“Koibito-gokko” is not all that positive a phrase. It’s used somewhat disparagingly, to diminutize and dismiss same-sex love, especially between girls. To be told that you are pretending to be lovers, because of course you can only really become lovers with a boy, is just not a nice thing to say.

I’m gonna be honest that when I saw that the first Kindred Spirits Drama CD was called “Koibito-gokko” 「恋人ごっこ」, I was not leaping to get it initially. But after listening to and thoroughly enjoying the Second Drama CD and being reminded that this series has yet to let me down, I decided to give it a try.

Kindred Spirits, Drama CD 1, Playing Girlfriend was, despite the title, very cute.

The story follows Yuna’s classmate Ano, as her annual existence as an object of worship by other students has become more stalker-y than she’s comfortable with. Her friends. Yuna, Hina and Nena suggest that if she pretends to have a lover, her fans will back off. Because Ano cannot decide which of the three would make a better fake girlfriend, they all decide to try it out.

Another cringe-worthy plot and I just had to trust to the writers that they’d make it worth my time. And so they did.

Ano’s lunchtime escapade with Yuna was absolutely darling. We spent a little time just listening in as they discussed their future plans. It was plain up a bit of hanging with characters we like for a little longer, with nothing creepy about it.

Hina is next, and she gets a chance to impart some genuine wisdom at Ano and listeners, the crux of which was “If you really like someone, you don’t stalk them.” Thank you, Hina.

Of course, before we went into the Nena and Ano scenario, I knew that this was where it was most like to be a bit service-y, as both Ano and Nena remain unpaired in the original game, are both friends and are both geeks, although in different ways. Nena did not disappoint. She played Ano beautifully and really had a little fun at her friend’s expense without hurting her at all. It was nice to remind ourselves that Hina and Nena are both observant and Yuna’s very realistic…and that Nena had a wicked sense of humor.

Ultimately, Ano pulls herself together and develops a plan to help herself and her fans…with her friends’ help.

Like the Second Drama CD, Friendship Plans, this was purchased from Mangagamer’s site, and came in the form of two downloads. A Drama CD with original seiyuu, and subtitles over images, and a second download with CD inserts, images, credits and extra voice tracks, wishing you a good morning, good night, kitchen timer and the like.

Ratings:

Story – Despite a icky title, it was an 8
Characters – 10
Overall – 8

The DCD ties together two little loose ends from the game; Ano’s helping Yuna, and the fact that fans paired Ano and Nena, and gave them a story that was both satisfying and not at all cringe-making.

At this point, I’m just now all in for anything these writers throw at me. I trust them implicitly to not let me down.