#no thoughts only Kento itou

[bamboo-bees]

No thoughts. Only Kento Itou

[trashexplorer]

BLCD Review: Cosmetic Playlover

Title: Cosmetic Playlover (コスメティック・プレイラバー)

Author/Artist: Narashima Sachi

Release Date: 2022/11/26

Cast:

Itou Kento x Kobayashi Chiaki

Takatsuka Tomohito

Oono Tomohiro

Synopsis: Trash

“No or stop, you unexpectedly say cute things.”

The beautiful assistant, Natsume, is forced to do pair sales with his junior Sahashi. Sahashi, who doesn’t take Natsume or his work seriously, overtook him in sales and annoys Natsume as he’s trying to act as a good superior… Once his act gets discovered, he’s threatened into becoming his sex friend?! Plus, he carelessly flipped Sahashi’s switch on!

“Is it all right if I get serious?”

This is a story set behind the cosmetic shop counter, with feelings of love appearing as Natsume finds his heart beating fast, although it irritates him.

Review Proper

When I was a wee young lass of years six, my grandmother called us out from our seaside exile to come live with her in the main house after my father’s death. I was a child of the sea, so adjusting to life in the city was difficult. The main house was just rows upon rows of hallways and rooms, and it was always deathly cold—concrete. Even at that tender age, I knew that the house was shrouded in mystery, but it probably was just a reflection of our equally mysterious family. Every morning on my way to school, I would pass a small, oddly framed family picture along the hallway which showed my grandparents sitting on a red velvet couch while my father, uncle, and my aunt stood behind them. By the time I became a freshman in highschool, everyone in that picture had already passed...except for my aunt who had her face scratched out of it. She had been missing even before anyone from our generation was born, so no one knew where she was or how she’s doing. She was our family’s biggest mystery and, quite possibly, the answer to every other mystery. She was the only one who knows our family’s history, after all. More years pass, and we’ve lost the house along the way, completely eradicating any chance our questions had of ever being answered. Now, we have all learned as a family to leave our curiosities to rest and focus on the present.

But who would’ve thought that at age twenty-five, another big mystery would find itself in my hands? 

The mystery of how Cosmetic Playlover ever got green-lit for a BLCD adaptation and multiple manga sequels, that is.

I mean, I knew it was gonna be bad from the Sakura Riko-looking art alone, but I didn’t know that it was gonna be that bad. I’m not even comfortable branding it as something that came out in the 2000′s ‘cause that would be an insult to some of them. Oh, I know. This is FUCKING SHOUJO SMUT PLOT BUT WITH TWO DICKS.

Specifically:

THIS FUCKING THING. NO WONDER I WAS SO PISSED OFF.

“Omg, Chesk. You’re overreacting.” No, I am not. Cause they have sex like 15 pages into the first chapter and right after Sahashi unzips Natsume-san’s pants, he gives it a squish squelch with a finger then puts his dick in it??? HOW WAS HIS ASSHOLE ALREADY WET??? EITHER HE HAD A PUSSY OR HE HAD DIARRHEA. See, I could forgive things being rushed in the manga ‘cause pages, ya know? But I expected the BLCD to give them more time, BUT NOOOOOO. THEY WANTED TO MOMOSE AN THE SHIT.

Anyway, I won’t talk too much about the plot here. It’s really just your run-of-the-mill shoujo smut with a rapist, black-mailing, edgelord top and a simp for a bottom. 👍 Their climax wasn’t even worth noting. Natsume-san was getting wrongly accused by stealing this one guy’s customers, so he keeps harassing him and Sahashi finds Natsume-san’s notebook with all his customers’ info on them and says the notebook was persuasive evidence that he wasn’t stealing the customers. EXCUSE ME??? WHERE ARE YOU TAKING THIS CASE??? AUDIT???

Moving on to the technicalities of things, I actually listened to this mainly because this would be Chiaki’s debut (Sugar Drug’s was actually released the same day, but I’m not too keen on Takuma being on top). Oddly enough, I think I have almost all of the CDs he’s been cast as a supporting role, so I was looking forward to him leading this time. How did he do, you ask?

Wow.

That was

Bad.

Ngl, this was even worse than Horie Shun’s debut. I’m not sure what happened here ‘cause he acts pretty decently in his other CDs, but he even struggled with stuff outside the bedroom. He never got his surprises right, for one thing. Both the timing and the sounds he made were so unnatural. But the most unnatural bit of it all were his moans in bed. He goes to deep but also uses vowels too big at every given chancee, it just—HE REALLY JUST “AHHAHUHUH” THE WHOLE TIME IT WAS SO FUNNY I KEPT LAUGHING THROUGHOUT THE BEDDINGS I’M SO SORRY. I can see that he’s trying to emulate the Tachi of maybe 2013, but he really doesn’t know how to do it properly. I would’ve preferred it if he just went the quieter route, if that’s how it was just gonna end up as. 😬 His moaning drowned Itou Kento out a bit that sometimes I just forgot that he was there lmao. Hopefully, he did better in Sugar Drug ‘cause Taku’s not that uhh great as a top, so if they both underperformed, that CD’s doomed lmaooo

Itou Kento did well here even though I kinda didn’t like how he started. This is a higher tone than what he usually uses, and I could just visualize what kind of shape his mouth was making that it just bothered me. Thankfully, grew on me after a while. His topping style here was a little reminiscent of Nakajiki’s usual, and I found that endearing. My man learned topping from his top. *wipes tear

The rest of the supporting cast did great too. I found it so funny that Takatomo was acting as a man much older than the two leads when he’s literally the same age as their actors lmao. Our other Tomo’s also showing potential. I’ve seen his name pop up quite a lot recently, and it’s just a matter of time before he gets a lead role. Hope he learns from this.

 Yea, so this was bad overall. If you’re a fan of this series, why? I wouldn’t recommend it because of the acting. It unfortunately sticks out like a sore thumb. I’m not sure if Mari—MARINE?! NO FUCKING WONDER! Yea, this’ll probably have sequels since the manga has 7 volumes and is still ongoing, and Marine loves that weird shit, so... Do I have any other recommendations? I don’t think I’ve ever listened to another BLCD that revolved around cosmetics. That was actually a good concept, ngl. But did this expound on the cosmetics? No lmao. 

[asknarashikari]

I'm taking this as a confirmation that Neon is the tertiary. XD https://puwaasuru.tumblr.com/post/715833935807053824/ornamin-c-ad-kamen-rider-geats-after-much

yep its the actual Ornamin C commercial.

[a thought I had when I viewed the commercial: did they really had to die so that they could do this commercial?]

Well, tbf they've consistently billed Yuna as though she were the tertiary Rider since the show started, even though they refused to actually call her that.

Take the cast list on the poster of Movie War Battle Royale:

The first line is dedicated to the main Riders' actors: Kan Hideyoshi, Kentaro Maeda, and Subaru Kimura (Vice's VA).

The second line is the Geats cast: Ryuga Sato, Yuna Hoshino, Kazuto Mokudai, and Kokoro Aoshima.

The third line is the Revice cast: Wataru Hyuga, Ayaka Imoto, Hamao Noritaka, Hikari Kabashima (credited under her old stage name Yui Asakura), Cloud Hachijoin, Junya Komatsu, and Miku Itou (Lovekov's VA).

Notice something? Yeah, Yuna Hoshino is credited second only to Ryuga Sato, and similarly to Ayaka Imoto who is the official tertiary Rider of her season.

Clearly, Neon is the tertiary Rider- in all but name that is. And it's quite baffling that they refuse to acknowledge it outright. It's odd that they even had to do this whole "no, we're not calling anyone the third rider, she's the heroine, it's totally different istg" thing and then proceed to treat her like Yua, Kento and Sakura in all the marketing and SNS stuff they do.

[satoshi-mochida]

Publisher FuRyu and developer Historia have fully launched the official website for The Caligula Effect 2, detailing the game’s idols, main characters, Obbligato Musicians, and systems.

Get the details below.

[Very long post below the cut]

■ Story

Redo, the World Without Regrets

The mysterious virtuadoll Regret. Those who hear her songs are one by one taken into another world. “Redo” is a virtual world created by Regret and manufactured by the mistakes of peoples’ past.

“If only I had done that at the time…”

Redo is a world that realizes the desire held by all to start over. A world where you can make the decisions you chose against in the past, Redo is a lukewarm world without regrets, where you can live out the “what ifs?” of life.

Another Diva and the Go-Home Club

χ is another virtuadoll who is attempting to destroy the fabricated world of Redo. She chooses the protagonist, who realizes that this world is not reality, as a partner and lends them her power. The Go-Home Club is formed by students who learn of reality’s existence after a certain event and aim to return to the real world. And thus begins the extremely difficult return home against the creator of the virtual world.

