I Thought This Was a Slice of Life

The story is not particularly complex. It follows Uesugi Yuichi, a decadent middle-aged painter who, after closing his private art class for the day, happens upon a falling star while walking through a park. Upon investigating out of curiosity, he discovers that what fell was not a star, but a small baby.

Uesugi Yuichi hesitated in the dark park for a long time. Ultimately, fearing the trouble it would bring, he chose to walk away. However, a sudden downpour, combined with the baby's piercing cries, tugged at a soft string in his heart. The approaching sound of sirens in the distance made him worry that the baby might be subjected to something terrible, like an autopsy.

In a panic, this decadent middle-aged man scooped up the baby and brought him home, beginning a new life filled with joy, hardship, and warmth tinged with tears.

Shuya flipped through the subsequent script, once again admiring his old man. Despite being a reckless, rough-around-the-edges guy, he was actually capable of writing such a warm, funny, and touching slice-of-life story.

Within it, the daily routine of Hikari-chan constantly misusing his superpowers while Uesugi Yuichi desperately tries to cover for him and put out the fires is absolutely hilarious.

Shuya glanced at Inoue Hikoo. As expected of a veteran literary youth, he had a knack for writing this kind of sentimental stuff.

The core of this story isn't just about raising a child; the other main thread is the redemption and rebirth of Uesugi Yuichi.

Uesugi Yuichi was once a brilliant teenage prodigy, but after his childhood sweetheart and wife died of illness, he became listless and decadent, scraping by with a small art class.

In that class is a high school girl named Yuzuki Sasaki. She has long harbored a secret crush on the decadent, handsome, and talented Uesugi Yuichi. However, Uesugi Yuichi has already given up on love, so Yuzuki has kept these budding feelings buried deep in her heart. She approaches him only under the guise of being a diligent student, humbly enjoying every accidental touch and occasional eye contact, feeling a flutter of excitement each time.

Later, Yuzuki Sasaki, who watches Uesugi Yuichi every day, discovers the secret of Hikari-chan. Using this as an opportunity, she uses the excuse of helping to care for the child to interact with Uesugi Yuichi frequently, eventually even obtaining a key to his home.

The flower of love is beginning to bloom.

As Shuya reads these delicate emotional descriptions, watching Yuzuki Sasaki forcibly suppress her maidenly reserve and shyness, making desperate, reckless moves for the sake of love, his heart is filled with a bittersweet sensation. His whole body feels itchy with excitement, and a specific line pops into his mind.

Shuya blurts it out:

"Life is short, fall in love, maiden!"

"Hm?"

Inoue Hikoo pauses. After a moment of thought, he says hesitantly:

"...The Gondola Song from the Taisho era? Shu-chan, you actually know such an old song? That's amazing! Although it's a bit dated, it's catchy and has a great vibe. It fits perfectly—let's use it for the promotion!"

Holy crap!

The fact that you know the source is what actually shocks me!

Regardless, Shuya only knew the meme; he had absolutely no idea where it came from.

Shuya looks at Inoue Hikoo in surprise. Although this old man is a bit foolish, a bit of a spendthrift, and a bit of a playboy... well, maybe more than just "a bit."

But his talent is undeniable!

Shuya finally finishes the script.

Currently, the script only goes up to the middle. Yuzuki Sasaki gets into the art university that Uesugi Yuichi once attended and meets an old professor who used to teach him. She excitedly asks about Uesugi Yuichi's past, only to unexpectedly learn that he once had a wife.

From this point on, the story becomes incredibly tear-jerking.

Yuzuki Sasaki pursues the truth of the past, learning of Uesugi Yuichi's high-spirited youth, his sweet relationship with his childhood sweetheart, their marriage, and the romantic yet tragic story of her death from illness.

Most worth mentioning is that the character of Uesugi Yuichi is written exceptionally well, with off-the-charts charisma.

He possesses both the composure of a middle-aged man and intoxicating talent; he is handsome, graceful, and a gentleman.

Having been married, he knows how to be considerate of women, yet because his heart is dead to love, he keeps the opposite sex at a distance.

