29/07/2011

Weekly News Post

Mousou Este
Ever wondered what Noel was doing at a beauty clinic? Well, it turns out that he is an esthetician too! Or at least, in his dreams. The special CD ノエルの白昼夢 (noel no hakuchuumu, Noel his daydream) will be released during Comiket 80. If anyone is there and planning to get it, keep in mind that it will only be on sale during the second and third day!


                                             Yandere Heaven 4
Appearently they made a whole new site for yandere 4, no wonder they didn't add anything to the existing one *grumbles*. Ah well, at least that means there is an offical site. No preview or cast interview yet, but lots of other yandere goodness to look at.



28/07/2011

Oujisama (warai) series 1st Vacation

王子様(笑)シリーズ バラエティドラマCD 1st Vacation


Company: Frontierworks
Based on: Fairy Tales
Released: 2011.07.21
Official Site: http://www.fwinc.co.jp/princewww


Oujisama (warai) re-tells the story from several well known fairy tales from the perspective of the prince. This time we continue their story, and for that the princes from the first vol + the prince from Sleeping Beauty (from vol.3) go on vacation... or at least, that was the plan.

(I will mention al the princes by the name of their fairy tale, not their actual name)

We start with everyone introducing themselves. Rapunzel and Cinderella haven't met Sleeping Beauty yet, so introductions are in order. However Sleeping Beauty has reverted into full otaku and shyness mode, so this isn't exactly going smooth.

Next up Snow White asks how everyone is doing now, which results in a conversation about their current lifestyle and (hilarious) politics. And after that they have to decide where to go for the vacation, and thus the everlasting "the sea or the mountains" discussion begins. (In Japan both are a popular place to go, and people often ask which you like best. In the end they decide that they can't go to the sea (because the next entry in the main series will be the Little Mermaid) and that they don't want to go to the mountains (because three of them met their bride in the forest).

Because everyone wants to go somewhere cool, Sleeping Beauty persuades them to visit an ice dungeon (actually the palace of the Snow Queen from the Andersen fairy tale). Once they arrive Snow White manages to get a piece of the mirror she used in his eye, completely changing his personality (like in the actual fairy tale).

Once all of the trouble surrounding that adventure has finally subsided, they decide to tell ghost stories to get cold (it is a common saying that telling kaidan will make the surroundings colder). However in stead of actual kaidan they tell well known fairy tales in a scary kind of way.

In between the story are little interludes that tell us how each prince spends the day. Which usually depict hilarious situations.

In the cast talk, Suzumura Kenichi accidentally references a different series xD Nakai mentions that is was fun to record this together with everyone (up to now he always did the recording alone).  This time however Onosaka-san recorded his part alone (on May 10th, apparently). Other than that the topic is how each of them spends the summer.


Conclusion:
Throwing all of these princes together always makes for hilarious moments, and this CD is no exception. I especially like how they incorporated all kinds of other fairy tales into this story, they reference quite a few of them. That, and I simply love Cinderella his personality.

27/07/2011

Fushigi Koubou Shoukougun vol.7


ふしぎ工房症候群 EPISODE.7 - 妹の遺言


Company: Cosmic Ray
Based on: Original
Released: 2005.11.08
Official Site: http://www.cosmicray.co.jp/fks/


ふlしぎ工房症候群 (fushigi koubou shoukougun) translates into something like 'mysterious workshop syndrome'. The mysterious workshop in the title is what binds all of the stories in this series together. The shop can only be found by someone who is lost and really needs it, and is run by an old man, who sells 'happiness'

Each story is told by a (high profile) voice actor who both tells the story and acts out certain characters. The story is told from the perspective of the main character, and mostly centers on that person his thoughts. In each story the main character is going through a troubled period or trauma, and the mysterious workshop becomes a turning point in their lives.

The seventh story is told by Kishio Daisuke. To be frank, this is about a character with a major sister complex. That is actually the short version of this story.

It is also a story that seems to strive to make someone as miserable as possible. Of all the stories up to now, this is by far the most depressing one. It starts with the main character, at the time still in grade school, explaining that he and his little sister did not come from a happy family. His father was a drunk and a gambler, who often hit their mother or him when at home. When his father leaves the house their mother is the one to earn their income. One day their mother takes the two of them to an amusement park, first day as a happy family of three. However she collapses and dies as soon as they return home.

The two of them are moved distant relatives, however it is clear that they are not in the least welcome there. Eventually they are not even given proper meals anymore. To make sure that at least his sister gets enough food, he resorts to crimes to get money to buy her anything. However, due to her brother not being around as much as often, his sister becomes unhappy. When he notices this the two of them decide to run away. In the course of events they find a new home, an old couple without children that takes good came of them.

But that is when the worst discovery still has to be made: after she collapses one day, it is discovered that his sister has leukaemia...

From the title ( 妹の遺言, imouto no yuigon, my younger sister her testament) it is already clear that this story does not end well for the little sister in question. However from the start to the end this story is a true tearjerker. Especially near the end Kishio-san his voice acting really brought me to tears, there is just no way that you'll be able to keep it dry with his voice acting.

Wait... does that mean that I once again cried while listening to this series? It might sound weird that I write that this series brings me to tears in almost every review, but that is the kind of series that this is. Yet despite that, it always manages to deliver a positive message.


