#though!!!! i think he’d look super cool in a hakama!!!!! those always look great on tall people/dudes with good proportions

[deus-ex-mona]

J U S T D A I

[chemicalperfume]

GRAPH 2013.01: “C’est Maniaque Takarazuka” (Sagiri Seina / Misuzu Aki/ Souno Haruto / Sahana Mako)

It is now September 18th in my part of the world too, so...

Happy Birthday Chigi (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:・ﾟ✧

In celebration, here is Chigi, Mattsu, Niwa and Kyabii being GIANT zuka nerds, and extremely relatable while doing so. Recommended read for literally everyone (and since this Graph issue is a few months shy of being 5 years old, look at these incredible, pure fan smiles xD)

-Declare your love for XX!-

Misuzu: In this case, I probably want to declare my love for Yan-san (Anju Mira). The reason I seriously fell in love with Takarazuka, was Yan-san. And as an onnayaku too! Usually, otokoyaku Yan-san gives off this “how cool!” vibe, right? But that was completely different, I was like “Who is this person?”

Sagiri: Which production was that?

Misuzu: “The Flash”. During Natsume-san’s (Ooura Mizuki) Top Star era.

Sagiri: Right!

Misuzu: For more details, I talked about it in “C’est Maniaque Takarazuka”, GRAPH 2012.03 issue! *laughs* [1]

Sagiri: *laughs* As for me, I loved the YanMiki combi (Anju Mira & Maya Miki), and what I loved the most about Yan-san is her opening announcements!

Misuzu/Souno/Sahana: Oh really!

Sagiri: I have a thing for opening announcements, and those were some goosebump-inducing ones *laughs*

Souno: Is that so *laughs*

Sagiri: I felt something very grownup there, that spoke to my little heart when I was still a child. The impression I have of Yan-san is her opening announcements *laughs* My favourite plays of hers that constantly compete for the title and switch between 1st and 2nd place are “Sorrowful Cordoba” and “Melancholic Gigolo”.

Misuzu: I was in both of those when they got restaged. [2]

Sagiri: What was it like, performing them? I sometimes think I might be no good if I had to perform in a play I’ve always loved

Misuzu: Yeah. “Melancolic Gigolo” was one of my favourites too and I watched it a lot, so I was at a loss about how I should do it… I had the role of Barotte, but watching it and performing it…

Sagiri: ...they’re totally different things, indeed. You already have this fixed image of the play after all.

Misuzu: Yeah. Once I did it it was an interesting experience, though.

Souno: I loved Kodai Mizuki who used to be in Snow Troupe! Of course, I watched the Top Stars too, but I was paying lots of attention to everyone around them too. I loved striking people with old-school gravitas. I was all about that vibe.

Misuzu: She was so wonderful. I get you! I get that!

Sagiri: She was so cool!

Souno: I would even put portraits of Kodai-san from the Takarazuka magazines inside my pencil board… [3]

Sagiri: Yes! I totally did that too!

Misuzu/Sahana: *laughing*

Souno: I did that during my school years.

Sahana: I had my Takarazuka goods confiscated at school, and got told off very badly!

Misuzu/Souno/Sagiri: Whaaat? Really?

Souno: Was it not allowed?

Sahana: I was called to the teachers’ office twice!

Misuzu/Souno/Sagiri: *cracking up*

Sagiri: What kind of goods was it?

Sahana: Uhm, there used to be those pocket size portrait photos… [4]

Sagiri: Yesyes, those!

Sahana: I had collected lots of them, put them in a box and kept them in bundles

Misuzu/Souno/Sagiri: *explosive laughter*

Sahana: So because I had that with me, it was taken away, and I was summoned to the teachers’ office… Where I said “Please give it back!”

Souno: And did they give it back?

Sahana: *nods*

Souno: But you got reprimanded again?

Sahana: Yes. The second time I told the teacher again to “Please give it back!”. And when they did, they had stuck a note on the box that said “I’m giving it back, but from now on you should grow up, and be pure, proper and beautiful”!

Souno: Aaah, that’s no good!

Sahana: I got so super mad, I ripped off the note right in front of the teacher’s eyes and ate it!

Misuzu/Souno/Sagiri: *in stitches*

Misuzu: She ate it! HAHAHA *laughing*

Sagiri: Why would you eat it? *laughing* But that in itself was a total act of defiance

Sahana: Exactly, I just got so ticked off.

Sagiri: The thing you loved so much was taken away from you, no wonder.

Souno: And to be told such a thing on top of everything, that was the worst, eh?

Sahana: It really was!

Misuzu: Using it against you is really no good. It has the opposite effect.

