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.

Fujoshi no Mikata

腐女子のミカタ

Company: Motto! Entertainment.
Based on: Fujoshi?
Released: 2012.03.21
Official Site: http://www.movic.co.jp/book/radio/fujoshi/index.html

Fujoshi no totsugu kata (How to marry when you're a fujoshi) was a CD is that you have been proposed to, but you hadn't told your boyfriend that you are a fujoshi yet. Just as you're were wondering what to do 5 butlers appear and claim that they want to help you. This time the situation is not that dire, but the fujoshi all over the world Japan are in trouble, and our 6 butlers are here to help again.

Unlike the first CD, where one butler was your main help in each track, they all try to help you this time. The butlers are still the same: The cool Aoi Ryuuji (CV: Toriumi Kousuke), The hotheaded Akagi Eichi (CV: Sakurai Takahiro) , the princely Midoriyama Shion (CV: Okiayu Ryoutarou), the no-longer-trainee-but-now-novice Kikawa Miki (CV: Ishida Akira), the sadistic Kurosaki Goro (CV: Yusa Kouji), and -now actually there from the beginning- the legendary Goshirakawa (CV: Kondo Takashi).

They are holding a meeting on how to help fujoshi all over the country, when the emergency bell rings. Arriving on scene to find their client collapsed, a re-enactment of a highschool club scenario helps them to get our victim revived. The problem is the lack of Moe in the workplace, so our butlers come up with all kinds of strategies. From the subtle use of small fandom-items such a straps and catchphrases to carefully find out whether there are any other fujoshi in your office, to shipping your co-workers for personal moe.

The second problem is what to do when you want to confess to someone, so they practice various -and mostly unrealistic- confession scenes with you, and tell you not to worry in case your confession is refused. (if someone were to comfort me like that, I am almost hoping I'd get refused).

In the third track they think of all kinds of things that could be wrong, and of course their client has all of these problems (a deadline for a doujinshi, no more space to put things, no space on her harddrive, etc). The main problem however is the deadline. They come up with a nice little cardgame to decide pairing. There are cards that describe someone their job and age (student, salaryman, etc) and cards with personalities on them, you draw two of each to decide what your main characters are going to be. (How exactly you are going to make those pairings work is left in the middle).

In the fourth track their client has money problems, so they come up with all kinds of ways to save on money, and how to do a job interview. Still, you might not want to follow Kurosaki his instructions to answer "69" when asked what your favourite number is. The best part is probably when say raising vegetables on your balcony to save money, and eventually gijinka (personify) them, giving al of them fitting but hilarious personalities).

In the last case their client is having troubles studying for her exams. The idea here is to lock all your stuff away and seal it with something of your favourite fandom that you would have to break to reach your stuff, so that you really think twice before you open it again. After that they give some tips on how to make your studying more moe, and turn the arrival of Perry his ships and the opening of Japan INTO A BL SCENE. Ok, just really suggestive phrasing, but it is hilarious none the less. Also, they declare maths to be tsundere.

In the final track they all say some moe lines, go Power Rangers on us again, and say that they will always be there to help a fujoshi in need.

Just like before I've been laughing far too much thanks to this CD. Although I really did miss a lot of references this time. I knew when a reference was being made, but I just couldn't tell of what of who it was. Like in the first track they use a lot of catchphrases, and I know a lot of those, but I don't know who they belong to.

Our butlers have picked up a new little trick too; saying "Oui Monsieur" whenever they follow someone their instructions. It is a bit butchered and just made me giggle like an idiot, but it is funny none the less.


Conclusion:
You might really have to be a bit of a fujoshi to really enjoy this. Then again, if you know enough of the lifestyle like myself it is still plenty of fun. The solutions they come up with are still hilarious (gijinka fruits and veggies, really? Someone make me this please xD) and you can't really go wrong with that many butlers in one CD to begin with.

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.

