The Real Zukaversary Post ;)
Celebratory sharing of clips!! Unsurprisingly, they're all Soragumi. I've stopped apologizing for it at this point. XDD;;
Wing!! ~ Millennium Challenger! - From Wao's sayonara show. A while back I thought to myself, "I wonder if all the good Wao and Hana-ness has been shared already, and I've just run out of clips to make". And I was a little depressed / concerned. But then I realized there is always more TakaHana to discover and share! I mean, I don't even have Wao's second concert yet! But anyway. This clip is Wao's triumph, singing "Wing!!" again all those months after her accident, and being so loving to the entire audience and everything. :D And I tacked on "Millennium Challenger!" too, just because I like it and it's sweet when she sings 「君と出会えてよかった」. <3 <3 <3
(Oh yeah, and a random side note-you can tell in "Wing!!" that somebody's mic got REALLY turned up... Chigi's voice stands out loud and clear from the rest of the chorus. XDD)
Saturn - From Sora Fantasista!, of couse. :3 I think you can't feel the power of the "rebirth" number quite as well if you don't start with the angst and "death" first. Marietta-san says, "In the universe, there aren't just beautiful stars..." There are also stars full of sadness and hatred and things, and Tani!Fantasista has the misfortune of ending up on one of these stars (or rather, the planet Saturn...) There's just something intense about this number, I think, although maybe that's because I saw it live and the intensity was more palpable there. (Still, I know, Tani getting killed by a star necklace is pretty silly. ^^;; )
Fantasista Saisei - The rebirth! :D I'm not exaggerating when I say this song makes me cry every time I hear it. It's just so full of joy and hope, and I love songs about hope, but especially when they're about hope and "sora". ^__^ (You may or may not have noticed, but in my translation I decided to go with "sky" instead of "cosmos" in most of the lyrics. It just fits better. :) Oh, and because this is when Rimae and Chiari got their little "farewell" moment. *tears* Oh, my troupe, my troupe~!
And then, the last one... This is the pièce de résistance. The idea has been simmering in my head for ages; I made the clip a few weeks ago, but I waited until now to share it. :)
Understudy - Hermia x Lysander - NOW WITH SHAKESPEAREAN SUBTITLES. :D :D :D
I may have watched this scene more times than any other single Takarazuka clip. Countless times it has been my lullaby to help me fall asleep; the last thing I watch before I close my eyes for the night. It's just so... so much love, all the little flirtations, advances and rejections, with my angel and her one true love best partner, Eriko. <3 And now you can view it with added Shakespearean-ness! ^____^ The translation is fairly close in some places, but other times not so close... And I may be a little picky about the timing not being perfect, but I doubt anyone will care. SO YES. ENJOY. :D
And now, I'd like to thank everyone. Yes, everyone!! We seriously have one of the best fandoms there is, where so many of us have a deeper connection to each other than just "internet friends". And despite a few... ahem, misunderstandings, mostly we get along very well with each other. And I love it. I love this fandom, and I'm grateful to Takarazuka for helping me meet you all!! ^^
Specific shout-outs:
Thank you, kirakira_sora-for becoming my best friend in the fandom, the person I share everything with, and my wife-in-spirit. ;) <3333333333
Thank you, ekusudei-for having the good sense to live in Tucson for a while; we had a lot of great times, and without you my collection would never be where it is now. ;)
Thank you, princesslucia-for bonding over 88th-class musumeyaku love with me, for planning to do Japan things together even if they didn't work out, and just in general for being your princessly self. X3
Thank you, arlecchinic-for meeting up with me in Japan, for buying tickets so we could go see Soragumi together, and for sending me half a million emails / text messages since then. :D
Finally, thank you fannore, ladybretagne, vicky_licious, sumire_no_hana and kalen9 for being all my Soragumi fangirls-in-arms, or at least letting me brainwash indoctrinate enlighten you to some degree. XD I only wish I could be online more often for crazy chatroom fun times.
