#About Touken Ranbu

[ask-toukendanshi]

[antique-lamplight]

is there a name for media that does this. please i think about it so much

[rz-jocelyn]

[TRIVIA] Musical Touken Ranbu: Sato Ryuji and the Bright Future of the "Musical Touken Ranbu"

In their 9th anniversary performance the "Musical Touken Ranbu ~Iwainojuku Ranbu Ongyoku Sai~", the production ended on this message for fans:

"See, there was a bright future waiting, right?"

This is actually an unscripted quote that was said by Sato Ryuji, who plays Kashuu Kiyomitsu.

Like everyone else, the "Musical Touken Ranbu" was hit hard by the effects of COVID-19. Through clips from the performances during this period, we journeyed through these challenges together with them leading up to this point as they celebrated their 9th anniversary with the "Musical Touken Ranbu ~Iwainojuku Ranbu Ongyaku Sai~".

Some of the productions that were hit hard during that time were the "Musical Touken Ranbu ~Shizuka no Umi no Paraiso" and the "Musical Touken Ranbu ~Bakumatsu Tenrouden~ 2020".

The "Musical Touken Ranbu ~Bakumatsu Tenrouden~ 2020" had 41 out of their 60 performances cancelled.

And, this had a devastating effect, not only on the production, but also on the fans, who, amidst their own personal struggles brought about by COVID-19, had been looking forward to the performances.

As a cast member of the "Musical Touken Ranbu ~Bakumatsu Tenrouden~ 2020", despite being one of the people most affected by the situation, Sato Ryuji remained a pillar of strength for the company and the fans.

NOTE: In addition to the Toumyu cancellations, Ryuji had also faced complete cancellations for 2 other productions, and worked to turn The Brow Beat's last indie live into an online stream with no live audience to ensure it could still proceed.

It all started with his curtain call comment during the grand finale performance of the "Musical Touken Ranbu ~Bakumatsu Tenrouden~ 2020".

From the actual performance:

Clip from "Musical Touken Ranbu ~Iwainojuku Ranbu Ongyaku Sai~":

Masters, thank you for attending today! And, thank you for showering us with affection and taking good care of us. We knew that this era is a challenging era. And, course, we also know the future that's before us, the history that's before us. We also know that there will be ma~ny more days for us to laugh together with our masters. That's why, if the Time Retrograde Army tries to get in the way of that, at any time at all, please call us. From now on too, we leave ourselves in your care. Well then, see you again!

Curtain calls for the "Musical Touken Ranbu" are adlibbed by the actors, but done in character.

And, Ryuji used this to the fullest effect.

Through the voice of Kashuu Kiyomitsu, a Touken Danshi who is from the future (Touken Ranbu is set in 2205 AD), he reassured the fans that, even if this dark period felt endless, a bright future awaited everyone.

He also followed up on this in his update after the performance, expressing his appreciation for the fans, and once again, encouraging everyone to look forward to a better tomorrow where they would all meet again.

SATO RYUJI @ryuji7117

Really, thank you so much. I have no words except for words of appreciation. I can't find anything else to say other than words of appreciation, so much so that even snappy jokes feel boorish. In a wonderful future, let's meet again.

Ryuji then participated in "Musical Touken Ranbu 5th Anniversary ~Kotobuki Ranbu Ongyoku Sai~" (which was also impacted by COVID-19). Post this performance, he would only make a guest appearance in the "Musical Touken Ranbu ~Shinken Ranbu Sai 2022~" before returning to the main story of Toumyu in the "Musical Touken Ranbu ~Michi Oku Hitotsu no Hachisu~".

Much to everyone's joy, the "Musical Touken Ranbu ~Michi Oku Hitotsu no Hachisu~" was performed successfully until the end with the whole cast intact and no cancellations.

And, during the grand finale performance, this was Ryuji's curtain call comment.

Masters, thank you for attending today! And, to the masters who are inside, inside the box? To the masters who are on the other side of the box, thank you for supporting and cheering us on. It was really fun. See, there was a bright future waiting, right? Thank you very much for loving this citadel. As for me, well, I have no intention of saying farewell. As long as you need me, I will al~ways be here. That's why, I'm counting on your support from now on too. See you~

During the "Musical Touken Ranbu ~Iwainojuku Ranbu Ongyaku Sai~", the clip of Ryuji saying, "See, there is a bright future waiting, right?" was played with a snippet of "Hogiuta" to close the performance.

BONUS

As mentioned, Ryuji also participated in the "Musical Touken Ranbu 5th Anniversary ~Kotobuki Ranbu Ongyoku Sai~", which was performed during COVID-19 when restrictions to combat the pandemic were still in place.

It was during this time that Ryuji added the adlib line in "Kemono" after the lyric "お前の声が 明日を照らす" (Translation: "Your voices will shine a light on tomorrow").

The line he added was, "上げろう!" (Translation: "Raise it [your voices]!").

And, in the grand finale performance, he changed it to, "届け!" (Translation: "Reach them [the fans]!").

Due to the restrictions of COVID-19, cheering and any form of vocal support were not allowed. Thus, these lines carried the meaning and the hope that the voices of the Touken Danshi would still reach the fans.

During the original live stream for this performance, it ended up becoming a really sweet moment as fans used the official hashtag to respond with words like, "We can hear you!" and "Your voices have reached us!".

