matataku_hoshi | The 2008 meme (Reply)

Okay, so obviously very few of us have seen EVERYTHING performed in 2008, either live or on DVD. But I thought this would be fun anyway, so just answer with what you’ve actually seen (either live or on DVD) or you’ve seen enough clips of that you decided to vouch for anyway.

For purposes of this meme, "A-'R'ex", "Hollywood Lover", “El Halcon/Revue Orchis”, and "Maihime" started in 2007 and therefore don’t count. “Yume no Ukihashi/Appasionado” and “Brothers Karamazov” started in 2008 and do count.

All of the BeruBara side stories count as new shows. "Great Gatsby" counts as a revival.

The serious questions:

Best otokoyaku performance: Misa Noeru as Parchester in "Me and My Girl." There's a reason why her Parchester became known as legendary.

Best musumeyaku performance: Either Ayano Kanami in "Me and My Girl" or Toono Asuka in "The Scarlet Pimpernel." Even though I complain about the changes made to the character of Marguerite, Asuka's singing is breathtaking.

Breakout underclassman otokoyaku (aka someone who has made big gains this year): Asumi Rio. I personally prefer some of the other otokoyaku around the same age in tsukigumi, but this has definitely been Mirio's year.

Breakout underclassmen musumeyaku: Okay, so I'm biased from hanging around wao_wao too much, but Hanakage Arisu. She went from being mostly known for her shinko leads to (in my opinion) a major contender for one of the next musumeyaku spots. And her Kathy was ridiculously cute, but in a spunky way that really suited the character.

Most improved seito: I'm sure everyone has already heard me go on about this, but Ai-chan. Seriously, in between "Hollywood Lover", "Me and My Girl", and "The Great Gatsby", she went from being "cute" to a serious star-potential musumeyaku with some real maturity and some great acting performances. *looks around* You hear that, Hankyu?

Best new Grand Theater show: Ack, this is my own meme, and already I've written myself into a corner. "Reimei no Kaze" and "Ai to Shi no Arabia" weren't very good in my opinion. I'm not sure if you can count "The Scarlet Pimpernel." You definitely can't count "Me and My Girl." That leaves Kimi wo Aishiteru, which I'm very fond of, but is far from a perfect show. Hmm. Obviously the solution to this one is for me to see "Mariposa no Hana", "Paradise Prince", and "Yume no Ukihashi."

Note: I originally had a question in here about best new Bow Hall, when I realized that the only things on the 2008 schedule that WEREN'T revivals were "Maihime" and "Hollywood Lover", and they both started in 2007. ...eep!

Best new revue: "Miroirs", with the runner up being "Red Hot Sea."

Best revival (Grand Theater, Bow, or otherwise): 2008 really was the year of the revival, wasn't it? ^^; My pick is the Daigekijou performance of "Me and My Girl." All of the major performances were spot on, and even the seito with unnamed roles looked like they were having a lot of fun.

Seito who retired in 2008 who you will miss the most (seito who actually retired in 2008, not those who announced their retirement for 2009): Kazune Miou. Izumo Aya.

Seito who really needs to be promoted already: Kiriya Hiromu. After that, Shirosaki Ai. Yes, I realize I'm biased, but I don't care :P

Seito who you began to like this year: Ranju Tomu and Kiryuu Sonoka.

The silly questions:

Best legs: Hokushou Kairi as Lina Lamont in "Singin' in the Rain." (Once again, yes I'm biased, no, I don't care). The reason why she only lifts up one leg in "Why Doesn't He Love Me?" and only for a short period of time is because she realizes that she would kill most of the audience otherwise.

Best drag performance (revues count): I'm tired and biased, so I'm going to once again I'm going to say Hokushou Kairi as Lina Lamont in "Singin' in the Rain." I really admired how she did the role differently from Matobu Sei and how musumeyaku-like she was. Oh, and she was both beautiful and hillarious <3

Most deadly shoulder blades: Shirahane Yuri in "Miroirs"

Most confusing action by Hankyu: Getting rid of the flowers at theaters in 2009. I don't get it.

Ridiculous costume that you secretly liked: (If I was more awake I might be answering with less-biased answers, but since I'm not and yet feel the need to post this before going to sleep, here you go :P) All of Hokushou Kairi's costumes in Paradise Prince. And on a less-biased note, all of the costumes in Kimi wo Aishiteru.

The most ridiculous Takarazuka-related thing you bought this year: The Hokushou Kairina poncho. And yet I refuse to part with it.

Most cracktastic onstage moment: The "Dreamgirls" sequence with Sonoka, Toshi, and Takachi Ao from "Singin' Lady K."

2009

Show you’re looking forward to the most: From the description, soragumi's next Grand Theater could go either way. Whether or not I am looking forward to tsukigumi's Elisabeth depends on how exactly Kiriyan will be cast. In any case, my pick is for yukigumi's Kaze no Nishikie/Zorro. It promises to have a nihonmono revue, Tonami with a sword, and Tom. I'm also looking forward to Phoenix Wright and Wasure Yuki.

Right now, you predict next year’s top stars will be (take your best guess!):
Tsuki: Asako will leave (either to senka or to retire). Kiriyan will take over, and will be partnered with Hanakage Arisu.
Hana: Matobu Sei and Sakurano Ayane
Hoshi: Yuzuki Reon and Nono Sumika
Yuki: Mizu Natsuki and Shirosaki Ai
Sora: Yamato Yuuga and Hizuki Hana