Archive for the Drama CDs & Audiobooks Category


Maria-sama ga Miteru Drama CD 11: Cherry Blossom

February 11th, 2008

Is there any one among us hard-hearted enough not to swoon when Noriko relates her first sight of Shimako under the sakura tree, looking like Maria-sama come to life? Not me, certainly.

Maria-sama ga Miteru: Cherry Blossom Drama CD set was lovely. Simply lovely.

For the plot, please take a look back at my notes on Part 1 and Part 2 of the novel. (I had not yet begun translating the books at that point, so these are notes/synopses not full translations and therefore still available on Okazu.)

The first CD in the set recounts “The Sakura Among the Gingkos,” the portion of the novel in which we meet Nijou Noriko for the first time, and she meets Shimako. Incidentally, we also meet Matsudaira Touko, but I’ll get there in a bit.

“Sakura” follows Noriko as she meets Shimako and deals with some mild bullying because of their developing relationship. (The latter is only partially true, but she doesn’t know that.) The story climaxes during the Maria-sai, as Shimako is forced to out herself as the daughter of a Buddhist priest.

The Drama CD of this part was fantastic. Noriko, a transfer student from a co-ed school, has always seemed to me to be the most grounded of all the characters in the series. She comes off here as so *normal* it almost takes one’s breath away. Confronted in the beginning of the story by Touko and two other classmates and their positively Baroque formal Japanese, it’s really no wonder she feels disoriented and alien at Lillian.

Noriko’s meeting with Shimako is related very prettily. Noriko’s happy obsession with Shimako is instant and very much *right* on that line between friendship and love. It’s powerful – and mutual. The “outing” scene was horrific. From Noriko’s point of view, it can only be seen as heavy-handed…at best. When Shimako admits to being the owner of the juzu and Noriko bursts into tears for her – it was very moving. Once again, the Marimite cast is superlative.

The second disk of the set, “Background Noise,” covers the same circumstances from Yumi’s point of view. We see the concern Shimako’s friends in the Yamayurikai have for her, and how much they are, really, trying to help. However…to her credit, Yumi spends the entire story thinking that they are handling it really badly. They are, and I’m glad Yumi recognizes it. Itou Miki’s over-acting Sachiko is both hysterical and really cringe-making. As I listened to the scene in the church, I kept thanking the universe that I was no longer a teenager. ^_^

The other half of “BGN” is the introduction of Touko who, if you will please excuse the language, is a total twat. Kugimiya Rie is spectacular as the entitled, manipulative Touko. I’ve grown so used to her – and she has changed *so* much in the course of the novels, that I had completely forgotten what a slappable little creature she is when she first arrives en scene.

Listening to her snipe at Yumi, a thought suddenly hit me. Rainy Blue is coming up. I’m going to have to sit through those DCDs. Ugh. Ughughugh. I don’t know if I can do it. Oh well…I have Kohitsuji no Kyuuka to look forward to, after that whole thing is over. I’ll just grit my teeth and cope.

In happier news, we get a little Sei-service, when Yumi visits her, and after the Maria-sai.

For the first time, there is a bonus track where we get some very amusing comments and a lots of “natsukashii”s and “hisashiburi”s by the voice actresses. I was very glad for the bonus track. It’s about the only time we hear what the seiyuu have to say for themselves – it is immediately apparent that this group feels *very* comfortable with each other at this point. And that they’ve got a load of in-jokes. Also, I found it amusing to hear several of them refer to the series as “Marimite.” ^_^ I don’t know why, it just tickled my fancy.

The one physical extra is a postcard of Hibiki Reine’s art of Noriko. Pretty, as always.

Ratings:

Story – 7
Characters – 8 for Noriko and Shimako, 4 for Touko, 7 for everyone else
Yuri – 5 It worked a bit better visually, with those long, lingering “just kiss her” moments
Service – 8 who else buys these other than us obsessive fans? ^_^

Overall – 8

This is me, grasping at the Touko of Bara no Hana Kanmuri and trying to forget the Touko of Cherry Blossom, signing off.





Yuri Drama CD: El Cazador de La Bruja

January 17th, 2008

Had a *brilliant* time at the signing last night, I’ll post pics and comments this weekend. In the mean time, a review of an actual anime-related thing! Can you believe it?

It’s not too often I can call a Drama CD just about perfect. Kotonoha no Miko to Kotodama no Majyo to: Madrigal Halloween is pretty much the only one I’d give that title to so far. But El Cazador de la Bruja: El Bosque del Eco must certainly share the title. It has everything an El Cazador fan could possibly want. Ellis teasing Nadie slightly inappropriately, Nadie saying, “Yuigon attara, dozo” in that way she does, with the smile obvious in her tone, Ellis brightly saying “Yes sir!” when she gets her own way, Ricardo saving the day, Lilio not speaking until she does and then creeping us all out, Blue Eyes sardonically narrating, and sharing a moment or two with one of her unnamed henchchicks. Unfortunately, Rosenberg pretending to be a decent guy to Melissa, who is desperately trying to trust him. And, of course…LA being a freakazoid.

