Special: Favourite Seiyuu

As requested by someone in the comments  a long time ago, here is a small write up on my favourite seiyuu. My preferences are probably quite personal, and often the only argument is "I just love his voice". Really, I don't think I have any sane arguments to defend any of my choices. But that doesn't stop me from loving them.

I'm just writing this list based on who's voice I love. Despite listening to a lot of drama CDs and being a seiyuu fan in that sense, I seldom actually look for info on seiyuu or watch events. In fact I actively try to avoid seeing pictures of them because if I know how they look that starts to clash with the character image in my mind. So I can't really say much about their personality and things like that. I know some people are also fan of certain seiyuu (or actors for that matter) because of who they are, I just love them for their voice or acting skills.

(I'm really sorry if this is all very boring and stuff, but I promised I would write this so I wanted to make a proper post out of it)


1. Sakurai Takahiro
Sakurai has been at the top of my list for years now, with the one and only argument that I simply love his voice. The cause for my incredible Sakurai bias is one series and one series only: Are you Alice?. Sakurai = Alice (and vice versa) in my head. My love of his voice has reached the point where I still want to see Twilight in Japanese just because he voiced Edward. (I'm... not much of a Twilight fan in case you didn't know).

If we are not talking about drama CD my favourite Sakurai roles are probably Asbel Lhant (Tales of Graces), Clause Faustus (Kuroshitsuji), and the Medicine Seller (Mononoke), though I tend to go into fangirl mode as soon as I hear his voice.

Favourite drama CDs: everything Are you Alice (but especially the tokuten or anything where Alice acts out of character), Anata ga Ofuro de Noboseru CD Vol.1 Kusatsu, Fujoshi no Totsugikata / Fujoshi no Mikata, Fushihi Koubou Vol.3.



2. Hirakawa Daisuke
Second one without a valid argument. Hirakawa-san has a pretty interesting voice range, and I love both ends of it. When he plays hetare or clumsy characters, they are just so adorable that I cannot bring myself to dislike them no matter how clumsy they are. I prefer him using the lower ends of his range though, but sadly I don't know many examples. At either rate, I love it when he voices (slightly) dangerous characters.

I think I first really noticed him as Ace from Heart no Kuni no Alice, but what really sparked my fandom was Yandere Heavon vol.2. His yandere performance is -if you ask me- one of the best in the series, and the reason why I secretly keep hoping that almost every character he now voices has a hidden side... Going through his list of anime roles, I think I have literally seen none of the anime in which he voices a major role. So my love is solely based on what I mentioned above, haha.

Speaking of wanting to see Japanese dubs of movies; Hirakawa-san is the voice over for Orlando Bloom, and watching the Lord of the Rings or Pirates of the Caribbean in Japanese is also still on my to do list.

While I said that I only like seiyuu's for their voice and know little about their personality, I do love how polite and gentle Hirakawa-san always sounds in cast talks and interviews.

Favourite drama CDs:  Shuukan Soine Vol.1, Yandere Heaven Vol.2, Hougen Renai Vol.3, Anata ga Ofuro de Noboseru Vol.3 Misasa, Double Score ~Narcissus~, and his story in Kannou Mukashi Banashi Vol.6.



3. Okiayu Ryoutarou
I think that Okiayu-san was the first time I actually became fan of a seiyuu (before that I would like certain characters, but not specifically their seiyuu). This bias developed out of a character crush: Tezuka Kunimitsu from Tennis no Oujisama. Okiayu-san is one of the few seiyuu who's singing voice I also like, and I have several of his singles and albums (most of them are from Tennis no Oujisama xD). After I stopped watching the show the crush slowly died out though, but at some point I re-discovered him. By this time my Sakurai bias was already formed, so he is no longer at the top of my list anymore, but still a long time favourite.

When we're not talking about drama CD's, my favourite Okiayu characters are Tezuka Kunimitsu (obviously),  Dark (D.N.Angel), Gaius (Tales of Xillia. So I am really really really excited that he becomes a playable character in Xillia 2).

Favourite drama CDs: Shimekiri CD, O.To.Na Gentei Otogame CD Vol.2, Oujisama (warai) series. While not technically a drama CD, the drama part from Sasayaka na Kono Negai is absolutely brilliant.


4. Koyasu Takehito
Probably the only seiyuu who's voice I can recognise with 100% accuracy even if he speaks only one line. (although there has been one incident where I  failed to recognise him). Despite not being my favourite seiyuu ever, I have a habit of calling him "Koyasu-sama".

Despite the fact that he is often cast for characters with a cold and distant personality I love him more when he does sarcastic or comical roles. Especially if you can combine those two.

 The first time I fell in love with his voice is probably when I was paying Tokimemo, where he voices your teacher, Himoru Reichi. Despite originally going after another character his voice won me over and I started going after Himuro halway through the game. When on another character his route it always hurt like hell when I had to reject his invitations (T-T).

