#blahblog

[beccalendsahand]

I used the 7-11 scanners to scan my art for the first time today. All going well, I scanned a bunch of art and left happy. I edited the pieces at home, satisfied with the quality. "Why didn't I try this sooner" I thought to myself. Then, several hours later, I unpacked my bag and realised, the last piece I scanned was missing. And this piece was not just any piece, oh no, it had to be my painting of the kanej almost-kiss scene. I turned red, mortified. After an hour of wondering what to do I went back to the store and opened the scanner, IT WAS GONE. "Oh no, now i'll have to ask the staff" I thought, I was almost ready to just accept it was gone forever. But I told myself to snap out of it, it's not an explicit drawing get yourself together! I went to the staff member and asked and sure enough he had my fanart. I was worried it would be awkward but actually, he was really sweet he said "大切なものですね" "That's a very important/treasured thing isn't it" 🥺 Yes, Kanej is beloved 😭

[pamyurinthebookfox]

Doing something a little different! Don't know where this style came from! I haven't done any nighttime sketching in so long and it feels so good, but my brain is buzzing right now, how do I get to sleep? 😂

[autumnwoodz]

Fml

And f me for having that Dunkin Donuts shit this morning. That ruined my whole damn day. I don't even know what I was thinking. I guess I wasn't.

[aestheticallysamilouise-blog]

That's me.

[i-wasnt-prepared]

@when-will-it-all-make-sense

This is my blahblog for my poems and general feelings about life love and other stuff.

[wildercactus-blog]

Happenings

Still trying to kick the forever cold I've had since November. Doc gave me steroids which most means I'm warm and can feel my heart beating in my ears and I may never sleep again. I foresee this week being awful because steroids + lady times= a deeply uncomfortable person with too many feelings. I have a sneaking suspicion that my mentor isn't my biggest fan right now. Or he's just having a rough few weeks/month. I hope it's the latter but I can't fully be sure. Any which way it is I'm bummed because I mostly just hang out with him and his wife and we haven't done that in a LONG time. So I am those things and feeling lonely and over doing everything myself. I may just go hard in the "taking care of me" realm for a while rather than be social. That's considering I can breathe soon to actually be able to work out. Oh and Monday we had active shooter training that was really empowering and actually made sense. We learned how to take down someone with a gun and practiced on each other. I'm still riding high on a compliment from a cop told to me through his wife. He told her, "That English teacher doesn't mess around, does she?" No sir I don't mess around. Not when it comes to my job and the safety of kiddos. Glad that comes through and that I could have that impact on someone who rarely interacts with me. I'm also taking some risks this week at work with big projects and lots of autonomy for the kiddos. I am a ball of stress and anxiety and I kind of need everyone to tell me I'm doing it right. That I'm doing okay. I mean I know it deep down because if I wasn't I would be hearing about it from my principal. But there's something about that affirmation that rights my ship, you know? Why do I need so much from other people? Why can't the things I can do on my own fully sustain me? Independent human problems, right?

[ivannapacis-blog]

We are in a game called tug of war And I continuously pull despite the painful rough. At the end of the rope is where you stand Will you still let me hold you even with my calloused hands?

ivannapacis

[sueriot2]

I have been away working this week, which is why I have been a bit quieter than normal. I am currently in a hotel in Canock, which is in the West Midlands, or so I'm told. I have been working my normal 10 and a half hour shifts, just in a different place. Everyone is lovely, although things were a bit crazy because the building has recently undergone an extension and internal remodelling. Which means, the place is chaos. I am definitely glad that I came down, and I would love to do it again. Just glad to be going back to my own work, and people I know. Wish I could take this huge bed back with me though.

[scoutfromzion]

Why did I ever start blogging?!

[beccalendsahand]

Toho Elisabeth 2022: Der Tod Comparision Analysis

After years of being a fan, I finally had the opportunity to see Elisabeth live for the first time this autumn. Me and a friend managed to defeat the odds and nab tickets for not just one but two dates, each with a different Der Tod (It's customary for most Toho musicals to have double, triple, or sometimes quadruple casts of its principal characters in their musicals). It was such a fantastic opportunity to see different actors' interpretations of such an iconic character, and seeing as the last Toho-beth was not filmed and previous recordings have not included every cast member, I thought I'd write up a report here for those curious!

Both Tods, Furukawa Yuta (Silver Tod) and Yamazaki Ikusaburo (Purple Tod) brought new and interesting things to the character that I’m really excited to discuss!

Here we go!

What is Toho-beth?

Toho is a big musical theatre company in Japan who are best known for bringing Broadway, Westend, and other foreign musicals to the country. They have been performing Elisabeth for 22 years now! Their production came off the back of the popularity the musical had with Japanese audiences thanks to the Takarazuka version which was first staged in 1996. The show is directed and translated by Koike Shuuichiro, the same writer and director for the Takarazuka version, but with many changes. The Toho production is praised by fans as striking the right balance between the gothic romance of the Takarazuka version, and the darkness and serious themes of the original Vienna production, whilst still managing to keep Elisabeth the main character of her story.

Disclaimers before we begin:

I have not watched every Elisabeth so my knowledge of previous versions is: Takarazuka: 1996, 2014 and 2018, Toho: 2016, Vienna: 1992 and 2006.

Each of the days I saw Der Tod was starring alongside Manaki Reika as Elisabeth, I do not know how their performances differed if at all when they costarred with Hanafusa Mari

This production had stage kisses instead of real kisses which may have influenced the actor's portrayal of the famous Rudolf x Der Tod kiss scene. I think this must have been a covid related choice, however, it's hard to tell as other Toho productions I've seen recently have had real kisses and Der Tod still walks through the audience in act one… But Lucheni does not walk into the audience or interact with them during Kitsch, so make of that what you will, I guess we won't know for sure till future productions!

