i forgot to mention something super extremely important on my report!! on valentine’s day, since i got a same-day ticket, i had a side seat on the very far side of the hall. this means i could see into the opposite side’s offstage wings!!
i saw shogo standing in the wings to watch the entirety of nichika’s Be Cool performance, even if sanada doesn’t go on stage at any time during those scenes... so cute... very sanada-like!!
but most importantly, i saw hikaru jamming & singing along to Viking Horn, mouthing all of the words and slapping his thigh to the rhythm. same!! later on, i saw hikaru in the wings again, dancing the same choreography as rikkai does during their part in the final medley. he’s so cute...
02.08~02.18 TENIMYU - SEIGAKU VS HIGA - TOKYO GAISEN
tenimyu continues to be the most enjoyable theatrical experience ever to me, no matter how many indie, broadway, opera, takarazuka, etc productions that i attend. i originally had 5 tickets, but i enjoyed the show so much that i lined up for a 6th ticket on valentine’s day. and still, it didn’t feel like enough!
this is a very short summary of my experience, mostly focused on miokuri & other interactions, rather than an actual report on the musical. if you have any questions regarding the actual content of the musical, feel free to message me or hit me up on twitter!
higa are my favorite team after seigaku, and kite is my main boy after kaidoh & inui, followed by sanada & yagyuu, so this show has all of my favorite teams AND characters 😭😭😭
higa as a whole were an absolute delight. much like how early 3rd season really did its best to put the less popular teams in a good light with fudomine, st. rudolph & yamabuki, i think they did a wonderful job with higa as well. their new songs are ICONIC. i won’t be able to get them out of my head until the soundtrack comes out! i feel like the remaster of dark horse in particular is a wonder, with both a modern dance club sound and a traditional okinawan vibe.
i also want to mention how great the higawari were this time around. honestly, i barely even remember what the VS rikkai higawari were... but this time, they were all so fun, funny, and incredibly varied. they were different almost every single day i went!! hikaru & yuuta bounce each other off so well and make a great show opener, kaidoh & yagyuu’s relationship and banter still one of my favorite parts of this arc. i’m really looking forward to seeing their bod—i mean, their banter on DVD!
i had the chance to attend daisenshuuraku with indigo, which was such a surreal experience. the boys did such a wonderful job and it was so easy to get emotional; i cried a LOT. thankfully the boys held up pretty well—nichika shed tears during their graduation song, yuuya got caught up towards the end of his speech, jonathan was crying lots while hikaru and sho were making the most strained >:( faces trying to hold back their tears, seichan got all red & also there was this cute moment where fuuma helped yuuya wipe his tears—but no crying-so-hard-they-can’t-sing as 7th cast did during their final main show (despite also having dream live waiting for them)!
it was such a powerful experience to be part of the audience as my boys performed in a main show for the final time after having supported & followed them since their names first leaked, to be part of the cheers that will forever be immortalized in a DVD much like the ones i’ve been watching for all the years that led me to love this production as deeply as i do.
well well. enough emotions for now.
i had balcony seats for all of my shows, so i didn’t get to see the alumni often. except that one time shun (8th oishi), aoki jin (kita) & sana (8th kaidoh)—the patalliro squad—were there together, and my friend mer & i were not-so-subtly trying to figure out who the fourth person next to them (it was kazumi, 2nd kite) was, and. sana turned towards us, leaned over the railing, made that terrible malicious evil >:D face he does, and started waving frantically. mer threw the binoculars down and we both just went DID THAT JUST HAPPEN needless to say we are not going to spy on kankeisha with binoculars ever again
for this same performance, we had isawa come up to us, all sweet smile and pretty eyes, and then hikaru came over as well. i finally got a high touch from him . i died. i’m still dead as we speak. i’m not actually sure what happened i was just so happy. thankfully mer was there to emotionally support me. he was so gorgeous and smiley and attentionate with his high touches and stayed in our alley for such a long time.
as you have probably noticed, i’m a very huge fan of kaidoh & his actors, but i actually had never interacted with any of them before, so two in one night was. A Lot.
well, it’s about to get much worse. see, when i went to see VS rikkai this summer, the show was too long to have miokuri, so that was also a first for me! miokuri is quite an experience because you have no idea who is going to be around that corner, and you have so little time to look at/talk to them.
my first miokuri started off smoothly, with momo, katsuo, aragaki, kai & kirihara. i was especially charmed by ryuu who exchanged a haide with me, despite being rikkai. of course.
