This was definitely one of the coolest experiences I’ve had in Japan. It’s also my favorite so far, which is why I want to share about it before I forget things. I love theater and I love Akatsuki no Yona, so what better than to spend some of my last month here watching the stage play? I’ve been in Japan for 3 months now so this was definitely one of my biggest splurges.
My decision to see the stage play literally happened on Friday, two days before the last show—and boy was it a decision. I had bought the Hana no Yume with the stage play look book and assumed that it already finished (my reading ability is horrendous) so I didn’t bother looking it up. For those of you that follow me, you know that I haven’t been the most active due to school and work…but I decided to look up the the AnY tag on here because why not? I follow news blogs for my favorite mangakas but I actually don’t follow many AnY blogs.
And so, I found recent photos and postings of the stage play, AND DISCOVERED I HAD TWO DAYS LEFT TO SEE IT. Agskdlskhaksnw
Let me just say that I can speak and read some Japanese to a certain extent, and I’m no beginner, but my ability to comphrend the language is limited. So I binged/skimmed both the anime and the manga the night before seeing the stage play aka the smartest and dumbest decision I made this weekend (I was running on four hrs of sleep when I went to see the stage play). I didn’t understand most of the play so rewatching/rereading AnY really helped me with vocabulary and grammar.
Anyways, onto the actual stage play!
I read a post by @princessvanellopevonschweetz, who gave a pretty good summary of what happened, prior to going and my experience was pretty similar so I won’t write one. But let me tell you all the thoughts and feelings I was going through while watching this:
-Note: Have someone translate your ticket/voucher (esp if you bought via Lawson) so you know that you were suppose to exchange it for an actual ticket. Thank you to the kind staff that allowed me to keep my spot in line after helping me exchange my voucher for a ticket
-Before the show: you can buy photos of the actors (in costume and various poses/sizes; cheapest one was randomized) for ¥200-¥1000, the stage play pamphlet (this really nice book with details+photos of the actors) for ¥2000, buttons of the actors, recently released AnY Vol 28 and the new fan book, and the stage play DVD (shipped in June). I took a photo of the things I bought above! Can you tell who my favs are?
-On the way into the theater: You can see that some fans/sponsors spent hundreds, and possibly thousands, on flowers for the actors and they decorate the hallway. I took a photo of a small section of them (specifically my two boys)
-The intro shooked me even though I’ve seen and read this scene so many times
-HAK, MY BOY, INTRO’D VIA ROCK MUSIC. I LOVED IT. It made me so happy and giddy during the fight scenes since that’s the primary music I listen to
-I don’t know if this was intentional but when King Ik-soo was intro’d he had a steam bun in his hand and took a bite as he was talking to Hak. When attempting to reply, he started talking with his mouth full (which no one in the audience understood and starting laughing) then had to turn to Hak and say “chotto matte” so he could finish his bite LOL
-The girl sitting on my left had binoculars to see the actors better; so smart. I forget to get some at Daiso
-When the story/legend of the dragons was being told, for some reason unknown, it just hit me that AnY was literally one of my favorite stories I’ve ever had the pleasure of reading/watching. Of all the fantasy mangas/books/movies/shows, this one hit me hard. Literally I was tearing up because the feels were too strong and I was so happy to be in the audience watching this live
-I loved when they shined a spotlight on the Dark Dragon and the Happy Hungry Bunch during the intro and everyone had their own little platform (the ship was on the same one ohoho)
-Yun’s intro with the singing—his actor is so good!!!
-Zeno’s pop-ins/cameos were great; I’m glad they decided to do that so he gets more stage time
-I’m such a theater nerd but man, the lighting (esp when they used the lights to blind the audience and transition during the flower retrieval), the sounds/music (again, the rock music), the dynamics of the moving stage (well they primarily moved the stairs I have pictured above), the costumes (I can see the detailing from my row in the back), everything—yessss I loved it
-I used to be a martial artist (kenpo karate) so I adored the fight scenes and ESPECIALLY JAEHA. For some reason, I was just incredibly impressed by his round house and tornado kicks as he jumped around fighting (I’m pretty sure there was a trampoline somewhere). And my boy Hak was killing it too; I forget how stupidly strong he is LOL
-My second boy, Shin-Ah, was so cute and awkward; 100% perfect. He even had a little Ao with him (who he also did the voice for). I also died when everyone was figuring out who will crossdress with Yona and he literally jumps down, very dramatically, and attempts to fan out his shirt like a skirt. Everyone started laughing in the audience. It was too good.
-I don’t remember the scene but I think it was with Hak, Kija, and Yona. I also don’t remember the context but what I do remember was the ridiculous, dramatic shoulder movement as they awkwardly laughed out loud. With every “ha. ha. haa.” they were moving their shoulders. The whole audience was cracking up.
-When they intro’d the pirates and starting calling Gigan “okaa-san” jfc I was laughing too hard at her response (something about not giving birth to them and possibly an insult). What a mood
-This is a minor detail but I loved the bow prop and how it was designed. Most of the time when Yona used it, it appeared to be an actual arrow that was nocked. But in reality, it was just a retractable string coming from the grip of the bow. Great design!
-The second to last scene with Soo-won—AHHHH; I’m pretty sure I’m one of the few people that understand and don’t dislike his character. I don’t LOVE him but I find myself drawn to his actions post-murder
-The ending with the Dark Dragon and the Happy Hungry Bunch made me so happy. I love love love the sihoulettes of all my favs standing majestically in front of a red sky. It was stunningly beautiful and I wish I could’ve taken a photo. Props to whoever designed that visual
-During curtain call, all the actors stayed true to their character while bowing—esp Soo-won haha. It was such a fancy curstey bow looking thing where he bent his arms out to the sides like he was holding something. Amazing.
-There was no post-show mini talk show/Q&A at the end but that’s ok!
-Post-show: a bunch of people were gathered outside trading/selling the mystery photos. I love that culture here, it’s great. I luckily got the two (the ship) I wanted from three I bought earlier so I didn’t really need to trade (the third one was Yun and his apple, aka the one he was eating when he found Hak and Yona. He is the mom friend I inspire to be, LOLJK but Yun is me in many situations so I was fine with getting him). I did end up buying Soo-won because..his character intrigues me and I also wanted to have the trio
For the price, I honestly thought it was very much worth it for the quality production they created for this stage play. I loved every aspect and it definitely stayed true to the manga/anime. Each actor portrayed their characters extremely well (the emotions, the body language, facial expression, etc) and I think they did a fantastic job. Amazing stage play, 11/10 would recommend.
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