#Taira Imata

[inthegardensofourminds]

Taira really likes pounding Ryosuke on the back, doesn't he?

[liliththunder]

This is friendship that grows ten years old!

Cheers to a long and durable friendship!🥂

[tofutortoise]

My Experience at The Tempest (少年社中) + Meeting Imata Taira!!

On Monday I saw Shonen Shachu’s 25th anniversary production of The Tempest in Tokyo! Overall, I had an amazing experience, and even got to meet IMATA TAIRA HIMSELF!!! And speak to him, which was unreal. Details below, but also spoilers for the play! 

First off, I got my ticket through the lottery system, and somehow I ended up with a fantastic seat on the first floor! I haven’t had great luck with random seats in the past, but this time I sure did. It was a pretty small theater with excellent acoustics. The set was minimal but well utilized. I was really excited about the costumes after seeing all the glittering visuals on the official website (see here), but for some reason, the actual costumes they wore for the play were completely different and noticeably lower quality. I was particularly disappointed that the women’s costumes had major downgrades. On the bright side, Hiroshi Yazaki (playing Kagura/Prospero) got an even better costume than the one he wears in the official posters. He looked like a prince! 

As for the story, I can’t say I was the biggest fan. However, this is probably on me more than the production lmao. Because it’s called The Tempest, I assumed that this would simply be a production of Shakespeare’s The Tempest. However, as I quickly realized while watching the show and growing ever more confused, this is not the case!! It’s actually an original show about a theater group dealing with the loss of one of their members, reckoning with what it means to be an actor and bringing happiness to people, following their love for acting, etc., all while they put on a production of The Tempest. Scenes from Shakespeare’s Tempest are therefore interwoven into the play, and sometimes I admit I had a hard time understanding what was going on (the many time skips/flashbacks didn’t help on this point lol). Honestly I should have read the plot synopsis ahead of time, but because I assumed it was just the basic Tempest I didn’t bother– oops. 

There were points where I was quite invested and moved, but overall I wouldn’t say the flow of the story was particularly great. However, my experience was also limited by my intermediate Japanese, and I’m sure a lot of it went over my head. 

I think all of the actors did an amazing job! Imata Taira was definitely a highlight, and he portrayed a very troubled, grieving, angry character with artfulness and incredible intensity. Seeing him, along with Yazaki and Shogo in person, was absolutely unreal. As a long time Hakuouki fan, going from first seeing them on my computer in Hakumyu 8 years ago to watching them in person in Japan is a dream come true. 

Now, let’s get to the most exciting part– I MET IMATA TAIRA!!! AND SPOKE TO HIM!!!! AHHH! Basically after the show there was a special line where you could go to buy a piece of merch and talk to Taira for a moment. I had no idea they would be doing this so I hadn’t prepared anything to say to him, and I was SO nervous!! Turns out I needn’t have worried though, because Taira is such a lovely person and it was a great interaction. First of all, when the person in front of me moved on and I stepped up, Taira’s eyes went comically wide and he let out a gasp. I was expecting some level of surprise because I was a foreigner (blue eyes, red hair, etc.) at a completely Japanese play, but he was seriously taken aback. I spoke to him entirely in Japanese, of course, and thanked him for a wonderful performance, but he was just kinda scrambling for words and saying stuff like “Ah I’m so sorry I don’t know English!!”. He was so sweet and even bowed and put his head to the table and apologized for not knowing English T-T. I told him that even though my Japanese isn’t great, the power of theater is such that you don’t need to understand the words to be moved, and he thanked me again and even gave me his best “thank you!” in English too! He was so incredibly kind and genuine, and I found his reaction to be hilarious. It seemed like he was just as nervous to speak to me as I was to speak to him! Absolutely amazing experience!!!! The whole thing still feels absolutely unreal to me. I never thought I would have the opportunity to actually speak to one of the actors who has meant so much to me over the years. What a wonderful way to start off 2024 :) 

If anyone wants to chat about the play or has any questions about seeing it, feel free to PM anytime!

