Weekly News Post

This week somehow passed without a single review.... Meanwhile Gakken just keeps releasing things!!! How the... too many releases guys!! But lets begin with the news that I discovered last week but that got left out of the news post due to post length restrictions:



Oujisama Ouritsu Gakuen
The series is getting a second season, titled Re:Fairy Tale, which takes place 25 years after the original one. We get a new set of princes based on the same fairytales, although it looks like they are keeping the same seiyuu for the same fairytale. They are starting with the 2nd year students again, although the roles have been switched around a bit.

Ibaraki Sou (CV: Terashima Takuma), who is based on Sleeping Beauty, Kanzaki Haru (CV: Suzumura Kenichi) who is based on The Princess and the Frog, and Shirase Yukiya (CV: Toriumi Kousuke) who is based on Snow White are the first ones to get a CD, with Ibaraki his CD being released on 2013.06.15. All three seiyuu are listed as cast for the first CD, so this probably means the CDs will follow the same pattern as the first series, with scenes with all three of them and scenes with just you and your prince charming.

As you can see they have taken one prince from each year in the first series and put those together. You might also have noticed that their last names are still similar to the the princes from the first series, which makes me wonder whether these are the 'children' of you x your prince charming of choice from the first series (if they are this gives me all kinds of complicated feelings).

Jiyuu Kenkyuu

幼馴染とあなたが恋人を演じる自由研究、最後に恋は芽生えるか

Company: Cineria
Based on: Original
Released: 2012.11.09
Official site: http://www.ike-men.net/ci_jitop.html

The full title reads "osananajimi to anata ga koi wo enjiru jiyuu kenkyuu, saigo ni koi ha mebaeru no ka" (the research project in which your childhood friends and you act out love, will love bloom in the end?). Yes that is a long title, a bit too long if you ask me. But it does describe what this CD is all about: for a high school research project you and your childhood friends decide to do an experiment to see whether you will fall in love if you act like lovers.

You and your childhood friends Urabe Tsukasa (Suzuki Tatsuhisa) and Suzuki Youhei (CV: Sakurai Takahiro) grew up almost like family. Your parents were good friends since before you were even born, and you always went on vacation with all three families. Ever since you can remember you've been together. The CD starts with Tsukasa taking the train back to your home town and his reminiscing about the research project you did together, which eventually caused a great change in your relationship to each other.

At your second year in high school, right before the summer vacation, you decide to do this experiment for your research project together. You decide on a couple of rules: the pair that has to act as 'couple' always has to hold hand whenever you go somewhere, and the other person takes on the role of observer and has to keep a small distance. Also, you have to call the observer by his last name instead of his first name like you have been doing up to that point. If you really start to feel something for each other, you may confess your feelings on the last day of the summer vacation - and whether that feeling will be mutual or not will then be the end result of the research.

Which one of the two will be your 'boyfriend' is decided by rock-siccors-paper (they sound really cue doing that btw). Tsukasa wins and gets to decide who will get the boyfriend role. He appoints Youhei as your boyfriend, and himself as the observer. And so you begin hanging out with Youhei as your 'boyfriend'. This is slightly awkward in the beginning, but Tsukasa soon notices that you start to act more and more like an actual couple the longer you keep it up. He also starts to become slightly jealous.

Not only that, Youhei confessed to him that he has liked you for a while now. Tsukasa says that he will cheer him on, but this only makes him think about his own feelings more - although he doesn't really know how he really feel about it. One night while all three of you are staying over at Youhei his house for the night Tsukasa eventually kisses you in the spur of the moment when Youhei steps outside for a bit. Before you can react or say anything however, Youhei returns and you never talk about it again.

The cover of the CD is actually the final time that all three of you are together. You are watching the fireworks together, and this is when Youhei decides to tell Tsukasa exactly what he thinks about this entire experiment (throwing a few punches to make his point) and in the end this changes your entire relationship with each other...

Being a Sakurai fangirl I was already silently rooting for his character before I even started listening. However my hopes were destroyed in the worst possible way in the beginning. The opening words of this CD are... painful. I am not kidding when I am saying that this CD managed to make me cry within 30 seconds. And not just a few tears welling up, I mean literally crying. I do have to say that Suzuki-san his voice is beautiful here though. For some reason I didn't really associate his voice with more mature characters, but his grown up voice here was fantastic (as a child he sounds completely different).

