News Post -Part 3-

Aaaaand we are back in business!! Reviews will also be posted on a regular schedule again starting next week, and there is lots and lots of interesting news stuff to catch up on, so I will be posting that through this week.

There is so much to catch up on it is hard to decide on what to do first, but considering that Rejet has announced so much stuff that the relating tumblr tags have nearly exploded, lets start with that xD


Shinsengumi Kekkonroku Wasurenagusa
It was almost inevitable considering the success of the series, but Wasurenagusa is getting a second season, titled 新撰組血魂録 勿忘草 (shinsengumi kekkonroku wasurenagusa). Like I already explained on tumblr, The kanji used in the title are 血(blood) and 魂 (soul;spirit) and the reading is ‘kekkon’. If you would write kekkon with different kanji however you get 結婚 (marriage). No idea whether the content will have anything to do with this, but Rejet also used this pun in the new top image of their blog, so who knows.

Two more famous shinsengumi members are introduced as new characters to the series: Nakagura Kinpachi (CV: Maeno Tomoaki) and Harada Sannosuke (CV: Tachibana Shinnosuke). Besides these two all previous characters will get another CD, which means a total of 8 CDs for the second season. I guess it is time to empty our wallets again.

A short pv for the second season can be watched here, it has no voice whatsoever but it does give a short glimpse of two new characters.

As the pv and blog post announcing the second season mention the theme for the second season is 月だけが識る、命の、逢瀬――。(tsuki dake ga shiru, inochi no, ouse.... , "a rendezvous of life, known only to the moon". It should be noted that the character for life here means 'mortal life' as in 'life or death', so I am guessing that they mean a 'rendezvous that endangers your life', but Rejet their own staff jokes about what they could be meaning with this so we are left in the dark.

Edit: The release dates as found on animate online:

• Kekkonroku Vol.1: 2013.08.28
• Kekkonroku Vol.2: 2013.09.25
• Kekkonroku Vol.3: 2013.10.30
• Kekkonroku Vol.4: 2013.11.27
• Kekkonroku Vol.5: 2013.12.25
• Kekkonroku Vol.6: 2014.01.29
• Kekkonroku Vol.7: 2014.02.26
• Kekkonroku Vol.8: 2014.03.26

Diabolik Lovers
Where to start with this, so much has been announced for this series alone it is stunning.

Biggest news first: Diabolik Lovers is getting an anime adaption. No news on whether it is just an OVA or a series though. The opinions of the fans seem to be divided, but personally I'm interested in how they are going to adapt it and I'll wait until I've seen it before I'll give an opinion.

Second large news:  a second DiaLover season titled "Diabolik Lovers: More Blood" is in the works, and by the looks of it everything will get new releases because of it; new radio broadcasts, new drama CDs, and Otomate is making another DiaLovers game/fandisk.. A teaser site has been opened but we'll have to wait for it to open to get any real info out of it. A trailer is available though, you can watch it here.

The trailer introduces four new characters, four brothers of another vampire family called 無神 - Mushin(?). The oldest one is Ruki (CV: Sakurai Takahiro), who is described as a ruthless, cruel leader. The second one is Kou (CV: Kimura Ryouhei) who is described as a selfish, two-faced idol (so basically Kise turned into a do-S vampire?*shot*). Next we have the impulsive and rebellious Yuuma (CV: Suzuki Tatsuhisa) and finally Azusa (CV: Kishio Daisuke) who is described as an 'insane yet timid yandere'.

As you may have guessed I was spazzing beyond the describable about Sakurai being in this series. I have a lot of conflicting feelings about this but basically I feel like death is standing in front of me with open arms and I am willingly going to walk into them. I shall regret nothing.

I am secretly hoping for another Versus CD with Ruki VS Yuuma, even though I will probably need to sign my last will before listening to it because it will almost certainly kill me (and half of the world's fangirl population with me). I will settle for Ruki VS Kou if necessary though.

Final piece of DiaLover news: Character songs are planned for release starting somewhere in June. If Wasurenagusa didn't already devastate your wallet then DiaLovers most certainly will considering the amount of releases related to it (you can bet that there will be more merchandise as well once things get of the ground).

Edit: release dates for the new CDs. The full title seems to be ドS吸血CD MORE,BLOOD (do-s kyuuketsuki cd more,blood)

• Vol.01 Ayato - 2013.04.24
• Vol.02 Kou - 2013.05.29
• Vol.03 Ruki - 2013.06.26
• Vol.04 Azusa - 2013.07.31
• Vol.05 Yuuma - 2013.08.28
• Vol.06 Kanato - 2013.09.25
• Vol.07 Raito - 2013.10.30
• Vol.08 Subaru - 2013.11.27
• Vol.09 Shuu - 2013.12.25
• Vol.10 Reiji - 2014.01.29

Dot Kareshi
Besides continueing their existing series Rejet is also starting new ones: Dot Kareshi -we're 8bit lovers- is one of them. With Dot Kareshi Rejet is mixing old school 8bit RPG with situation CDs and otome games, although I'm not sure how much of what goes in the mix.

The teaser site mentions that "the content will be delivered through situation CDs + (a little) game". It looks like this will be situation CD + game 2disc combo. The situation CDs will be 60min and make use of the dummy head mic.

When you first open the teaser site a trailer introducing the setting and characters will play. I have to say, the music and the little beeps that you hear when someone 'speaks' make me incredibly nostalgic.

It seems like all the characters are actual characters in a game you used to play, but because you played too much they've become warped. The characters from the trailer are the Hero who turned kichiku, the Wizard who became twisted, a ore-sama Priest, a flirtatious Thief, the Knight who turned do-M due to taking too many beatings, an idiot Dancer, a sadistic Beastmaster (this time S in the actual S-M sense by the looks of it), a sexually frustrated Monk, the Evil Overlord who has self esteem problems due to being defeated so many times, a shota Slime who has fallen in love with you, the Dark Knight, and the Villager (who seems strangely stalkerish), so 12 characters in total. (So far they don't seem to have any names, they are simply called 'Hero' or 'Wizard')

Before you start to pity your wallet too much, I've only found three CDs listed on Animate so far, so maybe every CD has multiple characters. No release dates listed are though.