True Appearances of the Go-Home Club Members

However, the Go-Home Club members’ appearances in Redo are nothing more than a “what if?” that disregards reality and rewrites their past regrets. The true appearance they hide is a taboo that only the player can discover. Embark upon this journey at your own risk and make choices free from regret.

■ Virtuadoll

Regret (voiced by Arisa Kori)

A mysterious virtuadoll that suddenly appeared to the world. Her origin and details are unknown, but her mysteriousness proved effective as rose to fame and gained overwhelming popularity on video streaming websites with her mystical singing voice. With the power of that popularity, she created Redo, an ideal world without regrets, and has imprisoned those suffering in the real world in her virtual world.

χ (voiced by Mayu Mineda)

Another virtuadoll, who opposes Regret and is trying to destroy the fabricated world of Redo. Feeling she is unable to fight Regret with her power alone, she chooses the protagonst who awakened to reality as her partner and lends them her strength. It seems she cannot fully understand human values as she is a prototype virtuadoll that never officially launched in reality.

■ Go-Home Club Members

Protagonist (voiced by Tatsumaru Tachibana / You Taichi)

A second-year student at Tatefushi Academy senior high school. Leader of the second generation Go-Home Club that aims to escape from the ideal world of Redo. The protagonist was chosen as a partner by the virtuadoll χ, who plans to destroy Redo, and gives her half of their body.

Gin Noto (voiced by Aoi Ichikawa)

A second-year student at Tatefushi Academy senior high school and the protagonist’s classmate. A modern high school student who wears the latest fashions, and is driven by excitement and emotion. He is also manly and a good friend. With a personality that allows him to read the room and be considerate, he has a number of friends both guys and girls.

Shota Tsurumaki (voiced by Kento Itou)

A third-year student at Tatefushi Academy senior high school. A straight-laced and stubborn member of the discipline committee who values order above all else. He is just and upright, and has a strong sense of responsibility, but can also be unreliable and blindly follows others, such as by immediately proposing a majority vote to avoid making a final decision himself.

Ryuto Tsukishima (voiced by Kouki Uchiyama)

A third-year student at Tatefushi Academy senior high school. He has wisdom and knowledge beyond his years, so much so that the other students make call him a boy genius. Since he is even-keeled and does things at his own pace, he tends to come off as cold at first glance, but is really not a bad person. He often clashes with others for saying things without sugarcoating, but they are often statements said considering the interests of the group.

Kobato Kazamatsuri (voiced by Yuuto Uemura)

A third-year student at Tatefushi Academy senior high school. As his appearance suggests, he is a frivolous young man and school celebrity. He has an unshakable personality and will shamelessly say he does what he does for the sake of popularity, which earned him both consistent support from the guys and vigilance from the girls. He is proactive and inquisitive when it comes to his amusement, and refuses to do anything unpleasant. He is not very cooperative with the group.

Kiriko Miyasako (voiced by Yume Miyamoto)

A first-year student at Tatefushi Academy senior high school. Her short blonde hair is her trademark. At first glance, people tend to fear her for her flashy appearance, class absences, and dry personality that does not pander to others, but she is the one with the most common sense in the Go-Home Club. She is highly capable and good for her improvisation, quick wit, and extraordinary courage, but dislikes being relied on and does not put herself out there as much as possible.

Sasara Amiki (voiced by Sumire Morohoshi)

A third-year student at Tatefushi Academy senior high school. A beauty with a gentle personality who always has a grin on her face. She is treated as an airhead whose speech and conduct are often a beat behind those of everyone else. It is difficult to understand what she is thinking, but she has a strong love for the members of the Go-Home Club and shows exceptional dedication when it comes to putting herself at risk to protect her friends.

Niko Komamura (voiced by Hiyori Kono)

A first-year student at Tatefushi Academy senior high school. A bright and simple-minded girl. The optimistic type with a glow in her eyes who will interact with anyone and everyone with the goal of having more and more friends. Despite her proactiveness, she is not very skillful or good at contemplating or theorizing difficult things, and often goes in circles.

Marie Amabuki (voiced by Mai Fuchigami)

A second-year student at Tatefushi Academy senior high school and the protagonist’s classmate. A kind-hearted and helpful beauty with good grades and a no-nonsense demeanor. She is a model honor student, relied upon by the other students to the point that she was selected to become the Tatefushi Academy Student Council President in her second year. She cares for the protagonist however possible.

■ Obbligato Musicians

Machina (voiced by Shun’ichi Toki)

Composer: ???

An Obbligato Musician. An android who wished for a machine body from Regret. He is extremely loyal to Regret, and treats her orders as absolute. He never fails to patrol Redo to maintain public order.

Pandora (voiced by Tomoyo Kurosawa)

Composer: ???

An Obbligato Musician. A cool, calm, and collected woman who speaks very little. She is an artisinal musician who loves to spend her time surrounded by flowers, working silently to make music in the depths of her favorite garden. Her work room in the garden depths is an insular space sealed off from the outside world.

MU-kun (voiced by Taku Yashiro)

Composer: ???

An Obbligato Musician. A boy with an eccentric appearance and flashy hair. With his sense for music and fashion, and unconventional and exorbiant conduct that make up his “space communication” character setting, he steals the hearts of young as the most popular musician.

#QP (voiced by Inori Minase)

Composer: ???

An Obbligato Musician, second-year student at Tatefushi Academy senior high school, and the protagonist’s classmate. The fact that she is a Obbligato musician is a secret and she attends school everyday. She is a beauty that has a tendency to seek romance, and there is almost never a time that she does not have a man by her side. The reason she hides the fact that she is a musician is because she thinks the elaborate title is unattractive.

Doctor (voiced by Kazuki Kato)

Composer: ???

An Obbligato Musician. He works as a doctor at the hospital on the outskirts of Okitama City, and is always pushing Kranke around in his wheelchair. He has a cool and blunt personality, but is devoted entirely to his contributions to Redo and actively works on musical activities. Other than Kranke, he prefers not to interact with the other musicians.

Kranke (voiced by Yuuki Takada)

Composer: ???

An Obbligato Musician, and a third-year student at Tatefushi Academy senior high school. He is unable to walk due to a leg injury, and is pushed around in a wheelchair by Doctor. His thoughts are hard to grasp since he tends to act like his mind is not present, and he always has a faint smile on his face. Many are drawn to his music and the world it weaves, which is dark beyond his fragile impression.

Kudan (voiced by Mariya Ise)

Composer: ???

An Obbligato Musician. A promotion and agitation specialist. She lies like she breathes and toys with the hearts of others. She is in charge of persuasive propaganda and public relations on behalf of Regret, who does not talk much. She often quotes wise figures from history, manga, and anime.

Bluffman (voiced by Takehito Koyasu)

Composer: ???

The leader of the Obbligato Musicians. A man of many mysteries who hides his face behind a mask. He is always at Regret’s side and plays a managerial role, acting as the ringleader who assembles the musicians in her place. He is said to be such a senior composer that even the new generation Obbligato Musicians acknowledge his superiority. His principle of conduct is to make Regret an absolute being, and he always maintains that Regret is superior to the virtuadolls of the past.

■ System

Character Scenario

The Go-Home Club members’ appearance in “Redo” is no more than an alternate version of themselves written over their past regrets. The reality each Go-Home Home Club member faces is full of trauma and pain. However, it is up to the player to discover why these individuals still wish to go back to them. Embark upon this journey at your own risk and make choices free from regret.

Battle System: Imaginary Chain

A battle system in which you predict the future and chain combos. The basic in-game battle system is turn-based, but once the player selects an action, the outcome of that action is revealed. Collaborate with your friends to strategize and overcome disadvantageous situations.

■ Additional Screenshots

■ Special

Limited Edition (Japan)

The limited edition includes:

Special album CD Side.χ (nine tracks with vocals by χ)

Special art book (100 page)

Oguchi-illustrated image reproduction

The Caligula Effect 2 documentary movie DVD

Additional music downloadable content (three tracks) – “Orbit,” “Distorted † Happiness,” and “Suicide Prototype” from The Caligula Effect

Equipment item downloadable content (three items)

Special box with visual illustated by Oguchi

Pre-order Bonus (Japan)

Pre-order to receive the special album cd Side.Regret (nine tracks with vocals by Regret).

The Caligula Effect 2 is due out for PlayStation 4 and Switch on June 24 in Japan, and this fall in North America and Europe.

View the screenshots at the gallery.

[eng-hypnosismic]

Animage 483: Interview w/ Matenrou

This article comes from the Animage Magazine vol. 483, please buy the magazine to support them and get the exclusive images!

