[V6] Utaban 07.12.20
This is the V6 segment of Utaban's final 2007 broadcast! They compare laws and jinxes with Takarazuka Revue ladies. I personally think these ladies are beautiful, and I've always been interested in Takarazuka, s-so. You can learn a lot about Takarazuka, as well as V6. As usual, they tease Sakamoto quite a bit about his age and fear of heights. XD
Enjoy?
*note: Takarazuka is a famous singing and acting troupe in Japan that's filled only with women, who play both male and female roles. "Otokoyaku" is the term they use for the women who play male roles, which shall be referred to as "male characters" in translations. TakaraJeanne are what they call the members of Takarazuka, after the famous Jeanne D'Arc (Joan of Arc), so the name suggests that they are Takarazuka maidens.
[Decorating the finale of 2007 with many guests
Utaban's 1 hour special program!]
Nakai: Utaban year-end special! Johnny's and Takarazuka's legendary laws~!
[Utaban year-end special
Johnny's & Takarazuka's
LEGENDARY LAWS]
[Johnny's & Takarazuka Revue each have their own "legendary laws"!]
Nakai: With the idea that they respect each other, Johnny's and everyone from Takarazuka will unfold their stories today.
Inocchi: Please take care of us~
Girl: Please take care of us~
[MC Ishibashi Takaaki MC Nakai Masahiro]
Nakai: First, as the representative of Johnny's, it's the members of V6~!
Inocchi: Please take care of us~ Hello~
Morita: Please take care of us!
Ken: Please take care of us!
Nagano: Please take care of us.
Nakai: Then also! This time, as the representative for the Takarazuka Revue, the pride of the Snow Troupe, it's the star unit comprising of male characters, the members of AQUA5!
AQUA: Please take care of us~
Narrator: A special unit formed from the pure, just, and beautiful TakaraJeanne, AQUA5! With the Snow Troupe's top star Mizu Natsuki as the focus, it comprises of 5 outstanding male characters. For active TakaraJeanne to form a music unit, it is a first in the history of Takarazuka.
[Snow Troupe's top star
Mizu Natsuki]
[Asabuki Mao]
[Ototsuki Kei]
[Ayana Oto]
[Ouki Kaname]
Narrator: This summer, at the opening ceremony for the World Track and Field Meet in Osaka, their magnificent performance was broadcasted to the entire world, so not just amongst Takarazuka fans, they have caught people's attention from all different directions.
Narrator: With such an AQUA5, it's their first appearance at Utaban's stage!!
["AQUA5" is, the pride of Takarazuka Revue, Snow Troupe, a unit with 5 active male character stars!]
Ishibashi: Amazing~
Nakai: You're entertainers then right?
Mizu: Yes. It's truly the first time for active Takarazuka students to do these sort of music activities.
Nakai: Clearly Kuroki Hitomi is amazing?
Mizu: Eh? So sudden...
[If we think of the Takarazuka Revue, as it is with the active students of course, each and every graduate student is emiment as well!]
Nakai: Who is amazing? Clearly, Amami Yuki is amazing?
Mizu: Yes, that's right.
Nakai: And who else is there? Maya Miki is amazing?
Mizu: Yes.
Ishibashi: Ootori Ran.
Girls: Ahhh.
Mizu: Yes.
Mao: Daichi Mao-san.
Nakai: Daichi Mao!
Ishibashi: Yakuchi Saharu-san.
Nakai: Takashima Tadao-san's wife.
Ishibashi: Ah, that's right.
Mao: Yes, Sumire Haruno-san.
Nakai: Amazing? That person is amazing?
Inocchi: Are you going to continue that far? Are you going to continue that far?
Nakai: I want to ask if they're amazing.
Inocchi: But that must trouble them right, definitely!
Nakai: I want to ask what's not so amazing about them.
Narrator: This program was brought to you from the following sponsors.
[SMAP battles with beautiful athletes! At the entrance of a moe character...]
[V6 is shocked by the laws that the active Takarazuka "AQUA5" talk about too!]
["AQUA5" is, the pride of Takarazuka Revue, Snow Troupe, a unit with 5 active male character stars!]
Ishibashi: All of you are male characters?
Girls: Yes.
Nakai: Then, let's have you introduce yourselves once more. Okay.
Mizu: Yes, I'm Takarazuka Revue Snow Troupe's Mizu Natsuki.
Nakai: Mizu Natsuki.
Mizu: Yes.
Nakai: Sui-san? Sui-san? (*note: The kanji in her last name can be read as "Mizu" or "Sui".)
Ishibashi: It says she's a top star.
Mizu: It's Mizu.
Sakamoto: It's Mizu-san.
Nakai: Mizu-san. Mizu Natsuki?
Sakamoto: It's not her real name!
Nakai: These are your stage names?
Mao: They're our stage names.
Mizu: Those are not our real names.
Nakai: Ayabuki Mao.
Mao: Yes. I'm Ayabuki Mao.
Ishibashi: Ayabuki Mao.
Nakai: It's so cool to be called Ayabuki Mao!
Mao: Yes.
Kei: I'm Ototsuki Kei.
Nakai: Ototsuki Kei. Kei Katsura? (*note: Same kanji, different reading)
Kei: It's Kei.
[Having stage names that have difficult reading are also a special feature of the magnificent Takarazuka!]
Nakai: It's Kei. Ayana Oto. Me. (*note: Otome - maiden, so Nakai just cracked a pun there, since Takarazuka girls are expected to be maidens)
Oto: I'm Ayana Oto.
Nakai: Ayana Oto, it's Ayana right, Ayana Oto is okay right. Oto was in Chuunichi wasn't he? (*note: Chuunichi Dragons is a Nagoya baseball team)
Ishibashi: He was a batter.
Nakai: He was a batter you know, like this.
[Oto player who was in Chuunichi has no relation with Ayano Oto-san.]
Nakai: Listen, we're not a combi, okay.
Ishibashi: Ouki Kaname.
Ouki: I'm Ouki Kaname.
Nakai: Ouki Kaname. If you married Kaname Jun, it'll become Kaname Kaname.
[I'm sorry, but all the members in the Takarazuka Revue have stage names!]
Ishibashi: If you marry Kaname--
Nakai: If you marry a Katsura-san, you'll become Katsura Kei! It'd become Katsura Katsura huh?
