#it just felt like another instance of manato being miserable

[ova-kakyoin]

good lird im thinking abt manato again

[zukadiary]

Chateau de la Reine / VIVA! FESTA! ~ Cosmos Troupe 2017

Mixed feelings and spoilers ahead!

The Plot: We’ve been blessed with a full script translation thanks to @makalations​‘s hard work, so I’m going to keep it very brief: Mirion is running a scam by double booking two tour groups in the same famous hotel at the same time so she can scrape up enough money to prevent her tour company from going under. Tour participants include Maakun (a novelist trying to find inspiration for his Louis XIV love story) and a bunch of other weirdos, antics ensue as the tour company tries to keep the two groups apart and they all kind of get to know each other.

Overall impressions: On the plus side, pretty much all the main players in Soragumi down to the kumichous had their own little side story going on (except Rui Makise and Rukaze Hikaru who receded into the background for this one), which I appreciated as someone who loves the whole troupe and whose fave was just a black angel. I followed the story with no problem, and I think I always wind up giving extra points to shows that make me feel like my Japanese doesn’t suck. They definitely put together a style, and I enjoyed the ridiculous costumes. I was, however, left curious to know more about what the overall vision was; the backgrounds were so drab it felt like they splurged on a custom wardrobe and ran out of budget. Even though the aesthetics could not be more different, it kind of reminded me of Count’s Daughter in that they bothered to stay out of the recycle bin to tell a visual story, but Count’s Daughter took that down to the last corner of the stage and Chateau de la Reine fell short (maybe this is a DVD problem, I don’t know).

On the minus side, it was lazy comedy with no real character development. It reminded me of being 15 and dying laughing at a lot of truly terrible anime because I was just so into it that you could shove any tired trope down my throat and I’d swallow it enthusiastically and beg for more. Puns so simple I understood them, half the characters rolling their Rs all the time, Louis XIV’s dramatic entrances (you could taste the freeze frame allowing a gust of flower petals to blow by)… NO JOKE, Maakun literally crashes into a door like this:

BUT, there is most definitely a give and take with these things. The trade-off for  a one-act troupe showcase is relying on stereotypes for character development to keep the show under 5 hours. Looking at a theatrical masterpiece like Hoshiai, 3 people got really meaningful roles. So I guess as long as a star’s run has a balance of both, I’ll take this occasionally. I do wish the comedy had been a little more creative. I think I laughed the hardest when poor miserable Zunchan picked her chin up and agreed to lead her shafted tour group to see the opera house “from the outside!” because it was the middle of the night… that was cute!

People:

Asaka Manato as Kitashirakawa (yeesh) Ukyo, the aforementioned novelist, was not what I’d call brilliant because it was not the most brilliant character… but she got to do some things she is uniquely good at, namely being kind of a jerkface and performing physically improbable feats of weirdness with her lanky limbs. Entertaining within the parameters of everyone here being a caricature.

Misaki Rion was equally the lead and very much boss lady in charge. I heard a lot of complaints that Reiko was not a role worthy of Mirion considering she retired on it, but I’m not sure what more you can expect out of a career spanning 2 partners and iconic leads like Aida and Elisabeth. This was a strange little show and for what it was I liked Reiko; I also liked that she basically orchestrated the whole scam. It was a much more interesting premise than a love story. Despite it being Maakun and Mirion’s last show together I didn’t even mind that it was romance-lite; they finished on equal footing holding hands, and that pretty much sums up their wonderful partnership for me.

Makaze Suzuho as the apparition of Louis XIV, dwelling in the chateau that was formerly his and inspiring Kitashirakawa’s novel, was probably my favorite part of the show if I toss my biases aside. Her Louis exuded an air of being so very done with all of these ridiculous people, while simultaneously being completely unaware that he’s definitely the most ridiculous person present. It was delightful.

Aizuki Hikaru as a tacky old rich real estate magnate with a toupee, and his arm candy/former hostess Hoshikaze Madoka, were the height of caricature; we learn almost nothing about them beyond that bare bones backstory and what’s conveyed through their clothing and their age difference. Nothing against their performances, but on the show level this was one instance where despite a lack of effort put into characterization we’re just supposed to find them funny (he’s old and absurd and she’s young and silly and they’re dating, get it??). I do appreciate Aichan’s willingness to lean all the way into a completely over the top character. This was a layup for Madoka.

Sumiki Sayato plays Makoto, a kind of grumpy cop paired against his will with Sorahane Riku’s Crayon, who is ostensibly a man in drag (we’re not given enough information to nail down Crayon’s gender identity). Crayon takes a shine to Makoto immediately, and this is another trope we’re just supposed to find funny—grouchy dude doesn’t want anything to do with the always-cheerful, flamboyant drag queen who won’t take no for an answer. WORKING WITH WHAT WE’VE GOT, I enjoyed both of their performances. Akkii is too sweet to fully immerse herself in the jerk who’s just a jerk for the sake of being a jerk, which made her eventual softening both foreseeable and convincing. Riku was hamming it up, and the fact that she was a head taller than Akkii in her heels really made the whole dynamic. And they got a kiss!

Sakuragi Minato plays Togawa, another guide in Reiko’s tour company, responsible for the group that paid less and thus constantly struggling to keep them out of the hotel at the choicest hours. This role was a waste of Zunchan, yet I can’t imagine anyone other than Zunchan in this role. She was adorable and pitiful and 110% invested; I just watch her constantly evolving offstage and I’m waiting for that role that makes me go WHO ARE YOU AND WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH ZUNCHAN?!

Junya Chitose as the editor was another highlight. She’s both wholly supportive of Kitashirakawa’s eccentricity and a force to be reckoned with herself, and she spends most of her stage time drunk/ hungover/ flirting with Sora. When she’s stumbling, glasses askew, on the silver bridge, you can’t help but pray to the gods she’s not leaving with the next show.

KazukimotherfuckingSora as Pierre, the only one aside from chief bellboy Sao who really has to speak French, was A CHOICE, because she CANNOT DO THAT. There’s a scene where she tells everyone she remembered the name of a place and it sounds like she’s choking. But like everything else she does she took her adorable lavender blazer and ran with it, and I was in stitches, and honestly I don’t know who else she could have played. I miss you, you dumb idiot <3

Mentions: Kumichous were a married couple (<3), Reimi Urara was the memory of Louis’s lover with not a heck of a lot to do, and my not-a-real-character shout out this time goes to club singer Fuuma Kakeru (and Sao finding a way, at great pains I’m sure, to make issuing orders to the other bellboys sexy).

VIVA! FESTA! was not Hot Eyes but nothing will ever be Hot Eyes.

Quick hits:

Catchy theme song, catchier yosakoi chuuzume that had me dancing at work all day today feeling grateful I don’t go to the office

Worth it alone for Night on Bald Mountain featuring Kumichou taking center stage in a very Maleficent getup

I’m not into this boy band trend… but I am also aware that whether or not I am into this boy band trend in the moment depends heavily on who is pointing and winking at me

The festa theme could definitely have been more obvious throughout, but props to Nakamura S. for not falling back on Carnivale for a change. I could honestly watch an entire revue of yosakoi

Can I have a Sora angle? God that kid can dance. I REALLY MISS YOU, YOU DUMB IDIOT <3

Not a set of all-time winners, but I liked everything enough to watch again!