Female protagonists from various anime/manga crossovers? They'll all regret it for the rest of

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Once she embarks on the path of becoming an idol, how much time and energy will she have left to purely hone her acting skills?

Once she gets used to the adoration and cheers of her fans, will she still be able to calm down and experience the joys and sorrows of an ordinary character?

She was afraid that she would lose her original direction in the torrent of fame and fortune, and forget why she started in the first place.

That night, she suffered from insomnia again.

She tossed and turned, her mind a jumbled mess.

She subconsciously opened her email and looked at the notes Mr. X had written to her over and over again.

Become a unique star.

Find your own soul within that sound.

Mr. X hopes to see either a shining idol, Nanami Aoyama, on stage, or a voice actress, Nanami Aoyama, who creates countless classic characters in front of the microphone.

She thought it was the latter.

But how could she refuse the company's arrangements? How could she go against the trend of the entire industry?

She felt very confused.

In her confusion, a name came to mind.

Perhaps... he can give me some guidance?

……

Volume 1: Chapter 125: Graduation Ceremony and the Eve of the Voice Actor Awards

Aoyama Nanami arrived in front of the Asuka Film Building.

She straightened her back and resolutely walked into the building.

At the front desk, she mustered her courage and explained her purpose.

The receptionist looked somewhat troubled: "Director Takahashi is busy and probably doesn't have time..."

"Please!" Nanami bowed deeply. "I only need five minutes, no, three minutes is enough! This is extremely important to me!"

Perhaps it was her sincerity that moved the other party, and the receptionist dialed the internal phone line.

A few minutes later, Takahashi's assistant came out and said to her in a businesslike manner, "Director Takahashi wants you to go up. He only has ten minutes to rest."

"Thank you! Thank you so much!" Nanami felt like she had won the lottery.

Walking into that familiar office, Shinsuke Takahashi was sitting behind a desk piled high with scripts and documents, rubbing his temples, his face full of fatigue and impatience.

"Speak, what is it?" He didn't even look up at her.

Nanami's palms were sweating with nervousness, but she remembered the purpose of her visit.

She explained the agency's proposal, as well as her confusion and struggles, in the simplest language possible.

After she finished speaking, the office fell into a long silence.

Shinsuke Takahashi finally raised his head, his sharp eyes seeming to pierce through people's hearts.

“Idol voice actor.” He slowly uttered these four words. “Every year, countless newcomers like you are captivated by this rosy picture. They think it’s a shortcut, but in reality, it’s a dead end.”

He stood up, walked to the window, and looked down at the bustling traffic below.

“I have seen too many talented young people embark on this path. At first, they gain fame and fortune and enjoy great success. But soon, their time is filled with various announcements and events, and they no longer have the energy to study scripts or hone their voices.”

"Their performances have become formulaic, full of cheap techniques, but have lost the most important thing—soul."

“As their ‘idol aura’ fades with age, and younger, more beautiful newcomers emerge, they will be ruthlessly abandoned by the market.”

"By then, they wanted to come back as pure actors, but found that they had lost the ability to create characters. Their voices were empty shells and could no longer touch people's hearts."

He turned around and stared intently at Nanami.

"Aoyama, let me ask you, why did you want to become a voice actor in the first place? Was it to wave to thousands of fans on stage, or to breathe life into the characters in the recording studio?"

This question dispelled all the confusion in Nanami's mind.

She recalled the five-page character biography she had written for "Tsukuyomi," the moments in the recording studio where she repeatedly pondered over a single interjection, and the feeling of becoming one with the character when she shouted, "Where the moonlight reaches, all is annihilation."

That was her true passion, the source of all her efforts.

“The latter,” she answered without hesitation. “I want to become an actor who can breathe life into a character through their voice.”

For the first time, a look of almost approval appeared on Shinsuke Takahashi's face.

He didn't say anything more, he just waved his hand.

"Your ten minutes are up. Go back now. Think it through and then do it."

"Yes! Thank you very much, Director Takahashi!" Nanami bowed deeply, her gratitude beyond words.

She walked out of the office with incredibly light steps.

The gloom that had been hanging over my heart was swept away, and the road ahead had never been so clear.

……

……

With Shinsuke Takahashi's teachings and "Mr. X's" encouragement, Nanami Aoyama's heart had completely tipped to one side.

The next day, she took the initiative to contact her manager, Ms. Yamamoto, and helped schedule a meeting with the person in charge of the idol project.

The two parties agreed to meet in the brokerage firm's conference room.

Upon entering the conference room, Mr. Tanaka, the person in charge, was sitting in his seat with a smile.

"So, Ms. Aoyama? Have you made up your mind? The company's resources are all ready, just waiting for your nod."

“Yes, Mr. Tanaka, I have made my decision.” Nanami looked directly into his eyes. “I am very grateful for the company’s high regard for me and its plans for me, but I cannot accept this idolization proposal.”

Tanaka's smile froze; he almost thought he'd misheard. "What did you say? You won't accept it? Why?"

"Because my dream is to become a voice actress who performs with her voice, not an idol." Nanami clearly expressed her thoughts.

"I hope to dedicate all my time and energy to honing my voice acting skills and understanding the characters. I hope to go further and become a voice actor that audiences and the industry will remember for twenty or thirty years, rather than a fleeting star."

