Drama Recommendations

a while ago an anon asked me whether I could recommend a few drama CD's. The urge to just recommend everything (minus a few) is incredibly large, but I took a while to go through everything that I've listened to so far and made a list of things that I can really recommend.

So lets start with the series:


Hougen Renai

What I love most about this series is that it use all kinds of different dialects, and that the heroine has a voice. Each CD has two characters, each with their own dialect. The concept in each CD is that the heroine (who speaks standard Japanese) travels somewhere for work and meets a local guy there.

The romance in this series develops pretty naturally, and thanks to the fact that the heroine has a voice it allows for a bit more complicated scenario's. Some dialects might be a bit tricky to understand in the beginning, but it is definitely fun to listen to. I still check the official site every so often, secretly hoping that they will continue some day.

My favourite entries to this series are probably vol.1 and vol.4, although I really loved the Niigata story (voiced by Hirakawa Daisuke) as well.

Oujisama (warai)

This is seriously one of the funniest series I know. I think it started as a spin-off series of Meisaku Bungaku (warai), but by now it has spin-off CDs of it's own. The CDs tell various fairytales from the perspective of the prince, while their personalities are turned into something completely different and usually they have hilarious quirks.

The first two CDs each had three princes, each having their own unrelated story and a final 'zadankai' track in which all three of them have a drink and have some (hilarious) conversation. In the later CDs one new prince was introduced, while characters from earlier CDs act as supporting cast. The series is getting longer and longer but it is still as hilarious as in the beginning. They've started using running gags, and frequently mention that they know they are in a drama CD series (fourth wall, what fourth wall?).

Shirayuki (Snow White), Cinderella, and Ibara (Sleeping Beauty) are probably my favourite characters in the series. There is no way I can choose a favourite CD though, they are all brilliant.



Are you Alice?

In Are you Alice? a male Alice wanders into wonderland and is subsequently involved in 'the game to kill the white rabbit'. The main story is told in three drama CDs -Drink me, Check Mate, and Call me- but there are several expansions to the story and an incredible amount of tokuten (bonus) mini drama's.

The main story is rather dark, and switches between being serious and ironic humour. Ninomiya Ai her ability to write sarcasm into almost any situation is one of the main charms of this series, though it also has a very good story. Don't expect everything to be clearly explained though, this series leaves it up to you to connect many of the dots.

The unbirthday series expands on the original story by telling the background of several of the characters. While chronologically mosty taking place before the original story you will need to know the story or you will miss out on a lot of things. Like the original series, this is dark and more serious.

The Tea Party side dramas are less serious and more comical, depicting a few events during Alice his stay in wonderland. One of the charms of this series are the tokuten CDs though; they are mostly complete crack. The whole cast acts out of character - or the entire setting is changed- and the dialogue is often a chain of witty comments, sarcasm, and puns. There are more serious tokuten CDs as well, but most of them are completely hilarious.

This is the series that got me hooked on drama CDs, it all started with this. It is also the cause for my incredible Sakurai bias. Only recommended for people that like dark fairytales or darker stories, and don't mind doing a bit of thinking to figure out what is going on exactly on.



Momo&Grapes Men's Only

While the individual CDs in this series have nothing to do with each other, all of the ones I listened to were very interesting and all of them were very good adaptions of the original story.

As you can guess by the title all of the seiyuu in each CD are all male, yet they did stories like Alice in Wonderland, A Little Princess, and even one based on a novel published by Tiara Bunko (a publisher that specializes in candlelight novels). It takes a little while to get used to, but after a few minutes you are completely used to the voices and it never felt unnatural. It is almost a crime how cute some of these heroines sound.

Most -if not all- of them are also very faithful adaptions of the original stories. They stick close to the originals without taking too much liberty or skipping things. The voice acting is always incredible, and if you ask me these are some of the best drama CD adaptions ever.

The stories that they did are Romeo and Juliet,  The Rose of Versailles (series), Little Women, Beauty and the Beast, Ribon no Kishi, Bluebeard, Alice in Wonderland, Oboreru hodo Hana wo ageru, and a Little Princess.