Seventh Heaven
Thought we were already done? Wrong! Rejet has even more in stock! Their next project being Seventh Heaven, which is a combination of a "situation CD + dummy head kannou (sensual) song". How exactly they are going to make dummy head songs work remains to be seen, but so far the bgm is captivating as always.

There are seven shinigami (death gods) who can only be seen by women who, somewhere in the bottom of their hearts, wish to die. Their songs hold the power to send you to the other side. At the same time there is a mansion just outside of town where seven beautiful butlers are rumoured to live. And you (the listener) end up entering said mention due to circumstances. Those who enter the mansion, which has no owner, are never seen again. You discover the truth behind it all, but are unable to tell anyone because...

(the end of the trailer has the line "because you cannot resist this song", so that is probably the reason why you are unable to tell anyone what you discover).

As you have probably guessed there are seven characters for this series: Akira (CV: Nojima Kenji) who is described as tsundere, cool, do-S and two-faced. Hinata (CV: Takahashi Hiroki) who is a koakuma (devilish) yandere do-M that wants to be abused. Itsuki (CV: Takahashi Naozumi) who is tough, your childhood friend, and has an different personality hidden behind his usual one. Yuuri (CV: Kondo Takashi), who is a insane do-S yandere. Shion (CV: Suzuki Tatsuhisa) who is a violent and perverted do-S ore-sama. Mint (CV: Toriumi Kousuke) who is a cold-hearted abusive strict kuudere (emotionless type), and finally Kanade (CV: Morikubo Shoutarou) who is a lazy tsudere x ore-sama do-S.

Most of them have a lot of personality traits and a lot of overlap between them, and I am not going to lie when I say that I am wondering how they are going to make some of them work (tsundere x ore-sama do-S???). But basically we have two tsunderes (Akira and Kanade), two yanderes (Hinata and Yuuri), a Kuudere (Mint) a childhood friend type (Itsuki) and a violent ore-sama pervert (Shion). For a better overview I refer to simply-shine her post here.

Personally I am getting a high "DiaLovers in a different jacket" vibe (Rejet has discovered that do-S characters sell for high amounts after all) BUT one should not judge before hearing so we shall see hear. Besides, I spot another yandere do-M which is a combo that interests me a lot.

Release dates are as follows:
Vol.1 Akira (CV: Nojima Kenji) - 2013.04.24
Vol,2 Hinata (CV: Takahashi Hiroki) - 2013.05.29
Vol.3 Itsuki (CV: Takahashi Naozumi) - 2013.06.26
Vol.4 Yuuri (CV: Kondo Takashi) - 2013.07.24
Vol.5 Shion (CV: Suzuki Tatsuhisa) - 2013.08.28
Vol.6 Minto (CV: Toriumi Kousuke) - 2013.09.25
Vol.7 Kanade (CV: Morikubo Shoutarou) - 2013.10.30

Of course there are tokuten as well. Buy all CDs and you can apply for the special drama CD "Shinigami Gakuen Monogatari" (Shinigami School Story). Buy all CDs at animate and you can also apply for the special drama CD "Shinigami-tachi no Boys Talk". Both special CDs feature the entire cast.

PS: I am loving how the logo says "ultimate dammyhead song". All the characters are also "battlers" instead of butlers xD

Diabolik Lovers Versus 3 - Kanato VS Reiji

I don't seem to be able to write short reviews for this... Well I could, if I would summarize most of it as "bloodsucking". Which would be accurate but a bit too short.

DIABOLIK LOVERS ドS吸血CD VERSUS 3 カナトVSレイジ 

Company: Rejet
Based on: Original
Released: 2012.10.24
Official site: http://rejetweb.jp/dialover/versus.html


Diabolik Lovers is a series that leaves you at the mercy of sadistic vampires. The project features drama CD's, radio broadcasts on NicoNico Live, and a PSP game by Otomate. The drama CD's are the first to be released together with the radio broadcasts. Originally there were just 6 drama CDs announced, but Rejet managed to squeeze in 3 more CD releases before the game: Diabolik Lovers Versus, where you are left in the hands of two vampires at the same time.

In the third and final Versus CD we have Kanato (CV: Kaji Yuuki) and Reiji (CV: Konishi Katsuyuki). As those of you who have listened to the rest of the series probably realize, that means they paired the character with the most composed personality, and the one with the most unstable personality of all together. I was still scared of Kanato after his CD, so this was going to be one hell of an adventure.

The story starts with Reiji looking for you. He apparently sent you to find him a book in the school library a few hours ago and you still haven't returned. When he finds you, you are still looking for the book. Someone broke the computer that can be used to search for a book, so you've been trying to find it on your own. Because it can't be helped Reiji says he'll search for it as well.

Which is when you hear a crying voice. You get scared, and Reiji makes this even worse by telling you that a female student once committed suicide in the library, and that her cries can still be heard today. It turns out that it is actually Kanato who is crying, and the first thing he does is yell at you that he isn't a girl...

It turns out that it was Kanato who broke the PC, because he couldn't find a certain book. The book he was looking for is full of black magic, he wants it to turn his Teddy into a puppet (more specifically, one that can move by itself). Reiji tells him that such a book won't be on loan to normal students, but that he knows where it is. You end up following both to where the book is.

Reiji shows Kanato the book, but it is written in a strange language and Kanato can't read it. To force Reiji to read it for him he attacks you in front of him. He whispers to you that this is all Reiji his fault and loses no time sucking your blood. To my surprise Reiji just watches while Kanato bites and cuts you to drink your blood.

After a while though Reiji finally has enough of it, grabs you and destroys the stairs so that Kanato can't follow you. While he acts kind towards you, the fact that you are covered in blood eventually leads to him also starting to drink your blood, despite first saying that he doesn't want to. But in the end he decides that he'll give in to his desires and forcefully drinks your blood.

Kanato finally catches up, going completely hysterical because "you let Reiji drink your blood". He throws an entire bookshelf of top of Reiji (I have no idea how you are spared from the same fate while you were at his side). Still angry at you, Kanato starts drinking your blood again, this time pulling out a silver knife and cutting you with it. Since you are bleeding pretty badly, Kanato decides to cover his Teddy in your blood as well...

