Me and My Girl
Moon, 2008 (Hakataza Theater)

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Stars: Kiriya Hiromu & Hazakura Shizuru

So... I was pretty blah about the whole revising Me and My Girl. I continued to be blah, even after I heard Masaki was going to be playing Gerald and Jackie in the Hakataza version, except that I'd been dying to see how she handled a female role. Just, keep that in mind. I know it's colored my review.

What I Thought:

Nope. I still don't think anyone is going to equal the magic of Amami Yuuki and Asano Kayo in the roles of Bill and Sally. And... I really don't care much for this show without them. The Bill/John bits were slashy and cute, but they weren't... well, they weren't Yuri and Non-chan, sadly.

Looks like they decided that Jackie would flash more panty in this version. Erm.

Masaki played Jackie with little change to her otokoyaku voice, which is kind of what I was expecting, but still made me a bit sad. Some day I want to hear her sing in her normal voice. She was absolutely lovely, even more so than in the stage photos. But... in terms of performance, I have to say I still like Makoto Tsubasa's best. But that's probably because it was Makoto Tsubasa. In a dress. Ahahah. ...Still. Masaki. On the stage. In a big role. Yay<3 <3 <3 Now, please give me my otokoyaku Masaki back. In a kimono. Mmmm.......

All that negative stuff said, the young, small cast had a lot of energy. Hazakura Shizuku exceeded my expectations. I'm not quite so worried about her becoming the next top musumeyaku for Moon Troupe, if that's what's decided, though I don't think a few more years to work on her singing would hurt her either. She was very sweet paired with Kiriyan.

Oh, yes. Asumi Rio. Was Gerald. A pretty boring role, but... She made a cute and sunny Gerald. I grinned when she hit the gong at the beginning. But she didn't stand out in this show for me either, I'm afraid.

Seijou Kaito was hilarious. <3 I think she made the show for me. Well, besides the fact that Masaski was on the screen a lot. <3 Kyo Misa made a marvelous Maria. I loved her to bits. Mihou Aya <3 Mrs. Brown <3 I hope we get to keep her for many years to come, because I love Mippou.

Atsuki Renka and Enoki Touya get their own number in the finale. So much love for Hankyu. <3

So, a cute production of a cute show, but if you're going to get a Takarazuka version of Me and My Girl I still would rather recommend the 1995 production staring Amami Yuuki and Asano Kayo. This one was lacking a spark of... something. If you want to see Kiriyan blind you with her comic talent, get Ernest in Love.