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judyhopps934-mt-zd · 3 years

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Thoughts on Truth

Warning: Spoilers and intense emotions. You have been warned.

So that's how you fix a broken miraculous. And once it's fixed, Duusu seems to be better and felt that she was living a nightmare. Okay, we see.

I never spoke about ShadowMoth's costume. It's okay. I just don't like how powerful he is now.

I guess since the Kwamis were never out of the Miracle Box, they don't know how to behave in the human world. Its funny to see how they behaved, but I also feel bad for Marinette who looked like a crazy person trying to get the kwamis under control.

Also, the Miracle Box reflects Marinette. Does that mean that Marinette is spontaneous or that she is willing to let the Kwamis out of the Miracle Box? I say its both.

Also, how did the writers let Marinette forget that the Kwamis live in their magical world??? (Did they forget about "Sandboy"???) Also, didn't Master Fu or Tikki ever tell her about the whole kwamis and technology thing??? Is Adrien the only one that knows??? Or do I have amnesia?

The girls thought Adrien was at her place??? Did anyone even tell them about the whole Adrien and Kagami thing? Or is that why they are shocked???

The goat kwami apparently did not know about the technology thing and called photos paintings. I get it though: photos are like paintings.

And they sent a photo of Adrien to Luka. Oh boy *facepalms*

...and when Marinette answers Luka's call (made by the goat kwami whose name I cannot recall), she mistakes him for Adrien. I wonder how long this will last (if it even lasts)

Being a guardian means many responsibilities... and forgetting many things, including having a date with Luka. I feel bad for both of them, especially since the date was yesterday. YESTERDAY! Also, forgetting what they were going to be doing and what they will see in the movies

I love Lukanette's chemistry (even though I am a Love Square stan as you all know). Their guessing game on the way to the movies was adorable and in line with couple goals.

The necklace as a gift theory was right! We did it peoples!

Marinette screaming the answer "Kiss me" was a whole mood. And so is the staring thing.

WE/I WERE/WAS RIGHT THAT THEIR KISS WOULD BE INTERRUPTED!!! AND THAT IT WAS AN AKUMA!!! Take it as you will, although they were both passed that there kiss was interrupted.

Ladybug yeeting Chat Noir off the roof only to pull him back, break an office window, Chat smiling about it, and Ladybug enjoying this moment while simultaneously being concerned is what I live for! My Ladynoir heart is satisfied.

IT IS CANNON THAT THEY HAVE PATROLS. Although, it was cannon ever since the IG accounts existed.

ShadowMoth and all these sentimonsters is bananas. How do Marinette and Adrien handle this????

Well, we know for Marinette is the excuses that sometimes make no sense. And the fact that we see Luka become more upset with the more excuses she makes hurts, to the point that he mentioned it at the performance.

LUKA HAS A CHARACTER PEOPLES! THIS IS NOT A DRILL!

He had no idea who his father is and his mom would not tell him. This is why he has some form of trust issues and why he is very hurt when Marinette would not tell him anything (because that would mean that she has to tell him she's Ladybug and that could mean the end of the world).

Side note: He is still aware that she still likes Adrien.

Luka resisting the akuma and amok because he still trusts Marinette hurts and shows that they have a healthy relationship (or as healthy as it could be when your girlfriend is a superhero and cannot tell you). Also, how he tells Marinette to run before succumbing to ShadowMoth shows how much he really cares about her. Luka I owe you an apology

Love how everyone in Paris thinks that Marinette's secret is that she loves Adrien. Marinette, you got them all fooled. But if this is the case, then that means Adrien is really dense.

Truth spots his mom and gets her to say who his father is...

ITS BEEN JAGGED STONE ALL ALONG!!! WE WERE RIGHT PEOPLES! OUR HEADCANNONS BECAME CANNON BECAUSE WE ARE GENIUSES!!!

My first thought was "Holy chiz, we were right! We were freaking right!" I had to pause for a miniature victory dance.

Miniature victory dance break!

Anyways, he goes to Jagged Stone not before ShadowMoth yells at him and Truth yells back that he always tells the truth. Man this all hurts so much seeing Jagged's absence having an effect in Luka's thoughts about honesty.

Chat Noir saving Ladybug from saying who she is, giving her the oxygen mask, and saying how he won't force her to tell the identity is wholesome.

