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sambart93 · 5 years

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2019.03.20 and 22 Tsuki ni Hoero, Yoru wo Kogegase-kun Yo [Review]

I was highly anticipated the sequel to a stage I saw last year -- first stage’s review is here.

Official Website here Official Twitter here Press Coverage and Video 1, 2, 3, 4

CAST and CHARACTERS

Oguri Ryo as Byakki / Byakomaru Satake Uki as Mibu Sumika Maruyama Shogo as Gedomaru (Young) Hattori Takeo as Yumemaru Yamamoto Mayu as Suzuran Kadono Sho as Kagami Saizou Hanaoka Meika as Nadeshiko (Young) Iwasaki Koji as Yagara Keiji Harigaya Saori as Kohaku Sekiya Mayu as Yukikusa Kimura Yuryou as Kumasaka Gyouki Aina as Hikime Shouji Masato as Takagai Eiji Nishimura Misaki as Tsubaki Tanaka Hiroki as Sayo / Tenkokumaru Mizuki Momoko as Nazuna Araki Miyu as Yukinashi Matsuda Misato as Fuji Oobaya Chieri as Kaki Tsubata Maruyama Raiden as Gedomaru (Old) Ogura Erika as Ayame Ishiibe Yuichi as Mibu Taigoku Takeda Tomohiro as Sunayama Ukon Ensemble: Umeda Shohei, Oda Shunpei, Uruhata Mirai, and Soga Kaoru

NON-SPOILER REVIEW

Overall: Unfortunately my gut instinct that I got before the show started, turned out to be true: This didn’t live up to past ASSH stages, and this is the first ASSH stage that I’ve been somewhat disappointed in them. This play is still very good: great acting, great characters; the stage, the costumes, the music are all beautiful; and the comedy is very good and had a lot of the audience laughing really loudly.... I was especially in love with the background of the stage this time around, and I thoroughly enjoyed the falling cherry blossom petals that we got throughout the play too. One of my favourite scenes is a ‘in the river/lake’ scene; the sound work during that scene was great. And I also loved the Ryo vs Sho fight scene too! BUT the story didn’t have anything new or surprising. I felt the character introductions were too long (it’s something we’ve seen a billion times, no need to explain who’s fighting against each other etc.), and that they were trying to fit in too many story lines -- There are like 6 or 7 storylines in this and at least 2 of them have nothing to do with one another. Upon my second rewatch, you could’ve easy cut out the 3 - 5 characters who were part of this Women’s Only Fight Club, and that would’ve made the story stronger and would’ve cut the play down by about 20 - 30 minutes (the play is 2 hours and 25 minutes!) -- which we could’ve used to develop other character’s relationships. A thing I can’t blame them for is, I went on Shonichi (the very first performance) so of course it’s not going to look or be perfect. But in the first show, their fight scenes and choreography was very slow. But luckily at the Friday night show, their movements were much more refined and the speed was up and I could really appreciate some moments. Personally, this stage would’ve flourished more if they’d either: A. cut a storyline out, OR B. cut out about 2-3 characters, OR C. cut the introductions down, in order to make it a tighter show. I’m still hoping for a third stage though but it would be nice to have Sayo/Tenkokumaru as the main this time and not as the Storyteller as he has been the past 2 times. Rating: 6/10

SPOILER REVIEW

STORY:

So we follow Gedomaru and the Young Boy around on their travels when they end up at a village where someone recognises Gedomaru. Soon, they are ambushed by a group of girls who claim that Gedo is the reason for their mother's death and that they are out to avenge them. All the while, the Young Boy is curious as to how he and his father met, so Gedo recites how. Soon enough Gedo realises that the group of girls' mothers had a part to play in that part of his history and the stories begin to entwine.

The backdrop to Gedo and Byakko's meeting is in the middle of two warring states (which are coloured Green and Orange). But in order to create peace, one side, Green, sends their daughter to be married to the other, but the other side (Orange) had other mischievous plans in mind.

COMMENTS

☆ I absolutely adored the background this time around. They made it look like the starry sky and had lots of glitter on it! It was so beautiful!

☆ I also loved what they did with the lighting! Depending on which side of the war we were on, the lights were either more green/blue, or more orange/red.

☆ The sound was great too! There is a scene where two characters are in a river and the timing of their movements with accurate water sounds were perfect! The music itself was great! Some tracks I could recall being in the first play too so it felt very familiar and nostalgic at times, especially some of the fighting and high tension(?) songs/tracks.

☆ Once again, Oguri (along with Sho this time) did the choreography for the fighting scenes! You could tell they were the more skilled ones, because the fight between them two (compared to everyone else') was so tense and so high speed and their movements were much more fluid. I really enjoyed one specific move Hiroki did too. It was when the Girl Gang attacks them and he does this move where, in order to stop/block the person behind him, the wings his sword around and behind him without even looking where his target is! And I thought it was hella cool. I also really enjoyed the choreography with the two Ninjas, they had lots of high kicks, lots of slides, lots of cartwheels etc. which I enjoyed watching (as an ex-gymnast myself).

