#endofyearzukatag

[beccalendsahand]

End of Year Takarazuka Tag 2023

That's right it's back baby! Year 3! I thought it would be nice to share some positivity in the fandom so I have updated the tag for 2023, largely the same but I have tweaked a couple questions.

As always you can do this tag how you like, you can do it as one question per day, as one big post, you name it! Also, feel free to do this on twitter and instagram, basically do what you like!

Please tag it #endofyearzukatag2023 so we can look at each others, and link back to this post so more people can find it! Thank you!

1. Sumire no Hana: Did you find a new favourite this year? (Either someone who has entered the company this year or someone who has been in the company a while but you have only just become a fan, or both!) Optional bonus question for those that did the tag last year: Who did you put this question in 2022, are you still following them and how have they grown as an actor/person in 2023?

2. Ai sore wa... : Tell us about your number one! What's been your favourite role of theirs this year?

3. Never Say Goodbye: Which taidansha was the hardest for you to say goodbye to this year?

4. Material Girl: Favourite piece of merch (most treasured Takarazuka thing you have bought yourself this year, OR if you didn’t buy anything this year, a piece of merch that is on your wish list)

5. Mon Paris: Did you discover a new fav show that was not from this year? (This can be any fav show that you saw for the first time this year that was released before 2022)

6. Wings of the Heart: Favourite fandom memory (this could be a fun stream experience, going to the theatre with friends, all collectively freaking out about something together, anything really!)

7. The Final Dance (Saigo no Dansu): What was your favourite duedan of the year?

8. My Everlasting Dream: What show have you rewatched the most this year?

9. Fascinating Rhythm: What zuka song has been stuck in your head all year?

10. Diamonds are a Girls Best Friend: What was your favourite costume(s) of the year?

11. Cool Beast!!: what was the most ridiculous costume(s) your saw this year?

12. Greatest Moment: A special moment on stage that stayed with you

And finally, the big ones:

13. Musical: What was your favourite musical (one act or two act or both you want!) of the year?

14. Revue: What was your favourite revue of the year?

BONUS: The Diamond: "A Play is great, but coupled with a Show: that's divine." Finding a performance with both an amazing revue AND an amazing one-act show is very very difficult. Was there a show this year that did this for you? If so, bestow it the highest honor, The Diamond Award:

[raphaelly]

End of Year Zuka Tag 2023 Part 2

3. Never Say Goodbye: Which taidansha did you find the hardest for you to say goodbye to this year? 

Timewise, the first one has to be Kazumi Shou's taidan... she was one of hanagumi's best singers, both mature and cool on stage, and she brought something truly special by her presence alone. Her taidan role in Singing Loverbirds was perfect though and her funny and touching dynamic with Hoshikaze Madoka was imo the highlight of the show!

The second one was Arisa Hitomi's, I was wishing she'd stay forever 😭 Unparalleled voice, amazing acting, and a genuinely sweet personality, it's just impossible not to love Kuracchi. She was one of those non top musumes the company allowed to shine and she truly felt like a star. To hear her sing that solo as Marie Antoinette in 1789 made me a tear up for real...

4. Material Girl: Favourite piece of merch (most treasured Takarazuka thing you have bought yourself this year, OR if you didn’t buy anything this year, a piece of merch that is on your wish list)

I have very little merch dfjhv but this year was the first year I bought stills and bromides from QR! It took more than 2 months to arrive lmao but I'm still so happy to have all these high quality pics of my faves. And for christmas I treated myself to Madoka's photobook, it should hopefully be on its way now 👀

5. Mon Paris: Did you discover a new fav show that was not from this year? (This can be any fav show that you saw for the first time this year that was released before 2022)

I must have discovered a bunch of older shows but the one that stood out to me the most was Never Say Goodbye (2006). The Spanish Civil War and fascism at large are difficult topics, especially for a company like Takarazuka that doesn't have the best track record when it comes to handling these issues with care when so much revolves around making siennes look cool, no matter what they play. But NSG felt spot on for me. Without making any sienne play any fascist, it managed to portray the importance of resistance against fascism while still showing the difficulties of organising armed resistance without (too much) infighting. Also Wildhorn has never not made a banger, all the songs slap.

6. Wings of the Heart: Favourite fandom memory (this could be a fun stream experience, going to the theatre with friends, all collectively freaking out about something together, anything really!)

Most probably the first (and only so far) international-friendly livestream we've had on BeyondLive for James Bond. The excitment was palpable lol and personally I was so happy to have any "official" subs at all, even if of so-so quality. They gave us some top tier memes and memories, plus the general emotions of seing Makaze Suzuho and Jun Hana taidan (my first top combi taidan!), I was happy to be a fan that day and to have this community.

