LUNARKYX

Welcome to the my Art Tumblr! I posted art but not much OwO

[lunarkyx]

Takarazuka Revue Art!  

Hanagumi Top Hat, Horace during ‘Wild About You’ Scene. LMAO I can’t get enough of Maiti being in that outfit and Maiti’s expressions are hilarious 😂💞 

[gomigomipomi]

❤️💚 VS💙💛

You can do it, Deep Cut.

[daimongumi]

Phantom Daimon

[lost-in-the-land-of-stories]

Rank and Hierarchy in Takarazuka Part 3: (Shinko) Leads, Dinnershows, and Retirement Red Flags 

A major way of advancing on star track is getting lead roles. But if the Top Star gets all the leads, how does anyone else ever get a lead?

To be more precise, the Top Star gets the lead in every show that she is in. There are two types of performance: Grand Theatre performances and small theatre performances. Between Grand Theatre performances, the troupe gets split into two (and sometimes even three) for small theatre shows. These shows have shorter runs and, as the name suggests, happen in smaller theatres across Japan. Since the Top Star can only be in one show, the other show is free to be led by someone else. However, not all of these leads are equal; rather, their type and quantity function as stations on star track. 

The schedule is organised in such a way that there are about 1.5-2 Grand Theatre shows (with runs that last around 2 months, half of which is in Takarazuka and half of which is in Tokyo) and 4 small theatre shows per troupe per year. This used to be different, because the runs were shorter and so there were more shows in a year, but this is the current schedule:

Image description: This image shows the Grand and Small Theatres in 2025. The two left columns are the Grand Theatre performances (Takarazuka and Tokyo), the three right columns are the small theatres. As you can see there is usually about a week-two week break between two halves of a grand theatre show.

Named Roles & Nibante Roles

Before a young sienne gets her first lead, she will start receiving named roles in shows. Most shows do not have more than 20 named roles; since there’s 60 to 80 people on stage, a young sienne receiving a named role means she's getting attention. A named role is the first step towards a: 

Shinjin Kouen Lead

The shinjinkouen ('rookie performance', often shortened to shinko) is a performance of a Grand Theatre show done entirely by the underclassmen, in order to give them the experience of performing more senior roles in the Grand Theatre. These happen twice during a Grand Theatre show's run; once in Takarazuka and once in Tokyo. These performances are meant to give underclassmen valuable stage experience and exposure. Accordingly, being cast as the lead or in the Nibante role is a huge vote of confidence. Generally speaking, a sienne needs at least one shinjinkouen lead to make it to Top Star (though there have been exceptions). 

However, not all shinjinkouen leads are created equal. The earlier a sienne receives it, the better her chances on star track. This has resulted in the phenomenon of the 'last chance shinko lead'; when a sienne in her last year of eligibility receives the lead. While this does technically keep her on the board in terms of star track, it's usually a strong indicator that she's destined for support track instead and will not move onto the next step.

On top of this, non-lead roles in the Shinko can also be a strong indication of where someone is going. If a ken-1 or ken-2 sienne for example gets the san- or Nibante role in the shinko, this is a strong indication that she’s on her way to a shinko lead and probably on the star track. However, similarly to getting a lead at all, the meaning of receiving one of these roles also changes with seniority. If a sienne hasn’t gotten a shinko lead by ken-5 but she’s getting a nibante role in the shinko, the chances that she’s on the support track also increase. 

Small Theatre Leads

The Bow Hall is a tiny theatre in the same complex as the Takarazuka Grand Theatre, just the right size for a sienne's first proper lead (with only 526 seats to fill versus the Grand Theatre’s 2550). After a sienne has a shinko lead under her belt, getting her own lead show in this theatre is the next stop. Before this can happen, however, she needs to have been given a Nibante role in a small theatre show, usually a bow lead of a slightly older junior sienne. 

The real big leagues, however, are the two-city leads. As the name suggests, these are small theatre shows that run in two different theatres, allowing the company to gauge sales and popularity. In general, you need to have one of these under your belt to even become Nibante, though it may also happen early in one’s Nibante career. 

A Nibante, however, may also go on tour, touring their small theatre lead around venues in different prefectures of Japan (compared to performing exclusively in Tokyo and Osaka/Takarazuka City for the rest of the shows). Unlike the shinko, Bow Hall, and two-city leads, a tour lead is not considered necessary to become Top Star; they're too logistically complex to be guaranteed for every Nibante. However, they are such a huge vote of confidence in a Nibante that they end up becoming a bit of a victory lap. If a Nibante goes on tour, you should expect the Top Star to retire imminently.

Dinner Shows

Dinnershows are small-scale concert like performances that include a dining experience. The only people that generally get these are sanbantes, Nibantes or Topstars (and occasionally Senka performers). If a Nibante gets one, it usually means she's about to become Top Star. If a sanbante gets one, she's probably about to retire, but there could be other reasons. This used to not really be a very strong indicator, it used to just be something that happened more commonly and more people got to do dinnershows, but this has been very streamlined over the last few years.

Retirement Red Flags

Yes, I said 'retire'. Most siennes eventually leave the company to pursue other professional and personal goals. This is called taidan (or graduation). Top Stars always leave after their tenure ends, with the exception of a few who have instead gone to senka (this is very uncommon). 

A ‘regular’ Top Star run lasts between 5-7 Grand Theatre shows, which amounts to around 3-4 years. There are outliers, some people only stay for a year, and occasionally someone stays much longer, but in general if you're trying to predict what's going to happen, that is a good average to bet on.

Just like any other happenings on the star track, there are signs that someone is about to retire that you can see in a variety of ways. The 'red flags' you can see for this on stage include (but are not limited to):

Extremely On the Nose show titles referencing: The Top Star's name or Troupe (ex: Dramatic S, as in Top Star Sagiri Seina) or the concept of rebirth or change (ex: Phoenix Takarazuka)

a Nibante or sanbante that hasn’t had a lead in years suddenly restaging very prestigious show

The show summary referring to something being written very specifically for a sienne

A Top Star gets a specific show they have wanted to do for FOREVER. 

The Top Star gets a dinner show.

The Top Musumeyaku gets a dinner show (usually a sign the Top Musumeyaku is leaving).

The Top Musumeyaku getting a two-city lead with the Nibante is usually a sign the Top Star is about to retire but the Musumeyaku is staying.

The Top Star getting a concert in a special venue (like a big concert hall). This is a special occasion that often happens in their last year with the company.

Summary/TL;DR

The way Takarazuka leads are distributed and what they are can tell you a lot about someone's career trajectory and can therefore be interesting to track.

PS: I'm sure I've forgotten plenty of Taidan Flags, add them in your comments/reblogs!!

[lost-in-the-land-of-stories]

Rank and Hierarchy in Takarazuka Part 5: Offstage Track Shenanigans

In addition to what's happening on stage, there are signals you can track offstage as well. The company tightly controls what the audience sees offstage, including on social media, which means that a lot of things are done with clear intention. Two key places to look are on television and in merchandise.

Sky Stage & TV Programming

Takarazuka has a subscription based television channel called Sky Stage, which airs performances, news, and original programming. Naturally, this offers even more avenues for siennes on the star track. For instance, the news programming on Sky Stage, which reports on what's happening on stage, is usually presented by one or more siennes. Being a news presenter is a way to gain visibility with the company and has definite track implications.

There is also TV programming for Takarazuka on other channels. One such program is Cafe Break, an interview program in which siennes talk about the current show in which they are performing. If a sienne receives the shinko lead for a particular show, she’s probably also going to appear on Cafe Break. 

Merchandise

As I mentioned, Takarazuka sells a lot of merchandise. Here, too, you can divine a lot of information. For instance, Top Stars have their own personal merch lines, and how long each merch line lasts can tell you whether or not she is retiring soon. Merch lines run for about 6 Grand Theatre performances (but may be stretched to 7). If a new merch line isn't announced for a Top Star between her 5th and 6th Grand Theatre performances, that is mostly like because she is retiring on that 6th performance. No point in releasing a whole new merch line if your Top Star is retiring, after all! 

Program Books, Posters, and Stage Photos

Like most theatre companies, Takarazuka produces programs for each performance and, of course, those programs reflect track. Each program contains headshots (called stills) of the entire cast, and the size and type of those stills can be very informative. 

Naturally, the more important you are, the bigger your still in the program is. The Top Star and Top Musumeyaku will have a full page spread each. The Nibante will have half a page, and the sanbante will have a quarter page. If there is no Nibante or the Nibante is in another show, the sienne playing the second lead will have a smaller still, probably the same size as the sanbante. 

There are two types of stills: costume and simple. Costume stills are, obviously, in costume, while simple stills are basic headshots in a black tailcoat (otokoyaku) or dress (musumeyaku) that are used for multiple shows. Generally, the upperclassmen will be in costume and the underclassmen will be in the simple outfits. The exception to this would be whether or not someone has had a shinko lead or a significantly large role in a show; a sienne will usually receive a costume still at that point. As stated earlier, there are no takebacks on track, so once you start getting costume stills, you will not go back to the simple stills. 

[Image description: Three pages from a performance program showing the lead's still, costume stills, and simple stills.]

