#i mostly have ideas of songs kurama would cover

[thorns-without-a-rose]

kurama and hiei WOULD cover vocaloid together.

[dreamersscape]

In Which I Attempt to Wreak Havoc Upon Panharmonium's Heart. Or Something.

Because I am an awesome friend, clearly, and possibly making people sad/verklempt is definitely an excellent way to (belatedly 😔 but I did start before the 15th!) celebrate Kakashi's birthday, right? ;)

I will admit up front that this is nowhere near as deftly structured and compiled as your Kakashi fanmix, @panharmonium, but that is precisely why I'm not even going to try to organize all these songs into individual playlists. Yet. Plus, I have a tendency to over-explain so this way I can better expound on why certain songs remind me of certain characters. Sorry that I sorta went a little... overboard?

Everything--except a few that aren't available on spotify, I'll link to them directly--can be listened to HERE.

What I'm Looking For - Brendan Benson | Kakashi → I may be a little biased with this one because it fits SO many of my favorite characters so well, somehow, but there's just something about the upbeat/tongue-in-cheek musical cues/delivery of lines such as 'I visit hell on a daily basis, and I see the sadness in all your faces' that just feels so Kakashi to me.

Happy Ending - MIKA | Kakashi → This is presumably a breakup song, but I enjoy it so much more in a non-romantic context (and the song itself isn't really boxed in with overtly romantic framing, so I appreciate that!). Anyway, some very important instructions IMO for listening to this with Kakashi in mind: everything before the bridge is about Kakashi up through his ANBU years, but when you get to the 'little bit of love' refrain, picture Kakashi meeting Tenzo, and then becoming Team 7's sensei, opening back up to Gai, adopting all the other leaf genin, assimilating Sai and Yamato into Team 7, and it keeps building with Kakashi gaining more and more loved ones to fill the hole in his heart, and then cry tears of joy with me! Just my personal suggestion. :D

Light - Sleeping At Last | Kakashi & Team 7 (/all his kids)

with every heartbeat I have left I will defend your every breath

→ I've seen this song used for ship vids and I'm all ????? about that because this is clearly a song about the love you have for your child! But I suppose if one of my favorite pastimes is aggressively re-interpreting love songs in non-romantic ways, I can't begrudge the opposite process... too much, lol.

Heroes - MIKA | Team Minato

your blood on me/and my blood on you/but to make you bleed/the only thing I wouldn't do/.../I wish there was a way/to give you a hand to hold/'cause you don't have to die in your glory/die, to never grow old

Long Lost Friends - Transit | Kakashi & Obito

how long/do you have to say that/this is not the person I used to know/you are not the person I used to know/.../because lately, you've been looking at me like you've seen a ghost/and isn't it obvious who's been missing who the most

→ What the heck! What the heck! What the heck! What the heck! What the heck!

Against the Voices - Switchfoot | Kakashi

'cause everybody knows/the hardest war to fight/is the fight to be yourself/when the voices try to turn you into someone else

Out of the Darkness - Matthew and the Atlas | Obito? Yamato? Kakashi? Itachi & Sasuke? Naruto & Kurama? → I'm a bit undecided about this one, or if I should just not worry about choosing one character and just let myself feel all the "inner darkness is not an innate characteristic, Danzo! They're just grieving/in a lot of pain, and they can find their way out of that dark place!" feels.

Save A Place - 1969 | Kakashi & Sasuke

so I'll keep away and save a place for you/and I'll only make the same mistakes as you/.../when all the blood all over your fingers is dried up/the pain will still linger

→ I'm not uber-confident in picking out really fitting Kakashi & Sasuke songs yet, but I hope this hits a lot of the right notes for you. :)

Thrive - Switchfoot | Kakashi

I'm always close, but I'm never enough/I'm always in line, but I'm never in love/I get so down, but I won't give up/I get so down, but I won't give up

→ See, it says right there that he's never in love! Not the crux of the song, and he's not always 'in line' either, but still! :)

Disarm - The Civil Wars | Kakashi & Obito

the years burn, burn, burn

→ I don't know how I keep collecting fictional relationships that work so well for this song, but literally every single line of this song hits so hard for these two?? Will never recover from this. (Also, I usually disregard when 'my love' pops up in the last line of the chorus, as the mood dictates. :) It's pretty incidental as is IMO.)

Renaissance - Paolo Buonvino & Skin | Sakumo & Obito & Kakashi & Naruto

let me show you one last time/let me show you one last sign/you can find it/I can't say that I can change the world/but if you let me, I can make another world for us/let me suffer all for you/make this vision all brand new/we can fight them/I can't say that I can win it all, [but] come with me and I will make my words stand tall

→ Okay, this is a very odd choice given that it's actually the theme song for a different show about the Italian renaissance (if you happen to see this, Mirjam, don't hate me!), but this could be IT! The "those who break the rules are scum, but those who would abandon their friends are worse than scum" anthem that's all about building a better world based on these principles! I really hope our sharing-a-brain talent translates to listening to this song in this way because I am feeling SOME KIND of way about this!

