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Sakura Taisen Appreciation Half-Week: Swashbuckling roosters ahoy!
First off, as ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
ladykleo indirectly reminded me in the previous post, TVTropes.org has a really good Sakura Taisen entry, including a quick guide to the Tokyo characters, and an overview of some of the anime adaptations.
But, anyway. Moving on.
To recap what we've got so far! Sakura Taisen is a series of games/anime/manga about three groups of women who fight demons using giant robots powered by steam technology and psychic powers, who front their robot-demon-fighting operations with an opera company, a burlesque, and a vaudeville theater, respectively. The ST characters have also been brought to life by a series of live musical revues. Oh, and most of the women are eminently slashable.
But remember how I said that the stage shows got even freakier than what was hinted at two posts ago?
Yeah, they do. Because Sakura Taisen is about demon-fighting theater troupes, both the games and the anime feature a bunch of show-within-a-show productions, such as those showcased in the first 35 seconds of the opening to the second game:
Quite a few of those musicals glimpsed in the first part of this opening - including "Aiyueni," "The Village of the Sea God," "Bluebird," and "Treasure Island" - would eventually be turned into live musicals starring the Sakura Taisen actresses.
That's right.
They got the actresses not only to dress up and act as Sakura Taisen characters on stage, but they got the actresses to dress up as Sakura Taisen characters dressed up as OTHER CHARACTERS, and got them to act as Sakura Taisen characters putting on OTHER MUSICALS.
Meta-theater. Gotta love it.
Of course, all of meta-theater productions are completely batshit insane. For example, here's the program book from the 2003 production of "New Treasure Island":
Yeah, I know. It looks completely insane, doesn't it?! Now, this version of "New Treasure Island" may or may not have been based on Osamu Tezuka's famous manga, also called "New Treasure Island." I don't know because I haven't read it. Or all of the general insanity - including the swashbuckling roosters, dancing crocodiles, singing skeletons, and whatever - may be wholly original to Sakura Taisen. I really don't know.
Here's the program book from "New Aiyueni," which was the final show that featured the Tokyo cast. It gives a good overview of each character's role in previous meta-musicals:
Yup, they really like to bring those show-within-a-shows to life. For example, here's "The Village of the Sea God," as portrayed in the animated movie:
Here's the same scene, portrayed on stage:
Yup.
Oh hey, what's that?
THAT will be the next entry!
Still to come: A trip to the Sakura Taisen mecca, amazing toys that you could buy for the small price of four thousand dollars, still the greatest Christmas song every written, and a final musical bonanza.
ladykleo indirectly reminded me in the previous post, TVTropes.org has a really good Sakura Taisen entry, including a quick guide to the Tokyo characters, and an overview of some of the anime adaptations.But, anyway. Moving on.
To recap what we've got so far! Sakura Taisen is a series of games/anime/manga about three groups of women who fight demons using giant robots powered by steam technology and psychic powers, who front their robot-demon-fighting operations with an opera company, a burlesque, and a vaudeville theater, respectively. The ST characters have also been brought to life by a series of live musical revues. Oh, and most of the women are eminently slashable.
But remember how I said that the stage shows got even freakier than what was hinted at two posts ago?
Yeah, they do. Because Sakura Taisen is about demon-fighting theater troupes, both the games and the anime feature a bunch of show-within-a-show productions, such as those showcased in the first 35 seconds of the opening to the second game:
Quite a few of those musicals glimpsed in the first part of this opening - including "Aiyueni," "The Village of the Sea God," "Bluebird," and "Treasure Island" - would eventually be turned into live musicals starring the Sakura Taisen actresses.
That's right.
They got the actresses not only to dress up and act as Sakura Taisen characters on stage, but they got the actresses to dress up as Sakura Taisen characters dressed up as OTHER CHARACTERS, and got them to act as Sakura Taisen characters putting on OTHER MUSICALS.
Meta-theater. Gotta love it.
Of course, all of meta-theater productions are completely batshit insane. For example, here's the program book from the 2003 production of "New Treasure Island":
 |  |  |  |  |  |  | |
 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
 |  | ||||||
Yeah, I know. It looks completely insane, doesn't it?! Now, this version of "New Treasure Island" may or may not have been based on Osamu Tezuka's famous manga, also called "New Treasure Island." I don't know because I haven't read it. Or all of the general insanity - including the swashbuckling roosters, dancing crocodiles, singing skeletons, and whatever - may be wholly original to Sakura Taisen. I really don't know.
Here's the program book from "New Aiyueni," which was the final show that featured the Tokyo cast. It gives a good overview of each character's role in previous meta-musicals:
 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
 |  | ||||||
Yup, they really like to bring those show-within-a-shows to life. For example, here's "The Village of the Sea God," as portrayed in the animated movie:
Here's the same scene, portrayed on stage:
Yup.
Oh hey, what's that?
THAT will be the next entry!
Still to come: A trip to the Sakura Taisen mecca, amazing toys that you could buy for the small price of four thousand dollars, still the greatest Christmas song every written, and a final musical bonanza.