If Toumyu bring back Shinsengumi swords like sanjou, what kind of story you want?
That’s a hard question to be honest. You’re basically asking me to invent a whole storyline right now. xD
Bakumatsu Tenroden mostly focused on Yasusada’s feeling towards Okita’s illness and Nagasone’s feeling regarding Kondo’s death. (I suppose) So, if we bring the Shinsengumi swords back, I’d like to see the musical focus more on Kashu’s struggles and on the feelings of Izuminokami and Horikawa regarding Hijikata.
As far as I understand Okita basically abandoned Kashu as soon as a little piece chipped off and he couldn’t be repaired anymore. Depending on how this event passed by, that could really sting and I’m quite sure Kashu shouldn’t be unaffected by it. Really, it’s possibly the reason he’s so focused on his appearance. He’s afraid the the slightest flaw may cause him to be abandoned again. He may have acted calm in front of Yasusada in Bakumatsu, but he’s probably suffering more than he’s letting on. I’d like to see the musical explore that possibility.
At the same time we have the history of Horikawa and Izuminokami with Hijikata. The danger going down this path is that the Katsugeki anime already covered this story. So it will be hard to create something original, but it shouldn’t be impossible I suppose.
If we ignore all the personal drama, imagine the group is send to the Bakumatsu era again to protect history. Due to a turn of fate they run into the Shinsengumi and the only way to not get themselves imprisoned, killed, or worse, to have the truth about themselves be revealed, they are forced to pretend they came to Kyoto to join the Shinsengumi. (Even though that absolutely goes against the rules of no interaction with former masters. Oh well, team Mihotose did it too…) Constantly afraid they’ll be found out, they try whatever they can to get away from the Shinsengumi (by possibly trying to fake their death in battle, but never succeeding in it, because Kondo, Okita or Hijikata are too close by). Moreover, they actually can’t leave because the History Retrograde Army still poses a constant threat. (And if they desert and get caught, they’ll have to commit suicide.) So, they are forced to stick around in the Shinsengumi headquarters. As more and more of the Shinsengumi members start to notice the odd similarities between the Touken Danshi and Kondo, Hijikata and Okita, they’ll try to deny this by forcing themselves to act out of character. Imagine the awkward situation this could cause! Also, we obviously have the problem with the names. Wouldn’t it be fun to have, for example, Kashu react to his name, while Okita was actually talking about his sword? xD Okita: “Sometimes I just don’t know what to do with Kashu. He isn’t an easy to handle.”Kashu: “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to cause you any trouble.”Okita: “What?”Kashu: “What?Okita: “…….”Kashu: “…….”…this kind of situation plays out more natural in Japanese though, because instead of saying “he”or “she” a person’s name is often used.
Anyway, to add some drama, we could have one of the Touken Danshi (Izuminokami perhaps) fall under suspicion of being a spy of the enemy (because he’s just not very subtle) and then it’s up to the others to convince Kondo, Hijikata and Okita they’re just seeing ghosts. If we’d like to add even more drama, Horikawa will fall under suspicion too due to his attempts to clear Izuminokami’s name and eventually, to prove his loyalty to the Shinsengumi, he’ll be forced to kill Izuminokami… Now, imagine more frantic attempts of the guys to find a way to fake kill someone. xD
And while all this happens, we can of course include the deep talk between Kashu and Okita. And with Izuminokami and Horikawa under suspicion I’m sure some personal Hijikata drama can be included too.
It’ll probably turn into one big Kiwame training for all of them at the same time. ^o^
Good, there you have it! That’s one of the things I’d like to see!