Sahana: Exactly!

Souno: *laughs* That kind of thing happened to me too. In the morning, when I was sleeping, my mother would come in the room and say “Wake up! Wake up quick!”. Then, my father chimed in with “Kodai-san is calling youuu~”

Misuzu/Sagiri/Sahana: *clapping hands and dying of laughter*

Sagiri: Makes you go “As if she would be!”

Souno: Right!! And on top of that, sometimes he’d mess up and say “Godai-san”

Misuzu/Sagiri/Sahana: *roaring laughter*

Souno: “It’s Kodai-san!!!!” I’d answer, super angrily *laughs*

Sagiri: But you did wake up alright *laughing*

Souno: True. *laughs* But I really didn’t want them to use this against me, for such a thing.

Misuzu: I get it, I do.

Souno: Everyone has a story like this after all! I got really fired up, all of a sudden.

Misuzu/Sagiri/Sahana: *laughing*

Sahana: I guess I’m not declaring love to anyone in particular, I’m declaring my love for portrait photos after all *laughs* I really loved collecting all of them, otokoyaku and musumeyaku photos alike. At the time there weren’t many shops, and -since I’m from Tokyo- I went all the way to Shinjuku to buy them

Souno: I’d also go there to buy video tapes and the like! I wonder if it’s still there? That place under Kinokuniya.　[5]

Sahana: Yes, yes! That’s the place!

Souno: It was a tiny little shop, but once I stepped inside I’d get all light-headed *laughs*

Misuzu/Sagiri: *laugh*

Misuzu: What was the one in Osaka… ah, I guess there was this really tiny store in a corner inside the Hankyu Department Store

Souno: It’s all the tiny ones after all

Sagiri/Sahana: *burst out laughing*

Misuzu: Everything was all cramped up in a tiny bit of space *laughs*

Sagiri: In Nagasaki, no one around me knew about Takarazuka. Therefore, even though I had the pencil board, I’d absolutely get asked “what’s with that?”

Misuzu: What did they think it was?

Sagiri: A relative’s kid once said “that’s a man wearing lipstick!”. I’d explain “that’s not a man, you know”, but they wouldn’t understand, and explaining was a bother. So, I did have a Takarazuka pencil board… but I was too embarrassed to use it… I had that kind of dilemma *laughs*

Souno: Having your stuff seen by people and get all kinds of comments about it, makes you go like, “it’s on a different level!”, so to say

Sagiri: That’s it! Whole different level!

Misuzu: Into the zone of enlightenment? *laughs*

Souno/Sagiri/Sahana: *laugh*

Sagiri: Then, thinking I should finally drop my reservations, write it all down in an essay and announce it publicly, I read out my feelings about Takarazuka during some event like a class meeting

Misuzu/Souno/Sahana: Hu~h!

Sagiri: Once I did, there unexpectedly were people who said “oh, I know that” and others who told me “I have no idea what that is, but I support you in chasing after your dream!”.

Misuzu/Souno/Sahana: Woooo~w!

Misuzu: What a great outcome

Sagiri: Yet even after that, I was still too embarrassed to use the pencil board openly.

Sahana: But you came out of the closet *laughs*

Sagiri: Yes, in public! *laughs*

Souno: Probably at around the same time as Chigi-chan (Sagiri), I gave a speech in English, “I LOVE TAKARAZUKA”

Sagiri: *in stitches*

Souno: Total embarrassment! We both came out, and mine was in English too *laughs*

Misuzu: You’re sooo~ coo~l

Souno: Using up all of my English knowledge at the time, I ended the speech with “I love Takarazuka, forever”

Misuzu/Sagiri/Sahana: *roaring laughter*

Sagiri: You should have played the BGM to that

Misuzu: “Forever Takarazuka”, right *laughs*

Souno: Since then, everyone called me “Takarazuka”

Misuzu/Sagiri/Sahana: *cracking up hard*

-A song you unconsciously start humming-

Misuzu: Ah! For me it’s the theme song from “Spartacus”

Souno/Sagiri/Sahana:  ♪ Itsumo yume mitetaaaa ♪ (I always dreamed a dream)

Misuzu: That one! Also, “Amore Scusami” that Mineoka Nachi sings during the duet dance in the finale

Sagiri/Sahana: Aah!

Misuzu: I couldn’t sing that high, but I loved it so much I always sung it trying to imitate her

Souno: How great is that!

Misuzu: Also, it’s not humming, but I could do the entire prologue of “The Flash”!

Souno/Sagiri/Sahana: Ama~zing!