on the 9th, i got taka-san, momo, KITE!!!!, marui & saeki. i actually had my kite itabag that day, and i was super excited, but i ended up just freezing up in front of kento! i think taka noticed, because he leaned sideways in front of kento to wave at me... slightly embarrassing but also cute because i really like marui & kite as a pair 😩💦 and kaname was a delight, thankfully i had already experienced the freezing-up-in-front-of-him-because-he’s-so-good-looking thing with him when i met him at the DVD event last summer so we were good
on the 10th, i got oishi, inui, kai, chinen & kirihara. SHO IS STILL THE SWEETEST SMILIEST KINDEST BOY EVER, and i was super excited to see raita up close!! he stays in character, so cute & creepy, staring at each of us before haide’ing. i was so happy!! and then the cutest あるがとうっス from ryuu, who i’ve started appreciating sooo much recently.
on valentine’s day, i got tezuka, oishi, YUKIMURA 😱😱😱, kai & niou. i was super happy to see yuuya again, especially because i think he finally recognizes me, his eyes doing the dramatically widening thing and his smile growing and his hands raising higher to wave all of a sudden THANKS!! he’s so cute lmao. anyways. i was thoroughly shocked to see toshiki from up close. it feels sacred. which is probably why i instinctively put my hands in a prayer before thanking him and bowing. he bowed back. i feel like i’ve finally established contact with god
i then saw horio, tezuka, kai, aragaki & kirihara on the 15th! as you may have noticed i saw kai VERY often LMAO. 4 out of 6 times! i usually got distracted by who was around him but this time i took the time to properly thank him. he’s a cutie and has a wonderful singing voice.
and then... senshuuraku. for this special occasion, only seigaku were doing miokuri. thankfully i was with my friend indigo, who has the tenimyu knowledge to check twitter for deets on who we’d get for miokuri before we actually line up. thankfully. THANKFULLY, because i really needed to prepare for this. we got kachiro, horio, momo, and...
kaidoh, inui and tezuka. yeah. my three favorite seigaku 9th boys. all at once. i still can’t believe i had this incredible chance, i don’t think i deserve such a blessing but I WILL GLADLY TAKE IT 😭😭😭 i was able to talk to hikaru for the first time and tell him that i’ll support him forever and he thanked me with the most wonderful smile and in retrospect considering this was the day after nostalgic wonderland maybe i’m actually dead and this was all a dream
my computer broke months ago, hence the lack of updates. apologies for that! i tried writing up a quick summary of my latest trip to japan on my phone despite that, since i really wanted to share some details with everyone.
i was in japan from february 1st to 21st! during that time, i saw tenimyu’s VS higa six times, which i will talk about in a separate entry. so for now, let’s talk about bungou stray dogs on stage, stage oofuri, mononofu & nostalgic wonderland, as well as spi’s valentine fanmeeting!
02.03 BUNGOU STRAY DOGS
what better way to start one of my japanese theater pilgrimages than by going to see my #1 boy, hideya (7th tezuka), less than 24 hours after landing in japan? i also had the chance to see teruma (6th inui) & kuwano (2nd shishido).
what most impressed me about this production was the choice casting. people i usually am iffy on were given very fitting roles that they rocked in, and of course, hideya was able to shine as the very popular & multidimensional character that is dazai. i was really happy to hear so many audience members gush about how good he was during the intermission! i think it’s one of the greatest compliments for an actor when fans of the original work & characters enjoy their portrayal.
i also enjoyed all the effort & wit put into the staging, the supernatural aspect of the franchise put into motion in such smart & artistic ways. also hideya is fantastic, gorgeous, versatile, charismatic, perfect.
when i got home, i found out that ryosei (8th inui) had went to see the show at the same time as i did...
02.11 OOFURI ️
oofuri was such a lighthearted & fun stage play, which really carried the energy of the source material. fantastic casting decisions were made here, i had a lot of fun both discovering actors i knew less and also seeing actors i’ve known for a while in person for the first time!!
i was mostly inclined to see the show because mashu (7th momo) & junpei (2nd marui) were in it!!!! i love them so much and was really happy to see them perform. they have very sparkly eyes and mashu is just such a delight to watch.
ps. ino hiroki is ridiculously handsome
02.12 SPI’S FANMEETING
this was my first time going to an event without any tennis motivations, but spi is just such an amazing guy who’s always been very welcoming and inclusive towards his foreign fans, so i thought i’d honor that by attending his fanmeeting. well, of course, i also think of him as an amazingly interesting person and a fantastic performer!!
