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Momoiro Clover Z Sings 'Moonlight Densetsu' for Sailor Moon Stage Musical
posted on by Egan Loo
Japanese idol group Momoiro Clover Z announced on Sunday that they will contribute their cover of "Moonlight Densetsu" as the theme song for the upcoming all-female revival of the Sailor Moon stage musical. The musical will use a new arrangement of the first opening theme song from the first Sailor Moon anime with Momoiro Clover Z vocals.
The group performed the song at their concert in Yokohama's Nissan Stadium, and their performance and their announcement were streamed live during Sunday's Sailor Moon 20th Anniversary Event #2.
The idols also confirmed during Sunday's event that they will sing both the opening and the ending theme songs for this winter's new Sailor Moon anime. However, Momoiro Clover Z did not announce that "Moonlight Densetsu" would also be a theme for the new anime. The new Sailor Moon anime will stream worldwide simultaneously this winter on Niconico.
The Sailor Moon: La Reconquista musical will be a new recounting of the battles between the Sailor Senshi and the Dark Kingdom that seeks the Silver Crystal. (La Reconquista was the name of the movement to reclaim the Iberian Peninsula from Islamic invaders during the 14th and 15th centuries.)
The original magical girl manga's creator Naoko Takeuchi personally auditioned actressses for the cast. 17-year-old Satomi Ōkubo will be the fifth actress to assume the role of the title magical girl. Yūga Yamato, a former actress of male roles in the Takarazuka troupe, will play the love interest Tuxedo Kamen (Tuxedo Mask). The full main cast includes:
16-year-old Miyabi Matsuura as Sailor Mercury
16-year-old Kanon Nanaki as Sailor Mars
22-year-old Yū Takhashi as Sailor Jupiter
21-year-old Shiori Sakata as Sailor Venus
Yūga Yamato as Tuxedo Mask
Former Takarazuka actress Ryō Saika as Zoisite
Model Root as Jadeite
Koro as Nephrite
Misaki Komatsu as Kunzite
Former Takarazuka actress Midori Hatsukaze as Queen Beryl
Mayumi Shintani as Lemures Bābā
Jamie Natsuki as Queen Serenity
(Ryō Saika and Misaki Komatsu were originally cast to play Kunzite and Zoisite, respectively, but they switched roles.)
Both Hatsukaze and Saika played male roles during their stints in the famed all-female Takarazuka troupe, while Root modeled for Kera Boku, Japan's first women's fashion magazine for male clothing.
Takuya Hiramitsu is producing, writing, and directing the new musical with music by Toshihiko Sahashi. Dwango and Nelke Planning are co-producing the musical's run from September 13 to 23 at Shibuya's AiiA Theater Tokyo. General ticket sales will begin on August 17 for 6,800 yen (about US$68), but advance reservations began already via Kodansha's Nakayoshi magazine.
Takeuchi launched the original manga in Nakayoshi in 1992, and the hit anime premiered that same year. The manga inspired 27 earlier stage musical runs with over 800 performances between 1993 and 2005. The cast and staff of the new musical are largely different from the past versions.
Images © Naoko Takeuchi © Naoko Takeuchi, PNP/Kodansha, Nelke Planning, Dwango