Conclusion:
To be quite honest, I didn't really like this story. Not only because it is truly a tearjearker, but also because it is based on a sister complex. I can't help it, I just don't like that kind of thing. However, despite that the story, maybe even more than that, the voice acting made me cry so I suppose it is a good story? I am confused here...

26/07/2011

O.To.Na Gentei Kanbyou CD Karte 3


オ・ト・ナ限定 看病CD Karte 3


Company: Nihon Colombia
Based on: Original
Released: 2011.07.13
Official Site: http://columbia.jp/otonagentei/


Otono Gentei Kanbyou is a CD in which two different types of characters tend to you in various situations where you are sick/tired. Each CD has two (entirely) different types of characters, and each one has 5 situations. Everything is recorded with the dummy head microphone, so at times it sounds like they are whispering in your ear. The character types in this third CD are a butler and the second one is your master (danna-sama can mean both 'husband' and 'master of the house')

The first five tracks feature Takatori Naoki (CV: Ono Daisuke), your butler. In order his situations are: overwork, a cold, headache, a sprain, and sleeplessness. In the beginning he still acts like a proper butler, but near the end he starts to show more and more affection. Other than that, it is OnoD. As a butler. What more can I say?

The last five tracks feature Kiryuu Seiichirou (CV: Inoue Kazuhiko), who is your master (meaning that this you are the maid). I initially though that "danna-sama"as his character is described would mean husband, but in this case it is actually the master of the house. I was surprised but I loved it :3  In order his situations are: headache, a cold, lack of sleep, a burn, and an allergy. To be honest, Inoue-san his voice is much too sexy to try and listen to what was actually going on.

Of all three CD's, I think this is the one that came closest to the "adult only" part of the title. Although it is still perfectly cute compare to, for example Kannou Jikan (ok, maybe that is a bit of an extreme example, but if you say 'adult only' that is what I expect it to be)



Conclusion:
OnoD as a butler. Again. How can I resist? Especially when they also include Inoue Kazuhiko. Like always, this isn't going to help much when you are actually sick. In fact, it might actually cause more problems like nosebleeds or fainting. Personally I like this one best, but maybe I'm just partial to the seiyuu.

Also, this is completely random: but only after the official site opened (on 13th of July, for some reason) I noticed that there is a hand on the shoulder of the rightmost character on CD 2. Not to mention an entire extra arm on the first cover due to all the covers forming one large image. I fail, miserably.

25/07/2011

Are you Alice? - Graffiti Covered


Are you Alice? - Graffiti Covered

Company: IM Label
Based on: Original.
Official Site: http://imlabel.jp/alice/


In Are you Alice a male Alice wanders into wonderland and is subsequently involved in 'the game to kill the white rabbit'. Alice his story is told in three drama CDs - Drink me, Check Mate, and Call me- but there are several expansions to the story. This is one of the side dramas for Are you Alice? that you got if you bought all Unbirthday Scraps directly from IM Label.


Warning: somewhat of a spoiler just ahead.


It starts with Alice (CV: Sakurai Takahiro) wandering around in the rain and nothingness that his world reverted to, complaining that Carrol isn't writing (and thus not continuing the story) when he finds someone with his head stuck in the ground.

After being indirectly insulted he helps the poor thing out, and it turns out it is a 'rakugaki', meaning graffiti, a scribble on the side of a page. Due it being a scribble Rakugaki (CV: Mizuta Wasabi) is a bit off an oddball (both in looks and in character) but Alice agrees to help it find shelter from the rain.

The conversation between Rakugaki and Alice is brilliant. Rakugaki is both a bit of an oddball and doesn't know much about the world so that makes for brilliant conversations. Near the end it suddenly becomes a little more serious however.


Conclusion:
Together with "no Name" and "Bristle Grass" this shows what happened to Alice after the events of the main story, making it interesting to listen to. From these three this is by far the funniest one to listen to, the other ones are a bit more serious. Only recommended if you've finished listening to the main story.

24/07/2011

Oujisama (warai) series vol.02



王子様(笑)シリーズ ドラマCD 第2巻


Company: Frontierworks
Based on: Fairy tales
Released: 2010.06.23
Official Site: http://www.fwinc.co.jp/princewww/princewww.php


Oujisama (warai) re-tells the story from several well known fairy tales from the perspective of the prince. Only... somewhere along the way things changed a little bit. This second vol has three new stories: Aladdin, Taketori Monogatari, and the Genji Monogatari. This time the princes actually have a name, which makes reviewing a lot easier xD

In the first story Aladdin (CV: Miyano Mamoru) has to find the magical lamp for a magician. However he gets stuck in the magic cave with no way out. When Aladdin tries to clean the lamp to read some faded inscriptions on it the genie of the lamp comes out and promises to do anything Aladdin says. Aladdin plans to have the genie kidnap the princess of the country so that he can 'save' her and marry her.

Miyano Mamoru his character saying "I will build anew world"= Death Note Raito?! Was all I could think for a while. No "it's a whole new world" romances here, just Raito Aladdin planning to improve the world by setting up a scheme to marry the princess and become the new king. Hihi, this makes the story a lot more interesting.

