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HELIO SCANS
[Translator - Hestia]
[Proofreader - Kaya]
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Chapter 43: Drama CD Announcement
Hasegawa Kanna.
Just a few years ago, she wore the crown in the fierce world of child actors, her name lighting up the scene like fireworks—at least, according to her.
Now? Her popularity’s cooled a little, her career hit a bit of a lull.
But lately, she's riding a wave again—one she claims is practically a return to her golden days.
Kanna beamed at me with a lively grin.
“Let’s do our best today!”
“Yes, looking forward to working with you.”
Thanks to the mask pulled tight over my face and a hat jammed low on my head, Kanna didn’t seem to recognize me.
If she had noticed, there’d have been at least a flicker of tension in her expression—but nope. Nothing.
That alone made the discomfort of the mask and hat worth it.
I replied in a voice a touch more formal than usual, just to be safe.
“You’re our secret weapon for today’s recording, Kanna-chan. Counting on you.”
“Got it! I’ll give it my all!”
Kanna gave a cheerful nod, clenching her fists with determination.
Mmm. Yeah, if she’d recognized me, there’s no way she’d be flashing that bubbly smile right now.
Of course, she wasn’t cast as the heroine this time.
Now, I’m not a voice acting expert, but this drama CD script? It’s tough.
I worked with her before, back during the 'D Note' CD production.
Her voice acting skills weren’t bad—solid, even—but for a heroine role, she came up a bit short.
“As Enju-sensei mentioned, Kanna-chan’s casting won’t be announced until the very end, unlike the others. It’s confidential, so please keep it under wraps for now.”
Said Utahara, who had just finished greeting the lead voice actors.
“Don’t worry. Even if I’m dying to say it, I’ll keep my mouth shut.”
Kanna replied with a silly little laugh, one that felt a lot more age-appropriate than usual.
Maybe it’s part of her act on set—playing the innocent, sweet junior.
Still, with her natural charm, that goofy smile didn’t just work on men; even Utahara, another woman, seemed caught off guard, awkwardly turning her gaze away with a light cough.
[TL/N: Surprise! Turns out Utahara’s a woman. It wasn’t clarified before, so I've been out here slapping male pronouns on her. My bad—plot twist unlocked!]
We all exchanged a few pleasantries, settled into our spots, and started the script reading.
“Okay, first scene—let’s begin with the heroine confronting the protagonist outside the classroom.”
The acting played out before me, Utahara, and a few staff members.
On the monitors in front of the voice actors, the video Utahara and I had worked on was playing.
Even with the slightly chaotic energy of the room, the actors nailed their performances, each sounding like they had become their characters.
“Is it normal to hire such big-name voice actors for a drama CD?”
In anime, the roles are usually locked in, so casting’s easier to predict.
But with this being a drama CD debut for these characters, getting a lineup of seasoned pros is rare—not to mention expensive.
Mitami smirked as she answered.
“Our director’s kind of a big deal in the industry. People in the know pay attention when a promising director is involved. Sometimes investing now pays off big later, you know?”
“Ah, I see.”
Actually, Sanae from Field Scroll told me something similar.
Maybe I wasn’t famous yet, but even then, word was getting around quietly.
“Of course, it’s not just thanks to our director. Enju-sensei, your name holds weight, too—though you might not realize it,”
Mitami added with a smile.
“I appreciate that, but really, there’s no need to flatter me.”
Mitami muttered something like "No, I mean it," but I tuned back into the actors’ performances.
Most of the direction came from Utahara, with me occasionally chiming in with a comment or two.
Kanna, however, needed more feedback than the others—she diligently jotted down notes and had several back-and-forths with Utahara.
“Good work today!”
Thus, the script reading and rehearsal wrapped up without a hitch.
All that was left was the real recording session, scheduled for three days later.
“Thank you for your hard work!”
Kanna went around to each staff member, greeting them politely, and then made her way over to me with a bow.
I straightened up and was just about to return the courtesy in my usual formal tone—
“Kanna-chan, you did a great jo—”
“I’ll be waiting. Come outside after this.”
Her voice was quiet—just loud enough for me to hear.
Kanna walked off, quick little steps, heading toward Utahara with that same radiant smile plastered across her face.
That smile... and those words?
A cold shiver ran down my spine. I started organizing the script papers, trying to calm myself.
...How the hell did she figure it out?
＊ ＊ ＊
"Did you seriously think I wouldn’t find out?"
Kanna let out a deep, exasperated sigh, continuing her rant.
"You forgot you were dressed the exact same way during 'D Note', the whole time?"
“Ah…”
At Jung Junhyuk’s laid-back response, a vein visibly twitched on Kanna’s forehead.
"And like, if we were gonna run into each other on set, couldn’t you at least say something?"
"I only found out today."
“…What?”
They were walking side by side toward the station, heading to catch their respective trains home.
At Junhyuk’s reply, Kanna stopped dead in her tracks, completely stunned.
"You weren’t the one who recommended me?"
"Nope. Mitami brought you in herself, and said she found someone who matched the character perfectly."
At that, Kanna’s face twisted into a weird, tangled mess of emotions.
"…Still, they had to have asked the original author for input. You didn’t say anything?"
"I was so caught up in the work, I must’ve just given a half-assed answer."
“……”
Kanna’s expression grew even more conflicted.
Sure, she was happy she’d earned the role on her own merit.
But the fact that, when asked about voice actors, ‘he’ hadn’t mentioned her at all… stung, for some reason.
