[Report] Takizawa Enbujou 2007 – Part 2 & 3

Gomen ne~ It’s already more than 2 months after the shows. I think nobody will want to read this anymore, but still I’ll be thick-skinned and continue my longwinded-ness here, so that I can read back in future :) Btw, Part 1 can be found here, and the Food & Goods here.

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PART 2 – YOSHITSUNE
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Lights out. Loud “BANG”! Takki as Yoritomo appears from the hanamichi trap door. Curtain opens, and Shanao (Takki’s double was on the bridge) & Benkei were on the stage, just as they were before the interval.

Yoritomo started talking, while the bridge in the background splits into 2, and the crew pushes Shanao & Benkei backstage… Then in the middle of the stage, Yoshitomo (Yoshitsune’s and Yoritomo’s father) appears bit by bit. Pieces of armour joins together to form his armour and headgear. Maybe they were controlled by strings (like puppets) from upstairs? It’s hard to describe, but somehow this Yoshitomo’s armour was pieced together, and he “stood up” and started “walking”.

Yoshitsune, Yoritomo & Yoshitomo

I remember Yoritomo walking to the stage to talk to his father, then the entire place blacked out for about 2 seconds. During the first show, when it blacked out, I guessed that a swap was done. (During the 2nd and 3rd show, I can see a figure running backstage when this happened^^). When light came back on, we see Yoritomo kneel/squatting down to his father… His father talked to him for a while (Yoshitomo’s voice is also by Takki ^_^) then asked “Where’s Yoshitsune?”. Then Takki as Yoshitsune came running in from the hanamichi, calling “Chichi-ue! Chichi-ue!”!! I think Ribi was quite shocked coz I heard some reaction from her hehe~~ but even so, it was still quite amazing how fast he changed from Yoritomo’s to Yoshitsune’s costumes coz they were quite different!

Horse-riding

The white horse looks real, and its head can move hehe.. Yoshitsune mounted the horse, and they moved off the stage on the left. There were people in black pushing the horse which was on rollers I think, but as the ground was filled with mist (dry ice), I can’t really see them at first. I was still wondering if the horse was real xD

Then Yoshitsune walks out and sees many injured man… Then Takki changed to Yoritomo. His voice is different when he acts as Yoritomo – it’s much deeper and powerful! When he’s Yoshitsune, his voice is like in the drama’s, more yasashi~~ :) I’m not sure how to describe this set. It’s like Yoritomo’s house, and there are figures behind him (supposedly his advisors?). They will move occasionally “on their own”. But they were actually controlled by men in black. I didn’t see any of the men but Snuffles saw from the 2nd floor.

Although there might be heads blocking when you sit on the first floor, you really do not see much of the “trick” behind the magic ne. I realised, coz from fancams (usually taken from 2nd floor), you can see more clearly what’s going on behind the scenes! hee~~ (in Part 1, during Chuushingura, Takki spit water upwards, and when you’re sitting on the first floor, you can’t see the guy passing him the water! but it’s clear from the 2nd floor~! Ahhh.. I want a DVD for this!! Pls go request, people! GO!!)

Sorry for digressing… Back to the show :)

Saburo appears among the audience, and he was chased by some baddies (who ran in from the hanamichi, giving us a shock coz they were shouting quite loudly lol). Yoshitsune helped Saburo by directing the baddies in the wrong direction.

Saburo was about to leave when Yoshitsune asked for his name. Then, Saburo went up the stage and hugged Yoshitsune (one leg wrapped around Takki ^_^). Benkei (the jealous #1 kerai) pushed Saburo away… That kinda started the adlib parts, which are really hilarious!! ^_^ The curtains will close, and Yoshitsune, Benkei & Saburo will stand outside it, near the audience. There’ll be just a source of light on our left, shining onto the curtains. You can see their shadows against the curtains. Takki was standing on our left, nearest to the light source.

