Takarazuka Special 2018- Say! Hey! Show Up!
Man, am I lucky to be able to see so many incredible things in Japan.
Under the cut are all the thoughts I had about this year’s TCA special!
Forewarning- they’re hardly cohesive, they’re very personal and biased, they’re SUPER LONG because I’m not writing this for anyone in particular or editing it whatsoever, and they’re whatever came to mind between the two showings or while waiting at intermissions!
The Beni/Tamakichi/Mirio/Daimon group is like. Something else. You put all four of them up there and they split off into FACTIONS, and it turns out to be Beni vs. Everyone which melts into Beni and Tamakichi vs. Daimon and Mirio and by that I mean if Beni and Tamakichi are teasing Daimon and Mirio MAN can those two sweet, sweet women not hold up. Beni is a troll. Beni is relentless. I’d call her a predator to Mirio and Daimon’s prey. The teasing never ended- but to that end, the laughter never ended either, and honestly, I loved them. I loved it. They were all charming and they all shone and the way their personalities differ (OOH do their PERSONALITIES DIFFER) was the most obvious and beautiful thing in the world. We have a FUN set of top stars, y’all. It was nice to see them all together.*
*I missed Makaze for a lot of reasons, most notably: 1.) she would have made for another great target for Beni to give hell to, and 2.) there were a lot of silk, deep, deep v-necks, and it’s kinda cruel to leave Makaze out of that, don’t you think. See you next year, Soragumi. Your energy was missed.
Daimon can’t eat gluten??? She certainly didn’t eat any bread in France, which has everyone including me pretty aghast.
Tamakichi used to? Swim? Play HANDBALL? They for sure teased her about being in the Olympics at the noon showing, but that’s as far as my Japanese got me. Makes sense though because have you seen her shoulders?
Sorry I need to say AGAIN how much Beni Ran This Shit. She IS the oldest top right now, by a year to Daimon and Mirio and like...more years to Makaze and MORE years to Tamakichi, and I’m sure that’s part of it, but I think the other part is that she’s a natural born emcee and comedian and she knows it. When I watch Beni I think ‘oh my God I love you so much for so many reasons,’ I love that woman. That’s my top star. But then MAN, I can ABSOLUTELY SEE how those reasons might make someone else feel the exact opposite. She also like applied herself for a bunch of this show and oooohhhhh it’s so lovely when she does.
Tamakichi asked Mirio and Beni to talk about going to Taiwan, and they sung the little ditty that I don’t know the name of but clearly is done every time they go to Taiwan because they both knew it. Beni also spoke some Chinese for the Taiwanese live viewing audience.
There was also talk about why they all chose their final songs, how their years went and what each troupe did, and some general banter.
Aside from the Top Stars and Todoroki Yuu, no one really spoke. The Top Musumeyaku certainly didn’t talk. To be TOTALLY HONEST, as far as this live viewing went at least, unless you’re Top Star, nibante, Top Musumeyaku, or Kacha/Hanagata Hikaru/Akira/Kai you don’t seem to have TOO MUCH camera time. Still thankful for the fact that they do the live viewings! But it IS tough to spot your whoever-else, unless they’re doing their little solos.
Moving on from our lovely Top Stars, here’s the quick-n-dirty lowdown on what stood out to me in the show!
(I’m sorry if I missed your favorite, there were a lot of people, a lot going on, and I’m REALLY biased towards watching certain people.)
Miya had a lot of great stuff. She and Saki both had some funky songs with acoustic accompaniment. Saki’s had kind of a Western vibe. (Like cowboys, not like Western Hemisphere.)
Sorry, back to Miya, I really really hope she hangs on to top. She has her act together. She knows what she’s doing onstage, she’s pretty polished, and I personally really really dig the general tone of her voice, especially when she goes a little high.
I saw the show twice. Both times, when Coto came on for her solos, whoever the person next to me was like SLOW NODDED. Same, seat neighbors. God she’s good. She’s looking a lot more grown up! She’s CUTE. I’m kinda obsessed! I can’t like compliment Coto enough. Y’all know how good she is. She stands out just because she’s THAT GOOD.
Maaya Kiho. Maaaaaya. Maaya, come back to Hoshigumi so I can see you every day of my life. That girl has SOMETHING SPECIAL. Her energy is unique and a little aggressive but flirtatious? She has one of my favorite voices in the company, hands down. She knows how to work that like specific musumeyaku sexuality but you can kind of totally tell she also wanted to be an otokoyaku. She has that IN her. I love Maaya. I want to listen to like four hours of just Maaya.
