Reimei no Kaze / Passion: Ai no Tabi review
On Sunday I saw Reimei no Kaze and thought I might share my thoughts here. Please be aware that I am not very knowledgeable on soragumi or Yuu Todoroki or a lot of technicalities. But it was my 4th live Takarazuka performance, and 3rd daigekijou one, for what that is worth. And feel free to disagree with anything I say, because I know I am biased about things... but that being said, I thought there are some people who might want to know a little bit about it if they are considering seeing it live or on DVD when it comes out May 9th.
This was my first Soragumi performance, and although I had heard that Soragumi is experimental, I had not expected the play to be quite so different from other Takarazuka performances I have seen. From the posters (and what Takarazuka tends to entail), we had all expected some sort of love story. And although I knew it was about some Japanese guy who was important in world war two and was said to have the spirit of a samurai (ie: considered to be very Japanese-y in a good way) or something to that effect. So in the picture of the actual man, he was sitting in a chair holding a pen or something... but still, he could have been exciting, right?
I went with 5 other American exchange students, so we all have some Japanese knowledge... 2 and a half years of college level study each, though at least 2 in our group studied in high school also. Although we didn't do our homework well in looking up what the play was about, we knew (hot!) MacArthur and Jiro (a Japanese man who was educated abroad) were in it and it took place during the war, during the occupation and to the end of the occupation... and a scene in San Francisco. But still, we expected sexy American soldiers, some fighting, lots of dancing and singing and hotness, and hopefully intrigue or something. Well, MacArthur was hot. Anyway, so between all of our Japanese ability (no claims at fluency, but I understood other Takarazuka plays without looking up the synopsis in advance)... we got no real plot, other than Jiro (Todoroki Yuu) and Douglas MacArthur (Yamato Yuuga) are really hot. I mean, generally we got a few points and the timeline of the war and post-war period (and a bit about a 2nd generation Japanese-American DJ by the name "Tokyo Rose" who was forced to work as an announcer by someone... was maybe a spy or something, because she was arrested). And MacArthur put on his aviators, sang a song about cherry blossoms and said "Sayonara Nippon" in a hot way before leaving. Oh, and Jiro's wife thought he was really cool when he left for San Francisco.
So yeah, without extensive historical knowledge and/or a high level of Japanese ability this may not be the most easily understood/appreciated Takarazuka performance. There were a few highlights (said aviator moment), but it was kind of boring for Takarazuka. Especially since there was not much singing or dancing for it being a Takarazuka performance. It was there... and I was amazed by how deep Todoroki Yuu's singing is (are you all sure she's not a man?) even for an otokoyaku. I mean, wow, she gives off the image of maleness that is so natural. And she totally stole the show from Yamato Yuuga.
Technical things: the set designs were pretty boring, except for one part where they show a view of Kyoto, with the mountain with the fire kanji lit up that was very pretty... oh, and costumes included a lot of military uniforms, suits, period women's clothing, and poor people outfits. Music was pretty fun in the moments when it was period stuff, like jazz... but generally a lot of the songs were slow, which is not my cup of tea. Very little dancing... except for a strange dance where soldiers are all grouped around MacArthur and then there are people in silver outfits dancing... in fog. No idea what the meaning was.
On a side note, I am surprised at how tiny both Yamato Yuuga and Todoroki Yuu are. The second and third string otokoyaku totally tower over them. Very hot, but surprisingly tiny.
Okay, so onto the revue. Passion was a very good revue, though I liked "Miroirs" better to be honest (but that is a high standard). The best things about Passion were the set designs and the costumes. There were moments that were absolutely stunning visually. And there was a very hot dance with Yamato Yuuga in a dress dancing with Todoroki Yuu. And a really really awesome Indian (?) themed dance with awesome costumes and belly dancers. I was so sad when they came out in feathers for the parade and it was about to be over... but there wasn't really that much dancing comparatively, as it included a lot of slow singing/walking. But really, it was interesting/hot/pretty.
It was definitely worth the admission (even for $55~ seats), but I am not sure I can recommend the DVD for $100~, even for the revue.
It may be beside the point, but I highly recommend the Kimi wo Aishiteiru dvd when it comes out instead... the revue is better, and the play is fun even though it is kind of a silly love story with an uninteresting female lead. But from what I see in TCA magazine, the extras are going to be awesome... including a very hot photoshoot of Mizu Natsuki... and her looking deeply into the camera and saying "Kimi wo Aishiteru" to you *sigh*.
