The late Monkey Punch’s Lupin III has been adapted into many forms over the last 50+ years, from anime to live-action films to TV series to video games and much much more. Now it’s been turned into a kabuki play — and we’re getting the …Read more »
The year is almost over, so Google has released its global top-trending searches of 2023, and we can see plenty of otaku have been looking things up. For instance, the fourth most Googled TV show of 2023 was One Piece, probably due to the Netflix …Read more »
Content Warning: Discussion of suicide Famous Kabuki actor Ichikawa Ennosuke has been sentenced in the deaths of his parents. The actor, who has appeared in a One Piece Kabuki play and was scheduled to direct and act in a Demon Slayer Kabuki play, had been accused …Read more »
All the performances scheduled for next year’s new Demon Slayer Kabuki play have been called off. It is said that these cancellations occurred because of “various circumstances.” It was worded to indicate that the play as a whole has been postponed, not cancelled, though no …Read more »
Ichikawa Ennosuke is famous in Japan for being a Kabuki actor, but now he’s in the news because of two indictments. Police think that Ennosuke helped his parents kill themselves in a suicide pact. The day of the incident, back in May, a Japanese magazine …Read more »
The world of Final Fantasy X is making its way to the stage in a kabuki performance this spring, and we now have our first video look at kabuki actor Nakamura Yonekichi as Yuna. The results are a hypnotic video recreation of a famous Final …Read more »
Back in July we posted about plans for New Kabuki: Final Fantasy X, which will mark the first ever kabuki performances for the RPG. General sales for those performances will go live in Japan on November 19, and a brief new teaser has arrived with …Read more »
Square Enix’s Final Fantasy series has somehow existed for 35 years without getting an adaptation in one of Japan’s most distinct theatrical art forms. That’s about to change, though, because the series’ 10th entry, Final Fantasy X, is officially getting a kabuki stage play. New …Read more »
The Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind kabuki play is returning! The play was originally performed back in December 2019, and there’s a reasonable chance it hasn’t been back since because of COVID. However, with more people vaccinated and more things returning to normal, …Read more »
You may have seen our previous posts about the kabuki play that aims to adapt Hayao Miyazaki’s classic Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind manga and anime film. Last time we updated on it we had some costumed photos, and now a rehearsal video is here to show how …Read more »
Looking for some unconventional post-Thanksgiving streaming material? Allow us to present Star Wars in kabuki form. Yeah, you heard right. This is the Star Wars kabuki play announced earlier this month starring Japan’s most famous kabuki actor, Ebizō XI, as Kylo Ren (or Kairen, as he’s called in the play). The …Read more »
Back in December, plans were revealed for a kabuki stage play adaptation of Hayao Miyazaki’s acclaimed Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind anime film, which is set to run in Tokyo from December 6 to 25. Its existence means Miyazaki had to approve of it, which is interesting …Read more »
One of the coolest things Japan has going as far as stage plays are concerned is a kabuki adaptation of Naruto. One of the actors helping to bring Masashi Kishimoto’s beloved series to life in kabuki form is Bando Minosuke II, who plays the lead role …Read more »
Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, the Hayao Miyazaki manga/anime that helped launch Studio Ghibli, is getting a kabuki stage play in Japan. This is the first kabuki play based on a Miyazaki or Ghibli film, and will star two greats of the kabuki …Read more »
There seem to be more plays and musicals based on anime and manga than we can keep track of these days, but this one caught our attention when it was announced a while back: a play based on Naruto done in the style of kabuki. …Read more »
Matt Schley
Danica Davidson
Joseph Luster