The second story is Taketori Monogatari (sometimes known as Kaguya-hime) from the perspective of the Emperor (CV: Okiayu Ryoutarou). Rumours of Kaguya-hime her beauty have reached the capital, and many important figures are competing for her hand. The Emperor feels that she is causing too much trouble and travels to her residence to make sure this stops, but of course he also falls in love.

There isn't much to say about this story accept that... it actually fits?! A few expressions aside, this could actually be the other side to Kaguya-hime her story.

However the third story makes up for this almost-serious story. Genji (CV: Yoshino Hiroyuki) is technically a player even in the actual Genji Monogatari, but is this story he actually sounds like one. Genji want to raise the (still 6year old) Murasaki into the perfect bride, and his rather strange way of getting this done. But especially the way Genji talks is just brilliant.

Like in the first CD there is a zadankai in which the three characters talk with each other. Genji treating the Emperor as his older brother is brilliant. They mostly talk about how they met their respective princesses (kidnapping in two cases) and they keep calling Kaguya-hime an alien.

The freetalk starts with Takemoto Eiji (who once again played the servant in every story) introducing Miyano and Okiayu-san. Like in the first CD the topic is 'a fateful encounter'. The discussion is going absolutely nowhere but they sound like they are having fun. Again the freetalk is done in two parts, with the second part done by Yoshino Hiroyuki and Takemoto Eiji (again)


Conclusion:
Again: Hilarious, Brilliant. I like this one even better than the first CD. There just isn't much that I can say, except for go and listen!

23/07/2011

Fushigi Koubou Shoukougun vol.6

ふしぎ工房症候群 EPISODE 6 「クリスマスの出来事」


Company: Cosmic Ray
Based on: Original
Released: 2005.11.18
Official Site: http://www.cosmicray.co.jp/fks/


ふしぎ工房症候群 (fushigi koubou shoukougun) translates into something like 'mysterious workshop syndrome'. The mysterious workshop in the title is what binds all of the stories in this series together. The shop can only be found by someone who is lost and really needs it, and is run by an old man, who sells 'happiness'

Each story is told by a (high profile) voice actor who both tells the story and acts out certain characters. The story is told from the perspective of the main character, and mostly centers on that person his thoughts. In each story the main character is going through a troubled period or trauma, and the mysterious workshop becomes a turning point in their lives.

The sixth story is story is told by Miki Shinichirou, and is about someone who feel slightly lonely despite always beeing around friends or co-workers. He is always the one they come to for advise, whether work or private. And he loves giving advise, listening to people and helping them, but at some point this caused that he is no longer able to ask someone else for help. By building an image of someone who always helps, he feels he can't be the one to ask for help.

Just before Christmas he spends a day alone for a change, due to the fact that he is always around people the cold streets full of couples make him slightly lonely. Wandering aimlessly through the streets, he finds the fushigi koubou and orders what he wants most at that point: a girlfriend.

After he exits the workshop he witnesses a traffic accident where a woman is ran over. He immediately calls an ambulance for her and accompanies her to the hospital. Once there it turns out that she only sustained light injuries, but that she lost her memory due to the shock. Feeling sorry for her (and because she is very pretty) he decides to visit her as often as possible, and the two become close...

This is such a sweet story. I like how Miki portraits the feeling of 'there is nothing wrong in my life, in fact it is beautiful but there is something missing' (did that sentence even make sense?). The ending also took me by surprise. But it was a good twist. As always the voice acting and the music are fantastic, and it felt like the music was used slightly different here. Miki did a wonderful job on the voice acting, in track 8 and 9 he actually made me cry.

(Funny side note: I think I could hear his breathing a few times, while this is usually unhearable. Although that is probably more of an editing miss than anything else)


Conclusion:
This is such a sweet romance story, but don't let that scare you away if you don't like things that are labeled 'romance'. It is a really good story. It would be a shame to wait until Christmas to listen to it, but it might just give a little extra touch of Christmas feeling to it

Fushigi Koubou Shoukougun Premium 1 is actually a continuation, although I don't have listened to it yet so I couldn't say exactly how it is connected. But I know that I'm looking forward to hearing another story with Miki his voice.

22/07/2011

Weekly News Post

First big news:
It is my birthday today! Yaaaaaay, happy birthday to me!! v(≧∇≦)v イェェ~
That means I'm now officially 22, whoohooo. I don't know whether to feel old or young. I feel old lately, but I'm still young? (>∇<)



And now, on to the rest of the news:


Full Score 2
A recent blog post from the official site drew my attention to something interesting. The new character Ooe Tadashi is voice by Taniyama Kisho. But that means that he voices two roles in the upcoming season. Hmmm... The blog post just states that "there is a reason why he [Taniyama] voices these two roles, which will become clear in the drama CD. "


Oujisama (warai) series vol.5
The next entry to the Oujisama (warai) series was announced at the Prince Festival event that was held last Sunday. So this will be vol.5, and the prince this time will be from the Little Mermaid. They also announced who will be voicing him: Morikawa Toshiyuki. The release is planned for 2011.10.26, but they are still writing the script at the moment.


