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.

Anata ga Ofuro de Noboseru CD Vol.4

あなたがお風呂でのぼせるCD 第4弾 「酸ケ湯編」

Company: em2
Based on: Onsen
Released: 2012.05.30



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 Sukayu Onsen and is voiced by Namikawa Daisuke.

The introduction is slightly different again, but the basics remain the same: just like in the first two CD's you receive one CD ("Compact Dream), and are instructed to "pause and take a deep breath in case things become too much".

I'm not entirely sure how I should review Sukayu though. Except that he is, well, strange. Very strange. Very very strange. It all starts relatively normal. Ok, Sukayu seems to be a little my paced and occasionally out of it. Until you punch him in the face and he falls over.

He seems to be a bit focussed on outer space, aliens, and the various "waves" (of distrust, disbelief, and so on) that he seems to catch from your direction. I can't really get a grip on his personality as it seems to change throughout the CD. He does mention near the end that he finally "became himself again", but in the omake his personality is all weird again.

I'm not going to give a summary of what happens because, I can't. Sukayu is just to weird, you need to listen to him yourself. All I can think after listening to it (twice) is "what on earth was this". Thanks to this weird personality the CD is, however, quite entertaining. You never know what is going to happen next.

Namikawa-san mentions in his own free-talk that he couldn't quite grasp the character himself either, and he is wondering whether we aren't "mad [at Sukayu] right now". After that he answers the regular questions: Whether there is an item he uses in his daily 'ofuro (bath) life' (shampoo, conditioner, body soap xD), Whether he washes his head or body first (Head first, washing his hair, applying conditioner and leaving that in while he washes his body -after which he wonders whether this comment could be considered sexual harassment), Whether he likes his bath hot or more lukewarm (hot).

His final comment is that he is really thankful that you listened to the end of this CD.


Conclusion:
I'm sorry for writing such a useless review but... Sukayu really is a weird character and I can't describe him. The CD is interesting in terms of "what on earth is going to happen next" but otherwise simply weird. Personally my least favourite in the series as of yet.

DAISUKE! ~Senritsu no Brithday! Revenge ni kita Aitsu~

 DAISUKE！～戦慄のバースデー！　リベンジに来たアイツ～

Company: Geneon
Based on: Original
Released: 2010.04.21
Official site: http://www.geneonuniversal.jp/rondorobe/music/daisuke


DAISUKE! is a CD in which all characters and their seiyuu have 'Daisuke' as their first name. The setting is the bar 'Dice' (Japanese: daisu) which is ran by Akagi Daisuke and somehow seems to be a gathering point for people with Daisuke in their name.

All of the characters were introduced in the first CD so they don't bother to do it again this time. But to make some short introductions: Akagi Daisuke (CV: Ono Daisuke) is the owner of the bar Dice, Wakaba Daisuke (CV: Namikawa Daisuke) and Touma Daisuke (CV: Sakaguchi Daisuke) work there as parttimers. Yamabuki Daisuke (CV: Kishio Daisuke) is a failure salaryman, and Kurokawa Daisuke (CV: Hirakawa Daisuke) is a super rich celeb IT manager. To avoid confusion and stop the abuse of the name Daisuke, I'll just refer to them by their last name from now on.

Kurokawa feels somehow defeated by Akagi and thus he comes for revenge! The moment he enters the bar however, he is showered with champagne and birthday wishes. Turns out the rest of the cast was planning to celebrate Touma his birthday and they mistook Kurokawa for him.

The rest of the CD is once again divided between imagination scenes, and what is actually going on at the bar. Each Daisuke imagines how his white day gift would be, with the exception of Yamabuki who imagines you as a married couple with kids for some reason:

Touma takes you on a date to the park
Wakaba performs a tea ceremony for you
Yamabuki takes you out for dinner
Akagi takes you skydiving
Kurokawa gives you an entire resort Island

Of course, all of the 'virtual dates' as they are called are full of lovey dovey romance lines, and the Akagi and Kurokawa ones are hinting a much more.

