JAPANESE 2.

5-DIMENSIONAL THEATER:

PRESENTATION AND PERCEPTION

OF A POPULAR THEATER IN CONTEMPORARY JAPAN

LU ZIHUI

(MA, University of San Francisco)

A THESIS SUBMITTED

FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

DEPARTMENT OF JAPANESE STUDIES

NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SINGAPORE

2019

EXAMINERS APPROVED BY

Associate Professor Meyer-Ohle, Hendrik Carl

Associate Professor Jan Mrazek

Supervisor
Professor Peter Eckersall Associate Professor Lim, Beng Choo
(City University of New York) Department of Japanese Studies

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 Declaration

I hereby declare that this thesis is my original work and it has been written by me in its

entirety. I have duly acknowledged all the sources of information which have been used in

the thesis.

This thesis has also not been submitted for any degree in any university previously.

Lu Zihui

8 June 2020

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 Acknowledgement

Before I started this PhD program, many voices warned me that it would be a tough

four or five years ahead. Indeed they were correct. However, my journey was also filled with

the excitement of gaining new knowledge and the pleasure of meeting friends with shared

interests. I have received so much help during my PhD research. I doubt whether I can possibly

return all these favors, but I would like to start by conveying my appreciation in this

acknowledgement.

First, I would like to express my gratitude to my supervisor, Professor Lim Beng Choo,

for her encouragement, guidance, and patience throughout my graduate studies. Her passion

and expertise in Japanese theater and her open-minded attitude toward new sources of

knowledge have inspired me greatly. I am also grateful to Professor Miguel Escobar for his

insightful guidance on my research. I benefited greatly from the modules I took with Miguel;

our conversations on intermediality resulted in some of the discussions presented in this

dissertation. My sincere thanks also go to Professor Fujimoto Yukari, not only for kindly

hosting me in Meiji University while I did my fieldwork, but also for her wide and thorough

understanding of Japanese popular culture, which influenced the direction of my research. I

also owe thanks to Professor Sugawa-Shimada Akiko, who kindly introduced me to many 2.5D

theater practitioners, and generously shared some firsthand information regarding this genre

with me.

During my research, many professors, institutions and funding sources have provided

me with opportunities to present my work and learn from my peers. Among them, I especially

want to thank Professor Reginald Jackson. I owe a lot to a workshop he held on Japanese

performance theories. I also want to thank UCLA, the University of Hawaii, Mañoa, Tokyo

University of Foreign Studies, and Chinese University of Hong Kong for organizing graduate

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conferences and seminars, and providing a platform for academic communication for junior

scholars.

I am grateful to many professors in the Department of Japanese Studies: comments and

questions from Professors Hendrik Meyer-Ohle and Timothy Amos urged me to consider my

research from different perspectives; modules I have taken with Professor Thang Leng Leng

and Dr. Scot Hislop broadened my knowledge on Japanese society and traditional performance;

teaching experiences together with Professors Deborah Shamoon and Christopher McMorran

gave me invaluable insights in teaching. Professors Emi Morita and Konrad Kalicki also

offered their help in different stages of my research. The administrative staff from the

Department of Japanese Studies: Lee Bee Leng, Irene Ng, Joy Chua, Wu Huifen, and Alex Soo,

as well as the librarian Ms. Tham Wai Fong from NUS Central Library, had been extremely

supportive and helpful. I am very thankful that I had an enjoyable experience doing my PhD

research at the department.

Members of my dissertation committee, Professors Hendrik, Jan Mrazek and Peter

Eckersall have given me invaluable suggestions and comments, which helped me to improve

the overall quality of my dissertation.

I am indebted to many friends for their kind support and provocative suggestions

throughout my research, especially Chen Ruilin, Yu Qiyun, Zeng Qilin, Gao Ming, Kania

Sukotjo, Eve Loh Kazuhara, Ku Ka Leung, Gao Yang, An Bo, Feng Wei, Karen Ang, Fransiska

Chandra, Robert Crawford, Shanell Wong, Chan Hui Hisen, and Inuzuka Satoshi. Finally, but

most importantly, I want to thank my family. Without their unconditional love and support, I

could never have come this far.

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 Notes on Style

Throughout the dissertation, East Asian names are presented family name first, unless

the person has stage name or English name, in which case the given name appears first. All

translations from Japanese and Chinese to English are mine unless otherwise noted. English

translations of play titles and company names follow the official translation provided by the

relevant parties where applicable. When there is no official translation for a play title, I refer

to the website “Fandom” ([Link]) and follow the generally acknowledged English

name. The names and fonts for all titles follow their original or official appearance.

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 Table of Contents

Declaration ................................................................................................................................. 1
Acknowledgement ..................................................................................................................... 2
Notes on Style ............................................................................................................................ 4
Table of Contents ....................................................................................................................... 5
Summary .................................................................................................................................... 8
List of Tables ........................................................................................................................... 10
List of Figures .......................................................................................................................... 11
Preface...................................................................................................................................... 12
Chapter 1 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 15
The 2.5-Dimensional Theater .............................................................................................. 15

Manga-adapted Plays in Japan ............................................................................................. 20

1924–1990: Early History ................................................................................................ 20
1991–2002: Rapid Development and the Rudiments of 2.5D Theater ............................ 23

The 2.5D Theater Industry ................................................................................................... 27

Methodology ........................................................................................................................ 31

Outline of the Dissertation ................................................................................................... 34

Chapter 2 Popular Theater in Japan: from Premodern Era to Present Day ............................. 38
Socioeconomic and Political Background ........................................................................... 38

Audience Participation ......................................................................................................... 44

Post-Fordism ........................................................................................................................ 49

Early Media Mix .................................................................................................................. 51

Kadokawa Media Mix.......................................................................................................... 53

Production and Circulation in the Otaku Market ................................................................. 55

Segmentation........................................................................................................................ 58

Consumption ........................................................................................................................ 61

Chapter 3 Features of 2.5D plays: A Comparison between Tenimyu/Tenimyu-Inspired Plays,

Takarazuka Revue, and Studio Life ......................................................................................... 65
The Tenimyu......................................................................................................................... 66

Takarazuka Revue and Studio Life ...................................................................................... 69

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 Features of 2.5D Theater...................................................................................................... 72
Female Audience-Oriented Production: Idolized Performers.......................................... 72
Fans As the Basis ............................................................................................................. 77
The Graduation System.................................................................................................... 82
Fidelity ............................................................................................................................. 85
Long-Running Series ....................................................................................................... 91
Two Formats in One Production ...................................................................................... 93
Diversity in 2.5D Theater ................................................................................................ 95

Chapter 4 Intermediality in 2.5D Theater ................................................................................ 97

Intermediality in Theater...................................................................................................... 98

Intermedial Elements in 2.5D Theater ............................................................................... 106

Lighting .......................................................................................................................... 106
Anime Techniques ......................................................................................................... 111
Manga Techniques ......................................................................................................... 116
Video .............................................................................................................................. 122
Music.............................................................................................................................. 125
Performing ..................................................................................................................... 128
Other Performing Arts: Manzai and Puppetry ............................................................... 130

Perception of Intermediality in 2.5D Theater .................................................................... 131

Chapter 5 Japanese 2.5D Theater in China ............................................................................ 136

Chinese 2.5D Theater......................................................................................................... 137
Political Influences: The Struggle of Commercially Successful Theater in Contemporary
China .............................................................................................................................. 137
Chinese IP Theater and Original 2.5D Plays ................................................................. 142
Legend of Sword III (Xianjian qixiazhuan III, 2016) .................................................... 145

Japanese 2.5D Theater in China......................................................................................... 152

Nelke China and Imported Japanese 2.5D Plays ........................................................... 152
From Phenomenal Game to 2.5D Play: Promotion Strategy and IP Asset Operation of
Yinyangshi ...................................................................................................................... 156
The Experiment of the “Onmyōji Model” ...................................................................... 160

The Future of Japanese 2.5D Theater in China.................................................................. 165

Chapter 6 Conclusion............................................................................................................. 167

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 Summary ............................................................................................................................ 167

Limitations of the Research ............................................................................................... 175

Future Developments in 2.5D Theater and 2.5D Theater Studies ..................................... 176

Bibliography .......................................................................................................................... 180

Appendices............................................................................................................................. 199
Appendix 1 List of Japan 2.5-Dimensional Musical Association Members ..................... 199

Appendix 2 Chronological Table of Representative Stage Adaptations of Manga, Anime,

and Video Games ............................................................................................................... 204

Appendix 3 Takarazuka Musicals of Manga Adaptations ................................................. 211

Appendix 4 Studio Life Performances of Manga Adaptations .......................................... 217

Appendix 5 List of Tenimyu Series .................................................................................... 222

Appendix 6 List of Tōken Ranbu Series ............................................................................ 231

Appendix 7 List of Hyper Projection Engeki Haikyū!! series ........................................... 234

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 Summary

This study is centered on Japanese 2.5-dimensional theater (2.5D theater), which refers

to 3-dimensional live performance adapted from 2-dimensional manga, anime, and video

games. Situating 2.5D theater within the broader context of contemporary Japanese media

culture, this study aims to examine the production, presentation, and consumption of this

popular theater. From the perspectives of area studies and theater studies, I analyze the features

and stage presentations of 2.5D theater within the cultural and social context.

By paralleling 2.5D theater with earlier popular theater in Japan, I demonstrate the

similarities between 2.5D theater and other forms of popular theater. The historical analysis

also proves the influence of socioeconomic background on popular Japanese theater. I argue

that, born in the new millennium, the production and stage presentation of 2.5D theater are

influenced by the media culture in contemporary Japan. The production and marketing

strategies show features of anime media mix, and the audiences’ consumption behaviors follow

the narrative consumption and database consumption models.

Within this broad background, I further examine the manga-adapted plays that are

representative of the era prior to the emergence of 2.5D theater, with a focus on the all-female

troupe Takarazuka Revue and the all-male troupe Studio Life. A comparison between the

features of 2.5D theater and these two troupes proves the uniqueness of 2.5D theater, and also

provides a thorough interpretation of this genre. In this study, I define 2.5D theater to be the

post-2003 productions influenced by the Musical The Prince of Tennis series (2003–present).

These 2.5D plays are usually long-running series targeting fans of the original work, and

require a faithful adaptation in 2.5D performances. They cast young and less experienced actors

to attract female audience members, and sometimes present live concerts after the main

theatrical presentation to further entertain the fans.

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 The faithful representation of an original work is accomplished by the different media

used on the stages of 2.5D plays. I analyze the stage presentation of representative 2.5D plays,

with a focus on media elements such as lighting, anime techniques, manga techniques, video,

music, and performing. Through the performance analysis, I provide a new explanation for the

intermedial phenomenon in popular theater. I argue that, unlike the audiences in experimental

theater, audiences who are familiar with the fragmented Japanese media culture are not

disturbed by intermediality.

Considering the global expansion of the 2.5D industry, I also conduct a comparative

study of 2.5D theater in Japan and China. With case studies on The Legend of Sword III (2017),

a Chinese 2.5D play based on a Chinese computer game, and Onmyōji~Heian Emaki~(2018),

a Japanese 2.5D play based on a Chinese mobile game, I analyze the globalization of the 2.5D

industry and its reception in a number of cultures to reveal the underlying reasons for the

commercial success of 2.5D theater in the world.

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 List of Tables

Table 1 Selected Members of Japan 2.5-Dimensional Musical Association

Table 2 List of Plays in the Hyper Projection Engeki Haikyū!! series

Table 3 List of Nelke-Produced 2.5D Plays Performed in the “Greater China Area”

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 List of Figures

Figure 1 Yearly Number of 2.5-Dimensional Musical Shows Produced and Total Attendance

Figure 2 Stage Yowamushi Pedal The New Period FINAL: POWER OF BIKE

Figure 3 Musical The Prince of Tennis National Championship Seigaku vs Hyōtei

Figure 4 Yowamushi Pedal IRREGULAR ~2 Tops~

Figure 5 Live Spectacle NARUTO ~The Akatsuki Investigation~

Figure 6 Osomatsu-san on STAGE ~SIX MEN’S SHOW TIME~

Figure 7 Hyper Projection Engeki Haikyū!! Karasuno Revival

Figure 8 Hyper Projection Engeki Haikyū!!

Figure 9 Hyper Projection Engeki Haikyū!! Karasuno Revival

Figure 10 Live Spectacle NARUTO ~the Akatsuki Investigation~

Figure 11 The Three-body Problem

Figure 12 Legend of Sword III

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 Preface

It was June 12, 2016, when I first saw a live 2.5D performance. The last performance

of the second play of the Tōken Ranbu musical series, The Story of Atsukashiyama (Myūjikaru

Tōken Ranbu Atsukashiyama Ibun) in Tokyo was held in the AiiA 2.5 Theater Tokyo. The

musical was adapted from the online and mobile game Tōken Ranbu, which personifies

legendary Japanese swords and makes them travel to the past and fight against villains who

intend to disturb history. The story of this musical is set in Atsukashiyama in 1189, focusing

on Minamoto no Yoshitsune and his follower Musashibō Benkei, and their swords

Imanotsurumi and Iwatōshi. Yoshitsune and Benkei, who should have been murdered by his

brother, are resurrected by the evil forces. They reach Atsukashiyama to avenge themselves,

but are stopped by their swords.

As a gamer who played Tōken Ranbu online before, I felt quite an impact seeing the

familiar characters appear in reality in front of me. Although the narrative in the musical was

original, I sensed a high level of fidelity in this production. It not only came from visual

elements such as makeup and costume, but was also expressed via faithful representation of

each character’s personality and even their tone of voice. It was obvious that the actors were

not experienced enough – their acting and singing skills were immature in comparison with

other professional theater or musical performers. However, these flaws were covered by other

exciting points, such as the lighting effects, catchy musical composition, and intense sword

fights. I have to admit, their handsome appearances were an undeniable attraction for female

audience members including myself. After the 2-hour musical, the performers returned to the

stage and presented the 1-hour live concert. In this second section, they still performed in

character. They wore the same costumes and makeup, but interacted more with the audience.

According to theater etiquette, the audience were not allowed to make noise during the

main performance, but could freely cheer for the performers during the concert. The audience,

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who were almost exclusively female, waved light sticks and screamed out the names of the

characters. Some avid fans even sang along with the actors. Their zealousness was also

demonstrated in front of the booth that sold derivative goods. These ladies waited in long lines

to purchase folders, pictures, and posters of the performers before the show, and even during

the intermission. When I surfed online the night after the performance, I noticed that excited

audience members continued their discussions on social media such as Twitter, Instagram and

personal blogs.

The popularity of the Tōken Ranbu musical exposed the game to more people in Japan

and abroad. The Chinese version of the game was launched in late 2017. Later that year, I

watched another Tōken Ranbu performance, Shinken Ranbusai (2017) in December. This time,

the location was Guangzhou, China. The performance was held in Guangzhou Gymnasium

(Guangzhou Tiyuguan) which sits over 5,000 people. Although this was not the first Japanese

2.5D performance I have watched in China – the first one being Live Spectacle NARUTO:

Akatsuki no Shirabe (July 2017, Raibu Supekutakuru Naruto ~Akatsuki no Shirabe~) in

Shanghai – the overwhelming reaction and excitement of the audience and fans still surprised

me.

These experiences made me extremely interested and curious about the 2.5D genre: I

have never seen any kind of theatrical performance like this, yet many elements in the

production and operation looked similar to other popular culture products. This genre is clearly

rooted in contemporary Japanese popular culture, and shares some features with traditional

popular theater. I could not help asking, what is this so-called 2.5D performance? How is this

new genre defined? What role does it play in contemporary Japanese popular culture? What

are its features from the perspective of theater studies? Is the 2.5D industry expanding globally?

How is it doing in China? Bearing these questions in mind, I started my PhD research focusing

on Japanese 2.5D theater. With analyses of the background of this genre, its history, production,

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stage presentation, as well as future development, I intend to address these important questions

in my dissertation. My research has culminated in the first ever report on 2.5D theater in

English. It is also the first comprehensive study in any language on this genre. I thus hope my

research will provide a basis for forthcoming studies on 2.5D theater.

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 Chapter 1 Introduction
The 2.5-Dimensional Theater
This dissertation is centered on 2.5-dimensional theater, a newly emerged popular

theater genre in contemporary Japan. 2.5-dimensional theater (2.5 jigen butai), or alternatively

2.5-dimensional musical (2.5 jigen myūjikaru), is usually abbreviated as 2.5D theater. In this

context, the term 2.5D refers to the creative space between 2-dimensional original works and

the 3-dimensional live performances based on them. It is where this genre is situated. More

broadly, 2.5D is a term used to describe a variety of products, activities, and performances that

are associated with both the 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional worlds, including content

tourism (kontentsu tsūrizumu or seichi junrei),1 cosplay, vocaloid performance,2 and so on.

2.5D theater is vaguely defined as theatrical performance adapted from manga, anime,

and video games,3 and has been gaining popularity in Japan since the new millennium. Despite

the popularity of 2.5D theater since the early 2000s, the widespread use of the term “2.5D

theater/musical” emerged much later. In November 2010, the magazine Otome Continue

(otome kontinyū) published a special volume titled “2.5D Backstage” (2.5 jigen bakkustēji),

which included interviews with the actors of the musicals Nintama Rantarō (2010-present),

Musical The Prince of Tennis (Myūjikaru tenisu no ōji sama, 2003-present, usually referred to

as Tenimyu or Tennimu for short), and Hakuōki (2010-present). This was probably the first

time 2.5D theater was introduced as a genre in magazines. On September 9, 2011, an NHK

subcultural information program, “MAG-Netto”, used the phrase “2.5D musical” when

1
Content tourism refers to the purposeful sightseeing of places that appear in a 2-dimensional work. It is defined
by Seaton et al. as “(the) travel behavior motivated fully or partially by narratives, characters, locations, and other
creative elements of popular culture forms, including film, television dramas, manga, anime, novel, and computer
games” (Seaton et al. 2017, 3).
2
Vocaloid refers to a singing voice synthesized by computer software. Virtual vocaloid characters, such as
Hatsune Miku, can hold a concert using a hologram projection of their images. In these concerts, virtual characters
present programed performances to actual audiences.
3
According to the definition given by the Japan 2.5-Dimensional Musical Association (Japan 2.5-Dimensional
Musical Association 2017).

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introducing Tenimyu. Since then, the terms “2.5D musical” and “2.5D theater” have been

widely used to refer to manga-, anime-, and video game-related performances.

Following this general acknowledgement, some magazines and newspaper articles, as

well as the largest 2.5D theater association, Japan 2.5D Musical Association, have come to

simply define this genre as manga-, anime-, or video game-adapted theater. However, there

clearly remains some ambiguity. Even if we limit the original works to those created by

Japanese artists, the broad term can still include all theatrical adaptations based on 2-

dimensional works, such as those produced by Takarazuka Revue (Takarazuka kagekidan),

Shiki Theatre Company (gekidan shiki), 4 and the super kabuki series. 5 The aesthetics and

performing styles of these productions are so diverse that they can hardly be categorized under

the same genre. An opposing view is that many people consider the premiere of the Tenimyu

series in 2003 to be the beginning of 2.5D theater. As of 2020, this long running series has

spanned a history of 18 years, and its success has inspired many similar theatrical productions

based on popular 2-dimensional works. This paradox in the existing definitions of 2.5D theater

does not provide a convincing and substantial basis for research on 2.5D theater. Therefore, it

is the aim of this dissertation to provide a more comprehensive and more accurate definition of

this genre.

It is essential to clarify the concept of “genre” per se before proposing a definition of

2.5D theater. In his characterization of genre, Pavis states that,

4
Shiki Theatre Company is known for importing Disney musicals, such as Beauty and the Beast (1995–2017),
The Lion King (1998–present), The Little Mermaid (2013–present), and Aladdin (2015–present).
5
Super Kabuki (Sūpā Kabuki) is a series catering to young audiences that was initiated by the kabuki performer
Ichigawa Ennosuke III. Although the first play in this series, Yamato Takeru, was performed in 1986, Super
Kabuki has been quite successful since its early years, but it only became widely known at home and abroad when
the play Super Kabuki II: Once Piece was produced in 2015. The play is based on the popular manga One Piece,
and it has been repeatedly performed since its first production.

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 Upon determining the genre of the text, the spectator sets up a series of expectations,

of obligatory figures that codify and simplify reality, so that the author does not need

to reiterate the rules of the game and the genre that are supposed to be known to

everyone, and can meet, or short-circuit, those expectations by distinguishing the text

from the canonical model. … To identify the genre involves reading the text while

comparing it with other texts, particularly the social and ideological norms which for a

given time and audience constitute the typical model of verisimilitude and ideology.

(Pavis 1998, 159)

In other words, plays within a certain genre should bear some similarities. Before a

show actually starts, the audience would have expectations regarding the artistic style of the

performance, and these expectations become the features of the genre. Therefore, I argue that

productions such as Super Kabuki and the shows of Takarazuka Revue should not be

considered as 2.5D theater, since their unique aesthetics differ from 2.5D productions.

Although some scholars, such as Yoshioka Shiro (2018), think differently, I propose that the

first Tenimyu performance in 2003 marks the beginning of 2.5D theater. This genre includes

Tenimyu and post-2003 theater adaptations of manga, anime, and video games that have been

influenced by the Tenimyu series. These 2.5D productions have arisen in the media and

consumption culture of contemporary Japan, and share common features in terms of production,

stage presentation, and target audience that distinguish them from other plays based on 2-

dimensional works.

Despite its economic success, 2.5D theater is seldom discussed in academia. A limited

number of research articles on 2.5D theater have all been published in Japanese, the majority

of which discuss this theater as a cultural product. It should be noted that, although these

articles did not provide an explicit definition for 2.5D theater, the cases mentioned in them are

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either Tenimyu or Tenimyu-inspired productions. Most of the related articles were published in

leading literary and art magazines such as Yuriika and Bijutsu Techō, and entertainment

magazines such as Omoshii. In Yuriika’s special issue, “2.5-Dimension” (2.5 jigen), and

Bijutsu Techō’s special issue, “2.5-Dimensional Culture” (2.5 jigen bunka), 2.5D theater

scholars and critics talked about characters (Futoshi 2015; sezu 2015; Tsutsui 2015), the

ontology of this theater (Sugawa 2014; 2015), and its relationship with the original works

(Iwashita 2016). These scholars acknowledge 2.5D theater as a stage performance (butai) that

differs from cosplay, voice actor concerts, figure models, and other cross-dimensional products

derived from media mix—the cross-media publication and consumption model of narratives

that is similar to media convergence. However, the main emphases of these articles were

confined to the importance of characters and the fidelity of 2.5D theater. Due to the limited

scope of these articles, these discussions on 2.5D theater as a cultural product were not

comprehensive.

Very few of the published articles examined 2.5D theater from the perspective of

theater studies. Among these, Fujiwara Mayuko (2015) examined the structure of 2.5D plays.

She suggested that, although this genre is sometimes called “2.5D musical,” it lacks a proper

beginning, climax, and ending and therefore cannot be defined as a musical. Suzuki Kunio, on

the other hand, has a different view published in a chapter titled “2.5D Musical” in the book

The Development of Postwar Musical (Sengo Myūjikaru no Tenkai, 2017), and in a journal

article with the same title (2017b). He claims that the 2.5D theater performances we currently

talk about largely refer to those produced under the “Tenimyu model” (Tenimyu moderu), and

he provides a brief overview on the history of the 2.5D musical. Although these two theater

scholars analyzed 2.5D theater as a theatrical product, their short publications were not able to

cover the intricate nature of the genre, providing only limited glimpses into this complex

theatrical genre which is simultaneously a theater and media product. It is therefore essential

18
to conduct a study of the background and mise-en-scène of 2.5D theater for a thorough

understanding of this new genre which has taken the world of Japanese popular culture by

storm.

It can be observed that the existing research on 2.5D theater by Japanese scholars and

cultural critics overwhelmingly speaks positively about this genre. The absence of critical

analysis on this fascinating theatrical genre is the first reason why I wish to explore the genre

further. After witnessing avid fans who love the plays and actors wholeheartedly spend

hundreds of thousands of yen on related merchandise, and watch their favorite performances

repetitively, I ask the questions: what are the motivating factors for them to do that? What are

the differences between 2.5D theater and other types of theater performance in Japan? Is 2.5D

theater totally unconventional and predominantly a product of anime and video games? Will

we learn more about the production and consumption of contemporary Japanese popular

culture through 2.5D theater? What about its relationship, if any, with Japanese theater?

In addition, unlike many other scholars trained in theater studies, I do not subscribe to

the nostalgic ideal of a “pure” or more “serious” theatrical performance in my examination of

popular and/or commercial theater. My training in the fields of Japanese studies and theater

studies compels me to examine 2.5D theater as a theatrical genre, while remaining keenly

aware of the significance of the specific social and cultural background in which the genre is

produced and consumed. I have adopted a detached position in my study in order to conduct

my research objectively and comprehensively, focusing on these areas: the cultural and

socioeconomic context in which 2.5D theater emerged; the features that differentiate it from

earlier manga-adaptation theater productions; its mediatized stage presentation that redefines

the perception of intermediality; and finally, the global expansion of the 2.5D performance

industry.

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 I believe that my research will complement existing studies on 2.5D theater. Also, as

the first book-length publication on the topic, I hope it will also ignite interest in the genre from

scholars in the Anglosphere, where 2.5D theater is still awaiting the attention it deserves.

Manga-adapted Plays in Japan

As discussed above, plays belonging to a certain genre should follow a typical model

or ideology, so that they can be differentiated from other genres. Since 2.5D theater is always

confused with other manga-adapted plays, it is essential to comb the history of manga-adapted

theater in order to compare and contrast the two. In this section, I will analyze important

manga-based plays in Japanese history, and a comparison between Tenimyu and two

representative troupes who produce manga-adapted plays can be found in Chapter 3. Theatrical

adaptation of manga in Japan has a long history which can be roughly divided into three phases:

the early stage (1924-1990), the years of rapid development (1991-2002), and the age of 2.5D

theater.

1924–1990: Early History

The history of manga adaptations in theater in Japan cannot be told without mentioning

Takarazuka Revue. The first theatrical performance of a manga adaptation in Japan was The

Adventures of Shō-chan (Shō-chan no Bōken) that was staged by Takarazuka Revue in the city

of Takarazuka from October 1 to October 21, 1924.6 The original manga, which is about the

protagonist Shō and his friends’ adventures in foreign countries, was quite popular among

readers at that time. The play was performed by the same cast again in 1925 at Ichimura-za in

Tokyo. The recording of this play was also shown in cinema as a black-and-white silent film

by Tō’a Kinema. The promotional campaign for the original manga, which involved the

6
The name of Takarazuka Revue at that time was Takarazuka Girls’ Revue (Takarazuka Shōjo Kagekidan).

20
theatrical production, is the first case of manga-related media mix in Japanese theater (see

Chapter 2). However, over the next 50 years, Takarazuka’s Draw the Sword (Katana wo nuite,

1956) was the only manga adaptation the group performed.

In 1974, the Takarazuka Revue presented the world with The Roses of Versailles

(Berusaiyu no bara, more commonly referred to as Berubara for short), which was later

recognized as the play that saved Takarazuka from a period of decline. After its premiere in

1974, the series had 19 different plays that were performed more than 1,600 times as of 2014,

and they attracted over 5 million audience members. 7 The musical adaptation faithfully

presented the plot of the original manga, which is set in an alternate version of 18th-century

France and revolves around a female protagonist named Oscar (Osukaru) who is disguised as

a man. Oscar is raised as a boy to succeed her father as the leader of the Palace, and she becomes

the guard of princess Marie Antoinette (Marī, later the Queen of France). However, the conflict

between her responsibility as a soldier and her hidden desire to live a regular life as a woman

always troubles her, especially with her unrequited love for Marie’s lover.

Besides love affairs, the latter half of the manga also portrays Oscar’s political

awareness. Her struggle with the tension between her noble birth and her sympathy toward the

poor intensifies in this pre-French Revolution period. The complex psychology of the

characters, as well as the political background of 18th-century Europe, distinguishes this work

from children’s manga. It targets an older, mainly teenage, group of readers (Shamoon 2018,

3). The older age range of the manga readers coincides with Takarazuka’s audience group. The

Rococo costume design, romantic storyline, and exotic French cultural and historical

background also fit Takarazuka’s aesthetic style perfectly. Despite knowing that adapting a

shōjo manga would be a bold and risky attempt, the director Hasegawa Kazuo still insisted on

7
These numbers only take into consideration performances that took place in Takarazuka’s theaters in Takaraduka
and Tokyo. There have been additional tours to different places.

21
producing this play, which has proven to be a wise decision. Starting with Berubara, manga

adaptations have since become an important part of Takarazuka’s productions. As of 2019,

Takarazuka has staged adaptations of 25 manga and 4 games.8

Berubara did not just bring manga adaptation to the forefront of Takarazuka. It also

triggered many other troupes’ attempts at staging manga works. One example is Shōchiku

Revue’s 1980 musical adaptation of the manga Galaxy Express 999 (Ginga tetsudō 999 in

SKD), which is a story about a young boy traveling to different planets with a mysterious

woman.9 Influenced by Takarazuka (est. 1913), SKD was founded by the famous film and

theater production company Shōchiku in 1921. Supported by the Agency of Cultural Affairs,

SKD’s production of Galaxy Express 999 was a huge success. The musical was performed

twice in 1980. Over a span of three months, it attracted more than 200 thousand audience

members, and was performed again in 1982. The second production in 1986, Galaxy Express

999 –Trip to the Transparent Palace (Ginga tetsudō 999 tōmeikyū he no tabi), was not adapted

from the manga. Instead, SKD worked with the writer and illustrator of the original manga,

Matsumoto Reiji, and presented a completely original story. After SKD, the manga Galaxy

Express 999 was also adapted into a musical by The Galaxy Theatre (Tenōzu ginga gekijō) in

1997, but the better-known adaptation was the one Galaxy Opera produced in 2018 in

celebration of the 40-year anniversary of the manga. Galaxy Opera was directed by Kodama

Akiko, a famous director of 2.5D theater, and was performed in Tokyo, Kyushu, and Osaka for

three months.

In the same year that SKD’s second Galaxy Express 999 musical was performed, the

well-known shōgekijō director Noda Hideki also presented his manga adaptation Hanshin,

which was based on the manga with the same name. The short manga, written and illustrated

8
Some manga works are adapted into several different plays. Plays performed by different groups may also vary,
and they are usually considered as different versions.
9
Shōchiku Revue is commonly known as SKD, the three-letter abbreviation of its Japanese name Shōchiku
Kageki-Dan.

22
by Hagio Moto, tells of a tragedy that happens to a pair of conjoined twins. The script was co-

written by Noda and Hagio, and it was performed by Noda’s troupe Yume no yūminsha. This

was one of the earliest times that shōgekijō encountered manga.10 It is not so surprising, since

Noda has admitted that manga has had a great influence on his directing career (Fukushima

2010, 22). Noda, as well as many other people who were born in the 1950s, grew up reading

manga, so manga had become an important component in their daily lives. Furthermore, manga,

as a product of a subculture, had been favored by many shōgekijō directors as a way to oppose

the restrained performing and directing style of shingeki. The play Hanshin later became one

of Noda’s representative works, and was performed five more times in 1988, 1990, 1999, 2015,

and 2018.11 Earlier versions of Hanshin cast established performers, such as Fukatsu Eri and

Katō Takako. However, the latest production selected an idol, Sakurai Reika from the idol

group Nogizaka 46, to be one of the co-leading actresses. This decision is in line with the

idolization trends prevalent in the 2.5D theater industry since the late 2000s, which I will

elaborate on in Chapter 3.

1991–2002: Rapid Development and the Rudiments of 2.5D Theater

In contrast to Japan’s declining economic environment in the early 1990s, theatrical

adaptations of manga experienced a decade of rapid development. The boom in manga theater

started with the musical Saint Seiya (Seinto Seiya, 1991). It was performed by SMAP, which

later became the most popular male idol group in Japan in the 1990s. The musical proved to be

a roaring success—it attracted 370 thousand audience members for 31 performances over 18

days.

10
The first manga adaptation in shōgekijō was perhaps Watanabe Eri’s Ge-Ge-Ge no Ge in 1982. This work was
based on Mizuki Shigeru’s Ge-Ge-Ge no Kitarō, and it earned Watanabe the Kishida Kunio Drama Award in
1983.
11
The 2015 version was a collaboration with Korea Myeong-dong Art Theater. It was directed by Noda but
performed by an all-Korean cast.

23
 The data alone do not explain the full significance of this musical. The reason why this

version of Saint Seiya is so important for 2.5D history is that almost all the staff members who

participated in this musical became big names in the 2.5D industry. The script was written by

Mitsuya Yūji, the voice actor who played the role of Shaka in the anime version of Saint Seiya.

After this musical, he gradually transitioned his career from voice acting to playwrighting and

directing, especially for manga adaptations. He has worked on many 2.5D productions over the

years, including the Tenimyu series.

The musical numbers in Saint Seiya were composed by the musician Sahashi Toshihiko,

who came to be in charge of the musical compositions in the first and second seasons of

Tenimyu. Moreover, the producers Kataoka Yoshirō and Matsuda Makoto became influential

in the 2.5D theater industry, and they participated in the production of the Tenimyu series.

Kataoka served as the director of the production company Marvelous! (Māberasu!) from 2000

to 2009, and Matsuda later became the president and CEO of Nelke Planning (neruke

puranningu)—both companies are major players in the 2.5D industry. Matsuda is also currently

the chairman of the Japan 2.5-Dimensional Musical Association.

Following in the footsteps of Saint Seiya, another long-running musical adaptation of a

manga, Sailor Moon, was produced by Bandai Co., Ltd. in 1993. Bandai produced a total of 29

plays between 1993 and 2005. It is notable that this series was mainly based on the TV anime

version and not the original manga, Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon (Bishōjo senshi seirā mūn),

although the scenes in the anime were largely influenced by the manga. The stories in the

manga and anime are practically the same. They are about the adventures of a girl named Usagi

who leads a group of comrades called “sailor soldiers” to battle villains. The manga and anime

were huge hits in the 1990s, hence the musical series also attracted much attention at the very

beginning. The series produced two plays annually: one original play and a revised version of

it. The Sailor Moon musical was the very first serialized play adaptation of a manga to be

24
performed regularly for over 10 years. Sailor Moon’s long-running production style, fan club

system, and many other aspects influenced the Tenimyu series, which will be discussed in the

next section.

Perhaps inspired by the Saint Seiya musical, Sailor Moon also cast many newly-debuted

idols—most of whom were not yet famous when they participated in the performances. After

the idol boom of the 1980s, many music-related programs that largely featured idols were

cancelled by TV stations in the early 1990s. As a result, many idols started seeking other

performing opportunities, such as variety shows, TV dramas, and theatrical plays, to maintain

frequent exposure to the public (Lukács 2010, 45–46). Since the lead characters in Sailor Moon

are all teenage girls, taking part in this musical series appeared to be an appropriate opportunity

for the idols. Although the original Sailor Moon manga was categorized as shōjo manga, the

musical version amassed quite a number of male fans who supported the idols playing “sailor

soldiers” (Yokozawa 2016, 57). Some idols therefore found a position in theatrical

performances of manga adaptations during the so-called “winter season” of idols in Japan.

Casting young and good-looking performers became a trend, which continued into the next

decade of the 2.5D industry.

In 1996, following Noda’s Hanshin (1980) and five other theatricalized works, Hagio

Moto’s The Heart of Thomas (Tōma no shinzō) was adapted into a play by the theater company

Studio Life (Sutajio raifu). The story takes place in an all-boys boarding school in Germany,

where one of the students, Thomas, commits suicide because of his unrequited love for his

senior, Juli. In shock and grief, Juli notices a transfer student, Eric, who looks exactly like

Thomas. Affected by strong emotions triggered by Thomas’ death, Juli irrationally turns his

regret into anger against Eric. However, he realizes that Eric is also sorrowful and grieving

because of his mother’s death. The two gradually open up their hearts and help each other

overcome the tragedies. The play proved to be a great success: it has been restaged nine times

25
and has become a representative work of Studio Life. It also set the aesthetic tone of the

company—Studio Life’s productions are linked to keywords such as romance, tragedy, love,

and tanbi.12 After the success of The Heart of Thomas, the company has relied mainly on

adapting literature, manga, and translated foreign plays. The group creates three regular plays

and one play for junior actors annually (Studio Life 2003). Since 1996, Studio Life has

presented 29 play adaptations of manga.13 The consistent aesthetic style of Studio Life has also

brought it a relatively stable audience group, which is made up of mostly adult women.

Another important play in this decade was the Sakura Wars (Sakura taisen) series

(1997–present), which is based on a video game of the same name. The original storyline was

said to have been inspired by Shōchiku Revue and Takarazuka Revue. Set in an alternate

version of the Taishō era, the game is about the adventures of Group Flower (hanagumi), an

all-female task force. Sakura Wars attracted many players with its mix of elements from visual

novels14 and war games, its nostalgic and dramatic storyline, and its advanced animation and

pleasant background music. Greatly inspired by the two revue groups’ performances, the

general producer of Sakura Wars, Hiroi Ōshi, turned the game into a stage performance in the

second year after the game was released (Yoshioka 2018). In order to bring the fantasy to life,

the stage production cast the voice actors who had performed in the game. The theatrical

performance combines short comedies, singing, traditional dance, and many other art genres

in a more revue-like style than Takarazuka. Apart from this series of adaptations, the game has

also been adapted into another musical series,15 12 live concerts, seven dinner shows, and other

forms of stage performance.

12
This literally means “the pursuit of beauty.”
13
The number here includes adaptations of the plays performed by Studio Life in earlier years.
14
Visual novel (bijuaru noberu) is a text-based interactive game genre that originated in Japan. Players read the
texts, which appear with images, and interact with characters by making a number of choices to push the
development of the story.
15
This series was performed by Aoyama Girls’ Revue (Aoyama Shōjo Kagekidan) in 1998, 2012, and 2013.

26
The 2.5D Theater Industry
Although the history of manga-adapted stage performance in Japan can be traced back

to 1924, manga-based plays produced before 2003 clearly show different features from

Tenimyu. The Tenimyu series was adapted from Konomi Takeshi’s manga The Prince of Tennis

(Tenisu no ōji sama), which narrates the lives of high school tennis players. As of 2018, the

Tenimyu series has been continuously performed for 15 years, spanning three seasons and eight

generations of main performers. This long-running, serialized 2.5D production casts only male

actors, all of whom are young and attractive, though lacking in performing experience. It stays

highly faithful to the original manga and anime, and is presented in a musical style. The

commercial success of Tenimyu has led to many other musical and “straight play”16 adaptations

of 2-dimensional works, and has stimulated the development of 2.5D theater as an industry.

There are four different types of producers that are known for manga-adapted theater:

troupes, production companies, talent agencies, and theaters. Troupes that produce manga-

adapted theaters include Takarazuka Revue, Studio Life, Shiki Theatre Company, and Warabi-

za. These troupes all have their own style of directing and performing, and their works are not

considered as 2.5D plays in my research 17 . The majority of 2.5D plays are produced by

production companies. Aside from large corporations such as Shochiku and Toho, there are

smaller and more active 2.5D theater production companies, including Office ENDLESS,

CLIE (kurie), and Marvelous!, among which the most influential one is the initiator of Tenimyu,

Nelke Planning. Talent agencies, such as CUBE (kyūbu) and the Gorch Brothers (gōchi

burazāzu), and theaters like The Galaxy Theatre (ginga gekijō) and Ginza Hakuhinkan Theater

(ginza hakuhinkan gekijō) also participate in this industry.

16
“Straight play” (sutoreto in Japanese) refers to plays that are not musicals. It is sometimes called butai in Japan
in order to distinguish it from musicals.
17
The styles of Takarazuka Revue and Studio Life will be discussed in Chapter 3.

