disclaimer: i do not know the original source material so my opinions are solely for the drama/stage!
SOMEYAN/SEKORYO
i have two major reasons why i wanted to see this stage in person and they are: 1) someya, and 2) sekoryo.
my first 2.5D in 2015 was pedasute. i made this tumblr acc during my yowapeda era; hence, the username arakita yasutomo(e). i love all the stage play’s cast members, but three of them became part of my trinity, namely: szk hrk, myzk shuuto, and someya. he is my nyan nyan :3 i’ve consumed things i wouldn’t have if not for him.
then in 2023, i watched my first super sentai show, zenkaiger, and met sekoryo’s stacey. i’ve alr seen him in hypsute as ramuda before that and liked his performance but stacey is Such A Little Meow Meow, i started thinking of him as My Son. i have a stacey nui and it’s one of my most prized possessions. i take it to almost everywhere with me. when people ask who that doll is, i introduce it as my child.
being a fan of both, imagine my excitement when it was announced that they have a project together🥲 even just that had alr felt unreal to me btw, so i definitely, definitely had to take the chance and see them on stage! my og nyan nyan and sekonyan! two birds with one scone ! and it was so damn worth it😭 they are so good. i cried a lot👍
(not that anyone cares but) my fit and nails that day were inspired by saketoba btw:
VENUE
it was at shinagawa club ex and it was a rotating stage. the place was pretty intimate? it’s a circular theater and i was at the last row of group E’s first floor seating but i was only about three or four(?) meters away from the stage??? there was a pillar on my left side and an empty seat on my right, then a small staircase separating me from the other person on my row (my seat marked by a croissant below).
ngl, i thought it was a bad position bc it’s wayyy off the sides but i was able to see the expressions on their faces while they had their backs to the center so it wasn’t bad at all. bonus bc i could lean on the pillar to my left and not bother anyone while readjusting my sitting (AND i was slightly more able to cry freely than if i had seatmates). there were times where some things were hard to see but it was still very enjoyable. i like this venue a lot. (made me wonder that if i was able to see solliev0 there in person, would i have cried?🤨 bc i didnt cry for solliev0 since i loveeee how it ended😂)
anyway, the stage play didn’t have a break/intermission! it was just one heartbreaking story after the other for 100 intense minutes, and honestly i like this pacing a lot more than the drama’s? can i be honest and say i found the drama pacing a bit… weird,,, i’m so glad they made it a drama-to-stage show bc someya and konishi eito felt much more contained in the drama than in the stage play. they truly shone on stage oughdgdg
there was a moment during the opening where the “door” was facing me and someya was on the other side glaring at it. i was within his line of sight so it Felt like he was glaring At Me ! and i got intimidated! i shyly looked away!😂😭 but it was a magical moment for me. i received a glare from one of my favorite actors 11 out of 10 experience👍
AFTERTALK
i was still SOBBING when they started the aftertalk so i honestly cannot even remember much abt what they talked about but the one thing i do remember is when someya finished introducing himself, he said to introduce themselves in the order of cuteness and konishi eito very cutely raised his hand INSTANTLY and said, “hai!”😭
it was his last day of performing as a 25 year old too🥲 they had a birthday surprise on january 21,,, wc is sad. i should have gone on the 21st as well. but also, i dont think i can handle watching this show in person more than once and be mentally fine. i need to be able to sob in private for my next watch. unfortunately, dm/m is such a good gatekeeper and it won’t accept my payment even with vpn so i couldn’t buy the stream <////3
(SPOILERS BELOW)
so to me, the stage play showed FOUR DIFFERENT TYPES OF LOVE:
het (with a side siblingship)
yuri (*sisromance)
mother and child
yaoi (bromance)
*unfortunately, the mangaka only called it a sisromance based on their reply on this tweet
i won’t go into the details of the first two much but i liked the yuri/yaoi parallels. so now, onto the two pairings i cried to the most:
MEGURU x SAKETOBA
saketoba was the mastermind of everything! i honestly think saketoba stole the show😂 and it’s not bc of the bias but bc it was all in his plans. none of it would have happened if he wasn’t scheming behind the scenes. in the end, i think he wanted to be defeated. he wanted to help the main pairing. he helped them do that by means of provocation.
at one point, munechika asked saketoba what his goals are and saketoba just ominously said, “meow.” (sekoryo meow in real life, hell yeah👍) but that’s IT! that’s the point! he’s just a scheming little cat doing evil things bc he wants love and attention and to listen to music! and he got it in the end😭 ugh saketoba ily (and im so so so glad stacey got a mother figure who is willing to walk to hell with him in this show)
my japanese is not really conversational but if you say stuff like “as long as it’s with you, even hell would be fine.” then i’d understand AND cry hard to it. watching that scene and having to suppress my sobs was so painful.