(You can read part 2 about Doppo and his VA Itou Kento here. )

The Bonds of the City that Never Sleeps

The second part of the Territory Battle has begun. With their strong lyrics that bewitch one's heart, will the bonds of Matenrou be able to pierce through their fated rivals? Shinjuku Division -- the city under shimmering neon lights that never sleeps. Here resides a doctor of great prestige who goes by the name of Jinguji Jakurai, a former member of the legendary team The Dirty Dawg. Every day, patients bearing both wounds of the body and heart seek his aid. One of these patients was Kannonzaka Doppo who is suffering from social anxiety. In order to save Izanami Hifumi, his childhood friend whose life was being threatened, Doppo sought help from Jakurai. That is how the three of them met. Taking an interest in Doppo and Hifumi, Jakurai invited them both to his team. After forming Matenrou, Doppo and Hifumi remained being as awkward and eccentric as ever, but now as a team they become each other’s most important and reliable comrade, shouldering the future of  Shinjuku Division together. And now, the day on which Chuuoku organized a territory battle for Matenrou has arrived. Their opponents, Shibuya Division’s Fling Posse, are led by Amemura Ramuda who has a deep and convoluted antagonism between himself and Jakurai. Once again, without Jakurai being aware of it, Ramuda is involved with someone from Chuuoku, the governmental district that dominates all men. Jakurai can’t be too careful around him. The victor of this battle will soon be decided. With Matenrou’s scalpel-sharp lyrics that can be used as both poison and medication at will, can they pierce the heart of the trickster leader of Fling Posse? And what does Jakurai think of his fated rival...

Jinguji Jakurai

A renowned medical genius. He has top-class rap skills and a gentleness that shows no bias towards anyone. If there is any flaw to his otherwise perfect self, it is his transformation into a true Tokyoite through the consumption of alcohol. He considers Hifumi and Doppo as precious friends whom he cannot leave alone. Contact Jakurai maintains solid communication with his companions. He listens patiently to Doppo’s troubles, and when their days off overlap, drives them all out to go fishing.  Since Doppo has been sleeping in on his days off he missed the invitation and has yet to join them. A Man of Character He gently reprimands people without seeking repentance and steers clear of alcohol (partly because he loses memory after drinking) -- someone who can be compared to a Buddha. With such a personality, the only person Jakurai couldn’t stand is Ramuda. What on earth is going on between these two…?

Izanami Hifumi

Sociable, bubbly, and also an extreme gynophobe. Became a host to overcome his fear of women. However, his character only changes when he puts on his suit. While he becomes a suave, composed gigolo in the face of women, it does not actually tackle the root of the problem.

Host Mode

While spending a night at town in Chuuoku, Hifumi wore his suit to calm down after feeling unsettled by Jakurai’s warning of the battles’ popularity with women. Activating his Host Mode, he seized the opportunity to roam the streets. The shift from his extreme gynophobia to extreme gynephilia doesn’t seem to be conscious.

Domestic Skill

Hifumi is surprisingly adept at household chores. He is roommates with Doppo and cooks breakfast for the both of them. When Doppo’s suits gets torn, he mends them. It is probably only thanks to Hifumi that Doppo who lives an unhealthy lifestyle is still alive.

Kannonzaka Doppo

An office worker so thoroughly exhausted that he cannot recover even if he sleeps through his days off. He depends on his roommate, Hifumi, to take care of the domestic chores. Has a negative disposition. Because he apologizes so frequently at work, “I’m sorry” has become his pet phrase.

Spectacle This territory battle exists as a spectacle for the women watching. The men who participate in the battles are treated as idols, thus strolling about without a care will get them overrun by a flock of female fans. Whether it is a good or bad thing depends on the person himself. Hifumi in his host mode was overjoyed to be surrounded by women while Doppo was screaming and running away. Camaraderie That night in Chuuoku, Hifumi and Doppo ran into Gentaro and Dice. It started off with Hifumi poking fun at Gentaro’s choice in clothing but ended up with Dice and Doppo arguing,   instigating a Mic Battle. Rather than taking offense at the insults directed at themselves, Hifumi and Doppo, as well as Gentaro and Dice, were more defensive against the insults directed at their trusted companions. Unfortunately, their battle was interrupted as it attracted more attention from women, but they still managed to strengthen their bonds within their teams.

Fate

The clash between Fling Posse and Matenrou doubles as a showdown between their leaders. Beyond warning his teammates of Ramuda’s “inhumanity,” Jakurai says nothing about their connection. In Ramuda’s case, he seems to avoid speaking about Jakurai altogether towards his own teammates. However, regardless of their mutual animosity, Jakurai still tirelessly admonishes Ramuda...

Enigmatic Men    Jinguji Jakurai’s VA Hayami Show

“Doctor that can’t be swayed by money and patient that can’t be left alone”

--What kind of a person is Jinguji Jakurai?

Hayami:  Although there is still a lot unknown about him, he is a humane doctor who cannot be bought, who is incredibly gentle, and who brims with humanism. In a place like Shinjuku Division, there ought to be all kinds of patients visiting Jakurai. Amongst those patients, there are people who can’t afford the expensive medical fees, and people with questionable backgrounds… Yet the person who’d treat them all properly and equally is none other than Jakurai. You’d think that doctors are all rich people, but since he puts healing people before money, maybe he doesn’t earn that much (laughs). I think that the car he owns is certainly not an expensive one. Even though Jakurai seems to be so benevolent and perfect, in the drama part of our first CD “Matenrou -Clinical Phonetics-” we saw how much of a big mess he caused when he was drunk. With a side like that, I feel that he’s quite well-rounded as a human being.

--So for Izanami Hifumi and Kannonzaka Doppo, what do you think about them? Hayami: To Jakurai, they’re like his two cute little brothers. Of course as part of Matenrou, they rap in order to join battles, but the two must have wished to move towards a more decent life through rap. Jakurai has a lot of patients, but they’re the number one and two patients that he just can’t leave alone. I also feel developments in Hifumi and Doppo’s characters after they got the hypnosis mics. When you look at each of them individually, you can find quite a few shortcomings, but when they’re rapping together, they offset each others’ limitations and bring each other up.   --In this Battle CD, it felt like there’s even more to Jakurai and Amemura Ramuda's past. Hayami: Details of the past between the two are not fully disclosed. The two were very mysterious to begin with. Actually, I don’t know the whole backstory either and it could be easier to act not knowing things. Ramuda is a strange kid. Even when I was recording I was annoyed; not by Shirai Yusuke who voiced him, but by Ramuda himself (laughs). The way he talks is so insensitive that it’s almost unbearable. Furthermore, Ramuda is 24 years old. Never in my life have I seen a 24-years-old who says things like “It’s ��◯☆” or  “Oneesan♪.” However, someone like Ramuda is very popular amongst women… It gets on my nerves (laughs). --There’s also bad blood between Yamada Ichiro and Aohitsugi Samatoki. Does Jakurai know what happened between them? Hayami: Of course he knows, I think Jakurai watched it happened. However, it’s only with Ramuda that he couldn’t just watch. In the drama part of the Battle CD, it was revealed that Ramuda is connected to people from Chuuouku. Jakurai might not know about that specifically, but I don’t think he would tolerate such duplicity of Ramuda. Hifumi’s host mode while he’s in his suit is a different story, of course. Jakurai can and would accept any kind of people, but perhaps it’s just difficult for him to agree with Ramuda’s way of doing things. --Will the mystery of their previous relationship ever be unveiled? Hayami: I think it will, little by little. I feel that the story of “Hypnosis Mic” is full of mysteries, and these complicated relationships and mysteries are unraveled in rap. Therefore, as the story unfolds, rap is still going to play an important role.  

--You never had any experience with rap before this, right? Hayami: You’re right. That’s why, when they offered, I joined the project only after making sure they know that I know nothing about rap… Actually, the lyrics of Jakurai’s song didn’t completely match his personality in the story. But as the story develops and he gets more raps, the lyrics and his personality fit together better. Incidentally, Jakurai’s solo song “Labyrinth Wall” is tailored for my voice. Therefore I thought that if I work hard on my skills, poetry rapping, and rapping as Jakurai, I will get there someday. However, when I first heard  the demo of “Labyrinth Wall,” I didn’t know what poetry rap was or that it even existed and how it had classical music as its track. I was so appalled I asked my manager, “What the hell is this?” (laughs)

--The first live of “Hypnosis Mic” is coming up on August 26th, right? Hayami: At this stage, the set list has not been finalized yet and I’m a bit worried about whether I can remember all the lyrics by then. By the way, the junior from my agency, Nozuyama (Yukihiro) who voices Arisugawa Dice, has already memorized everything perfectly. If we’re doing all songs including the solos at the live… that’s exactly what “Don’t Make Me Laugh” is about, I just gotta make it work no matter what.

