#Was making another post talking about what musical roles I think my characters could slay

[hereforyourdispleasure]

This has been circling my brain for days but Darian as Jean Valjean, Adrian as Javert, musical track Confrontation, yes

[ayuuria]

Yashahime Translation: NewType Magazine October 2020 Issue

Please do not repost this translation without my consent! This includes screenshots of any type and amount. If you wish to share this translation, simply link to this post.

For more information regarding the use of my translations, click here.

This is an old article that was published back in September of 2020, before Yashahime began airing so please keep that in mind as you read this.

REBOOOOOT!! The Challenge for the Next Generation

The Half-Demon Girls Who Fight in the Modern and Feudal Eras

“Inuyasha” is an original story by Takahashi Rumiko that was adapted into an anime in 2000 and became a worldwide hit. The story of the fierce battle with the demon, Naraku, centering around the “Shikon Jewel” said to grant any wish, was put to an end by Inuyasha and Sesshōmaru with the assistance of Kagome and others. After the battle ended, Inuyasha and Kagome married and with the conclusion that they were starting a new life, the curtains on the story drew to a close.

10 years have passed since then. Now entering the Reiwa era, production on a new story about the daughters of Inuyasha and Sesshōmaru entitled “Hanyō no Yashahime” has begun. Production of the anime is being done by Sunrise, who also produced the Inuyasha series. Satō Teruo, who was the assistant director in “Inuyasha The Final Act”, will be taking on the role of director. With series composition being done by Sumisawa Katsuyuki, animation character design by Hishinuma Yoshihito, and Wada Kaoru overseeing the music, the “Inuyasha” staff have gathered once again. The perfect production set-up as been put together with Takahashi Rumiko herself drawing the main character design.

“Hanyō no Yashahime” is an original story by Sumisawa. The protagonists are three girls. Towa and Setsuna are twin sisters and Sesshōmaru is their father. Moroha is the daughter of Inuyasha and Kagome, but she has lived alone since childhood, so she does not have any memories of her parents for the most part. Looked down upon by demons and shunned by humans, what will the girls, who are “half-demons”, battle and what sort of future will they strive for? We had producer Naka Toshikazu and animation character designer Hishinuma Yoshihito, talk about the composition of the plan and their feelings on the production.

The New Charms Coming from the Girls

Higurashi Towa A half-demon girl who has Sesshōmaru’s blood and is extremely skilled in martial arts (possibly inherited from her father). In order to take back her younger twin sister, Setsuna’s, “sleep”, she decides to return to the feudal era.

Towa wears a uniform with slacks, but one can tell she is a girl by her body line and facial expressions. The white hair she inherited from her father, Sesshōmaru, and the red streak in her hair are characteristic.

Setsuna Sesshōmaru’s daughter. She makes a living as a demon slayer. Having had her sleep stolen by the Dream Butterfly, she does not have any memories of her childhood and has forgotten her elder twin sister, Towa.

Setsuna is calm and collected. One can sense that personality from her cool expression as well. She wears a white fur just like her father, Sesshōmaru.

Moroha Wielder of the demon sword, Kurikaramaru, and known as “the monster killing Moroha”. A bounty hunter who specializes in slaying demons. Inuyasha and Kagome’s quarter-demon daughter.

Moroha, who’s characteristic black hair is similar to Kagome’s, wears a big ribbon on her head that is like Inuyasha’s ears. Her mischievous facial expression vaguely feels like her father’s.

[There are bios on their weapons as well, but it’s information that’s already known so I’m skipping it]

It Started with Wanting to do “Inuyasha” Again

— Where did the plan for “Hanyō no Yashahime” stem from?

Naka: Even after production for “Inuyasha The Final Act” ended, the staff and cast headed by producer Suwa (Michihiko) (associated with Yomiuri TV at the time) gathered and continued to go on once a year trips with Rumiko-sensei. There, Suwa-san said, “I want to do an “Inuyasha” TV anime again.” and it seems that was the start. Then the conversation went to if it’s a story about the second generation, we can make it an original story. Sumisawa-san came up with a number of different story concepts and proposed them to Rumiko-sensei. After much back and forth, it was ultimately decided that the daughters of Sesshōmaru would be the protagonists of the story. The anime adaption basically began to proceed immediately after that.

— What do you think is the secret to “Inuyasha”’s popularity?

Naka: It boasted top class popularity not only in Japan but also on major American streaming service, Hulu, and its popularity overseas was very high. This means that the content (of the story) is strong. During a time when Sumisawa-san wasn’t making a concrete move, a fan at an overseas event that he attended said, “I would love for you to make another “Inuyasha” anime.” and he said that that has been one of his driving forces. Currently, it has been streamed and broadcasted in over 30 countries, so in a broad sense, it’s a title that can be dispatched worldwide.

Hishinuma: The setting is the feudal era, but it doesn’t follow true history. In the end, slaying demons is the main (focus), so you can enjoy without having any knowledge. There, it has Rumiko-sensei’s serious drama with the periodic love story and comedy mixed in. That gap is what I think makes it fun. Most likely, the number one reason why there were so many young (children) fans was because the story was easy to watch and understand.

— Regarding the production of “Hanyō no Yashahime”, what points of the previous work were you conscious of?

Naka: Putting together components that were different from the “Inuyasha” charm in every sense. In the previous work, it was a story about a son surpassing his greater demon father. If Inuyasha’s son was the main character and the parents made appearances, the parents would take all the juicy parts. No matter how hard the son tries, he could never surpass his parents. Hence, when we were told that the protagonist would be Sesshōmaru’s daughter, I myself was able to accept it without issue. Moreover, I felt that that would be more fun. It’s easy to imagine what Inuyasha and Kagome’s child would be like, but you could say Sesshōmaru’s children, twins no less, stir up the imagination. Rather than following the structure and story of “Inuyasha” as it was, we thought we could create a work that those who watched the original story could easily accept.

— What sort of meaning is behind the strong impacting catch phrase “Sesshōmaru has a daughter” shown in the teaser?

Naka: I think the appeal of “Inuyasha” is the love triangle between Inuyasha, Kikyō, and Kagome, as well as Sesshōmaru being very cool. That being said, it’s no use tracing the same love triangle structure. Thus, by hitting the spot of sisters Towa and Setsuna being separated, there’s a prominent difference between the previous work, and above all, it would grab the interest of fans who wanted a new work. We’ve remodeled the setting and story, but from a picture and production perspective, it has inherited the comedic feel and screen tempo of a Rumic work.

