ZONE-00 Drama CD - I section CHERRY

ZONE-00 ドラマCD 劇-I section CHERRY

Company: Lantis
Based on: Manga
Released: 2011.05.18
Official site: http://www.lantis.jp/special/zone-00/


I don't know why, but I felt like listening to this when I saw it. Something that was a slight mistake. This drama is based on a manga, and -not heaving read said manga- I feel like I am missing out on a LOT.

All I knew before listening was a short intruduction, that I'll share with you here: "Kujo Saburou is an ordinary high schooler, hyperactive and strangely interested in mysterious (alien) things. He quickly becomes friends with a new transfer student, Shima Ango, who happens to find him in a game of hide-and-seek. But what he doesn’t know is Shima’s true goal: the extermination of mononoke terrorizing the Toyko area. Caught in the middle of their fight, Kujo loses his head, unsealing an Oni inside of him..." (shamelessly taken from mangafox)

The drama CD itself has three tracks, the first two are background stories for two characters. The third one is a complete crack track featuring everyone involved in the first two stories involved in a 'king of hosts' contest.

The first track centers on Kujo Saburou (CV: Kaji Yuuki) his life before the start of the series. We get to hear a bit about his daily life with his mother and how he first met everyone at the shopping district where he often goes. Kujou has a extreme high-tension personality, which shows in his story. It is completely hyper, introducing charcaters at a high pace.

The second track is an almost complete opposite; this time the story centers on Shima Ango (CV: Fukuyama Jun ) just before he goes to Tokyo (where the storyin the manga begins). It begins much much more reserved. Of course Shima then starts killing mononoke, but hey.

The third track is complete crack, but extremely entertaining~

Like I said, I haven't read the manga, making me feel like I was missing out on a lot. Then again, the manga turned out to be chaotic as hell as well. So I might have to say that it conveys the atmosphere of the manga very good actually. All in all, knowing the manga probably makes this a lot more enjoyable. For one because the cast of characters is quite large, and secondly it is probably less confusing.

Conclusion:
I recommend this for fans of the original manga. I don't know whether later chapters of the manga show anything of the characters their past, but this these are probably interesting stories to hear. For those of us not knowing the manga; it is probably best to leave this alone and listen something else.

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.