“Let the lyrics created by these men be your heart’s oasis”

--The deadline of the Battle CDs’ voting is coming up. Hayami: It seems that everyone gave us so much support, I’m glad. However, please do it without affecting your daily lifestyle. That being said, I also hate to lose. It’d be nice if each one of you could take one small action to bring Matenrou towards victory. --What kind of actions for example? Hayami: Try something like sneakily placing the CDs and merchandise around someone you’d like to get into Hypnomic… (laughs). If anyone can recommend it to others like, “it’s good, try listening to it” that’d be nice too, but maybe try making people who are already interested in Matenrou love Matenrou. For me, I stealthily follow pedestrians in Shinjuku, whisper Jakurai’s lines behind them, and just brainwash them casually. --What kind of team would you like Matenrou to become in the future? Hayami: Matenrou is a group made up of the most mature people amongst the four divisions. Even though they’re weird, I want them to become a team that is able to give dreams, hope and love to others as grownups. I think Shinjuku, the model of Shinjuku Division, is very charming. It’s a place that has the entertainment district Kabukicho, Shinjuku Gyo-en Park that’s close by, and many corporate buildings. The rap which was born in such a chaotic place will probably be forever bizzare and scandalous.   From now on, if possible, I hope our rap and the other divisions’ raps can be the oasis for the hearts of our listeners where they can be healed. Actually, the casts of Matenrou haven’t had the chance to meet up and do something together yet, so I hope we will do more of that in the future. Then as we get closer to each other, I hope we can deliver better contents with profundity in our drama parts.

[patriciaselina]

[KoePota 071217] Kirameki Wave event report

This is a translation of an event report/interview for the collab radio event Kirameki Wave, held by Iris Quartz Radio’s Yamanaka Masahiro and Shirai Yuusuke, with Voyage Wave’s Takahashi Hidenori and Hamano Daiki! Their guests are Cafe Glass Slipper’s Takatsuka Tomohito and Sweets Shop Waraji’s Terashima Junta. As always, the entire interview is crossposted to Wordpress but can be seen under the cut!

[Source]

Last June 11, Yamanaka Masahiro-san and Shirai Yuusuke-san’s AiRaji and Takahashi Hidenori-san and Hamano Daiki-san’s Voyage Wave (BoyaRaji) had their collaboration event Kirameki Wave in Tokyo’s Ikebukuro Maruchi Hall.

Both shows are distributed by the Internet radio provider RadioTomo, and are talk variety shows catering to women, whose talk topics and corner contents stem from the listeners’ messages. We also have an interview with the personalities after the end of the event.

Public recordings start with them playing the part of each other’s guests.

The four were welcomed by a huge round of applause as they entered the venue, and because it was the first time Shirai-san and Takahashi-san met, they kept saying “please take care of me” and bowing to each other over and over. However, they took being polite way too seriously, and gradually, their heads kept bowing lower and lower until they were both completely sprawled over the ground!

And from there a misfortune happened; the PET bottle of water from one of the two tables fell down and water spilled from it. Despite the sudden accident, Takahashi-san quipped “Just as the script said (lol)” and the audience laughed.

The event started with BoyaRaji recording an episode. This is BoyaRaji’s first event, and with Yamanaka-san and Shirai-san serving as their guests, they collected the surveys they had the audience answer before the start of their program, and worked their talk topics and corner contents off those.

From one of their letters which said “my friend has a boyfriend 15 years older than her,” they ended up talking about how “BoyaRaji doesn’t get those kinds of love talks”. However, with Hamano-san quickly quipping “You’re trembling way too much!” to Takahashi-san’s “A fifteen year age difference,…h,how would that even work?” the tone of the event was set.

And just like that, time went too fast and BoyaRaji’s public recording was over in a blink. And this is where Takatsuka-san makes his entrance…or rather, where an audio comment from YumeRaji’s Itou Kento-san and Nakajima Yoshiki-san went live.

The two got their feelings of “we got to be the guests” through, accompanied with sad guitar music in a musical performance, and the venue ended up laughing. Then they promoted themselves, saying “YumeRaji’s solo event is on June 24th!”

After that surprise audio comment played, AiRaji started their public performance. This time, Takahashi-san and Hamano-san served as the guests. In the first corner, the show’s mascot Kabedon, voiced by Yashiro Taku, asks “what thing am I banging my hand against?” in the “What the don is this?” quiz.

Within the entire crowd who was able to confidently make a guess from that characteristic sound of loose change clinking, only Yamanaka-san thought otherwise, replying to Shirai-san’s “everyone already knows what this is, right?” with a “yes…” that lacked confidence. While the other three got the correct answer of “vending machine”, only Yamanaka-san answered “stairs”, his reason being “I think it sounds like someone leaping down a staircase,” his shoulders slumped as he was the only one with the wrong answer.

And then Takatsuka-san made his entrance once more, for the “Kabedon line” corner, where the five of them had to use two words each from the aforementioned audience survey. In this corner where they have to put together two unrelated words, they had gathered a lot of random words from the audience, and even as they worry over these, they still go and show off their Kabedon lines.

Takatsuka-san, who had to take this challenge on first, had to use the words “umbrella” and “Big Magnum”. While “Big Magnum” barely drove him to his wits’ end, Takatsuka-kun desperately tried to say his line coolly; however, when the other four teased him by asking “so is yours a Big Magnum?”, he shut them down by reminding them of the image of their show, saying “Glass Slipper has a prince concept.”

Terashima Junta joins in the quiz part, and the live part hypes the audience up

Next up was Sweet Shop Waraji’s Terashima Junta-san, who rushed to the event-exclusive part as the additional guest. As they are all radio personalities of currently-airing programs on RadioTomo, they split into two teams for a gesture game where they had to guess their opponent’s words, and their goal was to reach ten points first.

The first gesture was from Yamanaka-san, Takahashi-san and Shirai-san’s team; the three of them interchangeably greet and toast with each other, but for some reason, Shirai-san made idol-like poses, puzzling Hamano-san, Takatsuka-san, and Terashima-san. These three eventually give the answer “a mixer with one loser”, which was surprisingly the correct answer! Suddenly they now have a good lead, with the first three points.

After that, they shuffled the teams on the question and answer sides, and the quiz went on; they got to 10 points without making a wrong answer at all! With such a show of complete domination, it goes without saying that the ties between the six of them had deepened.

In Yamanaka-san and Shirai-san’s mini-live part, they sung “Colors” and “Compass” publicly for the first time, which were included in the mini album released at this event. The fans swung their penlights in response to their singing.

After the excitement of the mini-live, when the six of them gathered onstage again, the event that went on for two and a half hours came to a close. Lastly, saying “there’s a song that can get our feelings across to all of you,” they sung “I love you”, a song also included in the minialbum [Colors], concluding the event.

Takahashi-san, Hamano-san, Takatsuka-san, and Terashima-san got offstage and sung Yamanaka-san and Shirai-san’s song excitedly, together with the fans. The lyric “I love you” echoed throughout the venue, and after the performance, in response to the six of them calling out “Kirameki Wave!”, the audience united in making a wave from the front of the hall to the very back, closing the event with a bang.

Also, during the event, a surprise announcement was made – first off, that a vocal cover album by all ten personalities from “AiRaji”, “BoyaRaji”, “Café Glass Slipper”, “Sweets Shop Waraji”, and “YumeRaji” will be released on October 27. Each unit will be in charge of two songs each, and the genre would be JPOP from the 1970s up to the 2000s.

Also, they announced a live event commemorating the release of said album on October 21, with Yamanaka-san, Shirai-san, Takahashi-san, Hamano-san, and “YumeRaji”’s Itou-san and Nakajima-san taking part. Since they said that subsequent reports will be released on RadioTomo’s official website, it is to be expected that they would also release the public recordings there, as well.

Interview after the event

Please give us your thoughts regarding the collaboration event.

Yamanaka Masahiro: With BoyaRaji appearing as guests, I felt that “our show’s color was changed by so much.” Personally, I was wrecked with emotion upon releasing AiRaji’s theme song. I’d always thought that the me who self-studied music to make music take shape would just remain in my memories. So for a day like this to have come, I am really grateful.

Shirai Yuusuke: Doing collaboration events with other shows just like this is a good opportunity to handle stuff I haven’t handled before, so I think this would be a very stimulating chance for all our shows.  There are programs which have never had events together yet, so from here on out I wanna interact with them more as one big RadioTomo family.

Also, with collaboration events like this, I think this is also an opportunity for listeners of our programs to listen to the other shows, so I’d like to be part of more events like this in the future.

Takahashi Hidenori: Half a year has passed since BoyaRaji started airing, and this is our first event; it made me happy to get to be in a collaboration event this quickly, and what more with our sibling program and senpai AiRaji, it was really stimulating.

Specifically, about taking part in AiRaji’s corners – we’d have fun, sometimes we’d fail – we ended up gaining lots of kinds of experiences, and it was amazing. Working off this experience, there’s a thing I want to exact revenge on during October’s live event, so I wish I can do my best.

Hamano Daiki: This was our first event as part of BoyaRaji – while I was excited about the reaction of the fans who’d come to visit, upon seeing that both our normal listeners and the fans of our sibling programs warmly welcomed us, all I could end up feeling was “I’m glad we did this.” I hope that we can keep on doing this from now on. Together with my partner Hide-san (Takahashi-san), we’ll go make more fun shows.

