Since the new Rock Musical Bleach was finally over last week, and I had also written a blog about the musical's comeback, I thought it would be nice if I write about the first Rock Musical Bleach too.(Here's my post about the new Rock Musical Bleach—Rock Musical Bleach Returns to Stage!)
(image source: Google.com)
Rock Musical Bleach cast poster for Live Bankai Show Code 003.
Rock Musical Bleach or "Burimyu"(from the words Bleachor Burichi and Musical) is undeniably one of the most remarkable 2.5-Dimensional Musical running from 2005 to 2012. The musical follows the story of the popular shounen manga Bleach which is about teenage boy named Kurosaki Ichigo who was accidentally yet intentionally turned into a shinigami(death god) by a female death god named Kuchiki Rukia in order to protect his family from a hollow(spirit monster). Having the powers of a shinigami led him to new adventures, stronger enemies and a responsibility to protect his family, friends and the human world.
But since Bleach it was adapted into a musical, there were less fight scenes just focusing on the important parts of the story. What you'll mostly see are fierce death gods singing at the top of their lungs along with the musical's original songs and dancing while swinging their katana(sword) sometimes. Rock Musical Bleach did not only focused on the clashing of swords and music but also to the characters' life as well. Highlighting the characters and bringing out the fun side in them probably was one of the reasons to the musical's success. It was something the fans could not have in the manga. Even some side characters surprisingly received a good attention in the musical.
The first Rock Musical Bleach was directed by Takuya Hiramitsu, music by Syouichi Tama, dialogue by Naoyoshi Okumura and produced by Studio Pierrot and Nelke Planning based on the popular manga Bleach by Noriaki Kubo(popularly known as Tite Kubo).
ROCK MUSICAL BLEACH SHOWS
(video source: Youtube.com)
The first Rock Musical Bleach cast singing The Dark of the Bleeding Moon, opening song for the Live Bankai Show Code 003.
▪ Rock Musical BLEACH
The musical debuted it's very first show at the Space Zero Hall in Tokyo last August 17, 2005 to August 28, 2005 with the name "Rock Musical BLEACH" with only few characters namely Kurosaki Ichigo, Kuchiki Rukia, Abarai Renji, Kuchiki Byakuya, Ichimaru Gin, Hitsugaya Toshiro, Aizen Sousuke, Hinamori Momo, Urahara Kisuke, Inoue Orihime and Yasutora Sado. Most likely, the show received positive reviews and good ticket sales which led to producing a second show the following year, the Saien.
▪ Saien
In Saien, third division's Vice Captain Kira Izuru was added to the cast. The second musical of Rock Musical Bleach ran from January 5 to 8 and January 14 to 19 of 2006 in Osaka and Tokyo respectively.
▪ The Dark of the Bleeding Moon
In the third musical of Rock Musical Bleach called The Dark of the Bleeding Moon, five characters were added to the cast namely Zaraki Kenpachi, Madarame Ikkaku, Matsumoto Rangiku, Yamada Hanataro and Shihouin Yoruichi. Meanwhile, three characters were removed from the musical and they were Inoue Orihime, Yasutora Sado and Urahara Kisuke. The third musical ran from August 10 to 13, 2006 in Osaka and August 16 to 21, 2006 in Tokyo.
(I love the third musical better than the previous ones because there were more interesting characters added to the story which made the stage happier but I also felt sadness at some point because Urahara Kisuke and Shihouin Yoruichi never crossed paths.)
▪ The Live Bankai Show Code 001
Another character was added to the fourth installment of the musical, 9th division's Vice Captain Hisagi Shuhei. The musical ran from January 10 to 14, 2007 in Tokyo. In a backstage footage, the actor of the character Yamada Hanataro was seen being comforted by the cast just after the curtains went down.(I'm not sure of the reasons but I think he's crying because he won't be in the next part of the musical. That's how he loves Rock Musical Bleach you know.)
