Introductions

Hi there ^^
I'm Max (id; numen) 20 years old (or young) youngster from Finland. I've been interedted in anime, manga and japanese culture since I was 14, so I did know in theory what Takarazuka means, but I didn't really discover the magic before this autumn, thanks to one Utena musical (that I found through Sera Myu). And now I am totally hooked. My favourite siennes are Osa, Asa, Wao&Hana and I've becoming more and more interested in Mizu.

I ordered my first dvd, Flower Troupe's version of Elisabeth, couple of days ago and can't wait for its arrival.

Hi everyone! I'm Naru~ I'm 19, and I have been a fan of Takarazuka for about a year now.
I've kinda been using Takawiki ever since I became a fan, but I've only just thought to post here... ^^;
Hmmm.. what got me into Takarazuka... Oh, I watched the Morning Musume x Takarazuka Cinderella musical, and from then on I started looking at other Zuka productions like Phoenix Wright. What really got me hooked was Elisabeth 2007 version though.

Hello. I'm Aleta, screen name shadowcat. I am new to Takarazuka, though I am a Japanese cinema and anime fan from 'way back. As in I think I started in 1975 or so. When I lived in Washington, DC, I was a member of the Japanese-American Friendship Society, and have studied a little of the history, culture and language. Currently I'm in America, in the high desert of southern California. I have never been to Japan, am eagerly looking forward to my first visit. One of my anime friends in Japan very kindly acquired for me the 1998 and 2007 "Elizabeth" DVDs. Wow. Amazing. Wonderful. insert lots of gushing superlatives here. I love everything I've been able to learn about Takarazuka. Please pardon any ignorance I show: I'm still learning and will appreciate any correction to mistakes I make. Links and hints most welcome!

Hello everybody. It is first time that I'm posting. I'm interesting in Takarazuka~ I live in Poland.umm...nice to meet you ^^

Hi everyone, my name is Andrea but the log in name is sniperwolf_bh, im a Designer and im from mexico, and living in Japan though next month im returning home (sad about it), and well as for january of 09 i became a fan of Takarazuka
ive study this last year at my Japanese performinf Arts class but it wasnt till i saw the promotional poster for The Legend Floor Group (Matobu Sei, Yuhi Oosora, etc) that i really became interest in it

so far ive only seen 3 plays, Amor sore wa by Cosmo group(Yuga Yamamoto) and twice Elisabeth by Moon group (Jun Sena), and well since i did but couldnt see the legen i bought tickest to see the 2nd version for this month
and since then i grew a likeness to it

the beauty that takarazuka gives us, the songs, dances, sets and actresess, very unique and wonderfull, and thats why i like it
and well i would love to learn more about it, so thus the reason why i join here and glad i did

Hello everyone! I'm Vicki (here under the name celegam) I'm from Indonesia. my english not really good, so please forgive me if there's missing typos and such. I'm 19 years old and a college student major in design and art.

First of all, I really really new to this fandom and my knowledge about Takarazuka is big zero. My first encounter with Takarazuka was when Capcom decided to put their point and click game, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, to live action in Takarazuka. I'm a big fan of the game.
The first thing I thought was, practically.... "What the hell? Isn't Takarazuka, some kind of all female group show or something? They are going to ruin the characters! The story! Everything!"

and then, after some thought....I decided i might take a look how it was. After watching 2 parts of the show in youtube (Ranju Tomu is the name-if I'm not mistaken- of the otokoyaku as Phoenix Wright), to be honest, they were not bad, at all. It's unique in it's own ways, the singing and dancing feel a bit awkward for me, but they deliver the whole world of the game on the stage and it was good.
After wandering around looking for Takarazuka videos, i found the rest of them very interesting.
The music, the costumes, the singing, yeah you name it... long story short, i was impressed XD

and then i found this site and decided to check it out so... here i am. So I wish I can learn from this site and getting to know fellow fans, and maybe someday go to Japan and watch the live show.

vicki

Hi! Maybe I should introduce myself! I'm Mari まリ, though on here I go by HanaYume as you can see. XD
I've actually only been a fan of the Takarazuka for about two months, if that!! But I am already quite obsessed with it!!
A bit about me? There isn't much... I'm almost 26, a novelist and artist, and... I guess that's it. XD

I first found out about Takarazuka last year, because I was browsing things by Amami Yuki, my favorite actress, and then found that she had been in it. So I looked it up on youtube, thought it was cool, thought the makeup was a little scary but the concept really, really neat. But then I left it alone for awhile...