Fushigi Koubou Shoukougun

ふしぎ工房症候群 (fushigi koubou shoukougun) translates into something like 'mysterious workshop syndrome'. The mysterious workshop in the title is what binds all of the stories in this series together. The shop can only be found by someone who is lost and really needs it, and is run by an old man, who sells 'happiness'

Each story is told by a (high profile) voice actor who both tells the story and acts out certain characters. The story is told from the perspective of the main character, and mostly centers on that person his thoughts. In each story the main character is going through a troubled period or trauma, and the mysterious workshop becomes a turning point in their lives.

The story is told from the perspective of the main character, so you hear their thoughts and feelings. The series is written really, really well, and each story is a very emotional one. I cried more than once listening to this series. While dealing with very emotional topics, the message is always "after rain comes sunshine" and that if you are willing to try you'll be able to find happiness, even though it might be different from what you expect. This doesn't mean every story has a happy end though, but the main character always resolves to move forward, and that emotional journey is what makes this series so special. That they manage to do this in every single CD without making it feel corny only shows how well written it is (and how good the seiyuu are).

What is interesting in that none of the characters in this series have a name. Everyone is always referred to as "he:", "she" "that guy" etc. The main character is also always referred to simply as "me" (although all of the main characters are male, with the exception of the last few stories). Hearing a seiyuu do different roles in one story is also interesting, and you can hear the amazing voice range that most of them have.

Several of the stories have been turned into normal drama CDs, with sepparate actors for each character. While these are all very good as well, the original series had more emotional impact in my opinion.

"Hitoribochi no Tanjoubi", "Christmas no Dekikoto", "Saigo no Negai" and "Yami" are some of my own favourites, but to be honest all of them are incredibly good.



Kannou Mukashi Banashi

One of the first series to spread the use of the dummy head mic, each CD in this series has several seiyuu telling well known stories and/or fairytales in a slightly different way. The stories are faithful to their originals, but somewhere halfway through the wording usually slips into double wording, combine that with the dummy head mic and the result can be very eroi.

Each CD has a theme for all of the stories: Japanese folklore, Andersen fairytales, Kaidan (horror), Grimm Fairytales, Greek Myths, Sengoku period, and finally Japanese folklore again. And of course the Romeo and Julliet special story.

In the first few the amount of ero wasn't that much, but it increases with the later CDs. It never reaches the amount of ero of several other series that focus on that though. Each CD has three stories told by sepparate seiyuu, and one story done by everyone. The introductions done by Inoue Kazuhiko are also on of the selling points. In each CD he tests whether your earphones/headphones are working properly, with suitably questionable wording.

The slight ero/ doki doki factor is of course the focus of this series, but besides that the stories are all simply done very well. The voice acting is good, the way they tell it interesting, and they manage to keep close to the originals (except maybe in the Sengoku one, in which everything but the historical data is pure fiction)

My own favourite is vol.3 - the horror one. The mix between horror and semi-ero is an interesting one. Although the scare factor of the dummy head mic left the larger impression (even though it is nothing compared to Kurayamigatari)

Double Score

This is still a new series and not even all CDs are out yet, and against all odds I am loving it. The CDs tie in with a series of otome games with the same title, and the concept is that age doesn't matter when it comes to love. All of the guys in the series are older (28 or older) while the heroine is 17.

I didn't like the setting and was completely uninterested until I heard some of the preview tracks. Each CD features one of the guys as your boyfriend, along with a sub-character. The scenes between these two characters are what made the series for me. Their conversation are often so hilarious that I can't help but love it.

Other than that I think the use of sound effects is done pretty good in this series (and the use of the dummy head mic) and most of the situation parts (where your boyfriend talks directly to you) are done pretty OK as well, without him repeating too much of what you are supposedly saying. Some of the parts together are pure fanservice in terms of sweet talk and kissing though.





 And then there are a few single CDs that I'd like to recommend:

Don't cry girl

This is the story of a girl named Taeko, who for several silly reasons has to start living with a firend of her parents. The only problem is that the guy in question , Masuda, is kind of an idiot and likes to walk around naked at home. All the time. To make things worse his best friend Jinnai is a pervert, and Taeko her own two best friends are oblivious to their weird actions.

Kurayami Gatari 

This is a horror story that uses the dummy head mic, and the effect is chilling. The setting is that you are hunted by something and visit a certain story teller in order to solve that problem. He tells you two stories: your own story and a very similar one.

