#chemicalperfume

[zukadiary]

10 years, 10 top stars: pt 2

ICYMI, which is understandable since I haven't followed up in like TWO MONTHS, I'm celebrating my blog's 10th birthday by streaming 10 of my favorite top stars.

(This, once again, will be done over some amount of time, at absolutely not a regular cadence, because unfortunately I live a busy life).

Hopping from recent to definitely not recent...

10 years 10 top stars profile #2: Anju Mira

A few things I love about Yan-sensei:

Anyone who knows me knows I'm weak for tiny dancers with deep voices

Her Hanagumi is one of my favorite eras of Takarazuka in any troupe. Some of that is because she happened to have like, 8+ future tops under her, but a lot of that is the tone she set and how she led those diverse personalities.

She has an indescribable aura, like you'd disintegrate if you got too close

To this day she consistently choreographs some of my favorite revue scenes

Top memories:

The first time I got up the courage to go to Japan was in 2013, primarily to see all my favorite former tops in DREAM A DREAM, the final OG showcase of the 99th anniversary. Seeing her live led to instant obsession (especially when your options for watching 90s Takarazuka were secondhand VHS or passing DVD-recorded Sky Stage through a CPRM stripper that only ran on Windows XP or earlier, triggered all the antivirus software, and made you guess what the buttons did because the Japanese text didn't render) ((yells at cloud))

I had the privilege of seeing the Umegei production of Grand Hotel in 2016, and her Elizaveta was without flaw

The OsaAsa talk where they essentially said if she murdered them they'd just say thanks

Stream #2 will be Sorrowful Cordoba (Flower 1995) and It's a Love Story (Flower 1993)

(cw: incest for Cordoba)

I decided to mix and match play/revue, not because I don't love Mega Vision, but because I have the shiny NHK version of Love Story, and it's way more presentable!

While I don't have subs for this one, @chemicalperfume and I translated the script of the 2015 Snow Troupe version for @zukalations, and you can read it ahead of time (or follow along) here!

WHEN: Friday, June 30, 7:30am ET (That's NY time, I'm waking up early for everyone who was boxed out of my last stream timezone wise)

WHERE: DM me for link/password (please don't be shy!)

[onmyo-jin]

Shuffle your favorite playlist and post the first five songs that come up then tag 5 people

Thank you for tagging me @alxina !

Do people have a favourite playlist? Is it a playing you found, or one you made specifically for your fav songs? Idk, I don't, I spend 95% of my time listening to all of my liked songs on spotify tbh- so that's the playlist I shuffled for this!

1. Mr. Taxi by Girl's Generation

2. Diggy diggy hole by Wind Rose

3. Bonamana by Super Junior

4. Where's the girl by Terry Mann from the Scarlet Pimpernel musical 💜💜💜💜

5. Violence and Spiders by Saint sphinx

Several of which I'd forgotten were even in that playlist, so now I'm going to listen to them on repeat for a while😁

Tagging @lost-in-the-land-of-stories @chemicalperfume @naughtynanzhu @foxofninetales and @irrlich if you feel like sharing!

[animaniacal]

♬☁

☁ What’s your favorite solo? Which revue song always gets stuck in your head? What song do you skip?

Favorite solo is Miyu's solo from "Bakumatsu Taiyouden." I've heard it twice. I nearly died. Waiting desperately for my CD so I can listen to it over and over and over. Revue song? GOLD SPARK. IT LIVES IN MY HEAD 24/7 OH GOD WHEN CAN I REST. Hm, I don't really think I have a show that I have a CD of that I don't love to death? Like, there isn't a single solitary song in Kenshin that isn't a banger. So... none?

♬ If you were a sienne, what would your dinner show be like? What songs would you do, and who else would you have perform with you? What would your theme be?

Gonna pick another dinner show theme and I guess it will be Bad Asses, and I'll sing stuff like "Popular" and "There's a Fine, Fine, Line," and belt my ass off. I'd make Daimon come and sing with me too and it would be amazing.

[flibbityflob]

@chemicalperfume DISASTER!!! SITE!!!

