For the 10th Maria-sama ga Miteru CD, Nakakiyono, we move backwards in time, away from the just-graduated Youko, Sei and Eriko, to midwinter and the long first night of the year.

Like most of the Marimite Drama CDs, Nakakiyono follows the novel more closely than either the anime or the manga.

We follow Yumi as she goes on her hatsumode, her first shrine visit of the year, with Sei and as Sei tricks her into coming to Sachiko’s home for a stayover. Yumi does have a line remonstrating with Sei for flirting with the miko at the shrine, btw. ^_^

We also manage a little extra Sayako-obasama time in the CD, completely with adorable pout. ^_^

The story is a shortened version of the events in Rosa Canina, so for more detail, please feel free to check out the relevant notes from the fourth novel. ^_^

A second story, Answer, is included on this disk. Answer is the delightful tale of how the former Rosa Chinensis, Foetida and Gigantea teamed up to manipulate Youko into choosing Sachiko for her souer. I cannot recommend this track enough. It’s freakin’ hysterical.

As in the anime, the former Rosa Gigantea is played by Takayama Minami. Rosa Chinensis is voiced by Katsuki Masako (who is most notable among the Yuri crowd for playing Sailor Neptune/Kaioh Michiru) and to add to the old girl feel of the story, the one and only Mitsuishi Kotono, (Tsukino Usagi/Sailor Moon and many other roles) plays the former Rosa Foetida. Let me remind you at this point, that Shinohara Emi, who voices Youko, was Makoto/Sailor Jupiter in Sailor Moon.You can actually FEEL the atmosphere of “we’ve been doing this a loooooong time, let’s have a little fun here” as they do their roles. At one point, the former Rosas are cracking jokes at Youko’s expense and the seiyuu are laughing so hard and so honestly, you can just about see Mitsuishi Kotono leaning on Takayama Minami for support.

Simply brilliant.

The Yuri quotient was a little low on this one, but there’s always Yumi lovingly looking at kimono-clad Sachiko, and the line about Sei not flirting. The moments might be small, but they are precious. ^_^

Ratings:

Story – 8
Characters – 8
Yuri – 3
Service – 1

Overall – 8

So, once again, listening to a Marimite Drama CD is completely worth time and money – and this time doubly worth it for the stroll down memory lane with some truly excellent VAs.