21/07/2011

O.To.Na Gentei Kanbyou CD Karte 2


オ・ト・ナ限定 看病CD Karte 2

Company: Nihon Colombia
Based on: Original
Released: 2011.06.29
Official Site: http://columbia.jp/otonagentei/


Otono Gentei Kanbyou is a CD in which two different types of characters tend to you in various situations where you are sick/tired. Each CD has two (entirely) different types of characters, and each one has 5 situations. Everything is recorded with the dummy head microphone, so at times it sounds like they are whispering in your ear. This second CD has two characters that are more similar to each other than the first CD, an ore-sama type and kichiku type.

The first five tracks feature Toujou Takashi, an ore-sama type. Even though he is officially ore-sama, I'd actually say he is part tsundere. None the less he seems like a nice person to be around. He teases you and says he doesn't care, but when really needed he does take care of you. In order the different situations are: stomachache, toothache, motion sickness, feeling down, and a cold.

The last five tracks feature Shinonome Yuuya, a kichiku type. Completely true to his character setting he is mostly teasing you to the point of bullying you (kichiku means 'demon'). Somehow he still manages to get a few nice remarks in though. His situations are a cold, stomachache, feeling down, tiredness because of overwork, and toothache. Especially the last track was brilliant. At first he suddenly does a perfect boyfriend act, only to quit that and do a perfect job of making you scared of the dentist.

At first I was wondering whether these two wouldn't be two similar, but that isn't the case. The big difference here is that Toujou is basically nice but has a few tsundere traits, while Shinonome is simply a complete jerk who has a few nice moments. (basically that is what kichiku is, but hey). I like Toujou more, he also seems like someone who could actually be real.

Because of the character setting of these two this CD would have been more suited for the 'otona gentei' (adult only) part of the title, but just like the first CD it is just cute. Although in case of Shinonome I guess cute isn't the right description...


Conclusion:
Again, I doubt it would help when you are sick (in case of Shinonome, I think it would actually make it worse). Personally I liked Toujou best, while Shinonome is being a bit too much of a jerk. Personal preference I suppose.

20/07/2011

Oujisama (warai) series vol.01


王子様(笑)シリーズ ドラマCD第1巻

Company: Frontierworks
Based on: Fairy tales
Released: 2010.04.21
Official Site: http://www.fwinc.co.jp/princewww/princewww.php


Things are getting a bit odd with the review for vol.3 online but still no review for the first two. There are other series suffering from the same, but I'll get there sometime. Fore the time being: Oujisama (warai) vol.1!!

Oujisama (warai) re-tells the story from several well known fairy tales from the perspective of the prince. Only... somewhere along the way things changed a little bit. This first vol has three stories: Cinderella, Snow white, and Rapunzel.Each story is unrelated, but no-one really has a name in the actual story besides 'prince' or 'caretaker' so the descriptions might be a bit confusing (^-^;;)

The first one is Cinderella her prince (CV:Suzumura Kenichi), who has a weird obsession with weapons, and zero interest in women. His younger brother (CV: Takemoto Eiji) however has already found the love of his life, and because he can't marry before the prince marries he is set on getting him to marry. When the prince finally expresses interest in a young girl (Cinderella, duh) his younger brother is prepared to do anything to find the girl, including trying to deceive the prince.

The second story is Snow white, where our prince (CV: Nakai Kazuya) finds the dwarfs crying over Snow white her unmoving body. He falls completely in love with her, and promises the dwarfs to give her a proper burial (as the dwarfs themselves seem to lack a bit of common sense). However on the way to the castle Snow white wakes up, and the prince proposes to her. The only drawback here is that while Snow white may look like an angel, her personality has a bit of a dark side too...

The last story is that of Rapunzel her prince (CV: Ishida Akira). While they are lost in the forest, the prince and his servant (CV: Takemoto Eiji) find Rapunzel her tower. The prince is a bit of an airhead and always on cloud nine, so he climbs the tower. For a while they stay near the tower, and the prince climbs up every day. (They never say what happens up there, but we can all fill in the blanks ;). The ending is pretty much according to the original though.

The forth track is a zadankai (round-the-table-discussion) with the three princes still in character. We first hear their actual names. Rapunzel his name is impossibly long (Johan Willibart D. Franz-Paul Demidius von Shubart, I might have missed something there actually ) Snow white his name is Georg, and the prince from Cinderella is... 'Prince Charming' . After that there is a lot of truly hilarious random talk between the three about their respective brides.

After the in-character meeting there is an actual cast talk track. Apparently this was the first time Ishida-san heard any version of Rapunzel, so he actually thought it was this kind of story. Other than that they talk about 'fateful' encounters. The cast talk is somewhat divided into two parts. The recordings were done in two parts, Suzumura-san and Akira-san did their recordings together, and Nakai-san and Takemoto-san recorded together. Especially the second part is brilliant.


Conclusion:
Hilarious, brilliant. I don't know a third word to summarize this drama CD. The overall way in which they twisted these stories is just brilliant, and the track in which the three princes talk with each other only makes it better. A good beginning to a wonderful series.

19/07/2011

Shiawase Kissa Sanchoume


幸福喫茶3丁目

Company: Marine Entertainment
Based on: Manga
Released: 2007.01.25


I can do this... I can review something normal once in a while... Wait, maybe Are you Alice? can count as normal? Or maybe not... either way!

