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!

Ocean's 11

This year the Flower troupe is playing Ocean's 11, which was already played by the Star troupe in 2011/2012.

I went to watch it with some friends on February 17th. Honestly, I wasn't sure whether to go or not at first, since Ranju Tomu is not among my favourites, but then I decided that it was worth giving it a shot.

At first the plan was to buy standing tickets, but since they had not sold out all the seating tickets we could not do that. So we ended up buying B seats with a discount, which on one side was good, and besides, that's also a new experience.

I actually enjoyed the show very much. It was extremely funny and the songs were catchy.

I had never seen any show played by the current Flower troupe and I was impressed by some of the actresses.

I still don't particularly like Ranju Tomu, for some reason, but I was pleasantly surprised by Nozomi Futo, towards whom I felt an instinctive dislike but turned out to be an excellent actress. I don't particularly like her features, but her singing is high class and she played her role extremely well.

I also liked Harukaze Misato, Seto Kazuya and Taiga Rin (though she only played a small part, but I loved her voice!).

Overall, I think that most of them were excellent.

However, I was rather disappointed in Hanagata Hikaru: I felt that her singing wasn't very accurate and her voice wasn't powerful at all. I am no expert, though, so maybe that's just how I feel about it.

Ranno Hana is an excellent performer with a great voice, though she doesn't do as good as I expected in the high notes.

At any rate, it was a really enjoyable show and we all laughed like crazy. I'm glad I decided to give it a shot!

We also went to the Petit Museum, in which this time they had the Saint Exupéry / Conga! exhibition.

Unfortunately I haven't seen that show, but after seeing the costumes for Saint Exupéry I definitely want to watch it. The Little Prince costume is the cutest thing ever!

I don't feel as enthusiastic about Conga!, though. I have only seen some bits and pieces while at the Petit Museum, but I thought that the costumes were too over the top and the music... well, just not very appealing.

The museum was fun and we got to play around with some props. I think it is really worth it to go to the museum every time they get a new show. Seeing the costumes is always a great experience.

It was a great day all in all, and I can't wait  for the next show!

On the Night of the End of the World

If you were a football fan, how would you feel if one of your favourite musicians wrote a song for the world championship?

One of the things I truly love besides musicals is... music. Especially rock, and especially Japanese rock.

So, of course, I am a great fan of X-Japan.

Lately I was looking for some info, so I had a look at Yoshiki's page on wikipedia (which I hadn´t done in a while) and I found out something great!

As one of his many jobs as a composer, Yoshiki has written a song for the 90th anniversary of Takarazuka!

This might not be great news for some of you, as it dates to 2004, but I was thrilled when I found out about it.

The song was performed by Haruno Sumire, flower's troupe top star at that time.

The title is 世界の終りの夜に (Sekai no owari no yoru ni), which means "on the night of the end of the world".

I think it's really beautiful... well, Yoshiki's works usually are.

I have found the videos for two versions of this song, you can find them here and here.

Enjoy!

Misaki Rion: Phantom Shinjin Kouen

I have been looking for a show starring Misaki Rion to watch, but I could not find any.
I remember a while ago I accidentally found a video of Canaria but didn't watch it. Now I can't find it anymore and I regret not watching it back then...

Anyway, all I could find was a video with some scenes from the flower troupe's Phantom 2011 Shinjin Kouen (version of the show played by younger and less known actresses) in which Misaki Rion played the role of Christine.
Unfortunately, the video is rather short, but I must say that I am pleased with what I have seen: she's pretty and she seems to have a really good voice as well.

 I am really curious to see how well she matches Ouki Kaname, hopefully they'll make a wonderful top star couple!

You can find the video here.

Who will be the next Cosmos troupe top star?

I was quite frankly crushed when I found out that Oozora Yuuhi (current Cosmos Troupe otokoyaku top star, picture on the left) was retiring.

Though I realise that she is probably not one of the most technically skilled singers, or the best looking otokoyaku, I still like her very much.
She is an excellent actress: as far as I have seen, she always is spot-on in her character interpretation, no matter whether she portrays a stern historical character, a silly young man or a mysterious adventurer.
Probably, the fact that I totally love Shangri-la's Sora is also one of the reasons why I like Oozora Yuuhi. Thinking that I can't see her in such roles anymore makes me a bit sad.

After the first shock, I started thinking: who will take her place as Cosmos troupe top star?

Some time ago, when she got the lead role in The Journalist and the Emperor, I feared that Hokushou Kairi (picture on the right) might take Oozora Yuuhi's place. That would have been a real disappointment for me, since I don't like Hokushou Kairi at all. To me, she has not enough charisma, nor the appropriate looks. Her voice is ok, I guess, but nothing extraordinary.
But it has been announced that she is going to enter the Senka troupe (a group formed of elder actresses who do not wish to retire and take on various roles as support for other groups instead), so she will not be Oozora Yuuhi's successor. I feel relieved.

I have a new guess as to who will be the new top star and, if I am right, I shall be very pleased. Not because I would have guessed right, but because I like the candidate.