Tanaka's face darkened. He dropped his amiable mask, leaned forward, and his tone became somewhat authoritative.

"Qingshan, aren't you being too idealistic? You're still a newcomer. Do you even know what the industry is like? Do you understand what business operations are? The company is investing in you, not so you can pursue some vague artistic dream! Your current popularity is thanks to the company's marketing efforts. Without the company's promotion, you're nothing!"

His words were like a bucket of cold water, but they did not extinguish the flames in Nanami's heart; instead, they made her even more sober.

“I understand that the company needs to give back, and I am very grateful for the opportunities the company has given me. Therefore, I will work harder to participate in auditions, strive for every role, and use my professional skills to create value for the company.”

"I believe that the long-term value of a talented voice actor will never be lower than that of a hastily made idol."

"You..." Tanaka was speechless at her words, which were neither humble nor arrogant.

He never expected that this seemingly docile newcomer would be so stubborn at heart.

He changed his strategy and started playing the emotional card.

"Nanami, you're still young. You don't know how difficult this path is. How many talented people struggle at the bottom their whole lives? Idolization is a shortcut that can save you ten years of hard work."

"I know about your family situation. Don't you want to succeed soon so your parents can live a better life?"

Nanami's heart trembled slightly at the mention of her parents.

But she quickly regained her composure.

It was precisely because she wanted to put her parents at ease that she chose a path that would allow her to go far and steadily.

"That's why I can't choose a path that seems glamorous but is actually full of risks. Mr. Tanaka, my decision will not change."

"I just want to be a pure voice actor."

The air in the conference room seemed to freeze.

Tanaka stared at her for a long time, then finally leaned back in his chair in frustration, his face full of disappointment and displeasure.

"Fine, very well, Aoyama Nanami, you'll regret your decision today." He coldly tossed out those words. "The company will 'respect' your choice. As for your future work arrangements, wait for further notice."

……

In the following days, Nanami's life indeed returned to normal.

The agency didn't call, and some small jobs that had been arranged were told that the "projects were canceled."

She seemed to have truly been forgotten.

Instead of wallowing in self-pity, she used this time to throw herself even more intensely into studying and practicing.

She borrowed a lot of books on acting and vocalization from the library, practiced long-distance running every day to improve her breathing, and practiced her mouth shape and expressions in front of the mirror.

She transformed the pressure of being rejected as an idol project proposal into motivation for self-improvement.

Just when she thought this kind of life would continue for a long time, an unexpected phone call came in.

It's Shinsuke Takahashi.

"Qingshan?" His signature cold, hard voice came from the other end of the phone.

"Yes, Director Takahashi!" Nanami immediately stood up straight, nervously gripping her phone.

"I heard you turned down the idol project from the agency."

“…Yes.” Nanami’s heart jumped into her throat.

There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the phone, followed by a soft snort: "At least you have some backbone. I have a new project, a major theatrical anime film from Asuka Pictures for the second half of the year. There's a character in it that I think you might want to give it a try."

"Come to my place for a public audition next Wednesday at 10 a.m. Memorize the script and don't embarrass yourself."

After saying that, he hung up the phone before Nanami could react.

Nanami stood there stunned for a full half minute before bursting into a huge cheer.

"I did it—!"

She was jumping and bouncing around the room with "Torajiro" in her arms.

Although it was just a public audition and she had to compete with other voice actors, she was confident in her abilities.

This was an opportunity she earned through her perseverance.

……

At the audition a week later, Nanami performed exceptionally well and was immediately accepted.

When the audition ended, Shinsuke Takahashi looked at her, his face still expressionless, but he said something that brought tears to her eyes.

"Congratulations on doing it, Aoyama Nanami."

……

Time flies by amidst busy dubbing work and studies, and in the blink of an eye, high school life is drawing to a close.

The sky was a clear blue on the day of the graduation ceremony.

Nanami, dressed in her crisp school uniform, sat in the auditorium.

Listening to the principal's lengthy speech and watching the graduate representative's speech on stage, her thoughts drifted back to three years ago.

She recalled how she was when she first arrived in Tokyo, speaking with a thick Kansai accent, filled with both anticipation and uncertainty about the future.

I recalled the embarrassing situation where, in order to save money, I could only drink water to stave off hunger at the end of the month.

I remembered countless nights in my apartment late at night, practicing standard Mandarin while crying.

I also recalled the ecstasy of receiving my first paycheck, the excitement of getting my first role, and the warmth I received from classmates, teachers, seniors, and "Mr. X".

Over the past three years, she has not only been pursuing her dream of becoming a voice actress, but also learning how to become an independent and strong adult.

After the ceremony, the students left messages in each other's yearbooks and hugged each other goodbye.

"Nanami, congratulations on graduating! You'll be a big star from now on, don't forget about us!"

"Go for it! We'll all be cheering for you on TV! (Repeated phrase: 究〇瘤咝V{〡I 〗qi捌〒er虾!)"

Faced with the blessings from his classmates, Nanami responded to each one with a smile, but his eyes were a little moist.

She said goodbye to her friends and teachers, and finally walked alone to the school gate.

She looked back and saw the afterglow of the setting sun shining on the teaching building, making everything seem so peaceful and beautiful.

This place holds the memories of her most innocent, most difficult, and most hardworking youth.