[Report] Takizawa Kakumei 2011 – Act 2

I took so long to write this ne…. but I told myself I had to finish it before the DVD release haha! It was rather rushed, but I was quite surprised I could still remember a lot of it. Also, I can’t seem to find pics for the beginning of Act 2, so gomen, all the pics seem to be cluttered at the end lol~~

Continued from Act 1

Scene #1: Once again, the forest of Kumano

Konno-kun talked about Newton’s predictions etc, and Hidejiji descended from 2nd floor right to the left of the stage. I always looked forward to this part… coz Hidejiji was always sooooo cute!!! Many times he slowly lifted his right hand with a “peace” sign while his left held on to his walking stick… There was minimal movement with his body and often, he just stared at the audience with a straight (but really cute) face :)

During my final show, he was so near to me coz I was sitting at the first row of the 2nd floor, on the right!! Kyaaa~ the fans around me were all giggling coz he was so cute~ his eyes were sparkling! ^^

After he landed on the stage, during our first show, he bowed to the man in black (who took off the cable for him), like saying “thank you” lol~ and then walked towards the center of the stage.

♪ Letter A

Hidejiji ranted that baka Yuma opened the box that shouldn’t have been opened… and then he saw the bench. He walked towards it, saying “natsukashii na~”, sat on it and said out loud that he was born on the hospital bench on 29th March 1982… that his mom said that Yuma was born normally, but he was born on the bench. He remembered a letter that his mom wrote to him, and found it under the bench.

He said, “Those were great times~” and did the same cloth trick. Chibi Hideaki appeared in his place. He read out the letter, and Hidejiji now appeared on top of the stone steps in the middle of the stage. He asked chibi Hideaki, “Don’t tell me… you are Hideaki?”. Chibi Hideaki nodded, and Hidejiji said “Ah, I knew it, I can tell immediately because you look so handsome~” LOL!!!

Then he asked chibi Hideaki to look at some kawaii thing, which flew off and became some white cloth thing (sorry, it was too long ago, can’t remember lol~). The boy was jumping and fighting it, but it’s too high for him. After fighting for a while, chibi Hideaki ran off stage, calling for help~ but what he said was “Help me~~ Tsubasa-kun!” (on 1/13, coz apparently, Tsubasa was there). And Hidejiji on stage was silent for a while, then said a soft “…eh?” lol.

On 1/14, chibi Hideaki shouted “Help me… Takki you stupid!”. And Hidejiji was like “…? what do you mean…” lol…

♪ Letter B

Hidejiji saw a skeleton… and when it fell onto the ground, Hidejiji said very softly, “Ara! Imai-san!” LOL!

There was some movement behind a cloth, and Hidejiji asked, “Hey, who’s that?”. It turned out to be another old man who said “urusai!”. After some time, he realised that this old man was Yuma. The brothers finally met and acknowledged each other… and Yumajiji called his brother in an *overly affectionate* way~~~ “anikiiiiii~~~~” LOL!! ^^ and Hidejiji said, “kimochi warui naaa~~” while laughing! ^^

A 3rd old man, Nikkijiji, wearing a beanie, walked in from the right, and he was holding a plank of wood lol. He was mumbling stuff I couldn’t really understand, but when he saw the other 2 old men, he was happy~~

Hidejiji then somehow got ‘hit’ by the plank of wood, and fell on his back onto the ground, together with the wood! Lol~ he was moving his legs in the air (like an overturned beetle or cockroach~). I found out later that it was supposed to be Yuma falling with the plank of wood, but as I mentioned in my Act 1 report, Yuma was injured then, so this was one of the stunts that Takki took over.

Nikkijiji then said “Oh, you guys… don’t tell me… you guys are… Higashi and Uekusa*!” (*the other 2 members of Shounentai) and both Hidejiji and Yumajiji fell onto the ground dramatically lol.

Nikkijiji finally acknowledged his sons~ “Hideaki! Yuma! You guys are alright!!”. Yumajiji was explaining that someone said that if he opened the box, he can restart his life… and Hidejiji became angry, like “how does this look like a start to you?” and pointed to himself lol… Then many old ladies came on stage – wives of Uekusa and Yuma or something. I didn’t really understand what they were mumbling but it was so funny coz they were placing bikini bras on top of Yuma’s head, and across his chest lol…

♪ JIJII ga DANCE

And finally, the three old men did the Jiji Dance! LOL!

The song and its dance were comical~ jiji ga dansu~♪ jiji ga dansu~♪~ but my favourite part was right at the end when the three Jijis laid on the ground ‘dead’, and then one of the old men backdancers (I think it was Tottsu) hit the “bell” right when the song ended.

