Geekiness

This post was actually a day late in creation and publication for the mere reason that I was jumping for joy on one end and bawling the next. Why? Lots of reasons.

But before I go any further I just want to greet some birthdays. Yesterday was a special birthday. Tenimyu Seigaku 4th Cast's Fuji Syuusuke, Furukawa Yuuta. So a happy birthday to him. ^o^/

Now then, onto other things. First things first, we have results of the morning's class. Since it was a networks class we dealt with cables and what not. Yesterday we, learned how to make a LAN cable. Success below!

Then that afternoon, I was taking a nap to wake up to my dad coming home not long after with my new Acer Aspire One Netbook! 8D I'm composing this entry on it right now so the picture with the box is in my other laptop, so I'll edit that in later on. BUT, this wasn't all happy happy since I made a stupid mistake of wiping my USB clean while trying to make the other one bootable. After some searching high and low on the internet I finally found a program that could retrieve lost files. All that's left is to rename them and sort them out properly. Will take some time off my hands but well worth it that I got most of my files back untouched. TuT

Omiyage

お土産。（おみやげ）Omiyage. trans. Souvenir.

So earlier before my CS152 class started I went online to find my mom, brother and sister all online. They all left for the US two days ago and will be there for another two weeks (the third week they'll be in Canada!). I believe it was close to midnight there in San Diego, but the time didn't really register to me when I started chatting a bit with my mom.

Before they left, she asked me what I wanted since I wouldn't be able to come along because of school restraints - yes, blame school! 8D - and the semester just starting so meh. After much thought, I asked if she could find a new pair of Chuck Taylor shoes for me. Not that I have anything against my Navy Blue low-cut pair, it's just that I think it's had enough abuse these past 7 months it needs to rest sometimes. Haha.

Apparently earlier that day they went shopping and she purchased me a pair of Charcoal hi-cut chucks. I originally wanted red but both my siblings said charcoal suited me better so meh. Hooray~ She said she'll try looking for a watch for me too - the last minute thing I asked for. Yei.

Today marks the 20th monthsary for Kai and I! ^o^/ She slept over last night and we had an early lunch (rather, brunch) at our favorite Teriyaki Boy. 8D I think I'll go and see if I can pick her up now!

Oh yes, before that, wishing our favorite Furukawa Yuuta, Tenimyu Seigaku 4th cast's Fuji Syuusuke a GREAT AND EPICAWESOMESAUCE BIRTHDAY!!!! ^o^/ ^o^/

Tenimyu, Futatabi

ミュジカル「テニスの王子様」、再び。（みゅじかる「てにすのおうじさま」、ふたたぶ）Myujikaru [Tenisu no Oujisama], Futatabi. trans. Musical The Prince of Tennis, Again.

So I return with another post about TeniMyu, the one thing that make perhaps the biggest impact on my life. Why the sudden entry, you ask? That will easily be answered by the fact that the run of this musical that started back in 2003 has finally come to end last Sunday with the Senshuuraku show of Dream Live 7th.

I guess this entry would be meant for my own personal thoughts as a fan. So here goes everything.

So as I may have mentioned in one of my previous Tenimyu-related posts, I only started becoming a rabid fan of this some two years ago. This in effect started a chain reaction that opened my world to not only this musical, but to the anime and the manga counterparts, as well as other projects the actors involved in this have. TeniMyu was literally what started everything. And I'm humbly grateful to have been exposed to this masterpiece.

I realized that in the span of those seven long years of TeniMyu's run, it brought so many people together, and some others probably closer than intended (can't blame me for fantasizing some nice TakiKime or ShiroAi or WaFuru here and there xP). You never really know. But this is one thing I do know; I've said it already before but it can't hurt to repeat it: It starts and ends with TeniMyu. I'm confident that even if things have officially ended it's not really over.

The memories will remain.... The unforgettable effort spent on perfecting a dance routine or sing a note on key for the actors, and even the opportunity of having met each other is a prized treasure for them, I'm sure. ^____^ Without them, TeniMyu wouldn't be held in much esteem, nor would be as epic as it has become.

すべてのキャストメンバーの、本当にありがとうございました！

(Translation: All of the cast members, I deeply thank you for everything!)

