Tokyo Animation Studio Headquarters, Elffire City.
As soon as Theo arrived, he came to Ryoko's office, there were some things that the two of them had to talk about, especially because the studio scheduled a short holiday for the employees at the beginning of January.
"How is everything?" Theo asked after he greeted Ryoko.
"I was on a call with Rio just a few moments before you entered. They processed all the footage from Saturday's audition. She already sent me the files. We can rewatch the ones that attracted our interest and decide which ones will make the final selection." Ryoko replied with a light smile on her face.
She had a such great time at Theo's party yesterday!
Ryoko now could say with certainty that her heavy workload was taking a toll on her, but after spending a fun day with her new friends and eating delicious food, she was ready to come back to work at full speed.
"What are we waiting for then? Let's finish this." Theo smiled.
"Let's go then." Ryoko replied as she turned on the projector in her office and played the first video on the big screen.
Just like that, the two of them spent the next two deciding which actors would play who in the SAO Anime. They already knew who would get the lead roles, but the supporting cast was equally important.
"What about Ozawa Nana?" Ryoko asked as they reviewed the supporting cast.
Theo became thoughtful when he heard her question.
Ozawa Nana was the girl who had Naruto's voice, so he needed to hire her into his studio.
But differently from the other voice actors who would only be hired for the production of the SAO Anime, Theo wanted to hire Nana with a long-term contract.
After all, it would take years to finish the production of all 700 episodes of Naruto and uncountable movies.
And he planned to give her the best salary in the industry and give her the best treatment as he could not afford her absence midway through the production. This way he could guarantee that no one would be able to tempt her out of his company.
"How about we get her a minor supporting role in the SAO Anime? And when she gets to the studio in Sakura City, Rio can propose to her the lead role of our next anime. Rio can explain all details and perks of becoming our lead actress." Theo proposed with a thoughtful look on his face.
"From what I did read on her resumé, it seems like she had just graduated from high school and she did not in the anime industry before. It's highly probable that she will accept the proposition, especially with all the perks she will get." Ryoko added.
She was aware of the long-term contract with a high salary that Theo would give Nana, and she had to admit that Nana would become one most highly-paid voice actors in the anime industry with the money she would receive.
Ryoko did not question the contract as it was Theo's money anyway, plus she had extreme confidence in Theo's decisions.
Shortly later, Theo and Ryoko had the final list of the cast of the SAO Anime.
After getting the list of names, Ryoko promptly sent it to Rio at Sakura City.
As the head manager of the Sakura City Branch Studio, it was her job to contact the voice actors and have them sign the contract.
After Theo and Ryoko finished their job, they went to do different things.
Ryoko had to contact some studios about the rights to some animes for the streaming service. While Theo decided to visit the Art Department.
While the production was going at full speed in the studio headquarters, at the branch studio Rio had just received Ryoko's mail with the cast name list.
She immediately put her subordinates to work and told them to contact everyone on the list.
The voice actors should come to the studio until tomorrow to sign their contracts.
And among one of these calls destinations, there was a 17-year-old girl named Nana.
It was 11 am on Monday morning and she was working as a cashier at a grocery store.
Some weeks ago at a time like this, she would be at school, but ever since she graduated, she decided to work in the mornings too. She had voice acting lessons to pay for and her parents to help, and she did care if she had to work more for it.
She was already used to working on these jobs, and she did not complain about it. After all, it was her choice to become a voice actress and not pursue a normal job. And it was with these jobs that she was able to work toward her dream to become a famous voice actress.
The morning of December 28th was a morning without many customers, Nana's manager allowed her to use the cell phone or read books when there were no clients in the store, and it was exactly what she was doing.
She was reading and studying a book from her voice acting class to pass the time when she felt her cell phone vibrating in her jeans pocket.
Nana was a little confused when she saw the unknown number calling her, but she still answered the call.
"Hello?" Nana said with uncertainty.
"Hello! Am I talking with Ozawa Nana?" The girl on the phone asked in a polite voice.
"Yes, this is her." Nana replied with a confused face.
"Good morning, Ozawa-san! My name is Megan and I'm from the Tokyo Animation Studio, and we are calling to inform you that after analyzing your audition with us, we decided to hire you for a supporting role in our next anime production." The girl dropped the bomb.
Nana froze in place as she heard those words.
How uncanny was it that a set of words could completely offset a person?
Nana went through a lot throughout the years.
The difficulty of pursuing her dreams, working her ass off to help her parents, the bullying from her classmates, and so many rejections.
But not even once did Nana shed one tear, even when she received her first rejection or when she had to leave the voice acting lessons because she did not have money to pay for that month.
But at the moment that she finally was selected to work in an anime production, all the tears she held back over the years seemed to come out of her eyes.
A river of tears strolled down her cheeks, but they were happy tears.
"Am I really one of the voice actors on the list? You are not wrong, right?" Nana managed to ask in a small voice as she fought to speak through the tears.
She was afraid that everything was a dream or a prank.
"Of course, I'm right, Ozawa-san!" Megan replied with a comforting voice as she noticed that Nana was crying.
"You have until tomorrow to come to the studio to sign the contract. The sooner the better!" Megan informed.
Shortly after, the call was over and Nana never felt so good.
Her dream was coming true!
She would go to the studio that same day!
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