Shift! The Side-Character Heroine

From an Anti-Fan to a Pro-Fan

Han Leng was not the only one to catch this pleasant surprise. His loyal fan, ‘Jian Bing,’ who was also a Xiao Yu fan, immediately shared his excitement with him after they were finished watching the newest episode of “The Strongest King.””Xiao Yu’s VA is more than just a pass! Her voice completely encompassed the description in the novel! Her voice was music to my ears. I’m going to rewatch it again; I haven’t heard enough from her!”

Han Leng could not stop laughing. This ‘Jian Bing’ was also rather interesting. Has he already been poisoned within so short a time? Getting the ‘Yu Shengfan Disease’ already?

Perhaps Xiao Yu’s fans liked the ‘Yu Shengfan’ character too much. Therefore, they became extremely excited about the great performance of the VA…

Han Leng suddenly remembered of something. He had forgotten to check the credits of the latest episode. The list of VAs would be released there.

Han Leng would always skip the OPs and EDs[1] of his animes. Unless the songs are a step above the norm, nothing will keep him there for long.

Since the OP had not left such an impression on him, he directly skipped to the actual story.

As for EDs, he never listened to any of them. He considered it a waste of time, as the EDs usually paled in comparison to the OPs.

However, when he listened to the newly released ED, he noticed that the VA of ‘Yu Shengfan’ was its singer. It greatly surprised him. The track itself was rather generic, but the singer’s voice was downright breathtaking!

Her voice seemed to possess the magic to reel listeners in and capture their very souls. It had the power to enter the innermost parts of their hearts, much like ‘soul’ music, which Han Leng was very familiar with.

Who was this mysterious VA of ‘Yu Shengfan’? Not only was she good at voice acting for the character, but she was also an amazing singer!

Was she really a newbie VA? Are you sure she isn’t a professional singer or something?

Han Leng did not forget to pay special attention to the credits. He was stunned to see that Yu Shengfan had been credited as ‘Yu Shengfan!’ What is going on here?

What a great coincidence? To be able to find a VA for Yu Shengfan, whose name was Yu Shengfan as well?

For a while, he sat in silence. Coincidence aside, ‘Yu Shengfan’ was not exactly a common name. These odds could not possibly exist. Therefore, only one conclusion can be made out of this. Yu Shengfan’s VA intended to remain completely anonymous!

The mystery had only deepened now. Han Leng was now highly interested to know more. It was currently the era of VA idolization. Many VAs would not wait to have a similar amount of exposure that is comparable to celebrities. Some of them had even opted to venture into the music industry, having made a sufficient name for themselves.

Yet, this Yu Shengfan’s VA seemed to have no ambition of becoming famous. Instead, she was trying her best to conceal her identity. Why?

Han Leng loved to make use of his cognitive faculties. He would jump at any opportunity to exercise his mind. The term ‘Hunger marketing’ flashed through his mind. Perhaps this VA intended to make a fuss by enshrouding herself in ‘mystery.’ Once she has successfully tantalized everyone, only then would she unveil her mysterious veil little by little.

During this period of time, she would voice act for other iconic characters, similar in stature to ‘Yu Shengfan’ and further extend her influence within the VA realm.

However, Han Leng was overthinking all this. The VA of ‘Yu Shengfan’ was Zhao Youyue. She was not even a professional VA. She had been able to produce such results because she owned the specific character’s card.

At that moment, Zhao Youyue had finished watching the newest episode of “The Strongest King.” Without blowing any hot air into it, she considered her performance to be impeccably flawless. She had brought ‘Yu Shengfan’ to life!

She had sung the ED amazingly as well, as she had switched on “Chu Luoxun’s card” when it was time to sing. It was not Chu Luoxun’s actual voice, per se. Instead, it was Chu Luoxun imitating Yu Shengfan’s singing voice.

It was a piece of cake for the all-encompassing musical genius.

The day after the broadcast of the newest episode of “The Strongest King,” the discussions related to the VA of ‘Yu Shengfan’ blew the internet up. Many Xiao Yu fans swore that they would find out the mysterious VA. How was she able to voice act so amazingly?

That’s true. After finished watching the newest episode of “The Strongest King,” many Xiao Yu fans who initially thought that the mysterious newbie VA would never possibly pull it off, had their opinions completely reversed! Turning from anti-fans to pro-fans!

They now liked this VA exactly as much as they once hated her!

There was only one reason for this. This mysterious newbie VA’s performance had washed away all doubts!

“Before watching the new episode via phone yesterday, I was still worried. I kept having the feeling that the VA would ruin Xiao Yu. But the moment Xiao Yu spoke, I got on my knees. This was exactly the Xiao Yu in my mind! My mum even asked me why I was kneeling with my phone in hand.”

“Steady, steady, steady! This “The Strongest King” anime will be extremely popular. The number of poisoned audiences will gradually increase. That VA has incisively shown Xiao Yu’s charm!”

“Am I the only person who noticed that the ED was sung by Xiao Yu’s VA as well? It was obviously just an ordinary song. But why wouldn’t I feel tired from listening to the song on a loop? Does this mean that I’ve contracted the ‘Yu Shengfan Disease’?”

“Objectively speaking, the mysterious newbie VA’s performance yesterday was very nice indeed. But I think that we shouldn’t jump to conclusions so soon. Everything shall be determined by the subsequent performances”

“The VA’s name in the credits was listed as Yu Shengfan. What the hell? Isn’t the animation production team being too mischievous? Do they dare tell us that they are truly so Godly-mighty as to be able to summon the real Yu Shengfan and voice herself?”

“As a VA enthusiast, I hereby declare that I’m now a loyal fan of this VA. Can anyone out there disclose more information about her?”

“In the past, I have already considered those rumors to be untrustworthy. This VA had earned the role rightfully. Some people actually believed in the existence of whatever unspoken rules and ‘inside stories’ behind the scenes. If those unspoken rules are the reason why such a talented VA got this role, by all means, keep abiding by those rules!”

…

The mysterious newbie VA of ‘Yu Shengfan’ had taken the world by storm. The key issue now was, no one had been able to look this newbie VA up, no matter how far and deep they dug. Who was she?

Finally, a new theory came to birth. It was possible that this VA did not belong to the VA industry at all. She might not even be affiliated with any VA specialized schools!

Such a guess instantly enlightened everyone!

But, how could a completely untrained VA pull this off?

Translation Note:

[1] OP/ED In anime, they respectively stand for opening (song & video) and ending (song & video).