[demonsofthefleetingblossoms]

A screencap tribute to Kondou from Shinkai Saito-hen (part 1)

Source: hakumyu-fancom.livejournal.com

[rz-jocelyn]

[NEWS] Jakkotai: Live and Archive Streams have been Announced for Both the Final Tokyo Performances of the "Jakkotai" Stage

To watch a preview of the stage, please refer to this link: HERE

CAST

Sato Ryuji as Rinzo

Nichika Akutsu as Mizuno Heima

Hashimoto Shohei as Surume

Koyanagi Shin as Uemon

Hirose Tomoki as Himeji

Ranma Yuu as Tekona

Takeru Funaki (NORD) as Uranami

Takeno Ruri as Takeha

Imata Taira as Ogata Tadamasa

Kobayashi Ikuma as Nagafukumaru

Matsumoto Naoya as Kotetsu

Moridai as Gomadara

Nakamura Seijirou as Hiiro

Teruma as Tademaru Genan

Tamaki Yuki as Tatara

NOTE:

[1] Ryuji and Hashimoto Shohei has worked together in the Movie Theatre "Success Sou" and "Rokunin Yoreba Chonaikai".

[2] He has also worked with Koyanagi Shin, Nakamura Seijirou, Teruma and Tamaki Yuki in the "Live Spectacle NARUTO".

[3] Ryuji also played Kashuu Kiyomitsu while Shin-san played Kondo Isami in the "Musical Touken Ranbu ~Bakumatsu Tenrouden~ 2020".

[4] He and Seijirou-san also worked together on "Castor & Pollux", the stage play that Ryuji wrote and directed.

STREAMING DATES AND TIMES

12.00 (Japan time) on August 25, 2024

Archive Period: Until 23.59 (Japan time) on August 31, 2024

Bonus: Special footage (all cast post-performance comment video and making footage)

17.00 (Japan time) on August 25, 2024

Archive Period: Until 23.59 (Japan time) on August 31, 2024

STREAMING LINKS AND INFORMATION

To purchase the streams, please refer to this link: HERE

NOTE: The live and archive streams should be available for international streaming.

"JAKKOTAI" STAGE GOODS

The goods for the "Jakkotai" stage are currently available online. For more information on how to purchase the goods, please refer to this link: HERE

"JAKKOTAI" MOVIE

The "Jakkotai" movie is currently available for streaming online. For more information on how to watch the movie, please refer to this link: HERE

Source: ( x )

[kaysutcliff-michaelis]

Sannan-hen cast with character visuals

Character visuals for Sannan-hen have been posted on the official Hakumyu Twitter account!

Keisuke Sannan - Teruma  (輝馬)  

Chizuru Yukimura - Shion Aoki (青木志穏)

Toshizo Hijikata  -  Hidetoshi Kubota (久保田秀敏)

Souji Okita  - Kento Kitamura (北村健人)

Hajime Saito -  Shoichiro Oomi (大海将一郎)

Heisuke Todou -  Yuta Higuchi (樋口裕太)

Shinpachi Nagakura - Ryosuke Koike (小池亮介)

Sanosuke Harada  -  Shouta Kawakami (川上将大)

Susumu Yamazaki - Tsukasa Taguchi (田口司)

Isami Kondou  - Taira Imata (井俣太良)

Chikage Kazama  - Yoshihide Sasaki   (佐々木喜英) 

Kyuju Amagiri - Masafumi Yokoyama (横山真史)

Kyo Shiranui   - Takuma Sueno (末野卓磨)

Kodo Yukimura -  Hiroyuki Kawamoto  (川本裕之)

Kaoru Nagumo - Yuzuki Hoshimoto (星元裕月)

[narashikari]

First Junya shows up outta nowhere with Taiko Katoono... now he's doing a stage show with the bicon himself, Yu Inaba

What even is this 🤣 And this is after the cameos of Rei Yoshii and Taira Imata (Rinna and Genpachi) in Revice too...

What's next, he somehow shows up in a movie with Ryoma Takeuchi?

[aoihono96]

2022/11/12 - Kikuchi Shuuji’s Twitter post

Musical “Hakuouki“

HAKU-MYU LIVE 3

Thank you very much for coming and watching the second day of Tokyo performances!!!

A photo with Kondo-san* and my comrades.

Tomorrow is the final performance.

I’ll sincerely live through it.

Let’s do our best

To enjoy it!!!!!

Source: twitter

* Kondo Isami’s role is being played by Imata Taira

[cultfaction]

New spin-off Kamen Rider Revice: The Mystery is coming!

