Anata ga Ofuro de Noboseru CD Vol.5

Yes it has been a while since I reviewed anything from this series, almost half a year actually. I kept wanting to go back to it but somehow never really got to it. Until now that is.

あなたがお風呂でのぼせるCD 第5弾 「道後編」

Company: em2
Based on: Onsen
Released: 2012.07.25


Anata ga Ofuro de Noboseru CD is a series that has personified various onsen from all over Japan. By using this CD (which stands for "Compact Dream") the personified spirit of an onsen appears in your bathroom, and takes a bath together with you. This fourth CD features Dougo Onsen and is Voiced by Kaji Yuki.

As always the Guide (CV: Fujiwara Keiji) does the introduction and hands you a 'CD' (Compact Dream) and gives you the advice to "pause and take a deep breath in case things become too much".

When you use the 'CD' Dougo makes a super genki entrance, appearing fully clothed in the middle of your bath and splashing water all over the place. He calls you "onee-chan" the entire CD and he has a somewhat childish personality, although he occasionally says some rather...ahum, provocative things.

After his super genki entrance he notices that you are somewhat down and seem to have a headache, so he proposes to take a bath together so that you can relax. You first refuse to enter the bath again because you are embarrassed so he promises to close his eyes (and consequently stumbles over some of the things in the bathroom).

He insist on helping you wash yourself, but because he can't see what he is doing he tells you to "take his hand and guide him". These are exactly the kind of things Dougo at times says with that cute childish voice of his while you can't help but wonder what he actually thinks. Somewhere halfway through he asks you whether he can kiss you, and you splash water in his face (at which point he opens his eyes and discovers that you were still wearing a towel xD).

His counting track is super cute. He starts really genki but gets notably tired the longer he counts. Apparently he wasn't in the bath with you, because at the end of the count he jumps into the bath.

After you've been in the bath he offers to wash your hair, and summons a shampoo hat. Which you -obviously- refuse to wear. Dougo notices that you seem down again and pretends to have shampoo in his eye to lure you close so that he can hug you (sneaky little kid). You end up washing your own hair, but he insists on washing it so he washes it a second time.

While applying conditioner to your hair he once again mentions that you seem down, and that your eyes are red. While he acted somewhat childish before, he shows a more reliable side here. When it is time for him to go you yourself are actually the one to want him to stay and to kiss him first.

After the main part there is a short guide of the onsen they personified in the CD. The Guide and Dougo introduce several things, including that you can apparently warm up mikan (tangerines) in the water and eat them. I honestly never thought of that but it seems interesting. Dougo also tells the Guide not to reveal his age, because otherwise you would get mad at him for pretending to be so young.

Kaji Yuuki his cast talk is, as opposed to his character, pretty calm. He simply answers the usual questions and that's it: Whether there is an item he uses in his daily 'ofuro (bath) life' (Books, or anything to read), Whether he washes his head or body first (Head first, because of gravity xD), Whether he likes his bath hot or more lukewarm (not really lukewarm but after the water has cooled a bit).


Conclusion:
Dougo is mainly just cute, but his switch to more being more serious really tugged at my heartstrings. He is never going to be my favourite in the series but it was a nice CD none the less.

Pasta Mafia

パスタマフィア

Label: Frontier Works
Based on: Original
Released: 2011.10.26
Official site: http://www.fwinc.co.jp/pasta/pasta.php


Pasta Mafia is a mix of between pasta gijinka (personification) and a mafia story. Although, they didn’t get to be very mafia-ish in this CD. All of the characters are personifications of pasta dishes. Our main hero is Pomodore, who runs his own mafia and uses Amatrice as his base.

One day a young boy named Corzetti (CV: Yonaga Tsubasa) asks him to help him find the lost treasure of his family. Corzetti says his family is very eager when it comes to money, so he wants to find the treasure and get rid of it to prevent them fighting over it. Pomodore (CV: Hosoya Yoshimasa) doesn’t immediately agree but takes Corzetti back to his hideout to consult with the rest of his mafia gang.