Kei: Yes.
Nakai: So, is it the first time you're meeting with all of V6?
[A contest you can only see in dreams, with the active Takarazuka students "AQUA5" and active Johnny's V6!]
Inocchi: That's right, that's right.
Mizu: Yes.
Ishibashi: If you're okay with it, just date them already!
Nakai: It's possible right? Is it possible, is it?
Ishibashi: You can't go out on dates when you're in the middle of your career right?
Mizu: No, that's not really the case but...
Ishibashi: Then if that's not the case, why don't you date them?
Mizu: Well, I don't know...
Nakai: Isn't it okay as long as you don't tell them?
Mizu: Well that's true...
Nakai: It's the same with Johnny's too right? It's okay as long as we don't tell them right!
Ishibashi: Ah, really?
Nakai: It's okay as long as you don't tell them.
Ishibashi: It doesn't spread?
Nakai: It leaks out often though.
Inocchi: Surprisingly right.
Nakai: It surprisingly leaks out.
Inocchi: It surprisingly leaks out, doesn't it.
Ishibashi: Then if you're okay with it, using the chance today...
Nakai: It's possible you know! It's not, it's not, Okada, it's not?
Ishibashi: Okada-kun is totally being all, "Don't be ridiculous..."
Okada: I can't be feeling that way, can I!
Ishibashi: Totally!
Okada: No no no!
Ishibashi: He was really only energetic at the Cat's Eye one.
Nakai: That's right, for the Kisarazu Cat's Eye one!
[V6 Okada-kun clearly is docile when it's not "Kisarazu Cat's Eye"...]
Ishibashi: (overlapping) Why do you not get it on only when you're with V6?
Okada: Again... you're going to bring that up again?
Nakai: SP!!
Inocchi: We've never seen that enthusiastic form before.
Ishibashi: It was amazing, you know!
Nakai: He said, "YAY YAY" you know, "YAY YAY".
Inocchi: Ehhh, I've never heard that before!
Nakai: "YAY YAY" you know. His energy is different!
Ishibashi: It's not possible?
Okada: No but, because it's our first meeting... I want to know what kind of person they are...
Ishibashi: Someone you've decided based on the first impression!
Okada: Umm...
Ishibashi: What about Leader?
Nakai: Leader can go with Leader!
Ken: As fellow leaders right!
Morita: That's right!
Ken: Fellow leaders!
[What do you think of a combination of Takarazuka Revue "AQUA5"'s Leader, Mizu Natsuki, and Johnny's V6 Leader, Sakamoto!]
Mizu: He has come to watch us too. He has come to watch us before...
Ishibashi: Eh, really?
Sakamoto: I have!
Mizu: Right? Thank you very much.
Ishibashi: (overlapping) By yourself?
Sakamoto: I saw a production called "Elisabeth".
Mizu: Yes, all of us were in it.
Ishibashi: By yourself?
[Sakamoto is actually so passionate in his studies, that he goes to watch a Takarazuka performance that Mizu-san stars in]
Nakai: They were clearly different?
Sakamoto: They were! They were cool.
Ishibashi: Neesan, neesan, what was she...?
Mizu: No well... the main role...
Nakai: The boss, the boss, the boss?
Ishibashi: The owner right?
Nakai: The boss?
Mizu: Yes.
Inocchi: How is the boss chosen?
Ishibashi: It's the strongest person.
Inocchi: They fought? First thing they do is fight?
[Takarazuka’s top stars are not decided through physical strength]
Nakai: In other words, it follows some sort of Takarazuka record you have?
Mizu: That’s right, the most… amongst these girls right now,
Nakai: The longest?
Mizu: I’m the oldest upperclassman, in terms of academic years.
Inocchi: Who’s the youngest? Ah, there are two.
Nakai: You don’t call her “Sui-Sui” as a joke?
Ayana: I can’t say it.
[There is a hierarchy where you can’t even call top star Mizu-san “Sui-san” as a joke]
Nakai: You can’t even say it as a joke?
Ishibashi: Will she definitely beat you up for it?
Mizu: No, but they say it often by mistake, the lower classmen.
Ishibashi: When you show your name to them?
Inocchi: So we’re common in that sense, that we have a leader…
Nakai: Ah, right.
Inocchi: And below that…
Nakai: There are three people.
Ishibashi: You don’t call him “Terumi” or something?
[The hierarchy within V6 appears looser than the one in Takarazuka]
Ken: We do!
Ishibashi: You call him “Terumi”?
Inocchi: At first…
Okada: He was really scary in the past.
Nakai: What?
Sakamoto: I wasn’t scary was I?
Ken: It was scary that he was carrying a zippered carrying bag!
Inocchi: Even though we had just debut, he wore slacks.
[It appears that the Johnny’s group leader (when they debut) was scary because he carried a zippered carrying bag]
Ishibashi: How composed!
Inocchi: There’s that too.
Ishibashi: He’s a bit like a real estate agent huh.
Ken: It calmed him!
Sakamoto: I’m sorry but, you can’t laugh right? You’re my friend right?
[After this, which law is amazing!?
Takarazuka’s laws Johnny’s laws]
[A contest you can only see in dreams, with the active Takarazuka students "AQUA5" and active Johnny's V6!]
Nakai: Having gathered such popular people, I’d like to introduce their various laws! First is a Takarazuka law!
Ishibashi: Cleaning is done with a paintbrush and a pin.
[A law for first years in Takarazuka Music School
“Cleaning is done with a paintbrush and a pin”]
Mizu: Before you enter the Revue, you have to attend a place called the Takarazuka Music School for 2 years. In that first year, there’s a law where you have to make every single corner of the school clean…
Mao: Every morning.
Nakai: Every morning starts with cleaning.
Mizu: That’s right. For the gap in the windows, we use a paintbrush…
All: Ehhhh.
Mizu: Also, in order not to get hurt, like this… we’ll very neatly pick up the spots that get splintered. Such as the floor, for example.
Ishibashi: And the pin?
Mao: It’s to take out the dirt in the space between the tiles…
Nakai: Ahh, it’s to take out the dirt…
Ishibashi: Ahhhh.
Nakai: I want to employ you. You’d actually do that much? You do this for about 1 or 2 years?
Mizu: For the first year.
Ishibashi: So if your cleaning is bad, an upperclassman will say, “Wait, Mizu, come over here. What is this, oi?”
