#sebastyun

Dear everyone, as per Anon’s request, I shall analyse a Kuromyu and discuss the Lost and Wins in Adaptation. The results of your democratic votes (comments and asks) are out, and the winner is TANGO ON THE CAMPANIA! In this post I shall only be discussing character/plot influential changes, so no stand-alone comedic sketches will be included.

This is going to be a very long post because there’s just so much to unpack. But feel free to read it in bits, or skip to the part you are most interested in (but do come back later though (ÒvÓ)b). This post will include the following sections:

What makes a good adaptation?

AberHanks - Expert Glue and Filler

“Just like my family!” - One line, many messages

Grell - A Capable Career Woman

An unfortunate Sacrifice

Raw Trash Demon

Active Inclusion Midfords - Manga Fix?

Reunion and Aftermath

Afterword

I promise you the analysis will make you love TotC even more!

1. What makes a good adaptation?

2.5D wouldn’t exist without the 2D, so it is essential for any 2.5D producer to prove to the fans the producing side understood the source material using their form of medium. Changes are inevitable, but the key is that when things are changed, the core of the original needs to remain intact.

Theatre as medium’s biggest disadvantage is its strict time constraints. Whether the producers are capable of adapting a story within the time constraints without it feeling like a quickly duct-taped patchwork is what distinguishes a good adaptation from a bad one. The scriptwriters have no choice but to sacrifice parts to tell a concise story, but the art is in skillfully choosing what to yeet. The musical does need to be able to stand on its own without new audiences going “what?”, after all

2. AberHanks - Expert Glue and Filler

The most obvious difference between the original manga and Tango on the Campania is the addition of Aberline and the musical original, Hanks. In Tango on the Campania they are very cleverly employed to tie the musical together within the time constraints.

Ronald appeared before the Campania Arc, but it wasn’t before this one that he gets his own proper introduction. What the manga readers and musical-only audience have in common then, is that at this point of the story, Ronald is almost equally new. The line: “if we get to meet again, alive, that is” is a very effective way to introduce Ronald’s chipper but cynical personality. In the manga Ronald’s conversation partner was a passenger who fancied Ronald. It would have been a waste of stage time to adapt the third class setting and introduce this girl too, but skipping the line entirely would not do Ronald’s introduction justice. So the script writers cleverly used AberHanks instead, and when Ronald delivered the iconic line, the impact is still the same as in the original.

Additionally, AberHanks are supportive roles in them being police officers who help combat the zombies. The historic Titanic had a really poor survival rate, and that’s without dealing with murderous zombies. In Campania however, that’s a different story. I would argue that Aberline and Hanks evacuation efforts, along with the Formidable Midfords greatly increased the survival rate of Campania passengers.

This addition is a brilliant three-birds-one-stone move. This firstly shows that despite AberHanks being the comic relief, as the police they are not there to fool around. Secondly, by explicitly placing the Midfords along literal fighters of crime, the audience also clearly understands what the Midfords - the Chivalric order - are: fellow fighters of crime.

Thirdly, the gentleman’s code of evacuation is children and women first, and AberHanks would undoubtedly also have heeded that code. And yet Frances was there, and AberHanks never attempted to evacuate her or doubted her skill. The police and Frances fighting side by side shows the audience that even in the 19th century, Frances is recognised firstly as member of the Chivalric Order, before being ““just a woman in a huge dress””. Don’t mess with her.

3. “Just like my family!” - one line, many messages.

A very small but game-changing alternation is when Ciel was trying to convince Lizzie to remove her dress to benefit escape. In the manga when Lizzie refused, O!Ciel immediately rips the dress, saying that once dead she won’t be able to wear any dress, because death is the end of everything.

In the musical with real child actors they couldn’t very well reenact this scene, so instead they gave Ciel the line: “Everything is over if you’re dead, just like my family!”

In the musical, Ciel doesn’t touch Lizzie, which is very clever. When someone refuses to remove her clothes, it is because she feels infringed, exposed and/or unsafe. If somebody doesn’t do something out of fear, what you need to do to convince them is to minimise that fear. By forcefully ripping her clothes, MangaCiel only made Lizzie feel even more infringed.

Instead of touching Lizzie, MusicalCiel appeals to Lizzie’s empathy. By making Ciel say “my family” to Lizzie, both audience and Lizzie are shown/reminded how Ciel had tragically lost his family, and cannot afford to lose more. At that time of the musical, new audiences wouldn't know yet what Ciel had been through. So when later the Cinematic Record of Sebas started, “just like my family” also functions as an effective foreshadowing of what would later be revealed, avoiding Ciel being in a cage looking like it came from nowhere to new audiences.