The Lament of Eustace Scrubb - The Oh Hellos | Kakashi → I really liked the song you chose from this album for your fanmix, so now I've feeling a tiny bit too on-the-nose with my choice, but I guess this is just a Kakashi album all around. 😆

Glass Heart Hymn - Paper Route | Kakashi(+ Obito) & Sasuke(+ Itachi)

memories as heavy as a stone/ I am empty, in my end you are my beginning

This Is Home - Switchfoot | Yamato & Kakashi (+ Team 7)

and now, after all my searching/after all my questions/I'm gonna call it home

→ All finding-where-you-belong songs are actually Yamato songs. True story!

Faust, Midas, & Myself - Switchfoot | Obito

you have one life left to leave/you have one life left to lead

→ Could this be any more perfect for Obito? It even has creepy-old-man!Madara!

Pluto - Sleeping At Last | Kakashi

Always Gold - Radical Face | Kakashi & Obito/Sasuke & Itachi/Naruto & Sasuke

all my life, I've never known where you've been/there were holes in you, the kind that I could not mend/and I heard you say, right when you left that day/does everything go away?/yeah, everything goes away/but I'm going to be here till forever/so just call when you're around

→ ...but mostly Kakashi & Obito because 'there were holes in you' 😭😭😭

Lemon Boy - Cavetown | Yamato & Kakashi → You already know the delights of this song of course, but I gots to be comprehensive. :)

Everywhere I Go - Lissie/cover by Sleeping At Last | Kakashi & Team Minato

danger will follow me now everywhere I go/angels will call on me and take me to my home/well, these tired eyes just want to remain closed

→ I chose the Sleeping At Last cover for maximum angst, 'cause sometimes it be like that.

Uneven Odds - Sleeping At Last | Kakashi

maybe your light is a seed, and the darkness the dirt, in spite of the uneven odds, beauty lifts from the earth

→ ...just like an earth style: mud wall :') Okay, okay, bad jokes aside, the seed metaphor of course makes me want to associate it with Tenzo, but this is clearly a Kakashi song!

Twenty-four - Switchfoot | Kakashi & Obito

life is not what I thought it was twenty-four hours ago/and I'm not who I thought I was twenty-four hours ago/still I'm singing spirit, take me up in arms with you/you're raising the dead in me/I wanna see miracles/to see the world change/wrestled the angel for more than a name/for more than a feeling, for more than a cause/I'm singing spirit, take me up in arms with you/and you're raising the dead in me

I'm Still Here (Jim's Theme) - John Rzeznik | Kakashi

and how can they say I never change?/they're the ones that stay the same/.../they can't tell me who to be/'cause I'm not what they see/.../and their words are just whispers/and lies that I'll never believe

→ Yeah, I might've accidentally imprinted on Treasure Planet as a 14 year old, and then someone made sure this song would forever live in my heart by making a fanvid of it with my favorite character from my robin hood show, but! He's still here!

See You Again - Wiz Khalifa (feat. Charlie Puth) | Kakashi & Obito/Team Minato

how can we not talk about family when family's all that we got?/everything I went through, you were standing there by my side/and now you gon' be with me for the last ride

→ I am being very unoriginal here, and there are in fact already fanvids made for these relationships set to this song (along with many others featuring different Naruto relationships), but I don't think I'll be able to rest until I translate the movie playing in my head whenever I hear this song now into an actually watchable format. After all, they have come a long way from where they began, and I intend to make that both as touching and ironically hilarious as possible!

Goodnight, Travel Well - The Killers | Kakashi → Admittedly, I got this idea from a magnificently crafted fanvid done for my robin hood show, but I genuinely think it would be really interesting to make something similar for Kakashi centered around the time he technically died but got better? I don't know how to explain it, but I think it fits quite well.

30 Lives - Imagine Dragons | Kakashi & all the people he's loved and lost → can be listened to here.

A Pound of Flesh - Radical Face | Kakashi

then today I wake up feeling easy/and find I'm on more familiar roads/I got a darkness wrapped inside me/but now it ain't so hard to let it go/so keep a candle burning in the window/I'm almost home

Hold Back The River - James Bay | Kakashi & life getting in the way of him being with his precious people (you may be sensing a pattern here) → @the road of life: Let! Kakashi! And his People! Hold! Each! Other!!! Also, 'tried to square not being there, but think that I should have been' is absolutely about Sasuke's defection and Kakashi adding it to his long list of undeserving self-recriminations.

