Ok, back home, ready to report.
Theater1010 is super tiny, on the top floor of a department building. There were a couple of posters up on the 11th floor and a goods table. I’ll make a separate post about the goods.
The stage was very simple, just a few moving pieces. You can see it in all the digest clips. The show opens with Hohoemi no Bakudan, during which each of the main 4 gets to show off their fighting skills twice. I really loved how they did Kuwabara’s flaming swords and Kurama’s rose whip, unfortunately they are on stage for maaaaybe 1 minute and these weapons never appear again.
From this point on, we pause/play through nearly the whole Spirit Detective Saga, with some odd jumps in the middle— because while introducing Kuwabara’s and Yusuke’s friendship, Koenma also decides to show us how Hiei and Kurama met, leading to a stage adaptation of Two Shots happening within episodes 1-4. (Side note: Hiei and Kurama’s actors are AMAZING sword fighters.) It’s a jam-packed hour and jumps around a lot, which I think would be confusing if you are not a fan of the series. Act 1 ends with Yusuke coming back to life. (I quite loved what they did with Keiko rushing to Yusuke’s side, as it was more dancing than running.)
While I suppose it’s just as many episodes covered, Act 2 feels more linear and like the story they WANTED to tell on stage, which is the Three Monsters mini arc. I enjoyed how they did it. Also, due to limited actors, the little boy Yusuke saved also gets to be Goki’s victim. XD When he comes ‘round again after having his soul returned, he demands Yusuke to do his stupid dance again. It was really funny.
Again, things continue as they do in the series, with occasional pausing and commentary by Koenma & one more comment from Genkai (who does such unnecessary cartwheels onto the stage as her entry, it’s so out of character?). What’s a little strange is that Goki then enters the “present day” in what is very much George’s role? That probably doesn’t make sense when I type it, but you’ll see soon enough!
After the Three Monsters story, we jump over the Genkai Tournament arc entirely, and end up outside Maze Castle. It’s the first time you get to see them as a team and it made me tear up. We don’t get to enter the castle together, as Koenma comes on stage and says, “You can see what makes them strong... well, that’s all we can show today!”
Which... in my opinion, fell a little flat. I would have like Koenma to outwardly state, “Friendship is their greatest tool” or something. It’s also a speech he says only to the audience. Genkai, who had been asking, isn’t even on stage. In fact, Genkai is completely wasted in this show. I don’t know why they bothered casting her. She has less stage time than Maya and doesn’t add anything to the plot. She doesn’t get to take off the mask until curtain call. I’m not kidding, it’s like... maybe 3 minutes in total of Genkai...
THAT (and Act 1 pacing) ASIDE
It was a nice adaption of the first few episodes. I could tell how much everyone loved their roles and I was really impressed by the fighting.* I’m so, so glad I was able to watch it and I can’t wait for everyone to see the NicoNico broadcast.
*During Hiei & Yusuke’s fight, when Kurama launches himself in front of Yusuke to protect him, one of the 3 of them botched it and Kurama got stabbed in the thigh instead of the stomach so then Hiroki, bless him, did the rest of the scene as if that were the actual injury, limping valiantly around stage.