Nakai: Whatever Sui-san says goes, right?
Girls: Yes.
Ken: While smiling bitterly?
Nakai: If we talk about them in terms of a gang, she’s the king! If we talk about them in terms of a gang!
[At the Takarazuka Music School where they are properly educated, it seems like the hierarchy is intense there as well]
Nakai: But because you have a person who’ll yell at you, you do it properly right?
Girls: Yes, that’s true.
Nakai: I think that sort of thing is important as well. We’ve gotten lenient after all, haven’t we?
Inocchi: We don’t have that, huh.
Ishibashi: For me, you went to the Moon Troupe and stuff, didn’t you?
[In the Takarazuka Revue, besides the Snow Troupe that “AQUA5” comes from, there are other troupes like Flower, Moon, Stars and Universe…]
Ishibashi: (overlapping) Here it says, “Snow Troupe”, “Universe Troupe”, or “Flower Troupe”…
Mizu: That’s right, sometimes we do have group divisions and such.
Ishibashi: What is this? Something like, “Oh, are you the one who came from Snow Troupe?”
Inocchi: Troupe differences, troupe differences.
Ishibashi: “Your Troupe sure doesn’t do greetings properly, huh!” Something like that, do you have that sort of thing?
Nakai: There must be times when you felt like you were targeted, right?
Ishibashi: “So you guys are from Mizu’s group huh!!” Or something.
Mao: Ah, but, depending on the troupe, the colours are completely different.
Nakai: So your education is different too?
All: Ahhh.
Nakai: What does that mean, I can’t think of an example, right? For us…
Nagano: After all, for us, our groups don’t change right?
Nakai: Ahhh.
Nagano: Like, that group…
Inocchi: “TOKIO would’ve been better” or something like that…
Nagano: We definitely won’t have that.
V6: We don’t, we don’t.
Nakai: Okay, next is a law from Johnny’s! Here it is! “Leave “U”’s shoes behind!”
Inocchi: I think Nakai-kun had this experience as well but…
Nakai: What is it?
[Johnny’s law
Leave “U”’s shoes behind!]
Inocchi: Um… our sempai’s dance shoes are usually passed down from generation to generation to us…
Nakai: Yes, we used to do that in the past.
[In Johnny’s, the practice dance shoes that sempai loved to use are passed down the generations]
Inocchi: We wanted dance shoes right? So, Shounentai’s dance shoes would come down to us like this but, well… because it feels like we can perform agile dances like Higashi-kun,
Nakai: Yes, yes, yes.
Inocchi: there’ll be a quite fight for Higashi-kun’s dance shoes.
Nakai: I see.
[The dance shoes that the Johnny’s sempai Shounentai pass down to their kouhai]
Inocchi: If it was “N”, then because it was probably Nishikiroi-san’s so…
Nakai: You’d be able to perform a real dance.
Inocchi: We thought that we’d be able to dance, so everyone would fight over it.
Nakai: Yes.
Inocchi: It’s just that… “U” will be the only one left behind. It’s really sad…
[Although the dance shoes H and N that are passed down from Shounentai are popular, only U is left behind…]
Nakai: You know, for the “U” person, that “U”’s son will cry.
Ishibashi: Because he’s already a Johnny’s right?
[Even though U’s oldest son, Uekusa Yuuta is in Johnny’s as well…]
Nakai: Well then, let’s move on to the next one!
Ishibashi: “If we see brown hair, we greet”.
Nakai: Eh, what does this mean?
[Takarazuka Revue’s law
“If we see brown hair, we greet”]
Mizu: The students of Takarazuka Revue usually, for their stage plays, well, usually we’re acting foreigners so, we dye our hair, and because in our first and second year we have to greet our upperclassmen…
Nakai: I see…
Mizu: Then someone who has brown hair is probably a student…
Nakai: That’s what you’d think.
Ishibashi: But if your hair is too brown, will your sempai above say, “Wait a minute, isn’t yours too brown?”
[Takarazuka’s law
Because it may be an upper classman, they’ll greet anyone they see with brown hair]
Ishibashi: “What’s this, where’d you get it done?”
Inocchi: That’s picking on the quality!
Ishibashi: Maybe they’re concerned about the maker!
Nakai: That’s about the quality huh.
Inocchi: That’s not what it’s about.
Ishibashi: You don’t have that sort of thing?
Mizu: No, we don’t. We’re free to do anything.
Nakai: You can do anything for that?
Mizu: We’re pretty much free for that.
Kei: Somehow, something like a yankee, like someone who’s obnoxious… when I said, “Ah, thank you for the hard work!” to a person who had brown hair, they said to me, “Thanks for the hard work~” (*note: yankee - basically gangsters/delinquents with the classic long coats and shades; the girls usually dye their hair brown as well)
Mao: Someone who’s not an upperclassman. We’d greet the wrong people by mistake…
Inocchi: Ah, you’d greet people by mistake!
Mizu: For me as well, when I was an underclassman, I thought that I’d greet any person with brown hair, but when I said, “Thank you for the hard work,” and the other person turned around… there are brown-furred dogs right, dogs with long hair? “Oh that was a dog!”
Nakai: You greeted a dog!?
Inocchi: Ehhhh?
Nakai: Did you do that in your head?
Inocchi: Again~!
Mizu: This is true!
Girls: It’s true, it’s true!
Ishibashi: I really, I really think that she wrote this down before the broadcast!
Mizu: No no no no! The dog was facing the back, so when I said, “Thank you for the hard work,” it went, “WOOF!”
Inocchi: Again!!
Morita: There’s no such thing.
Ken: No no no no.
Inocchi: She’s good!
Ishibashi: You know, this is beyond Kiriko, her eloquence.
Nakai: Please appear in “Jounetsu”.
Ishibashi: It has to be Shinsuke-san. Otherwise the jokes won’t be picked up well.
Nakai: Well then, here’s the next one. “If you climb Mt Fuji, you’ll be popular!”
[Johnny’s jinx
Groups who have climbed Mt Fuji are popular]
Ken: For all the sempai who have great histories, there’s talk circling around that all of them have climbed Mt Fuji, and those people are the ones who are popular…
Nakai: Ah, really?
Ken: Yes. And well, we haven’t climbed it.