Every show also gets a promotional poster (called a chirashi in Japanese) to advertise the show. At times, who is on these posters and in what way can also give us clues about what is happening on the track. The Top Star and Top Musumeyaku obviously always feature, except if the Top Musumeyaku spot is vacant. The Nibante is also always there, but the way in which they feature depends on their seniority. If they’re just starting, they’re usually shown as a tiny still in the corner of the poster. However, if they have been Nibante for a while, they will actually be part of the main image on the poster. Some posters will have five or more people. This generally happens if the hierarchy is not very clearly defined or if the star track is full of people to promote. You can tell someone’s rank on the poster by how big they are depicted on it. If the sanbante and Nibante are taking up the same amount of space, something is probably afoot.

[Image description: Three posters. From left to right, we see a new Nibante featured with a small still, a Nibante on the poster proper, and an ensemble poster.]

Once a sienne hits a certain rank (usually gobante), she might also start being featured in the stage photos (bromides) that are sold for every show and the glamour shot postcards that Takarazuka sells. You can tell a lot about someone’s rank based on the amount of stage photos they get: the more they get, the more important they are A Top Star might get any from 14 to 16, a Nibante might get 6 to 8, a sanbante might get 4 to 6, and so on, based on seniority and rank. 

[Image description: A screenshot of a small selection of stage photos that Takarazuka sells for a performance.]

Photobooks

Takarazuka produces a number of photobooks and, naturally, these photobooks have track implications. Two particular photobook series are the Rising Star Guide and the (creatively named) 1st photobook series. The intermittently produced Rising Star Guide features the current prominent junior siennes (yonbante or lower) on both star and support track. The 1st photobook series occurs every few years and is, as the name suggests, the first photobook for a star tracked sienne, usually by the time she is yonbante or sanbante. Getting this photobook is a big deal and likely means they're going places.

A Nibante on the verge of becoming Top Star will sometimes get a photobook at that time, and every Top Star gets a photobook before they retire. 

Magazine Covers and Features

Takarazuka publishes two magazines, Graph and Kageki. Prominent coverage, including the cover and interview features, are also big signs for track. Generally speaking, only Top Stars get a Graph cover to themselves. However, if the Nibante gets a cover, that could be a sign she's about to become Top Star... or it might be a parting gift for her impending retirement. The sanbante only makes the cover in a group of three people. Should that sanbante suddenly be on the cover with the Top Musumeyaku, however, that usually means she's about to be promoted. 

Calendars

Takarazuka produces a lot of different calendars that feature different configurations of siennes. Basic ones include:

The Top Star Calendar (wall and desk) - Every Top Star gets these

The Nibante Calendar (wall only) - Every official Nibante gets these. If someone is performing Nibante-level roles but does not have this calendar, she is not officially Nibante.

The sanbante Calendar (wall, single page) - A new type of calendar for sanbante and sometimes brobante. 

The more complicated ones that give interesting signals are: 

The Junior Calendar (desk)- A calendar featuring a collection of rising star track and support track otokoyaku up to yonbante level. If a junior sienne appears in this calendar, that is generally a sign they are on star track to some degree. If they have a page to themselves after they become an upperclassman, they are star tracked. If they share their page with junior siennes after they become an upperclassman, they are support tracked.  

The Star Calendar (wall) - A calendar with offstage glamour shots, featuring the Top Star, Top Musumeyaku, Nibante, and sometimes sanbante. If someone in this calendar is sharing a page with someone else, that means they’re lower in the rankings. 

The Stage Calendar (wall) - A calendar with on-stage glamour shots, featuring people from the Top Star down to the sanbante, and occasionally the yonbante. Making it to this calendar is a big sign a yonbante is going PlacesTM. A brobante can sometimes also make this calendar if they’re prominent enough. 

The Stage and Star calendars can also tell you if someone is going to retire soon. As a general rule, a sienne in will not appear on these calendars after her retirement. So if, say, your Top Star is retiring in June, she might be on the calendar pages for February and May, but nothing past the month of June. This generally means that anyone featured in the last few months of the year will probably not be retiring that year. The exception to this 'rule' is that whoever appears in January doesn't seem to retire that year either. 

Summary & Conclusion

Taken separately, you might think these things are all very small details, but they are all consistent aspects of life on the Takarazuka stage. At the end of the day, the basic thing it all boils down to is visibility, the more options a Takarasienne has to be visible to the audience, the better her chances on the track, but as you can also see from all the above described aspects of that, this can be constrained or increased by her seniority, and the way certain things signal changes or promotions are quite clear when you have the full picture. 

[lost-in-the-land-of-stories]

Rank and Hierarchy in Takarazuka Part 1: The Anatomy of a Takarazuka Troupe

As I mentioned in my intro explainer for ‘so you’re new to takarazuka’, Takarazuka works with what we in the fandom tend to call the Top Star system. I explained very briefly what the Top Star and Top Musumeyaku are, but I didn’t really go into a lot of detail because it can be overwhelming.

I thought, however, that it might be fun to have a deep dive into the different ranks and roles (both official and unofficial) that are part of a Takarazuka troupe and how siennes move up through the ranks, so that when you’re watching shows and getting to know people, you kind of have some idea of what might be going on ‘politically’ within the troupe hierarchy. This will be a six part series doing mini deep dives into all the different aspects of the takarazuka hierarchy and Top Star system.  All of these deep dives are put together with the help of eralk, chem, rin, and panda! Thanks guys!

The Anatomy of a Takarazuka Troupe

Takarazuka is organized into five standing performing troupes: Hanagumi, Tsukigumi, Yukigumi, Hoshigumi, and Soragumi, made up of about 60 to 80 performers each. (There is also Senka, which is not a troupe but a standing pool of specialist performers who join the five troupes on an irregular basis as needed.) Each of these troupes has its own internal structure and hierarchy. In general, siennes debut in a certain troupe and most likely remain there their entire career, but, for a variety of reasons, they may be transferred to one of the other troupes.

Takarazuka Troupe Symbols: Hana (pink), Tsuki (yellow), Yuki (green), Hoshi (blue), Sora (lilac), and Senka (dark blue)

A Takarazuka troupe hierarchy has two key aspects; seniority and rank.

‘Seniority’ is the more formal of these two aspects, and is calculated as the number of years since a sienne's debut (starting at 1, not 0) and often referred to as ken (‘X is ken-5’), which is short for kenkyuuka ('post-grad course’). This is because before a sienne even makes her Takarazuka debut, she has already spent two years at the Takarazuka Music School (so, her ‘grad course’). The Takarazuka Music School (TMS)  is a very intensive training program that sets up the young performers for their life in Takarazuka, focussing on teaching various styles of dance, song, and acting (if you’re interested, their entire class schedule is available for perusal online). An aspiring sienne has four chances to audition between the ages of 15 to 18. If she gets in early, she may even finish high school while in TMS. You cannot get into Takarazuka without attending TMS. This means that, by the time the auditions have passed, the next group of future siennes is locked in and outside performers cannot join any Takarazuka performances. We are now in a closed ecosystem. 

When a sienne debuts alongside her other Takarazuka Music School classmates of her year, she is kakyuusei (underclassman); when she reaches ken-7, she is joukyuusei (upperclassman). Underclassmen siennes also have assessments in ken-1, ken-3 and ken-5, and their position within their class is determined by the grades they receive for these assessments (according to info on class rankings from 2021, this could have changed since then but if so I'm not aware of it). So even if you are all the same ken, there is still a seniority pecking order within that group based on grades, and this order can change three times while you are already with the company. 

'Rank' is somewhat more informal and nebulous. There are only five official ranks within any given troupe, which may or may not be occupied at any specific time (three of them are specifically always occupied). The unofficial ranks are more informal and therefore more fluid. However, they are consistent enough in character that they are recognisable and have been given names by fans.

These two aspects intersect and influence one another, but are not weighted the same. 

Official Takarazuka Ranks

The five official roles that exist within a Takarazuka troupe are the following: 

Top Star

Top Musumeyaku

Nibante

Kumichou

Fuku-kumichou 

Out of these, only the Top Star, Kumichou and Fuku-kumichou are always occupied, while the Top Musumeyaku and the Nibante positions can be vacant.

The Top Star and Top Musumeyaku

As I said in my intro, the Top Star (an otokoyaku, male role player) and the Top Musumeyaku (a musumeyaku, female role player) are the ‘lead couple’ of the troupe, meaning that they are given the lead in any Grand Theatre performance (meaning: at Takarazuka’s two main theatres, one in Takarazuka City and one in Tokyo) for as long as their tenures run. You might think that the Top Star and the Top Musumeyaku are of equal rank, but they are very much not. Because Takarazuka’s main appeal is the otokoyaku, the Top Star is the real star of the show and outranks her musumeyaku. This is also why it is impossible not to have a Top Star, but it is possible not to have a Top Musumeyaku. If there is no Top Musumeyaku, the lead female role will go to other high-ranked musumeyaku in a troupe on rotation or sometimes to the Nibante. 

The roads to becoming Top Star and Top Musumeyaku are very different from each other. Generally, otokoyaku are expected to need at least 10 years from their debut to become skilled enough to become a ‘fully formed’ otokoyaku, meaning people do not generally become Top Star until they are older than  that, while a musumeyaku can quite easily debut, make Top Musumeyaku, and then leave the company in that time. This means that Top Musumeyaku are always junior to their otokoyaku partners and, since seniority is a key aspect in the hierarchy, the Top Star outranks her musumeyaku twice over. There have been Top Stars and Top Musumeyaku who have debuted a single year apart, but there has never been a Top Musumeyaku who debuted in the same class or before her Top Star partner. 