He is an ascetic, artistic, middle-aged hunk with a sorrowful past.

What amazes Shuya the most is the contrast shown when this man cares for the adorable baby Hikari-chan—the panic and clumsiness mixed with a boyish, youthful innocence is simply perfect.

Shuya thinks to himself: Oh my god! Once this character hits the screen, how will those young girls, older sisters, and aunties be able to resist?

The old man, who is constantly testing the waters of bankruptcy, is truly... terrifyingly talented!

Besides Uesugi Yuichi, the young girl Yuzuki Sasaki is also written very adorably.

Long black hair, elegance, and a pretty face are just the basics.

She has a great personality, and her loyal-dog nature toward Uesugi Yuichi is very appealing to men, while her occasional airheaded flaws are also quite cute.

Finally, there is the childhood sweetheart who appears in the latter part of the story: the sickly beauty Nakamura Cho.

Her gentle and kind personality, combined with her struggle between life and death and her profound love for Uesugi Yuichi, is a total tear-jerker.

The script ends with Uesugi Yuichi pouring his heart out to Yuzuki Sasaki, finally resolving his inner turmoil.

Shuya says, still wanting more: "And then? It shouldn't be over yet, right?"

"It's not over, no."

Inoue Hikoo admits.

He looks at Shuya's large eyes, revealing a hollow smile: "If the company can avoid bankruptcy, there will be more story to come..."

Shuya laughs bitterly: "Your answer just pulled me right out of that fantasy world."

He shakes his head and asks: "Old man, I noticed the recording studio is full of extras, but there are no voice actors for the leads? Who do you plan to cast?"

Although this anime is a slice-of-life, the scenes requiring emotional outbursts are quite difficult; newcomers probably won't be able to handle them.

The girls currently in the recording studio are only in their teens, and Shuya knows they aren't even official voice actors, just trainees.

As for why he's using them, there's no reason other than that they are cheap.

Shuya really likes this script and doesn't want his old man to use unsuitable people to perform it.

This world is different from his previous life; voice actors earn a decent wage, so even minor voice actors don't have to work part-time jobs just to get by.

That is why famous voice actors are even more expensive.

Given the state of Inoue Hikoo's company, they might not be able to afford them.

Inoue Hikoo patted his chest and declared, "No need to worry! The voice cast will definitely be luxurious!"

While Shuya stared in dumbfounded silence, he pointed at himself and said proudly, "I am the voice actor for Uesugi Yuichi, Inoue Hikoo himself!"

"And your mommy is the voice actress for Yuzuki Sasaki and Nakamura Cho!"

Shuya was covered in black lines: "...Are you even capable of this?"

"Don't panic, son! Daddy used to accompany your mommy to receive voice acting training from her daddy!"

"That's actually reas—"

Just as Shuya let out a sigh of relief, he heard Inoue Hikoo say proudly:

"Although I gave up after a month!"

"Damn it."

Shuya said coldly.

"No big deal, it's a piece of cake for a genius director like me."

Inoue Hikoo radiated a mysterious sense of confidence.

"Don't worry, Shu-chan, I will guide him strictly."

The veteran employee, Uncle Tanaka, who was in charge of sound direction, turned back and smiled.

"Since Uncle Tanaka has said so..."

Shuya said, "I won't say anything more."

As for his mother's skill, he had no doubts.

His mother had always worked as a voice actress and was a very popular one in the past; it was only a few years ago, after taking over the agency left behind by her parents who died in a car accident, that she moved behind the scenes and reduced her workload.

But her level was still well above average.

Section 4: A One-Shot Success

Having family members perform was most important because it saved on labor costs, which was a huge help.

Shuya's mother was named Hanazawa Sakura, twenty-one years old this year, a super young and super beautiful woman.

Speaking of his parents, they were quite something.

The two were childhood sweethearts who had known each other since they were little.

When his mother was sixteen, her parents suddenly died in a car accident. To comfort the grieving Hanazawa Sakura, that eccentric Inoue Hikoo actually snuck into her room at night and hit a home run on the first try, leading the two to get married for the sake of the child.

