Takarazuka Journal

♥♥♥!!! Kazahana Mai updated her blog with backstage photos of herself and a bunch of OGs as a New Year's present to us all. Whoever did their hair and makeup was a genius, and they all look lovely (well, except for Rea's hair ohgod), but Gaichi in particular looks so drop-dead gorgeous (even making silly faces) that I didn't even recognize her at first. (You can also see her in the background of the shot of Mai and Hoshina Yuri.) I want cheekbones like that...

And Shiomi Maho posted a recent photo of herself in her blog as well. The perm must be in this month. ;) I have hat envy, and her nails are the same color as mine! *grin*

A little belated, but:

Press conference for Dancin' Crazy. I am very amused that Rika has decided to grovel fangirl, where others did not. (  As, for example: )

---

And Kazahana finally caught up with Rika to get her picture, since she missed her on her last photo-taking spree.

---

The Kean poster was unveiled along with the news conference for it. Trust the media queen to get the media blitz. ;)

Takarazuka Official Website
Takarazuka Precious 1 2
Enak Sumire Style
Sanspo

---

And why am I not shocked at all that it's Yumiko done up like a vampire, even though according to the show summary it's Otsuki Sayu who will be playing the bloodsucker? *amused*

Alas (Special Performance)
Moon Troupe Theater Drama City, 1997

Leads: Makoto Tsubasa & Kazahana Mai

[ Takawiki Page ]

I don't even think I can begin to summarize or review this show. Actually, I seem to remember someone already has, and I'm definitely going to go and see if I can remember who it was and read it now that I've seen the show. But I'll tell you the ten things about this show I think you NEED to know, in order of importance:

1) Rika is a bad-boy, dancing gigolo in a suit. And they cut out one of her numbers. With a FEDORA.
2) Eri-san had longish hair in '97, and has it pulled back in a little ponytail a la Maya Miki during the tango club numbers. I DIE of LOVE.
3) Ken-2 Sarara is the cutest thing ever. Especially in a frilly, pink dress.
4) Act two has been chopped to hell because of all the numbers they cut for copyright reasons, and yet we are forced to suffer through all 30 minutes of those TCA-Special-gone-bad, hellish island numbers in act one. Shou-sensei, I expected better of you.
5) There is ANJU choreography.
6) Rika and Mami have a choreographed sword fight. It is very DRAMATIC.
7) Did I mention Eri-san's ponytail?
8) Mami wears many outfits which can only be described as "Mami Revue Outfits" (I really think this should be made an official zuka fan phrase), and is very MAMI-LIKE.
9) Gaichi, Juri-pyon, Kiriyan, my little Valley Girl, and pink-frilly-dress!Sarara have a really, really, REALLY cute number together.
10) Ahi carries Mami on her back during the second curtain call. This is a girl who knows how to make herself useful.

*whimper* They're trying to kill me. Rika, Miki, Kazahana Mai, and Hoshina Yuri all made appearances in a Tuesday suspense show. And Mao is playing an assistant inspector in another show on the 31st.

I'm feeling particularly lazy today, so you get sent to the wiki for show particulars.

Hard-Boiled Egg
Moon Troupe, 1995

Leads: Amami Yuuki, Asano Kayo

[ TakaWiki ]

( What I Thought: )

TCA Special 1996 - Melodies and Memories

[ TakaWiki Page ]

( Participants )


Wow. Wow. I think this is my favorite TCA special so far. It's just so different that it's really intriguing.

Act I

Instead of the usual parade down the stairs or something like that to introduce the troupes, they jump right into doing scenes from famous oriental-style Takarazuka musicals. Starlight People, a Shinsengumi musical originally done in the 70s by Yuki. Here Hana does it, with Maya Miki playing Okita Souji, also includes Shiraki Ayaka, Takane Fubuki, and Makoto Tsubasa. Eternal Tale stars Kuze, Hanafusa, and Todoroki. Red Flowers Falling in Menam tells the story of a Japanese ambassador (Yamada: Asaji Saki) to Shamuro, other cast includes Kazahana Mai, Aika Mire, Shibuki Jun, Shizuki Asato, and Wataru Kozuki. The old favorite, Lover's Suicide shows up again, with Ichiro Maki and Hanafusa Mari playing the lovers, also includes Minoru Kou, Kouju Tatsuki (singing "Kono Yo ni Tada Hitotsu"), and Kaikyou Hiroki.

