As I mentioned yesterday, the new Special Edition of Iono The Fanatics is bundled with an original Drama CD, entitled “Ah, Kokorone ni Hahago ari”「ああ 心根に 母御あり」. Written by Fujieda-sensei, this Drama CD does not have a plot, per se, but is a set of light-hearted vignettes following Iono-sama, the charasmatic Queen of a small unnamed Western country, her incredibly talented staff, including the same set of gags that makes us laugh in the manga…until it segues into something quite different.

Main Cast: (Character names are my interpretation/translation at the moment. Subject to change. Roles mentioned are always skewed in favor of the Yuriest I could find, even if it’s not what they are best known for.)

いおの・ミト・アルシュライン：茅野愛衣
Iono Mito Arceline: Kiyano Ai (Kanae Mitani in Tamayura)

鉢辺絵兎（絵兎・ミト・アルシュライン）：日高里菜
Hachibe Eto: Hidaka Rina (Last Order in A Certain Magical Index)

みおと（いおの母）：早見沙織
Mioto (Iono’s Mother): Hayami Saori (Chihiru in Morita-san ha Muchi)

アルジェント・エフェメール：加隈亜衣
Argent Ephemel: Kakuma Ai (Nina Klein from Aldonoah Zero)

キャス・ルーセンス：洲崎綾
Cass Lucence: Suzaki Aya (Mako Mankanshoku from Kill la Kill!)

アイダ・ブルーメール：西明日香
Aida Bleumare: Nishi Asaka (Rika Suzuki from The Devil is a Part-timer)

フレシェ・ヴァンセット：瀬戸麻沙美
Flèche Vancette: Seto Asami (Takatsuki Yoshino  from Hourou Musuko)

There were a number of inconsequentials going on, such as the agonizing gag with poor OL-san and a cute little number in which Eto introduces everyone to takoyaki and suggests that Argent and she think of each other as sisters.

There was a more dramatic track in which we meet Mioto-sama, Iono-sama’s mother and learn where the Queen gets her heartfelt affection for her sobame. Mioto-sama was clearly a good role model – as Queen she was beloved by all her subjects. This track gets very melodramatic; it includes Mioto-sama’s final words to Iono-sama and her death.

The longest track is the cast talk in which the actresses above, and the others I left unmentioned, discuss what would you want a sobame to do for you. Most of them seemed to want a personal secretary most. ^_^

The voice actresses do a nice job, but based on the character we see in the manga, I felt that Eto’s voice was a little breathy and girly. I expected a more grounded, even slightly morose, voice. But everyone else sounded pretty much as I’d expect them to. ^_^

Ratings:

Characters – 8
Story – 6
Yuri – 4
Service – 0

Overall – 6

Not, IMHO, the best CD from Fujieda-sensei. That award goes to
Kotonoha no Miko to Kotodama no Majyo to “Madrigal Halloween”, but as always a nice way to get a better sense of the characters through voice acting – and a way to spend a little extra time with them.

I hope this edition shatters Yuri Danshi sales records.