Back at the hideout we are introduced to the rest: Pomodore his younger brother Cream (CV: Hino Satoshi), the okama and very feminine Capellini (CV: Terashima Takuma), who is always arguing with Macaroni (CV: Sugita Tomokazu), Paperdelle (CV: Kaji Yuuki) who is the youngest and always eating something, and the calm and silent Penne (CV: Sakurai Takahiro). Also there is Nero - another younger brother of Pomodore- who came to visit, much to the dismay of Pomodore.

All of them agree to help out with finding the treasure, but before they can actually begin Nero secretly replaces the treasure map that they got with a different map because he is jealous of Pomodore giving attention to someone other than himself (he as a bit of a brother complex).

To make things even more complex Bolognese (CV: Okiayu Ryoutarou) steals the -already switched out- map from them before they can start to search for the treasure, so they end up chasing after him first in order to even be able to go and search for the treasure.

The colourful cast makes the CD fun to listen to, although it does feel like there is something lacking. When it comes to hilarious conversations between characters there are other series that are much better. Not everyone gets enough screen time to fully show their personality either, although this might be understandable considering that this was planned as a series. Unfortunately it seems to have sort of died out.

Pomodore and Bolognese get to show off most of their quirks, but the rest of the characters don’t. Which is too bad, because I would have loved to see Macaroni snap and go on an endless rage for example. The same goes for everyone’s weapons; the official character descriptions list a weapon for each character but we never get to hear them use it (Penne fights with a pen for example, I would have loved to hear how that works out).

Still, I like most of the characters. Yonoga his Corzetti sounds incredibly cute, and Okiayu Ryoutarou doing a crack quirky personality is always fun, I really love it when he does roles like that. There is a little bit of dialect in the way Hosoya his Pomodore speaks, which also made me happy. I find Nero annoying, but he is supposed to be so I guess Ishida Akira did a good job with that as well. Terashima Takuma voicing an okama was a first for me, and I loved it.

Thanks to everyone being named after a food I got so incredibly hungry while listening to this. All of the Spaghetti brothers (Bolognese, Pomodore, Cream, Nero) are named after different spaghetti dishes, and the rest of the characters (Penne, Macaroni, Paperdelle, Capellini, Corzetti) are all different types of pastas. I had never heard of the last two by the way. Capellini is a very thin type of pasta, which is no doubt why he is so femine. The name also means ‘fine hair’ – and Capellini is a hairdresser and very proud of his own long hair. Corzetti is a flat, circular type of pasta often embossed with a decoration by stamping them.

In the cast talk everyone talks about what kind of food they would want a girl to make for them. Some of the best answers: Sugita Tomokazu would prefer making something together, Sakurai is fine with anything as long as it is warm, Ishizuka Unshou (who voiced a restaurant owner in the drama) is fine with anything as long as it can be made fast because he hates waiting, and Hosoya thinks the atmosphere is more important.


Conclusion:
While this was fun to listen to there are much better series out there. Still, I’m somewhat sad that the series seems to have died off. The characters showed promise and there is still a lot we never got to hear. And I want more Hosoya as Pomodore.

Diabolik Lovers Versus 3 - Kanato VS Reiji

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

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

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


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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




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

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






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

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

Touhou Youyuki ~Shounen Ou to no Dai Ichi no Meiyaku~

東方妖遊記 ~少年王と第一の盟約~

Company: Kadokawa Beans / Lantis
Based on: Light Novel
Released: 2011.09.21
Official site: http://www.kadokawa.co.jp/toho/


Touhou Youyuki is based on the light novel series by Murata Shiori. The drama CD covers the events of the first novel and tells how Kou met several of the characters that he travels with later on in the novels.

The story is about Kou (CV: Kaji Yuuki) who is a normal boy living somewhere in a village on the shores of the Yellow River (China) together with his -slightly overprotective- brother Shun (CV: Nakamura Yuichi) and his sister Riyuu (CV: Nakahara Mai) who hates men.

