[Review] Takizawa Kabuki DVDs

I’ve been so overwhelmed with work… to the point that I thought I might just collapse in office lol. But fortunately, the weekend is here! After posting this, I’ll be off to bed hehe :)

On 9/22, I called DHL to reschedule delivery in the evening and the time slot they gave me was 7-10pm. If the guy had come at 10pm, I think I wouldn’t sleep that night. Fortunately he arrived at about 8.30pm, and I immediately started my Takizawa Kabuki DVD marathon :D

I really love that scene where Oshichi puts her hands together.

• First Press Limited Edition (Jacket A)
  Buy @ Amazon | CDJapan | HMV

KYAAAAAAA!! The booklet!! I was expecting to see photos taken from the official stage photos, like for Takizawa Kakumei DVD, but no, this booklet is a gem! The pictures were brilliantly selected! Loads of hadaka Tono during Revenger, Taiko drums, make up scene, etc. Whoever did the selection of pictures — good job!! ^.^

The booklet was packed outside the DVD, and although the paper quality isn’t fantastic (the cover curls up if you leave it alone on the table, but it’s not a problem coz it can be straighten by putting weight on top), the pictures more than makes up for it haha~ For someone like me who bought ALL the official stage photos at Nissay, I really appreciate this! :)

I.LOVE.THE.COVER. And actually on the discs themselves, there are dragon-like markings similar to the design on the cover (behind the words “Takizawa Kabuki”), but it’s not that clear from the pic. Sorry I took these pics using my iphone, so the quality isn’t good.

• Regular Edition (Jacket B)
  Buy @ Amazon | CDJapan | HMV

The box is thicker than I expected. It’s double the thickness of the usual DVD box – maybe cos it’s a 3-discs box (compared to Kakumei DVD). There are also markings on the discs similar to the pattern on the cover. No booklet in this edition, which is cheaper than the limited one, BUT…

I absolutely LOVE the bonus content of this edition — more than the Limited Edition’s. That’s also why I think it’s impossible for me to give up any of the editions. There’s NO WAY I can give any of them up!

Anyway, here are my very random thoughts as I was watching the discs. Discs 1 & 2 are the same for each edition, and I had posted my reports on the show itself half a year ago, so I won’t really go into my thoughts on the general storyline.

• Act 1 (Disc 1)
  A translation of Act 1 can be found at the forum!
  

Love the silhouette scene!

Kyaaaa! The curtain opening was captured beautifully on DVD! ^.^

Haru no odori~ Love the background props opening up, moving forward, and all the dancing. Jr introductions are so funny, especially Kawai, Chino, Konno Takayuki, Goto Hiromi, and Tatsumi Yudai.

Taki-ojisan! XD

Chushingura. Love the background video screen, and designs on the raised platform! The music is sooo nice… The changes between Takki & Kawai were so fast that I actually didn’t notice it during my first show (when I was on 2nd floor).

Tono in white with white cloth over his face~ KAKKOII!

LOVE the “Mugen no Hane” variation remix background music when Tono was struggling with the 2 black guys in the pool… all the way till Yara and co. came out and danced… till the end of the mask scene.

One of the reasons why I love Act 1 so much is the BGM. Many variations of “Mugen no Hane” and “With Love”. If only there’s a soundtrack…

Hadaka, neon sticks, water and light, modern drums mix with ancient taikos… Honto kakkoii! TAKIZAWA BICEPS & ABS! *DIES*

Nice lights design on the floor while the black guys danced before Revenger.

KYAA~~ REVENGER!! Love the chorus dance! TakiABS!!!!!! ^.^ Takki walking towards the audience for the last chorus! I remember when I was watching the show, my heart went all *DOKIDOKI* as he walked forward… and finally when he danced right in front, I could even see the “Takizawa Happy Trial”~ he was that close!

TAKIZAWAAA!! *points to bicep* PERFECT BODY! lol~ JIKASHIBORI slow motion on DVD *kirakira* Those two guys are really funny haha!

LOLLLL Tono eating the flying kiss by Matsuzaki! Then spliting it into two, giving one to Matsuzaki and one for himself. Takki is a born entertainer :)

Oshichi puppet scene!!! One of my bf’s favourite scenes! It was very well done~ Konno Takayuki singing Oshichi’s feelings before she climbed the tower… especially the part where he sings “I want to have wings… I want to fly… I want to be happy…”

Taki-Oshichi! He really looked like a puppet when pulled backwards by the “invisible men” (men in black)!! That’s one of my favourite parts!

