Sore ga Seiyuu! Episode 13

'''Sore ga Seiyuu! Episode 13''' title name as Assessment (査定) aired on September 29th 2015.

Synopsis
Several months have passed since Earphones's first concert. Futaba is still in concert mode and dreaming about it. Korori then warns her not to act proud just because she had one concert. Korori also reminds her that she will meet an important event soon.

While preparing for their web radio show, Futaba is spacing out and not listening to what Ichigo is saying, causing her to hit Futaba's forehead. Rin then gives her sweets to give Futaba energy. Futaba tells them that she's always thinking about how fun the concert was and then spacing out. Ichigo thinks that Futaba is currently in a burnout state and missing her goal. She also reminds both Rin and Futaba that this is not the time to be spacing out, or they will stop getting work. Futaba then asks for advice from Aoi. She thinks that she's doing better than last year, but Aoi reminds her that the one who decide about that is her Agency at her novice assessment that will come soon. This assessment will take everything about the voice actors and voice actresses including work ethic, abilities and potential to determine if they can stay at Aozora Productions. Aoi warns Futaba that some people get their contracts terminated even though they had regular work, shocking Futaba.

On the way home, Futaba calls Ichigo for advice. Ichigo tells Futaba that neither her agency nor Rin's has anything like this assessment. She has a feeling that the assessment is a way of showing how kind this agency is. Not many places will watch over their employees for a whole two years even if they don't have work. Beside, there are some agencies that take voice actors and voice actresses but keep them when they can't get any work, which in many ways is worst than firing them. Ichigo cheers Futaba up by telling her that she will pass for sure since Futaba, Ichigo, and Rin already work hard. If they really watch her, they will know about how hard Futaba does her best. Futaba then looks back in her schedule calendar for the past months. She finds out that it's totally blank, which reminds her that she failed an audition that was offered to her. She didn't have the courage to go to the office because of the result, but Atsumari‎‎ called her and scolded her to go to the office, and Su-chan, Futaba's friend from when she was in voice acting school encourages her to go to the office too.

The next Sunday, Futaba and Su-chan have a dinner with Yurichin and Massu, Futaba's other friends from voice acting school. They talk about when they all studied in voice acting. Futaba finds out that Massu became the site leader in her work, Yurichin is already engaged and Su-chan moved to Kondo Agency's voice acting school after not getting any work in her first year. Only Futaba stayed after they finished the training course. Futaba praises all her friends on how great they are, but everyone says that the one who did great is Futaba. Although her friends cheer her up, Futaba is still nervous and comes to Hikari at the studio for advice. Hikari tells her to see herself in the future and determine what she wants to be. If she can't imagine it, that means she can't make it happen. If she doesn't know that, there's no point in continuing. Suddenly, Masumi Asano enters the studio for her work. Hikari then asks Masumi what she wants to be for an example to show Futaba, to which she answers that she wants to be rich. Later in their break for the web radio show, Futaba decides to ask the same question to Ichigo and Rin, with Ichigo answering that she wants to be an idol voice actress, while Rin doesn't have anything in mind except the entrance exam for high school. While walking back home, Futaba tries to mimic the voice of a boy who passes through, which startles both Ichigo and Rin. Rin and Ichigo praise Futaba that she's great with boy voice acting.

Finally, the time of Futaba's assessment has arrived. She feels very nervous while waiting for her turn. In the assessment room, a lot of managers including Atsumari‎‎ line up with Futaba's information in their hands. Futaba feels very uncomfortable and would like to end this then go home. One of the managers asks her about where she is now, to which she answers that she still has a long way to go, since she doesn't have any notable jobs other than Earphones. Atsumari‎‎ and another manager tell her that there are only two managers marking her that she is good enough to continue in the agency. They tell her she's lacking in terms of hard work, the amount of work and the quality of jobs, which Futaba's admits to. Atsumari‎‎ asks her if this means that there is nothing about Futaba that is valuable and if so why is she even here. Futaba then recalls the advice she got from others, and answers that she wants to become a voice actress who works for a long time. Her selling point is the part of her that's bold and a little slow. Even if times are hard, she won't lose her heart. Using that strength, she really wants to continue being a voice actress for the rest of her life. One of the managers tells her that it's hard. Even some voice actors who always get the main role will really get less work when they're nearly thirty and it's harder than getting the heroine part in an anime. Futaba answers that it's doesn't change the fact that she wants to do voice acting for the rest of her life. Even though playing heroines also makes her happy, she really wants to make the audience cry or laugh when watching her role even if it's just a short line. She wants to be a voice actress who people will remember as working until she can't do it anymore.

Spring has now arrived and Ichigo, Futaba, and Rin have a meeting at a coffee shop. Ichigo tries voice acting the local mascot which is a strawberry character and asks Futaba for her opinion. Rin arrives and tells them the result of her entrance exam, which she passed. Now only Futaba is left who is still waiting for her assessment result. Atsumari‎‎ calls her about the result, telling her that Futaba couldn't move up to be an associate member of the agency, but she gets a second chance for another year. Atsumari‎‎ asks her to work hard until the time of the second assessment comes. Both Rin and Ichigo congratulate her and are happy that they can continue being together.

After that, Futaba, Ichigo, and Rin continue working as voice actresses and being friends. When they finish recording and are walking back home, Kaibara-san once again stops them like when they first met, and shows them something which shocks them. What would that be and will we be able to find out?

Trivia

 * During Futaba's part-time job, she is seen stocking shelves with canned coffee. One of the cans is called "Gozz Coffee". This is a parody of the Japanese brand Boss Coffee.
 * Additionally, the cans also read "Gonzo". This is a reference to the animation studio Gonzo.
 * During her phone call with Futaba, Ichigo is seen wearing an apron with the words Jungle on it. This is a reference to the Japanese chain store Entertainment Hobby Shop Jungle.
 * Masumi Asano, the writer of Sore ga Seiyuu! guest stars as herself in this episode. She is best known for voicing Risa Harada from the D.N.Angel series, Kaido Minami from the Go! Princess PreCure series and Hakufu Sonsaku from the Ikki Tousen series.
 * She also voices Risa Asakaze in the Hayate no Gotoku! Anime.
 * As Futaba sits down to wait for her assessment, a clock in front of her is shown to read "Saiko". This is a parody of the brand name Seiko.
 * As Futaba continues to wait, Tsubasa Takanashi from the Sore ga Seiyuu! WEB series is seen sitting one seat over from her.
 * Masako Nozawa, Rie Kugimiya, Hiroshi Kamiya, Banjō Ginga, Noriko Hidaka, Rikiya Koyama, Yukari Tamura, Ryoko Shiraishi, Masumi Asano, Noriko Hidaka and Yui Horie make cameo appearances during the ending credits.
 * Addtionally, Noriko Hidaka and Hikari are seen wearing headphones that read "Gozy". This is a parody of the Goji brand of electronics.
 * At the end of the episode, Futaba, Ichigo and Rin are seen holding scripts for "Buddha Fighter Bodhisattvon REVOLUTION". It's logo is a parody of the logo for Neon Genesis Evangelion.

New Character

 * Tsubasa Takanashi (cameo)