Listening to this I am guessing that the script includes the actual lines that were said by the heroine. There is not just a small pause where you are supposed to have said something, but realistic gaps. They also don't repeat whatever you said for the sake of the conversation; this was written like an actual drama and you'll have to guess whatever you were saying. Of course you can deduce what you probably said from the flow of the conversation, but not everything. Whether this is a good or a bad thing I will leave up to you to decide for yourself. Personally it took me a short while to get used to, but I enjoyed it.

The beginning and ending aside, the middle part of the story (the part when you are doing the experiment) is kind of cute and bittersweet. It is the beginning and the ending that stab your heart with a thousand daggers. Cineria is really good with that... This story seemed less realistic than Kareshi Igai, but the way you talk and the lack of repetition (when a character repeats what you supposedly said) still make the conversation flow naturally just like in all their works.

I could have done with a free talk to heal my broken heart, but unfortunately there is none.


Conclusion:
If you are a Sakurai fan this CD is pure heartbreak. If you're a fan of Suzuki-san however, this most likely turns a bit more into a bitter-sweet love story. Although there is no denying that it is still plenty painful either way. I secretly which for an alternative version where the outcome is different, but I doubt my heart would actually survive listening to something like this again.

Weekly News Post

Hmmmm? The news posts always seem to be late again lately?? That is probably just your imagination, hahahaha orz.



Sasayaki Micchaku

The voice samples and cover for Sasayaki Micchaku have been uploaded tot the official site. The first sample has Tsukumo (CV: Okamoto Nobuhiko) starting his fortune telling. As expected, Tsukumo sounds really cute. The second voice sample is one of the stories he tells you. You seem to be doing overwork together with a kouhai, who obviously likes you. The CD will be released on 2012.11.14.


Fujoshi / Otome no Mikata

This time the Fuoshi and Otome no Mikata CDs are combined into one: Fujoshi Shitsuji x Otome Shitsuji mixes the characters from both series into two groups. The first group consists of Akagi Eichi (CV: Sakurai Takahiro), Kikawa Miki (CV: Ishida Akira), Midoriyama Shion (CV: Okiayu Ryoutarou), Kagami Homura (CV: Namikawa Daisuke), Kinjoun Kira (? CV: Suzuki Tasuhisa), and Kino Makoto (?? CV: Maeno Tomoaki) are grouped together for a Christmas themed CD that will be released on 2012.11.30 and will be on presale at the animate girls festival.

Aoi Ryuuji (CV: Toriumi Kousuke), Kurosaki Gorou (CV: Yusa Kouji), Goshirakawa (CV: Kondo Takashi), Mizuki Jun (? Morita Masakaza), Toki Riku (? CV: Suwabe Junichi), Yukimura Sei (? Shimono Hiro) are grouped together for a valentine CD that is planned for 2013.01.25

If you buy both CDs at animate you can get a special CD in which all 12 butlers interact. Sounds like total chaos, but definitely worth it.

*I haven't listened to the Otome no Mikata CDs yet, and I can't find the official readings for the names of those characters so excuse any mistakes. Also, if Maeno his character is really called Kino Makoto I will never stop laughing, I just chose this reading because out of all the possibilities it is the one that amuses me most.

News Post (Part 3)

I'm almost done with all of the news! I was all set on finally posting this on time, and then my parents internet died on meヽ(ﾟ∀ﾟ；). There is still some semi-old news mixed in here, but we're almost up-to-date again.



Therapia

The character designs and seiyuu for the third Therapia CD have been announced at the official site. To the right we have the smartphone therapia, who will be voiced by Hirakawa Daisuke. He is described as a very serious character. The other therapia for this CD is the mascara therapia, voiced by Toriumi Kousuke. He is described as being a bit of a narcist.


Ojisama Senka
The details for the 6th CD are out. This time a luxurious cruise ship strands in the middle of nowhere, and you get stuck in the engine room together with three charming older men. The self-confident director Goda Noriyuki (CV: Touchi Hiroki), the seemingly aloof but actually rather cynical travel essayist Amari Kyousuke (CV: Ebara Masashi), and the always calm and collected chairman Muranishi Kenichi (CV: Ishizuka Unshou). Will you manage to escape, and what will happen to the feelings that started to form under such extreme circumstances. We'll find out on 2012.09.26.