But then, early this year, I decided to go back to this Takarazuka thing because I just couldn't get it out of my mind! So I went back, and found this whole world of... complete awesomeness!! :)

I think it's a culmination of loving Japanese culture, theatre, dance, singing, glitzy things, cross-dressing, and even being someone who really, really loves women (especially asian women) that makes me love this so much!! I only have the Elizabeth DVD from 2005 tsuki gumi, but I count myself lucky to even have that!
I think I have watched it about 70 times since I got it, too. Perhaps a bit obsessive, but I find it really, really beautiful!!

Anyway, that's my long, long intro..... ^^

> When I finish watching Karamazov Brothers, I asked a staff if I could meet the actresses, since I was brazilian and I had to go back to my country soon and that would be the last chance to see then.. But the staff didn´t allow me to meet the actresses, but I could wait for then after the last performance, when they go home. I waited for the final of the last performance for 5 hours!!!!!!!!!!!!! It was really cold and I was freezing.. But when the performance was finished, the fan club people said I couldn´t be in the front, because they had priority.. I got angry, I was waiting for 5 hours in the cold.. But, anyway, I could see Mizu Natsuki and she was gorgeous!!!!!

Sounds like you had a good time seeing the shows, even if not such a great demachi experience. :)

It might have seemed unfair, after waiting so long in the cold, but the rules are pretty old about irimachi and demachi. Also, the fan club members spend a LOT of money for the privilege, and a lot of time waiting for their star, sometimes twice a day, every day. I'm not saying it's a perfect system, but it's a tradition, and I think most people get prickly about traditions. :) I've heard stories that it started during the 70s, when The Rose of Versailles was so popular. The stars were getting mobbed, and even hurt, so the fan clubs started forming their "Guard". The fan club guard always stands in front, to guard and buffer their star.

yeah, it was a great experience.. but now that I came back to Brazil, I'm really sad that I won't be able to watch takarazuka anymore. I wanted to watch "Taiyou Shijinki" (I have watched the korean drama, it was wonderful), Zorro, by snow troupe and Elizabeth, by moon troupe (Sena Jun will be great as Derr Tod)...

Wow... sounds like you had a brilliant time at all the performances! I'm hoping to couch-surf around Japan in a few years time, so maybe I can catch a Takarazuka show.

Ahh, it´s difficult to say.. because all the performances were wonderful.. I really liked the star troupe in Berusaiyu no Bara, but the songs of snow troupe Karamazov Brothers were fantastic!!! On Solomon no yubiwa and Yume no Ukihashi by moon troupe, the costumes were impressive.. and in Apasionado it was like spanish dance (flamenco), and since my family is spanish, I loved it!!

When I watched Berusaiyu no Bara, it was a snow troupe tour to lots of cities in Japan.. and they went to Koufu, where I used to live. I waited for 4 hours in the queue to buy the ticket in a good sit.. And during the performance Aran Kei went out of the stage and stayed next to me, singing.. I was about to dye in happiness!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

When I finish watching Karamazov Brothers, I asked a staff if I could meet the actresses, since I was brazilian and I had to go back to my country soon and that would be the last chance to see then.. But the staff didn´t allow me to meet the actresses, but I could wait for then after the last performance, when they go home. I waited for the final of the last performance for 5 hours!!!!!!!!!!!!! It was really cold and I was freezing.. But when the performance was finished, the fan club people said I couldn´t be in the front, because they had priority.. I got angry, I was waiting for 5 hours in the cold.. But, anyway, I could see Mizu Natsuki and she was gorgeous!!!!!

In other words, that experience was unique and when I go to japan again (maybe in 2011) I want to be in the takarazuka fan club!!!

(sorry if I have a poor english)

You're very lucky that you could watch so many of their shows. I am jealous! I wish I could see some of then. What was your favourite performance?

Hi everyone, I'm Milleanni from Brazil, I'm 24 years old and I knew about Takarazuka when I was looking for Rose of Versailles stuffs, which I love.. since then I became a huge fan of Takarazuka. Last year, I had the opportunity to live in Japan for one year and I could watch a lot of plays in Tokyo Takarazuka. I watched Solomon no yubiwa-Mariposa no hana, Berusaiyu no Bara bernard-neodantism, Karamazov brothers and yume no ukihashi-apasionado.. And I bought the flower troupe Elizabeth DVD with the wonderful Haruno Sumire, she is great! And I love Mizu Natsuki, Sena Jun and Otozuki Kei as well!!!

