Review: Hakataza Me and My Girl
Meep. I feel bad saying this, but I liked the Daigekijou version better.
It's unfair to compare the Hakataza version to the 2008 Daigekijou version, but at the same time, it's hard not to. I feel bad saying this, but watching the Hakataza vesion made me realize the things the Daigekijou version did right, and that I had taken for granted before. The biggest one was the dynamic between Bill, Sally, and Maria.
1. Let's start with Maria in this version, played by Kyou Misa. Vocally she can't compare to Taki-san, but that wasn't my problem. When I wrote my Daigekijou "Me and My Girl" review, I complained that while I liked Taki-san's performance, I was tired of her always being typecast into "intimidating matron" roles. I take that back, and I realize now how crucial Taki-san's interpretation of Maria was to the show. You believed without even thinking about it that Maria was a very formiddable woman, and going up against her was no small task. Kyou-san's Maria was more the nagging aunt type, and it was harder for me to believe that she could put so much pressure on Bill and Sally to conform to her ways.
2. The next problem lies with Kiriyan's Bill and Shizuku's Sally. I'm not sure if the chicken or the egg came first in this case. On one hand, Shizuku did a different Sally than Mihoko, and I have to respect her for that. At the same time, I thought that Sally wasn't as believable a character without the spunk that other actresses have given to her. To be fair, however, Shizuku did a decent "Once You Lose Your Heart" and "Take It On the Chin."
3. As for Kiriyan...okay, now I feel really horrible -_-; But this wasn't her best performance. Don't get me wrong, her comedic timing was hillarious, and her singing and dancing were as good as ever. (I also liked how she changed up a lot of the comedic bits from the way Asako had done them previously). However, Kiriyan just didn't seem to nail the character of Bill down for many of the dramatic moments. Her chemistry with Shizuku was okay, but nothing spectacular. I'm not sure if her lack of lightning-hot chemistry with Shizuku was what caused the problems in her acting, or vice versa. As I said, it's hard to tell if the chicken or the egg came first. But all that being said, Kiriyan on a less-than-perfect day is still nothing to sneeze at, so it wasn't like it was a bad performance. It's just that I know that Kiriyan is capable of more.
All three of these things together brought the show down IMHO. "Me and My Girl" doesn't work as a show if you don't believe how strongly Bill and Sally want to be together, how incomptaible they are with Hareford, and how strongly Maria wants to wrench them apart.
While I'm complaining, the cast size was obviously down since half of tsukigumi was off doing Gatsby. The Lambeth Walk had less energy as a result.
Now, on the positive side, Magee was an amazing Parchester (and I'm not just saying that to appease sumire_no_hana ) Misa Noeru was my favorite part of the Daigekijou version, and worried that Magee wouldn't be able to compare. Magee was smart in that her flamboyent Parchester was very different than Maya-san's. And really, nothing makes me happier than two actresses both doing a performance in very different ways and both of them being excellent. Her "please turn over" had me rolling on the floor.
Also on the plus side, I liked Sonoka's Sir John. I don't know what it is about Sonoka, but every time I see her I want to crack up (in a good way). I like Kiriyan's Daigekijou Sir John a little better if simply for the Kiriyan Insanity she brought to the role, but Sonoka was really, really solid. I agree with wao_wao that Sonoka really made her Sir John old man-esque. This is especially impressive given that Sonoka is only ken-11.
The DVD version has Masaki as Jackie. Dear God...that girl has probably not shown her legs so much since she was doing rockette dances XD Every time Masaki is on stage she looks like she's having a lot of fun, and her turn as Jackie was no exception. She's been together with Kiriyan a lot (Osaka Samurai, Slapstick etc) and you could tell they were comfortable acting with each othe. "You Would If You Could" (the Jackie seduction number) was one of my favorite moments. Ai-chan is still my favorite 2008 Jackie, but Masaki was a lot of fun to watch.
Gerald is a boring character, but Mirio was sweet. (I er...like her better when she's not leaping over many of the upperclassmen I like -_-;) I also liked Ken Ruisu's Parchester and Otoki Sunao's chief maid. It was a bit bizarre seeing Mihou Aya as Anastasia Brown, given that she was doing the exact same role she had in the Daigekijou version, only playing off of different actresses. She's still great, though <3
I worry that this review has come across as too negative. I prefer the Daigekijou version, but even with its flaws this version was still fun to watch. "Me and My Girl" is excellent source material and it was fun to see some of my favorite tsukigumisei tackle it, even if they weren't as perfect as previous versions.
