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.

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).

Disney - Koe no Oujisama Vol.2

ディズニー 声の王子様第2章～Love Stories～

Company: DisneyBased on: Disney song covers
Released: 2012.09.19
Official site: http://www.disney.co.jp/records/DLS/


This CD is all about popular seiyuu singing various Disney songs. The theme this time is love stories, although only some of the songs fit that theme. Other.... not so much. There are two versions: a regular edition that has only one CD, but an extra track that isn't on the limited edition. The limited edition on the other hand, has a second CD with duet songs.

Normally I'm not that much of a fan of seiyuu songs (with some exceptions) but this was just too interesting to pass up on. I'll review the CD track-by-track.

01. 白雪姫 ―朗読― (Snow White -Reading-) / Ishida Akira
This is a reading of Snow White (Disney version) done by Ishida-san. They did a good job of condensing the entire movie into just 20min of talking, although sometimes the lines that Ishida-san voiced as one of the characters seemed a tiny bit random. What I absolutely loved though is that they seem to have used the actual music from the movie. My nostalgia meters went to the max hearing some of the BGMs, and I instantly remembered the scenes from the movie. So all in all, a very good reading.

02. ハイ・ホー (Heigh-Ho)(Snow White) / Kamiya Hiroshi.
This song is so addictive!! I had completely forgotten about the first part of the song, so I hardly recognised it in the beginning (not to mention that the lyrics are completely different than in the original English version xD). But this song is so cheerful an addictive. Really, when you listen to it you become all cheerful and you just to have to sing along. One of my favourite ones.

03. キス・ザ・ガール (Kiss the Girl) (Little Mermaid) / Shimono Hiro
I predicted that this would be one of the cutest things ever - and it is. The entire song becomes so cute, and I love the arrangement. But more than anything: it is so incredibly cuuuuttteeeeee. That is all that needs to be said.

04. ユール・ビー・イン・マイ・ハート(you'll be in my heart) / Seki Tomokazu.
Was Seki Tomokazu his voice this high? I feel like I'm mixing the images of the different Seki's in my head. This is a good song, but the original has been locked into my heart so deep that there is simply no way that it can compare to that. But it is still good.

05. ララルー (Lalalu)(Lady and the Tramp) / Sakurai Takahiro
In case you are wondering, this is the lullaby from Lady and the Tramp. No idea whether it was written for the movie or already existed though. As cute as this song is, and no matter how much I love Sakurai his voice, singing doesn't seem to be his forte. But this is Sakurai singing a lullaby, so all my arguments are invalid, even against myself xD

06. 愛のうたごえ (Love is a Song)(Bambi) / Midorikawa Hikaru
I'll have to admit that I only saw Bambi once when I was very little, and I have as good as no memories about it. So obviously I don't remember thing song either. As a result it has no nostalgia value what-so-ever, which has the end result that I don't really like it. Least favourite song on the CD.

07. ベラ・ノッテ (Bella Notte)(Lady and the Tramp) / Okiayu Ryoutarou
This song is perfection. Sue me, but it is. The arrangement is beautiful, but even more than that Okiayu-san his voice is perfect for this kind of song. Definitely my favourite song on the entire CD.

08. いつでも一緒 (Good Company)(Oliver&Co) / Okamoto Nobuhiko
Cuteness attack number two. What I love is that the music breaks into an semi-epic arrangement somewhere halfway though, and then returns to the simple piano tune to repeat the beginning again. But as can be expected from Okamoto: cuteness all over the place.

09. グレイト・スピリット (Great Spirit) / Yamadera Kouichi
Yamadera-san seems to be getting all the truly epic songs (he did The Circle of Life on the first Koe no Oujisama). He gets away with it though. He really has a good singing voice for these kind of songs, although my real surprise came on disc 2. I can't recall the original song (besides it being epic) but I love this one anyway.

10. 塔の上のラプンツェル ―朗読― (Tangled -reading-) / Yamadera Kouichi
As good as the first one was, this one felt far too hasty. I almost ran out of breath just listening to it. I'd also like to ask how much someone who hasn't seen the movie actually understands what is going on, because I don't think it is the most logical way of telling the story either. What really surprised me is that they used the original English version of the healing incantation ("Flower gleam and glow, let your power shine", etc). It sort of felt out of place, although it is a very pretty song. If they would have cut all the lines that Yamadera-san reads in character, I think they could have avoided the rushed feeling that the story has now.


Like I said, the second disc is full of duet songs. It has only four songs, but they are each featured three times: the first time it is a normal duet between two seiyuu, the other two are like karaoke versions in which you yourself can sing a duet with one of the seiyuu. I'll only review each song once though.


01. 美女と野獣 (Beauty and the Beast) / Seki Tomokazu & Okiayu Ryoutarou
They somehow managed to turn this song into a duet. Seki-san his part is amazing, he nearly makes a convincing woman here. Unfortunately their voices don't really seem to match... Okiayu-san his voice sounds far too low in the duet version, but in the version with him alone it doesn't feel unnatural at all.

02. ハクナ・マタタ (Hakuna Matata) / Shimono Hiro & Okamoto Nobuhiko
Cuteness overload here. One of them sings Timon and the other Pumba, and they switch roles and repeat the song halfway though. Unfortunately, neither of them makes a convincing Pumba xD. And they left out some of the jokes, which is a pity. The refrain is incredibly cute and catchy though. Trying to sing along in one of the karaoke versions is a bit tricky due to there not really being a melody.

03. 輝く未来 (I see the Light - Tangled) / Midorikawa Hikaru & Sakurai Takahiro
This time it is Midorikawa his turn to sing a female role. Which he does rather convincing. Maybe this is because I love the original too much, but Sakurai his voice seems a bit to high for his part. In this song it also more obvious that singing isn't really his thing. Also, in the duet version it doesn't stand out too much but in his solo version you can clearly hear him going "sekaIIII ga maru de..." xD As far as the love songs go, this is one of the better ones though.