— Hishinuma-san, what did you think when you saw the drafts that Rumiko-sensei drew?

Hishinuma: I instinctively thought if the lineup was these three, then something fun could be created. Rumiko-sensei advised me not to be too conscious of the “parent” when designing the character’s facial expressions and movements. If these kids were around 20 years old, they would’ve had aspects similar to their parents, but they are simply 14-year-old girls. As I drew, I thought about what these 14-year-old girls, who are a little than what Kagome was back then, would think about as they lived their lives.

— In what way did you make revisions using the draft as a base?

Hishinuma: Setsuna and Moroha, who live in the feudal era, were just like the draft I received, but for Towa, who lives in the modern era, I had to redo her hairstyle a little bit. She has short hair so thinking about how she moves, I did things like adjust the placement of the highlight (in her hair) and add a few details to her uniform. Also, she wears male clothing so in a sense, I tend to draw her roughly, but I consciously make sure that the look in her eyes and her actions are that of a girl.

— What did you enjoy during the character designing process?

Hishinuma: Coming up with the grown-up versions of characters that appeared in the previous work like Kohaku, Kagome’s younger brother Sōta, and Miroku and Sango’s son Hisui, was a lot of fun. Kohaku is set as the head of the demon slayers, so I imagined he built up a lot of experience and matured into an adult. However, he may have let his guard down which could be the reason behind the scar (on his face). I imagined those kinds of things as I drew.

Naka: We’ve put in many different components that both new and old fans can enjoy, so it would make us happy if you could look forward to the broadcasting.

To Fans! Two Points!

It is OK If You Don’t Know the History

The story itself is created in a way that one can enjoy it without having any knowledge of “Inuyasha”. In addition, Naka stated “You don’t need to have any knowledge on the feudal era, so please enjoy it leisurely.” Towa and the others who run around between 2 eras; the expectation of the three girls’ activities heightens!

Pay Attention to the Characters Aside from the Main Ones As Well

Other characters like Miroku and Sango’s son, Hisui, as well as others connected to “Inuyasha” will make an appearance. In addition, there will be designs aside from the main characters that will make one go “They look similar to someone from that work” …? Enjoy Rumiko’s work in every nook and cranny of the screen!

[servinglemonade]

HAMILTON ON DISNEY+

BEWARE: SPOILERS AHEAD FOR HAMILTON ON DISNEY+

Hi everyone! I’m back with a very exciting post that I thought I would not be writing for a very long time. My review of the filmed Hamilton Production on Broadway with the OBC!! After the unexpected announcement that the Hamilton film would find it’s home on Disney+ instead of being released in theaters in 2021, I was ecstatic. I could not believe it! I have been listening to the album with the OBC for years now. I never get tired of it, it always puts a smile on my face and the occasional comfort whenever I need it. I have watched Hamilton four times now and I just love it so much. So let’s go...

Overall reaction

Even after watching four times now, my reaction is still the same. I truly believe that it is a brilliant masterpiece. That is high praise for sure, but Hamilton deserves it. I will never forget experiencing it for the first time on July 3rd. I was blown away and could not take my eyes off the screen. It was exhilarating to finally see this, after listening to it for years. It is the little details that you do not get to experience when listening to the album that I loved the most. So overall, I was blown away by it and exceeded all of my expectations.

Film 

I have never seen a filmed stage musical, so I do not have a reference. However, I thought this was beautifully filmed. It showed the whole stage when it was needed and zoomed in on the actors when necessary. It was an intimate experience. You get the best seat in the house, so to speak.

Cast

I already knew the cast was phenomenal due to listening to the cast album. Seeing them perform all the songs was even better than I expected! Here is an itemized list (hehe) of all the cast members, because they all deserve a chance to shine! Special shout-out to all the ensemble members, without them the show would just not be complete!

Lin-Manuel Miranda as Alexander Hamilton Favorite performance: Hurricane (so beautifully staged!!)

The man, the myth, the legend! I am a huge fan of Lin and his work (even beyond Hamilton)! I thought his Hamilton was great and very funny at times. The emotion in his performance was really good! Lin wrote this whole thing!! It all came from his mind, which is incredible in and of itself. 

Phillipa Soo as Eliza Hamilton Favorite performance: Burn (iconic)

Phillipa is so talented. She has an amazing voice and pair that with her amazing performance and it is practically perfect. Her acting and singing during the final song, Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story, was so emotional. It had me crying all the three times I have seen it. 

Leslie Odom Jr. as Aaron Burr Favorite performance: Wait For It (this is one of the songs that made me a Hamilton fan)

Leslie Odom Jr. is one of the most talented people ever. He is so amazing on that stage. Everybody always said that The Room Where It Happens is a true masterpiece and I always liked the song, but it was not my favorite. Seeing Leslie and the Ensemble cast perform it, WOW! Incredible. Leslie is the perfect Burr and had me crying and laughing many times.

Renée Elise Goldsberry as Angelica Schuyler Favorite performance: Satisfied (what else?!)

I always found Renée’s voice so damn powerful in Satisfied, which made me love the song more. Seeing Satisfied performed was magical and I will never get over how amazing that song is and how perfect Renée performs it. She is a true powerhouse whenever she shows up and confirmed that Angelica is one of my favorites in the show.

Daveed Diggs as Marquis de Lafayette/Thomas Jefferson Favorite performance: What’d I Miss (this was hard)

Daveed Diggs. Daveed Diggs. Daveed Diggs. Oh my gosh, he was even more perfect than I thought. Daveed is one of the cast members everyone always raved about and now I know why! If I had to describe his performance, I would say it is electric. He just immediately captures your attention. For both Lafayette and Jefferson!  

Christopher Jackson as George Washington Favorite performance: One Last Time (this was so powerful)

The first time Chris emerges on the stage as Washington, you are just immediately drawn to him (at least I was haha). He just has a very powerful presence. Especially in Right Hand Man, his entrance is EVERYTHING! History Has Its Eyes On You has always been one of my favorites on the soundtrack and it was even better seeing it. However, his moment is One Last Time. It is truly a defining moment of the entire show.

Okieriete “Oak” Onaodowan as Hercules Mulligan/James Madison Favorite performance: Yorktown (his part is so good)

Oak has some fantastic moments in the show! His Hercules Mulligan is so great and full of energy. As I said, his part in Yorktown gets me so hyped! I loved James Madison’s parts with Jefferson, they had awesome energy together. Another fave Madison line is in The Election of 1800. The first line is Jefferson saying if they can get back to Politics since a lot of drama and sad stuff happened in the past few songs and Madison is like uhh, please with a soft voice because he has been crying. So funny and relatable!

Anthony Ramos as John Laurens/Philip Hamilton Favorite Performance: Blow Us All Away (funny in the beginning and ends so sadly)

I enjoyed Anthony Ramos’ performance quite a bit! He was great in conveying emotions as both Laurens and Phillip, with both roles having quite emotional endings. I was shocked to find out there was a part just before Non-Stop that showed Hamilton learning about Laurens’ death, that was so sad and Anthony Ramos did it so beautifully. I was very impressed by him and I cannot wait to see him in In The Heights!

Jasmine Cephas Jones as Peggy Schuyler/Maria Reynolds Favorite performance: Say No To This (her vocals are so great here)

Peggy and Maria might not be the biggest roles in the show but Jasmine slays in both of them! Especially as Maria, her vocals in Say No To This are even better than on the cast album. She was amazing!

Jonathan Groff as King George III Favorite performance: I Know Him (Jonathan’s performance makes this song work so well)

Jonathan was funny on the album but when you see the performance with it, it just completes it! He was phenomenal, and I loved that he showed up during some other songs as well, for example in The Reynolds Pamphlet, absolutely hilarious! I also enjoyed his little announcement at the beginning, where he said Enjoy MY show, that was a neat thing to include here!

Favorite Musical Numbers

Okay, so these are all my favorite performance, taking into consideration the song itself, staging, choreography, and production. I love how seeing the show made me love songs that were not my favorites before! So here they are in a non-particular order:

My Shot 

So powerful, I think I almost jumped off the couch at the end because I was so hyped!

The Schuyler Sister

Even better than I thought it would be! From the use of the rotating stage, the performances, and choreography.

Farmer Refuted

This was the one song I always skipped on the album, however, seeing it here makes me lol every time! It’s great.

You’ll Be Back, What Comes Next?, and I Know Him

Give me all the King George content, soooo funny, I just love these moments in the show!

Helpless and Satisfied

Satisfied is still my favorite of the two, however it was breathtaking seeing how well the two are connected. Especially Satisfied, first the toast, then rewinding to see Helpless from Angelica’s perspective, and lastly coming back to the toast. I just thought it was stunning to see! The staging here is phenomenal.

Wait For It

The song that made me love Hamilton. Seeing Leslie performing it, made me love it, even more. He is so talented and amazing here. I had goosebumps. Even though the staging and production for this number are simple, it just makes it even better because you can just focus on Burr!

Yorktown (The World Turned Upside Down)

Every time I watch it and Yorktown ends, I always shake my head in awe. It such a powerful moment in the show and it just makes me very hyped (especially Mulligan’s part). SO good.

Non-Stop

I know I keep talking about how great the staging is, but I feel like the staging from Satisfied, Non-Stop, and another one is the best ones in the show. The ending of Non-Stop on the stage with all the characters standing above Hamilton, stairs being moved from one side to the other all so seamlessly... *chef’s kiss*

Cabinet Battle #1 and #2

The energy between Hamilton and Jefferson here is so good, and I love they look into the audience and make them a part of it. Lin and Daveed just nail these songs!

The Room Where It Happens

Two things: LESLIE and THE CHOREOGRAPHY. That is all.

Washington On Your Side

I just really started loving this song after seeing the show. I also loved the beginning of the song where Burr joins Jefferson on stage, starts singing and Jefferson is just standing there confused thinking: “Where did you come from all of a sudden?” This is Chris’ moment in the show, he just conveys so much emotion in every line. 

One Last Time

This is Chris’ moment in the show, he just conveys so much emotion in every line. 

Hurricane

I just love this song and the use of the rotating stage here is excellent, same goes for the lighting.

The World Was Wide Enough

Seeing this for the first time was so emotional, the part where only Lin is singing and you onlyhear his voice... Pfff, amazing! Also how Leslie ends the song, WOW! 

Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story

The way I sobbed during this... I just thought it was a beautiful ending for the show itself.

Okay, that was a long one! But I love talking about Hamilton and if you read the whole post, I guess you like reading about it! Thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed it! What were your favorite moments from the show?

Have a festive day and stay safe! 

XO 

Yenai

[nofangirltoobignofandomtoosmall]

Okay so I had anothe big brain storm and I'm going to talk about it all in one post!

The Willoughbys.

But? What if? It was a BROADWAY SHOW!?

I already have an idea for a cast!

1. Tim Willoughby

I was thinking my boy, Jesse Tyler Ferguson! If he just shaved the beard I feel like he could work really well as Tim! I don't know, I can just see it already. He's just so dorky and adorable, just like Tim. Plus his singing voice has such Tim energy I love him.

2. Jane Willoughby

Honestly we could just have Alessia Cara come reprise her role as Jane! She's already a beautiful singer! I don't think I've heard any of her acting besides Jane, but hopefully it could work? Her Jane was amazing.

3. The Barnabys

Okay, hear me out. Celia and Andrew Keenan Bolger would be such funny Willoughbys. After seeing Celia's performance as Olive we know she can pull off a pretty good straight face. So can Andrew, knowing his many comedic performances. It just be fun to see these two siblings work together on stage!

4. Walter Willoughby

If you didn't see this one coming, you've probably JUST been introduced to my blog. Christian Borle would be such a hilarious Walter and no one can tell me otherwise! He's shaved his beard before, he can do it again.

5. Helga Willoughby

JUST HAVE JANE KRAKOWSKI COME IN AND REVIVE HER ROLE. Jane has already been on broadway, and she was already a very iconic Helga. Why change something that's already perfect?

6. Linda The Nanny

Now, I have two choices for this one. I would frickin KILL! To see Tracie Thoms do this role, I would! Tracie Thoms would slay this role like the goddess she is. But also, Catrice Joseph would be so good too! After seeing her play Sour Kangaroo in Seussical The Musical? It just reminds me so much of Linds's energy, I LOVE IT!

7. Commander Melanoff

Do I even need to explain this one? Get Leslie Odom Jr. over here RIGHT NOW! He would be such a nice, sweet and POWERFUL Commander Melanoff! Get this man on stage before I go crazy!

8. Irene Holmes

This may have been a smaller character, but I kill for songs about people wanting nothing but money. They're usually bops! And with Audra McDonald?? Holy Moly. An operatic song about people wanting nothing but money? EVEN BETTER! She would slay that runway!

9. Orphan

Okay, okay...oh my god. Please, please, please! Stephanie J. Block. I just need more Stephanie J. Block playing mean (yet caring) roles on Broadway. Her being the leader of Orphan Services would be amazing. Just an entire song Orphan Services song in Stephanie's voice? Wowie. But honestly, Steph can make anything sound great!

Last but not least...

10. The Cat

This just depends on whether or not The Cat would be a singing or speaking role. Both James Corden and Ricky Gervais are hilarious and talented people. James already played a cat so I guess it would work? If the cat would sing James would be an amazing choice! If not, which honestly works because The Cat being a non-singing role fits very well. Ricky could revive his role as the cat, bringing back The Cat's already hilarious personality!

Thanks for listening to my dumb rant. Oh and please add on if you have anymore ideas for the cast or just in general! I'd love to hear them! And as much as I love these actors I wouldn't mind seeing all new people, a lot of people won't make it to broadway if all these famous people keep getting the roles. The famous people are amazing but Broadway has room for everyone, all new people should and hopefully will be welcomed!

[theragamuffininitiative]

“Starring Opposite You” recap, aka a monster-length post

This is really long, and it’s me just rambling a bunch of dumb stuff about the night with video links to the songs, so I’m being courteous and inserting a readmore link, because I have no idea how the formatting is gonna come out by the time I’m done. XD

But guys. I got to see Ashley and Jeremy in concert together and it was incredible, and I got to see them afterward too. ^_^

Enjoy!

Ok, far as venues go, Sony Hall is gorgeous. It was cramped seating, but the venue itself was amazing. I got exactly two pictures of it and then my battery died. XD

Before the concert started, @hisloveconsumesme (my amazing traveling buddy who somehow managed to keep this ragamuffin in line) and I were sitting at these long tables that stretched out from the stage toward the back of the venue, so we had to turn sideways for the show.

So. Directly across the room from us was a little round table near the wall, and lo and behold seated there was none other than Melissa Benoist, Jeremy’s costar and the lead from Supergirl, who is on Broadway herself for a limited engagement in Beautiful and came to support her friend for a night of fun. She wasn’t exactly hiding and people kept coming up to get pictures with her and she was very sweet to all of them.

We kept watching that side of the room and by the end of the night almost the whole Squad had shown up so that it was Melissa, Kara Lindsay (JJ’s costar from Newsies) and her husband Kevin Massey, and Corey Cott (Bandstand, and JJ’s replacement in Newsies) and his wife Meg, and the queen herself: Laura Osnes (Bandstand, Cinderella, JJ’s costar in Bonnie and Clyde, and Ashley’s competition/friend from Grease Live). It was so fun not only seeing two of my faves on stage as a fan, but seeing my other faves there enjoying and reacting to everything as friends.

Ok but the songs:

Ashley and Jeremy came out and with zero introduction, they just stood on opposite sides of the stage facing one another, never giving the audience a bit of notice, unlit at the corners of the stage, and sang Castro’s “Automatic” 

They stepped closer to each other through the whole song until they were right in front of each other, and then they danced together, and then they spun around and faced the audience for the first time. It may have been my favorite song of the night and this is the only clip I think any one snagged of it, but it was so cute the way they staged it, I love them.

Melissa waved at Ashley from the audience and Ashley smiled so big and waved excitedly back, like how cute.

Then they introduced themselves (”in case you all came to the wrong place” Jeremy joked to the packed room) and gave a little background of what they’ve been in and how the night was their own little celebration of all they’ve done on stage and together and got to talking about how they will get the other person’s showtunes stuck in their head for days. Ashley burned JJ on having to listen to Newsies and Smash back-to-back and honestly they just roasted each other for a bit.

They talked so long about wanting to be in something together, they got tired of waiting so that’s why they did the concert: “Starring Opposite You.”

They had a script. They woefully went off script. They would do 'impromptu' jokes and then be like “this is in the script” and “now it’s your line” and honestly I can’t with these dorks.

Ben Rauhala was shaking his head at them from his keyboard 90% of the entire night, especially when Jeremy said “We didn’t rehearse!” and Ben was 100% done with Mom and Dad.

And then they started singing a medley of all their standards, except that Ashley was singing JJ’s songs and Jeremy was singing her’s ohmygosh

AND IT WAS HYSTERICAL BUT ALSO HOLY HECK GUYS ASHLEY IS SO GOOD.

ASHLEY SLAYED “Moving Too Fast” and “Raise A Little Hell” and “Broadway Here I Come” and “Santa Fe.” Like, don’t think this is anything less than a compliment, but I’ve pretty much come to expect phenomenal performances by Jeremy at this point, but there is not nearly enough content for Ashley AND SHE’S SO GOOD, I CAN’T STOP GEEKING OUT ABOUT IT. I need a cast album with her yesterday.

Jeremy was ‘offended’ that Ashley was doing choreography while he was singing so during “When You Got, Flaunt It” he shouted “Now for the dance!” and started to go for it and Ashley immediately went “No!” and stopped him. XD XD Heaven bless her.

Everybody screamed so loud for Bonnie and Clyde, these are my people.

Please please please, the part at the end where she’s singing “Santa Fe” in Jack Kelly’s accent. I don’t know if that was planned or not because Jeremy was dying on stage and had to fight so hard to get control back for his next bit, send help. XD XD XD

And yeah Jeremy sang “Harden My Heart” and “Hopelessly Devoted” so. um. heck.

He was such a huge dork the whole time, I don’t even know what to say, except to point out that at one point early on - I don’t remember exactly which of his antics got this reaction but does it honestly matter - I looked over and Corey’s wife Meg was doubled over with laughter while simultaneously covering her face with her hands in shame like “please. I don’t know this man. I swear.”

They did a scene from Rock of Ages and sang “High Enough” because they were both in it but not at the same time, so they played their characters opposite each other and it was great. XD

Featuring! Jeremy explaining to the audience he was holding a cassette tape, and Ashley then throwing it on the ground. XD

How did she fall in love with him when he was doing this role, I don’t know, but maybe it’s a good thing because at least she knew what she was in for.

Those harmonies though.

Then JJ grabbed a guitar and talked about old songs he wrote growing up and the whole bit cracked the entire room up

and this video has slightly better audio but without the intro.

Let me just tell you, as someone who taught guitar to middleschoolers for four years: that Green Day song is somehow always the one boys teach themselves on their own and I don’t get it.

AND THEN!!!!

ok ok ok ok ok Jeremy Jordan asdfghjkl singing the love song he wrote to Ashley and their future family, aka “Memories of Loving You”, aka “Ashley’s Song” - THE ACTUAL TITLE, aka my most favorite thing he maybe has ever done alkjfshldfijksdfjhleiudzfknv,fhslidvdxkvnd *broke*

They talked about Riley a lot. Like a lot a lot.

They joked that every time Riley was mentioned, everyone had to take a shot, but Ashley added that you needed to get someone to carry/drive you home. XD

There was a slideshow presentation of all of Riley’s nicknames and I honestly don’t remember most of them (kicking myself over that, because they were wild) but it was everything from like “Ri-ri” and “Riley Bear” to completely different names to long complicated made-up words that didn’t even make any sense - and there were like 30 of these. Most of them were dubbed by Ashley.

I could see Jeremy’s eyebrows doing The Thing while he sang from where I sat. XD

Jeremy was such a Dad because he kept getting distracted by the fact that the slideshow wasn’t keeping up.

I don’t remember which song it was around but Ashley had videos of her as like a three year old toddling around and singing, and this girl already had it from that age, and it was adorable.

The whole night felt like a chance for them to not only star opposite each other, but to swap places. Ashley was showcasing in every performance and song, being silly, but also very much bringing her a-game. Incredible. Jeremy on the other hand, was so incredibly laidback and goofy the whole night, this was the performance from a guy who knows he has nothing to prove and was just enjoying the moment and probably enjoying showing off Ashley for a bit because he never shuts up about how gorgeous and talented she is anyway, and he’s RIGHT.

Ashley talked about how much she was grateful for all the roles she’s gotten to do, but they’ve mostly been pop rock musicals and not anything classical, and so she sang “Can’t Help Lovin’ Dat Man” from Showboat

Someone cast her in something quick

And give us a cast recording

I’m begging you.

The Waitress medley. (!!!!!!!!!!)

I can’t.

@hisloveconsumesme kept grabbing me excitedly and if I had been behind her I would have been doing the same thing but basically I couldn’t take my attention off the stage long enough. We were living. Cast them in Waitress too. ;) ;) ;)

Ashley’s so perfect.

I have no words.

Except! Watch Jeremy stand back and be completely enthralled while Ashley is singing “What Baking Can Do.” You could feel the waves of admiration coming off that stage mixing with that coming from the audience.

Now go back and watch it again just to listen to her.

The part during “Bad Idea” where they go “you have a wife / you have a husband” and just shrug and laugh at each other like “yeah: you.” XD XD XD

He did “Run Away With Me”

probably the best he’s ever done it

especially after making a whole point about never doing it because of always messing it up lol.

Also the bit about the pie at the beginning might be what was embarrassing poor Meg Cott.

He did not share the pie.

Ashley singing “Embraceable You” was so precious??

ohmyword listen to her

I’m so uPSET I didn’t get to see her play Polly. *flops*

Literally everything they did was love songs, even when the other person wasn’t on stage for it. Jeremy kept popping back onstage saying things like “aw, you mean me?!” and Ashley just rolled her eyes at him.

These dorks. The 90′s Medley story is great, but what are they doing though, what...what are they.

90s kid me was having flashbacks

EVERYONE CLAPPED AT THE PART and it made Ashley so happy. XD

While Ramin will forever and always be my favorite Jean Valjean, Jeremy came out of freaking left field and sang “Bring Him Home” ????! for us as his final song, complete with a little story intro for his experience with the song.

I was seriously concerned by the fact that he wasn’t taking nearly enough breaths for this piece and I don’t know how he did it skjdflhajdfa

also he can go play that role any time he wants even though I never would have said I wanted it before the concert.

Oh, and when he finished, I glanced over at where Kara Lindsay was sitting and she was crryyyyyyyyyinngg AND I HAD BEEN FINE UP TO THAT POINT BUT HECK. SAME GIRL. SAME.

Seriously.

This is from the second night

Enjoy it all over again.

Ashley’s final song was “Stranger to the Rain” from Children of Eden, and gosh I need to stop forgetting how much I adore Schwartz’ music, so yeah, basically just listen to this and weep.

#PancakeHands

She is so pretty and talented, I’m sorry I’ll stop saying that.

They forgot to introduce the band until the last song lol. Jeremy kept making jokes about how we should all come back the second night because they would get it right then. XD

The final medley of the night was from a bunch of classic musicals, favorites of the Jordans, and wOW.

Medley featuring: “Our Children” from Ragtime, “Follow Your Heart" from Urinetown, “As Long As You’re Mine” from Wicked, “Come What May” from Moulin Rouge, and “Suddenly Seymour” from Little Shop of Horrors.

I think Corey (and Melissa) laughed at every single dumb thing Jeremy did - the “Agony” video sums up their entire relationship I’m pretty sure -except when they went into “As Long As You’re Mine” and Corey’s little Wicked fanboy heart could hardly contain himself.

The whole night I couldn’t decide who I should be watching or when, because when Jeremy was singing, Ashley was still in full performance mode and being brilliant and hysterical and occasionally reverting to expressions of “you utter nerd what are you doing.” On the other hand, whenever Ashley was singing, Jeremy literally stepped back and just watched her like there was no one else in the room and not only like he was watching his favorite singer, but like she was the entirety of his universe and askjflhdjfdf - I can’t with them. Seriously, when you watch the youtube clips, watch the other person during the duets and you’ll see what I mean.

He kept reaching for Ashley’s hand the whole night.

Like, seriously, they held hands so much and it was so cute.

Ashley is such a good dancer. Jeremy used all five of his moves. XD She kept throwing him off by dancing and also giving him A Look if he tried to follow suit.

They came back for an encore and sang “You’re All I Need to Get By”

If I remember correctly they said this was the song they danced to at their wedding, and there was a full slide show of pictures of them (I feel like the slideshow was earlier in the night but if it was, I don’t remember which song, so unless I can see the screens from someone else’s youtube videos lol)

AND JEREMY FORGOT THE LYRICS. “ready for you” he says - NO YOU WEREN’T, JJ. Ashley and Ben kept trying to get him on track and he was so lost. XD

He was embarrassed and did the little double-over-giggling-to-hide-his-face thing I did a gifset of months ago.

Ashley held up her hand with her wedding band while singing “dedicate my life to you.”

I love them.

Standing Ovation.

Ok

But

At the end of the night:

After we applauded as loud as we could and laughed and cried.

We went and stood in line, because we had VIP tickets, and we waited for forever and chatted about the show and how incredible it was.

