Title: かりん (Karin) Drama CD LE
Original Creator: 影崎由那 (Yuna Kagezaki)
Release Date: 7/23/04
Catalog No.: AFC-3012
Rating: 4/4

I thought Sailor Jupiter (Emi Shinohara) had retired, but she comes back as Karin's mother in this drama CD. The main lead, 広橋涼 (Ryo Hirohashi), I remember played a minor character in the Ichigo 100% Drama CD 1 and now has a larger role. The Love Hina link here is Yukie Maeda who plays Karin's and Kenta's teacher. The voice acting fits very well to what I imagined the voices should be.

The story on the drama CD is a little different than the manga. There are two new characters, Kamisato and Fujimura, who weren't in the manga. Karin's first attack in the manga is the same guy who she meets at the restaurant, which is similar to the drama CD. However, in the manga, Kenta doesn't find out about Karin's true self until much later.

This story is a little more light-hearted than I thought it would be. There are two tunes, the intro and ending, that I love because they set the theme very well. They're light and upbeat and makes the rest of the story have the same feel.

The only gripe I had was the sound effect when Karin bites down on her victims. In the story, it's pretty crunchy/fleshy which doesn't really go with the humorous atmosphere. In the bonus CD though, on the second track, it's more comical which is how it should be.

The main CD itself contains 7 tracks and the limited edition comes with an extra CD that has 10 mini-tracks, about 5 minutes each, and has a 17 minute cast free talk track. Each cast member, even the minor characters, has a chance to talk about their impressions of the story. I always love these impromptu talks as it usually contains unscripted humor. Karin's voice actress accidentally introduces herself as "Karin" and gets laughed at by the rest of the cast before properly introducing herself as Ryo Hirohashi.

1. Karin explains that she's a vampire, but one that fills blood rather than suck. She gets her cravings when there's someone unhappy around and after her attack, they feel better, so being a vampire might not be such a bad thing. When Kenta transfers into her class, she heartbeat beats faster and she passes out in class. She concludes that maybe Kenta might be depressed in some way and it'll be a problem if she gets too close to her.

2. Their class leader, Kamisato, tries to confiscate Karin's cell phone as it's not allowed in class. However, Karin needs it to call Anjyu, her sister, if anything happens so she won't let go. Kenta steps in and convinces Kamisato to let her have it (she apparently likes him). After the incident, Kamisato goes to the class occultist Fujimura to have him find out some dirt about Karin. At the restaurant where Karin and Kenta works, Karin meets a man who's really bummed about something. Fujimura sees Karin turn red at the sight of this man and takes some photos. As he follows Karin, he gets a sense that there's something supernatural about Karin.

3. At school the next day, they peep on Karin as she's recuperating in the nurse's office. Kenta comes in to the nurse's office and Karin first tells him to leave, but explains that the reason is because she'll burst with blood if he comes closer. To make up for her sudden yelling, she offers him her lunch as she hears his stomach rumble. Kamisato gets envious at the sight. Later that day, she sees the depressed man from the restaurant again and can't restrain herself anymore. Thinking that they're alone, she has a bite. Kamisato and Fujimura see this and take pictures, catching Karin in an embrace with a business man. She's ecstatic as this will get Karin kicked out of school.

4. Rumor's spreading around school that Karin is cheating with some older man. Karin's friend, Mari, says it's highly improbably. Kamisato tries to have Kenta turn on Karin on this news, but it just worries Kenta thinking that she was seen in the act. Karin gets called into the office with Kenta and they have a discussion with her parents. They conclude that they only saw her hugging, so it's not a big deal. Kenta wants to find who's the one spreading the rumors as it has to be someone in their class. No other class knows about it.

5. Karin and Kenta talk about who could be up to trying to defame her. At Karin's household, they talk about how they knew about the photographer when Karin made her attack and how to deal with the two people. Karin finds out that one of the person there was Fujimura and Kenta tries to find more about it.

6. Fujimura breaks ranks with Kamisato as he's more interested in finding out about Karin's family. Kamisato is loses respect of her teacher and the students she's supposed to manage. She also reveals to Kenta that she's the one spreading the rumors. Anjyu meets the curious Fujimura and Karin's family give him the scare of his life. Ren meets up with Kamisato.

7. After Ren has her way with Kamisato, she becomes of the popular girls at school. Kenta and Karin still have to maintain their (physical) distance, but are still on good terms.

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