Fushigi Koubou Episode 4

ふしぎ工房症候群 EPISODE 4 「一緒に死んでくれますか？」

Company: Cosmic Ray
Based on: Original
Released: 2005.08.26
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 4th story is voiced by Ishida Akira, and is in my opinion one of the most heavy stories. The title translates into "will do die with me?", and that is exactly what this story is about. The character Ishida portraits wants to commit suicide, but is looking for someone to commit suicide with. And when he stumbles upon the Fushigi Koubou that is what he "orders".

I won't say anything about how the story ends, because it is a beautiful story that you should just listen to. But I will say that it is by no means an ending that will make you feel depressed. The atmosphere of the story is very calm, both thanks to Ishida-san his soothing voice and the beautiful soundtrack.

In the previous stories there was a reference to the character from the story before, but I couldn't find a reference for the character from "hitoribocchi no tanjoubi". That is unless he was the man who helped a girl that was being picked on, but there was no specific reference.

Conclusion:
The theme of this work is suicide, so it a rather heavy story, but a truly beautiful one. And if anything it only makes you want to live more. I can't say much about the story without giving spoilers, you shouldn't be wasting time with reading my review while you could also go and listen yourself anyway ;)