If I had to listen to something else for four hours, it would be Ari singing Yami Ga Hirogaru.
If I had to listen to something ELSE it might be Aasa because her voice is definitely UNIQUE in a way that really pleases me.
I also want to quickly shoutout to Tom for running as much of this as she did- and I want to comment that I like....like her voice. It has a REALLY unique quality to it now. She’s really interesting to listen to, and she’s still truckin’!
I want Mao Yuuki and Mikkii to stand exclusively next to each other for as long as they’re both in Hoshi because that height difference is SOMETHING else.
Speaking of Mikkii, I’d like to challenge everyone who records and edits anything for the rest of her time in Takarazuka to actually put the camera on her for more than .9 seconds, because she is ON TO SOMETHING REAL. Tenju Mitsuki is always on. Whether or not you particularly care for what she’s doing, everything she does is done with 100% follow through and intention, she has a target, she isn’t doing anything superfluous or pointless with her body. She’s SHARP. Tenju Mitsuki is a fantastic performer and I really want to see more of it.
Speaking of fantastic performers, shoutouts to Coto (sorry, duh), Daimon, and Maaya for being magnetic in the same 100% followthrough, target, intention way. What incredible performers.
Yuki and Tamakichi sang OKLAHOMA and while I thought I knew what heartbreak felt like, it turns out I didn’t until I realized that we won’t ever get Tamakichi/Yuki Oklahoma.
Daimon and Sakura’s Climb Every Mountain was NICE.
I love these Top Musumeyaku Very Much. It’s almost dumb to say but God they just all bring such different things and personalities and voices to the table.
Welcome to Top, Misono Sakura. It’s good to see you. <3
Senna Ayase has Got It. She rocks. She has a lot of power and she led her musumeyaku in something really sassy and nice and I just want to say that man, I hope she loves her post-Takarazuka life.
I want to compliment Maitii on everything and mourn the fact that she isn’t leading everything, honestly.
There was a kind of long but not too long In Memoriam Section featuring the Top Musumeyaku all speaking for a few seconds and then mostly senka members + Kai + Akira with vocal solos all in white.
I never want to see another musumeyaku’s dress dragging on the ground. Someone almost Ate It when her dress got caught on something at the edge of the stage. Please. Keep our musumeyaku upright. Hemming things isn’t that hard.
Wow, Tsukigumi is fun. I also literally can not fathom HOW Baddy was THIS YEAR. As a whole they just have a really fun, kinda off-the-cuff energy that I find very endearing.
Shimon led Chaos Paradise, which, if you’re me, was one of the most satisfying things in the world.
Tamakichi is so beautifully EARNEST in a way that really suits all the golden age musicals she’s been getting. Maybe we CAN cross our fingers for Oklahoma...
From now on I’m formally requiring 8-10 business days to prepare for hearing Inochi from Gaisenmon because I didn’t walk into Hey! Say! Show Up! expecting to get chills and feel the weight of the Human Condition on my shoulders.
Shoutout to Yukigumi for replacing the ‘Nya!!’ at the end of Gato Bonito! with ...whatever sound they were approximating to imitate a wild boar. Happy New Year, everyone!
Irodori Michiru is just really cute and I love looking at her.
Thank you Kai for your golden hair and 16 Year Strong insistence on being .3 seconds behind on choreography because you prefer being ~languid~ to being ~sharp~ because you sure were easy to find.
No amount of exclamation points, keysmashing, or attempts to describe it can make you understand how I felt when the music to Jump! from Oceans 11 started up, or when RUSTY was played by Kai. That was a dream come true. Nothing less.
On that note, KAI SANG RAIMEI TOO, so I feel like God really Was looking out for Her Fans this Takaspecial. Thanks, God.
Everyone’s medley started out with the Top Star singing something earnest or Powerful or Big, but our very own Kurenai Yuzuru elected to open up with SPECIFICALLY the doki doki waku waku bit from Another World. The audience loved it. I loved it. I love Beni and I love Hoshigumi and I love that they included Arigataya, Nanmaida from Another World also and I love that Kai was hopping around as Kiroku again with the biggest smile on her face and I love that we got to hear Coto’s PIPES and I love that the audience was clapping for Killer Rouge and I love Killer Rouge and I love the ENERGY THAT troupe has.
Seo Yuria. Seooooo. Seooocchi. Get that fear out of your eyes, sweet thing. You have such a SMILE when you let yourself and your voice is THERE and you’re about to step into some big big shoes. Let yourself have this.
