![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
matataku_hoshiSome reviews of the stuff I've watched recently:
Not sure what to watch next. The remainder of stuff on my list looks a little depressing and that's not really what I'm in the mood for. I'm probably going to go with either hoshigumi BeruBara 2001 or Orpheus in Spiral.
Twelfth Night:
(wiki link)
I got this in the "Yamato" set along with Cinderella Rock. Of the two, Cinderella Rock is definitely the better show for Tani. No offense to Shakespeare, but Orsino is kind of a bland character here and in 1999 ballads just weren't Tani's strong point IMO. However, Hanase Mizuka is adorable as Viola, as is otokoyaku!Shijou Rui as Sir Andrew. The real show stealer, however, is Yuuhi as Sir Toby, who is absolutely hilarious as a trouble-making drunk. Probably my favorite Yuuhi role. Natsukawa Yura is probably a little too old to be playing Olivia, but is fun to watch anyway. I think it was the subplot of Sir Toby and co. making mischief that made the show for me, so kudos to the rest of the cast as well. The sets were pretty simple, but it worked well. So add this to another show that makes me like Kimura Shinji.
Recommended for: Yuuhi fans, Rui fans who want to see her as an otokoyaku, tsukigumi fans
(wiki link)
I got this in the "Yamato" set along with Cinderella Rock. Of the two, Cinderella Rock is definitely the better show for Tani. No offense to Shakespeare, but Orsino is kind of a bland character here and in 1999 ballads just weren't Tani's strong point IMO. However, Hanase Mizuka is adorable as Viola, as is otokoyaku!Shijou Rui as Sir Andrew. The real show stealer, however, is Yuuhi as Sir Toby, who is absolutely hilarious as a trouble-making drunk. Probably my favorite Yuuhi role. Natsukawa Yura is probably a little too old to be playing Olivia, but is fun to watch anyway. I think it was the subplot of Sir Toby and co. making mischief that made the show for me, so kudos to the rest of the cast as well. The sets were pretty simple, but it worked well. So add this to another show that makes me like Kimura Shinji.
Recommended for: Yuuhi fans, Rui fans who want to see her as an otokoyaku, tsukigumi fans
Prisoner of Zenda:
(wiki link)
I originally got the shinjinkouen digest because Kiriyan was the lead in Prisoner of Zenda. The show looked interesting enough that I decided to get the honkouen version when I saw it cheap on VHS, and I'm glad that I did. Prisoner of Zenda just came together really well IMO. If the songs weren't Sondheim, I still thought they were somewhat better than the average Zuka fair. Have I mentioned recently that I like Kimura Shinji? I feel like he always does interesting work and gets a little more artsy than typical Zuka. Sometimes this works better than others, but I'm always happy to see someone trying.
To be completely honest, I'm not a fan of Mami's voice (don't kill me). However, she has good enough acting and charisma that I end up enjoying her performances anyway. Tartan had a really fun villainous role, and I loved Gaichi, Kiriyan, Tani, Misa Noeru, and Eri as Mami's lackeys.
Recommended for: Everybody, but especially tsukigumi, Kimura Shinji, and Mami fans
(wiki link)
I originally got the shinjinkouen digest because Kiriyan was the lead in Prisoner of Zenda. The show looked interesting enough that I decided to get the honkouen version when I saw it cheap on VHS, and I'm glad that I did. Prisoner of Zenda just came together really well IMO. If the songs weren't Sondheim, I still thought they were somewhat better than the average Zuka fair. Have I mentioned recently that I like Kimura Shinji? I feel like he always does interesting work and gets a little more artsy than typical Zuka. Sometimes this works better than others, but I'm always happy to see someone trying.
To be completely honest, I'm not a fan of Mami's voice (don't kill me). However, she has good enough acting and charisma that I end up enjoying her performances anyway. Tartan had a really fun villainous role, and I loved Gaichi, Kiriyan, Tani, Misa Noeru, and Eri as Mami's lackeys.
Recommended for: Everybody, but especially tsukigumi, Kimura Shinji, and Mami fans
Four Colors:
You might want to check out the TakaWiki description first if you don't know what this is. I got this because I saw it on sale at Takarazuka-an for cheap. Maybe it's because when I'm watching siennes offstage I don't have my I'm Used to Zuka Craziness filter up, but this video is a little bizarre (albeit mostly in a good way). The Zunko video was normal enough. Rika's featured Rika pursuing a woman, who in the end we find out is...female Rika. Wao's video has Wao in a shootout with a bunch of other Waos (try saying that ten times fast). I think Tartan's takes the cake, though, with her going on a date with a manaquin. No, really. There were some interesting ideas in all four, but music videos aren't Hankyu's strong point. And while MTV isn't exactly the best thing in the world, I felt like the production quality was lower than what I'm used to. I don't mean to sound too negative, this still was a fun viewing. But I don't know if I'd want to pay the original 1997 price tag of 8400 yen for 45 minutes of this -_-;
Everyone does look/sound good. It's strange to think that in 1997 these four were up and coming otokoyaku instead of distinguished OGs.
Recommended for: Wao, Rika, Tartan, and Zunko fans
You might want to check out the TakaWiki description first if you don't know what this is. I got this because I saw it on sale at Takarazuka-an for cheap. Maybe it's because when I'm watching siennes offstage I don't have my I'm Used to Zuka Craziness filter up, but this video is a little bizarre (albeit mostly in a good way). The Zunko video was normal enough. Rika's featured Rika pursuing a woman, who in the end we find out is...female Rika. Wao's video has Wao in a shootout with a bunch of other Waos (try saying that ten times fast). I think Tartan's takes the cake, though, with her going on a date with a manaquin. No, really. There were some interesting ideas in all four, but music videos aren't Hankyu's strong point. And while MTV isn't exactly the best thing in the world, I felt like the production quality was lower than what I'm used to. I don't mean to sound too negative, this still was a fun viewing. But I don't know if I'd want to pay the original 1997 price tag of 8400 yen for 45 minutes of this -_-;
Everyone does look/sound good. It's strange to think that in 1997 these four were up and coming otokoyaku instead of distinguished OGs.
Recommended for: Wao, Rika, Tartan, and Zunko fans
Not sure what to watch next. The remainder of stuff on my list looks a little depressing and that's not really what I'm in the mood for. I'm probably going to go with either hoshigumi BeruBara 2001 or Orpheus in Spiral.
