[Report] Takizawa Enbujo’08 – Act 2

…Continued from Act 1

Act 2 – Yoshitsune Tales

Duration: 1hr 15mins.

Gojo Bridge

Benkei (Fujigaya) & Ushiwaka (Takki) were where we left them during the first act. Benkei asked what Ushiwaka was doing in the capital etc, and they started fighting after Benkei found out Ushiwaka wasn’t a girl. Ushiwaka ran to the back of the bridge and did a forward roll under the bridge to the front. They fought a bit more, and Benkei of course lost to the swift Ushiwaka, who pointed the weapon at Benkei, cloth still over his head. He walked away, only to be called by Benkei, and asked for his name. Saburo (Totsuka) told about how he and Benkei became kerais of Ushiwaka (who became Yoshitsune), and Ushiwaka went back up to the bridge, cloth still over his head.

Sound of thunder and loads of smoke. Ushiwaka bent down, and the bridge he’s on sank down the stage. This Ushiwaka’s of course a double, as a change was already made behind the bridge during the fight.

The stage rotated, and Takki – now as Yoritomo – came to view.

Yoritomo, Yoshitomo & Yoshitsune

Conversation between Yoritomo and his father Yoshitomo, who appeared in the middle of the stage. Like last yr, Yoshitomo’s armour started forming bit by bit (it’s controlled by some wire thingie I think). There were a lot of smoke on the ground, but during our 2nd show, as we were on 2nd floor close to the stage, I saw 2 men in black running into the armour from behind :)

There’s a part where Yoshitomo suddenly raised his arms – probably in anger. Then it blacked out for about a couple of seconds. Takki ran off the stage like last yr & a double ran in to take his place as Yoritomo. This year, the double wore a Takki mask! From far, he really looked like Takki~ but if we used our binocs, it’s obvious he’s a fake lol. The eyes of this mask were always opened lol… and his mouth never moved xD He looked alright when he faced our left, but really fake and quite scary when he faced our right lol.

Then Yoshitomo asked where Yoshitsune was. And Takki – now as Yoshitsune – ran in from the hanamichi, shouting “Chichi-ue! Chichi-ue!”, then went on to meet his father and brother. “Chichi-ue! Minamoto no Kuro Yoshitsune gozaimasu!” :D After a while, Yoshitomo “walked” off the stage to our left. It’s quite well-done, and the walking looked more real than last yr’s. And so we’re left with both Yoshitsune & Yoritomo – Takki and fake Takki *lol* – talking to each other on stage. After a while, Yoritomo left the stage too.

Yoshitsune & his kerais

Yoshitsune rode his horse, with Benkei and Saburo by his side. Then he exited the stage on the left with the horse, and walked out alone.. This was where there were many poor people (ladies in yukatas) walking past… the poor and suffering… Last yr, these were injured men. This yr, they’re women :)

Then Yoshitsune, Benkei & Saburo came to Kamakura. A guy sent by Yoritomo conveyed a message to Yoshitsune, and they had to go to the capital. Something like that~ Lol~ my memory is fading, and since my kikitori is bad, my preciouses don’t really help much xD

But I remember there was a figure of Yoshitomo (armour) in the middle. Takki as Yoshitsune walked behind that figure from the left and did a quick clothes change behind. Meanwhile, his Yoshitsune double appeared from the back and walked to face his father’s figure. Then Takki, now dressed in purple, walked out from behind the figure (in the dark) to take his place as Yoritomo on the right. Like last year, his voice was really deep & he never smiled when he’s Yoritomo. His men (mainly Kawai and Kitayama) told him many things about Yoshitsune, and finally Yoritomo said his brother can’t be forgiven, something like that.

Marshmallows!! (Adlib)

Saburo walked down the aisle to the stage. During the first show, as I was sitting by the aisle, he walked past my seat suddenly lol. Got a bit of a shock haha. He talked about how he steal things like food, money, wine… and women’s hearts. Benkei and him were talking when Tono walked out with a bag of marshmallows and sat on the steps on the left of the stage.

