JUNJOU: Chigi Version!
Sorry, what, were you expecting me to finally post about TSP? Nope, you get a Soragumi review instead! X3
You have to understand that this was the best show I've seen this year because it was Soragumi, and Soragumi babies, and Soragumi babies from the fifth row in Bow Hall. Sorry, no amount of other-troupe musical goodness (aka Pimpernel) can top that for me. ^^
Two things to know about the plot before I ramble.
1) Chigi is an apprentice at a medicine store; Tacchin is the daughter of the store's owner; Tacchin is blind and Chigi is the lucky fellow who gets to be at her beck and call. Tacchin is, naturally, spoiled, demanding and never outwardly appreciative of Chigi's hard work.
2) The story is of course a Nihonmono but told through the narration of modern-day Professor Kimi-kun, relating the story of Shunkin (Tacchin) to Kacha and Zono.
And now, rambling squee. :D
* Kacha and Zono work at some part-time job that involves hats and aprons with red and white candy-stripes. THEY ARE CUTE. Zono makes fun of Kacha for getting a text message from her mom. X3
* This play doesn't have a lot of musical numbers, but when Chigi sings her first solo -- and throughout the whole play, really -- you can tell how hard she's been working. She really gave it her all. <333
* Aa-chan as Young Chigi and Mayu-chan as Young Tacchin. Mayu-chan does a lot of child roles, it seems!
* In general this was not a terribly good show for the non-principal babies, but one of the early scenes with Go-kun bossing everyone around at the drugstore was so great. Juma with decidedly un-Japanese brown fluffy hair, Sakkun's hair sticking out at odd angles, Monchi with a little topknot and Mappuu with her enormous smile -- plus the musumeyaku, Aoi-san with big red circles on her cheeks and Rena the same plus a ridiculous mole or two -- all dancing around cleaning and then settling down to eat and talk loudly. (This will be fun to hear about through the Cate Lens.)
* Aoi-san has a crying fit after unsuccessfully pleading with Tacchin to come to dinner. Chigi gives her a hanky. Aoi blows her nose in it and then hands it back. Good times. Also, I think Chigi fumbled a line around here (today was only the second performance of the run), but she corrected herself immediately and I barely caught the mistake.
* Chigi leading Tacchin by the hand everywhere and helping her step into her shoes and everything is so sweet. <333
* Kacha suspects Old Man Kimi-kun of being pervy. They're all having ice cream and Kacha is trying to lick her cone while shielding Zono at the same time. She looked like a lizard darting her little tongue out. RIDICULOUS AMOUNTS OF LOVE.
* The reason Susshii-san's character is called a "prodigal" son is because HE'S AN OKAMA. That is, a very effeminate man who powders his face white and wears lipstick and such... And the way new-kumichou-san talked and gestured and moved her head, oh GOD it was so much love. The character is kind of an annoying would-be suitor to Tacchin (more like a comical stalker, really) with Kasshii as a lackey. Kasshii has dorky flat hair, rosy cheeks, and the end of her nose is red too. X3
Oh my god I just realized -- Susshii's Ritarou is basically like Champion Dickens in a Nihonmono... only more gay. HAHA! <333
* Kacha and Zono get to sing a song about love as the set is being changed behind the curtain. AND I CRIED. FROM SHEER LOVE. Oh Kachabanagi, if I hadn't picked Alice, I would have picked you. <33333
* Tacchin takes koto lessons from Natsu, and Chigi likes to play "air shamisen" in the background. Tamami-chan, Rin-chan and Eru make fun of her.
* The three of them are geisha, but Seiko is the main geisha and also a student of Natsu's. She's jealous that Tacchin is receiving more praise and attention; she gets drunk, rants to Susshii and Kasshii (lol!) and there's a bit where Susshii-san dances with Kasshii, picks her up and then drops her. ^^;;
* Chigi plays air shamisen because she's secretly practicing at night! Bed-Head Juma-chu almost catches her but is too sleepy to notice the instrument unsubtly hidden behind her back. Chigi muses that when she plays the shamisen, she imagines a world of just herself and Tacchin. Cue dreamlike pair dance. Nihonmono pair dances are so elegant. <33333
* But Go-kun scolds her for making a racket at night and threatens to take away the shamisen and break it. Tacchin intervenes and decides to train Chigi on the shamisen since she's all musically talented and such.
