8888!

Wow! This blog has reached 8888 visits today! :D
You all deserve a kiss from Kaname!
Thank you so much for following!

LET'S PLAY A GAME!

Lately it’s been hard for me to keep up with Takarazuka news...

Lousy internet connection, lots of things to do, more changes in my life…

So it’s the centenary of Takrazuka and yet I haven’t written anything on my blog! Shame on me! :P

A few of my friends are going to Japan his year and will see some shows. I won’t even attempt to hide how jealous I am ;)

Since I won’t be able to go there, and I will miss a lot of awesome shows, I’ll just spend my time daydreaming.

I’ve come up with a little game. It’s called:

WHAT WOULD YOUR DREAM SHOW AND DREAM CAST BE?

The rules are few and simple: it can be any show (an already existing show or a movie/book/play you would love to see on the Takarazuka stage) and the cast can include both current actresses and OGs. Who cares if it’s impossible? It’s a dream anyway! I’m really curious to see what you all come up with.

I’ve had to think a lot about my dream show and dream cast. The problem is, it is difficult to choose a story I love which also has enough important characters to feature all of my favourite actresses in roles that would suit them. Jeez, I’ve thrown at you (and at myself) a very difficult challenge!

My choice is TALES OF THE OTORI by Lian Hearn, one of my absolute favourite books. If you haven’t read it, you must!!!

It’s a fiction set in a Japan-like country during the war lords period, in which a young man with special skills and powers is torn between two different lives. There is love, fights, power games and all sorts of entertaining, breathtaking action. Excellent plot and excellent characters.

You can find its Wikipedia page here for more info on the story and characters.

My ideal cast would be as follows:

Otori Takeo – Ouki Kaname

Otori Shigeru – Wao Youka

Otori Ichiro – Kotobuki Tsukasa

Otori Shoichi – Hatsukaze Midori

Otori Masahiro – Ema Naoki

Terada Fumio – Harukaze Misato

Iida Sadamu – Oozora Yuuhi

Arai Daiichi – Yumi Hiro

Shirakawa Kaede – Misaki Rion

Maruyama Naomi – Hanafusa Mari

Muto Kenji – Suzukaze Mayo

Muto Yuki – Reimi Urara

Muto Shizuka – Nono Sumika

Kikuta Kotaro – Shizuki Asato

Kikuta Akio – Nozomi Futo

Matsuda Shingen – Itsuki Chihiro

Kubo Makoto – Suzumi Shio

Jo-An – Sena Jun

Lord Fujiwara – Shibuki Jun

Mamoru – Nanami Hiroki

It’s been so hard to pick! Especially for the characters I don’t like… because I wanted actresses I like anyway. Overall I am quite satisfied.

It will never happen, but it would be awesome to see this show some day!

What about you? I’m really curious about what sort of show and which actresses you would pick!

PUCK!

Jeez... I’ve done it again! I’ve abandoned my blog for months on end L

I always tell myself I need to find time to write here, but it’s much harder than it seems. Actually I’ve been so busy I’ve had very little time to watch Zuka – though I have watched some, of course.

At any rate, today I feel the urge of recommending and praising a show which has bewitched me in the past couple of months…

PUCK

Please be warned: there might be spoilers!

Puck was staged by the moon troupe in ’92. The top star at the time was Suzukaze Mayo (whom I ranked 5^th in my previous post). Thanks to this show I have come to love Suzukaze Mayo even more than I did before: her acting is so meticulous and at the same time natural! Not to mention her incredible singing.

Anyway, back to the show.

Puck is loosely based on Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night Dream but the whole focus is on Puck, a cute but somehow clumsy and mischevious fairy, and the way he interacts with a group of humans, in particular a girl called Hermia. There are several sub-plots and interesting characters, such as the king and queen of fairies or the rock-star-to-be Bobby played by Amami Yuki.

The show has both really funny and really moving scenes and is particularly interesting because of the evolution of the main character. At the beginning Puck is just a newborn fairy who knows nothing of the world, innocent and perky. As the show goes on, Puck evolves slowly but continuously, grows into awareness while going through different emotional stages. Honestly, I think that playing such a character must be very difficult and Suzukaze Mayo is so good! She honestly made my heart melt.

Amami Yuki is also really good in this funny role, she made me laugh really hard!

The show was also somehow really original… let’s just mention a pair of roller skates and moving donkey ears!

This show is DEINITELY a must see!

I usually just post links to bits of shows, but I'll just go ahead and post the link to the full show this time.
I know that some people think this is not right, but here's what I think: if there had not been online videos I would not have become a Takarazuka fan and I would not have supported Takarazuka by going to the theatre and buying a bashful amount of goods XD

So, here is the link to the show! Enjoy!

General updates + My top 5 otokoyaku so far

It's been such a long time since I last wrote here!

I feel so sorry about abandoning my beloved blog for so long, but it's been a very complicated period for me, so full of life changing events.