▪ No Clouds in the Blue Heavens
In the No Clouds in the Blue Heavens, three more characters were added to the cast namely Kaname Tousen, Retsu Unohana and Sui-feng. The story of the fifth musical concentrates on Kuchiki Rukia's execution after giving her shinigami powers to Kurosaki Ichigo. The musical ran from March 21 to 27, 2007 in Tokyo and April 3 to 8 in Hyogo, Japan. With the addition of Kaname Tousen to the cast, the trio villains were finally complete.(You should see them sing and dance to their very own song Catharsis of Eternity!)
▪ The All and The Live Bankai Show Code 002
The All and The Live Bankai Show Code 002 were two separate musicals but were both performed on the same dates of March 24 to 31, 2008 in Tokyo. The musical's story in the three Live Bankai Shows(Code 001, 002 and 003) were not really based on the manga and mostly covers about the fun and weird side of the Bleach characters. I may want to consider them as "filler" musicals but that doesn't mean it's not that good. It's actually very nice and entertaining!(I wish Aizen and Ichigo just ended up in a singing duel instead of clashing their swords!)
In their last song in Code 002, Isaka Tatsuya the actor of Kurosaki Ichigo went to Kubo Tite who was watching in the audience and brought him to the stage.
▪ The Live Bankai Show Code 003
The Live Bankai Show Code 003 was the eighth and last sequel of the Rock Musical Bleach. Although the last, the main antagonist of the story, Aizen Sousuke wasn't able to join. On their last show as they sang the song The Other Side of a Limit where all the cast had hints of tears in their eyes and some crying uncontrollably.(I cried too when I first saw the video. That's just a secret, okay? Lol.) The Code 003 ran from January 15 to 17 of 2010 in Fukuoka, January 20 to 25 in Osaka and January 29 to February 08 in Tokyo.
(image source: Google.com)
"Shinei Rock Musical Bleach: REprise" poster.
▪ Rock Musical Bleach Shinsei 2011 and Shinsei 2012
The Rock Musical Bleach Shinsei 2011 was produced in celebration of the 10th anniversary of the Bleach manga. However, the storyline of the musical does not follow that of the manga's. There was also a big change and overhaul in the cast. Several characters were removed and all of the actors as well, but except for one actor, Miki Sato. She was again chosen to play for the role Kuchiki Rukia until Shinsei 2012. Norizuki Kouhei on the other hand, won the main role Kurosaki Ichigo against an over four thousand aspirants to the role.
Here are the rest of the characters included for the Shinsei 2011: Kousuke Kujirai as Abarai Renji, Yuuya Kido as Hitsugaya Toshiro, Ishizaka Isamu as Kyouraku Shunshui, Nishijima Kazuhiro as Ukitake Jushiro, Motohiro Ota as Kuchiki Byakuya, Kanami Ayano as Haruka Hana, and Shinya Niiro as Iruma.
In the Shinsei 2012, the same cast of last year returned except for the character Ukitake Jushiro which was then portrayed by Tsuda Eisuke. An additional character, Urahara Kisuke, was included on the last year of the musical which was portrayed by Oyama Masashi.
The Shinsei 2011 began around July while the Shinsei 2012 ran from August 30 to September 9, 2012. The full title of the Shinsei 2012 is "Shinsei Rock Musical Bleach: REprise". Among the Shinsei cast, I think it was only Norizuki Kouhei who watched the 2016 musical.(Photo of Kouhei and the new Kurosaki Ichigo here!)
ROCK MUSICAL BLEACH CAST (2005-2010)
I know, there has been two sets of old cast for the musical but I'd rather show everyone the first generation cast of Rock Musical Bleach instead since they were the most loved and favored cast. So I gathered some information about them for everyone to know them more!
▪ 伊阪達也 Isaka Tatsuya as Kurosaki Ichigo
(image source: Google.com)
Isaka Tatsuya as Kurosaki Ichigo.