It's unfair to compare the Hakataza version to the 2008 Daigekijou version, but at the same time, it's hard not to. I feel bad saying this, but watching the Hakataza vesion made me realize the things the Daigekijou version did right, and that I had taken for granted before. The biggest one was the dynamic between Bill, Sally, and Maria.
1. Let's start with Maria in this version, played by Kyou Misa. Vocally she can't compare to Taki-san, but that wasn't my problem. When I wrote my Daigekijou "Me and My Girl" review, I complained that while I liked Taki-san's performance, I was tired of her always being typecast into "intimidating matron" roles. I take that back, and I realize now how crucial Taki-san's interpretation of Maria was to the show. You believed without even thinking about it that Maria was a very formiddable woman, and going up against her was no small task. Kyou-san's Maria was more the nagging aunt type, and it was harder for me to believe that she could put so much pressure on Bill and Sally to conform to her ways.
2. The next problem lies with Kiriyan's Bill and Shizuku's Sally. I'm not sure if the chicken or the egg came first in this case. On one hand, Shizuku did a different Sally than Mihoko, and I have to respect her for that. At the same time, I thought that Sally wasn't as believable a character without the spunk that other actresses have given to her. To be fair, however, Shizuku did a decent "Once You Lose Your Heart" and "Take It On the Chin."
3. As for Kiriyan...okay, now I feel really horrible -_-; But this wasn't her best performance. Don't get me wrong, her comedic timing was hillarious, and her singing and dancing were as good as ever. (I also liked how she changed up a lot of the comedic bits from the way Asako had done them previously). However, Kiriyan just didn't seem to nail the character of Bill down for many of the dramatic moments. Her chemistry with Shizuku was okay, but nothing spectacular. I'm not sure if her lack of lightning-hot chemistry with Shizuku was what caused the problems in her acting, or vice versa. As I said, it's hard to tell if the chicken or the egg came first. But all that being said, Kiriyan on a less-than-perfect day is still nothing to sneeze at, so it wasn't like it was a bad performance. It's just that I know that Kiriyan is capable of more.
All three of these things together brought the show down IMHO. "Me and My Girl" doesn't work as a show if you don't believe how strongly Bill and Sally want to be together, how incomptaible they are with Hareford, and how strongly Maria wants to wrench them apart.
While I'm complaining, the cast size was obviously down since half of tsukigumi was off doing Gatsby. The Lambeth Walk had less energy as a result.
Now, on the positive side, Magee was an amazing Parchester (and I'm not just saying that to appease sumire_no_hana ) Misa Noeru was my favorite part of the Daigekijou version, and worried that Magee wouldn't be able to compare. Magee was smart in that her flamboyent Parchester was very different than Maya-san's. And really, nothing makes me happier than two actresses both doing a performance in very different ways and both of them being excellent. Her "please turn over" had me rolling on the floor.
Also on the plus side, I liked Sonoka's Sir John. I don't know what it is about Sonoka, but every time I see her I want to crack up (in a good way). I like Kiriyan's Daigekijou Sir John a little better if simply for the Kiriyan Insanity she brought to the role, but Sonoka was really, really solid. I agree with wao_wao that Sonoka really made her Sir John old man-esque. This is especially impressive given that Sonoka is only ken-11.
The DVD version has Masaki as Jackie. Dear God...that girl has probably not shown her legs so much since she was doing rockette dances XD Every time Masaki is on stage she looks like she's having a lot of fun, and her turn as Jackie was no exception. She's been together with Kiriyan a lot (Osaka Samurai, Slapstick etc) and you could tell they were comfortable acting with each othe. "You Would If You Could" (the Jackie seduction number) was one of my favorite moments. Ai-chan is still my favorite 2008 Jackie, but Masaki was a lot of fun to watch.
Gerald is a boring character, but Mirio was sweet. (I er...like her better when she's not leaping over many of the upperclassmen I like -_-;) I also liked Ken Ruisu's Parchester and Otoki Sunao's chief maid. It was a bit bizarre seeing Mihou Aya as Anastasia Brown, given that she was doing the exact same role she had in the Daigekijou version, only playing off of different actresses. She's still great, though <3
I worry that this review has come across as too negative. I prefer the Daigekijou version, but even with its flaws this version was still fun to watch. "Me and My Girl" is excellent source material and it was fun to see some of my favorite tsukigumisei tackle it, even if they weren't as perfect as previous versions.