Because Kanato is taking his sweet time Reiji manages to get up from under the shelf, and paralyse Kanato with one of his precious poisons from his collection. You were almost unconscious from what Kanato did to you, and Reiji wakes you up by kissing you. He nearly loses control again, and tells you to run while he can still restrain himself. But you stay by his side and tell him that you'll give him your blood. Of course Reiji continues with drinking your blood after that.

When Kanato regains his movement, he simply clings on to you, so in the end both of them drink your blood. As if this wasn't bad enough Kanato also involves the now moving Teddy in this. And this is where the CD fades out... (probably because you've fainted by now).

Compared to the earlier Versus CDs, this one was a lot less eroi. While Ayato and Raito were doing all kinds of things to you, this time they are really only sucking your blood (and in Kanato his case chewing on your fingers). This is also the only one in which they really seem to be fighting over you, at one point actually throwing a few punches.

Throughout the entire CD I was once again scared of Kanato. He switches from concerned to sweet to angry to hysterical within seconds, and once again I have to say that Kaji Yuuki his voice acting here is absolutely amazing.

Kanato his hysterical mood swings almost make Reiji look like a saint and a gentleman, until he loses control of course. Like other people have mentioned before me, Reiji his bloodsucking is far from eroi. It really sounds like he has lost all control and is nearly going insane by drinking your blood. What I find especially interesting though, is that the heroine seems to be hoping for Reiji to save her to some extend, and is noticeably hurt when he tells her he doesn't care about her, only about her blood. But maybe this is just my bias making me interpret things that way.

While I haven't played the game, I have been reading summaries and reviews, and knowing some of the backgrounds adds a lot more painful feelings when listening to this. Kanato his attachment to his Teddy is scary on his own, but when you know what Teddy actually is (or is stuffed with) the fact that he wants it to be able to move even more terrifying. Same goes for the fact that both of them realize that your blood is special, but not why (although I am not entirely sure how much Reiji realizes). When Kanato mentions that he wants to drink blood from your heart, things possibly get even more complicated. If you don't mind spoilers, scroll down to the end of this post to see what I am talking about specifically.

The one thing that really bothered me (ignoring all the weird things that are normal for this series) is that Teddy became able to move by being soaked in your magical blood. I mean, that is simply stretching things. And then Kanato had to go and involve him in the end as well. That was simply too much.




Conclusion:
As always, this is an exhausting CD to listen to. The beginning left me wondering how they were going to switch from the story to bloodsucking, but after that it is still a full hour of being abused attacked by Kanato and Reiji. For those who haven't listened to this series yet, if you want to listen to it please start with the solo CDs first, and probably listen to this one last. You'll need to build up some resistance before you can stomach this, trust me.

Sorry for this incredibly long review (^-^;;)






-SPOILER WARNING-
I know that the heroine in the CDs isn't necessarily Yui (the heroine from the games), but in the games:

- Kanato had a huge mother complex, and Teddy is stuffed with her ashes.
- Before he could burn her body though, her hart was transferred to the heroine. The reason that her blood is special is because she has a vampire heart. The heart of a rather powerful vampire too.
- Reiji mentions that he "considered his mother dead long ago". He is actually the one who hired a vampire hunter to kill her.

Diabolik Lovers Versus 2 - Subaru VS Raito

DIABOLIK LOVERS ドS吸血CD VERSUS 2 ライトVSスバル

Company: Rejet
Based on: Original
Released: 2012.09.26
Official site: http://rejetweb.jp/dialover/versus.html


Diabolik Lovers is a series that leaves you at the mercy of sadistic vampires. The project features drama CD's, radio broadcasts on NicoNico Live, and a PSP game by Otomate. The drama CD's are the first to be released together with the radio broadcasts. Originally there were just 6 drama CDs announced, but Rejet managed to squeeze in 3 more CD releases before the game: Diabolik Lovers Versus, where you are left in the hands of two vampires at the same time.

The second CD has Subaru (CV: Kondo Takashi) and Raito (CV: Hirakawa Daisuke). The CD starts with Raito chasing the heroine/listener, who is finally cornered in the torture chamber (why does the Sakamaki household even have such a thing). You decide to give up, but just as Raito intends to have his way with you it turns out that you are sitting on top of a coffin - and that Subaru was sleeping in said coffin. Annoyed by Raito his provocation Subaru opens the coffin (and launches you into the air). After some more provocations Subaru hits the wall, causing the entrance to collapse, leaving the three of you locked inside.

Raito decides that you should make the best of the situation, and fully intends to continue with what he was doing. He invites Subaru to join him, but Subaru refuses. Not that it really matters to Raito, he just starts 'playing' with you anyway. He finds some chains with a collar attached to them nearby and puts those around your neck. As you don't immediately do what he wants he starts to choke you with them, while biting you in several places.

This has his intended effect on Subaru: he manages to provoke Subaru into showing him how he handles you. While Subaru finds the chains annoying, he doesn't immediately remove them. Instead he 'cleans' your body first by biting everywhere Raito bit you before.

Of course all of this excites Raito even more (looks like watching or being watched is his thing...) and he takes over again, pinning you down on top of Subaru and continuing things there, Although his turn ends fairly quickly to give Subaru a second chance, after which they simply decide to have 3P anyway. The CD fades out with them saying that it might take a while before you will be rescued, obviously hinting at the fact that they will continue what they are doing until you are.

Compared to the first Versus CD this was much more subdued; I actually managed to fall asleep while listening to this (twice). Neither the first nor the third CD allowed me to fall asleep. I believe that the juxtaposition here is Raito only being interested in you because of lust, and Subaru actually showing romantic interest as well. (Ok, there is very little romance, but compared to any of the other brothers Subaru actually does show some romantic interest, which is tons more than any of the others do).

This might be my imagination, but Subaru sounds a lot more aggressive than in his own CD. Raito also didn't get this excited in his own CD, although I am not really complaining there.

After what Ayato did to you in the first CD I expected Raito to go completely over the top with the ero, but not at all. Yes he still does some rather... perverted stuff to you, but he's being less verbal about in than Ayato was. The choking in the beginning aside, both of them are being surprisingly gentle with you. Subaru from the start, and Raito is making a point out of it the second time.


