Samurai 7 report 1
omg, you guys.
The Samurai 7 play.
*___________________*
...I don't know what all to say right now. Just wow.
I'll write a full review of the play itself when I get back to Aomori tomorrow evening, but now please have some non-spoilery notes about the show in general.
I went to the senshuuraku show this afternoon at 3PM. I arrived a bit early (around 1:45), and was maybe the 10th person in the theatre (I was the first to hand in my present - I wrote a congrats card for Masa! XD) when the doors opened at 2. I rushed up to the goods counter & bought myself a Kyuuzou towel & the play program first, then stood around the lobby waiting until 2:30 when they opened the inside doors.
Walking into the theatre itself was amazing. The stage is round (and completely awesome cause it moves around like crazy!) and as I walked down the steps to my seat, I just kept thinking 'omg, how close am I?!' I realized once I got to my seat that in Koma Theatre speech 8th row actually means 6th row! Everyone around me just kept saying "chikai, sugoi chikai" over & over. :DDDDD Anyway, it was another 30 mins until the curtain rose, so I settled in & chatted with the lady next to me, who didn't know any of the actors but was a fan of the series itself. I shared with her my love of Masa and, come intermission, the first thing she said to me was "Kyuuzou, kakkoii!" XD
Because it was senshuuraku, the play lasted about 20 mins longer than it was supposed to. I also have no idea which parts of the show I saw were not included in the normal shows, but I'm pretty sure Masa in a Dragonball costume was one of them. XD;; I totally got "kamehameha'd" by Dragonball!Kyuuzou - he looked right at me & pointed his hands at me!
I'll type up the run-through of the show tomorrow, since I don't really have time right now, but be warned that there will be spoilers for the entire Samurai 7 series in it, as the play covered everything. Please don't complain if you're spoiled. There were quite a bit of differences in the play, so I want to talk about them~
Wah, if Kyuuzou hadn't already been my favorite character, damn. Masa was complete & total love in that role. My god, Masa with short blonde hair & two swords. *___*
Oh, and don't pay attention to the promo pics - during the show itself, they all had the anime hairstyles.
Senshuuraku speeches at the end: They went from youngest to oldest with the samurai. Shinotani (Katsushirou) was first & he was so nervous - his face was completely red when he was finished). Masa (Kyuuzou) was second, and his thanks was very short. Ryuuji (Shichirouji) went third - he was very enthusiastic. ^^;; After him was Razor Ramon (Kikuchiyo), who mentioned that it was a very different role than Hard Gay, and of course he did the "Fuuu~!" thing. Finally, it was Takahashi Hiroki (Gorobei), Kida Tsuyoshi (Heihachi), and lastly Katou Masaya (Kanbei).
Gorobei did puns the whole time, and for some reason they chose Moriyama Eiji (Hyougo) to be the announcer/whatever at the beginning, intermission, and end of the play. I always hated Hyougo, but Moriyama Eiji made me kind of like him. (>___<)
After the play, I went back to the goods counter & bought a Kyuuzou tank top & a Kyuuzou charm thing. It's complete coincidence that 3 of the 4 items I bought feature Masa's character... >___> I'll post pics tomorrow.
Last for now... When Masa mentioned in his blog that we needed to take tissues, I wonder if he meant for the sad scenes or for the ungodly amount of smoke used during the play. I did almost cry at one point (this is your fault, Masa!), but my eyes were clouding over nearly the whole time from the smoke machines. In one scene, the "dead" people on the stage were completely invisible with the smoke pouring out of the stage.
Wow, that was full of randomness. Forgive me, my mind is still in shock from having actually seen the play and from me being only about 20 feet or so from Masa~ XD
To be continued tomorrow....
Edit:
The Koma Theatre, where the play was held.
Promotional posters on the side of the theatre.
My purchases - Kyuuzou towel, Kyuuzou tank top, Kyuuzou charm, play pamphlet, & the three freebies I got (Tessai & Hyougo pins and a cardboard tin with chibi samurai). I was hoping they'd have photosets for sale (I even thought of what theme they could have for each photo - promotional costume, actual play costume, & two out-of-costume poses), but no. Looks like everyone will have to wait until the DVD & photobook come out in February to see the guys (& girls) in regular costume.
