Making Noise with Trusty Bell
Posted by sent on Sunday, June 24th, 2007 at 05:33Announced at the Tokyo Game Show in 2006, Bandai Namco’s next generation RPG offering, Trusty Bell ～ショパンの夢～ was a tantalising prospect. Even more enticing was finding out that Hirano Aya had been cast as the female lead character, Polka. But that was then and this is now. Fast forward 9 months, Trusty Bell is out and we, here at seiyuu3, have seen and heard more than enough of Hirano Aya.
There are some roles that Hirano Aya is very suited to. Haruhi springs instantly to mind. However there are roles that she clearly cannot do right now. And Polka is one of those.
Polka is of the tragic archetype. Struggling to be accepted, “make herself useful” as she puts it and most heart-wrenchingly, she’s dying from an incurable disease. You want to feel for her and empathise knowing her situation. But early on in the game Aya’s characterisation, which is to say her “default voice”, starts to become at odds with Polka’s character. Now all those people who love her breathy, throaty, Hirano Aya specific noises will adore this game because that is exactly what Polka sounds like for the entire game. But that’s issue here. We’ve all heard it before. It doesn’t always suit the role she’s given. And after all, we want to hear acting. The hallmark of great voice acting is only realising who played that role when reading the credits at the end. And I’m afraid Aya just isn’t there yet.
This is not to say Aya won’t ever get there. In the earlier parts of Trusty Bell there are glimpses, moments where she hits the mark and shows potential. However, disappointingly, those were few and far between. And so her performance ends up serving as much more of a distraction from the game experience and takes away from an otherwise solid cast.
I wouldn’t say this is entirely her fault. Bear in mind the recording for Trusty Bell was probably done more than 6 months ago and possibly in amongst her many other roles she was cast in. After witnessing most of those over the last few months, I can say this: Aya is getting the variety of roles she needs to develop her acting, but I believe she’s just doing too many at the same time. She simply can’t give enough time developing her voice for a particular role before she’s whisked away to another studio and yet another character. Her schedule is insane. And her hospitalisation earlier this year can probably be largely attributed to that. I blame Kadokawa and Lantis.
She needs a break. I need a break. Some recent moves by Lantis may suggest that they actually realise this and we might all get some much deserved relief. And this will be good because despite the fact that Aya really grates right now, I do want to see her develop her acting and amaze me again. Time will tell.
As for Trusty Bell the game, it has it’s own problems.
Above all else, the music is excellent and the art and character designs are simply beautiful. Other highlights include appearances from Kuwashima Houko and Orikasa Fumiko in the form of Voila and Serenade. Their character designs quickly becoming my favourites.
Beyond that it’s hard to stay positive about this game. The biggest mistake you can make about Trusty Bell is expecting too much. A lot of people rail against this Tri-Crescendo game for being too short and too easy. They do have valid points but I firmly believe that NBGI are targeting a much younger audience than your seasoned RPG gamer. This is reinforced by the ending cutscenes where there is an obvious “message” and “moral to the story”. In that light, the execution makes a lot more sense. The battle system is action based and simple. The world is small and practically guides you where you need to go next. You can pick and choose your encounters and the best equipment is usually given to you. It’s child’s play.
All in all, it’s still an entertaining way to kill 30 odd hours but the story may leave you wanting for substance. The hardcores should definitely look elsewhere.
Animelo Summer Live is establishing itself to be the premiere anime event of the summer. With a star-studded line up of artists this has to be one of the largest collaborative efforts the industry puts together to make this event possible. Kudos has to go to 奥井雅美 Okui Masami who, I believe, is the real driving force behind the Animelo Summer event. Last year concert was a success claiming over 7500 in attendance. This year at 日本武道館 Nippon Budokan, reportedly 10,000 anime fans turned up to witness the spectacle and spectacular it was.
Waiting around in line is never really fun so here is a shot for the sake of atmosphere and let’s get to the main event.
奥井雅美 and 栗林みな実 Kuribayashi Minami, started off in duet with 「Mask」 the 爆れつハンター Sorcerer Hunter ending theme. Kuribayashi Minami then continued on with her set of 「Rumbling Hearts」 （君が望む永遠 Game OP） and 「Crystal Energy」 from 舞-乙HiME. 石田耀子 Ishida Yoko followed with 「幸せの色」 （あぁっ女神さまっ それぞれの翼 OP） and 「紅の静寂」 the 2nd 灼眼のシャナ ending theme.
sent: So what did you think of Hirano Aya’s Hey!Hey!Hey! appearance?
houkoholic: I agree, I’d go out on a limb to say it’s definitely rigged. The reason, in my opinion, is that Aya’s management had learnt from Nana-chan’s mistake and rigged the draw so that more females will be in the audience. This is done so that the two hosts won’t have as much ammunition to make fun of the demograph of the fandom, which would be the Akiba-kei people. 
that we didn’t get to go I think it was the right way to go. I was impressed with Aya’s handling of the interview too. Though I really wonder if her voice is naturally that high. She undoubtedly wowed the hosts with her display of acting skill there and then.
houkoholic: Yes I think so too, and unfortunately for Nana-chan she fell right into it thus giving the impression that she’s catering to the scary bunch of sister-complex otakus. In Aya’s case I’m sure the girls are otakus too, heck one even wore a Haruhi-style headband, but well, they’re girls which is not the standard stereotype of Akiba-kei, thus the host had nothing to make fun of.
performance more but I expect that it’s more a problem with the length of that segment. The rest of her interview seemed pretty light and on the whole I think put seiyuu/kashuu in a more respectable light.
But I still have to say though – poor Nana-chan became the guinea pig. Maybe her documentary will give her the better coverage she deserves. :P
Hirano Aya’s 