The story begins however with someone placing a small child on the river in a basket, and sacrificing himself so that the child will be carried downstream safely. Before we get to know who the child really is however, the story switches to Kou, Shun, and Riyuu as they get on a boat because they are moving to a nearby village. Kou does seem to have an irrational fear of water though...

When they arrive at their destination someone called Shou comes to greet them and while they are still exchanging greetings they see Fuuga (CV: Hosoya Yoshimasa) the local landlord. Shou tells them that Fuuga is researching the cause for the recent heavy rain and high tide of the river. It is said that the monster "Kada" (CV: Sakurai Takahiro) is responsible for this, and that the only way to slay it is to use a sword called the "enshouka".

Fuuga and his servant Ruien (CV: Namikawa Daisuke) try to locate Kada by using fortune telling, but Ruien discovers that Kada is still sealed away. Meanwhile Kou and Riyuu caught off guard by a sudden rainstorm while gathering mushrooms, and hide in the same cave where Fuuga and Ruien were. And where, coincidently, Kada is supposed to be sealed. They discover that Kou can the spirits there, which apparently sounds like "the voice of a snake crying".

A few days later the cave collapses because of a landslide, releasing Kada -and lots of tiny look a likes. While Kada rampages the rain only becomes worse and the entire village needs to be evacuated. Fuuga attempts to use the enshouka to slay Kada, but is unable to wield the heave sword. Meanwhile Kou is convinced that Kada is only in pain and wants to save him...

When I started listening to this I was sceptical -adventures set in ancient china aren't really my thing- but I quickly came round. It is an interesting story and has both funny moments (especially Riyuu her dislike of all men except Kou and Shun) and enough suspense. Neither the plot nor the characters are ground breaking, but it is entertaining enough.

Because this only covers the first novel in the series there is hinted at a lot more plot than this CD actually covers, such as Fuuga being convinced that Kou is the lost master that he was supposed to serve, and Shun apparently being suspiciously skilled in handling anything that threats his siblings and especially Kou. These aren't really obstructive though, the story works well as a one shot. And if you reeeealy want to know how things continue you could always read the novels.

I hadn't really paid much attention to the cast, so Kada being voiced by Sakurai came as a pleasant surprise to me. His voice is heavily distorted while Kada is rampaging though, so maybe pleasant isn't really the right word.

A manga adaption of the series ran in the monthly Asuka, and I know there is at least 1 other short drama CD that came as a bonus with the magazine. The question is how to get my hands on that, because it is about Kou and Ouri (the name that Kou gave to Kada after he calmed down and became loyal to Kou) their life right after the events of this story. Which basically means more Sakurai for me.


Conclusion:
As this covers only the first novel the story obviously continues after this, but we are not left with any cliffhangers or anything, which is good because this way it also works as a one shot drama CD. Like I said, it is nothing extraordinary but enjoyable none the less.

Final Fantasy XIII Episode Zero -Promise- Story 01 -ENCOUNTER-

Final Fantasy XIII Episode Zero -Promise- Story 01 -ENCOUNTER-

Company: Square Enix
Based on: Game -> Novel -> Drama CD
Released: 2010.01.27
Official Site: http://www.square-enix.co.jp/music/sem/page/fabula/ff13/drama/

Episode Zero is a series of lightnovels based on Final Fantasy XIII. This drama CD (that came with the first press limited edition of the OST for the game) is based on the first light novel. It depicts scenes from the 13 days leading up to FFXIII.

The CD starts with Lightning (CV: Sakamoto Maaya) on a mission hunting monsters, she is aided (against her will) by Lebreau (CV: Asakawa Yuu) and Yuj (CV: Hatano Wataru), two members of the vigilante group Nora. After returning from her mission she finds her superior Lieutenant Amodar (CV: Ueda Yuuji) and Nora leader Snow (CV: Ono Daisuke). This is the first time Lightning and Snow actually meet, and she warns him to stay away from her sister.