04. みんなネコになりたいのさ (Everybody wants to be a cat) / Yamadera Kouichi x2
This is the song that completely blew my mind. Not just because it has an amazing arrangement and I love this kind of jazzy music, but because I would have never guessed that this is sang by one person (although I'm not sure about the voice of Marie -the little cat- in the end...). I swear, one of the singing voices could be a convincing imitation of Louis Armstrong, while the other one is completely normal. If you compare all the different tracks in which Yamadera-san speaks/sings they all seem so different it just amazes me.



I like most of the songs. I still think that most seiyuu -save for some exceptions- aren't the best singers, but the fact that these are all Disney songs, nice arrangements, and/or just incredibly cute makes up for that. Some of these songs are just so cute and addictive I can't help but to love them

Oujisama (warai) ~Oujisama to Niwa no Himegimi~

There won't be a newspost for last week because I simply can't find the time to write it, and I'm already 3 days late anyway, sorry about that. Meanwhile, I'm catching up on some older releases that still need to be reviewed.

王子様（笑）シリーズ　ドラマＣＤ ～王子様と二羽の姫君～

Company: Frontierworks

Based on: Fairytale

Released: 2012.04.19

Official Site: http://www.fwinc.co.jp/princewww

The 'Oujisama (warai)' series re-imagines various well know fairy tales. The stories are told from the perspective of the prince and in a rather hilarious way. This time it is the story from the Swam Lake (the ballet, yes that one) that gets a re-make.

 We first hear the prince from the swan lake (henceforth Hakuchou, CV: Yusa Kouji) vow his eternal love to an unknown princess, after that we switch to Sleeping Beauty (CV: Onosaka Masaya), the Emperor (CV: Okiayu Ryoutarou), and Rapunzel (CV: Ishida Akira) being summoned to a neighbouring country. None of them know why they are called, and the Emperor at first only complains about the situation. Turns out that Hakuchou his younger brother (henceforth: Otouto, CV: Takemoto Eiji) invited them because he needs their help with a problem.

ps: the main prince does have a name (Siegfried) but at the end Rapunzel declares he will be ‘Hakuchou’ (swan) from now on, so I’m using that name.

It just so happens that the princess Hakuchou claims is his ‘true love’ is not entirely human: she turns into a swan during the day. Otouto heard that the other princes have some experience in dealing with weird things and hopes that they can help him, none of them thinks that this is a problem at all, as long as they love each other.

Complications arise however, when two identical princesses show up soon after. To determine which one of them is the ‘real’ princess, Hakuchou decides to hold a contest. With quizzes, and weird tasks like limbo dancing. And this, as it turns out, has happened numerou times before. Hakuchou keeps getting engaged, and then holds a contest like this to test her love. Eventually Otouto can’t take it anymore, and drags one of the two princesses away (and promptly falls in love with her)...

Despite the title, I feel like the other princes feature more than the titular Hakuchou. The characters also comment on this in the zadankai track. Hakuchou is a pretty weak and character (both in physique and personality wise) so it is no wonder he is overshadowed by the other -more colourful- characters. I do think that he is an interesting addition to the mix though, as his actions give the rest the opportunity to create hilarious conversations.

As always, we have the Emperor lamenting the loss of his Kaguya-hime, and proclaiming that she is not an alien, Ibara explaining everything and everyone in RPG terms, and Rapunzel proclaiming that love and family are the most important things in the world. The princes from the other CD’s are referenced at different points in the story. Not to mention that at several points the fourth wall is smashed to pieces when various characters blatantly state that this is a drama CD series (with the most brilliant one being Rapunzel stating that this is the first time that he and the Emperor meet in ‘a proper drama CD’).

The zadankai track almost removes the fourth wall completely. In the beginning Otouto is incredibly happy about the fact that he is allowed to participate in the zadankai (because Takemoto-san always voices side characters he was never featured, except for the one time as Genie, when Aladdin orders him to get more drinks). After that however they switch to discussing how long the series will continue, whether there will be more reading CD’s and so on.

In the (long) freetalk everyone talks a bit about the recording, and the topic “something you can’t decide [on]”. It is pretty hilarious how almost everyone says they have problems deciding what to eat, or which restaurant to enter when they are with others. (Takemoto-san mentions not being able to choose whether he likes dogs or cats more, and Onosaka-san says he often can’t decide between two things while shopping and then ends up buying both). The best part was Onosaka-san complaining about having to record on his own again. His solution is that Takemoto-san should just be in every recording -because he has lots of free time anyway- so that the interaction with the other characters sounds better.

Conclusion:
The titular prince was a bit overshadowed by the rest of the characters, but the series is as good and funny as always so it doesn’t really matter. I loved that Takemoto-san has a more proactive role in this CD, instead of just being ‘the servant’ (although I missed the running joke where people mistake him for different roles).

Shimekiri CD ~Konya ha Nemurasenai~

〆切CD　今夜は眠らせない

Company: Sherry Topaz
Based on: Original
Released: 2012.03.28
Official site: http://www.sherry-topaz.com/new/2nd/index.html


Shimekiri  is a CD to keep you awake while you have to work an all-nighter to make a deadline. The concept is that there is an bureau called "Midnight Agency" that send people to help you stay awake. Oshikiri Mamoru and Shimeno Susumu are two such agents, and they are here to keep you awake tonight.

The CD is roughly divided into three parts; one part with Mamoru (CV: Okiayu Ryoutarou), on part with Susumu (CV: Konishi Katsuyuki), and the epilogue where both of them try too keep you awake. In each part they are visiting a different client. One of the first things I noticed was the incredibly long tracklist (71 tracks!!) which as it turned out, is due to the CD consisting mostly of very short tracks.

