Fortunately the fans back in Japan have something else to look forward to in the Takarazuka Revue's upcoming musical, finally due to debut on Saturday to a sellout audience. It's being staged by the Takarazuka's Hanagumi troupe between 15th June 2013 until 1st July 2013 at Shibuya's Tokyu Theatre Orb.
I realised that the reason I haven't seen much information about it is that the updates have been circulating in Takarazuka fan channels rather than Sengoku Basara ones, so I've done some digging and put together a full spread of what we know so far.
As a reminder, the official title of the musical is Sengoku Basara -Sanada Yukimura-hen-. Script and direction duties are being handled by Suzuki Kei (under the supervision of Capcom) and we now have a full cast list. Fans of the games might be surprised at the list of named characters - I've translated it all after the jump!
Sanada Yukimura (Ranju Tomu)
Uesugi Kenshin (Asumi Rio)
Inori (Ranno Hana)
Yamamoto Kansuke (Takashou Mizuki)
Takeda Shingen (Hanagata Hikaru)
Date Masamune (Harukaze Misato)
Sanada Masayuki (Tsukio Kazusa)
Sarutobi Sasuke (Nozomi Fuuto)
Yume (Mebuki Yukina)
Usami Sadamitsu (Ootori Mayu)
Naoe Kanetsugu (Taiga Rin)
Kasuga (Ousaki Ayaka)
Kosuke (Kotoka Chino)
Yukimura [young version] (Haruhi Urara)
If any of the actresses usually romanise their name a different way, I apologise. I'm not an expert on the Takarazuka Revue.
The list of characters is very interesting with several historical figures who have only ever appeared in the Sengoku Basara series as unplayable minor characters. Sanada Masayuki was the real Yukimura's father, Yamamoto Kansuke was a famous Takeda warrior and Usami Sadamitsu belonged to the Uesugi forces, so they're all accounted for in that respect. We already know that Inori is an original character and Yukimura's childhood friend of some kind, but Yume is a mystery. Likewise, Kosuke could be a completely original character... but more likely, he'll have some direct interaction with Yukimura and be inspired by Anayama Kosuke, who was said to be one of the Sanada Ten Braves.
The Sengoku Basara characters who have been selected all make sense, and most of them deserve more time in the spotlight. Other than that, the only name in the list which is out of place is Date Masamune. I'm not expecting him to have much of a role since Kawanakajima is definitely the focus here; perhaps he'll be showing up as a minor antagonist or towards the end. While I know that a lot of people in the west dislike Masamune for his popularity, I'm glad he's not completely absent. It would be weird.
Edit 15/06/13: According to a Takarazuka fan in the comments section, it's likely that Masamune is the main antagonist in the play due to the significance of the actress who has been selected to play him. I'm glad to hear Yukimura should get to spend plenty of time clashing with his rival!
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The Le Cinq Special Edition: Hanagumi Performance Sengoku Basara mook I mentioned before isn't the only piece of merchandise that fans can get their hands on. Takarazuka's Quatre Rêves online store has details of some other limited edition goodies which attendees can pick up.
A3 clear file with two pockets (¥550)
Tour bag (¥1,200)
Tin mirror (¥500)
Tour muffler towel - a choice of red or blue is available (¥1,200)
Postcard of the poster design (¥160)
Collectable card of the pamphlet design (¥164)
Cellphone accessory - two different designs (¥1,780)
There's also a preview of another poster (pictured at the top of this post) which shows Date Masamune, Sarutobi Sasuke and Takeda Shingen in their Takarazuka forms - so long as you squint.
All I'm planning on picking up is the eventual DVD release; until that time comes I'm hoping we'll be able to enjoy some official event reports from the venue once the performances have begun!
I saw your blog and thought to give some input.
ReplyDeleteKnowing Takarazuka the level of appearance of certain characters depends on the performer selected to play the character.
Date Masamune is played by a Star Track uperclassman that means his time of appearance will be greater than other characters, I read in some tweets of the performer's fans that he is the main vilian(don't know how accurate that is) he is also in the special poster in a big enough size to inticate as such.
I hope that helps ^^v
Thank you very much! I am not familiar with Hoshigumi at all so it's useful to know. I was worried that Masamune wouldn't appear at all until I saw the cast listing. Hopefully he will keep showing up to interrupt the battle between Kenshin and Shingen, then.
DeleteThey are all so beautiful, I can't wait for the DVD release ^^
A few picture has been taken from first day of the play
ReplyDeletemantan-web.jp/gallery/2013/06/14/20130614dog00m200079000c/009.html
Thank you, I've been collecting the photo reports in this post:
Deletehttp://www.raindropsanddaydreams.co.uk/2013/06/news-roundup-takarazukas-sengoku-basara.html
:)