As the thick soundproof door closed, it felt like the entire world was shut out.
The recording room was so silent there wasn’t a single sound. As she stepped up to the microphone, she felt her heartbeat quickening.
She was even more nervous than during the interview, but she didn’t show it.
After all, she had practiced these lines countless times and could deliver them fluently in front of the microphone based on muscle memory.
As per the producer’s instructions, Natsume Mio recorded the entire script several times in different emotions and tones.
The video itself was only 30 seconds long, and the dialogue took up even less time, so in less than half an hour, Natsume Mio had completed the recording.
As soon as she stepped out of the recording room, Kaji Keiko pulled her over with a big smile.
“The results are great, completely matching the image of Makima I had in mind,” Kaji Keiko said.
“Thank you, Editor~”
“Editor Kaji, we’ve sent the recording for post-production. We expect to send it to you before the end of work tomorrow. After that, it’s up to the production team,” the producer said to Kaji Keiko.
“Got it, thanks everyone,” Kaji Keiko said.
Natsume Mio followed Kaji Keiko out of the recording studio. Just as they reached the corridor outside, she saw several people sitting in the waiting area, intensely discussing something while holding printed papers. They looked like the next team to record.
She and Kaji Keiko hadn’t even turned the corner when the staff from the recording studio came out and called the people waiting outside to go in.
They had just reached the elevator area when another team hurried over.
It seemed this voice actor agency was extremely busy, no wonder the producer had a stern, serious face.
Walking out of the agency, it was now the time of day with the best morning sunlight.
The early spring sunlight shone on her body, and with her exceptionally good mood, Natsume Mio felt completely comfortable all over.
Kaji Keiko asked, “Natsume, where do you live? If you’re still around, how about I drive you home?”
“Sure!” Natsume Mio agreed immediately. She smiled slightly and said, “But I live in Sumida Ward. Editor, will it be too far out of your way?”
“No problem. Natsume is one of our collaborators now, and this falls within an editor’s duties.” Kaji Keiko beckoned to Natsume Mio and headed toward the nearby parking lot.
“Sumida Ward… Natsume, can you see Tokyo Skytree from your house?”
“You can see it from the terrace on the roof.”
“I’ve never been up Tokyo Skytree. My only impression is from last year’s Conan theatrical version.”
“The sniper one? I watched it too.”
“Haha, yes, but as for the movie… I’m not sure how to comment.” Kaji Keiko smiled and said, “The view from Natsume’s house must be great.”
“Not really. The view from Tokyo Skytree is indeed nice, but the houses in the residential area are built so densely that only the terrace allows some fresh air.”
After chatting idly for a bit, Kaji Keiko pressed the car key to unlock, and Natsume Mio got into the front passenger seat.
Natsume Mio turned her head to look at Kaji Keiko starting the vehicle, clutching her bag tightly in her hands.
After hesitating for a good while, with the car already driving out onto the street, she tentatively and cautiously spoke up. “Editor, do you think《Chainsaw Man》 has a chance of being adapted into an animation in the future?”