The Fall - Imagine Dragons | Yamato & Kakashi → 😊😊😊😊😊😊😊

Shadowman - K's Choice | could work equally well for Kakashi or Obito, I think

any time tomorrow a part of me will die/and a new one will be born/any time tomorrow/I'll get sick of asking why/sick of all the darkness I have worn/any time tomorrow/I will try to do what's right/making sense of all I can/any time tomorrow I'll pretend to see the light/I just might/.../and doesn't it make you sad?/to see so much love denied/see nothing but a shadowman inside

Paint - The Paper Kites | Kakashi & Team 7

still there's a wound and I'm moving slow/though it don't show, though it don't show/I've got a hole where nothing grows,/how little you know, how little you know

→ A song for just how much Team 7 doesn't know about their sensei.

Always Find Me Here - Transit | Kakashi → ...most likely at the memorial stone. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ (why am I like this)

Taste - Sleeping At Last | Kakashi

it’s bittersweet, it’s poetry/a careful pruning of my dead leaves/it’s holy ground, a treasure chest/I'm on my knees and only scratch the surface/like fists unraveling, like glass unshattering/we’re breaking all the rules, we’re breaking bread again/we’re swallowing light ’til we’re fixed from the inside

Help - Hurts | Yamato & Kakashi

take my hand and lead the way/out of the darkness and into the light of the day/.../'cause I know what I've been missing/and I know that I should try/but there's hope in this admission/and there's freedom in your eyes/.../I can feel the darkness coming/and I'm afraid of myself/call my name and I'll come running/'cause I just need some help

→ NO ONE TOUCHE ME.

Your Soul - RHODES | A mish-mash of Kakashi & Tenzo and Rin & Obito & Kakashi and Gai & Kakashi vibes? → So like, 'oh you know when you're alone/I'm holding on and on and on and on/to your soul' reminded me of your 'when you're all alone...the only thing you really think about is dying' 'but when there are two of you...the only thing you can think about is surviving.' and now kakashi - who just saved his life - is asking him 'did you want to die' and yamato is saying 'no' there are two of them and yamato wants to SURVIVE. tags as well as Gai's steadfastness as a friend, and 'I just wanna hold your hand' made me think of Rin's "Well then, I'm just going to have to connect the two of you." while holding their hands, and the sunlight/'soul shine'/'your light' motif is just A Lot in this song!!

7 Years - Lukas Graham | Kakashi → Alright, yeah, there are already approximately a gazillion pre-existing Naruto AMVs for this song and even one or two focusing on Kakashi, but they don't capitalize on all the angst possibilities in many of the lyrics or reach the fluff potential of 'will I think the world is cold or will I have a lot of children who can warm me [when I'm old]' and I cannot abide that!

Putting The Dog To Sleep - The Antlers | Kakashi & Sasuke → Okay, on one hand, this song is One Big Oof. But I do like the (potentially odd) way I've conceptualized it for Kakashi & Sasuke? Like, the first half is Kakashi going through all the tragedies in his life and getting lost in ANBU, but then in the second half it transitions to him wanting to prevent Sasuke from having to be as alone as Kakashi once was and they can face life together? It makes me emotional!

Trust Me - The Fray | Kakashi & Obito

I found a friend, or should I say a foe?/said there's a few things you should know/we don't want you to see/we come, and we go/here today, gone tomorrow

→ There are a few lines that call Tenzo & Kakashi to mind, but mostly it's Obito & Kakashi.

The Lightning Strike (What If This Storm Ends?) - Snow Patrol | Kakashi → I had to, right? My mindscape is a little murky/scattered about what specifically I want to think about when I listen to this, but obviously it has to do with Kakashi in one way or another.

Kettering - The Antlers | Team Minato(???) → Honestly not sure if this will make any sense, but yeah, vague team minato vibes?

Swans - Unkle Bob | Kakashi & Obito/Rin/Minato/Kushina/Sakumo → They should be by his side always!!!

Looking Too Closely - Fink | Kakashi → I honestly feel rather ambivalent about this one too, but I can't deny 'truth is like blood underneath your fingernails/and you don't wanna hurt yourself, hurt yourself/looking too closely' always destroys me because... well, you know. I love suffering. :(

Souvenirs - Switchfoot | Kakashi & Obito & Rin

wolves - Switchfoot | Kakashi

snowfall for the battlefield/roses for the father's sons/see them red on the ground:/bleeding/when the revolution came/we were more than hungry men/we were hoping for more:/bleeding/end. begin again./all of my world is collision and spin/hope is a world that has yet to begin/awaken, oh sleeper/awaken, oh sleeper/a new day begins

→ I wanted a wolf-related song too. :)

PRODIGAL SOUL - Switchfoot | Obito, Itachi, & Sasuke; just all them wayward Uchiha boys

Coming Down - Dear Euphoria | kid!Kakashi & his relationships

the shell/that I wore/it wasn't for fun/it wasn't to make you/stick around/it was for survival/it was what I've learnt/it was for the sun/.../our love has grown/our love has flown

→ Another one I'm a little unsure of whether it makes sense outside of my head or not, but I like the vibes?

Ghosts That We Knew - Mumford & Sons | Kakashi & Yamato? → Hmm, can I maybe submit this as a Kakashi-&-Yamato-just-need-to-mske-it-through-this-war-so-they-can-have-a-bright-bright-future song?

