31/01/2012

Yukishiro Gakuen no Yukai na Hitobito ~Toshishita Kareshi~

年下彼氏。 ツンでヤンデレの弟編


Company: Mujina
Based on: Original
Released: 2012.01.25
Official Site: http://mujina.kkjinnai.co.jp/index.html


Yukishiro Gakuen no Yukai na Hitobito is a series of  drama CD's, loosely connected by taking place at the same school and some recurring characters. This time the focus is on the brothers Mukai Yukihisa (the younger one) and Mukai Tatsuhisa (the older one). Both are voiced by Sakurai Takahiro in this CD

Toshishita Kareshi shares it's setting with another CD: Toshiue Kareshi. While this one centres on the younger brother, that one centres on the older brother. You can think of the two CD's as parallel worlds, the setting is the same but things are slightly different.

You (the listener) and the one year younger Yukihisa have been dating for over a year now. You're both in the same school, and both in the astronomy club. Coincidently (not really) Tatsuhisa is a math teacher at your school, and the consultant for the astronomy club. While his friends often tease Yukihisa about how far he has gone with his girlfriend, the truth is that they haven't even held hands yet. But he is planning to change all that at the yearly astronomy club camp.

But things end up very differently. The bus in which they where on their way crashes. Everybody survives with small injuries, except for Tatsuhisa who ends up in a coma. And while his body is in a coma, his consciousness ends up inside of Yukihisa his head.

Yukihisa is of course less then happy about this, for more then one reason. All his life he felt like he has been in his perfect brother's shadow, and now he has the person in question inside his head. And seeing the strongheaded Yukihisa create all kinds of problems with his girlfriend, Tatsuhisa at some point decides to (temporary) take over his little brother his body to solve certain things....

Much of this drama focusses on Yukihisa his complex towards his brother. That also makes this drama a surprisingly serious one. And when I say serious, I do mean serious. Admittingly, Yukihisa doesn't really have it easy either. All you talk about when you see him is Tatsuhisa, so you can't really blame him for suspecting that you're in love with his brother either. Then again, Yukihisa isn't the most sensitive person either.

My first thought when hearing him was "so cuuuute". But after a few lines you discover that he really is a bit of an immature brat, and an incredible tsundere. I don't think you should call him yandere like in the title though. True, he does want to have you to himself, but within normal parameters and most of this comes from him feeling threatened by the presence of his brother.


Conclusion:
A surprisingly serious entry to the series, but a good CD non the less. Yukihisa his complex can get a bit annoying, but more then that I sympathize with him. He does have one of the best closing lines ever though.

30/01/2012

Heartful Kareshi Prologue

はーとふる彼氏 プロローグ


Company: Frontierworks
Based on: Game
Released: 2012.01.25
Official site: http://www.fwinc.co.jp/hatoful/


Heartful Kareshi is an otome game in which all they guys are doves. Yes, like actual doves. I still haven't played the game (shame on me). The outset of the game is that you somehow end up going to a school St. PigeoNation, where all the students are doves. This drama CD however only has the guys pigeons interacting with each other.

The CD starts when Shirogane Sakuya (Student council president, CV: Ishida Akira) hears about the '7 mysteries of St. PigeoNation'. He doesn't believe any of it but because he wants to know everything about "his" school, he orders his two underlings classmates Kawara Ryouta (CV: Asanuma Shintarou) and Oko San (CV: Wakamoto Norio) to go and investigate with him. Each following track deals with one of the 7 mysteries.

The first one is that "Iwamine-sensei appears in the school's infirmary". Considering that Iwamine Shuu (CV: Koyasu Takehito) is the school nurse that isn't really surprising. But to be fair Iwamine-sensei is incredibly scary.

The second one is that "the student council president his room is supposed to be connected to another world". A rumour that emerged because Sakuya installed a trap door that dumps any intruders, and most of all his half brother Sakazaki Yuuya (CV: Yusa Kouji), in the garbage dump.

The third one is that "if you scribble in a book in the library you will get cursed". This is actually just due to Fujishiro Nageki (CV: Saiga Mitsuki) being there, and that is all I will say about it. (Those who have played Nageki his route will probably understand).

The fourth one is once again in the infirmary, this time with the rumour "that there another menu in the infirmary". Turns out that Iwamine-sensei is testing out some not-yet-approved medicines. Once again, Iwamine-sensei his tendencies for strange (and possibly deadly) experiments is stunning.

The fifth mystery is the rumour about "a pool of blood in the teacher's toilet". Turns out that this is mostly Nanaki-sensei (CV: Nojima Hirofumi) being a klutz. Iwamine-sensei turns up again. I'll take this chance to say that I find it very amusing that Iwamine-sensei his theme music is from the Nutcracker ballet xD

The sixth mystery is the "Teke-teke" a monster that runs very fast and appears at the school grounds. When Oko runs off at high speed to find it you can already guess what the solution is...

The final mystery is some sort of cult that wreaks havoc on the school grounds at night. It turns out that it is only the astrology club that went off-rails a bit (they want to convert all the world to believe in roasting marshmallows. Kawara even begins a speech about that he believes that people should be free to choose whether they want to roast their marshmallows or not).

There is a small bonus track in which the seiyuu talk as doves, meaning they only make dove sounds, which is quite amusing. After that comes the free talk, which is of course abundant in puns about birds. The most amusing thing however is Wakamoto Norio saying that he tried to play Oko 'as cute as possible'. If there is anything that Oko doesn't sound like it is cute.

Speaking of Oko, he sounds exactly like Shining Saotome from Uta no Prince-sama (also voiced by Wakamoto-san) which amused me to no end.  But all the characters sounds amusing really. And after a while I really got the feeling I was listening to doves talking. The entire concept of this game is crack, and this drama CD is possibly even more crack.

But really, all the characters are quirky and lovable, and the entire CD was just so much fun. Something that I find amazing is that they originally announced a voice cast as an Aprils Fool joke, but that they have managed to get almost everyone they listen as the actual cast (Okamoto Nobuhiko was listed as the seiyuu for Kawara).


Conclusion:
This review has become more like a summary, but really, I had so much fun listening to this. A second drama CD will be released soon, and I think I really need to start playing this game now. I secretly hope that Higure Angel, the extra character for the plus version of the game, will also be included in the drama CD's. After all, they listed Sakurai as his potential seiyuu.

29/01/2012

Oujisama ha Tadaima Dekasegichuu

 
王子はただいま出稼ぎ中 ~知力! 体力! 時の運? 勝ち抜きバトルロイヤル~


Company: Kadokawa
Based on: Lightnovel
Released: 2011.12.21
Official site: http://www.kadokawa.co.jp/fair/201111-03/


*I can't find any official spellings for the names of the characters, and they have some pretty weird names so please forgive me my guessing at the romanization. If anyone does know the correct spelling, please let me know*

Oujisama ha Tadaima Dekasugichuu is a lightnovel series published by Kadokawa Bunko. The story is about the young prince Yuuto who is always trying to earn money to pay off his countries debt. As a result he is usually out doing all kinds of mercenary jobs together with two of his servants. And as it happens Yuuto is rather pretty, so all the guys are after him (or at least, seem to like him a biiiiiit too much).

This time Ciskal (CV: Hirakawa Daisuke) show Yuuto (CV: Kaji Yuuki) as pamflet for a tournament in a neighbouring country. Yuuto is lured in by the huge amount of money that is the prize money for the winner, and thus he sets off with his two servants, Tajis (CV: Ono Daisuke) and Iru (CV: Takahashi Hiroki).

The tournament itself is rather strange. You can only participate in groups of three, and not every match is a battle. Things like quizzes are also includes (giving Iru a chance to shine during a largely math related quiz).

Besides the tournament there are also some scenes where Yuuto his sister suddenly shows up, or where Yuuto strays off and meets Karmikal, who is wanted in several countries and seems to be a former acquaintance. And, of course, has a thing for Yuuto.