After forming a happy little family, the two inherited and worked hard to manage their family businesses.

Inoue Hikoo inherited his parents' nearly bankrupt animation company.

Hanazawa Sakura inherited a nearly bankrupt voice acting agency.

From this, it was clear that the two were definitely a perfect match.

Hanazawa Sakura had to take care of the household and handle agency matters, so she didn't have time to take on many jobs, only accepting small roles to help with the family finances.

Now that Inoue Hikoo had roped her in as a lead, pulled his son in as a lead, and even cast himself as a lead, it was clear he was thinking of creating some hype.

He had always been such a promotional genius.

Shuya recalled the fear of being threatened with weaning five years ago.

But Shuya knew that Inoue Hikoo was incredibly capable when on the verge of bankruptcy, so he didn't doubt that this animation would succeed.

They definitely wouldn't all end up dead together.

He loved this story too much.

Some of the daily life stories within it were very familiar to Shuya; they were essentially distilled from their own experiences, truly rooted in life.

Inoue Hikoo and Uesugi Yuichi had somewhat similar personalities, and since Inoue Hikoo was the original author, he understood the character's feelings. Perhaps it was because of this that he had full confidence in doing a good job with the voice acting.

Next, Inoue Hikoo explained the story to Shuya and guided him on the points he needed to pay attention to.

The animation Alien Baby Hikari-chan was scheduled to have twenty-four episodes.

But until the very last episode, Hikari-chan would remain a baby, only experiencing a mysterious growth spurt at the end to become a five-year-old child, which served as a cliffhanger for a potential sequel.

In other words, Shuya only needed to stick to his old trade of imitating a baby, which was something he was good at.

But one shouldn't think of it too simply; making simple cries sound emotional wasn't easy. If you don't understand, just think about a certain yellow mouse that generates electricity.

Shuya had been strengthened when he was reborn and had also been trained in voice acting skills by his mother, so he had quickly grasped the character.

"Without further ado, son, let's begin."

Inoue Hikoo pulled Shuya into the recording studio.

"Director."

"Good work, Director."

The young ladies greeted him with smiles.

The tension they had felt earlier had been successfully melted away by the goofy antics of Inoue Hikoo.

Inoue Hikoo chuckled, projecting an aura of absolute confidence as he said, "Thank you all for your hard work!"

The opening scene of the first episode of Alien Baby Hikari-chan takes place in the art class of Uesugi Yuichi, where both he and Yuzuki Sasaki make an appearance.

The young ladies present were playing the other students, and they would go on to play various minor roles later as well.

The dialogue for the students during the opening had already been recorded, and the heroine's parts would be dubbed once Hanazawa Sakura arrived; for now, the focus was on the debut of Uesugi Yuichi.

This was a very important scene, and quite a difficult one at that.

It required conveying Uesugi Yuichi's decadent, languid demeanor, tinged with a subtle, pitiable sadness, all while maintaining a handsome voice that wouldn't come across as off-putting.

In short, the moment the audience heard his voice, they needed to be able to imagine that he was a man with a "deep backstory."

Shuya watched his old man with deep concern, trying to calculate how much of that confidence he had shown earlier was actually real.

"Don't worry, son, just watch me perform. I'll prove that those grueling days of training weren't for nothing!"

Inoue Hikoo felt incredibly brave.

One hour later.

"Inoue! Hikoo!"

Tanaka, who had been so amiable just moments ago, was now slapping his thighs frantically, roaring with a ferocious expression: "Are you a complete idiot?! Can you not understand human speech? I told you it needed to be a languid yet sorrowful emotion, but your voice sounds exactly like a pig that's just finished a meal—a castrated, dead, fat pig at that! Do you want me to slaughter you right now? Ah! God! It's just a single 'good morning,' how much more time are you going to waste!!!"

"Damn it! Was a month of grueling training really not enough!"

Inoue Hikoo collapsed to the floor, striking an ORZ pose.

"If anything, the fact that you thought one month of training would be enough is the real problem."