The backdancers left the three jijis on stage, and one by one, they started ‘breathing’ again, and got up. Yumajiji suggested perhaps trying to open the box again, and maybe they can go back to their normal selves. Nikkijiji tried, but hurt his back and fingers and whatnots a few times trying to do it lol. Hidejiji suggested that the person who opened the box back then should open it again now. And finally they got the box opened, and were brought back to…

Scene #2: Imperial Theatre 100 years ago

…100 years ago, in ancient Imperial Theatre.

Both Takki & Yuma were dressed in their kirakira costumes, and someone in ancient clothes came and said “The show is about to start”~ and it seemed like it was a show called “Yuma Kakumei” lol! Everyone was mobbing Yuma (“It’s Yuma! It’s Yuma!”) and pushed Takki aside (LOL~~ this part was so cute, coz Takki was like “what about me?” or like “isn’t it Takizawa Kakumei?” kind of reaction hahaha). Nikki even said, “Oh, it’s Ta… Ta… Takogawa (or something else other than ‘Takizawa’)” lol… Takki fell onto the ground a few times with his reactions. So cute~~

♪ Sentimental City Romance

The ‘show’ was about to start, so Takki & Yuma ran in behind the screen. I vaguely remember them spinning each other and then running off stage together lol…

♪ Wooden Clogs Tap

The Jrs. and chibi Jrs. came on stage and did the tap dance, shouting along with their dance moves. Then Yuma started singing a song, along with the tapping. I love that song, it has an ancient tune, but nice!

♪ Japanese Style STOMP

The music changed, and ABC-Z appeared topless. After a drumming session, two of them (Tsukada and Goseki, I think) did some stunts at the front which was really cool.

♪ Boku no Kakera (Face-change Ver.)

A very soothing beautiful music played… and I fell in love with the tune straight away!! And this has become my most favourite ever face-change segment!!! Takki came out in red handsome suit and his mask… and danced to slow music… while his masks made numerous changes…

He was surrounded by female dancers throughout the song, and the ending was really graceful and beautiful~~

♪ Futari no Yoru (Shamisen Ver.)

And then, there was the familiar strumming… It was the introduction to Futari no Yoru! This was the most kakkoii Futari no Yoru EVER! I don’t know how to describe it but Takki playing the shamisen was CHOU KAKKOII!! I was looking at him with my binocs, and he was so cool playing and singing at the same time. The way he stood, held the shamisen, sang, everything… zenbu~ kakkoii!! *ran out of words to use~~*

I wonder how it’ll turn out on DVD…

On 1/14 (I think), I saw a neon green/yellow mask-like cloth hanging from his waist during this song! It was hooked onto one of the ‘black bands” of his belt! I didn’t know if it was a mistake or not then, coz I didn’t particularly notice it earlier, but after watching the later shows, I confirmed that it was a miss then. The mask from the previous segment must have hooked itself there by accident…

♪ 100 years Romance

This song is nice naaa~ the tune was also played right at the start of Act 1 actually. Yuma started singing the song, and my first impression during my first show was, his voice is nice na~ and that was before I started to like Yuma, lol. ABC-Z and then all the Jrs joined in as well.

Towards the end of the song, I knew Takki was going to do the bunjee, so I just kept staring at the ceiling… I could see when he came in, walked and then saw his legs on the bar. Before the song ended, he was already lowered – above the audience on the first floor. People on the 2nd floor would be able to see him clearly.

♪ Kakumei Bunjee

All eyes were on Takki. This year, he was in yellow again — kyaa, I love this bungee costume best so far! And beautiful music played again… then Takki stood on the bar, holding one side of the rope, faced one side and started singing! This is the first time he sang during the bungee segment!! And… and… HE SANG IN ENGRISH!!! Kyaa!

I didn’t really know what he was singing… his Engrish was cute, but hard to catch… but it went something like “Again, here we are, it’s only you and me… My love, I need you like I need [something something something]…. And I, I never felt, a love so pure and new… Oh god/girl, so tell me now, oh tell me what to/you feel…” something like that hehe~~ then Nikki and Hime came on stage and continued singing, while Takki started to swing back and forth…

And finally, when they sang “Only you… Baby–” and he dived….and on 1/13 the lady beside me (I think) went “AHHHHHH!!!”. I can’t remember if I screamed too. Somehow, and I mentioned before in my Act 1 report, this year he seemed nearer, my heart seemed to stop beating, and I realised at the end of the segment that my hands were clasped haha. Bungees and dives are one of those things that really have a different feel watching it live vs on DVD.

When it came to the bridge part, Takki did many slow back flips, while Nikki and Hime continued singing… then he got back onto the swing, and sang “Let me be, Let me be, Baby let me be the one… Yeah….” and started swinging again…. Nikki and Hime continued singing until the final ‘multiple turns’ that Takki did — that always ended with a red-flushed faced Takki. And all of us would be clapping like crazy.

