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kj1980 · 2006-09-05, 12:22

Drama CD

It seems many have begun to understand what light novels are, what the term moe~ means, and the increasing usage of the term ero-games over the blasphemous "hentai." I'm glad to hear that these terminologies are beginning to plant ground overseas.

Now we go onto "what the heck exactly are drama CDs? Are they any different from sound novels, etc. etc.?

Way back in the 1920s, many people listened to....the radio. Go ask your grandparents and they'll tell you that they avidly listened to radio dramas. If they are old enough, they'll know about Richard Hughes' Drama, or Orson Welles' War of the Worlds based on H.G. Wells' novel. People were grasped with the acting that these performers played out on the radio. And with no visuals to go along, people had to imagine what was happening - which meant the people acting out the drama were extremely talented artists in their own field. If you are interested about the mass hysteria that occurred to those that believed the War of the Worlds radio drama was a real event, I suggest you read the English wikipedia article.

Japan was no exception to the popularity of the radio drama era. During the Taisho Democracy Era, many radio dramas were aired on the radio which depicted the glorious golden age of democracy and upbeat economic growth. And as the war loomed over the horizon, radio dramas were gradually changed to those with propaganda overtones. In any case, the national public broadcaster NHK saw a market for this and began recruiting actors primarily for radio drama shows. These became the predecessors to the seiyuus (voice actors) that we all know today.

After the war, Japan was pretty much laid into ruins. Yet the populace were determined to rebuild Japan to its prosperous pre-war economic status. Radio dramas was one form of medium which helped reach out the populace. Kids listened to children's radio shows such as Akadou Suzunosuke which gave them hope that through hard work and perseverance, they can overcome anything. One interesting form that developed during this era was the inclusion of background music to radio shows. Music added a more dramatic effect to certain scenes than just actors reading and acting out the scripts. Supposedly, the Soviets were able to listen to these dramatic Japanese radio shows through the airwaves. They saw a potential for using this technique, and they began using a similar form to spread their ideologies to its Eastern Europe bloc....or so I've heard.

Sadly, the age of radio shows began its decline once the TV began to infiltrate the household.

But the medium once again was brought back to life in the mid-1990s in the otaku market. The format called the audio CD was cheap and widely available which opened up new ways for the market to suck more money out of otaku's pockets. Coupled with increasing popularities of seiyuu idols and the technological advancement of internet streaming radio, companies began cashing in on making things called drama CDs.

Drama CDs are basically audio CDs that you play on your home CD player. Except instead of music, you have seiyuus acting out the story. Much like radio shows at the time, background music and sound effects are mixed in to give a more dramatic effect for the listener to imagine what is going on. Drama CDs are usually sold as a complement to the anime that is airing. Or, drama CDs might be sold right before an anime airs to give people a sort of "sneak-preview" of what to expect. The episodes or stories that are recorded onto the drama CDs are usually behind-the-scenes antics of the main storyline in the anime/manga/light novel. That, or it can plainly amusing to listen to with the comedy and all (if you listen to Suigintou going moe~ over Kunkun in the Rozen Maiden Traumend drama CD, you'll know what I mean).

Of course, not all drama CDs are alike. Some drama CDs are re-recordings of seiyuu radio shows (which are called Radio CDs, but that's another topic). Other drama CDs are included as bonus tracks to regular anime CDs (i.e.: those infamous Mahou Sensei Negima! OP CDs have small drama tracks in them). Others, like Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni are audio CDs where the seiyuus act out exactly what was written in the original doujin game (the doujin game did not have voice tracks, and some people have no time to read the text, so they made drama CDs so that people can listen to the story on their way to work, etc.)

So, a drama CD is a medium in itself just like anime, manga, light novels, and games. With no visual effects, a drama CD is a medium where seiyuus are given their ultimate test since they need to bring out their skills to their fullest. Listening to these CDs will give you a renewed respect for how seiyuus bring life to characters.

