Catch the other episode reviews here

Last episode, we learned about the leftovers of AiRBLUE, but as all smart people know, leftovers have pretty good value, especially if you’re thrifty.

Hey, this is my first time writing one of these on my new computer. I also have a big enough monitor where I can now have half the screen play the episode so I can write at the same time. Kind of pointless, but I like it.

First Impressions

We begin by meeting up with our main main four girls again. The ones that we’ve forgot existed for the past like two or three episodes. Well, everything seems to be going pretty well for them with Bloom Ball and such, but it’s not all good.

The four share their problems through their journey, some worst than others. Haruna only ever gets like one line that are all some form of “do your best!” since she’s not an actual character. Maika is traumatized because of other VAs. A whole bunch of not-so-fun stuff, but that’s all part of learning.

Vogel has their homepage updated online with the cast officially revealed. I feel like giving any impression that these cute AI girls aren’t actually cute AI anime girls would probably kill their core audience, but again, what do I know? I feel like I’ve said that a lot with this series. Either way, they’ll be fine as long as they never get boyfriends.

Shiho reveals that she’s worried by the fact that she’s never been asked to redo a line. She’s just perfect, and her voice fits the character, and that’s a little concerning to her. I actually get that a lot. I do feel like you need some kind of negative feedback to improve.

Going deeper, it’s more that she doesn’t like her voice because of being laughed at for it in the past. She then wanted to become a VA, I guess to be able to change her voice or impress people with it, I imagine. She’s getting surprisingly deep.

Shifting from depressing stuff, Haruna and Maika actually got new roles as leads this time. Their acting spurred Bloom Ball’s author (who I already forgot the name of) to make a spin-off of the series that will also get an anime. Good for them. I care way more than I thought I would. I don’t know why.

So recording is underway, and Shiho decides to be brave and say her line a little differently. This causes what I guess is a stir and creates far more tension than most action anime in one of the weirdest sequences I’ve ever seen in my life. Anyway, everyone’s cool with it.

My Thoughts

I thought we’d never see our VAs again. Nice to get back to them. I guess we’ve been through all of our introductions, and everyone’s doing their own things now. I imagine we’ll mix all of them together from here on out. Not a bad way to do things at all.

This episode was more of what I love to see. I love seeing the actual voice acting process and how the characters learn and react to that. It’s done well, and it teaches me things along the way, which I really like.

Each of the girls has their own unique problems with this journey, but they’re all actually pretty interesting. Haruna with the one line and Shiho with the actual deep-rooted problem in her psyche. Shiho is actually really deep, even if they hardly touched the surface. I’m very surprised.

She wants to grow and learn and escape from her comfort zone. Problem is, she’s really good in her comfort zone. I imagine that’s a problem actual VAs face and is probably what separates the goods from the greats, whether or not the character is them or if they play the character, you know?

It’s weird because the series is kind of generic on the surface and looks and feels generic, but if you get past that and actually see how it’s written, it’s pretty meaningfully done. It’s very deceptive, and I look forward to more voice-acting shenanigans. It’s actually pretty good stuff.

Thank you very much for reading

I honestly wouldn’t mind going through a voice acting class one day