Conclusion:
Out of the three Versus CDs this was the most tame one. There is still a lot going on, but the characters act and talk much calmer, and seem to be hurting you a lot less as well (aside from the choking incident). I never expected this, I'd have thought that Subaru would nearly break down the house and that Raito would be even more straight forward ero instead of getting his kicks out of being watched. Can't decide whether the direction they took instead is a good or bad thing though.

Diabolik Lovers Versus 1 - Ayato vs Shuu

DIABOLIK LOVERS ドS吸血CD VERSUS 1 アヤトVSシュウ

Company: Rejet
Based on: Original
Released: 2012.08.29
Official site: http://rejetweb.jp/dialover/versus.html


Diabolik Lovers is a series that leaves you at the mercy of sadistic vampires. The project features drama CD's, radio broadcasts on NicoNico Live, and a PSP game by Otomate. The drama CD's are the first to be released together with the radio broadcasts. Originally there were just 6 drama CDs announced, but Rejet managed to squeeze in 3 more CD releases before the game: Diabolik Lovers Versus, where you are left in the hands of two vampires at the same time.

The first Versus CD has Ayato (CV: Midorikawa Hikaru) and Shuu (CV: Toriumi Kousuke). They were having a fight over when you blood tastes better - when you are scared or when you are feeling pleasure. In the end, they decided to test it out on you. That is the explanation you get when you wake up in chains.

Shuu is the first to try out his ideas. He threatens you with all kinds of things, only words at first but a rather familiar knife comes into play as well. To keep things short: Shuu uses the knife to first cut and rip off your clothes, then proceeds threatening and cutting you with it while drinking your blood.

While he still seems to be in the middle of things Ayato interrupts him saying that he took long enough. Shuu thinks your blood is plenty tasty at the moment so he lets Ayato drink it, who complains that it is far to bitter. So now it is Ayato his turn to play with you.

After Shuu his constant threats Ayato almost seems... gentle. (Considering how scared I was of him in his own CD, I never thought I would say that). It doesn't take him long before he is doing some pretty awful things to you as well though, although this time the point is to make you feel pleasure.

Of course Shuu interrupts him again, and after drinking a bit of your blood he complaints that it is now to sweet. The two of them almost start fighting for real when they get distracted by you, so in the end this turns into a blood drinking threesome. Ayato uses the same -probably aphrodisiac- potion on you that he used in his own CD, and by the end you are practically begging them to both drink your blood at the same time.

I forgot how scary and ruthless this series can be. And they seem to have doubled everything from the terror to the ero. Or maybe even tripled it. It is also very long: Almost 75 minutes. Which means that you are being bullied, bitten, threatened, and everything by two vampires for more than an hour. To be honest, it was kind of exhausting to listen to. In the beginning I was still going "should not want" and resisting while listening, but halfway through that became so tiring that I gave up and just listened to whatever they were doing to me.

Just to clarify, there is still no sign of any affection in this CD, and the level of ero is probably equal of even more than in Kannou Jikan. The only difference is that your life is also in danger in this CD. Which reminds me, they were drinking your blood for over an hour, shouldn't you be starting to get blood loss problems by the end?


Conclusion:
It certainly lives up to the series its reputation. It is probably up to the listener whether that this do-S zero affection is to your tastes or not. Even if you liked the previous instalments; don't think you can handle this. It will  be more than you expected. Just try not to think to hard about the actual situation that you are in.

Diabolik Lovers Vol.6: Shuu

Two Toriumi reviews so close together and as different as they can be, haha. This was pure coincidence though, because it took me several nights to listen to this CD. Please tell me I am not the only one capable of falling in sleep while listening to this series.

DIABOLIK LOVERS ドS吸血CD Vol.6 逆巻シュウ

 

Company: Rejet
Based on: Original
Released: 2012.05.23
Official site: http://rejetweb.jp/dialover/index.html


Diabolik Lovers is a series that leaves you at the mercy of sadistic vampires. The project features drama CD's, radio broadcasts on NicoNico Live, and a PSP game by Otomate. The drama CD's are the first to be released together with the radio broadcasts, and this is vol.6 featuring Shuu.

Shuu (CV: Toriumi Kousuke) is the oldest of all the brothers, and has a very apathetic attitude. Almost everything is too much trouble, and he doesn't care about anything or anyone. He is also almost always listening to music.

The CD begins with you taking shelter from the rain on your way home. Shuu walks by, says hi, and tries to walk on. Yet for some reason you stop him. He doesn't want to walk home with you, or take shelter because he is already soaked anyway. To make things worse, his earphones break, for which he blames you because you kept him standing in the rain.You get shoved to the ground, and he even steps on your hand, but gets bored real fast and quits. He almost wants to take a nap on the side of the road because he is feeling sleepy before you drag him along running towards home at full speed.

(where on earth you found the strength to do that is a mystery)

Now most of us would probably be like "run to your room before something bad happens!" after all off the shit that went down in the other CD's. But to my surprise you keep following Shuu around. You are worried that he will go to bed in his wet clothes (which he was planning on doing btw) and keep insisting on him changing into something else. Even though he almost strangles you at one point, you keep insisting.

So he tells you that if you want him to change you should just take his clothes of yourself, which you start doing, but you get embarrassed halfway through. Then he orders you to strip, which you do but you hide under the blankets of his bed. Lots of humiliating you later, he starts asking whether you like him, which is when things really go wrong.

He tells you that if you want to stay by his side, you'll have to give him your blood and hands you a knife. So you slice your neck. As if that isn't bad enough he says the wound is too small, so you open it further by pulling it open with your fingers. At this point in the CD I was really considering quitting. I've endured a lot in this series, but this really was too much for me. Somehow I managed to keep listening though. The rest is all dummy head mic , but it is also all bloodsucking and Shuu saying he wants to see more of your expressions of pain.

In all of the other CDs I could feel sympathy for the heroine/listener, but in this CD... You keep bugging Shuu though he obviously wants to be left alone. Over half of the CD his is telling you to leave him alone yet you keep bugging him. And the fact that you are willing to cut your own neck was just *shudders* This is the first time that it was obvious that the heroine really is a do-M and willing to do all sorts of things and willingly suffers pain. That combined with the fact that Shuu doesn't care about you at all was just too much.