Luka is understandably angry at Jagged for leaving him and his mom as Truth. Understandable. I also get Jagged's perspective of the fears of being a horrible parent. But once you are a parent, you have to stay unless you are a danger to children. Jagged is not a danger to children and he should have stayed. Just saying.

People are being yeeted left to right in this episode like wha???

Now Truth heads for Marinette's house and attacks her parents. They also think her secret is about Adrien lol.

I love Tom. Even under the spell, he was willing to make sure Truth does not go up to her room. Too bad that wasn't enough though.

Just as he was about to open the place with the Miracle Box, they catch him! Now, the showdown starts.

Ladybug loves Chat's confidence, courage, and SENSE OF HUMOR!!!! AHHHHHHH!!!!

Ladybug and Chat saving each other from revealing their secret identities is just wholesome!

It sucks being in a room that belongs to your soon to be ex (Note: Marinette is not his ex yet, so do not say ex until a certain point). And with photos of the one she loves. Yikes.

Ladybug and Chat's conversation is wholesome. They are safe in each other's company because they trust each other and such. And they like each other's company. But they will catch ShadowMoth no matter what his name has changed to.

Also, Adrien must have had a hard time in his civilian life to be excited about fighting akumas and sentimonsters. I mean why am I surprised this is the same guy that is excited about throwing himself to death get this kid some dang therapy!

The Lukanette break up. So they are taking a break because Marinette wants to be honest to Luka, but cannot be honest for now. Luka takes this surprisingly well and says that he will be waiting while Marinette is the one that appears to be hurt the most. It hurts me

Luka and Jagged Stone collab! I can't wait for it!!! Glad that Jagged and Luka will slowly bur surely mend their relationship.

It hurts me knowing that Marinette can't be with anyone as long as she is Ladybug (or at least until ShadowMoth is defeated) because of the responsibilities and secrets she holds. She is afraid that she is a danger to others and being a danger to others means that they are a danger to Ladybug and Chat Noir and that means the end of the world! My precious bean is 15/16 and she has the weight of the world on her shoulders and this is the first step to her eventual breakdown from the Gloob trailer. Like, can we not hurt Marinette FOR FIVE GOSH DARN MINUTES???????

At least being a guardian has some perks, like having all the Kwamis giving you a hug in exchange for the world on your shoulders. Glad that the kwamis are being understanding to this extent.

Also, can I have kwamis to hug me when I am sad/stressed??? Especially since I am going to college

Overall, this is a very heavy first episode and I am here for it! Luka has a backstory independent of Marinette and a lot of our headcannons are confirmed! Also, Ladynoir are very much alive in their platonic banter and I am here for it even if the rest of the Love Square is somewhat dead.

I have my two cents on Lukanette and that is even as a Love Square stan, they deserve better, at least for half the season, and allow Luka to heal, and Marinette to focus on herself and being a guardian.

I sort of see the impact of Chat Blanc in this episode, but I am not a very emotional person when it comes to watching TV and even though it did not make me cry, it was still emotionally heavy for me, so take it as you will.

Anyways, we are back on track my peoples and I will add on to this post once the English Dub comes to light. See you all soon!

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karama9 · 3 years

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Mini Fic time

Or "not so much a theory as something I find entertaining to think about, in prose". Follows Rocketear so spoilers ahead! Hurt Comfort fic, but before you get any idea, in a strictly emotional sense.

Long post, so story under the read more.

Despite Plagg's attempt at soothing him, Adrien could not shake off the day's events.

It was bad enough that he'd found out who Rena Rouge and Carapace were from someone else than Ladybug, even if it was from Carapace himself.

It was bad enough that he'd found out THEY were allowed to know each other's identities. Nino associated it with the fact they shared everything... was he right? Was it because they were close that Ladybug had been ok with that? Weren't he and Ladybug close enough for that too? Sure they weren't a couple, as much as he wished they were, but there are other kinds of closeness.

But when he paired it with Nino's assessment that Ladybug found Cat Noir annoying... when he thought about the fact Nino's assessment was from time Carapace spent with the two of them and probably also reflected his own feelings...

It hurt.