Takatsuka Tomohito: It’s just been three months since our show Café Glass Slipper started, but I’m really happy that I’d been welcomed into this collaboration event as a guest. Taking part in other shows’ corners was enjoyable in ways different from ours, and, on the other hand, if ever they would get to take part in Café Glass Slipper’s corners, I’m sure it’d be absolute fun. Next time, I’d like to go together with Yamaya-san (Yamaya Yoshitaka-san, his radio show partner)

Terashima Junta: I was only able to participate as an additional guest, but I really enjoyed it. This time I’d also come to introduce our show Sweets Shop Waraji, but that aside, I had a really fun time together with the guys from our sibling programs. I was able to relax without thinking about much, so if there was ever a chance like this, I’d like to be a part of it again.

Please tell us what you look forward to in regards to the album and live event announced today.

Yamanaka Masahiro: Just like with today’s song “I love you”, I’m sure it’ll hype people up and it’ll be fun. I’m also looking forward to what songs the others will think of doing covers of.

Shirai Yuusuke: I think that our live then would level up from our live just now, especially in terms of performance level.

Takahashi Hidenori: This is my first time singing in pairs with Nokki (Hamano-san), and there’s a lot of stuff I don’t know how to do yet, but I’m really looking forward to seeing how we choose and utilize the songs.

Hamano Daiki: I’m looking forward to this new experience! I think I’m excited to get show everyone just what kind of color BoyaRaji has through this. I wonder how many keys they’d have to lower our songs to (lol)

Takatsuka Tomohito: I can’t talk about it more, but I’d like to present it to you as a great song that’ll leave you thinking “I wonder if I can sing this too!?” Café Glass Slipper’s got a princely concept, so it’ll be interesting if I can give off a “princely” feeling too.

Terashima Junta: It’s just been two months since Sweets Shop Waraji started, so of course this is my first time singing with Kawanishi Kengo-san, who I do that show with. I think we can put across an absolutely fresh and new atmosphere [with our singing], so I think we’ll get to stain it with our “Waraji color”.

Oh god its done i can sleep i can finally sleep

my translation index

“please take care of me” = awkward but the usual way to interpret “yoroshiku onegaishimasu” HAHA. basically they’re both being really deferential to each other for this bit until they eventually led to dogeza, YOU ARE RIDICULOUS

“Hamano-san quickly quipping” = the exact word was that Daiki tsukkomi’d Hide-san LOL

I reaaaaaaally need to fix up my RadioTomo male seiyuu sister show lineup intro post soon, but for now, have this Twitter thread, and the fact that the messages about love problems are usually for AiRaji…

Important notes about YumeRaji’s audio comment: the “we got to be the guest” is referring to how they make their ‘guest appearance’ through pre-recorded audio and is most probably affectionate sarcasm, and how extra and bitter do you need to be to actually sing this through, along to TOTTO’S SAD GUITAR MUSIC.

WHAT THE DON IS THIS LOLOL. Actual title is Quiz Kore Nani-don? from how Taku’s Kabedon mascot ends his sentences in “-don”. I ended up making a pun because I am weak against puns.

I think y’all already know this by now, but just in case, “Kabedon” is the act of slamming a hand to trap someone between yourself and a wall. Iris Quartz, the drama CD maker that made AiRaji happen (AiRaji’s full name is “Iris Quartz Radio”), has a very particular fondness for kabedon sichu CDs…

SO I REALLY NEED TO TRANSLATE THIS PORTION IN FULL, CUZ IT WAS AMAZING – but in any case, for Takapi’s Kabedon sichu mentioned here, Shiraimu was his love interest…Daiki was the wall. His line ended with “which do you prefer, his big magnum, or mine!?” and he ended up profusely apologizing to Daiki afterwards LMAO

…what is a big magnum anyway

I was scared you’d ask. NSFW, but okay: It’s a specific XXL brand of condom. Hence why Takapi panics cuz OH GOD GUYS I’M SUPPOSED TO BE A PRINCE

Hence why he also ended up profusely apologizing to Daiki after cuz OH GOD DID I JUST ALLUDE TO YOURS OR MINE – but seriously. Takapi. You have BL together. Deal with it.

Junta is an “additional guest” cuz he only got to drop in on them a bit – he’s not present in either of the publicly released radio episodes recorded at this event – and that’s because he had a KinPri event at the exact same day.

I’m pretty sure I missed a bunch of things, breezing through the article like this, so I might tweet about any and all corrections or clarifications LOL

Please do not reproduce this translation without credit or permission! Thanks for reading!

[trashexplorer]

BLCD 2021: September Releases

Legends:

✓ - have

💡 - interested

✘ - not interested (but will probably still listen to)

🙏 - dying for

1. Haga-kun wa Kamaretai 💡

Release Date: 2021/09/10

Cast: Takahashi Hiroki x Ono Yuuki wow it’s the reverse DataOtoko we didn’t ask for

Synopsis: Prisoner Haga was tired of his boring life in jail and thought of staging a jailbreak! Just at that moment, an alpha prison officer was assigned to him...?

2. Ren’ai Nante Yurushimasen! Mini Drama CD Dear + October Issue ✘

-No Album Cover Yet-

Release Date: 2021/09/14

Cast: Azakami Youhei x Nakajima Yoshiki

Synopsis: Mini drama cd included in the October Issue of the magazine.

3. Coyote 3 & 4 🙏

Release Date: 2021/09/22

Cast: Okitsu Kazuyuki x Ono Yuuki

Synopsis: Adaptation of the third volume of the series of the same name + special drama cd for the release of the fourth.

4. Hidamari ga Kikoeru -Limit 2- ✘

Release Date: 2021/09/22

Cast: Furukawa Makoto x Enoki Junya

Synopsis: Adaptation of the sequel of the same name.

5. Danshi Koukousei, Hajimete no ~Second Color~ Rokkou x Outa Hen ✘

-No Album Cover Yet-

Release Date: 2021/08/23

Cast: Yashiro Taku x Shingaki Tarusuke

Synopsis: It’s actually not on the site lmao but yea it’s nurse x student electric boogaloo 175

6. Tabete mo Oishiku Arimasen 💡

Release Date: 2021/09/24

Cast: Furukawa Makoto x Eguchi Takuya 

Synopsis: A world where demons prevail and humans are rare. Hiyori, a human, is considered to be delicious to demons. However, his classmate, Hodaka, a pushy big-horned demon, found out his secret. On top of that, he kissed and tasted him…Charming a demon---a troublesome situation?! Surrendering to one's instinct and pleasure leads to…

Comment: You know, as much as I love Makonyan, this should have been reversed. 💀 Was Moririn too expensive?

7. 30-sai Made Doutei Dato Mahoutsukai ni Narerushi 2 💡

Release Date: 2021/09/29

Cast: Satou Takuya + Abe Atsushi

Synopsis: Adaptation of the second volume of the series.

8. Osuwari, Yoku Dekimashita ✘ 

Release Date: 2021/09/29

Cast: Azakami Youhei x Itou Kento

Synopsis: Professional soccer player Itsuki and doctor Shuji are two popular tops at the local men's bar. They constantly clash due to their polar-opposite love styles. One day, when Itsuki finds himself in the bar after a lengthy sickness, Shuji takes care of him. In an attempt to sober Itsuki up, Shuji jokingly commands the other dom to sit. To his surprise, Itsuki drops to the ground. Itsuki isn't only baffled by his body's response to Shuji's commands, but by his desire to receive more of them...!!

Comment: Stop making domsub happen, it’s not gonna happen 💀

[asknarashikari]

Anonymous number:

Souma: Wait, isn't this guy one of the ToQgers?

Kadoya: Oi, Narutaki! What is the meaning of this?!

Narutaki: I did not send that.

Narutaki: Even I have standards, Decade.

Emu: Somehow I can't believe that.

Emu; You also sent us pictures of Takeru-kun shirtless.

Emu: One of which was when he was in the shower.

Emu: Just to frame, Kadoya.

Narutaki: THere is a difference.

Narutaki: Ghost wasn't a preteen, he was 18.

Anonymous Number: Sorry, everyone, this is me Sougo.

Anonymous Number: Geiz and I were investigating a time-jacker incident when an "Another Saber" was created.

Geiz: Sougo mistook someone else's phone for his and brought it back.

Tsukuyomi: I told them it was suspicious how the GC app wasn't on the phone.

Touma: Another Saber?

Aruto: Basically Zi-O's monsters.

Aruto: They take the powers and shape of the rider its associated, and makes us powerless.

Geiz: We managed to stop it with someone named Sophia.

Kento: Sophia-sama?

Geiz: The battle did not happen this year.

Geiz: We'll be returning the phone.

Kiriko: If that is the case, then the ToQgers have done well for themselves.

Aruto: One of them is even a model.

Emu: See, Souma? Even a baby sentai have abs than you.

Souma: Oh come on!