I can't thank you all individually, but seriously, thank you ALL. *takes award and bows* XDD <3 <3 <3
Wing!! ~ Millennium Challenger! - From Wao's sayonara show. A while back I thought to myself, "I wonder if all the good Wao and Hana-ness has been shared already, and I've just run out of clips to make". And I was a little depressed / concerned. But then I realized there is always more TakaHana to discover and share! I mean, I don't even have Wao's second concert yet! But anyway. This clip is Wao's triumph, singing "Wing!!" again all those months after her accident, and being so loving to the entire audience and everything. :D And I tacked on "Millennium Challenger!" too, just because I like it and it's sweet when she sings 「君と出会えてよかった」. <3 <3 <3
(Oh yeah, and a random side note-you can tell in "Wing!!" that somebody's mic got REALLY turned up... Chigi's voice stands out loud and clear from the rest of the chorus. XDD)
Saturn - From Sora Fantasista!, of couse. :3 I think you can't feel the power of the "rebirth" number quite as well if you don't start with the angst and "death" first. Marietta-san says, "In the universe, there aren't just beautiful stars..." There are also stars full of sadness and hatred and things, and Tani!Fantasista has the misfortune of ending up on one of these stars (or rather, the planet Saturn...) There's just something intense about this number, I think, although maybe that's because I saw it live and the intensity was more palpable there. (Still, I know, Tani getting killed by a star necklace is pretty silly. ^^;; )
Fantasista Saisei - The rebirth! :D I'm not exaggerating when I say this song makes me cry every time I hear it. It's just so full of joy and hope, and I love songs about hope, but especially when they're about hope and "sora". ^__^ (You may or may not have noticed, but in my translation I decided to go with "sky" instead of "cosmos" in most of the lyrics. It just fits better. :) Oh, and because this is when Rimae and Chiari got their little "farewell" moment. *tears* Oh, my troupe, my troupe~!
And then, the last one... This is the pièce de résistance. The idea has been simmering in my head for ages; I made the clip a few weeks ago, but I waited until now to share it. :)
Understudy - Hermia x Lysander - NOW WITH SHAKESPEAREAN SUBTITLES. :D :D :D
I may have watched this scene more times than any other single Takarazuka clip. Countless times it has been my lullaby to help me fall asleep; the last thing I watch before I close my eyes for the night. It's just so... so much love, all the little flirtations, advances and rejections, with my angel and her one true love best partner, Eriko. <3 And now you can view it with added Shakespearean-ness! ^____^ The translation is fairly close in some places, but other times not so close... And I may be a little picky about the timing not being perfect, but I doubt anyone will care. SO YES. ENJOY. :D
And now, I'd like to thank everyone. Yes, everyone!! We seriously have one of the best fandoms there is, where so many of us have a deeper connection to each other than just "internet friends". And despite a few... ahem, misunderstandings, mostly we get along very well with each other. And I love it. I love this fandom, and I'm grateful to Takarazuka for helping me meet you all!! ^^
Specific shout-outs:
Thank you, kirakira_sora-for becoming my best friend in the fandom, the person I share everything with, and my wife-in-spirit. ;) <3333333333
Thank you, ekusudei-for having the good sense to live in Tucson for a while; we had a lot of great times, and without you my collection would never be where it is now. ;)
Thank you, princesslucia-for bonding over 88th-class musumeyaku love with me, for planning to do Japan things together even if they didn't work out, and just in general for being your princessly self. X3
Thank you, arlecchinic-for meeting up with me in Japan, for buying tickets so we could go see Soragumi together, and for sending me half a million emails / text messages since then. :D
Finally, thank you fannore, ladybretagne, vicky_licious, sumire_no_hana and kalen9 for being all my Soragumi fangirls-in-arms, or at least letting me brainwash indoctrinate enlighten you to some degree. XD I only wish I could be online more often for crazy chatroom fun times.
I can't thank you all individually, but seriously, thank you ALL. *takes award and bows* XDD <3 <3 <3