I noticed before that there is almost no romance in these CDs. Subaru shows a liiiiitle bit of affection and Kanato is weirdly possessive, but on the whole none of them care about you. I'm the kind of person that can handle do-S and yandere as long as the characters have a little bit of love for you, but this series really is a bit much. The earlier volumes were still bearable, but the further you get the worse you are treated (with the exception of Reiji maybe).

I knew about some stuff in this CD before listening to it, and I have to agree with most people: Yui (the default name of the heroine in the games), WTF are you doing?!?! This CD really was to much for me.

And yet, despite all of the horrors going down in this CD, the background music was so relaxed I fell asleep every single time I listened to it. I ended up searching for the point where I fell asleep the night before and then listening for another 10min before I fell asleep again.


Conclusion
Do not want, Do not want, Do not want, Toriumi sounding sexy, Do not want, Do not want, Do not want, but why am I still interested in the radio show and the VS CD's? Probably mostly because I hope that they will show even just a small shimmer of affection in those...

Weekly News Post

Late News Post is late as always. Also, all reviews from May have been added to the review page. We've reached over 200 reviews, yay!!



Shinsengumi Mokuhiroku Wasurenagusa
Rejet is working on something new: 新撰組黙秘録勿忘草 (Shinsengumi Mokuhiroku Wasurengusa, Shinesengumi Secret Files Forget-me-not, after this simply Wasurenagusa) is a series of situation CD's based on the Shinsengumi and the concept "what if I could have been there". The series will use the Dummy Head Mic.

6CD's have been planned for now: Saito Hajime (CV: Takahashi Naozumi) on 2012.07.25, Okita Souji (Image to the right, CV: Suzuku Tatsuhisa) on 2012.08.29, Kondou Isame (CV: Inoue Kazuhiko) on 2012.09.26, Toudou Heisuke (CV: Shimono Hiro) on 2012.10.31, Hijikata Toshizou (CV: Hosoya Yoshimasa) on 2012.11.28, and finally Yamazki Susumu (CV: Morikawa Toshiyuki) on 2012.12.26.

With each CD comes a ticket, if you buy all 6 you can apply for a special drama CD which has all of the characters interacting with each other. So far this seems to be a drama CD only series, but you never know what Rejet has planned for us...



Ojisama Senka
The cast for Ojisama Senka vol. 5 and 6 have been announced. Vol.5 will have Genda Tesshou, Hamada Kenji, and Tobita Nobuo. Vol.6 will have Ishizuka Unshou, Ebara Masashi, and Touichi Hiroki. The titles for both vol aren't final yet, but for now they are titled "itsumo no tokoro de" and "escape".

When the cast for vol.5 was announced it first said that it would be Hayami Shou instead of Tobita Nobuo, but one day later an apology saying that this was false. Tobita Nobuo was announced as cast one day after that. The apology mentions "a confirmation mistake on behalf of [his] agency" as the reason why he can no longer participate.

A mobile game on Gree has also been released, but unfortunately I have no further info on that.

Diabolik Lovers Vol.5 Reiji

DIABOLIK LOVERS ドS吸血CD Vol.5 逆巻レイジ

Company: Rejet
Based on: Original
Released: 2012.04.25
Official site: http://rejetweb.jp/dialover/index.html


Diabolik Lovers is a series that leaves you at the mercy of sadistic vampires. The project features drama CD's, radio broadcasts on NicoNico Live, and a PSP game by Otomate. The drama CD's are the first to be released together with the radio broadcasts, and this is vol.5 featuring Reiji

 Reiji (CV: Konishi Katsuyuki) is the second oldest brother in the household, and is described as being almost like a butler. He does look the part, but I wouldn't liken him to a butler. He does speak in a polite manner, but the things he actually says are usually very harsh.

The CD begins with you wandering around the house, accidentally meeting Reiji. Apparently you had a nightmare and couldn't sleep. Reiji is busy drinking tea, and admiring the tea cups and the sound the spoon makes while stirring etc, but he immediately notices you entering the room. He orders you to sit on the ground in seiza (probably to reflect on what a stupid idea it was to wander around the house).

You don't manage to sit like that for long, so he allows you to stand up again and drink tea with him (because the sound of you crying prevents him from enjoying his tea). You talk to him about having a nightmare, and he replies that it would be weirder if you didn't have any nightmares, considering the situation you are in. After that he reverts to talking about how wonderful cutlery is, showing you a teacup he especially likes. And then you break it. 

This is were I expected him to snap and do something horrible, but instead he actually shows concern for you because you cut your finger. He kisses you finger, saying that it is 'treatment'. He continues with saying that your blood is really tasty, and that tasty must be why the others always want to drink it. He pretends to be driven mad by it too for a little while, but shows restraint immediately after.

He tells you that if you want to seduce him you'll have to become a more refined woman. After ordering you to clean some tea that he spilled on purpose, he starts complaining about your bad posture. And the fact that you can't dance. And so he decides to teach you how to dance, but not before you've changed into a dress, including a corset. How on earth you got into that corset in such a short time I won't ask.. While dancing he teases you about drinking your blood again and you trip, spraining your ankle.

He carries you off to his room (enter dummy head mic). Interestingly enough, there isn't much blood sucking going on in Reiji his dummy head part. Instead he spends most of it looking down on you, shackling you, and humiliating you. The moment he really starts drinking your blood is when the CD ends. It also ends with the Diabolik Lovers theme music playing (the music from the official site) which never seemed more ominous to me.

They've taken a considerable step back from the course the series was taking, which is a good thing if you ask me. Of course Reiji is still an incredible sadist, but you are in less imminent danger than with say Raito or Kanato and he treats you a bit better. Only a bit though. Either way, the amount of S was getting a bit too much for me, so I am glad to took a little step back.

One of the things I am wondering though is: am I the only one that kept being distracted by the background music? From Beethovens Symphony No.7 right at the beginning, to the Waltz of the Flowers (from the Nutcracker) and finally the Moonlight Sonata during the Dummy Head Mic part, every single time a famous piece was playing in the background I got distracted by it. But that is probably just me. Whether it was distracting or not, it does suit Reiji his image.

This review is getting far too long as it is, but I just wanted to make one more remark: almost the entire CD Reiji tells you that you are not refined enough for his taste. Yet at the very end he does call you 淑女 (shukujo, a lady), making me wonder whether he actually considered you one all along.



