Twelfth Night

You know, I remember not writing up a review of Cinderella Rock, but I know I wrote up something for Twelfth Night. I remember doing it. o.0 *shakes head*

Twelfth Night (Bow Shakespeare Series #4)
Moon Troupe Bow, 1999

Leads: Yamato Yuuga & Hanase Mizuka

[ TakaWiki ] [ TCA Shop ]

( Cast: )

( Summary: )

What I Thought:

I really, really love this show for a rather unusual reason. It's one of the few shows (not counting music salons) where I believe the lead musumeyaku part is more interesting/important than the lead otokoyaku part. Hanase Mizuka's Viola is really a great character. Even Takarazuka had a hard time staging Twelfth Night without Viola. She pro-active, she's fun, she's mature enough to think things through. And, of course, she's madly in love with Orsino. This was 1999, so Yamato Yuuga still hadn't quite overcome her fish-faces and eyebrow twitches, but I really liked her Orsino better than her role in Cinderella Rock. Plus, she had pretty poets blouses. Ozora Yuuhi as Sir Toby was a very fun, rather amusing character. She seemed more high-nosed aristocrat than drunk, but her scheming definitely brought out some of the best scenes in the show (like the duel between Viola and Sir Andrew). Casting Natsukawa Yura as Olivia was a stroke of genius. Ritsu Tomomi makes a perfectly ridiculous Marvolio, but makes him perhaps a little too sympathetic? Mayama Haru seemed to have lost ten years as she played the jester Feste, my second favorite character in this show after Mizuka's Viola. Shijou Rui's Sir Andrew was... oh lord. How did they ever think that girl would be an otokoyaku, when she kept getting type-cast in these silly, squeaky, adorable roles? I got major slashy vibes from Kaji Yuuki's Sebastian and Narumi Jun's Antonio, who were great together.

Altogether, a really fun, really well done comedy. It's silly without being too slapstick, and has some fun songs and dances. And the casting was A+!

( Whee! )

Cinderella Rock

Cinderella Rock
Moon Troupe Bow, 1998

Leads: Yamato Yuuga & Saijou Mie

[ TakaWiki ] [ TCA Pictures ]

( Cast: )

( Summary: )

What I Thought:

You know, I'm not sure if I should admit this, but I actually liked this show. However, it was pretty borderline. It was my love for the actresses that kept me into it, after I started wincing at each new "comical" moment. When the lead musumeyaku character's name is Madonna Carey, you know you're in trouble. And, I, er, ah, fast-forwarded through all of the songs. Even some of Saijou Mie's, and usually I like her singing. The songs and costumes were just spectacularly awful. No, I take that back. There were a couple of redeeming costumes: Yoshizuki Eri's dresses and wraps kept me endlessly entertained, Keiju Mana's makeup and wig were spectacular, and Cydo's beat-up jumper he appeared in for the first number was cute. Ah, the first number! I liked the first number! Okay, there were a few entertaining songs in there I didn't fast-forward through. Most of them Eri-san's.

Some of the characters were pretty awesome, even under the cheap jokes. Yoshizuki Eri as the evil stepmother was a touch of brilliance. Koshino Ryuu's gay costume rental shop owner killed me. Repeatedly. As did the evil stepbrothers: Kiriya Hiromu and Kusunoki Keika. Ryuu and Keika together... oh god. I couldn't breathe for a few seconds. Yamato Yuuga's Cydo (I know, should be Sid, but the poster on the stage says "Cydo") was a cute guy, and a likable character. Pretty impressive for a ken-3, even if she did do the cyclops eyebrow thing a little too often. Mie's character, on the other hand... Well, I loved how bitchy she was, actually. It was refreshing. I wanted to cuddle poor Misato Maya in this show. It just doesn't pay to be the evil lady's footmat, darlin'. All of the band members were cute, and as I said, Keiju's makeup and wig were amazing. Shijou Rui played the little boy again. No comment on Samba-Elvis!Daddy. No comment on Guille's family, except to say that they needed to kill the taco gag. Oh, and the granny was pretty cool. Oh, I give up. I have so much love for these actresses, I can't even dislike their awful characters. *grins* Not even drunken, homeless, Santa Claus-suited Misa Noeru.

I would say... this show is LUNA-esque ridiculous. Just... very odd components all thrown together. I can see it being a secret favorite of some fans. ;)

( Whee! )

Yamato Yuuga

There, now I can belatedly cheer over the fact that TCA is releasing Cinderella Rock and Twelfth Night on DVD on July 20th. And not feel guilty about posting a review of something that's almost impossible to get your hands on. ;)

Yamato Yuuga

There, now I can belatedly cheer over the fact that TCA is releasing Cinderella Rock and Twelfth Night on DVD on July 20th. And not feel guilty about posting a review of something that's almost impossible to get your hands on. ;)