Birthdate: July 12, 1985
Twitter: @tatsuyadayonn
Blog: ameblo.jp/tatsuya-isaka
Isaka Tatsuya from Ishikawa Prefecture is known for his role as Kurosaki Ichigo in the musical Rock Musical Bleach. Recently, he was cast as Maeda Keiji in the stage play Sengoku Basara and will soon take the character of Caleb Keireiji in the Rose Guns Days stage play.
The actor considers Rock Musical Bleach as a big part of his youth and genuinely loves the musical that brought more shine to his career. He is one among the first cast who had immediately went to the theater last July 29, 2016 to give out his support for the revival of Rock Musical Bleach this year.
▪ 佐藤美貴 Sato Miki as Kuchiki Rukia
(image source: Google.com)
Sato Miki as Kuchiki Rukia.
Birthdate: April 15, 1980
Twitter: @miki_sato_0415
Blog: ameblo.jp/mi-ki-sa-to
Sato Miki from Fukushima Prefecture is well-known for her role as Kuchiki Rukia in the Rock Musical Bleach. She has been the longest cast in the musical from the first musical, Rock Musical BLEACH until Shinsei Rock Musical Bleach: REprise. This October, she will be a part of the TAIYO MAGIC FILM 11th concert called "Sakurasakukoro 2016" which will run from October 1 until October 10.
She also went out to support the new cast of the musical together with Rock Musical Bleach co-actors Nagayama Takashi and Murakami Kohei last August 06, 2016. She totally supports the whole cast especially the successor of her role Kai Chihiro who looks just like her. (Before, I used to tell my friends that she looked similar to a Filipina actress Maricar Reyes and they will all agree with me. Do you? Anyway, Miki Sato for me is the perfect Kuchiki Rukia.) The actress is also very kind and humble as she would sometimes give a heart or even reply to your tweets on her!
▪ 森山栄治 Moriyama Eiji as Abarai Renji
(image source: Google.com)
Moriyama Eiji as Abarai Renji.
Birthdate: October 03, 1976
Twitter: @sexydayoon
Blog: ameblo.jp/pnish-sexyboy
Moriyama Eiji from Nagasaki Prefecture is also a voice actor aside from being a stage actor. Aside from playing as Abarai Renji in Rock Musical Bleach, he is also known for his role as Momoshiro Takeshi in The Prince of Tennis Musical and is among the first generation cast of the musical too. Meanwhile, he voices the character Ibu Shinji in the Prince of Tennis anime.
He is also a member of the stage group *pnish* and represents the color blue in the group. He sometimes greet everyone with "Hi! Sekushi desu!"(Hi! I'm Sexy!). He greeted that way in one of their Burimyu shows. Anyway, he went together with Isaka Tatsuya last July 29, 2016 to watch the Rock Musical Bleach 2016!(He was also the first cast member to reply on my tweet! Haha!)
Other Male Characters:
(image source: Google.com; collage by Katsanslimites)
Characters from top left to bottom right: Kuchiki Byakuya, Hitsugaya Toshiro, Ichimaru Gin, Aizen Sousuke, Zaraki Kenpachi, and Kaname Tousen.
▪ 林修司 Hayashi Syuuji as Kuchiki Byakuya
Birthdate: November 27, 1979
Twitter: @syuuji1127
Blog: ameblo.jp/syuji-hayashi/
Blog(old): blog.livedoor.jp/syuji_hayashi_blog
Hayashi Syuuji from Kyoto Prefecture is popular for his role as Kuchiki Byakuya in Rock Musical Bleach. His nickname is Osamu-chan(you can often hear it on the Burimyu backstage videos). He appeared as Time in the Little Alice stage play and he will soon play as DJ Stride in Prince of Stride: The Live Stage. He is also a member of the group dopeAdope. Last July 30, 2016, he went to see the new Rock Musical Bleach together with Katou Manabu or Gaku(a member of Taiin).