Kadoya: So it wasn't you this time, Narutaki.

Narutaki: Onore Dikeido! Give me some credit.

Narutaki; I want you destroyed, for you destroy all worlds.

Narutaki: However, I won't stoop so low.

Tsukuyomi: The reason that photo was sent, was because Sougo misclicked, turns out he can't understand the technology of the future.

Mei: Thank you for informing us, Tsukuyomi-chan.

...Is this a thing now? You sending me shirtless photos of tokusatsu actors?

This is Ryusei Yokohoma, Hikari's actor, right? He broke out rather recently, he's gotten a lot of roles. Good for him ^_^

Honestly I thought Jun Shison (Right's actor) would be more popular, since Reds tend to get a lot of attention, though tbf, in the last few years or so the only Red Ranger actor to really get any mainstream attention was Asahi Itou.

[trashexplorer]

BLCD 2020: November Releases

Legends:

✓ - have      

💡 - interested

✘ - not interested (but will probably still listen to)    

🙏 - dying for

1. Kirai de Isasete ✘

Release Date: 2020/11/04

Cast: Masuda Toshiki x Saitou Souma *Ennoshita x Yamaguchi???

Synopsis: Koga Naoto is an omega who was raped by his alpha classmates and got pregnant. Due to that traumatic experience, he came to hate alphas and told himself that he doesn't need a lifemate or a bond, but even with that incident, he insisted on keeping the child and raised her, and an angel named Shizuku was born. She became his strength and center in this cruel word that treats omegas unfairly. But his life suddenly changed when he met an alpha named Tsuchiya Hazuki from the matchmaking party he forced himself to attend.

2. Tokyu 24-ku Asuma x Sonogi Goods Set Petit Drama CD ✘

-No Album Cover Yet-

Release Date: 2020/11/07

Cast: Yamanaka Masahiro x Mizunaka Masaaki 

3. Dear+ Comics December Issue Therapy Game Restart 🙏

Release Date: 2020/11/13

Cast: Shingaki Tarusuke x Ono Yuuki 

Synopsis: EVERYBODY KNOWS WHAT THIS IS OH MY GOD ITS HAPPENING!!!

3. Ai no Honnou ni Shitagae! 💡

Release Date: 2020/11/18

Cast: Uchida Yuuma x Amasaki Kouhei *I would’ve preferred them reversed, but who knows

Synopsis: 

“I was happy when Yamato-kun held me.”

Nanayasu Ayumu, a failed female variant coming from a high class clan of stick insects, promised himself to abstain from having sex until graduating high school.  Ayumu decides to fly under the radar of his clan and enrolls into Seihoku Gakuen where no one would need, much less, bother him. He is to share a room with Murasaki Yamato, a Great Purple Emperor. Ayumu was excited at the thought of being with someone as wild as Yamato as he has always admired the trait at first, but Yamato and his cousin gets Ayumu involved in a netori game and it seems like his promise of abstinence will get broken! 

Comment: Ayumu is a Micadina Yasumatsui (a family of stick insects) while Yamato is a Great Purple Emperor (a very, very beautiful butterfly)

4. Etoiro Koizoushi 🙏

Release Date: 2020/11/20

Cast: Shingaki Tarusuke x Saitou Souma *FUCKING FINALLY! IN ALL MEANINGS!

Synopsis: Masataka takes care of a shrine, which houses the 12 spirit animals of the Chinese zodiac. One day he gets a surprising visitor, a young man named Kotarou, who is posessed by the cat spirit, Koma. Their own shrine having been burned down, Kotarou now searches for a new place and ends up on Masataka's doorstep.

5. Nidaime! Jigoku Brothers 

Release Date: 2020/11/25

Cast: *some unknown names here

Ono Yuuki x Amasaki Kouhei

Itou Kento x Chiba Shouya

Kamio Shinichirou x Shirai Yuusuke

6. Fujitsu de Fumou na Koi no Kami-kon ✘ *sorry Okitsu 

Release Date: 2020/11/27

Cast: Okitsu Kazuyuki x Eguchi Takuya

Synopsis: 

Sena Itsuki is the hostile, blunt lone wolf whose motto is to pick fights anytime he can. One day, a vampire calls himself Lark appeared in front of Itsuki. He said “So you’re my food…?” and suddenly sunk his teeth into Itsuki’s neck, only to find the blood tasted extremely awful it made him writhe around on the ground…?!

Despite still complaining about the taste after that, Lark sucks Itsuki’s blood at every opportunity. However, there’s some kind of aphrodisiac in the vampire’s fangs so every time he’s sucked, Itsuki gets hard…!!

7. Ookami he no Yomeiri ✘

Release Date: 2020/11/27

Cast: Yashiro Taku x Amasaki Kouhei

Synopsis: Kaede is a rabbit person chosen to be the 'bride' of a distinguished wolf family. Although he does not wish to marry a wolf, his family pleads for him to go so that they can have enough supplies to last for the next two years. However, how will his new husband act towards a little bunny rabbit stuck in the wolf's den?

[trashexplorer]

BLCD Review: The Titan’s Bride

Title: Kyojinzoku no Hanayome (巨人族の花嫁)

Release Date: 2020/03/18

Author/Artist: ITKZ

Cast: Ono Yuuki x Itou Kento

Synopsis: “It’s like a small fruit…” The Titan’s large hands grasped my thing easily with one hand… With the difference in our size, if we go all the way, I’m definitely gonna die…!?

Review Proper

I initially thought that this would just be an extra which wasn’t in the manga, but they actually adapted the first two chapters of it. My god, I swear I just blinked after making my March Releases and when I opened my eyes, I find out that this was getting an anime! And look at what it was categorized as in MAL before:

WITH A SYNOPSIS LIKE THAT?! HAHAHAHHAHA

I was curious if there’d be any differences on the volume of voices Cauis and Kouichi would speak in considering the height difference. You know how bigger the person, the bigger the voice should be, right? However, they turned out to be using the same volume. Ono Yuuki did alter his voice to sound deeper and more booming, which suited his role perfectly, but I heard him slip into a higher pitch here and there at times. You can’t fool me, boy. We go way back. 😂 Itou Kento’s Kouichi was a little dramatic than I thought he should be, but he managed to make that his own, so I don’t have any qualms about that. The sound direction could be better especially in the sfx departments, but I think that it was okay for the limited amount of content they had to go on.

I would be super interested in listening to a full BLCD adaptation instead of an anime one, though. I heard that the anime was a complete disaster so far because they took so many major plot points out of it, which is a shame because it's actually quite well-written for what it is: porn. But well, at least the anime retained the original cast unlike that anime adaptation I refuse to acknowledge the very existence of that rhymes with Given. If they were just going to take some random work and adapt it into an anime without even conveying a single thing that the manga was or is trying to tell, then I hope the anime production companies would just leave the BL world alone. I still have my fingers crossed for Clouds Gather, though. 

The CD is only around thirty minutes long, so there really isn’t much to go on with. It’s pretty accurate to the manga, though, so you can definitely read it along with the CD. Is it worth the spend? If you’re willing, then break a leg. But I think waiting for a whole BLCD adaptation would be better. I haven’t seen the anime, but I don’t think I would and would ever plan to. 😂

[trashexplorer]

BLCD Review: Kuro ka Shiro ka 1 & 2

Title: Kuro ka Shiro ka 1 & 2 ( 黒か白か 1 & 2)

Author/Artist: Sachimo

Release Date: 2019/03/80 & 2019/10/25

Cast:

Hirakawa Daisuke x Itou Kento

Okitsu Kazuyuki

Tamaru Atsushi

Toriumi Kousuke

Tadokoro Hinata

Synopsis: Himemiya Shin has always wanted to become an actor ever since he was in high school. Now, he is an up and coming actor who only gets roles for the bad guys. Tatebayashi Kazushige has always wanted to go to college, but instead he became an actor. Now, he is an up and coming ikemen who only gets the likable roles. These two opposites may look like they have nothing in common on the outside, however, what secrets lay on the inside? Follow these two as their mysterious show business secret love unfolds. (Exiled Rebels Scans)

Review Proper

You can’t expect me not to listen to this after Kusabi Keri. 😂 No, but seriously, this is the only work Sachimo has that’s really drawn me in post KD. Can you believe that it’s going to be four years since it came out??? Anyway, Flaver and Principle were fine—I’m still disappointed with Flaver’s casting, though. I love you, Yusa but I’m so sorry! Which brings us to my biggest gripe on this adaptation: the voice work.

