Appartement Cinema, Hanagumi 2006
First, I must say that Sakurano Ayane is very cool.
Second, I have no idea what they meant by the title of this show.
Having said that... I already mentioned some side characters in a previous entry. To this I have to add Tama Mayura's Felicity - the feeling of 'I have seen such a woman' was very strong when she appeared. And also I loved Chiga Teruko as the hotel owner - very much a presence, though not overplayed.
Now, to the main plot/characters. I usually enjoy 'Zuka doing imported musicals more, first, because I tend to like the work of European/US composers more, and second, because their own shows have less music and more talk, and I don't know any Japanese so I miss stuff.
However, what music there was in this show was very nice, and I liked the dances. Especially top combi dances. And even though I probably missed a lot of what was going on... I was interested (and kept trying to imagine what exactly they talk about, in more details than TakaWiki has).
I already said that Sakurano Ayane turned out to be very cool. I believed her being exactly what she was supposed to be, a confused and disturbed woman not knowing what to do with her life. Some of my favourite scenes were her stumbling in drunk and disturbing Wolf and Leonard's male bonding, and then the next morning when the women from her work came with the news.
Wolf and Leonard's male bonding was very properly cute and dramatic. I loved Ayabuki Mao here much more than I did with her Franz Joseph (btw, she's one of those 'siennes that confuse me with their troupe history - there are some whom I keep finding, it seems, in any troupe's show); with her talks with Osa's Wolf, the stubborn silences with TV people and Leonard's wife and all that. An essentially decent person who turned towards some strange road.
I really wished I could understand Wolf and Orlando's talks! I wonder about Orlando - if he keeps Wolf's medicines for him (I wonder why Wolf doesn't keep them themselves), he must be around a lot of the time. Does Gautier really believe Orlando still can't find Wolf? Anyway, Matobu Sei was also quite cool in her portrayal of Orlando.
I'm not quite sure about Wolf, though. Osa's a real charmer here; and I love her singing, and the interactions with Leonard, Orlando and Anna. But I can't quite believe her character is what Wolf is supposed to be, an ex-killer who had a spiritual crisis or whatever. Still, an interesting character, and she's lovely to watch.
All in all, I'd say this show much more than their Elisabeth made me want to learn more about Hanagumi.
Second, I have no idea what they meant by the title of this show.
Having said that... I already mentioned some side characters in a previous entry. To this I have to add Tama Mayura's Felicity - the feeling of 'I have seen such a woman' was very strong when she appeared. And also I loved Chiga Teruko as the hotel owner - very much a presence, though not overplayed.
Now, to the main plot/characters. I usually enjoy 'Zuka doing imported musicals more, first, because I tend to like the work of European/US composers more, and second, because their own shows have less music and more talk, and I don't know any Japanese so I miss stuff.
However, what music there was in this show was very nice, and I liked the dances. Especially top combi dances. And even though I probably missed a lot of what was going on... I was interested (and kept trying to imagine what exactly they talk about, in more details than TakaWiki has).
I already said that Sakurano Ayane turned out to be very cool. I believed her being exactly what she was supposed to be, a confused and disturbed woman not knowing what to do with her life. Some of my favourite scenes were her stumbling in drunk and disturbing Wolf and Leonard's male bonding, and then the next morning when the women from her work came with the news.
Wolf and Leonard's male bonding was very properly cute and dramatic. I loved Ayabuki Mao here much more than I did with her Franz Joseph (btw, she's one of those 'siennes that confuse me with their troupe history - there are some whom I keep finding, it seems, in any troupe's show); with her talks with Osa's Wolf, the stubborn silences with TV people and Leonard's wife and all that. An essentially decent person who turned towards some strange road.
I really wished I could understand Wolf and Orlando's talks! I wonder about Orlando - if he keeps Wolf's medicines for him (I wonder why Wolf doesn't keep them themselves), he must be around a lot of the time. Does Gautier really believe Orlando still can't find Wolf? Anyway, Matobu Sei was also quite cool in her portrayal of Orlando.
I'm not quite sure about Wolf, though. Osa's a real charmer here; and I love her singing, and the interactions with Leonard, Orlando and Anna. But I can't quite believe her character is what Wolf is supposed to be, an ex-killer who had a spiritual crisis or whatever. Still, an interesting character, and she's lovely to watch.
All in all, I'd say this show much more than their Elisabeth made me want to learn more about Hanagumi.