Shopping Guide
The three biggest brands in the otome game industry, Neo Romance, Otomate, and B’s-LOG, have collaborated once again! The yearly event Japan Otome Festival, where male voice actors who have performed in popular otome games gather, was held this year on Feb. 9 and 10. The event featured such works as Harukanaru Jikuu no Naka de 5, 100 Mannin no Kiniro no Corda, Hakuouki, Shirohana no Ori: Hiiro no Kakera 4, and a tour version of the web radio show for Hana-Awase. We attended the event on Feb. 9 to bring you an in-depth report.
Despite the weather being warm the day prior, on this day, the coldness of winter returned. However, inside the Pacifico Yokohama National Grand Hall, roughly 5,000 fans gathered from all over Japan, and their enthusiasm warmed up the venue like it was the middle of summer. At the entrance, we were given flowers from volunteers. The lines for buying character goods were endless, and the venue was teeming with otome dressed in cosplay and ardently discussing their favorite characters.
Aimed at all the fans who were eagerly awaiting the event to begin, five minutes prior to the curtain raising, pre-show announcements using characters’ voices as the narrators were made. As soon as their voices overflowed into the venue, the excitement reached a red line! Yells from fans arose with every word spoken by the beautifully voiced actors, and roars of laughter arose after a clever negotiation. We were in awe of the fans’ sense of unity.
Finally, it was time for the event to begin. The hall darkened, and characters from each game were projected on a large curtain on stage. Each time a new character appeared, the hall was shaken by cheers from the crowd. The hall then lit up and the curtain was opened. To everyone’s surprise, all of the voice actors were lined up on stage.
The stage event was organized into five parts: a live drama, a live recording of a web radio show, a variety corner, introductions to new works, and musical performances. The live drama part spanned Harukanaru Jikuu no Naka de 5, 100 Mannin no Kiniro no Corda, Hakuouki, and Shirohana no Ori: Hiiro no Kakera 4, and featured voice actors from each work in scenes that expanded each work’s story and showcased their acting ability. For example, one scene from Shirohana no Ori: Hiiro no Kakera 4 featured Kuso Mikoto (CV: Chihiro Suzuki), Oki Akifusa (CV: Tomoaki Maeno), and Akishino Furutsugu (CV: Yuya Uchida) reading their own love letters. We listened in complete rapture as each one read their burning feelings to the heroine in a sweet voice.
However, the performance that really made the crowd boil with excitement was the live recording of the web radio show for Hana-Awase. The show started out with a mini drama that had fans all over the audience saying, “Cool!” and, “Cute!” When the performers Takuma Terashima and Shinnosuke Tachibana took the stage, cheers erupted from the crowd. Tachibana, disguised as Science Tachibana, performed magnificent illusions, inciting roars of laughter. The audience was on the edge of their seats from beginning to end.
Without letting the excitement of the crowd cool down, the event continued with the variety corner. Since Valentine’s Day was drawing near, a special mini show called “Who is the Heart Thief!? Anonymous Investigation” was performed. The emcees for this mini show, Kosuke Toriumi and Shotaro Morikubo, introduced Atsushi Abe, Kentaro Ito, Chihiro Suzuki, Kenjiro Tsuda and Tomoaki Maeno (who all remained anonymous) and each one said lines as if they were giving chocolate to a girl. As expected from the voice actors’ strong spirit of service, it was a barrage of famous and off the wall lines! Each line was then ranked by applause to see which one captivated the hearts of the otome crowd. When an overly original line was read and the emcee shouted, “Who wrote this line!?” each of the five actors were questioned. At the end of the show, it was revealed which line belonged to which actor along with the top and bottom ranked lines being read by their corresponding actor. After this, the actor who produced the top line was crowned the “Heart Thief.”
Livening up the venue even more was the final part of the event: the live corner. Tomoaki Maeno, Yuya Uchida, and Shinnosuke Tachibana each passionately sang their character songs. Using his long legs, Uchida dazzled the crowd with his acrobatic dance moves as he let out a high kick. The audience was mesmerized by the beautiful voices and action, not even realizing that two hours had already passed since the event began.
For the encore, all of the voice actors returned on stage and sang in chorus the event’s theme song “I Love You Most in the World!,” to which fans loudly cheered and lit up the venue with their glow sticks swaying back and forth in unison. It was certainly a moment to remember.
With that, the two and a half hour dream event came to a close. Even still, this event was just a prologue. There is no doubt that the various new titles announced during the event will keep the hearts of otome throbbing.
For otome all over the world who were unable to attend this event, we have good news! Otome Festival 1, 2, and 3 will be released on DVD this June, so definitely check them out!
Photos by: Masao Oyama
