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We have a special guest writer this time! Insomniac, who took my lucky spot while I was away *sob* for this particular event presents to you the “The Tower of Druaga Animation x Online RPG” event.

On March 9 there was an event for Gonzo’s upcoming anime x online RPG project called the “The Tower of Druaga”. The anime has the subtitle “the Aegis of URUK” and features some really good names in the cast such as Orikasa Fumiko, Ishida Akira, Horie Yui and Chihara Minori, while the game is called “the Recovery of BABYLIM”. The event was held in 大学生協会館 (Daigakusei Kyoukaikan) at Higashi-Koenji. I met up with sent at Shinjuku where we then proceeded to take the Marunouchi line to the venue. We arrived pretty early; about an hour ahead of the starting time.

The event started 5 minutes off 14:30. The lights were dimmed and a preview of the game started showing on the screen on stage. After the screening, the MC Maeda Harikenzu came onstage and thanked the attendees for coming, commenting on how the attendees of such events were usually male but there was a surprising large number of female attendees this time. He then proceeded to gush about how cute KENN was as well as how he used itterashaimase (usually used by females) instead of the usual itterashai. Next up he commented on Orikasa Fumiko – or Oririn - and her new hairstyle giving it 100 points.

The guests then came onstage; KENN, (which they made small talk about him saying itterashaimase) Oririn (which KENN too gave her hairstyle 100 points to which she promptly thanked and said it was worth 200 points) and the anime producer Hashimoto.

Next off was the usual self-introductions where KENN introduced himself as Jil - the main character of the anime - instead of himself inducing much laughter from the crowd.

A PV of the anime was then screened. From an anime fan’s point of view, I would say the animation looked pretty fluid and the fighting scenes looked pretty good. I quite liked the CG + effects as well.

The cast were then asked about their opinion about the PV which KENN said it looked fantastic while Oririn said it looked exciting. Producer Hashimoto then proceeded to give a brief introduction on the history of the game and overlay of the anime as well as a brief introduction of the characters appearing in the game. Upon reaching the intro for one of the characters, Utoo, the MC remarked that this character was used by Fullmetal Alchemist (due to the fact that the character was similar to Alphonse in that they were both completely dressed in armour) which drew plenty of laughs.

They then proceeded to talk about the recording where Oririn commented that they had just started on the recording (about 2 episodes to date). The MC then asked who was the mood maker in the entire recording session where KENN commented that it had to be the voice actor who voiced Utoo. Oririn then commented that there was talk that KENN’s childlike qualities helped create the mood for everyone. KENN then proceeded to comment on how there was a period of time where he was addicted to tibbits and couldn’t kick the habit which led to quite a big uproar among the cast. To which the MC commented on how it seemed like more of a young girl’s problem.

We were then treated to a PV screening of the game after which the guests were asked about whether they played online games or not. Both said they didn’t have much experience but expressed delight in being able to play with everyone online today.

KENN and Oririn then took their places behind the computers set up onstage. I thought the setup was very poorly done due to the computers being set on the table. It totally blocked the audiences’ view. Luckily we were sitting on the side that Oririn was so I could get a rather clear view but KENN was completely hidden by the computer and the monitor. There was some fumbling with the mic stand at KENN’s end as the mic kept dropping down to a weird angle. Oririn on the other hand seemed to have some problems with her computer but it was only till they switched the projector to Oririn’s computer that they realized she didn’t know where the game was (it was just the desktop that was being displayed). It was quite cute actually though it kinda made her seem really computer illiterate as the game was the only program that was running (it was just minimized onto the taskbar). In the end a technician came up and solved the problem quite easily.

Rules were explained and KENN and Oririn got to choose the 3 players that were to play with them. The game started and it was quite cute watching Oririn trying to reply to the players in the online chat. She seemed quite unfamiliar with the game (not surprising) and it was amusing when she thought her character Kaaya (in the game) seemed too far behind the others and made her character run forward as well as the time when she suddenly used her power to ‘heal’ (or so I think that was it) another character for which she was promptly scolded by the MC for randomly wasting her power. Her answer? That she thought the other character looked abit out of sorts. なんだか かわいい～♥ w *me in fangirl mode*

They had some fun fooling around with the characters reactions and stuff before getting to the main point of the game that was to get rid of the slimy blobs that kept appearing. Oririn actually seemed to have quite some problems maneuvering her game character while KENN seemed to get used to it rather quickly.

KENN’s character Jil was to enter the tower while Oririn’s Kaaya was to stay outside. They projected the scenes on the monitor at the back but it was an either or thing so we couldn’t see both of their plays at the same time which was kind of disappointing since both their characters were to be at different places in the game.

One thing I can say is Oririn sure wasn’t much of a player. That and maybe the blobs were out of control. She kept getting surrounded and attacked by them. It was really quite hilarious. The MC kept asking her to attack the blobs and she commented that everyone was helping her do the killing. On the other hand KENN seemed ok or maybe because there really weren’t that many blobs in the tower. KENN’s character later left the tower to help save Oririn’s. It was quite funny when she kept saying “help~ help~” and KENN went “sorry, I’m late.”. In the end all’s well that ends well and that was the end of the online game session.

There was lucky draw session where the prizes were a poster and pin set to be given to 3 lucky winners. KENN drew two numbers while Oririn drew one. It was quite interesting as the 2 winners that KENN drew were actually consecutive seat numbers. There was then another drawing for 2 autographed boards by both KENN and Oririn. The first drawing came up to a no show to which KENN remarked that if there was no one claiming he would claim it. Apparently he wanted it because it had Oririn’s autograph on it. sent and I were wanting it for the exact same reasons as well…

The redraw came up to the consecutive seat and the second drawing by Oririn went to the person sitting one seat away from the person she picked for the poster and pins giveaway. Really makes me wonder if the drawings were rigged…

Next up was a video by the group ムラマサ☆ (Muramasa) which sang the OP for the anime. It was really funny that there were so many people in the video but only 2 spoke. It was kinda like “What happened to the rest?!”. After the video KENN was asked to comment a little on the ED which he’s in charge of. He followed up from his comment with a live performance of the song. The singing wasn’t bad but the music was a tad bit loud for my ears. Plus the fact that he seemed like he was trying to carry off an attitude during the performance (my opinion) but failed miserably (my opinion too). The event then ended with KENN, Oririn and Producer Hashimoto plugging the game and anime.

Overall it was a pretty good event except for the computer setup glitch as well as the MC. He got a bit irritating after time.

Announced on her official homepage, うららかeasy (Uraraka easy) - her third personal album as well as her first self-produce album, will go on sale on December 21.

It’s going to be over 2 years and 3 months since her last personal album “Flower”. I’ve always enjoyed the soothing vocals of Fumiko’s songs, however I never really took a liking to Ueno Youko’s music and production in the previous two albums - the music were just a little bit too stale for my taste, thus the CDs never get much of a playing as I’m rarely in the mood for them. I used to think that if Orikasa Fumiko can find someone else to produce for her, I might enjoy her personal offerings a lot more (hey, maybe she thinks the same too), so I’m excited at the prospect that this album might be exactly what I’m looking for, and glad to know that she hasn’t fallen off the map completely in terms of her music offerings.

Announced 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.