The dummy head mic is used with great effect to scare you. In various ways. I'm not good with horror to begin with, but I've listened to a few horror stories and this one is definitely in  the top ranks when it comes to being scary.

Besides that, the entire CD is voiced by Tsuda Kenjirou, who voices several very different roles. Every role sounds completely different though, and I can't help but be amazed by such vocal versatility.



Akogare no situation CD 01- Shikararetai

I can't recommend the entire series because later entries are more average, but the first one is pure gold. While this is a situation CD, don't expect many sweet lines, instead the character spends most of his time reprimanding you for everything that you do. Literally everything.

Of course the entire setting is light hearted so the end result is more comical than anything else. Morita Masakazu did this CD with so much energy, it is really amazing. I really like this CD, and I just want to recommend it to everyone.

Toubousha

While the setting is really different, it is somehow very similar to the above one (even having the same seiyuu). In Toubousha you are more or less kidnapped by someone who is on the run. But it turns out soon enough that he isn't entirely bad and doesn't exactly know what to do with the situation either. Which results into a similar kind of commenting on and complaining about almost everything that you do and say.

While the beginning of the CD was more thriller orientated, the middle part is far more comical. This was something that I really didn't expect, but loved anyway. However the CD also has a bad end option, and prepare the tissues when you plan on listening to that.The fact that it has more of a story than the Shikararetai CD makes it very different, so I can recommend this as well. Did I also mention it is entirely recorded with the dummy head mic?

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

These are my recommendations, I guess?
Haha, it is really difficult to choose from so many interesting concepts. In the end I decided think about which series I would be most excited about if a new CD would be announced.

If you think it weird that several big name series (Shuukan Soine, Honeymoon, anything by Honey Bee) is missing from this list: of course those are great series as well. These are just my personal favourites (and Shuukan Soine was very close to getting on the list, but I can't keep adding things).

Some people might also know that I'm a Yandere Heaven fan, so why isn't that on the list? Basically because I made this list of recommendations for everyone, and something like Yandere Heaven isn't for everyone to enjoy. I'm happy to see a lot of equally twisted people other fans here and on tumblr, but unless you know what yandere is (and love it) that series is probably something you should stay away from. (But everyone that is now intrigued is of course encouraged to give it a try).



These are my favourites, but if anyone is looking for further recommendations just leave a comment. If you give me examples of things you like (series, seiyuu, character types, etc) I'll try my best to recommend other things! Of course, other people are also welcome to give their recommendations :)

Shinsengumi Mokuhiroku Wasurenagusa Vol.1 Saitou Hajime

新撰組黙秘録勿忘草 第壱巻 斎藤 一

Company: Rejet
Based on: Shinsengumi
Released: 2012.07.25
Official site: http://rejetweb.jp/wasurenagusa/


Shinsengumi Mokuhiroku Wasurenagua (after this simply 'wasurenagusa') is a series based on several historically famous people within the shinsengumi. The concept of the CDs is "what if I could have been there (and fall in love with one of them)". So while they are based on historical people, the rest is all fiction. The series uses the dummy head mic for several scenes. The first CD has Saito Hajime (CV: Takahashi Naozumi).

The first thing that surprised me is that the drama is recorded on two discs. So it is long: about 90min (and an 8min freetalk). I think this is the first time I've seen a situation CD recorded on two discs.

The story begins during the Ikedaya Incident. Saitou was patrolling the streets when he finds you. You parents have been killed by several ronin who are involved in the incident. Saitou quickly finishes them off and notices that your are injured, so he orders several subordinates to take you to the shinsengumi headquarters and tend to your injuries.

You stay there as a servant (judging from what he calls you, you are mostly doing kitchen work) and while he does recognise you he mostly acts cold towards you. He notices you are watching him from the shadows while he is training, and this only causes him to get even more irritated with you. Eventually you confess that you want him to teach you how to use a sword. At first he declines, saying that a woman shouldn't be holding a sword and that you will only get yourself killed if you try to get revenge for the death of your parents, but eventually he agrees. Although he only teaches you techniques for protecting yourself.

