"Um... I forgot. You know, I'm practically the only one handling every aspect of Akame ga Kill! I got so busy with this one that it slipped my mind~"
Fang Zheng awkwardly explained as he looked at Zhang Siyu, whose eyes were practically spitting fire.
"Hehe, so Director Fang means that I, the CEO, have it pretty easy?" Zhang Siyu stared expressionlessly at Fang Zheng, furious beyond words.
She had been running herself ragged these past few days because of the company's establishment. Even so, she had still found time to help Fang Zheng put together a promotional plan.
But Fang Zheng had it good. He had not even glanced at the plan she had painstakingly worked overtime to complete. The feeling had driven her nearly mad, pushing her to the verge of exploding.
Yet when Fang Zheng heard Zhang Siyu's words, his eyes suddenly lit up. He stared at Zhang Siyu, who was coldly glaring at him, rubbed his chin, stood up, and began examining her carefully.
"What... what are you doing?" Being stared at so blatantly by Fang Zheng, Zhang Siyu's imposing aura weakened. She unconsciously took two steps back and watched him warily.
"Don't think you can get away with this. You have to give me an explanation!"
Fang Zheng seemed not to hear Zhang Siyu at all. He merely circled around her, his eyes roaming over her from head to toe.
He muttered to himself, "Tsk, tsk. It's so similar! It's really too similar!"
"How did I not notice this before? I really am an idiot!"
Everyone in the recording room was startled by Fang Zheng's extremely lecherous-looking actions and expression. They stood there dumbfounded, staring at him in disbelief.
Could their boss secretly be a pervert?
This was especially true of Duan Shuiqing and the others who had just joined. Aside from Fang Zheng, every person in the recording room was female. The thought that "Fang Zheng is a pervert" took deep root in their minds.
The others were already like this, so Zhang Siyu, the person involved, was even more affected.
Fang Zheng's string of baffling actions had thrown her into a state of irritation. She could not stand it any longer. She snatched up the script beside her and threw it straight at him.
"Hey, hey, hey! What are you doing?!"
Fang Zheng dodged the script Zhang Siyu threw at him and shouted, "Why did you suddenly go crazy?!"
"I went crazy?" Zhang Siyu was furious. She stared at Fang Zheng while panting heavily, then nodded. "Fine. Today, I'll let you know why I went crazy!"
The recording room immediately descended into chaos. One chased while the other ran, and Yang Li, the Big Shot of the voice-acting department, actually took the lead in sitting peacefully to enjoy the spectacle.
"Why aren't you helping?!" Fang Zheng was instantly enraged when he saw how calm Yang Li looked. "If you don't help, I'll deduct everyone's pay!"
Having watched enough, Yang Li rose lazily and stretched, as if she had finished enjoying the show. She stepped forward and stopped Zhang Siyu.
"Siyu, calm down first. Give Director Fang a chance to argue his case~"
Yang Li glanced at Fang Zheng, her eyes filled with amusement.
Fang Zheng was in a sorry state by then. Hearing Yang Li's words, he nearly choked.
What the hell do you mean, argue my case? What did I even do?!
"Fine. I'd like to hear how you're going to argue your case!"
Zhang Siyu might have been tired. She collapsed onto the sofa, but her eyes remained fixed on Fang Zheng like a tiger watching its prey.
"What did I do?" Fang Zheng was nearly frantic. Looking at Zhang Siyu, he said, "I just heard you speaking and realized that your voice is a perfect fit for the role of Esdeath. That's why I was thinking about how to bring it up with you."
As he spoke, Fang Zheng dropped onto the sofa. He glared at Zhang Siyu and said irritably, "As the company's CEO, you've already taken on a lot of work that isn't supposed to be yours. I felt embarrassed asking you directly, so I wanted to phrase it tactfully. Who would've thought you'd suddenly go crazy?"
Zhang Siyu froze when she heard this. She looked at Fang Zheng suspiciously. "Really?"
"Otherwise, what?"