But I will say, on the first day, all the fight scenes were very slow. You could tell it was their first performance, because there were a lot of minor slip ups, and it wasn't perfect, and it looked very, very clunky and slow. But on my second viewing (which was the 5th show), they had drastically improved and I could see how fast and how comfortable they had gotten with the fights.

☆ Of course I thoroughly enjoyed the acting! There were some moments and some characters that really stood out.

☆ BUT, and this is a big butt, I didn't really enjoy the antagonist this time around. I don't know why but I found the bad guy very 1D and very bland. I don't even have a specific reason why. But he felt very much like an after thought; it felt like he was put in at the last minute because 'damn we need a big bad guy'. I'm not sure how to describe it. But, let me tell you his arc: So he's on one side of the warring states, the Orange side, and he's very much ready to fight and battle with the other side til one of them is standing. But agrees to take their sister and 'marry her'. But as soon as she's in his hands, he holds her hostage and eventually kills her. He then starts a big battle against the other side. But when his henchmen go against him, he doesn't hesitate to kill them, even though he was having a sexual relationship with one of them. To stop him advancing, the Greens and Byakki team up and defeat him. His arc and his story takes up like 10% of the entire play. He's killed off about 30 - 40 minutes before the end (or at least felt like that) so.... I don't really understand WHY he was chosen as the 'antagonist'. This play could've very easily stood well on it's own without him. We could've cut his stage appearance out completely and just had people discussing him and it would've had the same amount of impact. Maybe I missed something but I personally didn't find him compelling or interesting. In fact, I was more interested in his daughter's story.

☆ His daughter, Sumika, has ran away and gone into hiding because she holds the power of seeing the future when she sleeps. She believes she's cursed, and because of her power, she believes she's to blame for everything bad that has happened and now she's on the run, because both her father and the Greens are trying to find and capture her (for different reasons). She finds Byakki via one of her dreams and manages to track him down; she begs Byakki to kill her. But he refuses, twice. Her journey is basically questions why she was born, why she has these powers, and finding solace in Byakki who has also been ostracised for his 'abnormality'. I loved her and Byakki's relationship! And there's a scene where the Ninjas track her down and Byakki defends her, but once he's taken too many blows, she gets in the middle of them and yells 'he's not a monster! He's a human just like us!' and it really hit me in the feels.

☆ Another character I thoroughly enjoyed was Nadeshiko. She was played by Hanaoka (and if you remember, I absolutely loved her in Zigoma!) who is just one of the funniest women I know. Her comedy and the way she delivers her comedy is always so spot on and so well done! She has the perfect balance of being cutesy-funny and then switching to a 'deep-voice' funny. She's also not afraid to make fun of herself or her fellow actors. She had some GOLD comedy moments in this.

☆ There was a cast change with Young Gedomaru... I have to admit, I was not happy the first time around. I felt like there was a complete change in his personality compared to the first version we saw of him. But then I saw how much laughter he was getting from the audience and how much the audience accepted him. Also this is set before the events of the first stage so of course he'd be a bit less mature, and more child-like and would have a more happy, positive view on things, so then I came around to this new Gedomaru and I just enjoyed his upon my second viewing. He is very funny and is another main source, besides Nadeshiko, of the audience's laughter and the comedy. He falls in love with Sumika straight away and vows to protect her. Also his stubbornness of wanting to win against Byakki so much. It's both admirable and stupid at the same time, and Byakki feels the same. But fighting against each other is what tightens and strengthens their relationship.

☆ Sumika was really cute. I loved how quiet and how pleasant she was. But she was also going through a tough time and kept it to herself which proved how strong she was. She was also determined about dying while also showing how vulnerable and scared she was which was beautiful. I thoroughly enjoyed her relationship with Byakki too. BUT I really wish we'd removed a character or a storyline or two so we could've expanded other scenes and relationships like this one. I would've loved an extra 20 or so minutes with Sumika and Byakki building a relationship, because it felt very much like: They met -> he protects her in a fight or two -> crying and super sad because he has to kill her -> End. It felt very rushed and I couldn't get emotional about the scene at all! So I would've appreciated it more and would've been more invested if we'd actually spent time to develop their relationship and feelings.

ALSO! The entire show I was like: Yo is this Young Boy's mother?! Are we finally finding out who she is?! But alas, she dies in the end so we're still left wondering who tf his mother is!! Grrrrr. We better be getting a third stage to finally answer that god damn question!

☆ Also on the topic of Young Boy and Hiroki; I was so pissed he was playing the story telling again! He was barely in the stage because he was only needed when we were in the present or hoovering over some of the past scenes. COME ON! GIVE HIM THE LEAD ROLE HE DESERVES! I was disappointed we got him as the Story Teller again -__-

☆ In this we got to meet Gedomaru's older brother! Who is a priest at a temple. I loved how much obvious love he had for his brother, but also allowed his brother to grow independently and learn from his mistakes. I thoroughly adored the last scene with him where he tells Gedo that he's going back to the temple and accepts that Gedo will be going off with Byakki, and his last line is something like 'you know you can always come back to your home at the temple' which was really sweet. But now there's the mystery as to what happened to his brother, because in the present Young Boy asks 'how's your brother now?' and Gedo replies very vaguely like 'it's best if we don't meet again.' so I'm like super suspicious! What happened to his brother?! I hope he gets killed and Gedo goes on a manic revenge spree or something that Byakki has to save him from! Ohhhh that'd be good!!

