Fushigi Koubou Shoukougun Drama CD: Hitoribocchi no Tanjoubi

ふしぎ工房症候群 DRAMA CD ひとりぼっちの誕生日

Company: Cosmic Ray
Based on: Original
Released: 2006.11.24
Official Site: http://www.cosmicray.co.jp/fks/


ふしぎ工房症候群 (fushigi koubou shoukougun) translates into something like 'mysterious workshop syndrome'. The mysterious workshop in the title is what binds all of the stories in this series together. The shop can only be found by someone who is lost and really needs it, and is run by an old man, who sells 'happiness'

In the original reading CD's, each story is told by a (high profile) voice actor who both tells the story and acts out certain characters. The drama CD's adapt these stories into and actual audio drama (with multiple seiyuu).

This is the drama CD adaption. Like with the drama CD for "jousei kyoufushou naoshimasu" this drama CD starts slightly before the original version, adding a few scenes where we hear exactly how hard the protagonist (CV: Sakurai Takahiro) works.

Other than that the story is exactly the same as the original. As an actual audio drama, the story does feel much livelier. However it also lack a bit of the emotional impact that the original had. On the other hand, the last scene in the drama does a better job at expressing that the protagonist has found his happiness.

Sakurai his comment is weird in a good way. But the best part is probably that it sounds like he is recording it all by himself, while actually (at least part of) the entire cast is with him xD

Conclusion:
Like with the other drama CD I listened to, I find it hard to decide whether I like the original or the drama version better. Both have their advantages, and both are beautiful.　So in the end I simply recommend listening to both ;)

ふしぎ工房症候群 ドラマ CD 女性恐怖症なおします

 Fushigi Koubou Shoukougun Drama CD - Josei Kyoufushou Naoshimasu

This is the drama CD version of the second Fushigi Koubou CD - 女性恐怖症なおします (josei kyoufushou naoshimasu, curing the fear of women). The story is exactly the same as the original, with the difference that it is acted out as an actual drama (as opposed to told by only one person).

The only difference between this and the original is that there is a short scene in the beginning in which the girl visits the fushigi koubou, at that point we don't hear what she orders though. The rest of the story is exactly the same. The main character talks about his fear, and the two scenes that make his fear of women escalate are there as well.

Somehow I had the idea that the original did a better job at portraying the emotions and feelings of the main character, most likely because you were actually inside his head. On the other hand, his fear of women does become more understandable. The way they talk about him makes you understand his feelings a bit better (women can be scary...)

Their date on the other hand becomes much more lively. In the original it was already cute, but this time you can hear both of them talk, and both of their thoughts making it a lot livelier to listen too. This also makes it clear that they think of each other as an expat much earlier in the story, which is a bit of a pity because I liked the way it was revealed only at the end in the original.

On the whole I can't say whether I like the original or the drama CD more. The original portrays the character his feelings a bit better in my opinion, but on the other hand the drama CD also portrays the feelings of the girl making it more interesting. The entire date scene gets a lot more lively just by the fact that you actually hear the two of them talk. Either way it is still a wonderful story that is really recommend listening to.