Another was after Oshichi climbed the tower, and she put her hands together, and closed her eyes… So beautiful!!!! I don’t think he did that in the shows that I went. Anyway, the fire thing was awesome, especially the burning VTR behind, and the transparent video screen that came down and blacked out right after the performance.

KYAAA! The music is so beautiful! Goto Hiromi playing the erhu, and then Taki-hime playing the koto! Plus the ‘love scene’ with Yara… the music is so beautiful and soothing all the way until Taki-hime turned into a spider…

Then, the spider music = kakkoii!! I love the Yara & co. dance.

TAKI-SPIDER!!!!! KAKKOII!!! My favourite part of Act 1! I love the way his face/mask was painted, his little actions and body movements… and finally towards the end when he threw threads out towards his enemies~ kakkoii!

I love all the Takki vs Yara fights. Nice music.

On top of the spider body, I love the way Taki-Spider moved his hands and body.

Actually, this spider performance is what I would define as “Takizawa Kabuki”!

So many lovely close-ups of Takki during the show. Good job, cameramen.

The only ‘problems’ were 1) perhaps the best adlibs weren’t shown on DVD (Matsuzaki kissed Tono on the lips during senshuuraku, and during the show I went, he kissed him on the cheeks and did CPR for him lol~) and 2) the volume of the music was sometimes too loud and sometimes too soft…

Hmm, doesn’t that sound like Sutejuu aka Kawai-kun? Hahahahahahaha…

• Act 2 (Disc 2)
  A full translation of Act 2 can be found at the forum!

From the DVD, it’s slightly easier to tell that the main character in the short film was played by Yamamoto Ryota. He did look a little like Yamada Ryosuke from HSJ. Haha~

“SHI NE!! (DIE!!)” KAKKOII!

Is it me only, or does Yamamoto Ryota also remind you of Akanishi Jin when he plays Taroumaru? It’s his expression or his face when his hair is tied up, I don’t know, but I got the same feeling watching the show live, and on DVD too.

Masakado-sama kakkoii! Hidesato-sama kakkoii too. In their own ways. I like the friendship between them.

Masakado vs Hidesato scene. “We have the same dream, but different paths (michi ga chigau)” => The light separation thing was what I had noticed from the 2nd floor, and it was shown clearly on DVD. I think it was really Takki’s idea, and if I noticed it, it means I’m a super maniac Takki fan haha.

Masakado shadows scene was cool~

Masakado wanting to save Hidesato scene was touching, but somehow the BGM in the DVD wasn’t as dramatic as in the theatre.

That strong light was blinding from the first floor, but not from the 2nd (or the DVD).

Sutejuu vs Masakado adlib = LOL! My favourite of Act 2! XD

“Over here, Chibi!” LOL!!

“MASAKADO-SAMAAAA!!!!”
“Urusee na… (You’re too loud)” LOL!

Go, Kawai-kun!! Haha! Tono looked so cute when he tried to cover his laughter by facing back (but his whole body was still shaking!)~ and I realised that Kawai-kun’s laughter is cute hahaha…

“Cameraman, you don’t have to film him anymore!” Haha!

“You, speak louder! ”
*Sutejuu suddenly starts to speak loudly*
“You’re too loud!!… Don’t you have an in-between?”

“You said I was too loud, so I spoke softly.” x2 “Shall I say it one more time? You said I was too loud, so I spoke softly.” Wahaha!! Kawai-kun, you are so funny!

Masakado-sama killing off traitor Saburo!! Kakkoii!

4D Flying: View from the side is cool! Something we don’t get to see live. But my favourite part (hit-turn-hit-turn) wasn’t shown from the audience view. It was shown from the side view instead. Hmm…

The Takki-Kawai change was done so quickly again.

I remember when I looked at Masakado-sama close up while he laid on the floor dying… tears welled up in my eyes during one of the shows.

Aww… I love that BGM… “The time has come for me to depart this world…”

Takki’s gentle voice singing “Forever ~ My Dream ~”

And of course I LOVE the final scene to bits, where the huge avalanche of snow fell onto the fallen dark hero, Taira no Masakado…

Yappari, no Takizawa Enbujo or Takizawa Kabuki is complete without “WITH LOVE” ne! It’s still my no.1 favourite Takki song! And I love the photos he took of the cast and himself shown on the screen behind :)

• Children’s Day SP
  (Disc 3 – Limited Edition)

Just so you know, this special bonus isn’t only on the Children’s Day show itself, but also include rehearsals and backstage footage! These are my random thoughts as I watched.

Ranger show rehearsal looked fun!

Helium-voice Takki! Wahahahaha!