I originally played Tales of the Abyss in English, so I first discovered that he voiced Jade when I watched the anime, but that role is basically my ideal role for Koyasu-sama. In Hakushaku no Yousei his role is far more comical, and I spent most of Persona -Trinity Soul- fangirling over Ryou because he was voiced by Koyasu-sama.

Favourite non-drama CD roles: Himoru Reiichi (Tokimemo Girls side), Jade (Tales of the Abyss), Julius (Heart no Kuni no Alice), Kelpie (Hakushaku to Yousei), Kanzato Ryou (Persona -Trinity Soul). His voice completely mismatches Aokiji (One Piece) his image in my mind, so I actually dislike the character because of that.

Favourite drama CDs: Are you Alice - Alice no Tea Party Vol.3 (I cannot express my love for this CD in words), Heartful Kareshi series (he voices a dove). Unfortunately he doesn't appear in that many drama CDs, but I am definitely going to track down more of them.



Honourable Mentions:
Fukuyama Jun and Takemoto Eiji. While I don't particularly like (or dislike) their voices, I've heard these two voice so many different types of characters that I just can't help but admire their skills.

For Fukuyama Jun it was the difference between Shimizu Keiichi and Lelouch Laperouge that first made me aware of this. Shimizu was the first character that I associated with Fukuyama, which is why that image is stuck in my head. After doing some research I discovered that I heard him in countless roles, without even recognising him. This video shows a some of those, although it is a lot easier to recognise when they are all put together. Lately I've been getting better at recognising his voice, although I often only recognise it but fail to pinpoint who it is.

As for Takemoto Eiji, just listening to the Oujisama (warai) series gives you an impression of all the different characters he can voice (he voices almost every side character in the series, this has also become somewhat of a running gag in the series).




After listing my favourite, I suppose it is only fair that I list my least favourite ones as well, although there are only two of them, and I think that they are quite obvious from various reviews that I have done (^-^;;)

Ishida Akira in situation CDs / otome games. I don't know why, but I cannot bring myself to like Ishida-san when he voices a boyfriend role. That being said, he can voice very convincing shota's, and I have less problems whenever he voices a normal role in any anime or game. It is just that I don't like boyfriend!Ishida...

Yoshino Hiroyuki whenever he uses that gyaruo/bratty voice, which is most of the time. He actually has a rather nice voice if he talks in a more serious tone, but unfortunately he is usually type cast for the former. My disappointment when I discovered that he voiced Debito in Arcana Famiglia was unending (although it is actually one of the more reasonable examples).

Honeymoon Vol.3: Mizunuma Daichi

Honeymoon Vol.3  水沼大地

Company: Fortissimo
Based on: Original
Released: 2012.03.28
Official Site: http://www.otome-ff.jp/work/work09.html


In the Honeymoon series you get a chance to go on your honeymoon with you brand new husband. Scenes from the proposal, the wedding, your honeymoon, and when you return are all included. Your groom this time is Mizunuma Daichi (CV: Fukuyama Jun).

Daichi is a vet, and your pet chihuahua “Choco” is the reason you met. One day during a check up of Choco he confesses that he likes you (by telling Choco that he likes her owner) and you start dating. He also owns a chihuahua, “Natsu”.

But this is a series about your honeymoon, so we skip the whole dating part and move right on to planning your honeymoon. Daichi loves being outdoor, so you eventually decide to go to Australia. The dogs will need to stay at home though.

There is a short scene from your wedding before you leave though. It is a garden wedding (outdoor again I suppose) and because you are both not very good with strict rules it is all very free. You also exchange your vows not for God, but for everyone present. I doubt this kind of wedding would actually work in Japan though, as they love all kinds of formalities (and tight schedules) when it comes to things like this.

Either way, after that it is off to Australia!! You first spend a few days in Kuranda, and visit the Butterfly Sanctuary and a Zoo there. You take the skyrail to get there, which is the first time Daichi discovers you are afraid of heights. If you are married I think you should have noticed that by now. Despite you being afraid of height, he takes you on a helicopter flight to see the Great Barrie Reef and the Heart Reef, a bit of a questionable choice but it appears it scenery is so beautiful that you forget your fear.

After that you fly to Gold Coast, where you spend the last three days. And on one of them you visit another Zoo, this time at night so that you can see all kinds of night animals. You spend the last day at the beach, and even ride a jet-ski together. Daichi getting all excited while riding that was super cute.

Of course there is also a night track. This time you are first taking a bath together, but when you don’t want to do anything there Daichi just picks you up and takes you to the bed (I hope you dried off, because otherwise thing will be inconvenient). He manages to sound incredibly cute while saying things that are actually... quite...eroi.