And then we get into this little green room in the back of the venue, and Ashley and Jeremy were taking pictures and saying hi to everyone one at a time. So I go in first, and someone before me had accidentally left their bag on the floor just inside, so JJ and Ashley were very concerned about getting it returned. Person, if you’re reading this, I hope you got your stuff back, but like, I also have a small bone to pick with you, and not actually because I totally tripped upon walking in. Jeremy and Ashley were both all “oh! careful!” (a direct quote from both of them), and very sweet about it lol. Thankfully it was only a little trip and I just laughed it off. XD So we got in and we took each other’s pictures getting a Jordan sandwich hug, and yes Jeremy really is that short, and I’m ashamed to say my brain was thinking “ohmygosh he’s so short” at the very minute I tripped over the bag.

Ashley kind of took over the little meet and greet, because naturally JJ had reverted to his shy off-stage self, and I was actually really okay with that because a) I was slightly concerned people would be all over Jeremy and ignore her and that wasn’t the case at all and b) it was much easier to focus on her and not be an awkward fangirl lol.

We told them “thank you, for everything” (at least, I think so, I was totally not focused at all at that point), and both of them were just so kind and actually thanked us for coming, and hisloveconsumesme got to chat with Ashley for a minute too as the next people where coming in and talking to JJ.

And then that was that. We left. We almost stopped to talk to Ben, but he was talking with a bunch of other people, and we were tiiiiiired. XD

So yeah. I’m sure I’ve forgotten half the night.

But this post is huge anyway. XD

It was a very good night.

@youtube user ren598, idk if you have a tumblr but I owe you for getting all these videos. There are some videos from other people there and from the second night, but these are my favorites, bless you.

Bless Ben Rauhala as well. Idk what the Broadway community would be without him, the King Medley Maker. I love him.

asdfghjkl

can’t

done

[buffystylez-blog]

Unaired Pilot - FOR REAL

It’s still Buffy’s birthday, so there’s another gift in store for Slayerettes:

THE UNAIRED BUFFY PILOT IS ON YOUTUBE.

Link is here.

So I thought I’d try a more tradish style recap. Get ready for some low quality screenshots!

Also there is a disclaimer that the episode is not for broadcast because the music used was not cleared. I don’t think they could afford it at the time.

Could do with a shirt.

It’s very similar to the opening of the first episode in that a young boy and girl break into Sunnydale High School after hours and just when you think the boy is going to take advantage of the girl, the girl is a vampire and kills him real good. Pretty sure it’s a different actor. For the guy. Not Darla. That’s definitely still Julie Benz.

It’s a substantially different costume for Darla. This is the first time I’ll wonder if the actors styled themselves. I love the brogues. Darla was wearing these waaaaay before they were cool. Perhaps she killed a Charleston dancer and then waited until 1994 to kill a girl for her dress.

Will this unrealistic stage set return? Probably!

I almost think the vampire make-up is better in this than the first season.

This was probably done by an intern. I hope it was. Because if it were it was definitely free.

Who could it be wearing these cute high heel canvas shoes? I had these. I loved them. Chunky heels for all.

It’s Buffy Summers! Or Bunny, as Principal Flutie keeps calling her. She is more peppy, which I will discuss in more detail later. Or soon. And you should bloody see who played Flutie in the pilot.

STEPHEN TOBOLOWSKY. If you’re unfamiliar with this gentleman, give this a go.

Let’s talk about Buffy’s school outfit. She’s in a miniskirt and top combo with a short-sleeve button up over the top. It’s... ok. It’s more casual. Everyone is more casual in the pilot. This outfit speaks to the perkier Buffy. She’s walking a line between LA Buffy and post-season premiere Buffy. I think this is the vibe Whedon wanted for the film. It... did not translate. For reasons beyond Whedon’s control, I would wager. It both works and does not work, for reasons I will probably go into.

The outfit is cute. It lacks the polish that sets her a little apart from her schoolmates in Welcome to the Hellmouth. I do prefer her hair here, I think. It’s been straightened. Or more likely blow-dried straight.

Before straighteners, blowdrying curly or wavy hair straight was a mission. I remember a how-to in Dolly or Cosmo or Girlfriend or Cleo. It involved sectioning your hair in four bits, and juggling a big round brush and hairdryer. Like the hairdressers do really well and I do very badly. Is she sans fringe? I think she’s sans fringe.

New Willow. Who dis?

Now this does make the ‘softer side of Sears’ burn make a LOT more sense. Obviously they decided to replace this actress. It may have been because they sensed Alyson Hannigan’s ability to wear wacky colours and textures. This actress is ok. But she doesn’t really fit the dynamics of the Scooby Gang that well. As you’ll see, the friend chemistry between these versions of Buffy and Xander are much more interesting than Xander or Willow, or even Willow and Buffy.

Cordelia’s outfit here is soooooo much better. Charisma Carpenter is so beautiful. She’s the perfect antagonist for Buffy’s high school life - making Homecoming in season 3 feel like a long time coming. Blonde versus Brunette, city girl versus Queen Bee. They’re very evenly matched. I want this cropped shirt. 

Though you can’t see her too clearly, the girl on the right is Nicole Bilderback, aka Whitney from Bring It On. She’s also the girl who wants to sleep with someone to get back at a boyfriend in Can’t Hardly Wait. Girl played supporting teen girl parts for a while in the 1990s. And of course that’s Harmony. This show kept a lot of its supporting cast from the pilot, which is nice.

Buffy meets Xander who directs her to the library, and she leaves behind her stake. The library is of course the place this tall drink of hot tea is waiting for her.

As in Welcome to the Hellmouth he produces that creepy book and Buffy wigs and leaves. Giles is confused as hell.

Better shot of Buffy and Willow’s outfit. There’s some nice banter here. This pilot shows of Whedon’s skill with comedic dialogue much better than the film. Some of it is even more lol than Welcome to the Hellmouth or the Harvest.

Buffy is swept away by Cordelia’s gang and just awkwardly leaves Willow. Doesn’t really establish much of a rapport between Will and B.

Xander catches up to Buffy to return her stake and together they identify the relevant social groups at Sunnydale. It’s probably my favourite scene.

I keep forgetting Xander has a skateboard. God, I hate skateboards.

Aphrodesia and whoever discover Darla’s last meal. Willow and Cordelia break the news to Buffy, but in my opinion in this exchange Buffy’s not weird enough for Cordelia to begin to doubt inviting her into her version of the Plastics.

As in Welcome to the Hellmouth Buffy checks the body for bite marks and confronts Giles, revealing her status as The Chosen One to all other patrons of the library. I guess both Buffy and Giles assume that teens don’t use libraries. And to be fair it is just Xander. I LOVED the library as a teen. I was cool. NO I WAS.

