Business Books with Handsome Voices! New Audiobook Label "Gokujo Voice Method" [Gemba of Collaboration No.5].

Today, with the increasing collaboration between various industries and subcultures such as anime and voice acting, there are many people who say, "Whoa, they're doing it! You're doing it," "What? You did it! and "Oh, you're doing it!" and "What? Akiba Research Institute is going to visit the sites where these "collaborations" are being planned and ask about the appeal of the projects, interesting episodes, hardships, and other behind-the-scenes stories about the production! The fifth installment of this series is called "Gemba of Collaboration.

In this fifth installment of the series, we will talk about "Gokujo voice method," a new audiobook label created by Otobank and Frontier Works, which delivers business books with handsome voices.

We interviewed Mr. Takahiro Mochizuki, production director and Ms. Honoka Saeki, public relations manager of the audiobook division of Otobank, Inc. They talked about how the new label, which delivers business books and self-help books with a cast of splendid voice actors as guides, came into being, the particulars of its production, the response it has received since its launch, behind-the-scenes stories about the recording sessions, and future developments.

-- Could you tell us how the new label "Gokujo Voice Method" was launched?

Saeki: We decided to create something new in partnership with Frontier Works!　When we decided to do so, we started with a new collaboration on "business books," which is our specialty, and we wanted to expand our target audience to business book beginners as well. Until now, the largest purchasers of audiobooks of business books have been men, so we decided to launch this project with the hope of reaching a new demographic.

Mochizuki: Before this project, we had developed a collaboration shop for Granblue Fantasy with Frontier Works, and we were surprised that the percentage of female customers who visited the store was much higher than expected. Having experienced firsthand the passion of female fans there, we began to wonder if we could combine our strength in audiobooks with Frontier Works' expertise in creating anime and female-oriented content.... This project was born out of a desire to deliver business books in a new way, targeting women, a market we had not yet reached.

-- Is your main target mainly women?

Saeki: Our main target is beginners of business books, and this time we considered mainly women.

In terms of targeting beginners, we placed importance on making them feel familiar with business books by digesting the contents and using colloquial expressions. We also had the background that a series of business books turned into manga is currently a hit, so we looked for a way to approach this with audio.

Mochizuki: In the case of audiobooks, most business book users are male. There have been a number of business book series such as "Manga de Wakaranai Business Book," and although the threshold for reading business books has become lower than before, we often hear people say that they don't have the opportunity to read them. We have tried to reach a segment of the market that has been small up to now: business book beginners, and this time, we were especially conscious of the female audience. However, we also tried to create a book that would be easily understood by male readers as well.

-- How was the response from men?

Mochizuki: The response to the "The Courage to Be Disliked" series was particularly strong. Many said that the author's voice was firm and persuasive, and that it touched their hearts. Except for the "The Courage to Be Disliked" series, the digest versions are designed to be listened to in about an hour, but we received many comments that they were easy to understand.

-- I have the impression that the digest versions are easy to pick up.

Mochizuki: If you have never experienced audiobooks before, you may stop picking up an audiobook when you see how long it is and think, "Wow, it seems like a lot of work to listen to it all the way through. That is why we wanted to lower that threshold, so we decided to make digest versions of all the audiobooks except for the "The Courage to Be Disliked" series, which is complete as a story. If you listened to the digest version and thought, "I want to know more about this! We were hoping that those who listened to the digest version and thought, "I want to know more about it," would pick up the original book as well.

-- We are happy to hear that people have actually purchased the book version of the original work. Did you encounter any difficulties in making the digest version, or were there any requests from the original author?

Saeki: We have been making audiobooks since about 2007, and they have been satisfied with the quality. Recently, they have been making suggestions to us, such as "Why don't you make an audiobook of this book? We have built a relationship of trust with them. So we are very grateful for their kind cooperation in making digest versions of many of the books that they have entrusted to us.

Mochizuki: Of course, this was our first attempt to draw original characters for each book and talk about the contents, so I think it was difficult for the original author and publisher to imagine what the book would be like in the initial text-only proposal stage. I think it was difficult for the original author and publisher to imagine "what the book would look like" at the stage of the initial proposal. However, when we sent them a rough sketch of the characters and an image of the mini-drama at the beginning of the proposal, they said, "Oh, I see! I see. From there, the conversation proceeded very smoothly.

-- Did you have anything in particular in mind when you were creating the characters?

Saeki: I was very careful in creating the characters' personalities. Of course, I did not disclose everything, but the voice actors were able to express themselves based on the detailed settings, which made the characters more convincing.

Mochizuki: I valued the image I received from the book. Together with the Frontier Works staff, I researched what kind of character I would like to be spoken to in the book, and we worked together to make sure that the book's content was conveyed through the character and that the character's words were believable. I tried to make the content of the book more memorable through the characters.

--Were there any memorable moments during the recording?

Mochizuki: Needless to say, everyone who participated in the recording was very talented, but I was surprised that everyone was more interested in the business book genre than I expected.

In particular, Yoshimasa Hosoya's enthusiasm was amazing. He was very pleased with the book and said, "This book is very interesting! I was so impressed when I heard that he had purchased the original book in addition to the manuscript, and had read it during his busy schedule.

The young man played by Mr. Hosoya is a passionate character who has an oblique attitude and is ready to take a bite out of Tetsuto. He was a passionate character who would take a bite out of Yoshi's words with the listener's question, "Isn't that idealistic? Hosoya was a perfect fit for this role.

Kazuhiko Inoue, who played the role of Tetsuto, also played the role of an old man with deep pockets who carefully delivered the long lines of dialogue. Although the characters were already established to some extent in the original story, the depth of the two actors' voices made the work even more convincing.

In the digest version, I especially remember Shotaro Morikubo's performance of "In the end, those who do things quickly get everything.

This was a surprise to me at the time of recording, but Mr. Morikubo is usually a lover of self-help books, and he seemed really happy to say, "This is the kind of work I wanted to do! I wanted to do this kind of work! Since this was his favorite genre, there were times when he got a little too emotional over the lines that he sympathized with, but of course he made the necessary adjustments.

-- I see. There are various types of business and self-help books, aren't there? Persuasion is important, but it is also interesting to be healed by business books.

Saeki: I listened to the audiobook of a book that my boss at work had told me to read but I had accumulated, and I heard some people say, "Even though it is a business book, I was healed by it. I am also happy to hear that about 20% of those who read the audiobook have picked up the original book.

Mochizuki: One of the authors who actually listened to the audiobook said, "Even though I wrote the words, it sounds like I'm saying something good (laughs). I'm not familiar with voice actors, but it's good. It just sinks right in.

-- How do you plan to develop the "Gokujo Voice Method" in the future?

Mochizuki: Right now it is mainly business books, but I think it will expand. For example, practical books on dieting. I think it would be interesting to exercise with an instructor. Personally, I'm also interested in having a president character impart knowledge about money.

-- I think the range of characters is going to expand. I look forward to it.

(Interview and text by Shinobu Tanaka)