Day 1: Furukawa Yuta as Der Tod

My first performance was with Furukawa Yuta. Furukawa's Tod is the most soft, gentle, human Tod I've ever seen. I wasn't sure what to think at first of his portrayal as its so different from other versions, but as the show went on I really became captured by his performance. I left the theatre with so many thoughts, trying to analyze the motivations and psyche of his character, it really made me think about Der Tod in a new way, and just made me more obsessed with the show. I'll try and put my thoughts into words here.

From his gentleness, its very clear that Furukawa plays him as genuinely in love with Elisabeth, however this does not mean that his Tod is not without his dark sides. I think what makes his Tod so good is he lulls you into a false sense of security. He speaks to Elisabeth as a pleading lover and baby Rudolf as a caring adult, but every now and again a flash darkness or anger will appear, reminding you that underneath his human appearance is Death himself.

Furukawa Tod and Elisabeth

His love for Elisabeth is perhaps the first time I've fully understood their relationship. Despite being a big Takarazuka fan I've always found the ending very jarring, as one scene ago Elisabeth says she doesn't love Tod and then suddenly she's running into his arms at the end and singing about their love for each other. Even in previous Toho and the Vienna versions despite the lyrics for the song being different, I've still found it a strange ending, but Furukawa and Manaki did it incredibly. I think as Furukawa's Tod is more gentle, already it is easier to understand why Elisabeth is drawn to him. Elisabeth is seeking independence and comfort, so why would she fall for a Der Tod who is literally pushing her around? When Furukawa comes to her it is always like an infatuated man hoping for his love to be returned, but because he is Death he doesn't know how to express his feelings, and things become muddled for him. I got the impression that he wanted to give Elisabeth his love but sadly he couldn't help who he was, and that part of him that is Death manifested itself still in his actions. Like creating chaos amongst the people, and killing baby Sophie and Rudolph. My favourite scene between the two of them was the doctor scene in Act 2. When Elisabeth says she wants to die, Furukawa says the line “おお、エリザベート、待っていた！” “Oh, Elisabeth! I’ve been waiting (to hear those words/for this moment)!” he says it with such happiness and almost child-like excitement it’s both creepy and sweet at the same time. His happiness in dark contrast to the reality of what he will do to her. Also, this is the first scene where we have Tod do more than just hold Elisabeth in his arms, as he runs his hands up and down her body, a very bold move for Furukawa Tod who until this moment has been relatively reserved around Elisabeth. This really added to the unsettling feeling of the scene, Tod is so carried away in this moment, running about the stage excited to take his bride back to the underworld, all the while Elisabeth is just stood there rigid in shock. Such an interesting moment in the show. I really liked how Tod’s emotions toward Elisabeth felt very consistent throughout the show, it was refreshing to see such a genuine feeling of love from Death towards Elisabeth, even if he did not act on his love in the right ways. The song before Elisabeth’s death again really gave us this message. When Franz Joseph says that Elisabeth is his, I feel that usually, Tod's reply that no, it's in fact him that she loves, is very confident, he knows he has the upper hand over Franz, but Furukawa sings it like a human cry, like he's trying to convince himself. There's this uncertainty in his mind but he is willing it to be true. When he and Elisabeth are together finally it is not a big romantic gesture, it's a very small moment and he gently kisses her and sets her onto the coffin and looks on sadly. He finally got her, but only for the briefest moment.

Furukawa Tod and Rudolf

The Rudolf arc has always been my favourite part of Elisabeth, so I was excited to see how it was performed in this version. This was definitely the part where I fully got on board with Furukawa's Tod and started theorising in my head about what his interpretations meant. As said above, Furukawa Tod talks to baby Rudolf like a caring adult, there isn't the usual sinister undertones that you feel with most other Tods in this scene. Furukawa stretches out on the stairs, propping his head up with his arm, and listens intently to Rudolf when no one else does. A part that I found particularly interesting is how when Tod takes the gun from baby Rudolf and Rudolf faces away from him, standing at the front of the stage looking at the audience, Tod looks on at him, with his arm outstretched, gun laid on his palm as an offering. This is in stark contrast to Shirota and Yoshio in the 2016 version who both pointed the gun at him as if about to shoot him.(something else I just wanna mention is his hilarious reaction to the "I killed the cat" line, Furukawa first raises his eyebrows in shock, then narrows them in confusion and then smiles and nods like a proud dad, brilliant) When we get to “yami ga hirogaru/Fie schatten werden langer”, and the famous kiss scene, it's a very interesting moment. Usually, at least in the takarazuka and Vienna versions i've seen, the kiss is a very aggressive and/or possessive move from Tod. In the 2016 Toho version, it is Rudolf that kisses Tod after Tod gives him the gun. This time Tod kisses Rudolf, but it is, like everything Furukawa does, a gentle kiss. As said in the disclaimer stage kisses are used this time so perhaps that contributed to this direction, but what makes it even more striking is that after he kisses him, he slowly steps back and watches on with a sad, almost regretful look on his face as Rudolf turns to the audience and slowly raises the gun to his head. A moment that is usually interpreted by previous Tods as a victory moment, is painted as one tinged with sorrow by Furukawa. As I said before I get this impression that his Tod is fighting with his duty as Death and this human emotion he's feeling for Elisabeth. And this scene really made me think that. Perhaps he came to care for Rudolph too, but he befriended him for a reason and now he has to see it through. Or maybe in this version Tod isn't even doing these things to get Elisabeth, perhaps Rudolph's death was always his fate and Tod is just doing his duty.

It’s questions like these that really made me fall in love with his Tod. Well done Furukawa!