Conclusion:
I'm really glad they took a step back instead of making this CD even more S. It might be just my personal preference, but I kind of like Reiji. And despite me complaining about being distracted by it, I loved the classical music as bgm (I just get distracted by the pretty music). I'm also really curious about the last CD, as I've read many interesting stuff about it on tumblr...

Diabolik Lovers Vol.4: Raito

Well, I have to admit the promise of the Diabloik Lovers VErsus CD's imeadiately got me excited for the series again. The last three vol. were sort of drowning in the pile of stuff I still want to listen to, but this quickly made me fish them out again.

DIABOLIK LOVERSドS吸血CD Vol.4逆巻ライト

Company: Rejet
Based on: Original
Released: 2012.03.21
Official site: http://rejetweb.jp/dialover/index.html


Diabolik Lovers is a series that leaves you at the mercy of sadistic vampires. The project features drama CD's, radio broadcasts on NicoNico Live, and a PSP game by Otomate. The drama CD's are the first to be released together with the radio broadcasts, and this is vol.4 featuring Raito.

Raito (CV: Hirakawa Daisuke) is one of the triplets in the family, and a gigantic perv. He seems to suspended from school because of that as well. He loves to see people struggle, and the more you do so the more excited he gets.

The CD begins with Raito walking into your room right at the moment you are changing. He doesn't mind though (no of course you wouldn't, you perv) and urges you to continue. Offering to 'help' you. When you try and resist he snarls at you that humans that don't do what he says have not right to live. Note to self: always do what Raito says or you end up dead.

As you become more and more scared, you start to sweat. Which only seems to excite Raito,  who starts to lick it off. Obviously you struggle because you don't want that, which ends in Raito lifting you up and taking you to the bathroom so that he can wash it off (and then continue what he was doing). This is also the single moment in the CD where Hirakawa-san drops his voice. The effect would silence anyone.

From the events in the bathroom I can tell you; you should have just let things happen to you before. Because this is certainly not any better. Trying to get away from Raito you only run further into the bathroom.

-short explanation of a Japanese bathroom: you have a space where you can change, and then the room where the bath and the shower are. You shower (often while sitting down on a small stool), and only enter the bath when you are clean. For some reason I image the Sakamaki household bath to be all fancy, something like this, heaven knows the game will prove me wrong -

Back to the review. Raito follows you in (still wearing clothing btw) and foces you under the shower. Which he holds in your face. As if that isn't enough the water was freezing. Struggling to get away again you fall over into the bath, which is also still cold. 

Thanks to the cold water and Raito his bullying you lose consciousness. By the time you wake up you are still in the freaking bath, and Raito is teasing you about "all the things he did to you while you were out". Do not want do not want do not want. Anyhow, cue dummy head mic blood sucking.

Raito constantly calls you "bitch-chan". Which started to annoy me after a while. That, and he is fully convinced that you are actually some sort of slut who wants her blood sucked (and more) by as many of the brothers as possible. No idea how you turn out to be in the game, but I'm pretty sure no have no choice in the matter and get sucked dry whether you want it or not.

Out of all the siblings he certainly does treat you the worst. Some people were talking about Raito trying to drown you, but I actually think that wasn't the case. He turns you around in the bath because he wants to bite your back, and in the process pushes you underwater for a few seconds, but nothing more. Doesn't change the fact that he treats you downright awful though.


Conclusion:
As much as I like Hirakawa-san I didn't really enjoy this. The combined factors of Raito calling you bitch-chan and treating you like a piece of trash are a bit too much. I've also heard him sounding much sexier in other roles, so that doesn't completely make up for it as well. I suppose if he would show a tiny bit of affection it would make things a lot better.

Wow. I sound amazingly negative hmmm? That isn't really the case, but I'm starting to realize more and more that this series is only for those who can really stomach it.

Weekly News Post

Well, bi-weekly in this case because I was on a holiday :3



Dousei Kareshi
Black Butterfly is starting a new series: Dousei Kareshi (dousei means "living together"). The series is all about living together with your boyfriend, but not just the sweet parts. As the intro page states: "Living together with someone, that is fun. hard. getting mad. fighting.hunting one another. and being happy. But even then, always wanting to be 'together'" The official site is just a teaser page at the moment, but I like the character designs and I'm curious how the series will turn out.

EDIT: Turns out Dousei Kareshi will be an otome game series, not a CD series! Dousei Kareshi will release in three games: Butterfly Lip, Butterfly Gloss, and Butterfly Rouge. Each game will feature a different character. As this is about living together with your boyfriend you already start out while dating, so I suppose there will be at least one bad ending (where you split up. Or die) and multiple good endings. The games will use the dummy head mic (can't have anything BB without it xD) and will be released on PC, and will be priced around 3000yen each.


Diabolik Lovers Versus
If you thought the nose bleeding and fainting would stop now that Shuu his CD has been released you are mistaken. Rejet has just announced three new Dialover CD's: Diabolik Lovers Versus.

Each CD has two characters trying to win your love blood. On 2012.08.29 it will be Ayato (CV: Midorikawa Hikaru) VS Shuu (CV: Toriumi Kousuke). On 2012.09.26 Raito (CV: Hirakawa Daisuke) VS Subaru (CV: Kondo Takashi). And on 2012.10.24 Kanato (CV: Kaji Yuuki) VS Reiji (CV: Konishi Katsuyuki). Somebody please mark that last one as the day of my death, I don't think I'll survive listening to it...

Diabolik Lovers Vol.3: Kanato

I said I would be faster with reviewing vol.3, and here it is. I have to admit, I mainly did this so fast because I thought the sooner we get this over with the better, but dear Lord was I wrong. This was in many ways amazing. I thought Ayato and Subaru were scary. I obviously hadn't met Kanato yet.

DIABOLIK LOVERSドS吸血CD Vol.3 逆巻カナト

Company: Rejet
Based on: Original
Released: 2012.02.22
Official site: http://rejetweb.jp/dialover/index.html


Diabolik Lovers is a series that leaves you at the mercy of sadistic vampires. The project features drama CD's, radio broadcasts on NicoNico Live, and a PSP game by Otomate. The drama CD's are the first to be released, and this is vol.3 featuring Kanato.

