Meet Masahiko, the lead singer of a new Visual Kei rock band named "Willow". Masahiko's grandmother recently passed away and he took the opportunity to let his family and everone else at her funeral know exactly what he thought of her. Arriving in full rock-star regalia, Masahiko dumps out all of his Takarazuka (a Japanese stage show consisting of elaborate costumes popular with girls) posters. As his father shouts that he's "disowned," Masahiko laughs and extends his middle finger directed towards his deceased Grandmother's photo.
Willow heads off for their next performance thanking Masahiko for playing on the same day as his Grandmother's funeral (he could care less). At the performance Masahiko falls into his usual stage routine, he stands in front of the microphone in a wooden, rigid stance and never moves throughout the entire set.
The next day Azuki, one of the members of Willow, decides that if they're going to win the upcoming competition it's not going to be with Masahiko on vocals. They tell Masahiko that he can audition with the rest of the vocalists, but Masahiko shows up late with no memory of where he's been. He quickly notices that he's got quite a few Takarazuka posters with him, and Yuzuhara, another bandmate with a spirtual intunement, notices the spirit of his Grandmother around him. Masahiko soon realizes that his Grandmother is possessing him to finish using up her season tickets for Takarazuka shows. Masahiko then recalls a painful memory that led him to hate his Grandmother and never be able to cut loose in front of an audience!
Published In:
Big Comic Spirits 1993 Vol. 34
1 or W
Publication Date: July 26, 1993
Pages: 30 (black and white)
Anime Adaptation: None
Notes:
This issue of Big Comic Spirits also features an interview between Rumiko Takahashi and Maki Ichiro (一路 真輝) a top star of Takarazuka in the mid-90s.
Takarazuka is the all-female acting troupe known for their adaptations of manga and anime properties on stage.
“A Rose of Versaille poster! From the eighties!” The Rose of Versaille is of course, the legendary shojo manga by Riyoko Ikeda that tells the story of the real Marie Antoinette and the fictional Oscar Francois de Jarjaynes and the love they share for Axel von Fersen. The manga began in 1972 and was adapted by the Takarazuka Revue over 30 times beginning in 1974.
Bon Odori (盆踊り) meaning simply Bon dance, is a style of dancing performed during Obon. Obon (お盆) or just Bon (盆) is a Japanese Buddhist custom to honor the spirits of one's ancestors.
Buddhist Nun - One can tell the nun in this story is a Buddhist by both her robes and head wrap, as well as the fact that she likely has shaved her head. The order of Buddhist nuns (bhikṣuṇī) began later than the monks' order (bhikṣu). As tradition has it, the Buddha at first seemed reluctant to give ordination to his female followers. His attendant, Ananda, pointed out that because the Buddha agreed that men and women were equal in their capacities for spiritual attainment, it seemed only equitable to let women enter his order of mendicants. Ananda was moved by the distress and spiritual aspiration of the Buddha's foster mother and aunt, Mahāpajāpatī, and of the many women in her entourage. They became the first Buddhist nuns.
Hibiya Musical Theater (日比谷野外音楽堂) is an outdoor theater in Tokyo, Japan's Hibiya Park. There are actually two concert halls; the smaller was erected during the Meiji era, and the bigger was first built in the Taishō era.
Visual Kei (ヴィジュアル系) is a movement among Japanese musicians that is characterized by the use of varying levels of make-up, elaborate hair styles and flamboyant costumes, often, but not always, coupled with androgynous aesthetics, similar to Western glam rock. This is the style of Willow.
Kenjiro Hata, the author of Hayate the Combat Butler and Fly Me to the Moon said in an interview that this is his favorite Takahashi short story.