The layout is different and allows Buffy to jump off the stairs instead of use them. Because Giles uses the stairs and we discover how fucking awkward spiral staircases are. My favourite Spiral Staircase is the Kings of Leon song.

Did they keep the skylight?

The Bronze! With little to no discussion! But look at this little morsel saved for later:

There’s a line about their prowess in this episode I could swear Oz uses in season 2. Whedon and his writers are good at saving their gold. Like leprechauns?

Here’s Buffy in another outfit!

She’s already wearing practical footwear for slaying. Miley bless this creature. Is this Jonathan? The quality is so low.

Can’t tell.

I’m so sorry SMG. I did not realise how bad this screenshot was for you. Hair is high ponytail. Always up for slayage. It’s curled, which is fun. Depending on where you grew up these little strands at the front may have been called ‘slut straps.’

Jacket is... PVC? It’s... I probably would have liked it.

Again, Xander and Buffy already seem like great friends. Willow is again inconsequential, almost. As in Welcome to the Hellmouth, Willow is in danger. And where is she in danger? You guessed it, the stage for a drama performance constructed by no teen drama club I’ve ever seen.

He looks like if James Marsters was the lead singer of an 80s New Wave band.

Is that such a bad thing? Probably is for Willow.

He may also be a character from a Bret Easton Ellis novel. So he obviously has a lot of respect for women.

Buffy is wearing a shiny shirt and what appears to be a PVC jacket. It’s not a good combo. Neither is the purse. It looks like a lunch bag. 

I would also like to point out that Xander is much better dressed here than in the series.

After a very slow run toward the villain she delivers this wonderful high kick.

Darla is back! Along with a vampire who looks like he was murdered while audtioning for a role as Gaston in Beauty and the Best.

Buffy fights some vampires and Willow and Xander help a bit. Hooray!

FYInformaysh this is how the vampires die in the pilot. Slowly.

So slowly.

This is Willow and Xander helping. They burned Darla to death, I think. Not sure.

Everyone looks flawless here. Not a lot of stretchy fabric going on, but still items I would definitely want.

They’re discussing how weird Buffy, Willow and Xander are.

Get it? Get it? Vampires. Art Imitating Life or whatever.

Apart from talking to a teacher and actually enjoying it they look cool as hell. Not sure what Cordy etc are talking about.

The hair is excellent. I had this shirt about ten years ago or similar. It’s purple and white and I wore it to a festival and almost instantly regretted it. Should’ve just stuck with the black dress and Chuck Taylors. Not all vintage is cool or wearable, guys.

She’s wearing almost the same thing as the day before - miniskirt, sneakers, t-shirts, button up shirt as jacket. I like the shirt from the first outfit better. But I might like the skirt better?

I definitely would have worn this. Actually, I did. I had a Roxy (or was it just Billabong?) dark blue corduroy miniskirt that I wore with a blue camouflage patterned t-shirt. I remember wearing it on a trip to Gunnedah to visit my grandfather on my mum’s side of the family. I would wear one of his flat caps with it. He would let me wear it but wouldn’t let me keep it. And then he would give me other stuff, like all of these vintage ties he owned so I could make a skirt out of them. I didn’t end up doing that, but I still have them all. I’ll never get rid of them.

Gunnedah, NSW, is also the hometown of Miranda Kerr and Erica Baxter. I do not know either young lady. But once Miranda Kerr laughed at my nephew. He had ice cream on his face. He was a toddler at the time. That was a fun story.

Sarah Michelle Gellar is so cute. Always was, always will be. She’s already the fun, peppy Buffy that will take a little longer to bring out in the series proper. She is so perfectly cast as Buffy.

That seemed like a long way away. That was incredibly dangerous. Why would she do that? Buffy is very careless when it comes to her stakes.

And that’s it! Comes in at a respectable 25 minutes and some change. The smaller run time means it’s much more about establishing Buffy as a slayer and the fun element of the premise. No Angel, so no love interest at this stage. Though I wonder if Xander and Buffy’s easy chemistry was meant to take a romantic turn?

They would rewrite it, make it longer, introduce the Big Bad, and Angel. They would also throw in the genius play of making the first two episodes a two-parter. And they would kill off a character that seemed meant to be a regular - it was a pretty good twist. They also introduce similar things from the pilot in a maybe more organic way. For example, in Welcome to the Hellmouth Buffy sneaks into the girls locker room to check the body. In this, she just flat out asks the Principal if she can. AND HE LETS HER.

Buffy’s realisation she will be doomed to being an outcast if she accepts her Slayer duties is much more expertly handled in Welcome to the Hellmouth. It’s like the pilot episode of Sherlock compared to the first episode - the extra time gives them room to breathe. They don’t have to fly through introducing characters and setting up the premise of the first series.

It’s a lot of fun, and there’s some trademark Whedon dialogue, but I daresay if this pilot had been broadcast the show may not have lasted. This plays like a fun high school sitcom with some supernatural elements. I feel like it might be trying to replicate the silly ‘monster of the week’ vibe of the film. And Whedon seems to have decided quite quickly that the series would be a different beast, so to speak. I think the slight change of direction was the best decision. Instead of a Buffy picking up almost where she left off, he introduces some real world consequences for her actions in LA instead. 

It is her first day in a new school after being kicked out of school and packed off to a small town with her newly divorced mother, after all. She’s hoping to start fresh but soon learns she can’t. The entire series really examines the idea that it’s fucking hard to grow up and accept responsibility and though you can mostly handle it with grace and humour sometimes there’ll be days you just can’t. Growing up is hard and Buffy always learns this the hard way. It’s ‘with great power comes great responsibility’ but with more vampires. And great hair.

And what if Buffy had never worn those brown leather knee high boots? I don’t even want to think about a Buffy the Vampire Slayer without them.

Happy birthday, B. You’ll always be one of my personal heroes. You got me through some stuff, you know.

Coming up next on the blog, a rarity: I’ll praise Xander’s wardrobe.

Until next time, Slayerettes.

[ayuuria]

Yashahime Translation: Mantan Web Interview 1/23/21

Please do not repost this translation without my consent! This includes screenshots of any type and amount. If you wish to share this translation, simply link to this post.

For more information regarding the use of my translations, click here.