(Side note: Go-kun is so commanding and adult but this really is not a good show for her to go out on because she doesn't get enough stage time. ;_______;)
* Scene where Tacchin bullies Chigi, resulting in Chigi getting all of her notes wrong, and Tacchin smacks her over the head with a plectrum and makes her bleed. Yucchi-san (Tacchin's mom) steps in and stops rehearsals for the night. This scene is important later.
* Tacchin feels bad although of course she'll never show it to Chigi. Cue angsty solo. Tacchin really is the best singer in Soragumi. <3333 (Although Seiko is good too!)
* Susshii-san, the would-be suitor, takes up shamisen lessons from Natsu too. Natsu says on average training should take 3~4 years but Susshii is so bad that it would take 10~12. Susshii-san is all "I'll show you--!" and Natsu flatly responds "I can't SEE." (Her character is also blind.) Funny funny.
* I feel like it's been too many bullet points since I squee'd about Kacha. Let's see, how about the way she wears plaid and purposefully arranges her T-shirts to show off her big belt buckles? ILU KACHA.
* Oh, and then the second act! Act II starts out with a New Years celebration, in which there are once again babies dancing with cute hair but kind of ugly costumes. >.>;;
* Susshii-san, on the other hand, wears a costume of AWESOME -- a dandy cream-colored western suit accented by a fur hanging from her neck. Words cannot express the love.
* Switch to modern day, where coincidentally they are also celebrating New Year's. Kacha in a navy blue suit (SQUEE) and Zono in a lovely kimono with a huge fur wrap. Kimi-kun and Kacha compliment her and then assert in unison: "it's a rental". ;P
* Later, our modern-day narrators go to get warm sake or something from a stand run by a "moe-maid", aka Reina-chan in a pink maid outfit looking very curvy and bouncy. Kacha is enthralled. Zono is jealous. Reina reminds me of Chiari-chan a bit. ;_____;
* STILL LATER, THE NARRATORS SIT ON THE STAIRS CLOSE TO MY SIDE OF THE STAGE and eat noodles and have bought goofy anime masks. Kacha = Pikachu (CAN YOU NOT IMAGINE KACHA AS "ASH"?!), Zono = Hello Kitty (typical but CUTE), Kimi-kun = Ampanman. X3 Ahahahaha.
* Tacchin, erhermm... seduces Chigi. *___* You don't really see much of it, but there is pregnancy and a child involved. Chigi and Tacchin both vehemently deny that Chigi is the father. Tacchin has the baby in secret and then tells her parents to get rid of it; "offer someone money to take it if you have to". Chigi sits by and does nothing...
* ...And then angsts at having abandoned her own daughter. She feels as if she's seen a demon inside of Tacchin -- and herself.
* CUE ONE OF THE MOST AWESOME NUMBERS EVER, in which Chigi is plagued by demon dancers. THE MAIN DANCER IS KACHA. The costumes are very gender-ambiguous and Kacha's slender frame is entrancing beyond belief. *_______*
THEN, AS IF THAT WASN'T ENOUGH, OUT COMES TACCHIN AS A DEMON TOO. So. Freaking. Hot. Omgtheguh.
* After the baby fiasco Tacchin moves away from the drugstore to avoid scorn, taking Chigi, Aoi and Rena with her. Chigi and Tacchin become basically like a married couple although neither of them will admit it.
* Meanwhile Susshii-san finds them out and accosts the servants while Chigi and Tacchin are away. "Oh! Tacchin must have sat on this cushion! It even smells good!" Aoi: "That's MY cushion." *smacks her bum crudely* (Me: LOVE)
* Susshii invites Tacchin out to see the plum blossoms and she accepts just to annoy Chigi. Unsurprisingly, Susshii gives Seiko the task of seducing Chigi so she herself can get Tacchin alone. Cue flashbacks of things from Ryoma-den aka hands being forced down kimono fronts. Added bonus of Kasshii frolicking around being silly with plum branches. Anyway, it doesn't work for very long; Tacchin cries for help and Chigi ditches Seiko as soon as she hears the call. Susshii and Seiko both wind up with bruised heads.
* Tacchin's method for getting even entails inviting Susshii-san over for shamisen lessons. Cue a repeat of the bullying session she had with Chigi in the first act. Now Susshii-san playing the shamisen badly was rather amusing -- but my eyes were drawn to Chigi. The look on her face as she realizes what's happening and Tacchin smacks Susshii with the plectrum... IT WAS HEARTBREAKINGLY PERFECT.
* A mean and jealous person, presumably Susshii-san, sneaks in at night and pours boiling water on Tacchin's face. Tacchin writhing in agony behind a screen = pretty amazing but also sad of course.
