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tsukkinode · 6 years

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Cosmania 2018: Ino Hiroki and Asuma Kousuke Fan Meet Report

Hello! I’m back with a new fan report, and it’s from the recent Cosmania 2018 in the Philippines where Hiroki and Kousuke came as special guests! It was a pretty fun and wild(?) fan meeting, so I hope you enjoy my report!

Note: I know that a lot of fan reports have emerged from Twitter, but I would appreciate it if you would link back to this post if you ever decide to share any parts from this post. This is ging to be as detailed as possible esp the talk part. Thank you!

I also have a Ko-fi account, so if you ever want to give me some coffee, I’ll be grateful!

The MC introduced both of them with their respectful 2.5D roles, and the screams were really loud without them appearing yet. They entered from the center of the stage, as the backdrop display splits into two. Hiroki is wearing a dark navy suit with a black shirt underneath, while Kousuke is wearing a light brown suit with a white shirt underneath. They both look so handsome in person! We were lucky to be seated on the fourth row near the stage!

Hiroki and Kousuke greeted the fans to the front! Hiroki greeted everyone in English along with a “Mabuhay!” Kousuke mentioned how he’s finally in the Philippines. (Fun fact: I got a Hiroki calendar from a friend, and the friend with me used it as a signage. We decided to use the July page bc it’s a very sexy one. Hiroki couldn’t help but laugh to himself bc there were at least 3 Hiroki calendars in those pages waving at him lol I love my friends. He was looking at us when he laughed, it’s so precious XD)

The first part is a talk event where the MC asks questions, and they basically have to answer them. (Stylistic note: Anything that’s italicized is spoken in English.)

Q: How did you start as an actor?

Hiroki: Oh. Alright, I’m gonna start talking (Fans started screaming when he started talking in English, and he said that we’ll probably like it if he does speak in English)... So, when I was 15, I worked in Harajuku and I was scouted by a manager. But at first, I was not interested in being an actor... Oh, sorry! Okay, in Japanese!

Everyone was laughing because he really did his best but he gave up midway. He wanted to probably answer it properly.

Hiroki: In my very first stage play, during the curtain call, I could properly see everyone’s face. From then on, that’s when I started getting interested in acting so I decided to become an actor.

When it was Kousuke’s turn and he started talking, fans were so loud. He really has a lot of fans here in the Philippines.

Kousuke: As for me, I was introduced into the entertainment scene by my friend.

MC: I think it’s fate that they have met several people into becoming actors, and now they’re here with us!

Hiroki: Right! That’s it!

(Please stop Hiroki, he’s too cool and funny in this panel.)

Q: We understand acting is not easy. What are the challenges you faced as an actor?

Hiroki: It actually varies on the characters you get as an actor like you could be required to know sword fighting. And there, we actually have to study those skills.

Kousuke: For me... Well, as I’ve been into different 2.5D production, with every single character that differs, you have to keep studying the (original) work and so every day there’s a challenge you face. But right now! It’s (the character) Jollibee.

Right after he mentioned Jollibee, everybody just lost it. I did too because that’s too extra of him to say tbh.

Hiroki: Do you want to try (acting it)?

Kousuke: Jollibee?

HIS FACE WHEN HIROKI SUGGESTED THAT. Seriously, Hiroki is so good with this adlib thing, Kousuke looked like he wasn’t prepared for it. But anyway, Kousuke went in front to try doing Jollibee. What he did is he’s like doing this holding a tray thing and serving it in a cute way. XD

MC: Is that Jollibee?

Fans were screaming, “Noooo!” and were disagreeing.

Hiroki: Where’s Jollibee? XD

Kousuke turned to Hiroki while laughing bc he got so shy and embarrassed. Suddenly, the fans were asking for Hiroki’s turn to show his Jollibee. Fan went, “Hiroki! Hiroki!” along with Kousuke. So when Hiroki went in front, he just did this cute pose and went, “This is! Jollibee Spaghetti!” And the whole audience went wild and cheering for him!

Hiroki: Is this Jollibee? (The fans said yes!)

Hiroki, looking/pointing at Kousuke: I’m Jollibee, you’re not. XD

Kousuke looked so dejected though. Both of them are so cute in that segment.

Q: Which character you portrayed is your favorite?

