Shopping Guide
Performances will begin next February of a play based on Nobuhiro Watsuki’s manga Rurouni Kenshin: Meiji Swordsman Romantic Story by Takarazuka Revue’s Snow Troupe, and on Oct. 20 the newest visual was posted and the cast announced on a special site.
The manga Rurouni Kenshin began serialization in April 1994 in Weekly Shonen Jump and is a massive hit with over 59 million copies in print. To date the series has been adapted to anime and live-action movies, and now the first Takarazuka musical is on the way.
Writing and directing the Takarazuka play is Shuichiro Koike. Koike is the standout director of Takarazuka and to date has worked on several talked-about masterpieces including The Great Gatsby, Elisabeth, The Legend, Ocean’s Eleven, and Legend of the Galactic Heroes.
Playing Kenshin Himura, the feared legendary assassin of the Bakumatsu era who vows to kill no longer after the Meiji Restoration, is the top star of the Snow Troupe, Seina Sagiri. Playing heroine Kaoru Kamiya is Miyu Sakihi, the top actress in the troupe for female roles.
Sagiri assumed the top position in the Snow Troupe in 2014 and often takes on stage plays based on manga—including her pre-debut in Hakushaku Reijo and her Grand Theater debut in Lupin the Third: Chase After the Queen's Necklace!/Fancy Guy!—each of which she has gained popularity from.
Performances of Takarazuka Revue Snow Troupe’s Rurouni Kenshin will run from Feb. 5 to March 14, 2016 at the Takarazuka Grand Theater, and from April 1 to May 8, 2016 at the Tokyo Takarazuka Theater.
■ Cast
Kenshin Himura: Seina Sagiri
Kaoru Kamiya: Miyu Sakihi
Sozaburo Kano: Futo Nozomi
Sanosuke Sagara: Dai Hosho
Megumi Takani: Seshiru Daigo
Kanryu Takedo: Sho Ayanagi
Hajime Saito: Sakina Ayakaze
Aoshi Shinomori: Kanato Tsukishiro
Source: Otakuma Keizai Shimbun