[zukalations]

chemicalperfume replied to your post “Matsuoka Shuzo's oldest daughter, 169cm Mei, one of 40 who pass...”

Her first name is read "Megumi"

THANK YOU, I swear I know Japanese I’m just bad at names... *dashes to edit*

[youvegot-timetogrow]

MeMy, KonSaba

oh my god I LOVE YOU

Me and My Girl

1. favorite character?

u…hm… S-Sally? I think? I mean part of me wants to say Jackie- SCRATCH THAT IT’S JACKIE. 

2. favorite person to play said favorite character?

Mirio wins by default

3. character you relate to the most?

Um. Sally? Sir John? Probably Sir John.

4. character you would most like to play?

MEEEEEEE, JUST YOU LOOK UP AND YOU’LL SEEEEEEE ME ON THE TOP OF THE TREE, THINKING NOTHING OF NO ONE BUT M E

5. character you would most like to meet?

Sir John lol. We’d spend the day petting dogs and complaining about things. My kind of afternoon.

6. most underrated character?

#Bob Bulking Deserves Love.

7. favorite sung line(s)?

I guess the entirety of Take It on the Chin?

Plus, for no reason in particular, a few lines from Leaning on a Lampost

なぜ僕が街の灯にたたずむか、僕は彼女を待つ待つのさWhy am I standing by a lampost? Why, I am waiting for her!

8. favorite spoken line(s)?

“You must marry a girl on your same level”“Sally IS on my level, she lives on te 2nd floor like me!” (loosely translated idk the original)

“WHERE THE BLEEDIN’ ‘ELL ‘AVE YOU BEEN?!?”

9. first song you heard from the show?

I can’t remember but it’s either the title song or The Lambeth Walk

10. song you play on repeat?

FAMILY SOLICITOR

11. song you skip when it comes on shuffle?

The Sun has got His Hat on (eh)

12. most underrated song?

Is there such a thing? I don’t know what is considered underrated but perhaps Song of Hareford? Idk it’s fun

13. favorite head cannon?

I don’t think I have any??

14. three words that describe this show?

(i suck at this I’m skipping this one)

15. overall rate?

9/10 (would only change the slapping scene but eh you know)

Konjiki no Sabaku/Golden Desert

1. favorite character?

I am bound by loyalty to say Ger but… it’s actually Talharmine. I l o v e beautifully built characters who are horrible people and boy is she horrible and BOY do I love her.

2. favorite person to play said favorite character?

Role of Kanochan’s life. I’m so happy she got to play it and will possibly be the only one ever to. This role belongs to her.

3. character you relate to the most?

Ger. Definitely Ger.

4. character you would most like to play?

LAKME. BADASS BANDIT LADY.And Queen Amudarya. What can I say. That dress looks impossible to move in but she’s just so MUCH.

5. character you would most like to meet?

Probably Golaas. Nice, funny, likes birbs. Yup.

6. most underrated character?

I’d say Sonailu and Sharadeha bc they’re an absolute delight to watch on stage.

7. favorite sung line(s)?

この世界のどこかに美しい場所があると言う 金色の砂の海に陽の光砕け散る 砕け散る この砂漠のどこかに許される場所 があるという 金色の砂の海にこの罪も 砕け散る 砕け散る“There is a place of beauty, somewhere in this world.A sea of golden sand where sunlight whithers away.There is a place, somewhere in this desert, where all is forgiven.A sea of golden sand when even this sin withers away”.

8. favorite spoken line(s)?

Ger: “Do you really want to put this woman through the same thing that Jahangir has put or mother through?!”Giy/Isfandiar: “This is my revenge!”(mind: blown. tears: shed. soul: has left my body)

Also the whole bit at the end, in which Talhramine breaks down upon realizing that, in spite of everything, somehow she still loved Giy and she had no way of escaping that feeling and the humiliation it came with. No way except…

That, AND Ger’s words of closure on the silver bridge.“Brother, have you found the golden desert? Have you found the place our mother has been singing of? Talharmine! Brother!!”(spoiler alert: they have)

9. first song you heard from the show?