One could argue that Ciel’s phrase was emotional manipulation, yes... but it was a literal life or death situation for the objective good of everyone. And besides, we all know who our Trash Lord™ is; manipulation is part of him.

Ciel had yelled at Lizzie, and immediately he turned around, clutching his chest. It was such an impressive moment because it showed how that blow Ciel dealt was a doubled edged one. Lizzie was clearly hit too, and very quickly she realised her own fault and apologised. Then the most fun part for the audience is to consider whether this was Ciel’s genuine reaction, or whether that was all part of his acting skills in manipulating Lizzie. I say both are equally likely! (Oh Reo, you brilliant little...)

I personally consider this alteration superiour to the manga original.

4. Grell - A Capable Career Woman

Per Yana’s direct request to Grell’s actor, Uehara, she asked him to portray Grell as a capable career woman because Yana admitted she failed to do so herself.

Most of Yana’s request was fulfilled simply by Uehara’s acting and respect for Grell, but there is also one tiny line added to her script which emphasises her focus on her job. “I’m dropping you!”

Nobody on the Campania had time to fool around because it was literally going down. Grell had her job to do, and yet Rian thought it a good idea to withhold information from Grell about the method of stopping the zombies. By threatening Rian whose life was at Grell’s mercy with “I’m dropping you”, the audience is very effectively shown that Grell is a no-nonsense woman, and that she knows how to get someone to talk. 👌👌👌

5. An Unfortunate Sacrifice

Some things had to be omitted to fit the stage time limit, but the most painful omission in my opinion were details in Sebastian’s cinematic record.

A really unfortunate but understandable omission was Ciel reuniting with Tanaka and Madam Red... but considering the time constraints of the musical, shoe-horning these moments in with different actors would have come at the expense of the rest of the musical. Though very sad, it is what it is.

Another omission is Sebas forgetting to spare one assassin to interrogate. In this post I discussed in detail why this omission by the movie adaptation was such a sin. Tango on the Campania omitted that part too, though as a stage medium it is more forgivable than an animated movie with endless possibilities Ò^Ó. Nevertheless it is a bit sad, because this omission takes away that the audience can see how Sebas was just so used to massacring on auto pilot, and how even Sebas himself recognises he needs to learn control.

THOUGH, I must say the musical actually tries to compensate for this shortcoming, unlike the movie. This omission of what showed that Sebas was far from perfect at the beginning, Furukawa compensated by simply being the most insincere, passive-aggressive, unprofessional, arrogant prick he could be.

The audience won’t catch a hint that Sebas used to be no more than a weapon, but they will see how Sebastyun never served a human on close proximity before!

6. Raw Trash Demon

I have already talked about how Sebastyun is a real game-changer on this blog, so I will not repeat every detail again. So here I will only address the significant changes in spoken lines that add to Sebastian’s character before he was fully trained. In this post I discussed in detail how Furukawa portrayed Sebastian’s gradual growth from raw demon to one hell of a butler. Sebas at the beginning was really butler in appearance only, as he was insolent and never knew when to shut his wondrous trap.

In stage format it would have been quite awkward to do a bath scene, so instead the creators replaced it with a wound-dressing scene. Instead of pouring hot water over the boy, Sebastyun is now scrubbing his master’s skin off. When the boy protests, rather than immediately apologising like his manga counterpart did, Sebastyun just shoves the feedback right back down the boy’s throat. “You’re making too much of a big deal out of it.” Here we see how Sebas is not there to serve his master, he’s just doing his thing because he has to.

Another line that is musical only is when Ciel’s stomach rumbled, and Sebas laughed his arse off, saying: “what an inglorious sound!” In the manga Sebas started a high-horse speech about human weakness, which was quite bold already. But he did not seem to dare straight up humiliate his master for a basic bodily need.

Sebastyun however? Balls of steel.

He humiliates his master, can’t apologise for shit, and when he says things in compliance with his master, it’s in a tone of: “well, screw you too”. Sebastyun was so bad at his job that Ciel too was given another line that wasn’t in the manga: “The preparations of a day’s meals is part of a butler’s job”.

Sebas had just criticised his master for being a useless kid, and now Ciel makes a comeback with the line: “well, you don’t even know what your literal job is, let alone how to do it.” The addition of this line is very powerful in my opinion, because it quite effectively compensates for the omitted scenes of Ciel and Sebas both sucking at their respective roles.

When O!Ciel commented on Sebas’ awful cooking, MangaSebas seemed quite willing to do his job well, and immediately offered to fix his mistake. Sebas does not apologise, but he does show that he made a mistake in not being considerate enough of Ciel’s current condition.

Sebastyun however, couldn’t apologise for shit at the beginning. Instead of showing openness to feedback, he immediately externalises by making humans the problem again, rather than his own lack of cooking skill. No wonder Ciel smashed that table with such aggression!