This continues for a while, and he is quite strict and obviously still doesn't really care about you, but eventually he becomes a bit milder towards you. The first time he actually shows some affection is when he is ordered to accompany you into town (you have been working hard and this is a kind of reward, but obviously you can't be on the streets alone so you need someone to accompany you). This is also a slightly amusing scene, as you basically go shopping with him and he acts like a prototype boyfriend-that-doesn't-want-to-shop. On the way back he tells you that he will have to leave on a mission soon, and you nearly start crying so he hugs you to calm down.

The next you are sent out on an errand alone, and return very late. He first scolds you for not being on time for your training and making him wait in the rain, but it turns out soon enough that he was simply worried that you wouldn't come back to him. Which is when he kisses you, which develops into to more and basically continues to a point where I started to wonder when the fade-out was going to come.

The final track is him saying goodbye to you when he leaves, telling you that he hopes to return to you so that you can be together some day. This is probably the cruellest part of this CD (and series), because most of the shinsengumi members don't exactly get to live a long and happy life.

The pacing in this CD was done very well - it really takes a while before Saitou warms up to you, although I have to admit that he still seems a bit cold even then thanks to his not so talkative attitude. But from his actions is does show that he is starting to like you. Of course the CD has the advantage that it is pretty long, so they had plenty of time for development as well. Although technically the larger part of the second CD is used for all the, erm, intimate moments of the story.

I found the background music and especially sounds very interesting. The time of day is mostly noticeable though this: the sound of crickets at night, or the kind of sounds you hear in the morning. It also rains a couple of times. The first time it rains it isn't of any importance to the story, but it somehow made me feel like this is an actual world, where things unrelated to the story also happen. My only regret is that I think that they could have used the -absolutely gorgeous- theme music better in the last track. If they would have played most of it after the goodbye (instead of during) I think the effect would have been much greater.

While I am not much of a Shinsengumi fan (and had to look up most of the background information) it was a good CD. You don't need to know the background, but knowing it certainly adds some depth (and a whole lot of heartbreak) to the story.

Takahashi Naozumi sounds very different during his freetalk (he sounds so cute). He mentions that he is a bit like Saitou in the scene where he takes you shopping (again, cute). He talks a bit about the shinsengumi and the dummy head mic but all I can think during the entire recording is "so cute!". Which only led to more suprise when I googled him, because he is much older than I thought.


Conclusion:
Despite it actually being an 1.5hours it never felt a really long, which only shows that they did the pacing right. Personally I am not much of an ero fan, but it never became too much so I was fine with it. Somehow I expected more heartbreak, but looking at the historical facts there is plenty of room for that in other entries in the series.

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.

Key Releases - September

Here are the key releases for this month, Titles in bold are the ones I'm personally interested in.