I would then watch him be raised up, until his legs disappeared from sight, and he walked off the ceiling thing on the left. And that was my favourite sequence – I love the entire thing from face-change to bungee!

Scene #3: Queen of Kii

The Queen of Kii and Yuma were on stage talking. Not sure what they really said, but Yuma told the Queen that the only one that can be King is his brother! And the Queen captured Yuma. Yuma called out for his brother~ “Aniki!” before the stage fade into darkness.

Scene #4: Eve of Decisive Battle

Then this was perhaps the most boring scene for me. I found the entire butai captivating, not a moment where I wanted to sleep… except this one, and ironically it’s a ‘loud’ scene, as there was a lot of shouting. Blame me and my lack of understanding of the language… coz it would have been more interesting if I knew what they were talking about.

I think O-san fell asleep every time during this scene. Fortunately it was only for a few minutes. And they needed this time to prepare the final set on the stage… It was green (Tottsu and team) on the left, and red (Kawai and team) on the right – they were standing on the stairways on both sides of the stage, near the audience…

And then, it was just the green team alone on the left. I remember Goseki had a bit of a disagreement with Tottsu, while Tsukada looked on.

Scene #5: Decisive Battle

When the screen opened, we could now see the final set. It was really beautiful – a rock structure with water flowing on the stage itself~ and you might call it a ‘fetish’ of mine, but I really love the sound of the water flowing XDDD

♪ Ai Kakumei Ballad

It was Nikki vs Queen, talking about the old times, when Nikki left Queen for Hideaki & Yuma’s mother. The background music was a sad version of Ai Kakumei. Nikki wanted to use his own life to exchange for his son’s safety. But the Queen sent her men to fight Nikki, while she left the stage.

Nikki bravely fought the bad guys in black (like ninjas), with water starting to fill up to their ankles already. It was cool, the fight choreography and music direction! I remember the bad guys running around Nikki in a circle when the music changed. Hmm, I remember weird things ne, lol.

Halfway through the fight, the blinding lights shone at the first floor audience again, and when the lights came back, Nikki and baddies were gone, i.e. while Nikki were still fighting the bad guys (off screen), the scene we were about to see next was happening at the same time.

♪ Final Battle

Music changed, and the Queen and Tottsu were on the stage, while a blindfolded Yuma was brought in by two men in black capes and hoods, somewhere higher up of the rock structure. The Queen and Tottsu ordered that Yuma be executed. And the man on Yuma’s left raised his blade high–

— but when he slashed downwards, he spared Yuma and killed the other man in black instead!!

Yes, that man was Hideaki in disguise!!!! Kakkoii!!! When he pulled off the hood to show his face, he said “I won’t let you lay a finger on my younger brother…” KYAAAA!!! The Queen was kinda expecting him to appear, and he told Yuma to fight together with him. Yuma asked for a katana, and I think Kawai or Hasshi passed one to him.

Then everyone started fighting. My memory is already fading, can’t really remember how they fought, but I remember it was exciting, and I LOVED the background music~~~ especially when it changed beat. And of course, as seen in the news clips, Hideaki stood at the top of the rock structure. Some of the rocks gave way and water gushed out, flowing all the way down to the stage.

Hideaki slid down, along with the water flow, to stage level and continued fighting the bad guys. It was “raining” then too, and hence the stage was filled with water. Everyone was drenched! And it looked slippery to be fighting there~

There was also a scene where the water gushed against Hideaki’s body, while he fought Tottsu. It looked like he could be swept away by the force… But of course, Takki was too strong for that to happen~~

Water was splashing everywhere but Hideaki still looked so kakkoii!!!! ♥

I also remember a scene where Yuma was held by his hair and his face smashed onto the ground three times. Poor guy~~~ Hmm, I seem to have selective memory ne~ hehe~

And it’s true what they said, that only a theatre as grand as Imperial Theatre could stage such a show, and have pools under the stage large enough to collect the amount of water used during this scene. If I remember correctly, there were 7 pools under the stage used to collect the water.

Anyway, after alot of fighting, finally Hideaki and Yuma killed off Tottsu.

But all of a sudden, Hideaki was stabbed by the Queen of Kii! The music stopped and there was silence… Yuma shouted “Aniki!!”. Hideaki fell onto the ground, clutching his stomach.

Then I remember Yuma trying to stab the Queen, but Hime shielded her mother and got stabbed instead. The Queen felt bad about everything, and decided to take poison to kill herself. She wanted Nikki to take care of the daughter she’d be leaving behind.