Meanwhile in the bar, everyone starts to get drunk, leading to more and more chaos and hilarity. Until there is a blackout and Akagi is knocked unconscious by an intruder. It turns out that a certain company has it's eye one the building, and is pressuring him to sell the bar. Just as he tries to say that he probably should sell it and start a new bar somewhere else, Kurokawa stops him.

Turns out Kurokawa was planning on taking revenge by opening a bar close by, so he can't have Akagi leave. The two of them have a drinking contest to decide what will happen to the bar, and both of them drink far too much shots of tequila (with full commentary by Yamabuki). Kurokawa loses, and orders his own company to but the company that was after Akagi his building with a simple phone call.

Like the first CD this is a hectic, chaotic and hilarious CD full of Daisuke in every way possible. I still find the way Yamabuki talks and the way Touma acts annoying, but I have gotten more used to Hirakawa using a deeper voice for his role as Kurokawa Daisuke. I still think it sounds a bit unnatural, but I'm somehow getting used to it, maybe even started to like it a bit.

Again the cast talk is chaotic, and this time there are far too many in-jokes that I don't get. It still is funny to hear them bicker though. There is a tokuten CD (I don't know what it came with) in which they are playing some sort of game. Unfortunately I'm not sure what they are playing, making it a bit difficult to understand


Conclusion:
Chaos, Hilarity, and a Daisuke overload all over again. Honestly, there are much better drama CD's out there, but the pure overkill of hearing all of these seiyuu together is amazing.

Uwasaya

噂屋

Company: Omega Label
Based on: Manga
Released: 2010.07.02


Uemura Takitarou is a fairly normal high schooler, except that he is also a genius cosplayer that can transform himself into almost anyone. When one day his one and only friend Kusakami Asami (CV: Koshimizu Ami) is killed by the 'Night Blindness Man', a serial killer who gouges out the eyes of his victims, he is recruited by his schoolmate Tominaga Hana to join the UC, a company that manipulates rumours and urban legends to solve crimes.

UC, also called 'Uwasaya' (the rumour shop) has only a few employees: the mysterious company president Saekusa Kudan (CV: Fujiwara Keiji), the hacker Kurusu Masutatsu (codename 'channeler'. CV: Hino Satoshi), the fortune teller Koizumi Nao (codename: Sleepless diviner. CV: Matsuoka Yuki), model Tominaga Hana (codename: debate magician. CV: Tanaka Rie).

This drama CD has three cases, of which the first one is the Night Blindness Man. To draw out the killer they decide to spread another rumour: the ghost of the killers latest victim is walking the streets asking people to giver her eyes back. Takitarou dresses up as the ghost so that people really see her, and so they draw out the actual killer.

In the second case UC is asked to spread a scary rumour about a horror video game so that the sales will go up. Takitarou decides to dress up as 'the woman in red', one of the characters from the game. However it turns out that someone has already been dressing up like her, because everyone Takitarou tries to scare with his outfit has already seen the woman in red. And then Takitarou sees the ghost woman for himself...

In the final case UC gets a job by phone from an unknown customer, who asks them to put an end to the killing of crows that appears to be occurring all over town. With the help of channeler his hacking skills they manage to find the culprit, but their client turns out to be someone unexpected as well...

I expected this to be only based on the whole rumour/urban legend concept, but in case two and three supernatural events also occur. Meaning horror, meaning one scared me. The sound effects are particularly effective. And the sound of crows has always been rather eerie, but in this story even more so, and I will never look at crows in the same way again.

All three are good short stories though, even though the second one is so very sad. The first one is more like an introduction, and the second one also has a glimpse of Nao her past in it, which leaves the third story as the best one in my opinion. I'm just sad that I can't see what Takitarou dresses up like, haha.


Conclusion:
This had a bit more supernatural events than I expected (if I had know that I would have reviewed this for Halloween as well...) but it was still a very good CD. Just a lot scarier than I expected. I'd love to hear more, and I know that there was also a radio drama for the series, but until I find that I suppose the manga will have to do.