2012.09.05 Amnesia Character CD Ukyou & Orion
2012.09.05 Fujoshi no Escort 3 Akagi & Aoi
2012.09.05 Ijin Idol Project RekiSing♪ 1
2012.09.05 Kimikare ~Shingakki~ Mini Drama CD+α
2012.09.05 Nego Danshi Vol.10
2012.09.07 Trinity Seven 7nin no Mashotsukai
2012.09.07 Waratte! Hokamura-san
2012.09.09 Drama CD ZONE-00 Geki-III
2012.09.12 Fuse Kemono to Hagane no Ryoukiroku
2012.09.12 Heartful Kareshi Vol.2
2012.09.12 Shinobazu Seven 01. Subaru
2012.09.12 The Mousouryoku Vol.1
2012.09.12 Valkure Romance Shoujo Kishi Monogatari Vol.2
2012.09.13 Drama CD Puyo Puyo
2012.09.14 Double Score ~Baby's Breath~
2012.09.15 Oujisama Ouritsu Gakuen Vol.7 Aladdin
2012.09.19 THE IDOLM@STER No Make!
2012.09.23 Shitsuji no Kare ~ Shiro Route
2012.09.23 Shitsuji no Kare ~ Kuro Route
2012.09.26 100manin no Harukanaru Toki no Naka de
2012.09.26 Aishite Ageru Vol.3
2012.09.26 Anata ga Ofuro de Noboseru Vol.7 - Arima Onsen
2012.09.26 Arcana Famiglia haracter CD Guida Regalo - Jolly
2012.09.26 Arcana Famiglia haracter CD Guida Regalo - Dante
2012.09.26 Akaya Akashi ya Ayakashi no 2
2012.09.26 Bears Market
2012.09.26 Brave 10 Drama CD Vol.3
2012.09.26 Diabolik Lovers Versus Vol.2 Raito vs. Subaru
2012.09.26 Jinrou -Chaotic Time-
2012.09.26 Juushin Kuusou Otogi Zoushi Vol.3
2012.09.26 Kaitou Tenshi Twin Angel Vol.4
2012.09.26 Koi Koi Vol.4
2012.09.26 Kyoukaisenjou no Horizon HR
2012.09.26 Mahoutsukai no Hako Starlit Marmalade
2012.09.26 Meiji Tokyo Renhou Vol.5
2012.09.26 Musou Oroshi Variety CD
2012.09.26 Ojisama Senka Vol.6 Escape to the Future
2012.09.26 Raika Days
2012.09.26 Robotics;Notes Drama CD
2012.09.26 Scratch!! Disc 2
2012.09.26 Shinsengumi Mokuhiroku Wasurenagusa - Kondo Isami
2012.09.26 Steins Gate Anthology Drama CD II
2012.09.26 Tales of Xillia Drama CD Vol.1
2012.09.26 Tales of Graces 2012 Summer Drama CD
2012.09.26 Tokyo Yamanote Boys Secret 3
2012.09.26 Zero no Kiseki Vol.2 ~Kin no Taiyou, Gin no Tsuki~
2012.09.26 Zero no Kiseki Vol.3 ~Crossbell Souritsu Kinensai~
2012.09.28 10nen Hatsukoi - Ikuno Ryouta
2012.09.28 Arcana Famiglia Festa Regalo CD La Dolce Vita
2012.09.28 Double Score ~Lily of the Valley~
2012.09.28 Hitsuji de Oyasumi Vol.26
2012.09.28 Honeymoon Vol.8 Aizawa Reio
2012.09 28 Issho ni Cooking - Enren Aite ha Pianist
2012.09.28 Issho ni Cooking - Cool Beauty na Maid
2012.09.28 Issho ni Gohan a la Carte - Daito Natsu
2012.09.28 Joshuseki Kareshi Vol.2
2012.09.28 Kareshi Igai 4
2012.09.28 Parukou Engekibu
2012.09.28 Virus School Kanbyou Hen Vol.3



I love the Tales of games and Graces was one of my favourites (plus, it has Sakurai!) so I have to get that. And there is no way I can ignore an Xillia CD with the sequel being released in a few months. Osananajimi no Kare was an interesting concept, so I'm secretly expecting a lot from Shitsuji no Kare. Also *cough*yandere*cough*.

Heartful Kareshi is still my otome game crack supply, so of course I will be getting that too.

Weekly News Post

A news post less than 24hours late is a news post on time~
(I seriously need to improve on posting this on time...)



Oujisama (warai) series
A scene from the beginning of the first date CD can be read on the official site. Besides the fact that it is going to be non-serious and hilarious as always we don't get much wiser though. Snow White, Rapunzel, and Cinderella meet up and talk a bit about the other characters before Snow White want to move ahead with the scenario, only to discover that the other two didn't read it.

Once again they are being blatantly obvious about it that the characters know this is a CD series. Also, I am taking Snow White his statement "that he will meet him [the prince from Swan Lake] soon enough" as a confirmation that there will be more CDs.

Of course there are tokuten CDs as well. Buy all three Date CDs and you can apply for a bonus CD called "Ojisama darake no uchiage paatii - hanseikai hen" ("a celebration party full of princes - review meeting chapter"). Buy all three at Animate and you can get the animate bonus as well: another bonus CD called "Ojisama darake no uchiage paatii - botsu deeto hen" ("a celebration party full of princes - rejected dates chapter").


Penguin Enishi
It has been a while since there was any news for this series. Vol.3 has been announced and is titled "天狗草子" (Tenguu zoushi). A young man who calls himself a tengu shows up at the police station where Ten works, claiming that an important scroll has been stolen. Eventually Enishi becomes the main suspect for this. I am guessing that both the title and the missing scroll refer to the Tengu-zoushi emaki, a scroll that pictures various priets as Tengu.