When you get back you discover that Choco has been pregnant for a while (Natsu is apparently a male dog). You are both happy, and Daichi says that means it is your turn next. Actually, he mentions kids a few times during the CD, so it is quite obvious that he want to start a family with you.

The first thing I thought after picking up this series again was “I can’t remember this series being this sweet”. But then I listened to parts of the first two CD’s again and all of the pink cloud fluffiness came back to me. This series really does see things through the pink haze of being in love.

A lot of stuff in this CD has to do with animals though. A bit too much. I know Daichi is a vet, but I could have done with a little less visiting zoo’s and more nature. But too bad. Daichi is really really cute, but personally I like FukuJun better when he uses a slightly deeper voice. The one thing that was a direct hit to my heart in this CD were the two dogs though. I can’t even see them but they already sound too cute! (and I don’t even like chihuahua’s!!)

The ending talk is Fukujun being adorable. He talks about marriage being some kind of miracle, with two people -once strangers- meeting and getting to know, eventually love each other and deciding to spend the rest of their lives together. And then he says he can talk this passionately about it is because meeting the right person is like a miracle, a miracle he still hasn’t experienced. He also calls any listeners that are already married cheaters xD


Conclusion:
This CD is back on the uber sweet level of the first CD, which is simply a bit too much if you ask me. Still, it is supposed to be a lovey dovey honeymoon, and it succeeds at that.

Sleep x2

 Sleep x2

Company: Cineria
Based on: Original
Released: 2012.05.25
Official Site: http://www.ike-men.net/ci_sleep1.html



Sleep x2 (pronounced "sleep sleep") is a CD that is designed to really make you fall asleep. It's sole purpose is making you fall asleep. This first vol. is voiced by Fukuyama Jun.

The CD itself is very short, only 15min. It is designed however, to loop the third track for as long as you want (or need).

In the first track Fukuyama-san explains how this CD works. The explanation is very simple, and he sounds very sweet while telling you everything. The second track is a sort of introduction part, he asks how your day was, tells you to snuggle into your bed, and helps you with some breathing exercises. Interestingly enough, not by telling you when to breath in or out, but by doing so himself.

The third track is basically just the sound of waves and Fukuyama-san his breathing as if he is sleeping next to you. This initially only backfired on me. My only thoughts were "Eeeeee! It really sounds like he is sleeping next to me!!". But after a short while I got used to it and it really did make me very very sleepy.

The final track is for wake-up use, and is really very sweet. He tries to wake you up, maybe a bit too enthusiastically when you don't immediately wake up, and after that talks to you a bit. It's really cute, and more than anything: seems like a scenario that is very realistic.


Conclusion:
The best way to use this is probably by looping only the third track, or making a playlist that repeats that track several times. One loop is 5:30, which is a bit too short to make you fall asleep (unless you are really tired) but two or three times should be good. Of course, you can also choose to have him sleep besides you all night...

Shinigamihime no Saikon

死神姫の再婚 Vol.1

Company: Frontierworks
Based on: Light novel
Released: 2009.11.26
Official Site: http://www.enterbrain.co.jp/bslog/bslogbunko/shinigamihime_cd/


Shinigamihime no Saikon is a drama CD based on the light novel series of the same name. The story is about the rather eccentric Alicia who is bought by the duke Kashuvan to be his wife. Alicia doesn't seem to mind however, as that is what saved her own family from bankruptcy.

*the names are once again my best guess. Why can't they think of names that are easier to decipher?

The story begins when Alicia (CV: Kobayashi Yuu)  arrives at Kashuvan (CV: Sugita Tomokazu) his castle. At that moment it is completely shrouded in mist, making her excited because she loves all kinds of ghost stories. She is completely aware that she was only 'bought' because of her family name, and doesn't seem to mind at all (She is actually happy about it). Thus suits Kashuvan, as she really is just a political tool to him.

As soon as Alicia arrives they are wed (or, well, they say their vows) but they are interrupted by Tiernald Reiden (CV: Fukuyama Jun) and his servant Yuuran (CV: Seki Toshihiko). Tiernald wants to stop Kashuvan from expanding his influence and calls him a tyrant, while Yuuran sort of tries to stop him. Being a servant of the church ("the prayer of the wings"), Yuuran tends to comment that things are not going according to the laws of the church.

Other characters that add to the rather colourful cast are Nora (CV: Koshimizu Ami), a maid who declared herself Kashuvan his lover. Treize (CV: Konishi Katsuyuki), who used to work as a butler at the castle but has quit when his sister died. And Ruark (CV: Kishio Daisuke), the assassin who killed Alicia her former husband and is now hired to kill Kashuvan.

Of course, nothing in this story goes they way you think it would. Alicia being an incredible airhead does help a lot, and of course Kashuvan isn't half as bad as people say he is. Yuuran secretly pulling a few strings here and there also helps.

