Anata ga Ofuro de Noboseru CD Vol.1 Kusatsu

あなたがお風呂で のぼせるＣＤ  第1弾「草津編 」

Company: em2
Based on: Onsen
Released: 2012.02.29


Anata ga Ofuro de Noboseru CD is a series that has personified various onsen from all over Japan. By using this CD (which stands for "Compact Dream") the personified spirit of an onsen appears in your bathroom, and takes a bath together with you. The first one to do so is Kusatsu Onsen, voiced by Sakurai Takahiro.

The CD begins with you talking to the guide (CV: Fujiwara Keiji) who offers you a CD to help you relax and relieve stress. That is as far as his explanations go, although he does recommend pausing the CD and taking a deep breath in case things become too much to handle.

In the next track you are in the bath when Kusatsu suddenly appears, you freak out and faint. He carries you to the bed, and when you wake up he is reading manga in your room. And still walking around naked. After changing into a Yukata, he explains that he is there to help you relax, and complains about the guide not doing his job properly.

Because you didn't know about him coming a says you should just "relax on your own or something" while he reads manga, but eventually you do end up taking a bath together. Although you refuse to go naked, instead you're both wearing a bath-towel (much to Kusatsu his dismay). Before you enter the bath you first need to wash, Kusatsu is washing your back, coming needlessly close at times.

Once you're in the bath he almost starts singing but you stop him. Instead, he starts counting to 100. With the same sloppy attitude as before, so at times he counts slow, then faster, then slow again, at 80 he's grown tired and wants you to count the rest, and when he eventually does count the rest he skips a few numbers.

After that he teases you a bit more, and washes your hair. During this time he becomes more and more 'dere' even saying that he doesn't want to go, and that you should come visit him before he has to leave. The guide also comments on things going smoothly somewhere in between, but Kusatsu throws something at him so that he leaves xD

Finally the Guide and Kusatsu give you a tour of the actual Kusatsu Onsen. At the start they both sing the song that Kusatsu wanted to sing before. They describe everything the onsen is supposed to heal (just about everything judging from that incredibly long list) and name the local food specialities (in Japan every place has it's own food specialities, and half of the travelling is about trying all of it).

I didn't know what to expect when I started on this CD, except that it would likely take place in my bathroom, but this was pretty hilarious. To be honest I already loved the CD when you fainted in the beginning, and Kusatsu was going all "yeah I saw everything, I had to carry you to the bed". He gradually warms up to you, which is kind of cute.

So a CD where you are in the bath together can't be all cute right? Well you're not mistaking there. There are some pretty suggestive lines throughout the entire CD ("I'll do something that wiol make you feel good all over" for example). And there was no mistaking the line "I guess you will have to wear a turtleneck for a while". Overal the level of suggestiveness was never too much though. A few lines here and there, but then again you are taking a bath together with someone so that is pretty much to be expected.

Kusatsu has a bit of a 'whatever' attitude, especially in the beginning. Maybe I feel like this because Sakurai will always be Alice? to me, but if you ask me this is exactly what it would be like if you took a bath with Alice. Minus the final dere maybe, but in the beginning their attitude is so similar it made me laugh. (Also, I love Alice, so for me this was a major like)

The cast comment is pretty funny. Sakurai talks a bit about Kusatsu, apparently he he has been there a few times himself. Then he answers a few questions that he was given: Whether he has an item that he often uses in his normal 'ofuro life' (a light that turns your bathroom into a sort of planetarium), Whether he washes his head or his body first, and in what order he washes his body (his head first, and his body starting at the 'vital points'), Whether he likes his both hot or lukewarm (hot at home, onsen a bit less so that you can enjoy them longer).


Conclusion:
Onsen gijinka is probably another one of those things that are only possible in Japan, it is fun though. This CD made me want to go to the actual onsen to see whether it reminds of this CD, because I've mostly been wondering how you personify an onsen. Exactly how do you give it specific personality traits? Either way, this was a lot of fun. Even if you don't feel like listening to every entry in the series, listening to those by your favourite seiyuu is definitely worth it (but go listen to all of them anyway).