The CD begins with a small prologue, just before both of them start their work day. Susumu is teasing Mamoru a bit about how he is actually very soft (because Mamoru sent a client that had failed her deadline a cake to cheer her up). After that Mamoru his oart starts.

Mamoru begins by explaining his work (helping you in keeping awake and working,) and also explains that during this time making sure you keep the deadline has priority so if necessary he might be very strict. So he also warns you that there is no point in crying xD

Throughout his tracks you really notice that Mamoru tries to be strict, but is actually very sweet. If you do something unexpected he doesn't know how to handle it and generally gives in. One of the cutest moments is when he finds a picture of your pet (I'm assuming a small dog) and he gets all flustered and offers to take care of it next time when you have a deadline. Somewhere near the end he suddenly acts out a power rangers scenario where he defeats the evil sleep-man so that you can continue working.

After Mamoru his part is finished, Susumu his part starts. He is visiting a client where he has been a couple of times. My guess is a managaka or doujinka, and judging from his reaction to your work possibly BL. Susumu is actually quite the opposite of Mamoru, he starts out very sweet, but if you keep refusing to work he becomes very strict. He also gets a parody track, where he becomes Shimekiri Knight, and needs to rescue the princess from the evil King Sleep.

This CD was quite different from what I expected. I somehow thought it would have some sort of a story part. Like on of them coming to your place to keep you awake, and eventually starting to like you, but that is not at all the case. Both of them have a long list of short tracks (34 of them) which are all short scenes or them doing something to keep you awake. None of these tracks are really connected, and some of them are really short (like 10 seconds or so).

In both cases you do notice some progress in the situation though. Both of them start with just watching you, then they comment on small things like leaving your cellphone alone or telling you to focus again, and eventually you really start to fall asleep/ don't want to continue anymore so they turn to more creative ways to keep you awake, and eventually you reach the parody track.

In the epilogue both of them are working on a case together. This is where Susumu really goes all cold on you when you refuse to work and just want to sleep, and Mamoru is almost panicking and trying to get you to work again so that Susumu calms down. It ends with all of you falling asleep together.

My favourite tracks are track 18, where Mamoru finds out about your pet. Track 25, where Mamoru starts singing softly, and then suddenly switches to saying "if you sleep you will die". Track 58, where Susumu tells a weird version of sleeping beauty. Track 59, where Susumu goes Bancho Sarayashiki on you. And the parody tracks (34 and 66)

The freetalk is done by Okiayu-san and Konishi-san together. Konishi-san begins by explaining his character his name, because the way it is written is apparently unusual (I really wouldn't know). Both of them talk a bit about whether people really have that many deadlines, because at first they can only think of people like mangaka or writers when it comes to deadlines.

After that they talk a bit about the theatrical group Konoshi-san is with, and how they used to practice until really really late (or all night). And how Seki Tomokazu would sometimes look really really pale when working night after night on a script. After that the conversation changes to gaming, and while they are talking about that they run out of time, so they hope that there will be another CD so that they can continue the talk xD


Conclusion:
This CD was different from what I expected, but still a lot of fun to listen to. If you are going to use it to actually stay awake, I'd recommended ripping it and mixing the tracks with a playlist of other things, because listening to all of them at once might be a bit much.

O.To.Na Gentei oTogame CD Penalty II

オ・ト・ナ限定 お咎めCD Penalty II

Company: Colombia
Based on: Original
Released: 2012.02.29
Official Site: http://columbia.jp/otonagentei/


Otogame CD is a series in which the characters 'scold' you. That is, in a loving way. The kind of things you say to a person because you care about them, like "don't be out late at night, something could happen". Each CD has two characters, in the second vol we have a employee of an advertising company, and a university student.

Like I said, the characters scold you, but not in an agry kind of way. It is actually really cute to hear. Each character has 5 tracks, all of them depicting a different situation. Just like in the Kanbyou CD's, there is very little that could be considered 'adult only', despite the title.

The first character, Touma (CV: Okiayu Ryoutarou) seems to be your childhood friend. You're not dating, but he is obviously interested in you, and always there when you need him. In the first track he is telling you off for always immediately buying what you want (especially because he was planning to buy some of it for you).

The second story was the most hilarious one. You are drunk and he is bringing you home. Apparently you are so drunk you walk straight into a street lamp. Touma is real sweet to you though. In the other three tracks he talks to you about your work, comes to your aid when you were confessed to (he comes to an amusement park just because you called him!) and in the last track he is... checking on you in the bath (and things get awkward)

The second character, Keigo (CV:Toriumi Kousuke), is a university student and your actual boyfriend. Keigo seems to like teasing you. A lot. To be honest, I felt like his tracks were more about teasing than scolding you. Like how he is teasing you about how your diets never work. Not to mention that he has you acting like a dog for almost an entire track to too teach you something about being honest.

Where Touma is always there for you, Keigo seems to be more into teasing you. A bit too much if you ask me. Still, thanks to the dummy head mic having Toriumi Kousuke whisper certain things right next to your ear is still tempting enough.


Conclusion:
I liked the first CD better, but especially Okiayu Ryoutarou his part is really nice. Keigo simply teases you a  bit too much. Just like before there isn't much 'otona gentei', though I am not sure whether being treated like a dog would fall under that.

Fujoshi no Mikata

腐女子のミカタ

Company: Motto! Entertainment.
Based on: Fujoshi?
Released: 2012.03.21
Official Site: http://www.movic.co.jp/book/radio/fujoshi/index.html

Fujoshi no totsugu kata (How to marry when you're a fujoshi) was a CD is that you have been proposed to, but you hadn't told your boyfriend that you are a fujoshi yet. Just as you're were wondering what to do 5 butlers appear and claim that they want to help you. This time the situation is not that dire, but the fujoshi all over the world Japan are in trouble, and our 6 butlers are here to help again.