Hiroki: I know you want to, you want, ehh... (He gets flustered here bc of his pause and the fans were just cheering him on XD) Okay, okay! What you want to is... Koushi Sugawara? (Fans: Yesssss!) I know, I know. But the question is difficult for me because it’s like, “Hey, who’s your favorite, your mother or father?” So yeah, it’s hard because I can’t choose.

(My friend and I were like, “Awww that’s so sweet” lol)

MC: Everyone is your favorite.

Hiroki: Yeah! Hmm yeah!

(This is just me, but it’s weird for the MC to ask the audience if we accept that... Of course, we do lol what are you saying)

Kousuke: Uhm, well... it’s Haikyuu’s Oikawa Tooru.

The fans just went screaming (seriously though, Oikawa’s a fan favorite, and a lot of PH fans became his fans bc of Oikawa). The MC asked if we can hear his “Yaho!”

Kousuke went to the front and went, “Yaho, Tobio-chan!” The screams were louder than usual, and then some started chanting, “Iwa-chan!” Kousuke didn’t understand it at first, until Hiroki told him (without the mic) to say Iwa-chan too. And so he did that too!

Q: What was your happiest moment as an actor?

Hiroki: It makes me the happiest when I get to see everyone laughing or crying because of stage plays. (Hiroki does these crying motions too, and he was just so adorable).

Kousuke: Well, I feel just the same as Hiroki, but also from getting into Haisute, I get to be in different amazing stage plays. And the fact that I am here in the Philippines. How do you say this... I’m very grateful for everything.

Q: What advice do you have for people aiming to be an actor?

Hiroki: So... Actors cannot be alone. You’re here, and we’re here.

Tbh, I got what he meant by this. He said this in English and I went, “Awwww. Holy crap, I want to cry.” Hiroki said it in Japanese to his interpreter which she basically said the same thing, “If not for you, they won’t be here.” With an addition of “Never forget that feeling of gratitude towards your fans.”

Kousuke: For me... Well, I know everyone’s aiming for it, but we won’t know when we would be debuting exactly. Until then, I think it’s important that we keep studying and improving ourselves so we can be much more prepared for it. That’s what I want to share.

From here, questions are asked from the audience.

Q: What future roles would you want to be in?

Hiroki: I wanna be a prime minister! President! Or Spider-Man!

Kousuke: I’ve said this earlier, but it’s Jollibee! A 2.5D version of Jollibee!

Good heavens, you don’t know how much we laughed at this part bc it ended up as Hiroki and Kosuke arguing about Jollibee. XD

Hiroki: Hey, you said Jollibee is me?!

Kousuke: I’m gonna steal it from you!

Q: For Asuma-san, have you every adlibed on stage? If so, how did you execute it?

Kousuke: Adlib... a little. I’m bad at it.

The audience went silent, and Kousuke got so confused with the reaction, so he went, “Eh? Eh??” Hiroki saved him by saying, “They’re saying ‘ooooh’”

Kousuke: Well, so not to forget my character’s lines, I always make sure to really study them very well so I can tell them properly.

Q: For Ino-san, out of all the characters you have portrayed, whom do you relate the most, and why?

Hiroki: Uhm, Koushi Sugawara. He’s the most normal human out of all the characters I’ve played, which is like me who’s pretty much normal and doesn’t want the kouhais to steal the position from me. I think that’s how much I relate to him.

Q: What is your reaction when you were invited for an overseas event for the first time?

Hiroki: Yesterday, I was really nervous because this is my first time to be with you. But now! I am so excited to see you! Thanks to you!

Kousuke: Uhm... I was really worried that there wouldn’t be a lot of people who would come, but now, if we could make each and every one of you even a little bit happier, then... Until the end, let’s have fun with what we have today!

Second half is more of the fun stuff! The first challenge is making them speak Tagalog. Sentences were flashed on the screen and they basically have to pronounce them.

The first one is “Ako si __. Ako ay ipinaganak sa __. (I am __. I was born in __.)”

MC: Can you do it, Hiroki-san?

Hiroki: Of course!

Hiroki was actually good in pronouncing words so he was able to speak the sentences well.

Hiroki: Ako ay si... Hiroki! Ako ay ipinanganak sa... Japan! (Fans were cheering him on!) Masarap... Jolly Spaghetti!