Takki sitting in the audience seat doing furitsuke of the Jr. song haha~ he looked so happy, he’s really enjoying himself ne! XD

So many “yossha”s! LOL

Sutejuu (Kawai)’s “Chotto! Chotto!” *runs across the stage* “Ah, wrong, you are over here!” LOL! I burst out laughing when he did that!!

Masakado-sama still wanted to continue his lines haha~ but he finally transformed into “idol Takki” when he took off the wig haha

Chino-kun kawaii desu ne!

KYAAA! The Enbujo mask VTR! hehe! This time it’s done at the lobby of Nissay Theatre. But it’s similar to the Takisama Concert 2009 where Kawai-kun is the director, then hitting a zzz… Tono! :D

There he goes again, giving kouhais a chance to do a bit of PR on his show.

I was expecting Kawai-kun to appear sooner, but he only did in Take 5.

Kareha no Kage!

KYAAAA!!!! The Takizawa Souchou VTR!!! This was the same one shown during Takisama Concert 2009! I remember we were laughing so hard when we saw Souchou’s baka faces, and styling his “Elvis” hair in front of the motorbike mirror lol…

Takizawa Souchou walking through a row of the audience hahaha~ A guy in the audience said something to Souchou, and Souchou smiled back sweetly haha~ But after he reached the other side, he said “I’m asking you now, can you be a bit more afraid (of me)!!” LOL!!!

KYAAAA!! Ai Kakumei “Souchou talking” version!! This is actually my favourite version of Ai Kakumei yo~ gomen ne, hahaha~

Souchou’s “word of the day”… unchi (shit). *LOL*

Souchou turning coward in the end haha~

If only Takki performed Circle with Yara. I love that song! And I’m too used to the way Takki sang the chorus (whether alone, or with Pi), that Yara’s version sounded quite weird.

Hikari Hitotsu! No matter what, I still love this song so much~ Ryuzaki Shinji!!! It’s been more than one year already ne~ Sigh, where’s our next Takki drama…

“GAAAAAA” at the bad creatures LOL

Nerdy Tottsu and his hair wig! Then Kawai-kun’s “I’m not TakiRanger, sorry about that. Everyone in Nissay Theatre, konnichiwawa! My name is Kawaisandowichi, in short Kawawicchi.” *ROFL*

KYAAA!!! The TAKIRANGER PV!!!!! But they only showed a bit of it…

TakiRanger’s LOVE BEAM :D

Maa ne, this Ranger Show is really for kids. YaraRanger & TakiRanger are so funny, they way they exaggeratedly sang the song.

TakiRanger crying :D

TakiRanger vs Kawawicchi 4D flying – I love the hit-turn-hit-turn move, with yellow circles moving outwards. That’s the part I love in Act 2.

TakiRanger on top of the platform shooting the baddies with his TakiBazooka!!

TakiRanger Dive! KAKKOII!

And finally Eito Ranger giving them power to defeat the baddies…

Dance class looked fun.

Takki to little boy standing in front “Are you the furitsuke teacher?” haha~

REAL DX!!! I love watching Takki and the Jrs do this song. Especially the last part where he turned to the front and then to the back. Somehow I love that part, from Kakumei DVD and now here.

KYAAA!! SHALALA!!!! It’s always fun to watch this song being performed during a butai (I remember loving it in Takizawa Kakumei 2010). And then this time, it’s Takki vs Yara!!! XD Look at Takki’s smile!! XD

SHALALA SNOW!! Looks fun!

Aww… WITH LOVE is always so nice, so beautiful~~ and the “eh, how come the curtain didn’t close” thing was so naturally unnatural. Lol. But at least we got to see Takki take off his coat haha!

Erm, there’s snow falling, so I don’t see the link to a “hot summer” LOL~ but his smile after all the star-jumps was ^.^

Finally, the “Shalala Outro” music!!! I LOVE THAT!

“Takizawa Kakumei… I mean, Takizawa Kabuki!” *ROFL* That was yet another classic Takki *KAMIKAMI* moment!

All those kids are soooo lucky!!!! >.<

• Document of Takizawa Kabuki
  (Disc 3 – Regular Edition)

More random thoughts as I watched hehe. This might be exceptionally long, because there’s too much to kyaa about. There isn’t enough space haha~

HIGE!!!!! Black-frame specs! Kyaaaa~~ It’s been a while since I’ve seen him unshaven. Iya~ Kakkoii! So manly!!!

Takki’s macbook looks the same as mine! ^.^

Tono sitting on the floor, with sandals and pants rolled up, watching the Jrs. dance.