7. The Final Dance (Saigo no Dansu): What was your favourite duedan of the year?

Frozen Holiday, hands down. Ayakaze Sakina and Yumeshiro Aya, and other pairs, dancing while Howl's Moving Castle's theme plays in the background, it feels magical. And with the news of saki taidanning on the next GT, it's now even more important to me.

[mizusjawline]

End of Year Zuka Tag 2023

So, the end of year zuka prompt list has crossed my dash and this sounds fun! I can't wait to see everyone else's contributions as well as watching my contributions change over the years!

For myself, I'd like to kickstart by talking about how my relationship to zuka has changed over the course of the year. Although I'd discovered zuka abt a year and a half ago, I've only really started getting into it this year. Getting into zuka has been......a complicated ride for me, closely intwined with the ups and downs of my mental health. I have never had a more intense fandom experience, one that has taken so much out of me, nor one that has been so rewarding.

When I look back on old diary entries, I am shocked by how critically and scathingly I wrote about zuka. Sentences like: "I need to stop watching Takarzuka", or, "It'll rott my brain and kill all my braincells", "The otokoyaku are unconvincing", "tacky and tasteless".

It breaks my heart to read that these old entries are full of self loathing for the simple act of loving something. I hated myself so much for being fascinated by zuka and I hated zuka for entrancing me. A pang goes out for one-year-ago-me, who, in such a difficult time of her life, had discovered something so wonderful and had not been able to respond in any way other than distrust and self hatred.

At the time, when I discovered zuka, I'd never seen anything like it. There is nothing more sparkly or more unashamedly over the top and glamorous than zuka. Nothing that has a greater ability to whisk me away into a world of dreams and cotton candy, ostrich feathers and happy endings. I was completely overwhelmed.

And yet, despite my hostile feelings, I could not stop watching it. "Takarazuka came to me in a time of crisis and knocked me into even more of a crisis. I had found a guiding light for myself. But at the time, my eyes were so accustomed to the pitch blackness, I was almost blinded by its brightness."

Then came my two months stay at a mental health ward. Slowly, I stopped feeling ashamed for loving zuka. Times at the clinic were often rough. Digging up old trauma was often painful. And being able to watch Takarazuka was an indispensable source of comfort. Prompted by my therapy, I started asking myself questions: "why do I hate myself?", "why do I hate myself for loving things?".

For me, learning to love things without feeling ashamed for it is a learning process that will take me many years. But thanks to Takarzuka , I'm already on a good road. Zuka has become an old friend and traveling companion to me, whom I love with all my heart.

My parents raised me to hate anything that lay outside the family comfort zone. And lemme tell you that zuka lies. Waaaaaaaaay outside the family comfort zone. I admire the courage it took one-year-ago me to stick to and continue watching it, despite the negativity it triggered inside her. Being a zuka fan did not come easy for me and I had to fight tooth and claw so that I can now watch it with warmth, passion and joy.

For me, to love Takarazuka is the ultimate act of rebellion against a world that wanted me to hate it. I am a Takarazuka fan. And I am very proud of that.

[raphaelly]

End of Year Zuka Tag 2023 Part 1

After two years in this fandom I'm finally doing this! Massive thanks and kisses to @beccalendsahand for all the questions ❤️

It's been a tough year, to say the least. It's gonna take me some time to fully cope with all that happened and decide how I want to see zuka in the future. Regardless, I love this community and the people in it to death, I love the siennes and all the heart they put in what they do, I want to stay for both these groups of people.

Unto the more fun part now ~

1. Sumire no Hana: Did you find a new favourite this year? (Either someone who has entered the company this year or someone who has been in the company a while but you have only just become a fan, or both!)

I have discovered a grand number of three new favourites this year! The first one was Ruri Hanaka who completely blew me away like a tornado with her portrayal of Elisa in The Red and The Black. The emotions and youthful intensity she put in her voice and acting touched me so deeply. That and her shared duet with Arisa Hitomi was so good, their voices fit and harmonised so well and that's really impressive when you're next to a singing powerhouse like Kuracchi.

Another favourite this year was Asanoha Kotono, yet another hana musume for me to stan. I had noticed her before in Paris in the Winter Fog but it was her role as the cool and classy Countess Larisch in Mayerling's shinko, as well as her lead in Singing Lovebirds's shinko, that made me go "oh. oh she's really good". There's a maturity in her performances that I find really interesting, on top of a singing voice that I adore. Funnily enough she was the highlight of a Battlefield for Two for me, in terms of powerful singing and acting, Elsa being one of the only characters that I enjoyed in a show I found pretty meh overall.