The Nibante

The Nibante ('second-ranked person') is the second-ranked otokoyaku of the troupe. They are usually the heir apparent to the Top Star, but this is not guaranteed. For instance, if the Nibante is senior to the Top Star, they may (have to) leave the company from this position rather than becoming Top Star. As the second-ranked otokoyaku in a troupe, a Nibante generally ends up playing a lot of villains as the foil for the Top Star’s hero (although sometimes an anti-hero Top Star needs a heroic Nibante). They also usually receive regular small theatre leads (at least one every two years, if not more). 

While uncommon, it is possible for there to be no official Nibante. In these cases, the role may be filled by two or more lower-ranking otokoyaku in the troupe or a rotating cast of visiting performers from other troupes.

The Kumichou and Fuku-Kumichou

The Kumichou ('troupe leader') is the most senior member of the troupe who is not the Top Star. In addition to their work on stage, they also manage the troupe on a more social/emotional level. They are tasked with acting as a mediator between the troupe and the wider company, as well as offering help and advice to their juniors. The Fuku-Kumichou ('vice troupe leader') is essentially their Nibante. If the Kumichou leaves, the Fuku-Kumichou will take her place, with the next senior member becoming the new Fuku-Kumichou. 

Essentially, they're the troupe 'parents.' While they will usually not get any leads of their own, they will generally receive relatively prominent roles and play older characters, being the eldest in the troupe.

Unofficial Takarazuka Ranks 

Sanbante

The sanbante ('third-ranked person') is the informally third-ranked otokoyaku in the troupe. While sanbante is not officially acknowledged by the company in the same way that Nibante is, it is an established rank that is easy to recognize. A sanbante will also have regular leads, though less than the Nibante. (If a sanbante has more leads than the Nibante, shenanigans are afoot!)

Generally, the sanbante role is fulfilled by one person, but, just like Nibante, there have been times when this role was shared or not occupied. A point of discussion in the fandom is whether or not a sanbante must be on track to becoming Top Star (which not all siennes are) to be considered sanbante.

As of 2022, the company has started formalising the sanbante position by granting sanbante merchandise (a calendar) and home video releases (for select leads), which were previously only the domain of Top Stars and Nibante. This implies that sanbante may move from an unofficial rank to an official rank soon. That said, this is still a relatively new development.

Yonbante and Gobante 

The yonbante ('fourth-ranked person') and gobante ('fifth-ranked person') are the fourth-ranked and fifth-ranked otokoyaku in the troupe, respectively. As you can imagine, these roles are very informal. They are often shared between multiple otokoyaku who are in direct competition with one another for small theatre leads and grand theatre roles. The company often promotes otokoyaku in pairs to foster a sense of competition to drive fan engagement. These are generally also people that are on track to an eventual Top Star promotion. 

The ‘Brobante’

This is a fandom nickname for those otokoyaku that are senior, but not kumichou, are often from the same class as the current Top Star, and have a clearly close bond with them (hence the word ‘bro’). They often play best friend characters, and are prominent in revues. They exist outside of the ni-san-yonbante hierarchy mentioned above, but we'll discuss that in another post. 

Nibante Musumeyaku or Second Musumeyaku

Generally, there is a prominent musumeyaku who is the counterpart to the Nibante. However, this role is informal and usually means that she is not on track to become the next Top Musumeyaku (though she can be). This musumeyaku tends to be paired with the Nibante during revues, given prominent parts, and cast as female villains (like Carlotta in Phantom). She is often more senior (ken-6 or more), but this is not guaranteed. 

The ‘Ingenue’ Musumeyaku

This role doesn’t really have a name, but this is the best descriptor. This musumeyaku tends to be a very junior musumeyaku (perhaps 2 or 3 years in the company) who is clearly being prepared to become the next Top Musumeyaku. She and the Second Musumeyaku can be one and the same, but very often are not. This musumeyaku will also receive prominent parts in both shows and revues, and will probably be paired with the sanbante (if there is one) in revues. 

Summary/Conclusion

So that's kind of all the major positions a sienne might have withing a takarazuka troupe! Next time: the politics of promotion, or: how does someone actually become a Takarazuka Top Star and what other career paths does Takarazuka offer its performers! Thank you for reading!

[yaomeis]

My left hand picks you up

My right hand lets go of you

When I clasp my palms together,

you are completely drawn back into my heart

[eternalyjun]

BADDY 

[zukalogy]

tsukishiro kanato first photobook 

[lost-in-the-land-of-stories]

So You're New To Takarazuka (2025 Edition)

This is a slightly revised and updated version of my 2022 post, because with Castlevania it seems we might be seeing a lot of new takarazuka fans, which I remember as being kind of overwhelming.

This post will share a lot with my previous one, except that it is up to date ^_^ So first of all: Hi! Welcome! Hope you enjoy the musicals and like the glitter!

Second of all, I know this fandom can be very different, a little bit (sometimes a lot) confusing, and definitely overwhelming, so I thought it might be helpful to make a bit of an introduction post, for if you’ve mostly seen memes or clips. So with that, here we are!

So You’re New to Takarazuka, what do you need to know?

(images: posters for Castlevania and Rose of Versailles)

Takarazuka in a Nutshell Takarazuka is a musical theatre company in Japan which only has female performers. It’s kind of like a reverse kabuki that way. It’s located in the city of Takarazuka (hence the name) and is over 100 years old! Which is awesome!

Takarazuka’s actresses are generally known as Takarasiennes (sienne or jenne for short), and are divided into women who play men, and women who play women. This division is made when they first enter the company based on the performers preference as well as their height (there is a minimum height for male-players). Many siennes come from ballet or theatre backgrounds and they audition for the company quite young, and can stay there for a long time.

The siennes who play guys are called otokoyaku (male role players) and ones who play women are known as musumeyaku (daughter role players, yes we know it sounds uncomfortable) and sometimes within the fandom and by other siennes onnayaku (female role players).

The company is divided into 5 troupes - hanagumi (flower troupe), tsukigumi (moon troupe), yukigumi (snow troupe), hoshigumi (star troupe) and soragumi (cosmos troupe) that perform to a schedule you can see on this page on the company’s website. They each have a speciality and character, and generally consist of anywhere between 60-80 members. There is also senka (or senior members), which is a group of some 20 older siennes who no longer perform in a troupe or in every show, but are specialists that are sent along to the other troupes as needed. You can find profiles for all of the current (and many, many past performers) on the fan-made website takawiki.

The Topstar System Each of the five troupes have a Top Star and a Top Musumeyaku, who perform the lead roles in most of the plays their troupe puts on. This couple is the ‘main’ couple of that troupe, and they tend to stay anywhere between 1-5 years depending on a variety of factors, before they retire and are replaced by the people “next in line” – this is a very hierarchical system in which performers climb up the ranks starting from their time in the Takarazuka Music School. Siennes can climb up the ranks by being given important roles, given leads in smaller theatres, or otherwise gaining prominence and popularity through stuff like fan engagement, merch sales, etc. This means also that casting is not generally done by audition and that there is a very limited pool of performers available for each play; you stay in your troupe (unless you're transferred) and you perform with them. Roles are assigned primarily by rank, as well, so you will not soon see a very new performer have a bigger role than someone who has been there for a long time (this is oversimplified, but that what it's an intro for).

Last and current top combis (topstar and topmusumeyaku) & troupe vibes:

Hanagumi Current Topcombi: Towaki Sea and Hoshizora Misaki Previous: Yuzuka Rei and Hoshikaze Madoka

Hanagumi is the oldest troupe of the company (established in 1921), and often considered it’s most traditional because of that. They are specifically known for the coolness of their otokoyaku, and their general aesthetic. Under Yuzuka Rei a lot of focus was placed on dance, and now with Towaki Sea we see a focus on darker stories.

(top: Towaki Sea's 'Castlevania', bottom: Yuzuka Rei's 'Top Hat')

Tsukigumi Current Topcombi: Houzuki An and Amashi Yuri Previous: Tsukishiro Kanato and Umino Mitsuki Tsukigumi is just about almost as old as Hana (also 1921), and known for their comedic and western musicals, as well as their strong vocals. They were also the first troupe to perform ‘The Rose of Versailles’, which is one of Takarazuka’s flagship shows. Tsukigumi has multiple topmusumeyaku that started out as otokoyaku and switched later in their career (including current topmusume Amashi Juri, and previous topmusume Manaki Reika)

(Top: Houzuki An's 'Golden Liberty', bottom: Tsukishiro Kanato's 'Great Gatsby') Yukigumi Current topcombi: Asami Jun and Yumeshiro Aya Previous: Ayakaze Sakina and Yumeshiro Aya/Asazuki Kiwa*

Yukigumi is the troupe that focusses most on acting, and that is known for their performances of more traditional Japanese shows (nihonmono). In the modern era, they are also most often the troupe that does Manga adaptions (such as Lupin III, City Hunter and recently Berubara). *Ayakaze had two different topmusumeyaku partners, each for 3 shows, and Yumeshiro Aya stayed on with the next topstar after Ayakaze retired.

(Top: Asami Jun's 'Robin the Hero', bottom: Ayakaze Sakina's 'Bonnie and Clyde') Hoshigumi Future: Akatsuki Chisei and Uta Chizuru Current Topstar: Rei Makoto Previous Topmusumeyaku: Maisora Hitomi** Hoshigumi is known for their strong drama and stars with a lot of personality, as well as their focus on aesthetic and costuming. They do a lot of dramatic big-budget musicals and are currently very much the French Musical troupe.  **Hoshigumi is currently in the middle of Rei Makoto's retirement (she just finished her final run in the Takarazuka Grand Theatre and will still perform in Tokyo), but her topmusumeyaku Maisora Hitomi left before her. The next topcombi has been announced, but they have not yet performed a show togeter, and because there is currently no Topmusumeyaku, Akatsuki Chisei is playing a female role in Rei Makoto's final show.