Act II

We open with a collection of songs from Western musicals, including Guys and Dolls, Oklahoma, West Side Story, South Pacific, The Sound of Music, Dean, songs from Kurt Weill, Maury Yeston, and Cole Porter. A medley of Offenbach songs leads us into recent Takarazuka favorites, including a La Nostalgie featuring every sexy otokoyaku to ever exist, EVER. Perhaps the most bizzarre is Ichiro Maki singing "Watashi Dake ni" in her otokoyaku voice. 0.o And then we end with the parade to "Takarazuka Forever."

What I Thought:

Act I was gorgeous and full of angst. Non-chan (Kuze Seika) and Mariko-chan's (Asaji Saki) characters had me in tears. Beautifully, beautifully done. It was interesting to see another version of Lover's Suicide. Ichiro and Hana played it much more desperate than Saeko and Kurara did in the 2004 special, and I can't decide which I like more. Oddly enough, I think I liked Hakushou Kairi's version of "Kono Yo" more than Taatan's, though Taatan's was also gorgeous.

Act II was a lot of fun. For me the best part was the Western musical numbers, and I was absolutely cracking up during The Sound of Music. The South Pacific songs had me all kinds of amused -- ah, Japanese women cross-dressing as WWII American navy men.... I was so very glad I wasn't forced to listen yet again to too many "classic" Takarazuka songs, which they seem to love pulling out for the TCA specials.

I... I've finally found The Musumeyaku. I mean, I enjoy a great many of them, and appreciate their talents, but I've never adored one like I adore my otokoyaku. Then I went and pulled out the Asaji Saki show I've been saving for desperate times the other night (believe me, times were desperate). I was a little sad, because it was before Hoshina Yuri became top star and I loved her and Asaji together in Lure of the Icon. But I dimly remembered really enjoying Shiraki Ayaka's voice when she played Elisabeth, so I figured it couldn't be all bad.

No, it couldn't be. In fact, her voice was ten million times better than I remembered. I admit to having absolutely no voice training or ability at all, but I think I'm onto something here. And then... well, just read the summary. ;)

Action! (Theater Drama City)

[ TakaWiki Page ]

Top Stars: Asaji Saki & Shiraki Ayaka

This show actually is a miscellaneous batch of skits and singing and interviews. Act I is the skits, and because this show ran around Christmas time, that's the theme. First the prologue, with Asaji singing (*gulp* I LOVE Asaji like mad, but... singing is not her strong point.) while all the main players come out to take their turn with her and get introduced: Minoru Kou, Shiraki Ai, Emao Yuu, Kazahana Mai, and Kozuki Wataru.

Skit One - Christmas Present

The future. A lonely human (Minoru Kou) is tended by a bunch of androids in space, who then kidnap Earth maidens for him as a Christmas present. He's apparently forgotten how to love, until he finds the one. Happiness. Also, androids Wataru and Kazahana Mai also discover love and turn human.

This... is a bizarre skit and my least favorite part of the show. If you can make it through here, you're golden, though, because...

Skit Two - The Last Christmas

A convicted criminal (Asaji Saki) is sentenced to be executed on Christmas. From his cell he sings the blues about his girl (Shiraki Ayaka) and how he just wants to hear her one more time. She appears in his memory... and sings.

Aside from the fact that the Hoshi otokoyaku look unbelievably HOT in leather, Aya's singing is just wow.

Skit Three - Miracle Christmas

This skit is the longest, and I thank my lucky stars. I only wish it could be longer. Imagine this: Minoru Kou as a Kiss-style death metal rocker radio DJ, Emao Yuu as the nerdy high school student, Asaji as the local bad-boy, rocker, and Aya as the prissy daughter of the woman who funds the high school. Now imagine this: Aya's character falls in love with Asaji's, and then as they're both talking next to the Christmas tree during a huge rain storm -- lightning strikes! And.. they switch bodies. Now imagine Asaji running around acting all prissy and Aya running around saying "ore."

Act II begins the more revue-esque portion of the show. First an opening number with suits and ankle warmers (oh, Takarazuka!), and then Noru and Aya do some absolutely drop-dead sexy blues numbers. Then a section of Michael Jackson songs, and can I just say that Asaji makes a frightening accurate-looking MJ double at times? Anyway, I felt like I was back in jr. high and was squealing the whole way through that. And then the last section was solos followed by an interview where they asked the question: What's the most awful mess-up you've ever done on stage. Hi-la-rious! ♥

So, yes, now a total and complete Aya fan. I was really happy how many songs and solos she got throughout the show; I haven't seen treatment like that for anyone except Hana-chan.

