Rec (レック) is a manga about an aspiring seiyū, authored by Hanamizawa Q-Tarou. An anime adaptation of the manga has been created; the first season is projected to consist of nine 12-minute episodes—an unusual format.
Story
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At the beginning of the story, Fumihiko Matsumaru is outside a movie theater waiting for his date to arrive. When it becomes obvious that he has been "stood up," he crumples his tickets in frustration. As he is about to toss the tickets into a trash can, a girl approaches, and in the "voice" of the tickets, implores him to not waste them. Dumbfounded, he sees the movie with her, which is Roman Holiday. During the movie, he notices that the girl is reading the subtitles out loud. When he asks her about this after the movie, she says that she was practicing the lines, and that she wants to be Audrey Hepburn. At dinner, she explains that she is a 20-year-old novice seiyū.
Going home, they find that they live in the same neighbourhood before they part ways. (In the anime, she recites appropriate lines from Roman Holiday.) Matsumaru goes to bed, but he can't sleep. In the darkness, he hears the sounds of sirens; there is a fire in the neighborhood. When he goes to investigate, he discovers that the girl's apartment has burned down. Since she has nowhere to stay, Matsumaru asks her to stay at his apartment; she dazedly accepts. Due to the circumstances, they end up falling into bed together. She introduces herself as Aka Onda just before they make love.
The next day, Matsumaru learns at work that his marketing concept "nekoki" (a cat-tree) has been approved as the mascot of a snack product called "Ha". Furthermore, Aka is chosen to voice nekoki. They decide to keep their live-in relationship a secret from their employers due to Aka's worries about an appearance of impropriety. She also insists they are not a couple just from having slept together once in a moment of weakness, and that she will merely be lodging with him. The series is heavily concerned with the developing dynamic of their relationship.
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He's 26 years old and is an average salaryman who works in the marketing department of a snack company. He always tries hard to get his advertisement projects chosen, but almost always fails at this. His latest project, Nekoki (cat tree), was chosen for the mascot of a snack food called Ha (は;leaf) and is his first accepted project.File:Aka Onda.jpgAka Onda
A 20 year old aspiring seiyū who idolizes Audrey Hepburn. She is a little eccentric in her actions as she often quotes movie lines from films Audrey Hepburn starred in. It is very easy to mistake her for a minor, so the first episode can be a bit shocking utill we learn her age. She lives with Matsumaru in his apartment, and usually asserts that she is only friends with him, despite the fact she and Matsumaru slept together the first night they met. This provides the crux of the remainder of the series.
In November 2006Idea Factory will release in Japan a game based on the Rec series, Rec ☆ DokiDoki Seiyū Paradise ☆. It will be a dating-sim/adventure game where you play as Fumihiko Matsumaru who is director for a new television project. He must then choose who will be the main seiyū for the project, create a new relationship, complete an advertising campaign, etc.
The limited edition for the game will include a bonus CD and artwork.
Trivia
The episodes of the anime are all titled based on Audrey Hepburn films, due to the admiration the female protagonist, Aka Onda, holds for the actress and the overall tie-in of Hepburn references.
Kanako Sakai, the voice actress who voiced Aka Onda, also sang the opening theme, "Cheer~Makka na kimochi~".