(Top: Rei Makoto and Akatsuki Chisei in 'Ashura', bottom: Rei Makoto and Maisora Hitomi) Soragumi Current topcombi: Sakuragi Minato and Haruno Sakura Previous: Serika Toa and Haruno Sakura***

Soragumi, the youngest troupe by far, is also the most experimental. They have the tallest siennes and also often the most non-traditional shows. Their musumeyaku are often considered slightly less traditionally feminine.

*** Haruno Sakura is staying on as topmusumeyaku. They have only just switched topcombi, so Sakuragi Minato's first show has not yet started.

(top and bottom: pictures from Serika Toa's 'Razzle Dazzle/Takarazuka Love Songs')

The Sumire Code Something which you will run into fairly quickly when you get into the Takarazuka Fandom is the Sumire Code, which is an unwritten set of rules or guidelines for both siennes and fans regarding how to interact with one another. I have a longer explainer of this here.

The basic gist of it really is about respect, specifically for the performers, and also regarding their safety. There are a lot of differing opinions on certain aspects the Sumire code that I won’t get into now, but in general the foreign Takarazuka fandom does try to keep it in mind with regards to their online behaviour. One of what I personally think is one of the most positive aspects of the Sumire code (regardless of any of my other opinions) is the fact that it is intended to protect the privacy of the siennes, and that we as fans are not supposed to bother them or dive into their real lives. Those are their own, and we have no rights to them.  

One important aspect of the Sumire Code that is relevant to online fandom, is that the Hankyu Company is extremely diligent in controlling and protecting their copyright. The blurays are very expensive to buy and if material is posted in public places online, fans can get into a lot of trouble if stuff gets shared around. This can include takedowns on video platforms and other ways in which fans are locked out of being able to engage with the company. This doesn’t only go for video material, but also for the various types of print items the company produces. This results in all of us being careful with what we share, where we share it, and with whom. I know that to some, that can feel a little gatekeepy, but it’s important to understand that it’s really not that we want to keep new fans out, on the contrary, a lot of people here on tumblr and other platforms are doing their best to reach out, it’s just that the way this works limits the easily publically available material for new fans. 

That’s all Real Fun Info, but I Want to Watch Some Shows! Right, so you’re really here to watch some shows, fair enough! Where do you go? I know this in particular can be quite confusing, and sometimes a little difficult.

DVD/BLURAY First of all, you can buy a lot of the discs (dvds or blurays) of musicals that you like, which is imo kind of amazing since we’ve all been collectivel begging broadway/west end to do that for YEARS, so that’s cool. Of course, you don’t just wanna drop a ton of money - but in order to get an idea of whether or not you might like them, you can go to the Takarazuka YouTube channel (see link below) and watch their trailers, info videos, and clips. However, of course you might not have the money to spend on an expensive Bluray or DVD, not everyone has that kind of disposable income, so what else can you do? If you want more detailed info on where to purchase blurays or dvds, there is another explainer for that on @eralkfang's page right here.

SKYSTAGE Takarazuka also has its own TV channel called ‘SkyStage’. Here, they broadcast shows from their vast library of content, and produce a number of behind the scenes features which can be very fun, but unless you live in Japan this is pretty hard to access. Luckily there is, nowadays, a pretty good solution for this! If you ARE however in Japan, I can sincerely reccomend it.

TKZ ON DEMAND You can use Takarazuka On Demand, an online service through which you can rent shows quite cheaply and easily. You do need a credit card and probably a VPN, which I know can sound a little scary, but it doesn’t have to be. There’s a bunch of free VPN services that work well for this (in fact it seems a number of the free ones work better than the paid ones). The process is relatively simple, and if this is something you want to set up there’s tons of people around that are happy to help you (but don’t ask me, I am technologically challenged and a friend had to do it for me).  Takarazuka On Demand also has a good deal of SkyStage stuff, which means you can find behind the scenes material here too!

FAN STREAMS Finally, if you don’t want to do any of these things, there are a number of us here on Tumblr who are happy to answer your questions, or if you want to see something that you don’t have access to - stream our shows for you. This is generally done in private locked stream rooms, for our own safety, as the company is specifically very strict on content sharing and we would rather not get in trouble. However, if you dm someone politely they will almost certainly be happy to help and to try and arrange a stream in your timezone if at all possible. I know dming strangers can be scary, but I promise we don’t bite. 

However, when you do talk to us, please do so respectfully, and please respect the space you are in. As much as we would love to shower you in glitter, we are not slot machines that can give you content, and we are careful because the company has nuked accounts in the past.

Peoples files and their translations have also been stolen in the past, and when things get spread across the internet nilly willy that can have seirous reprecussions for us.

TL;DR Welcome! Here’s a whole bunch of Takarazuka resources that I bundled so you can find them in one place, please have fun. Please do know that everyone is welcome here! We want people to come hang out, join us, watch things. That’s why we like to stream, we just ask that you treat us with kindness.

Takarazuka is a really fun hobby to have, even if it seems a little complicated. You’ll get the hang of it, and there’s lots of options to watch things in various ways! 

All that to say: Welcome, and enjoy the glitter

Resources https://www.takawiki.com/tiki-index.php Takawiki is an absolutely fantastic resource where you can find information on shows, performers, terms, and a variety of translations!

https://www.takawiki.com/tiki-index.php?page=Glossary+of+Terms Takawiki’s glossary of terms where you can look up a lot of really helpful info to help you wade through all the random Japanese people toss into their posts here.

https://www.takawiki.com/tiki-index.php?page=Sumire+Code The summary post for the Sumire code.

https://www.youtube.com/user/TRCofficialchannel Takarazuka’s official youtube channel, send them some love!

https://kageki.hankyu.co.jp/ Takarazuka’s official website! Here they post news, you can buy tickets if you’re in Japan, ad find out a variety of other pieces of information. They have an English version of the webpage, but the information is a little more limited on there.

https://kageki.hankyu.co.jp/schedule/index.html The yearly performance schedule.

https://www.tca-pictures.net/ This is the Takarazuka merch store online, you can buy merch for shows, programs, magazines, photos and other stuff here.

https://www.tca-pictures.net/skystage/ This is the website of Skystage, you can look around here a bit to kind of see how it works.

https://www.tca-pictures.net/vod/ This link will send you to Takarazuka On Demand, where if you make an account you can legally watch shows for as much as 5 dollars if you want to. https://www.tumblr.com/eralkfang/785974587264548864/how-to-buy-takarazuka-castlevania-on-bddvd And again Eralks how to buy a show explainer! Other Fun Stuff Here is again the link to my Sumire Code Explainer. History Post about Takarazuka's past. Propeganda about my favourite performers. Show Reccomendations for beginners.

[nakoayas]

Rei Makoto as Luce d'Orgon and Maisora Hitomi as Angelique for A Second Fortuitous Meeting Next Generation ~Midnight Girlfriend~ (2022) 🌟

Scanned from my personal collection.

[lunarkyx]

#takarazuka revue #takarazuka #hoshigumi #reimakoto #maisorahitomi #forever love this show bruh

[maplefay]

Yuzuka Ray, Today: 6 months after graduating from Takarazuka, has her eyes set on sharing the stage with “the ballet prince” – Part 1

(interview conducted by Iizuka Tomoko)

(pictures of Yuzuka Ray in a Giorgio Armani dress by Matsui Hideyuki)

Yuzuka Ray (32) graduated from Takarazuka Revue last May, after having gained fame and recognition as a skilled dancer and charming the audience with her uniform-clad, manga-reminiscent roles in plays such as “Here Comes Miss Modern” (「はいからさんが通る」) or “Mayerling (「うたかたの恋」). Six months later, clad in a stylish dress and giving off a cool and sophisticated aura, she spoke to Iizuka Tomoko about her upcoming performance in a ballet show (scheduled for January 2025).

An invite from the Paris Opera star

(Yuzuka will star in Mathieu Ganio’s Special Gala Concert, with performance in Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya scheduled for January 2025. Ganio, the étoile – highest rank – dancer of Paris Opera Ballet, one of the top-class ballet companies in the world, has specifically invited the former Takarazuka star to be his dance partner in a newly created upcoming performance.)

I never even dared to dream about working with Mathieu, so my first reaction was to ask whether there’d been a mistake (she laughs). However, Mathieu knew about Takarazuka and understood its charm and potential—as far as I know, he has kindly requested my participation himself.

I was shocked to find out that Mathieu himself asked for me by name, and I’m excited to find out what type of a duet dance we’d be able to create together… Classical ballet differs from the type of dance I’d done in Takarazuka in terms of rhythm, using one’s body’s energy flow and muscles — it’s all very, very different. It won’t be easy to combine these two types of dance into one coherent number, but I am very much looking forward to undertaking this challenge.

Putting world-famous choreographer John Neumeier under her spell

(Yuzuka started attending ballet classes at the age of three, and continued doing so until entering Takarazuka Music School. Her upcoming cooperation with Mathieu Ganio has been influenced by choreographer John Neumeier, who had seen Yuzuka perform a lead role in “Mayerling” in Tokyo in the spring of 2023 and spoke with Ganio about the Takarazuka star.)