27
 The formation of the 2.5D industry is a natural outcome of the increasing number of

2.5D theater productions. Some players in the industry began to see the need to create an

association to nurture the development of this genre. In 2013, the Japan 2.5-Dimensional

Musical Association (Nihon 2.5 jigen myūjikaru kyōkai) was founded to enable collaborations

on 2.5D performance-related business and to promote 2.5D culture. This is Japan’s largest

association of 2.5D performance businesses, consisting of the latter three parties mentioned

above, namely production companies, talent agencies, and theaters. Major players in this

association include Nelke Planning, the TV station Tokyo Broadcasting System Television Inc.

(TBS terebi) and the film company Toho Co. Ltd. According to the Japan 2.5-Dimensional

Musical Association’s brochure, 18 in 2017, 171 2.5D plays were performed, with a total

attendance of more than 2.23 million people (see Table 1). The association mainly serves as a

platform for communication and collaboration among its members. Moreover, it also aims to

increase the international reputation of 2.5D theater. To attract more foreign audiences, the

association developed an English version of its official website, which provides detailed

schedules of upcoming and past performances (see [Link]

Additionally, subtitle glasses are available in some plays that offer international tickets. These

glasses act as a personal monitor that presents subtitles right in front of the audience member’s

eyes. Audience members wearing these glasses are able to watch the play with subtitles in their

preferred language.19

18
Japan 2.5-Dimensional Musical Association Brochure. Accessed April 3, 2020.
19
Depending on the play, there are up to four available language choices (Japanese, English, Chinese, and Korean).

28
 Table 1 Selected Members of Japan 2.5-Dimensional Musical Association20

Special Members English/Romaji Japanese Romaji Pronunciation

Shueisha Inc. 株式会社集英社 Kabushiki Kaisha Shueisha
Kodansha Ltd. 株式会社講談社 Kabushiki Kaisha
Kōdansha
Shogakukan Inc. 株式会社小学館 Kabushiki Kaisha
Shōgakukan
Tezuka Productions 株式会社手塚プロ Kabushiki Kaisha Tezuka
Co., Ltd. ダクション Purodakuson
Akita Publishing Co., 株式会社秋田書店 Kabushiki Kaisha Akita
Ltd. Shoten
Hakusensha, Inc. 株式会社白泉社 Kabushiki Kaisha
Hakusensha
Kadokawa Co. 株式会社ＫＡＤＯ Kabushiki Kaisha
ＫＡＷＡ KADOKAWA

Corporate Board Nelke Planning Co., 株式会社ネルケプ Kabushiki Kaisha Neruke

Members Members Ltd. ランニング Puranningu
HoliPro Inc. 株式会社ホリプロ Kabushiki Kaisha Horipuro
Marvelous Inc. 株式会社マーベラ Kabushiki Kaisha
ス Māberasu
BANDAI NAMCO 株式会社バンダイ Kabushiki Kaisha Bandai
Live Creative Inc. ナムコライブクリ Namuko Raibu Kurietibu
エイティブ
Pierrot Co., Ltd. 株式会社ぴえろ Kabushiki Kaisha Piero
Avex Inc. エイベックス株式 Eibekkusu Kabushiki
会社 Kaisha
Gorch Brothers, Ltd. 有限会社ゴーチ・ Yūgen Kaisha Gōchi
ブラザーズ Burazāsu
Individual Members Kayano Isamu 茅野イサム

Kodama Akiko 児玉明子

Sadakata Shō 貞方祥
Hiramitsu Takuya 平光琢也
Mitsuya Yūji 三ツ矢雄二
Mōri Nobuhiro 毛利亘宏

20
According to the official website of the Japan 2.5-Dimensional Musical Association ([Link]/en/),
accessed on July 1, 2019. This chart only presents the major corporations and organizations and members
mentioned in this dissertation; the full list is attached in the appendix.

29
 Figure 1 Yearly Number of 2.5-Dimensional Musical Shows Produced and Total
Attendance21

With the accelerating popularity of 2.5D plays, producers are no longer satisfied with

their success within Japan. The genre started its expansion into the Asian market when Nelke

Planning established its China branch, Nelke Planning Shanghai Co., Ltd. [Naierke (Shanghai)

wenhua fazhan youxian gongsi], on September 3, 201422. Nelke is one of the most influential,

popular culture-related, performance production companies in Japan. As the production

company of the Tenimyu series, it is a forerunner of the 2.5D industry. With the success of

Tenimyu, Nelke gradually turned the focus of the company to 2.5D play production and 2.5D

actor casting, and gradually established a leading role in the 2.5D theater industry (Producer of

Onmyōji 2018).

21
Excerpt from the brochure of the Japan 2.5-Dimensional Musical Association. The numbers are not limited to
musical productions, but also include plays.
22
The company is referred to as Nelke China on its official website.

30
 Nelke China now handles overseas performances in China and southeast Asia. To date,

fourteen Nelke 2.5D plays have been performed across China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau,

Malaysia, and Singapore. In addition, the company is seeking to establish closer collaborations

with local influencers to better adapt to foreign markets. One of the examples is

Onmyōji~Heian Emaki~ produced by Nelke in 2018. This play is based on the phenomenal

Chinese mobile and online game Yinyangshi. It is the first 2.5D play to be based on a non-

Japanese original work. A detailed analysis of this case is provided in Chapter 5 of this

dissertation.

Methodology
This interdisciplinary research involved intense library and archival research on the

origins and history of 2.5D theater in Japan and China, and the media culture of contemporary

Japan. It is important to recognize that 2.5D theater is a “moving target” that undergoing on-

going development in the present day. The research for this study therefore also relies

substantially on observations of live performances, archival primary source materials including

recordings of performances, theater journals, magazine articles, and online posts by 2.5D

theater practitioners and spectators. It is also based on interviews with 2.5D theater artists,

scholars, critics, and fans that are published and conducted by myself. To identify the reasons

for producing 2.5D plays, and the reception of audience members to these plays, I have

conducted unstructured interviews with various groups of 2.5D theater producers and

spectators. The spectators of 2.5D plays I interviewed are mainly fans of this genre, but there

are also some newcomers to this kind of performance. My questions for these spectators

centered on their perception of the media and why they like or dislike 2.5D performance. The

2.5D theater producers that I interviewed include: Tan Jun, the CEO of Nelke China; one of

the producers of the musical Onmyōji, who is also a senior executive of Nelke (Japan); and a

31
former staff member of the production company Marvelous!. The informants provided

exclusive information on the 2.5D industry, as well as information on production and

marketing strategies.

The analysis of 2.5D performances in this research relies on the observation of live

performances and recorded videos, and an archive of primary source materials including

programs, theater journals, magazine articles, and official websites, as well as audiences’

opinions on social network platforms. Performance analysis is particularly suited to this field

of study, since it underlines what constitutes performance, as well as what constitutes the

experience of attending a performance (Rozik 2008; Reinelt and Roach 2007). Within theater

studies, Balme (2008) specifically differentiates performance from production, stressing that a

performance contains both the stage signs (production) and the audience’s experience

(reception). The former is usually studied using a semiotic approach, while the latter can be

analyzed through a phenomenological approach. My analysis aims to examine intermedial

elements on the stage and how they are perceived within contemporary Japanese media culture.

I have therefore combined both approaches in my performance analysis.

With an enormous number of 2.5D productions at hand, the challenge for me was to

select suitable performances as examples for this research. My choice of plays for close

examination was based on differences from the original texts, general reception, and the gender

of the cast. Firstly, plays adapted from manga and anime clearly present a different pace and

coherence in their narratives from those adapted from video games. Adaptations of video

games tend to have weaker storylines and less integrated narratives. Plays adapted from manga

and anime, on the other hand, have a relatively strong narrative base. However, due to the

limited length of each performance, the original narrative is usually broken into smaller pieces

and produced in serialized plays.

32
 Secondly, extremely popular plays are studied and compared to ones that attract less

attention in order to identify the use of media elements in their success or “failure.” Popular

plays are usually based on popular original works, and the success of a play will generally lead

to serialization. In fact, extremely popular 2.5D plays are usually large productions with a

sufficient budget and a well-known director and performers. In general, they are produced by

major production companies. The initial production plan tends to consider the possibility of

producing additional plays in the series.

Thirdly, I analyzed plays that cast mainly male performers (such as Tenimyu) and those

that cast mainly female performers (such as Sailor Moon) to demonstrate how gender is

portrayed and performed when catering to different audience groups. The former plays aim to

attract female audiences, while the latter plays cast members of female idol groups with the

aim of drawing male fans of these groups. While watching these plays, I focused not only on

the stage signs, but also on the different experiences I had in the theater or on the reactions of

the audiences in the DVD recordings.

Before analyzing each performance, I would familiarize myself with the original work

it was adapted from. As the majority of the audience are fans of the original work (Sugawa

2015), having some knowledge of the plot and characters would bring me closer to the

perspectives of the audience. The analysis started before the performance: I collected outreach

materials (e.g. the play’s official website, twitter posts from the official account, and trailer

videos) and program information to identify the marketing elements emphasized in them. Later,

during the performance, I paid special attention to the set and stage designs, especially the

media effects. For reception analysis, I relied partly on my performance notes and partly on the

reviews of professionals and audiences. My notes on the performances were based on my

memory and my own viewing experience during my fieldwork in Tokyo. Adopting a

phenomenological approach, I have paid attention to the atmosphere and audience’s reaction

33
during a performance, and my notes are inevitably selective and subjective. Some might

question the subjective components of this analysis, but scholars in theater studies do not

consider these characteristics of performance analysis to be negative (see Fischer-Lichte 2014,

42). In order to learn about other people’s experiences, I also took into account comments and

reviews on social media platforms, and I used them to construct a more complete picture of the

play. Moreover, I also referred to photographs and video recordings to refresh my memory

when needed.

Outline of the Dissertation

This dissertation provides a critical analysis of Japanese 2.5D theater. The question

central to this study may be deceptively simple: What is 2.5D theater? To unravel the question,

multiple smaller questions need to be answered: In what socioeconomic context was it born?

How did it develop into such a huge industry? What are the distinctive features that define this

genre? What is the future development of 2.5D theater? To answer these questions, I have

situated 2.5D theater in the context of contemporary Japanese society and examined the

features of this genre in terms of production and stage presentation.

In Chapter 2, I analyze the general background of 2.5D theater from two aspects: the

theatrical and the socioeconomic. Many similarities can be found between earlier popular

theater and 2.5D theater, such as the relationship between actor and audience, and

socioeconomic influences on theater development. I discuss popular theater performed in the

pre-modern period to the 1990s to identify the features of Japanese popular theater. Despite the

difference in generation, many of the features in kabuki, shingeki, shōgekijō, and other forms

of traditional popular theater in Japan, are reflected in 2.5D theater. Japanese theater is very

closely associated with popular culture, especially for plays produced after 1995 (Uchino 2016,

151–52). Due to the extensive influence of television and film, theater productions started

34
casting TV or film stars to attract wider audiences. 2.5D theater is not only a result of the idol

culture. Its popularity also implies that popular theater, as a form of entertainment, is influenced

by popular culture.

Due to the nature of the original text in 2.5D theater, it is impossible to discuss this

theatrical genre without an analysis of Japanese popular culture. 2.5D theater, as an adaptation

of 2-dimensional works, can be considered a sector of the anime-centered media mix in

contemporary Japan. It is a highly profitable, popular culture-related industry that is heavily

influenced by the current cultural milieu. The media scene in postwar Japan has been

characterized by a shift from uniform consumption to flexible and personalized consumption.

The anime-centered media mix enables transmedia production of a narrative, which results in

different models of consumption, such as narrative and database consumption. My critical

analysis of texts on Japanese theater, contemporary Japanese society, and Japanese popular

culture presents a broad background for 2.5D theater, which links 2.5D theater with earlier

Japanese popular theater and the contemporary society.

In Chapter 3, I focus on the specific context in which 2.5D theater developed by

discussing the pre-history, features, and representative works of 2.5D theater. The features of

2.5D theater, which are influenced by the characteristics of contemporary Japanese media

culture, differentiate it from other manga-adapted plays. The existence and features of early

manga-adapted theater before the emergence of 2.5D theater in 2003 imply that 2.5D theater

has a heritage, which also partially explains the roots of this genre. On the other hand, the

differences between 2.5D plays and other manga adaptations indicate the uniqueness of this

genre. To compare 2.5D theater with earlier manga adaptations, I analyze the features of two

troupes known for their manga adaptations: Takarazuka Revue and Studio Life. The clear

distinctions between Takarazuka/Studio Life and 2.5D theater demonstrate that 2.5D should

be studied as a unique genre.

35
 In order to provide a critical analysis of the characteristics of the production process, it

is essential that particular attention should be paid to the stage presentation of 2.5D theater,

which is the focus of Chapter 4. To faithfully reproduce the fictional worlds that appear in

original anime works, 2.5D productions have to adopt various media on the stage, which brings

in another unique feature, intermediality, in the performances. Through a performance analysis

of different 2.5D productions, I identify intermedial elements in 2.5D theater and examine their

reception within Japanese media culture. By doing so, I hope to provide a new perspective for

the understanding of intermediality in popular entertainment in Japan.

I argue that the excessive use of media in 2.5D plays results in intermediality on stage.

However, the perception of intermedial effects is different from the typical alienation and

dislocation that cause disturbances among the audience. Instead, the cultural context of

contemporary Japan prepares the audience for the overlapping of and gaps between different

media in the performance. Japanese audiences are able to enjoy the performance as

entertainment despite the intermedial elements. My analysis not only discusses intermediality

in popular entertainment, but also emphasizes the importance of cultural context when

analyzing the perception of intermediality.

Chapter 5 is centered around the globalization of Japanese 2.5D theater, particularly its

development in China. The chapter starts with an analysis of commercially successful theater

after the “reform and opening up” (gaige kaifang, 1978) of China. A boom in the IP

(intellectual property) industry propelled the popularity of IP theater, which refers to plays

adapted from IP assets, such as literature, film, TV drama, and games. There are very few

native 2.5D productions in China mainly due to the limited number of original 2-dimensional

texts. All of the 2.5D plays produced in China have been adapted from video games. One of

these is the Legend of Sword of Fairy series (2015–2018, Xianjian qixiazhuan), which is a 2.5D

series adapted from a popular Chinese video game from the 1990s with the same name.

36
 Japanese 2.5D theater production companies represented by Nelke Planning are eagerly

seeking global opportunities. Their attention is focused on the Asian markets, especially the

Chinese market. In 2018, Nelke adapted a Chinese mobile game, Yinyangshi, which was

developed by the Chinese game company Netease, into a 2.5D musical Onmyōji ~Heian

Emaki~ (2018, Ch. Yinhangshi: Pingan Huijuan). Under the authorization of Netease, the play

was produced by a Japanese production company and with a Japanese cast. It premiered in

Tokyo in March 2018 and went on tour in China the following month. This was the first 2.5D

theater collaboration between China and Japan. As part of my comparative research on

Japanese and Chinese 2.5D theater, I conducted case studies on the Chinese 2.5D play Legend

of Sword and Fairy III (2016) and the musical Onmyōji~Heian Emaki~ (2018). This

comparative study illustrates the socioeconomic environment of 2.5D theater and popular

theater in China in general, as well as the strategies Japanese production companies adopted as

they entered the Chinese market. The differences in production and stage presentation in these

two cases underline the distinctions between Chinese and Japanese 2.5D plays, and the

differences between the cultural contexts and audiences in the two countries.

In this introductory chapter I have introduced the topic, aims, research questions, and

methodology of this research. I have also presented the background of 2.5D theater by

analyzing the history of manga-adapted plays and the overall development of 2.5D theater. The

unique history and cultural political context of 2.5D theater has endowed it with distinguishing

features that define this genre. To contextualize 2.5D theater in more detail, the next chapter

will highlight parallels between 2.5D theater and earlier forms of popular theater in Japan, and

will examine the influence of the socioeconomic context on 2.5D theater.

37
 Chapter 2 Popular Theater in Japan: from Premodern Era to Present Day

Japanese culture critic Yoshimoto Taka’aki claims that theater (engeki) can never be

popularized (Yoshimoto 1990, 133). His argument seems similar to the one shared by many

other critics: theater can never be mass-produced, and therefore cannot be mass-consumed.

However, what is neglected here is the fundamental difference between “popular production”

and “production for the masses.” Admittedly, forms of entertainment such as TV drama, film,

anime, video games are more mainstream in this mediatized age, but theater is still an essential

sector in the popular entertainment industry. Even though theater is no longer targeted at the

masses these days, it is still popular among specific audience groups. Other than the recent

examples, such as the 2.5D theater, the Takarazuka Revue, and the Shiki Theater Company,

traditional types of theater such as kabuki and bunraku were extremely popular in their times.

Reviewing the history of forms of popular theater in Japan, it can be seen that they have

been impacted by their socioeconomic and political backgrounds. There has also been an

emphasis on audience participation. In this chapter, I will analyze the contexts of Japanese

popular theater in different time periods. Although it is hard to claim that 2.5D theater is

directly influenced by any of these earlier forms of popular theater, certain features of 2.5D

theater have parallels with other genres. Additionally, as popular entertainment develops in the

new millennium, it is also shaped by contemporary popular culture. Focusing on the production,

circulation, and consumption of media in contemporary Japan culture, I will discuss the media

mix and how it is reflected in 2.5D theater.

Socioeconomic and Political Background

The characteristics of popular theater in premodern Japan are more obvious in kabuki

and bunraku (or jōruri, Japanese puppet theater). The beginning of the Edo period (1603-1868)

saw an extremely rapid development in society. With the urbanization of Japan, many farmers

38
abandoned their land, poured into towns, and became merchants and artisans (Raz 1983, 137).

Under the influence of the new material culture and ideas brought by traders and missionaries

from Portugal, a sense of joie de vivre spread among the people (Dunn 1972, 6–7). Merchants

soon became wealthy enough to afford expensive amusements, and this “created a sense of arts

and theater” (Raz 1983, 138). In response to this demand for entertainment, kabuki emerged

with colorful costumes and makeup, flamboyant staging, exaggerated performing styles, and

complex and attractive narratives. Early kabuki had a close connection with erotica, which

attracted the government’s attention. In the mid-17th century, female and attractive young male

actors were gradually banned from the kabuki stage. This limited the sexual attractiveness of

kabuki, and at the same time led to a rise in the artistic standards of the performer and the

audience, making kabuki not only an art found in gay quarters, but also “a depiction of the lives

of the citizens” (ibid., 154). During this period, bunraku emerged almost simultaneously with

kabuki. The two soon became the main forms of entertainment among townspeople.

The prosperity of kabuki and bunraku lasted almost the entire Edo period. At the dawn

of the Meiji Restoration (1864), however, its dominant position was significantly challenged

by the importation of Western civilization. The government promoted civilization and the

enlightenment movement (bunmei kaika) in an attempt to westernize the political system,

industries, and people’s daily lives (Rimer, Mori, and Poulton 2014, 1). Under these

circumstances, traditional performances in general were severely impacted. Kabuki was no

longer fashionable in the modernization process, for this genre was considered a kind of low-

brow art for commoners that was related to the feudal and backwards Japanese customs that

the Meiji government was eager to get rid of (Powell 2016, 200). Although some tried to reform

kabuki and noh23, more people shifted their enthusiasm to translating and performing Western

23
For instance, in the mid-1890s, a new performing style that blended kabuki and melodrama, which was called
shimpa, was quite popular in Japan. The term shimpa literally means “new school,” which refers to its distinction
from the old school kabuki.

39
literature and drama. To differentiate it from the old, traditional theater, people named the

Western-influenced genre shingeki, which literally means “the new theater.” A sharp

distinction, therefore, was drawn between the traditional performing arts (dentō geinō) and

other forms of theater that exist today.

It is generally acknowledged that the beginning of the shingeki movement was marked

by two adaptations of Ibsen’s plays: John Gabriel Borkman (Jon Bakurieru Borukuman)

performed by Freedom Theater (Jiyū Gekijō) 24 in 1909, and A Doll’s House performed by The

Literary Arts Society (Bungei Kyōkai)25 in 1911 (Rimer, Mori, and Poulton 2014, 25). The

development of shingeki was accelerated after the establishment of “Japan’s first

comprehensively modern company,” Tsukiji Little Theater (Tsukiji Shōgekijō), in 1923

(Powell 2016, 220). 26

For a long time, shingeki performed translated Western literature and followed a drama-

centered realistic performance style. The movement therefore attracted intellectuals from

various fields, and shingeki became popular among educated spectators, especially the younger

generation. Because of the distinct differences between traditional Japanese theater and

Western theater, shingeki practitioners had to reconsider playwriting, acting, set design, and

many other aspects of theater performance (ibid., 207).

Furthermore, some shingeki companies chose a commercial trajectory. By the early

1920s, the commercial theater scene in Tokyo was under the monopoly of the kabuki and

shimpa production company Shōchiku. Since then, more companies have followed the

commercial route. It is notable that large-scale commercial theater companies grew rapidly

24
Jiyū Gekijō was founded by the playwright and director Osanai Kaoru (1881–1928) and the kabuki actor
Ichigawa Sadanji II (1880–1940). It presented nine performances between 1909 and 1919.
25
Bungei Kyōkai was co-founded by Tsubouchi Shōyō (1859–1935) and Shimamura Hōgetsu (1871–1918) in
1906. Shimamura left Bungei Kyōkai in 1913 and started a new company, Geijutsu-za.
26
It should be noted that the name shōgekijō (“little theater”) here refers to the size of the theater hall and the
scale of production. Its plays are considered shingeki. The company is not relevant to the shōgekijō movement in
the 1950s.

40
after the war, especially during the occupation period (1945-1952) (Wetmore Jr 2016, 285).

Entertainment conglomerate Tōhō was able to offer 500 performances annually in its flagship

theater alone, while Shiki Theatre Company dominated the musical section by staging Western

musicals in Japanese (ibid.). Since that period, shingeki has served as an incubator for acting

stars. From the early shingeki actress Matsui Sumako (1886-1919) to recent ones such as

Daichi Mao (1956-), many shingeki stars have been active in all types of media. Their

popularity across Japan contributes significantly to the success of theatrical productions.

In early postwar Japan, however, the trendy realistic style of shingeki was challenged by

shōgekijō (which literally means “little theater”). In the first few decades, Shōgekijō was called

angura, an abbreviated version of the Japanese transliteration of the English word

“underground” (andā-gurando). The name itself indicates that this genre was not part of

mainstream theater, and that it should be categorized as a countercultural performance.

Shōgekijō practitioners considered their main tasks to be opposing shingeki and seeking to

build a new system for theater. They valued the political and social messages conveyed by the

performances more than their pure, artistic innovation. Since they were opposed to the

mainstream theater genre of the time, shōgekijō or angura troupes cut themselves off from

many funding sources (Senda 2013, 47). Additionally, the nature of their revolutionary

philosophy made it politically incorrect to receive money and support from corporations or the

government (Uchino 2016, 238–40).

Although shōgekijō as a genre encompasses various playwrights and directors with

varying styles from person to person, shōgekijō productions generally showed a concern for

social and political issues until the 1980s. With the economic prosperity of the 80s, more

corporations participated in the theater scene by providing financial support to shōgekijō

troupes and even helping them build their own theaters. Moreover, the central government

started establishing public grants (kō-teki joseikin) for art performances, and prefectural

41
governments also built halls for theater performances. Unlike the first and second generations

of shōgekijō directors, who shared a collective memory of social and political movements after

the war, practitioners in the 80s had different life experiences and preferred distinctive themes27.

Directors represented by Noda Hideki intended to discuss the current society by presenting the

idea of dazzling yet superficial consumerism. These features became even more prominent

when the economic bubble burst in the early 1990s, and the younger generation became the

target audience of shōgekijō performances. Notably, in the 1990s, shōgekijō productions

became more cautious about making grand statements, and they were reluctant to use theater

as a vehicle to push ideological messages (Rimer, Mori, and Poulton 2014, 506).

Commercial shōgekijō plays also presented artistic innovations. According to Pulton, its

“fragmented narratives; highly physical, metatheatrical, and presentational techniques of acting;

and the use of alternative and unusual venues” even influenced mainstream theater (Rimer,

Mori, and Poulton 2014, 501). As a result, shōgekijō troupes were able to perform in larger and

more formal theaters. This gradually shifted their position from counterculture to subculture,

and some even became mainstream (Poulton 2016, 326).

According to Uchino Tadashi, the year 1995 marks a watershed in the history of

contemporary Japanese theater (2016, 134). This year witnessed two tragic events, the Aum

Shinrikyo’s sarin attack in the Tokyo subway and the Hanshin-Awaji earthquake in west Japan.

Many critics believe that these incidents caused the finalization of neoliberalism in this year,

which pushed Japanese society into a state of complete postmodernity (see Ōzawa 2005; Saitō

2007; Azuma 2009; and Ōtsuka 2012). In theater circles, non-theatrical performances such as

contemporary dance became more frequently performed in Japan. Pressure from other

27
It is commonly acknowledged that shōgekijō practitioners who built their fame in the 60s, 70s, and 80s are
considered as the first, second, and third generations respectively (see Senda 2013).

42
entertainment industries, such as TV, film, and video games, forced theater companies into a

more marketized route (Uchino 2016, 134).

Before analyzing how Japanese theater markets and popularizes itself, I need to briefly

describe the theater industry in post-1995 Japan. With the economic recession that started in

the early 1990s and the rapid development of online entertainment, the market for theater was

shrinking. However, the variety of performance genres increased remarkedly. Uchino divided

post-1995 Japanese performing troupes and companies into four categories: a) shingeki, b)

shōgekijō, c) contemporary dance, and d) experimental play (Uchino 2016, 138–39). The first

category refers to the troupes that “return to shingeki” (shingeki kaiki). As exemplified by

Seinendan, these troupes tend to present realistic performances that center around the text.

Some plays cover social issues and serve an educational function, especially after 9/11 and the

Iraq War (ibid., 141).

The shōgekijō in the second category are derived from early performances at the

beginning of the shōgekijō movement, which turned into a genre for entertainment. Distinct

from “orthodox theater” (seitō na engeki, referring to shingeki), these troupes value various

elements of drama, such as an actor’s body, visual design, and interaction with the audience.

Many commercialized shōgekijō troupes became extremely successful with their productions.

For instance, the Seven Souls in Skull Castle (Dokuro-jō no shichinin) series produced by the

shōgekijō company Gekidan Shinkansen in 2017/2018, which cast popular TV and film

performers, voice actors, and 2.5D performers, received positive reviews and a considerable

box-office income (Sasaki 2017).

The third category shows the aesthetics of movement. According to Uchino, this genre

more closely resembles a one-way performance—although the dancers perform in front of the

audience, they actually perform for themselves, and they dance because they “want to dance”

(ibid., 146). Of course, there is no interaction between the performer and the audience.

43
Movements are presented on stage, and the audience has the liberty to interpret the message

for themselves. The subjectivity of the performers, however, eliminates the participation of the

audience. Although contemporary dance does not necessarily alienate the audience, it certainly

shows no intention of engaging them. The performance itself is a completed piece, and the

audience is not involved in its presentation. This draws the line between contemporary dance

and popular theater.

Audience Participation
When discussing the common nature of Japanese theater, Kawatake Toshio mentions

three essential elements: actor, author, and the audience (1978, 88). In fact, the relationship

between the actor and the audience in kabuki theater is so intimate that a counterpart is almost

impossible to be found in Western theater. A close relationship with the audience is also

another feature shared by popular theater in Japan.

Edo kabuki actors started establishing their prominent role in the production and

performance of this genre. Kawatake semantically interprets the Japanese word for actor,

“haiyu,” giving its definition as “the person who gracefully presents his/her beautiful body”

(ibid., 109). However, kabuki actors not only have to pay attention to their presentation on

stage, but are also involved in the production of new plays28. To entertain the audience, the

actor makes sure that the spectators are aware that they themselves are being noticed. All

speeches are delivered facing the audience, rather than to the supposed listener on the stage.

Important characters always enter from the audience’s left, and walk across the stage to sit on

28
According to the “Sequel to ‘Dust in the Ear’” in The Actors’ Analects (Yakusha Rongo), a collection of kabuki
commentary published in the Genroku period, the process worked like this: First, the plot of a new play should
be agreed on by all parties. Then, the detailed actions of each scene were decided. At this point, the authors should
write the lines for the actors, and the words ought to be changed to suit the actors’ fancy movements. Dunn and
Bunzō (1969, 24) summarized that almost all the plays performed in the Genroku period were new ones.

44
the right side (Keene 1970, 28). 29 With the development of hanamachi, more entrances began

to be performed through the walkway, which literally made the actors walk through the

spectators.30

Furthermore, the audience’s attention is often directed to the identity of the actors

during the performance. This is usually achieved by mie and direct address. Mie refers to the

creation of a static pose at climatic moments. It interrupts the flow of the narrative and gives

the actors a chance to show off the beauty of their costumes, expressions, and gestures. It is

also designed to give the audience some time to vocalize their compliments. Some trained or

experienced spectators would call out the house name of the performer during the mie or other

critical moments. The complimentary words usually include the name, title, or address of the

actor, which, I argue, emphasizes the identity of the performer instead of the character he is

playing. The complimentary words break the fourth wall, interrupt the flow of the narrative,

and eventually pull the audience out of the ongoing (but disrupted) narrative.

Another common interaction is direct address. In the early Edo period, the actor would

greet the audience and ask for their permission to start the show before the performance started.

Throughout the performance, the actor might speak to the audience and casually talk with them;

sometimes, he would stop the performance and shake hands with them. When there is a plot

about him being asked about his identity, the actor might sometimes answer his own name

instead of the character’s name. Under these circumstances, the actor speaks or acts out of

character and presents the audience with his own identity. This, again, interrupts the narrative

and performance, and is quite the opposite of Western realistic theater. The direct outcome is

that audiences are aware that they are watching a fictional play, and not something realistic.

These interactions build a rather intimate and even private relationship between the actor and

29
This was partly to draw the audience’s attention for a longer time, and partly because the right side was
considered more important at that time (probably under the influence of Confucianism).
30
Hanamichi was invented in 1668 and was set as part of kabuki theater in the 1730s (Suwa 1999).

45
the audience. As a result, actors became a major attraction of kabuki theater, and they were

superstars in the Edo period. Keene proposes that the audience in the Edo period went to kabuki

“not for novelty but to see [their] favorite actors perform familiar roles” (Keene 1970, 65). In

return, the sponsorship of devoted audience members became the major source of income for

kabuki troupes and actors at that time.

Many of these features in Edo kabuki were passed on to modern and contemporary

kabuki performances. Kabuki continuously absorbs fashionable elements to better entertain the

audience. The Super Kabuki II series (Sūpā kabuki II: wan pīsu), which was adapted from the

manga One Piece, was initiated by the kabuki performer Ichigawa Ennosuke IV in 2015 and is

still ongoing. Also, Kabuki performers are extremely active in all entertainment fields, such as

film, TV drama, and variety shows. Their frequent appearance in mass media made them

superstars today. Moreover, some of the features mentioned above even influence other

contemporary performances, including 2.5D theater. In some 2.5D performances, such as in

the fourth play in the Tōken Ranbu series, a hanamachi was installed in the theater hall. Even

without professional shouters, static poses that function in a similar way to the mie in kabuki

are seen in almost all 2.5D plays.

Although 2.5D performers are less active in the production process, they are certainly

one of the main attractions for the audience. The interaction between performer and audience

can be found on and off stage, both in reality and on virtual social media platforms. The blurry

boundary between the identity of the performer and the identity of the character thus creates

the illusion that the performer “becomes” the character; the illusion does not end with the

performance, but continues as long as the interaction between the two parties goes on after the

show. The idolized 2.5D performer, together with the pseudo-intimate relationship between the

performer and audience, will be discussed in detail in the next chapter.

46
 Due to the explosion of various types of media in the 20th century, theater is no longer

most people’s first choice when it comes to entertainment. Citing Schechner, Uchino writes:

The performing arts (i.e. theater) that impacted society in the past (at least in Europe),

rapidly lost its influence in the 20th century. Theater was replaced by other media, such

as film, television, and the Internet. In the end, theater became the media for a niche

group of people who share a specific taste or interest in a small space.31 (2016, 228)

Instead of targeting the masses like Edo period kabuki, many theater producers in the 21st

century aim to attract a niche audience who are able and willing to consume their productions.

As Uchino summarizes, political and social concerns are frequently seen in performances,

physical displays are becoming more important in many different genres, and globalization has

become an essential task for many directors and playwrights (ibid., 220–27). No matter what

the topic is, he argues, to survive in contemporary Japanese society and its various media

attractions, theater has to make some compromises in marketing and commoditization.

Uchino specifically mentions that many plays produced after 1995 adopted the “star

system” as a marketization strategy:

[Under the] popular star system (sutā shisutemu), a performance production casts stars

to attract the audience, no matter what the performance is about. Except for the Shiki

Company (Gekidan Shiki), long run shows are rarely seen among Japanese commercial

performances. Therefore, star system becomes a norm in the theater industry. The system

is especially favored in those performances held in above-middle-size theater, even

31
According to Uchino, this citation comes from a revised draft of “Five Avant-gardes… Or None” that Schechner
wrote in 2005 and that is based on the introduction of his book The Future of Ritual, which was published in 1993.
The draft was translated into Japanese by Oda Tōru and Uchino Tadashi in 2007.

47
 though some of the performances are funded by public grant. On one hand, the public

grant does not cover all costs in the production, […] the box office is still an important

source of income. On another, when Ninagawa Yukio or Noda Hideki cast “popular stars,”

attracting the audience is not their sole reason. More often, they need star actors to

achieve their aesthetic and technical standards. (Uchino 2016, 151–52)

The star system is not new to Japanese society. As discussed above, stars have been

central to many popular performance genres throughout the history of Japanese theater. For

both Edo kabuki and postwar Takarazuka performances, audiences came to the theater for their

favorite performers. What Uchino points out here is that the star system started to influence the

more orthodox theatrical productions after 1995. A similar “idol phenomenon” (aidoru genshō)

had already begun in the 1970s with the 1971 debut of the group Three Young Girls (Sannin

musume). The idol industry developed rapidly, and since the 1980s, idols/celebrities have

become “an important means of organizing audiences and consumers in television, music, and

advertising” (Galbraith and Karlin 2012, 5). The idol boom expanded into theater circles in the

1990s, generating the star system referred to above. Well-known TV or film stars are frequently

seen on stage, which greatly improves the box office returns.

Lukács indicates that, since the late 1980s, the tarento system has been widely adopted

in the Japanese TV industry (Lukács 2010, 45). The term “tarento” is a transliteration of the

English word “talent,” but somewhat ironically refers to the less-trained celebrities who are not

necessarily talented. As claimed by Uchino, unlike idols and tarento, stars in some theatrical

performances are expected to be proficient in acting. However, the commodification that is

found in the tarento system can also be found in the theater industry. Theater performers

frequently show their faces on the big and small screens—some are actually cast for TV dramas

or films and some participate in variety shows or commercials as required by their agencies.

48
These intense degrees of exposure, as Lukacs argues, is a circulation of an intangible

commodity, namely the image of the stars (ibid., 47). With more thorough marketization of the

theater industry in recent years, idols are now frequently involved in theatrical performances,

which attracts fan communities to the performances and allows for a wider, multi-layered

consumption of the original narrative. As a newly developing sector of popular theater in

contemporary Japan, 2.5D theater adopts the star system even more extensively. Through their

agencies, many 2.5D theater performers operate within the same model as idols. Their roles in

the 2.5D theater industry, and their relationships with the audience and fans, will be explained

in detail in the next chapter.

Post-Fordism
All these popular theater genres in history provided a basis for the birth of 2.5D theater.

Although 2.5D stands out as a unique theatrical form, it is certainly influenced by previous

types of popular theater by examining the tremendous impact they have had in a contemporary

Japanese socioeconomic context. The media culture in today’s Japan – to be more precise, the

media mix culture in Japan – emphasizes the close relationship between the producer and the

consumer. In theater circles, the connection between the production/performing side and the

audience has become stronger than ever. In this media mix model, the audience are no longer

the passive receiver in the theater hall; instead, they play an active role in the consumption

process. To trace the origin of this change, we need to analyze the transition from Fordism to

post-Fordism in Japan since the 1980s.

The American marketing revolution known as Fordism was imported into Japan, and

has had a great influence on Japanese production and consumption strategies. Named after the

automobile manufacturer, the Ford Motor Company, this marketing style provided the

“uniform mode of consumption of simplified production,” and enabled rapid economic growth

49
in North America and Western Europe (D. Harvey 1990, 121–22; T. Yamada 2018, 78). This

growth strategy of mass production and mass consumption penetrated into various aspects of

people’s lives in Japan as well. Fordism was, however, slackened by the rise of post-Fordism

in the late 1970s. This new marketing mode is represented by the Japanese automobile

corporation Toyota, which designs various types of cars in smaller amounts to cater to

particular groups of consumers. As Harvey claims, post-Fordism has become one of the central

tenets of capitalist strategies since the 1970s (D. Harvey 1991, 77).

In general, post-Fordism requires a more flexible and miniaturized commodity for

smaller and more particular markets. In terms of popular culture, Michael Curtin suggests that

it brought out “new modes of marketing and distribution” (Curtin 1996, 187). This new

flexibility in distribution shows the fragmentation of the popular culture, including the media

market, which leads to a strategy of targeting niche social groups as the specific consumer. As

Curtin summarizes, contemporary cultural industries “seek less to homogenize popular culture

than to organize and exploit diverse forms of creativity toward profitable ends” (ibid., 197).

These changes give rise to an emphasis on what Martyn Lee calls the “experiential

commodities”, referring to commodities that are not physically exchangeable but have to be

consumed through experience, such as film, video games, and fashion (Lee 2005, 135–36). The

consumption of experiential commodities, as the name implies, depends largely on the

individual experience, interpretation, and reception of the consumer; consumers, too, have

diverse requirements and expectations regarding the commodities. Therefore, these “fluid,

flexible, heterogeneous, customized, [and] portable” commodities arise from the various

demands of consumers in post-Fordist times (Kline, Dyer-Witheford, and de Peuter 2003, 74).

50
Early Media Mix
The development of experiential commodities is closely connected with media mix.

Media mix, or more commonly called media convergence in the English-speaking world,

loosely refers to the transformation of a narrative into different media. If we interpret this term

at the most basic level, we can see that cross-media adaptations have existed since pre-modern

Japan (Ōtsuka 2012, 400). In Japanese popular theater, many kabuki plays were based on

famous literature works, or noh and joryūri repertoire. These original works were widely

known, hence the worldview of the adapted kabuki play would have been clear to the audience

before the performance actually started. Ōtsuka Eiji described it as follows,

For example, the so-called “world” (sekai) in “the world of Gikeiki” and “the world of

Sōga Monogatari” refer to the [narratives that are] familiar to the audience after

numerous performances. Before even watching the play, the audience are familiar with

the background information of the time when the narrative takes place, the outline of

this story, name of the characters, and their basic personalities and stands in the story.

(Ōtsuka 2001, cited in Ōtsuka 2012, 412)

Having a shared worldview means that the popularity of the original work guarantees

that a certain number of audience members who like the narrative will be interested in the play.

In addition, the playwrights do not need to spare extra words explaining the background and

settings in detail; they will be able to concentrate on developing their trail of the plot. Aside

from kabuki, other performance genres, such as noh, bunraku, and oral literature (kōshō bunge),

all borrow stories from one another.

Manga-adapted plays, clearly, are another example of trans-media storytelling. The first

manga-based play, The Adventures of Shō-chan and its original manga, sets a noteworthy case.

The manga was adapted into a theatrical play by Takarazuka Revue (then Takarazuka Shōjo

51
Kagekidan) in 1924, which was later recorded and circulated as a film in 1926. Apart from

cross-media adaptation, the marketing of the manga also involved a higher level of media mix.