The prologue lol, 金色の砂漠 (version #1 of the many reprises)

10. song you play on repeat?

復讐こそ我が恋. I have no excuse. You know those rare instances where you see the hero become the villain and the transition is clear and smooth and horrifying and terrible but at the same time so well executed that you can buy into it? This is the moment it starts happening. If that makes any sense at all.

11. song you skip when it comes on shuffle?

N O N E O F  T H E M ARE YOU KIDDING ME

12. most underrated song?

Maybe Ger and Virmaya’s duet. That’s literally what it’s called . ジャーとヴィルマーヤの歌. I like to call it 変わらぬ心で bc it sounds nice and it’s the last lyric of the song, but Ueda sensei wasn’t merciful enough to give it a proper title

13. favorite head cannon?

Rather than a headcanon it’s like. Several pre-engagement moments of fluff between Ger and Virmaya. I don’t know, maybe as kids Ger got beaten up a lot, being a slave, and Virmaya being the sweetheart she is would FREAK OUT and cry and worry for him and personally tend to him even though it was probably frowned upon, with her being a princess, and Ger being the the absolute selfless cutie he his would put on a brave face and play it off as if it didn’t hurt, even thought it HURT LIKE HELL, to ease her mind. And I have A TON of those small moments in my head so you know.Can you tell what my OTP in this show is.

14. three words that describe this show?

Pain, pain, p a i n

15. overall rate?

20/10 perfect show wouldn’t change a thing

[kittychan-sings-enka]

Assumption: if you had a genie and 3 wishes, one of them would be "Ayanagi Shou Tybalt"

Y E S

[flo-n-flon]

Terrible human beings Daniel and Stan for @kittychan-sings-enka, @leecifer-cynic and @chemicalperfume for their work on Melancholic Gigolo. Thank you for letting me join in!

[chevalierene]

☼☾

☼Which sienne is your favorite? Sagiri Seina (aka Chigi). 

What do you like about them? I love her spirit and the way that she presents herself on and offstage. I love that she worked hard to get to where she is today and did not let her height stand in the way of progress. I love her dedication to her work and the amount of research she puts into her roles. I love her joker personality with her ridiculous curtain calls, trolling Miyu constantly, being an ass at times even, but all out of love. I feel like she is rather shy when not performing and I can 100% connect to this. I feel a very strong connection with Chigi in a lot of ways. And she has such a great connection to her troupe and takes care of them, bringing them all together. She may have hazed Daimon for Lupin III with adlib city but I think everything she does she does out of love. Also, the sheer amount of chemistry that she has with her partner, Miyu. I could talk about them all day, but I’ll just say that they are one of the most ridiculous and married pairs ever. I have never loved any two people in any troupe as much as I love them together. Which role of theirs did you enjoy most?Lupin III was the show that really reeled me in with the Chigi bias. It was the third show I watched with her and just loved everything about her performance. Given that it was the Raku version too she just improved massively and she made me laugh hysterically. Considering many of her roles are not on the comedy spectrum she really shined in this role. I consider it one of her best performances since it was basically her putting her own personality into the role. And just going with it. ☾Do you prefer otokoyaku fashion or musumeyaku fashion? Otokoyaku fashion all the way. I really don’t like wearing dresses unless it’s for a special occasion (and even then I would rather just wear pants anyhow). I would much rather wear suspenders, vests, and pants. And tailcoats, cause damn, I want a tailcoat so bad. 

If you could put any five otokoyaku in a boy band together, who would you choose? Oh, gosh…I think the Jan 2017 of Graph inspired me. Daimon, Hitoko, Shou, Saki, and Reiko (Reiko don’t leaveeee).

Who are your three favorite musumeyaku?Sakihi Miyu, Ranno Hana, and Daigo Seshiru. 

[dream-dragon]

✿☁

✿ : Which top combi is your favorite, including OGs? What’s your favorite duet? Which pair dance is your favorite? 

KiriMari for sure! And their amazing Gypsy Baron dance.

With duets it’s more complicated, I’m not sure I have a fave... I liked several duets on Jazz on Time very much, though, including Shimon and Yume’s Utakata no Koi and Beni and Remi’s duet from the Aladdin film.

