In the wildest but most welcome way, Takarazuka just announced today the realease in VOD of their Castlevania adaptation on BeyondLive with subtitles in several languages, starting today !! (More specifically, their Symphony of the Night adaptation with a few references to other parts of the game lore)
Considering the first and last time Takarazuka put a show on BeyondLive for international audience was 2 years ago for their James Bond show this is like,,,, insane (positive).
There's also no way of knowing how recurring that thing will be so please, if you've ever been a fan or just curious about Takarazuka and/or Castlevania, give this a try, it's so damn worth it 🙏
To go straight into purchasing it, it's right here.
Here are some details about the show and cast fans compiled on the Takarazuka fandom wiki.
And if you want an idea of what the show looks like, here's lead playing Alucard and current Top Star of the Flower Troupe talking about it with english subs ❤️
Happy viewing and Happy Christmas ig ??
Love when Gringos, specially from north America approach the Bolsonaro trial with "I can't believe Brazil has more democracy than us" like we're a bunch of savages with no laws and it's somehow surprising to see Brazil jailing a man who attempted a coup.
It just shows you see Latinos like they're somehow less civilized than yourself, really and it's not the compliment you think it is
Did you know Brazil has set chairs for black people to study in college or get jobs in the public sphere? Did you know Brazil have the biggest universal healthcare system in the world? Did you know we have solid labor laws in place? Did you know gay marriage has been legalized since 2009, 5 years before it was legalized in USA? Did you know we have social name in place since 2016 so trans people can be called by their chosen names before they change it legally? Did you know we have free universities and colleges that are considered the best ones in the country? Of course not because all you guys think when you think about Brazil is gangs, drug smuggling and getting robbed because y'all think that all of Latino america is some kind of criminal paradise
Brazil went through a dictatorship backed by USA from 64 to 85. A lot of our problems nowadays happened because of that, and USAmericans have the gall to think were less civlized than then from a lack of our own instead of being systematically killed, oppressed and taken advantage of
I subbed Casino Royale, and I'd like to think I did a better job than the official livestream subs. This is not a subtle script - Koike is certainly no Masatsuka. It was relatively fast and easy for me to translate but I'm honestly not sure it's better with subs. The dialogue is mainly for infodumping (plus jokes) and the same basic plot points are repeated over and over. I don't know why they keep giving Koike these two-acts! An exercise in economical writing would be good for him. He's had some luck with really strong source material such as Elisabeth, Casablanca and Great Gatsby. Of his original works, Seal of Roses is the best, and certainly not for the subtle plot. Casino Royale is like that - a fun, swashbuckling adventure showing off Yurika in sharp suits instead of Rika in velvet and high boots. Besides general Yurika swagger the highlights are the cool dances and fight scenes. Throwing Romanovs, student revolts, a mad Nazi scientist and a bunch of taidan-worthy references to other Yurika shows into it seems to be in the spirit of the Bond universe so why not. They missed the opportunity to give a more interesting role as Vesper to Kano, but that would have been a very different and sadder taidan show. The dolphin love is too much but I guess we're free to interpret it as just Bond's cheesy pickup lines riffing on Delphine's name. To be fair it might count as the zuka equivalent of giving Bond girls corny pornstar names.
The subs are timed for the DVD and can be found here.
I finally finished translating Shime's memoirs! I've been working on this on and (mostly) off for years, not because it's particularly long or difficult, simply because other things got in the way. This is from the days when siennes were commissioned by external publishers to write their memoirs and Hankyu's control over media output was apparently less strict. Don't miss it - Shime is hilarious and larger than life and quite eccentric and it's also an interesting piece of Japanese cultural history. My translation can't do justice to her use of vernacular and dialect or typographical accents like katakana, hearts and other symbols. There are usually copies at takarazuka-an so please get one if you'd like to practice Japanese and have fun in the process.
I scanned a selection of the images illustrating it. The cover illustration by Saito Minako is a very good likeness with simple means.
i was watching some stuff and i saw THIS. takane fubuki giving ichiro maki a flower. i literally had to pause the video and breathe deeply for a second.......
I’ve seen a lot of Castlevania fans express interest in the currently running Takarazuka Castlevania musical and wondering whether or not it would get a pro shot, so I thought I’d jump in and write up a little guide on how to get your hands on the upcoming home video release of Takarazuka Castlevania.
Now, Takarazuka is unusual in that its parent company, Hankyu, is extremely aggressive about piracy and protecting its copyright. The company regularly trawls through YouTube and other social media websites to take down content, and they have deliberately made their livestreams increasingly harder to access in response. This can make it feel like getting your hands on Takarazuka is really difficult and, if you’re used to Japanese companies that are friendlier, it’s definitely a bit of a fan culture shock!
However, it’s actually not difficult at all. Purchasing a Takarazuka Blu-ray or DVD from outside of Japan is a straightforward process. You just have to know what, when, and where.