All Is Well (It's Only Blood) - Radical Face | Kakashi → ...he said as he's bleeding out or after he's thrown himself in the line of fire protecting someone he thinks is a better person than himself...

Bleeding Out - Imagine Dragons | Kakashi

when the hour is nigh/and hopelessness is sinking in/and the wolves all cry/to fill the night with hollering/when your eyes are red/and emptiness is all you know/with the darkness fed/I will be your scarecrow/you tell me to hold on/oh, you tell me to hold on/but innocence is gone/and what was right is wrong

→ In a similar vein to the previous song. But goodness gracious! Were they NOT straight up describing Kakashi here?

Amaryllis - Shinedown | Yamato & Kakashi → Just tossing this one out there, not sure if it will make sense or if it's a reach... but I like it?

lost 'cause - Switchfoot | Kakashi & Sasuke

are we a lost cause?/or are we just lost 'cause/we won't be the future we refuse to see?/and if I'm your lost cause/it'll be your lost 'cause/you won't see me as I am, the possibility/that I'm not the enemy

→ 214 feels. (And before and after that, but yeah.)

Through the Ghost - Shinedown | Kakashi & Obito

so many silent sorrows/you never hear from again/and now that you've lost tomorrow/is yesterday still a friend?/.../everything that mattered is just/a city of dust/covering both of us/did you hide yourself away?/I can't see you anymore/.../did you hide yourself away?/are you living through the ghost?/did you finally find a place/above the shadows so the world will never know?/the world will never know you like I do ... like I still do

Little Talks - Of Monsters and Men | Kakashi → Just Kakashi having little chats with his ghosts, totally the most heartwarming way to conclude this section. 😅

Sleepyhead - Passion Pit | Kakashi → Just kidding! Here's a slightly less morbid song for the Most Tired Boy Of Them All.™ (Random aside: this was my customary song to listen to on my walks to 8AM organic chemistry classes; I found it strangely soothing! On a different occasion, after a particularly long day for her, one of my roommates didn't have the energy to make it to her bed but nevertheless requested a lullaby from us. So I obliged by playing this song for her, but she didn't seem to gain the same peace of mind from it as I did. 😄 I know it's not my place to propose anything like this, but it does amuse me to imagine bookends!Kakashi in these situations, even though it's not OChem classes he has to go to.)

General/Miscellaneous:

Rise Above It - Switchfoot | Ensemble

don't care what they're telling me/we can be what we want to be/.../just because it's law doesn't mean that it's fair/.../don't believe the system's on your side/.../the curse is spoken/the system's broken; rise above it

→ I mean, how could I not think about Naruto when this song also has the lines 'hear us sing tonight like the last night on earth/we will rise like the tide/like dead men coming back to life/we are rising, rising'? It's fun to be literal sometimes!

Doorways - Radical Face | Allllll the traumatized children → Someone has to put all those tragic childhood flashbacks to good use, after all.

Ghost Towns - Radical Face | take your pick of Itachi, Sasuke, or Post-Kannabi-Bridge!Obito

there's no comin' home/with a name like mine/I still think of you/but everyone knows/yeah everyone knows/if you care, let it go

Blinding Light - Switchfoot | Hey, Hiruzen? You may have coined the phrase, "children are the king" but I don't think you truly understand it... (insert Princess Bride joke here)

hey boy, don't believe them/we're the nation that eats our youth/.../still looking for the blinding light/still looking for the reason why/still looking for the sun to shine/all my life I've been living in the darkest night/still looking for the blinding light/to take me higher and higher

Brother's Blood - Kevin Devine | EVERYONE → ...but certainly so much you could do with Itachi & Sasuke, Obito & Kakashi, Shisui & Itachi, even Hashirama & Madara! Sakumo's teammates turning their backs on him and saying 'I don't know one thing about my brother's blood'?!?! There are SO MANY ideas I have for this song! It gives me chills and makes my brain scream.

We Need Each Other - Sanctus Real | Ensemble → Already mentioned this one to you, but I have to include it here for thoroughness' sake!

Whispering - Alex Clare | the Hidden Leaf's lost/ostracized children/orphans

who will care for the falling?/who will care for the falling leaves?

So this is probably a strange concept to come up with and apply to this song, but the 'whispering, whispering, whispering' parts brought Konaha's virulent gossiping/passing judgement about others and often kids they don't even know problem to mind, too, and yeah?

The World You Want - Switchfoot | Ensemble → If I were to make a fanvid set to this song, I would definitely keep a broad focus, but I can't deny that the lines 'you start to look like what you believe, you float through time like a stream, if the waters of time are made up by you and I, I could change the world for you, you change it for me' FOR SURE has strong Obito & Kakashi/Kakashi & Tenzo vibes.