After the manga became popular, manufacturers saw business opportunities in it. They

designed and sold a hat based on the one that the protagonist wears in the manga, which they

called “the Shō-chan hat” (Shō-chan bōshi). The hat was extremely popular among children.

Moreover, in a promotional event organized by Asahi News in 1925, all boys named Shō who

lived in the Osaka area were invited to the headquarters of Asahi News. They were treated with

free food and were each given a Shō-chan hat as a gift. This event, together with the wide

distribution of the hat as a physical commodity, further increased the popularity of the manga

such that Shō-chan, as Nogami Akira claimed, became Japan’s first “mass-character” (Nogami

2000, 8).

Another important example of media mix marketing in media culture is Tezuka Osamu

and the manga Astro Boy (Tetsuwan Atomu). The anime Astro Boy first aired on Fuji TV in

1963 and was produced by the manga artist Tezuka himself. Unlike animation films at that

time, TV anime had an extremely limited budget. Tezuka received merely 50,000 to 60,000

yen from Fuji TV to produce each 30-minute episode, while the average production cost per

episode was more than 30,000,000 yen at that time (Yamaguchi 2004, 74–75; Davis 2016, 194).

To acquire more investment, Tezuka collaborated with Meiji Seika, a Japanese snack food

company, which later sold its Marble Chocolate that included stickers of Astro Boy and his

friends as promotional items. Meiji then advertised this product using TV commercials, radio

ads, and print-media ads, spreading the image of Astro Boy on various media platforms

(Steinberg 2012, 49). In the end, multiple forms of marketing related to Astro Boy were

developed. The stickers could be pasted anywhere, and the advertisements were seen on all

sorts of platforms, which means that the image of Astro Boy was virtually ubiquitous. The

advertising campaign not only promoted the chocolate, but also materialized the image of the

52
character Astro Boy, and further materialized the existing fans’ attachment to Astro Boy

(Galbraith 2013, 293). In other words, the fans’ passion for the character can be concretized by

purchasing relevant commodities, which not only increases the revenue of the manufacturer

and the copyright owner, but also further elevates the fame of the character.

Kadokawa Media Mix

This mode of media mix was further developed and refined by a publishing company,

Kadokawa Books (Kadokawa Shōten). Founded by Kadokawa Genyoshi (1971-1975),

Kadokawa Books initially focused on publishing dictionaries and classic literary works

composed in the Showa period (1926-1989) (Steinberg 2012, 149). However, after inheriting

the company from his father in 1975, the new president, Haruki, decided to deviate from

Kadokawa’s high-brow orientation and transform it into a mass culture-oriented, multimedia

corporation. Kadokawa Books then stepped into the film industry, and produced its first

literature-based film in 1976. The film, The Inugami Family (Inugami-ke no ichizoku), was

based on Yokomizo Seishi’s novel of the same name which had been published by Kadokawa

Books. This film marked the start of Kadokawa’s film adaptation of Yokomizo’s detective

novel series that centered around the protagonist Kindaichi Kōsuke. The narrative has since

been adapted in a variety of media forms. The success of this film also triggered more film

adaptations within Kadokawa, and resulted in the so-called “Kadokawa Boom”. Thereafter,

Kadokawa has been actively participating in the production and publication of films,

magazines, anime, light novels, and video games. As of 2019, the corporation owns two parent

companies and 29 main consolidated subsidiaries across the globe.32

32
According to the information on the official website of Kadokawa Corporation
([Link] accessed on April 27, 2019).

53
 Haruki’s aim was to “use the films themselves as ads for the novels; the novels as ads

for the films; and the films’ theme songs on the radio as ads for the records, films, and books”

(Steinberg 2012, 150). The intense advertising on different platforms was an essential feature

of Haruki’s marketing strategy. This cross-media production of a work, which Kadokawa

pioneered in the 1970s, was called the Kadokawa business strategy (Kadokawa shōhō). It was

generally referred to as “media mix” (media mikkusu) in the mid-1980s and was adopted by

many other companies.

Hakuki’s media mix model was a success in the first decade. However, the heavy

investment in film production and advertisement gradually became a burden to the company.

Although sometimes a large investment brings an even larger return, a single failure can

severely damage the company’s flow of capital. According to Steinberg, the only department

in Kadokawa Books that was profitable in the late 80s and early 90s was the Kadokawa Media

Office, which was led by Haruki’s younger brother Tsuguhiko (Steinberg 2012, 174). Taking

a different approach from his brother, Tsuguhiko narrowed the target market of his branch of

the business from the masses to the otaku community. Tsuguhiko distributed various types of

manga-, anime-, film-, video-game-, and novelization-related information through magazines

in his media mix model in order to promote Kadokawa’s products. His model covered a wider

range of platforms and targeted a smaller, but much more zealous, consumer group. The more

feasible and smaller projects under this model did not require a large investment; they were

also less risky (ibid., 175).

Today, Kadodawa’s business involves the publication of literature, light novels,

academic books, manga, magazines, and digital books, and the production of anime, film,

music, video games, and related merchandise. On top of that, Kadokawa is still expanding its

media mix kingdom by stepping into the 2.5D industry. Serving as one of the seven special

members of the Japan 2.5-Dimensional Musical Association, Kadokawa has been an

54
enthusiastic player in 2.5D theater by staging many of its manga, anime, and video game

narratives. Among its theatrical productions, the Musical Aoharu Tetsudo series (Myūjikaru

Aoharu Tetsudō, 2015-) sets a perfect example of anime media mix. The original manga,

Aoharu Tetsudō, which depicts personated railways in Japan and their daily lives, is a dōjinshi

written and illustrated by Aoharu. The term dōjinshi roughly refers to self-published manga,

magazines, or novels by amateur artists featuring characters that first appeared in previously

published works (Kinsella 1998, 301). Although in Aoharu Tetsudō’s case there is no reference

to published manga, the railway-based characters did attract some railway fans. The dōjin

manga was first published in 2006, and was later formally published by Kadokawa.

Additionally, Kadokawa’s manga magazine Monthly Comic Flapper (Gekkan Komikku

Furappā) started serializing the manga since 2009. It is notable that dōjinshi artists seldom ask

for permission from the original creator, and the publication of dōjinshi is actually a violation

of Japanese copyright law. However, copyright owners are usually lenient to these amateur

artists, since the production and circulation of their works are beneficial to the commercial

manga market. Talented dōjinshi creators, such as Aoharu, would be contacted by publishers

(Mehra 2002, 159). This environment further encourages the creation of all types of fan artwork,

which in turn stimulates the development of the anime media mix.

Production and Circulation in the Otaku Market

When comparing the two different media mix strategies proposed by the Kadokawa

brothers, social and cultural critic Ōtsuka Eiji said Haruki targeted “the entire Japanese society”.

Adopting a mass marketing approach, he intended to let all Japanese people know about the

title of the novel or film. In contrast, Tsuguhiko went down the more economically efficient

path by selling the product in the limited otaku market. This represents a turning point that

changed the company’s target consumer group from the masses to the otaku.

55
 Haruki set filmmaking as the center of Kadokawa’s business, and only used media mix

as a way to procure the capital for film production. Ōtsuka considered him as a “modernist”, a

conservative film producer who followed the old system in the 1980s. On the other hand, the

“postmodernist” Tsuguhiko broke the system and eliminated the “author” (Ōtsuka 2012, 1002,

1017). Tsuguhiko’s non-hierarchical model undermines the priority of the original text and the

author, which leads to a more flexible and compatible composition process. To Ōtsuka, the

younger Kadokawa’s media mix strategy is the more appropriate one in this contemporary time.

Differing from his older brother, Tsuguhiko’s method emphasizes the concept of “one source,

multi-use” (wan sōsu maruchi ūsu), which creates a single narrative on different platforms such

as manga, anime, video games, and novels (Ōtsuka 2012, 663). These fragmental pieces are

not necessarily coherent, but they provide information that can be collated into a coherent

whole. This new system of media mix is known as the anime media mix. Ōtsuka elaborates:

Comics or toys are not consumed in and of themselves; rather, by virtue of the existence

of an order behind these products or of a “grand narrative” of which they comprise a

portion, each begins to take on value and to be consumed. […] What is being consumed

is not the individual “drama” or “goods” but rather the system hidden behind them.

However, the system (or the [“]grand narrative[”]) itself cannot be sold, so, in

appearance, installments of serialized dramas and “goods” get consumed as single

fragments that are cross sections of the system. (Ōtsuka 1989, 13–14; 17–18, cited in

Azuma 2009, 29–30)

For Haruki’s media mix strategy, the novel is clearly the “primary commodity” (ichiji

shōhin) when adapting a novel into a film. In this model, there is certainly an “inherent author”

(koyū sakusha), which in Tsuguhiko’s strategy was eliminated. This can be seen on the

56
copyright page of a recent Kadokawa product where numerous names are written down as the

writer, illustrator, or character designer of a single manga work. (Ōtsuka 2014, 207–10; 663).

When the pyramid style of production is replaced by a flat and non-hierarchical anime media

mix, the consumption of any media commodity in the media mix system would benefit the

other products in the same franchise (Steinberg 2012, 144).

Today, Kadokawa has a business stake in almost all sectors of media mix. Their

narratives circulate on media platforms such as novels, TV series, video games, live-action

films, and theatrical performances. However, not all companies have the financial and

manpower resources like this media conglomerate. As a solution, the production committee

system model arose. The production committee system, or seisaku iinkai, was initiated by

major publishers in film industry the 1980s, and spread to the anime industry in the mid-90s

(E. Tanaka 2009, 47). 2.5D plays have adopted this model as well. Under this system, a 2.5D

play is produced by a group of companies together in the form of financial investment and/or

labor. Casting, production, circulation, promotion, copyright, and many other tasks are

assigned to different companies that work as an organization to present the media mix

production. Many of the companies are involved in multiple sectors in the media mix of the

narrative. By producing a new 2.5D play, they help to advertise the entire media integration.

This set of marketing strategies is clearly different from those used for The Adventures

of Shō-chan and Astro Boy. It aims not just to sell physical merchandise to increase revenue.

Anime media mix distributes the narrative on different media, and encourages the consumer to

consume different pieces of the narrative to get a clearer picture of the whole worldview of the

work. This production-consumption process is theorized by Ōtsuka as narrative consumption

(monogatari shōhi). The worldview, which Ōtsuka names as the “grand narrative,” contains

multiple smaller narratives, which are presented in forms such as an episode of a serialized

anime, a derivative video game of the anime, or an illustrated card of a character. The narrative

57
does not exist as an integrated whole. It is a “montage” of compound, meaningless information

pieces (Ōtsuka 2012, 4, 49). Consumers are to continuously collect information from small

narratives to produce a collage representing the whole picture.

Ōtsuka’s argument was challenged by Azuma Hiroshi in the 21st century. Azuma

believes that settings and worldviews are of no value. It is the “particular narrative within a

particular work,” or the smaller narrative, that is sold and consumed (H. Azuma 2009, 30–31).

He argues that the otaku do not care about the “grand narrative” anymore – all they long for

are the characters from the work (ibid., 34-36). Consumers become animalized: they are

satisfied with classifying the characters from these stories and creating databases that “catalog,

store, and display the results.” Thus, this behavior was named the database consumption mode

(Abel and Kono in Azuma 2009, xv-xvi).

However, Azuma’s argument seems a bit reckless. By claiming that people no longer

consume the “grand narrative,” he assumes that the worldview does not matter to the

consumers – what matters most is the character. Instead, I would argue that the consumption

of characters cannot be separated from the worldview. Most of the time, the design of a

character is conducted within the logic of the “world” or “universe” of the work. Detached

from the worldview, the character loses its meaning and charm. Therefore, even when

consumers behave under the database consumption mode, their activities still involve the

“grand narrative”, not to mention that many consumers still value the “grand narrative” as the

most important feature of an anime media mix.

Segmentation
However, in light of the increasingly fragmented perception of anime media mix,

Azuma’s database theory does provide us with a new way to analyze consumption in

contemporary media culture. The “grand narrative” is no longer the only attraction of a work.

58
More consumers aim for much smaller and more specific elements, such as the design of a

character, the flow of the plot, or the dubbing performed by a voice actor.

The word “database” was also mentioned by new media critic Lev Manovich in his

essay “database as a symbolic form,” in which he discusses fundamental differences between

a database and a narrative. He considers them to be two “natural enemies”: a database

represents the world as a list with no order, while a narrative requires logic and cause-and-

effect to conjoin the “seemingly unordered items” (Manovich 1999, 181). The non-sequential,

non-hierarchical database therefore requires consumers to be more active in the consumption

process, as they have to gather the data, arrange data items, and then interpret provided

meanings (M. Yamada 2013, 21). Building upon Manovich’s theory, Azuma connects the

concept of a database with Japanese consumer habits in the last decade of the 20th century,

arguing that the enhanced influence of database consumption in Japan is due to the

technological development in the speed and quantity of data storage and the communication of

electronic media.

This has enabled the emergence of hypermedia, which is another feature of

contemporary Japanese media culture. Azuma considers that using hypermedia to displace the

narrative system is a feature of today’s media culture in Japan (H. Azuma 2007). Hypermedia

refers to non-textual information, such as sounds, images, motions, and videos. Hypermedia is

always discussed in comparison with multimedia, for the latter also consists of different media

types. A distinctive feature of hypermedia is that its presentation of media is non-linear, and it

emphasizes the interactions among different media (Manovich 2002, 76; Landow 1992, 30). In

this system, consumers no longer gather information through a pre-organized narrative, but by

synthesizing data through fragmented perceptions of the experience of hypermedia, which is

promoted by the advancement of the internet and other electronic technologies (Ōtsuka and

Azuma 2008).

59
 Among these technologies, television, without a doubt, plays a central role. Television

theorist John Ellis argues that, unlike films, which offer coherent narratives (texts), broadcasted

TV offers relatively discrete segments (Ellis 1984, 112). These segments consist of images,

sounds, and time periods, and have their own internal unities. A new textual system is thus

formed by the integration of these segments. Television studies are placed in a wider cultural

context since watching TV was the most popular leisure activity in the 1980s and 1990s. TV

has pervaded so much of people’s cultural lives (Fiske 1987, 118) that its characteristics in a

way represent the features of media culture in contemporary Japan. Along with fragmented

consumption in the media mix, different sources of data together serve as a segmental unity.

The connections in the flow and the construction of information follow the order of the

worldview or the “grand narrative.”

Fragmented production is also one of the features of 2.5D theater. Due to the length of

the original work, it is impossible to represent the entire story within two to three hours of

performance. Hence, the majority of 2.5D plays are serialized productions. Some works, such

as Musical The Prince of Tennis, have been performed for 17 years. Moreover, segmentation

and flow can also be seen within a play. Unlike traditional theatrical works, the narrative of a

2.5D play is extremely fragmental. This is partly because the plot is compressed into a limited

performance duration. More importantly, it is a result of the fragmented media mix. The

narrative is divided into smaller sections that are not connected seamlessly. The excessive

usage of different media and technology, such as projected videos, light effects, and musical

elements, emphasizes the autonomy of the media and further disrupts the flow of the narrative.

This kind of presentation of information will certainly lead to a unique viewing experience33.

However, consuming a fragmental narrative is not unfamiliar to 2.5D theater-goers in

contemporary Japan.

33
The fragmented presentation of 2.5D theater will be discussed in detail in following chapters.

60
Consumption
In anime media mix, the consumption process becomes more complex, since it requires

the consumer to collect and consume multiple texts across media platforms. Therefore, the

original text loses its dominance in today’s media culture. This does not deny the importance

of fidelity in the reproduction process, but indeed the central position once occupied by the

original is replaced by the most influential and widely-known media product in the franchise –

usually the TV anime. For instance, when an anime is actually a secondary product that is based

on a manga or a light novel, later adaptations are often based on the anime instead of the

original work. This agrees with Deleuze’s theory of seriality, which suggests that the second

version of a work is “more essential than the first,” since it provides the law of adaptation, and

the law of the series (Deleuze 2004, 13).

The increasing segmentation in TV anime-centered media mix brought a huge change

to the mode of consumption in this media culture, and overthrew the traditional order of the

consumption process. The priority of the original was always emphasized by modernists. In his

essay “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction,” Benjamin claims that the

sense of originality – which he calls the “aura” – in a work will be erased through mechanical

reproduction (Benjamin 1988, 220). To him, the existence of a reproduction is only meaningful

when it is viewed as the byproduct and attachment of the original. On the other hand,

Baudrillard argues that, in postmodern society, production itself has no meaning. It is the

simulacra that are effective (Baudrillard 1993, 56). In otaku culture as well, the original loses

its dominance, and simulacra emerge:

In otaku culture ruled by narrative consumption, products have no independent value;

they are databases display various expressions depending on the differing modes of

61
 “reading up” by users, consumers, once they are able to possess the originals. If we

think of this situation as occurring only in the surface outer layer, the original product

or work can seem swallowed by the chaos of a sea of simulacra. (Azuma 2009, 33)

Here, the consumer acts as the creator of the derivative works or the simulacra. A

database can provide enough smaller narratives for simultaneous consumption, which then lead

to numerous derivative works. However, in Azuma’s model, where the deeper meaning is

dysfunctional, the consumption process is more mechanical and eventually becomes easier and

faster. Because of the large amount of derivative works, it is quite ambiguous what the original

is or who the original author is, and consumers are unaware of and unconcerned about the

author of the original. The traditional hierarchy in modern society vanishes: the original no

longer serves as the entry point to the narrative. It has lost its status of priority. This is very

close to the future cultural industry depicted by Baudrillard: simulacra increase in postmodern

society, and the distinction between the original products and commodities and their copies is

blurred (Baudrillard 1994, 121).

Developing the narrative on different media platforms may sound similar to transmedia

storytelling, but I argue that anime media mix relies on the participation of the consumer. In

many situations, a “grand narrative” is created, but its fragments are published by someone

else. The receivers then actively collect and interpret the information. Later, some of the

receivers organize the information at hand, create a derivate work (niji sōsaku), and publish it

for others to see. Self-publication of dōjinshi is an example, but more fans choose to simply

upload their works online. This new mechanism challenges the hierarchy in the modern

consumption system, giving the consumer more power to interpret the narrative and even to

create new narratives. However, this mechanism also places a higher requirement on the

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consumers’ ability to collect and decipher the information (Ōtsuka 2012, 28). These consumers

form communities according to their interests, including the otaku community.

In fact, one of the premises of anime media mix is that consumers are active and capable.

In anime media mix, the manufacturer and producer assume that consumers have previous

knowledge of the narrative, that they are able to collect and decipher the information on

different media platforms, and that they can create derivative works and drive the circulation

of new narratives. This model targets a much narrower, but at the same time deeper, otaku

market. Compared to the masses, otaku consumers are fewer in number. However, their passion

for and knowledge of the content make them able and willing to participate in anime media

mix, and they are more willing to contribute to the revenue of the market. This form of

community is different from both the traditional consciousness or collectivism in modern Japan

and the goal-oriented, competitive individualism in the West. Yamazaki Masakazu (1987)

called it soft individualism. Fukushima (2015, 41) notes that the structure of soft individualism

accepts consumptive activities as part of production, which coincides with the features of

narrative consumption theory. Lukács further elaborates that consumers gain a sense of

belonging through marketers’ promotion of shared tastes and interests (Lukács 2010, 8).

Anime media mix also owes its success to technological advancements, especially the

internet, which has elevated the consumption of media mix to a much higher level (Ōtsuka

2012, 25). The internet serves as an extremely accessible platform where anyone can publish,

collect, and re-publish information. Information, including gossip, that is exchanged on social

media also becomes a target to be consumed. Additionally, the regulations of social media

platforms, such as the word limit on Twitter posts, further deepen the fragmentation of

information.

2.5D theater is deeply embedded in the industrial chain of contemporary Japanese

media. Not only is it an adaptation of earlier works, it also provides an opportunity for the sale

63
of merchandise. Before or after, or during the intermission of the show, the audience members

line up in front of the booths, waiting to purchase derivative goods. Some of these are limited

edition items that are only sold on-site. The merchandise, such as stickers, badges, and file

folders, are an advertisement of the media mix that can be carried around. Moreover, 2.5D

theater’s connection with other media even extends beyond the anime media mix, with famous

2.5D performers participating in TV dramas, films, and non-2.5D theatrical works. Just like

the consumers of 2.5D theater who collect information on new plays, the cast, and the

characters on the internet, and exchange information with each other on social media (Sugawa

2016), they continue consuming new media pieces in the same way when it is relevant to their

favored 2.5D performer. The mode of consumption therefore expands to other media, and

virtually covers the entire media culture industry in Japan.

The anime media mix shapes the production and consumption of 2.5D theater. The

analysis of this genre should be conducted within this socioeconomic context, because the

features of 2.5D theater are the result of the media and consumption culture in contemporary

Japan. The influences from such an environment distinguish 2.5D theater from earlier manga-

based plays, and therefore they characterize this genre. The next chapter will examine the

features of 2.5D theater, and compare it with Takarazuka Revue and Studio Life.

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 Chapter 3 Features of 2.5D plays: A Comparison between Tenimyu/Tenimyu-Inspired
Plays, Takarazuka Revue, and Studio Life

Some magazine articles and news articles, as well the Japan 2.5D Musical Association,

simply define 2.5D theater as theatrical adaptations of manga, anime, or video games. This

rather broad definition includes all kinds of 2-dimensional-based performances, such as

Takarazuka’s play adaptations of manga and Super Kabuki II One Piece. It is understandable

that the industry prefers to include more works under the banner of 2.5D theater. However,

such a vague definition makes it almost impossible to carry out academic research on this genre.

Therefore, I argue that, as a unique theatrical genre, 2.5D theater should be differentiated from

other 2-dimensional-based plays. In fact, among the few academic publications on 2.5D theater,

many scholars have already taken the initiative to separate the post-2003 productions inspired

by the Musical The Prince of Tennis series (2003–present) from other manga-, anime-, and

video game-adapted plays.

In this chapter, I trace the history of Japanese theater before the emergence of 2.5D

manga-based plays and analyze two representative companies, Takarazuka and Studio Life.

The former is known for presenting romantic elements in its performances of manga

adaptations, whereas the latter established a “tanbi” style in its performances of sorrowful love

stories based on manga works. By comparing the features of 2.5D theater with the performance

and production styles of Takarazuka and Studio Life, I will demonstrate the distinctions

between 2.5D theater and other stage productions of 2-dimensional works.

Furthermore, the unique features of 2.5D theater can arguably be regarded as a result

of the production companies’ marketing strategies. For example, as an adaptation, fidelity is at

the center of a 2.5D play in order to cater to the fans of the original work. 2.5D theaters are

usually long-running series that sometimes present live concerts in addition to narrative

musicals. Targeting female audiences, 2.5D plays tend to cast idolized, handsome, but less

65
experienced actors who “graduate” from the production after a few years. As a result, fans of

the original work, the performers, and the plays typically comprise the majority of the audience

members. The intertwined cultural impact and theatrical presentation mutually influence each

other and form an exceptional genre of popular theater in contemporary Japan.

The Tenimyu
In order to further illustrate the features of Tenimyu and Tenimyu-inspired 2.5D plays,

I will compare them with pre-Tenimyu plays that are based on manga works. The comparison

will focus on two theatrical companies, Takarazuka Revue and Studio Life, which have

produced many manga-based plays. However, before conducting the comparison, it is vital to

introduce the cornerstone of 2.5D theater, the Musical The Prince of Tennis (Myūjikaru tenisu

no ōji-sama, usually referred to as Tenimyu) series.

2003 marks the beginning of 2.5D musicals with the premiere of Tenimyu. The very

first Tenimyu performance was presented on April 30, 2003 at the Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre

(Tōkyō geijutsu gekijō). As of 2019, this series has been continuously performed for 15 years,

spanning three seasons with a total of 58 shows. 34

The original manga The Prince of Tennis (Tenisu no ōji-sama) was a series published

in the manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Jump (Shūkan shōnen janpu) from July 19, 1999 to

August 3, 2008. Written and illustrated by Takeshi Konomi, this story about high school tennis

revolves around a young tennis genius named Echizen Ryōma. At the start of the manga,

Ryōma enters Seishun Academy (Seishun Gakuin, sometimes called Seigaku for short) and

joins its tennis club. The story then develops around Ryōma and his teammates’ pursuit of the

National High School Tennis Championship. Although Takeshi’s portrayal of tennis

34
The chart of previous Tenimyu performances up to February 2019 is attached as an appendix. The data is
organized according to the official website, [Link] accessed on February 13, 2019.

66
techniques in this manga was realistic at the beginning, it gradually expanded beyond realism,

and the characters acquired a kind of superpower. With depictions of handsome and attractive

tennis players from both Seigaku and the rival teams, the manga quickly gained popularity,

especially among female readers. In 2001, the manga was adapted into an anime and was

broadcast on Animax (Animakkusu) and TV Tokyo (Terebi Tōkyō) until 2005. The media

franchise also quickly expanded into other areas, including a CD drama, video game, live-

action film, and the 2.5D theater production by Nelke Planning.

In staging Tenimyu, the production company Nelke made many risky decisions which

resulted in a premiere full of uncertainty. When talking about the premiere of the first Tenimyu

performance, the producer Matsuda Makoto said:

Our performance took place in a theater that sits 5,000 spectators. However,

because our cast is almost unknown to the general public, only half of the tickets to the

premiere were sold. Nonetheless, the situation drastically changed after the first act.

When the performance was good, the audience started murmuring during the

intermission when the house lights were turned on. They started murmuring! They went

out to the lobby and the girls called their friends excitedly with their cell phones – social

media were not in wide usage at that time.

This was the moment I intuitively felt that [Tenimyu] would work. We

immediately decided to add another performance. After the premiere, we sold the

tickets for the next day’s performance in the lobby, and the ticket sales also went better.

Sensing this might be an extraordinary hit, we negotiated with the theater and put on

another run within that year. Although I had previously produced works where I felt

good about the quality, Tenimyu was the first one where I was certain that its ticket

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 sales would be successful, that it would trigger a huge wave in response. (Matsuda in

Koyama 2015)

Nowadays, the Tenimyu series stage plays are always described as the production that

was saved by the audience’s response. Through SMS, phone calls, and blog posts, Tenimyu

was brought to the attention of more people, which triggered the popularity of this series (PIA

2013). What appealed to the audience at the premiere was the faithful makeup and costumes

and the vivid representation of 2D characters on stage. However, over the years, Tenimyu’s

popularity was also built upon many other experiments. It gradually settled into its own style

and set the standard for other 2.5D plays in terms of performance style, production procedure,

franchise model, and so on. Shortly after the initial popularity of Tenimyu in the early 2000s,

many other 2.5D plays were produced. Yokozawa Yuka claims that the production of these

plays was inspired by Tenimyu and that they aimed to be “the second Tenimyu” (Yokozawa

2016, 58).

Over a thousand plays were produced from 2003 to 2019, in what I would describe as

the developmental phase of the 2.5D theater industry. Considering the number of productions,

it is almost impossible to claim that all 2.5D plays are similar. Nevertheless, I argue that

Tenimyu, being (technically) the first 2.5D play, has left an impression on almost all 2.5D plays.

To adapt long narratives into stage performances, production companies divide the narrative

into small parts and produce long-running, serialized plays. Without a proper beginning, climax,

and ending, 2.5D plays present rather loosely connected episodes instead of coherent stories.

This lack of integration is more obvious in musical productions. The producers of Tenimyu and

many 2.5D musical series not only present musicals that bear narratives. They also hold live

concerts as part of the program. Taken together, these shared features differentiate Tenimyu

and Tenimyu-ish plays from Disney musicals such as the Lion King (1997–present) and Aladdin

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(2010–present), as well as from other plays adapted from manga, anime, and video games, as

I mentioned in the Introduction chapter.

Takarazuka Revue and Studio Life

One of Japan’s most famous theater companies, Takarazuka Revue (Takaradzuka

kagekidan), was founded by the former president of Hankyu Railway, Kobayashi Ichizō (1873-

1957), in 1913. The revue was initially established to attract tourists to the Takarazuka area.

Kobayashi also wanted to introduce Western and modern entertainment to the Japanese people

in order to counter the “old and unfashionable” kabuki (A Review of Violet Floral Years 2004,

6). Although the current English name of this troupe/company includes the term “revue,”

Takarazuka performed chorus, dance, and opera for almost ten years before presenting its first

revue, Mon Paris (Mon Pari), in 1927.35 This new performing style soon gained popularity and

influenced Takarazuka’s performances. The theme song of Mon Paris sold over 100 thousand

copies (Stickland 2008, 30), and an altered form of the French can-can, which was called “line

dance” (rain dansu) in Takarazuka, was introduced in this play and soon became a trend all

over Japan.36 As a popular theatrical entertainment form in late 19th-century Europe, the revue

was widely welcomed by Japanese people who were eager for Westernization at that time. A

revue usually emphasizes scenery, lighting effects, costume, and makeup to create a visual

spectacle for the audience. Japanese audiences, who were used to the splendid displays on the

stages of Kabuki, were easily entertained by the exaggerated style of revue and the singing and

dancing of young female dancers.

The most distinctive characteristic of Takarazuka is that all performers in this troupe

are female. Before registering for the entrance examination to join the troupe, applicants

35
My Paris is also the first revue performed in Japan.
36
In Takarazuka’s “line dance,” a group of dancers dance close together in a line facing the audience. The dance
involves many high-kick movements.

69
determine if they are going to perform in female roles (musume-yaku) or male roles (otoko-

yaku) during their (possible) stay in the troupe. Members of Takarazuka were widely referred

to as Takarasienne after the mid-1970s, which follows a French tradition.37 However, at the

beginning of its history, the members were called “students” (seitō) for a very long time in

order to differentiate them from geisha and maiko, whose performances involved sexual

elements. Seitō, which indicates an image of an educated young woman, is closely associated

with the popular “modern girls” of the early 20th century. This further implies the fashionable

category of shōjo (young girls) who were under the influence of Westernization (Yamanashi

2012, 122–24). In fact, it is mandatory that all Takarasiennes go through two years of training

at the Takarazuka Music School, which was established as a private school in 1919. After

graduating from the school, trainees are able to join the Takarazuka Revue as a first-year

research student and can perform in the so-called “first stage” (hatsu butai) together. Thereafter,

they will receive the opportunity to join one of the five performance groups, namely, the Flower,

Moon, Snow, Star, and Sky groups.38

Studio Life (Sutajio raifu) is another theatrical company that presents many play

adaptations of manga. The company is sometimes referred to as the “male version of

Takarazuka,” since in contrast to Takarazuka, all performers in the troupe are men. 39 The

troupe was founded by the late Kawauchi Kiichiro (1949-2014) and his wife Kurata Jun in

1985, and it has been producing plays with all-male actors since 1987. The company is now

based in Tokyo, where it owns a 120-seat theater, Westend Studio, that is located in Nakano-

37
Although Robertson claims that the name Takarasienne has been used since the 1920s (1998, 5), other
sources claim that the name was coined after the revue Takarasienne (Takarajennu) was produced in 1937 (see
kotobank
[Link]
3%E3%83%8C-1466085, accessed on May 4, 2019). The term “Takarasienne” is similar to Parisienne, using
the French suffix “-ieene” to refer to “girls in Takarazuka.”
38
Originally written as hana-gumi, tsuki-gumi, yuki-gumi, hoshi-gumi, and sora-gumi.
39
One of the most obvious features of Studio Life is that this is an all-male performing troupe. However, this is
not a deliberate choice—there were female members when the troupe was founded. When all the female members
withdrew from the troupe in 1987, Studio Life naturally became an all-male performing group, and it has remained
in this form until today.

70
ku. Both of the founders underwent many years of training in shingeki. Kawauchi was trained

at the Drama Research Institution (Engeki kenkyū-sho) affiliated with the shingeki company

Bungakuza. He then joined another shingeki company, Theater Group En (Engeki shūdan en),

where he met Kurata. Kurata, on the other hand, was trained at the En Theatrical Troupe Drama

School (engeki shūdan en kenkyū-sho) as one of its first members. She studied under the well-

known performer and director Akutagawa Hiroshi. Shortly after Akutagawa’s death in 1981,

both Kawauchi and Kurata left Theater Group En to explore performing styles other than

shingeki (Studio Life 2003, 90).

The aesthetic40 preference of the troupe has been largely influenced by Kurata, the sole

playwright and main director of this troupe. 41 The troupe experimented with various styles,

but chose to return to a realistic style after the success of its first manga adaptation, The Heart

of Thomas in 1996. This proved to be the right decision. By the end of 2018, Studio Life had

performed a total of 136 plays in multiple cities across Japan. Besides its performing business,

the company is also expanding into other sectors, including art appreciation,42 a music school,

and rental services for a music studio, a dance studio, and a little theater (Westend Studio).

Takarazuka Revue and Studio Life are distinct from each other in many ways. Apart

from the obvious gender difference between their members, Takarazuka, with over a hundred

years of history, has experience with managing an assemblage of theater roles: producer,

director, costume designer, stage designer, orchestra, and performer. As one of the largest

commercial theater companies in the country, it is known to almost all Japanese people. In

contrast, Studio Life was founded much later in the 1980s. The scale of this company is also

40
Following Pavis’ definition of aesthetics, the term in this dissertation refers to how the text is formed and how
the stage functions in the production of a play (Pavis 1999, 16).
41
Out of all the plays performed by Studio Life, the only plays not written by Kurata were Ienee ienee mō ienee
(1986, written by all the Studio Life members) and a collaboration with the theater troupe Dogakusensei (Gekidan
dōgaku-sensei), Menzu kurakura nikki (Men’s Shiny Diary, 2013, written by Nakashima Atsuhiko, directed by
Aoyama Masaru, and performed by Studio Life members).
42
The “Art Appreciation” project was initiated by the Late Kawauchi Kiichiro in 1999. Currently, the main focus
of this project is shadow puppet performances in educational institutions.

71
much smaller, with only 35 members 43 in comparison with Takarazuka’s 400 regular members.

Under the lead of its co-founder Kurata, the manga-based plays of Studio Life have all been in

a non-musical realistic style, while Takarazuka’s style presents a mix of singing, dancing, and

variety. Importantly, their consistent aesthetic preferences differentiate their manga adaptations

from 2.5D productions. Setting these two companies as counter-examples will allow for a

deeper analysis of pre-2.5D manga-adapted plays, and a better understanding of the features of

2.5D theater.

Features of 2.5D Theater

Female Audience-Oriented Production: Idolized Performers

Yoshioka Shiro says that what we call ‘2.5D theater/musical’ today is actually

Tenimyu-ish manga/anime/game-adapted theater (Yoshioka 2018, 149). He continues by

claiming that what differentiates Tenimyu from previous stage adaptations of manga is that the

former casts handsome male actors (ikemen) (ibid.). Tenimyu’s producer Matsuda and director

Ueshima have stated in several interviews that, since the beginning of this production, the target

audience has always been young girls (Koyama 2015; Ueshima 2016, 26). The team decided

to dedicate the play solely to female audience members. Not only did they present an all-male

cast, on the production side, they even carefully erased all footage of female staff when editing

the backstage scenes recorded for the DVD.44

As mentioned earlier, at the very beginning of the Tenimyu series, the target audience

was mainly fans of the original manga and anime. Although the manga was serialized in Weekly

43
As of November 2019, according to the official site of Studio Life. See [Link]
(accessed Mar 17, 2020).
44
As stated in the information provided by the company in charge of making the DVD for Tenimyu, they were
specifically required to erase the scenes involving female staff. When the appearance of female staff was
inevitable, they were usually covered with a mosaic. See Kentarō Fukuchi. “Tenimyu DVD meikingu eizō ni josei
sutaffu ga utsu tteinai ken [No Images of Female Staff in Tenimyu Backstage DVD Footage]” email, December
1, 2017.

72
Shōnen Jump, a shōnen manga magazine, readers of this manga and the adapted anime included

many young girls.45 Female readers are attracted to the manga’s numerous handsome characters

with different personalities—the abundant options make it easy for them to find a preferred

type. This expectation, and the fantasy of seeing a gathering of attractive-looking young men,

is probably shared by both female readers of the manga and audience members who may not

be fans of the original text. Bearing this in mind, the production department of Tenimyu created

a fictional world with different types of male characters that would appeal to a large female

audience.

Influenced by this strategy, Tenimyu-inspired 2.5D plays draw a larger proportion of

younger audience members than other manga-adapted plays, such as those produced by the

Takarazuka Revue and Studio Life (Nonaka 2015, 106; S. Azuma 2016, 82). Although there

has never been an official study on the demographics of 2.5D fans, scholars and critics believe

that fans and audience members of 2.5D plays are mainly women, ranging from teenagers to

middle-aged adults (Azuma 2016, 82). 46 Some long-running 2.5D series, such as Tenimyu and

Tōken Ranbu (2015–), organize their fans within fan clubs, just like Takarazuka and Studio

Life. Other 2.5D plays only offer official accounts on social media, which are established by

the production companies. In either circumstance, the performers have to participate in the

promotion process and interact with their audience. Almost all 2.5D performers hold accounts

on multiple social media platforms, such as Twitter, Facebook, a personal blog, or other fan

communities. They re-post promotional information, provide status updates about their daily

lives, upload rehearsal pictures, and interact online with fans. Production companies also keep

track of and establish close contact with fans on social networks. Some 2.5D plays have been

45
Shōnen stands for ‘boy,’ and shōnen manga literally means ‘boys’ manga.’ This manga genre targets young
male readers in their teens, but it also attracts female readers.
46
Takarazuka fans are said to be mainly adult women who are wealthy and free enough to travel to the city of
Takarazuka to see the performance (Stickland 2008, 144–45); fans of Studio Life are also mainly women in their
30s and middle-aged women (K. Suzuki 2010, 31).

73
initiated as the result of fans’ pleas on social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, and

other fan communities (Sugawa 2015, 46).

In contrast with other kinds of theater production, 2.5D theater tends to cast young and

less experienced performers. This is partially because 2.5D productions usually have a

production duration of less than one year and they do not have enough time to train the actors.

What the producers care more about is how similar the actor is to the original character, and

whether they are able to faithfully present the character on stage. Additionally, even though

many 2.5D actors lack sufficient training, especially in acting and singing, it does not appear

to bother 2.5D fans. Audience members are sufficiently satisfied if they can witness the growth

and development of actors who are striving diligently to represent the 2D characters in a live

performance (Sugawa 2014).

I argue that the way 2.5D performers are promoted, either by the agencies or themselves,

is very similar to how idols are promoted in contemporary Japan. Accordingly, the process can

be explained using theories from idol studies. As Gabriella Lukács claims, the movement of

“image commodities” organizes the market (Lukács 2010, 47). In the idol industry, the image

of an idol is produced through the association of a real personality with fictional narratives.

When talking about the conceptual process of producing star icons, Daniel Herwitz points out

that the essence is to create an emptiness (Herwitz 2008, 16). Simply put, building a star is not

about creating a perfect image, but about leaving enough space for the public and fans. A

finished image is for passive consumption, whereas consumers nowadays prefer filling in the

blanks with the narratives they create. This coincides with consumer culture in contemporary

Japan where, as Ōtsuka Eiji suggests, consumers are not only consuming commodities. They

are also interested in creating their own narratives (Ōtsuka 2012). This new mechanism

challenges the traditional hierarchy in cultural production, giving the consumer more power to

interpret the narrative and an opportunity to create their own new narratives. In this way,

74
consumers effectively turn into “prosumers” who simultaneously perform the roles of the

producer and the consumer, and who produce new narratives in the process of consumption.

Within this context of prosumerism, I regard idols and 2.5D performers as two elements

of the intertextual media system in Japan, and I argue that they are consumed in very similar

ways. Idols are acutely aware that their careers are built upon the support of their fans

(Galbraith and Karlin 2012, 21). The unwritten number one rule of idols is that “fans are God.”