The characters are all bit crack: Yuuto has the usual "I'm not a girl" complex, while Tajis is always making remarks on how cute he is. Iru is a complete clutz, but highly skilled with magic. Yuuto his sister loves battles a bit too much, Ciscal seems to be always scheming. The opponents in the tournament are even stranger at times, but they usually hardly have more than 2 lines.

Maybe it is because I have never read the novels, but in my opinion it was all a bit run of the mill. Sure there are some funny moments, but I suppose you really need the background of the novels to understand a bit more about the character. (For example, Tajis transforming into a- I don't even know what he transformed into).


Conclusion:
If you've read the novels, go and listen. It is a good cast after all. If you haven't, your time is better spend on something else.

28/01/2012

Kannou Mukashi Banashi Vol.3: Kaidan

With Kannou Mukashi Banashi Portable just out I suppose a lot of people will be playing it, so what better time then to pick up reviewing the series again.


官能昔話 3 ~怪談~


Company: 5pb records
Based on: Japanese Folklore
Released: 2009.07.21
Official Site: http://5pb.jp/kannou/index.html


Kannou Mukashi Banashi is a series that tells well know tales in a... slightly different way. Each volume contains several stories, all done by a different seiyuu. The series uses the dummy head microphone, which can make it sound as if someone is talking into your ear (when listening with headphones or earphones). And in this series they have made sure that the seiyuu talk very eroi.

As always the CD starts with an introduction by Inoue Kazuhiko, who explains how the CD works and instructs you to put on your head- or earphones in some very suggestive wording. The setting for this CD is that you are at the Kannou Temple, where the head priest tells you several stories. The stories themselves are are done by several seiyuu.

Hoshi Souichirou tells the story of Miminashi Houichi, a blind biwa player who lives at Amidaji temple. One night, someone who sounds like he is wearing armour comes to temple to request his services. He takes Houichi to a large mansion where he is asked to play the tale of Heike. After he is finished he is left alone with the princess who requested his services, and he teaches her how to play the biwa. He returns to the temple in the morning. Night after night Houichi goes to play, but a priest from the temple is suspicious about where he goes and has someone follow him. It turns out that the place where Houichi goes to play night after night is actually a graveyard...

Shimono Hiro tells a story called Bancho Sarayashiki. The story is about a girl called Okiku who works at the Aoyama mansion. The young master of the house, Aoyama Harima, falls in love with Okiku. After a while she falls in love with him as well. However one day Harima is married to another woman. However he still continues his relation with Okiku in secrecy. To test whether Harima really loves her or not she breaks one of the families heirloom plates. Believing she broke it by accident he forgives her. However his wife finds out, and forces Harima to punish her. Cornered by his wife he stabs her to death, and throws her into a well. However Okiku her ghost comes back to haunt the house...

Koyama Rikiya tells the story of Doujouji and the travelling monk Anchin. One day he injures his leg, and resides at a house. The daughter of the house, Kiyohime, is to take care of him while he is there. As time passes they fall in love, however due to Anchin being a monk he is not allowed to marry. Because of that he decides to leave, but because Kiyohime looks so sad he promises her to return in three years to make her his bride. A promise that he cannot keep. When he never returns Kiyohime goes to search him, but when he is not at the temple where he should be she transforms into a giant serpent in her rage and turns up at the temple where Anchin resides.  He hides under the temple bell, but the now snake Kiyohime still manages to find him...

The final story is called "Sanmai no Ofuda" and is told by all of the seiyuu. This is a story about a young priest who goes into the mountains to find chestnuts. The high priest warns him for a Yamamba (which) residing in the mountains and gives him 3 protective charms. Of course he meets the yamamba and tries to use the charms to get away. He uses all three charms but only manages to escape while the yamamba still chases him. Finally, it is the hight priest who manages to defeat the yamamba.

As these are kaidan, Japanese horror stories, none of them end very well (except for the last one). Most stories have been made a bit more romantic than their original counterparts, but in return they are also very effective on the scare effects. The sound of the armour and princess trying to find Houichi, The ghost of Okiku counting the plates, and finally the voice of the snake Kiyohime circling the bell don't miss their scare effect.


Conclusion:
The tension in the CD is double, on the one hand the phrasing is still eroi, and on the other hand you also have the tension from the horror stories. I don't like the last one as much, but the other 3 are really good. And of course, Kannou Mukashi Banashi is one of my favourite series ever.

27/01/2012

Weekly News Post

I've got earphones again!! Meaning I can start listening to stings again :D



Disney Date
For those who are interested in how our favourite seiyuu sound singing Disney songs, there are previews up here. The songs are arranged different from the original versions, which surprised me a little (but I really didn't expect that trumpet at the beginning of 'the circle of life'). I love Sakurai his 'when you wish upon a star'.


O.To.Na Gentei
The cast and character types for vol.3 have also been announced! Kakihara Tetsuya will be voicing an aristocrat type, and Chiba Shigeru an oji-san type. Other than that the third episode of the radio show is now online on the official site, as well as the cover for the first CD.


Kimi ga ofuro de noboseru CD
I forgot all about this, but EM2 is bringing us... personified hotsprings. A total of 8 CDs based on different hot springs in Japan wil be released one CD a month starting on 2012.02.29. The first vol is Kusatsu Onsen, voiced by Sakurai Takahiro. Fujiwara Keiji will act as story teller for all 8 CDs. I don't know what to expect, but I think (hope?) a lot of bath scenes.

26/01/2012

Danna Catalogue vol.04

 旦那カタログ vol.4 特集:ナルシスト旦那様orクール旦那様


Company: Honey Bee
Based on: Original
Released: 2009.04.24
Official site: http://www.honeybee-cd.com/master_top.html


Danna Catalogue is a series that lets you choose a husband and experience a few moments of married life. Each vol has two characters that are usually the opposite of each other personality wise. This time we have a narcissist soccer player, and a cool doctor.

Mitsuru (CV: Hoshi Souichirou) is the first he is a star soccer player and quite the narcissist, always wondering about what to wear and whether he looks cool. But he loves you a lot, and calls you 'hime' (princess). He proposes to you in front of a full stadium after a match.

Two of your most important jobs seem to be picking his outfits, and cooking for him. Not in a bad way, Mitsuru is always cheerful, and is truly happy about everything you do for him. He is happy about being popular with his fans, but you are his one and only special princess.

Your husband being admired by everyone is one of the theme's of this CD in fact. Together with going on a trip. With Mitsuru you go to Italy, on a two year late honeymoon. Unfortunately there is only one track dedicated to this. If you're going all the way to Italy they could at least have dedicated two or three tracks to it. The best track in my opion is the one where Mitsuru uses a washing machine for the first time in his life. He sounds like a little kid and is all fascinated by it.

Jun (CV: Midorikawa Hikaru) is a complete opposite. He is calm and cool, but most definitely thinks of you as a very special person. His marriage proposal is also completely opposite. When you tell him you soon have to renew your rental contract, he simply says you should come and live with him. As his wife. Maybe not very romantic but very smooth. But it is very cute that he sounds so relieved after you agreed (and that he was already carrying around the ring for a while so that he could propose to at any time).

Because Jun is described as cool I also expected him to be a bit cold, but that is not at all the case. It might be true that he doesn't seem like a very emotional person, but he is always sweet. Probably even more than usual in the track where he comes back slightly drunk. Contrary to last time, I actually did like that track this time.

Jun actually has quite a lot of precious tracks actually. For example the one where he tries to cook dinner for you, and he having trouble deciphering the cookbook. The cutest one however is probably the one where he tells you that he has a problem with how you sleep, namely that you tend to sleep with you back towards him and that he would like you to face him while you sleep. Cutest moment in the entire series as of yet, haha.

ps: you never hear this in the CD, but apparently you were a patient in the hospital where Jun works, and you grew close while he was taking care of you. On the day you were released from the hospital he confessed to you. Awww.