He also asked if it was good, so the fans were satisfied and gave him an okay sign. Kousuke went up next.

Kousuke: Ako ey si... Kousuke Asuma. Ako ey pen? pen?... (Fans were teaching him by this time, shouting “ipinanganak/pinanganak) pinanganak! Sa... Japanese!

Kousuke was so cute, but because of that little mistake, fans were giving him an NG sign and telling him to try it again. He also cannot pronounce ‘ipinanganak’ well so he fumbles his words too. He did it again and he said that he was born in ‘Japanese’ until Hiroki taught him the proper word and said that Japanese is a person, Japan is the place. When Kousuke did it again, he said, “Ako ay si Kosuuke Asuma. Ako ay pinanganak sa... in Gifu!”

Second sentence is “Ang paborito kong pagkain Pinoy ay __ (My favorite Filipino food is __).” A lot of fans are actually chanting Jollibee here, but I kinda shouted adobo lol

Hiroki: Alright. Paborito kong... pagkaing Pinoy ay... adobo!... Perfect?

When it was Kousuke’s turn, I had to cheer him with ganbare!

Kousuke: Paborito kong... pegkein? Pagkain? Pinoy? Pinyoy? ay... Philippine meat! Philippine meat... Chicken, chicken.

The fans were not so convinced so he went, “I like lapu-lapu!” Which is a kind of fish in the Philippines.

The last sentence is, “Mahal ko kayo” and omg the fans were losing it lol.

Hiroki went to start, and he turned his back to us. He started this countdown, 3, 2, 1, then he went to turn to us and say, “Mahal ko kayo” in quite a sexy voice lol

Kousuke also did the same, and his countdown is in Japanese, san, ni, ichi. AND GAHD KOUSUKE WAS SO SOFT but his voice is deeper. It was so good! Both of them were so good! Thank you for the food lol

The next challenge is an improvisation game/acting challenge. They have to pick a noun they have to portray and an adjective to describe their character. Now, this is also a contest so there would be voting at the end of the challenge. The loser would have to dance. I told my friend that I hope Hiroki loses so he would have to dance.

For the first round, Hiroki picked up a cheerful gay person (it’s actually okama, but it doesn’t have a good connatation imo) while Kousuke picked up a dog that is surprised easily. Hiroki actually laughed when he first picked his paper. Funny thing is when Kousuke picked up ‘dog’, he went back to the bowl to try to change it, but he was stopped.

They have to act together too, and all I can say is... Hiroki went too all out XD Kousuke was on all-fours because he was a dog, while Hiroki started as “Oh no. It’s so hot!” And he suddenly screamed and ran after dog!Kousuke! Hiroki went, “Come on, dog!! Come on!” There was a part that he was grabbing dog!Kousuke by the pants lmao just to call him towards him.

Kousuke looked so scared of how gay!Hiroki was acting obviously. He was doing this gesture with his hands in front of him to make gay!Hiroki calm down too (he’s being too friendly with this dog lmao).

Gay!Hiroki kept trying to get dog!Kousuke’s attention and asked for his name, to which Kousuke answered, “Jollibee” lmao. Dog!Kousuke kept walking around the stage (in all-four), but Hiroki kept grabbing him (by his leg/feet). And then Hiroki called him while bringing a bottled water, “Do you want this?” Kousuke is just looking at him even though he’s scared.

Hiroki: Do you want this from my mouth?

istg I think the venue went a bit hotter during this segment. Kousuke couldn’t understand him tbh, so Hiroki told him in Japanese, and KOUSUKE’S SHOCKED FACE LMAO. So they continued with the segment, with Kousuke saying he’ll drink it. HAHA Even Hiroki didn’t expect that hah.

They were actually sitting on the floor, the bottled water placed in between them, and Hiroki suddenly went, “Do it yourself! Do it yourself!” and shoved it to Kousuke XD And then Kousuke walked away looking sad HAHAHA PLEASE STOP THIS.

Hiroki: Oh, sorry, sorry, my puppy! Puppy!

