2018.07.02 Lucky Dog Saien [Review]
Official Site here Official Twitter here Official Online Shop here Other Goods here DVD? Wasn’t announced this time around... Previous DVD here
CAST and CHARACTERS
Domoto Shohei as Gian/Jan Carlo Sugie Masahiro as Bernardo Ortholani Yamauchi Keisuke as Luchino Gregoretti Terumi as Guilio Di Bondone Sato Shinsuke as Ivan Fiore Maniwa Ryosuke as Bakshi Christensen Tsubochi Satoru as Jornese Asakura Yusuke as David Ensemble: Kaku Ryouna, Hashimoto Keita, Funabashi Hiroki, Sendo Yura, Shimoda Junki, Shimizu Hiroki
You can read the ShoEn/First Run Review here. But for the most part of this review, I’m just going to write what was changed and what I enjoyed, rather than a full ‘review’ style post. I think this time around I would change my rating to an 8 or 8.5 out of 10!
PRE-SHOW/SET
☆On my way to theatre, I noticed so many girls with blonde or pink or coloured hair and/or bright outfits and I immediately knew they were all coming to Lucky Stage. I stoodd out so much just because I was the most plain looking and plain dressed xD
☆They added a row Z smack in the middle of the theatre which proves just how sold out this damn stage was! How could you sell out so much that you even magically make an extra, previously non-existent row, and even that sells out and you have no Toujitsuken for most of the days?! I think that is phenominal, especially for a 'smaller' play disregarding huge series' like TouStage and TouMyu and Naruto etc. I am so proud they even sold out SantaMall Theatre!!
☆BUUT I’m annoyed we couldn’t reserve the damn CD! It wasn't being released until the Saturday's performances but I went the Monday... I wanted the CD! Why didn't they let us, who could only go to the Before-Saturday shows, reserve?! It made me sad.
☆The staging and set design is much better and bigger this time around! We have actual doors at the middle and back of the stage, instead of that underground rotating thing we had last time which was super annoying. So with these doors, it made it much easier and much quieter to switch the set behind them. Other than the big door change, it looked like it was set up the same way as last time too! But with there being scene changes, some of the later sets were either slightly different looking, change the set completely from last time or completely got rid of a set (change) for that scene.
THE SHOW
I'll try and be as chronological as I can be! The story and the scenes are all in the same order as the first run of the show was and there wasn't any big changes to the story either. But here are things I loved seeing again or enjoyed more this time around or were new higawaris (daily changes) and such.
☆When Ivan masturbated in the opening scene (again), instead of being lead down in the jail cell, this time he was standing against a wall. When he caught the rest of them watching, he ran towards them and then he wiped his ‘remains’ on Jan and Domoto yelled so loud over the music ‘TSUITA!!!! It’s on me!!!!’. I was absolutely dying of laughter!
☆Ivan did his three skits again towards the beginning of the stage when he's talking alone with Jan (just before a group meeting), and then got Jan involved but Domoto turned it on him and ordered ‘ippatsu gag! (meaning something like 'a one line joke')’ so Ivan shamelessly said ‘Bang bang bang, Ore ni bang! (Bang, bang, bang. Bang me!)’.
☆After the first group meeting, Ivan is hot headed so went to storm out, but Bernardo is like ‘the exit is the other way’ and Ivan yells ‘I KNOW!’ and turned around and went the right way. It was very well timed and very funny -- I don't think this was in the First Run.
☆I think it was also during this first group meeting when Ivan talks about Jan's gayness and how Ivan isn't gay unlike everyone else; suddenly all the Ensemble cast came on stage and into the meeting room, sitting on Bernado and such, and tried to entice Ivan！And one guy slapped his bare butt at Ivan. Oh my, I was dying!!
☆Speaking of the Ensemble cast, they were absolutely GOLD again, doing all the different roles like inmates and polite, gang members, civilians etc.
☆I am super happy that they brought back the Chinese worker character and them pretending not to know Japanese until the end and another member translating his Chinese again!