The Samurai 7 play.
*___________________*
...I don't know what all to say right now. Just wow.
I'll write a full review of the play itself when I get back to Aomori tomorrow evening, but now please have some non-spoilery notes about the show in general.
I went to the senshuuraku show this afternoon at 3PM. I arrived a bit early (around 1:45), and was maybe the 10th person in the theatre (I was the first to hand in my present - I wrote a congrats card for Masa! XD) when the doors opened at 2. I rushed up to the goods counter & bought myself a Kyuuzou towel & the play program first, then stood around the lobby waiting until 2:30 when they opened the inside doors.
Walking into the theatre itself was amazing. The stage is round (and completely awesome cause it moves around like crazy!) and as I walked down the steps to my seat, I just kept thinking 'omg, how close am I?!' I realized once I got to my seat that in Koma Theatre speech 8th row actually means 6th row! Everyone around me just kept saying "chikai, sugoi chikai" over & over. :DDDDD Anyway, it was another 30 mins until the curtain rose, so I settled in & chatted with the lady next to me, who didn't know any of the actors but was a fan of the series itself. I shared with her my love of Masa and, come intermission, the first thing she said to me was "Kyuuzou, kakkoii!" XD
Because it was senshuuraku, the play lasted about 20 mins longer than it was supposed to. I also have no idea which parts of the show I saw were not included in the normal shows, but I'm pretty sure Masa in a Dragonball costume was one of them. XD;; I totally got "kamehameha'd" by Dragonball!Kyuuzou - he looked right at me & pointed his hands at me!
I'll type up the run-through of the show tomorrow, since I don't really have time right now, but be warned that there will be spoilers for the entire Samurai 7 series in it, as the play covered everything. Please don't complain if you're spoiled. There were quite a bit of differences in the play, so I want to talk about them~
Wah, if Kyuuzou hadn't already been my favorite character, damn. Masa was complete & total love in that role. My god, Masa with short blonde hair & two swords. *___*
Oh, and don't pay attention to the promo pics - during the show itself, they all had the anime hairstyles.
Senshuuraku speeches at the end: They went from youngest to oldest with the samurai. Shinotani (Katsushirou) was first & he was so nervous - his face was completely red when he was finished). Masa (Kyuuzou) was second, and his thanks was very short. Ryuuji (Shichirouji) went third - he was very enthusiastic. ^^;; After him was Razor Ramon (Kikuchiyo), who mentioned that it was a very different role than Hard Gay, and of course he did the "Fuuu~!" thing. Finally, it was Takahashi Hiroki (Gorobei), Kida Tsuyoshi (Heihachi), and lastly Katou Masaya (Kanbei).
Gorobei did puns the whole time, and for some reason they chose Moriyama Eiji (Hyougo) to be the announcer/whatever at the beginning, intermission, and end of the play. I always hated Hyougo, but Moriyama Eiji made me kind of like him. (>___<)
After the play, I went back to the goods counter & bought a Kyuuzou tank top & a Kyuuzou charm thing. It's complete coincidence that 3 of the 4 items I bought feature Masa's character... >___> I'll post pics tomorrow.
Last for now... When Masa mentioned in his blog that we needed to take tissues, I wonder if he meant for the sad scenes or for the ungodly amount of smoke used during the play. I did almost cry at one point (this is your fault, Masa!), but my eyes were clouding over nearly the whole time from the smoke machines. In one scene, the "dead" people on the stage were completely invisible with the smoke pouring out of the stage.
Wow, that was full of randomness. Forgive me, my mind is still in shock from having actually seen the play and from me being only about 20 feet or so from Masa~ XD
To be continued tomorrow....
Edit:
The Koma Theatre, where the play was held.
Promotional posters on the side of the theatre.
My purchases - Kyuuzou towel, Kyuuzou tank top, Kyuuzou charm, play pamphlet, & the three freebies I got (Tessai & Hyougo pins and a cardboard tin with chibi samurai). I was hoping they'd have photosets for sale (I even thought of what theme they could have for each photo - promotional costume, actual play costume, & two out-of-costume poses), but no. Looks like everyone will have to wait until the DVD & photobook come out in February to see the guys (& girls) in regular costume.