I like this one... granted I like this genre, as the few I've seen are rather informative on the industry and personnel, but this one has a MC that is interesting. Most of them have good writing, pacing, editing etc... most of the characters are usually pretty well written, setup etc... but this one has an edge from the MC and her brother. Most of the others are written well, but rather typical. This MC has an edge.... cynical, stupid yet smart in her own way as a newbie with attitude or just not the usual smiley faced or stonefaced cynic of the others, which look and sound like many other characters... so many of these anime characters are written and voiced so similarly that they all merge together like a trope to me, which I guess they are, but it really doesn't take much to give a character something 'extra' that qualifies them to be unique, worthy of separating from the herd.. and this MC has that.... doesn't seem like much, as it's mostly attitude and enthusiasm, but not the typical smiley faced newbie enthusiasm that makes one seem like all the others.. something that's drawn to attention in this series. It's an open concept storyline, by the same writer, and it seems the manga/short story base was just character introduction, as the anime picks up from there essentially... so no limitations or no end in sight... if the ratings are high enough. Unlike that "Oregairu', which he did the original concept for, it seems he's actually writing this series himself... that other concept sounded typical HS based, which this isn't... thank god.
Yes, that sub-manager - which served a purpose of reminding our MC of her place in the game.... very low on the totem pole, is annoying, but so is our MC at times... like a mirror to her in a different way, that 'newbie' enthusiasm, only from a manager standpoint... wonder if he too, like her brother, was a wannabe VA, a failed one, or what? Otherwise, the last couple of episodes were rather well done... as our MC sunk into a funk of self-doubt, which we are led to believe her brother went through but gave up.... no one encouraging him as much as our MC here is... no or less support .... maybe they'll give more backstory on him in an later ep. But our MC's desire 'to be somebody' special... her own brand of delusional grandeur, picks her back up at the end.
In that manga, there's a sidenote( or thought of hers?) that there's about 300,000 VAs working or trying to work in the industry, but only about 300 actually making a living at it... so, pretty much like all the arts, acting, performing etc.
It seems this MC is essentially a reversal, having her play the usual' guys part in terms of attitude, sort of what''s happening in many fight genres... combined with the ability to play the cutesy girl when cued.... without going the usual love you/hate you route.... especially in HS.
With a real world setup - yes, there are actual adults living in her world
, there's more actual room to work with without going into fantasyland.
By the end, we have the usual setup of people, young and old, learning to deal with their situation the best they can... even our producer in his desire to win against the guy at the company he left.. which was a rather interesting way to bring that character back to the real world... as his character was written much the same as the sub-manager, and though they serve their purpose, you get tired of them real fast, and like the rest of the characters, either they learn to work within the reality of their industry or they leave it....which is where her brother's story meets up again... that ending comparison was interesting.
Nice series.