Okay, I hope that you guys are able to get something out of this disorganized review... my English keeps getting worse the longer I am here, and Takarazuka always makes me just a little lightheaded *teehee*
This was my first Soragumi performance, and although I had heard that Soragumi is experimental, I had not expected the play to be quite so different from other Takarazuka performances I have seen. From the posters (and what Takarazuka tends to entail), we had all expected some sort of love story. And although I knew it was about some Japanese guy who was important in world war two and was said to have the spirit of a samurai (ie: considered to be very Japanese-y in a good way) or something to that effect. So in the picture of the actual man, he was sitting in a chair holding a pen or something... but still, he could have been exciting, right?
I went with 5 other American exchange students, so we all have some Japanese knowledge... 2 and a half years of college level study each, though at least 2 in our group studied in high school also. Although we didn't do our homework well in looking up what the play was about, we knew (hot!) MacArthur and Jiro (a Japanese man who was educated abroad) were in it and it took place during the war, during the occupation and to the end of the occupation... and a scene in San Francisco. But still, we expected sexy American soldiers, some fighting, lots of dancing and singing and hotness, and hopefully intrigue or something. Well, MacArthur was hot. Anyway, so between all of our Japanese ability (no claims at fluency, but I understood other Takarazuka plays without looking up the synopsis in advance)... we got no real plot, other than Jiro (Todoroki Yuu) and Douglas MacArthur (Yamato Yuuga) are really hot. I mean, generally we got a few points and the timeline of the war and post-war period (and a bit about a 2nd generation Japanese-American DJ by the name "Tokyo Rose" who was forced to work as an announcer by someone... was maybe a spy or something, because she was arrested). And MacArthur put on his aviators, sang a song about cherry blossoms and said "Sayonara Nippon" in a hot way before leaving. Oh, and Jiro's wife thought he was really cool when he left for San Francisco.
So yeah, without extensive historical knowledge and/or a high level of Japanese ability this may not be the most easily understood/appreciated Takarazuka performance. There were a few highlights (said aviator moment), but it was kind of boring for Takarazuka. Especially since there was not much singing or dancing for it being a Takarazuka performance. It was there... and I was amazed by how deep Todoroki Yuu's singing is (are you all sure she's not a man?) even for an otokoyaku. I mean, wow, she gives off the image of maleness that is so natural. And she totally stole the show from Yamato Yuuga.
Technical things: the set designs were pretty boring, except for one part where they show a view of Kyoto, with the mountain with the fire kanji lit up that was very pretty... oh, and costumes included a lot of military uniforms, suits, period women's clothing, and poor people outfits. Music was pretty fun in the moments when it was period stuff, like jazz... but generally a lot of the songs were slow, which is not my cup of tea. Very little dancing... except for a strange dance where soldiers are all grouped around MacArthur and then there are people in silver outfits dancing... in fog. No idea what the meaning was.
On a side note, I am surprised at how tiny both Yamato Yuuga and Todoroki Yuu are. The second and third string otokoyaku totally tower over them. Very hot, but surprisingly tiny.
Okay, so onto the revue. Passion was a very good revue, though I liked "Miroirs" better to be honest (but that is a high standard). The best things about Passion were the set designs and the costumes. There were moments that were absolutely stunning visually. And there was a very hot dance with Yamato Yuuga in a dress dancing with Todoroki Yuu. And a really really awesome Indian (?) themed dance with awesome costumes and belly dancers. I was so sad when they came out in feathers for the parade and it was about to be over... but there wasn't really that much dancing comparatively, as it included a lot of slow singing/walking. But really, it was interesting/hot/pretty.
It was definitely worth the admission (even for $55~ seats), but I am not sure I can recommend the DVD for $100~, even for the revue.
It may be beside the point, but I highly recommend the Kimi wo Aishiteiru dvd when it comes out instead... the revue is better, and the play is fun even though it is kind of a silly love story with an uninteresting female lead. But from what I see in TCA magazine, the extras are going to be awesome... including a very hot photoshoot of Mizu Natsuki... and her looking deeply into the camera and saying "Kimi wo Aishiteru" to you *sigh*.
Okay, I hope that you guys are able to get something out of this disorganized review... my English keeps getting worse the longer I am here, and Takarazuka always makes me just a little lightheaded *teehee*