Berubara 89 Snow

[flower_ballet]

I was confirmed in my suspicion that I have a weak, weak, weak spot for Berubara. I love it to bits. With all its glitter and melodramatics. Every single marzipan dress and weird hair-style

Comments

[bwinter]

I very much regretted lack of Oscar and Alain interaction in this production too, and Miyuki was my favourite :) I think it's that I'm less invested in the 2006 production, but I liked the fact that Rosalie here wasn't musumeyaku. Same as Oscar, who really rang true to the manga and anime; wonderful as Komu is, her Oscar is icier than the original.

(And hey, Ichiro was a ken-8 nibante here ;) There's a reason they kept her as one for so long, to let her mature.)

[flower_ballet]

I think it's that I'm less invested in the 2006 production, but I liked the fact that Rosalie here wasn't musumeyaku.

I will have to address this comment, because Rosalie is my favourite character from the manga (and no, not only because Maachan played her ;) and the misunderstanding and dislike I often experience other Berubara fans show towards her, has made me very, very invested in exploring her portrayal and motivations.

I think the basic fault with Ayu's characterisation of her is, as you point out, that she isn't musumeyaku. There's nothing wrong with musumeyaku interpreting characters differently from the musumeyaku norm (I love Mireille in Silver Wolf 2005 for this very reason), but it has to be because it's true to character. Rosalie, if anything, is the very embodiment of musumeyaku if you ask me. She's gentle, soft-spoken, emotional, dedicated, empathetic and sweet. Everything that I associate with classic musumeyaku portrayal. Thus, the issue for me, with Ayu!Rosalie, is that - with a character that is so incarnated

[bwinter]

I think we'll have to agree to disagree about Rosalie. For me all the tragedies in her past are enough to drive the sweetest girl to the edge of madness; in TV-tropes language, she embodies "Break the Cutie", and in the anime especially I liked the fact her journey is about going from that brink back to a whole and happy existence. For me, the harshness of Ayu's portrayal is a valid dramatic choice, just as - to switch shows - the dozen-plus valid interpretations of Death that I've seen personally, from Shirotan's lost young soul to Ichiro's icy warlord and Máté Kamarás's predatory trickster-demon

[polina_slosvau]

From what we know of Rosalie's canon characterisation, Ayu's version sounds terrible. >_< It's an odd choice, I think, to portray Rosalie without all that innocent gentleness. I mean sure, she's fierce with a knife, but she's still made of 99 percent velvety sweetness.

I'm looking forward to watching this with you. OMG, Jeanne... XD Ooooh, and I think I might actually like Ichiro in this performance, seeing as I'm not overly fond of her usual otokoyaku!type. That'll be interesting.

[gentileschi]

It may be long but I enjoyed reading this. I'm very curious about the older BeruBaras but as I didn't enjoy the more recent ones I'm a little hesitant to spend money on it. Knowing that the ladies get more stage time in this show tempts me a lot, though!

Also, I would pretty much have the same reaction to Nishina Yuri as you XD

[flower_ballet]

My first Berubara was Snow 2006 and I have always loved it, lame Pegasus pony and all. XD That said, I think that 89 Snow was truer to the original story-development, although - unfortunately - not as true to character portrayal. I guess you simply can't have it all. ;_;