We talked about this a little bit yesterday but it's a fun thing in and of itself. What you see above is a shot from a Japanese theatre production in the 50s, and every person on stage is a woman. The Takarazuka Revue is an institution and has been for over a century, popping up as just a tourist attraction to bolster a hot springs town at the end of a rail line. Save for a brief period in WW2 it's been going strong since and this is no niche thing. It's a premier theatre for Western drama, though I'd argue there's an element of smashing them all together. Broadway musicals, Shakespeare & European folktales, Russian drama and dance. Takurazuka has elements of all of them, and typically even one troupe that does traditional Japanese fare.
And all the performers are female as a direct rebuttal to Kabuki doing the opposite. Because in the 1910s Kabuki would be stodgy and passe. The Takarazuka Revue was built on being the anti-Kabuki! How did they get away with this gender treachery 100 years ago? Well, partially by selling people on the idea it's all a way to promote good wives and mothers but also people let you get away with it if it's good. If you've ever asked why shoujo anime is so heavily steeped in androgynous European princes...it's because landmark series like Princess Knight and The Rose of Versailles looked to Takarazuka for inspiration. Especially the former, Tezuka spent most of his childhood in Takarazuka City with a mom who was a fan. We'll also have a great segment about it when I get the next volume of Stop!! Hibari-Kun in.
So Queen Candelle having this aesthetic in a very musical country, being framed just like legit Prince Charming Cavendish, and even adding in the former Royal Guard captain element just like Oscar in Rose of Versailles...yeah clear reference in a long line of them through manga history. Long enough there's a clear evolution between Princess Sapphire and Oscar Francois de Jarjyes.
Great little element the latter's author added early to really nail the difference. Sapphire pouts about not wanting to show up a boy she likes in a swordfight, Oscar initially tries to resist the call to adventure but is prideful enough she just has to still show the guy she's the better swordsman...which in turn leads her to accept the military uniform.
With Kiku & Yamato, we talked about how times have changed and who is this action girl tomboy really for? Oscar still is about the struggle between two worlds but thats so out of touch now in a world where something like Bamboo Blade isn't really breaking barriers. Thats why I get a kick out of Yamato and the reaction to him in the shonen fan base. The biggest "fans" are the ones who took one look, praised the heavens for bonk girl, and proceeded to ignore half the story. Meanwhile Kiku trots along pulling something you probably could build a gangbusters shoujo around today if editors didn't nag it to death. All by recontextualizing those old lady samurai movies.
And now, to compliment our very 70s yakuza flick vibe Rocks flashback and Rayleigh/Shakky's love ballad in a hail of arrows...the old guy on the crew is opening up about how he was inspired by this gallant queen. Yet another variation on a woman playing a man's role. I'm really excited to see where this one leads, because it's just adding in more of my favorite stuff. Brook always had this element to him. He never really shows the type of chivalry Zoro/Sanji do. Quick to cut down Giolla and gives Big Mom his all. That tracks with learning so much from a figure like Lady Oscar. And honestly? I think a new generation of young men, from what I've seen, sorta is more open to that in their own lives than young men in the 70s would be.
And yeah, you do gotta think about how we're deepening that connection internally. Brook did kick off his time in the series grappling with this samurai with his shadow. Candelle in his backstory seems to be building on a theme of theatrical gender muddling in a very shoujo-coded context.