CATDOLL: Is voice acting a glamorous job with a lot of money? Let me show you the pain of voice acting

Are people who often watch Japanese anime also interested in the profession of "voice actor"? It looks glamorous and can break through the "dimensional wall" and interact with the characters. How pleasant! However, the reality of the voice actor profession is also cruel.

Even in Japan, voice actors are a profession that many unsophisticated anime fans and otakus admire and admire. Many people have invested their youth in advanced training courses, hoping to have a place in future animations. However, reality has dealt them a heavy blow. Except for a few talented new voice actors who can become famous and popular overnight, the majority of the remaining voice actors can only play minor roles and barely get a salary, or work multiple jobs to supplement their family income.

The protagonist of "That's the Voice Actor" Ichinose Futaba

After all, the competition in the voice actor industry is fierce. Every year, a large number of newcomers graduate from voice actor training classes. Most of these newcomers can only take on some passerby roles and background voices at the beginning. If you have mediocre qualifications and a mediocre voice, and you haven't received a key role for a long time, you will be eliminated, and there is no way to stand out. Regarding this cruel reality of the industry, foreign forums often raise similar discussion topics - if your child wants to be a voice actor, would you support it?

Through the questions and surveys of netizens, they can be roughly divided into two camps: "pro" and "opposition". Among them, the pros hold an optimistic attitude and believe that it is definitely a good thing for children to have dreams, and parents must support them. If the family's financial situation allows, they will allow their children to pursue their dreams boldly, but they will also set an age limit. If they have not made a name for themselves by the age of 25, they must resolutely give up and not hang on to a tree.

The protagonist of "That's the Voice Actor" Moe Saki

Some netizens who support this policy choose to let their children pursue their dreams freely, provided that the family does not provide any financial assistance and the children are responsible for all their own profits and losses. This may seem a "cruel" approach, but in fact it fully respects the children's wishes. Some netizens feel that they have no right to stop their children's dreams because they have some regrets about their own lives. Moreover, when children grow up, they must be responsible for their own lives, and parents cannot bear the consequences for them.

The "opposition" netizens have a very unified view: the voice actor profession is too unstable. Not to mention the hard work, but years of hard work may end up in vain.

Shizuka Sakaki, who aspires to debut as a voice actor in "Shirobako", has encountered various setbacks

The opposition used a lot of examples to support their views. Although many big-name voice actors earn high monthly salaries, it is still difficult to make a living from this job. Many well-known voice actors in the industry have survived by struggling all the way. Before they became famous, they had to work multiple jobs and live a frugal life. For example, Uchida Aya, the voice actor of Minami Kotori in "Love Live!", had been working part-time before she got this role, and her meager salary was not enough to make ends meet; similarly, Uchida Aya's admired predecessor, Ogata Megumi, the famous voice actor who voiced Ikari Shinji in "EVA", could only eat bread edges every day during her most destitute period, which was very pitiful.

EVA's Shinji Ikari voice actress Ogata Megumi once ate bread edges

There are also many unknown voice actors who quietly disappeared when they were rookies, so it is really difficult for parents to agree with their children choosing such a difficult path. In addition, the opposition has other reasons - the current trend of "idolization" in the voice actor industry is becoming more and more obvious, especially for female voice actors. If their daughter is not sweet enough, they will definitely do their best to stop her from "humiliating herself".

A small mistake during dubbing may affect your future career

Voice actors who are determined to continue on this path for a long time will join an organization called "Japan Haiku Actor Union". This organization will set up a rating table for all voice actors. Each voice actor will have his or her own rating, which determines the salary for each dubbing. The longer the voice actor has been in the industry, the higher the rating will be, regardless of popularity. Therefore, under the "pressure" of the old predecessors, it is natural that new voice actors do not get any credit.

Well-known voice actor Daisuke Namikawa (Jellard in Fairy Tail, Waver Velvet in Fate/Zero) also talked about the hardships of the voice actor industry on a TV show. He said that in Japan, "there are about 10,000 professional voice actors, and 300,000 people aiming to become voice actors, but only 300 of them can make a living as voice actors, and the remaining 10,000 people cannot make a living just by doing this job."

Namikawa Daisuke: There are 10,000 voice actors in this profession, and 300,000 people aspire to become voice actors

However, only about 300 voice actors can make a living, and the rest cannot make a living solely by their voices.

So before you want to become a voice actor, you must carefully consider the practical issues. What do you think about the choice of voice actor career?