▪ 永山たかし Nagayama Takashi as Hitsugaya Toshiro
Birthdate: November 16, 1978
Blog: ameblo.jp/nagayama-takashi
Blog(old): nagayama.blog55.fc2.com
Nagayama Takashi or 永山毅(Nagayama Takeshi) in real life is from Kanagawa Prefecture and is famous for his roles as Kikumaru Eiji in The Prince of Tennis Musical and Hitsugaya Toshiro in Rock Musical Bleach. He was also a singer and model. He modeled his own clothing brand Blossam.(Not sure if Blossam still exists day.) He did a couple of movies like Happy Landing, The Prince of Tennis, and television series like Delicious Gakuin and more. Some of the musicals he had been a part of was Musical: Kamen Teacher ~Silver Mask~, Samurai 7 Musical as Heihachi, and Seishun AOHARU Tetsudo as Tokaido Shinkansen which will get a part two this November entitled Seishun AOHARU Tetsudo 2.
He is a very close friend to Burimyu co-actor Tsuchiya Yuichi and even holds a yearly show with him called "Guitar Friends". Nagayama Takashi is nicknamed by fans as "Nagayan" and has a fan club named "Strawberry meet" whom I just discovered its Twitter and Facebook page recently.(Lol!) He loves coffee especially those in Starbucks and McDonalds. According to Nagayan, during Burimyu he would bend his legs to appear small like Hitsugaya Toshiro. He thanks the hakama costume because it made it very convenient for him to bend his legs unnoticeably. I wonder why he went to the Rock Musical Bleach 2016 with Sato Miki and Murakami Kohei last August 06, 2016 instead with Tsuchiya Yuichi. Schedules maybe?
▪ 土屋裕一 Tsuchiya Yuichi as Ichimaru Gin
Birthdate: February 06, 1979
Twitter: @tutiyatuitta
Blog: ameblo.jp/pnish-tuti
Tsuchiya Yuichi from Yamanashi Prefecture is known for his roles as Ichimaru Gin in Rock Musical Bleach and Oishi Shuichiro in The Prince of Tennis Musical. He is also a member of the stage group *pnish* like Moriyama Eiji and represents the yellow color. He has appeared on several movies, television shows and other theatrical plays. He is currently in the stage play Tanuki Goten Musical.
He is often called by fans as "Tuti" and would always have the greeting "Hi! Tuti desu!"(Hi! I'm Tuti!) similar to Moriyama Eiji's greeting. Tuti has a lively and funny personality though he can be very loud sometimes especially when he laughs. His Rock Musical Bleach co-actors even noticed that they can hear his breathing while performing in the stage.(Lol!) He first met his friend Nagayama Takashi in The Prince of Tennis Musical and remains very close to each other until today. They even watched the movie "The Incredibles" together and bought shirts of the movie which also served as their souvenir.(More like friendship shirts! You can see Tuti wearing it at one of the backstage videos in Burimyu.)
Well, he is surprisingly good in English and writing Kanji too. This was proven during a quiz show together with his group *pnish*. He went to watch the new Rock Musical Bleach last August 05, 2016(surprisingly) alone.
▪ 大口兼悟 Ohkuchi Kengo as Aizen Sousuke
Birthdate: November 09, 1981
Twitter: @kengo1109
Blog: ameblo.jp/ohkuchi-kengo
Ohkuchi Kengo from Kagoshima Prefecture is known for portraying Aizen Sousuke, the antagonist in the musical Rock Musical Bleach. He has been in many movies and television shows such as Kamen Rider 555 as Kazufumi Mizuno, Ressha Sentai ToQger as Emperor of Darkness Z, and more. He also starred in The Prince of Tennis Musical as Tezuka Kunimitsu although for just a short period of time.