I love that vertical strip at the back of his white tee.

BICEPS ALERT!!! @-@

So cute when he was practicing drums, especially his smile when he missed a beat or something haha~

Oooh, blisters.

Ah, he’s getting better at the drumming ne… just the last part… ooh, I love his serious expression when he’s hitting the drums.

KYAA!! I love the rehearsals for Revenger!!

Takki on the sofa… deep in thought about the curtains thing… I think that was really kakkoii! I love such a Takkizawa, staring hard at his macbook, thinking hard…

KYAAA!! Takki playing the koto! The tune is so beautiful~

That spider hair wig is really cool!

Wooo~ he had to tie his hands and legs? Or was it only during the rehearsals?

KYAAA!!! Taki-hime x Yara~ “kekkou LOVE SCENE desu ne~” :) And Yara actually grabbed Taki-hime’s hands from the koto! kekeke~

Taki-backflip *FAIL* lol

Haha, the game sound effect controller!

Takki clothes check: white-yellow-black shoes spotted during Kuricon 2007; black t-shirt during Enbujo’08; checked pants from Las Vegas during Kakumei and Tackey Resort event this year.

Takki (and ABC-Z) went to the shrine to pray for the Act 2 Masakado story. And they visited Masakado-sama’s grave as well. It’s actually located near the theatre ne.

WAHAHAHA!! Kawai-kun!! How can you not know the kanji for “Masakado”! *faints*

LOL! Hasshi’s script ding!

Masakado kills off Hidesato. I love Takki’s expression after he slashed at Tottsu.

What is it that Takki’s eating?

Did Takki cry while rehearsing the “Masakado asking Taroumaru to kill him” scene?

Tono in fighting scene rehearsal~ KAKKOII!

4D flying looks tough!!!!! Got to use the entire body’s muscles ne. And hahaha, both Yara and Takki have body aches after the 4D fight.

Wow, Takki is now good with the drums!

HADAKA!!! 6 PACKS!!! BICEPS!!!

Takki looks so happy when he’s with the Jrs~

Voice rehearsal in the recording studio. Lol.

Erm, okay. That was fan service.

Kyaa! So they were wearing white during the silhouette scene!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO TAKKI!! 329 :) Yara & co. pushed out the cake ~ and then they had to leave (for SHOCK rehearsals?) haha~ This birthday cake & song just reminds me of last year, on 3/29 when we celebrated for Takki after the opening show of Enbujo’09. It was perhaps the best butai show I’ve attended hehe.

Yay~ The curtains thing finally worked.

BICEPS again! ^.^

That water pool looks too cold! No way I’m gonna jump in like them.

Hahahaha… Taki -monk!

Wahahaha… Matsuzaki and Taki-monk adlib!

After the opening show, they all looked so happy hi5-ing each other~~ Takki had injured his eye area that day, but the show ended successfully :)

Yara & Takki, then 12 & 13, backdancing for Kinki Kids on Children’s Day 15 years ago… That was their first job after entering the jimusho, and they wore funny triangle hats, and danced as each other’s mirror image… That must be really cute! Mitai ne~

And it’s so true, what Yara and ABC-Z said, that Takki is always thinking about how to make the fans happy, how to let the audience enjoy.

One thing I like about Yara (compared to some other people whose names I shall not mention) is his respect for Takki. I think it’s also really sweet that Takki & Yara have mutual respect for each other. It can be seen from the way they interacted…

OMG! His left leg was actually injured all this while!! :(

Kawai-kun & co. psyching up for senshuuraku LOL… He’s kinda like Takki’s personal secretary haha, and perhaps my favourite ABC-Z member. I think he’s funny haha~

Takki/Yara friendly hug :D

I’ve been watching this DVD every single day, ever since I’ve received them on 9/22 lol. And it doesn’t take a genius to figure out that my favourite disc is the Documentary (Disc 3 of the Regular Edition), followed closely by Disc 1 (of both Editions).

One thing for sure, these are my most precious DVDs, even overtaking my precious Takizawa Enbujo’08 DVD! Well, it can’t be helped since the butai itself is a power-up version of Enbujo :)

3-discs, a 90mins behind-the-scenes documentary, and an excellent Act 1. These have become the characteristics of a Takizawa Enbujo/Kabuki DVD, something we don’t find in Takki’s other butai DVDs (Kakumei, Dream Boy, or the very first Enbujo DVD). If I were to recommend just one of Takki’s DVDs to an ippan (non-fan), I’d definitely go with this.

滝沢歌舞伎DVD、最高！★