This article about Ryuu’s upcoming performance in the co-ed production of 1789 was published in Osaka Daily News on Feb 16, 2018 (source link has regrettably been mislaid).
Continue readingThis article about Sakihi Miyu’s acting debut in The Story of Koshiji Fubuki was published by Sanspo on Nvember 25th. The original article can be found here (along with several photos of Sakihi in costume). (Archive link here.)
Sakihi Miyu makes her acting debut playing her historic Takarazuka senior, Otowa Nobuko!
It was publicized on the 24th that Sakihi Miyu (26), former Top Musumeyaku of Takarazuka’s Snow Troupe who retired this July, will be making her debut as an actress in the Asahi mid-day drama The Story of Koshiji Fubuki (Mon-Fri 12:30pm airtime), which starts in January of next year.
In the drama, Takimoto Miori (26) plays the famous post-war star Koshiji Fubuki (died 1980, aged 56), a former Takarazuka Top Star1 and singer who was called ‘the Queen of Chanson’, in the story of her life. Koshiji performed as an otokoyaku Top Star in her time in Takarazuka, and after retirement recorded many hit songs, such as ‘Hymne a l’Amour’.
Ms. Sakihi plays Koshiji’s Takarazuka classmate Otowa Nobuko (died 1994, aged 70), who became a famous actress after retirement. As Ms. Sakihi is making her acting debut playing her historic senior, who also performed as Top Musumeyaku in Snow Troupe, she is unusually motivated. Her acting skills have been highly praised since her time in Takarazuka, so she stands out as a performer.
In the storyline of the drama, Ms. Sakihi, who returns to her ‘old haunts’ to play her character from her time as a Takarazuka Music School student, says emotionally “everything’s new to me, but everyone helps me out and I am learning new things every day.” Regarding the responsibility of playing the famous actress Otowa Nobuko, she says “as I watched various materials of hers I started thinking that she was a really alluring person. I’m also explaining to Ms. Takimoto, in my own way, how precious the relationships between otokoyaku and musumeyaku are.” As she has the most personal experience, she is advising Ms. Takimoto, the lead, about Takarazuka.
“I am aiming to become an actress like a Jack-in-the-box, someone who will make people think ‘she’s such an interesting person’,” she says about her future ambitions. As she uses her great talents from Takarazuka to brighten this drama, she is rapidly climbing the stairway to stardom as an actress.
1 – While the article uses the Top Star/Top Musumeyaku terms, and Koshiji and Otowa were leading performers, the terminology is not historically accurate as the Top Star system dates to the 1970s. However, Japanese sources often use this terminology for older stars for ease of comprehension.
This is a short article reporting on the October 10th red carpet of Thor: Ragnarok. The original article was published by Sponichi and can be found here (with some photos of Amami meeting various cast members). (Archive link here.)
Please note: there is some discussion of the Las Vegas shooting.
Amami Yuuki meets Oscar-winning actress she admires for the first time in L.A. – “I’m so inspired”
On the 10th (the 11th in Japan Time), actress Amami Yuuki (50) participated in the Los Angeles world premiere of Thor: Ragnarok (dir. Taika Waititi, opens Nov. 3d). In the Japanese dub, she provides the voice for the character played by Academy Award-winning actress Cate Blanchett (48), the ‘goddess of evil’ Hela. Amami, a big fan of Cate, met her for the first time on the red carpet. “I’m really inspired,” she said, bursting with happiness.
She deeply respects Cate’s talent, which has won her two Academy Awards, as a fellow actress. So much so that in January of this year, she flew to New York to see Cate’s first time taking on the challenge of Broadway in The Present. Cate wore a close-fitting gold dress, and as she approached the red carpet Amami said “she’s here, she’s here, she’s in gold,” with sparkling eyes.
