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.

Hidamari no Pinyu

陽だまりのピニュ 

Company: Frontierworks
Based on: Manga
Released: 2008.08.27


Hidamari no Pinyuu is a series about the daily life of Pinuette Chipal Chipalulu (Nickname: Pinyu), the princess of the Chipalulu Kingdom. Except that she as ran away from home to go and live in Japan after hearing stories about it.

The CD starts with Hibina Minato (CV: Shiraishi Ryoko) and Kuji Shoubu (CV: Hatano Wataru) running to catch the bus. Minato sees a pretty girl and stops for a second, promptly missing the bus. The next few days rumours start within the school about a strange foreign girl doing weird stuff. Thinking it might be the girl she saw before, Minato attempts to find her.

After a short search Minato and Kuji find her in a park, tired and covered in dirt. Minato decides to take her home with her where she puts her in bath to get her clean. The girl introduces herself as Pinyu (CV: Noto Mamiko). Minato her mother (CV: Odaira Yuuki) tells Minato that her grandfather once visited the country where Pinyu comes from, and that that is probably how she knows stories about Japan. In the end, Pinyu becomes a transfer student at Minato her school.

Meanwhile at school they have just started a miss high school contest, and Pinyu becomes one of the favourites. This causes Maruo Shuuko (CV: Yajima Akiko) to see her as her rival. Maruo her faithful photographer Chouroku Chinatsu (CV: Yamamoto Maria) always sticks around her, but seems to care much less about the contest.

Mixing these characters with Maruo her classmate Toori (CV: Yonaga Tsubasa) who just happens to be from Chipalulu, Chinatsu (CV: Satou Akemi) who is the captain of the cheerleading club, and Oomori (CV: Hamada Kenji) the captain of the ouen-dan gives us a rather colourful cast for this very cute drama CD.

There might be a contest going on, but don't expect any harsh competition. This above all a very cute and fluffy story. The characters are all very cute and the entire atmosphere is just warm and fluffy. No evil going on in the background or anything like that either. Just full 100% fluff and sweetness.

The cast talk is quite long and is just as cute as the rest of the work. Like Noto-san saying that the Chipalulu language was very difficult to speak, and Yonaga-san saying that he first had to practice to say the full name of his own character. Or someone suddenly asking Hamada-san how long his legs are xD


Conclusion:
The fluff is all  over the place in this work, which is what you should listen it for. The characters are cute and interesting, and it is a really cute story. I wished they would have made more drama CD's for this series, but unfortunately there is only one CD

Shiro Ari!!

  

白アリッッ

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


Shiro Ari!! is based on the manga of the same name, and mixes the characters Snow White and Alice in one story that has little to do with the original stories but is rather hilarious.

Snow White (CV: Kugimiya Rie) is seen as a demon child in her own world due to her red eyes and white hair. The fact that the animals always defend her when she is bullied by other kids don't really make things better either. Despite this she continues to believe that there are people in this world that are purely good.

In the beginning of the story the Mirror (CV: Terashima Takuma) takes her to Wonderland. Where Alice almost falls off a cliff due to a waysign being mirrored. She is saved by Alice (CV: Suzumura Kenichi). Although saved, he almost immediately pulls a gun on her thinking she is in league with the White Rabbit. After some complications he decides to take home, by knocking her unconscious and dragging here off.

Snow White regains her consciousness in the cafe run by the Mad Hatter (CV: Onosaka Masaya) and the March Hare (CV: Yusa Kouji). While Alice is still trying to hear out Alice they are attacked by the Jack of Hearts (who looks like a girl but is actually a guy, CV: Yonaga Tsubasa). And Snow White learns that Alice and the Red King have been fighting over who rules the country since hundreds of years.

While staying at Alice his house Snow White runs into the Cheshire Cat (CV: Morikubou Shoutarou), Who pulls a vanishing act when they run into Alice. Turns out that the Cheshire Cat was coming to pick up the weapon that Jack left. He makes a few more remarks about the Red King and Blue King (Alice) fighting and leaves.

And that is about as far as we get with the plot. The part after that switches into a sweets making contest. The next day the Dormouse (CV: Kaneda Tomoko) comes dropping in. Turns out she has a huge crush on Alice (and one hell of an annoying voice). Snow White, Jack, and the Dormouse end up making a sweet in Alice his image. The end results are of course... interesting.

The drama keeps pretty close to the chaos of the manga, although some scenes are slightly shorter or in a different order (mainly Snow White her flashbacks). This also causes one weird moment: In the manga Snow White comes crashing out of the sky, lands on Alice and in the process they have an accidental kiss. In the CD they skip this part, yet they do talk about it a bit later on.

The CD only covers the first few chapters, so the plot isn't very deep yet, but it would have been nice if we would have seen a bit more of it. Instead the plot is literally abandoned halfway though for the sweets contest. I suppose it does show more of Snow White her mindset, but to use half of the CD for it might have been a bit much.

This is the second series I know with a male Alice, and his personality is just as bad as the first one. In front of everyone Alice is the perfect nice guy, but he actually has an incredibly bad attitude - causing Snow White to call him "sadist guy" (he calls her bitch so I suppose they are even). Snow White her naivety can be a bit annoying, but together they make a balanced combo.

The one character I found incredibly annoying was the Dormouse. Of course she is intended to be annoying, but her voice makes my ears bleed. And when you listen to the cast comment you discover that Kaneda-san her actual voice isn't that much better either. It just annoys me to no end.