[Groups who have climbed Mt Fuji are popular
V6, still hasn’t climbed it…]
Nakai: But we… eh? What about the kouhai to the sempai?
Ken: SMAP has climbed it right?
Nakai: Yeah.
Inocchi: You don’t remember huh.
Nakai: Did we? Mt Fuji?
Inocchi: If you climbed Mt Fuji you should remember right, normally.
Nakai: I wonder if we climbed it…
Inocchi: It’s just that, for us… no well, even though that’s been said and we don’t have the chance to do it, this guy climbed it all by himself.
Girls: Ehhhh.
Ken: I’m sorry.
[Groups who have climbed Mt Fuji are popular
Even though he hasn’t climbed with V6, Miyake-kun climbed it by himself]
Inocchi: I thought, this guy sure wants to be popular! That’s what we talked about.
Nakai: Your heart is so small!
Inocchi: I thought, he really wants to be popular!
Ken: I wanted to climb it! I just wanted to climb Mt Fuji, that’s all.
Nakai: Why didn’t you go as six members!
Inocchi: He didn’t invite us either!
Nagano: He didn’t say anything at all!
Nakai: Why did you go there on your own so secretively??
Inocchi: He’s really frantic!
Nakai: What, you wanted to be popular on your own?
Ken: Yes.
Nakai: You should invite them to that!
Inocchi: That’s right…
Ken: But it’s not too late now either.
Nakai: It’s not late, with six members.
Inocchi: Then we’ll use this as a reason and consider it.
Sakamoto: That’s right…
[Groups who have climbed Mt Fuji are popular
V6, this year they must climb it!]
Nakai: 2008-
Ishibashi: He’s not feeling it at all!
Sakamoto: I said I’d go, didn’t I!
Ishibashi: With a really weary look, he said, “That’s right…”
Nakai: After all! Even though we’re still on the ground, he already looks like he has altitude sickness!
Sakamoto: Since we don’t really have the chance, let’s go. I’m telling you!
Inocchi: Your heart isn’t in it!
Sakamoto: Let’s go!
Inocchi: Overcoming this just now already takes a lot of effort, for him.
Nakai: Today his face is kind of long too!
Inocchi: A little, huh…
Nakai: It’s long today.
Sakamoto: My face being long is a different matter, isn’t it!
Nakai: Okay, we’ll go to the last one! Takarazuka’s jinx!
Ishibashi: Takarazuka’s jinx?
[Takarazuka has jinxes as well?]
Inocchi: So, they may have things like, “If you climb Mt Fuji, you’ll get popular”, right?
Mizu: There’s a big staircase that we appear in for the finale in Takarazuka, a flight of 26 steps. If you fall from there,
Nakai: Fall?
Mizu: well, you’ll become a top star, sort of thing.
[Takarazuka’s jinx
If you fall from the steps, you can become a top star]
Nakai: Your place in the business will be determined kind of thing?
Mizu: That’s right.
Nakai: Uwaa!!
Inocchi: Amazing~!
Nakai: What was it, twenty…?
Mizu; Six steps.
Nakai: Wouldn’t it be horrible if you fell from this?
Mizu: But you know, like Maya Miki-san, she fell when she was an underclassman…
Nakai: She fell?
Mizu: Yes. Um, her shoes got caught in some kind of net, and she fell…
Nakai: So it’s as an accident! Not something that happened as part of the play?
Mizu: No…
Nakai: An accident!
Mizu: But, even though she fell and blood came out, she smiled and kept on dancing like that.
Nakai: How scary!
Ishibashi: Did you all fall?
Mizu: No, we’ve never fallen before…
Ishibashi: You haven’t?
Mao: We haven’t.
Ishibashi: Then it’s impossible isn’t it! You won’t get to the top!
[If you fall from the steps, you can become a top star
… then, it’d be better if you fell!?]
Nakai: If it’s a jinx.
Ishibashi: If you don’t fall.
Mizu: I thought so too, if we don’t fall then we can’t relax.
Inocchi: 2008.
Ishibashi: All five, you know!
Nakai: You can’t perform a play if you do that huh! Regarding the staircase, we’ve prepared an actual flight! Here it is!
All: Ohhhh!
Nakai: Let’s head over there!
Morita: It’s huge!
[After this, you can become a top star if you fall!
On the big Takarazuka steps, V6 will…]
Nakai: Okay then, let’s move on!
[We’ve recreated the big Takarazuka steps, where you can become a top star if you fall!]
Nakai: Please come down, go ahead! How cool!
Ken: Ohh, so scary!
Inocchi: Wah, wah, amazing, amazing! This is has power to it!
Nakai: How do you usually dance?
Inocchi: On the steps?
Sakamoto: On the steps huh.
Nakai: On the steps??
Mizu: We do dance on them, yes.
Ken & Nakai: Ehhhh.
Mizu: Then for a bit, may we…?
Nakai: Yes, please, please.
Mizu: Okay.
Ishibashi: Their legs are really long~
Nakai: They certainly are long.
Ishibashi: What is that?
Ishibashi: Hey, even though we’re asking you to do it so suddenly! It’s hard you know, do your best!
V6: No no no, we can’t do it!
Ishibashi: Do your best~! Do your best~!
Nakai: Do your best, do your best!
Morita: There’s no way we can do it!!
Inocchi: We could fall from this!
Ishibashi: But if you fall, you’ll be popular.
Inocchi: I see!
Sakamoto: We won’t, will we?
Ishibashi: If you fall, you’ll be popular.
Inocchi: That’s right!
Sakamoto: Eh?
Nakai: Leader, be careful okay. Okay, please do the honours!
Inocchi: Okay!
Ishibashi: We have high hopes okay!
Inocchi: Okay!
Nakai: Okay, 5, 6, 7, 8!
Inocchi: 1!
Nakai: 5, 6, 7, 8!
Inocchi: 5, 6, 7, 8!
Nakai: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8!
Girls: Leader, Leader!
Nakai: Leader is having it easy!
Inocchi: OI!!
Ken: Wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute!!
[The first Utaban in 2008 will begin on January 17 (Thurs) at 9pm]
[Thank you for looking after us this year as well! Have a great year~!]
Narrator: This program was brought to you by the following sponsors.
Morita: Use the steps too!!
Ken: That’s the widest space isn’t it!
Nakai: When we thought, Leader’s having it easy, it’s because he was dancing on the highest step!