he had an entire talk section dedicated to sharing toumyu gossip, which i loved. he notably mentionned how arayan (2nd inui) is The Greatest Senpai Ever, that mario (7th eiji) has hilarious over-dramatic reactions of relief and keeps complaining about how tired he is when they’re finally done training, and that imari yu has this tendency to wrap his arm around whoever is sitting next to him...
otherwise, it was mostly spi showing off his wonderful voice with a variety of english songs. including a one direction song. help. he made a few jokes about english stuff, like how funny he thought the lyrics in real love story (tonbokiri’s solo) were, and each time he would look into my direction in a moment of north american bonding... i felt like i couldn’t unleash my full fanboy self bcuz we had an unexplainable bro bond now
after the event itself, much like for tenimyu, we had to wait our block’s turn to get out of our seats for miokuri. while waiting for my turn, an older lady came up to me and started talking to me in english, asking me where i was from, if i liked tourabu, if i’d go see take me out, saying her friend & her saw me earlier and thought i was cute, thanking me for coming, etc. now, i’m not going to assume anything, but spi did make a joke at the start of the event asking if there were mothers in the room (said lady cheered), and i also know for a fact that spi’s mother is an english teacher... hmmm...
afterwards, i got to meet spi! he handed each of us a rose since it was valentine’s day, which i thought was absolutely adorable i was getting ready to ask 英語でいいですか？ before saying anything in english, just in case, but he was the one who super excitedly started talking to me in english, asking me where i was from & all!! we talked for a surprisingly long while considering it was just a miokuri! i was really happy... i also went WOW YOU’RE SO TALL I’M SURPRISED bcuz i’m never prepared for anyone that isn’t an inui to tower over me
02.16 MONONOFU
i went into this show excited to see so many of my favorites gorgeous boys, notably tsune (2nd atobe), kubohide (2nd niou), arayan (2nd inui), kent (3rd shinji) & sugie (2nd yuuji). since i didn’t particularly enjoy or understand the previous titles of this franchise which i had seen on DVD, my expectations for anything other than eye candy were fairly low. i ended up pleasantly surprised, as a fan of japanese history & the bakumatsu era in particular! this segment of the story covered the shinsengumi’s fall, with kondo isami’s execution & okita soji’s death at the hands of illness. i actually ended up crying along with everyone else in the theater, the actors’ performance & dramatic staging allowing a really emotional, honest & down-to-earth portrayal of a story we all love so much.
and of course, tsune was incredibly hot and kubohide really does look like that and arayan is so cool and kent is ridiculously handsome and sugie is a charismatic angel. but everyone was really fantastic! i knew ryosuke from kamen rider ghost, but his portrayal of okita really touched me. i also thought it was super cool how katsura’s actor was a legit kabuki actor! so impressive to watch!
02.17 NOSTALGIC WONDERLAND
oh this show. THIS!! SHOW!! you guys!! this was undoubtedly one of my favorite things i’ve ever seen on a japanese stage!! okay, i might be a little biased because i’m a really big fan & collector of all things 60s~90s, but really!! this was just a bundle of joy, nothing but singing & dancing & casual talk segments between the actors.
the story here is actually pretty funny. i initially didn’t get a ticket for this, thinking “okay this would be fun but i already saw miura (3rd atobe), ikumin (3rd oshitari) & masa (1st niou) in person and i’m not supposed to spend money on anyone other than seigaku anyways”. then my love for miura amplified tenfolds. then my friend was like hey i have an extra ticket. then i was like i shouldn’t. then i watched shinken ranbu sai. then my love for miura amplified even further. then i was like okay please. i need that ticket. then my friend is like okay sure here is a pic of your ticket btw! and i see. the words. “Guest: Yata Yusuke”. written on the ticket. i have never been so happy to have ever decided to go see a show.
so, yes. i had the chance to watch yata (7th fuji) perform in person. he sang Open Arms by Journey, which was an absolute delight. a song i love and a voice i adore. i actually found myself crying while listening to his singing. listen... y’all know how much i love 7th cast. this meant a lot.
during the talk segment, miura was extremely excited to introduce yata, and is so jumpy, happy & clingy near him! it’s adorable! these two have been senpai & kouhai before miura’s days in tenimyu and continue to work together to this day. yata, in classic 7th fashion, was incredibly entertaining & hilarious in all of his crude honesty and lack of fucks. notably just saying “i don’t know these guys” about everyone who wasn’t miura, ikumin, masa & utsumi (2nd saeki), being absolutely exasperated and lacking in any efforts when asked to do cute fanservice, and also getting upset at masa for talking so much instead of letting him sing his solo. beautiful.
