Anime Production, Starting with Healing the Audience Section 17

After all, Shanghai, as an international metropolis, clearly offers many more job opportunities, especially since the major they studied was the relatively niche broadcasting field.

Thanks to this, it saved both parties a lot of time.

"Si Yu mentioned that you plan to sign voice actors you like?"

Yang Li sent Fang Zheng's company address to the class group chat, then put down her phone and looked at Fang Zheng curiously.

To be honest, finding a job after studying broadcasting wasn't very smooth. Aside from a small number of lucky ones like herself, it was difficult to find a job relevant to their major without family connections.

So, as soon as she sent out her message, many old classmates expressed their willingness to give it a try.

"Yes, there's no rule saying a voice actor can only dub one character~"

Fang Zheng spread his hands and looked at Yang Li, not understanding why she was asking this question.

"How about me?" Yang Li rested her chin on her hand and looked at Fang Zheng, a smile on her lips. "Do you find me pleasing to the eye? Do I meet your signing standards?"

"You?" Fang Zheng glanced Yang Li up and down and said exasperatedly, "You're giving up a lucrative job as a TV host to come here and be a voice actor? Have you lost your mind?"

"I'm not joking, I'm serious with you!"

Yang Li's voice rose, and her expression became extremely serious. She had her own ideas.

Working at a TV station seemed glamorous, and the benefits were indeed good, but TV stations were also cutthroat environments.

As a young and attractive woman without background or backing, she inevitably encountered some troubles, the most annoying of which was the harassment from her superiors.

Being the number one host sounded impressive, but only she knew that her position could be lost at any time if the higher-ups willed it.

To avoid such disgusting situations, Yang Li had been planning to resign for a long time.

However, she hadn't found a job she liked, and she didn't know what she would do if she resigned impulsively.

But things were different now. She loved anime and the profession of voice acting. And with her broadcasting background, joining Fang Zheng's voice acting team seemed like a good choice.

Moreover, she wouldn't have to worry about unspoken rules here. She was confident in her judgment of people.

"Are you serious?"

Seeing Yang Li's sincere expression, Fang Zheng also became serious.

After spending some time with Yang Li, Fang Zheng found that her voice was simply perfect for the profession of voice acting. Both her tone and expressiveness were astonishing.

"Of course, I'm serious. Just tell me if you agree or not."

Yang Li looked at Fang Zheng, waiting for his reply.

"If you're willing to join us, I'd be very happy to welcome you," Fang Zheng said after a moment of thought. "But I have to tell you beforehand, although your voice is perfect, it's not suitable for all roles."

Yang Li understood the deeper meaning behind Fang Zheng's words.

Through dubbing for Shiru, she had gained a preliminary understanding of the voice acting profession.

As Fang Zheng said, although she had received professional training, she might not be suitable for all anime characters. This wasn't an issue of basic skills but of her natural vocal range.

For example, a loli character required a voice actor whose voice sounded young and lively. Her gentle voice was clearly not suitable.

The reason Fang Zheng told her this was simply to prepare her mentally. She could participate in the dubbing for Akame ga Kill!, but she might not be a good fit for the next project.

"I understand what you're saying, but I've still decided to join."

Since Yang Li had stated her decision so clearly, Fang Zheng, being a straightforward person, immediately stood up and said to her, "Then... welcome aboard!"

Fang Zheng stood up and shook hands with Yang Li. They finalized some contract details, and then Yang Li signed her name with great flair.

Zhang Siyu, standing nearby, was genuinely happy to see her friend join the company.

As Yang Li's close friend, she knew that her friend hadn't been having an easy time at the TV station. It might be a good thing for her to escape that quagmire sooner rather than later.

To celebrate Yang Li joining the company, Fang Zheng took the two women out for a celebration. When they returned to the company, Yang Li's previously notified old classmates had already arrived.

Fang Zheng appointed Yang Li to the position of Manager of the Voice Acting Department, making her responsible for all future voice actors in the company, a position of no small importance.

After a brief introduction, Fang Zheng directly led everyone to the company's recording studio and got straight to business.

"Your name is Duan Shuiqing, right?"

"Yes, Chairman Fang."

Fang Zheng looked at the resume in his hand. Duan Shuiqing had graduated in the same year as Yang Li, but her luck wasn't as good as Yang Li's. Currently, she was working as a resident singer at a bar.

According to Yang Li, Duan Shuiqing had a special vocal quality, but Fang Zheng would have to experience it himself to understand what made it special.

"Before the auditions, everyone needs to sign a confidentiality agreement. I don't want the audition content to leak out."

Fang Zheng had no experience in interviewing voice actors and didn't know which voice actor was suitable for which role.

Therefore, to achieve the most perfect anime effect, he chose the script from Akame ga Kill!. In other words, the audition content for these voice actors would be the various characters from the original work.