He started munching marshmallows, one by one, popping them into his mouth *KAWAII* And he’d give marshmallows to the fans in front of him too. During the first show, he asked if the girl wanted, then threw the marshmallow to her (kinda like feeding fishes lol~). During the 2nd show I think, the girl held out both hands to ask for it, and he gave :)

Here’s a pic of Tono with a marshmallow in his mouth ^^:

Then while munching, he heard Saburo mentioning something about losing a bag of marshmallows that he stole. Tono’s expression was so cute! He took out the marshmallow from his mouth, looked at it and popped it back in, then tossed the bag to the girl! For all the shows, he got rid of the “evidence” by throwing the bag to anyone sitting in front of him ^^ Then he stood up, and as Saburo ran towards him, he turned his face away from Saburo, and STARTED CHEWING AS FAST AS HE CAN!!! *KYAAA~~~ CHOU KAWAII!!* He then swallowed the last marshmallow in his mouth BEFORE Saburo reached him! So funny!

Saburo asked him about the bag, and he simply *acted blur* haha… Then Saburo saw the bag with the girl, and pointed at her, asking her why she had the bag etc. Benkei stood behind Saburo. And “the real culprit” Tono stood behind Benkei, sticking his head out, pointing at the girl with actions which seem to suggest “you… how can you do such a thing!”, “stealing is bad” etc etc =D

In the first show, he told the girl to “Stand up!” lol~ poor lucky girl!! Then the girl returned the bag and bowed to Saburo :) During the second show, the girl obediently returned the bag to Saburo, I think. I can’t really remember what happened during which show, I might have gotten them mixed up gomen… but the adlibs are always so enjoyable and made everyone laugh ^^ I’m curious which show’s they’ll use for the DVD hehe… I think during the last show, Benkei kept shouting at the girl, wanting to attack her with his weapon. Very funny too!

Shadows

Benkei & Saburo walked to the right of the stage, while Tono stayed in the middle where a screen was. Benkei would then do some funny moves! During the first show, he did the “Serenade” furitsuke with his long weapon! During the 2nd show, he did the “Venus” furitsuke. And the last show, he did “X~Dame”‘s nose-breaking action *lol* Tono usually did the same actions that Benkei just did, and his actions were cast as shadows onto the screen lol~~~ For the last show, he did the X~Dame’s “hands-pointing-in-all-directions” action! The resultant shadow on the screen looks really funny!

Tono also did a “frog” and a “dog barking” shadow. I dunno how to describe it but it was funny ^^ Saburo and Benkei were quarreling at the right of the stage, kinda in their own world, not knowing what Tono’s doing. But most of us were just looking at Tono & the shadows he’s creating! As Saburo and Benkei were quarreling, Tono did the shadows of 2 ppl facing each other quarreling!!! He did it such that the shadows moved at the same time as Saburo vs Benkei. *ROFL* I couldn’t stop laughing!!!! :D

On the 24th evening show, Shonentai was mentioned coz Higashiyama-san came to watch, I think. And during the 25th show, Tsubasa was mentioned. Some of the audience started laughing, and the 3 of them on stage stopped and turned to us with the “What are you laughing about” look. Anyway, Tono suddenly stopped doing his shadows thing after hearing what Saburo and Benkei were talking about (most likely teasing his height, or saying they prefered Shonentai/Tsubasa to Tono, etc). Then Saburo ran and hid behind Tono and pushed all the blame to Benkei. Poor Benkei xD

Tono & Saburo started making shadows of some weird monster *lol* (looked like a deformed chicken to me!^^), whacking Benkei on his head, and flicking him off with the finger, etc. And after a while, Tono also poured tea for Benkei (he finished the tea with a loud “Ahhhh…” LOL). Then the 3 of them did more shadows together, of people walking, two small rabbits playing (their “hands” are so kawaii~~), an owl on a tree branch, a dog – Saburo made the legs of the dog this year, last yr it was Benkei – eating up the rabbit (love this part a lot, coz the dog would wipe its mouth slowly after eating his prey, and its tongue would move too), then all 3 of them laid down on the floor and did the “3 doves flying in the sky towards freedom” thing.

Attack by baddies!

