#takemiya lala

[onefrailheart]

evangelion: girlfriend of steel 2nd postcard (2003) ౨ৎ

[hibonbl-scans]

Un montón más de capitulos de Yes ka No ka Hanbun ka Bangai-hen VOL.2 Muchas gracias Nina!!!!

[trashexplorer]

BLCD Review: Yes ka No ka Hanbun ka 2

Title: Yes ka No ka Hanbun ka 2 Sekai no Mannaka (イエスかノーか半分か2 世界のまんなか)

Author: Ichiho Michi

Illustrator: Takemiya Lala

Release Date: 2020/12/04

Cast: LOOK AT THIS CASTLIST

Kawahara Yoshihisa x Abe Atsushi

Eguchi Takuya

Murata Taishi

Morikawa Toshiyuki

Tadokoro Hinata

Shimura Tomoyuki

Sasaki Takumi

Synopsis: Sequel to the series of the same name!

Review Proper

If there was something that made me even happier than knowing that Kotonoha no Hana was getting a manga adaptation, it’s this getting both an anime and a BLCD adaptation for the second volume with the same casting (minus Kimura Ryohei). 

Why am I getting so emotional? It’s only just been what? 6 years? 

Anyway, I was so confused at first because I knew how and where volume 2 starts and that was not it, so I just chucked it off as the studio deciding to scrap the first parts. Surprise! I was actually just a dumbass and was listening to volume 2! When did I realize it, you ask? When I finished the whole fucking disk.

It’s safe to say that the BLCD was pretty accurate to the novel sequencing-wise. I’m still annoyed over how Kei is still the hanbun yarou I knew and disliked, but I’m glad that it was toned down in the second disk. Lo and be hold, ladies and gentlemen, Bakugou had character development! Kei had been struggling with his motivations for work bc of Shitara-san and Asou-san that it made him take his frustrations out on Ushio. I thought that this would be resolved by Ushio chasing after Kei again and Kei going head to head against Ryou (the announcer/host for their rival channel), so I was so surprised that not only did Kei chase after Ushio to make up with him, but he also took the back seat and made Narayama (an AD who’s actually a reporter but who’s scared shitless about reporting) report on the story that set their show’s story with higher ratings that effectively shut Ryou, Shitara-san, and Asou-san down. 

“Show me the difference between me and the you who truly loves their job.” - Kuneida Kei

Also, I’m definitely not mad about the super cliché selective amnesia here. I do admit that I snorted once it started happening, but the tension building up in Ushio—my god. I thought that this was going to be a sappy ride, and it was to an extent. But y’all should know that no matter what Kawahara Yoshishisa does, his voice is always packed with some heat one way or another, so I was sure that rather than exploding into a emotional spillage of the truth, Ushio was going to pin him down. HAHAHAHAHA

But I’m glad that he waited until Kei remembered all on his own. This was so out of character of Ushio because he never really waits! 👏👏👏 Ah, character development for everyone!

Moving on to the voice work, if y’all new to this hell-hole, then please know that I’m Kawahara Yoshihisa trash ever since. His Ushio is actually one of my favorite performances of his (spoiler: all of his performances are my favorite because he never underperforms), so best believe I know how he should sound. I wasn’t at all surprised to find out that neither he nor Abe Atsushi sounded any different from the first volume (and the chemistry is still alive, folks!). When I first heard Ushio talk in the first track, I WAS ON THE FLOOR CRYING. Yo, you don’t know how long it’s been ever since I’ve heard Kawahara Yoshihisa doing a younger voice. 😭😭😭 Lately, he’s just been voicing older daddies like Juda and Asahi-san, and like, I know that it’s appropriate for his actual age and all, but Kawahara’s higher tone is magic!  😭😭😭 But here’s some good news; Kawahara is going to do a younger voice in Pheromone Tantei that’s coming out this month! Ngl, I am a bit wary of the plot, but nevertheless, I’m excited to listen to it!!! Back on topic, not only was Kawahara voicing a younger character here, this was also the first time in a long while that he was voicing a character that was emotional and trying so hard to keep his hands off his man! I JUST WANT JUDA AND ASAHI-SAN POVS, OKAY?! Ushio had three whole tracks told in his POV, you know! I BEEN BLESSED!

As for Abe—WELCOME BACK, SIR!!! Last time I heard him was in 2019 in Ayashi no Horrible Disaster, and I don’t even want to remember what he sounded like there even though I’m 100% sure that he didn’t underperform. I’ll be honest here, I’m not really an Abe fan. Don’t get me wrong, he’s a great actor, but I really don’t like this tone (I also don’t like VAs who have similar tones with his). I may have liked some BLCDs where he was cast in, but there aren’t any particular roles that I like of his...EXCEPT FOR THIS ONE. Again, I hate Kei’s personality, but the switching he does is divine!

JAPANESE LANGUAGE LESSON TIME!!!