Kousuke went back to him, and then Hiroki asked him to stand up (tbh whyyyy). Kousuke did, and they were just looking at each other’s eyes, and suddenly Kousuke fell to his knees, and GOOD HEAVENS THE POSITION THEY WERE IN. Kousuke looked up to Hiroki and just akslgalkgjalkg. And then Hiroki put his hand on Kousuke’s shoulder and went, “Finished!”

Note that there were two screens on the side of the stage so we can see their faces close up. And istg it was that good, just from seeing Kousuke’s face lmao. From our seat, we can vividly see their faces, but thanks to the screen, we can see their expressions bigger lmao

Voting was done and the screams were just so loud for both of them. It was decided that they would do one more. They will have to pick another character, but there will be a change.

Hiroki: I picked a dog! Well it’s okay because I like dogs.

Kousuke: I got a drunk! (and he acted this for a bit lmao)

The setting would be in a school.

Kousuke: Going drunk in school is bad though!

Which is true lmao, but they have to act in this setting. Hiroki was also in all-four but he’s towards the back of the stage, while Kousuke was in front. And then Kousuke went moving around the stage, he even went down towards the left side almost near the audience, looking for “San Miguel”

When he went back to the stage, he saw dog!Hiroki and asked for San Miguel. “San Miguel please? San Miguel!”

Hiroki: What!? San Miguel?

Kousuke: San Miguel. Uh.. San Miguel, San Miguel! (does a drinking motion lmao)

Hiroki: What you saying?!... Hey, don’t touch the puppy! What are you talking about? DON’T TOUCH ME! Don’t touch the puppy! You don’t touch the puppy! Holy shit!

Kousuke was actually touching Hiroki the entire time on his back lmao. So when Hiroki said not to touch him, he was trying to walk away (in all-fours) but he was so cute being grumpy like that lmao

Kousuke: I... I don’t speak in English a little. Okay? Koko (here)

Hiroki: Annyeong.

Kousuke: Japanese.

Hiroki: Ni hao.

Kousuke: Japanese. I speak Japanese.

Hiroki: You speak Japanese... Ohhh. Annyeong.

Kousuke seemed to give up because Hiroki won’t speak to him in Japanese, so he kept looking for San Miguel. They have a table full of bottled water and Kousuke acted as if he found beer (San Miguel), and then he brought one to Hiroki.

Hiroki was so cute because he was just sitting there and just being such a diva puppy tbh. XD And then he put the bottled water on the floor, and then he just drank from the straw.

Hiroki: I’m a dog.

Kousuke: Dog?

Hiroki: No, a puppy. That is so cutie puppy!

Kousuke: Want to drink? Want to drink?

Hiroki: I want to drink.

And then Kousuke took the bottle and he drank from it. Of course everyone exclaimed and just lost it (bc indirect kiss lol)

Kousuke: Oh this is water! Water! No San Miguel, water!

Hiroki: IT’S MINE! PUPPY’S! THIS IS PUPPY’S!

Kousuke: Puppy’s?

Hiroki: Yeah!

Kousuke: Oh, sorry. Sorry... I didn’t know. My house? You want to come my house?

Hiroki: Your house is big?

Kousuke couldn’t understand it, so Hiroki repeated if his bag is big XD

Kousuke: Oh! Big! Yes, big!

Hiroki: Ooooh okay, I go your house!

And that’s when they end the skit. LOL. Of course, there’s also the voting. Voting started with Hiroki, and he was like “More!!” When voting started for Kousuke, Hiroki went, “booo!” In the end, Hiroki won, and Kousuke like, “No, no!!”

The punishment is dancing to MOMOLAND’S Boom Boom because it’s trending here in the Philippines. They showed the video on the screen and Kousuke was trying to follow it. He was so cute as he tried to do it. Hiroki was actually dancing along with it. Kousuke was so unprepared because they only showed the video once, and he had to dance to it already.

In the end, Hiroki also danced to it together with Kousuke. We even danced with them too. It was so nice! So it ended up as the audience are their teachers while dancing haha. Also there was this part that Hiroki is doing the Gangnam Style dance steps instead haha.

After that, we took a photo together! After the official photographer, Hiroki asked to take one from his phone too (he actually brought it with him on stage haha).

And then onto the last messages:

Hiroki: Thank you for coming today. It’s my very first time to come here so... How do you say it. I was really nervous. Just like what Kousuke said earlier, I worried if people would come. For the sake of people who came and those who have fun, I will keep doing my best as an actor. I love you all.