Inocchi: Amazing, he had this much space!
Sakamoto: This is my position though!
Inocchi: That’s weird isn’t it?
Sakamoto: This is really dangerous.
Enjoy?
*note: Takarazuka is a famous singing and acting troupe in Japan that's filled only with women, who play both male and female roles. "Otokoyaku" is the term they use for the women who play male roles, which shall be referred to as "male characters" in translations. TakaraJeanne are what they call the members of Takarazuka, after the famous Jeanne D'Arc (Joan of Arc), so the name suggests that they are Takarazuka maidens.
[Decorating the finale of 2007 with many guests
Utaban's 1 hour special program!]
Nakai: Utaban year-end special! Johnny's and Takarazuka's legendary laws~!
[Utaban year-end special
Johnny's & Takarazuka's
LEGENDARY LAWS]
[Johnny's & Takarazuka Revue each have their own "legendary laws"!]
Nakai: With the idea that they respect each other, Johnny's and everyone from Takarazuka will unfold their stories today.
Inocchi: Please take care of us~
Girl: Please take care of us~
[MC Ishibashi Takaaki MC Nakai Masahiro]
Nakai: First, as the representative of Johnny's, it's the members of V6~!
Inocchi: Please take care of us~ Hello~
Morita: Please take care of us!
Ken: Please take care of us!
Nagano: Please take care of us.
Nakai: Then also! This time, as the representative for the Takarazuka Revue, the pride of the Snow Troupe, it's the star unit comprising of male characters, the members of AQUA5!
AQUA: Please take care of us~
Narrator: A special unit formed from the pure, just, and beautiful TakaraJeanne, AQUA5! With the Snow Troupe's top star Mizu Natsuki as the focus, it comprises of 5 outstanding male characters. For active TakaraJeanne to form a music unit, it is a first in the history of Takarazuka.
[Snow Troupe's top star
Mizu Natsuki]
[Asabuki Mao]
[Ototsuki Kei]
[Ayana Oto]
[Ouki Kaname]
Narrator: This summer, at the opening ceremony for the World Track and Field Meet in Osaka, their magnificent performance was broadcasted to the entire world, so not just amongst Takarazuka fans, they have caught people's attention from all different directions.
Narrator: With such an AQUA5, it's their first appearance at Utaban's stage!!
["AQUA5" is, the pride of Takarazuka Revue, Snow Troupe, a unit with 5 active male character stars!]
Ishibashi: Amazing~
Nakai: You're entertainers then right?
Mizu: Yes. It's truly the first time for active Takarazuka students to do these sort of music activities.
Nakai: Clearly Kuroki Hitomi is amazing?
Mizu: Eh? So sudden...
[If we think of the Takarazuka Revue, as it is with the active students of course, each and every graduate student is emiment as well!]
Nakai: Who is amazing? Clearly, Amami Yuki is amazing?
Mizu: Yes, that's right.
Nakai: And who else is there? Maya Miki is amazing?
Mizu: Yes.
Ishibashi: Ootori Ran.
Girls: Ahhh.
Mizu: Yes.
Mao: Daichi Mao-san.
Nakai: Daichi Mao!
Ishibashi: Yakuchi Saharu-san.
Nakai: Takashima Tadao-san's wife.
Ishibashi: Ah, that's right.
Mao: Yes, Sumire Haruno-san.
Nakai: Amazing? That person is amazing?
Inocchi: Are you going to continue that far? Are you going to continue that far?
Nakai: I want to ask if they're amazing.
Inocchi: But that must trouble them right, definitely!
Nakai: I want to ask what's not so amazing about them.
Narrator: This program was brought to you from the following sponsors.
[SMAP battles with beautiful athletes! At the entrance of a moe character...]
[V6 is shocked by the laws that the active Takarazuka "AQUA5" talk about too!]
["AQUA5" is, the pride of Takarazuka Revue, Snow Troupe, a unit with 5 active male character stars!]
Ishibashi: All of you are male characters?
Girls: Yes.
Nakai: Then, let's have you introduce yourselves once more. Okay.
Mizu: Yes, I'm Takarazuka Revue Snow Troupe's Mizu Natsuki.
Nakai: Mizu Natsuki.
Mizu: Yes.
Nakai: Sui-san? Sui-san? (*note: The kanji in her last name can be read as "Mizu" or "Sui".)
Ishibashi: It says she's a top star.
Mizu: It's Mizu.
Sakamoto: It's Mizu-san.
Nakai: Mizu-san. Mizu Natsuki?
Sakamoto: It's not her real name!
Nakai: These are your stage names?
Mao: They're our stage names.
Mizu: Those are not our real names.
Nakai: Ayabuki Mao.
Mao: Yes. I'm Ayabuki Mao.
Ishibashi: Ayabuki Mao.
Nakai: It's so cool to be called Ayabuki Mao!
Mao: Yes.
Kei: I'm Ototsuki Kei.
Nakai: Ototsuki Kei. Kei Katsura? (*note: Same kanji, different reading)
Kei: It's Kei.
[Having stage names that have difficult reading are also a special feature of the magnificent Takarazuka!]
Nakai: It's Kei. Ayana Oto. Me. (*note: Otome - maiden, so Nakai just cracked a pun there, since Takarazuka girls are expected to be maidens)
Oto: I'm Ayana Oto.
Nakai: Ayana Oto, it's Ayana right, Ayana Oto is okay right. Oto was in Chuunichi wasn't he? (*note: Chuunichi Dragons is a Nagoya baseball team)
Ishibashi: He was a batter.
Nakai: He was a batter you know, like this.
[Oto player who was in Chuunichi has no relation with Ayano Oto-san.]
Nakai: Listen, we're not a combi, okay.
Ishibashi: Ouki Kaname.
Ouki: I'm Ouki Kaname.
Nakai: Ouki Kaname. If you married Kaname Jun, it'll become Kaname Kaname.
[I'm sorry, but all the members in the Takarazuka Revue have stage names!]
Ishibashi: If you marry Kaname--
Nakai: If you marry a Katsura-san, you'll become Katsura Kei! It'd become Katsura Katsura huh?
Kei: Yes.
Nakai: So, is it the first time you're meeting with all of V6?
[A contest you can only see in dreams, with the active Takarazuka students "AQUA5" and active Johnny's V6!]
