Forum - View topicThe Beauty of Takarazuka Transcends Borders
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LinkTSwordmaster
 Posts: 533 Location: PA / USA |
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I'm agitated that the amount of work that goes into these sorts of productions is not dissimilar to that of Kabuki, and yet I almost-never see Takarazuka Revue mentioned at all. I am unaware of any sort of Kabuki cool-style show for Takarazuka Revue productions, and it would be very nice to have some sort of means for us western fans to at bare minimum, be able to see subtitled older productions featured in some sort of education/documentary style. I realise the demand is likely pretty niche though.
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RegSuzaku
Posts: 273 Location: Ikebukuro |
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Was there any other stage content at AX?
There are so many great stage plays in Japan, not just Takarazuka and not just 2.5D either. I'm glad that the Attack on Titan musical is going to New York, and maybe there will be more at New York Comic Con, which is about a week after the AoT Broadway run. One of my favorite recent new musicals, Cross Road ~ The Devil's Violinist Paganini ~, has some former Takarazuka people in the cast - Haruno Sumire and Arisa Hitomi. Also, for anyone who's interested, you can buy Takarazuka blurays, and other stage blurays, from sites like CD Japan. It's not impossible. Someone should make subs, but that will happen once there's demand. Did you know Takarazuka released a bluray of Anastasia? Yes, the musical based on the 1990's animated movie. Theirs is the only proshot of it so far. It's a non-replica production, though, it doesn't have that wonderful train. European musicals - both Takarazuka and non-Takarazuka blurays of Japanese productions of Elisabeth, Romeo et Juliette, 1789: Les Amants de la Bastille, Phantom (American, but, the other Phantom of the Opera musical, by Yeston and Kopit)... In the non-Takarazuka productions, you might recognize some actors you know as seiyuu. Hirano Aya and Kato Kazuki, the voices of Marie Antoinette and Fersen in the new Rose of Versailles movie, were the leads in a musical called Lady Bess, about Elizabeth I of England, from the composers of Elisabeth. A bluray exists of that. Kato was also the leads in Phantom and 1789 (with former Takarazuka actress Yumesaki Nene as Marie Antoinette). Furukawa Yuta, who was the second Sebastian in the Black Butler musicals (which are Good and you should look for those discs), has played Fersen in the musical Marie Antoinette (also by the composers of Elisabeth), both Rudolf and Der Tod in Elisabeth, and W. A. Mozart in Mozart!, by the same composers (which I, being a dumb American, actually first heard of when ANN posted Toboso-sensei's fanart of Furukawa in that role in about 2017 or so. Mozart! has been one of the top musicals in Japan since it premiered here in 2002). Another former Takarazuka actress, Asaka Manato, is currently starring in Thoroughly Modern Millie, and in April of next year she will be in the third Japanese run of one of the most popular Korean musicals, Frankenstein. The 2020 Japan run got a DVD release, starring Kato Kazuki as Henry and Nakagawa Akinori, who is amazing, as Victor Frankenstein. The composer of Frankenstein also did the new Rose of Versailles musical, which is premiering this month in Korea with Ock Joo Hyun as Oscar. If I had to pick two Japanese musicals to draw attention to, those would be: Cross Road, starring Nakagawa Akinori as Paganini's devil. and Isabeau, starring former Takarazuka actress Nozomi Futo as a Medieval French queen. Nozomi is currently starring in Moulin Rouge. There's also videos of her singing things from Elisabeth with Ramin Karimloo. Nanami Hiroki actually did some things with Nakagawa and Aramaki Yoshihiko last year that looked really interesting. And actually, she also did a Frankenstein play in 2022, where she played the monster. Excuse the information dump, just... putting information about Japanese and Korean musicals where someone might see it. |
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quoss
Posts: 50 |
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THANK YOU for the gorgeous comment. I have got to get more into this. And thank you to the piece writer too, just reading what happened was thrilling. |
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RegSuzaku
Posts: 273 Location: Ikebukuro |
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Ahh you're welcome! Glad someone is interested. Nanami Hiroki is also starring in a 2.5D play called "Nanairo Inko", I think, based on an '80's manga? And I think she was in the Takarazuka-graduates cast Touken Ranbu play, as well. |
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shosakukan
Posts: 330 |
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Nanairo Inko is a manga by Tezuka Osamu, and it was serialised in Weekly Shōnen Champion in the early 1980s. Nanairo Inko is a manga which is related to theatre, and Tezuka himself was a member of a theatrical company when he was a college student. He liked not only cinema but also theatre, including Takarazuka. |
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