Unlike the first CD, where one butler was your main help in each track, they all try to help you this time. The butlers are still the same: The cool Aoi Ryuuji (CV: Toriumi Kousuke), The hotheaded Akagi Eichi (CV: Sakurai Takahiro) , the princely Midoriyama Shion (CV: Okiayu Ryoutarou), the no-longer-trainee-but-now-novice Kikawa Miki (CV: Ishida Akira), the sadistic Kurosaki Goro (CV: Yusa Kouji), and -now actually there from the beginning- the legendary Goshirakawa (CV: Kondo Takashi).

They are holding a meeting on how to help fujoshi all over the country, when the emergency bell rings. Arriving on scene to find their client collapsed, a re-enactment of a highschool club scenario helps them to get our victim revived. The problem is the lack of Moe in the workplace, so our butlers come up with all kinds of strategies. From the subtle use of small fandom-items such a straps and catchphrases to carefully find out whether there are any other fujoshi in your office, to shipping your co-workers for personal moe.

The second problem is what to do when you want to confess to someone, so they practice various -and mostly unrealistic- confession scenes with you, and tell you not to worry in case your confession is refused. (if someone were to comfort me like that, I am almost hoping I'd get refused).

In the third track they think of all kinds of things that could be wrong, and of course their client has all of these problems (a deadline for a doujinshi, no more space to put things, no space on her harddrive, etc). The main problem however is the deadline. They come up with a nice little cardgame to decide pairing. There are cards that describe someone their job and age (student, salaryman, etc) and cards with personalities on them, you draw two of each to decide what your main characters are going to be. (How exactly you are going to make those pairings work is left in the middle).

In the fourth track their client has money problems, so they come up with all kinds of ways to save on money, and how to do a job interview. Still, you might not want to follow Kurosaki his instructions to answer "69" when asked what your favourite number is. The best part is probably when say raising vegetables on your balcony to save money, and eventually gijinka (personify) them, giving al of them fitting but hilarious personalities).

In the last case their client is having troubles studying for her exams. The idea here is to lock all your stuff away and seal it with something of your favourite fandom that you would have to break to reach your stuff, so that you really think twice before you open it again. After that they give some tips on how to make your studying more moe, and turn the arrival of Perry his ships and the opening of Japan INTO A BL SCENE. Ok, just really suggestive phrasing, but it is hilarious none the less. Also, they declare maths to be tsundere.

In the final track they all say some moe lines, go Power Rangers on us again, and say that they will always be there to help a fujoshi in need.

Just like before I've been laughing far too much thanks to this CD. Although I really did miss a lot of references this time. I knew when a reference was being made, but I just couldn't tell of what of who it was. Like in the first track they use a lot of catchphrases, and I know a lot of those, but I don't know who they belong to.

Our butlers have picked up a new little trick too; saying "Oui Monsieur" whenever they follow someone their instructions. It is a bit butchered and just made me giggle like an idiot, but it is funny none the less.


Conclusion:
You might really have to be a bit of a fujoshi to really enjoy this. Then again, if you know enough of the lifestyle like myself it is still plenty of fun. The solutions they come up with are still hilarious (gijinka fruits and veggies, really? Someone make me this please xD) and you can't really go wrong with that many butlers in one CD to begin with.

Oujisama (warai) Variety Drama 2nd Season.

After all the Yandere, it is time for something light hearted. And what better than my favourite princes?

王子様(笑)シリーズ バラエティドラマCD 2nd Season

Company: Frontierworks
Based on: Original
Released: 2012.01.25
Official Site: http://www.fwinc.co.jp/princewww

Oujisama (warai) re-tells the story from several well known fairy tales from the perspective of the prince. This time however the princes go on a vacation, or at least that was the plan. The princes in this CD are Aladdin (CV: Miyano Mamoru), Genji (CV: Yoshino Hiroyuki), The Emperor (from Taketori Monogatari, CV: Okiayu Ryoutarou), and the Frog Prince (henceforth know as Kaeru, CV: Sugita Tomokazu). Of course Takemoto Eiji is also present, as every other role.

The plan was for all of the princes to go on a winter holiday, but all of them find it much to cold to do anything, so eventually all of them (except for the emperor) end up doing nothing while sitting under a kotatsu. While three of the princes are spending their time relaxing, the Emperor is talking with the Narrator (CV: Takemoto Eiji, of course) about what they could do.

The narrator suggests doing something with Christmas, however none of the princes know anything about Christmas, resulting in everyone giving their own hilarious misunderstood version of Christmas, but in the end nothing much happens.

Eventually, they do find something to do: Yaminabe.
Yaminabe is a sort of nabe where everyone puts something in the dish, but you don't show the others what it is. The joke is that everyone usually brings unusual foodstuffs, and that you have to eat whatever you get. This can get pretty disgusting (trust me).

The princes have two rounds in which each of them have to eat something. Some of these are pretty hilarious, such as Genji putting frog legs, or the Emperor putting konyaku (which really does taste like nothing, which is exactly why it tastes so weird) in the mix.

Afterwards all of them end up looking through all kinds of fairytale books in order too find a type of magic that can bring Kaguya-hime back from the moon (cue the Emperor saying that Kaguya-hime is not an alien countless times). Of course all of the fairytales they talk about are in some way misunderstood or simplified far too much. Eventually they talk about going to the Wizard of Oz.

During all of this, Genji manages to annoy the rest so much that they want to teach him a lesson. And thus they take him to a spring where a fairy appears (the say that is a goddes to Genji, but it turns out to be a guy). If you drop something into the spring, the fairy asks you what you dropped and offers you something better. If you refuse that and say what you actually dropped you receive one of the better items.

And so, they throw Genji into the spring, and receive a Genji with better manners in return (the way Genji his personality is described is briliant, I don't think I've ever heard so many negative character traits together). However it soon turns out that this new Genji isn't exactly what they hoped for either...