I am really glad to see that some of you have visited the blog all the same, despite my absence, and I hope to be able to count on your support in the future as well.

While away from Takarazuka Pills I have kept on watching shows and reading news, so hopefully I will be inspired to write as frequently as I used to - there are so many topics I could write about!

So, even though my life is becoming busier, I truly hope to keep it up :)

Today I have decided to show my favourite 5 otokoyakus at the moment (ranking might change in the future!)

To be honest, it is hard to pick my favourite 5, but what is harder is to actually decide how to rank them

At any rate, here I go, starting from the 5th!

5. Suzukaze Mayo

The only reason why I ranked her 5th is that I have not watched enough stuff with her in order to rank her higher. As a matter of fact, I have only watched The Rose of Versialles 91 with her so far, but it was good enough for me to include her in my top 5.

And why is that?

Well, on top of being gorgeous, she has an incredible voice. Her singing is really good, listening to her I have realised how much singing standards have been dropping in Zuka lately.

Curious fact that makes me love her even more: her nickname is Kaname - yes, same name as my belove Ouki Kaname!

Here is an extract from The Rose of Versailles - Oscar '91. In this video you will also see Amami Yuki as André.

4. Sena Jun

Deciding between whether to rank her 4th or 3rd was really hard! Because I really like her a lot. But then I guess that the one I placed in 3rd position has something she doesn't.

At any rate, let's talk about Asa (Sena Jun)!

She acts well and she has good charisma. Her voice is easily recognisable and pleasant. I especially like her in funny, perky roles: her Bill in Me & My Girl was beyond awesome!

So here is an extract from it. Enjoy!

3. Shibuki Jun

I have only watched one show and one TCA Special with her so far... and yet, she's up in 3rd position!

That's because...: she has a lot of charisma, her voice is one of my favourites overall (probably equaled only by Wao Youka), she dances amasingly well and her acting is extremely moving.

On the other hand, she's not one of the best looking otokoyakus. I usually call her "the ugly but pretty one"... and that's an endearment. Why? Well, because if you look at her pictures, she usually doesn't look good. If you really take in her features... well, she's not that pretty. But when she acts she changes completely, she becomes so beautiful! And I think that that's one of the things which make a great actress.

The show I have seen her in is Seal of Roses, and it made me fall in love with her.

So here is an extract, I hope you'll love it as much as I did!

2. Ouki Kaname

Oh God, how it hurts me not to put Kaname first!

I had to think about it for a while, but then I realised that I could not give her the gold medal after all - just for a tenth of a point, though ;)

As those who are familiar with this blog already know, I basically worship her :P

Kaname is one of the most beautiful otokoyakus I have seen so far and on top of that she has some top notch acting skills. Her eyes are killers, her smile as well. She truly seems to be a natural. Another thing about her is her stage presence: she stands out so much! And that's really important for a top star, I believe.

The only not so positive thing about her I could say is that, though she sings well, her voice is not one of the best. To be honest, I like it the way it is, I think it has personality and feeling, but I realise that technically it's far from perfect.

I found out about her when watching Star troupe's Romeo & Juliet. Since then I have watched tons of shows with her, including The Legend of Galactic Heroes and Montecristo live.

She's made me cry, she's made me laugh and I love her unconditionally!

Here's a digest from Montecristo.

AND THE FIRST PLACE GOES TO...

1. Wao Youka

After careful consideration, I decided that I really should assign the first place to the otokoyaku who made me fall in love with Takarazuka to begin with. I am not sure if I would be so much into Zuka if I had not seen Wao's Phantom as my first full show.

Honestly? I see no faults in her, at least none that is relevant. She is beautiful (maybe not as perfectly beautiful as Kaname, but still), she's a great actress, she has charisma and her voice is out of this world.

I have seen most of her shows and I liked 99% of what I have seen. There's something about her that simply caught my heart.

Maybe if I had to describe her with just one adjective, that would be POWERFUL. Powerful voice, powerful acting, powerful stage presence and powerful personality. Hanafusa Mari and her were the golden combi, such a perfect combi that I wonder when we shall see one like that again.

So here's the first scene from the first full show I ever watched, the show which made me fall for Zuka and to which I owe the fact that I am here, writing on this blog at night even though I have work tomorrow and I am dead tired XD ... I hope you appreciate!

Phantom 2004 (Cosmos) GIF

While browsing through my laptop I found this gif I made about two years ago.

It's from one of my favourite scenes in Phantom.

Wao's acting is stunning. I believe that Phantom is her best performance ever and it's close to perfection... so close to perfection I'd say it's perfect! XD

If you haven't watched her version of Phantom yet, you absolutely must!

HOME 私の夢が叶う場所 Lyrics

Tonight I can't seem to get sleepy and a song keeps on ringing in my ears. I had been thinking that I should translate some lyrics for a while, but then I never did. Tonight I decided that I would.