I’M SO SORRY, HIRARIN BUT YOU WEREN’T A GOOD FIT FOR THAT ROLE😭😭😭

I personally think that Shige should have been voiced by someone who had a higher pitch than Hirarin. Like Okitsu or Shingaki Tarusuke for example. HAHAHAHA I MEAN, IF THEY MANAGED TO RECYCLE OKITSU FOR ANOTHER SACHIMO WORK, MIGHT AS WELL MAKE HIM THE SEME! 😂 Same goes for Shingaki Tarusuke. I know that he was a lead in Principle, but I know that he’d be a perfect fit for Shige. Okitsu and Shingaki are the ones to turn to when you want a troubled prince. Hirarin voicing Shige is like making Maeno Tomoaki voice Miyauchi, ya dig? I thought that Hirarin would grow on me since I’d be listening to the two CDs subsequently, but he really didn’t. Doesn’t help the fact that I didn’t want to say this you can feel him struggle sometimes. 

You see, Hirarin’s mainly uses a cute/onee tone (Mito-san from Secret XXX) for princely roles and though Shige’s personality call for a cooler and more seductive voice, I can forgive that. In brood mode, Hirarin switches to his Aozora Hayato tone which I like, but there’s this part where he and Shin fights, right? Put on a scale of one to ten with his prince tone at one, Hirarin’s brooding is at four, but when he’s angry, IT GOES UP TO A TEN IVAN FIORE FUCK SHIT SHIT SODOM NO NAKAMA. Let’s just say that the fight scene was awkward because you could hear him force himself to tone it down. 

Speaking of that fight scene, Itou Kento was just as awkward as Hirarin then.  😂 I actually thought that he was going to be swallowed whole by Hirarin’s acting, but he did surprisingly better than I hoped he would. However, I would be lying if I said that his performance was consistent. You can feel like he’s just reading off the script sometimes, and oof there were some parts of the mattress mambos where he just placed an unnecessary amount of extra “ahs” in there.  😂 It’s kinda disappointing considering that their performance in the second CD hasn’t improved much from the first. 

The extras were perfect, though! I mean, it’s Okitsu my man! But I feel so bad because not only does his character look like Miyauchi, HE EVEN SOUNDS LIKE HIM. THANKS FOR MAKING MIYAUCHI SUFFER AGAIN, SACHIMO. THIS ISN’T WHAT I MEANT WHEN I SAID I WANTED MORE MIYAUCHI IN MY LIFE. smh. What if he gets his own sequel??? I mean, I do ship him with Hanasaki-san, but I want someone to take care of him like Kudo. 😭😭😭 But I’ve no qualms if Hanasaki-san tops him. PLEASE MAKE IT HAPPEN. Also, isn’t it so funny that Toriumi Kousuke always gets the manager role? He’s in a similar role in DakaOtoko, so I’m wishing for a story for his equally stuck up ass, too! 😂 Maybe with Shige’s manager? If it’s Tatara, I’m sure that he’ll bottom lol. 

So this review is really just me spazzing over the voice actors. 👍 Overall, the execution was fine; the voice work on the leads’ part needs some serious improvement; there are a few jumps here and there and a considerable amount of adlibs in the BLCD, so I think that it’d be a little difficult to catch up while reading the manga esp if you’re a beginner. I still do recommend listening to it if you’re a fan of the series, though, because there are also a lot of extras which aren’t included in the manga which are in the BLCD, so that’s a treat. I just really have to say that the voice work (esp on Hirarin’s part) is awkward. I do hope he grows on me before the next CD, but I think that’s bleak. 😂

[trashexplorer]

BLCD Review: Koubutsu wa Kossori Kakushite Hara no Naka

Title: Koubutsu wa Kossori Kakushite Hara no Naka (好物はこっそりかくして腹のなか)

Release Date: 2018/07/27

Author/Artist: Tsurusawa Tsutako

Pairings:

Nakajima Yoshiki x Ono Yuuki 

Itou Kento x Suzuki Yuuto

Eguchi Takuya x Saitou Souma 

Okitsu Kazuyuki + Kobayashi Yuusuke

Synopsis: Sequel to Koubutsu wa Ichiban Saigo ni Hara no Naka which features the lives of Noa and Kazui’s children: Noel, Kazuya, Norris. 

Review Proper

Okay so let me rephrase that synopsis. Basically we have sixteen tracks (including the omakes but excluding the cast talk) and each pair has five tracks while Noa and Kazui gets one special track. First pair actually happens to be Kazuya and Lucas who’s voiced by Eguchi Takuya and Saitou Souma, then we have Norris and Mero voiced by Nakajima Yoshiki and Ono Yuuki, and lastly Kotetsu-san and Noel who's voiced by Itou Kento and Suzuki Yuuto. Since the cover is Norris and Mero, I surmise that they are the main couple although all couples had equal exposure.

As for the order of birth, Norris and Noel are the twins while Kazuya is the youngest son born years later. 

This is so fucking confusing to me.

Let me explain.

Lucas meets Kazuya when he was a BABY but Lucas is evidently much older because he actually works with Noa-san as a fellow model. So just how big is their gap exactly? And does Lucas not age or do their kind just grow up really fast? Despite paying really hard attention to the plot, I really couldn’t understand what it was that Lucas had for him to be unable to stick to just one partner and I just gave up understanding in the end. And at the time that he starts to pursue Lucas, Kazuya says that there wouldn’t be a problem with his folks because Norris and Noel have been LONG married. 

NOW WAIT JUST A FUCKING SECOND - 

I thought that Kazuya was just a newbie model that was a little over high school age so how the fuck could his brothers who were older than him for only a few years BE MARRIED???

So yeah. Long story short, I just gave up understanding that and moved on to listening to the second story about Norris and Mero.

FUCKING MERO CLAIMED NORRIS FROM THE GET GO WTF. THAT’S A FUCKING CRIME. Like, imagine a middle school boy GROOMING a FUCKING CHILD to become his bride. AND HE FUCKING RELEASES HIS PHEROMONES TO TEACH THE FUCKING CHILD HOW TO MASTURBATE WTFFFFFF. BOOOIIIIIII????!!!!!! WHERE ARE YOUR PARENTS???? ARE NOA AND KAZUI TOO BUSY FUCKING EACH OTHER THAT THEY LET THEIR CHILD GO THROUGH FUCKING CHILD MOLESTATION AND ABUSE? WHAT IN THE ACTUAL FUCK. And they just move in like that and we never get to hear anything from Norris’ parents.

What the fuck?

Next.

Okay, last story. HOW THE FUCK DID THEY JUST LET NOEL MOVE OUT AT THAT AGE. JUST IMAGINE. HE JUST STARTED HIS HEAT SO IDK BY OMEGAVERSE STANDARDS HE’S PROBS IN HS. He moves in with his crush, Kotetsu-san whom he cannot seduce with his pheromones who is ALSO HIS DAD’S WORKMATE. SO BASICALLY HE MIGHT JUST BE AS OLD AS HIS FUCKING FATHER. AND THIS- THIS CHILD WANTS TO SEDUCE THIS MAN WITH HIS PHEROMONES FROM THE GET GO.

WHAT IN THE ACTUAL FUCK????

I’m not sure if their cohabitation spanned years but, Kotetsu-san makes it very clear that he doesn’t want to lay his hands on a MINOR - BUT HE DOES ANYWAY.

STAY RIGHT THERE, I’M CALLING THE POLICE.

Also, Noel looks a lot like his mother, Kazui which is probably why Noa-san adores him. Noa-san always comes creepily close with him omg OKITSU STOP THIS.

My brain hurts.

I really, really, HATE child abuse and pedophilia - which explains why I loathe Super Lovers (which I used to religiously read because I thought Haru could wait) and every shota series out there. So do NOT expect me to like this. Fucking throw this in the trash can. I actually really liked the prequel so this was a big disappointment. I wish they could’ve just given us a glimpse of the lives of the couples after the prequel (especially the third one with Shirai Yusuke and Miyake Kenta) here in this CD instead. 🙄

Voice work was okay over all. Everyone did a great job and this was a step up from Ono Yuuki’s DakaOtoko performance so there’s that. Mattress mambos were... I’d rather not talk about it. I’m not sure if this is licensed but I’m glad that no one’s willing to translate the manga because we don’t need more bullshit into this world.

Do I recommend this? 

HELL NO.

Stay clear of this if you’re uncomfortable with pedophilia. (who the hell’s comfortable with that?)

[trashexplorer]

BLCD Review: Chic na Megane to Ki ni Naru Karada

Title: Chic na Megane to Ki ni Naru Karada (シックな眼鏡と気になるカラダ)

Release Date: 2018/01/31

Cast: Itou Kento x Yamaya Yoshitaka

Synopsis: Ryouta’s a fashion design prodigy that appears in several competitions for the trade despite just being a sophomore in college. He finds it hard to keep up with his perfectionist self - he even makes a last minute decision to change models for his upcoming competition because he wasn’t satisfied with his model’s physique. One fateful day, he bumps into Hiyori from Biotech and the man wrecks his special glasses which were given to him by his grandfather. As Hiyori offers to help him get to his glasses shop, Ryouta realizes that Hiyori had what he was looking for in a model.

Review Proper

An update on my flu: It’s gotten worse.

But I’m less cranky now.

less.

