As I mentioned in my review of the HaruNatsuAkiFuyu manga, the deluxe set comes with a Drama CD. Even the cover art is deluxe – I’ve scanned in the back cover of the Drama CD so you can see Haruka and Akiho in their version of Zaou-esque GothLoli. (And, btw, should you not be as enamored as I am of Drama CDs, here is a link the the manga-only edition of this, with characters in unadorned school uniform.)

Let’s start with the roll call, shall we?

Haruka – Tamura Yukari (Tomari in Kashimashi)

Fuyuka – Noto Mamiko (Someone in everything)

Akiho – Shintani Ryoko (Aoi from Mai HiMe/Otome)

Natsuki – Kawasumi Ayako (Chikane from Kannazuki no Miko)

Reiko-sensei – Kawakami Tomoko (Utena in Utena)

Ayano-sensei – Nasu Megumi

Okay, so this drama CD covers the first two chapters of the manga, “Expressions of Love” and “Female Wolf” in which the four principals meet each other and, well, fall in love. It’s pretty much word for word from the manga stories.

And that’s basically why I wouldn’t recommend it too much. It covers the chapters with the “funny” sexual harassment which, if they are unpleasant in print, are really hard to take with sound. Especially “Female Wolf” which is the weakest/worst of all the chapters. Noto Mamiko uses the same voice she does for Ana in Ichigo Mashimaro here and really, the mental images of Ana being sexually abused were just not making me happy at all. (As much as I adore Noto-san, I think another VA really might have been a better choice here. She was *great* as Tsumugi in the MikoMjayo Drama CDs. Good on her that she’s getting so much work. I hope she’s putting scads of money away for her pension. But she didn’t work as the choice for Fuyuka’s voice. At all. It’s not her fault – she doesn’t suit the role, that particular chapter bites…and I really don’t want to ever hear her screaming that way ever again.

On the other side of that, do you think that Kawasumi Ayako was rolling her eyes and thinking, “Dear gods, *another* lesbian rape role?” (No, it doesn’t get that far, but still…)

Assumably the full-length DCD that will follow this summer will pick up the story from where this one leaves off and I really look forward to the “First Kiss” arc with Kawakami Tomoko as school counselor Reiko. (She has about 5 lines in this CD.)

But I found it odd that they didn’t write a new script for this series like they did for the MikoMajyo DCDs, which were entirely original – and which I listen to constantly. Put ’em on my new iPod and everything so I can take them with me. Sadly, the mini-cd of HaruNatsuAkiFuyu will not be coming with me anywhere.

Ratings:

Story – 3
Characters – 3
Voice Acting – 7
Yuri – a highly dysfunctional 9
Service – 9

Overall – 3

The stories are distressing and nothing like good acting is really going to fix that.