With Alicia being free to go anywhere except for the rose garden, this story immediately reminded me of Bluebeard for some reason.. The story partly mirrors that, although luckily not entirely. And of course it adds a rather strange assassin and a semi-corrupt church to the mix. There is also a serious amount of double-and/or-triple backstabbing going on near the end (maybe a bit too much).

The free talk starts quite interesting, with Kobayashi Yuu introducing the theme ("strange hobbies") still in-character as Alicia, after that it switches to a normal cast talk.


Conclusion:
While there is actually a lot of drama going on, the humorous response the characters give makes this a fun story to listen to. While there are 14 novels (the last one was published just a few days ago on 2012.02.15) there is only one drama CD. Which is a bit of a pity but can't be helped.

Moegaku ~Moe Koi Gakuen Seitokai Shikoubu~

モエガク！～萌恋学園生徒会執行部～

Company: Kuchikomi & Toukou Magazine
Based on: Parody work
Released: 2011.05


This CD was available through the Kuchikomi and Toukou Magazine. Despite the similar titles, it has absolutely nothing to do with the Moe Koi drama CD's from the same magazine. Well except for both being parodies, and Kamiya Hiroshi and Ono Daisuke appearing in both of them.

The setting is the Moe Koi School. Up until now it was an all girls school, but recently it opened up to guys as well. There are still only a few guys, and there is a visible gap between the boys and girls. Many of the girls don't know how to deal with the boys.

Our main characters are all members of the student council: the incredibly narcissistic Senzaiin Rihito (CV: Fukuyama Jun),  his personal butler and secretary Ichinomiya Banri (CV: Hosoya Yoshimasa), the vice president Momose Kakeru (CV: Ono Daisuke) and the accountant Togashi Yayoi (CV: Kamiya Hiroshi).

Rihito finds a love letter in the student council question box. The letter has no sender, nor an addressee, but Rihito is convince that it is intended for him. In order to draw out the sender, he organizes the "summer communication festival" (shortened to "natsucomi") under the pretence he wants to improve the communication between the boys and the girls in the school. Meanwhile, Kakeru also thinks the letter is intended for him, and Yayoi -due to a misunderstanding- thinks it is a letter from Kakeru to him.

For the festival, all the girls are given special bows and arrows (made by the ridiculously influential and rich company that is owned by Rihito his family) which they have to use to try and shoot the guys in the student council. If the guys are hit, they have to grant the wish (any wish) of the one who shot them. The arrows are made so that they don't hurt anyone, but none the less Kakeru delivers a spectacularly cliché death scene when he is first hit.

Of course the wishes are full of fanservice. From Kakeru having to say sweet lines -or scold someone-, to Yayoi wearing nekomimi and saying "~nya", or even Banri stripping naked, to all of them being involved in a weird fairytal play in which Rihito tries to kiss them, fanservice all over the place. And while the girls are trying to catch Yayoi and Kakeru, they in turn try to find Rihito and the love letter.

When all of the chaos from the festival is over, a girl comes to the student council room to say who the letter was intended for. Each character gets a sepparate "love message" track in which they are they one that receives the letter. Especially Banri (who normally acts as Rihito his perfect butler) his track is very cute.

Of course this is a parody work, so expect many references to popular series. Some of the most blatant ones are Maria-sama ga Miteru and One Piece (look a flying pirate ship!!) but there are many more works and clichés referenced. But more than anything it is a hilarious story that is guaranteed to make you laugh.

Despite Kamiya Hiroshi and Ono Daisuke both being in both this drama and the "Moe Koi" series, the story and the characters they play haveabsolutely nothing to do with each other.

Perhaps just as funny as the drama is the exceptionally long cast talk (it is 20min, for a normal cast talk that is long). Each of the seiyuu answer a few questions: "What if they were the only guy in an all girls school" "If they were a girl, which character would they want to confess to them", "What do you want someone to say when they confess to you", and finally "What type of girl do you want to confess to you". OnoD his answer for the last two questions was hilarious: "doesn't matter. I want someone to confess to me". And that while the others have proper (and long) answers xD

ps: the booklet has a really cute short comic about how the recording went. Especially the drawing of Kamiya losing a part of the script was so cute!!


Conclusion:
This is a hilariously over the top parody, and completely successful in doing what it should do: making you laugh. Cute moments, funny moments, sweet moments, hilarity, chaos, fanservice, it is all there. If you liked Moe Koi you should absolutely listen to this. Or in reverse, if you like this one you should listen to those as well!

Shuukan Soine vol.11 Touma

 週刊添い寝CDシリーズ vol.11 透真

Company: Black Butterfly
Based on: Original
Released: 2011.12.16
Official Site: http://www.blackbutterfly-cd.com/short/


Shuukan Soine CD series is a series in which your boyfriend cuddles next to you and talks with you until you fall asleep. Each CD features a different type of character, and lets you experience a different type of boyfriend.

