Takarazuka Journal

Gu Bijin
Flower Troupe, 2010
May 15th 16:00 & May 30th 16:00 shows

Stars: Matobu Sei & Sakurano Ayane

[ TakaWiki ] [ Asahi Photo Gallery: Gu Bijin ]

I... I keep putting this off until I'll have a full day to work on it, but I've come to realize that's just not going to happen anytime soon. So I'll now attempt a two-hour version of why this is the best show that I've seen since Yume no Ukihashi or Kurotokage.

Here there be SPOILERS!

( Summary: )

( What I Thought: )

So, in conclusion: If you were saving up for any version of Legend because you like grand Asian costume spectacles, throw away such a thought and get Gu Bijin instead. You won't regret it! ♥

Translation to follow once Tsukigumi leaves Tokyo♥

AHAH. AHAHAHAH. AHAHAHAHAHAH.

The 80s are back. ♥

WARNING: 99.999999999% of fandom thinks Jen is on crack.
WARNING: Jen has never liked Takarazuka BeruBara.
WARNING: Jen likes Hanagumi.

How do you make BeruBara appealing?

(1) Starve the subject of contact with live Takarazuka theater for two months
(2) Stuff show full of beloved seito
(3) Leave in subject's favorite lines
(4) Add lovely BGM
(5) Seat subject in optimal location for Hot Stare GET!!!
(6) Hinata San, Hinata San, Hinata San♥♥♥


[this official title translation cracks me up, must use]
A Spin-Off from the Rose of Versailles: André's Story
Flower Troupe, 2009
Tokyo Theater, Oct. 25th, 11 AM performance

Leads: Matobu Sei & Sakurano Ayane

[ TakaWiki ] [ SANSPO Stage Graph ]
[ Daily Sports Online, Set: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 ]

The Rose of Versailles Side-Story: André

Maybe it was because I was expecting the worse. Maybe it was because I'm used to being diametrically opposed to 80% of the fandom. Maybe it was because I've simply slipped off the deep end, but... I really didn't think Andre-hen was that bad. Actually, er, I liked it more than Legend. *cough*

I think I begin to understand the appeal of BeruBara in Takarazuka. I've never paid a huge amount of attention to musumeyaku costumes, particularly the enormous hoop-skirts, but I think they lose something in the recordings. Also, I think the costuming department really went to town when they bought the fabric this time around (either that, or they were using the bottom of the barrel -- some of the pattern combinations were, er, very Japanese).

But let's do this systematically:

( The Plot (by thread, not chronologically): )

( What I Thought: )

~*~*~

Exciter!!

( Read more... )

~*~*~

Overall, I liked both halves. I'm going to try to go and see it again next weekend. But I probably won't spend the money to buy the full-price DVD.

The short, short version, because otherwise I'm never going to get laundry done and errands run today.

The Legend of the Great King and Four Gods
Flower Troupe (Tokyo) 2009

Top Stars: Matobu Sei and Sakurano Ayane

[ TakaWiki ] [ Sanspo Stage Graph ]

I was sadly disappointed. I can't decide if I would recommend watching the Korean drama before seeing the show or not. On one hand, you may be rather lost over why they included such-and-such a moment. On the other hand, you might be sitting in your seat hitting your forehead with your palm every ten minutes.

I'll preface this by saying that I was not a huge fan of the drama. I rather hoped that the Takarazuka version would trim off the fat and smooth away some of the plot problems I had with it. Instead they took away all of the moments that I enjoyed from the series, and then ran over the character motivation with a bulldozer.

( Drama vs Musical )

I am terribly, terribly biased, so I will admit that Ozora Yuuhi had the sparkles shining in my eyes. I didn't get goosebumps, but I certainly felt the power of her voice in her solos more that Matobu Sei's. This is just all wrong, because Matobu is a very strong singer too. I think what it boils down to is that the music was pretty weak. Lucia says that it grew on her. It might on me if I saw the the show again, but I found the songs unmemorable. They were typical Takarazuka songs for a typical Takarazuka show. And the last four shows that I've seen have been anything but typical, which I think has spoiled me rotten.

Okay, enough complaining. What I liked... I liked lots of Hinata San.♥ Everywhere.♥

I liked the revolving "cave" set, and particularly how they used it during the prologue.

I liked evil Sou. There wasn't enough of her.

I liked Ayane's dancing in her lovely Korean costumes.

I liked Shirahana Remi as baby Hogae.♥

I liked Hanagata Hikaru's wig a lot better than I was expecting.

I loved the choreography of all the battle/tournament scenes (Although I pined for the original tournament, that never would have been feasible on stage and would have looked silly, so I understand what they did there). ...I think a little underclassman may have fallen off the ginkyo at one point. But everyone else in the theater was so busy watching Yuuhi that they missed it. XD

I LOVED the costumes and the stage makeup. It was eerie how closely they resembled their Korean counterparts at times.

I ADORED AND DIED THROUGH EVERY MOMENT OF THE MINI-REVUE. Unrghhhhhhh. If I ever considered buying the DVD, it would be for the mini-revue. Hotness. Dancing. Love.

Hinata San.♥ Everywhere.♥ Including right in front of me during the parade.♥



Final conclusion: Thank you, Hankyu. You're going to save me a lot of money by putting on this show again in the fall. Normally Hoshigumi would have me at the theater every weekend, but......

Look what they stuck up while fandom was having a hernia over Elisabeth. ;)

Love and Death in Arabia / Red Hot Sea
Flower Troupe, 2008

Stars: Matobu Sei & Sakurano Ayane

[ TakaWiki ] [ Stage Graph ]

Okay, to be honest I haven't really read through any of the Summer Makes Sense crew's reviews yet, but I think I started to by accident once and there was a general consensus that it was dull!? Are you all on crack? I know people have differences of opinion, so I think this is either one of those moments where I'm at odds with 90% of the community, or perhaps I'll read your reviews properly and find out I was mistaken....