I'm having a hard time deciding who I like most here, but probably Jun. What can I say, as much as I like someone who can act a bit crazy at times, a cool boyfriend is still the best (*゚∇^*)


Conclusion:
I liked this CD a lot. Mitsuru was a lot of fun, and Jun is the kind of cool but caring type that all girls dream of at times. So far, this is my favourite CD in the series.

25/01/2012

Ouritsu Ouji Gakuen vol.3: The Prince of Thumbelina

 王立王子学園 vol.3 親指姫の王子様


Company: R45°project
Based on: Fairytales x School life
Released: 2012.01.15
Official Site: http://rpgakuen.com/


Ouritsu Ouji Gakuen (Royal Prince Gakuen, RPG for short) is a school where princes go in preparation of their future career as royalty. That means normal lessons, but also stuff like dancing lessons and other things you might need as royalty. Other than the fact that the entire student body are royal princes, it is a very normal school. It is not like you'll notice any of this in the CD's.

In this series you both spend time together with your main prince, as well as with multiple characters. Each CD features three princes, and you get to spend some quality time together with the 'main prince' as well as some -often funny- lively moments with all three.

The third and final CD of the first series centres on Hiiragi Motochika (CV: Kaji Yuuki), Who represents the tale of Thumbelina. The prince in the orriginal story is a flower fairy, which is reflected in the fact that Chika (as everyone calls him) loves flowers a lot. Chika has a very cheerful but selfish personality, and is pretty loud.

You spend quite some time with Haibara Kouki (CV: Sakurai Takahiro) and Shirase Yukito (CV: Toriumi Kousuke) this time. There are two longer tracks with them, one where you have cooking class. The theme is supposed to be 'home cooking' but all Chika wants to make are desserts. The second one is a scene where you have to tend to the flower beds. This is where Chika has his moment of unusual behaviour; he is faaaaar to passionate about it.

Contrary to the first two CD's, Chika doesn't need his friends their help to confess his love to you. Instead, a large part of his CD is dedicated to his feelings of jealousy and guilt towards his friends because he likes you. However in the end he does choose to confess to you, and tells this to Kouki and Yukito as well.

Like I said, Chika is a bit of a brat. However he explains this in the first track: he is the youngest child in the family and at some point discovered that if he would whine he would get anything. This eventually led to him being used to getting everything he wants, so he doesn't really get serious about anything. Luckily he isn't as bratty as in the second CD any more, because things were getting really out of hand in that one.

Unfortunately, this still leaves Chika as a sort of 'usually acting genki but has some angst going on in the background' type. Which really isn't my thing. The combination of those things is... not my favourite, let's keep it at that.

Sadly, the cast talk is also back to being quite generic. All of them made a small comment and that was it. I had secretly hoped they would do something silly again like last time, but too bad.


Conclusion:
Chika is too genki and bratty for me, add in the slight angst, and I start to loose interest. Still, for fans of Chika is reckon this is a good CD, because for once he is more than just the moodmaker.

20/01/2012

Weekly News Post

You might have noticed that there are some reviews missing in the last few days, that is because someone stole my earphones while I was at the gym, so I can't listen to stuff on the go until I've found a new pair of acceptable earphones. Sorry.


Mousou Este
Two more cast member have been announced: Itou Kentarou and Suzuku Tatsuhisa. The official staff blog also has a small line saying that this time it will be the estheticians from the beauty salon Babylon (rival salon to Entreinte, the salon from the previous entries to the series) that will do the treatments.


Amemakura
The seiyuu for Amemakura vol.5 and 6 will be Sugiyama Noriaki and Suzuki Tatsuhisa. Unfortunately there is no other info on the characters yet...


16/01/2012

Shuukan Soine vol.11 Touma

 週刊添い寝CDシリーズ vol.11 透真


Company: Black Butterfly
Based on: Original
Released: 2011.12.16
Official Site: http://www.blackbutterfly-cd.com/short/


Shuukan Soine CD series is a series in which your boyfriend cuddles next to you and talks with you until you fall asleep. Each CD features a different type of character, and lets you experience a different type of boyfriend.

This time your boyfriend is Touma (CV: Fukuyama Jun), who works in the sales department of a company that publishes picture books. You both work in the same company, and you are both his girlfriend and his direct superior at work.

The CD begins with the two of you celebrating the release of the picture book you have both been working on at his place. You like wine, so Touma bought some. He tries to drink some himself too, but obviously doesn't like it (although he tries to hide that). After you've taken a shower you are watching TV, but Touma convinces you to go to bed.

You tease him a bit and he starts to sulk, so he begins to read the picture book that you have both been working on. At first you read it together, but Touma gets you to read it aloud. And then says he can do it better, so you switch and he reads the story to you.

It is a story about a beautiful princess, she is loved by all, but because she is so precious to everyone she has never been outside of the palace or it's gardens. But she loves the gardens, so she is perfectly happy. One day while she takes her usual walk in the garden she meets one of the gardeners. He has a very scary face, and without thinking runs off. Feeling guilty about what she did, the princess loses her smile. Determined to apologise she searches for the gardener, however she doesn't meet him again. But one day, by chance, she sees him save a little bird. But she is still too scared to say anything. However the gardener brings her a beautiful flower, saying that he raised it just to see her smile. From that day one, the two become closer, and eventually marry and live happily ever after.

Of course Touma likens this story to his own situation. He was aiming for something else, but ended up in the sales department. He didn't like it there, but seeing your smile whenever he completed something made him happy, and that is what he was working for (awww).

I like Touma, he obviously a bit younger than you are, and sort of clumsy with words (and actions) at times, but that makes him adorable. Two of my favourite moments are when he hastily apologises for something and accidentally uses keigo (polite speech) because that is what he uses at work. The other is the wake-up track, where he is talking is talking to you in a sleep dazed manner, then suddenly wakes up and jumps out of bed, but trips of all kinds of things.

Fukuyama starts his announcement of the freetalk in an epic manner, after which he gets sort of excited talking about the mic. And he has a lot of fun doing all kinds of stuff with it. Like moving a chair to talk from above and dropping his stuff in the process, after which he comments that it is weird to be talking downward but to hear his own voice from above. The best part however is where he says "aaaaah, I want to fall in love".


Conclusion:
I didn't expect myself to like this vol this much, but I think Touma is one of my favourites (when did I start liking younger guys?). That might or might not have something to do with the fact that all my fav entries have the same scenario writer... Touma doesn't shower you with love, but through his sometimes blunt manners you can really feel that you are precious to him.

15/01/2012

Shuukan Soine vol.10 Yuki

週刊添い寝CDシリーズ vol.10 悠生


Company: Black Butterfly
Based on: Original
Released: 2011.12.09
Official Site: http://www.blackbutterfly-cd.com/short/


Shuukan Soine CD series is a series in which your boyfriend cuddles next to you and talks with you until you fall asleep. Each CD features a different type of character, and lets you experience a different type of boyfriend.

This time your boyfriend is Yuki (CV: Inoue Kazuhiko) a hair and makeup artist. It seems like he has his own salon, and appears on television regularly. The result is that he has become sort of famous, and that fans sometimes approach him while you are on dates.

The CD starts with you coming out of the shower, and apparently your hair is still a little bit wet. Yuki -of course- immediatly complains that sleeping with wet hair will damage it and dries it for you. You also look tired making him wonder whether you have been doing your skincare propely. Luckily he just had some test products delivered, so he puts on some creme for you (ah, a boyfriend who does your makeup)

When you can't sleep Yuki tells you a story from a picture book that he liked since he was a child. It is a story about an ugly girl. Her mother and her sisters are all beautiful, yet she isn't pretty. One day there is a large ball, but the girl doesn't go saying that she still has work to be done. That night, as she is doing her chores, a magician appears. The magician says he will make her beautiful for this night, as a reward for the fact that she always works so hard. And so the girl, now transformed into a beautifull princess, goes to the ball and falls in love with a prince there. However she suddenly leaves, thinking that he could never love her real form. A few days later however, the prince visits her house, saying that her initial on the handkerchief she left led him there. The girl thinks he could never love her, but the prince convinces her he does, and the two marry. And over time, there was no-one in the whole country that would call her ugly, because they were so happy together.

