NIKKE ASMR: A Lotus in the Mud, Quiet Purity With You (Kuren)

Set in the harsh, desolate post-apocalyptic world of Goddess of Victory: NIKKE, this was a quality work weaving together the fleeting rest and inner thoughts of Guren, who lives wandering and fighting through that world, and the Commander, the protagonist who continues to fight for humanity's sake. The first half of the tracks is mainly healing. It's about spending time alone together at the ruins of a hot spring inn, where she invites you. Just when you think she's teasing you in her usual manner as an older woman, before you know it she's drawn close and whispering seductively in your ear. If you close your eyes and listen carefully, you can experience a sense of presence as if you've truly been transported to that moist, intimate space. You can even conjure up the faint scent of nature, the smell of the sake connecting the two of you, and even the fragrance of the hot spring and cypress wood. The latter half of the tracks shifts completely, becoming something more like a voice drama centered on her figure as portrayed in the original work's scenery. Her dignified form wielding a sword over a long span of time, and in between, her life lived close to nature through farming. It's content that stays close to the worries and the feelings she harbors precisely because she has lived long and experienced so much. (For those who haven't read the original, I recommend listening again afterward.) Going by the original story, Guren is quite the unusual figure even among the Nikkes, a difficult character from her origins right up to the present. While she's nonchalant and composed, there's something unstable and fleeting about her, a presence that feels strong yet somehow like it could break at any moment. I think that mysterious, seemingly contradictory charm is brought out even more by the excellent performance of voice actress Reina Ueda. Within her clear, beautiful voice, her acting carries a sense of something slightly different from the ordinary, along with a precarious atmosphere—all I can say is, once again, 'wonderful.' This was a fine work that lets you feel, right at your ear, the mysterious charm of a being called 'Guren' that can't be fully conveyed by the original story alone, that can't easily be put into words.

At first glance, this is a mixed-bathing lovey-dovey ASMR with Guren. But it's not that simple. Together with Guren, we despair at the cruelty of this world, come to know her strength, come to know her weaknesses too, face hardships together, receive her hidden feelings, fall in love with her, and walk toward tomorrow together with her. I love you, Guren. Let's get married. Guren's story like this is told making maximum use of the voice drama format. Reina Ueda, who voices Guren, has appeared in numerous audio works, and thanks to her high level of acting skill, I was able to feel as if Guren were right there beside me, in a way you can't experience in the main game. The ambient sounds are also meticulously crafted—water sounds, battle sounds, the sound of a hoe striking the ground, the sound of a sword being sharpened—further heightening the sense of immersion in the work's world. To sum up, NIKKE players, especially Commanders who love Guren, should definitely buy this. Satisfaction as an audio work is extremely high, and there's no doubt your understanding of NIKKE's world and of Guren will deepen by several levels. On the other hand, there are probably fans of Reina Ueda who haven't played NIKKE but are curious about this audio work. As an audio work, the quality is extremely high, so it can be enjoyed to a certain degree even without knowing the story. But I really want you to play NIKKE, learn about this world and the character Guren, and then listen to it again. I'm sure you'll see a completely different world.

This was seriously, truly the best!!!!!!! You get to see a super duper cute side of Guren that you can't see in the game!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Of course, there are also cool moments that feel very Guren-like!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Honestly, after being shown that event story, my heart was in pieces when I saw this ASMR trailer, but it turned out to be a sweet ASMR beyond my imagination that completely brought me back to life!!!!! Everyone who's into Guren, please buy this!!!!!!!!

In idol-type works premised on holding live performances and the like, there are smartphone games designed around at most around 30 characters, but in games that are popular these days, in order to target a huge variety of preferences, a large number of characters tend to appear. With that kind of design, inevitably, when it comes to deepening a single character, it ends up limited to just their character story and the story in whatever event they happen to be featured in. Given that, I'm really happy to see her picked up in an audio work like this. If you like Guren, buying this is absolutely the right call. Since it's an audio work, naturally it's fully voiced, and I'm also glad it has a huge volume of 1 hour and 40 minutes. The content has Guren spoiling the listener, the young master, but it's also lovely that Guren herself clearly has feelings for him and shows possessiveness. The content of the work itself is great, but on top of that, Reina Ueda's voice is soothing throughout, and it was also nice that playing it by the bedside let me fall into a pleasant sleep. I wonder why Reina Ueda's voice puts me in such a peaceful state of mind.

