The man for the job

In the following days, production of the adaptation went smoothly. The PV looked great, and despite some disillusions beginning to creep up in regards to Chika, her performance as Rie blew that all away at least momentarily. Chika herself ended up serving as a model in a sense for Rie, being nearly identical save for some slight deviations and of course, the pink hair. Then again, if Chika were to dye her hair pink, she'd practically be Rie in the flesh...

"Sir?"

"Ah, you wanted my input on something?"

"Yes, see this portion of the story here..."

Before any filming or animating could be done, the script needed to be written. Just as the director from before had theorized, the crew working on the actual anime production was completely different. That being said, things were surprisingly going seamlessly.

When it came to discussing the actual plot of Basketball babes, I found my usually introverted self nonexistent as I passionately explained, argued for, and guided the team towards what should and shouldn't be included in the script. This wasn't just character dialogue, but action scenes as well.

Within a week, we had a working final draft, allowing animators to get to work with rough sketches so the actors would have more visual markers to go off of for the recording. And speaking of actors, casting for the other roles was the next major priority.

"Let's see, Belinda and Rie are cast, leaving the rest of the girls team along with the main rival and coach. Before you raise the point, yes, I'm aware there's more roles than just those, but if they aren't major, we don't need to have a full-on audition session for them," the director stated.

It made sense, though there would be a character included in those "minor characters" category that I feel would be important in a potential continuation. But that was all hypothetical. This one season could be all I get adapted for all I know, so probably best to focus on making the big moments of it be good, rather than going for full perfection.

The casting for most of the remaining major characters went smoothly, save for coach Baro. A couple actors came in to audition for his role, yet I felt none were managing to capture the emotional depth I wanted for this character.

"You keep shaking your head. That was the last audition we had, so we're gonna have to choose someone from them," the director sighed.

"I'm aware... Can I try prompting them in the direction I want them to go?"

"Can you? You've been kinda nervous around all the other stars, heard you even fainted before Chika Tetsu and Mariya."

"My nervousness can go on hiatus. I don't care even if these guys have done numerous roles and have shelves of accolades. I'm not gonna have Baro's performance be the shittiest," I growled as I got up and headed into the recording studio.

The three actors that had auditioned were all huddled together on the bench, calmly staring at me.

"First, excuse my poor Japanese, and if I default to English a bit. In regards to Baro, I feel all your performances have been lacking. Lacking the pain and anguish Baro bares with each step he takes."

"Uh, what kind of pain is it?" one asked.

"How many of you have read the book?"

All shook their heads.

"Then that's the first problem. You can't understand Baro's pain unless you know what he's been through. This man was once a basketball sensation, but then..."

The image of that day flashed in my mind, rejuvenating that physical and emotional pain anew.

"Um, are you alright?"

"Baro... Baro was once a star, but then that fucker from Greenwood just had to shove him down hard and fuck up his leg. That ended everything right there and then, but did he give up? NO! And yet, everyone else gave up on him. Though he was sidelined for a year, he trained his arm strength and studied math, all so that when he could walk properly again, he could still be a star player even with limited mobility from the injury. But no. No matter how many shots in a row he made from the other end of the court, officials forbid such a player from competing. 'This isn't a game of trick shots. You want to play, you need to be able to dribble and run, something you can't do anymore. We're not going to devolve our organization's existence to just throwing the ball back to you and forming a defensive wall, all so you can take shots without any real action occurring elsewhere on the court.' And without basketball, he was an empty man. Yet Belinda's skill- No, not just her but the entire team, reinvigorate him, give him a crackle of hope, but one constantly endangered of extinguishing. The better the girls get, the more Baro fears they'll suffer a career-ending injury like him and lose it all. THAT'S the kind of Baro I'm looking for!"

The three all sat stunned, yet slowly began to nod. "I think I have a clearer picture now... Can we have a break to think it over more?" one asked.

I nodded and waved my hand before retreating to the viewing booth. This would normally be the time where the adrenaline would wear off, and I'd collapse into regret about how I raised my voice at people who were clearly of higher status than me, but when it came to Baro, I didn't give a shit if among those three was a homeless beggar or the president of the United States of America. I would not allow the role of Baro to be cast to one who could not understand the raw pain and suffering I went through and projected entirely onto him!

15 minutes later, the auditions resumed. It seemed my outburst had profound effects on the three as now, their performances moved me to tears with how perfect they were. I could truly see myself clearly in ever performance, but that led to a new problem; who to choose. All three were phenomenal, so at this point, it was a matter of voice preference.

Exiting the viewing booth, I approached the three. "All of you pass. Each of your performances captured everything I wanted from Baro. But sadly, there can be only one for the role. Thus, before I reveal my pick, I want to say don't be dejected. You all moved me to tears, so even if you don't get this role, hold your head high with pride that you put out an award-winning performance. As for the role, Baro shall be played by Mr. Jugoro Sanji."

The two rejected seiyuus calmly nodded and shook hands with me. I really did mean it when I said their performances were amazing. As for Mr. Sanji, he also shook my hand, but more graciously than the other two.

"Thank you. Your direction helped guide me to how I should portray the role. I swear on my pride and for the efforts of the other two that I will throw my all at the role of Baro."

"I look forward to it."

And until I finally returned to my hotel room that night, the adrenaline rush refused to yield, and even when it did, I felt no regrets. Sure, a part of me worried the crew might be preparing to scold me for making things a bit more difficult, but did I have any regrets? Nope, none at all. Baro was the one character I would be uncompromising on as with my life story reflected in him, I didn't want a single thing about it to be tarnished by sub-par acting.