Mr. Neumeier has seen me perform in “Mayerling”, and reportedly thought Takarazuka to be “very interesting”. I wasn’t able to meet him directly at the time due to Covid-related restrictions, but I was really grateful to hear about his impression. Mathieu himself had also been aware of Takarazuka’s existence. He has also supposedly asked Hana O’Neill [Tokyo-raised Paris Opera Ballet’s étoile] about me—Hana-chan and myself used to go to the same ballet school in Tokyo.

For the past 15 years I’d spent in Takarazuka, I focused on show dance and jazz, so my challenge would be to find a way to combine Mathieu’s dance style with mine and make is even more enjoyable for the audience—to fill that great stage with energy. I hope that the audience would leave the performance feeling happy and excited at having had their hopes fulfilled.

A strange fate: two “Mayerling” stars

(As a ballet student, Yuzuka looked up to Mathieu Ganio since a very early age.)

To be able to work with him is a dream come true. I had had a pleasure of seeing one of his Gala Concerts live a while back, just before entering Takarazuka or in my early days at the company. It was like seeing a fairytale prince you’d read about as a child come to life. He truly is “the ballet prince”, and possesses an amazing physicality and outer-worldly beauty that resonate through his dance. He must be coming from the world of dreams (she laughs).

The first word that comes to mind when you think of him is definitely “beautiful”—he transitions from one pose to the next in such a delicate manner. This isn’t a type of beauty that lies in the details, but the way his delicacy, gentleness, transparency and flexibility all come together to create than image of “beauty”. It’s not simply a matter of the forms he steps into—he’s beautiful as a person, to his very core. When I see him dance, I can only imagine him as a kind, gentle and sincere person.

(Yuzuka and Ganio have played the same part in the past—Rudolf Habsburg, the Crown Prince of Austria, who—along his lover—had committed a suicide at the imperial hunting lodge of Mayerling, in the late 19th century.)

Rudolf wasn’t a “bubbly prince” personality type—however, having studied and played the role of a prince, I do consider him a sort of an archetype of “princeliness”.

Working with Ueno Mizuka as a child

(In the upcoming Gala Concert, Yuzuka will also perform alongside Ueno Mizuka, with whom she’d worked prior to joining Takarazuka.)

To say that we performed “together” would be a huge overstatement. When I was in primary school, I played a child part in Maki Asami Ballet Company’s annual performance of “The Nutcracker”, and had the pleasure of seeing Ms. Ueno perform one of the principal roles. She was one of the first ballet stars I remember seeing and admiring up close as a kid, along with Ms. Kusakari Tamiyo.

Ms. Ueno would always come and see my Takarazuka plays, which was already a great honor and something I was extremely proud of—but now, to stand on the same stage as her!... So much time has passed since we performed together under Maki-sensei’s guidance. I haven’t been able to perform in any ballet plays since having entered Takarazuka, so this brand new opportunity is very precious to me—I never dared to dream something like this would happen to me, and this just shows how little we know about what the future holds for us.

I believe that this is why continuous studying, challenging oneself and growing in our craft is so important. I hope that this performance helps the audience realize what it is that they want to do, what they have already accomplished, and what they have to offer to the world—that it would connect them to their future and expand their possibilities.

(to be continued in Part 2…)

[yuzukahibiscus]

everyone read !!! gorgeous beautiful show star dance star headlining the mathieu ganio special gala new concert coming this january!!!!

(i miss translating, i really do.... but i always love to read others translate rei things too, that makes me learn more about translation, so thank you lena! i will return with more after my exams tho :)

[nakoayas]

Especial Time: Minami Maito × Maisora Hitomi (from GRAPH 2020 May) 🩷

Scanned from my personal collection.

Translated interview by @yuzukahibiscus under the cut!

Minami: This time I requested Maisora for the interview, because...

Maisora: Wah~ I’m so scared! (LOL)

Minami: Well, every day I’m angry… no, no, I’m kidding (LOL). You were so busy and I was wondering if this would be okay to ask for you, but since I have this chance, I decided to have this interview with Maisora who’s very active now (LOL).

Maisora: Not at all~

Minami: We spent a very meaningful time together during Senhor CRUZEIRO!, and we also went on the national tour together in Melancolique Gigolo / EXCITER!! 2018 and when I thought we’re going to spend more time in the future, at that time Maisora left Flower Troupe. So I requested to have you for the interview, just to ask how you’re doing now!

Maisora: Thank you for inviting me. So what should I do to help…

Minami: Oh, and now you’re asking me in return? (LOL). “What should I do!?”

Maisora: I mean, because this is Minami-san’s invaluable special coverage in these pages!

Minami: No, I mean thank you for being in this interview (LOL). When Maisora first transferred to Flower Troupe, I remember that she was a really cute girl.

Maisora: Not at all! But for a while, there weren’t any opportunities when we were in the same performance.

Minami: That's true.

Maisora: Maybe, that’s why we didn’t talk much (LOL). We’re surprisingly shy people.

Minami: Yeah! I’m not the type of person that would go to the underclassmen and call out to them like “Hey!”

Maisora: That’s why, I always found Minami-san with such a cool impression.

Minami: No, come on!! I feel distant from you all, so I’d be watching from afar thinking, are the underclassmen doing fine? Am I intimidating?

Maisora: Huh!? No, not at all. You give me the feeling of “It’s Minami-san!”

Minami: What does that mean? (LOL)

Maisora: When I was still a fan I had been watching Flower Troupe performances, so when I was assigned to Flower Troupe, it was so satisfying to feel that I came into this world I so admire every day. But what’s more is “I’m seeing the REAL Minami-san!” (LOL).

Minami: (LOL). That’s why at first when we first worked with each other in CRUZEIRO. We just went, “Ah, hi…” like that (LOL). But when we started having tango lessons during the Tokyo performances of The Poe Clan we realised that it wasn’t going well since we didn’t match with each other. So we started to be serious about it.

Maisora: Even the way of walking in tango is difficult…

Minami: And even after the closing day of the Tokyo performances, right on the next day I said, “Sorry, could we practice again!!” and we practised together.

Maisora: Yes. When our rehearsals started, Minami-san had so many scenes and things to remember, but you still took the time to practise with me.

Minami: Yeah, because all we can do is keep practising. Normally in Takarazuka, the otokoyakuk leads the musumeyaku step by step, but you can’t do that in tango. And especially because we hadn’t danced with each other before, so in a good sense, I’m grateful that there wasn’t too much we worried about.

Maisora: I couldn’t say I wasn’t worried about anything though… This was my first time partnered with an otokoyaku in dancing. And so, I saw how solid your body balance is during rehearsals. I couldn’t do that…

Minami: No, that’s because otokoyaku take the lead in tango. But musumeyaku also have tough skills to learn.

Maisora: No, no. I don’t remember how many times I stepped on your foot (LOL).

Minami: Don’t mind it, just step it (LOL).

Maisora: I’m so sorry… For every move, you’d always say “it’s different now!”, or” let’s do it again.”

Minami: Even after we started performing, we still had reflection sessions every time. Those were such meaningful days. That’s how we naturally became close… Did we become close!? (LOL)

Maisora: (LOL). I guess we were just doing our best depserately…

Minami: We were desperate about it. But there were rarely times that I didn’t tell you my thoughts, because we were really synchronised.

Maisora: You think so? Every day, I was endeavouring my best and concentrating on the tango scenes. Because I knew if I lost focus, I’d dance something wrong. Then on the closing day…

Minami: Yeah!! I can never forget it. The audience never stopped clapping… Even thinking of it now gives me goosebumps.

Maisora: It was as if time stopped.

Minami: I thought to myself, “We did it!” that I was so overwhelmed with this love, that even at the time when I knew words were not enough to convey, I tried my best telling how I feel to the audience. I believe that was a moment when I returned to the primal source of joy as a stage performer.

Maisora: Really… I was in my 3rd year (ken-3) at the time, and taking on a great challenge was such a precious experience to me. I fell in love with dancing even more after that performance, and wanted to work harder and I think I was transformed after that performance. All of our performers worked our best with Minami-san and I am also happy to be one of the members.

Minami: That’s the same for me. It’s not because I was starring in this performance, but because I was fortunate to be with this company of members.

Minami: The national tour performance was also meaningful. Hana-chan (Hana Yuuki) and you were the double female leads. It must have been challenging to pair up with me and Rei (Yuzuka). During rehearsals, we wanted to look more compatible and we got closer.

Maisora: That’s for sure! It was difficult for us two, but thankfully there were many lessons which we stuck together to practise…

Minami: We already told you that we can return first, but you waited for us after we finished rehearsing. While we felt sorry, I guess with two cute girls saying goodbye to you in the end, I returned home with that warm fuzzy feeling inside me.

Maisora: Ahaha (LOL)!

Minami: The two of you are different in terms of your personality and your cuteness, and since we’re performing with both of you, we are also inspired by you. Imagine when four people get along and have chemistry. It’s quite busy for us! (LOL)

Maisora: Yeah (LOL).

Minami: When we’re traveling by bus, both of you were moving a lot and clinging on just to talk to Rei. I found both of you very dependable, but at the same time it’s cute to see both of you talk (LOL).

Maisora: (LOL). Even though there wasn’t much acting between us in the play, we danced in some scenes together in the revue show. I love EXCITER!! since I was a fan, and the Havana scene was especially my favourite, so I was truly blessed to dance that scene with Minami-san.