Day 2: Yamazaki Ikusaburo Der Tod

2 weeks later I was back in the theatre for Yamazaki Tod! Ever since Yamazaki got cast as Der Tod back in 2020 I have been so intrigued as to how he would play him. I consider his Lucheni as my favourite out of all the ones I’ve seen so I was wondering if his Der Tod could live up to his Lucheni... AND IT DID!

Yamazaki put David Bowie back into Der Tod, he had so much command over the stage, strutted around like a rock star and went full commitment to the glam rock androgynous style. The long purple hair, eyeliner, and amazing costumes (black mesh billowy shirt HELLO???!!!!) a bi-icon. I think whilst Furukawa made a completely new version of Der Tod I feel that Yamazaki took us back to the origins of role but added in the Japanese influence. My first impression was a man playing Der Tod like a Takarazuka actress, but as it went on a realised that wasn't quite it. If I was to compare him to any other Tod I’d probably mention Kim Junsu from the Korean production, whilst I haven’t the full show, from the few clips of it I’ve seen I instantly thought “this is the KPOP der Tod”, I feel like Yamazaki did a similar thing, but instead of KPOP it was JRock. He was really reminding me of Visual Kei Rock bands like The Gazzette and SID with his performance. His vocals were out of this world, merging visual-kei sound with undertones of musical theatre training creating this ethereal and at times sinister sound. I think this was so cool to see as originally Der Tod was inspired by David Bowie and Glam Rock which Japanese Visual Kei music was inspired by. This influence has been absent from the Toho and Takarazuka versions with more of a focus on the fantastical elements so it was nice to see that added back in. I must say when watching the show before I had found Furukawa and Kuroba Mario's pop/rock style high notes endearing (affectionate), like they were trying but couldn't quite get there, so it really was amazing hearing Yamazaki sing them like a true rock star would. In terms of acting, his take on the role is a lot more classical, in that this is definitely a Tod that loves chaos, someone who takes pleasure in toying with people's lives.

Yamazaki Tod and Elisabeth

Unfortunately, Yamazaki’s Tod does fall back into my problem with Tod’s I’d seen before, where at the end of the show I was left thinking “yeah but why is Elisabeth with him?”. Yamazaki’s Tod is definitely more obsessed with her on a surface level rather than being in love with her. His take on Tod is much darker in comparison to Furukawa’s, he has much more of an eerie presence and quite vacant expressions that make you wonder what he is thinking. Whilst Furukawa's darkness is hidden by his gentle exterior, Yamazaki’s is all there for you to see. He is very in control of his movements, everything feels very precise, whilst Shirota gave us an in-human Der Tod by playing him with animal-like gestures to make him seem almost like some kind of "creature", Yamazaki achieves this in-human Der Tod by being completely devoid of feeling. There was just something incredibly unnerving about him like you could tell something was not quite right behind the eyes. I think this feeling is best described by this Twitter user who did these beautiful Der Tod illustrated head cannons saying “I feel like he sleeps upright in a coffin…I’m not sure if he actually sleeps though”.

A moment I particularly liked was when he appears to Elisabeth in her chambers and pops up from behind her chair. Whilst most Tods seem to play this as a quick jump scare before stepping out from the shadows straight after, Yamazaki just stays there, arms draped over the top of the chair like “oh you poor thing”. It reminded me of a cat toying with its pray. I think that moment sums his Tod up very well. 

To compare his Tod to the moments I liked from Furukawa, the doctor scene also feels very different, Yamazaki’s Tod feels very confident, he isn’t running around the stage with glee, and he surprisingly isn’t as heavy handed as Furukawa was. Though he stilll runs his hands over Elisabeth it’s a much more subtle moment, perhaps in his eyes, he’s had her from the start so doesn’t feel like he needs to act so desperately.

The song with Franz Joseph is again more classic Tod, he sounds very confident that he has her. I don’t have any analytical things to say about this scene but I think it's worth mentioning that he licks the knife before giving it to Lucheni, make of that what you will...

Yamazaki Tod and Rudolf

So after seeing Furukawa’s interpretation I was so intrigued to find out if this was unique to Furukawa or if it was a new direction the Toho production was taking Der Tod's character, and I'm excited to say, both actors had completely different interpretations! So let's start with baby Rudolf. Yamazaki sits beside Rudolf and intently listens to his story, the “I killed a cat” moment did not get any laughs from the audience this time as Yamazaki played it completely straight, continuing to listen, nodding along as if it's the most normal thing in the world to hear from a young boy. When Rudolf goes to and faces the audience, from behind him Yamazaki Tod puts the gun to his own head whilst watching Rudolph. His Tod is not subtle with where this story is going. The kiss scene was gentle like Furukawas but it felt much more sinister and instead of looking sad and watching him kill himself like Furukawa did, Yamazaki is cold and unfeeling, he turns his back on Rudolph and leaves him to kill himself, alone in his final moments. I re-watched the same scene in the 2016 production to see how it compared and it was very interesting to see that whilst both Yoshio and Shirota turned their back to Rudolf too, they were still stood beside him. Yamazaki turns his back and walks up centre stage and pauses with his black angles flanking him in 2 lines on either side as Rudolf slowly realises what he's about to do and shoots himself. I can't remember what the black angels did with Furukawa but it was definitely different as Furukawa chose to stay beside Rudolf in that scene. It's so fascinating to me how these interpretations weren't just individually chosen by the actor but were actually worked on to involve the ensemble cast as well, creating differently choreographed scenes depending on which cast you saw. Any similarities between them? I think I would have to see the show again to notice more similarities, but sadly that won't be happening unless we get a recording (please Toho we are BEGGING YOU) but the one thing that did stick out to me was they both do this same gesture. I don't know how to describe it. They do this thing where, -again I wish I could see the show again so I could work out if there's a pattern of when they do this gesture- they like take their hand and starting from wrist at their lips run their hand down, fingers caressing their lips, and they kind of have this fascinated/spark in their eyes? I have no idea if that makes any sense...actually that artist I mentioned earlier, drew it on Furukawa here. It's quite a creepy in-human gesture, I like to think maybe he's feeding on human emotions when he does it...Whatever it was I find it so intriguing that that's the one link between them. I'd also really like to know if either of them were inspired by any particular Takarazuka actresses. Yamazaki has a scar-like tattoo on his hand that makes me think of Mizu Tod and Furukawa's whole look with the wig and costumes and even some of his acting choices reminded me a lot of Asumi Tod at times.