Red Eyes - Switchfoot | Ensemble, but definitely many dashes of Uchihas 😄 → I would like to thank Masashi Kishimoto for creating a world where red eyes are a Thing of Importance so I can one day make a fanvid using this song in not just the tired or teary bloodshot-red eyes way, but in a very literal sense too.

TAKE MY FIRE - Switchfoot | The Will of Fire → 'Cause I think I'm sooooo clever. 😄

Above The Clouds Of Pompeii - Bear's Den | various parent & child relationships → This obviously derives from the not-caring-about-your-female-characters problem, but it always gets me that all the single parents in the Naruto universe are almost invariably the fathers! I guess sometimes you can safely guess that the mothers are still alive/exist, but either way we hardly ever get to see them. :/ The one exception I can think of right now is Kurenai, but maybe I'm forgetting another conspicuous single mother. Anyway, I don't know if this helps or hinders more a potential Naruto fanvid for this song, but regardless, it still gives me feelings?

Who We Are - Switchfoot | Ensemble → It just makes me inordinately happy that the chorus for this song starts with 'who we are (in the fever of our youth)', you know? :D

Brother - Kodaline | all the friendships we can stuff in here and then some → Quite a well known song I'm pretty sure, but I love how many dynamics one could showcase in a potential fanvid of this. And, not gonna lie, 'oh brother, we go deeper than the ink beneath the skin of our tattoos' deserves to be used in some sort of Tenzo 'n' Kakashi or Team Ro fan creation!

Special Bonus:

Shake It Out - Florence + The Machine | Kakashi & Obito → I'm not sure whether I would have realized how well this works for Kakashi & Obito on my own, funnily enough, but then I found this fanvid of it (containing only scenes you've seen naturally!) and it hit me like a ton of bricks. It's so well done!

[ga-yuu]

I thought I would have some fun! Since IkeGen’s 2nd anniversary is just around the corner, and mostly likely the next route would of Kagetoki. I was just scrolling through twitter to pass time,(because that’s my life now, since the lockdown started again!) I found something interesting!

Yeah! I missed it. So I decided to translate it now. So basically, this is the reward for making Kagetoki, the 9th best man in the Genjiden 1st anniversary election. Its called ‘Kagetoki Kagekini News.’ The newscaster, Kagetoki, will be reporting on the events of the Genji Den. So let’s start!!!!

Breaking News!! Suspect Yoshitsune and two others have been detained by a certain Karasu Tengu!

Kagetoki: “The suspects Minamoto no Yoshitsune, Nasu no Yoichi, and Musashibo Benkei have been taken into custody by a certain Karasu Tengu, the victim. The three are suspected of breaking the victim's incense burner and were planning to cover up the crime. Let us hope for a swift and severe punishment.”

Yoshitsune: "There is no room for apologies. I'm sorry, Kurama. I had no idea that an incense burner was so fragile. --Instead, let me prepare a new shiny object that you like. I don't know if I have the discernment to choose such a thing.”

Yoichi: "Hey, how come they even know that we were trying cover-up? Where did you see it?　No, actually I feel bad too. I'm sure you'll be happy to know that I'm not the only one. ......But I underestimated Yoshitsune-sama's honesty.”

Benkei: “ Yoshitsune-sama is pure and innocent. More importantly, Kagetoki, your desire for severe punishment is entirely your own personal wish!　You should be more impartial in your reporting. ...and Kurama. I'm sorry. I'll make you some tasty snacks, so please forgive us for now.”

Kurama: "You thought you could pull the wool over my eyes, you fool. I will have that new shiny object and those delicious sake and snacks. But if it's not to my liking, you'll have to know that I won't let you get away with it. ...First of all, Sueharu, bring me a list of the items you're offering.”

Sueharu: "Yes, yes, you're a product expert, aren't you? If you ask me, I'll prepare first-class products for you (at first-class prices, of course.) Oh, you're ordering everything from here to here?　That's Yoshitsune-sama and Kurama!　--Thank you again for everything.”

........................

Breaking News!!! The Two Minamoto brothers has been arrested. An epic sibling rivalry led to an explosion!

Kagetoki: "Suspects Minamoto no Yoritomo and Minamoto no Yoshitsune have been arrested. According to eyewitnesses, the two were staring at each other with their swords drawn when suddenly a vacant house in the vicinity exploded and scattered. They are suspected to be related. ...Is this a case of involvement due to an epic sibling quarrel?”

Yoshitsune: "I didn't expect to be arrested every day. But this time I plead not guilty. It is true that I myself and Yoritomo-sama were pointing swords at each other, but the explosion that followed is beyond my knowledge. ...And please don't call it a brotherly quarrel.”

Yoritomo: "You've got some nerve arresting me here. But I'm not guilty either. I ran into Yoshitsune, who was scouting in Kamakura, and I drew my sword. I saw a black shadow just before the house was blown up. I think we should investigate him first...... And don't call it a sibling rivalry.”