Yuki almost starts another story, as a sort of 'extra' to this one: Once upon a time there was a little boy, who was a bit paler and more fragile than the rest of the children. He never liked himself, until one day his mother read him a picture book about an ugly girl who was transformed into a beautiful princess by magic. And from that day on, it became the boy his dream to turn all the girls in the world beautiful by his magic.

This is of course a story about Yuki himself, how it became his dream to be a hair and makeup artist. He references to his work as 'his magic' a lot, and calls you his princess. He also seems to love doing your hair and makeup - he makes you promise he can do your makeup before you go on your date tomorrow.

Yuki seems sort of mature, but also fun. He teases you a little, but is also serious at the same time. He really feels sorry for not being able to be with you that much, and is worried that he is not able to make you happy. I loved listening to him, but I expect that also has something to do with the fact that he is voiced by Inoue Kazuhiko.

Inoue-san talks about his recording in the freetalk. How his stomach rumbled a few times, or that his knees or ankles made noises while walking around, resulting in retakes. (and that the mic is pretty sensitive, so he took of his shoes for the recording). In his final message as Yuki his voice suddenly drops, taking me completely by surprise.


Conclusion:
For me the main reason why I loved this was Inoue-san his voice, although Yuki does seems like a fun person. Besides, how often do you find a boyfriend who is willing to do your hair and makeup?

14/01/2012

Yandere Heaven ~karei naru Saionji-ke Hen~ Tokuten

ヤンデレ天国(ヘブン)~華麗なる西園寺家編~ アニメイト特典  
ヤンデレ天国(ヘブン)~華麗なる西園寺家編~ ステラワース特典


Company: Holic Works
Based on: Original
Released: 2011.12.29
Official site: http://www.hobirecords.com/yandere5/


Yandere Heaven is a series in which you (the listener) become the object of affection of two rather dangerous characters. In the beginning things seem ok, but then their love becomes obsessive. This time you are loved by the twins Saionji Ran (CV: Sakurai Takahiro) and Wakasa (CV: Hatano Wataru)

If you ordered the CD at either Animate or Stellworth, you would get a special CD that tell the story of what would have happened if you choose neither, and the three of you continued to live together. Order at Animate and you would get the Ran version, order at Stellaworth and you would get the Wakasa version.

Instead of choosing one of the two brothers in the main drama, you continue to live together with the three of you. Ran and Wakasa have made 3 rules: 1. they can spend a day with you alone, this rotates on a daily basis (one day with Ran, one day with Wakasa, and so on). 2. No days are skipped. 3. You spend the night with the three of you. If they break any of these rules they will have to leave the mansion.


Ran version:
Ran wakes up first, and sees both you and Wakasa still sleeping beside him. Wakasa seems to be having some sort of dream where he is fighting someone RPG style. It is Ran his turn to spend the day with you, so he wants Wakasa out of the room. Wakasa still wants to sleep however, so Ran threatens him with a paper knife to get him out. You're still sleepy though, and Ran says you must still be tired because 'Wakasa wanted to try out a lot of things last night', so he lets you sleep a little bit more while he contemplates on the current situation.

Wakasa version:
Wakasa wakes up to find you still sleeping, but Ran already awake. Ran mentions that he didn't sleep much because of all the things Wakasa did last night, and asks him whether he noticed that you actually passed out in the middle of it. Wakasa seems to be sorry for not noticing that (wut?!?) but replies that Ran seemed to be enjoying watching it, and that he still has 'a lot of things that he wants to try out with the three of you together'. After that he throws Ran out so that he can spend the rest of the day with you. While you are cooking something, Wakasa contemplates on the current situation.

Both brothers lament about the fact that in the end they couldn't betray each other, and that even though they are not fully content with the current situation, this seems to be the only option. I'll have to admit that it is a highly... unusual situation. Except for Ran threatening Wakasa with a paper knife, there is not much yandere going on here. But it does make you realize that the situation that you are currently in is... tiring? dangerous? insane? I don't know what to say really.


Conclusion:
I was mainly rather surprised at what Wakasa is implied to be doing. I don't really like these much as an addition to the main drama. Nothing much happens, but the implications of what is going on... this is one situation you definitely don't want to be in. 

13/01/2012

Weekly News Post

Short plug: Sweet Translations has it's first translation out, with thanks to Vii for proofreading! The translation for Karekoe vol.1 can now be found here. More translations are planned, so go and spread the word :D



Disney Date
You can't beat how popular Disney is in Japan. And thus we now have a Disney x Seiyuu collaboration. It looks like the CD will consist of famous disney songs sung by popular seiyuu. If we can trust amazon and a few other sources, the track list will be as follows:

ホール・ニュー・ワールド(A hole new world)
ひと足お先に(one jump ahead)
いつか夢で(once upon a dream)
愛を感じて(can you feel the love tonight)
ビビディ・バビディ・ブー(bippity boppety boo)
アンダー・ザ・シー(under the sea)
星に願いを(when you wish upon a star)
ハイ・ホー(Hi-ho (the dwarve song)
ゴー・ザ・ディスタンス(go the distance)
サークル・オブ・ライフ(circle of life)

The deluxe edition also has a 'date CD' in which the seiyuu introduce date spots, I'm not sure whether those are Disney related though. Speaking of seiyuu, I haven't seen a confirmation yet, but rumoured are Fukuyama Jun, Kamiya Hiroshi, Suzumura Kenichi, Seki Tomokazu, Morita Masakazu, Sakurai Takahiro, Sugita Tomokazu, Irino Miyuu, Midorikawa Hikaru, Yamadera Kouichi. The CD is slated for a 2012.02.22.


12/01/2012

Danna Catalogue vol.03

I didn't plan on posting two reviews of the same series this close together, but that is the way things went (^-^;;)


旦那カタログ Vol.3 特集:亭主関白旦那 VS 兼業主夫旦 


Company: Honey Bee
Based on: Original
Released: 2009.03.27
Official site: http://www.honeybee-cd.com/master_top.html


Danna Catalogue is a series that lets you choose a husband and experience a few moments of married life. Each vol has two characters that are usually the opposite of each other personality wise. This time we have a 'dominant husband', and a 'domestic husband'

Miyatogawa Tetsuya (CV: Nakai Kazuya) is the dominant husband. Whether I should say dominant or really conservative, I'm not sure. Either way, Tetsuya works as a police officer, and you are his full time housewife. Don't expect him to help either, housework is a woman's job.

How should I put this... he obviously loves you, but that attitude of his!!! It begins with his proposal, where he basically tells you to "be quiet and follow him". Riiiiight, not exactly the most romantic phrasing, but ok. Your daily life seems to be Tetsuya telling you what to do, and you running around at his every command. He calls you a good housewife when you do things right, but as soon as you don't do something perfect he calls you a hopeless wife *sigh*. The track where he comes home drunk and keeps telling you he loves you is potentially very cute, but somehow his drunk love declarations fail to make an impact on me.

Tsukaguchi Tomonori (CV: Ono Daisuke) is the complete opposite. He works at a kindergarten, loves to do chores, and in fact seems to be the one who does most of the housework. Apparently you are also his first love, you still have a letter from him from your grade school time, in which he childishly asks you to marry him.

While Tetsuya is to dominant, Tomonori might be a bit too nice. Maybe it is because he works with little kids, but he tends to treat you like one as well. The way he sometimes explains things would make you think you are a 5 year old. Despite the way he reads it, I liked the story he reads to you in the track where you can't sleep: it is actually the Nutcracker.

