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!

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!

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? (^__~)