Anticipated Announcement

˚₊‧꒰ა . ——— ˗ˋˏ ✮ ˎˊ˗ ——— ˖ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚

About a month earlier

˚₊‧꒰ა . ——— ˗ˋˏ ✮ ˎˊ˗ ——— ˖ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚

As soon as the bell rang to signal lunch break, Kano and Saki shot out of their seats with their bags in tow, having packed minutes in advance. They hurried down the corridor, weaving past oncoming students until they reached their proclaimed hideout — the back stairwell that hardly anyone visited.

The girls immediately dropped their bags and slumped onto the floor. Saki shuffled over, her low pigtails swaying behind her, huffing as she settled next to Kano, holding and angling her phone screen so they could both see.

They arrived just in time for the scheduled video. An original anime set in urban fantasy Japan, made even more intriguing by the studio behind it. Studio Dilulu — renowned for its atmospheric visuals and polished animation, seen in their previous critically acclaimed works.

But what really had the girls, mainly Saki, invested was the rumours of the budding star, Joma Asakura, starring in it. Seemingly confirmed by the super vague post made this morning on his personal Tweeter account.

'Something big is about to drop. Please look forward to it~'

The final seconds of the countdown blinked on the screen: 3… 2… 1…

A voice-over containing the soft yet resolute tone of a young girl: “When a lie is known by many people, it can become real.”

The screen filled with shots of a neon cityscape resembling Shibuya. A lone girl was standing on top of the roof, her expression steadfast as the hand mirror she was clutching vibrated. She shot a hand up with the mirror skyward, sending brainwaves as the world around her shifted to a digital landscape with a pastel palette.

“We can stop the spread before it truly manifests in our city.”

The supposed song's chorus kicked in time with jump cuts to a transformation sequence where parts of her sailor uniform changed in time with the music to a more frilly, vibrant pink dress.

“That animation, oh my god.” Saki breathed, holding her nerves together so she wouldn't blink.

The girl dynamically sprang off the roof, ribbons from her skirt billowing behind her, as her partner in a matching light-blue uniform joined her midair, before they touched down together and struck a heroic duo pose.

The camera spun to meet a giant, black, glitched figure with scaly tentacles that threatened to pillage the city, then cut back to the two.

“That is the Prism Sky Warriors' duty.” They both say with conviction before lunging forward into action.

Then, like a power outage, the screen blinked black, before three masculine silhouettes appeared.. Each varying in size…

“Watching them scramble… It's almost entertaining.” Said the tall man, paired with a gleaming monocle.

The camera cut to a more bulky figure. “Yeah, don't they realise that words are stronger than swords?”

The last character’s appearance emerged, dressed in a fancy cloak with a scheming gaze, seemingly the ringmaster of the trio. “Belief is the most efficient virus after all~.” He let out a sadistic chuckle.

Neither of them said anything for a moment after. The trailer faded out on the logo, the theme song swelling to a triumphant close.

Kano’s brows shot up. She realised the tone, the faint drawl on the last word. It was unmistakable.

“Wait—rewind that,” she said quickly.

Saki double-tapped the left side of her screen, replaying the last 10 seconds. The voice came again, dripping with confidence and a quiet, yet dangerous, charm.

“Belief is the most efficient virus after all~.”

Kano leaned closer, brows narrowing steadfastly. “That character is definitely played by Asajo.”

Saki froze mid-gasp, her jaw practically dropping. “Wait, seriously?!”

Kano nodded assuringly. “He has that distinct nasally tone, remember? It’s really noticeable when he lowers his voice like that.” She points to the screen. “Check the description.”

Saki scrolled down to the credits, ordered by character appearance, and there it was: Asakura Joma – Murmur. Her face lit up like a kid on Christmas day.

“Oh my gosh, it really is him! I couldn’t even tell! He sounds so good~!” she squealed, kicking her feet against the step in delight.

Kano smiled faintly at her friend’s reaction. Saki was a new fan of Joma’s — though she’d heard his name plenty of times before.

Kano used to mention him constantly back in middle school, back when he was still a small-time stage actor barely known outside theatre circles. Back then, Saki would just laugh and let Kano share the endless clips of the stage plays and trivia. She never really explored deeper into the actor.

But her indifference to him swayed once her all-time favourite manga got an adaptation.

From the trailers, the charming silver-haired prince, Saki's longtime childhood crush, was voiced by none other than Asakura Joma. It was amusing to see Saki swoon over her favourite character all over again, brought to life by the animation and, most notably, his voice.

Saki had since then been keeping her eyes peeled for whatever role he played next, at this point having become the bigger fan, surpassing the friend that initially introduced her to him.

Kano leaned against the wall, watching as Saki squirmed in excitement from the mix of praise, shock and excited comments. She smiled faintly. Saki’s enthusiasm had always been contagious – it was a part of what drew them together back in middle school, only strengthened now by having a shared interest.

“What’s everyone else saying?” Kano asked, leaning in slightly.

Saki then scrolled through the comments, her thumb flicking down the screen as they both read in silence. Everyone was freaking out —an amalgamation of exclaiming their surprise at Joma’s role being a 180 from his usual characters—darker, more seductive. Some are already calling it his best work yet and are hyped for the anime’s release.

“Ohh they’re eating it up!” She nodded lightly, her eyes bright before giggling. “Heh, check out this comment. ‘Murmur only spoke one line, but am I supposed to be scared? Asajo’s voice is dangerously sexy. I’m more turned on than anything.’”

Kano couldn’t help but let out a snort. There was a time she admired Asajo’s rawness and how he carried a scene in his performances, but over time, that hype faded. Perhaps it was when he landed the lead role in that anime adaptation.

The kind of show that had fans buzzing about it before it even aired, catapulting him from the quiet stage into mainstream fame. Since then, every performance to Kano felt like a variation of the same man: kind, noble, predictable.

Ironically, Saki’s type of fictional man.

Still, maybe that was more of his agency’s doing —boxing him into the same cookie-cutter character over and over to chase maximum profits. Who really knew what went on behind the scenes anyway? Kano found herself giving him the benefit of the doubt, her old intrigue stirring again for the young actor. Curious to see how this new role might shake things up for him.

‘Asajo ditching his pretty-boy routine for a more villainous role, huh? I suppose this is where I’ll finally be able to witness a side of him that was never seen before.’