♪ moonlight

All of them left the stage except for the father and two sons. Water shot upwards from the bottom of the stage, and Hideaki, still holding onto his injured stomach, stood in front of the water curtain, head down, panting. Nikki said they cannot forget that many people lost their lives because of this, and Yuma said that it’s all thanks to Hideaki that peace was brought back to the Country of Kii.

But Hideaki walked towards Yuma, and said that his job ends here… and after a while, he collapsed onto the ground. Yuma immediately went down and held his brother, “Aniki…” … and Nikki shouted “Hideaki!”

♪ Boku no Kakera

Then that same beautiful intro played… and I recognised it was the same as the face-change segment. “So this is ‘Boku no kakera’ da!” I thought to myself… Kyaaa~~ I loved this song the first time I heard it. I’m a sucker for Takki ballads (and this one’s lyrics was written by Takki! He’s really good… sobs).

The first verse was sung by Takki, with Yuma by his side. The way Takki and Yuma’s voices blended together during the end of the first chorus was so beautiful~~

Then Nikki came and held Hideaki, while Yuma stood up, walked to the right and sang the second verse and chorus. Really beautiful song… Halfway through, Hideaki closed his eyes… I was looking at him, and thought to myself, “Please don’t die… don’t die…”.

Then towards the end of the song, that was the only time I used my binocs to look at Yuma’s expression… There was this particular line that got to me sooo badly… that I couldn’t stop my tears from flowing~

Yuma was facing Hideaki ,whose eyes were closed, while singing this…

次は僕が君を守りたい、どんな時でも
Next time I want to protect you, no matter the situation,
お願い、目を開けて
So please, open your eyes…
今すぐ
Right now…

I watched 4 shows, and cried 4 times — at the very same part! I didn’t know why, coz it was never this bad, even during Enbujo 2009, during that Yoshitsune-Saburo scene…

After the song, Hideaki took his last breath *sobs*~~ Nikki shouted “Hideaki!” and Yuma shouted “Aniki!!”… Then the Jrs (I think it was ABC-Z) carried him above their heads and walked off slowly. The background music then was a very sad and solemn organ version of “Boku no Kakera”…

♪ Kakumei (Ending Ver.)

Then he appeared again on the left side of the stage, now in white (like last two years). He said that in the future, it’ll be Yuma to have a revolution (kakumei). Then he flew to the sky, diagonally towards the 2nd floor, while singing the slow (ending) version of ‘Ai Kakumei’…

During my last show, Takki flew so near me again, and he looked towards our direction too~ his eyes were sparkling… and the fans around me were all kyaaing quietly. A lady, two seats to my left, was saying “kakkoii~~” really softly lol~

☆ Curtain Call

♪ Ai Kakumei (Curtain Call)

Everyone clapped while the Ai Kakumei music played, and the cast were introduced. I loved clapping along to this music  – and when Takki appeared again, he was in a red and white smart suit.

He led the cast to bow in all three directions…. and we gave them a standing ovation every time.

We continued clapping after the curtains closed… and after a while, the curtains raised again for Takki to give his ending speech. He thanked everyone for coming, that he’s happy to be able to stand here again, and that the show will soon reach its halfway mark. On 1/13, I think he said that Tsubasa was here (not sure), but he said that it was Yuma’s birthday, and fans cheered~

On 1/14, after one of Takki’s sentences, a few people started clapping, but as Takki continued talking, nobody else followed the clapping, so these few people stopped clapping. Takki noticed and stopped talking… Everyone laughed, including Takki lol~ It was a case of wrong applause timing (like when Yuma was giving his birthday speech in Act 1 – same thing happened which made everyone laugh~).

And there you go, my thoughts on Act 2 :)

This year’s Takizawa Kakumei has become my favourite Takki butai. It’s the kind of butai where… the more I watched, the more hooked I got. I’m glad there wasn’t any Show Time, although I really loved last year’s Show Time (especially Shalala & “Jin Jin” Warui Otoko!). I feel that, ironically, the butai seemed more complete without a Show Time.

Imperial Theatre 100th Anniversary Show
“Shinshun Takizawa Kakumei” First Press Limited Edition DVD
Release date: 8th June 2011
Pre-order @ CDJapan | Amazon | HMV | Tower | Tackey Shop

Imperial Theatre 100th Anniversary Show
“Shinshun Takizawa Kakumei” Regular Edition DVD
Release date: 8th June 2011
Pre-order @ CDJapan | Amazon | HMV | Tower | Tackey Shop

I’ve placed my order with Amazon last week! The 26% discount was too good to refuse. I can live without the lunch box, but I can’t live without both DVDs lol. And it’s exactly 3 weeks more before I can see Hideaki and Yuma again!!

Honto ni tanoshimi~☆