Shigehira: "--and why is Yoritomo-sama being arrested!　I'm not sure what to make of this, but I'm sure it's something that's going to be a big deal for the Shogunate.  ...... A mysterious black shadow, then. I'm sure you'll be happy to know that I'm not the only one who has a problem with this.”

Morinaga: "What is this feeling? When I heard that Yoritomo-sama was arrested for fighting with his brother, I naturally smiled. ...Oh, I'm sorry, can you please edit out that sentence?　I think Yoritomo-sama is going to say something to me. And I understand about the investigation. Let's do our best, Shigehira.”

..................

Further News. The real perpetrator of the explosion has been arrested.

Kagetoki: "Continuing news. The real culprit in the bombing of the vacant house yesterday has been arrested. The suspect is Abe no Yasuchika, as most of us expected. He is suspected of releasing demons throughout Kamakura. The suspect made a joking statement, saying that he had no ill will toward the demons.”

Yasuchika: "Oh no, I really didn't mean to offend you.　I was just going for a light walk and because the newly captured demon wanted to play outside. But when I saw Yoritomo-sama and Yoshitsune-sama having a sibling quarrel, I got scared and accidentally popped him!”

Ibuki: "You accidentally popped it. ...That looks like a pretty interesting toy. Hey Yasuchika, let me borrow that demon. You need a walk, don't you?　I'll take you out somewhere more exciting and with a better view.”

Akihito: "Oh dear. I don't know what kind of "exciting" walk we'll have if Ibuki is in charge. Anyway, Kagetoki, what do you mean most of us were right?　Yasuchika is such a good and honest boy. ...You think so too, don't you?”

Tamamo: "Kagetoki, you're completely right about this. If something happens, it's usually Yasuchika's or Ibuki's fault, let's just say that. ...Hmm?　You think I'm going to cause a scene?　I don't think so. Whenever I mess with you, it's always out of love, right?”

...............................

Latest News!! Kajiwara Kagetoki, the suspect has been caught red-handed. .....Huh?

Kagetoki: "Is this the last news? Well, let's end with a spectacular revelation. In fact, Yoritomo-sama looks like a *beep*, Shigehira is a *beep*, and Morinaga is a *beep*, excuse me, there seems to be some kind of regulated sound. And then came the breaking news. The suspect, Kajiwara Kagetoki, has been arrested. ...Huh?”

Kagetoki: "It seems that I am suspected of leaking confidential information. It is a shame that I am a whistleblower for the Shogunate. I am indeed a member of the Shogunate, but in this moment, I am a man who lives to report the truth. Don't worry, I will keep my revelations to a level that will avoid social extermination.”

Shigehira: "Nothing is safe!　Such an embarrassing secret of mine... I mean, why did Kagetoki-san know about that thing in the first place?　I'm afraid of his normal information gathering ability. Up until now, I've been able to rely on him because he's on my side, but I can't believe how troublesome he'll be if someone gets in his way...”

Yoichi: "Wow, this is interesting. I'd like to say ......, but I'm wondering when the target will turn on us. I'm sorry for Shigehira, but I'll pray that he doesn't get caught up in this. I'm sure he'll be happy to hear that.”

Yoritomo: "I told you to go make one last splash, but here you are. Now you are angry that Morinaga touched the glasses you dropped this morning with his bare hands and put his fingerprints on them. I'll forgive you if you want to take revenge on Morinaga personally. The only thing I don't understand is why you revealed it to me first.”

Morinaga: "Isn't it because Yoritomo-sama blew it out loud when I picked up his glasses?　But it seems that I was lucky enough to avoid being exposed. Oh, by the way, Kagetoki, here's an apology for you. Here are your new glasses!”

Kagetoki: "I will also request additional precious books from the Song Dynasty for Morinaga. ...Well, I guess it's time for me to finish. If my dog can wait properly, the news may come back to me again someday. You can wait until then, right?　--I'll see you back here someday.”

[nimbus-cloud]

Yu Yu Hakusho Stage Review!!!

Before I start going over the show I want to stress just how INCREDIBLY lucky I got, because I got to see the show via a same-day lottery ticket, after failing EVERY lottery and general sales, and it was INTENSE!!!  On the Thursday when I lined up twice, there were easily 400 people in the line for both the matinee and soiree shows and even when my number was drawn, it was actually 2nd on the waiting list, not one of the original winners, and I may or may not have been seriously contemplating throwing some people down the escalators to move up on the list.  But three people canceled or didn’t show so I got to get in and I was bouncing off the walls inside, WHATEVER POWER WATCHES OVER ME, I owe it my eternal soul for the opportunity!