Adlibs

25th July, 2nd Show: Amicolla & Teddy Bear

Saburo asked Benkei something about how he takes care of his health and skin, and Benkei pulled out a bottle of Amicolla from his clothes! Then he took out another bottle.. and another one!! From his “pocket” lol~

Then they made Takki DRINK the Amicolla, saying it’s good for his skin or something. Saburo/Benkei (I can’t remember who) started singing this “Dame~Dame~Dame~Dame~~~~” And Takki drank the ENTIRE BOTTLE at one go!!!! Right after he finished drinking, he made an exaggerated “PUKING” sound (UUEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!) BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA…. Saburo commented that his (Takki’s) skin is so bright now. Takki then started singing “Amicolla~Amicolla~” (the song in the CM) Wahahahahaha…. We kept laughing non-stop!!

Then Takki and Saburo told Benkei to do something funny to make their “Tono” (Lord aka Takki/Yoshitsune) laugh. Benkei sat down on the floor, suddenly opened his arms and legs and said “TEDDY BEAR!!” WAHAHALOLOLOLOLOL!!!! Obviously that made Takki laugh XD Everyone did! I laughed until stomachache!!!

26th July, 1st Show: Silly Dance

I’m not good at describing, but this transcript was taken from Bon’s site, which she translated from Japanese fan blogs.

S: if u’re the #1 vassal, then u must be able to do everything.
B: un~
S: what’s ur specialty/what are u really good at?
B: dance
S: dance? show us and do the Hena-ojisan dance then.
B: Hena~Ojisan~♪ *dances*
S: that wasnt very good
B: its only the beginning part of it
S: My Lord, why dont u show us how its really done.
T: ….
S: whats with the “beginning to hate” kind of face?
T: u talk big, but u dont really have any neta* about me.
S: hai…
T: *gives up and starts dancing* Hena ojisan~ hena ojisan~♪
S: BUAHAHAHA
T: lets see u do it too
S: ano…i dont kno how many times ive said this but, i cant dance for 3 years.
T: we kno (← ?? ↑)
S: …
T: *gives Saburo the look* Do it!
S: hena ojisan~ hena ojisan~♪
*audience cheers*
S: whats with this strange atmosphere? *runs up to Benkei* iya, dancing is hard.
S: now about u being the #1 vassal…
T: *ignores the two and walks over to the edge of the stage to look @ his reflection*
S: My Lord, what are you doing?
T: *stares @ the bg screen and dances “hena ojisan~ hena ojisan~♪” except this time he shook his butt like during the Ho!Summer perfs LOL*
S: LORD!!

The henaojisan dance is this hand movement that I think he did before as a junior. It’s really funny to see the guys (in ancient costumes) doing it *lol

26th July, 2nd Show: Uchi, Kusano, Mori Mitsuko are my kerai!

Saburo and Benkei talked about being the #1 kerai, and I think Takki corrected one of them (Saburo, I think) to say some word in the ‘traditional’ or ‘formal’ way instead of a ‘modern’ or ‘informal’ way. They were in their traditional roles after all, so they shouldn’t be using modern and casual words lol~

Takki referred to the audience as a forest (Mori = forest), coz Mori Mitsuko-san was seated in the first floor, first few rows. We could see where she was as the light was shone at her during the starting narration of this show. When asked if he knows who’s Mori Mitsuko-dono, Takki said “Yes, she’s my kerai” lol~ We were quite shocked hehe, but everyone laughed when he said that xD

Then, Saburo said there are 2 more guests today. We actually heard/saw a lot of heads turning back BEFORE the start of this show, so Ribi was already guessing that “someone” is here. And true enough, Uchi and Kusano from NEWS came. They were sitting on the first floor too, but somewhere at the back. When Saburo said that Uchi and Kusano were here *some young girls screamed — they are probably JE/NEWS fans too*, Takki said “They are my kerai too” LOL~

Takki laughed a lot during this segment, but he can’t show his laughter (coz he’s their master and he’s Yoshitsune deshou), so he frequently turned back to face the curtain… but we can see his shoulders trembling very clearly!! LOL… All three shows’ adlibs were really funny, I remember laughing as much for all 3, but the one that left the deepest impression was the Amicolla+TeddyBear! XD