Last August 01, 2016, he updated his blog saying that he will be retiring from acting. On August 03, 2016 he also updated his Twitter account with same announcement which received an over two thousand favorites and retweets. His last stage work is in Annie musical which ended last August 28. On his blog last August 01, he thanked his fans, family, friends and staff for supporting him throughout his fifteen years in the industry.(So this explains why he's been out on Twitter since early this year. His last post was decluttering his room and even joked about selling some of his unused shoes where Moriyama Eiji replied and said he wants to buy them. Lol. I'm not sure if Eiji was able to buy some but I saw a photo of them together where he was carrying a paper bag. But there's something I'm sure of. Kengo loves Gudetama!)
▪ 鈴木省吾 Suzuki Shogo as Zaraki Kenpachi
Birthdate: April 12, 1963
Twitter: @show_go_suzuki
Suzuki Shogo from Tokyo Prefecture is an actor and narrator. He is also known for his role as Zaraki Kenpachi in Rock Musical Bleach. He is currently doing narration works at some shows of some well-known television companies in Japan like NHK and TBS. Of course, he didn't forget to see the new Rock Musical Bleach and went to watch last August 06, 2016. He even had a photo holding the bald head of the current Madarame Ikkaku actor. I wonder why he did not meet Miki Sato and the rest when they went to watch on the same date.
▪ 倉貫匡弘 Kuranuki Masahiro as Kaname Tousen
Birthdate: December 20, 1982
Twitter: @Masakura1220
Blog: ameblo.jp/masahiro-kuranuki
Kuranuki Masahiro from Tokyo Prefecture is popularly known for his role as Kaname Tousen in Rock Musical Bleach. He has done movies and several television series such as Gokusen 2, Ressha Sentai ToQger, etc. He was recently part of the stage play Club SLAZY ~Another World~ last July 2016 and will again be a part of it on December going by the title Club SLAZY The Final Invitation ~Garnet~. Kuranuki also gave his support to the current Rock Musical Bleach last August 08, 2016 and felt nostalgic while seeing the character he once played on the stage.
(image source: Google.com; collage by Katsanslimites)
Characters from top left to bottom right: Yamada Hanataro, Kira Izuru, Madarame Ikkaku, Hisagi Shuhei, Urahara Kisuke, and Yasutora Sado.
▪ 村上耕平 Murakami Kohei as Yamada Hanataro
Birthdate: May 19, 1986
Twitter: @kope0519
Instagram: @kokun
Facebook: www.facebook.com/kope0519
Blog: ameblo.jp/kope519
Murakami Kohei from Tokyo Prefecture won a Special Jury Award in the 16th Junon Super Boy Contest. His first stage name was 上村 光平(Uemura Kohei) but was changed to Murakami Kohei when he joined Rock Musical Bleach. Friends and fans call him "Kope". He is part of the stage play Clock Zero where he plays as Hanabusa Nakaba. He also takes dance lessons, English lessons and occasionally goes to U.S.A. for vacation. Kope is very friendly to his fans even following back most of them.(He followed me on three social networking sites! Lol!) Aside from television appearances, one of his notable works is his role as Yamada Hanataro in Rock Musical Bleach. Last August 06, 2016, he went to support the new Burimyu together with first Burimyu cast Sato Miki and Nagayama Takashi.
▪ 北村栄基 Kitamura Eiki as Kira Izuru
Birthdate: February 03, 1981
Twitter: @eiki0203
Kitamura Eiki from Kumamoto Prefecture had long retired from his acting career and is married to a model and friend Mayama Keiko around the year 2012. He is best known as a cast in Rock Musical Bleach going by the role Kira Izuru and in The Prince of Tennis Musical as Kawamura Takashi. Some of the television series he had done are Meitantei no Okite, Hikon Domei and Gokusen. He had also starred on films like Ghost Train, 13 no Tsuki and Gokusen: The Movie. Surprisingly, he updated his Twitter account last July 28, 2016 after over two years of being inactive on the site. According to forums I read, Kitamura Eiki is now working as a typical office worker.