Fujoshi no Totsugikata

腐女子の嫁ぎ方

Company: Motto! Entertainment.
Based on: Fujoshi?
Released: 2011.09.22


Fujoshi no totsugu kata (How to marry when you're a fujoshi) is a CD for all the fujoshi in the world,  Whether you are into BL or a game otaku. The concept of the CD is that you have been proposed to, but you haven't told your boyfriend that you are a fujoshi yet. Just as you're wondering what to do 5 butlers appear and claim that they want to help you.

The first track introduces all of the characters, and each one of them has a different approach as to what to do. Depending on what you want to do you can go to a specific track. Or listen to all of them of course. In each track one butler takes the lead, while all of them discuss on what to do. The choices are as follows:

track 2: hide that you are a fujoshi (Aoi Ryuuji)
track 3: you're not sure whether this is true love (Kikawa Miki)
track 4: admit that you are a fujoshi (Midoriyama Shion)
track 5: convince your husband to become a fudanshi (Akagi Eiichi)
track 6: give up being a fujoshi (Kurosaki Goro)

The first choice is to hide the fact that you are a fujoshi, but continue being one. Aoi Ryuuji (CV: Toriumi Kousuke) is the one to guide you in this. The solutions that he offers are actually quite possible. So everyone looking to hide their fujoshi side, give it a listen xD I had to laugh so hard at the remark of making game related comments while cutting onions, and the training on how what to answer in difficult situations.

The second option is that doubting whether you want to give up being a fujoshi probably means that this is not true love, so you decide not to marry. Your butler this time is Kikawa Miki (CV: Ishida Akira) who describes himself as a "younger brother / puppy" type. This was my least favorite track personally. Note the references to Shuukan Soine and Hitsuji de Oyasumi.

The next choice is to confess that you are a fujoshi, and in this you are guided by Midoriyama Shion (CV: Okiayu Ryoutarou). His reactions and voice are so wonderfully over dramatic. One of the best things about the track is that the first part takes place in your...bathroom. That and some of the solutions to possible problems are hilarious.

The next choice is not only confessing that you are a fujoshi, but going so far as to turn your husband into a fudanshi. The hotheaded Akagi Eichi (CV: Sakurai Takahiro) is the one to guide you in this. Some blatant karami jokes are made here, and most of the solutions are unrealistic but it is hilarious. It is sad that the track is so short compared to the rest. (Also, Prince of Tennis and Lupin the 3rd references)

The last option is giving up being a fujoshi all together, and the sadistic butler Kurosaki Goro (CV: Yusa Kouji) is the one to train and torture you to get so far. But in the end he too shows compassion, saying that doing this for love is admirable but that you should also think about yourself and being a fujoshi is part of who you are. And you can't miss it, but they use the famous line from Kuroshitsuji here. As well as making a tokusatsu (think power rangers) parody.

Finally, after all problems have been solved, the elusive white butler Goshirakawa (CV: Kondo Takeshi) turns up... and is first turned into a punch bag due to a slight misunderstanding. More parodies on tokusatsu follow. The final track has all of the butlers say one last (cliché) line to you before they leave.

This is one of the most hilarious CD's that I've listened to lately. The seiyuu were clearly having fun recording this, which makes it a lot of fun to listen to. All of the references to various games, manga, anime, novels, and whatmore make it all the more enjoyable, though I'm sure I've missed half of them.


Conclusion:
You don't have to be a fujoshi to enjoy this, though you'll need to understand fujoshi/otaku life a bit for it to have to maximum effect. It is a hilarious work for everyone and if you get the chance you should definitely listen to it.

Kannou Mukashi Banashi ~Romeo and Julliet~

官能昔話 特別編~ロミオとジュリエット~ 

Company: 5pb records
Based on: Romeo and Julliet
Released: 2011.02.23
Official Site: http://5pb.jp/kannou/index.html


It has taken me far too long, but I've finally listened to this special entry in the Kannou Mukashi Banashi series. The first 6 volumes have been named as the 'first season' and a second season has just begun. In between this special volume was released.

Kannou Mukashbanashi is a series that tells well known tales in a... slightly different way. Each volume usually contains several stories, all done by a different seiyuu. The series uses a special recording method called 3D dummy microphone, a microphone shaped like a head. using this technology you can hear the voice of the seiyuu as if they're talking right into your ear (when using headphones or earphones), and they've made sure that they talk very eroi.