Between the main story are short tracks depicting how each prince spends their everyday life. Of course all of them spends their days in rather strange ways.

Especially the first part is a 100% winter story. Relaxing under a kotatsu which is so comfortable you don't ever want to get out of it, and eating nabe sounds like 100% winter in Japan to me. The atmosphere is also one of being lazy and doing absolutely nothing. The kind of thing that makes me want to huddle in a blanket as well. Although the Yaminabe part is pretty hilarious, their reactions to the food are just too much fun.

Personally, the part where they discuss all of the fairytales was ok, but not that special to me. But the entire thing with Genji getting a different personality was pure gold. I don't remember where I know the whole fairy in a spring thing from though (except for maybe the Legend of Zelda). Genji his new personality is in a way just as annoying as his old one.

I'm still not very used to Kaeru being there, but his conviction that his princess is just a tsundere whenever she refuses his romantic advances is hilarious. He actually calls it "play", causing Genji to remark that things like that are dangerous when they become habit, and Aladdin to wonder what kind of experiences Genji has.

In the cast talk everyone talks about how they spend their winter. Which is mostly talk about wintersport. Miyano-san gets very excited in his explanations, and apparently makes some incredibly funny faces while doing so.


Conclusion:
While I didn't laugh as much as with other CD's in the series, I still had a lot of fun listening to this. Somehow I just like the other princes (especially Cinderella and Snow White) a lot more, although I do love Aladdin.

Oujisama (warai) Yomikatari CD Vol.2

王子様（笑）シリーズ 読み語りCD ～君に捧ぐ物語～ 第2集

Company: Frontierworks
Based on: Fairy tales
Released: 2011.01.26
Official Site: http://www.fwinc.co.jp/princewww/


The original 2 entries to the Oujisama (warai) series told re-imagined version of a few well known fairy tales. The yomikatari CDs are a sort of spin-off CDs in which the princes from the main series read their own fairytale to you, but not without making side remarks.

This is paired with the second CD and has the princes from that CD read their own story, while the other two keep interupting and commenting on the story.

First up is Aladdin (CV: Miyano Mamoru) who starts by trying to read out the entire story of 1001 nights (the story of Aladdin is actually one of the stories told by Scheherazade) but the other two stop him and get him to tell only his own story. I have to admit, I only know the Disney version, so this had some surprises for me as well.

Next up is the Emperor from Taketori Monogatari, who reads his own story. He gets through the story fairly ok, but becomes so heartbroken by the end that he drowns his sorrows and ends up completely drunk. Aladdin also tends to remark on the fact that "your country is very strange at times". (Both the Emperor and Genji are from Japan, and the cultural differences between them and Aladdin were already used for humour in the main series).

Finally we have Genji (CV: Yoshino Hiroyuki), who intends to read all 54 chapters of the story, but the (now completely drunk) Emperor tells him to tell an abridged version. Aladdin is mostly saying that Japanese culture is still strange, and the Emperor his drunk remarks are brilliant too. The best thing however, was Genji comparing all of the female characters from his story with anime archetypes like tsundere and yandere, ending with Murasaki as a lolicon xD

Come to think of it, this is the second time the Emperor gets drunk (he also did that in the zadankai of the vol.2) but he wasn't half as drunk that time as he is now xD That the Genie (CV: Takemoto Eiji) also made an appearance was a nice surprise, even though he mostly just feeds the emperor more alcohol.

The seiyuu all make a separate cast comment, making me wonder whether they actually recorded this all separately. If they did they did a really good job on making it sounds natural, at least to me it sounds as if they were all together.


Conclusion:
Just like the first yomikatari CD, this is only funny to listen to if you know the original CD (or otherwise you'll miss out on a lot of in-jokes). But just like the first on it is pretty short (only 30min) so if you have heard the first one it is perfect as a snack. On the other hand, you can also argue that that makes it relatively expensive. I really do hope that they will make a third CD like this now that we have 9 princes.

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<)

Fujoshi no Totsugikata

腐女子の嫁ぎ方

Company: Motto! Entertainment.
Based on: Fujoshi?
Released: 2011.09.22


Fujoshi no totsugu kata (How to marry when you're a fujoshi) is a CD for all the fujoshi in the world,  Whether you are into BL or a game otaku. The concept of the CD is that you have been proposed to, but you haven't told your boyfriend that you are a fujoshi yet. Just as you're wondering what to do 5 butlers appear and claim that they want to help you.

The first track introduces all of the characters, and each one of them has a different approach as to what to do. Depending on what you want to do you can go to a specific track. Or listen to all of them of course. In each track one butler takes the lead, while all of them discuss on what to do. The choices are as follows:

track 2: hide that you are a fujoshi (Aoi Ryuuji)
track 3: you're not sure whether this is true love (Kikawa Miki)
track 4: admit that you are a fujoshi (Midoriyama Shion)
track 5: convince your husband to become a fudanshi (Akagi Eiichi)
track 6: give up being a fujoshi (Kurosaki Goro)

The first choice is to hide the fact that you are a fujoshi, but continue being one. Aoi Ryuuji (CV: Toriumi Kousuke) is the one to guide you in this. The solutions that he offers are actually quite possible. So everyone looking to hide their fujoshi side, give it a listen xD I had to laugh so hard at the remark of making game related comments while cutting onions, and the training on how what to answer in difficult situations.

The second option is that doubting whether you want to give up being a fujoshi probably means that this is not true love, so you decide not to marry. Your butler this time is Kikawa Miki (CV: Ishida Akira) who describes himself as a "younger brother / puppy" type. This was my least favorite track personally. Note the references to Shuukan Soine and Hitsuji de Oyasumi.

