Thoughts on SnN

[fencer_x]

So, I went to see Shiawase ni Naritai, the second (I believe) collab show starring Nagayan and directed by Cornflakes member Horie Kei (the first IIRC was last year's Hakase to Tarou no Ijou na Aijou).

I got to the theater quite early (45 min) because I left for Shinjuku straight from work as I didn't have quite enough time to justify going all the way home. I killed time in the Starbucks right across from the theater, giggled at the few girls with 3rd and 4th children doing the same, and then at about 15 til curtain, walked across the street to Shinjuku 107. It was down a bunch of steps (the ones you see here), and about halfway down was some kind of reception area...with Tamaoki-san XD

I dunno why, but it always makes me happy seeing him. I feel like it should make me...I dunno, annoyed? Because he's always there, always watching over Nagayan, like some overprotective father or something? But he's the manager (A manager, rather XD), and he's funny and fairly easy-going, and every time I see him, I secretly apologize inside my head for making his life a living hell in fic :P

Also, he likes to speak English to me. This is amusing, because...well, all he can say is "Hi!" and "Bye!"...but still, it's sweet :P Nagayan's manager practices English on the foreign fans. I'm down with that!

I bought a pamphlet (soooo pretty *___* scans later!) and ran into another friend from the FC, who explained how to enter the lottery to win one of the pretty signed panels (didn't win, buuuu), and then went in to find my seat...

FRONT ROW BABY. It was an FC ticket, and those are generally pretty good anyways, but I've never gotten FRONT ROW through it! I was about halfway between the center and the side, too, so it was a really nice position. And it was DVD filming day!

Now, back to the play--I'd read a summary of the plot beforehand, and meant to post it here but never did. It sounds simple enough:

During his time as a university student in New York, Kushino Hibiki (Nagayama Takashi) formed a comedy unit with his parner Keiichi, known as the Brooklyn Brothers. They were praised as the #1 young adult performers, about to break into TV with their own debut late-night TV program. But something suddenly happened one spring ago: Keiichi was arrested for marijuana possession.

After that, the group was punished, and the TV program cancelled. The brilliant path to stardom they'd been walking looked to be completely locked away. Our story starts one year later.

The stage is a 230,000-yen/month (~$2500/mo) 3LDK apartment in Kouenji that Hibiki purchased with the intent to live together with his wife Yukari (Igari Keiko), with whom he separated because of the incident. Also living with him is his younger sister Mari (Kashiro Kiho), who came running when she heard of Hibiki's punishment, Hibiki's kouhai and Lioness's boke Kurusu (Moriyama Eiji), and the members of Hibiki's kouhai unit "Toalkotraja" (Maximum Purposum). Together with Hibiki's former manager Kawakami (Hayashino Takeshi), who was fired after the incident came to light, they all live an easy life, as if on a long summer vacation, away from the world's reaction.

One day, a young director at a film company, Kominato Makiko (Nazuka Kaori), suddenly appears and requests permission to film a documentary telling what happened to the Brooklyn Brothers after the incident. All members of the "Brooklyn family" have their own views on this idea. And of course, Hibiki is unable to keep himself from thinking about his partner Keiichi, with whom no one has had any contact.

One year after the incident, Lioness gets their first regular show.
One year after the incident, Yukari has had a child.
One year after the incident, the identity of the person who betrayed Keiichi becomes known.
One year after the incident, the plant on the veranda has blossomed.
One year after the incident, the meaning of happiness is known.

Now, we pray.

And yet, despite knowing all of this...I DON'T THINK I UNDERSTOOD MORE THAN 10% OF WHAT WAS GOING ON AT ANY ONE POINT. I understood the Japanese pretty fine, but...it was just SO confusing >_<;;;; I can't even really put my finger on WHAT was confusing, but sheesh.

There were lots and lots of switching back and forth between really serious moments (like, multiple people crying on stage at the same time) and random people walking on laughing and joking and smiling, it was really disturbing XD;

Nagayan's character was...Nagayan. Seriously. He even said in the pamphlet he felt like Horie-san had written this character with him in mind because...it just felt like it was EXACTLY how he'd act in his private life around his friends. Really goofy and kinda spacey, too, instead of confronting serious issues, he laughed it off and made the other person happy (or so he thought) in the same way. I don't think necessarily that Nagayan's like that, only that...it was really really believable.

For example, in the opening scene, his wife (separated from him) dramatically slaps her hand on the living room table to indicate she's signed and sealed her part of the divorce papers, and he makes fun of her for being so dramatic about it, and it all turns into one big bout of joking. This actually made me start tearing up at the end, though, because you can see that even though she's laughing, it's one of those laughs where it's halfway between laughing and crying, and Hibiki's trying so hard to ignore it, so it's really awkward and just...really depressing :P But really good, I dunno XD It was one of the few scenes I felt like you didn't evne need to understand Japanese to appreciate the emotion, excellent stuff.

Btw, Nagayan's costume the whole time was the one here.