☆ Towards the end of the play, we get sakura / cherry blossom petals falling down from the ceiling and oh my did it look beautiful! It was such a beautiful touch and I am so glad they added it into the stage because it's so emotionally and visually beautiful! I know it's such a simple thing and it IS used in so many stages, but every time, I can't not appreciate it!!

Now I want to get into the negatives in detail for a moment.

☆ For me this was their weakest stage so far. I've always been so impressed with their stages, and I had a feeling this one wouldn't quite hack it, and unfortunately, I was right.

☆ For me, I didn't find anything surprising or new in this stage. I am so used to ASSH taking a simple story and just having them put in such surprises that my mind is blown by the end of the story. But I feel they played it very safe in this one. There were no surprises, and nothing new. Also ASSH are known to be brutal with their killing off of characters but no one major died. No one's death was really that surprising or emotionally hurt.

I will admit that Sumika's death was impressive but that was all thanks to the actress' skills. She first gets her ear cut off and her scream during that moment is just pure gold and absolutely amazing voice and physical acting! But in terms of WHO died, there were no high stakes at all. Like ASSH have killed of WHOLE casts before!! Now that's theatre! That's drama! That's WOW! But this one was just ... safe.

☆ I also felt that even though the story was very stereotypical: two warring states/kingdoms and their daughters getting caught up in the shit shit, yet I spent we OVER-spent time introducing the war and who was on who's side. I seriously think you could've completely cut out the two leaders and just had his underlings talking about him. I felt the presence of the two big leaders were unnecessary and you could've easily just had them AS spoken characters -- I hope you understand what I mean: they could've just been talked ABOUT rather than actually getting actors and having them physically onstage.

☆ They also spent a whole scene dedicated to the three Girl Gang members and explaining their tragic past and why they joined this group. You could've cut out both of these parts.

☆ There were also too many story lines. Let me break down the groups and relationships:

Present Day:

(1) Old Gedo with Young Boy, eventually Old Nadeshiko joining. (2) Girl Gang: out for Revenge on Gedo because of what happened to their mothers.

Past Day:

(1) Orange Clan: We have the Leader who's marrying Green's girl but ultimately wanting to battle, and absolutely hates his daughter and trying to track her down thanks to his ninja henchmen. His henchmen are slowly questioning their leader's leadership, sanity and motives. (2) Green Clan: Just wants a peaceful land, sends daughter to marry Orange so they can have a peaceful, political agreement. After the daughter gets killed, they try and find Sumika for either help or entrapment. (3) Girl Gang (4) Nadeshiko and Sumika on the run and trying to find Byakki. (5) Byakumaru bumping into Gedo, becoming spar buddies and eventually friends. (6) Gedo and his brother: Out on their travels and find Byakki and won't leave until Gedo defeats Byakki. (7) Sumika and Byakki: After finding Byakki, she really wants him to kill her so her powers can stop. (8) Gedo falls for Sumika at first sight and now sees Byakki as a love and fighting rival.

As you can see... there is just too much. This stage/story would've benefited if they had either: cut 2 or 3 characters out, OR cut one story line out completely. Upon my second watch, I realised that there is literally NO POINT to the Girl Gang at all (besides gender equality and girls can fight too and being a conflict to present Gedo), so I think they should've cut them characters out completely. Also physically cutting out the two leaders and having them only in the dialogue would've saved a lot of time too.

☆ This play is 2 hours 35 minutes long. If they had cut out the parts I wanted, this could've been under 2 hours. AND if they really wanted, they could've used that extra time to actually DEVELOP relationships between the remaining characters. I have no problem giving that time to Gedo and Byakki, or Byakki and Sumika! We need their development in this story in all honesty! And thinking about it, to say Byakki is the same character, he's in it almost a little as Young Boy is! He's barely in the stage compared to some many other characters.

☆ Also I went there for Hiroki and his has the smallest part... again! He's playing the story teller... again! So of course my bias heart is sad about this! I really thought we were going to get HIS story this time around! I really thought we were going to find out who his mother was this time around! But alas, this stage was set in the past and he's just a bystander again *cries* I really hope we get a third stage and that he's main next time!

Don't get me wrong, this is still a solid play, with amazing acting and lots of great characters. Also it has a lot of charm, a lot of amazing scene and nice moments, some great lines, some very funny parts. However, this was just their weakest one for me. 'Safe' is definitely the word to describe this play. I am still hopeful and wanting a third stage! But seriously, if the next stage is not about Hiroki and his mother, I swear to god! xD Anyway, thanks for reading as usual!

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