Doesn't seem to have much effect though, as Snow later meets up with Serah (CV: Kotobuki Minako) because they are planning to buy a present for Lightning her birthday. Serah want Snow to come so that she can properly introduce him to Lightning. Before they can go Snow is called away by fellow NORA members, but promises he'll return soon and tells Serah to wait.

Serah wanders off to the ruins nearby the city, and to her own surprise finds and entrance. As she walks further in the ruins start to move around her, leader her to the point where she is branded with her l'Cie mark. She wakes up a little later outside the ruins, despairing after seeing the mark.

Meanwhile, Lightning is walking through town preparing for her patrol shift during the upcoming fireworks. In the background we hear Zachs (CV: Ebara Masashi), Hope (CV: Kaji Yuuki) and his mother talk about chocobo's. The CD ends with Lightning talking to her commander whether she could get some time off to take a vacation with Serah.

If you don't know the game this CD probably isn't very interesting, you'll be wondering when something is finally going to happen. If you do know the game, this is one big all my tears. It depicts scenes from right before the start of the games, how everyone is just living their life before everything is thrown into chaos.

Despite it being very short (only 25minutes) it is a pretty emotional piece of work. Not because of what happens, but because of how normal things are in the CD. How everyone is dealing with their own daily business and (compared to the rest of the game) small problems.


Conclusion:
Just this small drama isn't worth it to buy (and track down) a limited edition soundtrack, but as a bonus it is a very good one and if you've played the game it is worth it to download and listen to it. I'm wondering exactly how long the novels are, and whether I should give those a try at the moment.

Diabolik Lovers Vol.3: Kanato

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

DIABOLIK LOVERSドS吸血CD Vol.3 逆巻カナト

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


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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

Oujisama ha Tadaima Dekasegichuu

 

王子はただいま出稼ぎ中 ～知力! 体力! 時の運? 勝ち抜きバトルロイヤル～

Company: Kadokawa
Based on: Lightnovel
Released: 2011.12.21
Official site: http://www.kadokawa.co.jp/fair/201111-03/


*I can't find any official spellings for the names of the characters, and they have some pretty weird names so please forgive me my guessing at the romanization. If anyone does know the correct spelling, please let me know*

Oujisama ha Tadaima Dekasugichuu is a lightnovel series published by Kadokawa Bunko. The story is about the young prince Yuuto who is always trying to earn money to pay off his countries debt. As a result he is usually out doing all kinds of mercenary jobs together with two of his servants. And as it happens Yuuto is rather pretty, so all the guys are after him (or at least, seem to like him a biiiiiit too much).

This time Ciskal (CV: Hirakawa Daisuke) show Yuuto (CV: Kaji Yuuki) as pamflet for a tournament in a neighbouring country. Yuuto is lured in by the huge amount of money that is the prize money for the winner, and thus he sets off with his two servants, Tajis (CV: Ono Daisuke) and Iru (CV: Takahashi Hiroki).

The tournament itself is rather strange. You can only participate in groups of three, and not every match is a battle. Things like quizzes are also includes (giving Iru a chance to shine during a largely math related quiz).

Besides the tournament there are also some scenes where Yuuto his sister suddenly shows up, or where Yuuto strays off and meets Karmikal, who is wanted in several countries and seems to be a former acquaintance. And, of course, has a thing for Yuuto.

The characters are all bit crack: Yuuto has the usual "I'm not a girl" complex, while Tajis is always making remarks on how cute he is. Iru is a complete clutz, but highly skilled with magic. Yuuto his sister loves battles a bit too much, Ciscal seems to be always scheming. The opponents in the tournament are even stranger at times, but they usually hardly have more than 2 lines.

Maybe it is because I have never read the novels, but in my opinion it was all a bit run of the mill. Sure there are some funny moments, but I suppose you really need the background of the novels to understand a bit more about the character. (For example, Tajis transforming into a- I don't even know what he transformed into).