Listening to Tetsuya was above all so incredibly frustrating. Saying that I should do this, do that, always complaining, so that when he finally praises me I couldn't even be happy about it. Nothing wrong with being a bit conservative, but THIS.(ノ ̄□ ̄)ノ ~┻━┻ By the time that I reached Tomoya his tracks I was probably so annoyed that I started to get annoyed with him as well. Poor soul, he never did anything wrong.


Conclusion:
If anything, this CD was frustrating. Tomoya might be recommendable is you can deal with being treated like a child, but Tetsuya is only worth listening to so that you know what kind of men to stay away from.

ps: I love Honey Bee their inconsistency in the spelling of the title.

11/01/2012

Danna Catalogue vol.02

 
旦那カタログ Vol.2 特集:甘えん坊旦那様orツンデレ旦那様


Company: Honey Bee
Based on: Original
Released: 2009.02.27
Official site: http://www.honeybee-cd.com/master_top.html


Danna Catalogue is a series that lets you choose a husband and experience a few moments of married life. Each vol has two characters that are usually the opposite of each other personality wise. This time we have an 'Amaenbou' (a bit of a spoiled child) and a Tsundere character.

Kaoru (CV: Toriumi Kousuke) is an 'amaenbou' character. This translates to 'a spoiled child', but think of someone who (sometimes) acts somewhat childish and pouts a lot. Needless to say he is pretty genki as well. Kaoru is a patissier, so even his work is sweet (゚∇^*)

All of his tracks are pretty cute, but I think the cutest one is track where he says you should save up money to go on vacation. The idea is that instead of going out, you save the amount of money that you think you would have spent if you had gone out. But almost immediately after that he starts pouting because that means you will be going on dates less.

Miyabi (CV: Kishio Daisuke) is a tsundere character, and 100% so. He'd never admit that he missed you or anything, instead saying things like 'I thought you'd be lonely' or stuff like that. Although, in some occasions he does admit it. He works as a sommelier, and seems to be quite the serious worker. His character description has an entire background story on how you used to be dating in high school, then broke up, ran into each other again years later and started dating again, but to be honest there is no trace of all that in the CD.

I liked Miyabi a lot more, mostly because his reactions are cute and somehow endearing. Despite trying to deny all kinds of things he is actually pretty cute, and because he doesn't want to outright say that he loves you (or misses you, or that you are cute) he gets himself into all sorts of strange situations trying to deny things. Some of the cutest examples are when he had a bad dream, or the time he tries to convince you to buy matching pyjama's. But the sweetest track by far is the one where he admits that he isn't always straight with his feelings, but that he wants to try and become a better person for you. Heartmelting to the max.

Both of them have an 'argument' track. Although, to what extend these are actually arguments one can wonder. Kaoru wants to watch TV with you, but you have things to do. So he runs off saying he'll cheat on you, but comes back a little later asking why you didn't came after him (you were making his favourite food, so he is super happy and apologises). Miyabi comes back home tired and wants you to do all kinds of things and complains about everything and anything. But when you react pretty cold he becomes all worried and ends up apologising.

I'm still not a fan of amaenbou characters (I am one myself, I don't need my boyfriend to act like one) but this CD showed me the charms of tsundere. It is just so endearing to see someone say something sweet and then get all flustered and try to deny it. So this time, Miyabi is my fav!


Conclusion:
Another CD full of faaaar to sweet situations and phrases. But secretly a lot of fun to listen to. I think I liked this one better than the first one, though it is hard to choose.

10/01/2012

Kareshi Igai 2 ~Joushi to ayamachi~

彼氏以外2 ~上司との過ち~

Company: Cineria
Based on: Original
Released: 2011.12.24
Official site: http://www.ike-men.net


Kareshi Igai is a series that gives you the strange experience of... cheating. With a drama CD. Yeah. The concept here is that you already have a boyfriend, but that there is also someone else in your life. This second CD has you cheating on your boyfriend with your direct superior at work.

At work you are just a temporary worker and her boss, however no-one knows that you have the key to his apartment and occasionally go there after work. Makabe Hikari (CV: Yusa Kouji) seems to be cold and all about work, and well, that is actually just how he is.

Of course, there are reasons for that, and you will discover those in the course of this drama. The first is that his family situation was... less than fortunate. His mother was abusive, making him distrust women in general, and thanks to his parents unhappy marriage his doesn't believe in love to begin with. And the fact that a rich business partner () took enough interest in him to give him his apartment probably didn't help.

Each track in this CD is a (short) scene from your moments together. The first few ones establish your current situation, and after that you gradually discover more of Makabe his situation. You don't seem to be entirely naive though. Not just that you are cheating on your own boyfriend, but you seem to know full well that you are not his only girl.

There are two things that I noticed about this drama: the fact that there is no background music, and that what you hear is really only one side of the conversation. Makabe almost never repeats what you have supposedly said, a tactic that is commonly used in situation CDs. Personally, I think it is pretty amazing that they managed to write it in such a way that the entire story is completely understandable and the conversation seems natural.

That there is no background music is kind of logical. This is supposed to be a 'simulation' that lets you experience how it feels to cheat. Real life doesn't have background music, so there no background music here either. And this actually makes some scenes more intense. When Makabe has sort of broken down and his telling his story, that voice alone is enough to give me goosebumps. In the beginning I thought Yusa sounded kind of flat, but in later scenes there is so much emotion.

Something else I liked was the addition of another character, Asahi (CV: Kibe Shouta). Asahi is a subordinate of Makabe and a bit of an idiot, but he livens up the CD. The track which is written one of his diary entries is hilarious. It is part of the ending (sort of) and it made me laugh so much.

Speaking of the ending, this time the default ending is a happy one. If you listen to the extra track, there is also a 'bad' ending. Although, in the case of cheating one could wonder what a good or bad ending is.


Conclusion:
Despite me disliking the idea of 'cheating', I really enjoyed this CD. This is not your normal happy fluffy love situation, and a really emotive work. At least I became fully engrossed in it. Ah well, enjoy your cheating experience, and like I said the last time: let's keep the cheating to this CD (*゚∇^*)

09/01/2012

Yandere Heaven ~karei naru Saionji-ke Hen~

ヤンデレ天国(ヘブン)~華麗なる西園寺家編~


Company: Holic Works
Based on: Original
Released: 2011.12.29
Official site: http://www.hobirecords.com/yandere5/


Yandere Heaven is a series in which you (the listener) become the object of affection of two rather dangerous characters. In the beginning things seem ok, but then their love becomes obsessive. This time you are loved by the twins Saionji Ran (CV: Sakurai Takahiro) and Wakasa (CV: Hatano Wataru)

The twins live alone in a mansion, and have completely opposite personalities. Wakasa is very social, but doesn't have a job and instead spends a lot of time photographing things as a hobby. Ran on the other hand hates interacting with people, but will inherit his fathers company and is apparently very good in doing business (without ever leaving the house, I might add). You come to work at the mansion as a live in maid, an arrangement made by their grandmother.

The first time you see them, both Ran and Wakasa are speechless for a moment, but quickly turn back to their normal manners. Ran (much later) tells you that you look very similar to their dead little sister. Ran can keep you and the memories of his sister apart, but he is afraid Wakasa can't.

It is not much later that Ran discovers that Wakasa his entire room is full of pictures of you, and when he confronts him about that Wakasa in return says he know of the app Ran installed on your phone (it tracks where you are and records whatever is said). They both start to argue about how they envy the other, and that they will never hand over you to the other. The result, is that you have to choose which one you will stay with.

This CD was much more subdued that the previous ones. Even the scene where Ran and Wakasa are yelling at each other never gets as insane as Yandere Heaven 3 or 4. Although it was pretty intense. The fact that Ran already sounds scary from the beginning, and that there is little difference between his normal and 'yandere voice' is probably part of that. He does say some very obsessive things though (he is willing to do anything you want, including committing suicide, all you need to do is ask). Wakasa has a more traditional 'I want you all to myself' stance but the difference between his normal social attitude and this strong desire to monopolize things is somewhat amazing. He does however allow you outside to take walks, considerate isn't he?

