Paranoia Circus Review!
Yes I have skipped over Orphans! I am bit by bit writing that review but I can't let it stop me from getting anymore behind! SO here is the play I saw next after Orphans on March 1st = Paranoia Circus! So turns out I did make ANY notes of Paranois Circus on my phone - eek! So let's hope I remember what the hell happened and it turns out I didn't tweet about it at all! Which makes it seem like I didn' enjoy it - I did!! < spoiler! but now to remember... *opens up pamphlet*
I remember before the show that the line for the goods was MASSIVE and the even had to open a little 'no extrance' stairwell so more people could line up xD AND there were loads of people preordering the DVD before the show even started! I understand that there's some huge stars and names in the show but I was like, it can't be that good can it... and I underestimated this play!
The play itself ended up being a great story with amazing acting, VERY funny and I enjoyed the plot and the twists and omg the beginning and ending were amazing!
About 5 minutes before the show was set to start Takeuchi Naofumi came out and started walking along the rows at the front. He was completely in character, doing the odd walk and everything and he was telling jokes and smiling at people and then he started a game where he started at the beginning side of one row, gave his clock (yes cLock!) to the person in the first seat and the had to pass it down to the end of the row before he got to the other side. He lost each time xD He was like 'you're doing it too fast!' xD eventually the light darkened and a chair came out explaining the rules and such (yes a talking chair!) and he asked a guy on the front row to come on stage and sit on it - at first we all thought he was just a normal audience viewer - but once he was in the chair, they pulled the chair with him in it behind the curtain and he never returned to his seat - SO he must have been in the cast and I'm convinced it was Ozawa Ryota's butler who was played by Horiike Naotaka.
They opened up with a song, which they also redid right at the end as an encore and it's very enjoyable! <3
The story is about Ozawa Ryota's character named Edogawa Ranpo is a mystery author and he and his butlet editor come to this uninhabited island to see this Paranoia Circus when one of the circus members is murdered and a mysterious man called Kaijin 20 Men Sou (Mysterious 20 Face Man) turns up and says he did it. Thus he goes on a mission to find out who killed the member and who this Mysterious man is! And as it goes on, more dark things come out about the each Circus member's secrets and more people are murdered and a confusing but shocking reveal comes out and it definitely keeps you entertained, thinking and a little suspenseful. But I won't give any more away!
The humour was definitely led by Imata Taira and Hasegawa Tarou (is it just me or do ALL these actors have strange and interesting names?!). Firstly Imata spends a good 10 minute segment as a dazed and confused Kogorou and goes on about his mother and nikuman and manju xD we were ALL dying! And Hasegawa Tarou was literally playing a chair so of COURSE there were puns! for exmaple he said in English: ThISU IZU ISU! (This is a chair). I was laughed SO hard every time he made a chair joke xD *looks at script* Nope can't find any of his jokes in it so the actor must have made them up himself ^_^
Let's get down to the individual characters and actors shall we?
Imata Taira as Meichi Kogorou aka Intelligent Kogorou- has always been a dynamic and great actor and it was great to finally see him on stage and in the flesh! I loved his character and I love his humour and his gags were great. I also really liked his costume (my favourite colour IS green after all). I knew he wouldn't disappoint and he definitely didn't!!
Iwata Yuumin as Imomushi Chuui aka First Lieutenant Hornworm - He was pretty crazy to be honest. It was tied up in his chair for most of the play but he definitely had his moments to shine and fight! he was also blindfolded the whole time so I was impressed with his performance and impressed that the girl could push him around all performance!
Horiike Naotaka as Henshuusha aka Editor - I thought he was cute always looking after and out for Edogawa Ranpu xD Sadly I don't remember him having an main or big moments/parts.
Tsuzura Yusuke as K Kei - I LOVED his costume! It was so shiny and beautiful! He had an attitude on him too which was interesting! And I think he was the only one who had a romantic relationship going on too which was interesting cos I immedaitely labelled him as gay xD guess he wasn't haha
Katou Fumiko as Shizuko / Injyuu - Pretty sure this was the cute bear character woman! I really liked her character <3 especially owards the end when no one could help Edogawa but she sticks around and helps clean up the mess he made even those he keeps yelling at her to stop. She was so bubbly and the costume made her look even cute!! ^_^
Isu Shokunin aka Chair Artisan - We've already talked about how much I love his chair/isu puns <3 they were right up my alley and I was pissing myself laughing at them xD his killing scene was a shock to me cos I didn't expect it to happen!! =O
Sugiyama Mio as Jigoku no Dogeshi aka Hell's Clown - If I remember correctly, she the girl who is murdered right at the beginning, I really liked her introduction scene, shame it was short lived xD
Yamakawa Ariso as Panorama - He seem to be like a leader of the group and he was very loud and very fancy pantsy and posh and he had a strong air to him.
Uchiyama Chie as Imomushi Tsuma aka Hornworm's wife - she must have some seriously good arm muscles! She was responsible for pushing the Lieutenant around the entire play and had to push him around the stage and spin him and everything! I was so impressed with how smoothly it all went. I really liked her and Lieutenant's interactions too. Very love-love xD But yes I was impressed she never over push and knocked him out of his like stand-up bed and everything.
Takeuchi Naofumi as Yuurei Tokei aka Ghost Watch - I loved thi character. He's practically on stage the entire time and is used more as this time-ticking time-bomb and constantly reminds the audience what time it is and how long is left and is very much in the story but also with the crowd. He's definitely a breaker of the 4th wall. I loved how he walk and his costume and I liked his character a lot =]
Kawamoto Hiroyuki as Oshi E to Tabi suru Otoko aka The Man of Traveling Paintings - He had a pretty minor role but I really like how he used his painting frame throughout the play. It was a great and artistic way of using and carrying it and such.