Kousuke: Thank you to everyone who came here today. When I get home, we’ll start with Haikyuu, so I’ll be doing my best for that. Also, with everyone’s continuous support, maybe we can return to the Philippines.... I will come back Philippines!

Hiroki: Which you like... Me and Jolly Pasta? I mean Jolly Spaghetti?

At this part, he has acctually looking at our side, and because I was motioning that I like him more than Jollibee, he saw me and went, “Me?”

I thought his question was like that, until Kousuke reacted with, “No! Me Jollibee!” And both of them were just a laughing mess.

Before they actually went off the stage, they actually went down towards the audience so we were able to see them closer! Hiroki touched some fans from the other side haha. But aah, they were really handsome and funny! Such nice people too!

I was able to meet and talk to Kousuke too because of the high touch event! He was so fun to talk to, and he got excited when I told him I will see him again for Haisute~ He also remembered me talking to him on his very first even in 2016. My request of telling him to go to the Philippines because he has a lot of fans here has come true. That time, he told he that he wants to. ;A; (Yep, I lined up more than once for the high touch event, thanks to some people! You know who you are! <3 No regrets lining up for 3 hours for the goods and getting so hungry just before the talk panel.)

I hope you enjoy this fan report! I tried to be as detailed as possible, so please direct people here instead of lifting/reposting them.

Again, my ko-fi account is also open for coffee donations! Thank you!

#asuma kousuke #ino hiroki #engeki haikyuu #haisute #hyper projection engeki haikyuu #遊馬晃祐 #猪野広樹 #my post #burimyu #bleach musical #tousute #meigeki #fanreport

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puriview · 8 years

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[OPERA] Kageki: Meiji Tokyo Renka *complete*

Kageki: Meiji Tokyo Renka in the Hakuhinkan Theater, June 5th 2016, Sunday

On Sunday, June 5th, I watched the stage musical version of Meiji Tokyo Renka (Meikoi), Meigeki for short. I went to the afternoon show at 12pm, which was a little early on in the musical’s overall run.

I came into the play having having had played maybe half an hour’s worth of the game and briefly looking at the real-life profiles of the characters on Wikipedia. As for the cast, aside from the female lead, I already knew pretty much all of the male cast members and had seen a little of their previous stage work. I didn’t know what to really expect from this production. However, I very much enjoyed it and even shed a few tears!

Since this is more of a review, I won’t go into much detail. Rather, I’ll just share a few moments and aspects of the show, as well as my comments on the cast.

In the seating area before the show, they were playing the game theme music, which gave a great feel for the show. There was also the usual “please follow the rules” announcement but it was by the voice actors from particular characters of Meikoi. Lots of fans of the game in the audience got a kick out of it.

When I first got to my seat, I saw that the full stage was visible on appeared rather minimal. By the back, there was a small platform that ran from each end and pillars were connected to symmetrical horizontal arches. There were three screens and two draw curtains between the screens and not much else. The stage itself wasn’t very big so minimal seemed to work. Once the show started, I realized that the screens in the back were for shadows! It was quite nice and felt very old-school and Meiji-era I guess you could say. Light was projected from the back and props or the cast were used to form the shadows. It created the scenery and highlighted certain people. I thought it was great. I felt like a lot of simple light-work was used during this production because of it. I particularly loved the colors they chose to light up the stage. There were really pretty shades of green, purple, blue, and pink.

I really enjoyed how the start of the show really reflected the short time I played the game where it showed Charlie, played by Asato Yuya, drawing Mei, played by Aoki Shion, to take part in his magic trick. This trick, having been done during the night of a red moon, resulted in Mei suddenly finding herself in Tokyo during the Meiji Era. I really liked how I realized that Charlie tells us that we’re in the Shimbashi area of Tokyo. I laughed to myself because before I was grumbling about how this venue was all the way in Shimbashi/Ginza. The venue suited the musical perfectly!

It was a lot of crazy fun when all of the characters came together to welcome this strange, new girl to their era. The interaction the main historical guys had with each other was really cute. My favorite pair was Kawakami Otojirou (Asuma Kousuke) and Izumi Kyoka (Akazawa Tomoru). Asuma was constantly calling out to Kyoka like “Kyoka-chaaaaaan”. It reminded me a lot of how Asuma’s Oikawa (Haikyuu stage) would say “Iwa-chaaaaaan”. Asuma spent half the stage time chasing and find his ways to grab and grope at Tomoru. Twice, Asuma would take Tomoru in his arms and they’d be chest-to-chest. Tomoru would desperately try to separate himself but Asuma always managed to whisper into Tomoru’s ear before breaking his hold. It was so cute.

Then there was Fujita Gorou (Yoshioka Yu) and Koizumi Yakumo (Shiozaki Airu). Airu’s character seemed to always be creeping behind Yu, like the guy was his inspiration or something. Yu would always turn around and attempt to cut poor Airu with his sword. Airu would somehow save himself by using his book to block the blade. While Airu’s Yakumo seemed to be annoying Yu’s Fujita, their relationship was like a mutual need to annoy and be annoyed, haha.

One of my favorite parts, which appeared to be a daily adlib section, was when the group goes out to eat! In my show, it was Airu and Asuma, dressed in geisha attire, who had to ARM WRESTLE.The LOSER had to eat some nasty-looking stuff. A part of me had little confidence in Asuma winning against the older Airu especially after seeing the series of Haikyuu stage arm-wrestling rounds. The two of them braced against the table and the fight began. Airu was very vocal during this part. Asuma was putting up quite a fight cause it made Airu struggle so hard in his chair it caused the chair to slide back away from him. Well, I don’t know if it’s from Asuma’s own strength or Airu’s chair failing on him, but Asuma was the winner! I don’t know what Airu was forced to eat but it definitely didn’t sound good. The prize Asuma got for winning was taking on a solo! He sang and danced around Airu to add more hurt to his loss.

I think my absolute favorite part was when Mei suddenly came across Araki. Shirtless. Well, naked. But mostly shirtless. Araki’s character went behind one of the screens so all we saw was his silhouette. He started to strip down but really only just un-doing the top part of his kimono. Araki’s shadow made him look even skinnier, haha. Then, poor Mei came in behind the screen too and was shocked to see the shirtless Araki. Of course, Araki seemed to love it. So much so that his character broke out into song! Next, several of the other cast members who were wearing white masks over their eyes (which signified that they’re just like the stage-hands) came in with cloth over poles. With those poles, when Araki emerged from behind the screens, they had to quickly cover up Araki to continue the assumption that he was really naked. Araki danced about here and there. I remember one part where Asuma couldn’t quite follow Araki and really exposed him cause Asuma couldn’t catch up, haha.A bit of spoiler now, but I didn’t expect to tear up as much as I did during these particular scenes. By this time, Shion discovered that Shouhei was losing his vision. She desperately tried to search all over the city for this black cat that Shouhei wants to paint. He promised her that she would be the first one to see the painting once it’s completed. She also knows that it wouldn’t be long until she needs to return to her own time. Shouhei fights through the pain in his eyes to finish the painting. A lot of frustration and tension build as time starts running out for the both of them. The most touching scene for me was when Araki find a letter or diary that Shouhei wrote. In song, Araki reads the message. Shouhei knows that it wouldn’t be long until he loses his sight and will no longer be able to paint. But the fact that he will lose his vision isn’t what scares him the most. The thought of not seeing Mei’s face again is the scariest thing of all for him. He had come to realize how much he loves Mei. I loved this scene overall. Araki’s singing and Shouhei’s kind of interpretive dancing in the background along with the meaning of the letter. I teared up a lot. This is one of the scenes I feel like I could watch over and over.

There were two more scenes, or I guess a long string of scenes, that followed the same sentiment and really got the crowd crying. The day for Mei to return to her own time finally came. Mei and Shouhei have to say their last goodbyes. At this point, Mei had already come to her decision not stay in the Meiji era because her mother still needs her in her own time period. But, she would never forget her experience in Meiji, meeting the people she did, and her feelings for Shouhei. Shouhei then reveals that he was finally able to complete his painting; Shunsou’s famous ‘Black Cat’ painting. Shouhei kind of expresses how he couldn’t have finished it without her. I think it was in this scene where Shouhei asks Mei if he could look at her face for the last time before she leaves and to remember it forever.