New spin-off Kamen Rider Revice: The Mystery is coming!

The official Kamen Rider Revice Twitter account announced an upcoming TELASA Original spin-off titled, Kamen Rider Revice: The Mystery. The show will be a detective drama following Ikki Igarashi, Vice, and Hiromi Kadota as they become detectives to solve a murder mystery inside a mansion! But that’s not all, there will be a “love triangle” between Ikki, Hiromi, and the spin-off’s heroine, Suzu…

[skinnifertilly94]

All done with Kamen Rider Drive (2014). Nice drive, everybody. Favorite character: Rinna-san! 

[aqua-tan]

[garrettsthings]

Just a friendly reminder that even Gen-san from Kamen Rider Drive thinks that Keiichiro looks like Gen-san from Kamen Rider Drive.

[demonsofthefleetingblossoms]

A screencap tribute to Kondou from Shinkai Saito-hen (part 2)

Source: hakumyu-fancom.livejournal.com

[rz-jocelyn]

[VIDEO] Jakkotai: Archive Streams for the "Jakkotai" Stage are Now Available

To watch a preview of the stage, please refer to this link: HERE

CAST

Sato Ryuji as Rinzo

Nichika Akutsu as Mizuno Heima

Hashimoto Shohei as Surume

Koyanagi Shin as Uemon

Hirose Tomoki as Himeji

Ranma Yuu as Tekona

Takeru Funaki (NORD) as Uranami

Takeno Ruri as Takeha

Imata Taira as Ogata Tadamasa

Kobayashi Ikuma as Nagafukumaru

Matsumoto Naoya as Kotetsu

Moridai as Gomadara

Nakamura Seijirou as Hiiro

Teruma as Tademaru Genan

Tamaki Yuki as Tatara

NOTE:

[1] Ryuji and Hashimoto Shohei has worked together in the Movie Theatre "Success Sou" and "Rokunin Yoreba Chonaikai".

[2] He has also worked with Koyanagi Shin, Nakamura Seijirou, Teruma and Tamaki Yuki in the "Live Spectacle NARUTO".

[3] Ryuji also played Kashuu Kiyomitsu while Shin-san played Kondo Isami in the "Musical Touken Ranbu ~Bakumatsu Tenrouden~ 2020".

[4] He and Seijirou-san also worked together on "Castor & Pollux", the stage play that Ryuji wrote and directed.

STORY DESCRIPTION

The stage is a direct sequel to the movie, but can also be watched as a standalone.

A story about sacrifice, loyalty and betrayal, the stage follows the Jakkotai as they are sent to a mysterious island that is ruled by gods. Things become way more than they can handle when it is revealed that Surume has ties to the island; ties which might tear him away from Rinzo and the Jakkotai.

Meanwhile, a storm is also brewing amongst Jakkotai's masters.

Everyone has a choice to make.

PERSONAL HIGHLIGHTS

The "Jakkotai" stage is truly a stage that showcases everything Ryuji can do as a performer, from his dramatic acting to his strong singing and even his excellent comedic timing and wittiness. In every moment, scripted and unscripted, it's really clear that Ryuji is enjoying himself to the fullest.

If I had to describe the character of Rinzo:

Rinzo is perfect for Ryuji.

Ryuji is perfect as Rinzo.

Also, when the stage is funny, it made me cry tears from how hilarious it was. But, in its darkest moments, it gets really dark. And, the final scene with the Jakkotai crew is *cries*

The stage is also only loosely connected to the movie, so it can be watched on its own. That said, for anyone who has watched both, the payoff to the development of Rinzo's character is an incredible experience.

LINKS TO WATCH

Available Streams: 12.00 (Japan time) / 17.00 (Japan time)

Archive Period: Now to 23.59 (Japan time) on August 31, 2024

Bonus:

12.00 (Japan time) stream includes footage from the backstage of the stage.

17.00 (Japan time) stream features Ryuji's turn at the daily adlib.

