<b>iWeekly</b>
On March 30, the entrance to The Takarazuka Music School in Japan was crowded with more than a thousand people waiting for the admission result of a special art exam. Takarazuka Music School is the exclusive training school for actors of the Takarazuka Theater Company, and this year 1079 people signed up for the exam, the highest in seven years, but only 40 students were admitted in the end, and only 1/27 of the opportunities were available. What kind of charm is hidden in the gate of the takarazuka where these Japanese girls squeeze their heads?
In Japan, there is a saying that "there is a today in the east and a treasure trough in the west", and the reason why this music school is so eye-catching is because of the dazzling light of the Takarazuka Troupe. The Takarazuka Troupe is characterized by "all unmarried girls", and if the members of the troupe get married, they are considered to have automatically withdrawn from the troupe. The most attractive part of takarazuka theater troupe is the "Takarazuka male servant". These female actors play men in reverse, and they will seize all the time to imitate and speculate on men's every move, presenting a more handsome performance than men.
Click on the top image to watch the NHK documentary "The Legend of the Male Servant Starring Takarazuka"
Takarazuka Theater Company has a history of 102 years, and at this time it has once again become a hot topic in Japan, in large part because of their masterpiece "2.5-dimensional musical".
<b>What is a 2.5-dimensional musical, Takarazuka has something to say</b>
The practice of bringing popular anime and manga works to the stage of musical theater has been called the new genre of musical theater "2.5-dimensional musical theater". On March 21, 2015, the world's first, and currently the only, 2.5-dimensional theater for musical theaters, AiiA 2.5 Theater Tokyo, was officially put into use in Japan. As the only exclusive 2.5-dimensional musical theater in the world, this theater also has intimate glasses for foreign audiences to view subtitles in real time, and currently provides english, French, Chinese subtitles. Users can see live captions in the language of their choice from the glasses through the controller in their hands.
The 2.5-dimensional musical has been popular in Japan since last year, but in fact, this boom was set off by Takarazuka, and it has become more and more intense this year.
Ranger Sword Heart is a popular manga serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump, with a cumulative distribution of more than 59 million copies, and its anime adaptations and live-action films have been well received. Since the beginning of March, the limelight of "Ranger Sword Heart" has been contracted by the Takarazuka Troupe. Based on the original manga, the Takarazuka Troupe restored the story on stage in the form of a musical.
The anime adaptation of the musical is starring Shona Hayagi and Miyu Misaki, members of takarazuka Troupe's Yuki group. The gorgeous curtain scene on the stage and the slender swordsman were both rated by the audience as the most restorative work of the original work. Among them, the character Takeda Kanyanagi played by Cai Kaixiang is particularly eye-catching, and Takeda Kanyanagi, who is armed with a Gatling machine gun, has made a comeback battle on the stage version of "Ranger Sword Heart" compared to the appearance of the movie version. Even if you're not there in person, you can feast your eyes on the stage stills.
In fact, the original Takarazuka was just a girl singing troupe that revitalized local hot spring tourism, and in the 1970s, the opera troupe became popular because it chose to rehearse the then-popular girl comic "The Rose of Versailles", and the momentum continues to this day. So, the 1970s 2.5-dimensional musical was born on Takarazuka's stage. The play was rehearsed again every decade or so, and when the play was performed in 1991, even the Crown Prince of Japan was present to watch it. In 2006, it was re-performed to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the birth of Queen Mary Antonide, and the audience exceeded 4 million, a record high, which was also the latest performance of "The Rose of Versailles".
In the more than 100 years since the establishment of the Takarazuka Theater Company, generations of actors have reinterpreted many classic anime works, refreshing the limits of 2.5-dimensional musicals.
Reverse Referee
Lupin III
The Black Deacon
Sengoku basara
"My Handsome Butler"
Doctor Strange Black Jack
"The Earl's Thousand Gold"
Legend of the Galactic Heroes
<b>4 chances in a lifetime, not everyone can climb the threshold of Takarazuka</b>
In Japan, Takarazuka drama is an activity passed down from generation to generation, and many young people see Takarazuka for the first time in their mother's arms, and the family will watch the drama together, drink afternoon tea while discussing their favorite male servant TOP. Therefore, generations of Japanese girls are fascinated by the stage of the Takarazuka Troupe. However, takarazuka music school entrance examinations were extremely cruel.
First of all, the opportunity to enroll in Takarazuka Music School is limited. Each student has only 4 registration opportunities between the ages of 15 and 18, and once a student tried to register with another person's household registration, and was eventually disqualified. Secondly, before applying, you need to self-review, and basically meet the condition of "weight (kg) = height (cm)-120" to be able to enter the shortlist. Usually, applicants are required to pass 1 general interview, 2 skills interviews and the last 1 quality test. The content of the inspection includes dozens of aspects such as physical form, dance, vocal music, and musical theater understanding.
The 40 students who pass the exams and enter the school every year do not mean that they are on the road to stardom. After two years of high-grade school life into the Takarazuka Troupe, everyone must start from the most inconspicuous dragon suit, the stage makeup has to rely on their own research, and even various accessories and props are paid for by the members of the troupe according to the characteristics of the characters. There is a saying in Takarazuka called "ten years of male service", and the time limit required to become a qualified male service actor is ten years. Even Tenkai Yuki, known as the Takarazuka legend, took 7 years to ascend to the throne of the male top.
Takarazuka Theater Company's Top (Starring) Atsushi once mentioned: "Now that there are more and more herbivorous men in Japan, my goal is to show everyone the charm of carnivorous men, so that everyone can experience the handsomeness and sexiness of pure masculinity." ”
<b>Supplementary reading</b>
The Takarazuka Song and Dance Troupe currently has 5 groups of flowers, moons, snow, stars, and zeus, plus specialties. All performances are performed separately by each group, and not only the performance content of the drama and the cabaret show is different, but also the charm of each group can be felt.
Each group has a pair of starring groups, one is a male servant called the chief star, and the other is a chief bridesmaid with the chief star. Most of the performances are centered on the principal duo, and then incorporate the characteristics of each group member to create a unique charm.
Takarazuka Song and Dance Drama has three exclusive theaters, namely the Takarazuka Grand Theater (Hyogo Prefecture) and the Tokyo Takarazuka Theater (Tokyo), and the small-scale sub-theater "Takarazuka Bow Hall" adjacent to the Takarazuka Grand Theater, and now holds more than 900 performances a year. In addition to performing in exclusive theaters, we also actively perform in various parts of Japan and overseas, which have won a lot of popularity.