Zhang Siyu looked at the wrecked recording room and suddenly felt a little embarrassed.
According to Fang Zheng, he had suddenly realized that her voice seemed very suitable for playing Esdeath. But since the company was just starting up and she was already busy enough, he had not known how to bring it up.
Thinking about it this way, Zhang Siyu felt much better.
It seemed this chairman was not entirely unreasonable. At the very least, he had noticed everything she had done. Otherwise, he would not have felt embarrassed about asking her.
As Fang Zheng had said, what company's CEO would personally handle tasks like printing contracts?
"But I've never studied broadcasting, and my voice hasn't been trained." Zhang Siyu looked at Fang Zheng and hesitated for a moment. "Can I really do it?"
Yang Li and the others in the recording room also looked at Fang Zheng curiously. They had all received professional training. As long as their voices suited the characters, they had the ability to complete the dubbing work.
But Zhang Siyu was different. She had studied management—how to manage a company—not how to dub an anime.
"Your current tone won't work, but the way you spoke to me just now will."
"Just now?"
"The matter with the poster."
The moment he finished speaking, Fang Zheng regretted it. He had finally managed to muddle through that matter, yet he had gone and brought it up again. Wasn't he just making trouble for himself?
Sure enough, Zhang Siyu's expression darkened at a visible speed.
It would have been fine if he had not mentioned it. The moment he did, she became angry.
She had painstakingly prepared a promotional plan and handed it to her superior full of anticipation, only for him not even to glance at it. Anyone would be angry in that situation, right?
"So the reason you didn't look at it was simply because you forgot?"
Zhang Siyu glared at Fang Zheng hostilely, as if she were ready to "start another battle" if he failed to give her a satisfactory answer.
"Yes, yes, yes! That's the voice!" Yet Fang Zheng seemed to be on an entirely different wavelength from her.
He looked excitedly at Yang Li and the others beside him and said, "That's exactly the feeling! Doesn't it perfectly suit Esdeath's overflowing queenly presence?!"
Hearing Fang Zheng's words, Yang Li and the others finally understood. They all looked curiously at Zhang Siyu's cold expression and nodded in complete agreement.
???
Zhang Siyu watched as everyone's attention focused on her and rolled her eyes helplessly. She could not be bothered to expose Fang Zheng's clumsy attempt to muddle through the matter.
She sighed resignedly and looked at Fang Zheng. "I'll do my best, but don't get your hopes up too high."
"No problem. I'll help you!"
Yang Li patted her own chest and looked at Zhang Siyu, making the promise with complete confidence.
She had not noticed it before. After Fang Zheng's reminder, she suddenly realized that a voice actress perfectly suited to Esdeath's character had been hidden right beside her all along.
Although Zhang Siyu had not undergone systematic professional training, her vocal conditions were quite good. Combined with her naturally domineering personality, she could perfectly portray Esdeath's tyrannical queenly presence.
And so, the voice cast for Akame ga Kill! was finalized.
Fang Zheng would handle all the male roles, while Yang Li would lead the dubbing for the female roles, with Duan Shuiqing and the other voice actresses taking part.
Fang Zheng summarized the list. This cast list would eventually be placed at the beginning or end of the anime, bringing the profession of voice acting to the forefront and displaying it to the audience.
Night Raid: Tatsumi, voiced by Fang Zheng; Brody, voiced by Fang Zheng; Akame, voiced by Sora Amamiya (please spare me, doge); Mine, voiced by Duan Shuiqing; Leone, voiced by Tang Yirou; Shiru, voiced by Yang Li; Najenda, voiced by Zheng Meiming; Susanoo, voiced by Fang Zheng; Chelsea, voiced by Liu Jiaqi.
Jaegers: Esdeath, voiced by Zhang Siyu; Kurome, voiced by Sora Amamiya; Will, voiced by Fang Zheng; Seryu Ubiquitous, voiced by Cai Xianghua (one of the three meme queens, doge~); Lubbock, voiced by Fang Zheng; Dr. Stylish, voiced by Fang Zheng; Bols, voiced by Fang Zheng.