Minami: When otokoyaku and musumeyaku are paired together, of course we dance while appreciating how wonderful our partner is, but with Maisora, I can be natural as ever. The Havana scene was really fun.

Maisora: Yes! And the tango in the prologue too!

Minami: Both of us were guessing if we could be paired up together? So when it was decided, we thought YES! (LOL). From then on, we suddenly had this ambition that we’re striving to look cooler than any other couple! (LOL).

Maisora: As the others were also working with each other as pairs, Minami-san also called me over to discuss.

Minami: I was so serious about it! “We should look stronger” or something like that. But it didn’t work that well (LOL).

Minami: When you transferred, I went to watch Kurenai (Yuzuru)-san’s Sayonara performance, at that time it was already decided that you and Co-chan (Rei Makoto) would be the next Top Combi. Since this classmate of mine is not only our pride, but also the most humane and amazing super strong Co-chan, I was delighted that you would be her partner. I do feel a bit sad at first, but after seeing the Star Troupe performance, I felt that I could be relieved to see your new path.

Maisora: Thank you. At first I was also nervous, but everyone in Star Troupe including Coto-san (Rei Makoto) had welcomed me so kindly and warmly. I’m grateful to become a Star Troupe member in this important graduation performance of Kurenai-san and Kisaki (Airi)-san.

Minami: Yeah.

Maisora: I learnt so much from Kisaki-san! While I knew that I’d be following Coto-san with all my heart in the days to come, when I saw Flower Troupe’s Asumi-san’s graduation performance, I was deeply moved by the stage created by you all. So I decided that I have to work even harder!

Minami: And just earlier, I went to see your debut performance, and I was so emotional over the debut performance of my classmate Co-chan and the adorable Maisora. Of course other of my classmates are also active, Ayaki (Hikari) also did great when she transferred to Star Troupe too, and I look forward to how Star Troupe will continue to thrive. Flower Troupe will also follow close, and I want to keep being inspired.

Maisora: Coto-san was already so perfect, but it was so amazing to see her pursue higher heights… I want to do my best to support her even the least.

Minami: Both of you are a fantastic Top Combi. I could see that both of you were really happy in the duet dance. You showed us how your hearts connected in the dance, so I was sobbing in the audience (LOL).

Maisora: I’m yet to be that excellent, but I can’t thank Coto-san enough for allowing me to experience my heart’s liberation when I dance with her. I want to always remember the heart to convey a stage that will make the audience feel just as happy. It’s just like the applause on the last day of CRUZEIRO!, but the duet dance made me return to the primal source of being a stage performer and working ever diligently for the audience. And with her, I can learn more from her… like this (gestures her arms to tell Minami the message).

Minami: (LOL) I want to take a video of you now!

Maisora: I’m so bad at expressing myself in words (LOL).

Minami: I’m so bad too! But you can’t just show me that without words (LOL).

Maisora: (LOL). Anyway! As a Star Troupe member, I hope to give Coto-san even a bit of support and I’ll work hard.

Minami: Yes! Do your best (LOL).

Maisora: When I watch Flower Troupe performances, those were fun times too. Even though I can’t meet everyone, I still feel your kindness.

Minami: What can you do if you couldn’t meet us (LOL).

Maisora: Fine, I felt how brutally honest you are (LOL).

Minami: Ahaha (LOL). It’s the first time we’re talking like this today. I had a feeling that you must have felt that way at the time, but I had never properly expressed it in words, so it was a bit embarrassing. (LOL).

Maisora: (LOL). That’s because there wasn’t much time we could talk in private either… I always approached Minami-san either in the rehearsal classrooms or through the stage, and we talked about dance and performing arts together. Would you say that you said it properly? Is that what you wanted to say?

Minami: Of course! (LOL) We talked plenty. It was so fun to reminisce about our past, and let’s continue to work hard even in different troupes.

Maisora: Yes. I’m really glad to talk about those old days when I was in Flower Troupe.

Minami: I look forward to Maisora’s activities and your growth. And when I come and watch you, I’d probably think, “Wow?” and also strive to work hard.

Maisora: I’m not that brilliant yet~!!!! (LOL)

BONUS!!

[nakoayas]

Maisora Hitomi × Minami Maito Special Talk for Maisora's photobook Sincerely ~my twinkling dreams~

Scanned from my personal collection.

Translated interview by @yuzukahibiscus under the cut!

Maisora: It almost felt like I had been in Flower Troupe for so many years and months, and yet it’s hard to believe that it’s only 3 years. I think the reason I felt that this time felt so meaningful was because of the time I spent together with Minami-san. I wanted to take this opportunity to say what I’m grateful for… so thank you for coming today!

Minami: Thank you for inviting me, I’m very glad to be here (LOL). When Maisora came to Flower Troupe… and when I saw you play Hanna in Hanna’s Florist, I thought “this girl will definitely become a star”. But at the time, since I still saw you as “the underclassman Maisora Hitomi”, we didn’t talk much (LOL).

Maisora: Both Minami-san and I are shy people… (LOL)

Minami: I’m not the type to talk to underclassmen so enthusiastically (LOL).

Maisora: I think our relationship changed because of Minami-san’s starring Bow Hall performance Senhor CRUZEIRO!. When it was announced that I would be in this performance, before we went into our actual rehearsals… I remember that we went to take tango lessons together after our Tokyo performances in our previous Grand Theatre performance (The Poe Clan).

Minami: But at first both of us were very careful. Just wondering, “should we do it…like this…today?” (LOL).

Maisora: Both of us were quite nervous (LOL). This was almost the first time that I’m paired to dance with an otokoyaku, not to mention how difficult the dance genre of tango is… it became a greater challenge. From when we began our rehearsals, there were also other genres of dance I had to perform in various scenes, but every day Minami-san would take the time to practise tango with me. After the various lessons, you would say “Okay, let’s practise tango now!!”

Minami: I thought “let’s go!!!” (LOL). We kept practising. I think in Takarazuka revue shows, rather than just the genre of tango, this concentration for serious choreography between the pairing of otokoyaku and musumeyaku, so they’re quite difficult. In normal Takarazuka dance scenes, I’d say a complimentary effect happens when the otokoyakuk leads the musumeyaku step by step, but tango can’t be made possible if the otokoyaku and musumeyaku aren’t dancing as contrasting equals. Then I started to realise there’s no time to be shy anymore (LOL). We started thinking how we could make the dance look better, and our relationship became one like comrades when we had the same goal.

Maisora: Yes. I couldn’t remember how many times I accidentally stepped on your feet…

Minami: (LOL).

Maisora: You said “Don’t worry about it!’ “It’s okay if you got it wrong, just try it once more!” Every day, I observed how sharp Minami-san was with her dance moves… I think that didn’t impact just me, but also all of our members too.

Minami: No, no, no…

Maisora: During the performances, when I came back to the company every morning before the performances, you were already getting ready (LOL). You were always so diligent on yourself.

Minami: Did that really happen…

Maisora: Since going on stage and going to rehearsals were so different, I still felt nervous over it. I thought, what if I couldn’t dance as I thought I would? But at the time, I thought of overcoming this with an unwavering mindset…

Minami: I felt the same. Because if one of us were uncertain, then the other should support her!

Maisora: You were so fantastic at leading the dance.

Minami: No, Maisora has great sense too. You’re like this now as well, but you have always been straightforward without thinking too much.

Maisora: Because at the time, I didn’t know anything.

Minami: Yes, but that also makes accomplishing things much easier. And your body balance has always been firm. I guess both of us were diligent in body training. I also think that we’re quite passionate the same way we approach things.

Maisora: Yes. I wanted to focus on that scene, because it conveyed a world where only two people remain. Then on the closing day, before I realised it, the scene was already over… Before I noticed it, I was already hearing the audience’s applause.

Minami: The applause was deafening. I was really glad.

Maisora: The moment I heard the applause, I remember how happy I felt to be on stage, that I still remember how it feels now.

Minami: Me too.

Maisora: I was truly happy. And then afterwards, we went on the national tour Melancolique Gigolo / EXCITER!! 2018 in the same year.

Minami: We danced tango as a pair again in the prologue of this show. Because the two of us wanted to show this burning passion, to look cooler than any other couple! (LOL).

Maisora: It was as if we turned this switch on (LOL).

Minami: Yes, yes.

Maisora: You told me, “Dance more, dance more!”, so I said, “Yes, I’m coming!!”

Minami: (LOL). I don’t usually do that. But that’s because I trust Maisora.

Maisora: The “Havana” scene too..!!

Minami: That was fun too. I remember that scene made me realise again, “Wow, Maisora is so good!”

Maisora: No, no, no… I’ve loved EXCITER!! for a long time, so I was really happy to be in this scene in this show that I used to watch a lot. And as the national tour ended, there was the TAKARAZUKA SPECIALS, and the rehearsals for CASANOVA began… what a dizzying schedule.

Minami: That’s true.

Maisora: In which you told me after the TAKARAZUKA SPECIALS was over, “You did great in the national tour, let’s work hard together!”

Minami: Huh, really? I don’t remember that at all (LOL).

Maisora: I thought Minami-san also worked so hard for it too, but hearing your words really made me so happy.

Minami: No, I mean Maisora too was so busy, but didn’t you and Hana Yuuki-chan create this national tour photo album for Rei (Yuzuka) and me? “How cute these girls are”, we thought. Now I still cherish that album. I come to look at it once in a while.