Conclusion:
If you've read the novels, go and listen. It is a good cast after all. If you haven't, your time is better spend on something else.

Ouritsu Ouji Gakuen vol.3: The Prince of Thumbelina

 王立王子学園 vol.3 親指姫の王子様

Company: R45°project
Based on: Fairytales x School life
Released: 2012.01.15
Official Site: http://rpgakuen.com/


Ouritsu Ouji Gakuen (Royal Prince Gakuen, RPG for short) is a school where princes go in preparation of their future career as royalty. That means normal lessons, but also stuff like dancing lessons and other things you might need as royalty. Other than the fact that the entire student body are royal princes, it is a very normal school. It is not like you'll notice any of this in the CD's.

In this series you both spend time together with your main prince, as well as with multiple characters. Each CD features three princes, and you get to spend some quality time together with the 'main prince' as well as some -often funny- lively moments with all three.

The third and final CD of the first series centres on Hiiragi Motochika (CV: Kaji Yuuki), Who represents the tale of Thumbelina. The prince in the orriginal story is a flower fairy, which is reflected in the fact that Chika (as everyone calls him) loves flowers a lot. Chika has a very cheerful but selfish personality, and is pretty loud.

You spend quite some time with Haibara Kouki (CV: Sakurai Takahiro) and Shirase Yukito (CV: Toriumi Kousuke) this time. There are two longer tracks with them, one where you have cooking class. The theme is supposed to be 'home cooking' but all Chika wants to make are desserts. The second one is a scene where you have to tend to the flower beds. This is where Chika has his moment of unusual behaviour; he is faaaaar to passionate about it.

Contrary to the first two CD's, Chika doesn't need his friends their help to confess his love to you. Instead, a large part of his CD is dedicated to his feelings of jealousy and guilt towards his friends because he likes you. However in the end he does choose to confess to you, and tells this to Kouki and Yukito as well.

Like I said, Chika is a bit of a brat. However he explains this in the first track: he is the youngest child in the family and at some point discovered that if he would whine he would get anything. This eventually led to him being used to getting everything he wants, so he doesn't really get serious about anything. Luckily he isn't as bratty as in the second CD any more, because things were getting really out of hand in that one.

Unfortunately, this still leaves Chika as a sort of 'usually acting genki but has some angst going on in the background' type. Which really isn't my thing. The combination of those things is... not my favourite, let's keep it at that.

Sadly, the cast talk is also back to being quite generic. All of them made a small comment and that was it. I had secretly hoped they would do something silly again like last time, but too bad.


Conclusion:
Chika is too genki and bratty for me, add in the slight angst, and I start to loose interest. Still, for fans of Chika is reckon this is a good CD, because for once he is more than just the moodmaker.

Ouritsu Ouji Gakuen vol.2: the Prince of Snow White

王立王子学園 vol.2 白雪姫の王子様

Company: R45°project
Based on: Fairytales x School life
Released: 2011.11.15
Official Site: http://rpgakuen.com/


Ouritsu Ouji Gakuen (Royal Prince Gakuen, RPG for short) is a school where princes go in preparation of their future career as royalty. That means normal lessons, but also stuff like dancing lessons and other things you might need as royalty. Other than the fact that the entire student body are royal princes, it is a very normal school.

In this series you both spend time together with your main prince, as well as with multiple characters. Each CD features three princes, and you get to spend some quality time together with the 'main prince' as well as some -often funny- lively moments with all three.

This second CD centres on Shirase Yukito (CV: Toriumi Kousuke) who represents Snow White (The first kanji from his last and first name form 白雪 shirayuki, which is Japanese for Snow White). He is normally calm and collected, but when it comes to you he loses his normal character. His family oversees an apple orchard since many generations, but recently they also started a computer company, making him very skilled with computers. And slightly obsessed with them, he gave his to laptops a name.