but my favorite moment was when miura exposed ikumin as a being a huge fan of yata! saying he always sings yata’s tenimyu songs when they karaoke! ikumin was incredibly flustered, but he confirmed this and straight up said “yata’s fuji is the best”. he then proceeded to kneel on the floor and reinterpret yata’s boku wa kawaru from VS shitenhoji for at least half a minute. i was howling with laughter, i can’t believe this was even allowed to happen?? where is the tennis police?? (too scared of miura and a 7th, probably.)
back to the actual show! they performed a wonderful variety of our songs, from The Karpenters to Blondie to Elvis and the Backstreet Boys as the great finale. absolutely incredible content. we all know the range of singing and/or dancing talent from our tenimyu boys, but the other actors were also really incredible singers, one is a trained ballet dancer as well, and another could play a wind instrument! sheer talent all around. miura & the other dancer, rui, had a contemporary dance number together, a very sensual one at that!!
there was also a lot of fanservice & audience interaction! and of course, i wound up with an alley seat. let’s start smoothly. i got a wink from masa when he stopped at our row during the final number!! and a big smile from ikumin during his solo!!
but what still has me *ahem* Shook to this day... is miura. yeah. during his solo — a cover of Venus by Frankie Avalon — he walked thru the alleys, doing cute fanservice with a few audience members, up until he stopped right in front of our row. i was smiling so widely from 50% happiness & 50% nervosity, and then he ended up looking right at me. held out his hand towards me. and smiled so beautifully as he continued singing. i think my heart actually stopped beating in that moment. and my hands were still shaking by the end of the show. i’m fine. yeah. uh huh
YUUGEKI: Stylish Ghost Entertainment is an original stage play that tells the story of dead members of a crime syndicate trying to find closure with their loved ones and also stop hell from unleashing on the world of the living. it features an all-star cast that you’ll know from A to Z if you’re familiar with tenimyu, toumyu & kuromyu. Slick fashion, heart-thumping action scenes, well-timed humor, a surprisingly intricate story made incredibly emotional by the portrayal of bittersweetly beautiful relationships between the characters and fantastic acting by boys we all know & love made yuugeki my favorite japanese stage production of 2017.
As of such, I really wanted to buy & share this DVD with everyone! It would make me really happy if you could give it a shot, and if you enjoy it, then please support the production so we can maybe hopefully get sequels!!
→ Buy the DVD on Amazon, no matter where you live in the world!
NOTES
◖Big thanks to @lungberg/meteoryte for ripping my DVD because i don’t have a computer nor a brain
◖ Feel free to send me an ask or hit me up on twitter if you have any questions regarding the production or the plot!!
◖If you want to share the download link with someone, PLEASE LINK BACK TO THIS POST, not just the mega link.
◖Please DON’T REUPLOAD this ANYWHERE, especially not streaming sites.
on shonichi, hirata (4th kaidoh) & makita (4th momo) went to see tenimyu’s VS higa, and bumped into basshi (4th inui) as well! here’s the three of them with their successors.
hirata, as per his habit, wrote an entire essay about the experience. it’s a beautiful read, but i’d mostly like to share this excerpt:
yuichiro_hirata 牧島くんの海堂は
色気があってとても素敵でした。
足がとても綺麗でした。笑。
makishima-kun’s kaidoh had amazingly nice sex appeal.
and his feet were also very beautiful. LOL.
as you have probably all heard by now, seigaku 9th will be graduating this spring, after the VS higa run. this has allowed them to only do 3 main shows over 1.5 years. this is the shortest run any seigaku team has ever done, aside from seigaku 3rd, who also only played in 3 story shows & 1 dream live.
it feels unfair, and i’m worried they’ll have trouble making their place in the industry after seeing how difficult things are for 8th cast, who already have retired members.
i have a very strong emotional attachment to this team as they were the first seigaku i saw perform in person, and i’ve met & talked to almost every single one of them... so this is proving much more difficult than previous graduations (even if 4th & 7th are my favorites...)
but knowing this, i’ll make sure to enjoy VS higa to the fullest. i’m heartbroken, but honored that i will at least get the chance to see seigaku 9th perform together in person for a few more times before they graduate.
thank you for supporting seigaku 9th throughout their very short career in tenimyu. let’s continue cheering for them until the end & beyond!
