This is what I was writing at about 11 PM PST, aka back when the world still made sense

[matataku_hoshi]

Tonight I watched a DVD copy of the role switch for "Valencia no Atsui Hana."  The last time I saw the role switch (or the show at all) was fall of 2007, so it was interesting to go back and watch it again.

I ended up seeing Valencia four times.  After the second time, it was starting to wear on me.  I've discovered some new, fun things watching it again, but it's still not a very good show IMO.  I don't blame this on the soragumisei, but rather on the writing.  It's not that the characters are stock (because let's face it, most Takarazuka shows have stock characters), but that I couldn't get emotionally invested in any of them.  Not counting the prologue and the festival scene, the main couple has...three scenes together?  Ramon's unrequited love for Isabella was never well explored either.  (I must admit, I always thought that the Rodrigo/Sylvia story was very sweet, even if it was cliched and inevitably tragic).  Instead, the show had too many talking heads, and not even talking heads I cared about.  As they say in one of my favorite Broadway shows, "Nothing can kill a show like too much exposition."  (Points if you know where that's from)

Then again, there are a few shows which are truly awful, and I don't think Valencia is one of them.  By the time I had seen Reimei no Kaze four times I was nostagically longing for Valencia.  It's still not great, but it is mildly entertaining when they're not going on about politics.  Besides, I don't think I caught Tani squinting even once, and Ume-chan is very sultry, to say the least.  Tomu is Tomu, enough said :)  The rest of the cast fills in the show pretty well, and one thing I have to say for the writing is that it managed to utilize a lot of people. 

Micchan's performance as Ramon was a lot better than I remembered.  It had been so long since I had seen it live, and somehow in the mean time my memory got tainted by only having a video clip of Micchan's "Hitomi no Naka no Houseki."  I may be ever so slightly obsessed with the woman, but that just wasn't a good moment for her *wince*  Other than that, though, I was pretty impressed.  She's still Micchan, of course, but she had a... *thinks* manlier persona than usual.  She was also ridiculously hot.  (Now that I do remember from seeing it live.  The night I saw Micchan as Ramon was also the night I fell in love with her, but that's an entirely different post).

Anyway, I've been worried lately about Micchan being typecast, so it was a great relief to be reminded that she's done a role recently where she was playing neither a comically hyper character nor a sweet white hat.  She's very good at both, of course, but I'd like to see her try new things too.

 

 

 

 

Coincidentally enough, the role switch was filmed right after Eriko got sick, but before Chigi had time to take over Eriko's role.  So in this performance, the role of Dan Juan Cardeo was played by...Kacha.  I think I'm a little freaked out by that omen.  (But maybe it means that if I work on Luna tonight, Kiriyan will be announced as the next hoshigumi top? XD)

Anyway, she did fine, but she looked a little young next to the honkouen cast...