Voyage With You was a Kageki photoshoot and interview feature where the Top Combi picked a destination and time period for a photoshoot, as well as having a talk about the location and related Takarazuka shows. Makoto and Maisora picked 18th Century Colmar, France, for their feature, which was published in the March issue.
An outtake from the back of the magazine is included.
Voyage with You – Rei Makoto and Maisora Hitomi (Star Troupe)
What if we could travel to any time, anywhere…?
18th Century France (Colmar)
After the photoshoot…
Rei: We really struggled with what to do when we were first told about this feature, right.
Maisora: (nods)
Rei: And then I thought, why don’t we do something daring and dive into world of anime. And as for the era, of course, I was thinking about what I’d like to do if I could pull it off, and what would Nako-chan (Maisora) look best in, so I wanted to make the choice starting from there.
Maisora: You really thought about so many options.
Rei: I feel like while we were talking it over, what kept coming up was ‘Howl’s Moving Castle’ and the trains and the scenery and all that. And then when I investigated more of the setting of the movie, I found out that it had been modeled on the Alsace region of France, and Colmar in particular was so beautiful, right. I was so moved to think that places like this exist in the real world, and not just in anime.
Maisora: It was my first time learning about this, but I thought it was the most adorable town.
Rei: It looks just like a painting, just knowing it exists in the real world makes you want to see it in person, right.
Maisora: I’d love to visit.
Rei: I wanted there to be a fairytale feeling in the photoshoot. I wanted us to just have fun.
Maisora: Yes. It was so fun doing the photoshoot while talking everything over with Rei-san and imagining how it would turn out.
If you could actually go…?
Maisora: There’s so much I’d love to do.
Rei: Yeah. I want to just forget about time altogether and wander around the streets.
Maisora: The cute cafes and the little shops.
Rei: It looks like the kind of place that would have those. I bet you’d love it, Nako-chan (laughs).
Maisora: (laughs). There’s a church there where they say if you see a stork you’ll have a happy life.
Rei: It’s like a storybook. I want to walk around eating delicious french bread.
Maisora: Yes, I’d love that!
Shows you’d like to be in
Rei: It seems like Takarazuka has tons of shows set in France, but I feel like that really goes to show just how much an impact the events of French history have had on people’s consciousness. So we just learn more and more about it, right? (laughs)
Maisora: Yes. It’s fascinating how things all link together when you start researching. In El Halcon, I played a French woman pirate, and I remember feeling like I’d researched so much. I wanted…to protect the seas of France (laughs).
Rei: (laughs) I feel like in Star Troupe’s case, the parts of French History we portray a lot are time periods swept up in lust and ambition, so I’d really like to also do something like today’s storybook feel, a show set in a cute and lovely world.
Maisora: I think so too. I’d like to dive into sometime in European history with beautiful towns, and stone buildings that have stood for ages.
Rei: The two of us keep playing characters who are like, ‘We’ll live our lives to the fullest even if it means we die!’ (laughs). The same goes for A Song for Kingdoms: Radames and Aida were both so focused just on living.
Maisora: It feels like every day was a struggle for them.
Rei: Right? So I’d love to go to a gentle world where everything is cute and it feels like it’s healing your heart. I’m looking forward to our next Grand Theatre show even more, right.
Maisora: Yes!
Outtake:
Makottsan (Rei) giving Nako-chan a bouquet! They portrayed so many stories in this storybook world.