Ozawa Ryota as Edogawa Ranpu - It's Captain Marvelous, how could he not be Marvelous in this role! To be honest, to had a lot of strong actors around him and while he did well in role his and as his character, he was definitely outshone by a few others. I really like this costume and I give him HUGE props for all his action and fighting scenes! They were well choreographed and a lot of fun to watch! I loved the scenes between Edogawa and Lupin so much <3
Matsua Ryo as Kobayashi Shounen - OMG he was SUCH a cutie!!!! <3 I actually didn't know until after the play who he was and since then I've literally seen him everywhere and been like 'OMG! I remember he was in Litche Hikaru Club! He was great in that! OMG I remember seeing his face is Niche's Convience Store! OMG he's in this upcoming play too?!' and so yeah now that I know who he is and what he looks like (thanks to this play), I'm seeing him everywhere! I really loved his character in this too! So genki and so interesting and I love his costume too! I think he's either my second or third favourite character in this <3 and omg at the end, that one scene at the end where everyone's just depressed and crying. My heart broke for his character!
Matsuda Gaku as Uchuu Hikoushi aka Space Pirate - Can someone please explain why a SHEEP/RAM is being labelled as a Space Pirate?! xD He's clearly a sheep/ram - look!!! xD I'm gunna be honest; I thought Ryo was playing both roles until they were eventually on stage together! Seriously!! Also Gaku had SUCH a small role, yet it ended up being a major role at the end! WTF?! If he's a main character why you not showing him until we're like over an hour into it?! I felt him actually unneccessary but I guess he was needed for the story but still; if he's a main character, at least show him popping up throughout the show!
Shiramata Atsushi as Yane Ura (I literally cannot find a way to translate this name. It's roof and either beach/end/fotunre-telling/reverse depending on what kanji we're going for. But his name is in Katakana) - It was nice seeing Shiramata in a completely different light and character. He was very sinister in this and mysterious and his character definitely had a few screws loose! One of my favourite scenes was when Ozawa and Horiike are supossidly having a private conversation but Shiramata sticks his hand out from behind the stage (because his hand has a eye on it) and 'spies' on the conversation. Also the first time he really speaks in this he talks about how Ozawa shouldn't look too deep into the matter and that everyone has a secret. It was creepy and it was great seeing him play a darker, quieter role when I'm so used to seeing him jumping about and yelling (like in Basara) xD
Matsumoto Hiroya as Nakamura Keiji aka Detective Nakamura - Matsumoto <3 I didn't like his hair in this but everything else about him was perfect <3 I loved his duet/duo with Karahashi. They were always together and they were very funny together! I really liked his dancing performances too! But his character wasn't a good detective if I remember correctly xD
Karahashi Mitsuru as Namikoshi Keibu aka Inspector Namikoshi - I never really looked at him because he was paired with Matsumoto the entire time so naturally my eyes were always on Matsumoto <3 But I did spend some of the play going 'Is he a half? He's a half isn't it...' But I do remember his character being soft and sweet though which is nice ^_^
Yoshii Rei as Kuro Tokage aka Black Lizard - It was SO weird seeing her on stage! I'm SO used to seeing her in doramas so I was a little starstruck when she first walked out. She's very beautiful and very talented but god dammit eat woman! She's like a twig!! I liked her character as well (or at least the darker side of her character) and her costume was beautiful <3 I like how she seduce Matsumoto's charatcer that one time xD Yes, very beautiful woman ^_^
Suzuki Shougo as Aruseinu Lupin - He stole the entire show for me! OMG I was in love the MOMENT he walked on stage <3 as he called himself a shinigami and shingami's have a special place in my heart (cos y'know Death Note, Bleach etc. xD) <3 the way he talks, walks, his humour, the fight scenes with Ozawa, everything was captivating about him for me! I was in DEEP! But while I was captivated by him, I couldn't help but think 'Furukawa (from Comic Jack) would make a good Lupin', here's what I mean (Shougo left, Furukawa right):
*Picture credit to all the rightful places including actors twitters!
It appears I have a character 'type' that I instantly crush on isn't there... Oh well!! But yes I freaking LOVE LUPIN <3 So did the audience, I heard the squeals xD
And that's the cast done!! ^_^ How many Tokusatsu actors was that? Like 4 right?! xD
What else is there to talk about... OH! I loved how many different exits and extrances there were on the stage, someone was always going in and out in different directions so that was visually entertaining. The stage itself was nice too! In fact there's a scene where the characters are running and fighting and going up and down the stage levels and it was very entertaining!! ^_^
BUT!
The ending did confuse me a litle so I'm glad they were selling the script (honestly, I wish ALL plays sold the script even if it's the original one they gave to the actors before they put their own spin and changes to it) and I flicked to the back and read the last ten or so pages so I understood it all by the time I got home ^_^
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Overall: I can understand why people were preordering this BEFORE we even went it! It had a great story with mystery, suspense and some shockers. The casting was starclass, full of Tokusatsu actors and everyone did an amazing job. The characters themselves were all very different and interesting! I loved the staging and I loved whenever Suzuki/Lupin and Ozawa/Edogawa were fighting xD I wish the DVD weren't so expensive (I think it's 9000 yen!) cos I'd love to see this again and drool all over Lupin again hehe
Rating: 7/10