In addition, the Three Beasts, the Emperor of the Empire, Minister Honest, and the others would all be voiced by Fang Zheng.
Among these voice actors, aside from Sora Amamiya voicing the sisters Akame and Kurome, Fang Zheng was the most absurd.
Looking at the name "Fang Zheng" appearing so frequently on the list, everyone except Yang Li widened their eyes and stared at him in disbelief. Their expressions made it seem as though they had seen a ghost.
"Director Fang, are you really going to voice that many characters?"
Even Zhang Siyu looked at Fang Zheng suspiciously, her expression somewhat vacant.
"Yeah. What's wrong?"
Hearing Fang Zheng say this as though it were only natural, everyone else looked at him as if he were a monster. Duan Shuiqing and the other voice actresses who had just signed with Fang Zheng were especially incredulous.
Under normal circumstances, a person's voice had distinct characteristics. Aside from the period when adolescents' voices changed, an adult's vocal range was difficult to alter significantly.
Even professional training could not change that. So when they heard that Fang Zheng intended to voice different characters, Duan Shuiqing and the other professionally trained voice actresses found it unbelievable.
"Hmph, hmph. Don't underestimate our Director Fang~" Yang Li stepped forward proudly. Looking at Duan Shuiqing and the others' disbelieving expressions, she said, "Let me tell you, Fang Zheng is a bona fide pervert. An extreme pervert!"
"Pervert?!"
In an instant, Duan Shuiqing, Tang Yirou, and the others looked at Fang Zheng differently. Their feet even unconsciously moved two steps backward.
"What nonsense are you spouting? Who's a pervert? I'm just using a cheat—ah, no! I'm just talented, all right?"
Fang Zheng rolled his eyes speechlessly when he heard Yang Li. This was the first time anyone had praised him like that.
Although he was indeed a cheater, even cheaters had their dignity. If he could not beat normal players even after using cheats, he might as well find a block of tofu and kill himself with it.
"All right, everyone, stop fooling around." Zhang Siyu stepped forward at that moment. Although the laughter and merriment were warm, this was still a company.
A company had its rules. Since Fang Zheng, the chairman, found it inconvenient to speak up, she had to step forward and play the bad cop. Otherwise, the company would fall into chaos sooner or later.
"Akame ga Kill! is about to be released. Let's try to finish the dubbing tomorrow and fire the first shot for our ACG!"
After Zhang Siyu finished speaking, she looked toward Fang Zheng and gestured for him to say a few words.
To put it bluntly, Star Dream had originally been Fang Zheng's personal work and had nothing to do with ACG. Akame ga Kill! was the first work Fang Zheng had published under ACG's name.
From that perspective, the reputation of Akame ga Kill! would directly affect ACG's reputation and public recognition, making it especially important.
"Ahem, everyone, quiet down for a moment!"
Seeing Zhang Siyu's look, Fang Zheng nodded in understanding, cleared his throat, and stepped forward to face everyone.
If nothing unexpected happened, these people would be the earliest old hands of his ACG Culture Company.
"The company is just starting out, so everyone has some understanding of our situation. Our office space is limited, our funds aren't especially abundant, and our core personnel haven't all arrived yet."
Fang Zheng had not concealed anything about the situation of ACG Culture Company from the outside world. Nor had he hidden anything from Duan Shuiqing, Tang Yirou, and the other newly joined voice actresses. Things were exactly as they appeared.
As the old saying went, "A dog doesn't mind its family's poverty." Although the wording was unpleasant, the principle was sound. Fang Zheng sincerely welcomed anyone willing to join ACG under these circumstances.
A helping hand in hard times was always better than adding flowers to brocade. That was human nature, and as an ordinary person, Fang Zheng was naturally no exception.
"But I believe the company will grow larger and better. You won't regret the decision you made today. I'll use my works to personally raise you all to the summit of your respective industries."
Before you continue