“…You didn’t think of me?”
She muttered it like she was grumbling, trying to play it cool.
Junhyuk gave a nod and answered.
“I did.”
A flush of color returned to Kanna’s face.
“When I heard there was a voice rehearsal today.”
And just like that, her expression curdled.
“You know what? Just keep your mouth shut from now on. Every time you open it, it gives me a damn headache.”
Thunk.
Kanna smacked her head into Junhyuk’s back, then stomped ahead toward the station, fuming.
＊ ＊ ＊
"Should we even call this an anime… or is it more of a drama CD?"
At the lead voice actor’s comment as they stepped into the recording booth, Mitami—standing nearby—nodded in agreement.
"Right? But because of that, isn’t this way easier than your typical anime recording?"
"It’s so easy I’m wondering if it’s even allowed to be this easy."
Usually, voice acting is done while watching a storyboard or animation of the scene.
Drama CDs, on the other hand, are mostly recorded with just the script, relying on the voice actors to capture the feel of the original work.
But in this case, since the video had already been completed, the voice actors found it much easier to match their performances.
"That said, our director has pretty high standards, so give it your all."
"Of course."
"After everything that’s been done to set this up, messing up’s not an option."
The actors laughed at Mitami’s comment, and the room warmed with that easy, cheerful atmosphere as the recording session got underway.
During rehearsals, the actors had stumbled a bit with the rapid-fire dialogue that’s characteristic of 'Monogatari'.
But now, during the main recording, it was like night and day—they nailed their lines with confidence.
The session rolled on smoothly, and before anyone noticed, it was Kanna’s turn.
She took a deep breath and headed toward the booth.
"Kanna."
She turned her head at the sound of a familiar voice.
Junhyuk had walked up to her, pulling down his mask slightly and silently mouthing a message:
"You’ve got this. I know you can do it."
Just enough for her to see.
Reading his lips, Kanna abruptly turned away—partly out of pride, because that one quiet sentence had somehow smoothed over the lingering irritation she’d been feeling.
Still, the tension eased. Kanna collected herself and entered the booth, calm and composed.
She worked through the lines, drawing on the script she’d gone over again and again, and keeping in mind all of Director Utahara’s feedback from rehearsals.
- Great, Kanna. Everything we talked about in rehearsal has improved. Just keep in mind this part’s a little faster in tempo.
"Got it!"
Under Utahara’s direction, the recording wrapped up efficiently and cleanly.
Depending on scheduling, voice actors sometimes record separately.
But this time, they’d all been able to come in together, which made syncing up the performances way easier.
"Now it’s our turn, huh?"
At Utahara’s comment, Junhyuk chuckled.
"This is your domain, Director. I’m just your assistant."
What was left were the finishing touches—sound cleanup, editing the voice clips, and adding in the remaining cuts to the video.
There was still a fair bit to do, but with Utahara’s fast pace and Junhyuk supporting her, the whole process zipped along.
The rest of the staff kept everything moving smoothly, tying up all the loose ends.
Thanks to that, the drama CD production came to a successful close.
"You should draw one of the character illustrations in your own style too, Director."
Someone suggested.
"You think so? What if people end up liking my art more than the author’s?"
Utahara said it jokingly, and Junhyuk laughed as he replied.
"In that case, you’ll just have to direct the anime version of 'Monogatari' yourself."
Utahara blinked, surprised—then burst into laughter.
"Wouldn’t that be something? Working with Enju-sensei on this project felt like finding an oasis in the middle of a desert."
She rolled her shoulders, loosening up, and reached out to shake Junhyuk’s hand.
"It’s been a while since I worked on a project that had this much soul. Thank you."
"No, really—it’s me who should be thanking you. I owe you a lot. And everyone else too, great work."
The staff around them clapped lightly as the two exchanged a handshake.
"We’re not done yet, you know. The real challenge is still ahead—distribution and marketing."
Mitami stepped forward, taking the lead as things wound down.
"We’ll give it everything we’ve got on our end. We’re counting on you too, Sensei."
Junhyuk nodded in reply.
"I’ll do my best. Just… if it doesn’t blow up, don’t hold it too hard against me."
＊ ＊ ＊
Lately, things had been a little quiet on Enju’s front.
Not completely silent—Enju was still occasionally posting comics on Twitter—but the frequency had noticeably dropped.
[Anyone know what Enju’s up to these days?]
Posts on social media have slowed down, and compared to before, there’s barely any news. Did they quit creating altogether?
ᄂNatsuComi’s coming up soon, right? Probably charging up for that.
ᄂBelieve, and the update will come.
ᄂStill, it’s kinda worrying—lots of doujin artists disappear like this.
ᄂYeah, since doujin creators don’t have formal contracts, it IS kinda scary…
Unlike creators under contract with a publisher, who are obligated to continue producing work, doujin artists operate independently—free to pause or resume at will.
So when a beloved creator suddenly goes silent after releasing something great, fans are the ones left suffering.
As the internet and SNS began to fill with unease and speculation…
[Enju’s back! Personal website just went live!]
Full version of 'Monogatari' now available for a limited time!
Also includes a video of select parts from the 'Monogatari' drama CD!
('Monogatari' full version link)
('Monogatari' drama CD link)
ᄂ?
ᄂ??
Once again, it looked like NatsuComi was about to shake things up.
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HELIO SCANS
[Translator - Hestia]
[Proofreader - Kaya]
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