☆Also we got the Forcing Bernardo to eat scene again. This time he was just like ‘mmmm...mm....mmmm mmmm.....mmmm mmmm’ and Domoto was giggling because Bernado really couldn't talk; he had too much in his mouth xD
☆There was a change in the Lucino and Jan scene. Instead of it being in Lucino's bedroom this time and Jan finding the ring under the pillow and explaining about what happened; this time it took place in the normal meeting room and it's much later in the stage now when the explanation about his wife and child come out. But one thing in this scene that got us all was that towards the end of this scene, Lucino is cleaning up and putting the guns and such away, but Lucino got his bloody tie stuck in the briefcase! It was obviously by accidentally because he just casually commented ‘I’ve trapped my tie!!’ and he took so long to unlock the briefcase, take the tie out and lock it again. Jan had already walked off stage and then realised what had happened and that it was taking longer than it should've, so he came back on stage like ‘are you not ready yet?!?!’ which was a nice touch.
☆I have a note here from a moment of: ‘Just listen to me!’ ‘-Ok’ I'm pretty sure it's after Ivan has another of his hissy fits and Jan yells at him and very (like a child getting told off) just agrees. Shame I can't remember because it clearly stuck with me after the show that night...
☆Another part is just before Jan explains the big and final plan to everyone (that leads to the climax fight of the stage), and Ivan walks out (at the beginning of this scene) on stage, notices the one spotlight on his side of the stage, and is like ‘wtf the fuck?’. He then stands in it and straightens his shirt and tries to look his best. It gave us all giggles.
☆AND it's during this final big meeting, where Jan forgets to tell Ivan his role in the plan, Jan’s like ‘oh.... I forgot about you! So you’ll be.... the Secret leader!’ And Ivan got all happy and was smiling out to the audience. This was also in the First Run but getting to enjoy and like Ivan more this time, I appreciated and loved this scene all the more this time around.
☆Speaking of appreciation, I really really enjoyed and understood the characters all the more this time around! Which led me to crying so many more times this time around too!
I got a lot more attached to Lucino this time so I was crying during all his 'past' scenes and when the story of his wife and child came out etc.
I really really felt like I understood Giulio more this time around; the first time, he just seemed to be cray out of know where which a sprinkle of backstory, but this time around you could see more of him trying to obey his father (or at least I understood and catched on quicker and more this time around with him development and backstory) and stuck between doing back things out of fear of wanting to please his father; wanting to stay a child because that's when he's most happy and feels more safe; and to stay one Jan and co's side because they accept him for who he is, even though he'd tried to hide this abused and cray side from them all this time. I really, really got a lot more upset during the Giulio attacking Jan scene this time and just cried so hard. But then in later scenes I was crying for Giulio because of what he has to deal and put up with etc. I also love how even though he's gone through all this shit, he's still able to have his childish and cute moments -- but that could be due to part-mentalising the bad so he can have an innocent and okay side.
AND, it's clearly obvious how much I love Ivan and ridiculous comedy beause of how much I've written about him here already!
And finally we have Bakshi who I AM IN LOVE WITH!! Absolutely in love! He ended up being my favourite character at the end of the First Run too but seeing him again, really clarified my love for him. I think he's absolutely great! But I did notice and realise this time around that he has a lot less stage time than I had remembered. BUT nevertheless! When he was on stage... it was great!!! I also realise this time around that he says stuff like 'Zokuzoku (translating to: thrilling or feeling creepy or shuddering etc)' which is exactly the same thing that Shiki from Dance with Devils says so it makes total sense as to why I ended up falling for Bakshi in the first place! I think he's great and such a little shit! I really hope that IF they do a second stage, they'll put his route in and we can see him and Jan get together *please!!*
☆For this Re-Run, we had a different ending for each character that is romantically involved with Jan. The day I went, I got Jan x Giulio's ending. It was super cute! It started with Giulio sat on the stairs picking the petals off a flower going 'He likes me... he hates me... he likes me... he hates me... like... like... like, like, like, likelikelikelikelike..' which was very funny and then Jan quietly came on stage asking Giulio what he was doing. It ended with Giulio feeling bad that he hurt Jan but Jan's like, 'it's okay, because I'll protect you,' and ends with them kissing.
☆It’s been a while since I’ve heard such an enthusiastic round of applause that just wouldn’t stop in the flesh. It felt so good hearing it and I bet they felt great hearing it too!
FINAL THOUGHTS
Argh it was so gooooood!!!! I cried so much more this time around!!!! I forgot how much I loved some characters and how funny some moments are!!!! I also got to appreciate some characters much more this time and it really is a good story, great characters, great action. It’s very good and deserves all the sold-outness that it got! Also I love what they added!!!!
I really, really hope we get a second installment, with the same cast and that we get more Bakshi and maybe even a Bakshi route!! PLEASE!!!
*
GOODS
