【Ear Cleaning / Rain Sounds / Sleeping Breath】Lazy Days, Then Coffee, Occasional Rain 【CV: Manaka Iwami】

Personally, I'm completely hooked on the voice and have been replaying it endlessly. The voice actress's performance, vocal quality, sense of distance, and the scenario all match perfectly, making it the strongest combination. The one thing I noticed was that the coffee and rain elements felt a bit lacking. Since they're mentioned right in the title, it would have been perfect if there had been a bit more focus on capturing those sounds. As for the other sounds, especially the cotton swab and ear-cleaning sounds, they're excellent—clear and satisfying without ever getting in the way of the voice actress's voice. I know it's probably difficult, but I'm hoping tremendously for a sequel.

I bought this because it's an ASMR work by Manaka Iwami, a voice actress who's currently a hot topic in anime and games. To cut to the chase, I'm extremely satisfied!! Iwami-san is someone people tend to imagine with a high-pitched tone and voice color, but true to her reputation as a highly skilled performer, even her non-heated voice—her performances of restraint, of screams, of rejection—has the power to resonate deep into your heart. Amid all that, her choice to portray "laziness," that languid feeling, was very refreshing, and personally it gave me the same joy as discovering something new. Please listen to it along with the story. Also, please pay close attention to the natural sounds that seep in so smoothly. I think even people who love the sound of rain will find it soothing. If you've read this far, why not just buy it already?

This is a story about skipping class in the nurse's office, where you find another kid doing the same thing… The title includes the word "rain," but please note that it's only raining during the very first scene. Since there are two ear-cleaning scenes, I wish at least one of them had been set in the rain. If you really want the rain, I guess you'll have to fill it in with your imagination. You'll probably start hearing things like, "It was raining that first time we met here too, wasn't it?" The protagonist (the listener)'s setup feels a lot like "us guys." I'm just lumping myself in with "us guys" on my own, but that serious-seeming vibe, the way you close the distance by playing games together—that all felt very relatable. Because of that, it was easy to project myself onto him and get deeply immersed. It makes you imagine, "What if I had skipped class back then too?" and the fantasy just keeps expanding. The sense of guilt from skipping class together, and the distance between you slowly closing. Your heart races at the sound of her breathing. Your heart races at how close her voice sounds. You get all flustered when she suddenly starts cleaning your ears. …Memories that never actually happened come flooding out. This was my youth. Having a girl from your class lay your head on her lap and clean your ears for you, and clumsily doing her best at it even though she's not used to it—your heart pounds so hard there's no way you could fall asleep. But... it feels so good that you end up dozing off anyway, zzz…