Versailles' roses bloom (ベルサイユのバラが咲く)

I found out about Takarazuka while looking for The Rose of Versailles anime videos on YouTube.

I stumbled upon a 1989 Takarazuka version of it and fell in love.

Since then, I have always wanted to see The Rose of Versailles live.

My dream's come true (twice)! (^___^)

On January 14th and February 3rd I went to Takarazuka to watch the Moon troupe version of The Rose of Versailles -Oscar & André.

Actually, I didn't have tickets for it: I was planning to buy them, but didn't make it.

So I went there and bought standing tickets, which can only be bought on the day of the show. I was afraid that they would also be sold out, but they weren't! Actually, I understand that they sell about a hundred of those, so if you get there by 10am (or even slightly later) you can almost be sure you'll get one - at least, that's how it went for me both times.

The first time I had a student discount and only payed 1000 yen! That was not possible the second time, though, so I had to pay 2500 yen (which still sounds reasonable to me). Apparently the student discount is available only for certain shows and on certain days.

From the standing seats you get a pretty good view of the whole stage, a lot better than I thought. It is impossible, though, to see the faces and clothes in detail.

So I rented the opera glasses: they are 500yen plus you have to give 5000yen (which will be given back to you once you return the opera glasses) as a deposit. Using those I was able to see the actresses' faces better than when sitting on an S seat.

If you want to watch a Takarazuka show but have no tickets, I advise you to do as I did: it's totally worth it.

Both times Oscar was played by Ryu Masaki and André by Asumi Rio. I didn't get to watch the inverted roles version (Ryu Masaki as André and Asumi Rio as Oscar) or the versions in which Ranju Tomu (flower troupe top star) or So Kazuho (new snow troupe top star) played André.

I guess it's a pity, but at the same time when I first see a certain person in one role then I don't like to change. I end up associating that face to that character and seeing somebody else playing it feels a little bit weird.

At any rate: the show was really really really (really!) good. I always thought that it was over-the-top, over done, over rated (though lovely) and maybe even a bit ridiculous... but I ended up being moved to tears: I didn't actually cry, but the tears were there, lurking underneath my eyelids.

It was actually also the first time I saw a show starring Ryu Masaki and Asumi Rio, and I liked them both. They both have great voices and Masa's face is so delicate, she made a perfect Oscar.

I won't say anything else, just in case: I don't want to spoiler this for anybody. If you have any questions or want to know any details (or want to share and compare opinions) feel free to comment! I would actually enjoy that.

Both times I went with friends who had never been to Takarazuka before. It seems that they liked it and that makes me happy :D

We also went to the special Rose of Versailles exposition that was held in the Bow Hall and to the Petit Museum, in which were exposed the Romeo & Juliette clothes & props plus some other things.

I spent those two days feeling as if I were in heaven... no wonder above the entrance to the theater they have written "PARADISE"!

Last time I went to Takarazuka I didn't like the food, though it was pretty (but the taste...!!!)

This time I found a place that was great! Close to the Bow Hall, on the second floor, there is a old-fashioned tea-shop which has delicious high tea and rose tea. If you go to Takarazuka, that's where I advise you to eat ;)

Anyway, enough said! I'll upload some pics :)

Cheers!

P.S.: there's a picture of Masa... though it's almost impossible to tell it's her. I wish that 'Ziennes wouldn't wear scarves, glasses and hats all at once when they exit the theatre... sigh!

Update + Buying goods

These last couple of weeks have been so hard!

My laptop broke (twice) so I am currently using my friend's iPad, which I am really not used to.
On top of that I got sick (twice) and still am.

As a further disappointment, I didn't manage to get a single ticket for the Takarazuka show The Stars, which I wanted to watch really badly. It will be held at the Takarazuka Grand Theater on the 21st and 22nd of December and all top stars from all troupes will take part in it. As it's a once in a year opportunity to see them all at once, I did expect it to be difficult to get the tickets... but I didn't expect them to be sold out the minute the sale begun.
What pisses me off most (please forgive my vocabulary, but saying it makes me angry wouldn't fully convey the extent of my irritation) is that some tickets have been put up for auction at incredibly high prices. How can fans do that to other fans? I'm sure that I am not the only one who has been cut off by this unfairness... but hey, nothing can be done about it. Ruthless people can be found everywhere, that's the truth, no matter how sad it is.

I was actually planning to post some nice screenshots of the Legend of the Galactic Heroes, but since my laptop's dead, I am not able to do that as of now.
So I had to think of another topic. Actually, a comment to my previous post helped me get an idea: how to buy Takarazuka goods?

Well, I suppose that not everybody reads the comments to my posts, so it might be a good idea to write a post about it.