Therefore, they have to accept the narratives created by fans and present images that fit the

fans’ imaginations. Similarly, the audiences are the absolute center of 2.5D theater, and

everything is done to entertain them. Performers stay in character even after the performance,

as shown via their social media posts. The performers who play couples or popular pairings

post many pictures together to please the fans. The audience members also play an active role

in consuming the images and other narratives of the performer.

In a similar manner, idolization can also be found in Studio Life. In his 2010 article

about Takarazuka and Studio Life, Suzuki Kunio stated that the core members are the good-

looking actors in their 30s, though senior members in their 40s are also active in different

productions (Suzuki 2010, 31). Now, ten years later, the current actors in the company include

first-generation members and more recent intakes, with ages ranging from men in their 20s to

their 60s.

It is notable that, since the first performance of The Heart of Thomas, Studio Life has

started to use the multiple-cast system. In the 1996 production, the leading characters Juli,

Oscar, and Eric were played by two different sets of actors who took turns performing. Due to

the positive reception among the audience, the system was adopted for the third production of

The Heart of Thomas in 1999, and gradually became a norm in the company. In the 2010s,

some productions, especially the repeated performances of popular plays, even have three to

five sets of cast. The system of using different actors as attractions is commercially beneficial

75
to Studio Life. Audience members are able to select the version played by their favorite actors.

Some hardcore fans even buy tickets for different versions. The different acting styles between

the cast groups present different interpretations of the play, which provide different facets for

the character and, in a sense, put together a more vivid image of the character. This may look

similar to the group system of Takarazuka, but unlike Takarazuka, where each group produces

and practices by themselves, cast groups in Studio Life observe each other’s rehearsals and

actors are able to learn from their observations (Suzuki 2010, 31).

Distinct from 2.5D theater and Studio Life which intend to present accessible “next

door idols,” Takarazuka aims to create an apotheosis of stars. The process, as Morishita calls

it, refers to “the deification of the amateur” (Morishita 2015, 1171). Takarazuka Revue is

extremely hierarchical, not only in relation to the senior-junior relationship but also in relation

to the star system, in which everyone aims to fight their way to become the “top star.” Once

selected to attend the music school—which requires an extremely competitive entrance

examination—trainees are involved in a “star system” (sutā shisutemu). The central characters

of each production are usually exclusive to the “stars” of each of the five groups. The very top

of each group is the “Main Otoko-yaku” (shuen otoko-yaku) and is also called the “Top Star”

(toppu sutā). The pairing musume-yaku is called “Main Musume-yaku” (shuen musume-yaku),

which is also called “Top Musume-yaku” (toppu musume-yaku). Other performers, in turn, will

be titled according to their number in the ranking. However, the ranking is not completely

based on acting skills. It also depends on the appearance, popularity, and charisma of the

performer. The long time spent training and the constant competition hold the acting skills of

Takarazuka actresses to a certain standard.

Takarazuka performers’ image of being a star also affects their performance and the

audience’s perception. Azuma Sonoko famously proposed that there are four layers to a

Takarasienne’s identity: her real name, nickname, stage name, and character’s name (Azuma

76
2009, 24). First, the character performed on the stage is always built on the identity of the

performer’s stage name. Under this mechanism, otoko-yaku is not acting like a real woman,

but is acting like an attractive, fantastic woman whose image is created based on the

performer’s “stage name” image. In other words, the performer never becomes the character—

she always maintains and shows the characteristics of her identity as a star. The audience

therefore simultaneously perceives the character and the performer. In this case, the character

is by no means realistic, but she caters to the fantasies and expectations of the audience. The

same acting technique is also adopted by musume-yaku, and it is a feature of Takarazuka-style

performance. The stage name identity, however, is also constructed upon the nickname. The

nickname is given by fans, but it represents the Takarasienne’s off-stage image. Takarazuka is

known for fostering close relationships between performers and fans. Like other fans of

celebrities, Takarazuka fans also care about the everyday lives of their favorite performers.

However, this “everyday” image presented to the fans is also an artificial one performed by the

actress. An otoko-yaku has to avoid wearing feminine clothes, and a musume-yaku has to

behave in an elegant manner. In contrast, when they are truly alone, they might break free from

these taboos (Ōgoshi 2009, 233). Fans are well aware of the actors’ different identities, but

they are also happy to consume this “dream” created by Takarazuka.

Fans As the Basis

The idealized images of the 2.5D performers are always linked to the characters they

perform. In general, 2.5D performers are supposed to be beautiful, somewhat strong, but still

sometimes show a hint of clumsiness, so that they are easier for the fans to identify with.

Inevitably, they become the target of the fans’ sexual desires. However, these desires are not

necessarily real. The last thing the fans would expect to see are actual sex scenes, for this would

ruin the purity of the “perfect” image of the actors (Nagaike 2012, 106). Although fans love to

77
know different aspects of a performer’s life, they still want to maintain a subtle distance from

their “idol.” These types of pseudo-desire and pseudo-intimacy have become key features of

2.5D theater fans, and within the idol industry in general.47

The performers in 2.5D theater are similar to the idols who lack talent in areas such as

singing, dancing, or acting. While some of the 2.5D theater performers who stay in this industry

become experienced and improve their acting skills with many years of practice, the average

level of their performance can hardly be compared with Takarazuka or other “more serious”

productions. However, audience members who are familiar with idol culture are not

disappointed—they have lowered their expectations while watching 2.5D plays. These

audience members do not expect 2.5D theater performers to exhibit perfect acting and singing

on stage. In fact, clumsiness is considered cute (kawaii), and the imperfect performance

becomes a point of attractiveness (Galbraith 2012, 188; Nagaike 2012, 105).

Moreover, the fans, indulging in pseudo-intimacy and pseudo-desire, are happy enough

that they are able to observe the growth of their favorite characters and performers. Their desire

to support and encourage young actors creates a sense of sponsorship that is similar to a

mother’s care and nurturing of her children. From this perspective, the audience obtain pleasure

from their “motherly gaze” (Karlin 2012, 79). Some fans, while following the national or even

world tours of their favorite 2.5D plays, tend to compare the quality of different

performances.48 Their encouraging comments on social media platforms affirm the hard work

and improvement of the performers.49

47
These features of idol culture in Japan have been discussed in more detail in the books Idols and Celebrity in
Japanese Media Culture (2012) and Media Convergence in Japan (2016). Both books were edited by Patrick W.
Galbraith and Jason G. Karlin.
48
Based on my personal interviews with five 2.5D theater fans outside of the Shanghai Hongqiao Arts Centre on
March 14, 2018 and 6 fans in Shinjuku on April 30, 2018.
49
For example, while recalling the performance of the Musical Tōken Ranbu on February 9, 2019,
@tkm19810822 posted, “… The way Araki-san shows his facial expression is completely different from what
was in the premiere. It’s so perfect!” ([Link]

78
 It is extremely difficult to draw a clear line between the audience and fans of 2.5D

theater. Matsuda states that almost all audience members of the first season of Tenimyu were

fans of the original manga or anime (Koyama 2015). However, as the 2.5D industry developed,

more people who were not necessarily fans of the original works became interested in 2.5D

plays. Many of them walk into the theater for their favorite performers, directors, a 2.5D series,

or simply because they have fallen in love with 2.5D theater as a genre.50 Tickets for 2.5D

plays have to be purchased through fan clubs or lucky draws and are very hard to get. Although

no research has been conducted on the formation of 2.5D theater audiences, some believe that

many audience members are fans of this genre (ibid.). Some audience members may go to the

theater for the original work, but the repeat attendees who participate in relevant events and

purchase merchandise are the true supporters of this industry.

The success of the first season of Tenimyu quickly gathered a large group of fans for

this series. Its production company Nelke Planning (neruke puranningu) founded a fan club

called Tennimu Supporters Club (TSC for short) when the second season was launched. To

join the club, members have to pay a 1,000 yen entrance fee and a 3,100 yen annual

membership fee. The membership is renewed every year. The privileges of TSC membership

include being able to purchase tickets ahead of public sales and opportunities to participate in

special events held exclusively for TSC members. This type of officially organized fan club

has become a norm, and similar clubs are associated with many long-running 2.5D productions,

including Musical Tōken Ranbu and My Host‐chan.

The “trial performance”51 of Musical Tōken Ranbu (Tōken ranbu myūjikaru), which

was also produced by Nelke, took place in October 2015, just nine months after the release of

a game with the same name. The series is adapted from an online and mobile game that focuses

50
According to my interview with 2.5D theater fans in Shinjuku on April 30, 2018.
51
“Trial performance” (toraiaru kōen in Japanese) is commonly seen in the 2.5D theater industry. A “trial
performance” is just like any other 2.5D performance, but production companies usually adjust the presentation
of a certain play or even the scale of a series based on the outcome of the trial performance.

79
on personified famous swords from Japanese history. Gamers collect cards for each of the

swords and command them in battles against villains who intend to alter history. Thanks to the

good-looking characters and their various personalities, the exotic background setting in

premodern Japan, and the fact that all the characters are personifications of historical Japanese

swords, this online collectible card game gained popularity extremely quickly. On New Year’s

Day 2016, the second work in the Tōken Ranbu series was quickly produced after a trial

performance. A straight play series was also produced by production company Marvelous!

(Māberasu!) in May 2016, thus establishing a two-stream system (musical vs. straight play)

within the Tōken Ranbu series. Soon after, a fan club was formed to gather “sword girls” (tōken

joshi)—a name derived from sword boys (tōken danshi), which was the official collective name

given to all the swords. The production team very much values interaction with the fans. In

fact, they started a poll soliciting new nickname for the Tōken Ranbu musical and stage

production. The poll lasted for several months, bringing much attention to the 2.5D series. In

the end, the shortened names, Tōmyu (shortened from Tōken Ranbu myūjikaru) and Tōsute

(shortened from Tōken Ranbu suteji), 52 were announced on the official website, Twitter,

Facebook, and other social media platforms.

On one hand, interaction with fans of 2.5D theater on social network sites is an efficient

demonstration of their eagerness and interest. On the other, interaction also reassures fans of

their power, thereby encouraging their loyalty and further participation. The power of fans is

amplified to the maximum in My Host‐chan (Watashi no hōsuto‐chan, 2013–). Based on a

video game and television drama with the same name, the 2.5D play presents the story of

different hosts—the male staff who serve female customers seeking company and conversation.

Customers are able to select their favorite hosts in a host club. The ranking of the hosts depends

52
Tōmyu is the abbreviation of “Tōken Ranbu myūjikaru” (Tōken Ranbu Musical); and Tōsute comes from “Tōken
Ranbu suteji” (literally Tōken Ranbu Stage). The word suteji sometimes refers to straight play when the context
needs a differentiation between musical and straight plays.

80
on the revenue they each make. The ranking is not only a matter of honor, but the higher a host

ranks, the more it costs to make an appointment with him, and thus the host will earn more

from the appointment fees. Likewise, fans of the 2.5D series My Host‐chan can vote to decide

which actor/character will actually perform on the stage, as if they are appointing their favorite

hosts. The production side has also designed multiple endings for the play. The ending of each

performance is decided on the day of the performance according to the ranking of the actors.

Each ticket comes with one vote. In addition, the fans can purchase the derivative goods of the

show, which translate into additional points that help elevate the rank of their favorite actors.

This enhanced power makes fans more eager to spend money on their beloved 2.5D plays and

performers.

Such a level of participation might seem unimaginable to the fans of Takarazuka. The

popularity of Takarazuka is also closely tied to the support of its fans, but the discipline,

organization, and model of activities of the fans are completely different from those in the 2.5D

circle. According to an interview, women make up 90 to 95 percent of Takarazuka’s fans

(Takahara n.d.; Stickland 2008, 145; Yamanashi 2012, 148). With the earlier generation of fans

growing up together with Takarazuka, the troupe now has a fan group with an extremely wide

age range, from young girls to the elderly. As Yamanashi and Stickland both point out, these

fans (who are usually called “zuka fans”) cherish the performers as role models for a long time,

and they “nurture performers’ confidence through their support and adoration” (Yamanashi

2012, 149; Stickland 2008, 167). Loyal fans usually choose to join a fan club established for a

specific performer in order to show their support. Fan clubs are organized with strict and

specific rules. For instance, fans tend to gather in front of the theater before and after the

performance to glimpse the stars while they walk into and out of the theater (Robertson 1998,

141). Once the star appears, the front row would squat, and they are not allowed to shout or

scream, thereby demonstrating their manners. The stars approach their fan club members and

81
collect gifts and cards, and they have very short conversations with them. The fact that fans are

able to have such close communication with their idols is, as pointed out by Kusaba Tatsuya,

is one of the reasons behind Takarazuka’s popularity. He even claims that, in the old days,

performers used to refer to fans as “friends” (Kusaba in Takahara n.d.).

The Graduation System

Another notable feature of Tenimyu is its graduation (sotsugyō) system. Actors usually

“graduate” from the Tenimyu system after roughly one and a half years of performance.

According to Matsuda, the initial reason for introducing this graduation system into Tenimyu

was that actors in the first generation grew too old for the story, which takes place in a high

school (Koyama 2015). When the first generation graduated, the oldest member was 27. It then

became an unspoken rule that the actors in Tenimyu should be young men in their early or mid-

20s (ibid.).

The graduation system is not a new thing in Japanese idol culture. The first time the

term “graduation” was used was when two female idols Nakajima Miharu and Kawai

Sonokoleft their idol group, Onyanko Club (onyanko kurabu), in 1986. Since Onyanko Club

was promoted as centering around the concept of an after-school club for female high school

students, it was natural for them to use the term “graduation.” This word was increasingly used

as a euphemism for members leaving their idol groups, and even when ordinary celebrities

retired. Many idol groups now adopt this graduation system, which allows mature members to

pursue the next phase of their careers. Since the word “graduation” also somewhat certifies the

achievement of the members, it projects a positive image and signifies a new beginning for the

members. Furthermore, by letting old members graduate, the group can recruit new members

to keep a fresh image for its fans. Sakai claims that some idol groups use this system to maintain

the amateurish image of their members (Sakai 2016). This sense of immaturity leaves each idol

enough space for improvement. The image also supports the youthfulness they present, as

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expertise is not a quality demanded of the young. In theory, the graduation system affords each

idol group a much longer existence in the entertainment industry.

Although the ‘graduation’ system was opposed by some fans of Tenimyu in the

beginning, it was steadily accepted due to the increasing popularity of the actors in the new

generations (Koyama 2015). The director of Tenimyu, Ueshima Yukio, also claims that the

graduation system can be fully explained and understood within Tenimyu: since the story is set

in a high school, it is natural to claim that the actors will graduate from Tenimyu (Ueshima

2016, 27–27). As the actors gradually polish their acting skills and strengthen their bonds with

one another, the audience perceive that they are witnessing the maturing process of the actor,

and thus they feel as though they are participating in the life of the character (Nagaike 2012,

104). This sense of participation leads to a strong desire to care for the actors, while also

increasing loyalty among the audience members.

For a long time now, performing in 2.5D theater has been considered a passport to

success. This was certainly the case during the early years of the genre when young performers,

after gaining popularity by participating in 2.5D plays, would move on to television dramas,

films, or more serious theatrical productions. Famous examples include Shirota Yū (1985–)

and Saitō Takumi (1981–), who both performed in Tenimyu and were later known more widely

as television drama and film actors. However, the situation changed with the increasing

popularity of 2.5D theater. As 2.5D theater brings considerable business potential to its

practitioners, more performers choose to stay within the industry, even after receiving

sufficient publicity. These performers have established a sizeable group of fans who are willing

to support the performers financially by purchasing tickets and merchandise. The performers

are usually involved in more than one production simultaneously and they also participate in

other 2.5D plays after graduating from their current ones. They are essential assets of 2.5D

83
productions, as their fans will become audience members and even fans of their new 2.5D plays,

thereby contributing to their commercial success.

The graduation system is also practiced in Takarazuka. The graduation performances

of its top stars would be the busy season for the company. For the fans who have witnessed

and participated in the growth of the stars, the farewell performance would be the last time they

could show their love and support for the performers. Tickets for the farewell performance are

always sold out on the same day they become available. However, what the producer pays

more attention to is the merchandise relevant to the graduating star (Morishita 2015, 1560). He

explains that,

Once a Takarazuka performer becomes the top star, the producer would start preparing

for the future “farewell”, and plan for the farewell performance and the merchandise,

such as secondary or tertiary goods. Numerous goods are produced; and fans will be

purchasing as if they are “competing with each other” (ibid.).53

After graduation, the actress will almost never be able to perform on Takarazuka’s stage

again. However, the consistent training standard, aesthetic style, and production model ensure

that most of a fan’s passion is not just limited to a single actress, but towards the entire

Takarazuka “empire.” The performance of repetitive repertoire, the familiar theater halls, and

the actresses trained under the same system and by the same group of people, all come together

to create the image of Takarazuka and connect its fan community. According to Morishita, the

Grand Takarazuka Theatre has become a tourist site. Visiting the theater, and eating and

shopping in nearby restaurants and shops, forms a kind of content tourism. Similar business

53
Repetitive purchase of goods is common not only among Takarazuka fans, but also in the broader fandom
culture in contemporary Japan. Fans would purchase multiple pieces of the same merchandise – some are for
actual usage, and others are for permanent preservation, or “for worship”, as Morishita (2015, p. 1560) calls it.

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models that associate theater-going with consumption in nearby restaurants and bars have

become a norm in many commercial theatrical productions, such as Sleep No More (2003-).

Although such campaigns have not been seen in 2.5D productions yet, they may be adopted by

the 2.5D industry in the near future.

Things are quite the opposite in Studio Life, as hardly any member has quit the troupe

(K. Suzuki 2010, 31). Unlike many other theatrical troupes in Japan, members of Studio Life

are allowed, and even encouraged, to perform in venues outside of those organized by the

company. Many members are frequently seen on TV, the silver screen, and in plays produced

by other companies. These outside performances are also advertised on the official website of

Studio Life. The company’s lenient rules helped form a balanced ecology for the financial and

self-development of its members.

Fidelity
To the producer, the Tenimyu series should faithfully represent the 2D original work in

the performance (Matsuda in Koyama 2015). In order to achieve this goal, Tenimyu practices

fidelity in aspects such as casting, costume, and movement. However, as agreed on by directors

and playwrights, as well as scholars and critics, the essential thing is to faithfully present the

characters (see Sugawa 2015; Hoshino 2015; Sezu 2015; Iwashita 2016; Ōchi 2017). Matsuda

claims in many interviews that, besides physical appearance, one of the main criteria in the

casting process of Tenimyu is to evaluate if the actor has the “tane” of the character he or she

is going to play (Matsuda in Koyama 2015; Matsuda 2016). The word tane, loosely translated

as essence, can be interpreted in many different ways, but I suggest that what Matsuda means

here is that the actor should share the core qualities of the original character in order to be able

to faithfully perform the 2-dimensional character on a 3-dimensional stage. The cast should by

no means contradict the audience’s perceptions of the character.

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 Differing from that of Takarazuka and Studio Life, the audience of 2.5D plays expect

to see the characters on the stage “as if it jumps out from the manga”(K. Suzuki 2017b, 9). As

stated before, instead of acting skills, the producers and directors of Tenimyu, as well as other

2.5D plays, value the aura of the performer, and how similar he or she is to the character. The

majority of Japanese manga, the basis of 2.5D theater, is centered around teenage characters

(shōnen and shōjo) (Uno 2015, 224). These young performers suit the immature but rapidly

growing and developing characters perfectly. It is also encouraged by the belief that these

actors are attractive to females, the target audience of most 2.5D plays.

2.5D theater, as a type of popular entertainment, was initially a fan service. 2.5D actors

are viewed as agents who represent the characters. Audiences are not familiar with their

personalities, and they do not really care much about their real persona. Audiences connect the

actors to the characters they play, and they produce narratives based on that. For example, the

most popular couple in NARUTO, Sasuke and Sakura, and their performers, Sato Ryuji and

Itō Yui, were always mentioned together by fans. Audiences thought that they “looked cute

together,” and they became extremely excited every time the duo interacted on and off the

stage.

Aside from the characters, Tenimyu also has to present a convincing mise-en-scène to

faithfully present the world of the original text. As an adaptation of a visual product, Tenimyu

is influenced and regulated by the pre-set visual elements and effects in the manga and anime.

Centered around tennis matches, Tenimyu has to present the scenes of playing tennis on a

theatrical stage. However, it is not realistic to actually play tennis during the play, nor can the

actors present the supernatural techniques portrayed in the manga. Therefore, instead of using

actual tennis balls, actors swing the racket and imitate the foot movements to represent

themselves playing tennis. A spotlight is used to visualize the trajectory of the balls, and a

special sound effect is played every time the ball is supposed to hit the racket. Moreover, as a

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musical production, Tenimyu place more emphasis on singing and choreography. Although the

singing skills of the actors are not very satisfactory, the multimedia effects, together with

complex choreography, can distract the audience’s attention from the actors’ immature acting

skills and the possible awkwardness caused by their poor acting.

The director of Yowamushi Pedal (Yowamushi pedaru, 2012-present) encountered a

similar dilemma when he tried to visualize bicycle riding on stage. Yowamushi was the first

2.5D straight play series adapted from a sports manga. How to bring bicycles on stage became

the most challenging problem while adapting the manga, which revolves around bicycle racing.

The director Nishita Shatona finally decided to merely use the handles to represent the bicycles.

In this series, a liftable platform is set in the center of the stage, and it is used to represent

rampways or distinguish events happening simultaneously in two different locations (see

Figure 2). Lighting is also used to represent the fierce racing and different movements of the

bikes. These creative designs have been mentioned in many reviews and interviews, and they

will be discussed in detail in the next chapter.

Other than Tenimyu and Yowamushi, many other 2.5D plays also use excessive

multimedia technologies in their performances, especially projected videos and images. The

2.5D adaptations of fantasies require media technology to recreate the supernatural and magical

effects. These technologies not only make a tribute to the original manga by bringing 2-

dimensional elements onto the stage, but they also serve theatrical purposes. Firstly, these

fragmented insertions of media pieces create moments of surprise among the audience.

Secondly, these technologies also distract audiences from the poor acting of the performers, so

that the visual experiences are improved. This is clearly the opposite of the performances by

Takarazuka and Studio Life, which use very few props and media technologies in their

performances, and largely rely on the performers and the text.

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 Figure 2 Stage Yowamushi Pedal The New Period FINAL: POWER OF BIKE
(Butai yowamushi pedaru shin intāhai hen FINAL~POWER OF BIKE~, 2020) Handles are
used to represent bicycles. The platform is sometimes lifted to represent a change in
landscape in the race.54

Many of Takarazuka’s productions are adaptations based on literature, film, TV drama,

manga, anime, video games, or previous plays. Takarazuka considers adaptations as new

opportunities for creation, rather than solely an interpretation of the original work

(Wakabayashi 2009, 78). Ever since the young applicants for the Takarazuka Academy started

practicing for the exam, they have been training in accordance with the aesthetics of

Takarazuka. Moreover, playwrights and directors are usually graduates of the troupe or people

who have collaborated with Takarazuka for a long time. The professionalism of the staff also

ensures the quality and consistent style of each Takarazuka performance.

The founder, Kobayashi Ichizo, famously stated that shōjo who dream of a prince and

romance will never disappear, and thus Takarazuka will continue to flourish (Kosakai in

Yamanashi 2012, 146). Before the current name of Takarazuka Revue was settled on in 1938,

54
Image is excerpted from [Link] (Accessed on May 11, 2020).

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the troupe was called the Takarazuka Girl’s Revue (Takarazuka Shōjo Kagekidan). The term

shōjo was coined in the Meiji period in reference to unmarried young women (Robertson 1998,

64–65). However, at that time, it also implied a particular and privileged identity “attained

through schooling and increased access to books and magazines” (Yamanashi 2012, 131).

Takarazuka, as a modern troupe consisting of young girls, became an ideal stage where the

dreams of shōjo could be performed and even realized (ibid., 132–34). The Takarasienne are

required to maintain their idealized honest, pure, and beautiful image, and to remain single as

long as they are members of the troupe.55 Moreover, the theme of Takarazuka’s plays is mainly

about love, which is also a focus of shōjo culture (ibid., 139).

Interestingly, what influenced Studio Life was shōnen culture. For the first ten years

after its establishment, Studio Life presented mainly non-realistic, typically shōgekijō plays.

Then, the 1996 production of The Heart of Thomas altered the artistic style of Studio Life. The

Heart of Thomas was adapted from Hagio Moto’s shōnen-ai manga of the same name, which

portrays a love story between two boys. The Heart of Thomas is known for the depiction of the

complicated psychological development of its characters and its beautiful but traumatic

aesthetic style. It is regarded as one of the groundbreaking shōnen-ai manga. Shōnen-ai is a

genre of shōjo manga that emerged in the 1970s, which is represented by the Year 24 Group

(nijūyo-nen gumi), to which Hagio belongs. Although it depicts romantic stories between

beautiful boys, the relationships portrayed in this kind of manga are not homosexual, but are

instead considered a reflection of heterosexual fantasies. One of the pieces of evidence for this

is that the relationship is always between a more feminine character and a masculine character.

In actual homosexual relationships, there is no clear gender performativity assigned to either

party. The term shōnen-ai is sometimes used interchangeably with tanbi, which appears in the

introduction to Studio Life on its official website.

55
The motto of Takarazuka is “purity, honesty, and beauty” (kiyoshiku, tadashiku, utsukushiku).

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 The word tanbi literally means “to pursue beauty,” but it has become the name of a

manga genre about male-male relationships. Considering the all-male cast members, the word

choice strongly indicates subtle, romantic relationships—if not in the performance, then in the

imagination of the audience—between actors. It is also notable that plays produced by Studio

Life always revolve around the theme of “love” (Suzuki 2010, 31). The company focuses on

presenting romantic but tragic stories, and it never touches on social and political topics. On

top of that, almost all the plays are written and directed by Kurata Jun. Except for the

collaboration with other troupes, only seven “New Face Performances,” which are performed

by newly-enrolled members, have been directed by senior members who were trained by

Kurata for years.56 Moreover, all seven plays were supervised by Kurata, which guarantees the

consistent directing and aesthetic style of Studio Life productions. Within the plays performed

by Studio Life, the majority are adapted from novels, Western plays, and manga. Of all the

manga chosen by Studio Life, those by Hagio Moto are clearly favored by Kurata, as 17 out of

the 29 manga plays were adapted from Hagio’s manga. 57 The Heart of Thomas, as the

representative play of Studio Life, is also the most performed play: it was restaged eight more

times after its premier in 1996.

Although the female-impersonation system in Studio Life may appear similar to the

onna-gata in Kabuki and the otoko-yaku in Takarazuka, there are some fundamental

differences. Firstly, different from Kabuki and Takarazuka, Studio Life actors are not

systematically trained to perform as the opposite gender. They ought, to some extent, to imitate

the movements of women on stage, so as to fulfill a modern, realistic performance. However,

unlike Kabuki performers, they do not change their voices to “sound like a woman,” nor do

they try to hide their male identity on the stage. The company aims to present the psychological

56
These plays are: WHITE (1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007), Bugitō Baguzu (2001), and Real Cinderella Story
(Riaru shinderera sutōrī, 2011).
57
Based on the performance record on Studio Life’s official website. “Studio Life,” [Link]
[Link]/, accessed on February 13, 2019.

90
aspect of the female characters through the acting of male actors. In other words, instead of the

actors’ bodies, it relies more on the text—a typical realistic theater method. On the other hand,

actors who are chosen to perform female roles are usually androgynous-looking, and their

voices are not excessively masculine. The heavy make-up, hairstyle, and costume are also

helpful to the impersonation.

Long-Running Series
While analyzing the production model of Takarazuka, Morishita claims that the

company has a “vertical integration system” (Morishita 2015, 847). This term refers to the

arrangement in which manufacturing, distribution, sales, and other economic activities are

undertaken by the same company. Economists believe that vertical integration would lower the

cost, increase supply chain coordination, help accumulate relevant technologies, and eventually

increase the competitiveness of the company (Williamson 1971, 113). In fact, this model

applies to both Takarazuka and Studio Life, as the entire production process is conducted by

the companies themselves. In addition to the abovementioned merits, this business strategy

also ensures that the companies have full control over the production process, and are able to

maintain the quality and style of their productions.

In the case of 2.5D theater, as discussed in Chapter 2, the production committee system

which involves horizontal integration is adopted. In contrast to vertical integration, the

production process of a 2.5D play involves multiple companies. Staff members, such as

directors, playwrights, costume designers, lighting technicians, and choreographers, all come

from different companies or studios, and even casting, fund raising, and marketing can be done

by different parties. Therefore, the aesthetics of 2.5D plays vary from production to production,

and are usually determined by the taste and artistic style of the director. But the committee

system also means that the production is financially supported by multiple companies. More

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generous investment enables more freedom in the creation and production process, and a longer

performance period, in comparison with Takarazuka and Studio Life.

Although Takarazuka sometimes produces serialized plays, such as the Berubara series,

most plays from Takarazuka and Studio Life are single productions. 58 On the other hand,

Tenimyu has been continuously performed since 2003. Except for the first musical, no other

play has been repeatedly performed. Stories from different manga are adapted into individual

plays. Usually, in Tenimyu, each musical tells the story about a match between Seigaku and

one or more rival schools. Among all the matches selected by Tenimyu, some are combined

into one play, and some very important matches are divided into two plays. After all the

matches are performed, the season ends. However, even though the narratives in each season

are the same, the playwright, director, composer, and visual director present a completely new

performance each time. With different actors, songs, and choreography, each season of

Tenimyu is a new one. This also partially explains why dedicated audiences are willing to watch

every production in this series, despite the repetitive narrative.

I argue that such serialization is clearly different from the production/performance style

of Takarazuka and Studio Life, and that it is partially due to the influence of the long-running

Sailor Moon musical series in the 1990s. Inspired by Tenimyu, many 2.5D productions

produced in the late 2000s and early 2010s have become long-running series, especially the

ones produced by major production companies. The capable production companies not only

guarantee adequate funding, but they also know how to cater to the tastes of the public. Many

of these series are still ongoing today, such as Black Butler (Kuroshitsuji, 2009–), Sengoku

BASARA (2009–), Yowamushi Pedal (Yowamushi Pedaru, 2012–), and Hakuōki (2012–). The

tendency to produce long-running series and treat each play as a small episode of a larger

58
There have been about 20 adaptations based on the original manga Berubara since 1974. Some plays abbreviate
the narrative of previous productions. Others present stories centered around different characters.

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narrative then becomes one of the features of the Tenimyu-inspired 2.5D productions. Under

this production model, coherence is no longer valued. Instead of presenting a complete story

with a proper beginning, climax, and ending, 2.5D plays merely provide a collage of smaller

episodes within the larger narrative. Moreover, the connection between different scenes can be

weak, which results in a fragmented display of singing, dancing, and acting.

Two Formats in One Production

There are two formats of performance in Tenimyu: the musical, hon-kōen, and the

concert, Dream Live. The term “hon-kōen” literally translates to “actual performance” and

refers to musicals with a narrative. Dream Live contains concerts featuring songs that have

been performed in the musicals. It is held in-between hon-kōen performances, and is not

relevant to the development of the narrative. According to Matsuda, fans who went to the

musicals in the early years would wear cosplay costumes, bring cardboard signs with characters’

names on them, and even shout during the performances. These activities were then forbidden

by the production company as they disrupted the performances. As compensation, the Dream

Live concerts were introduced, in which audience members are free to scream and shout and

interact with the characters/performers (Matsuda in Koyama 2015). The Dream Live concerts

enable different performing styles in which characters can interact with each other and entertain

the audience. For instance, actors perform numbers from different musicals, and they present

unique choreography that is different from that in hon-kōen. Since the second season, there

have been other events, such as sports games, concerts, and a Team Party. With games, a short

concert, and skits, Dream Live performances look similar to voice actor events.59

59
Many anime series hold voice actor events during or after the broadcast on TV. The events are generally one to
two hours long and usually take place in a theater. Voice actors who dubbed the important characters gather on
stage and conduct activities, such as live dubbing of famous scenes, playing games, and sometimes casual talks
with each other. Voice actors in this kind of event hold two different identities: that of the character (while
dubbing), and their own (while chatting or playing games).

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 In Dream Live performances, most of the time actors are still acting in character. The

director of the Tenimyu series, Uejima Yukio, once said in an interview that, in principle, actors

are forbidden to detach themselves from their characters, even in Dream Live shows (Ueshima

2016, 11). This requirement aims to maintain the connection between actor and character, and

it shows the significance of the characters in Tenimyu. However, occasionally the actors do

appear on stage as themselves (i.e. with everyday clothes and no special makeup), and not as

their characters, in some shows. Maintaining the characters in Dream Live might have been

important in the early stages of the Tenimyu series, but when the performers gained popularity

among the audience, it was no longer harmful to “break character” and reveal their own

identities on the stage. On the contrary, some of their fans were actually very excited to see

their “original images” (su-gao) in Dream Live.

A similar system can be found in the Hakuōki series (2009–present), which includes

Musical Hakuōki (Myūjikaru Hakuōki) and HAKU-MY LIVE, as well as the Gakuran Kageki

series, with the musical Gakuran Kageki “Teiichi no Kuni” (, 2014–2016) and the live concert

Gakuran Kageki “Teiichi no Kuni”: The Great Kaitei Fes (Gakuran Kageki “Teiichi no Kuni”:

Dai Kaitei Sai, 2017). Some other 2.5D plays chose to divide the performance into two

segments: the actual performance and the live concert. Examples include K: Lost Small World

(Butai “K”: Lost Small World, 2016), the Troupe Shining of Uta no Prince-sama series

(Gekidan Shainingu uta no purinsu sama, 2017-present), Hiragana Danshi (Butai Hiragana

Danshi, 2018), and so forth. It is notable that the Musical Tōken Ranbu (Myūjikaru Tōken

Ranbu, 2015–present) series not only consists of a musical and a concert, but also includes a

live concert in the second half of its musical performance. The live concert will be further

analyzed in the next chapter.

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Diversity in 2.5D Theater
As mentioned in the Introduction, the Japan 2.5-Dimensional Musical Association

(Nihon 2.5-jigen myūjikaru gyokai) was founded in 2013. With the establishment of the 2.5D

Musical Association, the 2.5D industry experienced dramatic growth after 2013. With over 100

plays produced per year, it is possible to watch a 2.5D performance on any given day. The

explosive development enabled more investment into each production, as well as a broader

range of original works to be adapted. In 2015 alone, many major productions were produced,

such as Live Spectacle NARUTO (Raibu Supekutekuru Naruto), Death Note, Tōken Ranbu, and

Hyper Projection Engeki Haikyū!! (Haipā Purojekushon Engeki Haikyū!!). These plays were

all performed by young and less experienced performers. However, other staff members, as

well as the production side, have remained in this industry for a very long time, and they are

able to produce their works in a very standardized and efficient way. Although most directors

still view their plays as artistic works, 2.5D theater’s nature as a commodity has become more

and more obvious in this industry.

It is also noteworthy that productions of 2.5D plays have become much timelier since

2016. More 2.5D plays have been produced right after, or even concurrently with, the broadcast

of the manga-inspired anime (based on the original manga), taking full advantage of the

popularity the anime brought. Examples like Haikyū!! (2015), Osomatsu-san (2016), Joker

Game (Jōka Geimu, 2017), and Kemono Friends (Kemono Furenzu, 2017), have all proven

that the pace of 2.5D production has become much faster. Still, the heightened speed did not

compromise the quality—all three 2.5D series have been regularly restaged.

As theater companies with a long history, both Takarazuka and Studio Life have

consistent performing and aesthetic styles. Other than the obvious, single-gender composition

of its actors, Takarazuka is known for its splendid stage design, excessive costumes and

makeup, and extremely stylized performing style. Studio Life has preserved its tanbi style,

presenting realistic performances of romantic yet tragic stories. In contrast, 2.5D plays come

95
in various forms and styles. Even in plays directed by the same director, or produced by the

same company, we can see clear attempts at experimentation and innovation. This can be seen

in, for instance, Worry Kinoshita’s (Uori Kinoshita) direction of both the Haikyuu!! series and

the 2018 Nogizaka 46 version of Musical Sailor Moon. The former is a series of “straight plays”

that present stories of high school volleyball players using various media technologies, while

the latter is a musical performance adapted from shōjo manga with few props and simple stage

installations.

Play adaptations of manga have penetrated different sectors of the performance industry.

Takarazuka continues to produce theatrical productions of manga and game adaptations in the

2010s. Some of the most recent examples include: Rurōni Kenshin (2016, based on Watsuki

Nobuhiro’s manga of the same name), The Poe Clan (Pō no Ichizoku 2018, based on Hagio

Moto’s manga of the same name), and Red River (Sora ha akai kawa no hotori, 2018, based

on Shinohara Chie’s manga of the same name). Studio Life repeatedly presents play

adaptations of shōjo manga. Many small theater directors developed their own manga-inspired

works: Gekidan Shiki produced many musicals based on manga or Disney animations; regional

troupes, such as the Warabi-za, which is based in Akita, started performing a large number of

play adaptations of manga.60

60
organized according to the official website of these companies, and the 6th volume of Omoshii (2016).

96
 Chapter 4 Intermediality in 2.5D Theater

As discussed in previous chapters, 2.5D theater is different from earlier popular

performances in Japan, which emphasized shingeki and performers’ bodies (e.g. Kabuki and

the Takarazuka productions), because it involves the excessive use of media technologies on

stage. Analyzing the common features of popular theater, Brooks McNamara claims that

“[s]ubtlety and conventional good taste are usually secondary to action, fantasy, and physicality”

(McNamara in Schechter 2003, 4). McNamara is not suggesting that popular theater is free

from texts or literature, but that visual presentation is the more important attraction in this type

of performance. To him, many commercially successful popular performances rely largely on

creating spectacular effects. The significance of media elements is even more obvious in

popular performance in today’s “mediatized culture” (Auslander 2008, 10).

In this chapter, I discuss the mise-en-scène in 2.5D theater. However, instead of simply

introducing the stage presentations of different 2.5D plays, I analyze the intermediality theory

through a performance analysis of representative 2.5D plays. It is without question that all 2.5D

plays rely on different media to recreate the fictional, and sometimes fantastic, worlds from the

original manga, anime, or video games. What triggers my interest here is that the relationship

between these media elements is so complicated that the 2.5D performance is no longer simply

a multimedia performance. The independence of each media element, as well as their

juxtaposed presentations, suggest that 2.5D theater should be considered an intermedial

performance.

I argue that, although intermedial effects are usually studied in experimental and avant-

garde theater, it is actually a phenomenon that can be commonly observed in all types of

performances, including 2.5D theater. By examining the perception of intermedial elements in

2.5D theater in the context of contemporary Japanese media culture, I propose that the

established scholarship on intermediality has neglected these unintendedly created intermedial

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effects. Intermediality does not necessarily lead to dislocation and alienation, as many scholars

have agreed. On the contrary, depending on the lived experience of the audience members,

inadvertently created intermedial elements may not disturb the perception of the performance.

To audience members who are familiar with the contemporary media culture in Japan, 2.5D

performances with intermedial elements are similar to the fragmented media products they

consume in their daily lives.

Intermediality in Theater
Intermediality has become a popular topic in many fields of research in recent years.

