Kuroshitsuji Drama CD!

[insaneneko]

I just heard the Kuroshitusji Drama CD and am in love. First and foremost, Morikawa Toshiyuki you have redeemed yourself after your anemic turn as Sousuke in Hakkenden! He plays the butler Sebastian so perfectly, always unfailingly polite and perfectly composed. I especially love how Morikawa voices the line about how a certain someone looks so unsightly and so lovely on his knees, weak and small. XDXD Ciel is voiced by Sawashiro Miyuki, a voice actress I am completely unfamiliar with. I haven't seen any of the shows she has more than a bit part in. In any case, perfect casting. She sort of reminds me of Minagawa Junko, except softer. She has the child who is more mature than his age aspect down perfectly, giving him the ennui that he had to have (considering how he lounged about in all those lovely gothic outfits in the manga). Even the retarded servants of Ciel come alive in the drama. In the manga I found them kind of extraneous and silly, but in the drama they provide a great contrast to the more serious stuff. Even Ciel's betrothed was very well done. Yes, she has a high squeaky voice...But what else is she going to sound like? She comes off as a sweet if spoiled young lady with her heart in the right place. Her concern for Ciel after the ring thing sounded genuine, as it should.

It's always hard to stage action sequences in drama CDs, but I think this one did quite a good job. It loses something when the images aren't there, but at the same time it gains the shininess of Morikawa. Which I think for the most part makes up for the lack. It helps to have the manga in front of you while listening because it's quite faithful, but it's not necessary. The big moment (for me) from the manga, however, did lose quite a bit of oomph in the drama CD. I can't blame the production because it's a play on characters and can't be conveyed very well through sound.

Overall, an A++++ adaptation.

Just wanted to add...Though it's a minor point, I also adore the track titles:

1. The butler, he is capable
2. The butler, he is outstanding
3. The butler, he is the mightiest
4. The butler, he is most evil

So appropriate! So pat (in Japanese)!

And the pictures in the booklet are so lovely (as can be seen on this post--click for a bigger image!).

Comments

[flyby311.livejournal.com]

Pretty, pretty, PRETTY pictures. :O

[insaneneko.livejournal.com]

I do love the art for this one. The details are fabulous. XD

[chrysan.livejournal.com]

*_* Kuroshitsuji! I loved the manga...but I can't find the drama cd. ;_; Now that you gave it such a nice review, I must try harder to find it! But I'm sad that Hakkenden wasn't as good as we hoped...

[insaneneko.livejournal.com]

Did you listen to Hakkenden? What did you think? I really need to give that one another try...I keep hoping it was just me not giving it a chance.

But this one! This one is awesome!! ^___^

[chrysan.livejournal.com]

I wanted to go find it, but after the review you gave, I was kinda disappointed and gave up. >.<

But I think I'll give it a chance after all - if I can find it, that is.

[chrysan.livejournal.com]

Okay~ It took me some time but I finally found both the Hakkenden and Kuroshitsuji Drama Cds to listen to!

Kuroshitsuji:
- Morikawa was brilliant as Sebastian, even though I must say that it took me some time to get used to it, because my pictured voice for Sebastian was rather different. I think Koyasu would have made a good cast for Sebastian too, or Nobuo Tobita(Akabane's Seiyuu).

- Sawashiro Miyuki was quite...ok as Ciel, although I feel that she should have spoken in a more firm tone at times, although she got the aristrocatic part right.

- The others:No comments. XD (*is heartless*)

- I agree with you that they did quite a good job at the action scenes! It was very exciting, and because I like to notice this sort of thing, I feel that the seiyuu playing the 'lackeys' of the story were good too because the screams/incredulity they gave were very realistic.
Sometimes the cast playing the 'villain's lackeys' role are slack, and it isn't so exciting.

~*~*~

Hakkenden:
- I totally got what you meant by 'Yes, Paku Romi is talented, but not suitable for Shino' after listening to it. There was certain parts she was quite okay(parts where Shino broods), actually, but other than that, it kinda fell flat for me. Why is it that when it comes to Miyuki Abe's works, I keep going back to think that MinaJun's the best-fitting one?

- I like Morikawa as Sousuke, actually. I feel that he usually fits quite well at caretaker roles. ^^

- Hamaji was really nice! Sweet yet fierce at the same time~ Very in-character and fun to listen to! I like her voice very much. XD

- Although they only appeared in the later tracks, my love is deep for Narita Ken and Miyano! They were brilliant! I kept re-listening to their parts bcos they were very cool. Imo, of course. XDDDDDDD

[zehavit-lamasu.livejournal.com]

Ah, I want to listen to it so much now... even though I am sure my favorite scene will be somewhat reduced in awesomeness... how do you transfer the slaying by fine silverware into sound alone XD.

But I am sure the voice of awsome demon butler will compensate ^_^.

[insaneneko.livejournal.com]

Of course you lose the impact of the visuals in the drama, but they do a decent job of trying to recreate it through sound alone. I loved listening to the drama while looking at the manga during the action sequences. Best of both worlds!

[versine.livejournal.com]

I thought I replied to this. :/

Dammit, the art is so pretty ;; I really wish SiH would scanlate this faster (as well as my other favourites--Demian Syndrome and Yami no Kodou) because there's like, so much you can guess from scans alone. But thank you for the pictures! ♥ Makes me want to read RustBlaster again. XD