Sagiri: For me it’s the one that’s like “Commando~!”. Which prologue was that?

Misuzu: What’s that again?

Souno/Sagiri/Sahana:  ♪ Commandooo~ ♪

Sagiri: “Spartacus”, I guess. It was so amazing, they went like *gets up from the chair and performs that scene’s choreography*

Misuzu/Souno/Sagiri: BWAHAHAHAHAHA

Misuzu: I think that was probably in the prologue

Sagiri: Prologue, right. I think while Yan-san or some other star was on stage, Miki-san comes out from somewhere out of the spotlight in the back at stage left *laughs*

Misuzu/Souno/Sahana: *in stitches*

Sagiri: It was like “BOOM”. I really really! Cannot forget that *laughs* Miki-san’s voice climbing up like “Commando~ ⤴”, like she’s shifting pitch maybe

Souno: She did that! So unique.

Sagiri: That really stayed with me *laughs*

Misuzu/Sahana: It does stick, it really does!

Souno: Miki-san always did that, in every song

Misuzu: Uh, there’s also the one that goes “A dandy~, a dandy~” ♪

Sagiri: Yes yes! *laughs*

Souno: That prologue from “Dandyism” was so good

Misuzu/Sagiri/Sahana: So cool!!

-I love this outfit!-

Misuzu: The outfits from the finale grand staircase in “Fancy Touch”, and another one I can’t leave out is Yan-san’s white outfit from the “Spartacus” duet dance. Oh! There’s another one! Yan-san’s beige suit from “Hyper Stage”! [6]

Souno/Sagiri/Sahana: *laugh*

Misuzu: In her farewell speech, Yan-san wasn’t in a hakama, she was wearing that suit. Also, and sorry for mentioning so many *laughs*, the ones during the raid in “Chuushingura”! [7]

Souno/Sagiri/Sahana: Aaah, yes yes!

Sagiri: That was really amazing!

Misuzu: When everyone came down the Grand Staircase in those outfits I was blown away!

Souno/Sagiri/Sahana: Yup, yup.

Sagiri: I thought the outfits from “Hyper Stage”’s prologue were very original, I loved those. Didn’t they also have a mic or something across one cheek?

Sahana: Yes, that’s right!

Misuzu: Back then!

Sagiri: Yes! “Cutting-edge fashion!” I thought *laughs*

Misuzu/Souno/Sahana: I knowww *in stitches*

Sagiri: The choreography went like this!

Everyone: *starts dancing* Hyper Stage! Hyper Stage!

Misuzu: Director Ishida’s prologues are quite cosplay-style

Souno: The onnayaku’s mini skirts were super cute! “TAKE OFF”’s outfits too.

Everyone: *singing loudly* ♪ Take Off! Chikara no kagiri boku wa utau! Kimi no tameee~ ♪ *laugh*

Misuzu: They were wearing gakuran uniforms, right? [8]

Souno: That too, was so cool!

Sahana: Me, I really loved Takane Fubuki’s military uniforms in “Romanesque Mask”. The musumeyaku wore lots of chic dresses, with beautiful texture like velour. But especially Takane-san in that uniform was truly cool!

Misuzu/Souno/Sagiri: Yeah, she was so beautiful!

Sagiri: Like, don’t you think it’s incredible? Even though we used to live in different places, and lead different lives, we all get this fired up over the same theme!

Misuzu/Souno/Sahana: It really, really is!

Sagiri: It’s all of our youth bottled up in there!

Souno: You have a way with words. That’s exactly it.

Sagiri: So full of memories!

Souno: It was so much fun!

Misuzu/Sagiri/Sahana: *laugh*

Souno: I feel like my skin is smooth and glossy now!

Sahana: It really feels like we got rejuvenated!

Everyone: *laughs*

Notes:

[1] the 2012 format of this corner had short blurbs from Takarasiennes and readers alike talking about something that left an impression on them from their fan days. I don’t have the issue Mattsu is referring to, if anyone does and would like to see it translated / added to the post, by all means message me!

[2] Flower Troupe 2008 for “Melancholic Gigolo” and 2009 for “Sorrowful Cordoba, both starring Matobu Sei and Sakurano Ayane

[3] Shitajiki https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pencil_board some shitajiki are made up of two sheets and one can insert flyers or photos inside them

[4]  Also called stills; the headshots taken for each show’s program (example: http://www.tca-pictures.net/quatre/bromide/1704013.html )

[5] probably talking about 柳花堂, it closed in April 2013

[6] Reference Photos:

Fancy Touch:

Beige suit:

[7] Same outfits as the show’s prologue

[8] Reference photo