Inocchi: That's right, that's right.
Mizu: Yes.
Ishibashi: If you're okay with it, just date them already!
Nakai: It's possible right? Is it possible, is it?
Ishibashi: You can't go out on dates when you're in the middle of your career right?
Mizu: No, that's not really the case but...
Ishibashi: Then if that's not the case, why don't you date them?
Mizu: Well, I don't know...
Nakai: Isn't it okay as long as you don't tell them?
Mizu: Well that's true...
Nakai: It's the same with Johnny's too right? It's okay as long as we don't tell them right!
Ishibashi: Ah, really?
Nakai: It's okay as long as you don't tell them.
Ishibashi: It doesn't spread?
Nakai: It leaks out often though.
Inocchi: Surprisingly right.
Nakai: It surprisingly leaks out.
Inocchi: It surprisingly leaks out, doesn't it.
Ishibashi: Then if you're okay with it, using the chance today...
Nakai: It's possible you know! It's not, it's not, Okada, it's not?
Ishibashi: Okada-kun is totally being all, "Don't be ridiculous..."
Okada: I can't be feeling that way, can I!
Ishibashi: Totally!
Okada: No no no!
Ishibashi: He was really only energetic at the Cat's Eye one.
Nakai: That's right, for the Kisarazu Cat's Eye one!
[V6 Okada-kun clearly is docile when it's not "Kisarazu Cat's Eye"...]
Ishibashi: (overlapping) Why do you not get it on only when you're with V6?
Okada: Again... you're going to bring that up again?
Nakai: SP!!
Inocchi: We've never seen that enthusiastic form before.
Ishibashi: It was amazing, you know!
Nakai: He said, "YAY YAY" you know, "YAY YAY".
Inocchi: Ehhh, I've never heard that before!
Nakai: "YAY YAY" you know. His energy is different!
Ishibashi: It's not possible?
Okada: No but, because it's our first meeting... I want to know what kind of person they are...
Ishibashi: Someone you've decided based on the first impression!
Okada: Umm...
Ishibashi: What about Leader?
Nakai: Leader can go with Leader!
Ken: As fellow leaders right!
Morita: That's right!
Ken: Fellow leaders!
[What do you think of a combination of Takarazuka Revue "AQUA5"'s Leader, Mizu Natsuki, and Johnny's V6 Leader, Sakamoto!]
Mizu: He has come to watch us too. He has come to watch us before...
Ishibashi: Eh, really?
Sakamoto: I have!
Mizu: Right? Thank you very much.
Ishibashi: (overlapping) By yourself?
Sakamoto: I saw a production called "Elisabeth".
Mizu: Yes, all of us were in it.
Ishibashi: By yourself?
[Sakamoto is actually so passionate in his studies, that he goes to watch a Takarazuka performance that Mizu-san stars in]
Nakai: They were clearly different?
Sakamoto: They were! They were cool.
Ishibashi: Neesan, neesan, what was she...?
Mizu: No well... the main role...
Nakai: The boss, the boss, the boss?
Ishibashi: The owner right?
Nakai: The boss?
Mizu: Yes.
Inocchi: How is the boss chosen?
Ishibashi: It's the strongest person.
Inocchi: They fought? First thing they do is fight?
[Takarazuka’s top stars are not decided through physical strength]
Nakai: In other words, it follows some sort of Takarazuka record you have?
Mizu: That’s right, the most… amongst these girls right now,
Nakai: The longest?
Mizu: I’m the oldest upperclassman, in terms of academic years.
Inocchi: Who’s the youngest? Ah, there are two.
Nakai: You don’t call her “Sui-Sui” as a joke?
Ayana: I can’t say it.
[There is a hierarchy where you can’t even call top star Mizu-san “Sui-san” as a joke]
Nakai: You can’t even say it as a joke?
Ishibashi: Will she definitely beat you up for it?
Mizu: No, but they say it often by mistake, the lower classmen.
Ishibashi: When you show your name to them?
Inocchi: So we’re common in that sense, that we have a leader…
Nakai: Ah, right.
Inocchi: And below that…
Nakai: There are three people.
Ishibashi: You don’t call him “Terumi” or something?
[The hierarchy within V6 appears looser than the one in Takarazuka]
Ken: We do!
Ishibashi: You call him “Terumi”?
Inocchi: At first…
Okada: He was really scary in the past.
Nakai: What?
Sakamoto: I wasn’t scary was I?
Ken: It was scary that he was carrying a zippered carrying bag!
Inocchi: Even though we had just debut, he wore slacks.
[It appears that the Johnny’s group leader (when they debut) was scary because he carried a zippered carrying bag]
Ishibashi: How composed!
Inocchi: There’s that too.
Ishibashi: He’s a bit like a real estate agent huh.
Ken: It calmed him!
Sakamoto: I’m sorry but, you can’t laugh right? You’re my friend right?
[After this, which law is amazing!?
Takarazuka’s laws Johnny’s laws]
[A contest you can only see in dreams, with the active Takarazuka students "AQUA5" and active Johnny's V6!]
Nakai: Having gathered such popular people, I’d like to introduce their various laws! First is a Takarazuka law!
Ishibashi: Cleaning is done with a paintbrush and a pin.
[A law for first years in Takarazuka Music School
“Cleaning is done with a paintbrush and a pin”]
Mizu: Before you enter the Revue, you have to attend a place called the Takarazuka Music School for 2 years. In that first year, there’s a law where you have to make every single corner of the school clean…
Mao: Every morning.
Nakai: Every morning starts with cleaning.
Mizu: That’s right. For the gap in the windows, we use a paintbrush…
All: Ehhhh.
Mizu: Also, in order not to get hurt, like this… we’ll very neatly pick up the spots that get splintered. Such as the floor, for example.
Ishibashi: And the pin?
Mao: It’s to take out the dirt in the space between the tiles…
Nakai: Ahh, it’s to take out the dirt…
Ishibashi: Ahhhh.
Nakai: I want to employ you. You’d actually do that much? You do this for about 1 or 2 years?
Mizu: For the first year.
Ishibashi: So if your cleaning is bad, an upperclassman will say, “Wait, Mizu, come over here. What is this, oi?”
Nakai: Whatever Sui-san says goes, right?
Girls: Yes.
Ken: While smiling bitterly?
