Have I mentioned how much I love this series? I mean, yes, I have, but I really love this series! Every time the opening theme plays, I grin like a fool, because it’s just the greatest, most musically predictable piece ever written…and I love it. ^_^

Here we are at the fifth Grand Stage Drama CD, Akabara-no-Kimi, Suoh Yui ( グラン・ステージ 第5幕「赤薔薇の君 蘇皇唯」) who will (also rather predictably) be playing Hikaru Genji in the Tale of Genji, the production for which we are auditioning.

Immediately, Yui pushes our boundaries, asking for our real name as well as our stage name. And this behavior continues throughout the CD. She never goes too far, but there are a few moments when it got dicey. Yui is, she tells us, looking for her new Shirayuri-hime, the partner she formerly had, to her Genji. Will we, a mere Murasaki, ever live up to her princess?

Having decided we seem suitable, Yui takes us out for a drive where we impress her and she, slowly, impresses us. She feeds us delicious baked goods and, finally, in front of a fountain, she kisses us. After which we fall into the water. She takes us home and tells us that we’re more than capable of being her Shirayuri-hime to her Akabara-no-kimi.

Saiga Mitsuki (Chie Hallard from Mai HiME and Mai Otome) is incredibly sexy as Yui. It’s Chie’s Yuri power-up x 100. And also quite versatile, as her deepest voice range is used for her recitation as “Genji,” while as Yui she is still fully otokoyaku-like. One, of course, imagines that her kiss is on the forehead, but still, she gets a kiss, even as she obsesses about the difference between being our lover or our partner. She declares that we’ll make a great partner, (but that doesn’t mean there’s no chance of the other.)

Included with the CD are a character card and a “signed” image and another short story. In the short story, we have a fever, and Yui was able to take of us, insisting that we are a princess as she feeds us. We say we’re well enough to go through with the audition. After the audition, we collapse in Yui’s arms, with a renewed fever, but Yui swears she’ll take care of us. She ends with a suggestive line about us slowly blossoming into becoming her Shirayuri-hime and we are happy about that.

Ratings:

Overall – 9

As always, I’m fascinated by the pure Yuri-ness of this series. The voice actresses are the dead give away. If this was meant to be merely a Takarazuka-esque look at fandom, then any voice actress who voiced male roles would do. Instead, Grand Stage lines up five actresses with unimpeachable Yuri cred, then has them embracing, stroking, snuggling and kissing “us.” Yeah. This series is totally for us. ^_^

Enjoy Yui’s moody image song: