#Towaki Sea

[yaomeis]

GRAPH 2023 January — Flower Troupe Special Photo Selection, scanned by me ♡

[liminal-roses]

Is it weird to cry? Because I am

[zukadiary]

Flower Troupe Top Announcement

It's been a somewhat dry spell news-wise what with all the goings on in Takarazuka, but we finally have our next generation of Hanagumi top stars. Congrats Towaki Sea and Hoshizora Misaki!

[bulanpagi]

scanned from Takarazuka GRAPH January 2024

[yuzukahibiscus]

Takarazuka Revue Flower Troupe Top Star Yuzuka Rei does sayonara performance in home base "I ran with all of my youth"

(Source from Daily Co)

Takarazuka Revue Flower Troupe Top Star Yuzuka Rei will be graduating from Takarazuka Revue on May 26, and she performed on the closing performance of their graduation performance "Arc en ciel" on 24 March, saying goodbye at the home base.

The sayonara show after the original performance was around 30 minutes. The sayonara show began with one of her representative performances "Haikara-san ga Tooru" and appeared in the military uniform. Also graduating is Top Musumeyaku Hoshikaze Madoka to whom they sang a song of "Genroku Baroque Rock" and had a duet dance later*. And with Towaki Sea who is the next Top Star, they sang from "A Battlefield for the Two of Us" and as if passing on the last baton, they shook hands.

(*note: the article was wrong because the duet dance was from "TOP HAT" and not "Genroku Baroque Rock", so I changed this bit.)

"Since it's the formal otokoyaku costume", Yuzuka chose the black tails and went down the grand staircase. Senka star Minami Maito who supported Yuzuka for a long time came to give flowers as her classmate.

Yuzuka thanked the audience and delivered the following speech.

"I just kept on running. It was a journey that I devoted all of my youth to. I have only continued running with all my might. Facing uphills and downhills, even after there was finally a clear road for me, I have been in deep frustrations. When I faced muddy paths, my footsteps become heavy, and there were days when I couldn't move forward. But in the midst of running these paths, many wonderful sceneries are waiting for me. Either it's how we all became united as one, or that I accomplished something, at each turning point, there were sceneries that were imprinted in my heart. In the road ahead, there will definitely be sceneries that I've worked hard for, waiting for me. And that scenery is something I can see on this stage now. To me, this scenery is my favourite one. Be it the dazzling eyes of the audience, the shining scenery as far as my eyes could see...If I could see such happy scenery in the place I've arrived in, I have no regrets in remain. I will never forget this wonderful scenery!"

[ladies-and-jennes]

Are we ready for these lab-created-epitome-of-beauty-specimens to become top stars this year because I am not

[9988899990]

Years of Pilgrimage: The Wandering Soul of Franz Liszt

[zukalations]

the REVUE THEATRE - May 2022

Find the latest post here.

Nagina Ruumi, Towaki Sea, Ayaki Hikari, and Ayami Sera give recommendations of their favorite shows!

[lunarkyx]

Long time, I forgot to dump this Takarazuka Sketches from last year! I kinda wing it with no references on some of those lmao. Anyways, yes Idk why but I was at the Haikara-san phase but then Franz Lizst dropped, then more shows keep comin so I’m just screaming- 

[nyarashi]

end of year zuka tag!!

so extremely late to do this so I’m just doing it all in one post!!

1) sumire no hana - new favorite

I became a fan in late 2021 so almost all of my current favorite siennes are ones I fell in love with this year… for actresses already in the theatre id definitely say I become such a huge fan of towaki sea!! she is such an incredible singer and is able to be such a wonderful otokoyaku and an enchanting onnayaku. as for new girls, I’ve been keeping my eye on shiragiri tsubaki!

2) never say goodbye - hardest to say goodbye to

100% oto kurisu, she was such a standout in hanagumi and it was never a dull moment when she was on stage. She’s such an amazing performer and singer. I’m so glad she’s on Instagram now and I’m so excited for her future projects!

3) material girl - favorite merchandise

I was able to go to quartre reves and takarazuka an for the first time this year since i was in japan, so I think my favorite pieces of merch are all the bromides I was able to buy! going to the stores in person was such an amazing experience I’m so grateful for. I think my most treasured though is my yuzuka rei clear card, she’s been to so many places with me!

4) mon paris - new favorite show not from this year

2004 phantom!!! idk how I found it but I’m so glad I did. wao youka is just so incredible…. her portrayal of erik is maybe one of the best performances I’ve ever seen tbh… I’m so obsessed with her voice. her acting as well is so fantastic, the scene where christine is singing to erik trying to convince him to take his mask off is a work of art. you can see all the emotions erik is feeling so clearly, you see this hope in his eyes as christine continues to sing. also the way wao youka is styled in the show is so dated but i think it fits so well. she has these very prominent shoulder pads that look a little silly at first but I’ve grown to love it so much. I love the other versions of the show (esp 2018) but 2004 hold such a special place in my heart.

5) wings of the heart - favorite fandom memory

I had so many fun streaming experiences this year! I’m so lucky to have had the time to attend as many as it did. I think maybe the most impactful fandom moment was just walking around the tokyo takarazuka theatre and seeing all the other people taking pictures with and gushing about posters outside. such a crazy feeling as an international fan to see that so many other people share the same love you do

6) where is god - shocking hankyu announcement

maitis senka transfer and yurika + kano taidan!! for yurika and kano I guess it makes sense, but I feel like having any top star retire is surprising to me. yurika has been the only face of soragumi I’ve known, so it’s going to feel strange having a new top star but I’m so excited to see who it’s going to be. maitis senka transfer is a bit puzzling to me but I know she’s going to be amazing in whatever she does next.

7) the final dance - favorite duedan

saki and kiwas duedan in soukyuu no subaru. I was able to see the show in person which I think made it so much more powerful. I could feel their connection much better. I swear I was tearing up watching it. the reality of kiwas taidan hit me like a bus during it, and I felt so honored to be able to see one of their last dances together

8) my everlasting dream - most rewatched show

it’s a revue but probably beautiful garden! I put on shows a lot in the background while doing work and beautiful garden was this years top pick. I love the music so much and so many of my favorite siennes are in it! I love flower theme so much and the costumes especially!! purple and pink are my favorite colors and this revue has so much of them

9) fascinating rhythm - song that got stuck in my head

continuing the last one a bit, the theme song of beautiful garden got stuck in my head so often. especially senna ayase’s part! it’s such a catchy theme!! and the performance of it is so lovely

10) diamonds are a girls best friend - favorite costumes

such a difficult question because I really love the costumes of takarazuka, especially ones with frills and ruffles… there’s just so many to chose from. I think I’m going to say all of the costumes from genroku baroque rock. I love Japanese traditional clothing and it combined with takarazuka’s flair was such a treat. I love madoka’s costume during lucky koi koi. it’s so detailed and I love the way it moves. all the different patterns on it make me want to look at it forever.

11) cool beast!! - most ridiculous costumes

definitely not the most ridiculous, more like my favorite silly costumes are hozumi mahiro’s in top hat as beddini

12) greatest moment - special stage moment

the parade in soukyuu no subaru. being able to applaud for the actresses was such an honor to participate in. it was such a thrilling experience

13) favorite musical

genroku baroque rock! it’s very special to me for being one of the first musicals I saw. it matches my tastes very well and it’s maybe my favorite musical visually.

14) favorite revue

the fascination!!! I love this revue so much!!! pink is my favorite color so of course the costumes to me are so fantastic. especially the parade costumes… madoka’s dress is just so gorgeous. rei’s carnivorous flower is one of my favorite costumes and performances. I love the music in the revue so much too! rei singing in English and anytime hitoko sings are my favorites (of course I also love fashionable empire but I just haven’t watched it enough..)

[liminal-roses]

"years of pilgrimage" was actually a doctoral thesis in cuntology

[zukadiary]

Oshidori Utagassen / GRAND MIRAGE! ~ Flower 2023

Ft. one of my ticket cases :D

If seeing Tsukigumi was like stepping through a portal, seeing Hanagumi was like seeing Takarazuka for the first time. My last live Hanagumi was (checks notes) uhhh... Casanova. And with the exception of a Nice Work stream that I half paid attention to, Casanova is kinda also the last Hanagumi I saw, period. Oshidori had exactly one person in common with the visible cast of Casanova, and it was Rei. So here's my unbelievably fresh eyes take!

OSHIDORI SPOILERS:

No one is evil and no one dies!! 😭 This is a rakugo-inspired comedy based on an old movie that is readily available with English subs on YouTube, and I'd recommend watching it!

Oharu (Hoshikaze Madoka) is the daughter of Shimura Kyousai (Kazumi Shou), a rōnin turned umbrella maker. She is in love with another rōnin, Asai Reisaburou (Yuzuka Rei), who lives next door and teaches sword work to the local children, but he is being pursued by two of the town beauties, Otomi (Hoshizora Misaki) and Fujio (Mihane Ai). To make things even more difficult for Oharu, her father is obsessed with antiques, buying them even though he has little money and even when most of them eventually turn out to be fakes. A mistake puts him deeply in debt to the local lord, Minezawa Tanba-no-kami (Towaki Sea), and he is confronted with having to sell Oharu in order to pay it off. It turns out that Reisaburou, who prefers Oharu to the other two, is in possession of an extremely valuable antique; he was found with it in his basket when he was abandoned as an infant, and this means he's also the long lost oldest son of the Minezawa noble family. Everyone lives happily ever after!

Koyanagi-sensei is really the holy grail of Takarazuka in-house directors right now, in my humble opinion. This was such a good choice of adaptation, and her nihonmono comedy are always so fun and accessible. I was, frankly, jealous watching this; since I'm currently the least familiar with Hanagumi, I coveted it for my faves. But poor Rei has had quite a marred top star run (mostly due to COVID), and I'm glad she got a nearly complete run of such a fun show.

That said, Asai was unfortunately the least exciting character. This is definitely personal preference, but I don't really get fired up by the cool, quiet, aloof, handsome type in a lighthearted show, unless he's also the butt of jokes a la Daimon in Bakumatsu Taiyouden. I find Rei the most appealing in dynamic, dance-heavy performances, and Asai as a character was just too one-note for me.

OHARU, on the other hand...

Madoka will retire from Takarazuka, probably into a prolific stage career (if she wants it), and be remembered for/cast based on her high profile roles like Tess Ocean, Anastasia, and Elisabeth (shinko but still). If I were queen of the world I'd insist she be remembered for Oharu. Sometimes you watch so much Takarazuka you get the performance equivalent of nose blindness, and then out of nowhere, something like a Western guest director will jolt you awake and make you ask yourself, "What's different about this??" Madoka made an atypical acting choice! She did a weird voice! She was funny! She was adorable and charming! She stole the whole show, honestly.

Hitoko, my love. Last time I was in Japan, PRxPrince was in bow hall while On the 20th Century was in Shibuya, and I opted for OTTC, thus missing out on Hitoko entirely during that trip. That makes the last time I saw her live on stage friggin' Gaisenmon. That seems SO IMPROBABLE, but it's true. In that time, we went from MUCH too long-awaited first solo bow lead to ripe and ready for top stardom. Hitoko has a chameleon power that I think is pretty unique in Takarazuka; not only does she disappear into roles (positive), but also I truly think she could thrive in any troupe with little difficulty, and seem like she was there forever. As salty as I still am that she was stolen out from under me, she's the weft to Hanagumi's warp. Tanba-no-Kami was so fun and silly. I love finding out which new and different Hitoko I'm going to get each time, and I hope there are many many more variations to come (can't wait for Gekijou).

Other highlights:

VERY juicy (albeit old man) taidan role for Kazumi Shou. Dad is a big supporting character and she has a lot of stage time.

Shimon's presence is healing

Last time I saw Hanagumi, Mihane Ai was an unnamed ken-2 and Hoshizora Misaki was an unsorted rockette in Ocean's 11. It was funny to see the two apparent contenders for next top musumeyaku competing with the current top musumeyaku for the top star's heart. Since Hoshizora snagged the tour lead it sure seems like she's the front runner, but I have to say I personally preferred Mihane!

GRAND MIRAGE SPOILERS

The curtain went up on those pastel dresses and oversized bonnets and I just giggled to myself. It was Okada-sensei alright! Especially after the fresh delight that was Kaleidoscope, it was disappointing to go back to yet another pandemic-era revue that left me struggling to remember what any of the scenes were. It was classic, and if you're both into that style and a Hanagumi fan I'm sure there were memorable moments. To me it felt like Citrus Breeze if you sucked all the nostalgia out of it.

[yuzukahibiscus]

“ENCHANTEMENT” Shonichi Press Photos (Tokyo)

Source from various reports as follows:

https://news.biglobe.ne.jp/entertainment/0217/spn_230217_8957248041.html

https://www.nikkansports.com/entertainment/news/202302170000654.html

https://www.sponichi.co.jp/entertainment/news/2023/02/17/kiji/20230217s00041000449000c.html

https://www.chunichi.co.jp/article/637917

[ladies-and-jennes]

i cry but i get back up firm in the knowledge that THIS is hanagumi's next top star HELLLLOOOOO

[9988899990]

Paris in the Winter Fog 2022

[chevalierene]

お誕生日おめでとうひとこ様! 

Happy birthday, Hitoko!

08.08

The world may be on fire right now but I truly hope you’re doing as well as you can be given the circumstances from this past week. Stay healthy and I will see you again one day ♥