Maisora: Thank you. Later, it was announced that I’d be transferring.

Minami: I was too shocked to hear that…

Maisora: When I told everyone, I remembered Minami-san disappeared elsewhere.

Minami: At that time, I just couldn’t come to accept it… I don’t know (LOL).

Maisora: Even after we were in different troupes, every time we met, it was as if our relationship never changed, since you’d call out to me, “Hey, Maisora!” like that.

Minami: That’s because I still see you as my friend and comrade.

Maisora: Thank you. I’m so grateful. And then time flew by… then came the Hakataza performance Me And My Girl!!

Minami: I was surprised. Hearing from the company that I’d be performing in Star Troupe’s Me And My Girl and Maisora would be playing Sally, I screamed… I even worry if the whole company could hear the echoes of my screaming (LOL). After I became a Senka member, when I heard that my first performance would be with Maisora, I was deeply thankful from the bottom of my heart. How can this destiny be possible, I thought.

Maisora: I was also surprised. Before our rehearsals, together with Akatsuki-san, the three of us went to Hakataza for the interviews.

Minami: That’s right. Both me and Ari-chan (Akatsuki Chisei) were shy (LOL). Thanks to Maisora that we were able to break the ice. I was grateful to spend the time with you two.

Maisora: Then our rehearsals began. You had to play both Bill and Sir John… I can’t imagine how difficult that would be.

Minami: At first, I was like “you’re lying” (LOL). But looking back, that was such a valuable experience. I think Star Troupe members, led by Co-chan (Rei Makoto), were all very energetic and powerful, and that’s exactly how you all were. At first I was really overwhelmed by your power.

Maisora: I remember you telling me that.

Minami: Everyone was so bright and straightforward, so I was inspired by the Star Troupe members’ philosophy of “Let’s give it a try” on anything. While creating the role, I could feel how difficult it was because many seniors performed this performance in the past. And to me, I wanted to bring something out of me, so that I could perform it like how a particular actress did it in my favourite Me And My Girl version. But the director Miki Akio-sensei said, focus on creating the Me And My Girl with these members this time. And then, I was most moved by Maisora’s growth. As a Top Musemayku, you had various experiences… and there must be countless things you have to consider that I didn’t know. But with the guidance from Co-chan and from all members of Star Troupe, I believe you worked even harder. So to feel this Maisora Hitomi was really amazing…

Maisora: Nothing… like that at all. It’s because everyone was guiding me.

Minami: The applause was deafening. I was really glad.

Maisora: Since this was a musumeyaku role I admire, I was concerned and frustrated and couldn’t find myself breaking through this bottleneck, and when I was troubled with these things, Minami-san would kindly guide me along. Since you already knew me back when I knew nothing, so I’m delighted that you could tell me how you really felt or thought when you look at me now.

Minami: Sometimes I find it difficult to express my thoughts if what I say will have a negative effect, but I also believe that there`s no good in being reserved and not telling you... because you`re my comrade Maisora.

Maisora: I’m so thankful.

Minami: Even though it would be great if I took care of myself the same way (LOL). But I certainly feel that the quality of the performance shouldn’t drop. And I think that’s possible because the members were leading me.

Maisora: No, no, I believe that it’s because Minami-san led everyone!! You always cared how everyone was doing… And even though you were already busy with your two roles, you wrote every one of us a letter and gave it to us on the last day of performance, just like what you did during Senhor CRUZEIRO!!.

Minami: Well, there’s that (LOL).

Maisora: You wrote to me, “When I’m with Maisora, there’s nothing I have to worry about and I can tell you everything, and so I’d like to aim higher”. You don’t know how happy that made me feel. Thank you so much (cries).

Minami: Thank you too.

Minami: Earlier, I watched your Music Salon, and it was really amazing.

Maisora: Thank you, for writing such a warm message to me.

Minami: Did I (LOL)? Well, that’s because you sent me a long message first. I hope that you’ll be healthy in mind and body until the end… I’m looking forward to it, that while you may be fighting it to the end, I hope you can accomplish everything and complete your Takarazuka journey to the end.

Maisora: Thank you.

Minami: Ah yes. My fans told me that they found me calling you “Maisora” in a manner with such affection and love… so I hope you understand if I continue calling this as such (LOL).

Maisora: Speaking of that, during Me And My Girl, I think you called me “Hitomi” at some point.

Minami: I did (LOL). Everyone in Star Troupe were surprised to see me calling you “Maisora”... even you told me so. I remember you telling me, “You called Hana (Yuuki)-san as Hana-chan♡ too so why are you calling me ‘Maisora’”... And I had to do my best explaining to you why my affection for each of you was different, but in the end I did call you ‘Hitomi’. I said, “Hitomi, you did well.” But then…

Maisora: It was quite awkward for me to hear that… So I said you can still call me Maisora just fine (LOL).

Minami: And I’m like what… In the end, I’m back to calling you Maisora.

Maisora: (LOL).

Minami: … With that, I hope Maisora will always be Maisora.

Maisora: Okay!! (LOL)

BONUS!!!

Caption: In this photoshoot, since both are splendid dancers, they kept doing more mature and fantastic poses, but... they kept chattering before and after the shoot, and that's the Maitii and Maisora who kept laughing all about.`

[kittychan-sings-enka]

please be aware that the Takarazuka Fanclub Amino account is completely fraudulent and basically fanfiction. It is full of translation errors, unsourced information, and Stuff That Is Just Made Up (often aimed at bashing specific performers)

It also claims to be moderated by an OG but these claims are as far as I can tell ridiculously unfounded because like, lol, no

this is not to discount that there are issues within Takarazuka/the Hankyu company, but spreading absurd gossip helps none of that

[laurelilu]

minami maito in fashionable empire (2022)

[yuzukahibiscus]

SEWATCH (95th Class) – 2016 Archives

From 2010, Takarazuka GRAPH has a corner for introducing classmates (douki) in our colour pages. 95th class is the 6th edition and we now disclose excerpts of writer Seo Yuria (Seocchi) and her classmates.

~ Taken from August 2021 GRAPH.

JANUARY – Seo Yuria X Manaki Reika

To celebrate our first issue, the guest is...Manaki Reika of Moon Troupe ☽ It's Chapi~♡ Ah, she's an angel ♡ She's full of clarity....Let'Sewatch the mystery of this angel descending to earth!!!!

~About the theme of our cosplay~

Seocchi: Everyone already knows about the beauty and cuteness of Chapi, so I thought what if we showed a different side of Chapi~

Chapi: No, not at all. But because it's the New Year issue, aren't we wearing these for the New Year?

Seocchi: We thought, "Year of the...Monkey, right? OH!" (laughs) What do you think about becoming a monkey (laughs)?

Chapi: Since I was born, I've been told that I look like a monkey, so it's an honour to be a monkey [for this corner].

Both: (exploding in laughter).

Chapi: My mother used to say, "I thought I gave birth to a monkey" (laughs).

Seocchi: Well, you could say you returned to your roots. What a new feeling (laughs).

Chapi: Yes, that's right. My ears are also "far away from each other" (and while saying that, Chapi flapped her hands beside her ears).

Seocchi: That's cute (laughs).

FEBRUARY – Seo Yuria X Rei Makoto

The guest for this month is the Super Boy, our Rei Makoto of Star Troupe ☆ It's Coto-chan~ (Coto)☆

~About the theme of our cosplay~

Seocchi: I thought would it be possible to show a side of Co-chan that everyone hasn't seen before~ and the result of constant frustration and thinking, I've decided that we should wear the Takarazuka Music School uniforms!!

Coto: First, I need to find my uniform~

Seocchi: Yeah (laughs). How do you feel? Actually.

Coto: No I mean, it's nostalgic.

Seocchi: I remembered that the two of us used to sit side by side whle having lessons.

Coto: That's when both of us were fighting the urge to sleep away.

Seocchi: A time that we were scolded almost every day, but the days where we were very determined.

MARCH – Seo Yuria X Reimi Urara

Now, the guest this time is Reimi Urara-sama of Cosmos Troupe, it's Yuuri!! Let'Sewatch at the mystery of this flawless beautiful girl!!!

~About the theme of our cosplay~

Seocchi: While both of us are thinking a lot about what to do, we heard Zun-chan (Sakuragi Minato) having her interview nearby on "What is your dream if you didn't enter Takarazuka!?".

Urara: We heard her answer, "I'm not sure if this is what I really want to do, but maybe the admirable flight attendants?"...

Seocchi: That's why everyone can see this wonderful Reimi Urara-sama!! (Thanks Zun-chan~♡)

Urara: I hope we can show that relationship between the pilot and the flight attendant (laughs).

Seocchi: There's some story between us... (laughs)

Urara: (laughs). That's fun!

APRIL – Seo Yuria X Tsukishiro Kanato

The guest this month is – remarkable! Tsukishiro Kanato of Snow Troupe!! It's Usshi (Reiko)✨ Wow~ So pretty...She's already beautiful, so let'Sewatch if we could show a mysteriously different look of Tsukishiro Kanato-sama.

~About the theme of our cosplay~

Seocchi: After much thinking...

Reiko: We revived as the anime of "Shonen Ashibe"!! Well, I like Goma-chan. No, not just that, I like seals (laughs).

Seocchi: That's why, Usshi wore a seal costume and searched for various pictures, and found this really cute seal costume, and asked me "how do you think"?

Reiko: No, it's because I said, I want to be a more real seal!!