This time your boyfriend is Touma (CV: Fukuyama Jun), who works in the sales department of a company that publishes picture books. You both work in the same company, and you are both his girlfriend and his direct superior at work.

The CD begins with the two of you celebrating the release of the picture book you have both been working on at his place. You like wine, so Touma bought some. He tries to drink some himself too, but obviously doesn't like it (although he tries to hide that). After you've taken a shower you are watching TV, but Touma convinces you to go to bed.

You tease him a bit and he starts to sulk, so he begins to read the picture book that you have both been working on. At first you read it together, but Touma gets you to read it aloud. And then says he can do it better, so you switch and he reads the story to you.

It is a story about a beautiful princess, she is loved by all, but because she is so precious to everyone she has never been outside of the palace or it's gardens. But she loves the gardens, so she is perfectly happy. One day while she takes her usual walk in the garden she meets one of the gardeners. He has a very scary face, and without thinking runs off. Feeling guilty about what she did, the princess loses her smile. Determined to apologise she searches for the gardener, however she doesn't meet him again. But one day, by chance, she sees him save a little bird. But she is still too scared to say anything. However the gardener brings her a beautiful flower, saying that he raised it just to see her smile. From that day one, the two become closer, and eventually marry and live happily ever after.

Of course Touma likens this story to his own situation. He was aiming for something else, but ended up in the sales department. He didn't like it there, but seeing your smile whenever he completed something made him happy, and that is what he was working for (awww).

I like Touma, he obviously a bit younger than you are, and sort of clumsy with words (and actions) at times, but that makes him adorable. Two of my favourite moments are when he hastily apologises for something and accidentally uses keigo (polite speech) because that is what he uses at work. The other is the wake-up track, where he is talking is talking to you in a sleep dazed manner, then suddenly wakes up and jumps out of bed, but trips of all kinds of things.

Fukuyama starts his announcement of the freetalk in an epic manner, after which he gets sort of excited talking about the mic. And he has a lot of fun doing all kinds of stuff with it. Like moving a chair to talk from above and dropping his stuff in the process, after which he comments that it is weird to be talking downward but to hear his own voice from above. The best part however is where he says "aaaaah, I want to fall in love".


Conclusion:
I didn't expect myself to like this vol this much, but I think Touma is one of my favourites (when did I start liking younger guys?). That might or might not have something to do with the fact that all my fav entries have the same scenario writer... Touma doesn't shower you with love, but through his sometimes blunt manners you can really feel that you are precious to him.

Are you Alice? - Alice the Gibberish! 2

Are you Alice? - Alice the Gibberish! 2

Company: IM Label
Based on: Original
Released: 2009.05.20
Official Site: http://imlabel.jp/alice/


In Are you Alice a male Alice wanders into wonderland and is subsequently involved in 'the game to kill the white rabbit'. Alice his story is told in three drama CDs - Drink me, Check Mate, and Call me- but there are several expansions to the story. This is a collection of CMs with Alice and the Hatter talking complete nonsense in between.

This time the Mad Hatter opens the skits with incredible tension (and referencing Star Wars just like they did in the first Alice the Gibberish). Just like the first time, this is a collection of CMs, and Alice and the Hatter commenting on them in between.

A large part of the CMs are in the shape of the fictional radio show "Alice no Heya". Hearing all of them together is kind of fun, especially because they get more and more random each time.

This time the CMs go all the way up to the unbirthday scraps and character singles, they don't realy mention any of the content, but just to be on the safe side it might be better if you've listened to all of them before listening to this.


Conclusion:
To be short, this is just more of the same, but that definitely isn't a bad thing here. Randomness and hilarity are guaranteed again so go and listen if you know the series.

Are you Alice? - Alice the Gibberish

Are you Alice? - Alice the Gibberish

Company: IM Label
Based on: Original
Official Site: http://imlabel.jp/alice/


In Are you Alice a male Alice wanders into wonderland and is subsequently involved in 'the game to kill the white rabbit'. Alice his story is told in three drama CDs - Drink me, Check Mate, and Call me- but there are several expansions to the story. This is a collection of CMs with Alice and the Hatter talking complete nonsense in between.

Mostly these are short skits between Alice and the Hatter. At times they actually comment on the CMs, but other times what they talk about has nothing to do with the CMs. Hilariously enough, the CMs themselves become less and less serious as well, sometimes making you wonder what was a CM and what wasn't xD  (the ones where they state a release date are CMs)

Keeping in mind that all of these are just shorts skits, this is written really well. Just be prepared to hear the title theme a couple or dozen times (there are 36 tracks, and about half of them are CMs). This covers all the CMs up to Alice no Tea Party Phase 3, so it is best if you've heard all of the works released up to that point (Drink me, Check Mate, Call me, Tea Party Phase 1 - 3) because they tend to mention some spoilers as if it doesn't matter, but if you've heard at least the first three you should be fine.