And magic, and violence and miracles and action and great music.

Perfect.

For fans of the series, this was an episode that fits in the final third of the series – after Ellis has realized that she’s in love with Nadie, but not vice versa yet.

The story begins with our heroines arriving at a town with no money, and no prospects – there’s not even an Amigos Tacos in the place. A pervy old guy approaches them with a request to pose for inappropriate pictures, which is negotiated down a bit, until they are sidetracked by finding an emerald necklace. Oh, the pervy old dude says – that belongs to the Professor, it’s part of a treasure from the mythical Ringing Forest. So off Ellis and Nadie go to return the necklace and make the world right.

Only, they encounter the Professor’s wife dying from a gunshot wound, and who gives them a casket. They try to return all of this to the Professor who turns out to be a fake, in it for the money – and his partner, the pervy old guy. Nadie and Ellis fall for the oldest trick in the book and are drugged. Ricardo wakes them up, then watches hopelessly as they drive off to get their revenge – well, they don’t actually say that, but let’s be real.

LA delays the creepy guys, Ricardo saves their lives, LA eventually kills them anyway and in the end, Ellis and Nadie learn that the casket actually holds a skeleton, the spirit of which possesses Lilio and says that it has come home, followed by the manifestation of the El Bosque del Eco, the Ringing Forest. And all is well again. In the epilogue, Ellis tries to get Nadie into a daring bathing suit, if not for the pictures, then just to enjoy her in same. (She obfuscated a situation a bit earlier in the story, too, in order to undress Nadie – when confronted about it, all Ellis would say was that Nadie was sexy that way.)

In the beginning and middle of the story, Rosenberg lies beautifully to Melissa a bit, too.

This DCD comes with the extra of a postcard of the cover art of Nadie and Ellis looking happily at one another. And the cast and crew credits come in English and Japanese, something I thought was kinda cool.

Ratings:

Art – 7
Story – 8
Characters – 8
Yuri – 5
Service – 6

Overall – 8

Unless I’m hallucinating, Jody “Blue Eyes” Hayward’s henchchicks never get any voice credit – or, indeed, names. Anyone know who they are and why that is?





Yuri Drama CD: Haru Natsu Aki Fuyu: Gyakushuu no Akazukin-chan

January 10th, 2008

There is a difference between people who read manga or watch anime and “fans” of anime and manga. Fans want more than just to read or watch – we want to interact with the work, to spend more time with the characters, to be more *involved.* In part, this is why fans create parody art, fiction, comics, games, etc., of their favorite series and characters.

In fact, Umberto Eco defines literature as works that have escaped the bounds of their original text and have taken on new lives and iterations. Think of a few of your favorite series, not just anime, but books, movies, any media. Sherlock Holmes comes to mind for me – a character that has been reborn and re-envisioned every generation since his actual conception. Or how about Jane Austen, a writer who not only has spawned any number of reinterpretations of her own work, but has inspired legions of Regency romance writers as well, and who has now been reimagined as a detective.

As a fan, I know that when I encounter characters I find appealing, I want to spend more time with them. This is why I write fanfic and it is why I listen to Drama CDs. The Drama CDs I enjoy most are not only a chance to spend more time with the characters, they are a chance to get more information, enjoy new adventures, get more detail about those characters. My favorite Drama CDs contain original stories that are not in manga or anime, like the Kotonoha no Miko to Kotodama no Majyo to and the El Cazador DCDs. There are also Drama CDs that add a layer of complexity and life to material that is already in the original text, like the second Hayate x Blade DCD. In the case of the Marimite DCDs, we get more of the text from the novels than is covered in either manga or anime and we get to enjoy the 3-dimensionalizing effect of the voice actors, giving actual life to mere words on a page.

All of this is to explain why I found the Drama CD of Haru Natsu Aki Fuyu: Gyakushuu no Akazukin-chan (Red Riding Hood’s Counterattack) to be a disappointment.

It’s true that the characters are brought to life by the seiyuu, but…. The mini-DCD that came with the manga covered the first chapters of the story in which Akiho and Haruka and Fuyuka and Natsuki meet and develop their relationships. As I have mentioned in my reviews of that mini DCD (which also lists the voice actresses involved) and the manga, these were the weakest and least pleasant chapters of the story, making the DCD of those chapters something I have no intention of listening to again.

I had hoped that the full DCD would include the “First Kiss” arc that dealt with the teachers Reiko and Ayano, but no luck. This DCD also does not include the final chapter where the four girls take an overnight trip to the beach. What we do get is a retelling of the chapters where the four meet, Fuyuka pursues Natsuki and is rebuffed, the crisis that Akiho engenders when she declares that she is in love with Fuyuka and Fuyuka and Natsuki’s reconciliation.

None of this is particularly awful, it’s just – we’ve been there already. It’s nothing new, no extra information, no extra detail. In fact, the DCD is pretty much word for word from the manga. Not even an extra non-manga scene to fill any of the characters out. Since I was not enamored of the story in the manga, I found it no more enchanting this time around. And I still maintain that, as much as I like her, Noto Mamiko was not the right choice for Fuyuka’s voice.

