Episode 3 of Cue! has finally aired and it revealed the results of the audition that the girls had to go through in the previous episode. Moreover, the episode also showed how each of them copes after finding who got the roles for the anime. A few behind-the-scenes of how directors choose which voice actor gets the part were also shown in the episode. Spoilers Ahead!
Audition Results
Before the audition results were announced to the girls, the episode first showed a meeting of the directors choosing the voice actors for the anime. The creator of the show wasn’t present at the meeting but she already has her list of the cast and it was relayed to the meeting. Of course, the final decision still has to go to the sound and casting directors, but most of them agreed on the creator’s decisions. In choosing who to cast, it’s best to have the opinion of the creator on how they envision the voice of their characters and it clearly shows on the episode that the directors took into account the choices of the creator.
In the previous episode review, I’ve talked about that despite there being plenty of roles in the anime that the girls could have a shot at voicing, some of them won’t be given a chance to. As a matter of fact, my predictions were indeed correct but I was more surprised that Maika, who was the first to audition and made a mistake, actually got the role she was dreaming of. With only 4 out of 16 girls who got a part to voice in the series, how will the other members of the agency deal with the situation? Time to find out! But before that, I’d like to talk about Haruna, who is one of the lucky few to get casted, first.
First Role as a Background Character
Unlike the others who qualified for the role, Haruna wasn’t announced to be part of the series until the end of the episode despite how her audition went. Some may find it funny though that in spite of her voicing a lot of different characters in the audition, she only landed a minor character which is Student A. Although this character isn’t actually the best at first glance, it’s nothing for sure to be laughed at. It’s important to note that a lot of prominent voice actors today started with minor roles, just as Haruna did. For instance, Maaya Uchida (Rikka Takanashi), Rie Takahashi (Emilia), and Natsuki Hanae (Tanjiro Kamado) are a few real voice actors who debuted as background characters. Will Haruna also tread the same path as them? Only the next episodes can tell.
Idol Debut
Going back to the part of the episode after the results were announced, Yuuki Tendou, one of the many who failed the auditions, immediately asks when the next one is going to be held. Yuuki’s determination was a sight to see until the president broke her spirits up by telling everyone that there won’t be any auditions for a while. However, there is a side project called “Project Vogel” that the agency is a part of. It’s an idol project by Ponypony Music (yes, this is a Pony Canyon reference). Yuuki and the rest weren’t thrilled with the announcement since there are some people in the industry who believe that this kind of work cannot be called proper voice acting. With few to no options left to continue pushing her voice acting career forward, Yuuki took the idol opportunity, and her reason had me in awe.
The main reason why Yuuki was in rush was that her father wants her to stop this “foolish” job and find a more “realistic” one. The fact that Yuuki’s situation is also present in real life nowadays is what made me understand her more. A voice-acting career is an incredibly risky one. Competition is fierce, opportunities are limited, and a clean public image is hard to maintain. Not to mention, the shady businesses lurking in the entertainment industry are also there. These factors often lead to the idea that voice acting isn’t a realistic career option since only a few can be successful. That is why it’s always best to strike the iron while it’s hot because you’ll never know if this is the breakthrough that every rookie desires. As for Yuuki, she saw this as an opportunity despite the mixed opinions about idols being voice actors. She’s not alone though as Chisa, Airi, and Yuzuha are interested to make their debut in the industry with her.
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Images via Bilibli
©CUE! Animation Project
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