Overall, I think there was more tension throughout the entire CD, but it sort of lacked a real climax. Or maybe I am just a prisoner to Sakurai his voice, and would follow it to the end of the earth of my free will. Who knows. I absolutely loved the music themes for both brothers though, especially Ran his (yandere) theme.

The cast talk was a lot of fun. Sakurai and Hatano do their cast comment together, talking about the two characters and yandere as a whole. Sakurai says types like Wakasa are bothersome, while Hatano says that he sort of understands the feelings of both characters. Their cast talk is very cheerful, and they obviously had a lot of fun during the recording, in short, the complete opposite of the drama CD itself.

I am kind of curious about the tokuten CDs. There are two of them (one for Animate, and one for Stellaworth) which depict a situation in which you didn't choose either of the brothers and continue to live with the three of you. Hopefully they will show up online sometime soon so I can review those as well.


Conclusion:
What can I say? This CD feels a bit more subdued. So for those of you who don't like your yanderes batshit insane, or who have never tried it before, it is probably very good. In fact, if you want to start on this series this might be the best one to begin with. Now that vol.6 is out you should start with that, it is even more subdued.

08/01/2012

Shuukan Soine CD Vol.9 - Takahiro

週刊添い寝CDシリーズ vol.9 隆弘


Company
: Black Butterfly
Based on: Original
Released: 2011.12.02
Official Site: http://www.blackbutterfly-cd.com/short/


Shuukan Soine CD series is a series in which your boyfriend cuddles next to you and talks with you until you fall asleep. Each CD features a different type of character, and lets you experience a different type of boyfriend.

This time your boyfriend is Takahiro (CV: Morita Masakazu) who is a Japanese language teacher, and described as always smiling and someone to look up to. He certainly does seem like a very positive person.

The story starts when you get home from work, apparently rather tired. Takahiro made dinner for you, but you have no appetite so he puts it in de fridge so you can eat it later. Since you seem so tired he asks you whether you want to go to bed, but not after you've taken a shower (alone, to avoid any confusion).

Of course once in bed you can't sleep, and when he offers to tell you a story. You get up and bring him a picture book you like, a story about a sakura tree and a little bear. In spring when the tree is in bloom, all the animals gather around it and celebrate it, so the little bear admires the beautiful tree. But the bear notices that after the blossoms are gone, everyone leaves and no-one looks at the tree for the rest of the year. So the bear stays with the tree the entire year, keeping it warm and protecting it. The next year when the tree blooms again everyone celebrates again, and the bear, now admiring the sakura tree for enduring an entire year of loneliness just so that it can show everyone it's blossoms in spring, stays with it for the rest of the year again.

When you've fallen asleep Takahiro says he is relieved that you are sleeping soundly, because he was really worried when he saw your face as you came home. Apparently you react to what he does in your sleep, and he is pretty amused by your cute reactions.

I like the way Takahiro seems like someone you can depend on and let yourself be spoiled. But what I like even more is how you seem like a somewhat childish and cute girlfriend. For once I can honestly say that not only your boyfriend is sweet, but that you yourself seem like a fun person as well.

The freetalk was amusing, Morita-san says he'll talk about the dummy head mic despite assuming that everyone else already talked about it. He shows us exactly how sensitive the mic is by almost whispering and teases you by whispering into your ears. The most amusing part however is when he talks from below. It actually sounds like he is crawling around your feet in the end ヾ(≧∇≦)ノ


Conclusion:
I think this is one of my favourite, if not my most favourite CD in this series. It was a lot of fun to listen to, yet still very sweet. But the fact that you yourself seem to be a fun person really made this CD for me.

07/01/2012

Yukishiro Gakuen no Yukai na Hitobito ~Dogeza Sensei, Sono Aii~

雪白学園のゆかいな人々 ~土下座先生、その愛~


Company:
Mujina
Based on: Original
Released: 2010.10.06
Official Site: http://mujina.kkjinnai.co.jp/index.html


Yukishiro Gakuen no Yukai na Hitobito is a series of loosely connected drama CD's by taking place at the same school and some recurring characters. Each drama CD features a rather eccentric student (or in this case, teacher) and his situation.This CD is all about Okita Yuuki (CV:Itou Kentarou) who's nickname is "dogeza sensei" due to his tendency to apologise with a dogeza.

The CD switches between scenes from Okita his life (always ending in an dogeza, or at least a very thorough apology) and his interactions with Toukai Azumi (CV: Sakuragi Akito) and Kawaguchi Masao (CV: Furukawa Tetsuto).

Okita is planning to propose to his girlfriend, they have been dating for 10 years now. Azumi has somehow discovered his plan, and intends to use it to blackmail him into participating in the play that the student council has planned for the school festival. Azumi begins with telling several things from our dogeza sensei his past, some of which are enacted others are not.

Most of the scenes from Okita his life however are scenes together with his girlfriend (read: you). Especially the propose scene (where he forgot to mention that the ring was an engagement ring) and when he afterwards goes to his girlfriend her house to ask for her hand in marriage and gets beaten up by her father were just too funny. In between all of this there is also a track where Okita gives a little lecture on dogeza.

Where the first CD from the series was complete crack, this one is slightly more serious. Of course there is still enough hilarity (someone who tends to overreact and make a dogeza in the weirdest situations is funny no matter what). Azumi and Masao are a bit more in the background this time. I had expected Azumi his glasses fetish to be more prominent (considering the fact that Okita has glasses) but save for one remark it isn't even mentioned.

On te other hand it feels more like a situation CD this time, with all the scenes between Okita and yourself. Even if he tends to make a dogeza at least once in each one xD


Conclusion:
Less crack, more situation CD, but still funny. Personally I hoped for more crack, but I still enjoyed listening to this a lot. On to the next!!

06/01/2012

Weekly News Post

Well, after some startup problems we should be back on a regular schedule now. Also, if it might seem like there are two posters now: it is still only me. I used to have sepparate accounts for my mail and my blog, but I was getting tired of loggin in and out everytime I wanted to switch, so now I can use bot to post.


Barico
Looks like the series Barico is coming to an end. The official site has not been updated yet, but Frilla Records lists サヨナラ四重奏-Good bye Quartet― for a 2012.02.24 release. The product page says "the deelply moving finale" so there is no doubt that this will be the last CD for now. In the main series that is, because at the same time "Coffee and Love for all Seasons" has been announced: a compilation of all the short comics and a special drama CD.


Koi Koi
A new series by Marine Entertainment. Koi Koi is based on Hanafuda, the characters are based on each the month. 4 CDs will be released, each featuring 3 characters. Official Site is here.

Storywise, it is said that the 12 Hanafuda (here, Koifuda) govern the seasons. All twelve of them have been sealed together, to make sure that the seasons change smoothly as they should. However due to some sort of accident the cards have been released and have flown off in every direction, making the seasons run wild. And it is now your task to find the twelve of them again.


Kindan Kyuuketsuki
Dummy head mic, vampires out for your blood, sounds familiar? I'm not talking about Diabolik Lovers though. No there is another drama CD out for your blood: Kindan Kyuuketsuki ~Kurenai Bara no Ou~. Like it says on the site, this time your vampire is a lot more traditional.

Set in a (suspiciously German sounding) mediaeval era, you are invited into the house of a count (CV: Morikubo Shoutarou) who lives somewhere deep in a quiet forest, and end up getting your blood sucked.

I will refrain from commenting on the words "vampire stimme" and "vampire breathr" that are used on the site, but more vampires using the dummy head mic means you have me interested. The release is planned for 2012.03.14



IM Label
The official site has a limited edition picture up for new year, it will be their until the 10th and according to their twitter account the site will come back on the 11th "with a lot of info on releases and new works". New works... hmmm, I wonder if they are talking about Zyklus Code or something else entirely...?