Torigoe Yuki (playing Kashuu Kiyomitsu's partner, Yamatonokami Yasusada) would carry on what Ryuji had started, changing the line to "騒げ!" (Translation: "Make some noise!") in subsequent performances of the song.

And, during the "Musical Touken Ranbu ~Iwainojuku Ranbu Ongyaku Sai~", it would lead us to this moment:

[examorhca]

🌸~sanjogojo maid cafe~🌸

[fribe-mimi]

I made a Oiran Jirou AU some time ago, and I have been obsessed with him in this costume and whole AU in general ever since. Here's my pieces with this costume so far.

I love the whole Oiran aesthetic. Obviously mine is not entirely accurate. I just like my artistic liberties. The first one is the first I made, and it's taken from a Kabuki doll book, so it's at least something, and I didn't fully pull it out of my hat.

[mihotose]

[asterparfait]

wilting victorian hours

[waterlinkedgirl]

Musical Touken Ranbu: Tsuwamonodomo ga Yume no Ato english sub

A passion project if there's ever been one, it's been a longstanding want of mine to finally do this! Needless to say, Tsuwamono and everything it meant is still my favourite plot from Toumyu! I love its character-driven and intricate writing, its heartrending acting choices, as well as the way it invites one to think about what characters think and why, and why they do or don't (dare to) do the things they do.

However, another important reason that I'm letting myself indulge in this, is that recent Toumyu has taken a turn away from this plot, changing the way how Mikazuki is framed, tying different characters to themes that were tied to Kogitsunemaru, and put those characters into roles that would originally have been most natural for Kogitsunemaru to follow.

In that light, then, I hope that these subtitles will allow you to see, even if it's just the smallest sliver, what I loved in Toumyu's take of Kogi and Mika up to and including Kotobuki. To see that it was beautiful. Because I think it was. 💙💛🌙🦊

Keep in mind that the files in the folder below are only the subtitle files, timed and tled to the blu-ray and DMM senshuuraku distribution. The folder also includes a pdf with translation notes, some background information where I felt it would add, and just a little bit of eager gushing about the references made.

You can find the folder with all the aforementioned files here!

Please enjoy, even if it's just with me in your thoughts.

[finnieforkys]

First page of a new sketchbook

[whimsicallywiddershins]

There is something about Mikazuki Munechika that scares me. He is an elegent, calm, somewhat silly character. But something about him makes me think of elder gods and ancient beings too powerful to be understood by humans.

[ask-toukendanshi]

What's Jiroutachi's favorite nickname? :3

"Aniki really dislikes it when Nihongou does that, though. But in the end, I like being called 'Jirou' the best because that's just my name. (Some of the others call me "auntie", but I'm not sure how I feel about that. I'm still a man, after all)" - Jiroutachi

[sleepinglionhearts]

here, have some of the things that have been in my sketchbooks for a while

[firefighting-idiot]

Let's all greet Tomita Gou into our citadels!

Tomita Gou is named after Tomita Ippaku (? - 1599), an attendant of Toyotomi Hideyoshi. After Oda Nobunaga's death, Hideyoshi set out to unify Japan as the de jure shogun. After Kuninori Inomata, who served the Hojo clan, captured Meikumo Castle for the Hojo, Ippaku, with Tsuda Morizuki, was sent as envoys to the Hojo clan to let tell them of the punishment for the Hojo.

After the war between the Toyotomi and Hojo, Tomita Ippaku worked as an intermediary between Hideyoshi and Date Masamune. In 1959, Ippaku interrogated Masamune for his involvement in the attempted coup from Toyotomi Hidestugu.

Hideyoshi also sent Ippaku to rule over the Tsu Castle, in Ise Province. Tomita replaced Oda Nobukane, younger brother of Oda Nobunaga. He stayed there until his retirement in 1599, later dying that year.

[gingermintpepper]

This is such a wild departure from what I usually post but due to the cyclical nature of my interests, I can't stop thinking about Higekiri and Hizamaru's Kemono performance in the 2020 SOGA musical because like?? LIKE??

Nevermind that I'm just very interested in the twins in general, nevermind that I've always held SOGA up as the gold standard when it comes to outfit design in the myus (which has only very recently started being genuinely surpassed with productions like Hanakage's concert outfits or Goumyu's gorgeous, gorgeous tailoring) but there's also something about the whole presentation of SOGA that gets to me. Like a lot of things concerning the Genji twins, the presentation of the play (staging, choreography, costume design) is based around the Higekiri and Hizamaru being two halves of a greater whole, meaning that they parallel each other throughout the whole two hour jaunt. Kemono is such a perfect microcosm of the mirroring they've been doing for the whole production, including them doing the same choreo at specific times, as-above-so-below imagery with Higekiri on the balcony vs Hizamaru on the center floor

But there's also the way that their crest placements have been mirroring each other's on all of their outfits and now, for this performance, they both wear it on their left breast, right sleeves in their respecting black and white.

Just UGH - Toumyu is generally very impeccable with it's sense of staging and organisation of visual themes but they really knocked it out of the park for SOGA and I just needed to talk about it a little.

[yitsuin]

so I know there are no local tourabu fans that are insane in the year 2024 and that my looming merch deadlines are going to eat me alive, but listen ---

[capriciousvisage]

Touken Ranbu Countdown, Day 11:    Doudanuki Masakuni

Days until 10th Anniversary: 102 Days until Daihonmaru-haku: 106