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Touken Ranbu Franchise Gets New Version of 2nd Musical in September
posted on by Alex Mateo
The official website for the Touken Ranbu musicals announced on Tuesday that the franchise will get an updated version of the franchise's second musical, Touken Ranbu - Bakumatsu Tenrōden, that will run from September to November.
The newly announced cast includes:
- Ryuji Sato as Kashū Kiyomitsu
- Yūki Torigoe as Yamatonokami Yasusada
- Shōtarō Arisawa as Izuminokami Kanesada
- Shōgo Sakamoto as Horikawa Kunihiro
- Kensuke Takahashi as Hachisuka Kotetsu
- Yu Imari as Nagasone Kotetsu
- Shin Koyanagi as Kondō Isami
- Tomoyuki Takagi as Hijikata Toshizō
- Fūma Sadamoto as Okita Sōji
Isamu Kayano is returning to direct the musical, and Chūji Mikasano (Tokyo Ghoul anime) is writing the script.
The franchise's seventh stage musical Musical Touken Ranbu ~Shizuka no Umi no Paraiso~ (Paraiso of the Sea of Tranquilty; pictured above right) cancelled part of its Tokyo run, which was scheduled for March 21-29, due to concerns about the COVID-19 coronavirus situation. The musical still held performances up through March 26. The musical also cancelled all performances that were to run from April 4-18 at AiiA 2.5 Theater Kobe in Hyogo. The musical is scheduled to run from April 24-26 at City Kaikan Sears Home Yume Hall in Kumamoto and May 3-6 at Sendai Sunplaza Hall in Miyagi.
Touken Ranbu - Atsukashiyama Ibun, the first stage musical, held its first trial performance in 2015, with its debut run held from May to June 2016. The second musical, Touken Ranbu - Bakumatsu Tenrōden, ran from September to October 2016, with a final performance in Tokyo in November 2016. Touken Ranbu Mihotose no Komoriuta, the franchise's third stage musical, ran from March to April 2017. Touken Ranbu - Tsuwamono Domo ga Yume no Ato, the fourth stage musical, debuted in December 2017 and ran through January 2018. The fifth stage musical, Touken Ranbu: The Musical "Musubi no Hibiki, Hajimari no Ne," debuted in March 2018 and had its final performance in May 2018. The fifth musical received 4DX screenings in November 2018. The seventh musical, Musical Touken Ranbu ~Kishōhongi~, ran from last August to October.
The franchise also has a separate series of stage plays. The seventh and most recent stage play in the franchise, Touken Ranbu: Iden Oboro no Shishitachi, ran in Tokyo from November 22 to December 1, in Kobe from December 6 to 15, in Tokyo again from December 20 to January 12, and in Fukuoka on January 17 and 18.
The Touken Ranbu Online "sword personification training game" takes famous swords from Japanese history and interprets them as bishōnen. Nitroplus designed the characters and scenario. The game launched in Japan in 2015. The franchise has inspired the Katsugeki: Touken Ranbu television anime series and an upcoming anime film, the two Touken Ranbu: Hanamaru spinoff anime series, and a compilation anime film. A live-action film opened in Japan in January 2019, and a sequel film will open in 2021.
Sources: Touken Ranbu stage musicals' website (link 2), 4Gamer (さがさん)
