Creating a radio drama adaptation of the Touhou Project book Symposium of Post-Mysticism, specifically the eponymous symposium.
While the characters may say ridiculous things, I have never associated Touhou with “anime” or “video game” voice acting. So my one overarching recommendation for every character here is to approach it with a more natural, regular acting approach. You don’t have to match any mouth flaps, after all.
Please believe me that if I could pay actual voice actor rates, I would do so in a heartbeat, but as this is a hobby project coming out of my own pocket, I simply can’t afford that.
Older Teen (17,) Higher Pitch, Somewhat Quiet
Akyuu is a teenager, but has access to perfect genetic memory going back nine previous generations, so she’s uncannily mature. Professional most of the time, but still lets a joking, casual side through as well.
Akyuu is both the narrator of and a character in this book, and thus needs to balance out professionalism and lax moments with equal skill.
Reading off a title.
(WITHOUT INFLECTION,VERY DELIBERATE)
PART 4 - THE PRESENT AND FUTURE OF THE HATED
Typical line.
(IMPATIENT, BUT NOT ENTIRELY SERIOUSLY)
Just speak as you would normally. Hearing you talk like this is disgusting.
An interjection.
(CUTTING OFF ANOTHER CHARACTER, SPEAKING QUICKLY AND URGENTLY)
Excuse me for cutting you off, but why do you say it’s Ms. Yasaka’s fault that you had to visit the Underworld? Could you explain that?
Mid-20s, Lower Pitch, Raspy, Loud
Marisa Kirisame is brash, confident, very unprofessional and comes off as uneducated, but she has a wealth of common and practical sense and is more intelligent than she lets on. Moderator of the Symposium due to her unbiased nature.
Marisa shouldn’t have an accent, per se, but she does drop letters and sounds like nobody’s business, and is absolutely someone who’ll use y’all.
Typical line.
(TAKING CHARGE, BUT IN A CASUAL, FRIENDLY WAY)
Oh, yeah, fair. Okay, then, the first theme is "What change will the new powers bring to Gensokyo?" Just throw whatever ya want out there.
Typical line.
(WITH A LOT OF DOWN-TO-EARTH SKEPTICISM)
So are you holy high rollers plannin' on makin' yerselves rich in the process of givin' us spiritually richer lives?
Untypical line.
(NOT BOISTEROUS, INTENSE. HAS PREVIOUSLY TAKEN OFFENSE)
We all gotta do that, not like we got a choice.
Middle-aged or so, Deep, Commanding, Sonorous
Alternatively: just The Major from Stand Alone Complex
Kanako Yasaka is a god with a lot of experience, is very intelligent, and basically has a business degree. Very good at sales. Extremely confident and projects well, but is caught off guard more than once, and has a very prominent sense of humor that comes up frequently.
Kanako is the character with the most lines in Symposium of Post-Mysticism, with more than a thousand more words than anyone else, and a lot of that is exposition. Thus, whatever voice you use for Kanako must be something sustainable.
Typical line.
(VERY SUSPICIOUS OF ANOTHER CHARACTER’S POINT)
I wonder what kind of future lies in store for humanity under the rule of someone who is no longer human.
Sales activated.
(TURNING ON THE BUSINESS CHARM)
Oh, proselytizing now, are we? Don't think I'll take that lying down. Switch now and I'll throw in excellent luck on all your fortunes for two months - free.
Untypical line.
(DEADLY SERIOUS DENIAL)
I do not “rampage”.
Ambiguously aged, Average-Pitched, Timid
Byakuren Hijiri is sweet-natured and has her heart in the right place, but is very bad in a debate, and very out of her element. She’s not completely defenseless, though, and can stand her ground against regular attempts to upset her.
Like all Touhou characters, she’s also something of a hypocrite. Less so than most, though.
Byakuren gets flustered frequently, and is very bad at defending her viewpoints in a profitable way. You’ll probably be asked to just kind of sputter nonsense more than once.
Also, Byakuren uses more Japanese than every other character - familiarity with how to pronounce it is preferable.
Typical line.
(WISTFULLY REMEMBERING THE PAST)
Whenever I came to Suwa, the water of the lake was always so perfectly clear. It was such a beautiful place.
Typical line.
(A LITTLE QUIET, WORRIED, TO HERSELF)
Maybe we should rebuild the temple in stone... and the statues too, while we’re at it....
Untypical line.
(UPBEAT AND JOKING)
So anyway, Orin (oh-reen) said she wanted to join "because the temple has so many graves that it's corpse heaven." I had no choice but to turn her away, right? (Byakuren laughs.)
Ambiguously aged, Average-Pitched, Very Slightly Nasal, Smug
Miko Toyosatomimi is a very experienced politician, with all the pros and cons that implies. She’s an excellent debater, but she’s not really here to offer much of her own ideas, and is mainly content to tear into what the others say.
Miko frequently lies directly through her teeth when speaking about herself and her ambitions, falling into rote responses.
She’s also the character that laughs most frequently.
And this isn’t a completely hard necessity, but I would vastly prefer a transfemme actor over a cis one for Miko. Performance, of course, matters most, however.
Typical line.
(VERY CONFIDENT)
I believe I’ll soon come to enjoy those battles. A nice, leisurely struggle for my eternal life.
Typical line.
(VERY CONDESCENDING AND JUDGMENTAL)
Oh, that? In my time there wasn't a monk around that seriously adhered to that precept. (Miko laughs.) All those so-called monks were rank with the smell of meat and alcohol.
Untypical line.
(CUTTING OFF A PREVIOUS LINE, SOMEWHAT ENRAGED)
Your desires are a part of you - The truth is that it’s impossible to completely separate yourself from them. But maybe this husk of a woman called a nun who has no desires outside of chanting sutras can’t understand that.
Mid-20s, Average-to-Slightly-Higher Pitch, Loud
Reimu Hakurei has a lot going on as the series protagonist, but the only relevant info to Symposium is that she’s quick to temper, is a bad liar, and desperately wants to keep her status as reliable in the village.
Reimu starts off sounding genuinely angry, but it quickly becomes more and more apparent that she’s acting. It’s a pretty smooth scale of how obvious it is from start to finish.
Typical line.
(CONVINCINGLY FURIOUS)
The whole time! Everyone's on edge, it’s gotten out that all you head honchos who've been making waves lately are gathered in one place! There isn't a single youkai around who doesn't know about this meeting!
Typical line.
(LETTING DESPERATION LEAK INTO HER VOICE)
I can’t wait any longer. If you don't break it up right away, they’ll never ask for my help again!
Untypical line.
(LIKE A COP REACTING TO A “GANG MEETING” OF KIDS)
And what're you all looking at? Hurry up and get out of here! I'm keeping the peace of Gensokyo!