Suddenly some men in black came and attacked them. Saburo was injured in the process. Tono managed to get hold of one of the baddies, and upon removing his black cloth mask (around his face), he realized that these people were sent by Yoritomo. *TONOSHOCK*

Saburo rolled on the floor, shouting “Itai~~ Itteeee yo” and grabbed Benkei’s leg. Benkei shook Saburo off his leg, then walked towards Tono to tell him that Saburo’s doing fine. But during the first show on the 24th, after Saburo held on to Benkei’s leg, Benkei tried to shake him away but ended up falling face down onto the floor!! So he grabbed onto Tono’s leg too, and TONO ALSO FELL FLAT ONTO THE FLOOR!!! LOL!!! Imagine 3 guys falling, one after another, how funny was that!!! xD I thought I heard a *thud* sound when Tono hit the ground *ouch* But he got up straightaway and rubbed his nose!!! (Ouch!! Didn’t he already have that infection thing on his nose then?) But I actually hope this one makes it to the DVD. So that at least he didn’t fall for nothing =P

Then, a guy sent by Yoritomo came with a message for Yoshitsune. I think he asked Yoshitsune to fight against the Heike or something… I remember there was a VTR of Tono in the background, a close up of his face…

In any case, Takki is now dressed as Yoritomo, and stood on a platform with his men. Yoritomo talked in his deep voice again, and after some advice from his men, he decided to kill Yoshitsune. Saburo and Benkei were below the platform (on stage level). How shall I put this… It’s like Yoritomo’s side (platform) vs Yoshitsune’s side (stage level). When Yoritomo talked, the stage was dimmed so that focus is on the platform, and when Saburo and Benkei were talking, it was the other way round – the platform was dimmed (I saw thru my binocs that Tono really froze there hehe). I remember Yoritomo had loads of “power” in his voice, even at the end when he raised up his katana and shouted, his voice was deep! We seldom get to hear Takki *shouting* in a deep voice ne!

Then light shone onto Saburo and Benkei on the stage again. And although the platform above was darkened, we saw Tono walking off to the left of the stage, and within a few seconds, he has changed to Yoshitsune and walked back in to sit near Saburo and Benkei. This change was SUPER FAST! Although, of course, Yoritomo’s costume was always on the outside of Yoshitsune’s (that’s also why Yoritomo always looked fatter haha), so it’s easier to change from Yoritomo -> Yoshitsune, rather than Yoshitsune -> Yoritomo.

Anyway, Tono pondered for a while and decided to head for Hiraizumi. The music in the background was quite sad… as Benkei vowed to follow Yoshitsune to the end… “Tono’s destiny is Benkei’s destiny…” *touched*

Ataka Pass

Rather similar to last yr’s. The officer in charge of the pass this year was played by Kawai. Last year, I think it was Totsuka. Also, this year the officer acknowledged out loud that they are Benkei & Yoshitsune, he called out their names (if you remember from the drama, the officer only silently acknowledged it after Yoshitsune & gang left the pass). This section was probably the slowest part of the whole show. If there was ANY part at all where you could fall asleep, this was it. LOL. Coz the actions and speech were slow… And it was almost the same as last yr’s so I’ve seen it before~ :) It was SO QUIET that I felt my breathing could be heard lol… Watching it with binocs was a different experience, coz you could see their facial expressions clearly (I didn’t bring binocs last yr heh), and their little movements clearly. Kawai-kun spoke reeaallly slow….

Benkei walked in from the right, got approval to pass through, then Saburo and Yoshitsune (wearing the hat, which made him looked more suspicious right lol!!) walked in after. Yoshitsune was stopped by the officer, and Benkei started whacking his Tono hard with his stick. I always thought this part was done well, the timing of the whack plus the sound effect (men in black hitting small wooden thingie on the stage floor) and Tono’s reaction was well-matched. The officer told Benkei to stop, and Yoshitsune was in pain, shivering, wobbling… He tried to stand up, the officer returned him his hat, and he wobbled & walked on clutching his injured arm… and followed Benkei & Saburo onto the hanamichi. Then, the curtains closed.

Tono & Kerai Bond

Benkei immediately went down on his knees and begged for forgiveness from his master. Saburo was touched by the relationship between lord and vassal. Meanwhile, while all these were being acted on the hanamichi, I could hear the backstage noise, staff removing and adding new props behind the curtains. It was quite obvious to me coz the hanamichi scene was really quiet (just talking)… It distracted me a bit especially when I sat at the 2nd floor (closer to the stage). I wondered how the three could continue acting like that haha…

Anyway, I focussed on Tono’s expression using my binocs. He removed his hat, still clutching his injured arm, and spoke to Benkei… Well, he looked really tortured, and he cried. I saw his eyes sparkling…. After that, the three of them walked off the hanamichi slowly…

*SOBS*

This next scene was the one where I heard the most sobbing from the audience…

The curtain opened, and the final set was in view – trees and bushes plus a circular slide platform (rotatable). Benkei & Saburo started talking, then Yoshitsune walked in to join them, now dressed in white with his black hat. It was a final goodbye, the last Yoshitsune would see of his kerais. And he gave Saburo a knife, which Saburo received with thanks. When I looked through the binocs for this scene, BOTH of them looked really really sad…

