I just wanted to give a plug for Quaint-Twilight's review of the first three plays on her Dreamwidth journal. I think the entry is public? Personally, I happen to 100% agree with her analysis of the acting (based on the first two plays; I haven't seen the third).
Tue, Sep. 5, 2017 - 6:11am
#1
Quaint-Twilight's Review of First Three Plays
Thanks for sharing this here! I agree with most of what was said as well.
I've also been thinking of writing to Tomita! It might be fun if some of us in this forum were able to collaborate on that somehow.
Thanks for the plug, Arwen! One thing I wanted to add regarding the extra features on the DVDs, which is not so much a criticism as a personal preference, is that I'm just a little disappointed there isn't more serious discussion on how they went about conceptualizing the source material for a stage play.
That's not to say that I didn't enjoy the amusing and funny bits in the extras - some of the "after talk" segments are hilarious (like Hayashi Shuuji's major blunder with names in the second play OMG) - but I wouldn't have mind more of the cast's analysis/opinions about their characters and their approach to the roles (kind of like the interviews we got from Seki and Hayami in the OVA DVDs).
//Endless Blaze//My DW//
I totally agree on Aramaki-Naoe - when I first saw the 1st play on DVD it made me very upset, then I kind of got used to him, and he did improve over time (also, watching him on stage from the back row kind of helps with the overall impression :) I did like Nagahide and Kousaka, though.
Tomita in the 3rd play's last installment is stunning - I highly recommend buying the 3rd DVD just to see this one. Again, at first I thought him just okay - good fit, but not a genious actor. I still think he's not a genious actor, but he did a temendously good job. I haven't seen him in other roles, anywhere, but this must be his best performance yet. The short play itself is very well written, kudos to Kuwabara. Story-wise it revolves around Naoe, but the focal point is Kagetora's monologue, so it's actually all about him. This whole story was written for it - and for Tomita, I believe. So, get the DVD :)
One thing I really like about these Showa prequels, which surprised me, is the Nobunaga-Kagetora conflict.
Yes, surprisingly and delightfully we now have a Nobunaga-Kagetora, and a Nobunaga-Haruie :) It gets more developed as the series progresses. In vol.5 Nobunaga was pushing Haruie to the floor in a very Naoe-like manner :) With Kagetora it's basically the conflict of similarities that hate the fact that they are similar. For Kagetora Nobunaga is a "darkness within", repulsive, because it's a darkness, but strangely attractive, because he can relate. For Nobunaga (though we haven't heard his thoughts on the matter yet, just observed his actions) I guess Kagetora is a "light within", hateful, because Nobunaga is also attracted, which makes him feel vulnerable. They should've just tried to be friends :)
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Hi Katinka, I'm so envious you got to experience the play live! I think Tomita hasn't really had many opportunities to stretch his acting muscle, judging from his stage credits, so the character of Kagetora could be one of the more dynamic characters he has played so far. I find him very emotionally as well as vocally expressive actually and I think he has a lot of potential if given the right role to shine in. Really curious about some of his other works.
I almost kind of wished they hadn't skipped over so many of the Showa volumes because I definitely want to see more of the impact that Kuchiki-Kase have on the Nobunaga-Kagetora relationship in the plays. The Nobunaga-Haruie you mentioned is interesting though (just from reading Yonakidori alone - yes, I need to find time read the rest of the Showa prequels) I had the impression that while Haruie was certainly upset, Kagetora was far more badly affected by Kuchiki becoming Nobunaga.
//Endless Blaze//My DW//
I find him very emotionally as well as vocally expressive actually and I think he has a lot of potential if given the right role to shine in.
I agree, he’s got loads of potential, hopefully Kagetora’s role will open some doors for him to higher acting world, where the muscle can be further stretched :) I’ll be looking forward to that, because nothing in his list of works so far sparks my interest, even a tiny bit. If you get to watching any of it, please share your thoughts (Maybe I’m gravely mistaken and there are some hidden gems there? Who knows :)
I almost kind of wished they hadn't skipped over so many of the Showa volumes because I definitely want to see more of the impact that Kuchiki-Kase have on the Nobunaga-Kagetora relationship in the plays.
Well, skipping is inevitable, otherwise it would take them 10 years to get to the end of Showa – Tomita would grow old :) The biggest one is yet to come, and I’m worried about that – there’s a lot of character development in 4-5 alone, which is one story arc, and I haven’t even read 6-7 yet. They will have to restructure a lot if they want it all to make sense… I hope they know what they’re doing.
As far as Nobunaga-Kagetora relationship goes – yes, you’ll have to read the books for that. The subtleties haven’t made their way to the stage so far, and I doubt they ever will. 仕方ない, as Japanese would say :) NaoKage need all the stage time they can get.
You’ve mentioned Kaiko-hen on stage – and now I can’t stop thinking about it :) I would love to see it so-o much. Yes, Kaiko should be easier to adapt – it’s shorter, there’s no explicit sex scenes, and Tomita might just have enough time to pull off Kurata, if they hurry up. Although it’s a bit of a stretch – Kurata, if my memory serves me, was 19.
Main series though – no way. I would love to see that on stage too, but they will have to recast. There’s no way Tomita can play Takaya. And I think I heard or read somewhere that Kuwabara herself was opposed to staging the main series. She might have changed her mind… I hope she changed her mind, and I hope they are making enough money off it, because this show must go on :)
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