Also, I can’t remember which show it was, but Takki moved nearer and nearer to the light source, so that his shadow got bigger and bigger LOLOL!! kekeke… His shadow looks very cute on the curtains (coz of the shape of Yoshitsune’s hair and costume). And sometimes he’ll do silly actions while looking at his shadow. I can’t remember which show it was, but I think Takki did the “kon” action (what Pi does in Nobuta wo Produce) for his shadow~~ :) Sometimes his kerais wondered out loud what on earth their lord was doing XD

Shadows

Shadows segment was SUGOI! Lord and kerais sat in front of the light source. Takki makes the shadow of an owl… I think, it’s really cute, coz it has 2 round eyes and can flap its wings ^^

Then he creates the shadow of a big dog with his hands (the dog even has a tongue that can “lick” lol). I dunno how he does it but it looks REAL. Benkei uses his hands to create the shadow of the dog’s legs, and Saburo does one of a small dog~ The big dog eats the small dog (the more powerful forces eat the weaker ones?)

Benkei also used his long pole to “hit” the “head” of the “big dog”. Takki then makes the big dog shiver away – it’s quite funny kekekeke~ Then the final shadows were that of 3 doves, flying into the sky, representing their (Yoshitsune, Benkei & Saburo’s) wish for peace in the city? Yoshitsune’s dream is to create a city where there’s no war and fighting… Yoshitsune’s dove was the biggest, and flying in front of the other 2… and the way they flew, along with the background music… creates a very peaceful atmosphere~~ We were “wow”-ing away at every shadow they created… This must be shown on DVD coz I suck at describing!! Argh!

Suddenly, enemies came. Curtains up to reveal another set. Three of them fought with the baddies and Saburo got injured.

Yoshitsune & Yoritomo in the same scene

Then I remember there’s a scene where Yoshitsune and his kerais are on the left sitting down, while Yoritomo and his men are on the right. There is a plank thing (a “wall”) in the middle separating both sides. The spotlight was on Yoritomo’s side first. Of course, there is only one Takki, so the Yoshitsune sitting on the left is his double :) As Yoritomo, he spoke in a loud and powerful voice, voicing his displeasure with Yoshitsune, and ordering his men to kill Yoshitsune I think. Then Yoritomo snapped his fan shut or hit his fan on his legs (can’t remember), stood up and walked towards the back (behind that “wall”). Spotlight shifts to Yoshitsune’s side. “Yoshitsune” was facing the side (so we can only see the sideview of Takki’s double). Saburo and Benkei starts talking, and “Yoshitsune” stands up, walks towards the back (behind the “wall”) too. Immediately, Takki appears as Yoshitsune. Of course we all know that Takki changed behind the wall~ that’s a given. But the amazing thing was how quick he changed! From the purple top, black pants, black hat Yoritomo to the Red top, orange pants, white bandana Yoshitsune :)

Sou, Kamakura-dono is after them. Yoshitsune, Saburo and Benkei discussed their plans and decided to escape to Hiraizumi! This leads us to the Ataka Pass scene.

Ataka Pass

Like in the drama, Yoshitsune tries to get pass the checkpoint to Hiraizumi. The officer there sort of recognises him, but before he can do anything, Benkei intercepts and started hitting Yoshitsune with his pole. There was the loud “bang” sound with every hit (some guy dressed as the officer’s follower was holding wooden clogs I think, and hitting the floor at the same time) Yoshitsune was badly beaten, before the officer stopped them… He picked up Yoshitsune’s hat and returned it to him, letting him off even when he knew he was Yoshitsune.

Yoshitsune, Benkei and Saburo walked onto the hanamichi… There, Benkei went down on his knees, and apologised for hitting his Tono. But Yoshitsune thanked him, and said he was grateful to have such kerais. Something like that… Then they walked off slowly down the hanamichi, in this order: Benkei, Yoshitsune, Saburo.