Track 35 is one of my personal favourites, it's actually a mistake, and then when they try it again they succeed but you can still hear them laugh afterwards.

Randomness and hilarity guaranteed, this is one of the best collections of short skits ever.


Conclusion:
If you know the series this is fun to listen to. Both for the CMs and the short skits. If you don't know the series go listen to it first and then listen to this.

Halloween+Town

 ハロウィン+タウン

Company: Frontierworks
Based on: Mobile game
Released: 2011.09.23
Official Site: http://www.halloween-t.com/


Halloween+Town is an otome game for mobile phones, an online comic is also published by Zero-Sum online. In Halloween+Town the human world and demonworld ("Makai") coexist, even though most people don't know the Makai exists. The cast of Halloween+Town all live as normal humans going to school, however at night they revert to there actual forms: wherewolf Ookami Shirou (CV: Kimura Ryouhei), Invisible man Ichinomiya Tooru (CV: Hino Satoshi), Vampire Kuroki Takaya (CV: Yusa Kouji), Jack-o-Lantern Uryuu Minami (CV: Fukuyama Jun), Frankenstein Rikudou Yuudai (CV: Suwabe Junichi), and.... a pumpkin (CV: Takemoto Eiji).

The scene starts with Shirou, Tooru, Takaya, Minami complaining that there is too much homework during the summer vacation and that they want actually go somewhere. After various ideas to decide to go camping. Yuudai and the Pumpking tag along for the trip.

Of course the trip wouldn't be complete without some activities. After managing to successfully raise their tent (despite the Pumpkin doing his best to interfere) they go on a short bicycle trip, ending with Yuudi and the Pumpkin plunging into a lake xD  In the evening everyone tries their hand at cooking something, which ends surprisingly successful. And through all of the, the Pumpkin creates immense amounts of chaos.

After Diner is finished all of them spend some time watching the stars when they realize that the Pumpkin is missing. Wondering whether he simply wandered off or got stuck somewhere they decide to go and search for him. A little chaos later they have found him, apparently searching for some special herbs that he wants everyone to eat. However when they do... (^-~)

The Seiyuu also comment on this in the cast talk, but this drama CD is light hearted and there is absolutely no serious or dark content (as opposed to the original work, apparently). The characters sound like they are really having fun, but the setting is a bit generic.

The cast talk itself was pretty funny, Takemoto-san acts almost the same like the Pumpkin, and everybody is just fooling around. The topic is which member of the cast would be the most fun to tease, and poor Takemoto-san is chosen by everyone, even by Fukuyama and Suwabe-san who did the recording or their own and therefore both have a sepparate comment after the rest.


Conclusion:
I feel like I'm missing out a bit because I don't know the game, but more than that they could have made better use of the night-time personalities of the cast. This way it was a bit of a generic story. However the pumpkin was hilarious. Also, isn't a story that has Halloween in the title, but takes place mid-summer... a bit weird? xD

Are you Alice? - Disappearance Curve

Are you Alice? - Disappearance Curve

Company: IM Label
Based on: Original.
Released: 2008.12.??
Official Site: http://imlabel.jp/alice/


In Are you Alice a male Alice wanders into wonderland and is subsequently involved in 'the game to kill the white rabbit'. Alice his story is told in three drama CDs - Drink me, Check Mate, and Call me- but there are several expansions to the story. This is one of the side dramas for Are you Alice?, it came with the unbirthday CD's, though I'm not sure which shop offered it as a premium.

In this side story Alice decides that he is going to be more selfish from now on and runs away from home. He tries to stay at the castle with the Queen of Hearts, where Mitsuki happens to be teaching the trump cards how to make sweets...

the White Rabbit makes a dramatic entrance, and eventually offers to let Alice stay at his place. Which turns out to be more of a haunted house completely filled with mirin (the regrets that previous 'alices' have left behind).

This is Alice (and everyone else) acting out of character at their best. Except for the side drama's where everything is turned into a school setting I don't think they are ever this much out of character (except for some commercials maybe). I love the White Rabbit here, he is just too adorable.

Conclusion:
Complete nonsense as always. A lot of fun to listen to, nothing more to say about it really. Except maybe that.... if you mix tsundere and yandere together you get a really funny and adorable White Rabbit :D

Are you Alice? - Eat someone with a spoon

Are you Alice? - Eat Someone With a Spoon

Company: IM Label
Based on: Original.
Released: 2010.07.23
Official Site: http://imlabel.jp/alice/


In Are you Alice a male Alice wanders into wonderland and is subsequently involved in 'the game to kill the white rabbit'. Alice his story is told in three drama CDs - Drink me, Check Mate, and Call me- but there are several expansions to the story. This is one of the side dramas for Are you Alice?, it came with a limited edition of the manga.