Kanato (CV: Kaji Yuuki) is one of the triplets, and even though Subaru is technically the youngest, Kanato looks and acts younger. He blames others for everything, and tends to cry when he doesn't get his way or becomes upset. After which he turns violent. He loves collecting dolls and has a teddy bear that he always drags around. And he talks to it.

The story begins with Kanato entering your room, demanding asking whether there is something you should be saying to him. It turns out he found you collapsed in front of the door, so he brought you up here, so now he wants you to thank him. But not after making it very clear that he hates 'stupid noisy humans' and making it clear that you should only talk when he allows you to.

As if that warning wasn't scary enough, he blames you for collapsing because you have been letting others drink your blood. And they aren't allowed to. You are Kanato his food. Yes his food. Where Ayato and Subaru at least said you were their woman/possession, Kanato makes a point of saying you are his food.

That isn't the scariest part though. Kanato his switching between insulting you, suddenly starting to cry, and then going batshit insane and shouting at you is scary as hell. No kidding. In the beginning I was cautious (because I know how scary the others were) but when he started insulting me to no end I grew kind of annoyed with him. But when he started to go insane all I could do was cower in a corner... The moment his Teddy broke I was seriously afraid of the consequences.

Have I mentioned you never get out of your room? Or to be more specific, I don't think you even get out of your bed. After his Teddy broke Kanato simply decides to eat you on the spot. I think I was mostly to scared to actually enjoy the dummy head mic part. Yeah he is that scary. He mentions near the beginning that he would like to kill you and then drink every last drop of blood from your corpse, that kind of scary. (at least Subaru wanted to keep you alive).

Normally I am a yandere fan, but Kanato really is one of the scariest ones around. That he wants you all to his self is a standard yandere thing, but the fact that he is convinced that you actually like it when he abuses you drinks your blood. That and his switching between crying and yelling at you make his one scary yandere.

One of the reasons why I wasn't looking forward to this CD is because Kanato looked like a shota. He sure doesn't sound like one though, so no need to worry about that. Fine he sounds younger than the rest, but much much much better than I expected.


Conclusion:
As of yet, Kanato was the most scary of them all. To the point of me being more scared than actually enjoying it. But Kaji Yuuki his voice acting is amazing here. The series is starting to make me question my mental health though.

Diabolik Lovers Vol.2: Subaru

Well, this took me ages to review. Somehow I have developed a talent for falling asleep in the face of danger. Waking up some time later, realizing that my blood was being sucked but wondering what the hell is going on.

DIABOLIK LOVERS ドS吸血CD Vol.2 逆巻スバル

Company: Rejet
Based on: Original
Released: 2012.01.25
Official site: http://rejetweb.jp/dialover/index.html


Diabolik Lovers is a series that leaves you at the mercy of sadistic vampires. The project features drama CD's, radio broadcasts on NicoNico Live, and a PSP game by Otomate. The drama CD's are the first to be released, and this is vol.2 featuring Subaru.

Besides being a sadist, Subaru also has a serious anger management problem. If you annoy him even in the slightest he starts breaking and throwing stuff. His standard way of entering a room also seems to be to break down the door instead of opening it. Subaru is the youngest of the vampire siblings and a lone wolf. Although I get the impression that all of them are a bit anti-social.

The CD starts with Subaru saying that he was looking for you. He is pissed of at you for being in the church while you know he hates the place. He wants you to come with him, and when you refuse he starts destroying the place. You agree to leaving, but now he doesn't want to go. Instead he gives you a silver knife, saying that you should use it to cute yourself so that he can drink the blood that comes out.

Apparently the knife is also the only thing that can kill him. After he keeps provoking you, you indeed try to stab him with it, but you don't even get close. Of course he only gets annoyed with you, and drags you off. On the way back he jokes about biting your heart (eep!!), but he says it is just a joke. While you walk back to the house he contemplates on where to take you, and eventually decides on his own room.

You are thrown on the bed and he starts cutting your clothes off with the knife. Whether on purpose or actually by accident, he gives you a little cut and starts drinking blood from it, after which he moves to your neck. However he is distracted by something and you run off... into the bathroom.

Subaru simply follows you though. When you spray him with the shower in order to 'cool him off' he only gets even more pissed. And when he tries to grab you, you both end up in the bath. This is where things get weird, you suddenly offer your blood to him. Out of your own free will. This does have the advantage that Subaru finally becomes a bit less violent though. And that things become more eroi with the minute.

When you start to get cold he takes you back to his room. This is where the dummy head mic comes into play. Basically Subaru throws you on the bed and sucks endless amounts of blood from you. And the wording becomes even more eroi. You resist but that only makes him more aroused (you know how it is with guys, they think "no" means "yes please").

So...well... yeah.... what am I going to say about this. Possibly, that it was even sexier than the first CD? And thanks to Subaru his violent tendencies also scarier in the beginning. However when he finally calms down in the bath scene and his charisma side surfaces it becomes less scary and the ero is doubled. I found myself almost liking him, until of course he gets a bit too sadistic again.

I have no idea whether you were treated better in the first or in the second CD. Ayato saw you as his established play thing and makes that perfectly clear, and while Subaru might treat you slightly better in the end, he also intends to drink so much of your blood that you'll barely survive. I guess it is pretty much a tie, you're out of luck in either scenario.

Oh, and: This CD is long. It's a full hour. Only the last 15minutes are done with the dummy mic, but that is still a pretty long scene. The only thing is, I think the bathroom scene would have benefited more from the dummy head mic. Now he is mostly sucking your legs, which sort of misses the point for the dummy head. But if they had used the dummy in the bath scene, I think I would have died.


Conclusion:
This time we get a full hour of sadistic bloodsucking foreplay. I'd normally say something about dying because of blood loss due to nose-bleeding, but in this case the pun is just too obvious. Next up is Kanato, who I am not really looking forward to, but after that... OH YES. Congratulations Rejet, it took you only 2 CD's to turn me into a do-M.

Oh, and for those who are interested, there is a wonderful translation over here.