The next choice is to confess that you are a fujoshi, and in this you are guided by Midoriyama Shion (CV: Okiayu Ryoutarou). His reactions and voice are so wonderfully over dramatic. One of the best things about the track is that the first part takes place in your...bathroom. That and some of the solutions to possible problems are hilarious.

The next choice is not only confessing that you are a fujoshi, but going so far as to turn your husband into a fudanshi. The hotheaded Akagi Eichi (CV: Sakurai Takahiro) is the one to guide you in this. Some blatant karami jokes are made here, and most of the solutions are unrealistic but it is hilarious. It is sad that the track is so short compared to the rest. (Also, Prince of Tennis and Lupin the 3rd references)

The last option is giving up being a fujoshi all together, and the sadistic butler Kurosaki Goro (CV: Yusa Kouji) is the one to train and torture you to get so far. But in the end he too shows compassion, saying that doing this for love is admirable but that you should also think about yourself and being a fujoshi is part of who you are. And you can't miss it, but they use the famous line from Kuroshitsuji here. As well as making a tokusatsu (think power rangers) parody.

Finally, after all problems have been solved, the elusive white butler Goshirakawa (CV: Kondo Takeshi) turns up... and is first turned into a punch bag due to a slight misunderstanding. More parodies on tokusatsu follow. The final track has all of the butlers say one last (cliché) line to you before they leave.

This is one of the most hilarious CD's that I've listened to lately. The seiyuu were clearly having fun recording this, which makes it a lot of fun to listen to. All of the references to various games, manga, anime, novels, and whatmore make it all the more enjoyable, though I'm sure I've missed half of them.


Conclusion:
You don't have to be a fujoshi to enjoy this, though you'll need to understand fujoshi/otaku life a bit for it to have to maximum effect. It is a hilarious work for everyone and if you get the chance you should definitely listen to it.

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<)

Warumono (warai) series: Wataru Sekai wa Oni Darake

わるもの（笑）シリーズ　渡る世間は鬼だらけ

Company: Frontierworks
Based on: Japanese folklore
Released: 2011.09.22
Official Site: http://www.fwinc.co.jp/www/

After the Oujisama (warai) and Meisaku Bungaku (warai) series we now also have the Warumono (warai) series. This time the so called 'bad guys' are in the spotlight, and this first vol. starts with the Oni (demons) from various stories.

The Aka-Oni (from Momotarou, CV: Fujiwara Keiji), Ki-Oni (from Issun Boushi, CV: Okiayu Ryoutarou) and Ao-Oni (CV: Konishi Katsuyuki) are meeting at a karaoke bar to hang out. Apparently the've booked some kind of special arrangement where they can play the handheld game "Momotarou Quest 2" for some time (instead of actually doing Karaoke xD)

The Aka-Oni thinks it is absurd that they are playing a game in which they have to try and beat themselves, but the others seem fine with it. From here on the story switches between one of the demons telling his story about how it actually happened (as opposed to the legend) and the three of them sitting in the karaoke bar, sometimes joined by one of the employees (CV: Sakurai Takahiro, who also voices all of the heroes btw).

The Aka-Oni his story is that they never took any gold, and that the village was simply enjoying slow-life when Momotarou came barging in and demanding gold, the Ki-Oni his story is that he and Issun Boushi were actually friends who fell in love with the same girl, the Ao-Oni tells how his attempt to convince people that Oni don't eat children backfired.

The original folklore stories are twisted brilliantly, as expected from the series. Like Fujiwara-san explains in the cast talk, the aim is not to make you cry with laughter, but to make you smile every few minutes, so don't expect any extremely funny moments but in overall it is very amusing. Some of the things I loved were the reference to Urusei Yatsura and when they are talking about how Oni are different from humans (as they look almost the same) and that they conclude that Oni are simply extremely weak.

Another nice touch is the final track, where the employee returns to the staff room and is talking with a colleague. As it turns out he might not be just a normal employee...

The cast talk was pretty funny. Sakurai and Fujiwara-san their part is semi-serious, but Konishi-san and Okiayu-san mostly go on about how they want "Momotarou Quest" to become an actual game xD Interestingly enough, they mention that there might be another with all of the Oni. But no details on whether that are just speculations or that there are actually plans for more entries to the warumono (warai) series...


Conclusion:
Another nice work by the people behind the warai series. Like I said, no laughing out loud, but it is guaranteed to put a smile on your face. That is all there is to say really (^-^;;)

Oujisama (warai) series vol.02

王子様(笑)シリーズ ドラマCD 第2巻

Company: Frontierworks
Based on: Fairy tales
Released: 2010.06.23
Official Site: http://www.fwinc.co.jp/princewww/princewww.php


Oujisama (warai) re-tells the story from several well known fairy tales from the perspective of the prince. Only... somewhere along the way things changed a little bit. This second vol has three new stories: Aladdin, Taketori Monogatari, and the Genji Monogatari. This time the princes actually have a name, which makes reviewing a lot easier xD

In the first story Aladdin (CV: Miyano Mamoru) has to find the magical lamp for a magician. However he gets stuck in the magic cave with no way out. When Aladdin tries to clean the lamp to read some faded inscriptions on it the genie of the lamp comes out and promises to do anything Aladdin says. Aladdin plans to have the genie kidnap the princess of the country so that he can 'save' her and marry her.

Miyano Mamoru his character saying "I will build anew world"= Death Note Raito?! Was all I could think for a while. No "it's a whole new world" romances here, just Raito Aladdin planning to improve the world by setting up a scheme to marry the princess and become the new king. Hihi, this makes the story a lot more interesting.

The second story is Taketori Monogatari (sometimes known as Kaguya-hime) from the perspective of the Emperor (CV: Okiayu Ryoutarou). Rumours of Kaguya-hime her beauty have reached the capital, and many important figures are competing for her hand. The Emperor feels that she is causing too much trouble and travels to her residence to make sure this stops, but of course he also falls in love.