The song is HOME The Place Where My Dream Comes True, from the show Phantom.

It's the first full show I have ever watched so I am particularly attached to it.

The music is awesome and this song is just adorable.

Hopefully I've done a decent job, but if it's not satisfactory please forgive me ;)

So... here it is!

KANJI

いつも待っていた　心の中では
夢に手が届く　その時を
パパは言っていた　その場所に来れば
胸のときめきが高鳴ると

I'm Home この舞台なの
美しい音楽が溢れ　私を包むの
空の彼方に届くように　想いを込めて
私は歌うわ　ここで

素敵なオーケストラが奏でるなら
魔法の世界が広がる
アリアを聞けば感じられるわ
この世に生まれた喜びと幸せも

Dream 描き続けた夢も
いつか願いがかなうとわかるの
この舞台でいつの日か歌うのよ
きっと叶うはずよ
夢は

いつも待っていた　暗闇の中で
天使が囁く　その時を
今　聞こえるあの声
夜ごと探し求めた　幻の声だ
心の中に思い出がそっと甦る
安らぎ感じる　何故か

この子は誰だろう？
僕だけに歌う
野原に咲く名もない花のように
僕にならばできるだろう
彼女を可憐で素敵なブーケに変える


Dream 描き続けた(My Dream 描き続けた)
夢も(My Dream 夢も)
いつか願いがかなうとわかるさ(いつか願いが叶うと分かるの)
この舞台で
いつの日か歌うのよ(いつの日か歌うのよ)
きっと叶うはずさ(きっと叶うはずよ)
夢は

ROMAJI

Itsumo matteita   kokoro no naka de wa
yume ni te ga todoku   sono toki wo
papa wa itteita   sono basho ni kureba
mune no tokimeki ga takanaru to

I'm home   kono butai nano
utsukushii ongaku ga afure   watashi wo tsutsumu no
sora no kanata ni todoku youni   omoi wo komete
watashi wa utau wa   koko de

Sutekina okesutora ga kanaderu nara
mahou no sekai ga hirogaru
aria wo kikeba kanjirareru wa
kono yo ni umareta yorokobi to shiawase mo

Dream   egakitsuzuketa yume mo
itsuka negai ga kanau to wakaru no
kono butai de itsu no hi ka utau no yo
kitto kanau hazu yo
yume wa

Itsumo matteita   kurayami no naka de
tenshi ga sasayaku   sono toki wo
ima   kikoeru ano koe
yogoto sagashimotometa   maboroshi no koe da
kokoro no naka ni omoide ga sotto yomigaeru
yasuragi kanjiru   nazeka

Kono ko wa dare darou?
Boku dake ni utau
nohara ni saku na mo nai hana no youni
boku ni naraba dekiru darou
kanojo wo karen de sutekina buuke ni kaeru

Dream   egakitsuzuketa (My Dream   egakitsuzuke)
yume mo (My Dream   yume mo)
itsuka negai ga kanau to wakaru sa (itsuka negai ga kanau to wakaru no)
kono butai de
itsu no hi ka utau no da (itsu no hi ka utau no yo)
kitto kanau hazu sa (kitto kanau hazu yo)
yume wa

ENGLISH

Within my heart I had always been waiting
for that moment when my hands would reach my dream
dad always said that if I came to that place
my chest would beat fast

I'm home, this is the stage
overflowing with music, it engulfs me
as if reaching beyond the sky, enveloped by emotions
I sing, right here

If a wonderful orchestra plays
the world of magic broadens
if I hear an aria, I can feel
the joy and happiness of being born in this world

Dream, I know that some day
my wishes will come true, and the dream I've kept on painting too
someday I will sing on this stage
that dream
is definitely going to come true

I have always been waiting in the darkness
for that moment when an angel would whisper
now, I can hear that voice
it's the illusory voice I looked for nightly
in my heart memories are gently awoken
somehow, I feel peace

Who is this girl?
Like a nameless flower blooming in a field,
she sings just for me
if it's me, then I probably can
change her into a lovely and gorgeous bouquet


Dream, I know that some day
my wishes will come true, and the dream I've kept on painting too
someday I will sing on this stage
that dream
is definitely going to come true

Note: I didn't translate the bits in the brackets simply because they have the same meaning as the sentences coming before them. The only reason why they have been added in the JP lyrics is because at that point Eric and Christine sing at the same time with some slight differences in the wording. But trust me, the meaning is the same ;)

I hope that this is of some help :D

I will probably translate some other lyrics later on!

Takarazuka Pills' debut on Twitter!

Ladies and Gentlemen, Takarazuka Pills' Twitter has been created! :D

If you have a twitter account, please follow!

Here's the link: https://twitter.com/TakarazukaPills

I hope that by having both the blog and the Twitter account Takarazuka Pills will be able to grow further and to give a better service :)

If you have any suggestions for the future, please let me know!

Thank you so much for your support!