Shiawase Kissa Sanchoume (which would translate into something like "[the] Happiness Cafe on block 3") is a drama CD based on the manga of the same name. 16 year old Takamura Uru (CV: Kanda Akemi)  works parttime at the cafe "Bonheur" together with fellow part-timers Shindou Satsuki (CV: Toriumi Kousuke) and Nishimura Ichirou (CV: Sugiyama Noriaki). Working at the cafe fills Uru her days with happiness.

The first tracks of the drama CD are more of an introduction to the world of Shiawase Kissa. We meet everyone at Bonheur, regular customer Yamasaki Mitsuki (CV: Toyoguchi Megumi), and sons of a nearby wagashi (japanese sweets) shop; Abekawa Kashiwa (CV: Yusa Kouji) and Sou (Morikubo Shoutarou) and their little sister Sakura (CV: Tanii Asuka). If you haven't read the manga (like me) this is a nice introduction, as it everything you need to enjoy the story.

After that the actual story starts. The owner of a nearby french restaurant (CV: Yasumoto Hiroki) asks Uru  to be the model for a poster for their upcoming dinner for couples and newly weds. Uru agrees, but she still needs someone to act as the groom. Of course, all four of the above guys want the role of Uru her groom (ok, except maybe for Shindou who acts indifferent). Eventually they decide to decide who can be Uru her groom by holding a contest to decide. The one who gives Uru the present that makes her happiest wins and becomes her 'groom'.

The charm of this drama CD (and the manga as a whole) lies in the quirky personality of the characters. Shindou seems like an ever grumpy and violent person but actually bakes all the cakes for the cafe. Ichirou falls asleep the instant he gets hungry, and only wakes up again when you force-feed him something. Mitsuki is a super tall model, but is actually still in junior high and can eat for two. The Abekawa brothers speak kansai-ben, which is funny enough on its own. Sakura is just your standard super cute baby sister that every series needs.


Conclusion:
Any conversation between these characters is already funny, and the gifts they give Uru only make things better. While you could argue that this is just another shoujo manga, it is a very funny one and that is all that counts.

18/07/2011

Are you Alice? - Good Bye

 
Are you Alice? - Good Bye

Company: IM Label
Based on: Original.
Official Site: http://imlabel.jp/alice/


In Are you Alice a male Alice wanders into wonderland and is subsequently involved in 'the game to kill the white rabbit'. Alice his story is told in three drama CDs - Drink me, Check Mate, and Call me- but there are several expansions to the story. This is one of the side dramas for Are you Alice? It originally was an extra drama that you got if you bought the three main CDs at Animate. It isn't for sale.

This drama starts with Alice (CV: Sakurai Takahiro) pestering the Mad Hatter (CV: Hirata Hiroaki) with asking how far the Hatter got with Alice Liddel.

The the scene suddenly switches to said Alice Liddel (CV: Nakahara Mai) walking around wonderland. She meets both the Cheshire Cat (CV: Inoue Kazuhiko) and the White Rabbit (CV: Morikubo Shoutarou) but seems a bit confused. Eventually they take her back to the Mad Hatter, where she is greeted by... Alice?

This short story is a bit confusing. Not that it is confusing on its own, but the implications are. After all, it means that both Alice and Alice Liddel are in wonderland at the same time, and both are the "Alice" from the title of the book.


Conclusion:
Confusing, but still somehow nice to listen to. It does show that both the Cheshire Cat and the White Rabbit treat the actual Alice Liddel a whole lot different than any other Alice. Nothing relevant to the plot happens however, so you don't really miss out if you can't listen to it. But there is no harm in listening to it either.

16/07/2011

Hougen Renai 5


方言恋愛 5


Company: Movic
Based on: Original
Released: 2011.05.19
Official Site: http://www.animate.co.jp/special/hougen/



Hougen Renai translates into something as 'Dialect Love', which is exactly what it is. Hougen Renai tells two stories, each one takes place in a different part of Japan. The whole charm of the series is that the dialect of the location where the story supposedly takes placed is used. This volume has two new prefectures; Kagawa and Fukushima.

In the Kagawa story the heroine (CV: Fukuen Misato) tranfers to the Kagawa branch office from Tokyo. There she meets her new direct superior, Yamaji Masanao (CV: Nakamura Yuuichi). Yamaji is known to be very strict, which immediately shows in his attitude. When a senpai (CV: Nabei Makiko) suggests that the heroine takes a well deserved day off after a while, she does so... only to bump into Yamaji. And so she ends up spending the day with him.

I love this story!! And Fukuen Misato sounds so cute trying to be a hardworking office lady! The dialect was easy to understand, and to me it sounds very warm and kind. While Yamaji is a strict superior, he also seems very kind. He doesn't ask impossible things and he also gives praise where appropriate.

The Fukushima story centers on the heroine (CV: Sawashiro Miyuki) who lived in Fukushima for a year as a teenager and who now returns there as a teacher. There her friend Atsumi Momoka (CV: Nagasawa Miki) takes her to the cafe of her former classmate Kaname Takaya (CV: Matsukaze Masaya). The heroine is surprised at how much Kaname has changed from how he was at highschool, but after a little while she starts to visit his cafe more often...

The dialect was a bit harder to understand in this story, but still not that hard. storywise it wa so-so. Although it was nice to hear how another female plays a major role (at least in the beginning) instead of the focus being just on the heroine. It is not that the story isn't that interesting, but it is sort of generic.