Closing thoughts It’s so hard to know who was my favourite as they both had such completely different interpretations, it felt like I was watching two completely different characters. I think for me personally what one lacked the other made up for. For example, as a long-time fan going to see Elisabeth live for the first time Furukawa took me a while to get on board with as his human portrayal meant that he didn’t have the big bombastic stage presence that you expect from Der Tod (his singing is gorgeous by the way, I mean this more in the nature of his character choices mean his performance is overall much more subtle), so going back and seeing Yamazaki gave me that big showman performance that I had been wanting to see. However, Yamazaki didn’t give me the full satisfying gothic romance feelings that I've always felt missing from Elisabeth that Furukawa managed to really pull off. And his new interpretation left me with my mind buzzing. What they both did though was prove that there is still so much to explore with this character and this show and I love how Toho is still letting Der Tod be an androgynous fantastical being when it seems the Vienna productions have been trying to pull away from that in their recent productions. I really hope this production gets filmed so that everyone can see the talents of not just these men but the entire cast, seeing this show was a dream come true and I know it will give everyone so many new thoughts and theories about this wonderful musical!

[autumnwoodz]

Today

Already a large iced caramel macchiato, (with almond milk... does that help ;) ), from Dunkin Donuts. (Starbucks coffee is shite compared to DD). Also, because I have a Camp Card I bought from a Boy Scout, I get a free donut. I got a vanilla cream donut. Omg. Afraid to look up how many calories are in all that. This is what I consider a binge. So I probably won't eat anything else today. And if I do it will just be an ahi tuna steak, (100 calories, mega high protein), and a spinach and kale salad.

Also, Tori Amos's new album. Downloading it from Google Play as I type. That and podcasts while I clean and don't eat today.

Too tired yesterday and today to go to the fitness center like I do every morning. It's ok. I've got work out DVDs. Maybe I'll do that. Maybe.

*ETA the donut was 330 calories 😥

and the macchiato was 310 😥

So that's me done for the day 😑

[beccalendsahand]

I posted 63 times in 2022

11 posts created (17%)

52 posts reblogged (83%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@lunarharp

@fayegumi

@chocopetite

@ihateornithologists

@royalavera

I tagged 58 of my posts in 2022

Only 8% of my posts had no tags

#artspiration - 40 posts

#takarazuka - 36 posts

#digital art - 19 posts

#fanart - 10 posts

#baddy - 7 posts

#takarazuka revue - 5 posts

#elisabeth - 5 posts

#elisabeth das musical - 5 posts

#yuzuka rei - 5 posts

#my translations - 4 posts

Longest Tag: 109 characters

#ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

Flower Troupe Survey! The Best of Yuzuka Rei (PART 2)

The Troupe Survey is a current segment in the TakarazukaGRAPH magazine in which each month a different troupe is given a survey on their Top Star and a selection of their answers are printed in the magazine. There are 4 parts to this article: 1. The things about (Top Star) that have made a big impression on us 2. Stage: Shows or scenes which have stayed in our hearts 3. We want to see (Top Star) as a… 4. The (Top Star) Awards (The Top Star gives out special awards to troupe members)

As this article is so long I will be publishing the translation in parts! You can read part 1 here Part 2 is under the cut!

Part 2: Stage - What Shows or Scenes have remained in your heart?

1st place, 23 votes: “Boys over Flowers” (2019)

Miharu Ayu: The fight scenes she has against Sakurako (played by Oto Kurisu) and Rui (played by Seino Asuka). I always love seeing Yuzuka in fight scenes but this show was extra special because they were staged as fistfights, which is pretty rare for Takarazuka and made the otokoyaku even more masculine! Seeing her using her whole body to protect Tsukushi (played by Shoroki Mirei) really moved me.

Takasho Mizuki: Domyouji (Yuzuka)’s dance during the song Metamorphoses. I have no other words for it other than that it’s the definition of coolness.

See the full post

26 notes - Posted January 18, 2022

#4

Flower Troupe Survey! The Best of Yuzuka Rei (PART 3)

The Troupe Survey is a current segment in the TakarazukaGRAPH magazine in which each month a different troupe is given a survey on their Top Star and a selection of their answers are printed in the magazine. There are 4 parts to this article: 1. The things about (Top Star) that have made a big impression on us 2. Stage: Shows or scenes which have stayed in our hearts 3. We want to see (Top Star) as a… 4. The (Top Star) Awards (The Top Star gives out special awards to troupe members)

As this article is so long I will be publishing the translation in parts! You can read part 3 under the cut!

Part 3: We want to see Yuzuka Rei as a…

First Place, 9 votes: A Teacher

Haryu Mitsuki: In rehearsals, I often see her politely teaching Madoka (Hoshikaze Madoka, Top Musumeyaku) and giving advice to the younger actresses in a soft and gentle voice. So I think that if she was a teacher she would pick up on her students' weaknesses and kindly teach them how to overcome them! And maybe during break time, she’d play dodgeball and other games with her students?!