Yandere Heaven Black
This blog doesn't feature any BL, but this is something that I had to post anyway. Yandere Heaven is getting a spinoff -Yandere Heaven Black- which is BL. Which means that this time both of the suitors and the main character are voiced.

A teaser site is online now, which reveals some info.  ヤンデレ天国BL(ブラック)~真誠学園男子寮 編~ (yandere heaven black ~shinsei gakuen danshi ryo hen~, Yandere Heaven Black ~Shinsei High Boys Dormitory Episode~) takes place -as you can guess- at the boys dormitory. The main character (CV: Akabane Kenji) is the victim of the affections of his roommate (CV: Majima Junji) and the dormitory's caretaker (CV: Hirakawa Daisuke).

05/01/2012

Ouritsu Ouji Gakuen vol.2: the Prince of Snow White

王立王子学園 vol.2 白雪姫の王子様


Company: R45°project
Based on: Fairytales x School life
Released: 2011.11.15
Official Site: http://rpgakuen.com/


Ouritsu Ouji Gakuen (Royal Prince Gakuen, RPG for short) is a school where princes go in preparation of their future career as royalty. That means normal lessons, but also stuff like dancing lessons and other things you might need as royalty. Other than the fact that the entire student body are royal princes, it is a very normal school.

In this series you both spend time together with your main prince, as well as with multiple characters. Each CD features three princes, and you get to spend some quality time together with the 'main prince' as well as some -often funny- lively moments with all three.

This second CD centres on Shirase Yukito (CV: Toriumi Kousuke) who represents Snow White (The first kanji from his last and first name form 白雪 shirayuki, which is Japanese for Snow White). He is normally calm and collected, but when it comes to you he loses his normal character. His family oversees an apple orchard since many generations, but recently they also started a computer company, making him very skilled with computers. And slightly obsessed with them, he gave his to laptops a name.

Yukito his family has an old saying, if they say "mirror mirror on the wall, who is the fairest of them all, please let me meet my special one today" to a mirror, it is said they will meet that person very soon. Yukito does this out of boredom one day, and on his way to school a little later he finds you sleeping somewhere near the school. He wakes you up and because the chime has already started ringing, helps you up and you run to class together.

After that you seem to like him a lot, and apparently you go out of your way to talk to him, confusing Yukito because he thinks he is boring to talk to compared to his two friends Haibara Kouki (CV: Sakurai Takahiro) and Hiiragi Motochika (CV: Kaji Yuuki). The two of them join you for a few scenes, where especially Hiiragi causes trouble. They turn up in the library and make a lot of noise, waking up the librarian (which is implied to be a very bad thing to do), and more or less invite themselves to the family's apple orchard to pick apples and make apple pie.

This is of course also the scene where Yukito freaks out of you trying to eat an apple, eventually taking a bit of it himself and then giving it to you. Only realizing that that was a very weird action a few moments later.

Despite you clinging to Yukito like an idiot, it doesn't look like he is going to confess, or maybe even realize, his feelings any time soon, so at the end of the CD Haibara and Hiiragi think of a scheme to get you two alone somewhere. Which was completely obvious, and succesful xD

I like the scenes with you and Yukito, but I find the scenes with Haibara and Hiiragi in it a bit too noisy. Mostly because Hiiragi acts like a brat most of the time (Kaji-san even says this in the cast comment). In the last CD he was a genki moodmaker, here he is just annoying. I really like Yukito though, his normal cool but actually just socially slightly inapt ways make him fun to listen to.

Speaking of the cast comment, for no reason at all they end up whispering their comments. Sakurai seems to be having a lot of fun as well, you can hear him laughing in the background when Toriumi-san does his comment.


Conclusion:
I a bit torn between I like the parts with you and Yukito, and finding the rest slightly annoying. But overall it is still fun to listen.

03/01/2012

Nashimoto Fumiya no Platina Lesson

梨本史哉のプラチナレッスン


Company: Broccolli
Based on: Original
Released: 2010.07.28
Official Site: http://www.broccoli.co.jp/cd/sp/lovelesson/


Koisuru Lesson is a series in which you date your instructor/teacher. Each vol. has a different character that teaches something (cooking, violin, English, etc). The setting is that you are both a student and the girlfriend of said character. There are six CD's in total, divided in pairs, and the characters make cameo appearances in the CD they are paired with.

This CD has Nashimoto Fumiya (CV: Hirakawa Daisuke) who owns a cafe and a restaurant, and also hosts a cooking class. And the 28year old chef is quite popular with the ladies, as you'll notice right at the beginning of the CD. After they are done gossiping and asking Fumiya questions, he comes to see how you are doing, and is not at all pleased with what you are doing, but is nice right after that again.

Which is when Kousei (from this CD. CV: Suzumura Kenichi) suddenly jumps into the conversation. He burned his sauce and is now waving the saucepan about, causing chaos. Luckily no-one gets injured. After the lesson is finished, Fumiya asks both of you to stay a little longer for a private lesson because you won't be able to keep up with the rest otherwise. It is during this time that Kousei keeps chatting endlessly to you, almost inviting you out, until Fumiya interrupts him and he finally realizes that you and Fumiya are dating.

In the rest of the CD you go out on a date with Fumiya. You wanted to go on a drive, so he takes you to his family's villa in the mountains (you fall asleep in the car). When you are there you play Othello for a bit, and he gets a call from senpai. Apparently he has been offered a job to manage a restaurant in France, but he has no intention of accepting it. You mumble something that he shouldn't feel restrained by you, and eventually run of into the mountains.

Of course Fumiya comes chasing after you. He catches up with you, and tells you that he likes being with you (while you pull of the entire 'I don't deserve you, I'm to plain, etc' act) and gives you one very long kiss to persuade you. And then you go back and eat dinner. OK it wasn't that simple, and the menu sounds great.

Fumiya calls you "princess" when you are alone, and sort of spoils you a bit. So his attitude when he is alone with you, and his attitude when you are his student is definitely different. Like I described before, the difference between Fumiya and Kousei is amusing. Kousei livens the story a lot, though almost too much. When he is there almost all attention is drawn to him, luckily you get your time with Fumiya alone afterwards so it's all good.


Conclusion
Fumiya is a bit more mature boyfriend, which I like better. That, and that kiss alone makes it worth listening to this CD.

02/01/2012

Key Releases

The key releases for this month, all lined up!!

2012.01.06: Sengoku Paradise vol.2 Hanya Monya
2012.01.15: Otenki Sentai How Weather vol.3
2012.01.15: Oujisama Ourits Gakuen vol.3: Oyayubi-hime no Oujisama
2012.01.18: Bakumatsu Shishi no Renai Jijou
2012.01.18: Amemakura vol.2: Taiga
2012.01.18: Gekka Ryouran Romance
2012.01.18: Hana Oni 2
2012.01.18: Nekoto Danshi vol.1
2012.01.18: Nekoto Danshi vol.2
2012.01.25: Arcana Famiglia Capitulo : Ale! Novicia!
2012.01.25: Brothers Conflict vol.4
2012.01.25: Convenience store LAMENTO
2012.01.25: DameKare vol.1: Dere na Furyou Kareshi
2012.01.25: Diabolik Lovers Do-S Kyuuketsuki vol.2: Subaru
2012.01.25: Ha-to full Kareshi: Prologue
2012.01.25: Kiss x Kiss Collections vol.19
2012.01.25: Kiss x Kiss Collections vol.20
2012.01.25: Kiss x Kiss Collections vol.21
2012.01.25: Oujisama (warai) if ~Oujisama Gakuen~
2012.01.25: Oujisama (warai) Variety Drama CD 2nd Season
2012.01.25: Saint Beast Short Stories: Tenshi-tachi no Yokogao
2012.01.25: Shiro Ari!!
2012.01.25: Steins Gate Winter Drama CD
2012.01.25: Stobe Mania Drama CD
2012.01.25: Toshi-ue Kareshi ~Yanwari S no Ani-hen~
2012.01.25: Toshi-shita Kareshi ~Tsun de Yandere no Otouto-hen~
2012.01.26: Date CD vol:2 Drive Hen
2012.01.26: Little Princess Sera
2012.01.26: Versailles no Bara ~Kokui no Hakushaku Fujin~
2012.01.27: Issho ni Gohan a la Carte vol.1 Yoneda Hikari
2012.01.27: Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai: Matsuri Hayashi Hen vol.1
2012.01.27: Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai: Matsuri Hayashi Hen vol.2
2012.01.27: Penguin Wnishi vol.01
2012.01.28: STORM LOVER Couple Date CD Vol.5 - Adult Disc
2012.01.28: STORM LOVER Couple Date CD Vol.6 - Baby Disc


Both CDs for Oujisama (warai) are on my wanted list, as well as Ha-to full Kareshi, I'm very curious how a drama CD (not to mention an otome game) with doves as the main characters will be like.


