monday.

[sunfright]

The never-ending saga of Takarazuka's war on YouTube uploads. Until a month or so ago, there was a fully subtitled full-length version of the 2016 Soragumi Elisabeth uploaded to YouTube that I used as reference for my roleplaying of Death. It has since been taken down again, as most videos with full-length Takarazuka things are, especially, but even just small clips can't stay uploaded for long. I could bemoan this at length and inside, I probably bemoan it a little bit, but I get the point. They want people to purchase.

I want them to make it easier to purchase outside Japan, though. Then, I'd purchase the Hell out of their storages.

Anyway, because Takarazuka fans are at heart as eager to share as anyone else, well, the 2016 Soragumi Elisabeth has gone up, full-length (though without subs, but the script can be found in full translation on TakaWiki), once more. Part 1 & part 2.

I love Elisabeth, I think it's one of Zuka's most accessible and easy-to-understand productions, with or without English subs. My first introduction to it was the 2005 Tsukigumi version which still to this date has the best "Milk" I've seen, plus the best Lucheni in a Japanese production. The 2002 Hanagumi version has the best Death/Elisabeth combo with Haruno Sumire and Ootori Rei in the leads. Soragumi's 2016 production is kind of a mix of all these good things, making it very enjoyable if not wholly up there with the best of the best. I enjoy Asaka Manato's Death a lot and she has a nice lower range, but isn't otherwise the best singer. I like Misaki Rion as Sisi, especially as she grows older and she's at her absolute finest in the second act, whereas her young Sisi is a bit shrill and childish (in an overexaggerated way, IMO). I think this version has some good stand-alone songs. With one of the best Franz Josephs I've seen, Franz's and Elisabeth's love duet in act 1 is actually one of the best bits in the entire show. Same goes for Rudolph's and Death's "Yami ga Hirogaru" in act 2, really lovely version of that song. So, I recommend this show to anyone who wants to be well entertained for a couple of hours and maybe to hum a few of the melodies for days afterwards. Watch it quickly, while it's still up, will be my advice. There's some lag in audio in the first part that gets worse as it goes along, but I found it not too distracting except in a few places. It looks fine in the second part.

Having rewatched this, though, I have totally got a plot bunny for another random cross-over pairing that I might or might not write at some point. Elisabeth/Lilith from Datenshi no Namida. If we AU Lilith about 40-50 years back in time, she would've been working the streets around the time when Elisabeth was travelling Europe to escape court and they could've met by chance in Paris, creating a scene reminiscent of the Windisch scene in the musical. Lilith manages to say something very profound and true, Elisabeth is moved and invites this sick girl to wherever she's staying while in town, probably a hotel, calling on her own doctors to give her the best treatment. They spend a few days together, telling each other their life stories, until Lilith is on the brink of death and Elisabeth calls on Jean Paul to come and see her, as her final farewell gift to the girl. They say goodbye and Lilith dies.

It could be a moving story, I think. And, period-wise, it's much more in the general era that I'm familiar with (19th century).

On my way to bed soon, so I can be ready for tomorrow's hospital visit. Right now I'm listening to Arvo Pärt's Spiegel Im Spiegel which is a personal sort of Christmas hymn for me. It always soothes my system, and with how stressed I'm feeling currently, any calm I can collect is good, welcome, needed. Maybe, if I can collect my thoughts before my appointment tomorrow, I'm going to try and write the beginning of that Elisabeth/Lilith story. It would have to be a Christmas story, to follow Datenshi's timeline if not in decade, then in season.

Still, not getting my hopes up too much. If I know myself, I'll be fretting and unable to concentrate on anything until the meeting is over. So... Later this week, but hopefully before X-mas.

Goodnight, friends.