Tono was teary eyed here… *sobs**sobs* I think Totsuka did a really good job too. Not to mention, the music was very dramatic… People behind me were sniffing and sniffing and sniffing… That’s also why I bought the following picture, so that I can remember this moment haha…

Saburo ran off the stage shouting Tono’s name… Then it was Benkei’s turn. This scene showed how strong their relationship was… Tono said that Benkei is his number one kerai. Many people were still sniffing behind me… Tono said goodbye to Benkei and walked onto the hanamichi. Benkei called out “Tono!”, and bowed to him.

Saburo’s death

This was dramatic, and I think both Kazama (2007’s Saburo) and Totsuka (2008’s Saburo) did an equally good job. Totsuka had the “Saburo”-ness in him. He tried to protect some female villagers and fought the baddies, but ended up being stabbed by a female villager *sigh* As if that wasn’t enough, he was also stabbed by more baddies, and finally on the hanamichi – by Kitayama. The evil Kitayama gave him the final blow… Saburo said he wanted to be Yoshitsune’s kerai again. Saburo died holding out the knife that was given to him by Tono with both his hands, calling “TONO!!!!!!!!”.

After he was killed, Tono called out “Saburo!”, and said that Saburo died for his sake, and for the sake of his dream…

Benkei’s death

Then it was Benkei’s turn. He fought well… fought off so many baddies… The sound effects were really loud here with each stab that the baddies gave him. I thought my ears would crash!! LOL And it didn’t take just one, two, or three baddies to finally get Benkei, but a whole bunch of them stabbing at him at the same time! He could even flick one baddie off while having swords sticking into his body. Sasuga Benkei da… He screamed, “I won’t let you lay a finger on Tono!!!!” *mich wa touched again* But he finally died calling out weakly “Tono… Tono…” followed by a loud “YOSHITSUNE-SAMA!!!! (echoes…)” before bowing to death.

Bloody Finale

Yoshitsune shouted “BENKEI!!!” and ran in from the hanamichi… Rain started pouring… He questioned his brother’s actions, and sounded really tortured again sigh… Then there were voices of baddies shouting for him, so he ran behind the trees to hide… The baddies ran out on stage, searching for Yoshitsune, and SUDDENLY… Yoshitsune killed one of them from the back (out from the trees)! By then, Tono wasn’t wearing his mic already. And he shouted (raw voice) that he will take revenge for Benkei and Saburo!!

His hair fell down in a mess… He became a mad man… one filled with nothing but revenge and love for his kerais… Midway through the fight, he also pulled the top of his robes off, so now he’s a *hadaka* mad man :D

He fought the baddies, so many of them, while slow music played in the background… then there was the sound of thunder… and rain pouring down… with each stab, the thunder sounds, and blood gushes out… all over his white robes! His body and face weren’t spared. And he still continued fighting… The stage rotated… He fought up the platform, down again, and all this while, this lovely slow background music played… THUNDER AND LIGHTNING… RAIN AND BLOOD… SO DRAMATIC… SO INTENSE…

He killed off everyone else and then it was face to face, one-on-one, Tono on our right vs Kitayama on our left. During the last show, I was looking at Tono thru my binocs… He was staring hard at his enemy, barebodied, hair down, drenched in rain, blood staining his robes, katana in his hand…. THEY WERE FAR APART, BUT TONO’S GAZE WAS SOOOO INTENSE…. THAT I COULD FEEL THE HATRED HE HAD AND HIS LONGING FOR REVENGE…. And the background music was still playing along with the sound of rain and thunder… I was still looking at Tono through my binocs, then suddenly my vision blurred… It took me a while to realize that it was because tears had welled up in my eyes!!!!!!! I DIDN’T EVEN KNOW I CRIED… LOL…

He chased and slashed at Kitayama, up the sliding platform, after exchanging a few sword-clashes. And finally killed Kitayama with a swing of his blade… It seemed like Tono killed him differently for all 3 shows… During the first show, Kitayama’s katana flew out of his hands and he crawled up the slide platform as Tono chased and slashed at him. During the 2nd show, I think his katana was still in his hands… I think the fighting for this was all improvisation, there wasn’t any fixed routine… and I really think all the baddies – Kitayama and Kawai-kun too (who shouted “Yoshitsune-sama!!” – soundless & blood spurting out) while he was being slashed at – did really well in this intense, crazy, and bloody finale.

