06/09/2010

Yandere Heaven ~Makoto Gakuen Affiliated Hostpital Chapter~


I already did a review of the first CD here, this is the second CD and in my opinion it is even better than the first. The sheer fact that Hirakawa Daisuke is one of the voice actors made this an absolut must for me, and he didn't let me down! Again, if you don't know what yandere is you might want to stay away from it, especially because this one is even extremer than the first.

This times round you are a nurse that has just started working in Makoto Hospital. The CD once again has two characters: Takaaiki, the  doctor who is in charge of training you, and Sakae, a patient (who isn't really sick but just there for some reason btw). Takaaki tries to keep you away from Sakae from the start, and that is where the trouble starts.

Like I said, this CD is even extremer than the first. For one because being in a hospital gives some interesting options, but also because of Hirakawa Daisuke's voice acting. Oh my, his voice acting (>w<) but more on that later.
The one thing that annoyed me a little with this CD was the main character's (ie: your own) actions. Even after she's been warned numerous times not to go to Sakae and he has revealed his intentions she happily goes to visit him, even lets him drive her home. In the first CD the main chara was just trying to live her life (go to school and her part time job) but this time round you make some rather illogical decisions...

All is forgiven with Hiraka Daisuke's voice acting though. I've always thought that yandere or characters with a hidden (dark) side suit him best and oh man, was I right. His normal voice is very sweet an lovable, but when he goes yandere I get chills down my spine. But then when I thought that he was already in compleet yandere mode he takes it even further. I thought I'd die from fangirling xD

The cast talk was pretty interesting too, especially because Hirakawa-san goes yandere again in the end~



So yes, if you liked the first one, or if you like yandere in general: get out there and buy this CD. NOW xD

05/09/2010

Seiza Kareshi Series vol.3 Starry☆Sky ~Pisces~


The Starry☆Sky series introduces 12 ''boyfriends"to you, and each CD has a different character> Their personality is based on the zodiac horoscope, hence the title which translates into something like 'zodiac boyfriend'. This is the third CD and introduces Nanami Kanata, his character is based on the image of the Pisces.

Kanata's story actually begins with him confessing to you. He is so bashfull it made me laugh, and it was a brilliant ice breaker. (yes even with drama CD's you need to get used to each other xD). Despite being very bashfull, Kanata actually acts very together. As long as you don't embarras him you've got a very get together boyfriend.

He also isn't as lovey-dovey as the other two (all the characters in the series have a bit of a habit of emphathizing that you are boyfriend-girlfriend) which is a good thing in my opion, your going out feels more natural. His image bgm is also rather interesting, you'll get my point when you listen to it ( ' ~ ' )

The fact that you are childhood friends isn't really shown in the drama cd though. In one of the final tracks you talk a bit about it, but other than that the fact is left unspoken. Same goes for the fact that he has a weak body, he only mentions it once in a matter of fact manner. If you've played the game (Starry Sky in Spring) you know that you are childhood friends and that despite getting into fight a lot he actually has a weak body. It would have ben nice if it would have been shown more in the CD, but it is not like you are missing out on anything. It might actually be better that you are not constantly worrying about him.

Kanata really made me laugh at some points, and the first to actually make me talk back. Although my reactions were quite different from the actual reactions in the CD (>v<) It is a light hearted but sweet CD, and one of my favorites in the series.

04/09/2010

Seiza Kareshi Series vol.2 - Starry☆Sky - Aquarius –


The Starry☆Sky series introduces 12 ''boyfriends"to you, and each CD has a different character. Their personality is based on the zodiac horoscope, hence the title which translates into something like 'zodiac boyfriend'. This is the second volume, the character this time is Amaha Tsubasa, who is based on the image of the Aquarius.

Like the first CD the tracks show you going on a date, celebrating your birthday, making phone calls etc. Tsubasa's character is completely different though, he is very lively almost bordering on childish, which is something he is always worried about. Throughout the CD he is pre-occupied with not acting childish, as a result of which he does seem somewhat childish of course. The energy is refreshing though, too bad it also gave me a feeling like I was interacting with a cute little brother rather than my boyfriend (^-^;;) The few moments he is not worrying about acting childish or grown up is matury rating soars sky high though.

There are some really sweet moments, I especially like the birthday track in which he gives you 'his future'as a present. A bit of a heavy present but the way he gave it was very sweet. The track where you take a walk in the park and he starts talking about the future after seeing a family with kids was also suprisingly sweet, as well as finally showing a more mature side.
 