This doesn’t have a significant climax and I honestly can’t say much about it because there’s really not much to say. It has six tracks which honestly could just be compressed into one track that’s about 22 minutes long.

Here’s an idea: just make a CD and add this after Ambivalence, make them run 20 something minutes each and name it “Marble Records: X-Farce”. 🙊

The plot’s generic as fuck and I’ve nothing to add to that. The characters did manage to grab me a little. I did legitimately feel bad for the Ryouta when I felt that Hiyori may just really be after Ryouta bc of his megane fetish. Side note: me and Ryouta have technically the same type of glasses. The side story of it belonging to his grandfather had no relevance to the story at all. I mean, no one cares - even Ryouta. Back to the topic of Hiyori, even though the plot was generic, he was a little unpredictable so I guess that’s a good thing? Or maybe I’m just that sick. Idk.

The VAs did a decent job. There weren’t any inconsistencies with their acting - well, except for this scene where they were on their way home after the long-awaited shoot and this person chats with Ryouta on how the staff thought that he cried because he was moved by the shoot and all and then Ryouta defends himself by saying that his contacts were just irritating him. It took me a minute to realize that Ryouta was actually talking to Hiyori because I completely thought that it was just a member of the staff. Itou Kento’s voice sounded deeper then and maybe it was just because my ear canals are filled with phlegm that I mistook his voice for someone else. Idk.

The chemistry was so-so. But that’s understandable since this might be the first time that they’re working together. I have to mention though that I was hacking when I heard the familiar Miracle no Ton sound track in the background - I can’t believe that they still use that! 

I’VE BEEN SIDETRACKED!!!

HAHAHAHA

There was this other work that used the same bgms other than Miracle no Ton and I just had to find out what it was. I watched it when I was a junior in high school and I could only remember how sensei’s art was and that it was about these two brothers who weren’t blood related but the younger bro falls in love with his onii-chan who he calls “Nii~” but I wasn’t sure if it had a manga or if what I watched was just a fan read-along (it was colored so if it was fan made the one who made it had some talent considering it was around 2010) or something else. I’ve seen Sakura Haiji’s name pop up in my searches a lot but I didn’t think to check his profile out until an hour later. Jfc, Francesca. The artwork was definitely his but, I couldn’t find what I was looking for in his profile. Fast forward to another hour later, I finally opened that Otona ni Natte mo OVA video that kept on popping up in my search and lo and behold, it was the second episode entitled: Sukitte Itte Yurusaremasuka? - you really can’t find any info about this any where and the video I found was subbed in Español. There used to be one in English but considering how old it was, YT has probably deleted it by now.  Should I sub this in English again? 

Man, the feeling it gave me when it played. 😌 Wow, I really am getting old. I was so surprised to find that Atsushi and Kyouichi were voiced by Maeno Tomoaki and Sasanuma Akira respectively. I completely thought that Maeno Tomoaki entered the scene around 2010 (when Kiniro no Corda 3 was released) but it turns out that he’s been out and about for longer. 

Now where was I?

Oh. Chic na Megane to Ki ni Naru Karada, right. The only good thing about this BLCD was that it made me have a throwback which was completely unrelated to the CD itself. So yeah, maybe I could recommend this to anyone who’s got a lot of time to kill - I say a lot ‘cause there are other works you should listen to before you consider listening to this that are slightly better. 

I’ve nothing more to say.

Peace out.

[eng-hypnosismic]

SPOON 2Di Vol. 34: Song Commentary of Producers from EVIL LINE RECORDS

This interview was taken from Spoon Magazine vol. 34. Make sure to buy it to support the producers!

Buster Bros!!!

Ore ga Ichiro

Yamada Ichiro’s song “Ore ga Ichiro” is based on the classic street style track, spun into a dramatic arrangement by Creator Guild’s Gesshoku Kaigi. Cola Bintarou-san (a.k.a Kimura Subaru) oversaw and compiled the whole project, complete with lyrics that shine with overflowing manliness. (Hirano)

Sensenfukoku

Yamada Jiro’s aggressive nature takes form in “Sensenfukoku”, a song with a hardy sound similar to Prophets of Rage. Based on a mixture of rock bands like ROTTENGRAFFTY, Dragon Ash, and others; we wanted to make sure that it’d make the crowd scream at live performances. This is another way that Gesshoku Kaigi unifies its creative processes. (Hirano)

New Star

For the brilliant yet cheeky second year middle schooler, Yamada Saburo, Miura Koushi incorporated a sampling of classical music in the production of “New Star”. In contrast to Jiro’s powerful strikes, we wondered how could we make Saburo’s song feel like a chuuni’s fantasy. After our discussion,  Miura-san chose to include “Aria on G String”, a delicate melody that everyone recognizes from their music lessons. (Hirano)

Mad Trigger Crew

G anthem of Y-CITY

Much like Samatoki himself, his song is straight up self-boasting and brutal. Since his early life is touched upon as well, I aimed for a GANGSTA-RAP theme. While it takes inspiration from legendary gangsta crew songs, sound effects that reminds people of the Yakuza were also added. I think with its unrefined yet simple feeling, the song becomes addictive the more you listen to it. (Nagashima)

Bayside Smoking Blues

Due to Juto’s cool and mature atmosphere, I aimed for his song to be trendy and stylish; different from the other two. Since he’s known as a “dirty cop”, I tried referring to the atmosphere of main themes of some Japanese movies. I think this is the easiest song to listen in Yokohama. In fact, he says a lot of vulgar words that it almost sound like an AV (laughs). (Nagashima)

What’s My Name?

This is completely G-Funk! As ordered. I also referenced European military songs. I thought of adding a call-and-response rap for the hook. “Survival Cooking”, the catchy yet scary punchline, is the real deal but it’s quite a struggle to come up with. I hope you will enjoy shouting along while listening to it.  (Nagashima)

Matenrou

Labyrinth Wall

GADORO-kun, a new and rising rapper, who recently dominated at KOK 2017(1), wrote the rap. Conveniently, Hayami-san was challenged with a poetry reading rap, which is GADORO-kun’s specialty. It’s amazing how Hayami-san could follow through breathlessly. The track was composed by Yokoyama Masaru-kun, in reference to the BGM “White Comet” from the movie Space Battleship Yamato(2). Jinguji Jakurai's character is shown to hold within him a "cold flame".  (Miyamoto)

Champagne Gold

The best host, Izanami Hifumi, made a party tune that everyone could enjoy. Torio-san of Gesshoku Kaigi did the arrangement and Fujimori Shingo-san wrote the lyrics. Anyways, I thought we could include a call part in the character song as a way to loosen up. Kijima Ryuichi-san also gave out ideas of how to approach singing the song at the recording site. (Hirano)

Tigridia

Everyone requested for the hip-hop band AFRO PARKER-san to write the song for the salaryman. The gap between the song title "Tigridia" and the contents of Doppo's rap is amusing, so please look up it’s meaning in the language of flowers(3). Itou Kento-san's skills were surprising and the parts with overlapping voices were all approached in different manners of rap. (Mori)

Fling Posse

Drops

The concept behind the song was “Ramuda skipping with a lollipop in his mouth”. Ramuda is both cute and cunning, and Shirai Yuusuke-san was able to convey both sides of his character through his singing. Maybe you can see a glimpse of Ramuda’s hidden strength in the rap parts. (Mori)

Scenario Liar

When Yumeno Gentaro speaks of his past, he narrates as if telling a story. What is a lie, what is a truth - all of his remarks are a mystery; this song was made this way because it’s Yumeno Gentaro. The line “It’s just a lie” was set on top of the track, and Soma Saito-san’s murmured whispers were mixed in. I want people to feel Gentaro’s sexiness. (Mori)

3$EVEN

The notation of the title “3$EVEN” using the combination of “$” and “even” to read “seven” is a common way of expression used not only in hip-hop but also in english speaking countries. This time, I tried expressing the gambling theme by focusing on slot machines. It might be interesting to look up the sound effects used in the track and the pachinko slot terms used in the lyrics. Nozuyama Yukihiro-san’s “It’s was a dream!” line was very Dice-like. I like it. (Mori)

Director’s Comment (on the project)

In order to show the strong personalities of the four Divisions, the music production was divided amongst the four production directors of EVIL LINE RECORDS. I, Hirano, am responsible for Ikebukuro, the head of EVIL LINE RECORDS label - Miyamoto for Shinjuku, Hip-hop culture guru Nagashima for Yokohama, and the youngest director - Mori mainly follows Shibuya. There are multiple people in the production, so I think there’s a wide range of musical ideas, and an extraordinary richness in character. As the battles unfold in the story of Hypmic, our battles as production directors also unfolds behind the scenes. (Hirano)

1. “King of Kings 2017” was a freestyle rapping championship held in Japan.

2. Feel the epicness

3. For those curious “Tigridia” refers to the tiger lily. Its meaning in the language of flowers is “love me, help me”.