Disclaimer: Let me check...no, still don't own them.
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In the Hiiragi residence, Tsukasa's room.
"Man, Kagamin is a bit late," said a slightly annoyed Konata.
"Well, it's not that late yet," said Tsukasa. "There's still a few hours till dinner time so she has plenty of time to buy those onions."
Konata turned and gave Tsukasa a bemused look. "You know, Tsukasa I just love the fact that the first think you're worried about are the onions. Don't you think Kagami got caught up in something and that's why she's late?"
"Well, even if that's so, I know Onee-chan can take care of herself."
"Ah, the naive faith of a little sister. It reminds me of why I enjoy having Yutaka around the house. But still, it shouldn't have taken more than an hour to get those onions and catch the train home."
"Maybe the train's late."
"Tsukasa. This is Japan. thirty seconds is late. one minute is never coming at all."
"Well, I wouldn't say that but, I guess you have a point."
"Still, I wish she'd tell us if she'd get held up over something and save us the trouble of waiting for her."
Just then, Tsukasa's cellphone beeped to life. The short-haired girl reached for it and opened the message. "Um, it's from onee-chan. She says that she got held up on something and she's asking us not to worry about her."
"...You're kidding."
"Looks like Kona-chan's guess was right. She also asked to tell mom not to worry and that she'll be able to bring the onions back in time for dinner."
Konata sighed in exasperation. "Why can't I ever have this kind of luck in guessing during my tests at school? Anyway, sure, that's okay I guess. Text her back and say we got it."
"Uh, right." Tsukasa started to reply using her cellphone. And started tapping the buttons rather slowly and saying out loud every individual syllable of her message. "Umm...O...K...We...un...der...sta--nd...onee...chan...I...will...make....sure...to...tell...mom...that...you--ll...be...back...soon...with...the..on--io--ns..........hope...you...get...home...soon.........Kona...chan...and...I...will...be...wai--ting...right...here--"
Konata lost it. "Can't you just give her a simple 'OK' and get it over with?!"
Tsukasa jumped and nearly dropped her phone. "I-I-I'm sorry, Kona-chan. I still haven't practiced all that well. Onee-chan usually does all of my long text messages."
Now I see why Kagami is so stingy all of the time, thought Konata. "Anyway, just send it as it is. I'm sure she'll understand it."
Tsukasa simply nodded nervously and sent the message. She waited for her phone to confirm that the message was sent then she set aside the phone on her desk and looked back towards Konata. "Well, since onee-chan will be a while later, why don't we past the time by playing a few games on the PS2?"
"Sure, why not. I'd like to practice more anyway. Kagami is actually starting to beat me and I can't have that. By the way shouldn't you first tell your mom about Kagami and her groceries?"
"Oh that's right. I should do that first." Tsukasa reached for her cellphone again and started to compose a text message. "Ka...ga....mi...says...she'll...be...la--te...but...she...will...have...the...on--ion--s...here...by--"
Konata sweat-dropped. "Tsukasa, you do know that your mother is, like, twenty paces down the hall, right?!"
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At Studio Peach.
The relatively new animation studio was bustling with activity that afternoon. The main lobby was alive with chatter from dozens of people, some already work there while a few were looking for jobs. Kagami tried to get a pattern on the looks of the people around her. Many looked like normal working-class employees while others looked like they were ripped out of fashion and otaku magazines. One guy she saw wore a jacket that was decorated with probably over fifty anime and manga related patches. She would later find out that that guy was an assistant director.
She felt totally out of place there and could somehow imagine someone like Konata would feel very at home here.
Here in the lobby was where Kagami and Tetsuya waited for the woman, Aoi, to come back after taking care of a few things. Tetsuya was simply lying back on the couch they were on staring up into the ceiling. Kagami, seated at the opposite end of the couch, was reading a manga that she was given to her by Aoi a little while ago. It was a copy of Q-ko-chan: The Earth Invader Girl volume 2 and it was the source material for their current project.
By now Kagami had figured out that miss Aoi Omori had suddenly and impulsively asked her to become a seiyuu. Who does that? Who the heck goes out in the middle of the street and randomly asks a random person the random question 'hey, do you wanna be a voice actor?' to them? And who the heck accepts so quickly? Well, she needed the cash. Her family needed the cash. Even though it wasn't much. She knew seiyuu don't make that much money, only slightly less than normal office workers. But still every bit counts.
That got her thinking tough about the guy she bumped into earlier, Tetsuya. Was he a seiyuu too? She turned towards him. At that moment he happened to looked towards her as well. Their eyes met for a brief moment and the two immediately started glaring at each other with sharp eyes and gritted teeth. They turned away from each other in a huff.
"Why, the heck, did you take this job?" asked Tetsuya, still not looking at her. "I really wanted to get home early today."
"Like I told Omori-san, I needed some quick cash," said Kagami, also refusing to look at him.
"Couldn't you get job as waitress or something, like most girls your age."