Given that the other Yuri Hime Drama CDs were different than the original texts (and especially as the MikoMajyo DCDs were *so* fabulous,) I had hoped for more than this. However. If you LOVED the original manga and can’t wait to hear it performed by well-known and talented actresses, then you will not be disappointed. In that aspect, it was very good.

There was one random thing that completely puzzled me. In the cast comments at the end, Kawakami Tomoko, who played Reiko-sensei, comments that this was her first time playing a Girls Love role. Really??? Has she looked at her credits recently? In case you don’t remember, like she apparently doesn’t, she played Utena in Shoujo Kakumei Utena and Kris Kristopher in Battle Athletes and Battle Athletes Victory. I know all the arguments for Utena not being a Yuri character, but you will never ever convince me that Kris is not. (Or Sayuri, from Kanon, or Satsuki from Uta-Kata, etc….) Or maybe I was half listening and it was someone else who said that, but I’m pretty sure it wasn’t.

Ratings:

Story – 5
Characters – 5, except for Akiho, who is a 7
Yuri – 9
Service – 7

Overall – 5

Better than the mini DCD, because we’ve left the heavy-duty sexual harrassment behind, but without the “First Kiss” arc and the final manga chapter, kind of weak. If you love the story and the seiyuu, then go for it. Otherwise stick to the manga and save your money for a better DCD.





Drama CD: Hayate x Blade, Volume 2

December 5th, 2007

By request, today we are discussing the Hayate x Blade Drama CD, Volume 2.

It’s a beautiful, clear day at Tenchi Gakuen. The sky is blue, the clouds are white, and the cheerful sounds of the student body move across the grounds, as they gear up for the excitement of their school festival.

Wait, sorry…that’s some other series. THIS story begins in a secret room somewhere on the school grounds, where a gathering of black-uniformed, glasses-wearing students is under way. Their target – Kurogane Hayate. The crime – getting too close to Akira-sama, possibly touching her butt. The butt part was due to Kirikawa’s unfortunate use of the word “tail” in conjunction with how close Hayate was to Akira.

1) How does one even reach a conclusion like this? Discuss.

THEN the day is beautiful and clear and full of maids. Chairman Hitsugi is unrepentant, even as Shizuku scolds her for making everyone wear maid costumes. She even goes so far as to comment gleefully that it looks like an Akihabara festival. Jun and Hayate admire the figure Ayana cuts in a maid outfit, and Jun supplements that with admiring the figure Yuho cuts in her winter coat.

2) Jun is totally gay. Discuss.

The story that follows is exactly the same as that in Volume 6, of the “A-Team’s” plot to get rid of Hayate for her trespassing upon the personal space of their beloved Akira-sama, of their underhanded trick of kidnapping Miki from Hayate’s beloved Tanpopo Gakuen and their complete underestimation of Hayate, her friends, Miki and Akira.

Hitsugi orders them to fight an 8 against 80 Hoshotori melee with the following handicaps to account for the low rank of the A-Team members: If any of Hayate’s friends lose, the entire team loses. Hayate’s 8 must all use ladles as their weapons. They must defeat all 80 of the A-Team.

3) These are unfair odds. The A-Team never had a chance. Discuss.

And in the end, when Akira *finally* clues in to what’s going on, she arrives in the last seconds, just as the final members of the A-Team collapse and she pulls of her cool long coat to reveal that she had completely forgotten that she was wearing a maid outfit underneath.

4) Akira-sama looks cool, even in a maid costume. Discuss.

For Extra Credit: Agree with me that maid costumes and the assumed submissive servitude implied is really not at *all* sexy, in fact, it’s just kind of pathetic.

Along the way, we meet Jun’s father and find out that he’s a pretty nice guy.

5) Hayate is gay for Ayana. Discuss.

After the festival are two original tracks in which we hear Akira’s piano playing prowess and listen to Jun making most of the dorm help her in wishing Yuho goodnight.

The extras include a spiffy mini-book of character info and a mini-manga full of chaos, and the bonus track sounds like everyone was very punchy. ^_^ The topic was “Your favorite words.” I agree with Akira’s actress, Minagawa Junko, when she said that “Dinner’s Ready” are top of her list. Satsuki Rino, Ayana’s seiyuu, said that “love” is her favorite word and that she wanted to hear it from Yukari. (The VAs were speaking half in character during the bonus track.) Oh, and Hitsugi to Shizuku – “My favorite word is “shinyuu.” Awww

6) What is your favorite word? Discuss.

Ratings:

Art – 8, mmm, color
Story – 8 and kudos for trying to make a ladle vs sword fight make sense with no visuals
Characters – 9
Sound Effects – 9
Yuri – 5
Servic e- 5

Overall – 8

I did a quick survey of everyone in my house – my favorite word right now is “Pudding” and the wife’s is “boulevard.” Just in case you wanted to know.

This concludes today’s discussion. ^_^





Yuri Mini-Drama CD: Haru Natsu Aki Fuyu

April 28th, 2007

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.