And finally, I got a hoshi son this year! Taiki Hayate, whose upcoming shinko lead for RRR I'm extremely excited about. I think I made a mental note to keep tabs on her when she played Jalal al-Din in Dimitri's shinko, and then Stella Voice happened and my god her voice, it's so powerful already. As Tournemain in 1789, she formed an extremely funny combo with Kishou Kazuto and then she went on to destroy us by playing Peyrol in 1789's shinko and it was over for me. I'll just say the whip suits her.

2. Ai sore wa...: Tell us about your number one! What's been your favorite role of theirs this year?

One day I will be normal about Seino Asuka but that day sure hasn't come lol. As they say, "it takes 10 years to make an otokoyaku" and 2023 was Asuka's 10th year in the company. And if 2022 was, as she says herself, the year a switch happened in her mind about what kind of performer she wants to be and how she can get there, 2023 truly felt like the year she showed all the fruits of her years of learning. The energy, the intensity, and especially the fun she puts in her roles and her appearances were so fulfilling, starting with her lead role in Maihime.

Having read the book to prepare for the show, I expected a rather "unheroic" type of protagonist, who ultimately fails to follow the values he first had and abandons his pregnant lover. And yeah, that's what we got. But the way she portrayed him brought him a lot of nuances, an explanation of why he does what he does that doesn't try to absolve him. She's at her best when she delves into the character's psychology and that's what she did here, and I'm so so proud of her.

[beccalendsahand]

End of Year Takarazuka Tag

I was bored and decided to create an end of year tag for the Takarazuka fandom! Use this tag wherever you like, or tumblr, twitter instagram, hell make a youtube video if you like! Only rule is to have fun and credit me (please tag me, I'd love to see your answers!)

Oh and use the tag #endofyearzukatag

Questions under the cut! Enjoy!

1. Sumire no Hana: Did you find a new favourite this year? (Either someone who has entered the company this year or someone who has been in the company a while but you have only just become a fan, or both!)

2. Never Say Goodbye: Which taidansha was the hardest for you to say goodbye to this year?

3. Material Girl: Favourite piece of merch (most treasured Takarazuka thing you have bought yourself this year, OR if you didn’t buy anything this year, a piece of merch that is on your wish list)

4. Mon Paris: Did you discover a new fav show that was not from this year? (This can be any fav show that you saw for the first time this year that was released before 2021)

5. Wings of the Heart: Favourite fandom memory (this could be a fun stream experience, going to the theatre with friends, all collectively freaking out about something together, anything really!)

6. Where is God (kami wa dokoni): What Hankyu announcement shocked you the most this year?

7. The Final Dance (Saigo no Dansu): What was your favourite duedan of the year?

8. My Everlasting Dream: What show have you rewatched the most this year?

9. Fascinating Rhythm: What zuka song has been stuck in your head all year?

10. Diamonds are a Girls Best Friend: What was your favourite costume(s) of the year?

11. Cool Beast!!: what was the most ridiculous costume(s) your saw this year

12. Greatest Moment: A special moment on stage that stayed with you

And finally, the big ones:

13. Musical: What was your favourite musical (one act or two act) of the year?

14. Revue: What was your favourite revue of the year?

[beccalendsahand]

Takarazuka End of Year Tag 2021 (Part 1)

In which I finally answer my own tag!

You can find the questions here I decided to answer the questions in 2 posts, first 7 questions today, and the rest tomorrow coz I've realised I've run out of time, so without further ado...

1. Sumire no Hana: Did you find a new favourite this year? (Either someone who has entered the company this year or someone who has been in the company a while but you have only just become a fan, or both!)

I have a couple for this! All musumeyaku! I started the year by noticing Irodori Michiru as Mozart in Fortississimo, I thought she was such a fun character and it's so unusual to see musume in male parts so that made me even more interested in learning about her. Then later in the year, I saw City Hunter, which although wasn't really my thing, I did come away from it thinking "michiru was so cool in that", haha! So now I'm definitely going to keep watching her shows, I really want to see her shinjin koen "hoshiai" and "wansu"!

The other two I have become a fan of is the ladies of the moment for the Flower Troupe, and that's Hoshizora Misaki and Mihane Ai! They just absolutely blew me away as Isabelle and Ann Neville in Prince of Roses. I found them so striking because of how young they looked and yet how fierce their acting was. When Urara as Margaret Beaufort says to Mihane "You're a strong woman aren't you?" I really felt like it was not just Beaufort's thoughts of Ann but the thoughts of us watching Mihane on stage. They both seem to be getting great roles so I'm excited to see where their career takes them!