To purchase the streams, please refer to this link: HERE

"JAKKOTAI" STAGE GOODS

The goods for the "Jakkotai" stage are currently available online. For more information on how to purchase the goods, please refer to this link: HERE

"JAKKOTAI" MOVIE

The "Jakkotai" movie is currently available for streaming online. For more information on how to watch the movie, please refer to this link: HERE

[funjoushi]

Souma-hen, niconico stream write-up/review

So! All of a sudden without having really planned it, I ended up watching the Niconico stream for both the tokyo and kansai closing nights! It was my first time watching one of these streams and I had a ton of fun! So now, I’m gonna share all my opinions as well as some general summaries of what I remember from the show!

Over all thoughts: I really enjoyed it! Production wise it very much continued in the style of the two Shitan remakes as far as lighting and staging. I actually found it to be far more consistent tone and feel wise, largely, because this show is a fully new production! Which does mean that, unfortunately, no songs from previous shows made an appearances. However! That doesn’t keep the show from still feeling like a hakumyu production!

For one thing, the opening song, while it is technically a new song, it is very much reminiscent of Yaisa! Which i found to be interesting, because the show overall seemed to be leaning more heavily towards the shitan rebrand, and yet moments like that called back to the first era of shows.

The play felt both more low-energy in some places while still having an absolutely blistering pace. The music leaned very heavily on rock and metal, but also included several more specific varairties of rock. This kept the show feeling overall more cohesive. So no, there were no sudden latin-fusion or hip-hop numbers this time...But there were still many stand out musical moments.

Like before, Chizuru and her father have many japanese folk-inspired melodies. Same with Kazama, whose new character theme also features many japanese pentatonic scale figures. There was still heavy use of piano and light usage of synths which I think kept from being too overbearing when they were used. I do miss the usage of more japanese folk instruments that came in more heavily with Shitan, but I still enjoyed it over all.

Gosh, there is so much I want to mention. Teruma as Sannan; he nearly stole the show. Every single scene he did, he was absolutely giving his all, to the point I was worried he would hurt his voice! I am seriously impressed on how he has continued to elevate and refine his Sannan performance. Most of the people in the nico streams with me were begging for a Sannan-hen and honestly I would love that too. 

They also had several cute moments of Sannan+Heisuke. I do love how the musicals seem to emphasise how close they were, them both having originally come from the same sword school before joining the Shinsengumi. The interpersonal conflict between Sannan and Hijikata was also even more explosive and full of tension. Teruma’s scenes with Hijikata were insanely gripping every time. Recently I learned that the speculation around the historical death of Sannan was due to a power struggle with Hijikata, and so these scenes feel very evocative of that.

Speaking of actors~ I cannot overstate how completely and utterly thrilled I am that Suzuki Shougo has reprised his role as Kazama! I always enjoy it the most when actors are clearly completely enjoying their time in a particular role, and Suzuki relishes his every moment on stage. His performance is even more enthralling than in his orignal run of Kazama-hen in 2014 and I can only hope that he gets more opportunities to reprise the role in the future. 

Other performers notes: Once again, Higuchi Yuuta, following in the tradition of Ikeda Junya--All but stole the show at certain points. He’s not as featured in Souma hen as he is in Kazama and Hijikata, but he still stabbed me directly in the heart with his flawless mix of warmth and pain.

I am a fan of Chizuru/Heisuke, and so I was disappointed with how Heisuke-hen seemed to get screwed over, so I am always grateful for these moments even if they hurt.

Some other notes is that, while I did like the show overall, it did feel rough at some points, and other points I really wasn’t clear on the timeline of what was happening when/why. Which is fine for people who know the story, but I likely wouldn’t try showing this musical to people unfamiliar, like I would with Kazama-hen. It did feel rushed at times and the scene transitions abrupt, but I ultimately didn’t mind, since once again this show is pushing on 3 hours and they are clearly trying to cram in as much content as physically possible. At this point though they might as well just upgrade to a three act format with two intermissions. 

Speaking more on the stagecraft; Like with both shitan plays, the use of the staging for visual storytelling is exemplary! Compared to the pre-shitan plays, it is much easier to absorb themes and emotions through the staging alone. Like with this shot from the planning of Itou’s assassination, where Okita’s gradual uselessness from his illness is displayed visually.

I am sure that this show has gone through development and workshop difficulties, since it got suspended during its original planned run. And as always they are trying to make the repeating plot points of act one more interesting every time, which I appreciate. Seeing how this play has continued to add more detail and emotion to the plot points makes me excited to see what they can do next!

Now, to focus on the real heart of the play, Souma himself!