Tsubasa Anju: If Yuzuka was my teacher I would give it my all and study so that she would give me her praise! And I would never sleep during class (laughs).

Yuzuka’s Comment: Being a school teacher must be a very hard job to do, but maybe if I could teach something completely unrelated to the performing arts it would feel like a hobby. For example, how much I enjoyed history classes at school always depended on what period was being taught. Also, I always found it exciting how the structure of each class would change based on the period we were studying. So I think it would be fun if I could teach with some pizazz like they do in high school dramas and films.

Second Place, 8 votes: A Pilot

Hina Ririka: I’d have heart-eyes if I saw her as a handsome pilot!!! She would definitely be the number one most popular of them all!!

Serina Ei: When I saw her on the national tour pulling along her case as she walked, I thought she would definitely look amazing wearing a pilot's uniform and pulling a carry-along suitcase!!

Yuzuka’s comment: It would be cool to have an impressive job like that wouldn’t it? I’ve often thought about how wonderful it would be to speak fluent English and get to go back and forth between loads of different countries like international flight attendants do. I haven’t done anything to qualify for a job like that though! (laughs)

See the full post

27 notes - Posted February 1, 2022

#3

Toho Elisabeth 2022: Der Tod Comparision Analysis

After years of being a fan, I finally had the opportunity to see Elisabeth live for the first time this autumn. Me and a friend managed to defeat the odds and nab tickets for not just one but two dates, each with a different Der Tod (It's customary for most Toho musicals to have double, triple, or sometimes quadruple casts of its principal characters in their musicals). It was such a fantastic opportunity to see different actors' interpretations of such an iconic character, and seeing as the last Toho-beth was not filmed and previous recordings have not included every cast member, I thought I'd write up a report here for those curious!

Both Tods, Furukawa Yuta (Silver Tod) and Yamazaki Ikusaburo (Purple Tod) brought new and interesting things to the character that I’m really excited to discuss!

See the full post

40 notes - Posted November 10, 2022

#2

ZuCasino, Yuzuka Rei: October 2022

Long time no translations! It's been a busy year but I finally found the time to finish an interview that I really really love, I hope you are able to understand more about Rei with this sweet Q&A! ZuCasino is a current segment in Takarazuka Graph magazine where prominent otokoyaku get interviewed via a series of casino-style games and questions. October was with Yuzuka Rei. I've tried something a little different this time around where the first time an actress's name is mentioned I link her takawiki page. I've also done translation notes as I go rather than putting them all at the end. Let me know if you find this helpful or just too much. Without further ado, enjoy!

Part 1: Episode Roulette

We challenged Yuzuka Rei to play our Episode Roulette game!

(Rei has been given a roulette wheel, each section has a topic of conversation, whichever she lands on she has to answer)

See the full post

46 notes - Posted December 18, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Flower Troupe Survey! The Best of Yuzuka Rei (PART 1)

The Troupe Survey is a current segment in the TakarazukaGRAPH magazine in which each month a different troupe is given a survey on their Top Star and a selection of their answers are printed in the magazine. There are 4 parts to this article: 1. The things about (Top Star) that have made a big impression on us 2. Stage: Shows or scenes which have stayed in our hearts 3. We want to see (Top Star) as a... 4. The (Top Star) Awards (The Top Star gives out special awards to troupe members)

As this article is so long I will be publishing the translation in parts! You can read part 1 under the cut!

The Flower Troupe Survey! The Best of Yuzuka Rei

We carried out a survey asking all the members of the flower troupe questions about Rei’s charm!

Part 1: The things about Yuzuka that have made a big impression on us!

Wataru Hibiki:When she goes off-script her feelings and thoughts are naturally expressed. You can feel it in both plays and revues. I’m always secretly looking forward to the speeches she gives on the first day and the last day of a production because we get to hear her express her feelings honestly to all of us. Yuzuka’s comment:That’s something I care a lot about so I’m really happy to hear that. Even when I have things planned to say, I make sure to not forget what's most important to me when I speak.

Mikaze Maira: When she gives her name on Takarazuka Sky Stage and says “I’m the Flower Troupe’s Yuzuka Rei”. Ahh her AURA! Her NATURAL SEX APPEAL! Oh! She's...The! Cool! Beauty!!! She makes my heart beat faster (laughs).

See the full post

48 notes - Posted January 8, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[beccalendsahand]

End of Year Takarazuka Tag

I was bored and decided to create an end of year tag for the Takarazuka fandom! Use this tag wherever you like, or tumblr, twitter instagram, hell make a youtube video if you like! Only rule is to have fun and credit me (please tag me, I'd love to see your answers!)

Oh and use the tag #endofyearzukatag

Questions under the cut! Enjoy!

1. Sumire no Hana: Did you find a new favourite this year? (Either someone who has entered the company this year or someone who has been in the company a while but you have only just become a fan, or both!)

2. Never Say Goodbye: Which taidansha was the hardest for you to say goodbye to this year?

3. Material Girl: Favourite piece of merch (most treasured Takarazuka thing you have bought yourself this year, OR if you didn’t buy anything this year, a piece of merch that is on your wish list)

4. Mon Paris: Did you discover a new fav show that was not from this year? (This can be any fav show that you saw for the first time this year that was released before 2021)

5. Wings of the Heart: Favourite fandom memory (this could be a fun stream experience, going to the theatre with friends, all collectively freaking out about something together, anything really!)