Another changed line is Sebas bringing his master hot milk after his failed dinner attempt. Originally Sebas did so potentially as an attempt to show his readiness to do better at his job. He explains that he does so out of consideration for the well-being of the boy.

In the musical however, Sebastyun does not say the manga line. Instead he says: “I can’t afford to have you starve to death.” I am not sure whether this was the script or Furukawa’s improvisation, but either way it perfectly shows yet again, how Sebas is not there to serve his master, but to just get his tasks over with.

This is a very short but efficient alternative way to retell how Sebas especially at the beginning was not very enthusiastic about being summoned, as analysed here from the original Japanese manga. Sebas is not like: “(UwU) gimme more orders”, he’s like: “(ಠ_ಠ) what is it this time?”

A small addition that was definitely an improvisation was Sebastyun sitting down on Ciel’s bed, and the boy pushing him away. (At the beginning of the run Furukawa didn’t do that yet. The first time Furukawa sat down Reo just moved aside and gave Sebas a nasty look.) Here it also reemphasises how little Sebastian understood of what was done and NOT done as a servant.

A final, noteworthy addition in the far beginning of their contract was Ciel saying that he acknowledges both he himself are the demon are still fakes. The boy says this line after Sebas had brought him hot milk which Ciel appreciated.

Ciel calls his butler forward in a soft tone, and Sebastyun just looked so self-congratulatory, self-satisfied, he adjusted his suit, standing all ready like: PRAISE ME! (●´ิ∀´ิ●)✨

Yeah no... you wish.

In the manga this line doesn’t exist, so Sebas is simply surprised to hear the compliment, and then his master just splashes the cold water right over him.

7. Active Inclusion Midfords - Manga Fix?

The most dramatic and influential change to the musical is the active inclusion of the Midfords. It is an entire scene that was added to the musical, so it is a bit impossible to unpack everything in this already very long post. So here I will only address the most game-changing alterations.

Yana Beaten to the Punch, strike 2 and 3?

Now many chapters later than the Campania Arc, we know that the Midfords had been the legal guardians of Ciel after the death of his family. But even before the release of the chapter, we’d see in Sebastyun’s Cinematic Record how the Midfords were very involved with their nephew. This shows how much respect for the manga the musical producers had, and how well they understood their source material that they too could beat Yana to the punch. Strike 2!

Both Midfords were present before and during the decoration ceremony. And Sebas bows deeply, thanking them sincerely for their aid all this time. Sebas cannot lie, so when he says “sincere gratitude”, it really was sincere. Alexis responds humbly, saying that it’s simply the right thing to do.

Not only did the Midfords aid Ciel in his reintegration into the world, Frances also showed the audience and Sebas she knows exactly what she is preparing the child for. Frances says she understands how cruel it is for the young Ciel to do what is expected of him, because being Earl means more than wealth and power. It is: “shouldering the burden and name of ‘the Queen’s Watchdog’.” The musical also does a great job at linking Frances’ position as the previous Watchdog’s sister, to being the legal guardian of the future Watchpuppy.

I have seen many manga readers talk about how they found Frances’ involvement insufficient in the manga, and I understand. She has a very small role in the manga, so we don’t know what she has or hasn’t done to help. But in Tango on the Campania, we do get a much clearer sense of the Midfords’ role in Ciel’s life.

Ciel was still mid-preparation before the start of the Ceremony, but Frances and Alexis had already arrived to keep a parental eye on him.Ciel is surprised, but Frances responds with: “it would set a bad example if the star is late”. Though it is but one short phrase, the script writers shows (not ‘tells’) how she is there because she wants to make sure Ciel’s decoration will go smoothly, as well as that her own role is to set an example for Ciel by being on time herself.

This is possibly a reference to what Sebas says to Frances in chapter 14, how he wishes her to be his master’s example. Except that here in the musical, it is Frances who takes this initiative, which in my opinion is the superiour way.

When Frances commends Ciel for his courage of returning to fight, Sebastian adds: “The most opportune chance for counter attack is when the opponent strikes. That is what milady Frances had taught him, the Young Master said.”

To which Frances is quite surprised to hear, and incredulously she says: “Ciel said that?” This makes one suspect whether Frances really said those words to supposedly Real Ciel. It would be very funny if Sebastian (accidentally) gave Frances a hint of his master’s real identity. I am not sure whether this is an implicit hint that Frances might have started suspecting Ciel is not the Real Ciel. Some have theorised Frances has the deepest suspicions among everyone. If that turns out to be true, then TotC might have beaten the original manga to the punch again. Potential strike three!

