The eighth episode of the drama series "Galaxy Vote" (Kansai TV/Fuji TV, Mondays at 10 PM), starring actress Haru Kuroki, aired on June 8th. Noriko Hidaka, a voice actress known for her role as Minami Asakura, the heroine of the popular anime "Touch," appeared as the voice actor Hikaru Shiratori. Her passionate performance garnered a lot of attention on social media.
◇The following contains spoilers.
Sympathizing with "Team Akari's" promises, Hikaru agreed to help put up posters as an election volunteer. One day, Hikaru came to the election office and told Akari (Noro Kayoko) and the others that she couldn't accept the job of making announcements on the campaign vehicle (as a campaign announcer). She said that although there was nothing wrong with her vocal cords, it was difficult for her to speak. Indeed, Hikaru's way of speaking was so weak and hesitant that it was hard to believe she was a voice actress.
In fact, she has mixed feelings about the idea of her voice and acting being reproduced by the AI, and it has made it mentally difficult for her to speak. "If I speak, it will be learned. Everything will be taken away. When I think about that, I feel pathetic. To think that something like this would make me lose my voice..." Hikaru confessed, her voice trembling.
Meanwhile, Hotaru (Shishido Kavka) praised Hikaru as her son Yota's (Yuzuki Yamamoto) "savior." Hotaru revealed that Yota, who was timid and clingy, looked anxious every morning when he went to school. So, Hotaru came up with a "ritual" to send Yota off to school. It involved Hotaru and Yota striking a pose while reciting a line from an anime character voiced by Hikaru: "Energy! Courage! Let the flowers bloom!"
And in this ceremony, Yota encouraged Hotaru, who had been driven out of the world of politics. Reflecting on this, Hotaru said, "No matter how much AI evolves in the future, I don't think it will ever be able to perform such a masterful feat. At that, Mitsuru shed tears.
One day, Hikaru saw Yota standing in front of a karate classroom. Yota was encouraging himself by saying, "Energy! Courage!", but was bumped into by a running child. As Yota regained his composure and began to say, "Energy...", Hikaru took off his mask and shouted loudly, "Courage!" Then, together with Yota, he powerfully said, "Let the flowers bloom!"
When Mitsuru regained her voice, social media was abuzz with comments such as, "I cried! I bawled my eyes out! Noriko Hidaka!", "Noriko Hidaka was amazing!", and "Noriko Hidaka's acting as someone with a voice that was difficult to produce was incredible, the story about the generating AI is relevant to modern times, and the final scene had me in tears. I can't wait for the next episode!"
The drama is an "election entertainment" story in which Mari Hoshino scouts Akari Tsukioka, a bar owner with no political experience, to be her election strategist, and together they take on the Tokyo gubernatorial election.
