Inside the sound studio, sound director Nobuhiro Wakabayashi pressed the button to end the recording. "Alright, that's it for Part B. I'm good to go. Anyone else have any issues?"
In the recording room, the voice actors for Puella Magi Madoka Magica exchanged glances, but no one spoke.
Wakabayashi immediately added, "Since there are no issues, that concludes the post-recording for all twelve episodes of Puella Magi Madoka Magica. Thank you for your hard work."
The anime had only aired eight episodes so far, but recording typically began a month in advance. It would be impossible to start recording the week before broadcast; at most, if any problems arose, relevant personnel would be brought in for reshoots later.
After the session, the voice actors began to file out of the recording room.
"Thank you for your hard work," Lin Zhiyan said as he stood up. He began handing out bouquets of flowers he had bought beforehand to each of the voice actors.
"Thank you, Mr. Hayashi. Thank you, everyone."
The voice actors accepted the flowers, expressed their gratitude, and shared brief thoughts like "It was fun," "I'll miss this," and "I wish it was a half-year series." Finally, they presented Lin Zhiyan, the Supervising Director, with a single bouquet of flowers they had purchased together.
This is what they mean by "sense of ritual."
After that, it was time for the celebration party.
In a private room at a Japanese restaurant, the voice actors who had worked on the Puella Magi Madoka Magica dub, along with the staff from the sound studio and the recording supervisors from L.S Produ, gathered to eat and drink.
"This anime is truly incredible," Saito Chiwa, the voice of Homura Akemi, said with emotion. "I never thought a Magical Girl anime could become such a phenomenon."
Aoi Yūki, the voice of the Main Character, was still in middle school and couldn't drink alcohol, so she stuck to soft drinks.
She raised her glass of beverage, took a sip, and wore a look of utter helplessness. "It really is amazing, but I never expected the Main Character to become a magical girl so late. If I'd known, I should have auditioned for a different role."
In truth, her real name was Aoi Yabuzaki. In another timeline, she wouldn't have adopted the stage name "Aoi Yūki" until her first year of high school in 2007.
In this timeline, however, due to some minor butterfly effect, she had already begun using the stage name "Aoi Yūki" upon entering middle school.
As for why she auditioned for the role of the main character in Puella Magi Madoka Magica, it was mainly because she loved magical girl anime and because Lin Zhiyan, a renowned figure in the animation industry, was the supervising director. She thought, "Why not give it a try? If I get the part, great; if not, it's no big deal. At least I'll get to meet the handsome and famous director, Lin Zhiyan."
What she didn't expect was that Lin Zhiyan would immediately take a liking to her and cast her as the main character's voice actor. Even less did she expect that the anime, titled Puella Magi Madoka Magica, would reach its finale before the protagonist, Madoka, actually became a magical girl.
This is so bizarre.
By the time the eighth episode aired, online discussions were already buzzing about Puella Magi Madoka Madoka Magica setting a strange record: "Eight full episodes, and the main character still hasn't become a magical girl!" Some were even placing bets on which episode Madoka would finally transform.
In short, it was utterly absurd.
Hearing Aoi Yūki's complaint, Lin Zhiyan smiled but remained silent.
Even if she had auditioned for a different role, she still would have had to be selected for that role first.
The truth was, the voice actors for the other characters in this anime had already been decided internally. Only the main character's voice actor remained undecided because Lin Zhiyan felt too embarrassed to ask a middle schooler to audition.
Even if Aoi Yūki hadn't been auditioning for the Main Character role initially, Lin Zhiyan would have still insisted she audition for it.
Unless Aoi Yūki herself proved unworthy, she would have been the Main Character's voice actor regardless.
There was no need to discuss this openly; Lin Zhiyan was perfectly clear on his own stance.
He picked up his chopsticks, took a bite of food, and turned to Aoi Yūki across the table. "Aoi-chan, are you going to high school next year?"
"If nothing changes, yes," Aoi Yūki nodded.
"Then you'll need to focus on your studies during this final year. But don't forget Madoka's voice—there's a new theatrical film coming out, probably next year. You'll need to voice her for that one too, even after you start high school," Lin Zhiyan revealed.
"Huh? There's another theatrical film?" Aoi Yūki was genuinely surprised.
The other voice actors couldn't help but glance at Lin Zhiyan, equally astonished.
Lin Zhiyan nodded. "Yes, but the specific plans haven't been finalized yet. For now, don't leak anything to the public. Once everything is confirmed, we'll notify everyone to reserve their schedules."
"Yay!"
The voice actors present erupted in cheers, one after another, raising their glasses to toast Lin Zhiyan.
But someone soon realized something was amiss. "Mr. Lin, will the new theatrical film take place before or after the TV series ends? Will characters who didn't get revived at the end still have roles?"
The speaker was Kitamura Eri, the voice actress for Sayaka Miki.
Regardless of whether the new theatrical film's timeline was before or after the TV series ended, most of the other characters would likely have roles. Sayaka's fate was uncertain, which was why Kitamura couldn't help but ask.
Lin Zhiyan had no intention of revealing much. He simply smiled and said, "The main character will have a significant role, and Sayaka, whom you voice, will definitely have one too. Homura Akemi, Mami, Kyoko, and Kyubey will all be there. Don't worry."
"That's a relief," Kitamura Eri said, secretly exhaling.
The voice actors then couldn't help but start discussing:
"What kind of story do you think it'll be? I'm so excited!"
"You know, that scene in the final episode—was that a hint? It felt like it was setting up the theatrical film."
"The TV series was such a huge hit. The theatrical film will definitely be a box office success, right?"
"Absolutely."
"Ah, I can't imagine a plot that would bring all five of them back together."
"A story you can't imagine is the most exciting kind!"
"Exactly. If the major plot points of the TV series had been easy to guess, this anime wouldn't have become so phenomenal."
Lin Zhiyan didn't participate in the discussion. Partly because he didn't want to spoil anything, and partly because he'd just said the specific plans for the new theatrical film hadn't been finalized. If he now spoke with such certainty, it would give the impression that he already knew the entire plot of the new film like the back of his hand. While this wouldn't necessarily arouse suspicion among those present, it would still create a sense of inconsistency.
He quietly ate and drank, occasionally chatting with Nanase Mayumi beside him. When the celebration ended late, he didn't go back to the office. Instead, he went straight home with Nanase Mayumi.
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