Another change is the replacement of Madam Red with Alexis. This one is just a very pragmatic change, because the phrase “To Ciel you are already as good as family” is very iconic and important and shouldn’t be left out. But getting a Madam Red in here out of nowhere would require time-consuming exposition. So by giving this phrase to Alexis instead, the musical effectively solves two problems in one go.

8. Reunion and Aftermath

Another addition to the original manga is the reunion on the rescue ship, just like the the movie adaptation of the Campania Arc did. After all that has happened it is very nice for the audience to see the emotional reunion and the aftermath. In the manga the Arc ended with Sebas and his master on the rescue boat, and it had a very nice, open feeling to it, I absolutely love it! 💖🚤

Audience Considerate Story Telling

To a musical-only audience (which TotC had a lot of because of the collaboration with TOHO), the opening ending might have felt a bit abrupt. These musical-only spectators don’t have the Arcs after the Campania to know for sure Sebas and Ciel went home safely, and that life would just continue. Nor would they know for sure what kind of impact the enormous revelation of Undertaker being a reaper would have on our protagonists. Had the non-manga audiences been given the same ending as the original, then it might have looked a bit like this to them.

Also considering the musical medium, any (Japanese) audience would want a satisfying finale song to wrap everything up. (Kuromyu21 not having one was a real complaint among JP spectators). And after the dramatic brawl song of Sebas fighting the zombies on that boat, you can’t very well pull another song on that tiny thing again. Okay, the song TotC did settle with for the finale song was......very disappointing in my opinion as it reminded me more of a Disney parade, but it at least had a song.

Emotional Full Circle

Despite the song being quite unfitting, the emotional reunion really, REALLY hit hard. When Lizzie says “welcome back” to Ciel, it was a perfect full circle back to what Lizzie couldn’t do 3 years ago.

In her flashback of 3 years ago when Ciel returned to her, the boy lifelessly said: “I’m back... Elisabeth”. Lizzie however never responded with “welcome back” because she was too preoccupied with something just feeling off.

In the musical reunion however, unlike 3 years ago Lizzie was fully emotionally equipped to genuinely welcome her fiancé back, and Ciel too happily responds: “yeah, I’m back, Lizzie”, using Lizzie’s preferred name.

Sebastian’s Aftermath

The reunion is but a simple addition, but it allows the musical to show the impact of such a traumatic event on the omnipotent demon butler.

The Cinematic Record showed how cocky Sebastyun was, and how he didn’t have a single worry in his life. After Undertaker had fatally wounded even the demon however, Sebas became a different person. In the finale we see Undertaker silently disappearing into the shadows. Sebastyun wasn’t even entirely sure whether Undertaker was there, but at the merest suspicion already you see him flinch and twitch. This shows how from now on Sebas has become a person who is on edge.

I mean, what’s the point of telling an event if the event doesn’t impact the story and characters, right? In this way too, the inserted aftermath scene skillfully wraps up an overwhelmingly eventful story.

9. Afterword

Well, thank you for reading this looong post till the end! As discussed in this post, TotC did a wonderful job at adapting an existing story with consideration of its audience and medium.

The largest obstacle of the theatre medium is time constraint, so the makers have to sacrifice parts. In what was sacrificed however, they more than sufficiently compensated by including parts outside the Campania Arc into the musical, without harming the integrity. This shows just how much respect and knowledge the TotC team have of the source material.

As a musical adaptation, it is an exemplary production.

Related posts:

Hyper Detailed Development - The Art of Kneeling

That Demon, Skin Crawling

That Butler - Punchable

As analysed in this post, Sebas was most probably quite unhappy about getting summoned, and his past experience of being in contracts likely mostly mind-numbingly boring.

This part of him was excellently portrayed by Sebastyun in Tango on the Campania (2018). When Sebas said: “now, choose,” and the first thing Ciel said was: “I want power...I want power that is second to nobody’s,” Sebastyun walked away from the cage, pulling a disapproving face. (ಠ_ಠ) Almost shouting: “ugh, and here we go again... a human who wants power...”

But then the little child added: “I want power to take revenge on the ones who made us suffer!” Suddenly Sebastyun’s eyes sparked up. (Ô-Ô) “Say whaaat??? Oh, a little child who wants a bloody revenge?”

Hereunder is a zoomed in and slowed down gif of that phenomenal change in expression (*´▽｀*)

This musical happened before the release of the chapter concerned, so Furukawa either read the character so well he managed to predict Sebas’ reaction, OR he inspired Yana... Either way, chef’s kisses to him.👌👌👌

Related posts:

That Actor, Influential I

That Actor, Influential II

On the 11th of January a mini concert for Furukawa fanclub members was scheduled. Due to the increased number of Corona infections, Furukawa has decided to cancel live audience attendance, and held a live stream for members instead.