And this was the closest I got to seeing Takki :) Yoshitsune used his right hand to hold his hat, and his left hand to hold the right hand (coz it was injured)…. I think this was the only time he actually WALKED off, the rest of the time that he exited from the stage, he had to run!! As we were sitting near the hanamichi, I was bending my head down AS LOW AS I CAN – to see his face below the hat hehehehehehe… his sideview is so kakkoii~~ hehehe *fangirl gibberish*~~ *KYAAAAAAAAAA*

Final Battle

VTR showing Yoshitsune and Takki’s voiceover, followed by a backdrop of the shrine (where Yoshitsune killed himself). Curtain opens to reveal the outdoor set (bushes, wooden poles, planks and a slide platform that follows the rotating stage in a semi-circle *gomen, I dunno how to explain lol*). Benkei and Saburo fought the baddies… Then Yoshitsune appear in white/gold and a black tall hat!

The fighting was quite intense, there were many baddies, and they foght all the way onto the rotating elevated slide platform. I remember a baddie pulled off Takki’s hat so that we can see his hair in a bun… There was a lot of jumping, and I also remember a “chopped head” flying out lol… Takki jumping high above some bushes too!!! Takki runs off to the back (with baddies chasing), then Benkei and his group of baddies came onto the stage… After Benkei did his fighting, he ran off the stage too, and it was Saburo’s turn to come on the stage with his group of baddies :)

Saburo’s Last

Saburo fights a brave battle, but final got stabbed many many times! His death scene was very long! I thought Kazama Shunsuke put up a very great performance!! It was a slow death scene, and the theatre was so silent… He said something like to be able to be Yoshitsune’s vassal is the most fortunate (shiawase) thing that happened to him. During the first show, this entire part was so touching that my eyes got a bit wet… He called out a loud “YOSHITSUNE-SAMA!!” before he died. Then light shines on Yoshitsune up on the platform (presumably at another place but heard Saburo’s cry). He said, “Saburo died for my sake…” and something else… before focus went back to where Saburo was.

I think this was when Benkei found Saburo dead.. Then I think Yoshitsune and Benkei had their final exchange. They faced each other and talked (on the platform), then there were background voices of baddies shouting. Benkei bows to Yoshitsune, and bids him farewell, before running off…

Benkei’s Last

Takki runs off stage too, coz the focus is on Benkei. He puts up a fierce fight too, taking on many baddies at once… but he finally dies half-standing, after shouting loudly “YOSHITSUNE-SAMA!!!!”

Yoshitsune’s Last

Light shines on Yoshitsune who’s standing on the slide platform again (presumably, he’s alone in the little shrine). He hears Benkei’s cry as well, and prepares to take his own life. The stage rotates so that he’s now facing the audience, in the centre of the stage. The music is very sad… Everything was silent.. Yoshitsune talks… about Yoritomo, his vassals who died for him, his dream city, etc… then he kneels down slowly, puts his sword to his neck… Takki always sounded like he was really crying at this time (during the first show, my eyes were still wet then coz the entire thing was so emotional… and the atmosphere and background music just sucks us into the story, to feel what Yoshitsune was feeling…)… then he slashes his throat!

AND SUDDENLY, I WAS BLINDED!!!!!! Lol~ They must have used some strong floodlights or something, coz I was having trouble opening my eyes!!!!!!! Loads of silvery shiny “sakura” petals “shot” out from both sides of the stage. Imagine watching in the dark for so long, then suddenly bright lights with shiny sakura petals (which reflect light!) appearing everywhere in front of you! I think everyone went blind for a while *LMAO*~~~ After a few seconds, Takki as SHANAO flies straight out in his pink/purple costume… His hair was short again (like during Part 1’s last scene). The music changed~ and at that very moment, I felt really SHIAWASE looking at him flying forth and back, he looked like he didn’t have any worries. It’s a very peaceful-looking Shanao~~

He flew a few times forth and back then down to the ground. Then voiceover of his kerais saying how happy and grateful they are to be his kerais. Then Shanao rides his white horse while Takki voices over. Benkei and Saburo were by his side… the entire ground was filled with smoke/mist. It looked like clouds to me~~ It’s like Shanao-sama – with his two loyal vassals by his side – in heaven, above the clouds, in the skies, living on forever kind of feeling ne… Even in death, they are tono and kerais~ *melts*

The curtain slowly closes down to conclude Part 2.