☁ : What’s your favorite solo? Which revue song always gets stuck in your head? What song do you skip?

For absolutely personal reasons my favorite solo is Manon’s solo in shinko Manon ;) As for revue... I tend to love parade song - parades fascinate me and they have the catchiest songs. I’m not sure I skip anything... except maybe when they sing my jazz etc. favorites - very few siennes are good enough to sing jazz.

I also love the group theme song from the Ark of Triumph, speaking of voices good enough.

[silver-colour]

@veertjed tagged me to post my top 5 on repeat songs, thank youuu💕💕

I am nothing if not predictable XD not actually sure why Wu Ji piano version is there bc piano version isn't my fav but oh well 😅😅

Tagging @chemicalperfume @the-ocean-in-motion @irrlich and @sharkbeneaththelotus if you feel like it ^^

[ladylikitty]

I just watched Yukigumi’s 2015 production of Hoshiai Hitoyo, and I feel like words can’t describe how beautiful, touching, and heartbreaking this production was.  I tend to prefer western works over nihonmono, but this script, staging, and characterization were perfectly done.  I began crying near the end, but the final scene had me audibly sobbing.  The script by chemicalperfume and Carly was beautifully done, as well, and really enhanced my enjoyment of the show, as well as the emotional impact it had. Chigi has continued her streak of good shows for me, and I find myself falling for her more in every production I see of her.  I also found myself taking more notice of Miyu and Daimon, so I’m excited to see more productions that they’re in.  I can safely say that Hoshiai Hitoyo is one of my favorite Zuka shows.  If you have a chance to watch it, I wholeheartedly recommend it. Photo credit goes to http://kageki.hankyu.co.jp/revue/2015/hoshiaihitoyo/gallery.html#photo

[onmyo-jin]

You have to marry the last fictional character in your camera roll: how screwed are you?

I was tagged by @sharkbeneaththelotus , congrats on your double marriage! Mine is *drumroll*

Which, considering my first thought when he appeared on screen was OH??👀👀👀 Tell me more about this guy???? (And then they didn't. But if we're married we'll have time 😂). So he must be a good choice for me. Surely nothing can go wrong and neither of us is deemed by the narrative

Tagging @difeisheng @dongfangqingcang @lost-in-the-land-of-stories @chemicalperfume @pudding-and-grief-counseling

[captured-moon]

ChigiMiyu Hellstream

I will be playing all of our favorite OG Yukigumi Top Combi’s shows tomorrow. Just so we all don’t die, I am just playing the stage plays and no revues, except for Dramatic ‘S’!

Big thanks to @animaniacal, @chemicalperfume, and @kittychan-sings-enka for allowing their subtitle translations and loan of shows on this stream!

Tomorrow will have...

-The Count's Daughter -Lupin the Third (subs, raku-version -say thank you to kitty-) -Man of Starlight-Fanciful Youth of Okita Souji- -Hoshiai Hitoyo -Sorrowful Córdoba -Rurouni Kenshin (subs -a labor of love-) -Roman Holiday (subs -say thank you to ani and chem-) -Caleb Hunt -Sun in the Last Days of the Shogunate/Dramatic ‘S’!

So this is a list of 3 2-act shows, 6 1-act shows and 1 revue~~~~ Make sure to hydrate and check Trello for your timezone!

[flibbityflob]

Don Juan, Secret Hunter?

i’ve not seen secret hunter so my answer is touko and her stupid pretty face and nothing else

don juan under the cut

don juan

1. favorite character?

*looks at ground in shame* don juan is a human garbage fire but i love him a lot

2. favorite person to play said favorite character?

no man can ever be as good as daimon not ever

3. character you relate to the most?

.........idek i don’t think i’m mean enough to be any of these people or stupid enough honestly but if i had to choose probably carlos? i too am gay and depressed and tired.