Mitsuki has opened a cafe in wonderland, and after repeatedly stating that he doesn't want to go Alice (with the help of the Cheshire Cat) convinces the Mad Hatter to go and take a look.... Only to find out that all items on the menu are badmouthing Alice.

To make up for all of this however, Mitsuki has a "completely normal orange juice", which turns Alice into a cat.

I loved this short. There are puns everywhere, which always makes me happy. And Sakurai saying "nya~" completely made my day. The Cheshire Cat is also brilliant in this, because no one can understand Alice as a kitten he becomes the interpreter. Hilarity ensues.


Conclusion:
Among all of the Are you Alice? side drama's this is one of my absolute favorites! I know I always say Are you Alice is brilliant, but it really is and this is one of the best shorts there is. If you know the series you should really really really try and find it somewhere!

Are you Alice? - Bunk it

Are you Alice - Bunk it

Company: IM Label
Based on: Original.
Official Site: http://imlabel.jp/alice/


This is one of the side drama's for Are you Alice, if you bought all unbirthday scrap albums at Messe, you got this as an extra. It isn't for sale.

Like many side drama's this is complete crack. It starts with Mitsuki (CV: Fukuyama Jun) introducing himself as a born victim of ijime (bullying) but that he will be reborn now that he has transferred to a new school. Only to be bossed around by Alice (CV: Sakurai Takahiro) right after saying so.

As this is a school life parody they try to actively use every cliche there is in the genre. From the Mad Hatter (CV: Hirata Hiroaki) who is the homeroom teacher and Alice forcefully changing the setting into a mixed school so that they can see Alice Liddel (CV: Nakahara Mai) in a mini skirt, to Mitsuki constantly being bullied, to Alice Liddel abusing her absurdly powerful position as president of the student council to turn the Cheshire Cat into the school nurse, everything is complete crack.

And absolutely brilliant. This is why I love these tokuten, the completely nonsensical stories are just too brilliant.In the story Alice says that they did something like this before, which references to the Blackboard Jungle story from the Lost End drama CD.


Conclusion:
Go and listen to it now! You could probably even listen to it without knowing anything about the series as it is mainly just a parody of the school life genre, but knowing the series does make it more fun.

Kannou Mukashi Banashi 7 - Nippon Mukashi Banashi

官能昔話 7  ~日本昔話~

Company: 5pb records
Based on: Japanese Folklore
Released: 2011.05.25
Official Site: http://5pb.jp/kannou/index.html


Finally, finally I've managed to review this. for more than 2 weeks I've been listening to this. The problem is, that I fell asleep every single time I listened to it. Most of the time I didn't even manage to listen to even one complete story...  orz

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.

Volume 7 is the first entry in season 2 of Kannou Mukashi Banashi. This does not change much to the series, except for one major thing: Inoue-san introducing an apprentice!! He announces that he saw the need to train new people to fulfill his role, and so he established a place where they can learn this.

This of course also means that he does the introduction together with someone. Masuda Toshiki is introduced as his apprentice, and they do the introduction together. "Masuda-kun" (as he is called by Inoue-san) obviously still has a lot to learn, but it is fun to hear him play that part. It might take a few moments to get used to though.

After the introduction however it is business as usual. Hino Satoshi does Urushima Tarou. The story is surprisingly loyal to the original, and I really liked it. Coincidentally, this is also the story I heard the most of them all, due to me usually falling asleep halfway through.

Fukuyama Jun does the story of the Cat Concubine. I was speculating about what kind of story it would be in a previous post, but my speculations were all wrong. In this story a hardworking but poor man takes in a kitten that as a thanks begins to help him with chores.

Maeno Tomoaki does the story of Hachikaburi-hime, which is about a poor girl that gets stuck with a pot on her head. Somehow I liked this one best, although it is a bit of a weird tale.

And finally all of them tell "Nezumi no Yomeiri" which is a tale about a family of mice searching a perfect husband for their beloved daughter. As always the last story is lighthearted and fun.


Conclusion:
Having someone else do the introduction (even just partly) felt weird. I hope it is just a plot related thing and that Inoue-san is not really leaving, because Kannou Mukashi Banashi without Inoue-san just wouldn't be the same. Other than that this is a really nice addition to the series, and absolutely worth listening to.

ZONE-00 Drama CD - I section CHERRY

ZONE-00 ドラマCD 劇-I section CHERRY

Company: Lantis
Based on: Manga
Released: 2011.05.18
Official site: http://www.lantis.jp/special/zone-00/


I don't know why, but I felt like listening to this when I saw it. Something that was a slight mistake. This drama is based on a manga, and -not heaving read said manga- I feel like I am missing out on a LOT.