When he announced the cancellation before, he said:

“Everyone, unfortunately the situation has come to a point where we just have to cancel the live spectator attendance. Before you go anywhere, please, please consider your health first, it is the most important thing. Somebody has to consider it, and that person shall have to be you. Instead we shall have a live stream. I believe there are many people who might have experienced difficulty coming to the theatre, such as people who may have physical, time or other limitations. But now all such problems are no problems anymore, and theatre which I love becomes more accessible to different audiences.”

Instalive Saturday January 9th.

Then on the 11th, finally the Live Stream started!

The theatre was dark and the curtains still lowered. But then as the curtains started to rise a familiar tune started. “Da daaa da da da daaa♬!!” It was the song of the first zombie brawl in Tango on the Campania!! Furukawa wore all black, from top to toe and brought us the familiar song from three years ago with his now even further improved singing skills. Furukawa spoke:

“Indeed, we are in the Akasaka ACT theatre, the theatre in which we ran Kuromyu Lycoris that Blazed the Earth 2015 first. It sure brings back memories, and therefore I wanted to surprise everyone with a Black Butler song, namely “Aah.” Haha, it is a simple title is it not, just “Aah”?”

Then Furukawa was reading the fan live reactions from his iPad, most going: “OMG Kuro? OMG Sebastian? I really never dared dream of hearing Kuromyu songs again by you.”, to which Furukawa replied:

“Indeed, I also thought you’d think that, which is why I purposely chose to start the concert with a Kuromyu song. But one Black Butler song really would be selling us all too short! As I said before, this theatre was the theatre that hosted Lycoris 2015, so now I bring to you, “I shall be your pawn and sword”.

This song is a duet which cannot be sung by just one person. Besides, never did we dare hope to hear the song sung live again, much less by Furukawa himself! The music started, and Furukawa began the part of Sebastian. When Ciel’s part was supposed to be sung only the instrumentals played, and Furukawa respectfully allowed our own memories of Nayuta’s own voice play in our own heads.

When the part started where Sebas sung: “for you are my beautiful Lord”, Furukawa did his iconic swallowtail-flip (tails which his current jacket doesn’t even own XD)

...and knelt for us (〃д〃) 💗

“I shall be your pawn and sword” ended on an exceptionally warm note, and the audience chat was flooded with applause and tears.

Furukawa then spoke again:

“Black Butler really is something that will never leave me for it is so immensely important to me. From 2015 on I have played [Sebas] for three times, and those three times really... Sebas really helped me grow as a performer over the course of those three times, I really could witness my own growth. It really was Black Butler that shaped me, so I am honestly so grateful to this production. Thank you all so much for listening to these two songs.”

Related posts:

MASTERPOST Furukawa Era Kuromyu

Sebastyun’s development - Kneeling and Tail Flip

Lizzie about Grell: “Who is that?”

Sebas: “Ah, just another pervert. There is risk of contagion, so please step back.”

Bocchan: ₍₍₍₍₍₍ ( ◆_Ó*) *nods like crazy*

Just a doodle made in my spare time not containing any message or anything, what are you talking about?

Bonus~!

Have some Furukawas wearing a mask!

Bonus bonus!

Have some Furukawas wearing multiple masks~!

Bonus bonus bonus!

Have a demon and some zombies with a great sense of hygiene and safety.

Dear Anon,

Welcome into the musical sphere (*´▽｀*)ノ🎭 I hope you will be having a great time. I offer free English subtitles for legal owners of the musicals, so make sure to drop by if/when you buy one of the DVD/BDs.

Why did Furukawa stop... that is an incredibly good question! But I fear I don’t have a definitive answer for you... I can only speculate based on my knowledge of the Japanese theatre industry, TOHO and Furukawa himself.

Furukawa’s Decision?

Furukawa has always officially announced his “retirement” for a recurring role in the past, like he did for Romeo or Rudolf, for example. About retiring from playing Sebastian however, Furukawa has said nothing. Sebas is one of the most important roles to him, and he did once say that as long as the material is canon, he would guard Sebas like a mad dog.

Shortly after the announcement of Kuromyu 2021, Furukawa hosted a mini concert for FC members where he also sang two songs of Kuromyu. Not only did he sing the songs, he also emphasised why Sebas is so important to him, and how even now Kuromyu will never leave him. Some FC members found it quite weird that Furukawa would perform Kuromyu, NOT announce his retirement, and say that Kuromyu will never leave him after a new Sebas had been announced. It is no evidence of course, but this lead some to think Furukawa might not entirely have chosen this outcome.

Knowing Furukawa, performing Kuromyu at that timing might as well have been a passive-aggressive statement. I 100% believe that Furukawa performed Kuromyu to assure his fans that he still loves Sebas as he has been saying for 6 years. But that does not mean it couldn’t also be a passive-aggressive statement. Furukawa is a VERY passive-aggressive man.

