In this feature from Kageki, stars look back at their career and pick out roles that had an effect on their growth as a performer. This one was originally published in the June 2015 issue.
Posting outside the usual scheduling in commemoration of Ayakaze’s first retirement ceremony tomorrow.
Continue readingThis book, which is something of an ‘oral history’ of Takarazuka’s Rose of Versailles adaptations, was published by Ascom in late 2005, and features chronological accounts from otokoyaku who had performed in the franchise from its first origins through the 2001 productions. Since the book is derived from transcriptions of interviews taking place often many decades after the fact, there may be discrepancies between accounts.
Please note that the term appearing through the text as ‘theatre-comic’ is translated from the Japanese term gekiga [劇画]. Although this term is described as applying to mainly male-oriented comics in most English-language sources, this is no longer accurate. The definition of this word has changed to also include sweeping, romantic female-oriented works with Rose of Versailles being arguably the most famous of theatre-comics. Takarazuka even published its own magazine of theatre-comics in the 1970s.
Chapters have been split in two to make them more readable without too much scrolling to reach the explanatory footnotes. Some paragraph breaks have also been added for ease of reading in English. I have also included (or will include when time allows) some images printed in the book as well as sourcing many other archival images to illustrate the text.
Continue readingThis talk feature between Maikaze Rira and Sena Jun, who she had been in Flower Troupe with, was published for Maikaze’s retirement in the December 2006 issue of GRAPH.
Continue readingThis book, which is something of an ‘oral history’ of Takarazuka’s Rose of Versailles adaptations, was published by Ascom in late 2005, and features chronological accounts from otokoyaku who had performed in the franchise from its first origins through the 2001 productions. Since the book is derived from transcriptions of interviews taking place often many decades after the fact, there may be discrepancies between accounts.
Please note that the term appearing through the text as ‘theatre-comic’ is translated from the Japanese term gekiga [劇画]. Although this term is described as applying to mainly male-oriented comics in most English-language sources, this is no longer accurate. The definition of this word has changed to also include sweeping, romantic female-oriented works with Rose of Versailles being arguably the most famous of theatre-comics. Takarazuka even published its own magazine of theatre-comics in the 1970s.
Chapters have been split in two to make them more readable without too much scrolling to reach the explanatory footnotes. Some paragraph breaks have also been added for ease of reading in English. I have also included (or will include when time allows) some images printed in the book as well as sourcing many other archival images to illustrate the text.
Continue readingWINGS is a Kageki feature where a few young actresses answer questions about themselves and Takarazuka. This issue’s column includes Yuunami Kei, Shidou Ryu, Rui Makise, and Haruha Rara.
Continue readingIn this feature, performers recommend shows to fit a particular mood. The May 2022 column featured Nagina Ruumi, Towaki Sea, Ayaki Hikari, and Ayami Sera.
PLEASE NOTE: Due to the nature of the feature it can contain major spoilers.
Continue readingThis review of 1789, by freelance theatre and film reviewer Kotooda Chieko (d. 2018), was published in the June 2015 issue of Kageki.
Continue readingBackstage Journal is a short Kageki feature where very young cast members write anecdotes about what’s going on behind the scenes of the productions. They’re not very deep, being full of emojis and more like blog entries than articles, but they are a cute and fun way to get to know actresses and hear more about behind-the-scenes goings-on from a different point of view than the main stars.
This one is by then-Snow Troupe member Arisa Hitomi (of the 98th Class) and was published in the April 2015 issue.
Continue readingSTYLE is a GRAPH fashion feature where otokoyaku talk about their off-stage style. Ichinose’s was published in the July 2023 issue.
Continue readingVoyage 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. Tsukishiro and Umino picked ‘Nostalgic Morocco’ as the setting for their feature, which was published in October of 2022.
Continue reading