I salute Ueshima-sensei and his shining brilliance with this musical the past seven years. As TeniMyu's 'father', Ueshima-sensei guided this musical to become as successful as it is and will always be; engraving it deeply into the hearts and minds of not only the cast and crew involved in it, but the fans who support them as well. Myself included.

上島ーせんせい、本当にありがとうございました！！

(Translation: Ueshima-sensei, I deeply thank you for everything!!)

Without all of you, I definitely wouldn't be half the person I could be today.

Thank you for all the laughs, the cries and the life lessons.

Thank you for the bonds.

Thank you for making me believe in hitsuzen.

Thank you for the memories until now.

だから、ありがとう。すべてしてください。

(Translation: So, thank you. For everything.)

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

Unnoticed Love

Since I finished recording a fandub of this particular song earlier this afternoon (as requested by my girlfriend), I decided to share the lyrics with you since they're just so cute and meaningful. The song, 'Unnoticed Love' was sung by Furukawa Yuuta, who we should all know as the fourth generation actor of Fuji Syuusuke in the Prince of Tennis Musicals (aka Tenimyu). Romaji and English translation below. The video down there was provided on YouTube by AmarisRiku. Arigatou gozaimasu for sharing this! *bows*

The lyrics, if you look at it, speak some unrequited love business building up, like feeling love for a person from childhood. Ain't it sweet? 8DDD

asa me ga samete gao wo aratte ha wo migaite kimi wo omotte ...

hajimari ga omoi dasezu nichijou kasareta boku no koi ...

In the morning I wake up, wash my face, brush my teeth and I think of you...

I remember the day you became the love of my life...

ana no aita SWEATER kubi wo toushite yubi de kakushite isoi de ie wo deta

onaji you na mainichi ni toori sugiteita kisetsu

I put on my sweater, covering my finger I hurriedly left my house

Though the days looked all the same the seasons kept passing

shinkokyuu shitemo mada tarinakute sagashita keredo kotae wa nai ...

osanai koro no kioku de suki to iereba ii kedo ...

Even if I take a deep breath, it still isn't enough, however I searched I couldn't find an answer...

In my childhood memories I would be good if I could say I love you, but...

todokanai negai demo kuchi zusanda MELODY

imi mo naku korogatta chiisa na koi no oto I'M LOVIN' YOU

tada mitsumeteta dekoboko ni utsuru kage

Even if it is an unreached desire, it's a singing melody

without a reason it rolled on, the sound of a small love I'M LOVIN' YOU

I just gazed at your uneven reflected shadow

yume no owari wa itsumo setsu naku onaji you na asa he to hora mata motodoori

osanai koro no kioku wa natsukashisa dake wo nokosu

The end of my dream always becomes more painful, when the next morning looks again the same as ever

My childhood memories will only leave a feeling of nostalgia

kawattenai you de kawatteiru kisetsu no you ni shizuka ni yukkuri

boku no naka ni umarete kita atarashii kanjou ga

They haven't changed like the gradually changing seasons

Inside me a new feeling has been born

dare datte jibun wo dakishimete hanasanai

keredo ima sunao no mama egaita ai no iro I'M FEELIN' YOU

kimi no chikaku ni oite kita UNNOTICED LOVE

Anyone, I'll hold tight and won't let go

But now, with my whole heart, the colour of love I'M FEELIN' YOU

the UNNOTICED LOVE that has been close to you

shinkokyuu shitemo mada tarinakute sagashi mitsuketa boku no kotae

boku no inai kono sekai de umeta chiisa na negai wo

Even if I take a deep breath, it's still not enough, my answer I found

In the world inside me I buried my small desires

umarete kara ima made dore dake no koi wo shita darou ?

soshite kore kara kono saki dore dake no koi wo suru darou ?

From the moment I was born until now, how much love did I feel?