This way, Fang Zheng could directly perceive the quality and see who was suitable for which role.

Since Akame ga Kill! had not yet aired, a non-disclosure agreement was necessary.

Yang Li supervised everyone in signing the confidentiality agreements, and then Fang Zheng handed the first script to Duan Shuiqing.

This script was for none other than Esdeath, the villain in Akame ga Kill! who people couldn't bring themselves to hate!

"Before we begin, let me introduce you to Esdeath's character profile."

To help these voice actors better understand the personalities of the characters they needed to voice, Fang Zheng had to explain everything to them himself.

This step couldn't be skipped, otherwise, there was a high chance of a major blunder.

Take Esdeath for example. She was supposed to have a queen-like persona, but because the voice actor didn't grasp this, she ended up sounding like a loli, which was simply unbearable to listen to.

"Esdeath is the empire's general in the original work, one of the main villains, a battle maniac, somewhat of a sadist, and her creed is survival of the fittest."

Fang Zheng recalled Esdeath's personality traits and said to the voice actors present, "Carefully feel this character, and then try to voice her with a 'queen-like' tone."

After speaking, Fang Zheng signaled Duan Shuiqing to enter the recording studio, while he himself walked over to the recording equipment. The others stood outside, waiting quietly.

Before long, Duan Shuiqing gave Fang Zheng an 'OK' gesture through the glass of the recording studio, and the recording officially began.

"After slaughtering enemies, it's time for a pleasant reward~"

"Only the weak die, that's all~"

"Boring, die!"

"Before you die..."

Listening to Duan Shuiqing's voice acting, Fang Zheng's frown deepened. He was not satisfied with her performance, or rather, it didn't fit his image of Esdeath at all.

It wasn't that there was anything wrong with Duan Shuiqing's voice acting itself, but rather that her vocal tone was unsuitable.

Esdeath's dominance and her enjoyment of tormenting enemies were completely absent, and Fang Zheng couldn't feel Esdeath's bloodthirsty nature that believed in the law of the jungle.

"Stop~"

Hearing Fang Zheng's voice, Duan Shuiqing, who was inside the recording booth, became noticeably dejected. She tightly pursed her lips and walked out of the recording booth.

"Director Fang, can you give me another chance?"

Duan Shuiqing really didn't want to miss this opportunity. Anime was an emerging industry, and voice acting was undoubtedly very important to anime. Any discerning person could see the future prospects of the voice actor profession.

Moreover, she genuinely enjoyed working in fields related to broadcasting, so she was very unwilling to give up like this.

"You're not suitable."

Duan Shuiqing's face turned somewhat pale. Fang Zheng's words were undoubtedly a heavy blow, shattering her last shred of hope.

"I'm sorry for the intrusion~"

Duan Shuiqing dejectedly handed the script to Fang Zheng and then turned to slowly walk out of the recording booth.

Watching Duan Shuiqing's forlorn figure, her classmates who had come with her also changed their expressions.

To be honest, they all came from broadcasting majors and had a much better control over their voices than ordinary people.

Because of this, they thought that voicing anime would be a piece of cake.

But the reality was that Fang Zheng had taught them a harsh lesson – being a voice actor was definitely not something that could be easily accomplished!

"Stop!"

Fang Zheng looked at Duan Shuiqing's sorrowful figure, a vein throbbing on his forehead.

Why did he feel like a villain? Did he look that much like an antagonist?

"Director Fang..." Duan Shuiqing's body paused slightly, and she turned around, looking at Fang Zheng with confusion, wondering why he had called her back.

Her audition was over, she had lost her value, and there was no reason for her to stay here any longer.

Suddenly, Duan Shuiqing saw the script in Fang Zheng's hand, and her expression became somewhat enlightened, understanding dawning on her.

"Director Fang, don't worry. Since I've signed a confidentiality agreement, I definitely won't reveal what happened today. I have that much professional integrity."

Duan Shuiqing didn't suspect anything else, she simply thought Fang Zheng was worried she would leak information.

"Hey, Fang Zheng, you're being a bit much. She's already signed a confidentiality agreement, why are you still suspecting her?"

Yang Li also spoke up for Duan Shuiqing, looking at Fang Zheng as if he were a greedy coal boss.

"I..." Fang Zheng was stunned by Yang Li's words. Was that what he meant?!

"Where did you get the idea that I was worried about leaks?"

Fang Zheng glared at Yang Li impatiently. This girl was good in every way, but her careless personality gave him a headache.

If this continues, I'm going to dock her pay. I'm definitely docking her pay. Does this sound like how you talk to your superior?!

Fang Zheng, too lazy to deal with the somewhat 'foolish' Yang Li, looked at Duan Shuiqing and said, "You might have misunderstood my meaning. There's nothing wrong with your voice acting, it's just that your vocal tone isn't suitable for the character of Esdeath."