Disciplines such as literature, film, and theater have all developed their own theories of

intermediality. There are many reasons for its popularity, among which is the fact that

mediatization is seen in all aspects of our lives. Similarly, theater and performance are also

affected by the rapid development of technology and media, which demands new

interpretations of the relationship between mediatized performance and the traditional live

performance. Auslander explicates:

[M]ediatization is now explicitly and implicitly embedded within the live experience …

within our mediatized culture, whatever distinction we may have supposed there to be

between live and mediatized events is collapsing because live events are becoming more

and more identical with mediatized ones […] [M]ediatization is the cultural context in

which live performances are now inevitably situated […] Mediatization is not just a

question of the employment of media technology; it is also a matter of what might be called

media epistemology. (Auslander, 31–32)

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 In defining the term “mediatization,” Auslander follows Fredric Jameson’s description: “[It

is] the process whereby the traditional fine arts […] come to consciousness of themselves as

various media within a mediatic system” (Jameson 1991, 162, cited in Auslander 2008, 5).

Jameson’s use of mediatization was initially used to explain postmodern spatialization in

installation art. According to him, what is valuable in mediatized culture is not just the message

delivered by the media, but also the apparatus (i.e. the media itself). When different media are

displayed together, the ontology of each medium becomes even more obvious to the viewers.

When the viewers perceive the “superproduct” (such as an installation), which contains various

traditional art forms (such as painting, photography, sculpture, writing, video recording, or

architecture), they pay attention not just to the superproduct as a whole but also to the content

of each medium.

In Jameson’s interpretation, media clearly refer to the traditional fine arts, whereas

Auslander focuses more on digital media. What he calls “mediatized performance” are the

technologically reproduced performances circulated on television and in forms such as video

recordings (Auslander 2008, 4). He reviews and challenges the idea from earlier performance

theory that live performance and mediatized performance are mutually exclusive because of

the ontological difference between their performing forms (Sontag 1966, 25, cited in Auslander

2008, 5). Instead, Auslander proposes that, nowadays, it is possible to mediatize live

performance in Jameson’s sense and therefore such performance forms can be categorized as

a form of mass media (ibid., 60). Moreover, he claims that the relationship between live and

mediatized forms should be discussed within their specific historical contexts. In its early

stages, the mediatized form was modeled on the live form, but the former eventually usurped

the latter (ibid., 183). This pattern is quite obvious in the historical relationships between

theater and film and between theater and television. The dynamic, of course, is related to

technological development, which has also shaped the audience’s perceptions and expectations

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of live performance. I suggest that live performances, like mass-produced productions, have to

appeal to the audience’s tastes in order to thrive economically.

Auslander’s discussion of media focuses on mass media and mediatized performance,

but not on media as a part of the performance. However, to analyze the role of media, or of

intermediality in performance, it is essential to define the term “media.” In his book Theatre at

the Crossroads of Culture, Patrice Pavis offers his definition of media in theater: “Media might

be defined by a sum of technical characteristics (possibilities, potentialities) according to the

technological way in which the artistic product is produced, transmitted and received,

reproducible to infinity. The notion of media is thus not linked to content or theme, but to the

current apparatus and state of technology” (2002, 96). 61 Hidden behind this interpretation is

the fact that, for a very long time, live theater was discussed as being in opposition to media,

especially after the rise of film. In Steve Wurtzler’s summary of the traditional notion of theater,

the live and the recorded are mutually exclusive: the live requires the absence of the recorded,

and vice versa. Pavis also states that “[t]heater tends towards simplification, minimalization,

fundamental reduction to a direct exchange between actor and spectator. Media, on the other

hand, tend towards complication and sophistication, thanks to technological development; they

are by nature open to maximal multiplication” (2002, 98). He further argues that, in a

mediatized culture, theater moves into the media area as a result of self-development and the

requirements of the cultural environment. Video, TV, and sound recordings are frequently seen

in the performance, and these technologies are also used as methods for reproduction and

archival preservation (ibid., 96).

Pavis’ discussion is different from Auslander’s in that it is not limited to mass media

and mechanical reproduction. He compares theater with media such as radio, cinema, television,

61
The translator uses the plural English term “media” so as to maintain the distinction between the singular noun
“medium” and plural noun “mèdia” implied by Pavis (translator’s note, in Pavis 2002, 136).

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and video, and discusses their relationships with theater. Pavis argues that “technological and

aesthetic contamination” is inevitable in theater, and that theater practitioners ought to

experiment with the various possible interactions between theater and all kinds of different

media. Although his analysis of media and theater is relatively short in this book—Pavis only

devotes one chapter to this topic in this book about intercultural performance—his discussion

certainly inspired later research on the use and function of media in theater, such as that of Jay

Bolter and Richard Grusin (2005), Andy Lavender (2006), Steve Dixon (2007), and so on.

The use of media in theater can be explained with the theory of remediation proposed

by Jay Bolter and Richard Grusin. They define remediation as “the representation of one

medium in another” (Bolter and Grusin 2000, 45). In other words, adopting different media in

theater is a process of remediating these media. Bolter and Grusin continue to discuss different

forms of remediation, including a type of aggressive remediation by which “[t]he work

becomes a mosaic in which we are simultaneously aware of the individual pieces and of their

new, inappropriate setting. In this kind of remediation, the older media are presented in a space

whose discontinuities, like those of collage and photomontage, are clearly visible” (ibid., 47).

This argument describes the effect of intermediality.

Other than Bolter and Grusin’s descriptions, intermediality can be defined and

interpreted in various other ways according to the context in which it is discussed. Bearing in

mind that it is impractical to come up with a precise definition of intermediality as the concept

is still evolving, in this chapter I will instead focus my discussion on the presentation and

perception of intermedial elements in 2.5D theater. Still, how is “intermediality” analyzed in

theatrical discourse?

To explain the word “intermediality”, Chapple and Katttenbelt divide it into the prefix

“inter” and the stem “media.” Clarifying the prefix, they state: “We locate intermediality at a

meeting point in-between the performers, the observers, and the confluence of media involved

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in a performance at a particular moment in time. The intermedial inhabits a space in-between

the different realities that the performance creates and thus it becomes, at the minimum, a

tripartite phenomenon” (Chapple and Kattenbelt 2007, 12). Here, Chapple and Kattenbelt

interpret the feature of “inter” as in-betweenness. Therefore, intermediality happens in-between

the performer and audience, in-between performance and media, and in-between different

realities. On the other hand, Balme (2008) analyzes “inter” as the gaps between the performer’s

space and the audience’s space, between the actor and the spectator, and between different

media on the stage. In intermediality, media no longer exist for collaboration. They retain the

simultaneously dependent and independent relationship among elements: dependent because

they are still elements of a performance; independent because they each maintain an ontology

and a certain level of autonomy on stage (Chapple and Kattenbelt 2007, 18–20).

A more specific definition of a medium, again, is necessary for the understanding of

intermediality (Elleström 2010, 13). Many scholars have tried to define “medium” in their

studies on intermediality. Elleström points out that there are two limitations in earlier studies

on media in theater: one is that, in comparing different media, the similarities of the media

forms are often neglected; another is that materiality and the perception of the media are not

distinguished (ibid., 14–15). The former was also pointed out by Boenisch when criticizing the

notion of medial specificity that sets media in opposition to each other (2007, 103). However,

Boenisch then claims that the distinguishable boundaries among different media were

undermined by digital information processing (ibid., 104).

Kattenbelt, on the other hand, provides a surprisingly straightforward and simple

interpretation of media in intermediality—he considers media to be the different arts presented

in a performance (Kattenbelt 2008, 21). Simple as it seems, this definition might be the best

way to understand media in intermediality. For one thing, it differentiates from media studies

by narrowing the range from all aspects of social and cultural life to art forms. For another, it

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expands the scope of study from digital media, such as audio recordings, lighting effects, and

projected images, to a larger one that includes art forms such as singing, dancing, martial arts,

and of course, acting.

The establishment of the Intermediality in Theatre & Performance working group under

the International Federation for Theatre Research in 2003 is a turning point in intermediality

studies. The three edited books, Intermediality in Theatre and Performance (2007), Mapping

Intermediality in Performance (2010), and Intermedial Performance in the Public Sphere

(2018), as well as works published by some of the working group’s members in the past decade,

have greatly contributed to research on intermediality in theater and performance. It can be

observed that, differing from earlier scholarship, the first two books mentioned above focus

more on the perception of intermediality.

In his definition of intermediality, Kattenbelt states that this phenomenon will lead to “a

refreshed perception” (2008, 25), which is described as “uncanny” by Nibbelink and Merx,

who assert that the intermedial experience will result in “dislocation, displacement or alienation”

(2010, 219). Peter M. Boenisch considers intermedial performance as a disruption and

resistance to the standard, hegemonic logic of representation, which derails the message by

communicating gaps and splits and by creating inconsistencies and contradictions (2007, 114–

15). The purpose of creating intermedial effects in cutting-edge performances is mostly to

redefine familiar forms and to create alternative spaces for the interaction among different

media. Therefore, the dislocation, alienation, and all the uncanny experiences are expected and

purposely-designed effects (Bleeker 2010, 38). In postmodern culture, a “refreshed perception”

provides new views on time, space, and the body. It therefore leads to contemplation and

analysis on many philosophical topics (Nibbelink and Merx 2010, 218–220). Such arguments

are shared by most intermediality scholars, including Marina Turco (2010), Sarah Bay-Cheng

(2010, 2015) and Chris Salter (2010).

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 Although intermediality is frequently mentioned in theater studies, research on the

perception of intermediality has never stepped out of the realm of contemporary, Euro-

American, avant-garde theater. These theories have not yet been discussed in other cultural

contexts or in other theatrical genres. Kattenbelt states that theater becomes a hypermedium

for all arts, and it is a perfect stage for intermediality (2007, 31–32). In this sense, research on

intermediality should not be restricted to experimental and avant-garde performances that

indulge in the use of advanced technologies. Rather, I argue that intermediality is a ubiquitous

phenomenon that can possibly be found in all types of performance that involve multiple media

forms, such as 2.5D theater. In fact, intermediality is a phenomenon that can be discovered in

almost all contemporary performances. When different media attain certain independence and

are juxtaposed on the stage—which can be achieved consciously or unconsciously—gaps

emerge that turn multimedia into intermedia (Ferrari 2010, 128). In other words, unconsciously

created intermedial effects can be found in some commercial, multimedia plays. However, the

intermedial creates very different effects in popular theater than it does in avant-garde plays.

As mentioned in the previous section, deliberately designed intermediality aims to disrupt the

continuity of time and space in the performance and therefore causes dislocation and

discomfort among the audience—which is the last thing audiences of popular entertainment

want to experience. Therefore, an examination of the perception of intermediality in popular

theater requires a theory that is different from established ones.

Moreover, I argue that social and cultural backgrounds should also be considered in

studies of intermediality in performance. As early as the 1930s, Walter Benjamin had already

discussed human perception in relation to a medium in his famous article “The Work of Art in

the Age of Mechanical Reproduction.” The article was translated into English in 1968 and says:

“During long periods of history, the mode of human sense perception changes with humanity’s

entire mode of existence. The manner in which human sense perception is organized, the

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medium in which it is accomplished, is determined not only by nature but by historical

circumstances as well” (Benjamin 1988, 222).

Based on Benjamin’s argument, American art historian Jonathan Crary emphasizes the

importance of cultural economy when studying serialization and mass production (Crary 1990,

6). He then addresses the influence of the cultural context on viewers: “an observer […] sees

within a prescribed set of possibilities” and “is embedded in a system of conventions and

limitations” (ibid.). Boenisch furthers this argument by stressing the observers’ abilities to

interpret data and information. While actively decoding the information, they apply their own

experiences, knowledge, skills, prejudices, and backgrounds, which are impregnated by the

sociocultural discourse in their lives (Boenisch 2007, 109). His argument is in accord with the

theories of character engagement discussed in relation to cognitivism within film studies. The

cognitivists believe that the comprehension of a film is a process of understanding the work

through its components, including narratives, sounds, and moving images, which is the same

as the process used in “making sense of the real world” (Kuhn and Westwell 2012).

Based on the analysis above, I want to argue that intermediality is an inevitable

component in 2.5D theater. Most of the intermedial effects in 2.5D plays are unconsciously

created, but in some examples, we see directors intentionally overlap media in some scenes to

create an intermedial phenomenon. Unlike experimental theater, however, the directors of 2.5D

theater do not aim to challenge audience’s recognition of theater and/or reality. The main

purpose of 2.5D production is still to attract and entertain consumers so that the tickets can be

sold. 2.5D theater is deeply rooted in the media culture and consumption culture in

contemporary Japan. The way it is presented and consumed is therefore influenced by the

sociocultural environment. In this context, I will examine intermedial elements in 2.5D theater

and the perception of intermediality among spectators who are familiar with the media culture

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in today’s Japan. By doing so, I am going to propose a new theory on the culturally specific

perception of intermediality in popular theater.

Intermedial Elements in 2.5D Theater

As mentioned above, in my research on intermediality, I will follow Kattenblet’s

definition of “medium” by recognizing different art forms on the stage as media. Still, a more

specific characterization of intermediality needs to be identified in order to analyze its role in

2.5D theater. Elleström suggests that every medium can be defined and distinguished in terms

of four modalities: 1) the material modality, 2) the sensorial modality, 3) the spatiotemporal

modality, and 4) the semiotic modality (2010, 17–24). Based on Elleström’s theory, I organize

the media in 2.5D performances into the following categories: 1) lighting, 2) anime techniques,

3) manga techniques, 4) video, 5) music, and 6) performing. These categories, of course, do

not include all the medial elements present in 2.5D plays. However, these are commonly used

in the majority of 2.5D plays and are the foundation for the intermedial effects in 2.5D

performances.

Lighting
Linda Hutcheon claims that musicals and opera are the opposite of naturalistic

presentation. According to her, they are the “most unrealistic staged art form” (2006, 49).

Actors usually perform in a highly stylized manner, and the mise-en-scène is also designed in

an antinaturalistic style, using simple props to symbolize actual things. Although many 2.5D

plays use dazzling media effects to recreate a setting that is faithful to the depiction in the

original work, some plays, especially 2.5D musicals, choose to maintain a simpler stage design.

In musicals such as The Musical Prince of Tennis (Tenimyu) series, the stage design remains

relatively modest, involving no big props or outstanding visual effects other than the lighting

that imitates the trajectory of the tennis balls. In the early 2000s, when the Tenimyu series was

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just being produced, extensive use of media technology was not possible in 2.5D plays.

However, maintaining this style of “rudimentary” technology in Tenimyu for more than 15

years has clearly been a deliberate artistic decision. In an interview, the director of the Tenimyu

series talks about how he presents tennis scenes in the musical:

In terms of tennis, we cannot bring the actual tennis match onto the stage. However, we

have to present the matches (in our musical). This is the premise. One of the elements

making the staged tennis matches possible is the sound and light. Using sound and light,

we can present the minimal reality of playing tennis. […] While watching the actual

match, the audience’s heads follow the tennis ball moving left and right. However,

when reading the manga Prince of Tennis, readers do not follow the ball. It is because

the whereabout of the ball is not portrayed in the manga frame. In other words, the

manga does not present the trajectory of the ball, it presents the “word catch ball”

(kotoba no kyacchi bōru). (Ueshima in T. Tanaka 2016, 27)

Although he says this in a rather ambiguous way, it is obvious that the presentation of

the tennis matches on the stage is influenced by the manga. Instead of actually playing tennis

on stage—which is almost impossible—Ueshima follows the style of the manga and lets the

characters describe the direction of the tennis ball. In addition to the actors’ choreographed

movements with the racket and the trajectory of the ball indicated by lights, the effects indeed

meet the minimal standards of realism (see Figure 3). According to Ueshima, the focus of this

series is not to perform the matches in a realistic way, but to present the growth of the

characters and the relationships among them (Ueshima 2016, 28).

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 Figure 3 Musical The Prince of Tennis National Championship Seigaku vs Hyōtei
(Myūjikaru tenisu no ōji-sama zengoku taikai Seigaku vs Hōtei, 2013) Tenimyu presents a
rather simple stage design, with only a net in between the two players, Keibu (played by Aoki
Tsunenori) and Ryōma (played by Ogoe Yūki). In this scene, Keibu is using his skill “ice
world” (kōri no sekai) which freezes his rival in an ice pillar. As shown in the picture, the
edges of the pillar are represented by the beams of light.62

The limited use of media technologies can also be observed in the Yowamushi Pedal

series. This 2.5D musical series is adapted from the manga of the same name. The story unfolds

when the protagonist Onoda joins the bicycle racing club at his high school, Sōhoku. Presenting

bicycle racing on the stage was a problem for the playwright and director Nishino Shatona. His

unexpected resolution has been widely discussed whenever people talk about the 2.5D genre.

Instead of bringing dozens of bicycles onto the stage, handlebars are used to represent bikes.

In scenes involving riding and racing bicycles, actors bend their upper body and run on the spot

while holding the handlebars to imitate the movement of bike riding (see Figure 4). In intensive

races, the actors also lean their bodies left and right to imitate cyclists’ movements when

accelerating in actual races. Their choreographed movements and gestures are symbolic, and

through them the audience can tell they are performing the movement of cycling. However, the

speed cannot be easily presented by gestures or running on the spot. Therefore, lights are

62
The picture is excerpted from [Link] accessed on Apr 9, 2020.

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involved to create a sense of speed. Patterned shades are projected onto the ground, and they

rapidly rotate in the opposite direction to the actors. In this way, even though the actors stay in

the same spot, the moving light effects suggest that the scenery surrounding them is quickly

moving backward. The lighting therefore breaks the limitation of the depth and length of the

stage and creates the illusion that the actors are moving forward. Such lighting effects also

involve the limited animation technique, which will be discussed in the next section.

Figure 4 Yowamushi Pedal IRREGULAR ~2 Tops~ (Butai Yowamushi pedaru

IRREGULAR ~futatsu no chōjo~, 2015) Onoda Sakamichi (left) and Manami Sangaku (right)
in a race. They both lean forward, hold the handlebars, and run on the spot, thereby imitating
the movement of actual bike racing.63

Another common use of lighting in 2.5D plays is seen in simultaneous settings (also

known as montage staging). As the name suggests, it is a technique derived from film. In a

simultaneous setting, several groups of performers stay in different sections of the stage and

perform their parts in turn (or at the same time). Lights can be used to direct the audience’s

attention by illuminating specific sections. Montage staging is frequently used in Live

Spectacle NARUTO ~The Akatsuki Investigation~ (Live Spectacle NARUTO ~Akatsuki no

63
Image downloaded from [Link] (accessed April 5, 2019).

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shirabe~, 2017). As the second production in the 2.5D Naruto series, the story picks up after

Uchiha Sasuke left the village of Konoha at the end of the first play. Determined to kill his

older brother Itachi, who murdered the entire Uchiha clan, Sasuke follows the villain

Orochimaru to study under him, hoping to become more powerful. While Sasuke’s friends

from Konoha chase after him hoping to bring him back, Itachi, who becomes a member of the

organization Akatsuki, is also chasing Sasuke. The play presents three different streams of

narrative, which develop simultaneously. The three parties— Orochimaru and his followers,

the Konoha folks, and the Akatsuki members—sometimes appear on stage at the same time.

Taking up different sections of the stage, they perform their acts in turn, and only the

performing party has the spotlight on them. However, each act in the montage setting is

relatively short, and the spotlight goes on and off at an almost disturbing frequency. The

lighting indicates a rapid switch between different narrative streams, which divides the overall

narrative into small fragments and intertwines the different storylines together (see Figure 5).

Figure 5 Live Spectacle NARUTO ~The Akatsuki Investigation~ (Live Spectacle NARUTO
~Akatsuki no shirabe~, 2017) There are three parties are on the stage at the same time:
Sasuke (Sato Ryūji) on the lower stage, Itachi (Rachi Shinji) on upper left, and Kabuto

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 (Okada Ryōsuke) and Orochimaru (Yūmi Hiro) on upper right. The characters are meant to
be in different locations, but the actors appear on stage together and perform in turn.64

Anime Techniques
Limited Animation
Kuriyama Tamiya, the director of Death Note The Musical (Desu nōto The Musical,

2015), once said in an interview: “It is impossible for a human actor to move more than 100

meters over a blink. Therefore, I have to find practical ways [to represent these manga effects]”

(Kuriyama in Takahashi 2016, 16–17). This is also a challenge shared by many 2.5D plays:

How can the unrealistic effects in fantasies and the speed in sports manga/anime be faithfully

represented on a theatrical stage? As a solution, limited animation, a technique derived from

Japanese TV anime, has been developed and used in many 2.5D plays.

In postwar Japan, to save on labor and cost in TV anime productions, animators adopted

the limited animation technique. Limited animation is usually regarded as the opposite of full

animation, an animation style established by Disney in the 1930s which creates high-quality

animations with detailed drawings and smooth movements. Full animation is animated at 24

frames per second. In contrast, limited animation reduces the number of frames per second. In

addition, animators create a database of images, and loop sections of these data, instead of

redrawing entire frames. Today, limited animation has become a feature of Japanese TV anime,

typically represented by scenes where dialogue is presented with only occasional eye-blinking

and lip movements on the part of the characters. In limited animation, the simplest way to

illustrate the running or walking movements of a character is to place the character and the

background on different layers, and then pull these two layers in different directions.

Similar to the cases in Yowamushi, limited animation is frequently used in walking and

running scenes in the Hyper Projection Engeki Haikyū!! (Haipā purojekushon engeki Haikyū!!,

2015–present) series. This series of 2.5D plays is adapted from the manga Haikyū!! which is

64
Image is excerpted from [Link] (Accessed on May 11, 2020).

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centered on a boys’ volleyball team at Karasuno High School and their quest for the National

High School Championship. The Haikyū!! series, as the name suggests, is known for its

creative manipulation of various media projections. Instead of abstract, patterned shades that

are created by computer lights as seen in Yowamushi, Haikyū!! adopts more detailed drawings

and videos. During the opening sequence, or when the characters are doing running training,

pre-designed background videos of street scene paintings are projected onto the back screen or

the stage floor. When the actors are walking or running on the spot, images in the video move

in the opposite direction from them.

The opposing movements of different layers of a painting have now been adopted by

2.5D directors to create similar animated effects on a 3-dimensional stage. Such effects are also

seen in Live Spectacle NARUTO ~The Akatsuki Investigation~ (2017) when Naruto’s team is

chasing Sasuke in the forest: the performers pose with jumping and running gestures, but they

actually stay in the same spot. The projected video on the scrim in front of them shows trees

that are rapidly moving backward, creating an effect that the performers are running in the

woods.

Table 2 List of Plays in the Hyper Projection Engeki Haikyū!! series65

No. Time English Title Japanese Title

1 11–12/2015 Hyper Projection Engeki Haikyū!! ハイパープロジェクショ
(Haipā purojekushon engeki ン 演 劇
Haikyū!!) 「ハイキュー!!」
2 4–5/2016 The view from the Top (Itadaki no "頂の景色"
keishiki)
3 10–12/2016 Karasuno Revival! (Karasuno "烏野、復活！"
fukkatsu!)
4 3–5/2017 Winner and Loser (Shōsha to haisha) “勝者と敗者"

65
English translations of the titles follow the official translation, or the commonly acknowledged translation
among fans. See the fandom website “Haikyuu!! Wiki,” [Link]
accessed May 19, 2019.

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 5 9–10/2017 The Summer of Evolution (Shinka no "進化の夏"
natsu)
6 4–6/2018 The Start of the Giant (Hajimari no "はじまりの巨人"
kyojin)
7 10–12/2018 The Strongest Team (Saikyō no basho "最強の場所（チーム）"
(chīmu))
8 4–5/2019 The Battle of Tokyo (Tokyo no jin) “東京の陣”

Steinberg claims that “limited animation relies on the minimization of movement, the

extensive use of still images and unique rhythms of movement and immobility” (2012, 5). The

jerky motion and the immobile image indicate that what is presented is not realistic. Unlike

full animation, which mimics cinematic and realistic movement, limited animation is

influenced by manga language, and it presents movements in a “dynamically still image” (ibid.,

33). Therefore, I argue that using limited animation in 2.5D theater not only pays homage to

the original manga and anime, but also undermines realism in the performance. 3D live

performances become flat when they are connected with 2D manga/anime. The distortion

between 2D and 3D perspectives here connects the 2D character with the 3-dimensional

performer, and it makes the performance more acceptable to the audience, since the majority

of the spectators have read the manga or watched the anime, and have high expectations on the

fidelity of the performance. However, the interconnectedness between the realistic and

unrealistic, the live and animated, and the mobile and still might create gaps in the audience

members’ perceptions, which leads to intermediality in 2.5D plays.

Opening Credits and Opening Sequence

In many 2.5D plays, the credit information (original author/illustrator and publisher),

the playwright and director, and the title of the play are projected onto the back screen when

the show begins. This is similar to the model used in film and TV, or, if more appropriate in

the 2.5D sense, that of anime and video games. Sometimes the opening credits are projected at

the very beginning of the play, such as in Hyper Projection Engeki Haikyū!! (Haipā

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purojekushon engeki Haikyū!!, 2015). In this episode of the Haikyū!! series, the play starts with

a scene showing only a volleyball that is lit up by a spotlight in the center of the stage.

Background sounds of sneakers rubbing against the indoor playground floor, volleyballs

bouncing on the ground, and the occasional whistle can be heard. The volleyball then gradually

rolls toward the lower stage as the upper stage is slightly lifted. The spotlight fades, and the

opening credits are projected onto the background board. On a completely dark stage, the white

characters are striking. The opening credits first introduce the original author and illustrator,

Furudate Haruichi, with additional information that states in detail that the original manga

Haikyū!! is being serialized in Shūeisha’s Weekly Shōnen Jump. Following this, the names of

the playwright, Nakayashiki Norihito, and the director, “Worry” Kinoshita, are revealed.

In other plays, the opening credits are shown after a short opening scene. This model is

similar to the so-called “cold open” in TV and film, which refers to an episode that starts with

the narrative and then inserts the title sequence or opening credits at a later time. Examples of

this model can be seen in Osomatsu-san on STAGE ~SIX MEN’S SHOW TIME~ (2016). The

original manga, Osomatsu-kun, is about identical sextuplets growing up in the Showa period,

and was written and illustrated by Akatsuka Fujio in 1962. In 2015, TV Tokyo produced a

derivative TV anime, Osomatsu-san, setting the story ten years after the manga, when the

grown-up sextuplets have become lazy NEETs (“Not in Education, Employment, or Training”

is a term that was invented in the UK and has been translated into Japanese as nīto). The TV

anime is similar to a sitcom, and it presents the hilarious, everyday lives of the sextuplets with

very loose narratives. This style is also adopted by the play Osomatsu-san, which starts with a

scene in which the Osomatsu brothers are fishing and talking with one another. The scene lasts

for over seven minutes before the opening sequence starts. Differing from many other 2.5D

plays, the opening song in the play is the same as the one in the TV anime (Hanamaru pippi

ha yoyiko dake 2015, by AōP). While the song plays, a colorful animation that is similar to the

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style of the anime’s opening sequence is projected onto the background board. The performers

take turns dancing on the front stage while the character’s name is projected on the left side

and performer’s name on the right side as shown in Figure 6.

Figure 6 Osomatsu-san on STAGE ~SIX MEN’S SHOW TIME~ (2016) The opening
sequence involves projected colorful videos. While introducing the characters, the name of
the character is projected on the left side, and the actor’s name is projected on the right side.66

In the opening sequence of 2.5D plays, every performer (except for extras and walk-

ons) need to be introduced within a short span of three to four minutes. The opening sequence

has to incorporate solo parts for important performers and a chorus or group dance. This means

that everything happens at a very rapid pace—in some plays, less important performers may

only have five seconds to dance in front of the image showing their name and the character

they play. Therefore, the audience is expected to capture the key information (i.e. names of

characters and performers) amid the dazzling background and lighting—as well as the

sometimes distracting background music—while still appreciating the performer’s dance. If

the opening sequence involves singing, the audience also has to pay extra attention to the lyrics.

Each media element presents a small piece of information, and the spectators have to collect

and digest these fragments. Some spectators would post their observations and discoveries

online after the performance. The consumption and publication of the narrative reinforces the

66
The image is a screenshot from the DVD recording of the play (Ono 2016).

115
spectators’ role as the prosumer. It is precisely this process of collecting and sharing data that

brings enjoyment to these consumers.

Manga Techniques
Visualizing Lines and Dialogue
Aside from the opening credits and the introduction of the cast in the middle of the play,

words are also projected in 2.5D plays in an unconventional manner. Right after the opening

sequence in Karasuno Revival (Karasuno fukkatsu), which is the third play in the Haikyū!!

series, the director presents an interesting deconstruction of lines. The actor who plays Ikejiri

Hayato stands in the center of the stage while his dialogue with his teammates (a voice-over)

begins:

Voice-over A: Who are we fighting with in the first game?

Voice-over B: How to read this [character]? Tori? Torino?

Voice-over A: Torino? Hmm? English?

Ikejiri Hayato: It’s Karasuno! You stupid.

Voice-over B: And Torino is in Italy.

Voice-over A: Oh, I have heard about this high school. I remember…

Once the voice-over starts, the lines are projected onto the background board. Instead

of showing the regular phrase, the sentences are broken up into phrases, characters, and kana,

and they appear as if they are falling from the roof (see Figure 7). The scene is played once

again while Ikejiri’s team actually fights with Karasuno in the game. Similar effects can also

be found in the opening scene of Winner and Loser (2017): the actors gather on the stage, and

their lines are projected onto the scrim located on the front stage. In these scenes, not only does

the actor interact with the recorded voice, but the projected visual effects are also interacting

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with the recorded and live voices. The play therefore acts as an interface between the visual

and the auditory, and between the live and the recorded.

Figure 7 Hyper Projection Engeki Haikyū!! Karasuno Revival (Haipā purojekushon engeki
Haikyū!! Karasuno fukkatsu, 2016): broken pieces of words and lines. Ikejiri Hayato (played
by Matsuda Hiro) stands in front of the falling characters projected onto the background
wall.67

Projected lines are seen quite often in Kinoshita’s 2.5D plays. In The Start of the Giant

(2018), the sixth play in the Haikyū!! series, the opening scene shows Karasuno’s volleyball

team during a training session. The teammates talk to each other while running in place, and

their lines are projected onto the floor, moving backward along with the paintings of the street

scenes, which creates an effect of limited animation. These projected lines are not designed to

deliver messages. Differing from the traditional display of subtitles, these projected lines move

fairly fast, and the audience can only capture a few words or phrases. The dialogue is exactly

the same as in the manga and anime. Therefore, audiences who have read the manga or watched

the anime are already familiar with the content, while others have to catch the dialogue through

careful listening. By projecting the lines from the original manga, Kinoshita makes yet another

67
The image is a screenshot from the DVD recording of the play (Kinoshita 2016).

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reference to the original text and, at the same time, enhances the effect of the spoken lines

through the visual stimulation. Therefore, it should be viewed as an artistic presentation of

manga techniques in the play: it presents the lines that were originally written in the manga

frames on the stage. I argue that the unpredicted and transitory use of the projected lines creates

a moment of astonishment, which directs the audience’s attention to the media itself. Therefore,

the audience will notice the co-existence of different media—the projected video, the auditory

effect, and the movement (acting) of the performer—on the stage, which leads to a disrupted

perception. Hence, intermediality emerges.

Onomatopoetic Words
Onomatopoeia is a linguistic term that refers to words that imitate or represent sounds

(Sell 2011, 98).68 It is commonly found in the Japanese language and is also frequently used in

manga. To explain the use of onomatopoetic words in manga, Sell states: “Manga … make

great use of mimetic expressions that are similar in execution and use, but express a present

state or condition rather than an occurring sound. They can represent a change or movement,

or describe an ongoing situation, such as the sound of heavy rain. Mimesis can also represent

something entirely soundless, in effect assigning it a sound, such as niko niko for a smile, or

shiin, which is used to express a state of utter silence” (ibid., 98–99). Some of the onomatopoeia

imitate the actual sounds produced in the scene, such as “zu don,” which represents the sound

of a volleyball hitting the ground, and “pa pa pa,” which imitates the sound of hands clapping.

Other words do not have specific meanings but are generally acknowledged as an indication of

the character’s emotion or feeling. For instance, the word “gu” followed by a sokuon69 (ぐっ)

is often used when characters are nervous, and the word “dzū” (づー) is always written in the

68
Although in linguistic studies there is no agreement as to whether a kana without specific meaning can be called
a “word” or not, I will refer to all onomatopoeia as words in this dissertation.
69
A sokuon is an obstruent geminate in the Japanese language that is symbolized by a small kana tsu (Kawahara
2015, 3).

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background when the character is staring at someone or something. Notably, the way these

words are drawn in manga also differs according to the meaning they represent. The word “don”

(ドン), which represents a loud strike, is usually drawn in a large, bold font followed by

multiple exclamatory marks, thus creating an impact on the readers. When depicting a running

scene, the illustrator often draws the word “ta” (たっっっ) with a number of sokuon in a slim

and small font, representing the repetitive, light sound of shoes touching the ground when one

runs quickly.

This manga technique is also frequently used in the Haikyū!! series. Kinoshita uses this

technique by projecting onomatopoetic words in his plays, especially in game scenes. Unlike

Tenimyu, which does not involve actual tennis balls on the stage, the actors in Haikyū!! do

actually play volleyball in some scenes. However, these scenes are rare, as the actors are not

professional players, and their techniques are not good enough to present the desired effect.

Therefore, the representation of the strength and power of their spikes and tosses relies largely

on the onomatopoeia projected onto the stage, as well as on sound effects. When a toss is soft

and light, a squiggling “fuwa~” (ふわ literally “soft”) is projected in the background; when a

strong spike is made, a huge “don!” in bold appears with the sound. The words that are

projected are used to visually emphasize the power, either strong or weak, of the movement.

In a stage presentation, when the force-bearing object (volleyball) is missing, this is a clever

way to indicate the power of the movements.

According to Natsume Fusanosuke, the font and drawing style of onomatopoetic words

influences readers’ perception of space in manga. He claims that, “it takes a while for a sound

to stimulate one’s hearing. The words in manga that describe sounds cost readers a certain

length of time to read and digest.” (2000, 116). The perception of these stimuli while reading

breaks with the common way a human senses time and space, and it therefore surprises the

readers (ibid.). In this sense, using onomatopoeia in 2.5D plays also reinforces the unique

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spatial and temporal perception among the audience. Not only does the onomatopoeia remind

the audience of the original manga text, but the projected, manga-style onomatopoetic words

also add a visual effect on top of the auditory effect.

Excerpts from Manga Drawings and the Use of Frames and Bubbles
Kinoshita’s tribute to the manga is not just seen in his utilization of words. In almost

all the opening sequences of the Haikyū!! plays, a drawing of the character from the original

manga is projected when the character is introduced. When the projected background image

forms a collage containing multiple pictures, the smaller pieces are organized in frames (or

koma in Japanese) just like in the manga. In the first Haikyū!! play (2015), these frames are

used to separate the background board into different sections (see Figure 8). In the opening

sequence of this play, Hinata Shōyō marches on the spot while a projected video is played on

the screen behind him. The video contains different elements of street scenes, such as the

silhouette of buildings, tree branches, and a traffic light, as well as the character’s name “Hinata

Shōyō.” The scenery moves to the right, while the actor marches in place facing left. This video

introduces the character to the audience and, at the same time, emphasizes the play’s manga

and anime origins by using manga frames and the limited animation technique.

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 Figure 8 Hyper Projection Engeki Haikyū!! (Haipā purojekushon engeki Haikyū!!, 2015):
Projection of manga frames.70

In The Start of the Giant (2018), some flashback scenes are performed on a higher

platform located on the upper stage behind a scrim. When the flashback starts, the light

illuminates the platform, revealing the actors who are already standing beside it. At the same

time, a thought bubble, which is often seen in manga, is projected onto the scrim, suggesting

that what is performed within the bubble is actually happening in the character’s mind. In

addition to this, strong spikes in the play are sometimes accompanied by a projected manga

image of a hitting effect in an explosive shape (see Figure 9). In the figure below, the ball is

received by the libero Nishinoya, who is under the spotlight, and then it is blocked by the three

Tade Kōgyō players (in white uniforms) in the back. The projected image shows an explosive

effect, which implies a strike or bump in the manga. The installation of manga elements

produces humorous effects that amuse the audience. Furthermore, the direct use of manga

techniques on stage creates a sense of familiarity and fidelity through the reference to the

original text.

70
The image is a screenshot from the DVD recording of Hyper Projection Engeki Haikyū!! (Kinoshita 2015).

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 Figure 9 Hyper Projection Engeki Haikyū!! Karasuno Revival (Haipā purojekushon
engeki Haikyū!! Karasuno fukkatsu, 2016): manga depiction of spiking.71

Typical adapters of manga and anime, as Hutcheon claims, attempt to avoid “affection

or nostalgia for the adapted text”, so as to gain greater freedom and control. In contrast,

directors of 2.5D theater want to amplify the nostalgic effect among spectators. The audience

members are reminded of the manga-reading and anime-watching “golden age” (Wernick 1997,

219), and these shared memories become a shared experience among the spectators. On top of

connecting the present with the past, the reference to the original text also personalizes the

performance by drawing on each spectator’s experience with the manga and/or anime.

Video
Live camera is frequently used in the Haikyū!! series. In the opening credits of Winner

and Loser (2017), the dancing actors are filmed by a live camera, and close-up footage of each

performer’s face is projected together with the character’s name when they are introduced. The

co-existence of the physical body (the dancing actor) and the digital body (the projected live

footage) creates a certain confusion in the viewing experience. Neither of them has absolute

71
The image is a screenshot from the DVD recording of Karasuno Revival (Kinoshita 2016).

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priority—the dancing movements and the enlarged facial expressions are juxtaposed on the

stage. The disembodied upper body close-up, however, is not designed to interrupt the flow of

the scene. In contrast to the intermedial usage of projection in which the media possess their

own agenda (Eckersall, Grehan, and Scheer 2017, 25), the video here is edited to flow with the

tempo of the background music, and clips of the live footage are inserted and presented as

montages and are edited as an integrated piece. However, the interaction between the live

performance and projected images “intensifies both media and performance” (ibid., 14). Hence,

the ontologies of the different media are not concealed by the integrated flow.

In some scenes, a live camera is used to reveal the facial expressions or movements that

would otherwise be hard for the audience to discern. In the opening scene of the first Haikyū!!

play, a live camera is attached to the bottom of a volleyball, which is hanging from a retractable

pole that is vertical to the floor. When the lead character Hinata looks up at the rising ball, the

camera zooms out and the live footage of Hinata’s face is shown on the back screen. In several

other plays, a camera is held by a supporting performer, who squats in the center of the huddled-

up players to film their faces when they pump themselves up before the game. Such

applications of live camera break the limitations of traditional theater performance, and they

are very similar to the cinematic techniques used in anime, television, and film. Although the

live footage challenges the boundary between theater and film, to the audience, who are already

familiar with cinematic languages, it is not disturbing and is perceived as a pleasant surprise.

Susan Sontag argues that, unlike theater, film can represent anything (Sontag 1966, 28).

However, thanks to the projection of recorded videos and computer-generated imagery (CGI),

theater can also break the limitations of time and space. It can therefore “mingle diverse

temporalities and spatialities” (Stam 2005, 13). In the Musical Tōken Ranbu series, recorded

videos of each main character are projected during the introduction in the opening sequence.

Other than this, recorded videos are usually used for flashbacks and the presentation of special

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skills in 2.5D plays. These videos are edited and inserted into the play as montages, which

creates a cinematic effect. The insertion of recorded video enables the co-existence of the

performer and his/her recorded self on the stage, and thus creates multiple layers for the

presence of a performer’s body. According to Auslander, the presence of the digitalized

performer contrasts with his/her physical proximity, and the presence should be defined by

temporal, instead of spatial, proximity (Auslander 2008, 14–17; Fewster in Bay-Cheng et al.

eds. 2010, 46).

