Aroma na Kareshi vol.1: Lavender

アロマな彼氏 vol.1 ラベンダー

Company: Kanon Sound
Based on: Aroma
Released: 2011.10.21
Official Site: http://www.kanon-sound.co.jp/aroma_cd/


Aroma na Kareshi is a boyfriend who's personality is based of a certain scent, in this case lavender. The character, Fujimori Yuuichi, is described as 'sweet and healing/caring' (healing is the literal word, but it sounds a bit odd in English). The CD comes with a lavender scented card.

You are in your 3rd year of high school, which means cramming for entrance exams in Japan, and to help you with this your parents have hired a tutor for you. Fujimori Yuuichi (CV: Nojima Kenji) is a 2nd year student at the university you hope to go to.

You first meet near your house, while Fujimori is lost trying to find the right address (finding a specific address can be rather hard in Japan due to a weird numbering system). As he teaches you the two of you gradually become more friendly, and he even takes you to visit the campus to motivate you (and gives you a Christmas present! awww).

What I like about this CD is that there is no constant hinting. As it turns out, Fujimori even has a girlfriend in the beginning (though they break up just before Christmas) and you apparently liked someone else to start with as well. There are some hints, but there is no overload of sweet lines or obvious 'I like you but I'm too shy to say it' moments. And -this might sound a bit weird but- I think that suits the fragrance well, as lavender isn't a very romantic scent.

Which brings us to the fragrance-personality thing. Lavender is a light, somewhat sweet and relaxing scent. And I think they've managed to match that quite good actually. Fujimori has a cheerful, caring personality, and I can imagine he is easy to relax (and be yourself) around so as far as that goes I think it is pretty well matched. The story itself was light and sweet too, so I'd say it matches.

There are just a few points that felt odd about this CD. The first is that the conversation didn't seem really natural at times. Especially when Fujimore 'answers' to something you are saying. Of course you can hear only one side of the conversation, so I imagine it must be hard to write but it was still a little odd at times. The second is, where on earth are your parents? Yes I know, they would only be a hindrance, but you never even mention them (except in the end, when Fujimori comments on them being absent xD). And finally, I really miss my cast comment track (T-T)


Conclusion:
The occasional odd conversation moment aside, this is a sweet CD that isn't full of hinting for a change. It's pretty short, only 25min, but doesn't feel that short at all. If you're going to listen to it I really recommend burning some lavender oil or placing something lavender scented (like the scent card included with the CD) nearby, it adds just a little extra to the experience.