Seocchi: She seriously ordered this full costume (laughs). How do you feel wearing it?

Reiko: When I actually wear the costume, I can feel it looks fluffier than how Goma-chan was like, (laughs), but I'm really satisfied!!

Seocchi: That's great~ It's a great success that it made Usshi satisfied!

MAY – Seo Yuria X Minami Maito

The fifth guest is Flower Trouope otokoyaku Minami Maito (Maiti) ❀ I wanto see~!! Let'Sewatch the stunning muscles of this girl!!!

~About the theme of our cosplay~

Seocchi: If we talk about Minami, it's muscles!! That's why I immediately think of the muscleman Superman, and we had a meeting over this photoshoot [concept] (laughs).

Maiti: What!? Is my image really like that? I thought (laughs).

Seocchi: No, when we first met, you were skinny!! Then after the summer of being a primary course student (yokasei), I was so shocked (laughs).

Maiti: Right, right, when I came back my uniform seems stiff [from the muscles] (laughs).

Seocchi: I thought, what did Minami do in the summer!!!!! I remember everyone being crazy over it (laughs). That image is too strong, you definitely need to be Superman this time!

Maiti: But, this costume seems too buff (laughs). This is too exaggerated!! Look at the texture of these muscles (laughs)!!!!

Seocchi: How do you feel actually wearing it?

Maiti: No, but it seems easy to turn on the switch to get into character with this kind of costume (laughs).

Seocchi: (laughs). That's great!!

Maiti: Like that "I'm a hero!" kind of vibe. (laughs)

Seocchi: If you feel good about it, you should wear this under your rehearsal clothes next time, and when something happens, you can remove those clothes to reveal yourself as Superman!! Then it would be great!! (laughs)

Maiti: I got it!! If that's necessary, I'll give Seocchi (Seo) a call! Believe in me!!

Both: (exploding in laughter).

JUNE – Seo Yuria X Misaki Rion

This month we have our princess from Cosmos Troupe 💕 Let'Sewatch at Misaki Rion (Mirion)~ 👀

~About the theme of our cosplay~

Seocchi: We decided easily this time.

Mirion: Yes, yes, I asked Seocchi "Can I be a nurse?"

Seocchi: Surely, I also wish to see how Kumi-chan (Misaki) is as a nurse I(laughs).

Mirion: Since I was young', I've admired nurse so I thought, "Nurses are good!!" and decided on the theme quickly.

Seocchi: How does it feel? To be a nurse.

Mirion: I'm very satisfied because it feels my wish is fulfilled! Holding onto the syringe, I felt it was fun to feel how it is for a nurse (laughs). (I also enjoyed seeing Kumi-chan's look as a nurse!!)

Seocchi: I'm also excited because I want to play as a doctor!!!!

Mirion: You seem to really like the stethoscope (laughs).

Seocchi: Yes (laughs). This feels like "The Dangerous Love of the Doctor and the Nurse" (laughs). I hope everyone could feel happy seeing this photo and imagining various situations!

JULY – Seo Yuria X Kizuki Yuuma

This month, let'Sewatch at the mysterious Mayupon, or Kizuki Yuuma of Moon Troupe, who is so inclusive and gentle towards others~✨

~About the theme of our cosplay~

Seocchi: This time, I hope it'd be great to do a concept of boys' friendship that I could do only with Myaupon.

Mayupon: Right!! We talked about, let's make this look manly as possible!

Seocchi: So, we told the edtors we wanted to do something like [the movie] "Umizaru", and we didn't think we'd have these costumes handmade!!

Both: Thank you so much!!!!!!

Seocchi: How does it feel wearing these?

Mayupon: Yes, this is so fun ♪ Of course, we wear various kinds of costumes on stage, but this feels totally different!!!

Seocchi: That's right. This feel like "Real Men's" kind of feeling (laughs)! And with that, we'd be happy if this lets everyone realise Mayupon's new charms!!

AUGUST – Seo Yuria X Hinami Fuu

This month, we have our princess from Star Troupe✨✨✨ Let'Sewatch the mysterious Fuu-chan, or Hinami Fuu!

~About the theme of our cosplay~

Seocchi: We always talk about tropical countries ☼✨

Fuu-chan: Right! We never knew we would love tropical countries so much ✨

Seocchi: If there's a chance, I always thought I should go to the Sebu in Philippines with Fuu-chan and Matsuko (Renju Kouki) ☼

Fuu-chan: Right!!! My first overseas vacation was at Sebu, and it was really exciting✨✨✨

Seocchi: Every day would be so fun✨ So we decided to wear something we would in these tropical countries! How does the photoshoot feel for Fuu-chan?

Fuu-chan: Well, fun✨ Wearing the aloha shirts, holding on to the ukuleles immediately!!!

Seocchi: Yes✨✨ It's as if we could see the sun in front of us ☼

SEPTEMBER – Seo Yuria X Sakuragi Minato

This month, let'Sewatch the mysterious Zun-chan, or Sakuragi Minato of Cosmos Troupe, who always flashes the wonderful child smile ✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨

~About the theme of our cosplay~

Zun: About sommelier, it's just a Style we simply want to do!!!

Seocchi: No, no matter how we say it, this look great.

Zun: Yes (laughs). It's just black, so it may look plain~ Which is why we also used wine bottles and glasses.

Seocchi: I think this makes it look really stylish!!

Zun: I hope to wear this costume one day on stage.

Seocchi: It was fun to feel like a sommelier even for a short while~♫

OCTOBER – Seo Yuria X Asami Jun

This month, let'Sewatch the mysterious Asami Jun of Moon Troupe or Aasa✨✨ Truly from her name, she is beautiful from the morning~ (*Asa 朝 = morning; Mi 美 = beauty)

~About the theme of our cosplay~

Seocchi: I asked you, what do we want to do?

Aasa: We thought about our similarities...

Both: We have a strong visual!!!!

Aasa: Then, we decided on doing [the manga series] "Thermae Romae" and on the day when we wore the costumes, and tried the first photo, and we chekced to find out??????????????

Both: We have a weak visual!!!! (laughs)

Aasa: This is an emergency situation 💦 She quickly came to the dressing room of Moon Troupe since we were performing (laughs).

Seocchi: Yes, I went to Aasa's makeup table and both of us desperately wanted to make up for it.

Aasa: We started putting more makeup! (laughs)

Seocchi: How did you feel wearing this?

Aasa: It feels comfortable and it makes me feel really good! As if, this was how I would be like in my past life (laughs).

Seocchi: You're not wrong! Have you worn this type of costume on stage before?

Aasa: Nope, this is my first time! Also it was fun to use different small props for the photoshoot✨

NOVEMBER – Seo Yuria X Hoshino Anri

This month let'Sewatch the mysterious Hoshino Anri of Snow Troupe, or Hiroko ❅

~About the theme of our cosplay~

Seocchi: This time, both of us thought over quite a lot. Then Hiroko suggested, "Should we do baseball [concept]?"

Hiroko: Yes! If you turn on the television, you can see the rankings of Se Ring or Pa Ring, [Hiroshima Toyo] Carp and [Fukuoka] Softbank [Hawks] would be the top positions respectively, and they are baseball leagues of our hometown, so we wore their jerseys✨

Seocchi: Well, I believe when this [October] issue, Carp would definitely win by then!

Hiroko: Softbank too! Because they are so powerful!! If Carp wins, wouldn't that be since then 25 years since their last win?

Seocchi: Amazing! Hiroko knows so much! *laughs) When both teams win, let's celebrate together!

Both: Let's do this!!!

Seocchi: How does it feel wearing this uniform?

Hiroko: No, before wearing it I was already thrilled. I was even more excited to wear it! I was jumping around just thinking of it before Seocchi came! (laughs)

Seocchi: Ahaha (laughs). So cute.... 💦but I missed your moment💦

Hiroko: (laughs)

Seocchi: As expected, won't seeing these uniforms make your heart race? Because we've always seen these uniforms!!

Hiroko: Yes! We saw them before, and now we're wearing them ✨

Seocchi: The photoshoot was fun. But for our hats....

Hiroko: Instead of holding onto them, we were holding on the baseball bats instead (laughs).

Seocchi: Because we felt it would be awkward with our hands empty.

Hiroko: We're not used to that (laughs).

DECEMBER – Seo Yuria X Yuzuka Rei

This month we have Yuzuka Rei of Flower Troupe to grace the last edition✨ Let'Sewatch the mysterious Rei-chan 👀✨

~About the theme of our cosplay~

Seocchi: The costumes for today are really surreal! (laughs)

Rei: Really! When I wore it, this was more surreal than I imagined (laughs). It's Christmas when we talk about December, which is why we dressed up like that.

Seocchi: Right! I was thinking if I should do Santa or the reindeer, but she said, "But Santa Claus won't look as funny, right?" (laughs) As expected✨

Rei: (laughs). So we featured supporting characters! But I was surprised because I was surprised because I couldn't do many poses with these costumes (laughs).

Seocchi: Right! That's something we missed out💦 Because [trees and snowman] give off inanimate vibes (Iaughs).

Rei: Even if we act a lot into it, our faces...

Seocchi: Becomes emotionless (laughs).

Rei: It's rare that it was difficult to smile [in this costume] (laughs). Which by the way, I read this corner every month! But I thought, "She doesn't call me a lot....will this end without me...." (laughs).

Seocchi: Really.... (erupts into laughter). So you felt anxious over it, I'm sorry!

Rei: Nah, but this was great fun–♪