Conclusion:
I absolutely love the first story, the second story is not as good but still very decent. I don't know where I would place it between the other Hougen Renai CDs, but it doesn't rally matter because I can still wholeheartedly recommended it to everyone.

15/07/2011

Weekly News Post

I'm sorry about the slacking in reviews, but I promise to pick up the pace again! Now, for the news:


Tales of Graces Anthology Drama CD
I'm not entirely sure what I'm supposed to picture when something is called an anthology drama CD (I only know comic anthologies), But frontierworks is releasing a Tales of Graces Anthology Drama CD. It looks like this drama CD will center on gag stories.

Speaking of Tales, there are two drama/DJ CD's only on sale at Comiket 80. One for Tales of Symphonia, and one for Tales of Vesperia. From the description it looks like they will be part radio/DJ and part drama.



Warumono (warai) series
Last week I reported a possible new warai series, and now that I've finally found the official warai homepage again I have some more info on it.

Warumono (warai) series tells a few stories from the viewpoint of the villain. There are two CDs planned, 'Oni' (demon) and Ookami (wolf). The Oni one has stories like Momotarou and Issun Boushi from the viewpoint of the demon. The Ookami one answers the question 'what if the wolf from Red Ridinghood, the Seven Little Goats, and the Three little Piggies would be the same wolf?'.

Allow me to go kyaaaaaaa~! a new warai series!!!!.  Thank you, I won't do it again. I promise.



14/07/2011

O.To.Na Gentei Kanbyou CD Karte 1


オ・ト・ナ限定 看病CD Karte 1

Company: Nihon Colombia
Based on: Original
Released: 2011.06.29
Official Site: http://columbia.jp/otonagentei/


Otono Gentei Kanbyou is a CD in which two different types of characters tend to you in various situations where you are sick/tired. Each CD has two (entirely) different types of characters, and each one has 5 situations. Everything is recorded with the dummy head microphone, so at times it sounds like they are whispering in your ear. This first CD has a toshi-shita (younger) and toshi-ue (older) character.

This first 5 tracks feature our Kawashou Takuto, a toshi-shita character (CV: Kishio Daisuke). In order the situations are:a cold, lack of sleep, stomachache, feeling down, headache. Instead of really helping you with things he is more of a moral support (he almost sets your kitchen on fire while trying to cook something). I guess this is a typical case of "it is the feeling that counts", because you can't help but smile at someone who acts so cute.

The last 5 tracks feature Fujisawa Nozomu, a toshiue character (CV: Konishi Katsuyuki). In his case the situations are a cold, overwork, toothache, feeling down, dizziness. Completely opposite to Takuto he knows exactly what to do in every situation and gives you kind advice.

Even though the CD is called Otona Gentei (aldults only) there is really nothing in it that really is adult only. I expected there would be so I was extremely cautious for the first part, but it became clear that it is all cuteness soon enough.


Conclusion:
I doubt it really helps when you are sick, but at least it'll be something nice to listen to when you have to stay in bed or on the couch. It is mostly cute, with nothing  'adult only'. Whether that is a plus or a minus I'll let you decide for yourself ;)

11/07/2011

Are you Alice? - Sweet November


Are you Alice? - Sweet November


Company: IM Label
Based on: Original.
Official Site: http://imlabel.jp/alice/


This is one of the side drama's for Are you Alice? It originally came with Alice no Tea Party Phase 3, though I'm not completely sure which company had it as a bonus.

In Sweet November the Mad Hatter (CV: Hirata Hiroaki) complains that he has to write a story due tomorrow and asks Alice (CV: Sakurai Takahiro) what kind of events there are in November. Eventually they decide to do a school trip story, and the Cheshire Cat (CV: Inoue Kazuhiko), the White Rabbit (CV: Morikubo Shoutarou) and the Dutchess (CV: Kawata Taeko) are called so that they at least have a few students for the trip.

Of course the Hatter has zero understanding about what a school trip should be like, and no one really cooperates anyway so chaos ensues. Hilarious chaos.


Conclusion:
While not one of the better side dramas this is still highly amusing. It is completely unrelated to the actual story, so you can listen to it any time.

09/07/2011

Shuukan Soine CD Vol.6 - Kazuya


 週刊添い寝CDvol.06和也


Company: Black Butterfly
Based on: Original
Released: 2011.07.01
Official Site: http://www.blackbutterfly-cd.com/short/


Shuukan Soine is a CD in which your boyfriend cuddles next to you in bed and talks with you  until you fall asleep. After the first 4 original entries to the series two more followed, and this is the last one (for now).

The first track starts with Kazuya (CV: Toriumi Kousuke) answering a work related phone call. When he comes back to bed (why on earth does someone call that late?!) you pretend to be asleep. He isn't fooled though and eventually manages to make you give up the act. You talk a bit about his shop (he just became shop manager in a clothing store) and semi-making plans for a date.

Like in every other Shuukan Soine, Kazuya reads a story from a picture book for you. This time the story is about a rose made out of glass, that loves all the admiration it gets. Someday someone accidentally breaks it, and just as they are about to throw it away someone says she'll take the rose home and picks up the pieces. At this point you've fallen sleep so he stops reading the story, making me curious to how it ends. (especially because he says he "wants you to sleep with a happy feeling, so he'll stop reading", meaning that the story actually has a sad end?)