4. character you would most like to play?

tbh i want to play juan or carlos i like garbage and i like disasters and i think they’d be fun to sing

5. character you would most like to meet?

rafel so i can beat up his arrogant, sexist ass

6. most underrated character?

hime has been underrated in everything she’s done since she debuted

7. favorite sung line(s)?

you think i can remember lines spoken when i have no memory and i don’t speak japanese

8. favorite spoken line(s)?

see 7

9. first song you heard from the show?

ummm??? idk the name but the first song of the show

10. song you play on repeat?

i mean aimer is just a baller song and it’s also the only one i have in my itunes library

11. song you skip when it comes on shuffle?

that’s implying i have the money to buy the soundtrack and i’m broke

12. most underrated song?

see 11 i will decide one day

13. favorite head cannon?

maria, being married and widowed, receives a large fortune when dad juan dies. she spends the rest of her natural life making sculptures, never remarrying. it’s not much, but she’s happy.

she also punches rafel twice the next time she sees him. once for juan, her deceased husband, and once for being an ASSHOLE

14. three words that describe this show?

actual goddamn masterpiece

15. overall rate?

like a million out of 10 i can’t believe it’s real

[zukalations]

Sparkling TIME: Miya Rurika and Ichijou Azusa

Sparkling TIME was a long-running Kageki talk feature which includes a photoshoot (designed by the participants) and talk between classmates. Miya’s and Ichijou’s was published in the February 2017 issue.

@chemicalperfume kindly assisted me with this translation.

(As always, we encourage you to purchase the magazine to see all of the photos in their original quality)

Sparkling TIME - Miya Yurika (Moon Troupe) and Ichijou Azusa (Star Troupe)

Ichijou: When we were in Star Troupe together, we would have photoshoots together a lot, so they would call us ‘Azururi’, right.

Miya: I feel like we just spread that around so much that other people started doing it (laughs).

Ichijou: We forced it to happen (laughs). But after we ended up in different troupes, of course we had less chances to meet and that was really a shame, so when I was able to do another photoshoot with Miya-chan I was really happy. This is the first time since ‘RISING STAR GUIDE 2012’, isn’t it.

Miya: Right. At that time, we got really excited about the photoshoot, but today the feeling is a little different. It’s like a ‘morning sun’ feeling (laughs).

