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「自己管理」 (Jiko Kanri)
“Self Care”
I suppose it was inevitable that Sore ga Seiyuu! would eventually veer into idol anime territory, considering the intersection of the two industries. This is not a bad thing, per se—it’s simply that there’s already been quite a few of those and Sore ga Seiyuu! has little to distinguish itself by if it’s just going to be another idol anime. If you’ve watched any of them, you’ll likely have seen all of this before.
Thankfully for us, Sore ga Seiyuu is not just an idol anime, and is still dedicated to portraying a rather realistic-feeling portrayal of the mundane trials and tribulations of, anime-stylings aside, normal people in a tough line of work (not that there’s many lines of work that aren’t tough in their own special ways). This week, for example: screaming until you’re hoarse. It’s an occupational hazard that I can personally empathise. Honey’s great, but nothing really helps once your voice actually goes. There’s really no substitute for not screeching so damn much, but I suppose Boy A is just one of those roles where it’s all shouting, all the time. It does make me conscious of the fact that, in anime, people shout a lot.
The various self-harm that seiyuu to themselves (including, apparently, suffocation and drowning) is not really the main thrust of the episode, though; it was more a device to emphasise, as Sore ga Seiyuu! likes to do, the determination and preserverence needed in pursuing one’s dreams. And, as usual, we have a guest star, the impeccable Shiraishi Ryouko (though she was hardly the only cameo) to teach that lesson. While she’s known for many types of roles, her most significant one in this contest is made fairly obvious (and now the self-reference circle is complete); perhaps she was a mentor to the writer of the Sore ga Seiyuu! manga Asano Masumi as well. Personally, though, I still remember her as Macaron from Amagi Brilliant Park so I giggled needlessly the entire time. She’s not here for comic relief or just a walk-on cameo though; like Horie Yui previously, Shiraishi Ryouko is a actually a significant character in this episode, playing a large part in Futaba’s continued growth. So Ichigo got Horie Yui, Rin got Kamiya Hiroshi last episode, and now Futaba gets Shiraishi Ryouko. It’s pretty apt, especially if you consider Futaba to be the author’s projection of herself.
Curiously, Futaba only gets half an episode for this mentor moment, perhaps because she’s already had her big episode earlier. She’s gotten through a big epiphany moment, so this one is only to very briefly address the inferiority complex she feels about being the odd one out in EARPHONES alongside two rising stars. The rest of the episode was the struggling-idol fare and some usual hijinks. I was actually expecting ‘fill 500 seats’ to be the last big conflict of the story, but I guess they felt like they needed to throw in one more. Oh dear, she’s hurt her leg. Now I guess they need to put her down and turn her into glue. What a terrible shame.
Preview
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…Sore ga Seiyuu is actually referring to its own universe as a fictional setting while still retaining the fourth wall. That’s a bit trippy.
Oh come now, no need to break out the sarcasm. A fall like that is serious business. Especially for anyone who’s going to be doing live performances or any sort of significant physical activity, but even if that wasn’t the case, that kind of accident is capable of causing permanent injury.
Forget the tropes and the cynicism for a bit: for Ichigo this is serious. Her dream for her future is on the line here. You should not brush that off casually, regardless of whether you’ve seen this sort of drama play out in other series before.
I actually do think it’s pretty serious. Do you ever wonder what happens to, oh let’s say, the young figure skater who screws up her triple axle and takes a tumble? Part of me really fears that her coaches treat her like a racehorse, or at least, ships her to Siberia.
I was a little confused by that too. In Sore ga Seiyuu, which is set in the Hayate no Gotoku universe, Hayate no Gotoku also exists as an anime. I almost thought for a second Hayate might have sold the rights to his story to some animation studio. Then again in this universe, real life seiyuus exist too. I’ll just forget about it. It’s still a great series.
Just because they sing, dance and sell CD doesn’t mean that they are idol. Seiyuu have wide range of jobs after all.
I wish idol show would portray the industry as real as this show does. WUG was terrible and other idol show focus on their characters story instead of realism.
15 years ago having voice actor sing might be unusual, but now they are expected to be able to sing, thanks to Nana Mizuki. Not a bad thing really, because these live performances and event gave them big paycheck they apparently need.
I kinda wanted them to show how much they actually got paid, but then that might be hitting too close to home.
Anyway, check out this article. It might gave you some idea what’s gonna happen to Ichigo.
https://seiyuuplus.wordpress.com/2015/04/13/64-seiyuu-idoling-drops/
I didn’t know this so thank you for that!
Not sure if anyone has noticed but the director in the first half is played the nyanderful Mr Nakata Jouji. Folks who’ve followed Log Horizon would probably spot him using his milder aka Nyanta-ish voice here =3
Could someone tel me what this butler anime is, though? Because I legitimately have no idea.
Haven’t seen the episode yet, but it’s Hayate no Gotoku. Hata-sensei, who is one of the co-creators of the source material, writes and draws that series as well. It’s the one that made him famous.
The funniest thing about the Aice5 cameo is the pains they took to get Takahashi Chiaki’s physical assets and dressing style correct 😀 She’s the one on the right-most in the screen cap of the concert as well as the poster
And I wonder if the cough drops is an insider joke about the unit called Drops that Shiraishi Ryouko used to be in