Mousou Esthe

妄想エステ

Company: 5pb

Based on: Original

Released: 2010.06.23

Official Site: http://5pb.jp/moso/

Mousou Esthe is made by the same team as Kannou Mukashi Banashi (it was originally also listed on the same website). Of course that means the Dummy Head Microphone is used here as well. Mousou Esthe mixes the day to day conversations of the members of the beauty salon 'Etreinte' with the beauty treatments they give. And an overall plot somewhere on the background.

In the prologue we hear that Kagami Subaru (CV: Suwabe Junichi) receives an important prize in recognition of his skills as a beautician. Soon however he discovers that while he thought he had everything, he wasn't happy.

We switch to the present where he now owns his own salon in Hisuigaoka. This is where the story takes place. In each track a new esthetician is introduced in the form of a short conversation with Kagami and/or previously introduced characters. Then the scene switches to you (the listener) receiving a beauty treatment by the newly introduced character.

All of the characters are rather quirky. Save for Kagami pherhaps, who acts as the single sane character. Izumino Sei (CV: Sugita Tomokazu) is silent and my-pace, Sakura Naiki (CV: Okamoto Nobuhiko) has an obsession with cleanness, and Sendou Fumiya (CV: Takahashi Hiroki) is probably best described as a lovable narcissist. The final character is not a esthetician, but the shops mascot and extra comedy relief parrot Noel (CV: Hatano Wataru).

Thanks to these quirks the day to day conversations between these characters if funny to listen to. The main attraction of the series however are the beauty treatments. This is where the Dummy Head Microphone (that can make it sound like the characters are actually talking in your ear) is used. Of course it's a bit weird to imagine you are getting a massage when you only hear someone talk, but it is relaxing none the less.

There is something of a plot that spans the entire series going on in the background, but it is neglectable. The plot is not the main focus anyway, the treatments are. With a relaxing piano tune playing in the background it really feels like the atmosphere in a beauty salon. The only drawback to this relaxing atmosphere is that the next scene tends to come as a wake-up call, especially if the characters suddenly start talking rather lively.


Conclusion:
The conversation between the characters make this a lot of fun to listen too, which is why I think that it's a shame that they don't return in the following entries to the series (except for Kagami). Having a voice only beauty treatment feels a little strange, but it is fun to listen to.


Speaking of 'voice only beauty treatment' I think I saw a make-up
hypnosis not too long ago...