2006-09-05, 12:22	Link #45
kj1980 Gomen asobase desuwa! Join Date: Nov 2003 Age: 43	Drama CD It seems many have begun to understand what light novels are, what the term moe~ means, and the increasing usage of the term ero-games over the blasphemous "hentai." I'm glad to hear that these terminologies are beginning to plant ground overseas. Now we go onto "what the heck exactly are drama CDs? Are they any different from sound novels, etc. etc.? Way back in the 1920s, many people listened to....the radio. Go ask your grandparents and they'll tell you that they avidly listened to radio dramas. If they are old enough, they'll know about Richard Hughes' Drama, or Orson Welles' War of the Worlds based on H.G. Wells' novel. People were grasped with the acting that these performers played out on the radio. And with no visuals to go along, people had to imagine what was happening - which meant the people acting out the drama were extremely talented artists in their own field. If you are interested about the mass hysteria that occurred to those that believed the War of the Worlds radio drama was a real event, I suggest you read the English wikipedia article. Japan was no exception to the popularity of the radio drama era. During the Taisho Democracy Era, many radio dramas were aired on the radio which depicted the glorious golden age of democracy and upbeat economic growth. And as the war loomed over the horizon, radio dramas were gradually changed to those with propaganda overtones. In any case, the national public broadcaster NHK saw a market for this and began recruiting actors primarily for radio drama shows. These became the predecessors to the seiyuus (voice actors) that we all know today. After the war, Japan was pretty much laid into ruins. Yet the populace were determined to rebuild Japan to its prosperous pre-war economic status. Radio dramas was one form of medium which helped reach out the populace. Kids listened to children's radio shows such as Akadou Suzunosuke which gave them hope that through hard work and perseverance, they can overcome anything. One interesting form that developed during this era was the inclusion of background music to radio shows. Music added a more dramatic effect to certain scenes than just actors reading and acting out the scripts. Supposedly, the Soviets were able to listen to these dramatic Japanese radio shows through the airwaves. They saw a potential for using this technique, and they began using a similar form to spread their ideologies to its Eastern Europe bloc....or so I've heard. Sadly, the age of radio shows began its decline once the TV began to infiltrate the household. But the medium once again was brought back to life in the mid-1990s in the otaku market. The format called the audio CD was cheap and widely available which opened up new ways for the market to suck more money out of otaku's pockets. Coupled with increasing popularities of seiyuu idols and the technological advancement of internet streaming radio, companies began cashing in on making things called drama CDs. Drama CDs are basically audio CDs that you play on your home CD player. Except instead of music, you have seiyuus acting out the story. Much like radio shows at the time, background music and sound effects are mixed in to give a more dramatic effect for the listener to imagine what is going on. Drama CDs are usually sold as a complement to the anime that is airing. Or, drama CDs might be sold right before an anime airs to give people a sort of "sneak-preview" of what to expect. The episodes or stories that are recorded onto the drama CDs are usually behind-the-scenes antics of the main storyline in the anime/manga/light novel. That, or it can plainly amusing to listen to with the comedy and all (if you listen to Suigintou going moe~ over Kunkun in the Rozen Maiden Traumend drama CD, you'll know what I mean). Of course, not all drama CDs are alike. Some drama CDs are re-recordings of seiyuu radio shows (which are called Radio CDs, but that's another topic). Other drama CDs are included as bonus tracks to regular anime CDs (i.e.: those infamous Mahou Sensei Negima! OP CDs have small drama tracks in them). Others, like Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni are audio CDs where the seiyuus act out exactly what was written in the original doujin game (the doujin game did not have voice tracks, and some people have no time to read the text, so they made drama CDs so that people can listen to the story on their way to work, etc.) So, a drama CD is a medium in itself just like anime, manga, light novels, and games. With no visual effects, a drama CD is a medium where seiyuus are given their ultimate test since they need to bring out their skills to their fullest. Listening to these CDs will give you a renewed respect for how seiyuus bring life to characters. Last edited by kj1980; 2006-09-05 at 12:33.