Situational Problem?

From 2018 on Furukawa has little autonomy left career wise since he became TOHO’s cow. His jobs are arranged for him by TOHO, and without TOHO’s approval he seems unable to do anything. Since becoming Ogosho Furukawa became the most representative face of the elite TOHO. If Furukawa were to be associated with something considered “bad rep”, then that’s “bad rep” for TOHO too.

It could be that TOHO judged Kuromyu would no longer be beneficial to themselves, and therefore discouraged Furukawa’s reprise and retracted their support. But it could also be because Furukawa decided to leave Kuromyu, and therefore that TOHO retracted support. Chicken and egg problem.

TOHO and Covid Japan

TOHO is incredibly strict with the Covid19 regulations, mostly because they have a reputation to keep, but also because they have a bigger buffer to afford being strict. TOHO-associated performances in Covid era are one of the very few ones in Japan that do social distancing with seats, meaning all their theatres are used at 50% capacity max. That’s 50% of ticket sales...

Smaller and poorer theatres need the performances to have any income at all, and cannot afford to perform at 50% capacity. That is the reason that in Kuromyu 2021 all actors are wearing those super gross saliva catchers (OMG they were OOOZING), while TOHO performances don’t require them. Those saliva catchers don’t do shit because actors still touch each other, talk in each other’s faces and are literally in each other’s arses. But they are “ceremonial” compromises to get approval to perform for a live audience.

TOHO cannot be associated with subpar corona measures, so it is possible that they forbade any TOHO actor from partaking in Kuromyu 2021. However, it is equally likely that even without TOHO’s interference Furukawa himself simply refused.

Furukawa and Covid Japan

Ever since Covid started, Furukawa has consistently refused to work with anything that requires too much physical contact and/or unregulated live audiences. Even for his own concert he cancelled ALL live spectator attendance and arranged a live-stream instead. The notable exceptions were “I Will No Longer Sing Love Songs” and “INSPIRE Onmyouji”.

“ I Will No Longer Sing Love Songs” requires no physical contact and has the audience dramatically reduced. There was ONE ENTIRE free row and TWO empty seats between all spectators.

In contrast, Kuromyu 2021 was just all packed, and everyone was given a weird face-shield thing to wear even though that doesn’t do shit. Those face shields are to stop liquids from splattering on others...but in a theatre people don’t talk anyway........soooooo that’s just a waste of plastic?!?!?!

The other exception was “INSPIRE Onmyouji” which ran at full theatre capacity, but it was also a charity event in light of Covid in collaboration with the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. TOHO only charged 75% of the full ticket price, and would pay 25% to non-TOHO actors affected by the pandemic.

So yeah, Furukawa was in radio silence for the past year, and the only thing that got him back to work in a “normal” situation was literal charity.

Musical Kuroshitsuji Project

My main question I have to ask is why MKP decided to continue Kuromyu without THE COW that won them their unprecedented golden reputation. I know it seems endless, but Covid is gonna pass eventually. So IF it had been TOHO or Furukawa’s decision to withhold because of Covid, MKP could just have waited, right? The fans have waited since February 2018, another year would have been fine, right?

Financially MKP has no reason to take distance from TOHO’s support on their own accord, which makes me suspect that they were simply dumped by TOHO. If so, it makes sense that MKP as a 2.5D producer just needs to make money, and therefore decided to stage Kuromyu now they don’t have TOHO support anymore, Covid or no Covid.

At the bottom of this post I wrote about a demographic shift of Kuromyu:

So, what will MKP now do to live up to the "elite” high bar TOHO had (helped?) set for Kuromyu? Change marketing strategy, change M.O.

From what I have seen on the Japanese side, the marketing is now indeed more focused on and also resonates better with J-pop and 2.5D fans specifically. MKP has made no attempts to market Kuromyu to (elite) theatre fans anymore.

Conclusion

So yeah, to conclude... the reasons I can think of for Furukawa to no longer play Sebas are:

Furukawa decided so: Not impossible, but quite unlikely

TOHO decided so: Most probably

MKP decided so: Most unlikely

I hope this made sense!

Hello Anon!

Well, asking me is asking for bias since I am a blog literally started because of the Furukawa era Kuromyus, so........I recommend you start with the Furukawa era Kuromyus （≽▽≼;;）Before the Furukawa era was the Matsushita Era.

Okay okay... I’ll try to be a bit more nuanced.

Reasons to start with Furukawa Era:

All stories are canon except a few minor changes for adaptation’s sake.

Furukawa’s Sebastian was declared above canon by Yana herself, and Editor Kuma can’t shut up about how much of a fanboy he is of Furukawa ever since.