There isn't much to say about this story accept that... it actually fits?! A few expressions aside, this could actually be the other side to Kaguya-hime her story.

However the third story makes up for this almost-serious story. Genji (CV: Yoshino Hiroyuki) is technically a player even in the actual Genji Monogatari, but is this story he actually sounds like one. Genji want to raise the (still 6year old) Murasaki into the perfect bride, and his rather strange way of getting this done. But especially the way Genji talks is just brilliant.

Like in the first CD there is a zadankai in which the three characters talk with each other. Genji treating the Emperor as his older brother is brilliant. They mostly talk about how they met their respective princesses (kidnapping in two cases) and they keep calling Kaguya-hime an alien.

The freetalk starts with Takemoto Eiji (who once again played the servant in every story) introducing Miyano and Okiayu-san. Like in the first CD the topic is 'a fateful encounter'. The discussion is going absolutely nowhere but they sound like they are having fun. Again the freetalk is done in two parts, with the second part done by Yoshino Hiroyuki and Takemoto Eiji (again)


Conclusion:
Again: Hilarious, Brilliant. I like this one even better than the first CD. There just isn't much that I can say, except for go and listen!

葬儀屋リドル

Sougiya Riddle

Company: Square Enix x Frontierworks

Based on: Manga

Release date: 2011.04.27

Based on the manga of the same name, we're quite literally dropped in the middle of the story in this drama CD. Introduction of the story and characters takes place a little later when Sakura Hayato (CV: Sakurai Takahiro) explains -part of- the situation.

As it turns out he is loved by all things spiritual and ghosts frequently pesters him. One day while he is dealing with two female ghosts (CV:  Murata Tomosa and Takamoto Megumi) the 'undertaker' Riddle (CV: Yusa Kouji) suddenly appears before him. Riddle frees Hayato from the ghosts and offers him a contract but Hayato refuses. Only later when Hayato has been attacked by a vengeful spirit and is on the verge of death he reluctantly agrees. Thus Hayato now has to work as Riddle his assistant. This introduction of the story is very faithfull to the first chapter of the manga, almost word for word. The only difference is that Hayato tells it in a flashback here.

Continueing the story the two of them travel to the palace of the King of the afterworld, Faust (CV: Itou Mika) for a meeting. While there we meet the rest of the rather quirky cast. the accountant Blood (CV: Okiayu Ryoutarou) fellow undertakers Ruka and Ansem (CV: Paku Romi and Hirakawa Daisuke) Sharu and Jullian (CV: Fukuen Misato and Saiga Mitsuki) and Dante and Hiren (CV: Toriumi Kousuke and Konishi Katsuyuki). While everyone is going about being their quirky self Hayato accidentaly unleashes a chamber full of spirits that were waiting for their trial (whether to go to heaven or to hell) and thus everyone needs to find and capture them.

Despite having the word 'undertaker' in the title this is a very lighthearted and like I said quirky drama CD. Especially the characters with their weird habits and traits make this fun to listen to. No real knowledge of the manga is necessary, although a lot of characters are introduced in a rapid pace, and though there is little danger of not being able to tell them apart you can't help but to wonder what background stories you are missing.

The cast free talk is funny as well, everyone (even Murata-san who only did 'girl 1' xD) introduces themselves and says a few things. Apparently many people kept calling Riddle 'doriru' xD  Toriumi introduces himself as 'Dante Toriumi', Majima gets told off for not pronouncing his name clearly, Yonaga is accused of stripping, and Sakurai mixes his own name with that of his character. He also mentions that you an hear Yonaga-san his footsteps, I missed them but it is a nice listening challenge. If anyone hears them please tell me :)

Conclusion:

I really liked this one. I've never read the manga but this sparked an interest. There are a lot of famous seiyuu in this CD (Itou Miki even mentioned being nervous because of that, even though she has been in the field the longest of them all xD) so that should have enough people interested. I'm just here to tell you that it won't disappoint. Also, this is completely unrelated, but I liked the background music.

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.

男子はみんなBL!! 本当にあったBL目撃体験談

Danshi wa minna BL!! Hontou ni atta BL mokugeki taikendan

The title was just too good to pass up on this one. The fact that Okiayu Ryoutarou and Midorikawa Hikaru were in this helped too, I didn't really know Akabane Kenji before though. I was really curious about what kind of situations they would depict, and how. The idea behind this CD is that they have used actual observations from fujyoshi.jp and turned them into mini dramas. Okiayu Ryoutarou hosts a fictional the Radio Show "Climax Muteki Mousou Danshi" in which he reads fan-sent letters about real life observation of BL situations, Midorin and Akabane Kenji act out said stories.


Ummm, how can I say this? Maybe it was just that I expected more awkward or hilarious situations, but it wasn't quite what I expected it to be. Don't get me wrong, the CD is still funny enough, but just not what I expected it to be. Okiayu Ryoutarou his fake radio show is hilarious enough on its own. His over the top introductions and reactions are so overdone you just have to smile. I can't help but feel that a more genki character would have fitted the role better though.

There were two major points that were bugging me while listening to this CD. First, I can't help but wonder how much of this is real, and how much of this is made up. The stories are supposedly 'real' IE: actual observations made by visitors of the site fujyoshi.jp. But considering that some of the tracks are 10minutes long... Even if you assume the 'radio' part to be 2 minutes, that would mean someone 'overheard' 8 minutes of conversation? How exactly these situations were observed is sometimes a mystery to me as well. Most situations leave me wondering where exactly in this situation the observer was. The Department store one is probably a case on its own; I can understand it if she overheard them on the escalator, but following them into a bookstore is getting stalker-ish.