* Tacchin mostly heals, but since she's blind she's convinced that her face is permanently scarred and ugly. She begs / orders Chigi never to look at her face, but despairs that "as long as you have eyes you're bound to see" (e.g. on accident).
* Chigi...
Chigi... she...
This is the ending spoiler, you know...
Chigi is so in love with Tacchin and so pained to see her beloved in torment...
...that she...
...
...stabs her eyes out, thus ensuring that she will never hurt Tacchin by seeing her face. EXTREMELY TRAUMATIZING TO WATCH (and I'm going to have to sit through it AGAIN with Chii-chan). Loud sniffling from several audience members, myself included.
Tacchin discovers what Chigi has done, they stumble into each others' arms, Tacchin ALMOST says "I love you" but not quite. All she says is "You're the only one... ever since we were children, it was only you... only you..." And they embrace.
* Kimi-kun wraps up the story by saying that sometimes too strong a love is not good for people. Kacha and Zono mull this over for a while, then Kacha turns to Zono and says "kiss me" AND I DIE. Who never gets to kiss in the show? Chigi and Tacchin. Who DOES get to kiss in the show? KACHA AND ZONO.
* Then Chigi and Tacchin do a pair dance and give each other all of these LOOKS and who are they trying to fool, really? Soragumi's other mini combi continues to burn strong. Those two are so clearly in love. :P
* Bows:
- Kacha and Zono bowed together and then blew kisses <33333333 (And did I mention Zono's plaid skirt, black leggings and knee-high boots? Did I mention how much I wanted to BE her when she had Kacha's arms circled around her waist?!?!? *_____*)
- The last two people to bow before Tacchin and Chigi were kumichou... and Seiko?? Well, seniority be damned! I would guess that they went by role importance if Yucchi-san and Chiyako had not bowed right before them. Color me confused.
* More applause and final bows:
- A bunch of people tried to get a standing ovation going but it didn't quite work.
- Kacha raised her eyebrows at someone in the audience. I WOULD DIE TO KNOW WHO.
- Mappuu may have looked at me, or I may have imagined that. I was sitting on the far right and she was standing right around there for curtain call.
(...I seem to have managed to mention everyone in the cast except Kokomi. Um, she had a bit as a giggly koto student with Aa-chan. And she looks cute in kimono. <3)
You have to understand that this was the best show I've seen this year because it was Soragumi, and Soragumi babies, and Soragumi babies from the fifth row in Bow Hall. Sorry, no amount of other-troupe musical goodness (aka Pimpernel) can top that for me. ^^
Two things to know about the plot before I ramble.
1) Chigi is an apprentice at a medicine store; Tacchin is the daughter of the store's owner; Tacchin is blind and Chigi is the lucky fellow who gets to be at her beck and call. Tacchin is, naturally, spoiled, demanding and never outwardly appreciative of Chigi's hard work.
2) The story is of course a Nihonmono but told through the narration of modern-day Professor Kimi-kun, relating the story of Shunkin (Tacchin) to Kacha and Zono.
And now, rambling squee. :D
* Kacha and Zono work at some part-time job that involves hats and aprons with red and white candy-stripes. THEY ARE CUTE. Zono makes fun of Kacha for getting a text message from her mom. X3
* This play doesn't have a lot of musical numbers, but when Chigi sings her first solo -- and throughout the whole play, really -- you can tell how hard she's been working. She really gave it her all. <333
* Aa-chan as Young Chigi and Mayu-chan as Young Tacchin. Mayu-chan does a lot of child roles, it seems!
* In general this was not a terribly good show for the non-principal babies, but one of the early scenes with Go-kun bossing everyone around at the drugstore was so great. Juma with decidedly un-Japanese brown fluffy hair, Sakkun's hair sticking out at odd angles, Monchi with a little topknot and Mappuu with her enormous smile -- plus the musumeyaku, Aoi-san with big red circles on her cheeks and Rena the same plus a ridiculous mole or two -- all dancing around cleaning and then settling down to eat and talk loudly. (This will be fun to hear about through the Cate Lens.)
* Aoi-san has a crying fit after unsuccessfully pleading with Tacchin to come to dinner. Chigi gives her a hanky. Aoi blows her nose in it and then hands it back. Good times. Also, I think Chigi fumbled a line around here (today was only the second performance of the run), but she corrected herself immediately and I barely caught the mistake.