Eiji's character was supposed to be younger than Nagayan and...god, I totally believed it *___* I mean sure, Nagayan LOOKS younger, but a combination of Nagayan's character and mannerisms and Eiji's character and mannerisms really did an excellent job of making Eiji look like he was in his early-mid 20s and Nagayan in his late 20s-early 30s. Way to pull it off, guys XD

I think the weirdest part of the show came in the last 20 minutes or so. It was where I got REALLY confused, a combination of not knowing what had been going on in the first place and not REALLY understanding the Japanese very well. For example, there's one scene where Yukari, the ex-wife, comes to say hi (she lives in Sapporo, and was visiting for work), and confesses that she's met nice people, and is even going out with a guy who is a Brooklyn Brothers fan. Hibiki is very happy for her, laughing and joking like they used to, and generally putting up a brave front, but Yukari can't stand him acting like that and breaks down and confesses she's had a child. Hibiki is again extremely happy for her, laughing and joking and saying he'd love to meet the kid some day and is it this fan's child?? Yukari just shakes her head...and then neither one says anything for like 5 minutes, as Yukari just cries and Hibiki is just...shell-shocked for the rest of the play pretty much.

This is another scene where the drama is shattered by all the other guesthouse occupants coming back and partying and celebrating (two of them are getting married) and it just...throws you all over the place XD;

At the end of the show, everyone moves out leaving only Hibiki and his little sister there together. Now, all through the play, I'd gotten some weird vibes from his sister around him--she hated his wife, was really secretive, and only opened up to Hibiki, but I just brushed it off...until in the last scene, Hibiki's sitting on the couch and she comes and sits next to him, then gives him a hug, and it's a very sweet, "All you have left is your family" scene...UNTIL IT TAKES A HARD RIGHT TURN INTO INCEST WHEN SHE TRIES TO KISS HIM.

WHAT THE FUCK? WHAT THE FUCK?!

WTF--at least, thankfully, Hibiki's reaction is much the same, only with less cursing and more, "lololol wtf are you trying to do hahaha CRAZY sister lol" Like everything, he just brushes it off as something to be laughed about, and treats her knocking him to the table and MOUNTING HIM like they're just wrestling. Which I dunno, MAYBE that's what it was supposed to be, but it looked MIGHTY sexual and what late-20-something siblings wrestle like that? >_____>

Then the play pretty much ends a moment later with Hibiki pushing her off, walking to the veranda, and seeing that some plant is blooming while he screams for his sister.

YEAH. However you feel after just reading this short, jumpy summary? That's how I felt after seeing this play.

"WHAT THE HELL DID I JUST SEE?"

Comments

[fullmetalkatu.livejournal.com]

It seems disjointed, certainly... it doesn't seem like anyone other than Nagayan, his wife and his sister were particularly important? What happened to Keiichi? or Eiji's character? So strange...

...It was a marijuana bush, wasn't it? :D

[fencer-x.livejournal.com]

Keiichi kills himself, I think (he jumps off of a roof, you never see his character, only hear about it), the wife was only in two small scenes, and Eiji's character moves out with most of the rest of the characters in a scene near the end.

I THOUGHT it was a marijuana plant, but...you never see it. And IIRC the Japanese maple looks like marijuana (http://www.soulofthegarden.com/Images/April06JapaneseMapleLeavesCU.jpg) -- though it could just be that it was MEANT to be marijuana because erm, the couldn't exactly use that on stage XD

They called it "the plant of happiness" :D

[fullmetalkatu.livejournal.com]

Ah, that sucks. Keiichi seemed like a mildly interesting character. XD I'm really curious (I adore theatre, especially plays that people don't quite understand) and wish I could see it. I doubt I would spend the $40+ on a DVD, though. now that I think about it, I still need to watch Aru Hi on Youtube

...I have never heard a Japanese Maple referred to as a "plant of happiness". Marijuana sounds a lot closer to a "plant of happiness" than a Japanese maple. XD

[aquara.livejournal.com]

That is crazy, I don't know how you sat through that! Sometimes when I go and watch plays or even some movies I just have to like pause it or walk to the lobby to take a break and just try to absorb what I've just seen.

And yeah no one wrestles with their siblings like that XD totally creepy

[viherkyn.livejournal.com]

That sounds really interesting. I am a bit baffled about what the point is but it sounds very interesting!

[analineblue.livejournal.com]

Wow. This sounds... well, it sounds like what how I always feel about every single one of Nagayan's plays after I watch them, really. XD;; (Of course I realize that I feel that way due to my crappy Japanese, and that it's not the case for you AT ALL, but... XDDD) Hakase to Tarou too, was one of those plays that while usually I feel like I can pick up the basic plot, I just... Well, I didn't get ANYTHING out of that play. So I don't know, maybe it's a Cornflakes thing? ^_~

But anyway. This sounds...really depressing. @_@ And the part about the comedy duo really makes me think about some of the stuff Nagayan's said about that friend of his from high school, you know? It just seems like this totally could have been Nagayan, like... in another life or something. I'm sure that's a lot of the reason it felt so much like him to you? *__* Are you seeing it again, or was this the only time? I just wonder if it's the sort of thing that would make more sense if you saw it again, or... not. ^_~ Huh. *_* And I know I won't understand a thing, but I'm totally happy about the DVD. XDD