Rei and Saki are both coming into their own vibes! I’m excited to see where they go from here.
Shoutout to Shidou Ryuu for getting WAY more screentime than intended because she was planted half a foot to the right and directly behind Tom at pretty much all times. Good to see you, Shidou!
The best thing about seeing people from different troupes performing together in any number is like....no one is quite WITH EACH OTHER. Like MAYBE your weird idiosyncrasies fit in well with your troupe, but they sure don’t fit with the weird stuff your neighbor is doing. It’s charming and it’s sweet and I LOVE seeing it.
I didn’t think I’d cry either but tears DID spring to my eyes when Kai bowed.
I would like to formally petition Takarazuka Forever to FOLLOW Sumire no Hana in encores because Sumire no Hana is kinda a downer and Takarazuka Forever is an upper but that’s personal preference.
They wished the audience Merry Christmas and Happy New Year in ENGLISH which felt like an extra treat.
I didn’t mention every single actress in this (I’m sorry if I missed yours!! It’s so hard to remember everything and watch everyone when there are such weird combinations of actresses on the stage etc.), but God, I can honestly and truly say that to me, they all shone.
Everyone is so different and everyone is working so hard. Every person who had a solo did it with everything they had, and it was beautiful to say. While watching Saki and Tamakichi, the thought came to me that entertainers- people who choose to use their lives to make other people happy- are just so special. These women are all such hard working performers and dedicated individuals and the life they put into giving us this thing is incredible. I feel so lucky to even be able to say that I do what they do. Not with HALF the skill or talent but this was one of those shows that made me think. Oh. We are so lucky to do this. The world is so lucky to have this art form. Musical theatre really is the most wonderful thing in the world, to me.
If more comes to me later, I’ll add it after the cut, but this is already 80 pages long and I’ve exhausted my phone notes. If you read this far, thanks and I’m impressed! I’m HAPPY to tell you more specifics about things if you want to ask, I can try to scrape my brain for whatever’s in there.
Thanks for a beautiful 2018 in Takarazuka, everyone.
Happy New Year! May 2019 bring us beautiful things we could never have expected!
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ecrn award 2010
■アルバム
core of bells / ボトルキープ 2010
Poirier / Running High
神聖かまってちゃん / 友だちを殺してまで。
Oono Yuuki / stars in video game
SNUFF / BLahZsaMcBongBing
川本真琴 / The Complete Singles Collection 1996-2001
■曲
core of bells / 魚を食べに行こう
Eat Rabbit / Seagulls
JW & Blaze / Palance
不可思議/wonderboy / 世界征服やめた
12insomnia / black thunder
massive until morning / bloody
Poirier / Karnival
PaintDripFast / MASCHINE EARLY LANGUAGE
やくしまるえつこ と d.v.d / ファイナルダーリン
UVERworld / GOLD
■リミックス
X JAPAN featuring Buddha Brand / Sadistic Desire vs 人間発電所
Kola Kid / can't hide your love
she / yeah yeah beats (IKARI rmx)
X JAPAN featuring Dragon Ash & ラッパ我リヤ / Silent Jealousy vs Deep Impact
davidnada / Emcees From Space
hikariyou / chip summoner
Daft Punk vs. DJ Chuckie / One More Time In Miami Bitch (Pristine Blusters Mashup)
DJ Donna Summer / Arrogant Cobbler (Nero's Day At Disneyland - Rock Rock Rock Remix)
Cotton bud / ポリリズム(cotton bud remix)
Girl Talk / Shut The Club Down
■コンピレーション
recorded girls
Singapore A-Go-Go
■映像
川の底からこんにちは
アウトレイジ
Enjo-Gのシャッシャッシャッ
SPEC
博士の異常な鼎談
■本
佐藤健寿 / 奇界遺産
西加奈子 / ウメップ
長尾謙一郎 / バンさんと彦一
漫☆画太郎 / 珍遊記2
三好銀 / 海辺へ行く道 夏
■人
@nakagawa_ho
@_miman
@sawame
@mozukkk
@oetsu_yasuda
■コメント
振り返ってみると、あんがい一年というものは長く、前半部はかなり記憶がおぼろげになっており、自分ダメじゃわー、という感じです。CDはほぼ買わなくなり、CD屋には滅多なことでは行かなくなりました。反面、Kindleを買ったのですが、書店に行く回数は増えました。これはどういう因果なのか…。あとネットレーベルものはチップチューンとKuduroばかり探し回っておりました。というわけでまた来年!
http://ecrn.la.coocan.jp/award/hashiyasume10.html
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