So, here we go: my guess is that Ouki Kaname (picture on the left) will take on the top star role in Cosmos Troupe. How is that?
Well, probably it is a very obvious deduction, but still.
She joined the troupe in spring 2011, just after Ranju Tomu (at the time the main candidate, I think) left Cosmos troupe to become Flower troupe's top star. Honestly, I doubt that's a coincidence.
The fact that Ouki Kaname is going to get the lead role in Robert Capa also hints that way, doesn't it?

I think it would be awesome if it really happened and I probably would regret a bit less Oozora Yuuhi's retirement.
I know I've said it before, but, even if I haven't seen her perform much, I really like her. I loved her Tybalt in Star troupe's Romeo and Juliette and I am eager to see more of her, especially in prominent roles.

I'll keep my fingers crossed!

Welcome to the world of Takarazuka!

宝塚の世界へようこそ！

Whether you are a "veteran" fan of Takarazuka, a new adept or even if you know nothing about this colourful world, I hope you will enjoy reading my thoughts and reviews!

There are so many different aspects to Takarazuka ("Zuka" in short) that one just never knows enough about it, and it is very difficult to decide where to start from when explaining what it is.

Honestly, when I start talking about my passion for Zuka to people, they don't really get what I find so fascinating about it and they sort of freak out.

I guess that to understand the charm of this world you need to watch some of its shows first.

Maybe you also need to have some kind of natural inclination towards androgen characters, kitsch costumes, grand atmospheres and aesthetics that don't belong to your own culture (as far as my knowledge goes, the aesthetics of Takarazuka do not really fit into Japanese aesthetics either, so it could be considered "foreign" even to them).

But first things first: what is Takarazuka?

Takarazuka is a Japanese type of theater that features musicals played only by female actresses.

Having only male actors is something that most people have heard of (think of Kabuki or even of European theater up to the XVII century), but having only female actresses is a lot more rare.

So in Takarazuka you have women playing both female (musumeyaku) and male (otokoyaku) roles.

The actresses attend a special school during two years in which they have dancing, singing and acting classes.

During that period, the stage sex of the actresses is decided according to their physical appearance, skills and (though it is not as important a factor as the others) personal preference.

Once their stage sex is decided, they will stick to it (even when they are not on stage) until they leave their troupe.

It is rather rare to have actresses play both female and male roles, but it is not unprecedented.

There are five Takarazuka troupes:

花組 - Flower troupe

雪組 - Snow troupe

星組 - Star troupe

月組 - Moon troupe

宙組 - Cosmos troupe

Actresses often switch from one troupe to another at some point, they sometimes switch between several of them during their career.

Each troupe has its own top stars: one otokoyaku and one musumeyaku.

The top stars play the lead roles in the shows of their troupe with few exceptions.

The "real" top star is only one, though: the otokoyaku top star. The otokoyaku have a higher status compared to the musumeyaku and they usually have a wider fan-base as well.

The musicals played in Takarazuka are often set abroad, mainly in Europe, and the genre is predominantly romance.

Some of them are based on famous manga (such as "The Rose of Versailles"), others on existing musicals (such as "Elisabeth" or "Romeo and Juliette") and some are original Takarazuka productions (e.g. "Never say goodbye").

The costumes are stunning, sometimes getting to a pitch of kitsch-ness that is almost unbelievable. They love sequins, rhinestones and feathers.

You might wonder now about what is there to Takarazuka that fascinates me so much.

1. The actresses are incredibly skilled. Of course, some are "better" than others and I do have my favourites and my, let's say, "not-so-favourites", but overall the level is amasingly high.

I am not a singing, dancing or acting expert, so I cannot go in detail, but my impression is that they do extremely well in all these fields.

2. The otokoyaku. Their mere existance is one good reason to watch Takarazuka. Some of them are so good at what they do that I can't get myself to think of them as women - given that their purpose is precisely to enact men, isn't that a wonderful thing?

I must say, their "male" performance is strongly stereotyped (and so is the musumeyaku's "female" performance) but still, there is some kind of "magic" to it that is difficult to put into words.

The musumeyaku are not one of the reasons I like Takarazuka, though for some people they are. Don't misunderstand me: I believe them to be excellent at what they do, but somehow I am not as impressed with them as I am with the otokoyaku.

3. I love musicals. I guess that, if I didn't, I probably could not stand Takarazuka. But, given that I am absolutely a huge fan of musicals, I really appreciate the variety of their shows: they go from comedy to drama, from sci-fi to traditional stories. Besides, they perform about 3 shows per troupe every year! One can just never get bored.

4. I loooove romance, and I like it the "old-way". Yes, even when it's cheesy.

Of course, everyone has their own reasons to like Takarazuka and I don't mean to say that your reasons for liking it should be the same as mine.

I simply hope that, if you were not sure whether to plunge into the world of Takarazuka or not, I have motivated you to go for it!

Last but not least, if you want to learn more about Takarazuka, I suggest you to visit the TakaWiki. You'll find loads of interesting information there!

P.S. The picture I have uploaded for this post is of Wao Youka, my absolute favourite otokoyaku, in the show "Phantom" (2004).