Moreover, CGI makes the theatrical adaptation of manga, anime, and video games

much easier. For example, it can bring supernatural settings and the special effects of fighting

skills into the performance. In some scenes, computer-generated videos showing abstract

images also help to create a mysterious atmosphere, but in most cases, these synthetic images

are designed to create an illusion for the audience. Credible and convincing CGI blurs the

boundary between the real and the unreal. With high-quality digital projections, the original

and the copy becomes unidentifiable. In these scenes, the performer is no longer of higher

priority. Instead, they have to collaborate with the projections, and “adapt to the theatrical

machine” (Van Baarle, Stalpaert, and Verdonck 2013, 57).

Prince argued that producing CGI is a process of imitating the look of a photographic

image (Prince 1996, 30). He continues to claim that digital images should be viewed within

perceptual realism, in which “cinematic realism is viewed as a discourse coded for transparency

such that the indexicality of photographic realism is replaced by a view of the ‘reality-effect’

produced by codes and discourse,” just like contemporary Lacanian imagery (ibid., 31). He

further explains: “[P]erceptually realistic images correspond to (viewers’) experience…. Such

images display whether a film is realistic or formalistic, we can ask about the kinds of linkages

that connect the represented fictionalized reality of a given film to the visual and social

coordinates of our own three-dimensional world, and this can be done for both ‘realist’ and

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‘fantasy’ films alike” (ibid., 32). Prince’s discussion of CGI in film can be partially applied to

the analysis of 2.5D theater. The perception of CGI is indeed related to the audience’s

experience. However, the reference to “reality” is not to the world we live in but to the original

work of the manga and anime. The quality of CGI effects then becomes one of the criteria by

which the audience members judge the fidelity of a 2.5D play.

Nonetheless, in 2.5D plays that involve fighting scenes, CGI effects only emphasize

the faithful representation of the supernatural fighting skills portrayed in the original text, and

less energy is spent on creating a “realistic” background. This obviously is not out of technical

concern—with 2-dimensional original texts at hand, designing such CGI would not be too

much trouble. I argue that the reason is simply because the Wagner-style, naturalistic mise-en-

scène is not appropriate in 2.5D productions. 2.5D theater is clearly not a realistic theater, and

its mise-en-scène does not need to portray reality. The gap between the 2-dimensional and 3-

dimensional would disturb the audience’s perception. It is more appropriate for the “2.5” mise-

en-scène to be positioned between the fictional 2-dimensional and the realistic 3-dimensional

worlds, such as the effect of limited animation in 2.5D plays. A faithful painting or video from

the original work will contrast with the symbolic settings and props on the stage, and even with

the human performers. This also explains why many scenes in 2.5D theater adopt abstract

images or footage in projected CGI.

Music
Music is an important medium in 2.5D plays—for both straight plays and musicals.

Recorded music is used mainly as background music or as the melody is played in musical

numbers. Background music, together with sound effects, triggers the audience’s identification

of the scene and engages the audience, creating specific emotional reactions. They therefore

highlight and create emotional reactions. The ontology of the musical numbers on stage have

more complicated layers. Tambling describes the music in musicals as “the embodiment of

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excess.” He artistically states that “life cannot be contained in its ordinariness, but must spill

over into it, and into rhythm, singing and movement” in a musical (Tambling 1987, 101). Citing

Halliwell, Schmidgall, and Weisstein, Hutcheon further explains the perception of music and

singing in musicals and opera: “The words they sing may address [sic] the outer world, but

their music represents [sic] their inner lives. […] Because the convention of opera is that

characters on stage do not hear the music they sing, except when they self-consciously perform

what are called ‘phenomenal songs’ (lullabies, toasts, etc.)” (2006, 60). The audience then

becomes the only group in the theater that can hear and access the meaning of the music.

Although the number of 2.5D plays that use the original soundtracks from the anime (or game)

is very few, some of them do, such as the aforementioned Osomatsu-san. Upon hearing the

familiar music, the spectators become extremely excited – they are reminded of their previous

experience with the original text, and are likely to respond more strongly to the performance

(Hutcheon 2006, 41). In long-running 2.5D series, the theme song or music that is repeatedly

used in different plays also triggers similar excitement among the audience.

Roesner mentions the struggle of power while discussing the relationship between

music and theater. He claims that music sometimes justifies or reinforces the existing

hierarchical structures, but is also “at times invoked to reverse or disperse concentrations of

power” (Roesner 2014, 13). In other words, music in theater sometimes serves as a supporter

of the narrative in ways such as intensifying the emotion or enhancing the atmosphere. In the

case of the 2.5D theater, however, music is sometimes presented as the “protagonist.”

Live instrumental performance is rarely seen in 2.5D theater and musicals. When

musicians perform onstage, however, their immediacy creates a sharp contrast to other

mediatized effects, which “authenticates the live musical performance” (Taylor 2012, 133).

The only regularly performed live music in 2.5D plays is the taiko performance in the Musical

Tōken Ranbu series. As mentioned in Chapter 2, the Tōken Ranbu series is adapted from an

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online game of the same name. The game personifies famous swords from Japanese history

and has them travel through time and fight against villains who intend to alter history. The

Musical Tōken Ranbu consists of two parts: the actual musical and the live concert, which are

presented by the same cast. The penultimate song of the concert usually starts with a taiko solo

performed by the actors who play the original owners of the swords. The melody then cuts in

and the swords enter the stage and sing with the accompaniment of the taiko. Although the

taiko is technically performed during the musical, it should be viewed as an individual

performance in the concert, since the performances in the second part are not relevant to the

narrative of the musical. Moreover, although the actors still wear the same costumes in the

concert, the individual performances do not have continuity in the special and temporal

dimensions. This is in agreement with the essential features of a musical described by Halliwell

as mentioned above (1996, 87–88).

Apart from Tōken Ranbu, another 2.5D play that uses live music in 2.5D theater is Live

Spectacle NARUTO ~the Akatsuki Investigation~ (2017). The play starts with a chase scene in

which Konohamaru is escaping from the villains. He runs from the audience hall to the front

stage and calls out the Naruto’s name when cornered by several enemies. The curtain then falls,

revealing Naruto standing in the center of the stage with his back to the audience, and to his

right is an ōtaiko that is placed on a stand and played by a musician (see Figure 10). Niko (or

erhu in Chinese) is also performed live in the play. The two instruments are not only played

together with the recorded soundtrack, but also performed solo. In solo performances, the

characteristics of the instruments and the emotional impact of the music are utilized to

influence the audience’s perception of the scenes, such as the sorrowful niko solo played when

Itachi dies and the thrilling taiko solo in the battle scenes.72 The niko player’s elegance and the

taiko player’s strength further enhance the messages delivered by the music. Moreover, the

72
In this play, the niko is performed by a female musician, whereas the taiko is performed by a male drummer.

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presence of the musicians on stage distract the audience from paying attention to the actors.

This distraction seems to be an expected result, as the existence of the musicians is emphasized

by the spotlight in these scenes.

Figure 10 Live Spectacle NARUTO ~the Akatsuki Investigation~ (2017) Live taiko
performance during the play.73

Performing
Singing
Linda Hutcheon argues that the audience is naturally distanced from the unrealistic

conventions of singing and dancing in musicals. Hence, their emotional responses largely

depend on the rhythm of the music and the message of the lyrics (Hutcheon 2006, 134). It is

easy to understand that the narrative text and the thoughts of the characters are sometimes

delivered by the lyrics. Adding to the verbal text, the music is able to engage the audience

psychologically and emotionally. The narrative function of music is also one of the strengths

of musical pieces. However, this ability largely depends on the quality of the musical

composition and the singing skills of the performers. Although the 2.5D theater audience has

relatively low expectations with regard to the performance quality of 2.5D actors (in

comparison to a Broadway musical or other “more serious,” high-brow plays), they can still

73
The image is a screenshot from the DVD recording of the play (Kodama 2017).

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distinguish the good from the bad. According to various comments by audience members on

different social media platforms, some of the most popular numbers in each musical are the

ones with beautiful melodies that are performed by the performers with the best singing skills.

In some rare instances, audience members may point out the poor musical skills of an actor.

This was the case in Onmyōji (2018), where the actress Itō Yūyi (who plays the role of Sakura)

was blamed her for her poor singing and the jarring experience it caused.74

Dancing
Dancing is not limited to 2.5D musicals. It can also be found in straight plays, such as

the first Naruto play in 2015. Some dance scenes are presented to reinforce the atmosphere,

such as the contemporary dance performed by the assistant performers in Blue Exorcist:

Shimane Illumine (Ao no ekusoshisuto: Shimane irumina, 2017). The abstract yet emotional

dance movements express the struggle deep inside the mind of Kamiki Tamamo (played by

Tanaka Ryōko). Together with the monologue of Kamiki, the visual presentation of the dancer

makes the scene even more powerful and engaging.

More often in 2.5D plays though, the dance movements are not directly relevant to the

narrative or the musical number. These dance pieces are performed by the lead performers,

sometimes together with the assistant performers, for entertainment. They can be spotted in

opening sequences and other random scenes in the play. The abrupt insertion of dance pieces

may be quite surprising in straight plays. However, this disruption of the narrative has become

a norm in 2.5D theater, and it can be seen in almost every 2.5D play. Instead of complaining,

the audience is used to this style and rather enjoys watching the dancing.

Martial arts and fighting scenes are important components of the choreography in 2.5D

plays, especially those involving battles, and they are an attraction that draws in the audience.

74
According to comments on Twitter, YouTube, Bilibili, and Weibo made by Japanese and Chinese fans. See
Asdfghjkmn888 2018; 0831Drops 2018; “Youtube Onmyoji Video” 2018.

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For instance, the Hakuonki and Musical Tōken Ranbu series are known for their well-

choreographed sword battles, which are called satsujin or tate in Japanese. The Sengoku

BASARA plays have even included the term “zangeki” (literally “the play of sword fighting”)

in their title since 2016. The extensive presentation of martial arts can also be found in the

Naruto and Nintama Rantarō series. The movements have to be carefully designed and

rehearsed to match the recorded sound effects. This is especially difficult in sword fights, as

each collision of the swords has to match the sound effect in fast-paced movements. The

majority of the martial arts performances in 2.5D theater are accompanied by background

music. Ideal coordination can only be achieved through meticulous planning by the

choreographer and the audio engineer, as well as diligent rehearsals by the performers. The

hard work of the staff and cast is well-acknowledged by the audience, who sometimes feel bad

that the actors are so tired because of the intensive exercise but, at the same time, are awed by

the stunning effects. 75 The usually intensive choreography, together with difficult physical

skills, “assures the reality of the performance,” and creates an impact among the audience that

cannot be achieved in a recorded environment (Taylor 2012, 133).

Other Performing Arts: Manzai and Puppetry

Manzai is a traditional comedic performance in Japan that emerged in the Heian period

(794–1185). The performing style is similar to the Western tradition of a two-man stand-up

comedy, but it presents humor by acting foolish to let the audience gain superiority while

watching (Katayama 2008, 219). Manzai can easily be spotted in the Prince of Tennis The

Treasure Match: Seigaku vs. Sitenhōji feat. Hyōtei (2008–2009) when Hitoji Yūji and Oshitari

Kenya talk on the phone to each other. The entire stage is black, except for the two spotlights

on the performers. Their dialogue is funny, foolish, and meaningless, and it has no connection

75
See, for example, Liddell_Riddle 2018.

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to any of the other scenes. Similar manzai scenes also exist in the Black Butler (Kuroshitsuji)

series when the chief inspector Fred Abberline (Fureddo Abārain) and his assistant Sharp

Hanks (Shāpu Hankusu) present a two-man performance before the show starts (Noah’s Ark

Circus, 2016), and between scenes during the performance.

Puppetry is also used in some 2.5D plays. A representative example is Haku the fox in

Onmyōji (2018). The puppet is operated and voiced by a puppeteer sitting on a wheeled bench

attached to its back. Two strings are attached to its neck and front legs so it can “stand up” on

its rear legs and conduct simple movements with the front legs. Other uses of puppetry are

quite random and sometimes even meaningless. At the beginning of Winner and Loser (2017)

in the Haikyū!! series, a crow lifted by a pole is briefly presented on the stage, together with a

cat mascot played by an actor underneath. The animals are the symbols of the two schools,

Karasuno and Nekoma, in the manga,76 but there is no specific reason for the short appearance

of the puppet and the mascot, except as a surprise element. The appearance of stuffed toys and

puppets in the first Naruto play is even more disturbing. In a transition scene after an intense

battle, a small eagle-shaped puppet is lifted and operated by a performer, and another actor

holds a small stuffed cat and makes it “jump” on the ground. This is perhaps to show the

peacefulness of the village after the battle, but it is quite poorly done.

Perception of Intermediality in 2.5D Theater

2.5D plays are designed for the audience’s entertainment. As a form of commercial

entertainment, it aims to please its consumers, and sell tickets and derivative goods to gain

more profit. This is completely the opposite of experimental intermedial plays, in which the

focus is to highlight, toy with, or unsettle the blurry boundaries between media (Eckersall,

76
The names of high schools in Haikyū!! all include paronomasia of certain animals. For the cases of Karasuno
and Nekoma, karasu and neko mean crow and cat respectively in Japanese. Therefore, the crow and cat are used
in representations of the two schools.

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Grehan, and Scheer 2017, 162). Therefore, some established theories in intermediality studies

are not applicable to the analysis of intermedial elements in 2.5D theater. The popularity of

2.5D theater proves that the intermediality in these performance does not disturb or alienate

the audience. I argue that this is because the audience is already familiar with the fragmented

media culture in contemporary Japan, as I have discussed in chapter 2.

The role of the audience has attracted the attention of many scholars in theater studies

since the second half of the 20th century (Bennett 2006, 17–27). Grotowski claims that, “at least

one spectator is needed to make it a performance.” (1980, 32, first published in 1968) Similarly,

Keir Elam asserts that, “it is with the spectator, in brief, that theatrical communication begins

and ends” (1980, 97). Notably, the centrality of the audience has long been recognized in

traditional Japanese theater, with a written record as early as the 15th-century Fūshikaden by

Zeami.77 The vital role of audience has been valued by popular theater in Japanese history, and

is still appreciated in the anime media mix in contemporary Japan.

Eckersall, Grehan, and Scheer (2017, 173) emphasize the importance of big data

profiling and personalization of the customer experience in theater. “Demographic information

on the particular subset of population, and characteristics such as age and sex”, together with

the “psychological profile of a ‘person’s beliefs, values, feelings’, as well as their attitudes,

emotions and perceptions”, are essential information to the production companies while

producing a play (ibid.). A tailored theatrical experience is the key to the success of 2.5D

theater in this post-Fordist time. In response to more active prosumers in the consumption

process, the production company publishes pieces of information from the beginning of a

project. Furthermore, footage of the rehearsals are posted by official accounts and performers’

personal accounts before the show. Also, updates on after parties and pictures of backstage

77
Fūshikaden (1400, 18; The Transmission of the Flower of Acting Style), otherwise known as Kaden-sho, is
written by the great noh playwright and theorist Zeami (1363–1443).

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stories are shared by performers and agencies. The stage presentation, of course, shows a large

amount of fragmented medial information. Spectators collect information before, during, and

after the performance. They also become co-operative contributors through the comments,

reviews, and fan artworks they post on social media platforms. The audiences’ responses are

valued and encouraged by the production team, which can influence the dramatic text and

performance.

In Mapping Intermediality in Performance, the theater audience is called the

“experiencer” (Bay-Cheng 2010, 45), which emphasizes the theater-watching experience. It is

not just the experience in the theater that matters. In fact, the audience members’ previous

experiences in their lives also influence their perception of a play. Although Bruce Barton

claims that intermedial intimacy refers to shared perceptual frames, not shared cultural attitudes,

I argue that an audience member’s understanding of intermediality is still related to cultural

experience.

Susan Bennett theorizes as well in her research that the audience’s experience of theater

can be described by a model that contains two frames: the outer frame, which concerns theater

as a cultural construct; and the inner frame, which pays special attention to “the spectator’s

experience of a fictional stage world” (2006, 17). Bennett is not the only one who emphasizes

the importance of cultural context in the theater experience. Sylvia Harvey, for example, claims

that,

[T]he ability to decipher certain codes or certain code-breaking operations is culturally

and socially determined; and as there are institutions of cultural production and

consumption so also there are institutions of reading; a reader approaches a text from

within a particular ‘apparatus of reading.’ Any cultural producer who fails to investigate

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 the relationship between social class and reading competence produces in a vacuum”.

(1982, 55)

Simply put, an analysis of the reception of a theatrical production should be conducted

in consideration of its specific cultural background. What the audience perceives in the

performance cannot be separated from their own experiences. According to Japanese theater

scholar and critic Katō Mamoru, the audience members see their own lives through the

performance of the performers (Katō 1948). Therefore, the discussion of intermedial elements

in 2.5D theater, as well as 2.5D theater-goers’ reception of intermediality, should be built on

an understanding of contemporary Japanese media culture.

As discussed in Chapter 2, the consumption model in contemporary Japan has reached

the point of database consumption, meaning that consumers are able to decipher and

deconstruct a product into smaller elements and consume their favorite parts (Azuma 2009).

Meanwhile, products of anime media mix, especially visual ones, tend to include various

elements and simultaneously present them to the audience. This tendency of overloading

information influences the aesthetics, which leads to a flat (or “superflat”, as artist Murakami

Takashi calls it) presentation and a flat perception. Hence, I argue that consumers in

contemporary Japan are already familiar with juxtaposed and fragmental elements, and they

can receive and interpret information through a variety of media at the same time. Some

spectators of 2.5D theater choose to focus on the elements they are interested in, such as their

favorite performer(s) or the music, and pay less attention to other media. In the system of

database consumption, they are the consumers who selectively consume their favorite elements

and reject the rest. On the other hand, more zealous fans do not want to miss any detail in the

performance. According to my interviews with devoted fans, they are extremely focused while

watching the performance, trying to take in as much information as possible. When they are

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not able to absorb all the information while watching the performance in the first sitting, they

will choose to watch the play multiple times. Almost all of the fans will purchase the DVD

recording of the play once it is available.

Of course, these two perception models are based on the premise that the audience

comes into the theater having prepared for what they are going to watch. As mentioned above,

the majority of 2.5D fans would collect information regarding the director, performer, and the

specific play. They are aware beforehand that the performance is going to contain fragmented

pieces of media, and they do not consider these to be something that disturbs their viewing

experience. According to the comments about 2.5D plays on social media platforms that are

posted by Japanese audience members, no one has complained about the distracting use of

different media. On the contrary, many spoke positively about the plays’ use of various media,

such as in the Haikyū!! series. Similar comments are seen among Chinese fans of Japanese

2.5D theater. I argue that the market for 2.5D theater is not limited to the Japanese audience

but also consists of spectators who are familiar with the fragmented media and consumption

culture in contemporary Japan, no matter the nationality they hold.

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 Chapter 5 Japanese 2.5D Theater in China

As I have briefly mentioned in the Introduction, the Japanese 2.5D theater industry is

actively expanding into the global market. Its deep connections with manga, anime, and video

games tie this genre to Japanese popular culture, and it is welcomed by audiences and fans all

over the world. In the globalization of 2.5D theater, China has become the most important

market. It is notable that the marketing of Japanese 2.5D theater overseas also follows the post-

Fordism model by targeting niche but dedicated consumer groups. These overseas consumers,

though relatively few in number, are repeated theater-goers who also spend a decent amount

of money on the plays’ derivative goods. Although niche consumers only account for a small

percentage of the total population of China, the scale of the community is still considerable

given China’s large population overall. Their desire to consume is also promising for the

growth of 2.5D theater in the China market.

In addition, the Japanese 2.5D theater’s entrance into the China market coincides with

the boom in adaptations in the 2010s, which is called the “IP (intellectual asset) boom” in China.

Adaptations are frequently seen in different media genres, such as online literature, TV drama,

film, and theater. Original Chinese 2.5D theater based on Chinese video or online games also

appeared in the mid-2010s, although the audience is quite different from that of 2.5D theater

in Japan. Based on the prevalence of the IP industry and IP theater, the concept of Japanese

2.5D theater, as a form of “IP adaptation,” is easily accepted by the Chinese.78

Chinese commercial theater only started after the economic reform and opening up of

the nation in 1978. In this chapter, I start with an analysis of commercially successful theater

in post-1978 China to provide a background for the theater market in China. IP theater and

78
Although no comprehensive research on the IP industry has been done, some scholars have published journal
articles focusing on IP adaptations. Examples include Zhang Wenqian’s “The meaning of IP to the Manga and
Anime Industry” and Qin and Zhou’s “The IP Operation of Online Literature and the Development of Film
Industry” (Zhang 2016; Qin and Zhou 2017).

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original Chinese 2.5D plays have been quite popular in the past two decades. To compare the

differences between Japanese and Chinese 2.5D plays, I examine the Legend of Sword and

Fairy III (Xianjian Qixiazhuan III, 2015–2017) as a case study. Following that, another case

study on Onmyōji~Heian Emaki~ (2018) is carried out to study the first collaboration on a 2.5D

play between Japan and China, as well as to analyze the development of Japanese 2.5D theater

in China.

Chinese 2.5D Theater

Political Influences: The Struggle of Commercially Successful Theater in Contemporary
China
Similar to the development of theater in Japan after the Meiji Restoration, realistic

theater from the West exerted a great influence on modern Chinese theater. Looking at the

history of theater in contemporary China, the most influential genre has been huaju (spoken

drama). This form of dramatic theater is called “sprechtheater” in German, as opposed to

theater that is dominated by singing or dancing. Huaju, as a performing style, was introduced

to China from the West via Japan in the early 20th century.79 The name “huaju” was coined by

the Chinese playwright Tian Han to distinguish this Western-influenced theater from China’s

indigenous xiqu (sung drama) (Entell 2002, 4). The first huaju, The Black Slave’s Cry to

Heaven (1906), delivered a revolutionary message by presenting the fight against slavery,

which created a metaphor of the invasion and oppression faced by Chinese people in the early

20th century. Almost naturally, this theatrical genre was considered to be a powerful political

tool, and it soon became popular among intellectuals and students. The intimate relationship

with progressive political movements in huaju’s early history continued to be an important

feature during its subsequent development. Therefore, it is not surprising that huaju, which can

79
As Mackerras (1975, 117–18) says, a group of Chinese students adapted Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s
Cabin into a Chinese-language play, The Black Slave’s Cry to Heaven (Hei nu yu tian lu), and performed it in
Tokyo in 1906. Huaju is considered to have been born in China when this group of students restaged the play in
Shanghai in 1907 (Tian and Ouyang 1985, 55).

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serve to disseminate propaganda, has been strictly controlled by the government, especially in

post-1949 China.

The economic reform (gaige kaifang) that started in 1978 introduced market strategies

into China’s economy. The reform not only took place in the economic sector, but also

triggered changes in the cultural domain. Describing the result of the reform, Chen Lu states:

“The reform transformed the culture sector from a propaganda apparatus to a party-state-owned

culture industry, which meant the circulation of culture products had to follow market logic

and party-state command at the same time. In other words, culture products are seen as carriers

of ideology as well as commodities in a controlled market” (L. Chen 2018, 31). Therefore, it

is clear that the level of political control has been the biggest difference between theater

industries in China and Japan.

According to the State Council’s Report on Government Work in 1983, “most spiritual

products are circulated in the form of commodity” (State Council’s Report on Government

Work in 1983). However, reform of the theater sector took a longer time compared to other

cultural products. Until the early 1990s, government-supported troupes (xiju yuantuan) were

the only parties allowed to conduct commercial theatrical performances in China.80 Although

the open-door policy loosened restrictions on commercial activities, it took almost a decade for

the theater industry to finally take action in the early 1990s and make a breakthrough, mainly

thanks to accelerated marketization (Tao 2012, 45). The constraints imposed by strict political

control were the main reason for the slow development of commercial theater81 (J. Chen 2004;

Wu 2014; Tao 2013). The characteristics of contemporary huaju are also clear: plays had to

80
Only government-supported theater troupes and companies were allowed to sell tickets to their performances.
Other troupes could only present non-profit performances.
81
Some Chinese scholars believe that tizhi is what hindered the development of commercial theater in China.
Tizhi is usually translated as “system” or “institution.” Theater troupes and companies in China can be roughly
divided into tizhi-nei (within the system, referring to government-owned or supported companies) and tizhi-wai
(outside of the system, referring to privately-owned companies). The former, with sufficient funding and talent,
is more competitive. The latter has always suffered from political and economic restrictions.

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serve as political propaganda; the acting method was hugely influenced by the Stanislavsky

school; and the industry was monopolized by the government-owned troupes (J. Chen 2004,

15; R. Li 2016, 13). It was not surprising then that, when Western ideologies and artistic

developments were ushered into China after it opened up, audiences were no longer satisfied

with the monopoly of classical huaju.

Similar to the shōgekijō movement in Japan, as well as other theatrical movements

around the world that challenged modern drama, practitioners of contemporary Chinese theater

called for a rebellion against the older—bourgeois and mainstream—tradition (Ferrari 2012,

36–37). As a result, more non-governmental troupes emerged, and avant-garde theater started

expanding its territory in the theater sphere. On the other hand, this rebellious attitude also

triggered a feature peculiar to contemporary Chinese theater: since commercialization was

banned under the old system, for many directors, being commercial and marketized actually

became a form of protest (Tao 2013, 62–63). This is exactly the opposite of the anti-modern-

theater movements in Japan, in which commercial and mass production, as a key feature of

modernism, was radically rejected. In contrast, the embrace of commercial elements, as well

as blending the avant-garde into the market, became a unique scene in contemporary Chinese

theater.

Soon after the economic reform, non-realist Western theater theories were introduced

to China, and they had an enormous impact on younger theater practitioners. Absurdism,

surrealism, expressionism, and symbolism all became fashionable in theatrical productions.

Directors were eager to explore new concepts and theories in performance. However, the most

challenging dilemma in post-1978 theater gradually emerged: Practitioners had to maintain a

“dialectic relationship” between experimental expressions and the needs of the masses (Tao

2013, 58). In other words, how can a theater be commercially successful while keeping up

artistic standards? Although no one would specifically claim that commercial success and

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artistic achievement are mutually exclusive, radical practitioners, critics, and scholars tend to

challenge the mainstream aesthetics. The famous theater director Meng Jinghui 82 even

proclaimed that “the taste of the public is bullshit” (Dazhong shenme jiushi yidui chougoushi)

during his play Hupo (2005). However, as much as they wanted to alienate themselves from

mainstream culture and consumerist trends, they could not really cut off communication with

society (Ferrari 2012, 85–86; X. Ma 2008, 266). Meng, for instance, is a representative example

of selling avant-garde theater in the mass market. Meng’s name has been, and still is, linked to

the avant-garde for the majority of ordinary theater audiences. Yet, his plays are not too obscure

to understand, and the jokes that originate from daily life create an illusion that he has relented

to cater to the audience’s demands. His artistic trajectory was a “cultural barometer” of the

social and intellectual discourse of his time, and his success influenced a number of his fellow

theater practitioners (Ferrari 2012, 88–89).

In recent years, the most popular shows have been produced in the private sector. One

of the leading enterprises is the theater company Mahua FunAge (Kaixin mahua). Founded in

2003, the company focuses on the production of comedies, and it has performed in over 50

cities throughout China. By adapting one of its stage hits, Goodbye Mr. Loser (Xialuo te fannao,

2015), into a film, Mahua FunAge also became the first Chinese live-performance company to

expand into the film industry (Zhou 2017, 3). Aside from film, the company has branched into

different realms, such as musicals, children’s plays, online TV series, performer management,

and so on. Although almost 70 percent of its revenue comes from film-related business, theater

still remains an essential sector in Mahua FunAge’s future plans.83 The success of this company

is actually the success of media convergence, and Mahua FunAge is a representative example

82
Meng was born in 1965 in Beijing and started directing theatrical performances in the early 1990s.
83
According to the annual report of Mahua FunAge, 370 million yuan of its revenue in 2017 came from film-
related business, and theater-related business contributed 150 million yuan (“Net Profit Growth 441%: Mahua
FunAge Tells You How to Create A Buzz n.d.).

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of IP adaptation in China. The model of IP adaptation can be paralleled with anime media mix,

and will be discussed later in this chapter.

Another influential, and more “artistically aspiring,” production company is

Magnificent Culture (Beijing Yanghua). In close cooperation with the famous director and

playwright Stan Lai (Lai Shengchuan), it has staged many of Lai’s plays in mainland China,

Taiwan, and Singapore, casting famous film and TV drama performers. Stan Lai’s great

renown, together with the large fan communities of the famous performers, made some of his

plays so popular that it became extremely difficult to purchase a ticket.84 The popularity of this

company is built upon the fame of the director and the performers, which parallels the adoption

of the star system in contemporary Japanese theater as described by Uchino (see Chapter 2).

Popular plays in China these days share two basic emphases: humor and multimedia.

From 2005 to the early 2010s, commercially successful little theaters had been presenting love

stories and using spoofs to create hilarious effects (Tao 2013, 150). Departing from the avant-

garde track, they moved their selling point to the entertainment—more specifically, the

humorous elements. This was summarized by Ma Haili simply as “haowanr (fun)” (2016, 141).

When the urban petit-white-collar (xiaobailing) were the newly rising class of theater-goers in

China after the 1990s (ibid., 146), this group of educated young professionals received

relatively high salaries. However, due to the pressures of housing and living expenses, their

lives were “no less of a struggle” (ibid.). Therefore, what this group longs for are works that

touch upon the daily lives and anxieties of white-collar citizens. These plays should be different

from mainstream aesthetics, so as to address the differences between this white-collar group

and the working class. In addition, they should also be stress-relieving works of art to let them

feel relaxed and entertained.

84
As of January 27, 2019, the most expensive VIP ticket for the play A Dream Like a Dream costs 3,960 yuan,
and fans of the leading actor Hu Ge, a popular actor who mainly performs in TV dramas, are willing to pay double
that price to purchase a ticket from (illegal) ticket dealers.

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 The second feature favored by commercial theater nowadays is multimedia, which

Ferrari considers a way of attracting audiences (2017, 125). When opening a ticket booking

website, it is easy to find at least one multimedia play (duomeiti wutaiju) being performed in

any major city. In recent years, the most well-known ones are the so-called 3D multimedia

adaptations of fictions, like The Three-Body Problem (Santi) and Grave Robbers’ Chronicles

(Daomu Biji).85 Another popular multimedia play series is The Legend of Sword and Fairy

(Xianjian Qixiazhuan, 2015) which was adapted from a Chinese video game. In these plays,

the special effects are always the selling point and the marketing emphasis. For one thing,

special effects are used to recreate the fictional and sometimes fantastic scenery of the original

story. For another, the practitioners are simply using technology to lure audiences. In the

staging of these commercial plays, the visual effects, including multimedia technologies and

martial art presentations, are perhaps the most important facet of the performance.

Chinese IP Theater and Original 2.5D Plays

Some plays mentioned above, such as Grave Robbers’ Chronicles (2013), Legend of

Sword (2015), and The Three-Body Problem (2016), are categorized as “IP theater” (IP wutaiju)

in China. “IP” is probably the most frequently mentioned word in the Chinese cultural industry

in recent years. The abbreviation stands for intellectual property, and it is used in Chinese

without translation. The word now refers to IP assets, including popular literature or art works

that are suitable for adaptation into other media, such as film, TV drama, games, or theater. It

is noteworthy that IP theater is different from the plays adapted from famous literary works,

but is used to describe the plays adapted from popular literature, film, or video games created

in recent years. The IP boom shows the prosperity of adaptation, which is again similar to the

media mix phenomenon in Japan.

85
The play Daomu Biji is a series consisting of six productions: Qixing Wanggong (2013), Nuhai Qiansha (2015),
Yunding Tiangong (2016), Canghaihua (2017), Xinyue Fandian (2017), and Shezhao Guicheng (2019).

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 As discussed in Chapter 2, TV anime is at the center of the anime media mix in Japan.

However, Chinese manga and anime are neither attractive nor influential enough to trigger

massive cross-media productions (Feng 2011, 52; Shao 2011, 12). As a result, IP adaptation in

China has to rely largely on online literature. Emerging in 1998, online literature has earned a

considerable readership in China, and it has caused a huge industry to develop around literary

works, including IP theater86 (Shao 2016, 226). Grave Robbers’ Chronicles (2013), one of the

first IP plays in China, was adapted from the novel of the same name. Starting as an online

novel, Grave has become an extremely powerful IP source in China, with an industrial value

of over 20 billion RMB. As of June 2016, the gross box-office sales of Grave the play had

exceeded 150 million yuan (Z. Chen 2016, 89). Grave, as a representative example of IP theater,

foreshadowed the popularity of this genre in the Chinese theater industry. Shortly afterwards,

novels like Tiny Times (Xiaoshidai) and The Three-body Problem and films like Gardenia in

Blossom (Zhizihuakai, 2015) and A Simple Life (Taojie, 2015) were made into plays.

The success of Mahua FunAge is clearly a result of its IP adaptation strategy. Instead

of adapting existing IP assets, Mahua FunAge builds its own assets and then transplants the

theatrical work onto other media platforms. The consumption of any product in this IP

franchise will lead to an increase in the popularity of the entire IP product chain. Performers in

the original play also perform in film adaptations, and they frequently show up in TV variety

shows. Although Mahua FunAge’s IP circle is not as inclusive as the anime media mix –

Kadokawa’s product chain covers almost all possible media platforms – it does share some

features with the media mix in Japan.

It should be noted that the most popular IP plays are the ones adapted from science

fiction or fantasy novels that have multimedia stage designs. In fact, IP plays’ luxurious stage

86
It is generally agreed that the emergence of Chinese net literature is marked by both the founding of the net
literature website Rongshuxia on December 25, 1997 (only six days before 1998) and the phenomenal popularity
of the online novel, Flyin’ Dance (Diyici Qinmi Jiechu), which was written by the Taiwanese writer Pizicai
(Zhiheng Cai).

143
presentations have become a major attraction for audiences. More and more productions

promote the 3-dimensional or the so-called 4-dimensional technology adopted in the plays, and

plays such as The Three-body Problem have even incorporated drones into their performances

(see Figure 11).

Figure 11 The Three-body Problem (Santi, 2016) To present the fictional

astronomical phenomenon in which three suns line up as a triangle, the director uses 12
drones to lift three balloons which represent the suns.87

There have been several 2.5D plays based on original Chinese 2-dimensional products.

However, the limitations of the Chinese manga and anime industries made the original Chinese

2.5D theater depend largely on video games. The forerunner of 2.5D plays in China is Gujian

Qitan (2013), which was adapted from a popular video game of the same name. The audience’s

reaction was generally negative: some were rather upset about the high fidelity, but others were

disappointed at the crudely presented stage effects.88 Due to the controversial reception and the

relatively limited gamer community of Gujian, the play did not attract much attention. The first

87
Image is excerpted from [Link] (accessed on May 11,
2020).
88
See the comments of the recorded video ([Link] accessed
on Apr 20, 2020.

144
original Chinese 2.5D production that really received wide attention was the Legend of Sword

series.

Legend of Sword III (Xianjian qixiazhuan III, 2016)

The Legend series is adapted from a popular 1990s Chinese video game of the same

name. The computer game was developed by a Taiwanese company called Dayu in 1995, and

it was released in mainland China later that year. At the time, when the mainland had little

access to all kinds of games, legend was perhaps the most popular and widely played PC game

in a decade. The TV dramas The Legend of Sword and Fairy I (Xianjian Qixiazhuan I, 2005)

and The Legend of Sword and Fairy III (Xianjian Qixiazhuan III, 2009) were adapted from the

first and third games of the series, which were released in 1995 and 2003 respectively. In the

early 2000s, when fewer TV shows were produced, these two TV shows became phenomenal

and they were watched by and known to a very broad audience group.

A Shanghai-based theater company, Rankongjian, staged the Legend series from 2015

to 2017. Due to its high fidelity to the original game, well-presented computer-generated

imagery and stage effects, Legend I received largely positive responses from the audience.

Encouraged by the success of their first attempt, Rankongjian produced another play and

presented it on a much longer national tour for more than one year. In the end, the first Legend

play was performed more than 100 times in different cities, including an overseas tour to

Australia. The following analysis focuses on the Legend III performance held on May 4th, 2017,

which I attended personally.

The story of Legend III the play takes place in an alternative ancient China, where

deities (shen), devils (mo), ghosts (gui), humans (ren), monsters (yao), and celestial beings

(xian) coexist. The protagonist Jingtian and Xuejian, who are reincarnations of deities, go for

adventures while they try to discover the secrets of their previous lives and save the world from

the villains.

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 As with Japanese 2.5D plays, fidelity is clearly an essential component in Legend III.

The question is, should the play be faithful to the original game or the 2009 TV drama? For

many Japanese 2.5D plays, anime is more frequently referred to as the original material. The

anime presents the voice and tone of characters, their representative pet phrases, and their

movements during a battle or game, which are copied and represented in 2.5D plays. Japanese

2.5D actors sometimes claim that they would imitate the performance of voice actors in the

original anime to present the character more faithfully.89 However, in the case of Legend III, it

is clear that the game is the basis of this play. The performance starts with a projected image

showing the main menu of the video game. The familiar low resolution image of a wine gourd

and a sword placed on top of bamboo slips, with the options “New Stories” (xin de gushi,

referring to “new game”) and “Old Memories” (jiu de huiyi, referring to “load game”), causes

quite a bit of excitement among the audience. The play frequently refers to the game, including

presenting the effects of the skills associated with different roles and having the actor complain

about the difficulty of getting through the story. There is a scene showing the protagonist

Jingtian trying to find a piece of treasure. In the game, the gamer has to operate Jingtian to

climb down a ladder and find the treasure within 60 seconds. The operation is rather hard, and

many players had to try multiple times to succeed. When the scene is presented in the play, the

actor climbs off the stage and is trapped. He then falls, and the audience members burst into

laughter and start talking to each other about their similar gaming experience. The actor fails

several times, but he finally comes down to the stall. Then, a stopwatch is projected on the

screen—counting down from 60. The audience laugh again, and they are clearly very excited

about such a design.90

89
For instance, well-known 2.5D theater actor Suzuki Hiroki, who plays Mikatsuki Munechika in Musical Tōken
Ranbu, mentioned in multiple interviews that he would study recordings of voice actors in order to present the
character more closely to the ones in the original game and anime. See Suzuki and Sasaki (2016, 4).
90
Analysis of the performance was based on my observations while watching the play in Qingdao on May 4, 2017.

146
 It is fair to assume that almost all audience members at the performance have played

the game, watched the TV series, or at least heard of the Legend series. However, some may

have forgotten the details of the story, given that the original game was produced around two

decades ago. Supporting characters with no introduction and short performing times can be

confusing to the audience. Moreover, considering the accessibility to media and the breadth of

circulation, the audience members familiar with the TV drama must outnumber the gamers.91

When game scenes are imitated on the stage, some audience members cannot identify them,

and are confused when the (former) gamers are laughing. To the gamers, the detailed

representation of game elements, as well as the game-inspired costumes (the costumes, hair

and makeup in the 2009 TV show are dramatically different from the game), makes the play a

tribute to the Legend III game. To others, the familiar story and characters bring them back to

the nostalgic time when the drama was talked about across society. To further engage the latter

audience group, the play emphasizes the visual and sensorial effects, as well as the humorous

elements in the original text.

A media-heavy stage presentation is one of the features of the Legend series. However,

unlike 2.5D theater, the aim of using different media in this play is not just to maintain fidelity,

but also to create a moment of awe and astonishment, and therefore entertain the audience. The

scenography is presented in various colors to recreate the vibrant and colorful effects of the

original video game. Furthermore, the lighting system is very cleverly designed to serve the

narrative. It makes full use of the performing hall, including the back screen, the liftable scrim,

the floor on the stage, and even the audience’s area. In addition, the production team also adopts

an aroma system, which emits fragrances in scenes where the protagonist and his friends

venture into a forest and into a town under the ocean. These different media can lead to a

refreshed perception among the audience, but it is also much easier to spot mistakes in the

91
Since 2009, the TV drama has been broadcasted by different TV stations for 9 times in mainland China.

147
collaborative use of these media, or the impoverished presentation, which might disturb the

theater-watching experience.