The Ciels in these musicals are genuinely good child actors.

From 2016 on, TOHO (the most prestigious JP theatre that owns the literal Imperial Theatre aids them, so the quality is off the chart.

That  is not to say that it’s wrong to watch any Matsushita era musicals  though! It’s just that I personally don’t recommend it, the 2009, 2010  musical DVDs are out of production, so you’d have to start with 2013 and  2014.

Reasons to start with Matsushita Era:

You want to see the history of Kuromyu, where it all began.

You are a fan of Matsushita Yuya or other actors that only appear in those musicals.

You like BL-like shipping fanfics a lot, and the 2013 musical would be a feast then (though it’s full of canon-contradictions, plot-holes and homo- and transphobia, so you’ll have to be able to overlook that.)

Furukawa Era Kuromyu Menu

The Furukawa era Kuromyus come in three musicals chronologically.

The Lycoris that Blazes the Earth 2015

NOAH’S ARK CIRCUS 2016

Tango on the Campania 2018

The Lycoris that Blazes the Earth is the stage adaptation of the Jack the Ripper arc, while the other two’s titles speak for themselves.

General Recommendation

If you are familiar with the manga itself already, there is no need to watch the Furukawa era kuromyus chronologically; I’d say, just start with your favourite arc among the three. I offer high quality English subtitles in exchange for proof of legal ownership of the DVD. This is my initiative to combat pirating of Japanese stage productions, because Japanese stage actors only get paid for their rehearsal labour depending on the DVD sales. That is why every time anybody asks me: “where can I watch Kuromyu” I’ll answer: “anywhere where your disc player and screen are.”

As the DVDs are quite expensive for universal standards, I recommend watching the PVs first.

Official PV Lycoris that Blazes the Earth 2015.

⏫Pros to starting with Lycoris:

It’s the first Furukawa Sebastian,  and you can see where he started.

At this stage Furukawa was declared ‘canon’ (not ‘above-canon’ yet). To Yana this was the first time she ever saw somebody doing her baby Sebastian justice.

Madam Red is simply AMAZING, you can’t miss that.

This was the first time - on Yana’s instructions - that Grell is officially portrayed as a transgender woman rather than a “gay-transvestite-laughing-stock”.

⏬Cons to starting with Lycoris:

The over-all quality is not as high as the following two (because TOHO didn’t step in yet), but it’s still above average for 2.5D. It’s NOT not your money’s worth, but it’s not ridiculously good either. It’s just that it’s not representative of the later two musicals’ quality. Many people who first and only watched 2015 said they hated Kuromyu, but then when they watched the later two they said: “wow amazing!”

Some songs are just...jarringly bad...

Official dress rehearsal NOAH’s ARK CIRCUS.

⏫Pros to starting with Circus:

Here Furukawa was declared ‘above-canon’ by Yana herself.

Furukawa really has grown as Sebas, and it’s clear as day.

Ciel is ridiculous. He’s played by the unanimously agreed-upon best so far, Uchikawa Reo.

TOHO steps in for the first time, and their influence is apparent.

Most of the music is a blast.

Joker... OH JOKER....!!!!  He’s even better than the manga. 10/10

Baron Kelvin, also even better than the manga. 10/10

There are actual circus-worthy performances

Dagger is played by 2016 actual world champion uni-cyclist Mitsuya Ryo.

Doll is absolutely heart-wrenchingly adorable.

⏬Cons to starting with Lycoris:

It is not chronological to the Furukawa Era Kuromyu.

It mightttt set your expectations for others a bit too high to start here.

DVD PV of Tango on the Campania.

⏫Pros to starting with Campania:

Here Furukawa rendered Yana and Editor Kuma speechless.

Young Uchikawa Reo polished his singing for Ciel, and now everything is perfect about him.

Furukawa and Uchikawa’s friendship which they built in 2016 really shows here.

TOHO turned their support up to 11.

The ensemble members (the zombies) are as much the stars as Sebas and Ciel are. They are mind-blowing.

Most (but not all) consider these songs the best.

Best directing so far (by the esteemed ex-Takarazuka director Kodama Akiko).

A portrayal of Grell as a competent transgender reaper asked requested by Yana herself. Yana admitted she did Grell wrong, and asked Uehara to do Grell justice in her stead.

⏬Cons to starting with Campania:

It is not chronological to the Furukawa Era Kuromyu.

It WILL set your expectations for others a bit too high to start here.

I hope this helps! After you watch the PVs and do decide to buy the DVDs and get the English subs from me, do let me know!

Kuromyu DVD purchase links

Lycoris that Blazes the Earth 2015 (Furukawa)

Noah’s Ark Circus

Tango on the Campania

These 👆 are from amazon.jp which ships internationally AND has the best prices. You can buy these directly without proxy (click here for how to change amazon.jp to ENGLISH).