▪ 臼井琢也 Usui Takuya as Madarame Ikkaku
Birthdate: February 13, 1975
Twitter: @ustaku
Blog: ameblo.jp/usagihabokusougasuki
Blog(old): usuitakuya.jugem.jp
Usui Takuya from Tokyo Prefecture is a member of the theater company BQMAP and has worked in the movie Tanuki Goten. Well, I have no more other information other than that.(Sorry.) I guess he now lives in Kanagawa Prefecture as that's what's written in his location on his Twitter profile. And according to his blog information, he resides near the sea. Most of his recent blogs were photos of him fishing too. (Tip: You can find some photos of him together with Rock Musical Bleach first generation cast in his old blog in Jugem.)
▪ 郷本直也 Gomoto Naoya as Hisagi Shuhei
Birthdate: April 25, 1980
Official Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/gomoto.naoya
Blog: ameblo.jp/naoya-g-sanpo
Gomoto Naoya from Osaka Prefecture is one of the most important, best and well-recognized actors in the stage play industry. Some of the popular roles he had played are: Kaoru Kaidoh in The Prince of Tennis Musical, Hisagi Shuhei in Rock Musical Bleach, Shingo Kinjou in Yowamushi Pedal Stage, and Amagiri Kyuujuu in Hakuouki Musical. He also starred as Shingo Kinjou in the Yowamushi Pedal Live Action. Other than that, he had also done some voice acting roles such as in Eyesheild 21 as Seijuro Shin and in Reborn! as Zakuro. He also went to watch the new Rock Musical Bleach last July 29, 2016 although he seem to have not met co-actors Isaka Tatsuya and Moriyama Eiji. Gomoto Naoya is currently in the musical Touken Ranbu as Kondo Isami.
▪ 伊藤陽佑 Yosuke Ito as Urahara Kisuke
Birthdate: July 07, 1984
Twitter: @LITOjp
Instagram: @litosanjp
Facebook: www.facebook.com/LITOjp
Blog: ameblo.jp/yosukeandyou
Website: actoli.jp
Yosuke Ito also known as "Lito" from Hokkaido Prefecture is a stage actor and singer . He portrayed as Deka Green in the television series Tokusou Sentai Dekaranger and Urahara Kisuke in the musical Rock Musical Bleach. Lito has a solo project called LITO and even has a dedicated online shop for it. He is also the CEO of the ACOLI LLC.
▪ 吉田直史 Yoshida Naofumi as Yasutora Sado
Birthdate: October 24, 1982
Yoshida Naofumi from Tokyo Prefecture is a former member of the theater group *pnish*. He is known for playing as Yasutora Sado in Rock Musical Bleach.(I can't find any other information about him. Sorry.)
Other Female Characters:
(image source: Google.com; collage by Katsanslimites)
Characters from top left to bottom right: Shihouin Yoruichi, Momo Hinamori, Matsumoto Rangiku, Retsu Unohana, Sui-feng, and Inoue Orihime.
▪ 齋藤久美子 Saitou Kumiko as Shihouin Yoruichi
Birthdate: June 14, 1977
Twitter: @93saikumi
Blog: blog.livedoor.jp/saikumi614
G-Rockets Profile: www.g-rockets.jp/saito.html
Saitou Kumiko from Chiba Prefecture is a stage actor and acrobat. She is a member of the acrobat dance company G-Rockets. She had appeared at some movies and several stage plays including Sailor Moon musicals as one of the Lemures in La Reconquista and Droids in Petite Etrangere. But she is best known for being a cast in Rock Musical Bleach where she played the role of Shihouin Yoruichi.
Last August 03, 2016, she went to watch the new Rock Musical Bleach and to give her support to fellow G-Rockets members Matsubayashi Atsumi and Kurachi Ayuka who are then the current cast of the musical.