Ichijou: We’re in separate troupes, going down our own paths, and it would be nice if people see us now that we’ve grown up.

~~~~~~

Miya: Last year, I was able to be in Kurenai-san’s dinner show* in Tokyo only, and it was so much fun. Even though in Takarazuka I was just a cardboard stand-up figure (laughs).

Ichijou: (laughs) In rehearsals it was like we’d gone back in time, and it made me so happy.

Miya: Even though it was my first time in ages participating in a Star Troupe rehearsal, everything from back then came back to life in a flash and it felt like I’d been there the whole time. Especially with Shiiran (Ichijou), since we were together in the Music School, and were struggling through things together ever since we were ken-1.

Ichijou: We were always doing such dumb things, weren’t we (laughs).

Miya: The second we saw an opportunity we’d start goofing off (laughs).

Ichijou: Yeah. Star Troupe was strict, but times when we could hang out with a classmate like that helped us get through it, I think.

Miya: ‘Hang out’ you call it, but we’d just go off somewhere we thought the senior actresses wouldn’t turn up and play things like color tag or ‘otokoyaku red light green light’.

Ichijou: I’m sure it’d be just as fun if we did it again now (laughs).

Miya: I think we developed such a deep relationship because of things like that.

Ichijou: Right.

Miya: Currently we’ve both increased in seniority, so how is it? Shiiran is really enthusiastic and sports-minded, so you’re good at guiding the junior actresses, aren’t you.

Ichijou: I guess so…

Miya: Because they even call you ‘Guts’.

Ichijou: I do think that since I had all of those experiences that I treasure myself, if I see a girl with a lot of guts, or a girl with that kind of attitude, I want to teach them more and more.

Miya: When I was a junior actress, and a senior actress would say just a couple words to me without thinking anything of it, it would make me so happy, so I can still remember what they said to me even now, you know.

Ichijou: Right, I can too.

Miya: Therefore, if I see a girl who’s also pushing herself to do her best, or a girl who’s steadily putting in a lot of work, I feel like I ought to say something to her. When I went to Moon Troupe, I realized that Star Troupe’s ability to work as a whole was really strong. Everyone would share the same feelings and push forward together, that kind of thing.

Ichijou: Yeah, yeah. In Star Troupe, we’re stronger as a group than as individuals. But in Moon Troupe, each and every person does their homework and they're all incredibly good at making their individuality blossom.

Miya: Right, right. It was totally different, so I was really startled. I realized how much I had been helped by the strength of everyone else in the group up until then, so it was like coming to Moon Troupe really gave me a push, and I felt like I had to work harder in order to not cause trouble for everyone else around me. But on the other hand, since I had come from Star Troupe, there were also times when I wanted to convey to everyone how impressive it was when we all worked together as one. I think it’s great that I was able to experience both of those things. Has anything changed for you, Shiiran?

Ichijou: Let me see. I’ve sometimes thought ‘is it fine for Ichijou Azusa to just be ‘Guts’ and energy’, or as there have been more cool otokoyaku around lately I’ve wondered whether it’s a bit lame to just go on ‘Guts’...

Miya: When did you start to think that?

Ichijou: A few years after graduating from shinjin kouen performances. But then once when an OG came to see a show, she told me ‘Has something changed about your characterization? You don’t seem to have much energy.’ So then I realized ‘When I try to be cool it looks that way, maybe I shouldn’t be doing that’. Therefore, I���m not embarrassed about enthusiastically going for it, and I feel I should be ‘Guts’ since that’s the only way I can be. When I realized that, I was able to be a lot more relaxed about performing onstage, and right now I feel like I want to be the kind of performer where people say ‘When you look at Ichijou-san, you really feel like you’re watching Star Troupe’.

Miya: I see. In my case, although they say ‘10 years to otokoyaku’, when it came to that time for me, I felt like I couldn’t really do anything, and I didn’t know what to do with my characterization, so I really had a negative image of myself. In my first couple years [after the 10-year point], no matter how much I rehearsed it didn’t feel like there was any growth to show for it, and as my seniority increased I started to get really scared. But after having a wide variety of experiences, I realized that what I had been doing up until now to make myself look larger, since I’m on the smaller side, had actually been working in the reverse to make me appear smaller. I’m not like Shiiran, but it’s true that being how I am naturally will let my personality come through more. Like at this point, wouldn’t it just be pointless if I decided to change into a super zealous type (laughs).

Ichijou: That’s right (laughs).

Miya: Before, even when an audience member would tell me ‘I like this about Miya-san’, I would think ‘but why, though’ and I couldn’t understand it. But now I’ve started to think that if these things are my good points to an objective viewer, then I should recognize that about myself when I’m performing. And so I’ve started to relax and think ‘it’s fine to be like this’.

Ichijou: And when you can think like that you aren’t scared any more.

Miya: Yeah. And then, Shiiran did this too, but recently I played a female role**, well, a witch, but that’s still a woman (laughs). At that time, I realized that men and women both have the same kind of heart, and while their manner of expressing things may be different, they are moved by their heart.

Ichijou: I thought that too, when I played Mme. Montespan in Le Roi Soleil.

Miya: When I returned to male roles I realized that I had become way more relaxed about performing, so I felt like playing a female role had really helped me grow. I don’t know what kind of roles I’m going to encounter from now on, but right now I think that I’d like to keep a flexible heart and enjoy letting myself be changed, and that it’s good if things change as I perform each role.

Ichijou: In Om Shanti Om it was my first time playing an old person, so I was happy to be able to challenge myself that way. It’s really true that no matter what the character is, they all have the same heart.

Miya: Yeah.

Ichijou: Also, what I’ve been thinking currently is that there are still so many people who don’t know about Takarazuka, so it’s my dream to have even one more person come to see a show while I am still here. Maybe that’s too much.

Miya: No, not at all.

Ichijou: Therefore, I’ve been trying to tell all sorts of people ‘Please come and see a show’.

Miya: That’s wonderful.

* Stella Rossa

** Morgaine in Le Roi Arthur