Amami said in English “I’m actually your dub voice actress. I’m so honored,” and Cate replied excitedly “Oh my god! You are? I want to go to Japan right away and hear you!” After the premiere, during a question session, she smiled and said “since I’ve worked for so long listening to her voice it’s as if she’s not a stranger at all. I’m so moved that I was able to meet her.”
Due to the effect of the shooting incident in Las Vegas on the 1st, there were metal detectors set up at the authorized participants’ entrance. There was such strict security that someone working on the film said “I don’t remember there ever being this level of security before.” Amami said “the people who were victims – I have no words,” but also stated “part of our job is cheering up people who are down. When I see all the people who came here today, I’m really glad we were able to hold this event.”
This interview article was published by Sports Hochi on September 7, 2017; however, the page has since been removed and no archives remain.
Continue readingThis is a long interview with Sena Jun that goes into her TMS years and her journey to becoming Top Star. It was originally published in Smart Flash on August 10, 2017. (Archive link here.)
This was translated with some editing and assistance from chemicalperfume.
Smart Flash is…a bit of a tabloid, but this is direct text of an interview so I felt comfortable translating it. There are other articles about Takarazuka they have done but they feel more invasive, so probably you won’t see any other Smart Flash content unless they do more interviews like this.
Please note that many of the rules discussed have since changed due to reforms in TMS discipline guidelines.
Continue readingOfficial promotional video for the musical adaptation of Biohazard with text transcript translation. Please note I know very little about the Biohazard franchise.
Hello, everyone! I’m Yuzuki Reon.
(onscreen) Enthusiasm for the upcoming musical
Since I haven’t been in a play1 since retiring from Takarazuka, I’m really looking forward to being able to perform in this show. And then since it’s a musical of Biohazard—everyone knows about Biohazard—I’m really interested in how Biohazard would be as a musical. Since Biohazard is something everyone’s familiar with I’m sure you will all enjoy it!
(onscreen) What does the plot seem to contain?
Well, this work is…well, Biohazard has a lot of action, and there’s the image of a really cool woman. However, along with that there’s eventually a feeling of love, and I think at the end you might feel like your heart has been calmed.
Everyone, we’re making a musical adaptation of Biohazard, so please come and enjoy it! I’m working hard!
1 – Meaning a plotted dramatical work, not a prose play; Yuzuki’s first post-Takarazuka performance, Prince of Broadway, was more of a revue styled show.
This article about Yuzuki’s first REON JACK press conference was published by Sanspo.com on December 11, 2015.
Yuzuki Reon working towards first solo concert since Takarazuka retirement – “What is a non-otokoyaku concert like?”
Yuzuki Reon (36), ex-Star Troupe Top Star who retired from the Takarazuka Revue in May, held a press conference about REON JACK, her first solo concert since her retirement, on the 11th.
For Yuzuki, who held her position as Top Star for 6 years–an exceptionally long time by recent standards–a solo concert not as an otokoyaku, but as ‘Yuzuki Reon’ is a challenge. “I asked everyone ‘what is a non-otokoyaku concert like?’” While the concert is still in the planning stages, she said that she plans to perform a new song: “I wrote it about my mental state after retirement, like my worries and how I hit a plateau.”
She began performances for her first post-retirement musical, Prince of Broadway in October. In order to rehearse, she stayed in New York for three months starting in July.
“While I was in New York, everything around me was advancing so fast that I didn’t realize that I myself had stopped.
She wrote her internal conflict of that time into song lyrics. After retirement, she was constantly asked things like “are you going to wear skirts? Are you going to wear your hair long?”
“But while I was in New York, I thought there wasn’t anything where ‘I have to do things this way’. If I want to grow my hair out, I’ll grow it out then. I’m glad I can become more feminine in my own timing. I want to show everyone how I am in real life,” she declared about the change in her way of thinking.
The concert will have singing, talk sessions and acting. “On Broadway, I wanted to convey the fun I was having onstage. For this performance too, I want to enjoy myself together with the audience,” she said for PR. Yuzuki is taking her first steps down a new path.