They opened the show with HOHOEMI NO BAKUDAN and I almost screamed from the nostalgia honestly.  They basically did an opening sequence with the song, mimicking the anime opening by having them fight one by one against a group of enemies... which is why a lot of those press release photos have Kurama fighting with his rose whip (when we don’t actually see his rose whip until later in the story that’s not in this play [ALSO HOW DOES HE MAKE FIGHTING WITH THE WHIP LOOK SO GODDAMN COOL INSTEAD OF AWKWARD?!?!?]), and why there are shots with Hiei letting out the Black Dragon or Kuwabara dual-wielding spirit swords.  I know some of us were curious how much story they were going to cover or how much they were going to skip, and it’s not because of some massive skip.  The story runs from the very beginning with Yusuke dying, spending time as a ghost, and then to just after retrieving the three artifacts of darkness.  They give us a hint of the four of them about to enter the castle of the Saint Beasts, so that might be where the next play (crosses fingers) will pick up the story.  

The format of the story has Koenma (adult ver.) narrating (sometimes with Genkai) as he’s watching “old” videos of the group and reminding himself how far Yusuke has come.  Based on his conversation with Genkai at the beginning, the “present” in the play is just before the Dark Tournament, and everthing else in the play is Koenma watching those videos (also why there are press photos of him with a remote control).  This is also why they could fit the Kurama and Hiei meeting backstory, because it’s Koenma watching old videos and wanting to look back on them too.  

And also Arayan as Koenma is SO FUCKING FUNNY we were all cracking up a LOT.  He can actually enunciate quite well with that pacifier in his mouth!  And he’s always changing back and forth between his adult version and baby version because he’s either watching/narrating or in the flashbacks himself as a baby.  He also really liked breaking the fourth wall while narrating so for some of the cute Yusuke-Keiko moments, for example, he was like, “What a cute young romance—WHO EVEN HAS A ROMANCE LIKE THAT IN MIDDLE SCHOOL HUH!?”

I haven’t watched Arayan live since 2015 when I saw him as Lao in a Kuroshitsuji Musical, so it was wonderful to see him again and in a role that allows him to do so much more and be such a ham.  

Tsubasa as Yusuke was amazing, fantastic, splendid, show-stopper.  I liked his Renji from when he was in the 2016 Burimyu, and so I thought I had some idea what his yankee characterization would be like (because obviously his Ishikirimaru isn’t a great reference point lol), but it’s even better!  He was so funny and so warm, and when he had the scene making the little kid laugh, I have NO idea how he was able to pull those faces.  He looked basically exactly like anime Yusuke pulling faces and I was wheezing so bad in my seat.  Mostly, I just couldn’t believe that he really unzipped his pants (while turned away from us) to stuff that kid’s ball into his crotch and dance around with it.  

Speaking of the little boy, we gotta give props to Genkai’s actress because she played so many side characters throughout lololol.  She couldn’t be Genkai for very long or often, so she was also Keiko’s shy, glasses-wearing friend in school, she was also Maya-chan (Kurama’s classmate that he and Hiei have to rescue) in the Two Shots scene, she was the little boy Yusuke saves (she tries not to talk as him), and she’s also obviously young Genkai.  Because she plays so many roles, there’s a narration bit where Koenma tells Genkai, “You know, in these videos, I keep seeing a lot of kids that look like you.”  And she tells him he’s imagining things.  

Plot-wise, they did skip one major scene from when Yusuke was a ghost, and that was the scene where his apartment caught fire and he had to “sacrifice” his spirit egg to save Keiko.  

Oh but I loved the bit where he had to possess Kuwabara to go tell Keiko not to cremate his body, because the way they did it was to have Tsubasa and Naoya do everything in unison together.  So all the choreography has Naoya as Kuwabara fighting all the guys that come at him, and Tsubasa just a little ways away doing the exact same thing, only he’s not hitting anybody.  And although it had been Naoya doing all of the talking so that we hear Kuwabara’s voice, at the point when he’s talking to Keiko and the lines start to get sentimental, they turn up Tsubasa’s mic so that they overlap for a little bit, and then they turn down Naoya’s mic so that at the end, we only hear Yusuke’s voice asking Keiko to wait for him.  He was also slowly moving off-stage while Kuwabara(‘s body) was talking to Keiko, so that the end of that scene has just Kuwabara and Keiko on-stage, but we hear Tsubasa-Yusuke's voice.  So I really loved how that was done because it mimicked the anime really well.  

I loved being able to see Kuwabara’s promise-between-men played out on-stage.  His squad was cut down to just two guys instead of three, since you really only need Okubo for that bit, and they needed to divide the ensemble cast between Kuwabara’s boys and the other punks who want to beat on Kuwabara all the time.  Naoya as Kuwabara was everything I wanted and more.  His voice, his expressions, his everything was just SO. GOOD.  And it was so funny to think how long I’ve been a fan of Naoya (since 1st cast Tenimyu days basically) and how I’ve never actually seen him live in a show until this.  So that was a real treat and a real blast of nostalgia on multiple levels.  I’m so happy he was the one to bring Kuwabara to life on-stage, he was wonderful, and I’m so grateful I got to see him.  