3D CGI is used to present important scenery, such as the Monster-Locking Tower

(suoyaota), which is where the climax, the battle between Xiejianxian and everyone else,

happens. Characters with a non-human appearance are also computer generated. The female

protagonist Xuejian’s pet Huaying is a good example. The movement of this character is

relatively simple, as she only has to fly around with wings and the rest of her body does not

have many movements. Although the way she moves is unnatural, her extended presence on

the stage did not disturb the audience. On the other hand, another 3D CGI, Fire Erlking

(huoguiwang), is a complete disaster. Unlike Huaying, Fire Erlking has a more human-like

body shape and longer limbs, and the movement of this character’s limbs requires more

difficult programing. The failure to present its movements accurately makes for an awkward

and uncanny 3-dimensioanl character with rigid and weird moving patterns.

Besides CGI, pre-recorded videos of actors’ performances are also used on stage, and

they are usually projected when the characters are interacting with their previous reincarnations.

(see Figure 12). This is made possible because of the use of a two-layer screen. The screen on

the upper stage is not movable, and it is usually used for projections of images that suggest the

location where the act or scene is taking place. The front screen is an almost transparent, liftable

scrim that allows the performers to act in front of and behind it. Special projected images and

videos, such as the effects of characters’ skills, actors’ pre-recorded acting, and CGI characters,

are usually projected onto this scrim. However, the cooperation between performers and pre-

recorded acting or CGI characters is not always a perfect one. When the dubbing of the

projected video does not match the actor’s lip movements, or a lag appears in the interaction,

it is easily noticed by the audience and can be distracting. Moreover, when a close-up of a

performer is projected and the performer’s face occupies almost the entire screen, it is a bit

148
awkward to watch, especially given the fact that some of the performers’ acting skills do not

appear favorable in a close-up view.

Figure 12 Legend of Sword III (Xianjian qixiazhuan III 2016) In this scene, Xiaoyao (Ji Li)
and Xuejian (Long Zhengxuan) meet the spirit of Xiyao, who is the previous reincarnation of
Xuejian. Both Xuejian and Xiyao are performed by Long in this play. This picture shows the
coexistence of these two characters, involving the live performance of Xuejian and a
recorded video of Xiyao.92

However, unlike Japanese 2.5D theater, the Legend series casts performers with a

professional training background. Many of them are students or graduates of drama academies.

Others have acting experience in theater, film, and TV commercials on top of institutional

training in performance. Although their acting still cannot be compared with that of more

established performers, it is much better than that of their peers in Japanese 2.5D plays. As

adaptation of the game involves an enormous number of fighting scenes, the Legend series

hired two martial arts directors who aim to recreate the moves in the game. Nonetheless, some

of the action movements are not very satisfactory. According to the short documentary video

released by the play’s official Weibo account, the performers started physical training on

January 2, 2016—three months ahead of the premiere. However, compared with the almost

92
The picture is excerpted from [Link] ([Link] accessed on
Apr 13, 2020.

149
perfect performance of fighting scenes in Japanese 2.5D plays, the presentation of martial arts

choreography in Legend III was a bit unpolished, especially near the end of the play.

To entertain the audience, Legend III also presents many humorous elements, such as

adding cyber slang into the lines. Some jokes are inserted too deliberately and abruptly, and

they interrupt the flow of the narrative. These jokes are irrelevant to the plot, and they are

merely included to create humorous effects. To further engage the audience, in several scenes,

actors walk off the stage and perform among the audience. They keep addressing the audience,

and even talk to them. Responses to the jokes and the interactions are quite positive during and

after the show. Some audience members wrote in reviews that the humor makes the play

“jiediqi” (literally “have a connection with the earth,” meaning down to earth).93 However,

others complained about the awkward insertion of memes and slang. A spectator complained

that “too much cyber slang and jokes lowered the standard of the play”. 94 One of the most

controversial scenes is the “talk show” performed by the villain Xiejianxian before the final

fighting scene. He enters the stage alone, and then comes down to the audience members’ seats

and forces a male audience member to interact with him, and he eventually sits on the lap of

the audience member. This act is completely irrelevant to the following scene, and it breaks

the characteristic persona of Xiejianxian. It is clear that the slang and jokes are added

intentionally to entertain the audience. However, whether it is a successful strategy is open to

debate.

Despite the success of the Legend series, the production company Rankongjian stopped

producing plays in the series after the national tour in 2017. Instead, it started a new project by

93
For example, a fan commented that “They kept the original lines, but added down to earth jokes.”
([Link]
accessed on Apr 13, 2020) Another spectator posted, “It’s full of tributes to the game: original sound track,
special skills, laser effects, and down to earth humorous lines. I really like it.”
([Link]
accessed on Apr 13, 2020)
94
A spectator complained that “too much cyber slang and jokes lowered the standard of the play”.
([Link]
accessed on Apr 13, 2020)

150
adapting Higashino Keigo’s famous detective novel Journey under the Midnight Sun (Jp.,

Hyakuyakō, Ch., Baiyexing) into a musical. 95 Interestingly, the composer of this musical,

Senjyu Akira, was also in charge of the musical compositions for Takarazuka’s 2013 Sengoku

BASARA - Masada Yukimura hen -, a theatrical production adapted from the game Sengoku

BASARA.

Furthermore, the game company Netease (wangyi) adapted its online game Qiannü

Youhun into a so-called “sensory immersive” (chaogan chenjin) play, A Dream Back to Lanruo

Temple (Menghui Lanruo), in August 2018.96 This is another media-heavy performance. The

play presents many lighting effects, holograms, and mechanical installations, and it received

very positive responses. Another more widely played game, JX Online 3 (Jianwang Qingyuan

Wangluo-ban San, usually called Jianwang 3 for short), was also adapted into a play, Jianwang

3: Quyunzhuan, in January 2019. Considering the success of these plays and the prosperity of

video games as IP assets, it is expected that more game-adapted original Chinese 2.5D plays

will be staged in the future.

It is clear that Chinese 2.5D plays are all based on online or mobile games, and that

they tend to adopt innovative technologies, especially media technologies, in their

performances. To date, Chinese 2.5D plays have all been based on fantastic works involving

supernatural spirits and surreal fighting skills. The directors therefore have to rely on

technologies to faithfully create visual effects. The intention of using technology, such as

mechanical installations and electric lighting, in earlier theater was to create a moment of awe

among the audience (Baugh 2005, 1). Fascinating media effects in Chinese 2.5D performances

bring surprise and excitement to the audience. Also, audience members who have played the

original game are also satisfied by the fidelity provided by multimedia and other technologies.

95
The musical Baiyexing was performed at Shanghai Culture Square from November 30 to December 9, 2018.
96
The stage design was managed by Blackbow (Heigong), the company that produced the “Beijing 8 Minute”
show for the closing ceremony of Pyeongchang Winter Olympics in 2018.

151
A large consumer base ensured the commercial success of Chinese 2.5D plays. This new sector

of IP adaptation presents new business opportunities, and has been noticed by companies in

China and abroad such as Japanese 2.5D theater production companies.

Japanese 2.5D Theater in China

Nelke China and Imported Japanese 2.5D Plays
Besides original Chinese 2.5D plays, Japanese 2.5D plays that are performed in China

are also an important component of China’s 2.5D theater market. Nelke Planning, a major

player in the Japanese 2.5D theater industry, established its China branch, Nelke China

[Naierke (Shanghai) wenhua fazhan youxian gongsi], on September 3, 2014. After the success

of Tenimyu, Nelke started focusing on 2.5D play production and 2.5D actor casting. The 2.5D

plays produced by them account for more than half of the total productions in Japan (see

Chapter 3).

On January 28, 2018, the Japanese TV station TBS broadcast a documentary program

“Jōnetsu Tairiku” featuring Matsuda Makoto, the CEO of Nelke Planning. At the end of the

show, Matsuda stated that he intends to make 2.5D theater a counterpart to Broadway in Asia

(Matsuda 2018). As mentioned above, the main internationalization strategy of Nelke is to

organize overseas performances of Japanese 2.5D plays, which is summarized as product

output by the company (Producer of Onmyōji 2018). However, this mode limits the potential

consumers of the product to a small circle of those who are interested in Japanese pop culture.

In recent years, Nelke started the “production output” attempt, trying to enhance its connection

with local companies and establish itself in foreign markets. As a leading player in the 2.5D

industry, Nelke’s entrance into the Chinese market in 2014 was quite a smart strategy, because

the “IP boom” in China started around the same year (S. Chen 2017, 152).

Despite its name, Nelke China not only handles business in China, but actually

organizes overseas tours for Nelke-produced performances in the Asia Pacific region. Their

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events have been held in mainland China, Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan, Singapore, and

Malaysia. According to the CEO of Nelke China, the company’s priority now is to introduce

Japanese 2.5D performances to Chinese and other Asian audiences (Tan 2018). By the end of

2017, Nelke China had organized 19 performances (including fan meetings and concerts) in

Asia, and among them, 13 were 2.5D plays performed in the “greater China area” (see Table

3).

Table 3 List of Nelke-Produced 2.5D Plays Performed in the “Greater China Area”97

Year Play City Period

Musical Sailor Moon
Shanghai January 16–18
-Petite Étrangère-
February 28–
Musical Prince of Tennis 3rd Season Taiwan
March 1
Seigaku VS Fudômine
Hong Kong March 7–8
2015
Live Spectacle NARUTO Macao May 22–May 24
Shanghai December 11–13
Musical Kuroshitsuji
Beijing December 18–20
-Lycoris that Blazes the Earth 2015-
Shenzhen December 25–27
Live Fantasy Fairy Tale Shanghai July 1–3
Musical Prince of Tennis 3rd Season
Shanghai September 15–17
Seigaku VS Hyōtei
Shanghai October 22–30

2016 Hangzhou November 4–6

Beijing November 11–13
Live Spectacle NARUTO World Tour
Changsha December 2–4
Guangzhou December 9–11
Shenzhen December 16–18
2017 Musical Tōkenranbu ~Bakumatsu Tenrōden~ Shanghai January 13–15

97
The original chart was provided by Nelke Planning. Data show performances organized by Nelke China as of
June 2018.

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 Musical Tōkenranbu
Zhuhai May 19–21
～Mihotose no Komoriuta～
Live Spectacle NARUTO
Shanghai July 14–23
～Akatsuki no Shirabe～
Musical Prince of Tennis 3rd Season
Shanghai September 15–17
Seigaku VS Rikkai
Musical Tōkenranbu
Guangzhou December 23–24
～Shinkenranbusai 2017～
Shenzhen March 30–April 1
2018 Musical Onmyōji～Heian Emaki～ Shanghai April 7–15
Beijing April 20–22

The success of Nelke is also closely related to the popularity of Japanese manga and

anime in China. Japanese manga (Ch., manhua) and anime (Ch., donghua) are usually

mentioned together as dongman in China. According to Chen and Teng, the dissemination of

Japanese manga and anime in mainland China can be roughly divided into three phases: official

mass media, pirate publishers, and fandom communities (Q. Chen and Teng 2006, 78). From

the mid-1980s to the early 1990s, Chinese TV stations imported Japanese TV anime by the

season. Examples include Ikkyu-san (1975, Ch., Congming de Yixiu), Hana no Ko Runrun

(1979, Ch., Huaxianzi), and Doraemon (1979, Ch., Dingdangmao), which were popular among

children and teenagers. Later, in the early 1990s, the craze for manga and anime emerged with

the broadcasting of the Saint Seiya series (1986, Ch., Shengdoushi Xingshi) (ibid.).

The popularity of anime triggered a massive wave of publication of Japanese manga.

However, imported manga with official copyright licenses were too expensive for young

readers, and the control over underground pirating activities was relatively lenient in the early

1990s98 (L. Chen 2018, 55). Many pirate publishers took advantage of this circumstance, and

they even controlled the supply of Japanese manga (Wu in L. Chen 2018, 55–56). Most of the

98
The National Anti-Pornography and Anti-Illegal Publications Workgroup was established in 1989. The people’s
awareness of copyright, as well as the regulations, was relatively weak in the 1990s.

154
pirate publishers vanished after the state rigorously enforced laws against the piracy of

Japanese manga and anime. However, with the development of the internet, more translation

groups became organized by fans in the 2000s to translate Japanese manga and anime and

publish them online for free. The free and timely content attracted a great number of readers

and audiences, and it broadened the influence of ACG (anime, comic, and game) culture.

The dissemination of Japanese manga and anime depends largely on fan participation

in such activities as translation, promotion, and critique (L. Chen 2018, 77). These fans

simultaneously play the roles of consumer and producer. On the one hand, they are doing so to

lower their production costs, since the officially imported products can be very expensive. On

the other hand, they actively create content and a participatory culture (Jenkins 2007, 359). It

also fits Ōtsuka’s description of consumers within the concept of narrative consumption

(Ōtsuka 2012, see Chapter 2).

Moreover, just like Chinese popular theater, the development of Japanese manga and

anime in China is always influenced by the state’s policy on foreign cultural products,

regulations on pirated products, and the fluctuating Sino-Japanese relationship, which affects

anti-Japanese sentiments and even nationalism (L. Chen 2018, 54–60). Chen explicates:

[T]he party-state could select, interpret and manipulate foreign popular culture to

promote preferred values and ideologies. For Japanese popular culture, its

dissemination has been generally suppressed by the party-state. The culture policy and

censorship has limited the importation of Japanese culture products according to the

fluctuating diplomatic relationship. Propaganda aims to stigmatize fans as delinquents

and thus the fandom of Japanese popular culture remains a subculture despite a decade

of dissemination. It also faces general resistance from the public because of anti-

Japanese sentiments. (Ibid., 54)

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 Moreover, the consumption of popular culture also differs in different areas. According

to research by Wang, the consumption of education, culture, and recreation in China in 2013

only accounted for 11.41% of the total consumption that year, which is 5.23% less than the

number in 2000 (Wang 2015, 10). Wang then summarizes that the declining amounts spent on

education, culture, and recreation mainly result from the increasing costs of commuting,

communication (mobile and internet), and medical care (ibid., 12). Moreover, a huge gap also

exists between the level of consumption in economically well-developed areas and that in less-

developed areas. The statistics show that the prosperity of the entertainment industry is more

likely a phenomenon in urban areas.99 Based on this study, I argue that the Japanese manga and

anime fandom in China is still small, and mainly consists of relatively wealthy young people

who live in urban areas. This explains why previously imported Japanese 2.5D plays were only

played in major cities such as Shanghai, Beijing, and Shenzhen. The distribution of existing

and potential consumers will also influence future performances of Japanese 2.5D plays in

China.

From Phenomenal Game to 2.5D Play: Promotion Strategy and IP Asset Operation of
Yinyangshi
As a result of Nelke’s localization strategy, collaborations with Chinese IP assets and

Chinese companies have been established in recent years. In October 2017, Nelke China

announced that Nelke was going to collaborate with the Chinese company Netease to

theatricalize its role-playing mobile game Yinyangshi. Half a year later, the play was performed

in Tokyo from March 9 to 18, 2018, and it had its Chinese tour from March 30 to April 22 in

Shenzhen, Shanghai, and Beijing.

99
According to Yan, village youth are also attracted by the new ideas and lifestyles in urban areas, which promotes
migration of the youth from the countryside to cities, especially big cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, and
Guangzhou (Yan in Croll 2006, 214).

156
 The game Yinyangshi was released by Netease in 2016. 100 The story is set in an

alternative Heian period (794–1185) in which humans coexist with yōkai (supernatural

monsters and demons from Japanese folklore) and other spirits. The title Yinyangshi (onmyōji

in Japanese) refers to professional practitioners of onmyōdo. Onmyōdo, which can be translated

as “the way of yin-yang,” is a cosmology that is developed from and based on the yin and yang

duality (Jp. inyō; Ch. yinyang) and the five phases or five elements (Jp. gogyō; Ch. wuxing)

theories from the 6th century (Hayashi and Hayet 2013, 3). Influenced by Daoism, Buddhism

and Shintoism, onmyōdō was sometimes practiced as a purification rite, but it was more

frequently used as a form of astronomy to create the calendar and tell fortunes. Some famous

onmyōji emerged in the 10th century, such as Kamo no Tadayuki, his son Kamo no Yasunori,

and their student Abe no Seimei. The latter became the protagonist of many onmyōji-related

works of art, especially during the “onmyōdō boom” in literature and media circles from the

1980s to the 2000s (ibid., 1–2). One of the most influential works is perhaps Yumemakura

Baku’s Onmyōji series of novels (1988–present), which then further inspired the well-known

manga, a TV drama, films, and plays, and which made the protagonist Abe no Seimei a popular

character in all sections of mixed-media products, including the game Yinyangshi.101

The plot of the game is centered around Seimei (Ch., Qingming) who is in pursuit of

his lost memories. Minamoto no Hiromasa (Ch., Yuan Boya), Seimei’s friend and partner in

Yumemakura’s novel, also appears in the game. Other than the yōkai mentioned in the novel

and Japanese folk stories, the game created a new female protagonist named Kagura (Ch.,

Shenle). Although it was never mentioned in official promotion campaigns, the red outfit and

the umbrella which Kagura holds remind gamers of a character with the same name in the

100
The English version of the game is called Onmyōji, following the Japanese pronunciation. However, to
distinguish the game from the musical, I will refer to the game as Yinyangshi and the musical as Onmyōji.
101
All lines, as well as the names of the characters in the game, are performed by Japanese voice performers in
Japanese. Therefore, I will mention the characters by their Japanese pronunciation.

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manga/anime Gintama.102 Netease even invited the same voice actress (Kugimiya Rie) to play

Kagura in this game. The subtle connection between the two characters is often discussed, and

some fans have even created crossover artwork of Gintama and Onmyōji.103 Onmyōji, Abe no

Seimei, Kagura, and yōkai are commonly seen elements in the Japanese mix of media that were

created specifically for the game. For those who have little or no knowledge of Japanese history

or folklore, the similarities between Daoism and onmyōdō would help them understand the

story.

Yinyangshi is a well-produced game with user-friendly interfaces and attractive artwork.

The rules are also easily understood: Players are supposed to defeat different yōkai and turn

them into shikigami that can be summoned and used to serve and protect their master. After

having obtained all the contracts with shikigami, the player needs to fight against the enemy

Kuro Seimei and retrieve the memories of Seimei. However, what really brought Yinyangshi

200 million downloads within six months was its promotion strategy. Netease attracted fans of

nijigen culture104 as the initial influencers, and then spread the fame of the game to a much

wider consumer group. This strategy also influenced the production and promotion of the later

2.5D play Onmyōji.

The game was launched for an open test on the iOS and Android platforms on

September 3, 2016. Before the official test, the development team spent three months attracting

potential core players including groups who are interested in Japanese culture and nijigen

works, such as nijigen fans, painters, and cosplayers. At the beginning, the project mainly

focused on a niche group of users, as they acted as social media influencers in their own circles

102
Gintama is a manga written and illustrated by Sorachi Hideaki (serialized since 2003), and was adapted into a
TV anime by TV Tokyo in 2006. The story presents a world of hyperreality, with modern technology, aliens, and
actual historical figures, in an alternate late-Edo period. The bizarre and hilarious style quickly made the manga
popular. The female protagonist Kagura is an alien portrayed as a young girl in Chinese qipao who always holds
a traditional-style red umbrella.
103
See, for example, [Link] (accessed on May 11, 2020).
104
There are various definitions of the word “nijigen” or its Chinese translation “erciyuan.” In this paper, the
phrase “nijigen works” refers to the above-mentioned 2-dimensional works (i.e., manga, anime, and video games);
“nijigen fans” refer to people who are interested in these works.

158
and would be helpful for further promoting the game. To increase publicity among nijigen

circles, the team also participated in some comic- and game-related events, such as ChinaJoy

(zhongguo guoji shuma hudong yule zhanlanhui) and Comicup18. As a result, painters,

cosplayers, and figurine artists were already posting their Yinyangshi-related works online at

an early stage. Later, promotional videos that were released tried to present an “authentic

Japanese style” by showing the interface and promoting the voice actors. The whole story took

place in a pseudo-Heian time space, and Netease used costumes, architecture, music, and other

elements to create a world of fantasy. To strengthen the concept, they even invited famous

Japanese voice actors, such as Sugiyama Noriaki and Kugimiya Rie, to portray the characters.

The cast, of course, was a huge attraction to fans of Japanese nijigen.

With its success in the nijigen fan circle, the team then turned its attention to ordinary

netizens by spreading game-related memes on social media and by live-streaming the games

on different platforms. A player of the collection-based card game Yinyangshi has to draw cards

in order to summon shikigami during battles. Depending on the rarity, the cards are tagged as

N (normal), R (rare), SR (super rare), and SSR (superior super rare). The chance of getting an

SSR card is, as the term suggests, extremely low and hard to predict. On September 30, 2016,

the CEO of Netease, Ding Lei, joined a live stream with other famous players, and they all

tried their luck in card drawing. In the end, Ding failed to get any SSRs, which not only proved

the fairness of the game, but also stimulated other players to try to “out-luck” famous players

like Ding and many other social media influencers. As a result of the second stage of marketing,

downloads of Yinyangshi increased explosively after public testing, and it became a sensation

in China in 2016 and 2017. By February 2017, the game had been downloaded more than 200

million times in China (Netease n.d.), and the topic “Mobile Game Yinyangshi” (yinyangshi

shouyou) was searched for more than 10.7 billion times on the Chinese social network site

weibo (Weibo n.d.).

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 The success of Yinyangshi made it a valuable IP asset. In December 2016, Netease,

together with two motion pictures companies, Gongfu Films (Gongfu yingye) and Huayi

Brothers (Huayi xiongdi), announced that they were going to produce a live-action movie based

on the game. In 2017, an English, Japanese, and traditional Chinese version of the game were

released in Japan, Australia, UK, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. Moreover, Netease was still

focusing on the manga/anime mixed-media franchise. Official manga of Yinyangshi began to

be serialized on the websites Netease Manga (Wangyi manhua) and Tencent Manga (Tengxun

manhua) on January 12, 2018. Three months later, a Yinyangshi-related short anime was

broadcast on the video websites [Link], Aiqiyi, Youku, and PP Shipin. Moreover, after a

year of planning and preparation, the 2.5D musical Onmyōji, a collaboration by Netease and

Nelke, was finally performed in China that same month.

The Experiment of the “Onmyōji Model”

In general, the China tour of Onmyōji was quite a success. Tickets for all 21

performances were almost sold out. Positive reviews and comments can be found all over social

media. They complimented the high fidelity of the play and the diligence of the actors.

Hardcore fans watched the play more than once; some even traveled around China to watch all

of the performances. 105 Thanks to the first stage of the game’s promotion, the Yinyangshi

gamers include a large group of nijigen fans who are, if they are not already 2.5D fans, potential

consumers of the adapted 2.5D play. In other words, there was a guaranteed number of

audience members even before the play was produced. While promoting the play, Nelke also

followed Netease’s strategy by emphasizing that the play was produced by and presented by a

100 percent Japanese team. This promotional technique subtly suggested the fidelity of the

105
In my conversation with fans before the evening performance of April 14 in Shanghai, some of them said
that, besides following the China tour, they also travelled to Japan in March for the performances in Tokyo so
that they could watch all the performances of the play. Touring together with their favored idol, band, or troupe
has become a common phenomenon in Japanese fan culture these days.

160
play, and at the same time, it leveraged on the Chinese people’s positive impression of “made

in Japan” to indicate the high quality of the play. Moreover, when casting actors for Yinyangshi,

Nelke deliberately chose actors familiar to Chinese audiences, such as ones who had

participated in previous performances in China. For instance, Rachi Shinji and Itō Yui, who

played Seimei and Kagura respectively, were both also in the 2.5D play series Live Spectacle

NARUTO,106 and they are well-known among Chinese 2.5D fans.

Despite its seemingly foolproof strategy, I argue that the success of the musical

Onmyōji is a unique case, and thus this model cannot be replicated in Japanese 2.5D theater’s

expansion into the Chinese market. There are several reasons for the predicted failure of this

mode for future 2.5D plays: 1) the initial target audience cannot appreciate 2.5D plays; 2) the

majority of Chinese audiences are not familiar with the musical as a theatrical style; and 3) not

many Chinese or Japanese original works are suitable for 2.5D collaboration like Yinyangshi.

To begin with, the Onmyōji musical received many negative comments among non-

2.5D theater fans and non-nijigen fan audiences, who were an important component of Nelke’s

expected audience. In my interview with one of the producers of Onmyōji, he said:

We wanted to expand our audience group from nijigen fans and 2.5D fans to a larger

consumer group. In Onmyōji’s case, our targeted consumer was the game player. We

wanted to see if it is possible to transfer (non-2.5D-fan) game players to 2.5D theater-

goers. Unfortunately, we cannot say the attempt was a success – most of the positive

feedback we received were from 2.5D fans. Gamers of Yinyangshi, both in China and

106
Itō Yui played Sakura in both of the NARUTO plays, and Rachi Shinji played Itachi in the second production.
They both performed in China during the plays’ Asia tours.

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 Japan, did not accept the performance well, and I don't think they will keep watching

2.5D plays. (Producer of Onmyōji 2018)

To the many fans and gamers who are neither nijigen fans nor 2.5D enthusiasts, and

who have constituted the majority of the users since the second stage of promotion, Yinyangshi

was just another mobile game. In my conversations with some of these gamers, they elaborated

that what got them interested was the card drawing system, the less demanding rules, and its

popularity among their friends; less attention was paid to the characters, voice actors, artwork,

or the storyline. This group of gamers had no interest in watching a 2.5D adaptation, and it was

hard to attract them to the theater in the first place. Also, the audience members with a non-

gaming background who actually went to the show, but with no preparation for the features of

2.5D theater, may be shocked by the performance. In the performance I watched, many people

started leaving the theater 10 to 15 minutes after the show commenced.107

It can be observed that some of the negative online feedback was clearly written by

audience members with no 2.5D theater experience. It had become a habit among 2.5D fans

that they would post almost no negative comments after watching a performance. 108 In

Onmyōji’s case, many audience members noticed the poor singing skills of the lead actress Itō

Yuyi, but the fans chose to defend the actress by emphasizing the difficulty of the songs and

complimenting her hard work (Longngui 2018). However, this perspective was only

acknowledged among fans, and it appeared to be absurd to other spectators. Most of the

negative comments online focused on poor singing skills, unsatisfactory musical compositions,

and the incoherent and weak storyline. Unlike 2.5D fans who were used to immature acting in

2.5D theater, ordinary audience members tended to be disappointed when they noticed the gap

107
The performance took place in Shanghai Hongqiao Art Centre on April 13, 2017.
108
According to my conversations with Sugawa Akiko, Fujimoto Yukari, and many other scholars in Japanese
popular culture, it has become an unspoken rule among the fans to remain polite in their online posts.

162
between the 2.5D actors and their own expectations, which were built upon their impressions

of Broadway musicals or spoken drama.

Fortunately, Nelke’s effort to engage game players was not a complete failure—it did

attract some non-2.5D theatergoers during its performances. However, many of them left the

theater hall shortly after the show started. What is more concerning for Nelke is that, when this

group of people watched the play, they did not spend money on the derivative merchandise

(Producer of Onmyōji 2018). The merchandise, such as pamphlets, posters, file folders, or

pictures of actors, were designed and made by the production company. According to the

producer, half of the company’s revenue comes from ticket sales, and the other half from the

sale of merchandise. If the new audience group refuses to purchase these goods, there will

certainly be a decline in the company’s income.

Secondly, going to the theater is not a social norm in contemporary China, let alone

watching musicals. People’s conceptions of a theatrical play are largely shaped by spoken

drama. They expect to see well-trained performers presenting realistic drama on stage (Zhou

2013), not a group of inexperienced young people singing poorly in exaggerated costumes.

Adding singing and dancing elements seems helpful to the adaptation of Yinyangshi, and Nelke

has successfully produced many 2.5D plays in this musical style. However, the company made

a mistake in its evaluation of the general Chinese audience’s acceptance of musical theater.

With an extremely short history of exposure to musical theater, China was considered an

“untapped market” for musicals (Tsai and Liu 2015, 430). Revenue in the Chinese musical

market fares rather poorly compared with its Japanese and Euromerican counterparts. In 2016,

the box-office income of musicals in China was 174 million RMB, with an attendance of only

1 million people (Xijuchuanmei 2017), which was even lower than the number of attendees of

2.5D theater in Japan that year. Considering the population and market size of the two countries,

it is safe to say that musicals are not widely known or accepted in China. This is mainly because

163
of the differences between industrialized Western musicals and 2.5D theater, and the notion

that musical theater has long been viewed as high art in China (B. Li 2013, 144). Some people

are intimidated by the term “musicals” (yinyueju) and believe that they are not able to

understand or appreciate them. Those who actually go to the theater sometimes have too high

expectations. This then leads to disappointment, especially when the quality of many of the

singing scenes in Onmyōji was below the average standard of Japanese 2.5D musicals.

Thirdly, not many original 2-dimensional works are suitable for adaptation into a

collaborative 2.5D production like the game Yinyangshi. Yinyangshi is perhaps the most well-

known and widely played mobile game in China’s game history. The enormous gamer base

ensures that this production will be profitable even if only a small percentage of gamers (which

includes nijigen fans and some 2.5D fans) pay for tickets. The Japan performance of this play

was only possible because of the game’s launch and popularity in Japan. It is difficult to

imagine that any other 2-dimensional work would have such an impact in both Japan and China.

Moreover, the storyline was situated in Japan, and all the lines were spoken in Japanese. This

made it possible for Nelke to hire a Japanese director and playwright, and to cast Japanese

actors in the production. To Chinese gamers and fans, a play performed in Japanese is more

faithful to the game, as a performance in Chinese may disrupt the coherent “Japanese

atmosphere” that Netease is trying to create. To Netease, of course, a play produced by a well-

known Japanese production company aligns with their promotion strategy of this play – they

are finally able to present a product that is “purely Japanese” to the Chinese audience.

Therefore, the collaboration between a Japanese 2.5D production team and a Chinese game

company can hardly be replicated in the adaptation of other games, especially those that set the

story in a specifically Chinese background.

164
The Future of Japanese 2.5D Theater in China
The Japanese 2.5D theater is still a rising industry with enormous potential in Japan

and East and Southeast Asia. According to Iida Ichishi, the value of this industry has been

increasing since 2014, but it should also be noted that the growth in attendance has slowed

down slightly in recent years in Japan. (Iida 2015, 235; “Japan 2.5-Dimensional Musical

Association Brochure” 2018). The niche consumer group this genre is targeted at means that,

under its current model, the market for 2.5D theater in Japan will gradually move toward the

point of saturation. 2.5D theater producers will have to revise the production and presentation

model of 2.5D theater, or expand the market to countries other than Japan. The former is

unlikely to happen, since the current system of 2.5D theater production functions well and is

acknowledged by different parties in the industry. A reformation at this moment would seem

reckless and illogical. As for the latter, the Japan 2.5D Musical Association has been making

efforts to appeal to the global market since it was established. Subtitle glasses for certain plays

have become a way to encourage foreigners to watch 2.5D shows in Japan. In addition,

overseas tours bring phenomenal 2.5D works to various countries around the world.

In addition, producers are trying to work closely with local markets outside of Japan in

order to globalize 2.5D theater. In 2015, the performance production company Issei Planning

Inc. produced a Korean version of its 2.5D musical Death Note. The Korean production

adopted the same music, choreography, and script, but sported a whole new cast composed of

native Korean actors. The play received many positive reviews from critics and was performed

again in 2017. In the same year, a Korean version of Nelke’s 2.5D musical Hanayori Dango

was performed in Seoul with native Korean actors. These two products were extremely popular

in Korea (partly because the cast included famous idols), and are successful cases of

localization of Japanese 2.5D theater.

However, this model of collaboration might not be applicable for Nelke China in the

near future. It might also be hard for Nelke to find another IP work that is suitable for adaptation

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into a Japanese 2.5D play. As Tan Jun, the CEO of Nelke China, emphasized, their main focus

will be importing Japanese plays into major Chinese cities. There are two main difficulties that

Nelke China now faces: the limited audience group and government censorship. As I gleaned

from my conversation with Nelke staff, they intend to produce the next Onmyōji play(s) – if

the negotiation with Netease works – into a musical as well. This might come from their

confidence in musical productions. Otherwise, it could also be a sign showing that Nelke China

is giving up on non-2.5D-fan audiences and instead focusing on the niche market in China.

Either way, the company is going to sacrifice a potential audience group. In my opinion, Nelke

should retain their attention on existing and potential nijigen fans and 2.5D fans, who are and

will continue to be the major consumers in this industry. In Onmyōji’s case, non-fan Chinese

audience members did not adapt well to the Japanese 2.5D play. The “purely Japanese” ideal

they are pursuing is no more than a few selected and localized Japanese elements shown in the

game.

Additionally, the increasing political influence and stricter censorship on works of art

in China in recent years will affect the importation of Japanese 2.5D plays. Performances in

different cities have to be approved by the local government, and the procedure can take more

than one month. Some plays with “sensitive” topics are not likely to be performed in China,

and even subtitle translations need to be revised according to the regulations. Considering the

dominant role that government policy plays in all industries in China, the development of

Japanese 2.5D theater in this country may also be influenced by the diplomatic relationship

between China and Japan.

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 Chapter 6 Conclusion

Summary
“It is really hard to get the tickets [for 2.5D plays]!” Uchino Tadashi complained in his

email to me. 2.5D theater is without a doubt one of the most popular theatrical genres in Japan

nowadays. Whether one is able to catch a 2.5D performance depends less on one’s financial

capacity as tickets are inexpensive – ranging from 5.000 yen to slightly over 10,000 yen, but

more on one’s luck – the demand for tickets is so intense that almost all of the plays sell their

tickets in the form of a lucky draw.

However, the scale of the 2.5D theater audience is still small compared to Takarazuka,

Shiki, and Broadway. When people with no experience of 2.5D theater hear about this genre

for the first time, they are usually confused by this strange-sounding name with the number

“2.5” in it. In my initial hypothesis, I also asked: What is 2.5D theater? This then became the

central question of my research. I addressed this question by first examining the broad

background of 2.5D theater, and then I zoomed in gradually to analyze the presentation and

perception of this genre as both a cultural product and a form of popular theater that was born

within contemporary Japanese media culture.

2.5D theater is a popular theater that has emerged in 21st century Japan. The origin of

2.5D theater is marked by the premiere of the first Musical The Prince of Tennis (Tenimyu)

production in 2003. The name 2.5D theater now refers to the manga-, anime-, and video games-

adapted theatrical performances that are produced inspired by the Tenimyu model. This genre

is intertwined with popular culture in contemporary Japan, and is supported by a powerful and

mature industry. Like other forms of popular theater in Japanese history, the actor and audience

in 2.5D theater share a close relationship with each other. This intimacy is intensified by the

idolization of 2.5D theater performers, which leads to the increased power of the audience as I

have discussed in chapter 3. Unlike other theatrical adaptations that have an emphasis on

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creativity, fidelity is the most important thing in 2.5D theater. Many 2.5D productions therefore

use various media technologies to faithfully represent the fictional world in the original work.

This genre is quickly expanding into the global market, with a specific focus on China.

In this dissertation, I traced the history of popular theater in Japan because I wanted to

argue that Japanese popular theater is always influenced by the socioeconomic context of its

time. As discussed in Chapter 2, in the Edo period, the expeditious development of a capitalistic

economy gave townspeople, especially the merchant class, more financial resources to spend

on entertainment. What they asked for was a flamboyant theatrical presentation of their daily

lives (Ortolani 1995). Meiji Japan embraced the influx of the exotic yet fascinating Western

culture, which led to an interest in Western literature, realistic drama, and popular

entertainment such as revue. After World War Two, Japanese people’s interests turned to

political movements, and this resulted in provocative theatrical productions in small theaters.

In these popular theater genres, actors also constantly maintain a close relationship with the

audience. By linking 2.5D theater with earlier popular theater genres, I provided a bigger

picture of the background of 2.5D theater. This new form of popular entertainment is not an

isolated cultural and theatrical product. Instead, it has benefited from the legacy of Japanese

popular theater throughout history, and is heavily influenced by the socioeconomic situation in

contemporary Japan.

In the past century, many manga-based plays were produced in Japan. Nonetheless, the

work that brought the public’s attention to manga-adapted theater was Takarazuka’s The Roses

of Versailles (Berubara) in 1974. The extraordinary success of Berubara not only made itself

the representative work of Takarazuka, but also led to more play adaptations of manga within

and outside of the company. In the 1990s, play adaptations of manga developed rapidly. Many

productions such as Saint Seiya (1991) and the Sailor Moon (1993–2005) series cast idols as

their protagonists. Also, my discussion of earlier manga and anime adaptations also revealed

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that these performances are different from the 2.5D productions that follow the Tenimyu model.

It is my contention that academic research on 2.5D theater should separate Tenimyu and

Tenimyu-inspired productions from other adaptations of 2-dimensional works.

I propose that productions produced under the Tenimyu model share similar ideologies

in production and presentation, and so they should be considered as an independent genre. In

this dissertation, I defined 2.5D theater as Tenimyu and Tenimyu-inspired 2.5D productions,

and I analyzed their features from the perspectives of presentation and perception. The

presentation of 2.5D theater consists of production strategies and stage presentation; its

perception involves audiences’ consumption and reception of this genre.

As a popular theater deeply connected with manga, anime, and video games, 2.5D

theater is closely tied to media culture and consumption in contemporary Japan. More

specifically, narrative consumption and database consumption, as well as the related anime

media mix, have influenced the production and marketing strategy of 2.5D theater. My analysis

of media mix theories in 2.5D theater not only broadened the spectrum of anime media mix,

but also highlighted the socioeconomic and cultural context of the 2.5D theater. As Japan

turned into a postmodern society, the mode of consumption gradually transitioned from

uniformed consumption of mass production to the post-Fordism model, which allows for

personalized consumption of flexible and miniaturized products. The change then triggered the

anime-centered media mix, which links anime with manga, novels, films, games, and many

other commodities.

2.5D theater clearly shows that anime media mix has also spread into the theater

industry, and the production and consumption model of anime media mix can be applied in the

analysis of 2.5D theater. In anime media mix, one narrative can be reproduced in multiple

forms and consumed multiple times. Moreover, the anime media mix also turns consumers into

prosumers (producer and consumer) who actively participate in particularizing the narrative,

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and sometimes create variant forms of the narrative. In recent years, the consumption of the

anime mix of media has become even more fragmented such that consumers can now choose

to consume small elements of a work, such as characters, voice actors, or certain storylines.

The consumption and production activities based on these elements are summarized as

database consumption by Azuma Hiroki (2009), which, as I argued in Chapter 2, parallels how

2.5D theater is consumed.

In Chapter 3, I summarized the features of 2.5D theater. Production companies choose

to divide the narrative into small pieces and produce long-running, serialized plays. Without a

proper beginning, climax, and ending, what the 2.5D plays present is not coherent stories, but

rather loosely connected episodes. The lack of integration is more obvious in musical

productions within the 2.5D theater ecology. Tenimyu and many 2.5D musical series not only

perform musicals that bear narratives, but they also hold live concerts. Moreover, some

productions, such as the musical Tōken Ranbu series, attach a one-hour live concert right after

the musical. Even the cast members of long-running 2.5D series are not consistent. In long-

running series, performers usually “graduate” from the production after a few years. The

graduation system makes sure that the teenage characters are performed by young performers,

and it also brings new faces and provides a refreshing theater experience for the audience.

