Neko-gurashi. 2 — The Calico Catgirl and the Matatabi Hot Spring

Pe……, Sumipe……love…… Itchy……yummy…… You there, reading this review with pitying eyes. You're next. Anyway, the "Nekogurashi." series has moved on to a new stage. With all 7 cat girls now assembled, including the Cat God herself, and the leadoff batter Mike-neko-chan making a comeback, expectations are inevitably rising for "Could this mean second-round works for everyone!?" (I've bought every single work.) But at this point, my heart had no room to enjoy that kind of anticipation. Sumipe. Above all, Sumipe. Everyone, do you not understand the gravity of this? This is that Sumipe who, through the world of anime, has entertained us with her voice countless times, sometimes made us cry, and given us massive feelings, right? The emotion of hearing her voice in binaural sound hadn't faded even after the previous work, but when I actually listened, I was surprised—the sound quality has clearly improved. In the previous work, perhaps due to the difference from voice acting work, you could tell even with an amateur's ear that she was struggling to gauge the distance to the mic, causing the sound to waver (which was charmingly inexperienced in its own way). But in this work, the distance to the mic feels natural, giving a sense of stability as if she were really there. The scenario is, as expected, by Ouen Kien-san. It's cute, yet with a relaxed direction that brings out Sumipe's acting ability to the fullest. In contrast to the awkwardness and overly careful atmosphere that stood out in the previous work, you can clearly feel that the emotional distance has narrowed. Mike-neko's character—devoted and with low self-esteem—really shines. Love it. Against the backdrop of an open-air bath, there's a carbonated shampoo, back-washing, and massage. It's a melting kind of comfort. Chatting while soaking in the bath, you get so close it makes you wonder where that "emotional distance" went. Naturally, the lovey-dovey moments after the bath can't help but hit 200% sweetness. Look forward to it. By the way, I'm allergic to cats.

You get taken care of and comforted by "Mike-neko," voiced by Sumire Uesaka. This is a sequel to the "Mike-neko" arc of the "Nekogurashi." series. This time, you're cared for at a hot spring. Just like the previous work, the content is focused purely on comfort, and I started listening with excitement, wondering how I'd be pampered. The flow goes: "carbonated shampoo & back-washing, scalp & ear massage, ear cleaning, facial oil massage, massage, and being lulled to sleep." In the carbonated shampoo & back-washing segment, she scrubs your head with carbonated shampoo and washes your back. You can pleasantly listen to the crackling sound of the carbonation near your head and the sound of your body being scrubbed clean. In the scalp & ear massage, she massages your scalp and ears. Along with the comfort of being massaged, the sound of running water and Mike-neko's breathing coming in a steady rhythm make you very sleepy. (The first time I listened, I think I dozed off around here.) In the ear cleaning segment, you enjoy the scritch-scratch and rustling sounds of ear cleaning while being soothed, and you feel her breath very intensely. Let me say it again—even though ear cleaning is the main focus, you really feel her breath a lot. And her whispers were so close it made my heart race. (I think the second time I listened, I dozed off around this part too.) In the facial oil massage, you listen to the sound of oil being applied to your face, and here too you get to savor her breathing closely. In the massage segment, she works on your back and shoulders. With the realistic sensation of her actually sitting on top of you, my heart raced, and I got to spend a relaxing time being massaged. In the final lulling-to-sleep segment, Mike-neko lulls you to sleep, and you just drift off. It'd be nice if you could fall asleep listening to Mike's breathing just like that.

Even at this late point, the strength of the scenario and direction is really impressive. Since audio works lack visual information, they tend to fall into roughly two approaches: "supplementing the situation with somewhat forced explanatory dialogue" or "letting sound effects and context convey the situation." The former risks killing the mood, while the latter risks not conveying things well—both are attempts to find the best method for stress-free listening. This work takes the latter approach. The clip-clop of footsteps in sandals, the sound of a sliding door opening, the flowing water of the hot spring—these create the space, while the voice actress's performance conveys the sense of distance and expressions of embarrassment. The sample starts from the point where they're already in the hot spring, but personally, I also really love the arrival scene in Track 01. Walking side by side, the cat girl's excited voice at their reunion makes me happy too, and just hearing her flustered, embarrassed voice as she gets close to you while nearly naked sends my excitement through the roof. Also, I strongly recommend the part in Track 06 after about the 5-minute mark. It's just breathing sounds, but that's exactly the point. It's not exactly the Lamaze method, but you get to enjoy the pleasure of hearing repeated inhaling and exhaling at extremely close range.