Do people ever “introspect” other people? I mean, I wonder about what and why I do the things I do, but sometimes I wonder about what motivates other people to do the things they do. For example, why do people pursuit a career in voice acting in Japan? From the various interviews I read, it might be that someone is into acting since their youth or someone finds the entertainment biz a calling, or they are inspired to become the same kind of people who voiced their favorite characters. Maybe they are pivoting from another part of the entertainment business. It’s kind of what made Masumin-sensei penned the titled “Sore Ga Seiyuu” to an extent, I’d like to believe.
The reality is this is just a fun exercise for me to get better at figuring out why I do the things I do, and at some level I think we all can practice more both empathy and critical analysis, even if with partial information this is more for luls rather than any serious analysis. In as much as the pretty and young Japanese voice actresses I follow on twitter put up their selfies or make inside jokes among each other, I wonder what’s really going on. I guess they’re all having some fun, to some degree, and that is well in itself.
The light-hearted take on this is that, when Ibuchan was a wee little girl, did she (or her guardians, perhaps more importantly) imagine that she would be voicing a precocious light novel character (the type she’s been quite adept at playing) and saying “girls like dicks” on TV, in a distant day in the future? I mean, the bigger question that some of us have already made peace with is, why do eroge seiyuu exist? I guess it’s no different than AV idols to some level, but all the world’s difference in another. If there is a demand, there will come a supply I suppose. If this is the ultimate logic flowing, that seems rather mercenary-ish and is very likely underplaying the complex thing that colors human motivations for these kind of life decisions.
But at the same time, I think it’s because when Kido Ibuki did it in Eromanga Sensei episode 2, it was hilarious. It was scandalous (especially/mostly because of this meta dimension) and ultimately a fun approach to get the viewer’s attention to our new character. From a script writing/original novel point of view it made a certain sense (with pros and cons attached) but having it voiced by our “kiyoi” 19-year-old (cute Japanese teen talking about dicks, ladies and gentlemen, even if it was acting) adds that level in which only a multimedia adaptation (namely, an anime) can add, similar to seeing awesome fiction become even more awesome visual SFX in a Hollywood adaptation kind of way.
All of this is to say, it puts a smile on someone’s face. And maybe that’s all Ibuibu wanted to do.
PS. If you enjoyed it, I think you should let her know!
PPS. Good to have a fan blogging it here.
PPPS. My own opinion on the dick thing is that it’s a nice joke in the story to set the tonal swings Megumin brings, but Sagiri remains the heart of the series, in terms of her interactions. Like Oreimo this show is about interactions–namely actions, and reactions. The dicks joke just set a certain bar, and while we’re playing footsies with incest and other icky things, there’s all these fruits that are now suddenly low-hanging-seemingly. Why not? As to Eromanga Sensei, I expect to be fully entertained, because I know it will. The rest is bonus.
PPPPS. I did not forget about Tsugumomo, at least. Maybe I forgot to mention it, LOL, but it’s good contrast.