He was not new to pain... a lot of things that happened in his civilian life hurt, in fact heartache was pretty much the norm since his mother had gone, broken only by bright moments with friends, which were few and far between as Adrien but had been more recently mercifully combined with outright glee when he was Cat Noir. Cat Noir was freedom and fun, but he was also one of an indestrutible pair and sometimes, one of a fantastic team. And above all that, Cat Noir was Ladybug's partner, and being Cat Noir meant being with her. For as long as he could remember, that had been the best part of being Cat Noir.

Knowing she found him annoying, as apparently was obvious to anyone but himself, was heartbreaking. He knew she didn't always enjoy his jokes, but it was usually the timing she didn't like. She'd tell him to be serious because she needed him to be at that moment, not because she generally disliked him. Or so he had thought until today.

Even with Rena Rouge being called upon more often and sometimes appearing to know more than he did, sometimes DEFINITELY knowing more than he did to the point that the two girls would make action plans that didn't include him at all... he had been annoyed, angry even, but he had still convinced himself that Ladybug valued him and that times where he couldn't help were isolated incidents that couldn't be avoided. He still didn't like it, and he had intended to have a talk with Ladybug about it because it was starting to feel like back when Master Fu only communicated with her and he couldn't stand the thought of his Lady distancing herself from him that much. But that was what that issue had been in his head... something to talk over with Ladybug so it could be fixed.

After today, he saw it all in a new light. His relationship with Ladybug wasn't going to be fixed by complaining to her because what he saw now was simply the result of Ladybug having the luxury of relying on others more now. The annoying Cat Noir didn't have to always be the one by her side now, the team could be bigger and well, not everyone on a big team is needed all the time, right? So he could be sidelined and she could get a break now and again, she didn't have to put up with him all the time.

His throat tightened and he felt tears flooding his eyes at the thought. He had tried to move on from Ladybug. He had even loved Kagami, but it hadn't worked out because he had to lie to her all the time. Except maybe he hadn't HAD to? Alya and Nino had been excused from that. Either way, it hadn't worked out and to his surprise, what had upset him the most had been that Kagami was hurt, not the fact he was losing her. He'd quickly realized that he was still in love with Ladybug, regardless of any feeling he'd had for Kagami as well.

That love being unrequited at the moment was not great, but at least he'd had Ladybug's friendship. She still loved him, cared for him... and that was good enough. Romance would have been nice, but what was there was still wonderful.

And it hadn't been there at all. He'd been deluding himself. They were partners, yes. But Ladybug was just dealing with an annoying partner very professionally. He was just a nuisance that made being a super hero that much less fun for her, something she just had to put up with.

He started sobbing, staying as silent as possible not to be heard by anyone, and ignored all of Plagg's attempts at comforting him with cheese nonsense. He eventually fell into an uneasy sleep and when he woke up, he wanted nothing more than a friendly face.

Nino was out. Adrien realized that Nino had been speaking out of anger and was a genuine friend, but right now Adrien couldn't even look at him without hearing that Ladybug found him annoying again. He stayed outside of the class, avoiding his best friend and everyone else in there he didn't want to see, from Lila to Chloe and even Alya. Alya was Rena Rouge, she was the one allowing Ladybug to take breaks from having to deal with her nuisance of a partner Cat Noir... he supposed he should be grateful on his Lady's behalf but he couldn't quite manage it.

Marinette came running down the hall towards class, last one here as usual, and Adrien's eyes widened even as his mouth automatically lost its pout to form a smile. At this moment, Marinette was nothing short of a lifeline. He waved at her, trying to think of an excuse, when she tripped and fell flat on her face.

He rushed towards her but she was already jumping back to her feet, stammering that she was fine. Reassuring as it was, Adrien wasn't about to lose such a great opportunity to spend a few more minutes with her and away from class.

"I don't know, Marinette, that really looked like a bad fall. Let me walk you to the nurse's office. Please?"

Marinette turned bright red but mercifully nodded. Adrien grabbed her arm and 'accidentally' turned the wrong way. The building was a square, but the nurse's office was much closer if you went in the direction opposite the one he had taken.

"Er..." Marinette said.

"I actually really need to talk to you," Adrien admitted.

Marinette stopped walking. He turned and was faced with a worried expression on Marinette's face.

"You do? What's wrong? Are you ok?"

