Latest news from Otobank Inc., the release of Rodoku Shojo – Story Time Girl. It is a program focused on “entertainment for readers,” in which a girl in a school uniform recites a story just for you! “Rodoku girl” means “reading girl” in Japanese, the iPhone app was created initially for Japanese classic literature but now unleashed a greater potential in cheery messages to recover from last month’s earthquake in the East of Japan.

You don’t just listen to “Shiori Otoha” (the “Rodoku Shojo”) narrate stories; you can communicate with her as well. With “Rodoku Shojo – Story Time Girl -,” you can check out a reading of the first part of Akutagawa Ryunosuke’s famous work Rashomon.

Features (standard version):

1. You choose the story, and the girl will recite it to you!
2. Illustrations that change as the story is read.
3. When you pause the reading, a bookmark is automatically inserted where you stopped.
4. One touch buttons for fast forwarding or rewinding.
5. You can add a sticky note to any part you really enjoyed.
6. When you tap the clock icon, the current time is told to you.
7. Comes with an Alarm Clock feature (complete with Snooze setting)
8. When you touch the girl, you can communicate with her!
9. Based on how you communicate with the girl, your “popularity rating” will change.
10. Based on changes in your popularity rating and other factors, special in-program events will occur.
11. You can purchase new titles and items from the store.

As a special version, Shiori reads messages from many creators including a novelist Shusuke Michio, a winner of Naoki Award in 2011, as well as a psychiatrist Daiji Akehashi and a cartoonist Keisuke Itagaki. These messages are to cheer readers to recover from a huge damage by the earthquake. The application is provided with no charge.