Now that I came back to Brazil, I'm really sad that I won't be able to see Takarazuka anymore, but thanks the TakaWiki, I can know about the latest news about it. I'm very pleased! Thank you very much!

Hey dude's and dudettes. I'm Stacy (or shinigami_hanako), from England, I'm 19 years old and studying for an English degree so I can become an English teacher. I want to teach in Japan someday but I need to save up a lot of money before I can even book a flight.

I only discovered the Takarazuka properly very, very recently. I had heard of the 'Zuka' club on Ouran High School Host Club but had never thought to research further. I do have a funny little story about how I got into the Takarazuka though.

Me and my friend are exremely huge fans of the Phoenix Wright games. Searching for skits on youtube, we came across a musical version, so we watched it (even though it was in Japanese, we were spotting characters and being amazed at the dancing). We were both marvelling at how hot the person playing Edgeworth was and we both said, "I wonder who he is." We searched for which theatre company had done it in an attempt to find a cast list and, sure enough, we discovered it was the all female theatre troupe, the Takarazuka revue. Needless to say, we were both a little embarrased but we still said, "Well... male OR female... she's still hot."

So yeah.. thanks to Hikaru Nanaho for playing an extremely attractive Edgeworth and getting us hooked.

Just a little addition, just incase anybody was wondering. I am 100% straight... but that doesn't stop me from accepting that another woman is hot, does it? Especially if they are playing a man! Haha.

I don't really know much about the company, but I suppose the purpose of joining this website is to learn, right? I'd love to actually watch the revue someday but I'll have to stick to youtube videos for now. Oh... and the DVD's. Will they come with English subtitles?

Hello!

ok so for the logistics part - i'm 26 - moved to Japan in June of '08 to teach English while "saving money" for grad school - i'm a theatre dork (after all it is my 1st degree - 2nd is English Lit) - intended on getting some hands on experience with Japanese Theatre while I'm here . . . oh how little did I know that Japan had a sparkly "secret." Thanks should be given to caithion for "dragging" me - skipping - to the glittery world of Takarazuka.

Currently I'm primarily a Hoshigumi fan, but Tsukigumi is making it's way up there with their current show (Apasionado) in Tokyo!! I enjoy watching just about anything Takarazuka right now - even the "talking heads" of interviews & such. ;-) (I'm also a newbie to Japanese).

I'm also on LJ & in that community under the same name as here. I look forward to eventually being able to contribute to the Wiki.

Hope everyone has a great day & gets their daily dose of sparkles!

~ imastrgazer

Yoroshiku! Just a few lines to introduce myself as I had written a long and pondered introduction message and at the right moment I clicked "enter" of course the page crashed on my face ahahha (rather hysterical laughter).

I'm from Rome, Italy. I'm 30 and I have an angel face which doesn't really match my soul. I'm a legal advisor for banks and other financial intermediaries and I'm currently working for a firm here. I've been a Takarazuka lover for a long while, even if I've always been more interested in the cultural side of it than in the entertaining "have fun" part, due to my overanalytic personality. Thanks to the net, the ice has been broken and I've discovered the pleasures of fangirlism. I hope to keep on having fun as I am now and to be a member of the community _O_

Hi everyone,
I totally blame MerryShannon for this obsession. On her site she had a link to a site about Takarazuka more than a year ago. I looked at it and was intrigued but it went no further. Than four months ago I thought ‘Maybe they have something on youtube.’ I hit the mother lode. Now I own about 10 dvds and I can’t tell you how many times I’ve used this site to look up performances and actresses so thank you to all of the contributors. I’m hooked to the point that I’m planning on going to Japan in 2010 just to see some performances and I start a Japanese class next month. That’s obsessed!!
Rachel

I'm a Sera Myu fan,too~And I love Nao very much~
shake hands with you~

> Hi, everybody! I'm Danru,a Chinese Takarazuka fan~I love Osasa,Tani,Wao&Hana,Yuuhi and so on.I love to talk with friends here about the actress we love.In China,I can't find fans.Next year,I hope I can go to Japan to watch Elisabeth by Sena Jun~Now I'm still a university student ,so I have to save money.But I'm glad to do this for them~

Hey hi all!

I just wanted to say thanks for the site! I'm new to this fandom (I got lured in by Taka-fans posing as Sera Myu fans who lured me with the line "If you like Hikari you'll love this . . .") and its great to have a place where I can try to put faces to names and reviews to pretty DVD covers *laughs*.

Now I just have to figure out which one I want!

Anyway, thanks again!
Miranda