2. Never Say Goodbye: Which taidansha was the hardest for you to say goodbye to this year?

Do I even need to answer this one? It is of course Hana Yuuki. Hana Yuuki means so much to me, she's a an actress that kind of sneaked up on me. I became a takarazuka fan when she had just become Top Musume but I didn't become a fan of her right away, perhaps it was because I was still infatuated with all the otokoyaku at that point, or maybe it was because there was only "fairy tale" and "koisuru" to watch of her top run at that time. But then gradually I started to like her more and more, and once reihana top combi happened and I saw the Haikara-san live stream suddenly she became my entire fan identity. I think she is brilliant. I love how she strives to keep improving and you can see how she has grown with every performance. I also love her acting, she performs with this honesty that I've never seen from any other performer, she completely transforms into whoever she's playing, and even if she has to act in a cartoony style (for a manga adaptation for instance) she still manages to get to the heart of her character and make them feel real. I was so heartbroken when she annouced her taidan, "haikara" hadn't even finished yet! I had prepared myself for a good couple more years with her and then BAM! She was gone. But I love how right till the end she never got typecast, for such a short top musume run she got to play so many different kinds of women, maybe even more so than top musume who have had longer careers. She had an incredible final show as Pompeia in Augustus and a beautiful send-off in her sayonara show, which contained so many moments that will stay with me forever. Thank you Hana for brightening my days x

3. Material Girl: Favourite piece of merch (most treasured Takarazuka thing you have bought yourself this year, OR if you didn’t buy anything this year, a piece of merch that is on your wish list)

Speaking of Hana Yuuki, my most treasured piece of merch from this year has to be my bromides of the sayonara show in Tokyo. I was convinced because of proxy service that by the time white rabbit would be able to buy them for me they'd be sold out, but they weren't! My momentos of reihana.

Also wanna give a shout out to le cinq in general, I ended 2020 with 3, now i have 9! They are perfect for my interests, the photos make great art references, and then the scripts help me study Japanese! XD I love my le cinq collection, they give me the serotonin I need to get through these dark days. Earlier in the year when I was in my uni house, I felt pretty rotten, and I had this ugly wall in my room that had gross marks on it and cracks in the plaster that I would stare at from my bed, which made me feel worse. But then I covered it with my le cinq posters and it honestly gave me a boost every time I looked at them.

4. Mon Paris: Did you discover a new fav show that was not from this year? (This can be any fav show that you saw for the first time this year that was released before 2021)

This is super hard actually coz I realised that whilst in my first year of zuka I watched as many things as I could, this year I've become set in my ways. I just watch reihana on repeat and then maaaaybe I'll watch the latest official live stream (I think the only time I'm guaranteed to watch an official live stream is if it's hanagumi, I'm sorry). So I've thought long and hard about this trying to remember what I watched. And I think I'm going to go with a trick answer and say, the Casanova shinko! So I've seen Casanova before, but I've never seen the shinko. So many people talk about how good the Casanova shinko is so I was so I've been meaning to watch it for the longest time, and then a month or so ago a friend streamed it for me and it was such a fun experience! I loved seeing Hana again and so many other siennes who since then have become really big in the troupe. It was a delight!

5. Wings of the Heart: Favourite fandom memory (this could be a fun stream experience, going to the theatre with friends, all collectively freaking out about something together, anything really!)

Without a doubt it has to be watching the Nice Work official live stream together with friends. My favourite thing about being in the zuka fandom is the community we have. Watching streams together is always fun, but there was something extra special this time. We had been absolutely convinced we would never see this show because it was a broadway adaptation, but then last minute it was announced we would get a live stream and we all FLIPPED the hell out. We couldn't believe our luck. I don't think I've ever been so excited for a show before, it just sounded so perfect for reihana and hanagumi, I was so excited. And then when we did watch it we all changed our names and icons to reihana and nice work related so nobody knew who was who anymore and we just spent the stream filled with joy! It was a very special time.

6. Where is God (kami wa dokoni): What Hankyu announcement shocked you the most this year?

I'm gonna go with something totally random for this and say getting rid of the Tokyo Theatre's QR? What's that all about? Idk it's just was the most random thing and makes no sense, a theatre without a gift shop? I get that it's a little small but they litterally have a massive one across the road that people could go instead. Lol it does not affect me at all but I have fond memories of that place T-T

7. The Final Dance (Saigo no Dansu): What was your favourite duedan of the year?

I'm going to do a trick answer for this and say the most beacutiful dance I've ever seen, reihana barefoot dance in cool beast. UGH its so delicate and tender and bewitching and beautiful and poetic. I love the beauty and the beast type story that goes with it too and ahhh its just so perfect, no other duet dance comes close.