Reader Song ~Love Letter 2~

Reader Song ~Love Letter 2~

Company: Voicing
Based on: Song Lyrics
Released: 2011.09.09
Official Site www.voicing.biz/readersong/


Reader Song takes well known western songs, and has popular seiyuu reading the lyrics to you. I specifically mean reading, they do not sing. Instead they slowly read them to acoustic versions of the songs.

The Seiyuu are exactly the same as in the first vol, however they have fairly different songs this time (except for Kishio Daisuke, who gets another Backstreet Boys song xD). The tracklist this time is as follows:

01. I need you / Maurice White (Namikawa Daisuke)
02. Sailing / Rod Steward(Kiuchi Hidenobu)
03. Scarborough fair (Inoue Kazuhiko)
04. Get out of my life / Lady Lily (Sakurai Takahiro)
05. Shape of my heart / Backstreet Boys (Kishio Daisuke)
06. Aloha oe (Hayami Shou)
07. Even the nights are better / Air Supply (Fujiwara Keiji)
08. Don't answer me / The Allan Parson Project (Ishida Akira)
09. You and I / Matt Bianco (Okiayu Ryoutarou)
10. Back at one / Brian McKnight (Tsuda Kenjirou)

Like the first CD, the instrumentals are beautiful. Actually, almost everything is still the same. The good points, and the fact that this still works best with calm songs. Although I think the tracklist this time is a bit better in that aspect.

I especially love the music from track 2. So nice, and it somehow really gives you an idea of a ship of the waves. My personal favourite is "Get out of my life". While the original song is more about being strong enough to overcome a heartbreak, Sakurai brings it so sad and heart-wrenching (especially somewhere halfway through) that it almost made me tear up.

Scaraborough Fair on the other hand was a slight disappointment. Inoue-san his voice is as beautiful as ever, however the constant repeating of the words "parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme" simply doesn't work when the text is spoken. And that while it can be so beautiful when sung.


Conclusion:
This is mostly just more of the same, but that isn't a bad thing. (and to be fair, the two CDs were released at the same time). Another great CD to listen to while you just sit down and relax. And again, the cover image is just so cute!! (>w<)

Reader Song ~Love Letter 1~

Reader Song ~Love Letter 1~

Company: Voicing
Based on: Song Lyrics
Released: 2011.09.09
Official Site www.voicing.biz/readersong/


Reader Song takes well known western songs, and has popular seiyuu reading the lyrics to you. I specifically mean reading, they do not sing. Instead they slowly read them to acoustic versions of the songs.

Both the tracklist and cast can be considered superb. For me personally some of the songs were unexpected, I can think of various songs that are probably more famous, then again I don't know which songs were popular in Japan, and maybe they choose the tracklist based on that. Speaking of the tracklist, here it is:

01. Lost in love/ Air Supply  (Fujiwara Keiji)
02. The One / Backstreet Boys (Kishio Daisuke)
03. Sky high /Jigsaw (Tsuda Kenjirou)
04. Baby I love your way / Peter Frampton (Ishida Akira)
05. Sugar town / Nancy Sinatra (Hayami Shou)
06. A song for you / Leon Russel (Namikawa Daisuke)
07. Smoke gets in your eyes / The Platters (Inoue Kazuhiko)
08. Beautiful dreamer / Stephan Foster (Okiayu Ryoutarou)
09. Londonderry air (Sakurai Takahiro)
10. You are so beautiful / Joe Cocker (Kiuchi Hidenobu)

I put the name of Seiyuu reading the lyrics behind the track titles. Oh, and Londonderry Air is a folk song and it's origins are a bit vague, so no idea who I should list as the artist.

The entire concept works pretty nice. The acoustic versions of the songs are so beautiful I almost wished that they had included them without vocals as well. But I do feel that this works better with calm songs, as that feels more natural. Another thing that I noticed is that while it is very common for lyrics to be repeated in songs, that it often feels unnatural when someone is talking.

