MAHOROBA

MAHOROBA
Moon Troupe, 2007

Stars: Sena Jun & Ayano Kanami

[ TCA Pictures Shop ] [ ENAK Sumire Style ] [ Takarazuka Precious ]

This here be a thorough summary, yo. Because the official summary fails in so many ways.

So. Take the gorgeous choreography of Sha Tamae, mix in gorgeous, moving music complete with shamisen written by a famous (and young, and cute) shamisen musician, the retelling of Japanese mythology, gorgeous, gorgeous costumes reminiscent of Susano-o, and Moon Troupe at its very best. And there you may have an inkling of MAHOROBA's greatness.

For me, its only major failure is that it is too short.

( Summary -- And a warning, because I haven't brushed up on my Kojiki in a while. ;) )

I loved the choreography even more than I was expecting to, and the costumers did a great job with costumes that really showed off Sha-sensei's choreography -- lots of long, silky and billowy sleeves and pant legs for the slower numbers and the storm numbers, and just plain cool outfits for the faster battle scenes and warrior dances. The still photos don't really do them justice -- you have to see them in action! Lots of large group numbers, which is always fun. One scene blended into the next at a non-stop pace, and the music carried you along through it all. The music was also in a good range for all of the singers.

A show I could have gone back to see again and again and again.

For the DVD, I hope they give us a lot of wide-angle shots and save the tight close-ups for the alternate angles. Because as much as you want to see the face of your favorites, the impact of seeing it all in front of you is pretty amazing. I actually tended to not use my opera glasses so that I could see it all.

My only two complaints... Although Ban Akira had some nifty things to do, it seemed odd to pull her into this show for only this part. And Masaki and Yuuhi were almost always in the same scenes.... So I missed Yuuhi almost completely. ^^;; Okay, one more complaint: Why is the whole things so catchy!? I kept finding myself on the verge of bouncing in my seat. Very embarrassing.

Also, I'm trying to mention everyone's favorites in here, but let me know if I've missed someone you want to hear about. ;)

Magician no Yuutsu (A Magician's Misfortunes)

Magician no Yuutsu
Moon Troupe, 2007

Stars: Sena Jun & Ayano Kanami

[ TCA Pictures Shop ] [ ENAK Sumire Style ] [ Takarazuka Precious ]

Where to even begin? Well, I suppose I'll do this one a bit like I did MAHOROBA. This means it's going to be full of spoilers, so I'd avoid it if you want a surprise when you first watch it.

( Read more... )

I know they say that original shows in Takarazuka are written with the cast in mind, but I think that's more apparent for some shows than for others, and probably some playwrights are better at it than others. This show was perfect for this cast, particularly for Asako, Mihoko, and Kiriyan. Mihoko! I didn't really go into her role much in the summary, but her voice was low and not hoarse exactly, but a little rough. And all of her songs tended to be in a lower range than usual as well, and I think it must have been her natural range because it was gorgeous. There weren't a lot of solos in this show, and when there were solos, they were often little scraps of them (for Kiriyan and Mihoko). There were several duets, though, and lots of really, really catchy group numbers. And all of the songs were actually right for the voices of the 'siennes singing them. Oh, I love when they do that.

The stage work was completely fun -- great lighting and lots of uses of all the mechanics (rotating stage, trap doors, etc.). I loved the sets, particularly what they did with the stairs.

The costumes weren't very elaborate, but I liked Asako's black velvet suit and Ai-chan's green dress in particular. And Eri's leather jacket outfit and Yuuhi's vest and combat boots and open-necked shirt and... yeah. .....Ahi's outfit needs to be seen to be believed.

Loot

Um. I was good. 50% off already discounted programs, and I hardly bought any. I think I deserve some kind of reward for that.

( Boringness here )

Loot

Um. I was good. 50% off already discounted programs, and I hardly bought any. I think I deserve some kind of reward for that.

( Boringness here )