I had been looking forward to a new work from Reina Ueda in the app, so I'm really happy it came out—I recommend it. The PV video? It's really well made and quite captivating, no wonder it's so popular. Her slightly low-pitched ear-cleaning voice and whispers as Reina Ueda make me truly happy as a fan. It would have been nice to have it in the app too, but I'm glad I had high expectations for it. If a new work comes out again, I'd love to buy and listen to it.

This was a high-quality work both as NIKKE content and as a standalone ASMR piece! The ambient sounds are great, and above all Reina Ueda's performance was wonderful and so soothing... I play NIKKE myself, but I'd love for people who don't to listen to this one too! I especially loved the open-air hot spring part—that alone made me feel glad I bought it!

I've never played NIKKE and didn't know anything at all about the character Guren, but I bought this because it's an ASMR work voiced by Reina Ueda. The sound effects—the water sounds of the open-air hot spring, ear cleaning, the sound of rain, the crackle of a campfire—are all realistic, and of course Ueda's voice is truly wonderful and soothing. There are many scenes where she speaks right into your ear, which makes you feel really happy. Even without having played the game or knowing the character, I was able to fully enjoy this as an ASMR work.

Guren, who enjoys each and every day even in this ruined world. Her voice, at times sorrowful, at times fierce, at times full of compassion. Even though it's a ruined world, vivid scenery floated up before my eyes, and by the time it ended, I had tears in my eyes. I'm not sure if it's thanks to Ueda's acting or thanks to the rich, expressive atmosphere of Guren herself, but I really want to recommend this to anyone who wants to heal their heart.

A Nikke who wanders the surface as a pilgrim, and a commander at an underground outpost—precisely because they respect each other's positions, if they were to convey what they truly feel in their hearts, their current relationship would be lost, and they would end up denying the other's way of living. Just for now, I want to forget our positions and spend time together with you. A sweet time with Guren and the consideration shown through scolding, the pain of never being able to say what's truly in her heart, the fleetingness that grows as the end draws near—it makes you think, 'I don't want this time to end.' She shows many expressions: Guren teasing you as usual, Guren reminiscing wistfully about the past, Guren spoiling you—but I felt it was somehow a sorrowful, fleeting story. The first half of the tracks is a sweet story of pampering and being pampered at a hot spring inn, and the second half is a story of spending ordinary days together while reflecting on the past (the main story and event stories) and talking about what's to come. The fleetingness and emptiness of knowing what you want to convey but being unable to say it isn't something you find much in other ASMR works, and I love that about this one. That said, knowing Guren's event story from the main NIKKE game lets you enjoy this 1000 times more (especially regarding Guren's older sister...).

This is a hot spring and surface-date work featuring the wandering swordswoman Guren, who appears in Goddess of Victory: NIKKE, a game set in a decaying near-future sci-fi fantasy world where enemies roam a raging, devastated surface. The first half of the tracks is mainly of the healing type. You get to experience a heart-pounding time drinking sake with Guren amid the ruins of a hot spring inn. You're toyed with by her composed teasing, and then suddenly she draws close and tempts you with warm breath right at your ear. The sense of presence is wonderful—you can feel the breathing and heartbeat of the alluring woman beside you, even the scent of the autumn leaves and cypress around you. In the latter half of the tracks, the style changes completely to something closer to the original work. This part might be a bit hard to follow if you haven't played the game, but a battle scene comes in here. As mentioned above, Guren is a swordswoman, and she faces off against enemies. Her dignified figure as she fights them will surely pierce your heart. You can feel the embracing warmth of someone nonchalant yet a little precarious, like an older sister and yet also like a younger sister, but who still wraps you up like someone older after all. I felt that how easy this work is to understand differs depending on whether or not you've played the original, but even those who don't know the original should be able to enjoy it fully. Still, I really want you to experience the original. I'm sure it will let you understand the person named Guren even more deeply, and love her even more.