Toubousha

逃暴者～ユウキ編～

Company: Twofive inc.
Based on: Original
Released: 2012.08.08
Official site: http://www.twofive.co.jp/cd/fugitive_01.html


Toubousha is a CD in which a fugitive is on the run from someone. He uses you to get away, and as a result you are forced to do what he says. The CD uses the dummy head mic for the entire length of the CD (and does so very effectively). There are two endings; a good and a bad one.

The character on the run is Daiba Yuuki (CV: Morita Masakazu). He grabs you while you are walking home from work, pretending that he was late for a date. But a few threats right next to your ear make it very clear that this isn't just him mistaking you for someone else. You've got no choice but to play along. After walking for a while you are close to where you live, so he demands that you take him there.

Once there he asks/demands to stay there until the next evening. It does start to show that he isn't all bad, especially after you start to cry and he has no idea how to get things right again. It also appears he is really sleepy, and to ensure you don't run away while he is sleeping he falls asleep while keeping you pinned down to the ground.

After he wakes up the atmosphere really changes to far more light-hearted. Yuuki obviously isn't all bad and has no idea how to handle the situation, and you manage to get in a few demands as well (like him taking a bath because "he smells like a zoo)". Of course all of this is brought with more than enough humour. This part really had me laughing at multiple moments.

You're hungry and there is nothing in the fridge (leading to a couple of hilarious comments about whether you were trying to grow onions in your fridge because they had sprouted) so eventually Yuuki agrees to buying something if you go together. You go to a nearby convenience store (cue more hilarious conversation) to buy something. All seems to be OK as you start to get along a bit better, but then you are spotted by whoever Yuuki was running from. You run into an abandoned building to get away, and this is where the story splits into a good and a bad end.

The CD advances into the good end by default, but I recommend listening to the bad one first. I'm not going to go into detail, but it deserves the name 'bad end' and owns all my tears. The change from the previous track into drama is very fast, but I think they managed to pull it off very well.

In the good end Yuuki distracts the people chasing you and you manage to get away. The police is on scene pretty fast and while you are waiting outside Yuuki comes to find you. He introduces himself properly and tells you his story... and asks whether he can see you again. The good end also has an epilogue from which it is more than obvious that you agreed to see him again.

The beginning of the CD is scary. From the first scene where Yuuki whispers a few threats right next to your ear to the opening music. Once you get home the entire atmosphere changes though. Yuuki his clumsy interactions with you are hilarious and this CD really made me laugh. This might be a weird comparison, but in some way it is really similar to the "shikararetai" situation CD. It has the same amount of energy and fast paced dialogue with the character commenting on all sorts of things. Of course the more serious parts in this CD are good as well.

The entire CD is recorded with the dummy head mic, and they used very effectively if you ask me. From the beginning where Yuuki whispers threats right next to your ear, to later in the CD where he pulls you close for example. You start to get used to the effect at some point, but it is still interesting to hear Yuuki moving around you.

If I would be allowed to have one complaint about this CD it is the fact that your supposed reaction time tends to be really really short. You apparently manage to say entire sentences and do all kinds of stuff in a split second before Yuuki then reacts to that again. But I'm just nitpicking here.

The animate freetalk CD was definitely worth it buying it there. It is a full 10min of high-paced (nonsense) freetalk by Morita-san. He talks a lot about flash lights, before straying and talking about all sorts of other stuff (even doing a short simulation of the two of you riding a bike together) before abruptly going back to his talk about flash lights.


Conclusion:
This was very different from how I expected it to be (I expected it to be darker) but it was a lot of fun to listen to and I can really recommend it. There are rumours on  2chan about a second CD being in production and I really hope that those rumours are true. No matter whether the second CD would be a more serious one or similar to this one.