Kangae wo Haikai

考えを俳諧。（かんがえをはいかい）Kangae wo Haikai. trans. Wandering Thoughts.

For the lack of anything else to do (and procrastinating while doing so), I decided to type a random entry today about my little inquiries concerning the group of people I've been a fan of for almost two years: the group that is TeniMyu. With the 21 musicals they's done so far (not counting Dream Live 7th that just finished its first run in Kobe), it's a wonder how close all those actors get in the time they spend with one another.

I was talking with Toru yesterday and he says he's quite a big fan of the franchise and was lucky enough to have watched a few musicals when they came out; particularly when Seigaku 4th cast took the stage (that's from Progressive Match Higa - Dream Live 6th).

He and I were talking about this little collage I made of TeniMyu that Yukio asked me to do for him composed of different pictures of the actors. Doing that little project helped me realize one thing: IT STARTS AND ENDS WITH TENIMYU. I've noticed in the line of musicals, dramas and what-have-you that goes on in the entertainment buzz of Japan, it all leads back to this musical where a grand cast of about 133 people (I counted xD) have starred in.

Putting into consideration the other projects these actors engage in before or after their time as part of the TeniMyu cast, it wouldn't be a surprise if they become the center of interconnections in the J-drama world. Each individual actor pulls in others not part of the TeniMyu franchise, and in contrast end up expanding their connections in the long run. A nice system, I'd imagine. ^___^b

Here are a few examples:

Shirota Yuu (but of course he gets first dibs!), 2nd cast Tezuka Kunimitsu, starred in quite a number of J-dramas and still continues to do so even today! Some of the dramas to mention would be: Team Batista no Eiko, the Koshonin franchise (series and movie), Rookies (and its movie Rookies: Sotsugyou) and Samurai High School (aka Samurai Seventeen).

Aiba Hiroki, 2nd, 3rd and for a short time 5th cast Fuji Syuusuke, has a few of his own movies and series to brag about: Sukitomo, Tadashii Ouji no Tsukurikata and as Ikenami Ryuunosuke in the popular sentai series Samurai Sentai Shinkenger.

Watanabe Daisuke, 4th cast Tezuka Kunimitsu, is best known outside the TeniMyu universe to replace Kato Keisuke as Saki Giichi in the Takumi-kun Series movies 2 and 3. He stars opposite Hamao Kyousuke, 4th cast Kikumaru Eiji, who plays Hayama Takumi, as well as Agri in the newest sentai series Tensou Sentai Goseiger.

Furukawa Yuuta, 4th cast Fuji Syuusuke, starred in Fuuma no Kojirou and its musical counterpart, and will become a Kamen Rider in an upcoming Kamen Rider Trilogy movie.

Sakamoto Shougo, 4th cast Echizen Ryouma, won the role of Ciel Phantomhive in the first Kuroshitsuji musical, starring alongside Aoyagi Ruito, Original Hyoutei Cast's Mukahi Gakuto and Uehara Takuya, Shitenhouji A Cast's Oshitari Kenya.

Saito Takumi, Original Hyoutei Cast's Oshitari Yuushi, is most famous for his sash of yaoi movies, co-starring with Aiba Hiroki in Sukitomo, with Kotani Yoshikazu, 2nd cast Kawamura Takashi, in Boys Love.

It's sometimes interesting as well that there are some J-dramas or J-movies where the main cast is composed entirely of TeniMyu actors!!

Here's a few I know:

Tokyo Ghost Trip

Yagami Ren (Original Rikkai Cast's Yukimura Seiichi), JURI (Yamabuki's Original Akutsu Jin), Takiguchi Yukihiro (3rd Cast's Oishi Shuuichiro), Kiriyama Renn (Original Rikkai Cast's Marui Bunta) and Baba Ryouma (5th Cast's Tezuka Kunimitsu), plus Shindou Gaku (Rokkaku's Kurobane Harukaze)

Takumi-Kun III: Bibou no Detail

Watanabe Daisuke, Hamao Kyousuke, Takiguchi Yukihiro, Baba Ryouma, Acaba Mio (Rikkai 2 Cast's Marui Bunta), Saito Yasuka (Higa Cast's Hirokoba Rin) and Bishin Kawasumi (Shitenhouji B Cast's Zaizen Hikaru)

Cafe Daikanyama

Aiba Hiroki, Baba Toru (Original Rikkai Cast's Yagyuu Hiroshi), Kiriyama Renn and Ookawa Genki (Original Rikkai Cast's Kirihara Akaya)

Life must be a hoot for them. xD