"I kinda need the cash now."
"Why? You pissed of the Yakuza or something?"
"It's none of your business. Why do you want to get home so damn quickly anyway?"
"That's none of your business!"
"You're the one who started prying first!"
"I wasn't prying anything."
Just then, Aoi walked in. "You two getting along nicely?"
"As if!" they both retorted simultaneously. Aoi sweat-dropped.
"Well, anyways, the recording studio is ready for you guys. Hiiragi-san was it? You'll be watching Tetsuya work first so you can see how it's done and then we'll record your lines over the animation. You know who you'll play right?"
"The chracter of AA-ko-sama right?" replied Kagami. "Why do I have to play the main villain of the story?"
"Because it fits you like a glove," Tetsuya commented off-handedly. Kagami gave him a glare and although he didn't see it, Tetsuya felt as if his heart was squeezed for a second there.
"Well, never mind that," said Aoi. "It's a small part so you should be done within two hours. And since the script is mostly a direct translation of the manga You won't have much reviewing to do. Well, at least you had previous acting experience, as you said, so this might not be so hard for you, even though this is your first time voice-acting."
Kagami sweat-dropped. "Uh...yeah. Previous acting experience." She didn't want to tell them that her only acting experience happened this morning in a small stage play for grade schoolers.
"Well, let's go!"
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At a studio upstairs, 10 minutes later.
Kagami watched as the process of voice dubbing went along with Tetsuya. He stood in the middle of the studio, facing a mike and a small TV screen with the animation playing. He held up his script and read from it from time to time. It took less than thirty minutes for Tetsuya to do three full scenes, evidently the last scenes he needed to do alone.
In most western animation voice actors are recorded first the the animation is done to match the voices heard in the recordings. However, it is the opposite in Japanese animation. Often the animation is done first and only when the animation is completed is the voice dubbing done. Seiyuu are then responsible for matching their voice to the animation as it happens.
As Kagami watched, she was quite intrigued at the way the guy suddenly changed attitude to match his character. She guessed that's what you need to be a good seiyuu. She was amazed at his skill. After he had recorded all his solo lines there was one scene where Miss Aoi, who Kagami has now established as the designated Director of this production, had asked Kagami to step up to the mic now as she remained in the booth setting up the scene. Kagami nervously stepped up to the mic and an aide handed her her script with all her parts highlighted. She would record her lines of the last scene Tetsuya recorded so at least she was familiar with the scene having just saw it.
"Alright,are we all ready?" asked Aoi.
Kagami nodded shyly and everybody else gave a thumbs-up.
"Alright, let's do this then." Aoi played the scene.
"I told you that it wasn't on purpose!" exclaimed Furiko in a tone that was angrier than necessary. "You're the one who's been causing all of the trouble with your robot!"
Kirio didn't bother replying as the four of them, him, her, Q-ko, and AA-ko return from their grocery trip. Just the, two of Kirio's friends came from the other direction waving at them.
"Kirio!" greeted Tatsuta in a calm and casual voice.
"Good morning!" greeted Mei excitedly, "Something's been up since this morning, right? There are soldiers all over the place."
Just then, Q-ko showed off her clumsiness once again and tripped as she descended a step. She would've hit face-first on the ground as usual had Kirio not suddenly and unexpectedly caught her. Kirio helped her back up to her feet and Q-ko could only blush as their friends and Furiko gave Kirio a questioning look. "Kirio, are you ill or something?" asked Mei.
"Why?" said Kirio in a straight monotone, apparently oblivions to himself being a bit out of character. In the meanwhile, Q-ko was blushing madly and mumbling stuff under her breath. AA-Ko watched her junior, Q-ko, as she reacted to Kirio's actions and a wave of realization hit her.
"A Boy?" said Kagami into the mic in a somewhat stressed tone. "I see. You used 'family' as an excuse and got yourself--"
"Wait! Cut!" suddenly interjected miss Aoi. "Hiiragi-san, that tone is all wrong. Be a little more relaxed."
"Um, yes, understood."
"Okay let's try again."
The scene replayed and Kagami took a crack at the line again trying to change her tone according to the mood. "A boy? I see. You used 'family' as an excuse and--"
"Cut! Still nit right Hiiragi-san," said miss Aoi. "A little more relaxed, please."
They tried again. Kagami relaxed her voice a bit as she read her lines a third time. Still wrong. She relaxed it even more but this time it was too relaxed during the fourth time. again, they were frustrated. A fifth time was made worse when Kagami actually misread her line and didn't say it right so that was scrapped. another two tries after that and still wrong. Miss Aoi and the rest of the team were getting frustrated and Kagami was getting more and more nervous which wasn't helping her work.
Throughout all this, Tetsuya simply sat on a chair in the control room beside the exasperated Aoi. He observed the girl as she tried to nail that first line of her scene. Kagami thought he would've cracked a joke by now, teasing her about her constant failure. But instead his expression was contemplative and serious.