Charlie, played by Asato Yuya, appears to escort Mei back to her time. Mei is very hesitant and recalls her feelings for Shouhei. She then begs Asato to give her even just a little bit more time. He grants her the request which allows Shouhei to quickly get to her and, to his relief, shows her another painting. He unveils it to be a portrait of Mei, which at this point, gets a lot of the audience sniffling and wiping their tears. I’m pretty sure I saw the shoulders of the lady in front of me trembling. I got kind of caught up in the motion of everyone else and my own tears fell. I’m pretty weak like that. There was a lot of great emotion on stage from the two of them. Very bittersweet as Shouhei and Mei share their first and last kiss before, under the red moon, magic separates the two of them.

I left the theater very satisfied and thankful I was able to watch it. The characters were enjoyable, music was fun, humor was fun, and romance was just right for me. There was a BIG part of the plot that involved Tomoru’s character and the character of Snow White and some big dragon spirit that left me VERY CONFUSED too. I wonder if there’s anyone who has played the game that can fill me in. My brain kind of shuts down when I don’t understand something so I don’t remember much of that part… sorry! Aside from that, the connection between Shouhei and Mei left the biggest impression on me in the end.

A little side on the music, I found it very interesting how the music style seemed to change according to each character. Shiozaki Airu’s character’s solo stood out a lot to me because of the style it had. I felt like it reflected the character’s ‘non-Japanese’ aspect in a fun way! Airu was very entertaining as well. The main musical opening, which was the same as the ending I think, was also great! I’m looking forward to hearing that song again.

Also a small production note that I mentioned before. The other cast members, when it wasn’t their character’s scene, acted as ensemble or stage-hands. They wore these masks that covered around their eyes as a way to show that they’re not as their characters. I’ve seen it before but I’m glad that practice was used in this musical.Now for a few comments on each actor and actress!

Hashimoto Shouhei as Hishida Shunsou Can I say… Shunsou reminded me a lot of his Hakuouki Saito Hajime. The outfit, personality, and Shouhei. But, it’s hard to dislike that! (My Hajime-bias is speaking X3) I thought it was cute how Shouhei made Shunsou super excited about CATS. There was a big musical number all about his love for cats! Personally, I often can’t get past Shouhei’s rather nasal voice but it didn’t take away from any of his acting. I’m not the biggest fan of Shouhei’s singing from what I’ve seen before and it’s pretty much the same in MeiGeki’s case. Still, not bad at all! Actually, I rather enjoyed Shouhei’s dancing for some reason. Overall, Shouhei won me over during the final parting scenes.

Aoki Shion as Ayazuki Mei When I first saw Shion, in and out of character, I thought she was really pretty and cute! Her Mei was just as cute too! What I enjoyed the most was Shion’s singing voice as well. It was really pleasant to listen to. Her way of expressing her emotions through her voice was wonderful too, especially since the view from my seat gave me limited access to see her face all the time. However, I thought her smile when she faced the audience was just as bright as it needed to be me to see. I think Aoki Shion was very likeable on and off stage too. I watched the Meigeki niconico broadcast and she’s an adorable person too.

Araki Hirofumi as Mori Ougai Arayan never disappoints me at all. I felt like I saw a little bit of Arayan’s very playful personality through his portrayal of Ougai. I felt like it was easy to see that he was having fun with the character as well. Araki’s singing was very good as usual, in my opinion, especially that scene I mentioned above. He really made me love Mori Ougai, whom I came into the show not really caring about. Ougai was like everyone’s wise aunt, haha.