;_; I never wanted this show to end, and it was over in 30 minutes.

A Million Dreams

Main: Amami Yuuki & Asano Kayo

A revue show based on the theme of... dreams! Shocked, aren't you? While Amami seems to have been having some vocal problems the day they taped this show, otherwise she was her charismatic, wonderful self. The scene with the umbrella between her and Kayo was cute! And the "Dark Dreams" sequence actually got me to scream... with joy. Amami Yuuki and Makoto Tsubasa dancing together is... hotter than I can possibly describe. And Yuri kissed Mami! Okay, it was a "behind the cape" kind of deal, but still.... Takarazuka, I love how you cater to the bl fangirls! Also featuring Zunko singing while Kuze danced with Risa, and an adorable Shiokaze as a mad inventor playing with his dolls. ;)

And I get back my fangirl badge, because I managed to pick Yuuhi out of the line dance three times! *beams proudly*

..... Every time I think I'm getting used to the absolute random bizarreness which is Takarazuka revue... I am shown my place. Where else can you find James Dean, "Mac the Knife", "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer", a cancan line complete with bloomers, and "Ave Maria" all in one show?

This special was done on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day of 1998, and I laughed so, so hard. Sometimes this was appropriate, sometimes that wasn't quite their intention. The first act was a re-hash of parts of "This is Takarazuka!" which was shown in Hong Kong (that year?). Lots of fun stuff, including a tap number that I LOVED. Also, a really, really unusually high amount of the songs were sung in English. Unfortunately. I think most of us know the words to "The Loco Motion" pretty well, right? Well, I couldn't understand a single word that poor woman was singing.

I have to say, after hearing so much about how Zunko's ears stick out, I was rather disappointed. I didn't think they stuck out at all. XD

I called this first act the "Kozuki Wataru Show", because she seemed to be in just about everything. I did like this version of "Cést Si Bon".

I was scarred for life when the cancan girls came out, and the lead dancer was Asami Hikaru. I will never again think she's too feminine-looking to be an otokoyaku. *shivers* Scary! She did get her revenge though, when she came out in "Enter the Dragon" as one of three Bruce Lees.

My absolute favorite section was the one with the blues, jazz, and tap numbers. However... During the blues number, they kept giving us close-up butt shots of poor Wataru. Not Wao, just Wataru. 0.o

Did I mention enough yet how much I loved the tap number? They need more tap in Zuka.

The second act had a variety of stuff from Flower, Star, Cosmos, and Moon, as well as conversations with the higher-ranking stars. Also, a video for Snow Troupe, which was off being productive somewhere else. Actually, the Moon stuff is separate at the end of the tape, because the main tape is the show on the 25th, and they did the show on the 24th. My utter, utter love for Moon Troupe is returned. The last section was a medly of Christmas carols and songs.

I finally understand why Mizu associates red with James Dean. Emao Yuu is COOL!!

Star's MC corner was mostly talking about how cool the new theater is. Minoru Kou was off practicing for a Theater Drama City production, so Star Troupe had someone wear a mask of her face.

Flower Troupe's MC had Aika Mire macking on the musumeyaku. She also got another flower from the audience, so I'm wondering if this was a tradition for her?

Moon Troupe! I think Makoto Tsubasa (Mami's) stage presence is really dynamic. She's comfortable up there. She doesn't like giving up the spotlight, though. The kumichou were supposed to be the ones running the MC, but she kept interrupting to add things, and talk over other people (like poor Gaichi). Still, I LOVE her. She's just too cool. And Moon Troupe....!

Shiomi "Crap Yarouze!" Maho said something, and Tani pulled out a fan and whapped her over the head. Who knew she had secret desires of being a slap-stick comedian?

Mami was totally mocking this other move that Rika was doing, and it was really cute! Rika also started talking about "Sae-chan" before she caught herself and said "Ayaki Nao", so I guess they got to know each other well in Senka?

Now, when you think "White Christmas", do you think electric guitar and sparkly yellow outfits? No, me neither. But listening to Rika, Wao, and Emao Yuu singing in English totally made my day.