Yukito his family has an old saying, if they say "mirror mirror on the wall, who is the fairest of them all, please let me meet my special one today" to a mirror, it is said they will meet that person very soon. Yukito does this out of boredom one day, and on his way to school a little later he finds you sleeping somewhere near the school. He wakes you up and because the chime has already started ringing, helps you up and you run to class together.

After that you seem to like him a lot, and apparently you go out of your way to talk to him, confusing Yukito because he thinks he is boring to talk to compared to his two friends Haibara Kouki (CV: Sakurai Takahiro) and Hiiragi Motochika (CV: Kaji Yuuki). The two of them join you for a few scenes, where especially Hiiragi causes trouble. They turn up in the library and make a lot of noise, waking up the librarian (which is implied to be a very bad thing to do), and more or less invite themselves to the family's apple orchard to pick apples and make apple pie.

This is of course also the scene where Yukito freaks out of you trying to eat an apple, eventually taking a bit of it himself and then giving it to you. Only realizing that that was a very weird action a few moments later.

Despite you clinging to Yukito like an idiot, it doesn't look like he is going to confess, or maybe even realize, his feelings any time soon, so at the end of the CD Haibara and Hiiragi think of a scheme to get you two alone somewhere. Which was completely obvious, and succesful xD

I like the scenes with you and Yukito, but I find the scenes with Haibara and Hiiragi in it a bit too noisy. Mostly because Hiiragi acts like a brat most of the time (Kaji-san even says this in the cast comment). In the last CD he was a genki moodmaker, here he is just annoying. I really like Yukito though, his normal cool but actually just socially slightly inapt ways make him fun to listen to.

Speaking of the cast comment, for no reason at all they end up whispering their comments. Sakurai seems to be having a lot of fun as well, you can hear him laughing in the background when Toriumi-san does his comment.


Conclusion:
I a bit torn between I like the parts with you and Yukito, and finding the rest slightly annoying. But overall it is still fun to listen.

Ouritsu Ouji Gakuen vol.1: The Prince of Cinderella

王立王子学園 vol.1 シンデレラの王子様

Company: R45°project
Based on: Fairytales x School life
Released: 2011.09.15
Official Site: http://rpgakuen.com/


Ouritsu Ouji Gakuen (Royal Prince Gakuen, RPG for short) is a school where princes go in preparation of their future career as royalty. That means normal lessons, but also stuff like dancing lessons and other things you might need as royalty. Other than the fact that the entire student body are royal princes, it is a very normal school.

In this series you both spend time together with your main prince, as well as with multiple characters. Each CD features three princes, and you get to spend some quality time together with the 'main prince' as well as some -often funny- lively moments with all three.

This first vol. centres on Haibara Kouki (CV: Sakurai Takahiro) who represents the prince from Cinderella (the 'hai' in Haibara also means 'ash'). He has a very kind personality, and when you just arrive as transfer student he takes good care of you, showing you were everything is and explaining all kinds of things, even going as far as picking you up to go to school together.

It is obvious Haibara likes you, but he seems a bit hesitant at times. You've apparently met when you were both young, but you seems to have forgotten all about it, and Haibara is simply afraid that he will lose you again. And it seems like he doesn't remember everything himself as well, because when he finds a single shoe lying at the bottom of the stairs he has one of the weirdest reactions ever (causing many amusing comments from the other two princes Shirose Yukito (CV: Toriumi Kousuke) and Hiiragi Motochika (CV Kaji Yuuki).

The other two princes seem to like you as well. It feels a bit strange as the first time that they appear in a scene them they already cling to you, while there seems to be no prior contact. On the other hand, you are all classmates, so let's just assume you interacted with them there.


Haibara is a bit quick with clinging to you, but on the other hand you seem to be his first love from his childhood, so let's just forgive him that. Like I said he has a very kind and caring personality, but he also seems to missing the vital point at times, making him adorkable. The other two also have amusing personalities, Shirose is cold but pure hearted, and Hiiragi is very my-pace but can say the meanest things with a smile. The interaction between the three of them is very amusing to listen to.