What to Buy
Takarazuka releases the vast majority of their shows on physical media. All of their shows staged in the Takarazuka Grand Theater and the Tokyo Takarazuka Theater (hereafter “a GT show”) receive a physical media release on both Blu-ray and DVD.*
The main distinction between the two is the video quality, price, and special features:
A GT Blu-ray costs 11,000 yen and includes rehearsal footage as well as Star Angles, which are special cuts of scenes focused on certain performers. In the case of Castlevania, the Star Angles will focus on the performers playing Alucard, Maria, and Richter.†
A GT DVD costs 8,800 yen and contains no special features.‡
Both are region-free but neither includes subtitles of any kind, not even Japanese.
The physical media release will include Castlevania, the one-act musical, as well as Ai, Love Revue!, a separate musical revue with no connection to Castlevania. While Takarazuka does stage two-act musicals, the combination of a ninety-minute one act play with an hour long musical revue is classically Takarazuka. This particular revue repeats some classic numbers from Takarazuka’s past, so it’s a good introduction to what Takarazuka is all about!
When to Buy
Takarazuka physical media releases try to drop fast. A GT show is usually filmed during its run in the Takarazuka Grand Theater (before it moves to the Tokyo Takarazuka Theater) and released during the Tokyo Takarazuka Theater run. Usually is the key word here; I’ve received at least one Takarazuka Blu-ray before the final performance in Tokyo, but others can get delayed, likely due to copyright negotiations.§ Given that Konami is directly involved with the production, I don’t have any concerns about copyright or delays.
Based on recent GT show announcements and releases, I would expect to hear the release schedule announcement during the break between runs (7/21 to 8/15) and the Blu-ray/DVD to release late in the Tokyo run (8/16 to 9/28). So I’d estimate finding out in August that it’s releasing sometime in September.
Where to Buy
Once the Blu-ray/DVD has been announced, you’ll find it available for international purchase on the following websites:
cdjapan.jp
CDJapan always carries new Takarazuka products, offers multiple shipping options, often has coupons, and allows you to pre-order items. This is predominantly what I use and I can personally recommend it.
Yesasia.com
Yesasia carries new Takarazuka products, offers coupons, and offers free shipping. Takarazuka Blu-ray/DVDs will be noted as “Japan version,” but remember, they’re region-free. I have no experience with this website, so I can’t vouch for it personally.
TakaAn
TakaAn is a shop focusing on Takarazuka (but also other theatrical troupes) in Japan that offers overseas orders via email.
Amazon.co.jp
Amazon.co.jp used to regularly stock new Takarazuka products, but less so lately. Still, worth checking.
Secondhand Stores
Secondhand copies of Takarazuka Blu-ray/DVDs crop up on websites like Suruga-ya and Mercari from time to time. Suruga-ya is easy to use, has a wide selection of items, and often offers coupons, while Mercari has a proxy service (Buyee) built in to help you purchase items from overseas. Both are dependent on availability, but are a great way to save some money! (Just make sure the shipping and proxy fees aren’t wiping out the money you save!)
Where to Find Out More
I hope this helps out some Castlevania fans in their quest, since I know Takarazuka can be a little opaque. If the new musical has gotten you interested in Takarazuka, feel free to check out this So You’re New to Takarazuka post and this primer on the Sumire Code. Takarazuka's got a bit of a learning curve, but it’s a wonderful (and very sparkly) hobby!
* In Takarazuka, the distinction is between GT shows and small theater shows. One of the five Takarazuka troupes performs a GT show (with the full troupe) and then will split for the small theater shows, with half of the troupe in one show and the other half in another, performing in venues outside of the Takarazuka Grand Theater and Tokyo Takarazuka Theater. This allows people who are not the Top Star of their troupe to get leads. These smaller scale shows often receive home video release on Blu-ray, but whether or not it does is based on the internal ranking of the star within Takarazuka (Top Stars always do, but baby’s first lead, not so much). So while not every Takarazuka show gets a home video release, the vast majority do.
† Flower Troupe/Hanagumi’s Top Star Towaki Sea, the Top Musumeyaku Hoshizora Misaki, and the nibante, Seino Asuka, respectively.
‡ In the pre-Blu-ray era, DVDs not only included the Blu-ray special features, but additional features (like digests for any switch cast roles, documentary features), and came on two discs.
§ There are some shows that are never released on home video for copyright reasons, usually imported musicals with very complicated licensing agreements (like Big Fish). This hasn’t happened to a GT show in decades and is usually kept to small theater shows, if at all.
Nile: You would not believe how long term you have to mismanage agriculture on my banks to start experiencing soil depletion. I will always be here for you Egypt.
Huang He: *kicks in the door* FUCK YOUR DYNASTY IT'S FAMINE TIME!!!
I took two semesters of Chinese history in college. The first thing the professor started with was “getting to know the rivers, Yangtze and the Yellow Rivers. You need to know them because they will play very important roles in the history of China. The Yangtze has been crucial to trade, movement, culture and more. The Yellow river, the Yellow River can’t be trusted as you will repeatedly see.”
If you got stuck on a question during a test or whatever you could start with “the Yellow river jumped the banks causing instability and chaos that quickly spread” and would be correct more times than you would be incorrect.
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