After killing off Kitayama, Tono stood on the platform, facing the audience, and put the katana blade to his neck. The music stopped, and there was only the sound of rain… He called out “ANI-UE!!!!” before slashing hard at his neck. BLOOD SPURTED OUT IMMEDIATELY, and it was raining blood too, at that spot where he slashed himself! OMG the scene was so real… TONO WOBBLED A LITTLE, KNELT DOWN ON ONE KNEE, DROPPED THE KATANA ONTO THE GROUND *PLONG*, AND FINALLY HE HUNG HIS HEAD DOWN ON ONE SIDE – HAIR FALLING OVER TO THE FRONT… And Tono froze there… Music played… with Yoritomo’s voiceover… and curtains closed.

Of the 3 shows I went, the death during the 24th first show was exceptionally beautiful!!!! That pose when he died was VERY PRETTY!! I know it’s weird to use “pretty” to describe a bloody death scene, but it was really “BLOODY PRETTY” :D That image was fixed in my mind for a very long time, I still can remember it now, just like how the Oshichi image stayed… It left such an impression. I wish I have a memory capture device to show you what it looks like from my view!! Sigh… But I hope this one makes it to the DVD!!!

And Nyanco brought it to my attention too that TONO HELD HIS BREATH ALL THE WAY UNTIL THE CURTAINS CLOSED. It was as though he was really dead!!!!!! I remember looking at him through my binocs and he really wasn’t moving!

Ending Speech

We continued clapping even after the curtains were down, in the dark, all the way even when the music started and curtains opened again. Tono was still hadaka, hair down, in his bloody robes. He was on the platform. We clapped louder when he appeared… and only stopped after he walked onto the hanamichi and started talking. During the first show, he told us that there’re DVD cams today! *YATTAAAA!!!!!!!!* And that it’ll capture him in this manner (referring to his messy wet hair and bloody robes lol). Then he talked about how they hope to have as little injuries as possible all the way to the end etc…

Then during the 2nd show’s speech, he said that it was the 150th show for Enbujo *WE DIDN’T KNOW THAT!!!* Ureshii yo~~ :D (Out of 150 shows, I’ve attended 6! xD)

And during the last show I went (25th April), he mentioned that there were DVD cams the day before (that helped us confirm that our hearing weren’t wrong! LOL!). I remember telling Loracyn that there was what looked like a pimple on his nose. After returning from the shows, I found out about that “nose infection” thing that he had since the first show of Enbujo (on 2nd April). I think that was what I saw though it was only a red spot… I only noticed it at the end of the show, during the speech… Maybe the rain scene had washed off a bit of the make up.. Sigh… that means that the infection thing hasn’t healed by then :( Btw, on this topic, I saw some “injury marks” on Tono, especially during the final scene when he’s topless. There were 2 red spots on his arm (right arm, I think) near his elbow… They looked like cuts made probably by the cable or weapons… v_v;

Then he talked about “With Love”, theme song for Enbujo’08, which he wrote. He said he’ll perform it but before that, he’ll introduce the members of Takizawa Enbujo. And all the juniors and cast/backdancers involved are on the rotating stage. Takki goes off backstage, music for “With Love” played, and his voice introduced the members as they rotated into view. From the dancers to Japan Action Enterprise to individual members of MAD to the 4 juniors – KissMyFt2’s Fujigaya & Kitayama, and ABC’s Kawai & Totsuka – to Johnnys Juniors.

With Love

Then the music changed… And the intro for “With Love” played. Takki walked out on the bridge in black and red outer suit, and introduced the song. The first time I heard this song, I fell in love with it, and was close to tears!!! It has a simple melody but it flows so well~ the words are so meaningful… And after sitting through 3 hours of fantastic performance by the entire cast, after that bloody finale that I just can’t seem to forget… THIS IS THE PERFECT ENDING TO A PERFECT SHOW. Furthermore, it was Tono who wrote the melody and penned the lyrics, with what little time he’s given. This song is so precious to me!!!