6. Where is God (kami wa dokoni): What Hankyu announcement shocked you the most this year?

7. The Final Dance (Saigo no Dansu): What was your favourite duedan of the year?

8. My Everlasting Dream: What show have you rewatched the most this year?

9. Fascinating Rhythm: What zuka song has been stuck in your head all year?

10. Diamonds are a Girls Best Friend: What was your favourite costume(s) of the year?

11. Cool Beast!!: what was the most ridiculous costume(s) your saw this year

12. Greatest Moment: A special moment on stage that stayed with you

And finally, the big ones:

13. Musical: What was your favourite musical (one act or two act) of the year?

14. Revue: What was your favourite revue of the year?

[beccalendsahand]

Takarazuka End of Year Tag 2021 (Part 1)

In which I finally answer my own tag!

You can find the questions here I decided to answer the questions in 2 posts, first 7 questions today, and the rest tomorrow coz I've realised I've run out of time, so without further ado...

1. Sumire no Hana: Did you find a new favourite this year? (Either someone who has entered the company this year or someone who has been in the company a while but you have only just become a fan, or both!)

I have a couple for this! All musumeyaku! I started the year by noticing Irodori Michiru as Mozart in Fortississimo, I thought she was such a fun character and it's so unusual to see musume in male parts so that made me even more interested in learning about her. Then later in the year, I saw City Hunter, which although wasn't really my thing, I did come away from it thinking "michiru was so cool in that", haha! So now I'm definitely going to keep watching her shows, I really want to see her shinjin koen "hoshiai" and "wansu"!

The other two I have become a fan of is the ladies of the moment for the Flower Troupe, and that's Hoshizora Misaki and Mihane Ai! They just absolutely blew me away as Isabelle and Ann Neville in Prince of Roses. I found them so striking because of how young they looked and yet how fierce their acting was. When Urara as Margaret Beaufort says to Mihane "You're a strong woman aren't you?" I really felt like it was not just Beaufort's thoughts of Ann but the thoughts of us watching Mihane on stage. They both seem to be getting great roles so I'm excited to see where their career takes them!

2. Never Say Goodbye: Which taidansha was the hardest for you to say goodbye to this year?

Do I even need to answer this one? It is of course Hana Yuuki. Hana Yuuki means so much to me, she's a an actress that kind of sneaked up on me. I became a takarazuka fan when she had just become Top Musume but I didn't become a fan of her right away, perhaps it was because I was still infatuated with all the otokoyaku at that point, or maybe it was because there was only "fairy tale" and "koisuru" to watch of her top run at that time. But then gradually I started to like her more and more, and once reihana top combi happened and I saw the Haikara-san live stream suddenly she became my entire fan identity. I think she is brilliant. I love how she strives to keep improving and you can see how she has grown with every performance. I also love her acting, she performs with this honesty that I've never seen from any other performer, she completely transforms into whoever she's playing, and even if she has to act in a cartoony style (for a manga adaptation for instance) she still manages to get to the heart of her character and make them feel real. I was so heartbroken when she annouced her taidan, "haikara" hadn't even finished yet! I had prepared myself for a good couple more years with her and then BAM! She was gone. But I love how right till the end she never got typecast, for such a short top musume run she got to play so many different kinds of women, maybe even more so than top musume who have had longer careers. She had an incredible final show as Pompeia in Augustus and a beautiful send-off in her sayonara show, which contained so many moments that will stay with me forever. Thank you Hana for brightening my days x

3. Material Girl: Favourite piece of merch (most treasured Takarazuka thing you have bought yourself this year, OR if you didn’t buy anything this year, a piece of merch that is on your wish list)

Speaking of Hana Yuuki, my most treasured piece of merch from this year has to be my bromides of the sayonara show in Tokyo. I was convinced because of proxy service that by the time white rabbit would be able to buy them for me they'd be sold out, but they weren't! My momentos of reihana.

Also wanna give a shout out to le cinq in general, I ended 2020 with 3, now i have 9! They are perfect for my interests, the photos make great art references, and then the scripts help me study Japanese! XD I love my le cinq collection, they give me the serotonin I need to get through these dark days. Earlier in the year when I was in my uni house, I felt pretty rotten, and I had this ugly wall in my room that had gross marks on it and cracks in the plaster that I would stare at from my bed, which made me feel worse. But then I covered it with my le cinq posters and it honestly gave me a boost every time I looked at them.

4. Mon Paris: Did you discover a new fav show that was not from this year? (This can be any fav show that you saw for the first time this year that was released before 2021)

This is super hard actually coz I realised that whilst in my first year of zuka I watched as many things as I could, this year I've become set in my ways. I just watch reihana on repeat and then maaaaybe I'll watch the latest official live stream (I think the only time I'm guaranteed to watch an official live stream is if it's hanagumi, I'm sorry). So I've thought long and hard about this trying to remember what I watched. And I think I'm going to go with a trick answer and say, the Casanova shinko! So I've seen Casanova before, but I've never seen the shinko. So many people talk about how good the Casanova shinko is so I was so I've been meaning to watch it for the longest time, and then a month or so ago a friend streamed it for me and it was such a fun experience! I loved seeing Hana again and so many other siennes who since then have become really big in the troupe. It was a delight!

5. Wings of the Heart: Favourite fandom memory (this could be a fun stream experience, going to the theatre with friends, all collectively freaking out about something together, anything really!)

Without a doubt it has to be watching the Nice Work official live stream together with friends. My favourite thing about being in the zuka fandom is the community we have. Watching streams together is always fun, but there was something extra special this time. We had been absolutely convinced we would never see this show because it was a broadway adaptation, but then last minute it was announced we would get a live stream and we all FLIPPED the hell out. We couldn't believe our luck. I don't think I've ever been so excited for a show before, it just sounded so perfect for reihana and hanagumi, I was so excited. And then when we did watch it we all changed our names and icons to reihana and nice work related so nobody knew who was who anymore and we just spent the stream filled with joy! It was a very special time.