* Chigi leading Tacchin by the hand everywhere and helping her step into her shoes and everything is so sweet. <333
* Kacha suspects Old Man Kimi-kun of being pervy. They're all having ice cream and Kacha is trying to lick her cone while shielding Zono at the same time. She looked like a lizard darting her little tongue out. RIDICULOUS AMOUNTS OF LOVE.
* The reason Susshii-san's character is called a "prodigal" son is because HE'S AN OKAMA. That is, a very effeminate man who powders his face white and wears lipstick and such... And the way new-kumichou-san talked and gestured and moved her head, oh GOD it was so much love. The character is kind of an annoying would-be suitor to Tacchin (more like a comical stalker, really) with Kasshii as a lackey. Kasshii has dorky flat hair, rosy cheeks, and the end of her nose is red too. X3
Oh my god I just realized -- Susshii's Ritarou is basically like Champion Dickens in a Nihonmono... only more gay. HAHA! <333
* Kacha and Zono get to sing a song about love as the set is being changed behind the curtain. AND I CRIED. FROM SHEER LOVE. Oh Kachabanagi, if I hadn't picked Alice, I would have picked you. <33333
* Tacchin takes koto lessons from Natsu, and Chigi likes to play "air shamisen" in the background. Tamami-chan, Rin-chan and Eru make fun of her.
* The three of them are geisha, but Seiko is the main geisha and also a student of Natsu's. She's jealous that Tacchin is receiving more praise and attention; she gets drunk, rants to Susshii and Kasshii (lol!) and there's a bit where Susshii-san dances with Kasshii, picks her up and then drops her. ^^;;
* Chigi plays air shamisen because she's secretly practicing at night! Bed-Head Juma-chu almost catches her but is too sleepy to notice the instrument unsubtly hidden behind her back. Chigi muses that when she plays the shamisen, she imagines a world of just herself and Tacchin. Cue dreamlike pair dance. Nihonmono pair dances are so elegant. <33333
* But Go-kun scolds her for making a racket at night and threatens to take away the shamisen and break it. Tacchin intervenes and decides to train Chigi on the shamisen since she's all musically talented and such.
(Side note: Go-kun is so commanding and adult but this really is not a good show for her to go out on because she doesn't get enough stage time. ;_______;)
* Scene where Tacchin bullies Chigi, resulting in Chigi getting all of her notes wrong, and Tacchin smacks her over the head with a plectrum and makes her bleed. Yucchi-san (Tacchin's mom) steps in and stops rehearsals for the night. This scene is important later.
* Tacchin feels bad although of course she'll never show it to Chigi. Cue angsty solo. Tacchin really is the best singer in Soragumi. <3333 (Although Seiko is good too!)
* Susshii-san, the would-be suitor, takes up shamisen lessons from Natsu too. Natsu says on average training should take 3~4 years but Susshii is so bad that it would take 10~12. Susshii-san is all "I'll show you--!" and Natsu flatly responds "I can't SEE." (Her character is also blind.) Funny funny.
* I feel like it's been too many bullet points since I squee'd about Kacha. Let's see, how about the way she wears plaid and purposefully arranges her T-shirts to show off her big belt buckles? ILU KACHA.
* Oh, and then the second act! Act II starts out with a New Years celebration, in which there are once again babies dancing with cute hair but kind of ugly costumes. >.>;;
* Susshii-san, on the other hand, wears a costume of AWESOME -- a dandy cream-colored western suit accented by a fur hanging from her neck. Words cannot express the love.
* Switch to modern day, where coincidentally they are also celebrating New Year's. Kacha in a navy blue suit (SQUEE) and Zono in a lovely kimono with a huge fur wrap. Kimi-kun and Kacha compliment her and then assert in unison: "it's a rental". ;P
* Later, our modern-day narrators go to get warm sake or something from a stand run by a "moe-maid", aka Reina-chan in a pink maid outfit looking very curvy and bouncy. Kacha is enthralled. Zono is jealous. Reina reminds me of Chiari-chan a bit. ;_____;
* STILL LATER, THE NARRATORS SIT ON THE STAIRS CLOSE TO MY SIDE OF THE STAGE and eat noodles and have bought goofy anime masks. Kacha = Pikachu (CAN YOU NOT IMAGINE KACHA AS "ASH"?!), Zono = Hello Kitty (typical but CUTE), Kimi-kun = Ampanman. X3 Ahahahaha.
* Tacchin, erhermm... seduces Chigi. *___* You don't really see much of it, but there is pregnancy and a child involved. Chigi and Tacchin both vehemently deny that Chigi is the father. Tacchin has the baby in secret and then tells her parents to get rid of it; "offer someone money to take it if you have to". Chigi sits by and does nothing...