Asuma Kousuke as Kawakami Otojirou Confession! Asuma was the main reason I decided to come and watch this production! So, during the show I couldn’t help but be very focused on Asuma Kousuke for a lot of the time. I really grew to like this guy, for much superficial reasons, from the Hyper Engeki Production Haikyu!! stage play. Asuma was quite inexperienced to the stage world so I was very interested to see him in another production. I was most eager to hear how he would fare when it came to singing. Asuma’s singing… he could use a little more practice. I was hoping maybe this volleyball star with the pretty face also had a hidden knack for singing. Maybe not as much as I hoped. BUT, don’t get me wrong. It wasn’t like he was terrible or painful to the ears anything, haha. It was just lower than what I had hoped for. But, what I was pleasantly surprised about was Asuma’s dancing. I guess movement is more his thing! I wish his movements when he was in his geisha outfit was a little more graceful. There was a lot about Asuma’s Otoujirou that reminded me of Oikawa as well. I don’t know if Otoujirou is actually as Oikawa-like but that’s how he came across to me. In my head, I also couldn’t help but try to picture how Asuma would play as Burimyu’s Gin. I can totally see Asuma a pretty good Gin. There were moments when he’d have a squinty-eyed grin and that was enough to convince me somehow, haha. Anyway, I enjoyed Asuma’s performance! Compared to his role in Haisute, with as much main stage time that he had, I was impressed. I’m looking forward to following Asuma further.

Akazawa Tomoru as Izumi Kyoka Tomorun was really adorable especially when it came to his rabbit and his interactions with Asuma, as I mentioned above. There was one scene, which I think was a wardrobe/prop malfunction, where Tomorun fell to his hands and knees but the rabbit kept falling off his shoulder. He tried putting it back but it wouldn’t stay and he just went with it. It got lots of chuckles from the crowd. I wonder if it was intentional or not, haha. I think this was the latest thing I’ve watched Tomoru in since Tenimyu so it was interesting to hear him sing again. Not my favorite voice and probably a step up from Asuma’s level, in my opinion. He had quite a big part for the darker side of the plot that dealt with Snow White and a dragon. I’m still not sure… but overall he was good to see on stage.Shiozaki Airu as Koizumi Yakumo

Airu is such a fun guy who played a fun character. I loved Airu’s random English words in his lines and his big gestures. I can’t recall if his character had much use in the overall plot but he was great comedy relief to me at least. His solo song was great. Actually, Airu was the cast member who had the daily curtain call comment at the end of the show. (I just realized that I had Airu as the daily comment when I watched Daiya the Stage II, haha.) I think, when not in character, he’s a man of few words judging from how short his talk was at the end.

Yoshioka Yuu as Fujita Gorou It took me the half hour before the show to Wiki these characters and to realize that Fujita Gorou is essentially Saito Hajime! That kind of got me excited, haha. Anyway, I really like Yuu’s voice so whenever he spoke or sang with that voice of his, I was lost in it. He looked great in the uniform too though I wasn’t a fan of the long hair the character had. There were a few instances I could see Yuu fling it back behind him, which I found to be cute. A part of me wondered if he could get more roles with swords because he seemed like good with it.

Asato Yuya as Charlie From the short time I played the game and even just the visual, Charlie was my favorite character and I thought Asato did a great job. Even though the way Asato spoke was different than the voice of Charlie in the game, I felt like it suited him well. I was also very, very impressed with Asato’s singing voice. I had never heard the guy sing before but his voice was one of the ones I was most eager to hear if there was a musical number with him involved. He was also quite funny in the scene that called for his humor. I really enjoyed Asato’s role here a lot.

Kurose Chizuko as Snow White I guess you can say that Kurose was like an ensemble member for the most part. But, she contributed her beautiful singing and dancing so much to the stage. She had a few lines as the restaurant staff and as Mei’s mother. She had a lot of behind-the-screen work to do too. I believe Kurose was one of the last members to join the cast and the production benefited a lot from it, I think.

To close this up, I enjoyed a lot of what I could understand of this production. I even went and pre-ordered the DVD right after seeing it. The cast was pretty well chosen for the most part too! I’m looking forward to see the DVD, which I hope is of the final performance, because I’m eager to see any improvements, changes, and the same scenes afterwards. Even without having had played the game, I think you can enjoy this musical. I personally think doing a quick read-up on the general history of the real people the male characters are based on could help though. I hope I didn’t mix up too many things drastically and sorry for missing out on almost half of the main plot. I was surprised how drawn into the romance part I was. (Kinda romance…? They couldn’t end up together anyway, haha.)

This ended up being A LOT LONGER than I expected. Hope anyone reading kinda enjoyed this? If anyone wants to have a little discussion or have comments or questions about this, feel free to drop me an ask or message!

#kageki meikoi #kageki meiki tokyo renka #meiji tokyo renka #meikoi #meigeki

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