Now that the summer anime season has begun I decided to watch Ookami-san to Shichinin no Nakamatachi first since it is one of the first shows to start airing. From the get go with it’s take on Cinderella it’s easy to tell that the show will be unique in it’s interpretations of classic fairy tails. However I’m not here to talk about that. What most excited me about the show was the narrator. Yes the narrator. Why? Because it’s Arai Satomi, the voice of Shirai Kuroko.

I don’t make it a secret that I love Shirai Kuroko of To Aru Kagaku no Railgun. Part of it is due to her yuri perversions but the other factor that puts her above many of my other yuri crushes is her voice. Seiyuu Arai Satomi has voice that’s easily discernible from other voice actresses. That very distinct way speaking and how she stresses her syllables imparts a certain uniqueness to the character. There’s a reason a simple and mundane-sounding phrase such as “Judgment desu no” has become her iconic quote and an internet meme. In fact other seiyuu have acknowledged this and tried to imitate it for fun. You can see an example here of Toyosaki Aki, the voice of Uiharu Kazari, doing her own rendition at the 5 minute mark.

Anyway back to Ookami-san. Arai’s voice does a great job of accentuating as well as providing it’s own flavor of comedy to the show. From the very onset she starts off with “Long, Long ago–well, actually not too long ago.” This line was made for Arai. She injects that sense of sarcasm that only she can do while reading it. Right away you can tell that she’ll be a major part of the show.

A lot of the time she narrates as one would normally expect but she also inserts her own offhand hilarious commentary when she gets a chance. When she introduces the titular character Ookami and her friend Ringo, one of the first things she does is point out how pitifully flat they are. They take exception to this which leads to a little breaking of the fourth wall. It sort of reminds me of what Hayate no Gotoku’s narrator would do. The episode is full of fanservice shots as well and the narrator carries overs the gag always “apologizing” to the audience for the less-than-well-endowed heroines.

Narrator is Disappoint

This style of narration is present throughout the first episode for various situations and it’s always a blast to hear Arai make fun of something. This proactive style of narration is quite engaging and really has me more tuned into the show than normal. In a sense it’s like watching a play with actors involving the audience which is quite fitting given the source material. It’s also sort of like having your sarcastic yuri friend (not me!) making comments while watching. Because of this I’m really looking forward to the next episode. The show has a lot going for it and it will be nice to see how it capitalizes on the story and narration to create something novel.

According to Voice Newtype magazine no.31, Tsundere Voice Actress Extraordinaire Kugimiya Rie won Best Actress in The 3rd Seiyuu Award. She also won Best Supporting Actress last year for her role as Sanzenin Nagi (Hayate no Gotoku). Other winners of this year’s award include the following:

• Best Actor: Kamiya Hiroshi
• Best Supporting Actor: Inoue Kazuhiko, Sugita Tomokazu
• Best Supporting Actress: Endo Aya, Sawashiro Miyuki
• Best Newface Actor: Okamoto Nobuhiko, Kaji Yuuki
• Best Newface Actress: Asumi Kana, Tomatsu Haruka
• Best Singer: Nakajima Megumi
• Best Radio Personality: Fukuyama Jun

In particular I am pleased that Sugita Tomokazu, Endo Aya, Sawashiro Miyuki, Asumi Kana and Tomatsu Haruka also won. I especially love Sawashiro and Tomatsu for their roles in Kannagi and Asumi’s leading role as Yuno from Hidamari Sketch while I enjoy the various roles of Sugita and Endo.

I’ll remember to watch the actual award ceremony on the 7th from NicoNico Douga or something.

Image Source: http://jehanaruto.deviantart.com/

Image borrowed form Kurogane.

The CD I am talking about is the Yandere CD (ヤンデレの女の子に死ぬほど愛されて眠れないCD) which was released on the eleventh this month. For those of you who may not know, yandere refers to a personality that is extremely loving at first but becomes brutally psychotic. One good example would be Kotonoha from Nice Boat School Days. You can watch a sample video at the official website. If you want to hear more, you can download the Yandere CD below and if you like it enough, buy it here:

Below you can listen to 2 sample tracks from the Mousou Voice CD’s. Kozakura Ume comes from the Kokuhaku (告白, confession) CD. I don’t know why but hearing a tomboy say “ore” and “ze” is hot. The second one, Sakuragawa Himeko, is from the Oshikari CD (おしかり, scolding). Tsundere fans will really like this CD. I used the Oshikari CD for my alarm for quite a while since apparently hearing cute Japanese girls yell at me is a pretty effective form of motivation to wake up. Of course, the occasional loli helps too.

For those who downloaded the Yandere CD, did you guys find it arousing or just plain creepy? My vote is for the former but then again as a friend has told me, “You like everything!”

• AIR
• Kanon
• 涼宮ハルヒの憂鬱 （すずみやハルヒのゆううつ, The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi）
• らき☆すた （Lucky☆Star）
• 魔法少女リリカルなのは （まほうしょうじょりりかるなのは、Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha）
• ローゼンメイデン　（Rozen Maiden）
• 満月をさがして （フルムーンをさがして、Searching for the Full Moon）
• 地獄少女 （じごくしょうじょ、Hell Girl）
• 舞-HiME　（まいひめ、Mai-HiME）
• 舞-乙HiME （まいおとめ、Mai-Otome）
• ひぐらしのなく頃に （ひぐらしのなっころに、When the Cicadas Cry）

Favorite Manga：

• AIR
• 愛してるぜベイベ★★ （あいしてるぜベイベ、Love You Baby）
• CLANNAD
• 満月をさがして （フルムーンをさがして、Searching for the Full Moon）
• ハヤテのごとく！ （Hayate the Combat Butler）
• Kanon
• こどものじかん （Children’s Time）
• 魔法先生 ネギま！ （まほうせんせいネギま！、Magical Teacher Negima!）
• 舞-乙HiME （まいおとめ、Mai-Otome）
• ＮＨＫにようこそ！ （Welcome to the NHK！）
• Pretty Face

Favorite Seiyuu:

• 能登麻美子　（のと　まみこ）
• 平野綾　（ひらの　あや）
• 杉田智和　（すぎた　ともかず）
• 茅原実里　（ちはら　みのり）
• 堀江由衣　（ほりえ　ゆい）
• 田村ゆかり　（たむら　ゆかり）
• 白石涼子　（しらいし　りょうこ）
• 水樹奈々　（みずき　なな）
• 釘宮理恵　（くぎみや　りえ）
• 田中理恵　（たなか　りえ）
• 清水愛　（しみず　あい）

Favorite Games：

• Touhou
• Metal Gear Solid
• Zelda
• Phantasy Star Online
• DDR
• Fire Emblem

In conclusion, I am an otaku. Thankfully, I am not a NEET or hikikomori. My next post will hopefully include some of my artwork. じゃあね。