Yuka-tan's Botan was SO SO SO CUTE?!?!?!?  Oh my gosh she felt so perfect to me in every way, and I loved her dynamic with Yusuke and Koenma, there was so much cute banter.  I liked when Yusuke was laughing in Koenma’s face and Botan kept spanking him because, in case we forgot, he’s like actually 14 years old at this point in the story.  Sometimes she was the one watching the old clips together with Koenma so she also switches between being in the story to being part of the narration.  

If you wanted a critical review, this is not the place to look because I pretty much only found it wonderful and amazing and nostalgic and amazing but I do have one minor criticism and that is that Yusuke’s post-resurrection outfit for helping Kuwabara rescue Eikichi was not his fashion icon look from the anime.  He just had a regular color jacket instead.  Ugh, way to make him look “cool” stage staff. Lol  

The Two Shots scenes were interspersed between Yusuke’s ghost antics and I really do think my heart stopped when I first hear Hiroki speak.  I haven’t been a fan of Hiroki for as long as I’ve been a fan of Naoya, but he’s another one that I’ve seen so often in so many shows, but this was my first time seeing him live and he just has such a presence that it’s no wonder we call him HiroKing.  It was also fun to see Shouhei again since I haven’t seen him live since his last show as Noya for Haisute, and he’s as amazing as I remember.  Pretty sure he’s having a lot of fun playing early evil Hiei honestly.  Since both Hiroki and Shouhei have a lot of experience in other shows with sword-fighting (*cough TKRB/Hakuouki*), those bits looked really fucking cool.  

But YYH is heavy on hand-to-hand combat, not sword-fighting, and I have to say that they did a nice job with that too!  There were places where I felt like they got nice and creative with it, and it’s fun to see Naoya give Kuwabara a little extra flair with his.  The ensemble cast were integral to all of those fight scenes, and they had to do a lot of falling and flying around, and they also need a loud round of applause.  

Gouki’s actor ripped off his shirt TWICE!!! Not once, but two times!!!  And I mean RIPPED, like not stage rip, like he RIPPED that shirt.  So I’m assuming they just ordered a box of cheap t-shirts for him to rip through for the rest of the tour.  Mind you, I was not complaining about the shirtlessness.   It was also interesting because after Gouki’s defeat, they put him in spirit world as one of Koenma’s ogre servants as a replacement for George in the second act, so he and Koenma have some fun moments since he’s quite reformed once dead.  

As I mentioned, they do give us a sneak peek of the four of them meeting up just outside the Four Saint Beasts castle, with Kuwabara picking a fight with Hiei and all.  However, we did skip over Genkai’s tournament, which comes just before that so it’s possible we might not get that little arc on-stage even in the next show.  Maybe to avoid rushing Liz into Genkai’s old lady makeup, maybe because nobody cares about Rando anyway.  

The closing bows were also done to Hohoemi no Bakudan (I was maybe a teeny tiny bit hoping for Homework ga Owaranai), and during the closing remarks, Tsubasa very excitedly told us that during the afternoon show, Yusuke’s anime seiyuu, Sasaki Nozomu came to see them!  He was wiggling side to side and said, “I got a picture with him yaaay~” and then he asked us to come see them again in the Spirit World, to which Naoya started making confused faces.   Naoya: Sp-spirit world? Tsubasa: No?   Naoya: The story’s mostly in the human world, isn’t it? Tsubasa: Ahhh.... yeah! Naoya: You’re exhausted, aren’t you?

And that’s my review/summary!  Feel free to ask me questions about it or to just scream at me how much you love YYH~

[carnelianwings]

Could you please do 7, 14 and 27? (I replied in the notes in the last post but didn't know if you would see it.) Thank you 💙

Ask me questions for OTPs!  I’ll answer for SoreMiku, Puzzleshipping, Blindshipping, and Kurama/Hiei!

I know you’d asked for SoreMiku earlier, so I’ll answer for them!

7: What’s the first thing that changes when they realize they have feelings for the other?

With these two?  Almost nothing, except for the part where they realize they no longer have to come up with excuses to touch each other longer than would be considered strictly platonic.  And that it’s really really nice to be able to relax and read while leaning up against each other instead of being distracted by “does he like like me or not?”

14: Who kisses the hardest?

I feel like they’d be pretty equal in that regard, even in the heat of the moment.  Except That One Time Mikleo Accidentally Drank An Aphrodisiac (thanks Rose!).  Mikleo definitely won that time, lol.

27: Who would sing to their child back to sleep?

Should they ever adopt a child to raise together . . . hmmmm . . . Mikleo has a really nice singing voice.  In both languages even.  Sorey does too, actually.  (You have no idea how badly I died looking up YouTube videos of Sorey and Mikleo singing in both languages.  Really, go give them a listen.)

But I’d hand it to Sorey.  Mostly because the video I linked for Kimura Ryouhei is him doing a cover of the Doraemon theme song, and it’s just amazing and cute and adorable and I totally spent my (pre)kindergarten years watching that show when I was but a wee little girl growing up in Hong Kong and I can totally see Sorey singing that to their kid, both as a lullaby and just playing around.