This is the newest Drama CD that I managed to get my hands of, and sure it doesn’t disappoint! This Drama CD is one of the best, I say! As the title suggested, the Drama CD tells the story of Lupin and the gang (plus Finnis and Sholmes) participating in a haunted house event to get the winning prize for Cardia, only to somehow entering a real haunted house. I’ll say in advance, when it comes to comical moments, I think this Drama CD is number one! Oh, my cheeks were hurt from all the laughing and smiling while listening to this Drama CD! Seriously, the gang never bores me with their various quirks! XD
So, the story started with Van and Fran visiting Saint’s mansion for a temporary stay as they didn’t make reservations to stay at a hotel or the sort in advance. Saint of course welcomed them, adding that Lupin and Impey have also made the same arrangement ahead of them. This exasperated Van as it has only been a month since their last reunion, only for them to be reunited again so quickly, except for Cardia who is in Wales and Delly who’s busy with his political business as representative of the vampires. As it’ll be Christmas soon, Lupin and Impey planned to participate in an event held in an old mansion to get the prize for Cardia, so Van, Fran, and Saint decided to follow suit.
When they arrived, they unexpectedly met Finnis who was complaining to the administrators for not being allowed to participate because the minimum numbers of participants must be three people. Sholmes, who happened to be nearby after completing the task given by Queen Victoria, joined the conversation. Finnis came to London due to work, but like Lupin’s gang, he wanted to participate in the event to get the prize for Cardia. Since they shared the same goal, Saint suggested that all of them formed a team together, inviting Sholmes as well because his brain would help them in clearing the exit (Lupin, as usual, only begrudgingly agreed for Cardia’s sake).
The rule of the haunted house event was that the participants must find the exit to clear the event. Those who got captured by the mechanical dolls are disqualified. It’s just the beginning of them entering the house, I already found them quite funny. Unfortunately for the entire staff who did the haunted house event, Sholmes ruined the mood by pointing out their faults (brand new dolls, the light that came from the window is not completely blocked, etc), proving the supposed to be haunted house severely lacking in triggering fear. Additionally, Lupin also reminded the gang of their prior experience meeting a ghost (the one in the Drama CD: Midnight Visitor). I’m not a horror fan, but I do feel sorry for the organizer of the event. They’ll be crushed if they hear the gang’s comment. (^_^;)
As they went deeper into the mansion, the gang except Saint didn’t realize that they have been brought into a real haunted realm and still think they’re in the middle of the game. Saint decided not to say anything and play along as he didn’t know how to explain. A wise choice, Saint-German! Sometimes ignorance is a bliss! If I’m in their position, I would prefer not knowing that I have entered a real haunted house. Otherwise, I might die of fright. (>_<;)
The gang are soon freaked out by living skeletons that they mistook as mechanical dolls. The really funny part starts here, and the one who delivered the opening comedy is, as usual, the comical relief Impey. Lupin and the rest ran away while leaving Impey as a bait, something that of course didn’t sit well with the engineer who immediately ran after them. While running away, Finnis almost got hit by a real knife thrown by the skeletons. However, the gang only thought that the staff mixed real knives by mistake and the “mechanical dolls” went haywire. Van saved them from trouble by literally smashing the skeletons with his bare hands. That’s Human Weapon for you!
The gang entered a girl’s room and found a diary containing bleak thoughts of the owner written. Again, they’re all thinking that it’s only part of the event’s setting. Impey was more interested in the mechanism of the room and pulled out a hand belonging to a mechanical doll under the bed. The doll started to laugh creepily in return. Impey’s reaction? He went into his engineer maniac mode, excited by the mechanism of the doll that it scared the doll so much that it ran away with Impey chasing after it with the intention to break the doll so he can check its mechanism! Poor the mechanical doll! The one who was supposed to do the scaring was being scared instead! This is so hilarious! LOL
Lupin and Sholmes followed after Impey to bring him back. When Finnis wanted to follow them too, a wall suddenly appeared, separating them. Looking for the missing trio, Fran and the rest entered a bloody room. From the smell, Fran and the others realized the blood is real. Finnis assumed that the staff holding the event were using pig blood. Rather than being spooked, Fran was more concerned of how unsanitary the room was as diseases can be transmitted through blood, so Fran demanded the group to help him clean up the whole room using cleaning tools available. During the cleaning, Fran even exorcised a ghost by spraying alcohol as the last touch. XD
Meanwhile, Lupin, Impey, and Sholmes found a ghost girl whom they mistook as a lost child separated from her parents due to the haywire mechanical dolls and decided to escort her back. They were soon chased by a ghost with a giant face, reuniting them with Fran and the others on the way. Seeing the giant ghost, they assumed that the ghost is “the last boss” that must be defeated to clear the game. Van used halite bullets, bullets that usually used for exorcism that effectively harmed the ghost. Another trouble came to them in the form of various skeletons and dolls surrounding them. Since there’s nothing they could do but fight back, the gang destroyed all the ghosts.
After a while, the gang finally escaped the haunted mansion and got the winning prize. They were told that the management’s ignorance caused the mechanical dolls to went haywire, so they’re not being held responsible for breaking them. The girl that Lupin found has also been returned to her parents. Since they have attained their prize, they decided to celebrate.
Back at the haunted mansion, Saint and Finnis discussed about the ghosts that have been haunting the mansion. The mansion once belonged to a wealthy grandfather who left his inheritance to his granddaughter. The granddaughter’s great uncle wanted the inheritance, so he aimed to kill her. Before the murder could be carried out, a fire accident occurred, killing everyone in the mansion. However, their lingering wills caused them to stay as ghosts. The girl who Lupin found was the ghost of the granddaughter who was chased by the ghosts of the people aiming to kill her when she was alive. Thanks to the gang’s action, all the ghosts have been exorcised, allowing the ghost girl to rest in peace.
Back at Saint’s mansion, Lupin and the others found a piece of paper with words of gratitude left behind by the ghost girl.
Oh, my stomach hurt from so much laughing listening to this Drama CD (^w^). I’ll say it again, it’s just so hilarious! Although, just from the cover, I can pretty much guessed what’s going to happen. Every single one of character did well in entertaining me. Lupin and Sholmes’ usual banter, Impey’s obsession with machines, Fran’s meticulous health care, Van’s let’s-just-crush-them attitude, and Finnis’ tsundere-ness, all of them didn’t disappoint me in the least. And the fact that everyone (except Saint and Finnis) never realized they were in a real haunted house encountering real ghosts made it all the more funny!
This is all the Code:Realize Drama CDs I have and found, so my Drama CD project will stop for now. For the next side project (aside from the seasonal anime I’ll be working on soon), I think I’ll do an otome game 😀