For those of you who live outside Japan, there are two options that I know of: ask a friend who is/goes to Japan to buy it for your or use a shopping service.
Unfortunately I cannot find the website of the shopping service I used to rely on when I was living in Europe, sorry. But I do know it was called TS associates. They have always been very kind and efficient.
At any rate, many shopping services that deal with Japanese products can be found online, so you might want to try asking them if they can provide Takarazuka goods.
Of course, the inconvenient of using a shopping service is that prices will inevitably be higher than the actual price of the goods.
If you are interested in Takarazuka magasines, such as Takarazuka Graph and Le Cinq, I suggest you to have a look at cd japan's magasine subscription services. I used to subscribe to Takarazuka Graph through them and I was pleased with their service.

If you are lucky enough to live in Japan (or to travel to Japan) more options are available.
First of all, you can visit the official Quatre Reves shops. If you do, I advise you to bring with you only a set amount of money... I ended up spending a lot more than I planned when I went there!
There are several Quatre Reves shops: one in Tkarazuka-shi, two in Tokyo, one in Osaka, one in Nagoya and one in Fukuoka.
You can find the full addresses here: http://tca-pictures.com/quatre/shop/
At Quatre Reves shops you can buy all sorts of goods: from CDs and DVDs to postcards and posters, from show-related official goods to top-star official goods and more.

If you are too lazy to go to one of these shops (which, let me tell you, would be a shame) orifice so e reason you cannot go there (which would be a great pity), then it is also possible to buy goods online through the tca website. Usually you need a Japanese credit card in order to buy goods from Japanese websites, but luckily the tca website also accepts foreign credit cards. So, potentially, it is possible to use this website from abroad, but the problem is that I believe they do not accept foreign shipping addresses (correct me if I'm wrong... I'd be very glad to be wrong!)
The website is as follows: http://www.tca-pictures.net/I have ordered some goods from them before and the service was great!

Of course the website is in Japanese, so it might be a problem if you don't know the language.
If you need help, please don't hesitate to contact me!


One more thing: if there is any topic which interests you, please let me know!
Of course I myself still have much to learn about Zuka, but I would be glad to help as much as I can ;)

Now I must bid you good night... I fear that my fever might rise again!
Thanks for reading! <3

P.S. Please forgive me if the format's weird or if there are weird misspellings... I am really not used to using an iPad!

Salon de Takarazuka

I found out something I was totally unaware of.

I wonder why I never paid attention to the Salon de Takarazuka section of the official website... it's really REALLY interesting!

This morning I decided to have a better look at the official page - I'm usually rather lazy and, since it requires an effort to properly read the contents, all I had ever done before today was just to flick through the pages. Besides, I usually just have a quick look at the goods page and rely on the Takawiki for info.

I'm glad I decided to make the effort to actually pay attention to the contents!

As I was saying, the Salon de Takarazuka section is extremely interesting.

When I saw the name, I wondered what it would be. The first thing that came into my mind was that it could be a coffee shop or "salon de thé" within the premises of the theater, or maybe some kind of chat room.

I was completely wrong.

The Salon de Takarazuka features a "Petit Museum": an exposition of stage costumes, props, photos and more (admission fee is 400 yen, roughly 4 euros).

Exciting as this might be (I will definitely go the next time I'm in Japan), it's still not the most exciting part.

At the Salon de Takarazuka you can actually get a couple of very unique services.

Stage Studio: in the Stage Studio you can try on Takarazuka style costumes and have your picture taken. The costume rental fee is 2625 yen (roughly 24 euros). The price of the printed photo varies depending on the type and size: 500 to 3675 yen (roughly 5 to 34 euros).

You can also choose to have a photomontage of you and your favourite top star made and printed out and/or made into a mobile phone strap. Prices go from 1050 to 1575 yen (roughly 10 to 14 euros).

Stage makeup service: my favourite! Ever wondered about what you would look like if you were a Takarazuka star? Well, you can find that out with a full Takarazuka makeover!

This service includes full Takarazuka style makeup, dressing in Takarazuka style costumes and a photo session.

It takes about 2 hours and an appointment is needed. Appointments can be made either through the internet, on the phone or on location. 

The price is rather high if compared to the Stage Studio, but I bet it's worth it: 11000 or 12000 yen (roughly 100 or 110 euros) depending on the size of the printed photo.

On the stage makeup service page of the website,  you will find the list of the different steps of a Takarazuka style makeup. Interesting, isn't it?

I would definitely love to try all of these things out.

I think I would pick an otokoyaku outfit, probably a Phantom one if available.

I guess that wearing a musumeyaku dress would also be awesome though... argh, this is a hard choice.

Maybe I could go twice?

What about you? Would you like to try it out? (^__~)