It is very interesting  to see how the lyrics were translated. It seems like they were aiming more for the intended meaning than a literal one, as some lyrics have been translated notably differently. To name a good example "I'll be the one" is translated as "boku ga iru yo (I am here)". While the actual words are very different, the meaning can be interpreted as the same. If you see them as "I'll be the one [for you]" and "I'll be here [for you]" they convey a similar meaning.

They probably also tried to make them slightly more suitable as a narrative, and possibly also added a bit of romance. Comparing these translations would undoubtedly make for a very interesting study, but unfortunately I don't have the time to do so (; __ ;)


Conclusion:
This is a very relaxing CD to listen to. Grab a cup of tea or coffee, nestle yourself on the couch or your bed and enjoy. My persona favourites were 'a song for you' 'Londonderry air' and 'You are so beautiful', although that might also have something to do with their seiyuu (cough*Sakurai!*cough). Oh and, the cover image is  so cute (>w<)

Oshigoto Danshi Vol.6 - Gofukuya

While I was being distracted by other works I realised that I was only one review away from reviewing this entire series, so here is the last review for Oshigoto Danshi!!

 

お仕事男子 Vol.6 職業 呉服屋

Company: Broccoli
Based on: Original
Released: 2010.01.27
Official Site: http://www.broccoli.co.jp/cd/sp/oshigoto/


Oshigoto Danshi is a series that centers on the development of the relationship between yourself (the listener) and a guy with a specific profession. The character for this last installment is Kaga Kazuomi, who owns a Kimono store.

When you first come to the store you are actually only there to pick up some things, however Kaga-san is nearly obsessed with getting you to wear a Kimono to your companies new year party that evening. Usually quiet and reserved, Kaga-san is unusually straight forward with you.

You meet again that evening during the party, where Kaga-san is present as well. Also present is our little idol from vol.5, Tachibana Yuu. Despite everyone saying that Kaga-san is usually quiet and reserved, he shows that he has an S-side to him as well. Poor Yuu is no match for Kaga-san his remarks (≧▽≦)

During the party you spill juice on the Kimono you borrowed, and despite bringing it to the cleaning it won't come off. Kaga-san doesn't seem to troubled by it, and just asks whether you want to go out for dinner as repayment. Somewhere during the evening you get separated and Kaga-san collapses from straining too much to find you.

As you can guess we've got a bit of case of Soap Opera Disease here, no only really knows what is wrong with Kaga-san, though he himself insists that he just isn't as fit as other people are. That aside, his concern for you is really touching. 

Conclusion
Ono Daisuke his voice was made to be the perfect boyfriend, so that is what you'll get (health issues aside). Despite everyone saying that Kaga-san is always so quiet and reserved I think he shows a great personality, and isn't afraid of teasing either. Despite the small case of soap opera disease, this is my third fav entry in the series (after vol 4 and 2)

お仕事男子 Vol.5 職業 アイドル

Oshigoto Danshi vol.5 - Idol

Company: Broccoli
Based on: Original
Released: 2010.01.27
Official Site: http://www.broccoli.co.jp/cd/sp/oshigoto/


Oshigoto Danshi is a series that centers on the development of the relationship between yourself and a guy with a specific profession. This time the main character is Tachibana Yuu, an idol and Aizawa Ryuunosuke (from vol.4) his younger brother.

Because Yuu is a selfish brat, he tends to switch managers a lot. Between two of them you're assigned as a temporary manager. And thus you have to listen to Yuu his every demand and whim. In the beginning he keeps complaining that you can't do a thing, but slowly he gets used to you.

If you've read more of my reviews you might know that brats and overly genki types are not my type. Still I enjoyed this volume. Especially listening to all of the silly things that you do for Yuu. When he says on a whim that he wants Cream Soda you somehow go and get it, etc. However Yuu also has his own problems, he is convinced that people only like him because of his face and his (fake) genki personality.

Like the first four volumes this one is couples with another CD, in this case vol.6. Kaga Kazuomi, the character for vol.6, has a kimono store and provides the kimono's for one of Yuu his photo-shoots. Where Yuu is the one ordering everyone around usually, Kaga-san is the only one who gets to boss Yuu around the place.