And from here on into the future, how much love will I feel?

koi no kazu dake iron na katachi no ai ga umarete

sono dore mo ga kirei de taisetsu de toki ni hakanai

Only a few loves are being born into different shapes (of love)

All of those are at times beautiful and important in vain

I'M LOVIN' YOU I'M FEELIN' YOU

kimi no chikaku ni oite kita UNNOTICED LOVE

I'M LOVIN' YOU I'M FEELIN' YOU

The UNNOTICED LOVE that has been close to you

ashita mata aeru to miageta sora no iro

utsutta keshiki ni kasanaru koi mo you

If we only can meet again tomorrow, I look up to the color of the sky

In the reflected scenery, our love overlapped as well

Fuuma no Kojirou

So yesterday I finished watching the 13 episodes of the live-action drama of the anime Fuuma no Kojirou. It was something that my girlfriend got into since one of our favored Tenimyu actors Furukawa Yuuta was portraying one of the characters there. I had to admit, the story was pretty awesome and the ninja genre was taken to a whole new level for me, despite it being an old-school anime (you should see the anime version; the animation resembles Sailor Moon).

TeniMyu Post #1: Tezuka & Fuji

This will be the first of a few posts, the succeeding ones dependent on how I can quickly assess the rest of the cast members. So please bear with me for the time being.

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So now that I think about it, I think it's time I sat down and gave my own take on how I appreciate the TeniMyu series. ^_^ So here goes~

To start, I applaud Ueshima Yukio-sensei's awesome work time and again with the past 18 musicals I've thoroughly watched and followed (at this certain point), and I owe him and the entire cast a lot for bringing this awesome anime to the musical stage. It really deserves all the praise, after all. ^_^

I'm sure that for every TeniMyu fan out there, they secretly have their own favorites (whether it be a sole actor, or a cast altogether). So I shall focus on the changing Seigaku cast, and give my take on my favorite/s among them. Sad to say, but I will not be commenting on the 5th cast members (though I shall mention them anyway) for the simple reason that I have yet to seen them on stage enough to share any insight on their performance.

EDIT: Good news. After watching three musicals with the 5th cast, I'm here to provide my insights on them now~ Weee.

(~ ^______^)~

TEZUKA KUNIMITSU

1st CastA: Takigawa Eiji

1st CastB: Ohkuchi Kengo

2nd Cast: Shirota Yuu

3rd Cast: Minami Keisuke

4th Cast: Watanabe Daisuke

5th Cast: Baba Ryouma

~~Personally, each Tezuka actor I've seen so far brings their own take on the stoic captain. ~

1Ca- Takigawa: I will admit that Tezuka was my favorite character in the series, so I had high expectations for whoever would be portraying the role in the musical. I first saw Takigawa in the first cast's performance of Dream Live 1st. And I will tell you that I simply fell in love. I had this deep sense of respect for Takigawa that he could pull off the role so well, regardless of the flaws he had when it came to singing (I will applaud his singing regardless! *pumps fist in the air*). I'm glad that he was cast into that role instead of Inui (who he originally auditioned for).

1Cb-Ohkuchi: His brief appearance in More Than Limit St. Rudolph Gakuen was enough for me to respect him simply as an actor. While I may never accept him as a 'Tezuka' per say, the only reason he earned my respect was when he sang the song 'Dream Maker' with Kimeru. Their blending was quite good, and I give him credit for achieving that much.

2C-Shirotan: I will admit that the moment I had seen Shirota Yuu take on Tezuka's role, I was simply blown away. I had watched the Live Action of Prince of Tennis movie long before I discovered the musicals, so when I did start watching the musicals faithfully, I seriously had to pause and shift from the musical to the movie to realize that the 2nd cast (save for Echizen's role) reprised their roles for the movie. Of course, the whole idea got me excited, since I got attracted to Shirota's portrayal. But the added factor that won my heart was his voice. *squeals in excited fangirl-mode* It was after I watched him take on this role did I start hunting down his other works (SeraMyu, Koshonin, Rookies, Heat Island, Team Batista no Eiko, etc.).

3C-Minami: About the time I was watching Advancement Match Rokkaku feat. Hyoutei (debut of the 3rd cast), I was a bit skeptical with Minami taking on the role. Perhaps I was too caught up in my wild fantasies of Takigawa and Shirota to accept anybody else to get the role. But Minami proved me wrong at some point when I was listening repeatedly to songs off TeniMyu. It had taken a while, but his voice (and his look) was enough for me to accept him in the long run. ^_^ Actually, it's funny how he resembles Tezuka when he was in 1st year. Haha. Yeah.