Kazuya is maybe one of the most mature boyfriends in this series. Jin (from vol.2) is also more mature, but he teases you much more. To me, Kazuya was definitely the sweetest one. Someone find me a boyfriend like this please

In the freetalk Toriumi-san pretty much to the questions that he has been given (the same ones everyone had). What is interesting though, is that he talks a bit about the dummy head microphone a bit. Apparently it has been around for years and years, but recently it is becoming popular for these kind of works. That, and that the dummy head is shaped like a man, so he hopes that they will make a female looking one~


Conclusion:
This was a very nice final entry to the series. I'm kind of sad that it ends here, so I hope that they will continue again. Although, it might turn into more of the same, hmmm. Anyway, Kazuya is a very sweet boyfriend. He doesn't really have any quirks, but is the kind that give you a sort of simple happiness.

08/07/2011

Weekly News Post

I can't think of a good introduction so here comes the news!



Fluffy Bunny
More interesting Doujin Works are coming! The circle Fluffy Bunny, whom I've heard work from before (I owe you a review) is releasing new stuff.

First up is a second entry to their KareKoe series. The first one was released over a year ago, but now a second entry is on its way and will be released on 2011.07.21. KareKoe is a drama CD in which your boyfriend calls you in various situations. The first CD featured a boyfriend that you are living together with, this second CD features a boyfriend who is your... tutor?! Apparently you caught a cold and your boyfriend (CV: Taniyama Kishou) calls to check whether you are OK. Akso included are various short tracks for other situations (your birthday, Christmas, etc)

And in August  ほかほかツンデレ温泉 (hokahoka tsundere onsen) will be released. In this CD your Tsundere boyfriend (CV: Takahashi Hiroki) takes you on an onsen trip. Normally your boyfriend doesn't talk that much, but he opens up to you during this trip. The different tracks are various situations during your trip (the way there, sightseeing, at the inn, etc). The CD is set to be released on 2011.08.25.


06/07/2011

Perabu! A Capella Love!?


ぺらぶ! A cappella love!?


Company: Frontierworks
Based on:  Original
Released: 2011.06.22
Official Site: http://perabu.jp/index.html



Perabu!! A Capella Love!? is the story of 5 high school students who are suddenly told that from now on they are the school a capella club (or for schort, perabu). Oh, and that they have a performance in front of the entire school in exactly one month.

The person behind all of this is the rather eccentric music teacher Sakikabara Ryuunosuke (CV: Ono Daisuke) for reasons you'll hear at the end of the CD. Our five victems are of course all completely not interested in a capella and completely different types of people (although they at least seem to be familiar with each other).

Inoue Yoshiya (CV: Kimura Ryouhei) is the moodmaking of the gang. He is always in high tension and tends to make up words (for example he keeps using 'perabu' as a verb). Katagiri Hayato (CV: Hosoya Yoshimasa) makes the impression of being a delinquent, but is actually a great cook and overall housewife. Learned all of these things for the sake of his beloved little sister. Arisaka Keiichirou (CV: Maeno Tomoaki) always acts very serious, but actually loves cats and has his own cat-blog. Mitsunaga Chihiro (CV: Kakihara Tetsuya) is your standard much-too-popular-with-the-girls narcissist. And finally Tokieda Ayumu (CV: KENN) is always either sleeping or eating, and looking cute while doing so.

Story-wise this follows the pattern of a random group of unwilling people is thrown together to do something, problems must be overcome, and they succeed. Usually there is a "friendship bonds are formed" step somewhere in between, but these 5 were already pretty close. Perabu relies on the quircky personalities of its characters to make the story interesting. However this works only half of the time. While their quircks did make you laugh, it still feels like the 'story' is too simple.

However it gets bonus points for actually including the a capella song they were practicing. The last track consists of the song + everyone stating that they've come to like a capella and want to continue (surprise surprise)


Conclusion:
Perabu! certainly isn't a bad drama. It is actually pretty funny and the quirky characters are very lovable. Yet it feels like it could have been so much more. Despite the funny take on things the plot is just too thin, literally almost everything is predictable from the start. Hopefully they'll improve this a little for the next entry in the series.

05/07/2011

Kannou Jikan IV


感応時間IV~ねじ巻き 帽子屋の観劇ショ~ 


Company: Hituzigumo
Based on: Original
Released: 2011.06.22
Official Site: http://hituzigumo.com/lineup/gumo-0008


Here we are again: Kannou Jikan.

For a short summary, the first Kannou Jikan was more of a relaxation hypnosis with a lot of double wording. The second one became an overdose of pervertedness, the third one took things so far over the top that it became uncomfortable.

I feel obliged to listen to this because I've listened to rest, but I have to admit I didn't really feel like listening to it. To be fair, the setting hasn't improved much from the last time. No more being bound in chains, but this time the setting is that you are married yet have an affair with the illusionist that is featured in this vol.4. And he loves to remind you that you are married.

Maybe I was too busy feeling uncomfortable to remember what was going on exactly last time, but this volume definitely describes physical sexual contact. Many a romance novel could learn a lot from this actually. I on the other hand am not a fan.

What I do have to admit though, is that they did do one very effective thing. At the beginning he uses the sound of a finger snap to hypnotize you. This sound is used throughout the entire CD, and every time you hear it somehow heightens your attention.

