Sound of My Voice

Youka Nitta's Sound of My Voice (Boku No Koe) is a story about a young and upcoming voice actor Wataru Jouchi, who in an audition meets his old childhood friend Renji Kazama. The men are cast as the main characters in a new anime but even though Jouchi would very much like to renew his friendship with the more successful Kazama, Kazama suffers from a childhood trauma that makes him very hostile towards Jouchi. Another would-be couple the story follows comprises of two older voice actors in the same anime, Hideyumi Kurokawa and Jouichirou Hosaka who give advice to the younger men and organize their social gatherings.

Sound of My Voice feels like (and is) a beginning for a longer story and doesn't stand on it's own very well. It's very busy and introduces a many characters who, although gorgeous as Nitta's guys always are, also look a lot like each other in their fashionable clothes and almost identical haircuts. Jouchi spends a lot of time moping about thinking about quiting the business, and lot of time is given to his internal dialogue - he comes off as naive, indecisive and excitable. Kazama in turn is permanently angry and has constant frown on his face but slowly starts to warm up to Jouchi. My favourite characters in this manga are the older side-characters Kurokawa and Hosaka whose couple-status is left very ambiguous, but knowing the genre will undoubtedly be resolved before long. Kurokawa is happy and kind, and always willing to help out his younger colleagues, while Hosaka is quieter and the more cautious one in the relationship. It's also worth noting that if the reader expects page after page of handsome guys making out, they are going to be disappointed - this is most of all about the characters, and there is fair bit of information about voice acting business... our reluctant couple doesn't get into bed until the very last pages of the book.

Sound of My Voice is Youka Nitta's second translated work, and Embracing Love sets the bar quite high. Sound of My Voice bears of course Nitta's trademark detailed artwork: those beautiful long-limbed adult men with their stylish haircuts and gorgeous clothes, but at the same time it lacks the emotion and love that makes Embracing Love so precious. Be Beautiful makes a good job with the translation and honorifics (although I wish they had kept "senpai"), and there is short afterword from the mangaka in the back of the book.

It's always difficult to review unfinished work. There isn't really much of a story here, not even a "will they won't they" as that's thrown in at a very late stage - it's more about "slice of life" and getting to know the characters. Although I will be eagerly awaiting the next volume it's mainly out of faith in Nitta's ability to deliver the story in the long run, and not so much because of the merits of the first book. Recommended for Nitta-fans, only - for everyone else who wants a sexy look into the voice acting business I'd rather recommend series like Shout It Out Loud!