6. Where is God (kami wa dokoni): What Hankyu announcement shocked you the most this year?

I'm gonna go with something totally random for this and say getting rid of the Tokyo Theatre's QR? What's that all about? Idk it's just was the most random thing and makes no sense, a theatre without a gift shop? I get that it's a little small but they litterally have a massive one across the road that people could go instead. Lol it does not affect me at all but I have fond memories of that place T-T

7. The Final Dance (Saigo no Dansu): What was your favourite duedan of the year?

I'm going to do a trick answer for this and say the most beacutiful dance I've ever seen, reihana barefoot dance in cool beast. UGH its so delicate and tender and bewitching and beautiful and poetic. I love the beauty and the beast type story that goes with it too and ahhh its just so perfect, no other duet dance comes close.

[beccalendsahand]

Takarazuka End of Year Tag (part 2)

Part 1

Questions

So I did actually do this right at the end of the year but then I wanted to add pictures but was too tired so thought "I'll do it tomorrow it's fine" and now its 3 weeks into January! Anyway, enjoy!

8. My Everlasting Dream: What show have you rewatched the most this year?

This has definitely been a year of rewatches for me but I think by far the show I've rewatched the most is "Nice Work If You Can Get It" that show just means so much to me. It helped me get through some really tough times, whenever I was feeling down I would put on a clip (or rewatch it in full if I had the time) and it would make me feel instantly better. It was also the first full zuka musical that I subtitled! The show has no script so I rewatched scenes over and over to catch any words I missed, I think I know the entirety of that show off by heart now! XD

9. Fascinating Rhythm: What zuka song has been stuck in your head all year?

Oh now this is a hard one! It's definitely between Silk Road, Cool Beast and Le Poison... But I think Cool Beast has been the most consistently stuck in my head. The lyrics are so stupid but the song is so catchy I can't help it!

"Cool Beasttttt!! Cool Beastttt!! gyao! gyao! gyao! GYAO!"

10. Diamonds are a Girls Best Friend: What was your favourite costume(s) of the year?

So I think whoever designed the costumes for Genroku/The Fascination should get an award, they are so so so beautiful. I love the mix of old and new, east meets west, and the sprinkling of Harajuku kimono street fashion that went into the Genroku costumes, I'm so jealous of all the people who will be able to see all these costumes on display in the next GT. Also, the fascination costumes are so ridiculously gorgeous? Like I swear there's a rule where there always has to be at least one bad costume in a takarazuka revue, but not this time! I can't get over the pink outfits at the start especially! The shade of pink? And the fabric? AH!!

Also, I wanna give a big shoutout to Hana's duedan dress for Nice Work. I haven't been able to stop thinking about it all year, I want that dress!

11. Cool Beast!!: what was the most ridiculous costume(s) your saw this year

This one was hard as I think everyone's already answered with all the best ones so I'm gonna do something a little different and I'm gonna say, the return of Chigi's Esmeralda outfit for Cool Beast. Why? Because not only is it the most bizarre outfit but also because I actually LIKED IT this time??? WHAT! I dunno if Rei can just pull off anything or if it's because maybe the outfit suited the scene more this time around, but yeah it's hideous and I love it.

12. Greatest Moment: A special moment on stage that stayed with you

How can I not answer this with the "I'm proud of you my wife" and "It's a bit embarrassing maybe I should tell you when we are in the dressing room but... YUZUKA SAN AISHITEIMASU"? Actually, you know what? The whole reihana part of the sayonara show was just so special. Reihana on stage together just the two of them is so magical, I've never seen an on-stage couple like them, ahhh it was a beautiful moment.

And finally, the big ones:

13. Musical: What was your favourite musical (one act or two act) of the year?

No competition, who am I kidding it's "Nice Work If You Can Get It". This show is actually perfect? I can't stress enough how good it is. The casting is spot-on, everyone is cast so well and everyone is a highlight of the show. As said above it has a place in my heart for many reasons. I think due to the current situation we really just needed a show that was pure joy that could transport us to another world, and Nice Work definitely achieved that. I think this show is Rei's best work, Haikara-san is of course a favourite but that was very much Hana's show. I think in Nice Work we really get to see Rei take centre stage and show people all her best bits, the dance numbers are spectacular and the songs suit her vocals beautifully, you could see her blossoming with confidence, she was totally in her element. We also got to see stars in the making with Oto Kurisu and Hiryuu Tsukasa once again getting main parts! It's really exciting to see them working the ladder, and getting to see them play love interests was fun! This show is also one of those interesting examples of when Takarazuka improves on its source material. Jimmy is 100 times more likeable in the takarazuka version, in part due to Rei's charm but also in the changes to dialogue. Jimmy falls for Billie straight away whereas in the broadway version we are left puzzled right up till the end about his real feelings for her. Billie too has changes in her character. The Nice Work zuka version is not constrained by the original juke box musical format because of the freedom of translation. Rather than translate the lyrics literally, Harada Ryo adds plot points into the songs as if it were a normal musical. For example "I've gotta be there" is now "It's all okay" and includes lyrics that mention Eileen being in the bath for too long and Jimmy explaining to the audience his conundrum. In Billie's case the song "Someone to watch over me" is changed in such a way that Billie is no longer a girl desperate to find love but instead someone desperate to find freedom and her anxieties about falling in love. For example, the final lyrics are changed from: "Won't you tell him please to put on some speed, follow my lead, oh how I need, someone to watch over me, someone to watch over me" to "My heart will travel on the wind, and I'll spread my wings and fly far from here, into the shining sky, into the shining sky" This change makes Billie a lot more three dimensional and lets us understand her feelings so much more than the original. It also means Billie's dilemma at the end makes much more sense. We know why she thinks she has to choose between Jimmy and her job because she believes love gets in the way of freedom.

