This is a story about seeing the new Kabuki play “Final Fantasy X”.
By the time this article is published, the concluding festivities are already approaching.
As you know, it is based on a game software for PlayStation2, which was released in 2001 and became a big hit. Kabuki actor Kikunosuke Onoe, who is a big fan of this game, the 10th in the Final Fantasy series, led the project (and starred in it) with a strong passion.
I am no stranger to Final Fantasy 10 (FFX), and I have always had some familiarity with Kabuki, so I was interested in this show. but afraid if it would be a disaster. If a two-dimensional work, the first in the series to have a CV and known for its beautiful, detailed and dynamic animation (for its time), was performed by senior male kabuki actors in costumes, makeup and movements…
I hesitated and was late, but one day in early April, I took the plunge and went to IHI Stage Around Tokyo, half out of fear and half out of curiosity. Naturally, photography is not allowed inside the theater, but I was notified that I could only take pictures of the screen before and after the show.
Outside the theater is a Kabuki-like scene like this.
The combination of the actors’ stern names and the katakana names of the game characters is somewhat humorous.
The posters also show off the visuals of each character. Well, I can see that they are doing their best, but looking at this, I am half-excited and half-worried…
However, my worries and fears dissipated within a short time of the show’s opening.
Wow, the power of kabuki actors and kabuki production, that’s great!
I was particularly impressed by the heroine’s “sending off to another world” dance at the climax of the first part. It was not a creative animation, but a realistic dance performed by professionals with well-trained bodies and techniques, and it was a beautiful and convincing ritual of repose that fit the world of the work.
The heroine “Yuna” was daintily played by Nakamura Yonekichi. Although everyone knew it was a male actor, the audience, which included many young people, seemed to be impressed, saying “Yuna-chan is so cute” and “Onnagata (male actor in female kabuki roles) is amazing.” I was also overwhelmed.
Also, all the actors did a great job of matching their voices and intonations to the original CVs, and because they faithfully reproduced a large portion of the dialogue, I felt as if I was watching the FFX game screen. Great professionalism.
I mean, it’s been a while since I’ve played FFX.
IHI Stage Around Tokyo has a novel structure of “Mawari-Butai” or “Mawari-Kaiseki,” in which circular seats rotate in the center of a circular stage. The theater is capable of staging productions that make full use of visual and audio technology, which is not possible at the original Kabuki-za Theater. In fact, I was shown some quite interesting scene changes, but I was able to watch them with peace of mind because they were appropriately restrained, just in time for kabuki, a traditional performing art.
It was a hard performance, with the first and second parts of the play running more than seven hours in total, performed in one day from 12:00 in the afternoon to the evening. I had to leave after only the first part due to an errand, but if circumstances permitted, I would have liked to have seen the second part as well.
As I mentioned above, by the time I looked at this screen image at the end of the first part, everyone looked just like the character.
Some of the characters only appeared in the second part of the film, which is oh so frustrating.
I was so engrossed and enjoying myself that I didn’t feel bored or fatigued at all, so I could have gone on like that for the second part at all. I think it is hard for those who perform every day, but not for those who watch the show.
I am sure that we will be able to celebrate the successful completion of the show. I hope they will broadcast it on TV somewhere or at least distribute it so that we can see the whole performance.
