It would have been nice to change the layout with the Buono! post, but layout changes take time (particularly for me 'cause CSS confuses the heck out of me, and I had to bother my brother frequently to get help as I started going cross-eyed sifting through the code). It's kinda funny to have a new layout change focused on Berryz/Miyabi (mainly Miya) and have a first post on the new layout regarding something Morning Musume related, but what can you do? So on with the review!
Ribbon no Kishi Review
I really had no pre-conceptions prior to watching this musical. I hadn't read any reviews or synopses regarding the musical, nor had I watched or heard or read anything about the anime or manga, so I didn't really know what to expect plot-wise. All I knew was that it featured Morning Musume and Ishikawa Rika (didn't realize Biyuden was in it until I started watching). That's generally enough for me to give something a try.The story:
I found the premise of the story very intriguing. First, Ai-chan's character (at this point unnamed) being tricked into acquiring a second soul just prior to being born, and then finding out that the two souls are of opposite genders. Watching the struggles that her character, Sapphire, goes through in trying to juggle these conflicting facets of her nature allow you to connect with the character and come to care about what happens next. Being born a girl, her feminine side is ovbiously more prominent, but as she has to pretend to be a boy to maintain the legacy of her kingdom, she is able to fulfill that role with ease due to her dual nature (regardless that she is unaware of this dual nature).
The dilemma of dual and opposite souls is used very cleverly as a tool to develop further plotlines, past the usual and often used "must pretend to be a boy so that the kingdom doesn't fall into the hands of corrpt, evil people" plot. I won't say any more in regards to this so as not to spoil the twists and turns of the story for those who haven't had the pleasure of watching this musical and are planning to at some point in the future.
The performances:
First, I have to give mad props to Ai-chan for this one. I thought she was outstanding in this musical. Her singing was superb, her dancing was fantastic and her acting was very moving. I love her voice, and she was very strong vocally through the entire performance. We all know that Ai-chan has had formal dance training, and I find she's one of the best, if not the best dancer in H!P. She didn't dance much in this musical, but she did have that one scene with Rika when their characters first met. I'd never seen Ai-chan do ballroom before, but I thought she pulled it off very well here. Her posture was good and she looked so graceful in all of her movements. Overall, she was absolutely amazing in this performance.
Onto the second lead, Ishikawa Rika. I thought Rika did fairly well in the musical. However, very early into the musical, you could see the lopsided-ness in the strengths of the leads. I find that Rika is a pretty good actress. She was very convincing in her role in Sukeban Deka with Matsuura Aya. But When you put her head to head against Takahashi Ai in the categories of singing and dancing, well... Really, it's just cruel. No one can argue that Rika is not very strong vocally. She doesn't have the greatest control over her voice, and the quality of it isn't really suited to holding elongated notes. As for dancing, if you watch the scene I mentioned in my review of Ai, you can see that her posture is much more casual that Ai-chan's, which is not a good thing, seeing as the male has to lead in ballroom dancing. I realize she's not actually a guy, but her posture was very poor. Overall, I though Rika did a good job, but there's really no comparison to Ai-chan.
I was very impressed with Risa. She didn't have many solo lines, playing 2 minor roles, but her solo in 戦いのとき (Tatakai no Toki) was very well done. In particular, she held her final note very well, unlike Kamei, who was a little flat on her final note during her own solo.
Another person who really impressed me here was Miki. I know she can sing. Although she's never been one of my favourite Morning members, I've never denied taht this girl has a lot of talent. I'm not sure what exactly it was in this performance, but I was just totally moved by Miki. The power of her voice (particularly in 大臣の願い ～ 魔女 (Daijin no Chikai ~ Majo) which she sang with Hitomi) absolutely floored me (in a very good way). She played her character very well, moving beyond just singing phenomenally. Her character had many dimensions and she was able to convey all the emotions beautifully. Her performance in this musical alone moves her up in my overall Morning member rankings.
Hitomi performed very well in this musical as well. I thought it was interesting to see that her human self was sneaky and backhanded like her pre-birth self. Her vocals and acting were solid. However, unlike Miki's character, Hitomi's was pretty one dimensional (not that it's her fault or that she played it badly, it's simply a fact). Basically, she had one goal in mind, and set about achieving it by whatever means possible. Her goal was a very simple one, unlike Miki's, and thus didn't have many varying emotions to play off of in her attempts to reach her goal.
Surprisingly, I wasn't overly annoyed by either Sayumi or Koharu in this musical. Koharu's voice is still not my cup of tea in the slightest. However, her solo song (where she lists the food prices and promotes herself) was cutesy so it was okay for her voice type (except for her last line, which was kind of painful). As for Sayu, she actually sang fairly well with Reina during their search to find Koharu a bride. I actually really enjoyed the harmony in that song.
A note on Mako-chan. The song she sang with Koharu was well performed, but I thought it was a terrible ending line for her. It's a strong line, which should be belted out. Unfortunately, it's completely out of her range and she had to go into falsetto, which took all the strength out of her voice. It was a disappointing ending to that song, IMO. However, her singing otherwise was well done and I really liked her character, and the obvious loyalty she had for Hitomi (even though Hitomi's character's motives left much to be desired).
Not too much to say in regards to the other members of Biyuden. They played pretty small roles. They did well in their song as the jailers, and the friendship between their characters was really cute.
Random points:
I was so amused with the randomness inserted throughout the play. In particular, when Sayu and Reina find Ai-chan. Their friendly little "kids, don't go off with strangers" message was absolutely fabulous!
I really did not like Ai-chan's eye make-up. It annoyed the heck out of me.
Miki's got some muscular arms.
Overall impressions:
Everyone involved had pretty strong individual performances, taking into account their varying strengths and weaknesses, making this a very enjoyable musical to watch. The acting was well done, and the vocals were solid all-around. And though I didn't elaborate on their performances due to the fact that they're not part of H!P, the Takarazuka veterans, Ebira Kaoru and Marcia, were amazing as well. The duets between Ai-chan and Marcia were particularly moving.
If you're on the fence about watching this musical, I would definitely recommend it. The strong performances in addition to a very interesting storyline with multiple plot twists make it very enjoyable.
Up next, I'm looking to do a ranking of my favourite Morning Musume singles from the American Wota: Wota Distractions (but I need to refresh myself on some of their older works before I can do that properly). My brother [johpan] beat me to listing his singles ranking, but if you notice the start of his post, he mentions that I led him to the Wota Distractions page. Evil brother for stealing post topics. After that, I think I may do a breakdown of Berryz singles as well.