Diabolik Lovers Vol.1: Ayato

I was originally planning to make Christmas related reviews, but that plan met with some problems and so I bring you this instead:

DIABOLIK LOVERS ドS吸血CD Vol.1 逆巻アヤト

Company: Rejet
Based on: Original
Released: 2011.12.21
Official site: http://rejetweb.jp/dialover/index.html

Diabolik Lovers is a series that leaves you at the mercy of sadistic vampires. The project features drama CD's, radio broadcasts on NicoNico Live, and a PSP game by Otomate. The drama CD's are the first to be released, and this is vol.1 featuring Ayato.

As this series is all about sadist vampires, it should be no surprise that Ayato is a Sadist. With a capital S. No kidding, he truly is scary.  But to give a little more information: Ayato is one of the six vampire siblings in their family, and has two triplet brothers. He is good at sports, hates studying, and has an enormous ego. But you won't really find much of that in this CD. In fact, almost none of it. Although he does contemplate to do some sports to kill some time.

As the CD starts you suddenly find yourself inside an iron maiden, together with Ayato (apparently he sleeps in one, although it is larger than normal and the spikes have been removed). You have no memory of how you got there and completely freak out. Turns out Ayato drugged you and led you here.

Don't think the situation improves much once you are out though. The sun is still setting, so it is a little 'early' and Ayato wants to kill time. There is some sports equipment in his room so you suggest doing something with that. Ayato rejects most things until you find a jump rope... and he decides that it would be a good idea to tie you up with it.

Luckily you sort of manage to escape that fate, but Ayato has become thirsty. And you are the only drink available. He gives you the chance to at least decide where he will bite you, if you answer his quiz correctly. The questions are just there for his ego, but you lose the game and are forced to drink a suspicious potion instead. Which apparently makes your blood smell even more delicious to Ayato.

And this is where the dummy head mic comes into play. While Ayato ties your hands with his necktie and starts to kiss and bite you all over, you get to live through all of that whispered into your ear. Believe me it is killing, and very very scary.

I... honestly don't know what to say about this CD. To begin with I first needed some time to calm down. Midorin his voice is very sexy (especialy in the last part) but the CD itself is so scary. I mean, he locks you in an iron maiden, threatens to tie you up, eventually ties up at least your hands, bites you all over, including your tongue (that has got to hurt) while enjoying himself immensely. For now, I will just say it was a biiiiit different from what I expected.

I had expected that it would have some sort of... I'd almost say plot, but that might not be the most suitable word. But I expected that the CD would somehow show how you met, and then some daily stuff, before things would go Sadistic. Instead, I wake up locked in an iron maiden, Ayato sees me as his established plaything and I seem somewhat used to it. I think I need a bit of context here....

Character-wise, the fact that Ayato is a Sadist and a bully (and sounds incredibly sexy) is perfectly clear. But I somewhat expected that this CD would be a sort of an introduction to the character (and the world). Instead it is -like someone on Hibiki stated- "40minutes of sadistic foreplay". And a lot scarier than I thought it would be.


Conclusion:
This really was a lot scarier than I thought it would be. I'm not sure about this yet. Part of me enjoyed it (I am turning into a do-M, noooooo) but part of me really hoped that there would have been a bit more to this CD than me being a plaything.

I also wonder what kind of game this is going to be. How is it going to work? Or more importantly; what the hell is going to happen to you in that game, because if it is going to get even scarier than this...*shudders*. And to think, Ayato is a pretty 'normal' Sadist. Some of his brothers are also violent or yandere... eep!!!

Weekly News Post

Hello again! I've been changing little things around the site. To begin with the link to audiowiki has been removed, because it has been on hiatus for quite a while now, and several new links have been added under the 'drama label' section. I'm still working on the by now impossibly long list of tags, but I have yet to find a proper solution for that one.


Oujisama (warai)
The covers for Oujisama (warai) Gakuen and Oujisama (warai) Variety 2nd Season have been uploaded on the official site. I like the cover for Oujisama (warai) Gakuen a lot, but compared the the 1st Vacation CD, doesn't the cover for 2nd Season look a bit simple?

 

Bokutachi Otoko no Ko

A new episode in the lives of our three little cross-dressing idols has been announced: ”Bokutachi Otoko no Ko　~Masaka no Scandal~. Not much info about the plot yet, except that as the title implies there will probably be some sort of scandal.

Weekly News Post

Diabolik Lovers
A new drama CD series has arrived. Diabolik Lovers Kyuuketsuki Do-S CD is a series all about sadistic vampires who are out for your blood (and probably also fall in love with you). This also more of a multimedia project, as the CDs will be accompanied by a NicoNico Live broadcast show and a game by otomate.

Because your father has to go out of the country for his work for a while you somehow end up living in with 6 brothers that visit the same high school as you do. The 6 of them are so pretty the entire town talks about them, but they also have incredibly bad personalities and to top it all they turn out to be vampires!

From left too right we have the oldest son Shuu (CV: Toriumi Kousuke), who is described as "a apathetic music loving aristocrat". The second son Reiji (CV: Konishi Katsuyuki), who talks polite but insulting. The triplets Ayato (CV: Midorikawa Hikaru), Kanato (CV: Kaji Yuuki) and Raito (CV: Hirakawa Daisuke). And the rather violent Subaru (CV: Kondo Takeshi). Click here to see a larger version.

The release order is a bit of a mystery to me, but the first CD to be released is the one for Ayato, on 2011.12.21, and next up are Subaru (2012.01.25), Kanato (2012.02.22), Raito (2012.03.21), Reiji (2012.04.25) and finally Shuu (2012.05.23). A tokuten for those who buy all 6 CD's will also be published, but they have yet to announce what it will be.


Tap Trap Love
This was announced at 5pb their live event last week. Not much info about it yet, except that the series has 'Tap Dancing' as it's theme and that is uses the dummy head mic, and a list of seiyuu: Maeno Tomoaki, Kamiya Hiroshi, Nakai Kazuya, Itou Kentarou, Fujiwara Yuuki, Shimazaki Nobunaga, and Ishida Akira,

I'm curious about this, I don't know how one combines dancing and a drama CD but I've seen stranger things, and the dummy head mic is always love. Moreover, I'm kind of happy to see two unfamiliar names. Fujiwara Yuuki and Shimazaki Nobunaga are two names I'm unfamiliar with, and I'm curious about them. The series is planned for February 2012.