The cast talk isn't very special. Apparently Sakurai kept mispronouncing things at the part where he goes into shoe-mania mode, but other than that it was a very generic talk.


Conclusion:
The balance between the moments alone and with all three seems a bit off to me, but overall it was pretty nice. Although I like the parts where the three princes interact more than the moments with Haibara alone. Those are so pink and sugar coated that they might induce caries. And as much as I love Sakurai, these situation CDs don't seem to be his forte.

Fushigi no Kuni no Alice ~Alice in Wonderland~

不思議の国のアリス~Alice in Wonderland~

Company: Momogre
Based on: Alice in Wonderland.
Released: 2011.05.26
Official Site: http://www.momogre.com/



This story is part of momo&grapes their "men's only" series, meaning that all characters are voiced by male seiyuu. The story is based on (the Japanese translation of) Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll.

You know me, if something has 'alice' written on it I'm all over it. So when I found out that momogre would do an adaption of the original work I was super exited!

The story itself is so famous that it doesn't really need an explanation. This adaption is very loyal to the original story, so there isn't really much to explain for me there. (except that, well, it is very loyal to the original. And I love that). In fact, I think that they've actually used part of a translation as script, because most conversations seem to be exactly like how I remembered them. The Narration is of course original to this work.

The cast was fantastic as well. Kaji Yuuki is a super cute Alice, although no matter how hard I try he doesn't really sound like a girl to me. He sounds more like a young boy but still super cute and it somehow works so I am not complaining. The only voice I was uncomfortable with was that of the Cheshire Cat, who is voiced by Takeuchi Ken. Somehow his voice didn't suit my image of the Cheshire Cat. Then again I might just be too used to Inoue Kazuhiko as the Cheshire Cat from Are you Alice?

Another funny trivia about the Cheshire Cat is that he is called "Chashire Cat" in the story, even though the official site lists him as Cheshire Cat. The seiyuu talk about this in the freetalk as well.


Conclusion:
Personally I absolutely loved this adaption. I love most things even remotely related to Alice in Wonderland so I'm probably biased, but this was a wonderful adaption. It is very faithful to the original, and has a wonderful cast. Whether you're already familiar with the story or not, this is a wonderful drama to listen to.


Also, I'm sorry for reviewing two different Alice in Wonderland related things in a row :p

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.

Aohige ~Itan no Kizoku~

青ひげ～異端の貴族～

Company: Momo & Grape
Based on: Bluebeard / Gilles de Rais
Released: 2011.05.03


This story is part of momo&grapes their "men's only" series, meaning that all characters are voiced by male seiyuu. The story is loosely based on the story "Bluebeard" by Charles Pernault (which in return is sometimes believed to have been based on the story of Gilles de Rais).

This story starts as a romance, however it turn much darker as it progresses. Jeanne Asran (CV: Hino Satoshi) is about to be married to count Gilles de Rais (CV: Yusa Kouji). At the time of the wedding they have never met before, but the marriage is a happy one.

However around the time of their marriage, a serial killing involving young boys occurs. Because Gilles gives scholarships to young boys in the area the head of the investigation, Lance (CV: Sakurai Takahiro) suspects Gilles as the culprit. When Henri (CV: Kaji Yuuki) one of the students that received a scholarship and also worked at the castle where Gilles and Jeanne reside disappears, Lance his suspicions grow stronger and stronger.

The end of the story holds a few surprises, so I won't say anything about it.

The voice acting in this piece is wonderful. Like someone at Hibiki already said, especially Hino as Jeanne did a very good job. His voice is absolutely believable as a woman. The story alone is touching enough, but with the incredible voice acting it really becomes very emotional. This is the first drama cd in a long time that really got me to cry. Near the end the tears were literally pouring down my face ･ﾟ･(ﾉД`;)･ﾟ･

Another interesting thing that has to do with the recording of the voices and sounds is that they've made good use of stereo sounds. When to characters are having a conversation you can hear that one is standing more to the left and the other more to the right, which helps to give the impression that you are really there and watching the situation unfold.