This volume certainly is special; Inoue Kazuhiko, who usually does the introduction for every volume, is the one to tell the story of Romea and Julliet in full Kannou style.

Due to Inoue-san telling the main (and this time, only) story someone else does the introduction. Kondo Takeshi to be exact. It is slightly weird to hear someone else do the introduction, however it is still as good as ever. I especially liked that they referenced the previous stories.

Inoue Kazuhiko his voice acting is as wonderful as always, and considering that he does the narration and every character -including Julliet- my admiration has only grown after listening to this. Of course everyone knows the story and how it ends, which probably only adds to the drama and emotion. Sadly I have to confess that I'm not a great fan of the story - but this was a very entertaining and well done interpretation.


Conclusion:
The fact that this is part of the Kannou Mukashi Banashi series alone makes it a must listen. And Inoue Kazuhiko hasn't done a full story since the first Kannou, so for those of you wanting to hear his storytelling again; don't miss this chance. Make sure you are listening this with decent head/earphones though. Bad quality ones would only kill it, and that would be an absolute shame.


PS: I've been trying to listen to vol.7 for over a week now, but so far I've fallen asleep every single time I try to listen to it. I hope to be able to review it soon (^▽^;;)

黒薔薇アリス

Kurobara Alice

Is it obvious that I am attracted to anything that has 'Alice' in the title? If not let me warn you now; if somewhere in a title the words 'Alice' or "Wonderland' can be found you can be sure that it has my attention.

Same with this one. I didn't read the original manga, so little did I know that it has very little to do with anything 'Alice' and is actually... a vampire story. A bit of a surprise there, but it was still a very good listen.

The original manga is by Mizushiro Setona, and the Drama CD is the same as volume one of the original manga. Because there are more volumes this also means that it is only the beginning of the story, in fact it feels much more like a prologue.


The story begins on the 16th birthday of Anieska (CV: Yukana), who is thrilled to find out that her childhood friend -and now famous opera singer- Dimitri (CV: Nakamura Yuuichi) visits her birthday party, as he had told her he would be in Vienna. Even though Anieska has a fiancee, Theodore (CV: Terashima Takuma), Dimitri truly loves her. A fight between Theodore and Dimitri causes him to rush out of the place and he gets hit by a horse carriage due to not watching where he walks.

Everyone thinks Dimitri died, but he suddenly wakes up as if nothing is wrong. As he has, contrary to earlier reports, only minor injuries he is immediately released again to start rehearsing for his next performance. However, strange things start happening at the rehearsals; most of the people involved commit suicide or die of accidents. Not much later a mysterious figure suddenly tells Dimitri that he is now a vampire...

A few dramatic turns of events later (I'm not telling you, go and listen :P) the story suddenly switches to the present time, Japan. Where we meet the English teacher Kikukawa Asuka who has a secret relationship with Ikujima Kouya, one of her students. Their relationship however takes a turn for more drama as they become involved in a car crash. Asuka survives but Kouya sustains life threatening injuries. Just as everything seems lost a mysterious figure appears that promises Asuka to Save Kouya if she helps him with something.


As most of the story takes place in the past, and only the last minutes in the present this really feels like some sort of a prologue. Not to mention the drama ends with a cliffhanger. The cast themselves also comment on this in the cast talk, saying (or hoping) that there might be a second drama someday.

The story starts quite cheery, and that takes a rapid turn for dark drama and twisted feelings. Despite this I laughed out load at one of Dimitri his lines, simply because I never expected to hear it (if you really want to know, somewhere in a discussion where he is accused of 'doing all kinds of things to get higher up' he suddenly boldly responds with something along the lines of 'I don't do fellatio, it's not good for my throat'. I didn't see that one coming, and I was baking cake at the time so it was a really weird combination xD)

In my opinion there is a liiiitle bit too much drama overall, but it was still a very good story. I really hope that there will be a second volume someday, because this way you are literally suddenly left in the dark.