Takizawa Enbujo’08 Theme – WITH LOVE
Lyrics & Melody by Takizawa Hideaki

輝きも　温もりも　この胸に　息づいてる
kagayaki mo nukumori mo kono mune ni ikizuiteru
ひとつずつ　糧となり　僕の命になる
hitotsu zutsu kate tonari boku no inochi ni naru
過去から未来へ　扉を開いて
kako kara mirai e tobira wo hiraite
足跡は　どこ見ても　続いてく
ashiato wa dokomade mo tsuzuiteku

かけがえない　時間を共に生き
kakegaenai jikan wo tomo ni iki
いつも心は　繋がってる
itsumo kokoro wa tsunagatteru
たとえ遠く離れていようとも
tatoe tooku hanareteiyou tomo
忘れないよ　この想い WITH LOVE
wasurenai yo kono omoi WITH LOVE

煌めいた　奇跡たち　いにしえの　勇者達も
kirameita kisekitachi inishie no yuushatachi mo
君と今　ここにいる　鮮やかなままに
kimi to ima koko ni iru azayakana mama ni
鼓動を響かせ震える想いは
kodou wo hibikase furueru omoi wa
新しい時をまた刻んでゆく
atarashii toki wo mata kizande yuku

ありがとうと言えるよ　目の前の
arigatou to ieru yo me no mae no
君にまっすぐ　伝えたくて
kimi ni massugu tsutaetakute
そうさ　ずっと僕らは同じ道
sousa zutto bokura wa onaji michi
行けることを　信じてる　WITH LOVE
ikeru koto wo shinjiteru WITH LOVE

かけがえない　時間を共に生き
kakegaenai jikan wo tomo ni iki
いつも心は　繋がってる
itsumo kokoro wa tsunagatteru
たとえ遠く離れていようとも
tatoe tooku hanareteiyou tomo
忘れないよ　この想い WITH LOVE
wasurenai yo kono omoi WITH LOVE

ありがとうと言えるよ　目の前の
arigatou to ieru yo me no mae no
君にまっすぐ　伝えたくて
kimi ni massugu tsutaetakute
そうさ　ずっと僕らは同じ道
sousa zutto bokura wa onaji michi
行けることを　信じてる　WITH LOVE
ikeru koto wo shinjiteru WITH LOVE

Tono sang the first verse and chorus alone on the bridge. Then from the 2nd verse onwards, juniors and the other cast started appearing, and the background VTR switches to a close up of Tono. During our 2nd show (our only evening show), the audience were more enthusiastic in their clapping – clapping after the first chorus, clapping when the juniors appeared, and clapping at the end even before the music ended.

During the last chorus, all the juniors and staff joined in the singing and everyone did sign language! While the ending music was played, there were the letters “L O V E” in English on the background VTR. It slowly moved to form the word “命” (Inochi), which is the sub-title of this year’s Enbujo. Sugoi ending deshita!!!

Then the instrumental “With Love” played, and Tono led the cast to bow to the audience, first on our right, then left, and finally to the middle. Everyone gave them a standing ovation, especially the audience during the evening show (on the 24th – the 150th show). When I was at the 2nd floor, I didn’t care, I just stood up straight away!! There’s nobody behind me anyway lol~ The girls beside us were all Takki fans too, and they were waving at Takki while he looked at our direction. But I was too shy to do anything, so I just clapped LOL. Next time, I’ll wave!! LOL!! We stood and clapped all the way till the curtains went down again.

During that evening show, there were some people in the audience which led to try for an encore. But after clapping for some time, nobody came out. I don’t think Tono is the sort to give encores during Enbujo, unless it’s some special occasion? Like… his birthday in 2006, and every senshuuraku, and also on the opening shows probably. Despite clapping for a long time, he didn’t come out again, so we gave up lol.

BTW, I saw loads of salarymen (from black to grey to white haired ones) and middle-aged ladies watching the shows. There were people from below 20 years old to about 60 over? A really wide range of audience appreciating the same piece of work. I think people under the age of 16 weren’t allowed in. In any case, with the removal of the Show Time segment this year, and the addition of Takizawa Kabuki, plus the combination of the past rain & hadaka scenes into the bloody finale, the production has matured greatly. And when I thought more about it later, these guys only had about 2 weeks to rehearse? (T&T’s tour ended on 26th March, and Enbujo started on 2nd April.) Yet, this one beats the previous 2 Enbujos hands-down!! Really!! This is a production that we fans should be really really proud of! =D

And if you haven’t read Eye-Ai’s August 2008 issue (an english magazine featuring Takki & Takizawa Enbujo’08 on the cover), you can download the scans from naughtiest’s blog here :)