I just got a hold of a really interesting CD. Remember that Mousou CD that Darkmirage was talking about some time ago? Well, this one follows the same idea - that is to say, seiyuus reading out lines for male otakus to fap to that would deliver a moe attack to any self-respecting otaku. Only, this drama CD by Edge Records features something a little different....Remember to lock your door, and close your windows. Do not let any one in, lest you live to regret it. Beware - for yanderes are about.
 
For the uninitiated, yandere (ヤンデレ)  refers to a personality trait that starts off as loving and gentle, only to become dangerously psychotic as time goes by. Examples would include Ryugu Rena from Higurashi, Kaede from Shuffle!, and of course, Kotonoha Katsura from Nice Boat School Days. You can't have a topic on yanderes without mentioning School Days at least once, now can you?

Featured in the CD are three seiyuus whose name should be pretty familiar. Ochiai Yurika, who did Konomi from To Heart 2, played the role of a jealous little sister (Nagisa) surprisingly well. Her voice just fits the part of an imouto, especially when Nagisa just goes batshit insane. Brrr...Just remembering those raving outbursts of hers sends thrills down my spine.

 Hirohashi Ryou, who played the role of Kyou in CLANNAD ( KYOU-SAMA~!!!!), lent her tomboy-ish voice to the protagonist's childhood friend, Ayase. Although her scenario is the most brutal, it didn't creep me out as much as the other two - Hirohashi just kept more or less the same voice throughout the entire thing. I was half expecting her to go all Oyashiro-sama like Nagisa did, but was pretty disappointed when she didn't.

The last, however, freaked me out the most. Kawaragi Shiho, who did Sekai from School Days (told you that you couldn't do yandere without School Days! They even had to bring one of the staff from School Days over. Nice Boat.), plays a quiet girl whom the protagonist saved from some bullies one day (somehow, I"m reminded of her other role as Megu, Suigintou's medium in Rozen Maiden). Yes, there weren't any violent outbursts like in Nagisa's story. Yes, Kawaragi said her lines in the same calm voice throughout the entire thing. But there's something about this shy, timid girl calmly reciting how she stabbed Ayase with a garden shovel, and how she turned the corpse into the school's flowerbed that gives me the creeps. And the twist at the end - well, its not so much a twist if you have been listening carefully to what she's saying. But, man, I certainly would not want to meet such a girl in real life.

Anyway  you can stream the entire contents of the CD here. Go ahead, give it a try. Where is there to fear? Just keep an eye over your shoulder...With yanderes, you can never let your guard down...


So, what do you think? Do listening to cute, psychotic girls make you melt out of the sheer moe-ness of it? Or are you like me, who's hiding under the covers, afraid of anything even remotely sharp? Regardless, I would be eagerly waiting for the next yandere album to be released. This one features even more seiyuus, a larger cast of characters and even a pair of twins that bears a strange resemblance to Suiseiseki and Souseiseki. : )
  

Man, how much have I missed this. One does not know how much one has enjoyed a series till it is gone. Watching this has made me realized how much I had enjoyed CLANNAD. But I digress. I'm getting ahead of myself. Jumping the gun, so to speak. Well then...


As promised, the 8th CLANNAD DVD comes along with an additional OVA episode. As the name implies, this so-called episode 24 features an alternate universe, one in which Tomoya ended up with Tomoyo instead of Nagisa. If you remember from the original CLANNAD anime that aired earlier this year, the Tomoyo arc (along with the Kyou arc) were given the cut and promptly written out of the story, much to the anguish of Tomoyo and Kyou fans alike. Releasing this OVA helps please the Tomoyo fans (not to mention that it would ensure quick sales of the CLANNAD DVD, but that's another story). Sorry, Kyou lovers, there's nothing for you. Meanwhile, you fanboys/girls can go practice throwing dictionaries at pictures of the guys at KyoAni. If you are lucky, maybe Kyou-sama would listen and heed your prayers and get them to make something for her. :P



Its pretty obvious whose bento is whose. One is made with tender love, while the other looks like the remains of a freshly mowed lawn. Shows how much regard Tomoyo has for Sunohara, not that I would blame her.


Making an appearance in the CLANNAD universe is Fukuyama Jun, who also voices Lelouch in Code Geass. I had a laugh when I heard his voice.




If there's one scene that I would remember, it would be of Tomoyo's hauntingly lifeless eyes. They just seem so cold...So empty...So devoid of life. Its as if all the light in the world has gone out for her - that she will never feel happiness ever again. Tomoyo may be a strong girl, but she is still a girl nevertheless. She values her relationship with Tomoya very much - other than striving to preserve the sakura trees, that relationship is her raison d'etre. We've seen how a simple jest about breaking up has Tomoyo going all depressed. Imagine the shock, the emotional turmoil that she must be going through right at that moment, when she was forced to realize that in order to achieve her dreams, she has to break off her relationship with the one she loves. Once again, look at those eyes. Those are the eyes of one who have stared into the bottomless pit of despair, and suddenly found themselves wallowing within its murky depths.

And is it a bad sign that I am reminded of School Days whenever I see eyes like that?