He automatically started to say yes but his voice caught and nothing came out but an undefined strangled sound.

Marinette's eyes widened. "You're not!" she said, a note of panic in her voice. She had a quick look around and her features morphed into a determined expression that was so much like Ladybug's it was downright eerie. "Forget the nurse's office, come with me!"

And suddenly, she was dragging him along. They ended up in the deserted art room. She closed the door and turned to him, her expression once more nothing but concern.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

For a second, he thought he wouldn't be able to say anything for not knowing where to start and how to not give away his secret identity, and then everything came flooding out in a blur. By the time he was fully aware again, his cheeks were wet, his chest was aching and he was in Marinette's arms.

His eyes widened and he tried to push himself away, embarassed and horrified at having dumped everything on her, along with hysterical crying by the feels of it, and had he told her he was Cat Noir? He wasn't even sure.

She tightened her grip and he noticed it had already been rather tight. He managed to pull his head away to look at her face and mentally kicked himself: he'd made her cry too.

"Marinette... I... I'm sorry, I didn't mean to... I don't even know what I said but..."

She swallowed and when she answered, her voice was far calmer than he would have expected.

"You said you were only ever happy when you're Cat Noir because even though you wish she was more, you're still happy to be with Ladybug as a friend and partner, but now you think she hates you because you keep being left out and you found out Rena Rouge and Carapace can share their identities with each other even though she won't share hers with you, and now you think she finds you annoying so you're heartbroken and you think it may be best for everyone for you to give up your miraculous."

Adrien's eyes widened. He'd broken the secret, he'd told her everything, even about Nino and her best friend Alya. He groaned. "At least now Ladybug has a good reason to hate me."

Marinette tensed again. She took a deep breath and then pulled away just enough to look him in the eyes.

"No," she said firmly. She finished pulling away and opened her purse. She nodded at the content and before Adrien could even begin to guess what that was about, Tikki peeked out, not looking either of them in the eye.

"This was MY fault," Marinette whispered, "not yours. I can't believe I hurt you t his much, and I never even would have known if..." she shook her head. "You said my name, Marinette that is, a few times, so it's best I don't transform. You should, though: nothing you said identified you as Adrien so your identity will still be safe if someone comes in or sees us leave. Thankfully you didn't blurt out anyone's civilian names, not even Rena or Carapace's, you were much more careful about talking in tongues whenever you were talking about them. You're a great friend even when you don't know what you're saying."

Adrien barely registered the words, staring at Tikki. He tore his eyes away from the kwami to look at Marinette. More than anything else, she looked sad. She started talking again as soon as she had his attention.

"We'll talk more later but this can't wait," she said, still whispering, "I do NOT find you annoying. Your friend was angry, and he was wrong. Adrien... Cat Noir... I love and appreciate you SO much. I'm sorry I so completely failed to show that lately, and I'm sorry I left you out. I didn't mean to. I'm so sorry, I didn't even notice and it happened more than once. I'm sorry. You're my friend, not just my partner, and I never, EVER want to lose you. That's never changed and it never will."

Adrien was reeling. Ladybug. Marinette was Ladybug. He'd been crying in Ladybug's arms. And she didn't hate him at all, and she was sorry.

"Why did you let them know each other?" he said, clinging madly to something that hadn't dramatically changed in his head in the past two minutes. "Why was it okay for them but not for us?"

"I'm worried about being interrupted," she whispered, her tone business-like. "There's a really good chance some people heard you, they need to think it was Cat Noir talking to me. I'll deal with people wondering why he would, but you need to transform."

"Wait," he said, an important fact suddenly dawning on him. "You had a crush on me at one point!"

"Kitty..."

"Right. Plagg," he whispered, "claws out."

Marinette sighed in relief. The timing was spot on, they heard voices coming down the hall, with Alya's ringing over the others trying to steer them away by saying that Cat Noir deserved some privacy if he wanted it. It was to no avail, the door burst open to several students staring at Cat Noir and Marinette.

He hurriedly got up.

"Oops, looks like my rehearsal was overheard! Sorry about the disruption, everyone! What did you think, Miss Dupain-Cheng? Was I convincing?" He waggled his eyebrows at her.

She giggled. "Not bad," she teased. "Kind of too hammy, as you might have guessed from how I was crying laughing, but I think you'll be alright if we practice tonight. "I will await you on my balcony, Sir Cat!"