▪ 齊藤来未子 Saitou Kumiko as Momo Hinamori
Birthdate: December 17, 1987
Blog: ameblo.jp/kumiko-saito
Blog(old): hina.sizimi.raindrop.jp & http://yaplog.jp/sizimi-coco
Saitou Kumiko from Kanagawa Prefecture has the same name as the Shihouin Yoruichi actor but differs when their names are written in Kanji. Her co-actors in Rock Musical Bleach call her "Kumi-chan" as she is the youngest among the cast. She sings really good which helped her character Momo Hinamori in Rock Musical Bleach receive more attention. But even though she acts great on stage, she is actually afraid of the camera. She always runs away from cameras on the backstage videos of the musical, even her co-actors can't get a decent video of her.
Some other stage plays she had participated on were Over the Rainbow and Makoto-Gekidan. Last August 26, 2016, she went to watch Rock Musical Bleach in Kyoto. She had one photo together with the present Momo Hinamori actor, Karen Miyama, which was posted on the official Twitter account of the musical.
▪ 笠原弘子 Kasahara Hiroko as Retsu Unohana
Birthdate: February 19, 1970
Blog: ameblo.jp/kasaharahiroko
Kasahara Hiroko from Tokyo Prefecture is a popular voice actress and singer. She had released several albums and singles from 1988 to 2005. She is also known for voicing Fuu Hououji in the anime Magic Knight Rayearth, Princess Rose in Yu-Gi-Oh!: Duel Monsters GX, and a lot more. She is also currently collaborating with BAR Hashi and holds a special event called "BAR Hiroko".
▪ 井上晴美 Inoue Harumi as Matsumoto Rangiku
Birthdate: September 23, 1974
Blog: blog.excite.co.jp/inoueharumi
Blog(old): yaplog.jp/inoueharumi
Website: www.harumi-inoue.com
Inoue Harumi from Kumamoto Prefecture is an actress, model and swimmer. She appeared in several films such as Gonin Saga, Graveyard of Honor, Asakusa Kid, and more. She was cast as Matsumoto Rangiku in Rock Musical Bleach although she missed to participate in some of its shows because of pregnancy. Today, she has three kids and has a farm in Kumamoto. She recently went to watch K-Pop in Fukuoka last July 30, 2016.
Did you know that Kitamura Eiki who played as Kira Izuru is her younger brother?(Cool!)
▪ 関根あすか Sekine Asuka as Sui-feng
Birthdate: July 24, 1978
Blog: ameblo.jp/a-chan-0724
Blog(old): blog.livedoor.jp/asuka19780724
Sekine Asuka from Tokyo Prefecture is also a member of the acrobat dance company G-Rockets. She is known for her role as Sui-feng in Rock Musical Bleach. I read somewhere that she's not wearing an earset microphone during the musical.(I tried to rewatch the musical and she is indeed not wearing one! So how is her voice heard? Was the microphone hidden under her hair? Lol. Who knows.)
Anyway, I am very happy for her as she recently gave birth to a healthy girl. You can see some photos of her daughter on her Ameba blog. She got married last August 08, 2015.
▪ 吉井怜 Yoshii Rei as Inoue Orihime
Birthdate: March 18, 1982
Twitter: @rei318
Instagram: @rei_yoshii
Blog: ameblo.jp/yoshii-rei
Yoshii Rei or 飛知和怜(Hichiwa Rei) in real life, is from Tokyo Prefecture and is an actress and model affiliated to Hori Agency. She played as Inoue Orihime in Rock Musical Bleach. In year 2000, she suffered from Leukemia but had defeated it and came back to her acting career in 2002. She is currently in the show Criminal Seven as Azusa Kinoshita, Garo: Makai Retsuden as Akari, and a lot more.