The voice acting is very lively, his way of talking sort of gave me the image of a cross over between a brat and the kind of people you find in shibuya though xD But like I said the energy is refreshing and addictive.

03/09/2010

Seiza Kareshi Series vol.1 - Starry☆Sky ~Capricorn~


The Starry☆Sky series introduces 12 ''boyfriends"to you, and each CD has a different character> Their character is based on the zodiac horoscope, hence the title which translates into something like 'zodiac boyfriend'. This is the first volume, the character Tomoe Yoh, who is based on the image of the Capricorn.

I don't know whether this would have been the best character to start with, because Yoh sort of clings to you. Though that may just be my personal dislike of characters who dote over you so much, as well my experience with the related games. The fact that Yoh is half French and uses some badly pronounce french didn't really make it better either. If you like overly sweet characters though, this might be a good CD for you.

The different tracks show you going on a date, celebrating your birthday, various phone calls (wake up call and goodnight call) a lecture on something related to the character,  as well as the character reading your horoscope. All of them are of course tooth ache inducingly sweet.

Starry☆Sky has become a rather large franchise with the character cd's, drama cd's featuring multiple characters, games, and soon an anime as well. If you want to get the most out of it I highly recommend at least playing the games as well though, first because they are quite fun and second because combining the various media makes the characters much deeper. You'll see new sides of the characters when you listen to/ play more of the material.

Normally I'm quite a fan of Midorikawa Hikaru but... well Yoh is just so sweet it starts to turn me off. He did an amzing job on the super sweet voice, it was just slightly wasted on me (^-^;;)

Starry☆Sky is probably what introduced me to the concept of a character on the drama cd talking as if you were there. That means the character talks to you, and there are slight pauses in which you apparently say something back, and from the reaction of the character you know what you apparently just said. That was you can go on dates and that kind of things. I admit, it sounds rather weird and the first time I quit half-way through because I just couldn't take it seriously and kept laughing. Once you get used to it though it is a lot of fun.

02/09/2010

Yandere Heaven ~Makoto Gakuen High School Chapter~


I'll admit,  yandere might be my guilty pleasure. Which is when I found this cd I had to give it a try. If you don't know what yandere is, you might want to stay away from it though. (Short explanation; 'yandere' is a type of character who's love grows rather obsessive and often violent. or murdrous).

There are two characters in this CD: Kakeru, your little stepbrother and Atsushi, a senpai from school. The story starts with Kakeru waking you up because you are late and as both of you exit the house you run into Atsushi-senpai who is waiting to pick you up. The two of them immediately start to fight over you, but at this point everything is still relatively normal. As the story progresses though, the two of them grow more and more obsessive untill in the final two tracks the story splits into a Kakeru and Atsushi side.


Yandere is something you should keep away from if you don't like it, and possibly also if you don't know what it is. The CD sort of crosses the line at places. If you do like yandere characters this is the CD for you. It takes the concept and runs with it. Both characters sound completely normal in the beginning, but when the yandere bgm kicks in and their voice chances things start to get reeeeaaaly interesting.

In short; must buy if you like yandere!

01/09/2010

Brother Android - 01. Ryuu


Brother Android is a series by Black Butterfly that is based on the concept of having an android that acts as your brother, exactly as the title implies. It is a Talk CD series, so basically the character (in this case; Ryuu) talks to you as if you were there.

The home page shortly itroduces the background situation, a few years in the future 'maid' and 'butler' androids are widely in use and people have come to interact almost exclusively with these androids, as a result of which they have become egoistical. Thus the BB Company has developed an android with human feelings that is designed to help and raise you: the Brother Type.

Ryuu is the first model, a kind and tolerant older brother. The CD starts with you booting up Ryuu who introduces himself and warns you that his emotions might still be a little unstable, but no worries. From there on the tracks show scenes from your life with Ryuu, who in the beginning is still a little clueless about various emotions. Later on though, his feelings develop into something more than just brotherly (come on, you saw one that coming)


The concept is fairly simple, and done pretty well I think. Ryuu tries his best to act like a proper brother (though he spoils you a bit) which is sweet to listen too. Though near the end he suddenly turn almost yandere, which was a pleasant surprise for me. If you don't like that sort of things don't worry though, the ending is sweet. Ryuu's not understanding certain emotions is obviously played so that you know he feels more for you, although he himself hasn't noticed that yet. I feel like they have missed a chance by not putting you in a hilarious situation as a result of it though, instead it results in a lot of sweet moments though.

While I've heard much better talk CDs, it was interesting enough to make me want to try out the other characters available.