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PART 3 – TACKEY WORLD
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SAMURAI

Straight away, drums sound and Jrs on rollerskates etc… After only half a song, Takki appears for SAMURAI! He changed so fast (yet again). I totally understand when he said that the transition from Part 2 to Part 3 was hard for him, emotions-wise, from the dying scene to a song like SAMURAI *lol*

Takki was in black leather pants and top, with a reddish kimono as an outer coat. But the main thing about this song are the many MIRRORS that were rotating and reflecting light into our eyes — yes, how many times do they have to BLIND US!!! Lol!! There was a short VTR of the Samurai PV playing behind those mirrors. It was the first time we saw the PV~ (SAMURAI wasn’t released yet then~) We thought it was really cool and kakkoii! ^^

Serenade

Straight after this, he pulls off his outer kimono, and puts on a black coat & hat for Serenade! Like last year’s dance, but only the techno part, which is MUCH COOLER… The slow part was removed this year, so I thought it was better~~ Takki’s dance steps and hand movements were very neat ~ I thought he danced really well~ :D CHOU KAKKOII!!! It doesn’t help that the entire costume looks really good!

Juniors Segment

Then came the most annoying part to us lol~ Hey!Say!7 with their Hey!Say! song! Fortunately, it was only a short part of the song hehe~ Then Yabu and Hikaru sang their song. which I like~ The chorus is really catchy, along with the hand actions (wonder what song is it!) Then I think it was ABC who sang theirs… followed by this really nice slow song by Kiss-My-Ft2. I dunno the title~ but it sounds nice ^_^

Sadame

Then I’m not sure when he sneaked out, but Takki appeared from behind ABC/KMF2 in a red top, white pants and a white hat! Honto Kakkoii~~~~~ A music segment played, and Takki did some dance moves along with the beat which I found really cool!! ONE OF MY FAVOURITE DANCES!!!! During the first show, I was listening to this music segment for a while, then I recognised that the keys used were the same as Sadame’s. Yappari, it was really SADAME!! coz very soon after this music segment, the cd-version’s intro to Sadame played. The dance wa sugoi ne!! I loved the bridge part where he did this hand-movement thingie~ KAKKOII!

Magic Show

After Sadame, he took off his hat for the magic segment. During the last show (or was it 2nd last show that I went?), his tie somehow dropped after Sadame!! Lol~ I didn’t notice it, but Snuffles mentioned it later (and erm, the VTR showed a Takki with tie, but the real Takki didn’t have a tie bwahahahaha~~) Anyway, the stage rotated, and there were 3 disappearing acts before the cage trick thingie. First, was the black-hooded girl that Takki danced with, who disappeared with a POOF! Then there were 2 girls in purple who went inside a transparent tank, who disappeared as well… The final ones are another pair of girls in purple, who were standing at first, then they covered a huge cloth over themselves, and disappeared. During the last show, I actually saw one of the girls jumping, but I’m not sure WHERE she jumped to, coz from my last row, seat no.1 (leftest seat), it looked like she jumped into the “air” and disappeared LOL

Then, Takki went into this huge cage, and the ABC guy used a huge cloth to cover the cage (like last year’s). However, this time, after the swap was already done, Takki’s double in the cage turned his face to the side, does a quick turn to face the audience, then turned to the back again. This guy must really look a lot like Takki, or they wouldn’t dare risk that little milli-second face-to-face with the audience ya? And he has to have the same build as Takki too~ Um, is there a Takki-twin? hehe…

