Erin Watches Sera Myu, Stage 1 Part 3
Oct. 12th, 2010 12:57 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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sailormoonRounding off the first stage of reviews, again with video provided by SeraMyu Antics.
More new terms, this time courtesy of WikiMoon: a Senshuuraku is "the final day of a particular musical. Senshuuraku performances often had more ad libs or jokes, and at the end of the performance, the graduating cast members would be given a special farewell."
Eien Densetsu Kaiteiban: Senshuuraku
After a brief scene in which Galaxia nabs Tuxedo Kamen's Star Seed, we snap into a scene which I was hoping was an alien planet under attack from Galaxia: Hotaru is the princess, while Minako, Makoto, Ami, and Usagi play her knights, and sing in French as they defend her. Alas, it turns out to be a school play, with the Three Lights playing the attackers.
On the other hand, in a twist that I completely believe this time around, Galaxia resurrects Beryl. It gets the buildup and dramatic treatment it deserves. (There are further twists with these two later, which I will not spoil, but which are delightful instances of Somebody Put Thought Into This.) And, of course, she gets handed an evil!Endymion to play with. Fun times!
Back on Earth, Mamoru may be out of the picture, but the same actor takes various roles, leading to a running gag that Usagi is seeing Mamoru everywhere. He's the director of the school play; he's the gym teacher, in a tiny skintight outfit and poses reminiscent of nothing so much as Hard Gay.
The other characters get a couple of nice individual arcs: Ami is again struggling over whether to study abroad, Rei faces some awkwardness as the only one of her close friends who doesn't go to the same school, and Hotaru is unable to transform in the beginning, though Galaxia is planning to pounce on her Sailor Crystal once she "matures" again. Usagi gets a duet with Mamoru in absentia, which segues into a lovely and touching harmony with Seiya singing to his/her own absent princess. Pluto...well, you'll see. It's unexpectedly epic.
Chibi Chibi is included pretty randomly and never gets formally introduced, but most of her purpose is to be a random set piece of cuteness anyway, so it works pretty well. It helps that the actress is very good: she carries herself like a senshi, with grace and dignity fitting the character's actual years.
In a sweet callback, "Double Moonlight Romance", sung at the opening of a couple of earlier myu by Chibiusa/Pegasus and Usagi/Mamoru, becomes a chorus, with all the sailors singing about their love for each other. Usagi's in tears by the end, and since this is Ohyama Anza's last performance, this is either stunningly good acting or totally real.
The final songs/credits are the longest I've seen yet, and worth it. The dance sequences are striking, the farewell speeches touching, the special guests a lovely touch. Ohyama is in tears, definitely real ones this time, for the last couple of numbers.
Stage 1 Omake
At this point, SeraMyu Antics has a couple of bonus videos, so I breezed through them here. The first two are pretty standard: a couple of cute backstage videos, antics with the cast, trivia, various actresses saying "Please cheer me on!", and at least one title card identifying the girl in costume as "Sailor Satan." Aw, Engrish.
The third counts down the Top 10 fan-favorite myu songs:
10. Galaxia Gorgeous (the Animamates' battle song)
9. I Miss You (the Usagi[/Mamoru]-Seiya[/Kakyuu] harmony)
8. See Me, Boku-tachi no Jidai (a Three Lights love song)
7. Sailor War Supreme (the heroines' battle song)
6. Densetsu Seitan (a quiet chorus with all the heroines)
5. L'amour D'amour Moonlight (an energetic heroine dance number)
4. Chasin' After You (a Three Lights rock song)
3. La Fatalité Sei Senshi (the partly-in-French heroine battle song)
2. La Moon (an even more energetic battle song/dance number)
1. La Soldier (no surprise, as this is basically the myu theme song)
(Whaaa? No space for Solar Miracle Make-Up? I'm down with the rest of the list, though. Except maybe Densetsu Seitan.)
The fourth is definitely the most worth watching. In addition to the aforementioned standard stuff, it opens with a sort of Greatest Hits song roundup, featuring the Inners, Outers, Sailor Moon, Tuxedo Mask, and Yaten. Don't know where Taiki and Seiya got off to; Yaten takes Seiya's part in the songs when necessary. There's also no actress for ChibiUsa currently in the group, leading to a hilarious routine in which first Usagi, then Makoto, then Setsuna take her part.
Lots of laughing and friendliness among the actors, including a couple of flubbed lines. With bonus question time for the audience; the one that made it into the video is the adorablest of adorable tiny moppets in full-on Eternal Sailor Moon garb who wants to know why Sailor Moon is the strongest. (Poor Tuxedo Mask: "I'm strong too! Even though I die.")
More new terms, this time courtesy of WikiMoon: a Senshuuraku is "the final day of a particular musical. Senshuuraku performances often had more ad libs or jokes, and at the end of the performance, the graduating cast members would be given a special farewell."
Eien Densetsu Kaiteiban: Senshuuraku
After a brief scene in which Galaxia nabs Tuxedo Kamen's Star Seed, we snap into a scene which I was hoping was an alien planet under attack from Galaxia: Hotaru is the princess, while Minako, Makoto, Ami, and Usagi play her knights, and sing in French as they defend her. Alas, it turns out to be a school play, with the Three Lights playing the attackers.