What I loved most about the free talk is the sound of Namikawa-san his voice dropping immensely (≧▽≦) and the comment that he thanks the staff for giving him a character that is 20 (while he was 33 at the time).


Conclusion:
Despite being my least favorite type of character (and Namikawa-san is with me on that, just listen to the free talk (≧▽≦) this was a very enjoyable story. I can't take Yuu seriously as a potential boyfriend, but the story is very entertaining.

DAISUKE! ~聖なるバレンタインと、キミだけのボクら~

DAISUKE! ~sei naru Valentine to kimi dake no bokura~

DAISUKE! is a cd in which all characters and their seiyuu have 'Daisuke' as their first name. The setting is the bar 'Dice' (Japanese: daisu) which is ran by Akagi Daisuke (CV: Ono Daisuke) and somehow seems to be a gathering point for people with Daisuke in their name. The heroine (ie: you) enters the place to take shelter from the rain and you end up spending your valentine with them. There is a short introductionary talk and then a track in which they imagine going on a date with you for each 'Daisuke'.


What is not to love about a CD which has all of these wonderful seiyuu? I love Hirakawa and Ono Daisuke, know Namikawa Daisuke and Kishio Daisuke fairly well and like them, Sakaguchi Daisuke was the only one I didn't know. But either way, for me this CD was already a hit before I even listened to it.  I'll make a sort review for each of the characters.

Also, am I the only one who melts at the cover?


When you enter one of the part-timers, Wakaba Daisuke (CV: Namikawa Daisuke), welcomes you. Moments later the owner, Akagi Daisuke enters. Turns out he is an incredible womanizer and immediately starts to hit on you, which ends in him picturing a date on a motorcycle. His character is slightly perverted but not in an annoying way, I just can't hate him for it xD The date actually seemed like a lot of fun.

After this first figment of imagination has passed the clumsy salaryman Yamabuki Daisuke (Kishio Daisuke) enters the shop. He is a failure as salaryman, but is working hard to save up for a wedding and money to start a family. The only problem is that he doesn't have a girlfriend yet, but he quickly declares you his 'fated partner'. On his 'date' you go and look at a possible wedding site. I found his character somewhat annoying, but that could be partly because of the way he speaks.

Next is Wakaba Daisuke his story. He admits that he likes cooking and is rather homely, so his date is a date in his room. Which brings us to the absolute most brilliant moment in the CD. Wakadaisuke has a cat, voiced by Ono Daisuke. And OnoD his cat imitation is so bad its hilarious, but the best part is that in the middle of his cat act he switches into Sebastian Mode. HE SWITCHES INTO FULL BUTLER MODE and then continues his cat act xD

Next up is Touma Daisuke (CV: Sakaguchi Daisuke) who is the second part-timer, an underclassman to Wakadaisuke and the youngest of the bunch (18). You go on a date to the amusement park. Maybe because I tend to dislike the kouhai type, or that his cheeky and cheery voice is just too cheeky and cheery, but I didn't like him at all. He almost sounds like a girl while on the roller-coaster o.O

Finally we meet Kurokawa Daisuke (CV: Hirakawa Daisuke - HA! Hirokawa is the main dish 8D Sorry, just ignore my fangirling). Kurokawa is a 32 year old successful celeb IT manager, complete with awesome sports car. Who is also allergic to cats xD As much as I like Hirakawa Daisuke I didn't really like his voice here, it somehow felt forced. But I'm a fangirl so I forgive him almost anything. His part is much to short, BUT he is the only one who actually kisses you 8D

The freetalk is hilarious, if a bit chaotic. They also start to talk about the kanji in the naming (both of the characters and their actual names) so if you don't know much about that it might be very hard to follow. OnoD also does his cat interpretation again, with the rest making fun of him xD

This CD is great because of the cast and the pure overload in 'Daisuke'. The 'story' (if you can call it that) is a bit far fetched but the imagination parts are funny, as are the interactions of all various 'Daisuke'. And to be honest, the entire Ono Daisuke cat-goes-Sebastian-act ALONE makes this worth listening to it.