Cat Noir chuckled and nodded, understanding the rendez-vous as real even if the reason was a lie. He bowed to the gaping students and jumped out the window, bounding away.

He still needed a long talk with Ladybug, but the pain of the last 24 hours felt like a dim memory. He knew for a fact that they'd work it out, because that's what friends and partners did, and above all else, he knew one thing beyond all doubt: Marinette was his friend.

#miraculous ladybug #fanfic #ml spoilers #Rocketear #ml season 4

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flyawaylittleakuma · 5 years

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Quick Thoughts on Silencer, Bakerix, and Onii-Chan

Thoughts under the cut because spoilers abound :) And I’m sorry if they don’t seem to make much sense? I’m taking a study break so my brain is meh (yay finals).

So... what a mix.

I’ve rewatched Silencer and saw Bakerix and Onii-Chan for the first time tonight. And I have many thoughts, particularly in tune with how the fandom is treating new episodes.

I apologize if some of these opinions are not in the majority, but we’ll get to those when we do. We’ll go in the order I saw them and (I think) how they were released.

Silencer

I really really really really loved this episode. I don’t know why, but it seemed written kinda well for once? The Akumatization of Luka (which I’d always dreaded being something contrived) felt warranted, which was something I felt hadn’t happened in a while. Also, Lukanette is cute. I’m a hardcore Love Square shipper, but man is legitimate Lukanette refreshing to see.

Also, “LuCKy ChARm, lUCkY cHaRM, LUCKy CHarm, LUckY cHarM” is forever my favorite Chat Noir moment.

Bakerix

This was obviously meant to be one of the more light-hearted episodes, and I think it shows. It’s goofier and over-the-top (my sister said Marinette’s Grandpa lowkey sounded like current baby boomer mindset and I swear I died laughing, I love her). This is where I felt the Akuma was a little weak - not in power, but in reason. Like... I’m sorry, but bread??? Bread???? Like, I was surprised when Hawk Moth showed up like, “hmmmMMMM”. The Akuma didn’t have that big a resonance, but then again, I don’t think it was supposed to.

Bread. That is all.

Onii-Chan

I saw a lot more spoilers for this before I saw the episode. And, I gotta say, the fandom scared me a lot more than for what the episode delivered.

Lila was still a piece of garbage. Like... a very serious piece of garbage. But we’ve seen this before. She lies, gets what she wants, etc. It (for once) kinda turned on her, but nothing new there. And it was nice to see Kagami again. I always enjoy her.

Except for when they write her kinda OOC.

Kagami loves Adrien - this has been established. Well good and all. But she is not obsessed with him, which I think is the angle they were going for. And that doesn’t make sense for who she is as a character. The archetype she’s mostly filling, at least (reserved and strong af female), is usually shown to be extremely OOC when having a “debilitating crush on male protagonist” cliche moment.

Also - having three (four if you count Chloe, but she seems to be strangely out of the picture a lot this season) recurring characters all fighting over “perfect boi” Agreste is exhausting and crowding to watch. They don’t have any room to develop, except for Marinette, who has been the show’s protagonist since the beginning and we’ve seen her develop. My thoughts are jumbled a bit at the moment, but considering that Adrien knows Lila is a liar, Kagami is basically his friend (and maybe part-time ‘it’d be nice’ crush), and only has eyes for Ladybug, there’s no real grip here, especially when he keeps finding reasons to go for Ladybug over the other girls.

I don’t know, romance-oriented plots rub me the wrong way. Also, I agree, Kagami deserves better than Adrien.

Finalities

Silencer - love me a good Lukanette

Bakerix - bread

Onii-Chan - too crowded and the must-protect-Adrien side of Marinette is getting really tiring

I have a little more for Onii-Chan but I might make a separate post for that. Or, most of my opinions on it are already reblogged in my blog and I might try to bounce back off of those.

But I really gotta get back to studying uwu

Bug Out!

#miraculous #miraculous ladybug #mlb #ml #ml spoilers #miraculous spoilers #miraculous ladybug spoilers #ml season 3 #mlb season 3 #quick thoughts #silencer #bakerix #onii-chan #silencer mlb #bakerix mlb #onii-chan mlb

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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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