Secondly, some of these observations seem to be made during 中学校 - Junior High. Now that is just wrong. There, I said it. I can fully imagine children of that age getting into hilariously misinterpretable situations,  but hardly into the situations these stories portray. Neither do I WANT to imagine them that way. Then again, maybe it is just the outset of this CD that actively twists everything you hear (you can't NOT hear anything BL, no matter how innocent).

All of this aside, the CD portrays some really cute stories. Well more like short (8 to 10min) situations. In order they are; at the Basketball club, Gym class, shopping at the department store, on the train, at the sports festival, and on graduation day. All of them are mainly cute, mixed with some hetare xD

Conclusion:
The radio part was funny, and the actual situations cute, but this CD was simply not what I expected it to be. Or maybe I am just being fickle, I don't know. I'm curious about what other people thought, so share the thoughts people! :3

手塚国光: ささやかなこの願い

 

Tezuka Kunimitsu: Sasayaka na kono negai

Tezuka and Kuki Kiichi have a contest in tongue breakers, Yanagi is the referee. The drama parts are actually bonus tracks, but it is over 4 times as long as the 'main' song. Speaking of the song, it made me remember why I love Okiayu Ryoutarou so much. This is not going to be one of my favorite songs, but it is still nice to listen to.

But the drama. Crack as only Prince of Tennis can manage <3
Kiichi is on his way home when he remembers that someone said that if you say Tezuka his name trice while walking past the school gates that he would appear. Believing that it will never work he does so, and of course Tezuka appears xD After a ,to put it mildly, awkward explanation of why he is here Yanagi appears (ninja trick xD). Cue a short BL inspired scene between Tezuka and Yanagi, after which Yanagi explains that Tezuka has a passion for tongue breakers o.O

As if things weren't weird enough yet, they start a contest. The rules are simple; Tezuka and Kiichi are to repeat the same line over and over again until one of them makes a mistake. Of course they treat the contest just as a tennis match xD While the contest is going on in the background the thoughts of the 3 of them can be heard. While they start out with properly saying the line, if you keep paying attention you'll notice that it gets weirder and weirder later on.

Conclusion:
You'll probably need to know a bit about PoT for it to be funny, because the semi-out-of-character-ness adds to the crack. If you do know PoT, go and listen to it :D As a bonus, 'Dakeshimeteshimai sou sa' is played in the background near the end of the drama. Ahhh, how I love that song <3

王子様(笑)シリーズ 第3巻 ～王子様と眠れる森～

Oujisama (warai) vol.3 ~Oujisama to nemureru mori~

Oujiama (warai) series is a drama cd series that tells well known fairytales in an... entirely different way. The title means 'Prince (laughs) series' and as the title implies the stories are told from the viewpoint of the prince in a rather hilarious way. This volume has only one story; that of Sleeping Beauty.


The moment I saw this was announced it made me happy, and I'm glad I was able to listen to it this fast! Contrary to the first two volumes there is only one story this time, but some of the princes from earlier volumes reprise their roles.

We first meet the servant (CV: Takemoto Eiji) of Sleeping Beauty her prince who meets... the prince from Snow White (CV: Nakai Kazuya). It turns out we are in his country, and the servant asks him whether he wants to help out find Sleeping Beauty. We are taken to the Prince (of Sleeping Beauty, his name is Gunther btw CV: Onosaka Masaya) himself who is... fighting a dragon and gains exp o.O

And from there on the entire story turns into an RPG. Sleeping Beauty and his servant try to get Snow White to sign up at a guild, Genji (CV: Yoshino Hiroyuki) already signed up because the girl behind the counter was cute, they need a fourth member to go on a quest to fight a red dragon, so Genji forces the Emperor (from Taketori Monogatari, CV: Okiayu Ryoutarou) to join xD


Genji is as annoying as ever, the Emperor his classic speach clashes with everything, Sleeping Beauty is a complete RPG otaku, and Snow White is the only sane person. Eventually Sleeping Beauty loses his confidence and Genji decides he will go and steal save the princess.

The previous two CDs were good, but this volume was absolutely brilliant, there is no other word for it. Just throwing all these princes (with their strange personalities) in one story was already funny, but when everything turned into a RPG it turned even better. Every RPG cliche is used, from all the different classes to collecting the four legendary thingamajigs to continue the story. If you play a lot of RPGs or know something about them it gets funnier by the minute. But don't worry if you don't know anything about them, even then it will be plenty funny (Snow White is in the same position anyways)

Just like the previous volumes there is a zazankai after the main story in which the characters talk together. Sleeping Beauty never had friends to drink with so  they first need to explain what they are going to do, and the Emperor decides to get drunk right from the get go ("as if I could do this while sober" xD).

The freetalk was also interesting. The theme was 'a dream that you don't want to wake up from'. Yoshino talks about soccer and the world cup (which made me realize just how recent this release is somehow), Onosaka told that he wants to be popular, Okiayu that he wants to lose weight and Takemoto thinks that their dreams are to normal xD The last three did the recording together making their part of the freetalk hilarious. Especially Okiayu and  Takemoto ignoring Onosaka Masaya when he asks whether he wasn't popular enough to do a story on his own was just... wow xD Nakai talks about that it was his dream to become a seiyuu so that he doesn't want to wake up from his current life. His talk is about to get deep and meaningful when time is up and he abruptly (and I mean abruptly) ends it.

The fact that Yoshino and Nakai did their free talk alone made me realize that they did the recording alone, and how difficult that must be. Especially because there is a lot of tsukkomi, mainly fron Nakai. The zazankai in particular sounds as if they really are talking all together so they really have my respect for some awesome voiceacting!



If you haven't heard the first two CDs yet you should listen to those before listening to this one. Firstly because they are also hilarious and absolutely worth listening, but also because the characters constantly reference to it and you might miss some injokes. (Especially the deal about princess Snow White xD). That said, this vol. is absolutely brilliant so go and listen to it NOW :D