In stark contrast with the emotional content and music of the main drama the cast comment suddenly starts with a much too happy sounding Yusa. All members do their best to make a serious comment, however most of them (especially Yusa) are just to giggly to make it sound serious. Which is a good thing, because it lifts your spirits after this emotional and somewhat depressing work. (Also, Hino says he was uncertain about his own acting as a woman, especially in the beginning when he had to play the 10 year old Jeanne).


Conclusion:
Like I said this is a very emotional drama. However it is absolutely worth listening. Both Yusa and Hino did a wonderful job as Gilles and Jeanne respectively. Not that the other seiyuu their performance was any less, but the performance of these two really stand out (they are, after all, the main characters).

オリンポス

Olympos

Company: Frontier Works
Based on: Manga
Released: 2009.09.18


Based on the manga of the same name, this drama CD has two longer stories and one short bonus story. The first is story of Heinz, the second one is the story of Apollo.

In the first story Heinz (CV: Kaji Yuuki) is praying at a church to have his wish granted, to his surprise a god actually turns up and promises to grant his wish if Heinz completes a task for him. The god who turned uo is Apollo (CV: Ishida Akira), in order for his wish to be granted Heinz has to get a 'hikkikomori' (someone who has shut himself in) to go outside. Heinz is whisked away to a strange world where he has to convince someone to leave. It turns out that the person he has to convince to leave is Ganymedes (CV: Ono Daisuke), who has no intend of leaving, nor does he believe that it is possible to leave.

The second story tells about how Apollo first became interested in humans. Apollo who used to only be interested in his sister Artemis slowly develops an interest in a shrine maiden that attends his temple. Even though she doesn't know Apollo is listening she talks to him. At first Apollo only finds her annoying, but after a while he becomes interested in what she has to say.

Both stories take an interesting turn near the end. I liked the second one slightly better, it shows a different side of Apollo than the first one (where he is an absolute a**). Also, Poseidon (CV: Okiayu Ryoutarou) is hilarious in the second one.

In the short extra story Apollo and Poseidon are talking about that it became winter, but that the seasons don't matter much to the gods (even though they are wearing almost nothing). However Apollo noticed that the humans wear mufflers and suggests trying to wear one. The mental image alone is hilarious xD

Conclusion:
I really liked this drama CD. It has an interesting take on the ancient legends (btw; Ganymedes was abducted by Zeus to be his cup-bearer. I can't find a legend about Apollo speaking with one of his priestesses anywhere, but it feels like a plausible story. Besides, fiction is fun too :D
There is a second volume of the manga, and I would have really loved it if there would be a second drama CD, but I doubt it will ever be made. Sadly.

Yandere Heaven ~Makoto Gakuen High School Chapter~

I'll admit,  yandere might be my guilty pleasure. Which is when I found this cd I had to give it a try. If you don't know what yandere is, you might want to stay away from it though. (Short explanation; 'yandere' is a type of character who's love grows rather obsessive and often violent. or murdrous).

There are two characters in this CD: Kakeru, your little stepbrother and Atsushi, a senpai from school. The story starts with Kakeru waking you up because you are late and as both of you exit the house you run into Atsushi-senpai who is waiting to pick you up. The two of them immediately start to fight over you, but at this point everything is still relatively normal. As the story progresses though, the two of them grow more and more obsessive untill in the final two tracks the story splits into a Kakeru and Atsushi side.


Yandere is something you should keep away from if you don't like it, and possibly also if you don't know what it is. The CD sort of crosses the line at places. If you do like yandere characters this is the CD for you. It takes the concept and runs with it. Both characters sound completely normal in the beginning, but when the yandere bgm kicks in and their voice chances things start to get reeeeaaaly interesting.

In short; must buy if you like yandere!