It’s mentioned in vol. 1 that Kei has distinct nasal consonants which is why he was hired as an announcer even though he didn’t apply as one. To put it simply, instead of just pronouncing ka, ki, ku, ke, ko, Kei pronounces it like nga, ngi, ngu, nge, ngo. Think “sungoi” instead of “sugoi”. This trait is so rare nowadays that only announcers who are trained to do them and some of the older generations who are situated/live around the Eastern regions of the country still do it. You can search Dogen’s video about this on YouTube for a more concrete explanation. Abe Atsushi doesn’t actually nasalize consonants in real life, but he sure sounds like he does! UGH. VETERANS! He’s also the only one who does this among his fellow announcers in vol 1! Despite my dispreference of his tone, his acting is one of the main reasons why this BLCD was one of my go-to’s for so long. I MEAN, THOSE MATTRESS MAMBOS 👀 Abe is easily Gen 1 Yamashita Seiichirou. Man, I wish Abe gets more roles that are up my alley because he’s a Gen 1 himself, and I can’t keep living my life without listening to his recent work before he...godforbid leaves. *cries the Thames

As for our supporting cast, I was quite excited to find out who was going to voice Asou-san because he was finally going to have some dialogue here. In vol. 1, Asou-san developed gastric cancer and was sent away to recuperate, which is why Kei become The News’ main hitter in the first place. Asou-san’s since recovered, so he came back and WAS BEING VOICED BY MORIKAWA TOSHIYUKI!

IT’S A VETERAN PARTY!!! I knew that Moririn also nasalizes his consonants, so it made so much sense!!! I just want to talk to the casting director and promise them that I will bless 16 generations of their family.

Ugh. My heart is so happy. 😭😭😭 I am a little disappointed that Kimura Ryohei didn’t come back for Minagawa bc I low-key shipped Minagawa and Kei, but Egu did a great job with his Minagawa regardless. He was able to capture how Kimura Ryohei did him, which oddly, made him sound a little like a mix of Makonyan, Tattsun, and Nakajima Yoshiki. I know it’s weird, but it is what it is. But the good news here is that I still ship Egu’s Minagawa AND MORIRIN’S ASOU-SAN WITH KEI. 😌

I love how Shimura Tomoyuki came back to reprise his role as Shitara-san even though he’s never been a BL actor himself. Glad to know that he liked the series enough to get back to it (SatoTaku does Shitara-san in the anime tho and idk y bc he’s supposed to be considerably older). Shitara-san is actually a very kind, calm, and encouraging character, but he just always manages to step on Kei’s landmines like it was his goddamn talent. 😂 I wanted to see more of Murata’s Ryou and Sasaki Takumi’s Narayama tbh, but they didn’t really have a major presence even in volume 2. I haven’t read 3 yet, so here’s to hoping that there’s a volume 3 adaptation and they both get to have larger roles. 🤞 My very special special mention will go to Tadokoro Hinata tho because I really didn’t realize that he was doing Nishikido-san up until I checked a few mins ago! WHAT THE FUCK?! I thought that the person voicing him was a veteran from another industry like Shimura Tomoyuki because he sounded so mature. Tadokoro just never fails to amaze me. We might never know how old Tadokoro really is, but I’m gonna throw hands if I find out that he’s still in his twenties and he already has that kind of talent. Give us more Tadokoro please!!!

If you still can’t tell after the novel of a review I just typed out, I loved this. I’m encouraging you all to listen to this from the first volume onwards even if you’ve already seen the anime bc they left a lot of details out (I mean, it’s just an hour-long episode, no wonder). The BLCDs themselves did cut some stuff out, but nothing really major. The plot, no matter how cliché it was, is still very interesting up to the most minute details, so please read the novel! Definitely listen to this if you want to further your BLCD education as I believe that this should be a rite of passage just like Kotonoha no Hana and Rakuen no Uta. An English translation for all of the volumes is still up in novelcool, so you can read them once first before reading them again as you listen to the CDs. Also, if you loved Customer Masquerade!, then do give this a chance since the plots are similar (altho Etou-san does have a good excuse for his fake attitude) and it’s also produced by Atis! Another good announcer BL is Broadcast wo Toppatsure! starring Sugitan and Yusa! Oh my gosh, I really am old. 💀

[stray-sheep]

Yes ka No ka Hanbun ka Boys-Love Novel Series Gets Anime

Michi Ichiho's story of TV announcer with hidden personality debuted in 2014

Another BL anime adaptation ❤

[hanacoco]

Shio fails to keep his promise to attend his father’s alma mater by failing both his middle school and high school entrance exams.

Now, in order to pass his exams and get accepted next year, Shio crams every day all the while believing there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

One rainy May day early in the morning at the library, Shio happens to see Katsura, one of the more laid back homeroom teachers, cry.

The tears are so pure, it makes Shio’s heart throb.

Thus begins a Snow White Romance descending quietly and enveloping all in white.