"Maybe Tetsuya-kun was right. I guess this may have been a bad idea," said Aoi.
Kagami bowed her head in shame and disappointment in herself. "I'm sorry. This is my first time and..."
"No, no, it was y idea. It was my fault. I forced you to do this out of the blue because I was desperate. If anything I had no right to do that. I should be the one apologizing for your inconvenience."
"Still, I wished I could've helped."
"Well, it can't be helped that you're a beginner. I guess we can just wrap up for today and--"
"Wait!" suddenly said Tetsuya catching everyone's attention. Tetsuya ignored everyone's stares and stood up from his seat and walked into the recording booth right up next to Kagami. She was fully expecting him to give her a good scolding she knew she deserved. But that never came.
"Listen," he said softly but sternly, just remember this one thing: the voice is the character."
Kagami looked at him curiously. "W-What do you mean?"
"This is animation, not live-action. In live action a character is the whole of the actor, not just the voice. The actor's motions, facial expressions, dress, mannerisms, and all that other stuff, those become the character. But in animation, it's different. In animation, almost nothing is real. The expressions, motions, and mannerisms are all drawn, artificial, flat. Almost everything about an animated character isn't real. However, there is one last thing that is real...the voice."
Kagami listened to Tetsuya intently, like a student would a teacher. Meanwhile everyone else couldn't hear the conversation and were wondering what was going on.
Tetsuya continued. "Because the voice is the most real thing in animation, it's what the audience relates to the most, despite what they themselves think. That's why our jobs as seiyuu are so important. Just remember this and you'll be fine."
Tetsuya didn't bother waiting for a reply and simply turned around and walked back out of the recording booth and into the control room. He looked towards Aoi. "I think we can try again this time," he said.
Aoi was a bit confused and Tetsuya simply went back to his seat. She was about to ask when Kagami called her.
"Omori-san," said Kagami, politely using Aoi's family name. "I think I can give this one more shot, please."
Aoi was at a loss for words. She turned towards tetsuya who only gave her a slight nod. "Um...I guess, we could give it one more try."
Aoi and her assistants manipulated some controls on their systems and prepared the scene again. Kagami took a deep breath just as the small TV screen in front of her came to life once again and was ready replay the scene. She raised her script up and got ready. The scene played.
ust then, Q-ko showed off her clumsiness once again and tripped as she descended a step. She would've hit face-first on the ground as usual had Kirio not suddenly and unexpectedly caught her. Kirio helped her back up to her feet and Q-ko could only blush as their friends and Furiko gave Kirio a questioning look. "Kirio, are you ill or something?" asked Mei.
"Why?" said Kirio in a straight monotone, apparently oblivions to himself being a bit out of character. In the meanwhile, Q-ko was blushing madly and mumbling stuff under her breath. AA-Ko watched her junior, Q-ko, as she reacted to Kirio's actions and a wave of realization hit her.
"I see," said AA-ko in a soft but calculated voice. Like she knew everything. She gave Kirio a good look, like a mother scrutinizing her daughter's date, all the time wearing a friendly smile.
AA-ko then turned to Q-ko maintaining a calm, knowing tone. "You used 'family' as an excuse and got yourself a boy. And you made him a player, Q-ko-san...Come to think of it, that's just like you."
Q-ko couldn't really find any proper response to that and managed to only mumbled an "um." AA-ko then went on to ask a question. "Q-ko-san, about mother...Do you remember the woman who made us?"
Q-ko turned to her 'Onee-chan' and spoke with a slightly childish tone. "No, I've got missing memories. I'm so worried about it!"
AA-ko's voice seemed to darken slightly. "She needn't concern you. That worthless pile of contradiction...Our younger sisters nearby are gathering. Q-ko-san...yes...you be sure not to wonder too far from Kirio-san."
And with that, the scene was over. the video stopped and the screen in front of Kagami went dead. She looked up from her script and towards the control booth where everyone but Tetsuya was wearing a blank look on their faces. Tetsuya wore a barely noticeable smirk on his face.
"Um...How was it?" asked Kagami nervously.
A short moment more of silence then Aoi simply uttered the word "Perfect."
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Author's note: Been real busy lately so sorry for the delays. About the "source material" the production is using. As mentioned above the manga is called Q-ko-chan. The Earth Invader Girl. The manga was written and illustrated by Ueda Hajima, most famously known for his other manga, FLCL (Fooly Cooly). The action-adventure manga is about a post-apocalyptic world were giant robots and aliens and the military do battle but the story centers around a boy and his robot, Q-ko. Though a serious, psychological story, the manga does have a cutesy drawing style and a slightly Shoujo feel to it.
Other notes: You may have also noticed that the main character of Q-ko-chan goes by the name of Kirio which is also the name of my OC in my last Lucky Star fic. That wasn't a coincidence. I purposely used the name of Kirio in my last fic as a reference to Q-ko-chan because it was, and still is, one of my most favorite mangas.