YAGIO/OTOYA x MUNECHIKA
obviously, this pair has an insane dynamic. honestly, i was thinking their chemistry was kinda awkward but it makes sense that they do because yagio has been living in a time loop for 20 years, desperately trying to save munechika and seeing him die 48 times. meanwhile, munechika only knows yagio as this strange customer who owns that strange store selling those strange antiques. even after getting back his memories, it’s not as easy to get back into their old relationship bc there’s a big difference between them now ! in age ! strength ! maturity ! so it honestly makes sense. munechika is still a kid. yagio is now (a child living in the body of) an adult who sacrificed half his life for munechika’s life instead of actually growing up and living his.
in the drama, when yagio disappeared at the beach, his writing on the paper he left for munechika also disappeared. for the stage play, when UNREAL was breaking down and munechika can’t see yagio anymore, yagio picked up an umbrella. munechika grabbed his wrist then and said it’s okay even if he doesn’t speak or anything as long as he knows that otoya is right there. (ngl i cant remember much of the last scene bc i was hurting so bad and i couldnt sob so loudly in fright of disturbing the other guests). but point is, there was a black out and yagio was gone, the umbrella was on the floor. munechika opens a letter in his hand and he was able to read it !!! so it’s kind of like an open ending if otoya is actually gone now or if he just pretended to be so that munechika can move on and live his life. i can’t remember munechika’s final monologue (bc as i’ve said, i was sobbing so hard) but i think it was him saying it’s his turn to wait for otoya this time around.
in conclusion: i love them. munechika is a strange fellow to me, i don’t have a proper read of him, but what i DO know is that i love how yagio loves. the way yagio loves is so painfully beautiful and bittersweet. munechika may not seem to be as intense but he loves in his own way. he loves in his own “right” way and it doesn’t need to make sense to anyone but himself, and that’s exactly what otoya likes about him too.
FINAL THOUGHTS
agh, i wanna rewatch it so baddd😭😭😭 once i get to rewatch it in the comfort of my own room and with the privilege to pause and rewind, i might edit this post, but for now, these are (some of) the thoughts i can organize. it was a wonderful experience and the actors did so well. dm/m, why couldn't you cooperate with me for this one🥲
and then i went to ikebukuro after the unreal stage play! first on my agenda was:
GENAZO (at PARCO IKEBUKURO)
genazo stage play, aka my TOTGA !!!! i couldn’t buy tickets bc i got too focused on the someya/sekoryo experience😭😭😭 SUZUKI HIROKI PLEASEEEE, ONE MORE CHANCE😭 anyway, idk the main series but i watched and loved the movie. the stage is already up somewhere (pink) on the internet but i havent seen it yet. i’m sure it’s amazing tho!
as compensation for missing the chance of seeing szk hrk perform live, i went to the pop up in parco for the flyers and bought merch. i also planned on passing by sunshine theater itself but i forgot bc i’m an idiot :'DDD (also bc it was winter, it was so cold, and i was exhausted from crying after seeing unreal😔).
PANMYU EXHIBIT
i miss panmyu so much!😭 i was in japan the night of january 19 and the exhibit started on january 20 at animate ikebukuro. it was the perfect timing for me. they did it For Me. here’s to manifesting more panmyu installments (plsplsplsplspls)
(and here is j*ck's outfit,,, hfgfhghf couldn't fit them all in one shot i'm sorry???)
Lastly, a bonus SANRIO CAFE pic with Louterstella:
i odered the strawberry latte (and the matcha hello kitty donut). both tasted just fine.
if you’ve read this far, thank you so much!🤣 i hope i get to rewatch unreal someday :’)))
A mini non-spoiler review of the Pandora Hearts Musical it was SO GOOD and I’m so so so so thankful for Mochijun and the PH Musical Team for allowing overseas fans to see it, even if it’s a recording and there are no subtitles sobs
Any other overseas fan interested in seeing it still can using this link/website !!!!
It was about $30USD for me, and you get the ability to rewatch it for a week since buying your ticket from my understanding !!! It’s three hours long, and was SO worth it. You can buy tickets and watch it up until December 14th, where the archive will close entirely a week later on December 21st so take an opportunity if you can to also show support! The musical spans until just after the Cheshire Arc without any hints for the Lutwidge Arc and apparently MochiJun has eluded to interest in a second PH Musical!!! Which if we’re following the musicals spanning a little more than 20 chapters, means the Lutwidge Arc, Break’s Past Arc, and the Sablier Arc!!!!