Nakai: If we talk about them in terms of a gang, she’s the king! If we talk about them in terms of a gang!
[At the Takarazuka Music School where they are properly educated, it seems like the hierarchy is intense there as well]
Nakai: But because you have a person who’ll yell at you, you do it properly right?
Girls: Yes, that’s true.
Nakai: I think that sort of thing is important as well. We’ve gotten lenient after all, haven’t we?
Inocchi: We don’t have that, huh.
Ishibashi: For me, you went to the Moon Troupe and stuff, didn’t you?
[In the Takarazuka Revue, besides the Snow Troupe that “AQUA5” comes from, there are other troupes like Flower, Moon, Stars and Universe…]
Ishibashi: (overlapping) Here it says, “Snow Troupe”, “Universe Troupe”, or “Flower Troupe”…
Mizu: That’s right, sometimes we do have group divisions and such.
Ishibashi: What is this? Something like, “Oh, are you the one who came from Snow Troupe?”
Inocchi: Troupe differences, troupe differences.
Ishibashi: “Your Troupe sure doesn’t do greetings properly, huh!” Something like that, do you have that sort of thing?
Nakai: There must be times when you felt like you were targeted, right?
Ishibashi: “So you guys are from Mizu’s group huh!!” Or something.
Mao: Ah, but, depending on the troupe, the colours are completely different.
Nakai: So your education is different too?
All: Ahhh.
Nakai: What does that mean, I can’t think of an example, right? For us…
Nagano: After all, for us, our groups don’t change right?
Nakai: Ahhh.
Nagano: Like, that group…
Inocchi: “TOKIO would’ve been better” or something like that…
Nagano: We definitely won’t have that.
V6: We don’t, we don’t.
Nakai: Okay, next is a law from Johnny’s! Here it is! “Leave “U”’s shoes behind!”
Inocchi: I think Nakai-kun had this experience as well but…
Nakai: What is it?
[Johnny’s law
Leave “U”’s shoes behind!]
Inocchi: Um… our sempai’s dance shoes are usually passed down from generation to generation to us…
Nakai: Yes, we used to do that in the past.
[In Johnny’s, the practice dance shoes that sempai loved to use are passed down the generations]
Inocchi: We wanted dance shoes right? So, Shounentai’s dance shoes would come down to us like this but, well… because it feels like we can perform agile dances like Higashi-kun,
Nakai: Yes, yes, yes.
Inocchi: there’ll be a quite fight for Higashi-kun’s dance shoes.
Nakai: I see.
[The dance shoes that the Johnny’s sempai Shounentai pass down to their kouhai]
Inocchi: If it was “N”, then because it was probably Nishikiroi-san’s so…
Nakai: You’d be able to perform a real dance.
Inocchi: We thought that we’d be able to dance, so everyone would fight over it.
Nakai: Yes.
Inocchi: It’s just that… “U” will be the only one left behind. It’s really sad…
[Although the dance shoes H and N that are passed down from Shounentai are popular, only U is left behind…]
Nakai: You know, for the “U” person, that “U”’s son will cry.
Ishibashi: Because he’s already a Johnny’s right?
[Even though U’s oldest son, Uekusa Yuuta is in Johnny’s as well…]
Nakai: Well then, let’s move on to the next one!
Ishibashi: “If we see brown hair, we greet”.
Nakai: Eh, what does this mean?
[Takarazuka Revue’s law
“If we see brown hair, we greet”]
Mizu: The students of Takarazuka Revue usually, for their stage plays, well, usually we’re acting foreigners so, we dye our hair, and because in our first and second year we have to greet our upperclassmen…
Nakai: I see…
Mizu: Then someone who has brown hair is probably a student…
Nakai: That’s what you’d think.
Ishibashi: But if your hair is too brown, will your sempai above say, “Wait a minute, isn’t yours too brown?”
[Takarazuka’s law
Because it may be an upper classman, they’ll greet anyone they see with brown hair]
Ishibashi: “What’s this, where’d you get it done?”
Inocchi: That’s picking on the quality!
Ishibashi: Maybe they’re concerned about the maker!
Nakai: That’s about the quality huh.
Inocchi: That’s not what it’s about.
Ishibashi: You don’t have that sort of thing?
Mizu: No, we don’t. We’re free to do anything.
Nakai: You can do anything for that?
Mizu: We’re pretty much free for that.
Kei: Somehow, something like a yankee, like someone who’s obnoxious… when I said, “Ah, thank you for the hard work!” to a person who had brown hair, they said to me, “Thanks for the hard work~” (*note: yankee - basically gangsters/delinquents with the classic long coats and shades; the girls usually dye their hair brown as well)
Mao: Someone who’s not an upperclassman. We’d greet the wrong people by mistake…
Inocchi: Ah, you’d greet people by mistake!
Mizu: For me as well, when I was an underclassman, I thought that I’d greet any person with brown hair, but when I said, “Thank you for the hard work,” and the other person turned around… there are brown-furred dogs right, dogs with long hair? “Oh that was a dog!”
Nakai: You greeted a dog!?
Inocchi: Ehhhh?
Nakai: Did you do that in your head?
Inocchi: Again~!
Mizu: This is true!
Girls: It’s true, it’s true!
Ishibashi: I really, I really think that she wrote this down before the broadcast!
Mizu: No no no no! The dog was facing the back, so when I said, “Thank you for the hard work,” it went, “WOOF!”
Inocchi: Again!!
Morita: There’s no such thing.
Ken: No no no no.
Inocchi: She’s good!
Ishibashi: You know, this is beyond Kiriko, her eloquence.
Nakai: Please appear in “Jounetsu”.
Ishibashi: It has to be Shinsuke-san. Otherwise the jokes won’t be picked up well.
Nakai: Well then, here’s the next one. “If you climb Mt Fuji, you’ll be popular!”
[Johnny’s jinx
Groups who have climbed Mt Fuji are popular]
Ken: For all the sempai who have great histories, there’s talk circling around that all of them have climbed Mt Fuji, and those people are the ones who are popular…
Nakai: Ah, really?
Ken: Yes. And well, we haven’t climbed it.
[Groups who have climbed Mt Fuji are popular
V6, still hasn’t climbed it…]
Nakai: But we… eh? What about the kouhai to the sempai?
Ken: SMAP has climbed it right?
Nakai: Yeah.
