It was just after nine in the morning at the voice recording studio.
"I'm Hanazawa Kana, voicing Honma Meiko. Please take care of me."
"I'm Tomatsu Haruka, voicing Anjou Naruko. Please take care of me."
"Hayami Saori, voicing Tsurumi Chiriko. Please take care of me."
The animation, scheduled to premiere in April, began voice recording in early March.
During their first recording session, the voice actors naturally introduced themselves and exchanged greetings.
Hanazawa Kana, Tomatsu Haruka, and Hayami Saori were the voice actors for the main female characters in Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day.
However, in reality, only Hanazawa Kana was new to the cast. Tomatsu Haruka and Hayami Saori had voiced the same characters in the original Anohana from another timeline.
The male voice actors, Irino Miyu and Takahiro Sakurai, were also the same as in the original.
The reason Hanazawa Kana was chosen as the main character, instead of the original voice actor, wasn't because the original had visited that infamous shrine in another timeline. It was simply because, at this point in time, that voice actor hadn't even debuted yet.
Of course, even if she had debuted, Lin Zhiyan would likely have reconsidered. He was no longer the novice animation director who felt uneasy about using different voice actors and worried about the project's failure.
He felt no pressure at all when it came to replacing a voice actor for a character.
If he specifically requested a voice actor for the audition and that actor threw a tantrum, he would immediately replace them without hesitation, without worrying about the consequences.
It wasn't just the voice actors. While referencing the original, he had also redesigned the character designs and overall art style of the animation, aiming for a more comfortable visual experience for the audience.
He handled the lighting and shadows based on the original but interpreted them through his own lens.
Moreover, he fixed some of the original's obvious plot holes. While the animation wouldn't be flawless, it would at least avoid glaring logical inconsistencies.
That said, these fixes to minor plot holes were currently limited to the storyboards and scripts. Early March was still a long way off. Even with Lin Zhiyan's usual high production efficiency, only the work for the first two episodes was nearly complete before voice recording; the rest of the content was still far from being finished.
For the sound director of the new animation, Lin Zhiyan, as always, chose Wakabayashi Kazuhiro.
With just a few minutes left before the official voice recording at 10 AM, Wakabayashi Kazuhiro sat in his swivel chair, reviewing some documents. Suddenly, he turned to Lin Zhiyan and said, "I hadn't noticed this before, but for this new animation, the voice actors for the three main female characters are still in high school—one is a sophomore, another a junior about to graduate. The third just graduated last year. Mr. Hayashi, have you recently developed a preference for high school voice actors?"
Hanazawa Kana, Tomatsu Haruka, and Hayami Saori were born in consecutive years: 1989, 1990, and 1991.
In another timeline, the original Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day aired in 2011. By then, Tomatsu Haruka and Hayami Saori had long since graduated high school. But it was now 2008, and including Hanazawa Kana, the voice actors for these female characters were either still in high school or had graduated just a year prior.
In short, they were all still too young.
Considering that for the 2006 Puella Magi Madoka Magica, they had chosen Aoi Yūki—who was still in middle school—as the main character's voice actor, one couldn't help but wonder if Lin Zhiyan had developed a preference for casting middle and high school girls as voice actors.
Of course, only Wakabayashi Kazuhiro, who had worked with Lin Zhiyan for years, would dare to say such a thing. Anyone else, even if they harbored such suspicions, would be hesitant to voice them in front of Lin Zhiyan, even in jest. They'd think twice about it.
Lin Zhiyan hadn't anticipated that his decision to simplify things would lead to suspicions that he was romantically involved with middle and high school voice actresses. Fortunately, Mayumi, who was now mostly off the production side and not around to get jealous, was absent.
He paused for a moment, then quickly responded with a playful tone, "The main characters in anime are always high school students. If possible, choosing voice actresses from high school would be ideal. It's not about being 'in love'—it's more like they'd be the ones falling for me."
If he could choose high school students, why not?
Aren't JK voice actresses just... irresistible?
Although their academic commitments might limit their availability for certain events, a cast of all-JK voice actresses could spark significant discussion and attract additional attention.
There was plenty of room for maneuver.
Unfortunately, there weren't many JK voice actresses capable of playing the main character role in high school.
Aoi Yūki, the voice actress for the previous anime's female lead, would have been suitable, but Lin Zhiyan didn't want to use any voice actors from Puella Magi Madoka Magica this time, to avoid any potential associations.
Among the other JK voice actresses with the necessary ability, some couldn't participate because Lin Zhiyan hadn't specifically requested them or couldn't arrange their schedules, while others simply didn't have the right voice. In the end, they had to cast Hanazawa Kana, who had already graduated from high school, as the female lead.
Wakabayashi Kazuhiro had only made the suggestion casually, but upon hearing Lin Zhiyan's response, he immediately laughed and said, "Oh, I see... I thought you had developed a fondness for middle and high school female voice actors and was wondering if major agencies might start focusing more on training them in the future."
"Is it really that exaggerated?" Lin Zhiyan asked, torn between amusement and exasperation.
"If you're not afraid, you could try spreading a rumor that you, Lin Zhiyan, have a preference for middle and high school female voice actors and see how the major agencies react," Wakabayashi Kazuhiro suggested.
"No way. My reputation is already in the gutter. I don't need to be branded as a perverted director who likes middle and high school voice actresses." Lin Zhiyan refused without hesitation.
"Hmm? Mr. Hayashi actually cares about his reputation?" Wakabayashi Kazuhiro seemed genuinely surprised.
"Shouldn't I?" Lin Zhiyan retorted.
Wakabayashi Kazuhiro was silent for two seconds before saying, "But... if things continue on this path, I think your reputation will become even worse after Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day airs. Besides, what's wrong with liking middle and high school voice actresses? It's perfectly normal, isn't it?"
As soon as he said this, the other staff members in the studio couldn't help but nod in agreement.
Lin Zhiyan's mouth twitched slightly.
After Anohana *airs, my reputation will be so bad it'll be worse than a pervert's?
To reach this level as a director... that's something else.
Fortunately, he wasn't that concerned about his reputation. Otherwise, he wouldn't have chosen Anohana for the New Animation.
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