Anyway, this is starting to turn into an essay, so let's move on!

14. Revue: What was your favourite revue of the year? There as so many good ones! It's so hard to choose! Originally I was considering either Silk Road or Cool Beast, but then The Fascination happened and I have already rewatched that one a ridiculous amount of times. I think though I'm gonna go with a non-hanagumi thing for once and say Silk Road! Silk Road and also its preceding play "Forississimo" really did blow my mind, I remember just having my jaw dropped the entire show. They were both so dynamic and unique and omg I just loved them both so much (actually I would just like to say Fortississimo is my favourite zuka original play of the year). What I liked about Silk Road was how I think it really felt like the evolution of the revue in a post-Baddy world. (sorry I'm about to go all essay on yall again) I remember reading lots of revues of Ueda Kumiko's 2018 classic, Baddy. Many people said that it was a historic moment in takarazuka and that it was clever and exciting and modern. But there were also those critics who believed that the show had too much plot and specifically dialogue to really be classed as a revue and that due to its complex message and plot would have worked much better with the extra time that a one-act play would have given it. Silk Road tackles these points brilliantly. The show manages to give us a plot that is simple enough to follow even with only a couple of lines of dialogue every few scenes, heck even with no japanese skills at all the viewer can grasp it with just the short synopsis on the website. It also has grand costumes and sets that I've never seen to such an extent in a revue, and most importantly for me, it has some of the best top musumeyaku rights I've seen. Maaya Kiho is finally treated like the queen she is and I love it so much. The Shanghai scene where she raps and does that high note? Amazing! We love to see it! When she makes her entrance in the opening number like Gilda in Wicked? Incredible! It was also just a fantastic sayonara show for Nozomi and Maaya ahhh I just loved it!

There are of course some issues to consider about the orientalism in this piece, for the most part this is simply an aesthetic choice but I think I speak for most people when I say that the harem scene was not needed and felt in poor taste. But this is part of a much bigger debate about Takarazuka fantasy aesthetics and how it has been interwoven with occidentalism and orientalism throughout takarazuka history, which I don't have the time to go into here nor am I the person most qualified to talk about that. But best to bear that in mind when watching it for the first time!

And there we are! Finally finished the tag! Did you have similar answers to me or did we have different preferences? I'm excited to see what this next year holds!

[beccalendsahand]

I posted 75 times in 2021

24 posts created (32%)

51 posts reblogged (68%)

For every post I created, I reblogged 2.1 posts.

I added 181 tags in 2021

#takarazuka - 36 posts

#artspiration - 32 posts

#hana yuuki - 16 posts

#yuzuka rei - 16 posts

#fanart - 15 posts

#artblr - 14 posts

#traditional art - 14 posts

#watercolor - 13 posts

#watercolour - 13 posts

#my art - 12 posts

Longest Tag: 47 characters

#its beautiful i've stared at it for 5 hours now

My Top Posts in 2021

#5

“Please, my darling Inej, treasure of my heart, won’t you do me the honour of aquiring me a new hat?” - Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

Drew the QUEEN herself Inej Ghafa from The Six of Crows and the Shadow and Bone TV Series. Had a lot of fun with this one, originally just a pose practice this turned into a full art piece! I created it part traditionally, with promarker pen to draw and colour Inej, and then I used digital layering for the background!

Hope you like it!

27 notes • Posted 2021-07-03 20:29:03 GMT

#4

Yuzuka Rei X Hana Yuuki Sayonara Special Talk

Couldn’t help myself and just had to translate Reihana’s final talk in TakarazukaGRAPH (July 2021) 

Enjoy!

Hana: I really wanted to do a photo shoot and interview with you one last time. But I know you are super busy, sorry!

Rei: (laughs) So what did you want us to talk about today?

Hana: (takes out notes)

Rei: Wow! Is that a Haikara-san clear file?

Hana: We don’t have that much time to talk so I made notes…

Rei: Ah I see! Well, actually thinking about it, unless we’re talking theatre, I don’t know much about “The Ways of Hana” (laughs)

Hana: Today I want to convey all my feelings of thanks and gratitude to you! Umm... (looks at notes) Yuzuka-san you look...looked after me… ever since I was a junior student who kept making...mistakes. I want to say so many things but, sorry…

Rei: Its okay, take your time (laughs)

Hana: Okay. Yes, really just, THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!!!!!!!

Rei: ............End of interview? (laughs)

40 notes • Posted 2021-08-02 17:57:41 GMT

#3

Nice Work If You Can Get It! - Mini Interview with Yuzuka Rei

My translation of Yuzuka Rei’s interview on the success of Nice Work If You Can Get It, in the April issue of Takarazuka Graph!

Enjoy! 

49 notes • Posted 2021-07-11 14:58:43 GMT

#2

Yuzuka Rei Interview (Nikkei Woman Feb 2020 - Yuzuka Rei Special Issue)

A long Interview Rei did with “Nikkei Woman” on her (then) upcoming debut as Top Star in February 2020. The magazine is aimed at career women, so the interview asks questions about the pressures of Takarazuka, her career path, as well as a “this or that” quickfire section on her daily habits. I have included scans of the photo shoot too please excuse the washi tape I have stuck on one of them

Enjoy!

54 notes • Posted 2021-07-17 15:08:52 GMT

#1

Was re-watching Gentleman Jack the other day and just couldn't get the thought out of my head that there should be a Takarazuka adaptation, so here we are! Of course, me being me it's a reihana fan cast!

promarker, fineliner and watercolour, layered digitally

96 notes • Posted 2021-09-21 20:41:31 GMT

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