What will you be listening to? Did I miss anything? Let me know! :)

01/01/2012

Special: sliding down the slippery slope of 'weird'

Happy new year!!!


Looking back on almost 2 years of listening to drama CDs, I have to conclude that I've listened to some pretty weird stuff. But what is 'weird'? How do you define 'weird'?? And was my starting point on what is 'weird' or not average to begin with???

And thus this journey into my own mind started.


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Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. This is a trip into the mind of the author of this blog. Please fasten your seat belt and do not walk while the seat belt sign is turned on. During the flight the crew will not supply you with drinks or snacks, so we suggest that you grab them yourself before we lift off. We wish you a pleasant flight.
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In the beginning
While thinking about what I define as weird or not I realized that my personal view on weird or not wasn't exactly normal any more when I began listening to drama CD's. It probably started sliding down the slippery slope the moment I started watching anime to begin with.

Not the first few shows, of course. Like most people I first watched anime dubbed in my own language (Dutch) and only the stuff that was on tv. Pokemon, Sailormoon, Digimon, Yu-gi-oh, the standard list. I probably already made a little side step into weird because I also watched a lot of stuff in German, but what can I say. RTL II simply had more interesting shows (mainly Detective Conan). In the eyes of many, just watching anime is already weird, so I disqualified for being normal right there.

I don't really remember what the first show that I watched in Japanese was, but it happened when a whole new world opened up to me: the internet. But the thing is, when you start downloading stuff on internet you start to look around on internet and you find a whole lot of other stuff. Stuff you sometimes wished you didn't see. And thus I discovered that something called hentai existed.

At the time I was far too young to be interested in it, and it mainly was weird. Animated porn, why would you even make that? let alone watch it. And people even turn 'normal' shows into hentai! Why would they do that to my favorite characters?! But, as with most things, at some point you just accept that it exists. I wasn't interested in it but I knew it existed, and at some point you are no longer shocked by it. The fact that it exists sort of became natural to me; and we slide further down the slippery slope.

And then the next discovery: Yaoi. Eeeeeewwww. Again: Why would people make/watch/read it? Why would they turn characters in 'normal' shows gay?? Why would anyone be interested in that sort of thing?! When I first discovered Yaoi existed I was completely weirded out. So much in fact, that if I happened to stumble upon it by chance Immediately closed the browser window. Even if there was no-one else at home. Around the same time I discovered that Yuri exists, but that was something aimed at men so I didn't need to understand it. Yeah.

But, like with hentai, at some point you simply accept that it exists (although I didn't know exactly how large the BL fanbase actually is!). And this time, curiosity took over and I actually tried to read some of it. (I managed to get through my first BL manga with a lot of giggling and blushing). A whole lot later I even tried to watch some. Eventually I concluded that it is just another genre to me. One that I'm not really interested in, but it exists, and there is nothing shocking about it anymore.

Yup. There is nothing weird about animated male pornography aimed at women anymore. I even read/watched some. I am definitely sliding down the slope now.

Random fact, the first time I saw any hentai was actually years after I first saw yaoi. But all the same I concluded that I'm not really interested in it



And then there was Otome
Somewhere in the back of my head I knew dating sims existed. And of course I thought they were weird. Especially if they were also H-games. Why would anyone play a game in which you could date an imaginary character, let alone have sex with her? It was weird. The artwork was often nice, but it was definitely something to stay away from.

And then I discovered that otome games (dating sims aimed at women, red.) existed. It would still take years before I would actually play one though. The first otome game I played was Kiniro no Corda (La Corda D'oro, as the anime is known) which was fun because it wasn't just a visual novel but had actual gameplay. After that came Tokimemo 1 and 2 (and later after it was released, 3), and after that I started playing more otome games.

So I discovered that something I thought was weird was actually quite fun! I even tried a few Hgames, but like with everything H, I decided that it wasn't that interesting. I still regularly play otome games and love that they are now released on psp more and more often because that is easy to import.

But that takes us to heaving read and watched hentai and yaoi, and regularly playing otome games (but no more H games). This is normal to me now, but how normal is it really? hmmmmm....


And then, drama CD's.
Audio drama's were nothing weird. I'm sure many of you also had tapes or CD's or whatever in which your favourite fairy tales were told or enacted. (that makes me realize, I had those on tape! actual cassette tapes! I almost feel old).*cough* anyway. The first drama CD I listened to was Are you Alice? and after that I started to look for other things.

And between listening to these 'normal' drama CD's, Starry Sky was the first time that I listened to a drama CD in which a character talks directly to the listener. In this case they were on a date with you. I have to admit, the first time I didn't manage to finish listening to it because I kept giggling like an idiot. A CD in which someone talks directly to you, goes on a date with you! that was weird!

But as you can guess. After a while I tried again and became used to it. Things like Starry Sky or Kareshi Recipe became normal. And then I started to stray further. Oshigoto Danshi, Brother Android, Karekoe, Enren Danshi, all kinds of different settings in which a character or boyfriend talks directly to you, and none of it was weird.

On the other hand, Kannou Mukashi Banashi was released: my first experience with the Dummy Head Mic. Kannou Mukashi Banashi stood fairly at the beginning of the Dummy Head boom, and more and more works that use it were released: Kannou Jikan, Shuukan Soine, Mousou Este and the list goes on. While I still see Kannou Jikan as bordering on weird (ever since they went over the top with the ero) the others seem perfectly normal to me.

When this becomes to new standard you start to listen to other things. DAISUKE!, Yandere Heaven, Kareshi Igai, Ot.To.Na Gentei, and there is a whole list of yet to be released things that I plan to listen to. Despite these things becoming my new standard even I was surprised at Ai aru Batou, and I still haven't had the courage to listen to it, but I just know that I will. Someday.

But just think about it, in Yandere Heaven you are the victim of two obsessively possessive suitors. In vol 3 both characters are actually blood related. You can't really call that a normal setting. Kareshi Igai has cheating on your boyfriend as main theme, that isn't exactly what you call normal either. And in Diabolik Lovers, one of the latest additions to the drama CD world, sadistic vampires try to drink your blood. But these things have become my new standard. I'm not shocked, not even surprised that these things exist any more. (Ok, Diabolik Lovers did scare me).

But even when it comes to other types of drama CD's: Momogrape their Men's Only series? Normal. Yaoi drama CD's? I don't listen to them, but perfectly normal. A drama CD featuring anthropomorphic ramen/pasta/food/pets/dialects? Why not? 


Conclusion?
Listing all of this really makes me realize... I've come a long way in what I consider 'normal'. I thought I became more lenient with what normal was after I started listening to drama CD's, but this shows I was already sliding down the slippery slope of weird on high speed even before that.

Yaoi, Otome games, all kinds of weird drama CD's.... I think.... we'll have to conclude, that I am definitely not normal any more. So what I consider normal, or at least not shocking, is actually  far from it?!



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Thank you for joining us on this flight. If you have any questions the crew will be happy to answer them. If you wish to share your flight experience with us (commentssss!) you are more than welcome. We wish you a pleasant day, a wonderful new year, and hope to see you again soon.
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