All I knew before listening was a short intruduction, that I'll share with you here: "Kujo Saburou is an ordinary high schooler, hyperactive and strangely interested in mysterious (alien) things. He quickly becomes friends with a new transfer student, Shima Ango, who happens to find him in a game of hide-and-seek. But what he doesn’t know is Shima’s true goal: the extermination of mononoke terrorizing the Toyko area. Caught in the middle of their fight, Kujo loses his head, unsealing an Oni inside of him..." (shamelessly taken from mangafox)

The drama CD itself has three tracks, the first two are background stories for two characters. The third one is a complete crack track featuring everyone involved in the first two stories involved in a 'king of hosts' contest.

The first track centers on Kujo Saburou (CV: Kaji Yuuki) his life before the start of the series. We get to hear a bit about his daily life with his mother and how he first met everyone at the shopping district where he often goes. Kujou has a extreme high-tension personality, which shows in his story. It is completely hyper, introducing charcaters at a high pace.

The second track is an almost complete opposite; this time the story centers on Shima Ango (CV: Fukuyama Jun ) just before he goes to Tokyo (where the storyin the manga begins). It begins much much more reserved. Of course Shima then starts killing mononoke, but hey.

The third track is complete crack, but extremely entertaining~

Like I said, I haven't read the manga, making me feel like I was missing out on a lot. Then again, the manga turned out to be chaotic as hell as well. So I might have to say that it conveys the atmosphere of the manga very good actually. All in all, knowing the manga probably makes this a lot more enjoyable. For one because the cast of characters is quite large, and secondly it is probably less confusing.

Conclusion:
I recommend this for fans of the original manga. I don't know whether later chapters of the manga show anything of the characters their past, but this these are probably interesting stories to hear. For those of us not knowing the manga; it is probably best to leave this alone and listen something else.

News: 官能昔話 Vol.7 Tracklist

Even though there are no details on the official site yet, it didn't take much searching on the animate site to find the tracklist for the next Kannou Mukashi Banashi

01. 官能道場プロローグ Kannou Mukashi Banashi Prologue
02. ソロ朗読「猫女房」 Solo Reading: Cat Concubine
03. ソロ朗読「浦島太郎」 Solo Reading: Urashima Tarou
04. ソロ朗読「はちかぶり姫」 Solo Reading: Hachikaburi-hime
05. 掛け合い話「ネズミの嫁入り」 Group Story: The Mouse's Wedding
06. 官能道場エピローグ Kannou Mukashi Banashi Epilogue


It was a little hard to find a story that matches the title  (neko nyoubou, cat concubine) but I expect it to be something like this one here, often called The Vampire Cat of Nabeshima in English. The story of Urashima Tarou is a well known one, we've probably all heard the story about Urashima Tarou visiting the Dragon Palace once. The third story is also known as 鉢かづき姫 (hachikazuki-hime) and is about a girl who has a pot (yes, like a flower pot) stuck on her head due to unfortunate circumstances. The Mouse's Wedding is a story about a family of mice trying to find the best possible groom for their beloved daughter.


I'm curious about how the stories will turn out, especially the first one...

News: 官能昔話 Vol.7 Announced!

Kannou Mukashi Banashi 7 is a fact! The release date is set on May 25th, and the full title is 官能昔話７～日本昔話～ (Kannou Mukashi Banashi ~Nihon Mukashi Banashi~). So I expect we will be hearing more Japanese folklore, yay!.

Inoue Kazuhiko returns, this time bringing Fukuyama Jun, Hino Satoshi, Masuda Toshiki, Maeno Tomoaki as backup to make us melt.

All I can think is: YESSS!!! immediately followed by "I still need to listen to vol.6". Now if only they could get Konishi Katsuyuki and/or Koyasu Takehito in the next one I can die a happy death (especially if Koyasu-sama did one!!). Meanwhile I'll settle for this and keep praying.

Not quite unimportant, they've announced this as 'the start of season 2' which means that there is more to come. There are plenty more folklore, fairytales, and other stories to use, so let's see what the second series will bring us!

木原浩勝の怪鬼宴～～旅館の怪～～

 

Kihara Hirokatsu no Kaikien -Ryokan no Kai-

Company: Natalis
Based On: Original
Release Date: 2010.08.13
Official Site: http://natalis-drama.jp/kaikien/

 This is the continuation of the first drama CD, so you need to have heard the first CD to completely understand this one. After the hauntings in the studio got worse the studio has been exorcised. However one of the seiyuu has been seeing weird things at home ever since. When the entire cast of the series they had been working on goes on a small trip to celebrate it's completion he tells his colleagues about it. One of them says that he'll ask the ghost to come haunt him, however to his surprise something really does come to haunt him.
Compared to the first CD this one is a little scarier. The story also focuses more on one (ghost)story as well. The end is really, creeeeepy. If something like that ever happens to me I won't sleep in weeks.

Conclusion:
This CD is a continuation of the first story, so it works hard on being creepier than the first. And succeeds at it. Somehow I hope that there will be a continuation again someday, because it ends in a way that leaves room for more.