On the other hand, in a twist that I completely believe this time around, Galaxia resurrects Beryl. It gets the buildup and dramatic treatment it deserves. (There are further twists with these two later, which I will not spoil, but which are delightful instances of Somebody Put Thought Into This.) And, of course, she gets handed an evil!Endymion to play with. Fun times!
Back on Earth, Mamoru may be out of the picture, but the same actor takes various roles, leading to a running gag that Usagi is seeing Mamoru everywhere. He's the director of the school play; he's the gym teacher, in a tiny skintight outfit and poses reminiscent of nothing so much as Hard Gay.
The other characters get a couple of nice individual arcs: Ami is again struggling over whether to study abroad, Rei faces some awkwardness as the only one of her close friends who doesn't go to the same school, and Hotaru is unable to transform in the beginning, though Galaxia is planning to pounce on her Sailor Crystal once she "matures" again. Usagi gets a duet with Mamoru in absentia, which segues into a lovely and touching harmony with Seiya singing to his/her own absent princess. Pluto...well, you'll see. It's unexpectedly epic.
Chibi Chibi is included pretty randomly and never gets formally introduced, but most of her purpose is to be a random set piece of cuteness anyway, so it works pretty well. It helps that the actress is very good: she carries herself like a senshi, with grace and dignity fitting the character's actual years.
In a sweet callback, "Double Moonlight Romance", sung at the opening of a couple of earlier myu by Chibiusa/Pegasus and Usagi/Mamoru, becomes a chorus, with all the sailors singing about their love for each other. Usagi's in tears by the end, and since this is Ohyama Anza's last performance, this is either stunningly good acting or totally real.
The final songs/credits are the longest I've seen yet, and worth it. The dance sequences are striking, the farewell speeches touching, the special guests a lovely touch. Ohyama is in tears, definitely real ones this time, for the last couple of numbers.
Stage 1 Omake
At this point, SeraMyu Antics has a couple of bonus videos, so I breezed through them here. The first two are pretty standard: a couple of cute backstage videos, antics with the cast, trivia, various actresses saying "Please cheer me on!", and at least one title card identifying the girl in costume as "Sailor Satan." Aw, Engrish.
The third counts down the Top 10 fan-favorite myu songs:
10. Galaxia Gorgeous (the Animamates' battle song)
9. I Miss You (the Usagi[/Mamoru]-Seiya[/Kakyuu] harmony)
8. See Me, Boku-tachi no Jidai (a Three Lights love song)
7. Sailor War Supreme (the heroines' battle song)
6. Densetsu Seitan (a quiet chorus with all the heroines)
5. L'amour D'amour Moonlight (an energetic heroine dance number)
4. Chasin' After You (a Three Lights rock song)
3. La Fatalité Sei Senshi (the partly-in-French heroine battle song)
2. La Moon (an even more energetic battle song/dance number)
1. La Soldier (no surprise, as this is basically the myu theme song)
(Whaaa? No space for Solar Miracle Make-Up? I'm down with the rest of the list, though. Except maybe Densetsu Seitan.)
The fourth is definitely the most worth watching. In addition to the aforementioned standard stuff, it opens with a sort of Greatest Hits song roundup, featuring the Inners, Outers, Sailor Moon, Tuxedo Mask, and Yaten. Don't know where Taiki and Seiya got off to; Yaten takes Seiya's part in the songs when necessary. There's also no actress for ChibiUsa currently in the group, leading to a hilarious routine in which first Usagi, then Makoto, then Setsuna take her part.
Lots of laughing and friendliness among the actors, including a couple of flubbed lines. With bonus question time for the audience; the one that made it into the video is the adorablest of adorable tiny moppets in full-on Eternal Sailor Moon garb who wants to know why Sailor Moon is the strongest. (Poor Tuxedo Mask: "I'm strong too! Even though I die.")
no subject
Date: 2010-10-12 09:54 pm (UTC)The actress playing Chibi Chibi was also Chibi-Usa in the S and Stars Kaiteban, and she'll come back in a few years to play Black Lady. It's really neat, because you get to see her grow up on the Myu stage.
The Beryl-Pluto-Endymion-Serenity polygon is such a good plot twist, and I love how Beryl is handled in this musical. As another awesome thing - Nishina Yuri, who plays Beryl, was in the Takarazuka Revue before she did the Myu, and one of her last roles, just a few years before the first Myu, was Marie Antoinette in one of the Rose of Versailles musicals. I love her acting so much. She's part of why I haven't watched the Marina!Moon musical with Beryl - she's not in it, and I'm wary, although the woman playing new!Beryl has a nice voice on the soundtrack.
And oh, the Starlights are even better in this musical than ever! The musicals made me like Taiki, I swear. S/he was my least favorite of the Three Lights until Hikari Ono played her on stage.
I will have to see this Omake - I've not yet. Does the Omake have Usagi and Mamoru in wedding garb? I've seen a video clip of Usagi in a wedding dress, and have no clue what it's from, but it's definitely Anza as Usagi.
no subject
Date: 2010-10-14 04:55 am (UTC)I didn't realize that actress was the same! I'll have to pay closer attention to her.
Haven't gotten to the next Beryl yet, though I will, since my goal is to watch them all. Besides, I figure if I don't care for one of the new actors, I can always go back and rewatch the old ones ^_^;
None of the omake I've seen yet feature Usagi and Mamoru in wedding dresses. I'll keep an eye out for it!