How Sony Will End Their 4-Years Crisis of Anime and Seiyuu Business Management, From Now until Next Year
Natsume Kokona of MusicRay'n Generation 3. Source: ミュージックレイン３期生 Official X (Twitter) Account
The first anime is deliberately continued, allegedly unilaterally, only for MusicRay’n’s MiClover, and the other is decided to be adapted when "resources" are abundant within Sony.
As you already read my article on this, you might already understand that I’m so concerned about what’s going on inside Sony Music Japan (especially ANIPLEX and MusicRay’n), since 2021, since 2 years ago. I remember that I had written this article for commenting SakugaBooru’s findings on the disaster of ANIPLEX, 2 years ago, especially around Wonder Egg Priority in CloverWorks, which was actually, made in the middle of MusicRay’n’s Idoly Pride and Sony Music Artists-sponsored SELECTION PROJECT.
What you might seen then is an unstable then. You might not forget that actually MusicRay’n was actually already auditioning its Generation 4, just several months after that disaster of ANIPLEX in 2021. Indeed, no one would have thought that when the audition was processed internally, Kanda Sayaka-san was pronounced dead on the evening of December 18, 2021 in Sapporo City, Hokkaido Prefecture. Not only that, the days when Kanda Sayaka-san was declared dead, were the crucial days for QualiArts of CyberAgent as the main company behind Idoly Pride’s production committe (especially, the first and second weeks of December), and Winter 2021 was also the airing season for SELECTION PROJECT.
A year later, you might know these all: Aikawa Kanata of MusicRay’n Generation 3 and Yano Hinaki of Sony Music Artists, both were getting Seiyuu Awards in 2022, also Mizuno Saku-san of Sony Music Artist gets casted for Bocchi The Rock (they are supposed to adapt this manga from the same publisher as Slow Start, Manga Time Kirara, as the successor of K-ON media-mix, a legendary one who is undoubtedly still relating to MusicRay’n, even until to Love Live series). Even, a year later, in 2023, you might still question why suddenly K-ON can get collaboration with Idoly Pride, just only by the pushes of Toyosaki Aki-san and Kotobuki Minako-san, with their own project for commemorating the close and demolish of Nakano Sun Plaza which is actually only supposed to be rebranded within its new hotel and concert hall, and featuring Aikawa Kanata (as Narumiya Suzu), as if there was nothing else before. But, you will also never doubt the facts the year 2023 is also not a bad year, overall. I have written this, especially around Hinata Moka, even before the decision to make her new MC for Second Shot’s GoRevo, in April 2023. Several days ago, Natsume Kokona completes her proof as a seiyuu when she was getting the second edition of Idoly Pride’s MoshiKoi, as Ibuki Nagisa, who might open the golden age of MusicRay’n Generation 3. Yet, seeing the amount of progress that Mizuno Saku has made, even Youmiya Hina, it’s easy to say, MusicRay’n Generation 3 is still lacking and even so late to complement the lacking.
Talking about MusicRay’n new auditions in 2021, you might remember that MusicRay’n was not only auditioning new Super Seiyuu talents, but also Utakatsu talents and new creators for them. From those auditions, they get Shiyui (シユイ), somei, and Kodama Hikari-san.
Shiyui made her debut in one of the Gundam series in Sunrise (Bandai Namco), Somei made her debut in an original anime “Bokura no Ame Iro Protocol” (僕らの雨いろプロトコル), considered as the first anime who tells the plot about e-Sport players and also casts Asakura Momo and Amamiya Sora of MusicRay’n Generation 2 (TrySail), and Kodama Hikari-san has actually 2 debuts, as a voice actress in Kizuna AI-sponsored anime “Kizuna no Aille,” which also casts Sony Music Artist’s Yano Hinaki when she also took responsibility for Nijigasaki’s 4-koma manga’s adaptation Nijiyon and new season of Uma Musume Pretty Derby anime, this year, and as an artist in the new season of Kanojo mo Kanojo (Girlfriend, Girlfriend) as the filler singer for the opening theme. This Kanojo mo Kanojo anime adaptation had already recruited Asakura Momo in the first season for singing the ending theme, Pinky Hook.
Contrary to MusicRay’n, Sony Music Artists can be said having a progress, yet actually there are still a lot of talents who are not as lucky as Yano Hinaki, Mizuno Saku-san, and even, Kusunoki Tomori. For example, Shirakawa Mizuna.
Approaching 2024, we received information that A-1 Pictures and CloverWorks will recruit many new staffs (I have also told about this here). We also got information that Kappe, one of the animators we once thought was an "enemy," had worked for Somei in one of the single editions of her theme in Bokura no Ame Iro Protocol anime. But our eyes suddenly get focused by this new ANIPLEX-Fuji TV’s project: Senpai wa Otokonoko.
When I saw this project for the first time, ANIPLEX had already released the Second Trailer for this anime. Understandably, I did boycott ANIPLEX Online Fest 2023 because of my statements to the scandals inside. But, what I have already seen, at least from the source material in the LINE Webtoon (yeah, this might be the easiest source material we can access), I can understand why ANIPLEX might adapt and produce this potential controversial story. Of course, ANIPLEX has already done Wonder Egg Priority before, and compared to this, Wonder Egg Priority in CloverWorks was harder. Apart from that, Yano Hinaki has actually teased when Wonder Egg Priority, that Sony’s seiyuus, either Sony Music Artists or MusicRay’n, can also improve their skills just like the other seiyuus from more proper agencies and schools, and she is the example with her low voice’s Sawaki Momoe in that Nippon TV-collaborated anime. If Yano can, so do Tachibana Mirai, Mizuno Saku, or even MusicRay’n senior, Takagaki Ayahi, and that’s the point of the casting in Senpai wa Otokonoko anime, especially around Hanaoka Makoto as the main “crossdressing” protagonist. (I can’t wait on the cast announcements and animation studio announcement of Senpai wa Otokonoko, even if they cast the others outside of Sony, like Takahashi Rie)
Looking at all this, I hope we no longer need to fight about what is and what will be for Sony’s seiyuus. I know, the crisis is still very much felt, especially in MusicRay’n Generation 3. But, it is also easier for me to see the future if the parties involved, including ANIPLEX, have still good deeds for them, as what I have already written here.