I had just one glaring problem with the CD; The cast. Not that the cast is bad, on the contrary they are good if you ask me. But I have become so used the cast of Are you Alice? that hearing anyone else as Alice/Hatter/Jack/Cheshire Cat just doesn't feel right to me. (the March Hare and Dormouse I'm less used to so there were less problems there). Especially hearing Morikubou Shoutarou -who is the White Rabbit in Are you Alice?- voice the Cheshire Cat caused my brain to short-circuit. This is just a personal problem though.


Conclusion:
The story seemed promising, until they just decided to shelve it for a sweets making contest. The characters are funny though (barring the annoying Dormouse) and the amount of hilarious chaos is what you would expect from a series set in wonderland. I do hope that they make another CD (with more plot) because in my opinion the CD is better than the manga: the manga is written slightly to chaotic for my taste.

Kannou Jikan 5: Thanatos no Kyoudai

感応時間5~タナトスの兄弟~

Company: Hituzigumo
Based on: Original
Released: 2011.08.12
Official Site: http://hituzigumo.com/lineup/gumo-0009



Kannou Jikan... I feel obliged to listen to it, yet every time I do I get annoyed with it more and more.

Again, for a short summary: the first Kannou Jikan was more of a relaxation hypnosis with a lot of double wording. The second one became an overdose of pervertedness, the third one took things so far over the top that it became uncomfortable. The fourth one was better on the wording, though it added a lot of perverseness again. And now we've reached part five...

As you can guess from the title Thanatos no kyoudai (the Thanatos siblings) this volume features two characters. Yes, just as I was wondering how they could possibly make the series even more evil, they introduce us to two characters at the same time. The setting is that each year around Obon (when spirits can visit this world) you are visited by two ghosts who want to "play" with you.

Yes, so, two characters. While technically not at the same time (I am refusing to use certain words on this blog, can you tell? xD) you are interacting with two characters. So weird, so weird. You interact with them in turns, and as if somewhat competing with each other they keep adding a little each time. Which is rather effective and makes me highly uncomfortable.

Also, the two of them saying -that- simultaneously was pure overkill.

The freetalk however, was hilarious. Apparently Yonaga Tsubasa and Saiga Mtsuki had a lot of fun recording this together. The best part however is when Yonaga remarks that it was weird to play the part of brothers (because Saiga-san is a woman) to which Saiga-san replies that she was convinced that Yonaga was a woman the first time she heard him, and that she now considers him "Yonaga gendered" (as opposed to male or female xD).



Conclusion:
Well, as expected, the series once again became more perverse. So only listen to it if you like that. Meanwhile, I seriously need to reconsider whether I am still going to listen to a possible vol.6...

ボクたちオトコの娘 ～アイドルデビュー編～

Bokutachi Otoko no Ko



Company: Frontierworks

Based on: Original

Release date: 2011.04.27

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

Last month I mentioned that this drama CD caught my eye, and I found it so that means review time!!

But first, a short recap on the story: Sakurai Seri (CV: Shimono Hiro), Mitsuya Ren (CV: Ishida Akira) and Aoyagi Tama (CV: Yonaga Tsubasa) are three boys that debut as a female idol group. And thus their days of listening to the impossible demands of the company president (CV: Konishi Katsuyuki ) or being chased around by their manager (CV: Maeno Tomoaki ) begin.

The story begins with Seri being scouted by the company president after failing an audition somewhere. Dreaming of becoming an idol one day Seri happily agrees to come to his company (which, btw, is a wordplay on Johhny's production).  A few days later he is calls to the presidents office together with Ren and Tama, and it is announced that they are going to be a female idol group.

Because they are boys this naturally isn't going to be easy, so the three of them receive daily training and start living together to get used to each other. This is basically what the drama is about, their training to become an idol and Seri his doubts about becoming a female idol at that.

I expected more slapstick situations, considering the setting, but the story keeps a good balance between funny situations and Seri his doubts and the obligatory we're-in-this-together moments. Altogether funny and lighthearted but just a sprinkle of being serious.The three main boys of course have very different personalities, with Seri being the 'normal' one, Tama acting incredibly cute, and Ren being more of a cold tsundere personality.

The free talk and bonus track on the other hand are incredibly funny. Apparently the recording was a lot of fun, because everyone is very genki while doing the free-talk. Yonaga-san remarks that those hearing him for the first time might think that he is a woman but that he really is a guy (>▽<). The bonus track is called "the toilet issues of being an otoko no ko" which speaks for itself.

Conclusion:
 I expected more slapstick but it was funny enough, and I hope that they will continue this with how things go after their debut. Also, am I the only one who expected the roles of Maeno and Konishi to be reversed?

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.

News: ボクたちオトコの娘

I found this while looking around the Frontier Works site and it caught my attention.

Later this month the first volume of 'Bokutachi Otoko no Ko' will be released. Apparently the story is about a new idol group. The catch? These three are actually boys.

Sakurai Seri (CV: Shimono Hiro), Mitsuya Ren (CV: Ishida Akira) and Aoyagi Tama (CV: Yonaga Tsubasa) are three boys that debut as a female idol group. And thus their days of listening to the impossible demands of the company president (CV: Konishi Katsuyuki ) or being chased by their own manager (CV: Maeno Tomoaki ) begin.

To be honest, I have no idea what kind of work this is, or what the target audience is. I just can't figure it out. BUT the cast is interesting enough to give it a try. Here is the official site, and Animate has some sample tracks up over here.