“Hanyō no Yashahime: Matsumoto Sara, Komatsu Mikako, and Tadokoro Azusa, the voice actresses for the “Three Princesses”, Fervently Talk About Their “True Love” for the Characters of “Inuyasha”

“Hanyō no Yashahime”, the TV anime that follows the activities of the daughters of Inuyasha and Sesshōmaru from Takahashi Rumiko-san’s popular manga, “Inuyasha” (Yomiuri TV, Nippon TV, Saturday evenings at 5:30, certain regions excluded). Sesshōmaru’s twin daughters, Towa and Setsuna, and Inuyasha and Higurashi Kagome’s daughter, Moroha; The ones who voice the “3 Princesses” are Matsumoto Sara-san, Komatsu Mikako-san, and Tadokoro Azusa-san. The three of them talk about their love for the Inuyasha world that charmed them during their childhood.

Falling In Love with Naraku and Sesshōmaru as a Child; For Komatsu Mikako ““Inuyasha” was the textbook on love”

[There’s a paragraph here explaining what Yashahime is about, which we already know so I skipped it]

— When the cast of “Hanyō no Yashahime” was announced, Komatsu-san’s comment of “The wind scar that cut through my 2nd year junior high sickness was without a doubt “Inuyasha”” (translator’s note: I’m not confident on this quote) was quite impressionable. Matsumoto-san and Tadokoro-san, you are also big “Inuyasha” fans. In what way were you into the work?

Matsumoto-san: “Inuyasha” was the first (work) where I truly fell in love with the characters. From my perspective back then, there were so many wonderful characters, but my favorites were Miroku-sama and Naraku. Naraku has many different forms, but I loved when he took on the form of a feudal lord named Hitomi Kagewaki with Morikawa Toshiyuki-san voicing him. My love for “Inuyasha” is stuck in a swamp, or rather a bottomless swamp (laughs). (translator’s note: Swamp is basically the JP term for Hell in terms of otaku language). Even now, the characters still pop into my head out of nowhere, so I think it’s a work that really left a deep mark on me.

Tadokoro-san:  From the setting, “Inuyasha” was my absolute favorite! Going between the modern and feudal eras and a world with demons. Then a half-demon boy named Inuyasha-san and a human named Kagome-san meet and fall in love…

Komatsu-san: It’s the best situation.

Tadokoro-san: With Takahashi Rumiko-sensei’s works, just hearing the setting makes me want to see them. The characters are thick (in terms of development), and not only do the protagonists and main characters have their own goals but so do the demons. I can’t take my eyes away. The characters are so heavily developed that I end up liking the villains too. I even have a “on the contrary, thank you” kind of feeling for the villain, Naraku-san. Like, thank you for stirring up the story in such a fun way (laughs).

— Tadokoro-san, who is your favorite character?

Tadokoro-san: I was in love with Sesshōmaru-sama. He was cold at first, but he slowly changes after meeting the human child, Rin. I already like him just for that, but he’s got a handsome face too. When watching the anime, his face looks so good that every time it came up, I was like “Pretty face!” (laughs). The anime has background music too so when Sesshōmaru-sama’s theme played, I did the triumphant yes pose.

— What is “Inuyasha” to you, Komatsu-san?

Komatsu-san: I read the manga right as I was going through puberty. So, while it is a shōnen manga, for me, it was a textbook on love. My heart would beat fast as I read, and the love triangle between Kagome, Inuyasha, and Kikyō always made me anxious. Inuyasha was going back and forth between Kikyō and her reincarnation, Kagome, but even in that situation, Kagome said “I like you. What about you?”. That clear, positive aura was appealing, and I thought “I’ll be like that too!”.

Tadokoro-san: (claps) How wonderful!

Komatsu-san: I was like “I’ll do what Kagome does.” “I’ve decided! I’ll tell the person I like that I like them!”

Tadokoro-san:  Ah! That’s a great take away!

Komatsu-san: I was so into the (“Inuyasha”) world that I believed that I could go into a well and travel through time. There was a well at the school I used to go to, and I would always peer into it. However, there was nothing there (laughs). It had an influence on me in my personal life.

Acting with “Kikyō”, Hidaka Noriko; Regarding the secret behind the births of the three princesses, the story will…

— We heard that at the recording for “Hanyō no Yashahime”, you acted with Hidaka Noriko-san who played the role of Kikyō in “Inuyasha”.

Komatsu-san: For the scene where the spirit of the Tree of Ages makes an appearance by borrowing the form of Kikyō in episode 4, we were able to perform with Hidaka-san in the booth. Hidaka-san read our comments when the cast was announced, and I was so happy that she was such a nice person. Back when I was reading the manga as a child, I was afraid of Kikyō. But now, I understand her feelings painfully well. When I spoke to Hidaka-san about how “It was hard on Kikyō.”, she said “That’s right. I’m happy that you feel that way.”. It felt as though the viewer and actor sides of me reconciled.

Matsumoto-san: The three of us recorded the scene with the spirit of the Tree of Ages together with Hidaka-san and I thought the way that the spirit incited the Yashahimes was really something.

Tadokoro-san: It was so cool.

— In episode 4, it shows the spirit, taking Kikyō’s form, making a certain request to Towa, Setsuna, and Moroha, and Towa and Setsuna decline it.

Matsumoto-san: Hidaka-san put her all into it when she came at us. We were in a position where we had to decline the request, so we really meant it when we said “No”. She made it into a living scene.

Tadokoro-san: The air changed just from Hidaka-san letting out her voice, so it made me tingle. When recording ended, she very gently said “I’m glad Kikyō isn’t hated”. I told her “I love Kikyō-san!”

— With “Hanyō no Yashahime” entering the second cour, there will be major developments in the story, including the secret behind the births of the three princesses. What are some highlights going forward?

Matsumoto-san: There will be new characters and a lot of things intertwined, so I think a lot of people will be investigating. So far, fragmentary scenes touching upon the secret of their births have been shown, so I think it would be fun to compare it with the upcoming story.

Tadokoro-san: The “Inuyasha” world is full of appealing characters, and it’s because they’re all endearing people that you are able to love their children. As a fan, you really wonder what sort of lives they had. Another thing is that all the upcoming people who could be considered villains are pretty. I liked Kirinmaru-sama in an instant (laughs).

Komatsu-san: Solving the mystery of “Why the girls haven’t met their parents” is a key point to the story of “Hanyō no Yashahime”, but there’s a lot of cheerful dialogue among the three princesses as a party which I think is an appeal of the work. The three of them investigate the secret behind their births while slaying demons. Within that, you can catch a glimpse of daily life in the Inuyasha world which I think is also appealing.

Matsumoto-san, Komatsu-san, Tadokoro-san, the cast, and staff have poured their “love for Inuyasha” into “Hanyō no Yashahime”. What sort of new truths will become clear is something to pay attention to going into the second cour.