The free talk made me laugh a lot though. Morikawa starts with whispering in your ear with a hoarse voice just like in the main drama. Apparently he had a lot of fun doing the recording. This free talk is also the first time that I could hear someone walking around (he talks about the sound of footsteps as well), which was kind of interesting, since I've always been wondering about that. I wonder how the others managed to make no sound? Or maybe the studio removed all the walking sounds...


Conclusion:
This series has officially become nothing more than lecherous talk. Luckily the setting has improved ever so slightly from the last time, but I certainly don't like constantly being reminded of my non-existent husband. Oh wait, I don't like the entire perverted talk thing anyway.

04/07/2011

Are you Alice? - Bunk it


Are you Alice - Bunk it

Company: IM Label
Based on: Original.
Official Site: http://imlabel.jp/alice/


This is one of the side drama's for Are you Alice, if you bought all unbirthday scrap albums at Messe, you got this as an extra. It isn't for sale.

Like many side drama's this is complete crack. It starts with Mitsuki (CV: Fukuyama Jun) introducing himself as a born victim of ijime (bullying) but that he will be reborn now that he has transferred to a new school. Only to be bossed around by Alice (CV: Sakurai Takahiro) right after saying so.

As this is a school life parody they try to actively use every cliche there is in the genre. From the Mad Hatter (CV: Hirata Hiroaki) who is the homeroom teacher and Alice forcefully changing the setting into a mixed school so that they can see Alice Liddel (CV: Nakahara Mai) in a mini skirt, to Mitsuki constantly being bullied, to Alice Liddel abusing her absurdly powerful position as president of the student council to turn the Cheshire Cat into the school nurse, everything is complete crack.

And absolutely brilliant. This is why I love these tokuten, the completely nonsensical stories are just too brilliant.In the story Alice says that they did something like this before, which references to the Blackboard Jungle story from the Lost End drama CD.


Conclusion:
Go and listen to it now! You could probably even listen to it without knowing anything about the series as it is mainly just a parody of the school life genre, but knowing the series does make it more fun.

02/07/2011

Don't Cry, Girl ♥


ドントクライ、ガール♥


Company: Movic
Based on: Manga
Released: 2011.04.06


Based on the manga of the same name by Yamashita Tomoko, this is the story of Taeko (CV: Kobayashi Yuu). Who, for whimsical reasons, has to start living with Masuda (CV: Morikubo Shoutarou) , a friend of her parents. The only problem is that Masuda tends to walk around naked at home. All the time.

That means also when he opens the door when Taeko first arrives. Or when he is cooking. Or, well always actually. To makes things worse he sometimes uses the word moe. Taeko tries her best to endure all of it, but her reactions are just as priceless as Masuda his silly actions.

The cast is made even livelier by Masuda his friend Jinnai (CV: Suwabe Junichi) who is only sliiiiiightly perverted. And by Teako her two best friends, who seem to be oblivious to all the strange things Masuda and Jinnai say.

I already knew this was going to be win when the drama starts with Taeko saying "... my mother, open bracket, an idiot, close bracket..." (she literally says that). And from there on it only gets better. The best part of the entire drama is when Taeko her friends ask her to arrange a meeting with Masuda and Jinnai (because they look good) and the following conversations. Especially the part where Jinnai his answer to what his ideal romance would be is one large sensor beep xD

The last two tracks where Taeko for some reason considers marrying Masuda are brilliant as well. Just listen and you'll understand what I mean ;)


Conclusion:
I didn't know what to expect when I started listening but it turned out to be more than worth the listen ♥. It has been a long time since I laughed this much while listening to something. I love the randomness, the seiyuu, everything. Go and listen. Now ♥

01/07/2011

Weekly News Post

Good morning, it is 8:00am, this is the morning news.


And we've already reached July! That means all reviews from last month have been added to the review page. I didn't manage to keep to the 1 review a day schedule but I've been trying! And this month I'll just try a little harder to actually make it.

There is also a new blog page: the glossary. Basically a huge list of drama CD related words and their explanation, so that you don't have to be confused when I start using exotic words. An everlasting work in progress, probably. There is another new page planned, but that remains a little secret for now.



Shuukan Soine
I already had my laugh when the first Shuukan Soine pillow covers went on sale, but vol.5 and 6 have their own covers, and pre-orders have opened. Pre-orders end on the 31st of July. You can only order them if you live in Japan though.

Momogre
It looks like momogre (Momo & Grapes Company) is on a nice monthly schedule with releasing more drama CD's based on famous literary works. The next one is called 十五少年漂流記~二年間の夏休み~ (Juugo shounen hyouryuuki ~ninenkan no natsuyasumi~ , the drifting chronicles of 15 boys ~a two year summer vacation~) and will be released 2011.07.28 and is an adaption of Jules Verne his book "Two Years' Vacation"

Another release is set for august:  ドラキュラ~ふたりの吸血鬼~ (dorkyura ~futari no kyuuketsuki~, Dracula ~two vampires~). The story summary states that "Alexander and van Helsing are chasing Count Dracula,  who is chasing after a girl named Mina because she looks exactly like his long dead beloved. While the Count his right hand Mikael (Michael?) does his best to obstruct their path, Alexander and van Helsing manage to track down the Count...