How to Punish a Witch
I had a great time last week in Osaka! Managed to see two Takarazuka shows. Phoenix Wright 2, which was highly entertaining and Russian Blue which was just bizarre, but in a kind of entertaining way.
I never saw the first show in the theater, but I did watch it on DVD. I would say I definitely enjoyed this one just as much. In this show, Phoenix is defending the mother of a young girl who asks him for help. The mother ends up being his teacher from elementary school. The same teacher from the time where he was accused of stealing the lunch money. Because of this he has some issues with the teacher at first, but of course they work things out.
The really weird thing is that the love interest from the first show, Leona, is killed off. She died before the show began (I was unclear as to how, but Phoenix was at her bedside shouting - shinanaide!)and because of her death Phoenix spends much of his time angsting. Edgeworth shows up periodically to give him pep talks. Franziska is actually the prosecutor in this case. I wasn't a huge fan of her actress (Fujisaki Eri). She didn't seem to have the right kind of edge for Franziska.
They pretty much figure out who did it in the first half. (It was extremely obvious.) Then that person goes on trial in the second half and Phoenix is forced to defend the person because Maya is kidnapped. So that part is very similar to the fourth case in the second game, except for the whole TV connection.
The most amusing part comes at the end when the teacher's daughter confesses her love for Phoenix. I was very curious as to where this was going to go since Leona had been killed off, thus opening the way for this new love interest. Of course, I found the pairing highly unbelievable since -
1. Phoenix had been pining for Leona during the whole play.
2. The girl had been in love with her boyfriend, soon to be fiance, for the whole play.
3. The girl was extremely annoying. When she confesses her love to Phoenix she actually says - Leona ni naritai. (I want to become Leona.)
Of course, this being Takarazuka, it doesn't necessarily mean she will be turned down. But luckily she is!!! Phoenix is content to have Leona in his heart forever. I admit I loved seeing him give annoying girl the smackdown.
So with the exception of Franciska (who wasn't horrible) I loved everyone else! Particularly Tomu Ranju who is just adorable and perfect for Phoenix, despite the blond hair. Hiro Yuumi wasn't quite as good as Nanaho Hikaru, but I still found her Edgeworth highly amusing.
And then the next day I saw Russian Blue. This may have been the most cracked out Takarazuka show I have ever seen. I knew it was a comedy, but somehow I missed that the subtitle was 'how to punish a witch' until I went to the theater. So expecting some kind of historical theater comedy, it ended up being all witches, and fantasy, and love potions, and Stalin, and seriously I have no idea what this play was about. Anyone who knows is welcome to fill me in! Despite all the crack, I can't say I didn't enjoy it. Not to mention the crack-filled revue.
The night after seeing Phoenix Wright 2 I decided to hit up a fire festival that was going on in a nearby town. It was one of the festivals where they light up a kanji high in the mountains. They also had some extremely disturbing little girl dancing where the girls were wearing barely there hip-hop outfits. It was pretty bad. But the rest of the festival was very cool!
Glowing mountain kanji -
People carrying candles in the parade -
More candles. Plus children get free sake!
There were quite a few firefighters hanging about -
Plus some half-naked festival guys -
The parade coming down the street -
Russian Blue had a Latin-themed revue -
Rent!! Many hours were spent in the sun waiting to see this -
I never saw the first show in the theater, but I did watch it on DVD. I would say I definitely enjoyed this one just as much. In this show, Phoenix is defending the mother of a young girl who asks him for help. The mother ends up being his teacher from elementary school. The same teacher from the time where he was accused of stealing the lunch money. Because of this he has some issues with the teacher at first, but of course they work things out.
The really weird thing is that the love interest from the first show, Leona, is killed off. She died before the show began (I was unclear as to how, but Phoenix was at her bedside shouting - shinanaide!)and because of her death Phoenix spends much of his time angsting. Edgeworth shows up periodically to give him pep talks. Franziska is actually the prosecutor in this case. I wasn't a huge fan of her actress (Fujisaki Eri). She didn't seem to have the right kind of edge for Franziska.
They pretty much figure out who did it in the first half. (It was extremely obvious.) Then that person goes on trial in the second half and Phoenix is forced to defend the person because Maya is kidnapped. So that part is very similar to the fourth case in the second game, except for the whole TV connection.
The most amusing part comes at the end when the teacher's daughter confesses her love for Phoenix. I was very curious as to where this was going to go since Leona had been killed off, thus opening the way for this new love interest. Of course, I found the pairing highly unbelievable since -
1. Phoenix had been pining for Leona during the whole play.
2. The girl had been in love with her boyfriend, soon to be fiance, for the whole play.
3. The girl was extremely annoying. When she confesses her love to Phoenix she actually says - Leona ni naritai. (I want to become Leona.)
Of course, this being Takarazuka, it doesn't necessarily mean she will be turned down. But luckily she is!!! Phoenix is content to have Leona in his heart forever. I admit I loved seeing him give annoying girl the smackdown.
So with the exception of Franciska (who wasn't horrible) I loved everyone else! Particularly Tomu Ranju who is just adorable and perfect for Phoenix, despite the blond hair. Hiro Yuumi wasn't quite as good as Nanaho Hikaru, but I still found her Edgeworth highly amusing.
And then the next day I saw Russian Blue. This may have been the most cracked out Takarazuka show I have ever seen. I knew it was a comedy, but somehow I missed that the subtitle was 'how to punish a witch' until I went to the theater. So expecting some kind of historical theater comedy, it ended up being all witches, and fantasy, and love potions, and Stalin, and seriously I have no idea what this play was about. Anyone who knows is welcome to fill me in! Despite all the crack, I can't say I didn't enjoy it. Not to mention the crack-filled revue.
The night after seeing Phoenix Wright 2 I decided to hit up a fire festival that was going on in a nearby town. It was one of the festivals where they light up a kanji high in the mountains. They also had some extremely disturbing little girl dancing where the girls were wearing barely there hip-hop outfits. It was pretty bad. But the rest of the festival was very cool!
Glowing mountain kanji -
People carrying candles in the parade -
More candles. Plus children get free sake!
There were quite a few firefighters hanging about -
Plus some half-naked festival guys -
The parade coming down the street -
Russian Blue had a Latin-themed revue -
Rent!! Many hours were spent in the sun waiting to see this -