An introduction

[yukinojou]

I'm Beth. I've been interested in Takarazuka since 2006, and currently I have a decent collection of media, as well as memories of a trip to Japan to see the shows for myself in summer 2009.

My favourite troupe is Snow, and my One and Only is Ichiro Maki. The name of this journal comes from her role in the Takarazuka version of Yukinojou no Henge; depending on the kanji, it can also mean "snow girl".

I like small shows. I like meta-commentary. I like the TakaWiki a whole lot, because it's a godssend for people with very (very) limited knowledge of Japanese. (I'm working on it. I don't have as much time for it as I'd like.)

There is a glossary here, for terms you may not know (trust me, I'm learning new ones all the while as well). There are reviews, and fangirling, and links. Everything else is in bwinter, my primary journal - Takarazuka is by far not the only interest of mine and I thought it better to separate those ramblings from other things.

Comments

[velithya]

Hello! I thought I would say hi rather than just add you in silence :)
I was reading the comments on _leareth's most recent post where she talked about people's DW accounts, and randomly poking them, and then I saw yours was a Takarazuka journal. I have a couple of friends who are Takarazuka fans and I went to a show last year when I was in Japan and it was pretty awesome! I'm not really in the fandom fandom (if that makes sense) and I don't really know anything other that "wheee that was really cool christ that's hot" but I like reading about things :)

[yukinojou]

Hey there :) "wheee that was really cool christ that's hot" sounds just about right! I tend to use this journal for longer Zuka commentary on arcane things like what an actress getting role X means for her career with the company, but I think you'd also like my Tumblr wherein I post/reblog Takarazuka pictures and squee.

Btw, what show did you see? Last year was fantastic for good shows.

[velithya]

When I venture on to Tumblr I will definitely, er, friend or add or whatever you call it on Tumblr. Follow? I will definitely follow you :) But yeah, one of my Takarazuka-loving fans is in Japan at the moment and I'll be visiting her in March/April and we're planning to catch a show if we can :3

The show I saw was Sabrina, I had to google it to find out what Troupe (Flower) and who my Top Star was (Matobu Sei) because I couldn't remember ^^; But yes, it was awesome! Matobu Sei had a really great stage presence and in some of the Exciter numbers there were HANDS EVERYWHERE so I guess some of the other actresses felt the same way? ;P

[yukinojou]

I think that's one of two 2010 shows I haven't seen yet ^^; I always lag with Flower, which is a shame, because Matobu Sei is absolutely fantastic, and while she's retired now, she was replaced by Ranju Tomu. And Tomu has the strange quality that she comes onstage, even in a bit part, and I can't stop staring.

And I envy you the visit :) Catch Edward VIII/Misty Station if you can! Moon troupe's shining at the moment, and it's the top star's last show, so it's going to be extra-special with tears everywhere. (REON!!'s bound to be good too, it's an all-revue dance recital by Star Troupe in smaller theatres in Osaka and Tokyo, but tickets may be very hard to get.)

[velithya]

Is Tomu the blonde one who played the second male lead in Sabrina? She had great presence as well.

My friend's favourite actress is Sena Jun, who's retired now, but her second favourite actress is Kiriya so we're definitely seeing that show! :3

[yukinojou]

No, the blonde one was Eritan :) Tomu was imported from another troupe as a top star, and now there is a lot of rumours that when Kiriyan retires, Eritan may go over to Moon to be top star there instead. Confusing, I know, but Hankyu love their transfers - Eritan's been on loan to Snow before as well, while Tomu came back after a long sojourn in Cosmos.