Alrighty, just got back from seeing the show so let’s do this.
It’s Elisabeth and since Elisabeth never changes I’m not going to get into the plot or anything. I mean, once you’ve seen one Takarazuka Elisabeth you’ve seen them all, plot/scene wise.
All in all this version is decent. It’s not groundbreaking, it’s not one of the best, but it does the job and I honestly enjoyed it and wouldn’t mind seeing it again. Which is relieving because I’m not going to lie, I had serious worries over this casting. Not because the Soragumi actresses aren’t great at what they do but rather because Hankyu doesn’t cast based on strengths, they cast based on age and that can force extremely good actresses into very awkward roles that don’t really suit their style.
In this case I was very worried about Maa-kun having to play a character who is, let’s be honest, a manipulative douchebag who basically kills a woman’s son because she won’t bone him. Maa-kun is a wonderful actress but she’s not evil. She just doesn’t have that hard edge in her that makes for great villains. So putting her in this role worried me.
I was also worried about Makaze doing Franz Joseph because again, she’s good at what she does, but I was worried about her ability to emote while playing a stern character.
Pretty much the only person I wasn’t worried about was Mirion, who excels at strong adult characters and she, unsurprisingly stole the show as adult Elisabeth (her young Elisabeth felt a little forced but it’s such a small portion of the show it didn’t really matter). Her singing was AMAZING and her facial expressions were fantastic. You could really see her Elisabeth’s emotional pain and the mental strain even as she forced herself to be regal. It was really impressive.
Makaze shocked me. She did REALLY WELL as Franz. It’s a very subtle thing and you really have to be watching but Makaze’s Franz can be kind of stiff at times but she made it work. You can definitely see a guy who is trying his best to please his mother and do what she is telling him an Emperor should do. He’s not head over heels in love with Elisabeth but you can see he does care for her and she gives you glimpses that tell you that he is troubled over what is happening. I was quite impressed with it and I give her a lot of props. Her singing was also very powerful, though I swear she has a bit of a lisp that I find distracting. I’ve noticed it in other shows as well and I keep hoping that one of the singing coaches can help her fix it.
Maa-kun also did pretty well as der Tod. She definitely pulled it off better than I expected she would. Her der Tod is very young. And by that I mean that he doesn’t seem to have a lot of experience with dealing with emotions or other things. He sometimes seems lost and slightly confused when things don’t go his way. His retaliations against Elisabeth’s refusals can almost seem like slightly huffy tantrums. Despite how deadly he can be, Maa-kun’s der Tod felt soft and not nearly as forceful or manipulative as other der Tods.
One thing I did notice was that her der Tod felt “insect” like. It’s hard to explain but if you’re familiar with Mizu’s der Tod you may have noticed hers was very snake-like. Maa-kun’s, on the other hand, reminded me more of a cicada, lurking in the background, watching and waiting for the right moment to swarm in. The costumes also have a lot of lines and piping that also reminded me of the veins in bug wings (they could also be pretty bat-like at times as well). Even during the finale the parade feathers ended up looking like spider legs. It was a little unsettling to me. Her singing was surprisingly good. She hit some really strong notes but you could tell she was straining her voice and I’m very worried that she’s not going to be able to keep it up until the end of the show run. I hope she can but I also don’t want her to hurt herself trying, you know?
Ai-chan’s Lucheni was pretty good. Her singing was great and her voice was strong from start to finish. Her Lucheni wasn’t as grossly smarmy as some and could come off as a regular narrator but I liked it. The darker makeup worked well for her and I thought she handled the role strongly. She’s turning into a great upperclassman.
Sakuragi Minato was Rudolph and at first I was like, eh, she’s good but she’s still kinda young but honestly I think her young face and freshness actually worked for Rudolph. He felt very young and you really felt bad for him in the face of both his parents basically failing him. His suicide was all the more moving because it felt like you were watching a teenage kid fall apart.
Junya Chitose was the most hateful Sophie ever. OMG. It was fantastic. It was like that woman could spit poison. It was a really, really good portrayal of a just horrible, dark person. Junya didn’t bother with the “well, she’s strict but she’s just trying to be a good mom underneath”. She was committed to Sophie just being a spiteful jerk and I respect what she did. It was really good.
I 100% missed the part where Monchi was cast as Windisch so when she came out I was like OMG WHAT IS HAPPENING? She was good at it though, it was just really weird to see it and I was horribly unprepared for it mentally *laughs*.
So, yeah, it was a decent production. Nobody’s going to be disappointed in it and it gets the job done. The costumes were great. I really loved all of derTod’s outfits (Elisabeth’s were the same as they’ve always been) So good job Soragumi! I give it a solid B+
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