4C-Daisuke: This man taking on the role of Tezuka took me by surprise. When I first saw him in a clip of Dream Live 5th (singing Yomigaerishi Mono), my initial reaction was: "WHY IS TEZUKA FLYING AND WAVING?!?!?! D<" But sitting down and watching through Progressive Match Higa feat. Rikkai and Dream Live 5th in full gave me another impression on him: "OMG he looks EXACTLY like him!" When all those impressions of him died down, I took a while to contemplate how I was going to take this new Tezuka actor. Coming into Imperial Presence Hyoutei feat. Higa, Daisuke gave me a reason to forget about his flying act in DL5 and appreciate his 'Jimonjitou' solo, which I did thoroughly. Another Tezuka actor has shown his worth to take on the role just by singing an awesome song. ^_^

5C-Ryouma: To be honest, I think Baba Ryouma is the first one I know among the others who needed a wig to look the part. ^___^;; Ah, backstage footage. *snicker snicker* But anyway, when I got myself a copy of Imperial Presence Hyoutei feat. Higa (5B), I pretty much had high expectations from both the 5th cast members and Hyoutei B cast since my only basis of comparison would usually be the singing voice. I'll be honest to say that at some points I even begin to wonder how or why Ryouma got the part. ^_^;; But hey, I must say he improved with each musical. I had this slight tendency to compare him with Daisuke during the 'Jimonjitou' solo from the same musical, but then I realized that despite that, Ryouma just wants to create his own kind of Tezuka Kunimitsu that you should learn to appreciate. I'm looking forward to this guy's performance during the Rikkai musicals to come.

FUJI SYUUSUKE

1st Cast: Kimeru

2nd-3rd Cast: Aiba Hiroki

4th Cast: Furukawa Yuuta

5th Cast: Hashimoto Taito

1C-Kimeru: A J-Pop singer who's contributed so much to TeniPuri already now takes on the role of Fuji Syusuke. Height aside, Kimeru makes up for that with his impeccable singing. Kimeru truly captures the nature of Fuji on stage, which makes him perfect for the role. The admirable thing about Kimeru is that he listed himself as an understudy to Echizen's role, which he did for Remarkable 1st Match Fudomine after Yanagi's accident before returning to his role as Fuji when Endo was casted. Whether he played Echizen or Fuji, there is only one thing you have to consider: HE BELTED IT OUT!

2-3C-Aibacchi: The longest running actor to have taken the role. Aibacchi makes an appearance with the 5th cast in Imperial Presence Hyoutei feat. Higa before Taito finally took over the role. Aibacchi should be given credit for the way he's so flexible, and I think we have to thank his background as a street dancer (along with TAKUYA aka Jirou) for that. His singing isn't all that bad either! Having worked with 3 different casts over the course of his involvement with TeniMyu, it tells you that Aibacchi truly loves the whole production to offer his services.

4C-Furukawa: Another height issue to take into consideration (he's the TALLEST among the 4th cast!), Furukawa didn't sit too well with me the first time I saw him in Progressive Match Higa feat. Rikkai. Basically I left my judgement at that. But that quickly subsided when he sang 'Tennis to wa' with Ogasawara (4th Cast Kawamura for two musicals). His performance of 'Heavy Rain' during Imperial Presence Hyoutei feat. Higa completely turned it around for me. Furukawa continued to amaze with his wonderful take of the song 'Boku wa Kawaru' from Treasure Match Shitenhouji feat. Hyoutei. Fuji APPROVED!

5C-Taito: By far the youngest Fuji actor in all of Tenimyu history. The first time I really got to see him in action was during Treasure Match Shitenhouji feat. Hyoutei since Aiba had reprised his role in the previous musical. You've got to give the kid credit, though. After all, in that particular musical, Fuji had a major role, especially with the epic match between Fuji and Shiraishi. I would have to comment though that unlike the other Fuji actors before him ,Taito's still moving a little robotic at some points (referring to 'Boku wa Kawaru). Whether it was from anxiety or otherwise, I guess Taito really just needs time to adjust and evolve as an actor. He'd do quite well, I'm sure, so I really look forward to the Rikkai musicals to see how he improves.

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This will be it for the time being. My next post will focus on the Echizen and Momoshiro actors, so stay tuned for that!

^_______________^b