* ...And then angsts at having abandoned her own daughter. She feels as if she's seen a demon inside of Tacchin -- and herself.
* CUE ONE OF THE MOST AWESOME NUMBERS EVER, in which Chigi is plagued by demon dancers. THE MAIN DANCER IS KACHA. The costumes are very gender-ambiguous and Kacha's slender frame is entrancing beyond belief. *_______*
THEN, AS IF THAT WASN'T ENOUGH, OUT COMES TACCHIN AS A DEMON TOO. So. Freaking. Hot. Omgtheguh.
* After the baby fiasco Tacchin moves away from the drugstore to avoid scorn, taking Chigi, Aoi and Rena with her. Chigi and Tacchin become basically like a married couple although neither of them will admit it.
* Meanwhile Susshii-san finds them out and accosts the servants while Chigi and Tacchin are away. "Oh! Tacchin must have sat on this cushion! It even smells good!" Aoi: "That's MY cushion." *smacks her bum crudely* (Me: LOVE)
* Susshii invites Tacchin out to see the plum blossoms and she accepts just to annoy Chigi. Unsurprisingly, Susshii gives Seiko the task of seducing Chigi so she herself can get Tacchin alone. Cue flashbacks of things from Ryoma-den aka hands being forced down kimono fronts. Added bonus of Kasshii frolicking around being silly with plum branches. Anyway, it doesn't work for very long; Tacchin cries for help and Chigi ditches Seiko as soon as she hears the call. Susshii and Seiko both wind up with bruised heads.
* Tacchin's method for getting even entails inviting Susshii-san over for shamisen lessons. Cue a repeat of the bullying session she had with Chigi in the first act. Now Susshii-san playing the shamisen badly was rather amusing -- but my eyes were drawn to Chigi. The look on her face as she realizes what's happening and Tacchin smacks Susshii with the plectrum... IT WAS HEARTBREAKINGLY PERFECT.
* A mean and jealous person, presumably Susshii-san, sneaks in at night and pours boiling water on Tacchin's face. Tacchin writhing in agony behind a screen = pretty amazing but also sad of course.
* Tacchin mostly heals, but since she's blind she's convinced that her face is permanently scarred and ugly. She begs / orders Chigi never to look at her face, but despairs that "as long as you have eyes you're bound to see" (e.g. on accident).
* Chigi...
Chigi... she...
This is the ending spoiler, you know...
Chigi is so in love with Tacchin and so pained to see her beloved in torment...
...that she...
...
...stabs her eyes out, thus ensuring that she will never hurt Tacchin by seeing her face. EXTREMELY TRAUMATIZING TO WATCH (and I'm going to have to sit through it AGAIN with Chii-chan). Loud sniffling from several audience members, myself included.
Tacchin discovers what Chigi has done, they stumble into each others' arms, Tacchin ALMOST says "I love you" but not quite. All she says is "You're the only one... ever since we were children, it was only you... only you..." And they embrace.
* Kimi-kun wraps up the story by saying that sometimes too strong a love is not good for people. Kacha and Zono mull this over for a while, then Kacha turns to Zono and says "kiss me" AND I DIE. Who never gets to kiss in the show? Chigi and Tacchin. Who DOES get to kiss in the show? KACHA AND ZONO.
* Then Chigi and Tacchin do a pair dance and give each other all of these LOOKS and who are they trying to fool, really? Soragumi's other mini combi continues to burn strong. Those two are so clearly in love. :P
* Bows:
- Kacha and Zono bowed together and then blew kisses <33333333 (And did I mention Zono's plaid skirt, black leggings and knee-high boots? Did I mention how much I wanted to BE her when she had Kacha's arms circled around her waist?!?!? *_____*)
- The last two people to bow before Tacchin and Chigi were kumichou... and Seiko?? Well, seniority be damned! I would guess that they went by role importance if Yucchi-san and Chiyako had not bowed right before them. Color me confused.
* More applause and final bows:
- A bunch of people tried to get a standing ovation going but it didn't quite work.
- Kacha raised her eyebrows at someone in the audience. I WOULD DIE TO KNOW WHO.
- Mappuu may have looked at me, or I may have imagined that. I was sitting on the far right and she was standing right around there for curtain call.
(...I seem to have managed to mention everyone in the cast except Kokomi. Um, she had a bit as a giggly koto student with Aa-chan. And she looks cute in kimono. <3)