The Taiin:
The 隊員(Taiin) or ensemble, is a group of eight people who acts as extra death gods and backup dancers. The first generation Taiin members were Kurihara">twitter.com/co_0809">Kurihara Kohei, Kazuya Sueyoshi, Manabu Katou, Takuya Tachibana, Isao Kumakura, Hiroshi Yasuda, Tatsuya Shinohara, and Masayuki Iwashita. Meanwhile, Manabu Katou or "Gaku" is the favorite member of the Taiin, in a sense that some of the cast especially Tsuchiya Yuichi would bully him.(Check their backstage videos!) However, Gaku is also a great friend to Nagayama Takashi until the present day.
THE BEST OF ROCK MUSICAL BLEACH!
(video source: Youtube.com)
The Gotei 13 song "Mou Hitotsu no Chijou" during Live Bankai Show Code 002.
The first generation Rock Musical Bleach had already proven its success and popularity for running for several years. Even though I haven't seen them perform with my bare eyes, the videos of their performances says enough of how excellent this musical is. I am a person who is hard to please but Rock Musical Bleach had effortlessly slipped through my criteria. Such an amazing musical it is! Honestly, I just stumbled on the Live Bankai Show Code 003 video while searching for Bleach cosplays(costume plays). I tried watching it and was immediately amazed on how accurate the actors looked especially the Kuchiki siblings, Rukia and Byakuya. The acrobatic stunts of Yoruichi and Sui-feng were very good I didn't notice I was already watching the entire length of the show when I only planned watching the first five minutes of it.
The musical's songs were very addictive to my ears. I don't know but I find them cool even though I don't understand most of the lyrics.(Haha!) I also like the staff's idea of putting some of the cast to perform the part of a missing member. It turned out really fun and hilarious! Just like in the songs Bengara Koushi and Catharsis of Eternity. Another thing I loved is their dance steps. Heck, I've even memorized the steps of Song For You and Soul Shout with a friend! The Rock Musical Bleach fever is strong!
(image source: Google.com)
A backstage photo of the first generation Rock Musical Bleach cast.
Of course, the thing we most love were the scenes which were parallel to the original story of Bleach. One of the versions of the song Dark of the Bleeding Moon where Captain Hitsugaya Toshiro quickly gets in between Vice Captains Kira and Hinamori to stop the two from hurting each other was really outstanding for me. There were actually a lot of cool scenes in this musical and all of this were achieved because of the great cast. Their rigorous training, support for each other and special bonds really helped a lot with the musical's wonderful outcome.
I can say this is the cast of Rock Musical Bleach that I love most. On their backstage videos, you can really see them having fun. I never imagined theater acting could also be this interesting. They seem to be just like cosplaying but in a much serious and higher level. They're bonds are genuine and not just for a show. They bully and play pranks with their co-actors but also share tears at some sad moments. You'll know that their tears are not fake because your heart feels them. And so it is not a surprise to see some of them going out together whenever they find some extra time on their busy schedule. Isaka Tatsuya who plays the lead character even posted a tweet that he wishes to have a reunion someday with the whole cast. Moriyama Eiji and Yoshii Rei responded agreeing to his idea.
(image source: Twitter.com)
Former Rukia, Sato Miki with the current Rukia, Kai Chihiro. Two Rukias in one photo!
Life goes on and everything gets old through time. No matter how much everyone would want them to stay in their roles, we can't avoid the fact that these people are now a bit too old to fit the characters of Bleach. They are not immortals and they cannot remain in their twenties forever, you know! But we should not get completely sad because the new cast are kind of good too! Seeing the old cast allotting some of their precious time to go out and support the musical that they were once at made me happy. Standing side by side to the character they portrayed in the past makes it all nostalgic. It was every fans' dream! Check out the official Twitter for more photos of the past and current cast together.
Rock Musical Bleach is also quite popular outside Japan. I hope more and more people get to see this musical because it is absolutely great and very entertaining. Like where can you see death gods singing and dancing? Only on Rock Musical Bleach of course!
Thanks for reading!
✧ Katsanslimites