One other caveat before I start, which is that I spent my impressionable pre-teen years reading things like The Blue Sword. I have this ... thing for Arabia meets early 19th-century Britain.

( Arabia - What I Thought: )

It wasn't until the intermission that I realized that I hadn't thought about Osa even once. It wasn't like there was this huge gapping hole there; Hanagumi is whole, and strong, and amazing. I honestly, honestly believe that it might be my favorite troupe right now (and I am NOT just saying this because Yuuhi transferred there). I know this sounds like sacrilege to a lot of people, but give them a chance. They might just knock your socks off.

( Red Hot Sea - What I Thought: )

I always have a hard time reviewing revues, because they tend to either be ones I love, where I love every single mad detail, or ones I just found blah. This was one I loved, every bit of it.

(PS - I think a couple people might have missed it without meaning to, so in case you're wondering why there isn't any iride information, or anything like that, check this post.)

Adieu Marseille
Flower, 2007

Leads: Haruno Sumire & Sakurano Ayane

[ TakaWiki ] [ TCA Shop ]
[ ENAK Sumire Style GRAPH ]

Summary on the Takarazuka Wikipedia.

What I Thought:

I am probably the last person on the planet to see this show, but here you go anyway.... ;)

LOVE.

It peddled to all of my weaknesses: Osa in pinstripe suits, gangsters in pinstripe suits, Hatchi in pinstripe suits, Un-chan in pinstripe suits (are we sensing a theme here?)... No, but seriously, the otokoyaku wardrobes? Deadly. The musumeyaku outfits were probably very pretty, but I- Wait, wait, I remember Lucia's repeated mention of little red... hats? No, no, that was Tuxedo Jazz. I definitely remember Sakurano in a little red dress, so it was a little red something. The sets blended in and don't stick out in my memory, except for the station, of course, and the sewers. Slightly subdued for a Grand Theater show. Music and lyrics were done in a safe, lovely style that suited Osa's gorgeous voice to a T.

( Read more... )

Overall, this show is now my second-favorite Osa show (after Kurotokage). The plot might not be Tony-award wining material, and I felt the musumeyaku were in many ways after-thoughts, but the suits, and the otokoyaku, and the shoulder holsters, and Mattsu's mustache, and Hatchi's tattoo (yes, I have weird kinks, leave me alone)... Ngh. And Osa was as powerful as ever, making a grand ... adieu.



PS - Someone needs to add the staff to the TakaWiki page! >:/

The Energy 8

Star - The Rose of Versailles: Matobu Sei & Koto Marie
Moon - Great Pirates: Yamato Yuuga & Kanou Chika
Snow - Burning Love: Sou Kazuho & Konno Mahiru
Cosmos - Castel Mirage: Tsubaki Hiroka & Ayano Kanami

The Rose of Versailles
[ TakaWiki ]

I can keep this short and sweet by saying... I didn't watch it. ^^; Really not in the mood for Berubara lately. But I did watch the speech at the end. Un-chan was as completely and terribly goofy as ever. Oh my god. She must be terribly, terribly shy. I hope her speeches are still as adorable, but I suspect she's gotten used to them by now.

( Great Pirates )

Overall, a really fun show to see because of its nostalgia factor, but the surprise of this tape was actually...

( Ai Moeru )

So, yeah. Wow. I think I need to go watch that again.

But first, a complaint! Why did no one tell me that...

( Castel Mirage )

So, yes. Must hunt down full versions of Ai Moeru and Castel Mirage shinkos. ASAP.

[I'll come back and edit this post when I watch the Berubara.]

Akechi Kogorou's Incident Report -The Black Lizard- / Tuxedo Jazz
Flower Troupe 2007

Leads: Haruno Sumire & Sakurano Ayane

[ Takawiki Page ] [ TCA Pictures Shop ] [ ENAK Sumire Style Graph ]

I'll spare you a summary, since there's already one on the wiki. ;) And also, I have no intention of giving away the ending. Trust me, that would take away all the fun.

( Impressions of 'Black Lizard': )

( Impressions of 'Tuxedo Jazz': )

Iri/Demachi:

ZOMG, Hatchi is hot. Ze End.

Well. This journal is terribly boring compared to princesslucia's record-breaking adventures in Takarazuka and utena1409's Mizu-stalking in Vienna!

*grins*

I spent today at the Ren Faire. It was very, very weird to watch a jousting tournament with cacti in the background. Anyway, in the drive up to Apache Junc., I brought January's Graph with me because I never really read the articles of that issue. Okay, the "Haruno Sumire ga Wakaru ka mo!?" slayed me. Completely.

Sou's answer to the "A side of Osa-san you've seen" was along the lines of: During the Yukigumi performance of "Berubara" while everyone was on standby before the bridge scene, Osa was playing air guitar in the smoke.

Un-chan's answer to the scenario of "If you performed with Osa (as your partner)" broke from everyone else's answers, in that she plans to play the otokoyaku and make Osa the musumeyaku. Miwatchi gets points for wanting to perform "Lovers' Suicide", and while unimaginative, I love that Mattsu wants to be Osa's Elisabeth. Hanagata Hikaru's choice of Gekijou gets bonus points.

Miwatchi and Mattsu's obsession with Osa's fingers and hands needs a mention, as does Hanagata Hikaru's blatant fangirling when asked what part of Osa she loved best, ending with 「超マニアックですみません（笑）」.