Now three years have passed, and I finally bring you the cast talk in the official pamphlet of the musical!

Part 1 - The Two who Returned

Terayama: Alright! Behold the continuation of the cast talk of the “Luxury Liner Arc”!

All: You’re quite energetic (laughs).

Terayama: Though a bit sudden, let’s welcome the two who have returned to us, Takkun (Uehara) and Hide-kun (Sasaki), and do tell us about how you feel about it.

Furukawa: I guess it is more accurate to ask what it feels like having had to skip out once. I mean, you have been part [of Kuromyu] all this time, right?

Sasaki: I really wanted to join, of course! When I came to as a spectator and the show started with AberHanks I went: “eh? They’re starting here?” Besides for “Lycoris” I was constantly performing alongside AberHanks, so for a moment I thought why I wasn’t standing beside them. Even if it’s just for the opening, let me do at least one song!

Izumi: One song huh? So you’re not giving us some [circus] stunts? (laughs).

Sasaki: As I was watching as an outsider again, I thought “Black Butler” really stands out from 2.5D with its ridiculously high quality, so I was thirsting for making a return.

Uehara: I went to see “Circus Myu” on its opening day, and I must say mysteriously enough I didn’t feel weird. It just felt like I went to watch a show. I expected myself to feel weirder about it.

Terayama: It’s like watching your family perform, right? Mr. Izumi, what is it like to welcome these two back?

Izumi: It felt like “I’ve been waiting for you”, and when we were reading through the script, the way they performed was so amazing I was really shocked. It hadn’t been that long since we received the script, right?

Sasaki: That’s right.

Uehara: It arrived just in time.

Izumi: This sure gave them a good prodding, huh.

All: (Laughter).

Izumi: Honestly, most people come in more elegantly, like “awiiii” . Not like your “BAM!!!” Not necessarily because you had to skip one time, but because of your feelings for this franchise. I mean, your fire of passion even infected me.

Terayama: That’s probably because they knew they’d have to give it their all. What about you, Reo?

Uchikawa: I went to see “Lycoris”, and I was really looking forward to working with them, but last time that was not possible. That’s why I’m all the more happy now.

Terayama: What does it feel like now that’s being realised?

Uchikawa: Even more than I imagined I would at the time just watching, I feel like “wow~!” I’m so hyped.

Uehara: I really think you’re doing wonderfully.

Uchikawa: Yay!

Terayama: I think he’s doing even more wonderfully than last time now.

Uehara: The experience gained from last time really shows, I am shocked.

Furukawa: (To Uchikawa) But also, our bonds are even closer than last time right?

Uchikawa: YES!

Terayama: That really shows.

Uehara: Indeed.

Terayama: Now this makes a pretty good segue for the next question, namely “how do you all view the relationship between Sebas and Ciel, and their respective growth”?

Furukawa: [They/we] are much closer and have a much better tie.

Terayama: Recently during the script run-through, judging from the way you did it, it felt like it was your first time reading the script.

Furukawa: That’s true, you’re right. It was the first time we read the script.

Terayama: So you didn’t for the rehearsal of last time?

Furukawa: I don’t think we did. Last time we had the time, so as we rehearsed we went through it together, but this time we have surprisingly little time.

Uchikawa: That’s right.

Uehara: This morning Reo was holding a small cup of coffee, and just when I was thinking: “ah he drinks coffee huh”, he said “Mr. Furukawa bought this for me”.

Furukawa: (To Uchikawa): It was good right, that drink?

Uchikawa: Yup.

Furukawa: It was actually sweetened hot milk, but I thought you’d definitely love it.

All: (Laughs).

Terayama: You two are so close.

Izumi: “You’d definitely love it,” he says, you really came to know him well huh.

Terayama: And you also grew so much. Your face also got more masculine. You also got so much more eloquent.

Sasaki: What do you mean?

Izumi: Last time it was still mostly things like “uwu…(blush)” or “aw, I’m so happy” coming out of his mouth.

All: (Laughs).

Sasaki: Oh I see (laughs). Last time little Reo came to see our performance, and I received a present with the message “for your refreshment”, I was over the moon! He really prepared the gift so well.

Furukawa: When Ms. Kodama (Director) wonders out loud “what should I do with this [scene]?” Reo would also properly give suggestions saying: “may I propose this?” When I saw that I went: “wow!”

Terayama: The two of you really are working together, now both as full-fledged actors of your own now.

Furukawa: That’s right.

Uchikawa: Yes.

 To be continued in

Part 2: “This time’s number one is Undertaker”

Part 3: “Stage Adaptation “Black Butler” - The Trail of 10 Years.”