Inocchi: You don’t remember huh.
Nakai: Did we? Mt Fuji?
Inocchi: If you climbed Mt Fuji you should remember right, normally.
Nakai: I wonder if we climbed it…
Inocchi: It’s just that, for us… no well, even though that’s been said and we don’t have the chance to do it, this guy climbed it all by himself.
Girls: Ehhhh.
Ken: I’m sorry.
[Groups who have climbed Mt Fuji are popular
Even though he hasn’t climbed with V6, Miyake-kun climbed it by himself]
Inocchi: I thought, this guy sure wants to be popular! That’s what we talked about.
Nakai: Your heart is so small!
Inocchi: I thought, he really wants to be popular!
Ken: I wanted to climb it! I just wanted to climb Mt Fuji, that’s all.
Nakai: Why didn’t you go as six members!
Inocchi: He didn’t invite us either!
Nagano: He didn’t say anything at all!
Nakai: Why did you go there on your own so secretively??
Inocchi: He’s really frantic!
Nakai: What, you wanted to be popular on your own?
Ken: Yes.
Nakai: You should invite them to that!
Inocchi: That’s right…
Ken: But it’s not too late now either.
Nakai: It’s not late, with six members.
Inocchi: Then we’ll use this as a reason and consider it.
Sakamoto: That’s right…
[Groups who have climbed Mt Fuji are popular
V6, this year they must climb it!]
Nakai: 2008-
Ishibashi: He’s not feeling it at all!
Sakamoto: I said I’d go, didn’t I!
Ishibashi: With a really weary look, he said, “That’s right…”
Nakai: After all! Even though we’re still on the ground, he already looks like he has altitude sickness!
Sakamoto: Since we don’t really have the chance, let’s go. I’m telling you!
Inocchi: Your heart isn’t in it!
Sakamoto: Let’s go!
Inocchi: Overcoming this just now already takes a lot of effort, for him.
Nakai: Today his face is kind of long too!
Inocchi: A little, huh…
Nakai: It’s long today.
Sakamoto: My face being long is a different matter, isn’t it!
Nakai: Okay, we’ll go to the last one! Takarazuka’s jinx!
Ishibashi: Takarazuka’s jinx?
[Takarazuka has jinxes as well?]
Inocchi: So, they may have things like, “If you climb Mt Fuji, you’ll get popular”, right?
Mizu: There’s a big staircase that we appear in for the finale in Takarazuka, a flight of 26 steps. If you fall from there,
Nakai: Fall?
Mizu: well, you’ll become a top star, sort of thing.
[Takarazuka’s jinx
If you fall from the steps, you can become a top star]
Nakai: Your place in the business will be determined kind of thing?
Mizu: That’s right.
Nakai: Uwaa!!
Inocchi: Amazing~!
Nakai: What was it, twenty…?
Mizu; Six steps.
Nakai: Wouldn’t it be horrible if you fell from this?
Mizu: But you know, like Maya Miki-san, she fell when she was an underclassman…
Nakai: She fell?
Mizu: Yes. Um, her shoes got caught in some kind of net, and she fell…
Nakai: So it’s as an accident! Not something that happened as part of the play?
Mizu: No…
Nakai: An accident!
Mizu: But, even though she fell and blood came out, she smiled and kept on dancing like that.
Nakai: How scary!
Ishibashi: Did you all fall?
Mizu: No, we’ve never fallen before…
Ishibashi: You haven’t?
Mao: We haven’t.
Ishibashi: Then it’s impossible isn’t it! You won’t get to the top!
[If you fall from the steps, you can become a top star
… then, it’d be better if you fell!?]
Nakai: If it’s a jinx.
Ishibashi: If you don’t fall.
Mizu: I thought so too, if we don’t fall then we can’t relax.
Inocchi: 2008.
Ishibashi: All five, you know!
Nakai: You can’t perform a play if you do that huh! Regarding the staircase, we’ve prepared an actual flight! Here it is!
All: Ohhhh!
Nakai: Let’s head over there!
Morita: It’s huge!
[After this, you can become a top star if you fall!
On the big Takarazuka steps, V6 will…]
Nakai: Okay then, let’s move on!
[We’ve recreated the big Takarazuka steps, where you can become a top star if you fall!]
Nakai: Please come down, go ahead! How cool!
Ken: Ohh, so scary!
Inocchi: Wah, wah, amazing, amazing! This is has power to it!
Nakai: How do you usually dance?
Inocchi: On the steps?
Sakamoto: On the steps huh.
Nakai: On the steps??
Mizu: We do dance on them, yes.
Ken & Nakai: Ehhhh.
Mizu: Then for a bit, may we…?
Nakai: Yes, please, please.
Mizu: Okay.
Ishibashi: Their legs are really long~
Nakai: They certainly are long.
Ishibashi: What is that?
Ishibashi: Hey, even though we’re asking you to do it so suddenly! It’s hard you know, do your best!
V6: No no no, we can’t do it!
Ishibashi: Do your best~! Do your best~!
Nakai: Do your best, do your best!
Morita: There’s no way we can do it!!
Inocchi: We could fall from this!
Ishibashi: But if you fall, you’ll be popular.
Inocchi: I see!
Sakamoto: We won’t, will we?
Ishibashi: If you fall, you’ll be popular.
Inocchi: That’s right!
Sakamoto: Eh?
Nakai: Leader, be careful okay. Okay, please do the honours!
Inocchi: Okay!
Ishibashi: We have high hopes okay!
Inocchi: Okay!
Nakai: Okay, 5, 6, 7, 8!
Inocchi: 1!
Nakai: 5, 6, 7, 8!
Inocchi: 5, 6, 7, 8!
Nakai: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8!
Girls: Leader, Leader!
Nakai: Leader is having it easy!
Inocchi: OI!!
Ken: Wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute!!
[The first Utaban in 2008 will begin on January 17 (Thurs) at 9pm]
[Thank you for looking after us this year as well! Have a great year~!]
Narrator: This program was brought to you by the following sponsors.
Morita: Use the steps too!!
Ken: That’s the widest space isn’t it!
Nakai: When we thought, Leader’s having it easy, it’s because he was dancing on the highest step!
Inocchi: Amazing, he had this much space!
Sakamoto: This is my position though!
Inocchi: That’s weird isn’t it?
Sakamoto: This is really dangerous.