When I initially watched the tokyo show, i had not finished souma’s route in the game, but upon my watch of the kansai show I completed the route, basically compelled by how compelling i found Souma to be in the play.

Their relationship is overall very adorable and touching. The staging and writing also often has them positioned on the stage delivering exposition together, showing them almost as two parts of a greater whole.

I used to find the blood drinking scenes to be awkward at best and embarrassing at worst, but since Hijikata-shitan, they seem to have figured out how to make them upsettingly effective. The relationship and chemistry between Chizuru and Souma was also very good and very convincing. 

One thing that super stuck out to me about them in particular: I am also just a huge fan of analysing the musical structure; and so the differences in how they used musical themes this time around were extremly interesting. For one thing, the show overall is completely new music(almost, there are two BGM tracks reused from shitan). I was a little sad about it at first, but deeply appreciated how they continued to use the music in new ways.

Overall, the music is much less focused on individual character themes and motifs; and like the original saito-hen, we have people being more associated with their relationships. I found that to be extremely affective, and the focus on the bonds between people really helped the show hit home even harder.

In previous shows, I had noticed that they don’t use song reprises as often as you might see in broadway shows. However, in this play the use of song reprises is absolutely brutal. In particular, the new vague equivalent to “ano hi no chikai”, is repeated two other times and used to send off the show at the very end.

In regards to our main duo, one thing that absolutely took me off guard is that....Souma has no main character theme.

I was surprised too. He has no real equivalent to “Paint it Blood,” “Makoto no Hata” or any of the other main lead’s themes. There is one song that he sings and repeats several times throughout the play. however, he is not the one who originally sings it. Instead, it is Chizuru. Chizuru herself has a unique character theme and song which comes back and she shares with her father. But ultimately, she starts the play and she also ends it.

I just think that it’s so perfect. While Souma is the lead of this play, his whole story is about finding connection and meaning among friends. It’s not about him as an individual, instead it’s about what drives us to fight for what we believe in and who we love. The songs that he sings about wanting to find his meaning in life his “michishirube”, he shares with Chizuru.

And in the end, it really made Chizuru and Souma’s love arc feel extremely cohesive to me. There was no sense of either’s identity overriding the other, instead they were a pair of people in a difficult situation who both had to make sacrifices. And that too was reflected in the music that they shared together.

I so deeply hope that they release a soundtrack for this show, because i do honestly think it is the best music produced in the franchise so far. Not only its general quality and listenability, but the way it connects to and tells the story.

Not only that, but Umetsu Mizuki is absolutely luminous as Souma. He clearly takes some heavy influence from Kaji Yuki’s vocal performance in the game, but he adds to and fleshes out that vocal performance with his own physicality and mannerisms.

Matsuzaki Risa too, as Chizuru. Apparently, this is her first musical?! Her singing voice is absolutely stunning. But I could tell at times how she wasn’t quite used to the stage, but she still did amazingly. Additionally, she like Motonishi Sakiho(Kazama shitan) before her also is a hakuouki/hakumyu fan? and had been hoping to play the role of Chizuru for a long time. And so I am just very happy for her. And fortuitously so because Chizuru is handled the best and given the most focus on Souma hen in my opinion.

This show was really wonderful, and I am going to be in pain every day until the DVD is finally in my hands and I can watch/listen to it all on my own again.

Please, if you have any questions or just want to talk about this wonderful musical, please don’t hesitate to contact me!

While i was gone from hakumyu for a long time, I am finally back and glad to be back for hakumyu at it’s most exquisite.

[aoihono96]

2022/10/29 - Kikuchi Shuuji’s Twitter Post

Musical “Hakuouki“

HAKU-MYU LIVE 3

Thank you very much for coming on the first day of Osaka performance!!*

I’m very happy to come back to this world after a year and a half.

It’s nice to be next to Kondo-san** after all...

I’ll do my best as Okita Souji***

From tomorrow onward as well!!!

Source: twitter

* Musical Hakuouki - Hakumyu LIVE 3 will be performed in Osaka between 29~30 October and in Tokyo between 11~13 November

** Kondo Isami’s role is performed by Imata Taira

*** Okita Souji’s role is played by Kikuchi Shuuji and Kitamura Kento, as Okita’s role is being double casted