Sunohara, once again proving himself to be more than just a comic character. Through the difficult times following Tomoya breaking up with Tomoyo, he was there, providing support for his buddy. As we have seen repeatedly throughout the CLANNAD series, there's more to Sunohara than meets the eye. He can be surprisingly perspective at times (like during the Fuko arc - Dozo! Have a starfish!), and shows great strength of character when the situation calls for it. He is the Kitagawa that never was.


Something about Japanese speaking Engrish makes me want to laugh out loud. But Tomoyo with glasses is moe.
 


The ending scene. Words fail me. Downright emotional. Tomoya, still trying to play it cool, telling Tomoyo that his place is here, in this town. That he won't be going anywhere, that his future is stagnant, unmoving. That she deserves better, so much more than what he could give. She has places to go, great things to accomplish. That someone like her shouldn't waste her time on a good-for-nothing delinquent like him.

I especially enjoyed the imagery of the railway tracks. Tomoya strikes a forlorn figure, standing there all alone at the barrier. The alarm sounds shrilly, crying for a train that's never going to come. And he stands there, unable to move forward with his life. That is, until Tomoyo spoke up. Cue insert song Ana.



Beautiful. Simply beautiful. Even through they condensed almost half the plot into a short 25 minute episode, the way KyoAni pulled it off leaves me wanting for more. Tomoyo just beats out Nagisa, especially if you include Tomoyo After. It only heightens the hope that KyoAni would give us a Tomoyo After OVA. Now, that woul d be prefect.

An excellent episode, even if things were a bit rushed, never mind the fact that KyoAni had changed something with the plot. In the game, Tomoya is supposed to return to his old lifestyle after he broke up with Tomoyo. When he finally adopted his old sleeping habits again, he uttered the lint "The last thing that Tomoyo gave me is now gone.” Here, however, Tomoya kept going, living the life that Tomoyo wants him to have - that of a normal student. While I felt that the old line added to the emotional impact of the story, the way that KyoAni did it just feels right.

Like I said at the beginning of this post, watching this has made me realize how much I had enjoyed CLANNAD, even more so than Kanon or AIR. CLANNAD truly is KEY's masterpiece. Now we just have to wait for CLANNAD ~After Story~, which will probably be debuting this fall.

I first heard about Mirai Nikki from double's blog. He was comparing it to both Battle Royale and Death Note, describing it as a mix between the two. His post had me vaguely interested in the series. Which is all fine and well, but as luck would have it, I totally forgotten about the entire thing while drifting along in the rushing torrent we call Life.

Well, that is, until Twi from Onemanga asked me to help proofread Mirai Nikki Chapter 29 for him.

Mirai Nikki? Doesn't that sound familiar? Anyway, since I was stuck in camp (again) and had nothing much to do, I decided to help Twi out. Looking through the raws for chapter 29 pricked my interest. Reminded of the series again, I spammed through all 30 chapters of it during the weekends. Man, that was a fun read.

Mirai Nikki, which literally translates to “The Future Diary”, is a story about a “game” between 12 contestants. Organized by a god called Deus Ex Machina (what kind of name is that? >.>), each contestant receives a diary which the different abilities to predict the future. How each diary differs depends on the original writing style of the contestant. For example, the 1st Diary Holder Yukki updates his diary as if he was a bystander, only writing about the events that takes place around him and never about himself. The diary that he got from Deus, thus, follows his writing style, providing information on things that happen around him, but never about himself. Which means that he can hurt, but his diary won't tell him that.

Of course, nothing in this world is free. Why would a god of Cause and Effect play around with his own laws and create such a game? For sadistic pleasure? Possibly, since I think that the whole world is one big joke that we aren't getting. I'll bet that the Big Guy up there is having a good laugh at the bumbling edicts of us common folk.

Anyway, Dhaos Deus is about to die (How can a god die? Don't ask me. Well, Odin and Ra both died, but they didn't really die, if you know what I mean). Which is why he brought about this "game" - a game of survival, where the last one standing about be the successor of Deus, inheriting all of Deus mighty *cough* power. Using the prowess of the diary, each contestant is to hunt down the other and "remove" them from the game - either by killing them outright or by destroying their diary, which would kill them too (sounds a little like Fate/Stay Night).

Euphie! Nooo!

So what makes Mirai Nikki stand out from other mangas? One, is the recurring theme of trust and betrayal, as double has pointed out. Like he said, there are characters who appear outwardly trustworthy, only to turn around and stab you in the back while hiding behind a smile. Like they say, it is not the enemies you see that you should be wary of - it is those that you can't see that you should truly be fearful of. Lesser themes are touched upon, such as one upbringing affecting one's behavior and outlook on life. It makes for a pretty entertaining read, with each chapter leaving me guessing as to what would happen next.

Of course, I draw parallels here between Mirai Nikki and Higurashi. Like Higurashi, Mirai Nikki has psychotic girls going around with sharp objects in their hands. You won't want to mess with them, especially not with Gasai Yuno, the 2nd Diary Holder. She's one insane chick, I can give you that. I keep expecting her to go "USO-DA!!!!". Pity that she didn't. (Rena FTW )

USO-DA!

With only 30 chapters (29, if you only count the english scans) out at the moment, this is one bite-sized manga series that you might want to take a look at. You won't be disappointed that you did.