Dame – Ondo Version! + MJ’s Thriller *lol*

Anyway, obviously, after the cloth was taken off, the cage is empty, and light shines on Takki who is now among the audience – all changed in his purple/red kimono :) During the 1st show, I knew he will be appearing somewhere there coz I already watched last yr’s DVD by then~ During the 2nd show (where we were at our rightest), I saw him running past us hehehe… I was still poking Ribi to tell her that it was Takki who was running past…

That was the start of Dame! OMG, DAME ONDO WAS CHOU HILARIOUS!!! During the first show, we laughed and laughed and laughed…. Especially the part where they did the Michael Jackson’s Thriller thing, the PELVIC THRUSTS!!! Lol~~~ And the funny actions that followed! During the last show, Uchi and Kusano were called up the stage. It was quite funny coz they had to learn the “moves” impromptu…

The screens had huge X-signed lanterns dropping down according to the beat, and there were lyrics on the right side of the stage as well… PLEASE GIMME NNYYYA HEARTTTT!!! LOL~ Takki sang this LIVE!!! It was really funny and enjoyable, and we were doing the furitsukes as well~ :) Btw, Hikaru and Yabu will walk down the audience paths to do the furitsukes, I think the closest person I saw was Hikaru Yaotome lol~ Takki will also fly up to the top of some box, then take off his kimono, wear a white coat to prepare for Epilogue :)

Epilogue

He introduced the last song as “Epilogue”. Awww~ Epilogue was really nice and soothing~~ his voiceee~~~ Takki stood in the middle of the bridge to sing the ENTIRE SONG (including Tsu’s verse), while the Jrs and cast bowed, and everyone clapped. We clapped really loud for Kazama coz he was really sugoi! I also clapped loudly for Hikaru/Yabu, ABC, and KMF2 :X When the song ended, Takki gave a short speech and led all Takizawa Enbujou members in bowing to the audience…

Here’s our Yoshitsune-sama with Benkei on his right, and Saburo on his left :D

We applauded NON-STOP… Even after the curtain came down, we still clapped in the darkness…. We never stopped until the curtain rises again. This was the same for all 3 shows ^o^

Ending Speech

Takki talks about how this yr’s shows are harder than last yr’s, and hope everyone will give them their support. They will work hard, to have injury-free performances, all the way to senshuuraku.

On the first day, I think because he made the “puking sound” after drinking the Amicolla, he decided to advertise the drink during this speech, and… he KAMIKAMI-ed on the word “Amicolla”!! WAHAHAHAHA… Everyone laughed! He said something like “Amika-ami-amicolla” or something like that haha… And erm, he KAMIKAMI-ed during his ending speeches FOR ALL 3 SHOWS that we went! Yappari Takki is the Kamikami-Prince ne ^^;

Then, Takki invites all members back to the stage, and we all stood up for a standing ovation~ The first show’s audience took a longer time to stand up, but the 2nd and last show (both on 26th July), the audience were very responsive… We stood up and clapped, cheered, shouted… Lol~ And I will not forget Ribi’s loud “SAIKOU!” amidst all the cheering and clapping (during the first show)~ And at this point of time (also during the first show), I turned back and saw the Franz Harary guy clapping with his hands above his head too…

HONTO NI OTSUKARESAMA DESHITA, TONO!!
IT WAS A REALLY SUGOI PRODUCTION!!!!

I was really very high that night, left me totally in awe~~ The teamwork and coordination is amazing, the transition from scene to scene is fluid, the adlibs and dame ondos were chou hilariou, and I keep wondering where Takki get all his energy from? It’s really very physically demanding ne, moreover this time, he’s taking on the 2 main roles of Part 2!! I’m so glad I went for this, even if the seats weren’t exactly the best, I thoroughly enjoyed myself!!!! “Takizawa Enbujou” is THE Takizawa Hideaki piece of work that everyone shouldn’t miss! ^^;

Yay~ I finally finished this report *wipes sweat* ^^There’s still more to this trip actually, including our “amazing” day @ Hachioji *LOL* and there’s Ikejiriohashi too~~ but I’ll write about those later heh~~ :D