31 May 2015: Welcome back, Kugimiya Rie
Angela Balzac shows Dingo how large the pizzas are in DEVA.
The past couple of years have been pretty good for Kugimiya Rie roles, as it appears she has moved beyond the tiny, flat-chested modern tsundere typecasting that plagued her for so long. Notably, she was excellent in Rakuen Tsuihō (Expelled from Paradise) as Angela Balzac (admittedly another tsundere, but fortunately the neoclassical variety). Ordinarily I would not have expected her in a role like this, but she did an outstanding job. The movie itself is also excellent, so I'm definitely buying the Blu-ray when it comes out later this week.
White enjoys Leo's pictures, but White enjoys a lot of things.
Currently, Kugimiya Rie also appears as Leo's convalescent friend, White, (and also as White's brother, Black) in Kekkai Sensen (Blood Blockade Battlefront) and as BCG-wearing Meika in Punch Line. Both roles serve as reminders that Kugimiya Rie is adept at voicing charming characters in addition to the little harpies for which she's most famous.
Meika is the only reason I'm still watching Punch Line.
Other recent roles I've liked include the smug Chronoire Schwarz VI in the underrated Witch Craft Works and Madoka Aguri/Cure Ace in DokiDoki Precure!. (The latter is mostly notable because both Aguri and Cure Ace are all right. The first time Pretty Cure introduced a shrimpy kid as a Cure with Ako/Cure Muse, the result was...not particularly charismatic. We've also got Kugimiya Rie locked in for the foreseeable future as Minase Iori in THE iDOLM@STER franchise. That worked out pretty well.