These are all made possible because the audiences are familiar with these types of

production strategies in contemporary Japan. As consumers under the post-Fordism model,

these audiences are active prosumers who are willing to spend huge amounts of money for

repeated theater visits and all kinds of derivative goods. To please female audience members,

who account for the majority of the general 2.5D audience, many 2.5D productions choose to

cast young, good-looking but less experienced male performers. Instead of aiming for

perfection, these idolized actors reveal their struggles and development to establish a pseudo-

intimate relationship with the audience. The relationship between the actor and audience in

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2.5D theater is similar to the relationship between an idol and fans. Therefore, I argue that the

management of actors in 2.5D theater, as well as 2.5D theater itself, is influenced by the

star/idol system. My analysis of the features of 2.5D theater contributes to current research on

idol studies as well.

The last, but no less essential, feature of 2.5D theater is fidelity. 2.5D theater, as a

unique adaptation, has to maintain extreme faithfulness to the original work. Such fidelity is

reflected in the representations of characters via costumes, makeup, and casting, as well as the

representation of scenery through media technologies. In this mediatized era, it is inevitable

that various media are used in theater performances. When different media are placed together,

it is possible that intermediality may happen. Intermediality emphasizes the “inbetweenness”—

it happens in-between performer and audience, performance and media, and different realities.

The simultaneously dependent and independent relationships between different media

elements therefore cause gaps between the performer’s space and the audience’s space,

between actor and spectator, and between different media on the stage. Intermedial

performance is no longer an integrated whole. Instead, the media become simultaneously

dependent on and independent from each other. The ontology of different media forms is

emphasized and displayed in front of the audience. Here, I followed Kattenbelt’s definition and

interpreted “media” as different arts presented in a performance (Kattenbelt 2008, 21).

Previous studies on intermediality have focused on experimental or avant-garde theater.

Deliberately created intermediality in theater and performance aims to disturb and alienate the

audience so as to achieve an artistic goal. However, I argue that intermediality can be a

common phenomenon that appears on all kinds of stages, as long as gaps emerge in the use of

various media. Various media elements, such as digitization, anime techniques, manga

techniques, video, music, and performance, can also be found in 2.5D performances, but the

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perception of intermediality among 2.5D audiences should be analyzed in the context of

Japanese media culture.

While analyzing intermedial elements in 2.5D plays, I realized that existing theories in

intermediality studies cannot explain the presentation and perception of intermediality in

popular theater. Therefore, I proposed a new theory of perception that places an emphasis on

the influence of cultural specificity. My findings add to the theories in intermediality studies

and popular theater studies in general. Firstly, they prove that intermediality is not exclusive to

experimental and cutting-edge plays. Secondly, intermediality is a common phenomenon that

can be found in any theatrical genre, including the popular and commercial theater. In addition,

this research proposed a new theory of perception of intermediality in popular theater as

represented by 2.5D theater. My analysis shows that the presentation and perception of

intermedial elements in 2.5D theater is greatly influenced by the context in which 2.5D theater

is created. I argue that the perception of intermediality in theater and performance should be

studied within the context of the socioeconomic and cultural situation of the genre, as these

elements can influence the audience’s experience with intermediality. For spectators who are

used to the fragmented media culture and media mix products in contemporary Japan,

intermediality does not affect the entertainment effect of 2.5D plays. In fact, products that

develop in the contemporary Japanese media culture are not only familiar to the Japanese

consumers, but they have long been consumed throughout the world. The worldwide popularity

of Japanese manga and anime has prepared global consumers for other products in the anime

media mix. Therefore, I suggest that the intermedial elements in 2.5D theater do not necessarily

disturb non-Japanese audiences.

Foreign audiences’ acceptance of the unique aesthetics of 2.5D theater helps with its

entrance into the global market. After establishing its China branch to manage performances

in the greater China area, many Japanese 2.5D performances have been imported to China,

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Korea, and many other Southeast Asian countries. I believe that the global expansion of the

2.5D industry is consistent with the development of the “IP boom” in China, and it was easily

understood by Chinese audiences. In Chapter 5, I analyzed the 2.5D musical collaboration by

Nelke and the Chinese game development company Netease, Onmyōji ~Heian Emaki~ (2018).

The musical was adapted from the Chinese online and mobile game Yinyangshi (Jp., Onmyōji).

It premiered in Japan and then traveled to China for a tour from March 30 to April 22, 2018 in

Shenzhen, Shanghai, and Beijing. Despite the satisfactory box-office revenue overall, I argue

that Nelke’s attempt to enlarge its consumer group in China was a failure, mainly due to an

overestimation of the acceptance and understanding of theater, especially musicals, in China.

By bringing 2.5D theater in China into discussion, I examined the global expansion of

2.5D theater. The comparison between Japanese and Chinese 2.5D plays, as well as the

different attitudes toward this genre among ordinary Chinese audiences and 2.5D fans, further

demonstrated the distinctive features of the production and consumption of 2.5D theater. The

analysis on Chinese IP theater and 2.5D theater in China fills a gap in the studies of

contemporary Chinese theater.

2.5D theater is a distinct theatrical genre that emerged in contemporary Japan. As a

popular theater deeply rooted in the anime-centered popular culture in contemporary Japanese

society, 2.5D theater should be studied from both the perspectives of cultural studies and

theater studies. During the course of this research, however, it became clear that these two

perspectives were not mutually exclusive, and that a comprehensive analysis of this genre

required an interdisciplinary research method.

In analyzing 2.5D theater as a product of the anime-centered mix of media, I proposed

that 2.5D theater has influenced various visual products, such as manga, anime, games, TV

drama, and film. Not only do the narratives and characters of the plays originate from manga,

anime, and video games, but the mise-en-scène is also affected by the language used in these

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media genres. Therefore, I had to conduct performance analyses to prove that film and anime

techniques such as montage and opening sequences, as well as manga techniques such as

onomatopoeia and limited animation, can be found in many 2.5D performances. Instead of

being an integrated piece, 2.5D theater is a collage of different media, including lighting, music,

dancing, and so on. Adopting theories from popular culture studies, I argue that the 2.5D play

can be viewed as a database that contains different elements, such as character, performer,

storyline, stage performance, and so forth. Spectators who play the role of consumer are

actually consuming these narratives as intangible commodities according to their own demands.

While consuming the existing narratives, the audience also actively creates new narratives,

which ensures the long-lasting and effective consumption of 2.5D theater.

Moreover, the discussion on the actor-audience relationship in 2.5D theater also

involves cultural studies. Throughout the history of popular theater in Japan, a close

relationship has been maintained between the actor and the audience. The actor serves as an

important attraction in 2.5D theater. Audience members go to the theater to see their favorite

performers, while performers actively interact with their fans in order to sustain their

relationship. 2.5D performers are frequently seen on platforms other than theater, such as

variety shows, films, anime voice acting, and of course, social media. The intense exposure of

the performers makes them widely known to existing and potential audiences, and at the same

time, it promotes 2.5D theater to the public. This management strategy is influenced by the star

system and the idol system, which have been a feature of Japanese theater since the second half

of the 1990s (Uchino 2016, 151–52). These intertwined references to cultural and theater

studies demonstrate that 2.5D theater cannot be detached from the popular culture it originated

from, nor can we ignore the theatrical elements in this genre.

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Limitations of the Research
I realize that my research might be challenged in a few ways. First, due to the limited

time frame, this research only involves a small number of interviews with spectators and

practitioners of 2.5D theater. Although I have referred widely to published interviews with

2.5D theater artists and the online posts made by the audience, the study would be made more

accurate if I had conducted more face-to-face interviews with the relevant parties. In the near

future, I plan to further this qualitative study by adding more first-hand interviews.

2.5D theater is a very young and highly commercialized genre: it was not until the late

2000s that 2.5D theater was widely recognized as a genre in itself. Considering its short history

and prosperous development, this genre is still evolving. Although, as a commercialized theater,

the 2.5D theater industry has already formed a standard system of production, it has not yet

achieved a stable status. Moreover, its close relationship with the market and the audience

implies that each play, and even each edition of a play, can be easily adjusted to please the

consumer. The diversity of original texts, marketing strategies, and directing styles makes it

difficult to summarize the patterns and features of 2.5D theater and to study this genre as a

whole. As an industry and theater genre that is still in its nascent state of development, and

despite its present significance in both the Japanese theatrical and popular culture scenes, it is

difficult to predict its future development. My post-thesis research will continue to trace the

development of 2.5D theater, building on my present research.

Next, the lack of studies on intermediality in popular theater also creates difficulties in

my research. As mentioned in previous chapters, established intermediality studies only focus

on Western avant-garde theater. The experimental nature of avant-garde plays results in

frequent changes in the application and reception of intermediality, and this has led to a rapid

development in intermediality theories. Unintentionally created intermedial effects and their

influences on audiences’ perception remain untouched in academia. Therefore, this is a good

opportunity for me to contribute to this area of research by examining the issue from the

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perspective of Japanese social and cultural contexts. My arguments will no doubt be

controversial and invite questions, but I have also presented the rationale behind them. I have

explained that the perception of intermediality is affected by the lived experiences of the

audience members, and that their unique social and cultural backgrounds have nurtured a group

of theater-goers who are not alienated or disturbed by intermedial elements.

Lastly, despite the prosperity of the 2.5D theater industry, some practitioners and critics

have expressed their concerns about the bursting of this “2.5D bubble” and the development of

this industry in the future (see Enterstage Editorial Staff 2019). In my private conversations

with 2.5D theater practitioners, some claimed that this genre is too popular and that they are

afraid it has reached its peak. To avoid a decline after this boom, many are employing new

strategies to maintain and attract their audiences. Moreover, the reduced number of theater

halls within Tokyo limits options for the staging of 2.5D productions. For instance, the AiiA

2.5 Theater Tokyo (Aia 2.5 Shiatā Tōkyō) closed at the end of 2018 after its lease expired.

Although Matsuda states that the situation will improve after the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, there

could still be some impact on the development of this industry (ibid.). An analysis of the

strategies companies and practitioners take to revive the industry would be conducted in

reference to other popular entertainment genres, especially in this COVID-19 pandemic.

Future Developments in 2.5D Theater and 2.5D Theater Studies

I started this research project because I was fascinated by the media mix in

contemporary Japan. Seeing a confluence of manga, anime, TV drama, film, and many other

entertainment sectors, I tried to look for the position of theater in this ecology. Without a doubt,

2.5D theater is a perfect example of theater in the media mix. However, some practitioners and

scholars, including myself, question whether 2.5D theater can be considered to be

representative of contemporary Japanese theater. This genre is so unique that its actors,

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performing style, and audience members are distinct from other theatrical performances.

Kayano Isamu, the director of many 2.5D plays including the musical Tōken Ranbu series, was

interviewed by the magazine Enterstage (Entasutēji) in March 2019. In the interview, Kayano

expressed his concerns:

People who are playing important roles in 2.5D theater are theater practitioners with

decades of experiences like us. We are happy that 2.5D theater attracted so many

audiences, but on the other hand, very few people choose to watch more serious plays.

[…] I would be much relieved if people who enjoyed 2.5D theater can go watch other

theatrical or shōgekijō works, broaden the scope of their preferred theater, and connect

[us with] the next generation [of theater practitioners]” (Kayano in Enterstage Editorial

Staff 2019).

To Kayano, there is a gap between 2.5D theater and “serious” theater, which refers to

less commercialized and less popular theatrical performances. His concern is not groundless:

The huge differences between 2.5D theater and other theatrical genres mean that very few 2.5D

theater spectators are actually interested in theatrical performance per se. Some 2.5D theater

spectators’ understanding of theater and musicals is formed by their experiences with 2.5D

performances, which may become a problem for theater circles in Japan. From this perspective,

I ask: Has 2.5D theater rejuvenated contemporary Japanese theater at all? Based on the research

I have done, I would argue that the answer is yes. First, the success of 2.5D theater encouraged

more adaptations of 2-dimensional works in the theater industry. Some more serious theatrical

companies started producing manga-, anime-, and video game-based plays. Some audiences,

especially fans of the original works, were attracted by Super Kabuki II One Piece (2015–2018)

and recent Takarazuka shows based on manga, such as Rurōni Kenshin (2016) and The Poe

177
Clan (2018) (see kotomario1001 2015). Moreover, well-known 2.5D theater performers are

also participating in non-2.5D works. For instance, Seven Souls in the Skull Castle (2017–2018)

presented a version with two groups of cast members, which featured voice performers and

2.5D actors respectively. Similar performances attracted many fans of these performers, as well

as fans of 2.5D theater (PIA 2019). Although not all 2.5D spectators will become theater fans,

I believe that 2.5D as a live performance has prepared them with theatrical language so that

they may find serious theater less obscure. The familiar environment of theater may bring 2.5D

audiences to other theatrical genres, and even eventually bring the younger generation to

theater halls.

The hybrid nature of this rapidly developing theatrical genre makes its success

influential in many other fields. A notable technique is the live streaming of performances.

Live streaming has been adopted in 2.5D productions for a while, but only in recent years has

it been frequently used. Potential audience members who are not able to purchase tickets, or

those who cannot reach the theater, can choose to watch the performance in a movie theater or

on the video sharing website “Niconico” (nikoniko, [Link]). While watching the

live stream, audience members can type their comments, which will be presented immediately

on the video screen. This new commenting style, which was invented by Niconico, is called

“danmaku” or—its literal meaning—“bullet curtain.” The comments are synchronized with the

video timeline, creating a shared theater-watching experience. Live streaming brings the 2.5D

performance and perception back to the 2-dimensional realm again, and it also creates an

archive of 2.5D theater.

Another clear change that can be observed is the idolization of voice performers. Some

voice performers make their debut as idols, following the Love Live! (Rabu Raibu!) model.

178
Others gain more exposure on different media platforms, or even perform in 2.5D plays.109 The

accomplishments achieved with 2-dimensional content have inspired other theatrical genres,

leading to more forms of adaptations of manga, anime, and video games. For instance,

Shochiku, the largest production company of Kabuki, produced a Kabuki play based on the

manga Naruto. Another Kabuki play, based on Miyazaki Hayao’s manga Nausicaa of the

Valley of the Wind (Kaze no Tani no Naushika), was performed in December 2019.110

Finally, we observe that 2.5D theater continues to expand outside of Japan. In 2019,

the Tōken Ranbu series brought performances to cities such as Bangkok, Macao, and Shanghai.

Also, the second play in the Onmyōji series, Onmyōji ~Ōeyama hen~ (2019, Ch., Yinyangshi:

Dajiangshan Pian) had a tour in China from June to August 2019. A Naruto theme park

operated by Nelke China will open at the end of this year (2019). 2.5D theater and 2.5D culture

are attempting to penetrate into the daily entertainment habits of the Chinese. However,

whether this attempt will be a success also depends on the political relationship between Japan

and China, as well as the censorship policies of the Chinese government. Together with 2.5D

theater, other 2.5D cultural activities, such as content tourism and cosplay, have also gained

more attention. Many of these aspects of 2.5D theater can be explored academically, and they

will be the focus of my future research.

109
Love Live! is a cross-media project co-developed by the animation studio Sunrise Inc., the music publisher
Lantis Company, Ltd., and the magazine Dengeki G’s Magazine. The plot of this project centers around nine
schoolgirls who want to debut as an idol group “μ's.” The narratives are presented on various media platforms
including manga, light novels, CDs, video games, radio broadcasts, and TV anime. Also, the voice actresses
who dubbed for the nine protagonists also debut in the form of an idol group with the same name μ's.
110
Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind was first serialized as a manga by Miyazaki Hayao from 1982 to 1994. In
1984, Miyazaki himself directed an animated film with the same name that was based on this story.

179
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 Appendices
Appendix 1 List of Japan 2.5-Dimensional Musical Association Members

MEMBER TYPES ENGLISH/ROMAJI JAPANESE ROMAJI PRONUNCIATION

Special Members Shueisha Inc. 株式会社集英社 Kabushiki Kaisha Shueisha
Kodansha Ltd. 株式会社講談社 Kabushiki Kaisha Kōdansha
Shogakukan Inc. 株式会社小学館 Kabushiki Kaisha Shōgakukan
Tezuka Productions Co., Ltd. 株式会社手塚プロダクション Kabushiki Kaisha Tezuka
Purodakuson
Akita Publishing Co., Ltd. 株式会社秋田書店 Kabushiki Kaisha Akita Shoten
Hakusensha, Inc. 株式会社白泉社 Kabushiki Kaisha Hakusensha
Kadokawa Co. 株式会社ＫＡＤＯＫＡＷＡ Kabushiki Kaisha KADOKAWA
Corporate Board Members Nelke Planning Co., Ltd. 株式会社ネルケプランニング Kabushiki Kaisha Neruke Puranningu
Members
HoliPro Inc. 株式会社ホリプロ Kabushiki Kaisha Horipuro
Marvelous Inc. 株式会社マーベラス Kabushiki Kaisha Māberasu
BANDAI NAMCO Live 株式会社バンダイナムコライ Kabushiki Kaisha Bandai Namuko
Creative Inc. ブクリエイティブ Raibu Kurietibu
Pierrot Co., Ltd. 株式会社ぴえろ Kabushiki Kaisha Piero
Avex Inc. エイベックス株式会社 Eibekkusu Kabushiki Kaisha
Gorch Brothers, Ltd. 有限会社ゴーチ・ブラザーズ Yūgen Kaisha Gōchi Burazāsu

199
Other Members AiiA Co. アイア株式会社 Aia Kabushiki Kaisha
(Order of
Japanese ADK Holdings Inc. 株式会社 ADK ホールディング Kabushiki Kaisha ADK Hōrudingusu
Syllabary) ス
Aniplex Inc. 株式会社アニプレックス Kabushiki Kaisha Anipurekkusu
Animate Co. 株式会社アニメイト Kabushiki Kaisha Animeito
Amuse Inc. 株式会社アミューズ Kabushiki Kaisha Amyūzu
ARUTEMATE Co., Ltd. 株式会社アルテメイト Kabushiki Kaisha Arutemeito
EBISTRADE Inc. イービストレード株式会社 Ībisutorēdo Kabushiki Kaisha
Eplus Inc. 株式会社イープラス Kabushiki Kaisha Īpurasu
AT-X, Inc. 株式会社エー・ティー・エッ Kabushiki Kaisha Ē Tí Ekkusu
クス
XING Inc. 株式会社エクシング Kabushiki Kaisha Ekushingu
LDH JAPAN Inc. 株式会社ＬＤＨ Kabushiki Kaisha LDH
Tokyo Arts Institute, Institute of 学校法人 東京芸術学園 音響 Gakko Hōjin Tōkyō Geijutsu Gakuen
Sound Arts 芸術専門学校 Onkyō Geijutsu Senmon Gakko

GYAO Co. 株式会社ＧＹＡＯ Kabushiki Kaisha GYAO

CUBE. Inc. 株式会社キューブ Kabushiki Kaisha Kyūbu
KNT Corporate Business Co., 株式会社近畿日本ツーリスト Kabushiki Kaisha Kinki Nihon
Ltd. コーポレートビジネス Tsūrisuto Kōporēto Bijinesu

Sunrise Promotion Tokyo Inc. 株式会社サンライズプロモー Kabushiki Kaisha Sanraizu

ション東京 Puromōshon Tōkyō

200
Sunrise Promotion Osaka Inc. 株式会社サンライズプロモー Kabushiki Kaisha Sanraizu
ション大阪 Puromōshon Ōsaka
Zimaku Plus Inc. Zｉｍａｋｕプラス株式会社 Zimaku Purasu Kabushiki Kaisha
Shochiku Broadcasting Co.,Ltd. 松竹ブロードキャスティング Shōchiku Burōdokyasutingu Kabushiki
株式会社 Kaisha
SKIYAKI Inc. 株式会社ＳＫＩＹＡＫＩ Kabushiki Kaisha SKIYAKI
T&J Solusions, Ltd. 有限会社Ｔ＆Ｊ Ｓｏｌｕｔ Yūgen Kaisha T&J Solutions
ｉｏｎｓ
[Link] Group 合同会社ＤＭＭ.ｃｏｍ Gōdō Kaisha [Link]
D-trade Inc. 株式会社ディ・トレード Gōtō Kaisha Di Torēdo
Tokyo Broadcasting System 株式会社ＴＢＳテレビ Kabushiki Kaisha TBS Terebi
Television, Inc.
Tetsujin Inc. 株式会社鉄人化計画 Kabushiki Kaisha Tetsujinka Keikaku
TV Asahi Music Co., Ltd. 株式会社テレビ朝日ミュージ Kabushiki Kaisha Terebi Asahi
ック Myūjikku
TV TOKYO Co. 株式会社テレビ東京 Kabushiki Kaisha Terebi Tōkyō
Toho Co., Ltd. 東宝株式会社 Tōhō Kabushiki Kaisha
Tokyo Metropolitan Television ＴＯＫＹＯ ＭＸ TOKYOMX
Broadcasting Co.
DWANGO Co., Ltd. 株式会社ドワンゴ Kabushiki Kaisha Dowango
Nitroplus Co., Ltd. 株式会社ニトロプラス Kabushiki Kaisha Nitoro Purasu

201
Katayanagi Institute, Nihon 学校法人 片柳学園 日本工学 Gakko Hōjin Katayanagi Gakuen
Kogakuin 院専門学校 Nihon Kōgakuin Senmon Gakko
PIA Co. ぴあ株式会社 Pia Kabushiki Kaisha
PRG K.K. ＰＲＧ株式会社 PRG Kabushiki Kaisha
BE-HONEST Inc. 株式会社ビーオネスト Kabushiki Kaisha Pīonesuto
Biske. Co., Ltd. 株式会社ビスケ Kabushiki Kaisha Bisuke
Fuji Television Network, Inc. 株式会社フジテレビジョン Kabushiki Kaisha Fuji Terebijon
Bushiroad Inc. 株式会社ブシロード Kabushiki Kaisha Bushirōdo
Brother Industries, Ltd. ブラザー工業株式会社 Burazā Kōgyō Kabushiki Kaisha
Prince Hotels, Inc., Shinagawa 株式会社プリンスホテル 品 Kabushiki Kaisha Purinsu Hoteru
Prince Hotel 川プリンスホテル Shinagawa Purinsu Hoteru
PRODUCTION ACE Co., Ltd. 株式会社プロダクション・エ Kabushiki Kaisha Purodakuson Ēsu
ース
BENELIC Co., Ltd. ベネリック株式会社 Benerikku Kabushiki Kaisha
Movic Inc. 株式会社ムービック Kabushiki Kaisha Mūbikku
euclid agency, Inc. 株式会社ユークリッド・エー Kabushiki Kaisha Ūkuriddo Ējenshī
ジェンシー
Yomiuri Telecasting Co. 讀賣テレビ放送株式会社 Yomiuri Terebi Hōsō Kabushiki
Kaisha
Yoyogi Animation Academy 代々木アニメーション学院 Yoyogi Animēshon Gakuin
Live Viewing Japan, Inc. 株式会社ライブ・ビューイン Kabushiki Kaisha Raibu Byūingu
グ・ジャパン Japan

202
 Liber Entertainment Inc. 株式会社リベル・エンタテイ Kabushiki Kaisha Ribera
ンメント Entateinmento
Lawson Entertainment, Inc. 株式会社ローソンエンタテイ Kabushiki Kaisha Rōson
ンメント Entateinmento
Individual Members Kayano Isamu 茅野イサム
Kodama Akiko 児玉明子
Sadakata Shō 貞方祥
Hiramitsu Takuya 平光琢也
Mitsuya Yūji 三ツ矢雄二
Mōri Nobuhiro 毛利亘宏

203
Appendix 2 Chronological Table of Representative Stage Adaptations of Manga, Anime, and Video Games
DATE NAME NAME TROUPE DIRECTOR
1924 The Advantures of Shō-chan premiere 「正ちゃんの冒険」初演 Takarazuka Girls’
(Shō-chan no Bōken) Revue
1966 Sazae-san series premiere 「サザエさん」シリズ初演 Aoyagi Nobuo
青柳 信雄
1974 The Rose of Versailles premiere 「ベルサイユのばら」初演 Takarazuka
(Berusaiyu no Bara)
1980 Musical The Galaxy Railway 999 premiere ミュージカル「銀河鉄道 999」初演 SKD
(Ginga Tetsudō 999)
1982 Ge Ge Ge no Ge ゲゲゲのげ Watanabe Eri
渡辺えり
1986 Hanshin premiere 「半神」初演 Yume no Noda Hideki
Yūminsha 野田秀樹
1991 Saint Seiya (Seinto Seiya) 「聖闘士星矢」 Mitsuya Yūji
三ツ矢雄二
1993 Musical Sailor Moon series premiere ミュージカル「美少女戦士セーラー
(Myūjikaru Bishōjo Senshi Sērā Mun) ムーン」シリーズ初演
1993 Hime-chan no Ribon ミュージカル「姫ちゃんのリボン」
1994 Musical Sazae-san (Ongakugeki Sazae-san) 音楽劇「サザエさん」 Uyama Hitoshi
鵜山仁
1994 The Phoenix (Hi no Tori) 「火の鳥」 Kuriyama
Tamiya
栗山民也
1995 Beauty and the Beast premiere (Bijyo to Yajū) 「美女と野獣」初演 Shiki
1996 The Heart of Thomas premiere (Tōma no Shinzō) 「トーマの心臓」 Studio Life

204
1997 Sakura War series premiere (Sakura Taisen Kayō サクラ大戦歌謡ショウ「帝国歌劇団 Teigoku Kagekidan
Shou: Teigoku Kagekidan Hanagumi Tokubetsu 花組特別公演」シリーズ初演 Hanagumi
Kōen)
1997 GALAXY EXPRESS 999 The Musicals 「GALAXY EXPRESS 999 The Kodama Akiko
Musicals」 児玉明子
1997 Ushio and Tora series premiere (Ushio to Tora) 「うしおととら」シリーズ Theater OM

1998 The Visitor premiere (Hōmon Sha) 「訪問者」 Studio Life

1998 Musical Bhuddah (Ongaku Geki Budda) 音楽劇「ブッダ」 Kuriyama
Tamiya
栗山民也
1998 Lion King premiere (Raion Kingu) 「ライオンキング」 Shiki
1999 Stage This is the Police Station in Front of 舞台版「こちら葛飾区亀有公園前派 Rasāru Ishii
Kameari Park in Kazai Ward (Kochira Kazai-ku 出所」 ラサール石井
Kameari Kōen-mae Hashutsujo)
2000 NINAGAWA Phoenix (NINAGAWA Hi no Tori) 「NINAGAWA 火の鳥」 Ninagawa
Yukio
蜷川幸雄
2000 Musical HUNTER X HUNTER series premiere ミュージカル「HUNTER X HUNTER」 Hiramitsu
シリーズ Takuya
平光琢也
2002 Son of the Moon premiere (Tsuki no Ko) 「月の子」初演 Studio Life
2003 Hyakki Yakōshō 「百鬼夜行抄」 Hanagumi Shibai
2003 Musical The Prince of Tennis 1st Season ミュージカル テニスの王子様 Ist Ueshima Yukio
(Myūjikaru Tenisu no Ōjisama) シーズン 上島雪夫
2003 Sakura War Shin-Takarajima series premiere サクラ大戦スーパー歌謡ショウ「新 Kayano Isamu
(Sakura Taisen Sūpa Kayō Shou: Shintakarajima) 宝島」シリーズ初演 茅野イサム

205
2003 OZ premiere 「OZ」初演 Studio Life
2005 Azumi series premiere 「あずみ」シリーズ Okamura
Shunichi
岡村俊一
2005 ROCK MUSICAL BLEACH series premiere 「ROCK MUSICAL BLEACH」 シリーズ Hiramitsu
Takuya
平光琢也
2006 Shinsaku Noh Kurenai Tennyō 新作能「紅天女」 Umewaka
Rokurō
梅若六郎
2006 Ribbon Knight Musical 「リボンの騎士 ザ・ミュージカル」 Kimura Shinji
(Ribon no Naito za Myūjikaru) 木村信司
2006 Stanley’s Witch (Sutanre no Majo) 「スタンレーの魔女」 Mikasano Chūji
御笠ノ忠次
2007 Musical Air Gear series (Myūjikaru Ea Gia) ミュージカル「エア・ギア」シリー Kayano Isamu
ズ 茅野イサム
2007 Message to Adolf (Adorufu ni Tsugu) 「アドルフに告ぐ」 Studio LIfe
2008 Musical Glass Mask (Garasu no Kamen) 音楽劇「ガラスの仮面」 Ninagawa
Yukio
蜷川幸雄
2008 SAMURAI 7 舞台「SAMURAI 7」 Okamura
Shunichi
岡村俊一
2009 Musical Kuro Shitsuji series premiere (Ongaku 音楽舞闘会「黒執事」-その執事、友 Asanuma
Butōkai Kuroshitsuji: Sono Shitsuji, Yūkō) 好-シリーズ Shintarō
浅沼晋太郎

206
2009 Stage Sengoku BASARA series premiere 舞台「戦国 BASARA」シリーズ Nishida
Daisuke
西田大輔
2010 Musical Nintama Rantarō series premiere ミュージカル「忍たま乱太郎」シリ Ōwada Goshi
ーズ 大和田悟史
2010 Astro Boy (Atomu) 「アトム」 Warabi-za Yokouchi
Kensuke
横内謙介
2010 Roku de nashi BLUES 「ろくでなし BLUES」 EXILE Kayano Isamu
茅野イサム
2010 Hakuonki Shinsengumi Enburoku 「薄桜鬼新選組炎舞録」 Mōri Nobuhiro
毛利亘宏
2011 Tenimyu 2nd Season ミュージカル「テニスの王子様」2 Ueshima Yukio
nd シーズン シリーズ 上島雪夫
2011 Legend of the Galactic Heroes series premiere 舞台「銀河英雄伝説」 シリーズ Horie Kei
(Butai Ginga Eiyū Densetsu) 堀江慶
2011 Super Musical Saint Seiya スーパーミュージカル「聖闘士星 Kayano Isamu
(Sūpā Myūjikaru Seinto Seiya) 矢」 茅野イサム
2012 Stage Yowamushi Pedal series premiere 舞台「弱虫ペダル」シリーズ Nishida
(Butai Yowamushi Pedaru) Shatona
西田シャトナ
2012 MACROSS THE MUSICULTURE 「マクロス ザ・ミュージカルチャ Kayano Isamu
ー」 茅野イサム
2012 Musical Hakuonki series ミュージカル「薄桜鬼」シリーズ Mōri Nobuhiro
毛利亘宏
2012 Legend of the Galactic Heroes @ TAKARAZUKA 「銀河英雄伝説@TAKARAZUKA」 Takarazuka
(Ginga Eiyū Densetsu @TAKARAZUKA)

207
2012 Lychee Light Club 「ライチ☆光クラブ」 Emoto Junko
(Raichi Hikari Kurabu) 江本純子
2013 Musical Little Mermaid ミュージカル「リトルマーメイド」 Shiki
(Myūjikaru Ritoru Māmeido)
2013 Musical Buddah (Myūjikaru Budda) ミュージカル「ブッダ」 Warabi-za
2013 Musical Senbonzakura 音楽劇「千本桜」 Kayano Isamu
(Ongaku Geki Senbonzakura) 茅野イサム
2013 Sengoku BASARA -Masada Yukimura hen- 「戦国 BASARA」-真田幸村編- Takarazuka
2013 Musical Sailor Moon revival ミュージカル「美少女戦士セーラー Hiramitsu
ムーン」シリーズ再开 Takuya
平光琢也
2013 Stage My Host-chan series premiere 舞台「私のホストちゃん」シリーズ Murakami
(Butai Watashi no Hosuto-chan) Hiroki
村上大樹
2014 Gyakuden Saipan series 舞台「逆転裁判」シリーズ Ōzeki Makoto
大関真
2014 Gakuran Kageki Teiichi no Kuni series 學蘭歌劇「帝一の國」シリーズ Kobayashi
Kensaku
小林顕作
2014 Hanshin 「半神」 Tokyo
Metropolitan
Theater &
Myondon Theater
(Korea)
2014 Super Musical Bakumatsu Rock 超歌劇「幕末 Rock」 Yoshitani
(Chōkageki Bakumatsu Rock) Kōtarō
吉谷光太郎

208
2015 Lupin the Third: Chase the Princess’s Necklace! 「ルパン三世ー王妃の首飾りを追 Takarazuka
(Rupan Sansei: Ōhi no Kubikazari wo Oe!) え！ー」
2015 Mushishi 詠舞台「蟲師」 Nakamura
Kazuaki
中村和明
2015 Tokyo One Piece Tower: ONE PIECE LIVE 東京ワンピースタワー「ONEPIECE Worry
ATTRACTION LIVE ATTRACTION Kinoshita ウォ
(Tokyo Wanpīsu Tawā) ーリー木下
2015 Live Spectacle NARUTO ライブ・スペクタクル「NARUTO-ナル Kodama Akiko
(Raibu Supekutakuru NARUTO) ト-」 児玉明子
2015 Death Note THE MUSICAL 「デスノート THE MUSICAL」 Kuriyama
(Desunōto THE MUSICAL) Tamiya
栗山民也
2015 Musical Aladdin (Myūjikaru Arajin) ミュージカル「アラジン」 Shiki
2015 Message to Adolf (Adorufu ni Tsugu) 「アドルフに告ぐ」 Kuriyama
Tamiya
栗山民也
2015 Stage Tokyo Guru (Butai Tōkyō Gūru) 舞台「東京喰種トーキョーグール」 Kayano Isamu
茅野イサム
2015 Super Kabuki II One Piece スーパー歌舞伎 II 「ワンピース」
(Sūpā Kabuki II Wanpīsu )
2015 Musical Tōken Ranbu Trial Performance ミュージカル「刀剣乱舞」 トライア Kayano Isamu
(Myūjikaru Tōken Ranbu Toraiaru Kōen) ル公演 茅野イサム
2015 Hyper Projection Engeki Haikyu!! ハイパープロジェクション演劇「ハ Worry
(Haipā Purojekushon Engeiki Haikyū!!) イキュー！！」 Kinoshita ウォ
ーリー木下
2015 Musical Seishun-AOHARU-Railway ミュージカル「青春-AOHARU-鉄道」 Kawajiri Keita

209
 川尻恵太
2016 Flower Four The Musical 花より男子 The Musical Suzuki Yumi
(Hanayori Danko The Musical) 鈴木裕美
2016 Rurōni Kenshin 「るろうに剣心」 Takarazuka
2016 Stage Kuroko’s Basket THE ENCOUNTER 舞台「黒子のバスケ」THE ENCOUNTER Nakayashiki
(Butai Kuroko no Basuke THE ENCOUNTER) Norihito
中屋敷法仁
2018 The Galaxy Railway 999 40 Years anniversary: 銀河鉄道 999 40 周年記念作品舞台 Kodama Akiko
GALAXY OPERA 『銀河鉄道 999』〜～GALAXY OPERA 児玉明子
(Ginga Tetsudō 999 40 Shunen Kinen Sakuhin 〜
Butai Ginga Tetsudō 999~~GALAXY OPERA~~)

210
Appendix 3 Takarazuka Musicals of Manga Adaptations

NAME JAPANESE DATE TROUPE THEATER NOTE

NAME
The Adventure of Shō-chan (Shō- 「正ちゃんの冒 1924.10.1-10.21 Moon Group Takarazuka Grand Based on Kabashima
chan no Bōken, premiere) 険」初演 Theater Katsuichi’s manga Shō-chan
no Bōken
The Adventure of Shō-chan (Shō- 「正ちゃんの冒 1925.5.16-5.24 Ichimura-za
chan no Bōken, repeated 険」再演
performance)
Draw the Sword (Katana wo 「刀を抜いて」 1956.9.1-9.30 Star Group Takarazuka Grand Based Okamoto Ippei’s manga
Nuite, premiere) 初演 Theater Katana wo Nuite
1956.11.2-11.27 Tokyo Takarazuka
Theater
The Rose of Versailles 「ベルサイユの 1974.8.29-9.26 Moon Group Takarazuka Grand Based on Ikeda Riyoko’s
(Berusaiyu no Bara, premiere) ばら」初演 Theater manga Berusaiyu no Bara
1974.11.2-11.27 Tokyo Takarazuka
Theater
Angelique (Anjeriku, premiere) 「アンジェリ 1980.1.1-2.12 Moon Group Takarazuka Grand Based on Kihara Toshie’s
ク」初演 Theater manga Anjeriku (manga was
adapted from Anne and Serge
1980.4.3-4.30 Tokyo Takarazuka
Golon’s novel Angelique )
Theater
Draw the Sword (Katana wo 「刀を抜いて」 1980.1.3-1.20 Flower Takarazuka Bow
Nuite, repeated performance) 再演 Group Hall

Angelique: The Story of Burning アンジェリク - 1980.10.3-11.1 Snow Group

Love (Anjeriku, En no Koi no 炎の恋の物語-
Monogatari)

211
The Window of Orpheus: Issak オルフェウスの 1983.4.2-4.29 Star Group Tokyo Takarazuka Based on Ikeda Riyoko’s
Edition (Orufeusu no Mado - 窓－イザーク編 Theater manga Orufeusu no Mado
Izāku hen- － 1983.6.24-8.9 Takarazuka Grand
Theater
The Flapping Golden Wings 「はばたけ黄金 1985.1.1-2.12 Snow Group Takarazuka Grand Based on Kasuya Noriko’s
(Habatake Gōkon no Tsubasa の翼よ」 Theater manga Kaze no Yukue
yo)
1985.4.4-4.29 Tokyo Takarazuka
Theater
1985.9.3-9.24 National Tour
Ōeyama Kaden: Burnt to Ashes 大江山花伝 －燃 1986.2.14-3.26 Snow Group Takarazuka Grand Based on Kihara Toshie’s
(Ōeyama Kaden -Moetsuki te えつきてこそ－ Theater manga Ōeyama Kaden
koso-)
1986.6.4-6.30 Tokyo Takarazuka
Theater
Yukariko: The Story of an 『紫子』‐とり 1987.1.1-2.11 Star Group Takarazuka Grand Based on Kihara Toshie’s
Impersonator (Yukariko - かえばや異聞‐ Theater manga Torikaebaya Ibun
Torikaebaya Ibun-, premiere) 初演 1987.4.3-4.29 Tokyo Takarazuka
Theater
Black Jack: Dangerous Gamble 『ブラック・ジ 1994.3.25-5.9 Flower Takarazuka Grand Based on Tezuka Osamu’s
(Buraku Jakku Kiken na Kake) ャック 危険な賭 Group Theater manga Burakku Jyakku
け』 1994.7.3-7.29 Tokyo Takarazuka
Theater
Phoenix (Hi no Tori) 火の鳥 1994.3.25-5.9 Flower Takarazuka Grand Based on Tezuka Osamu’s
Group Theater manga Hi no Tori
1994.7.3-7.29 Tokyo Takarazuka
Theater

212
Natasha of Rainbow (Niji no 虹のナターシャ 1996.8.9-9.16 Snow Group Takarazuka Grand Based on manga Niji no
Natāsha) Theater Natāsha, written by Hayashi
Mariko, illustrated by Yamato
1996.12.2-12.26 Tokyo Takarazuka
Waki
Theater
1997.2.1-2.18 Chunichi Theatre
The Prosperous Kingdom of 猛き黄金の国 - 2001.2.23-4.2 Snow Group Takarazuka Grand Based on Hongū Hiroshi’s
Gold: With the Soul of Samurai 士魂商才!岩崎弥 Theater manga Takeki Ōgon no Kini
and the Talent of Businessman! 太郎の青春- 2001.5.11-6.24 Tokyo Takarazuka
The Youth of Iwazaki Yatarō
Theater
(Takeki Ōgon no Kini -Shikon
Shōsai! Iwazaki Yatarō no
Seishun-
American Pie (Amerikan Pai) アメリカン・パ 2003.6.14-6.23 Snow Group Takarazuka Bow Based on Hagio Moto’s manga
イ Hall Amerikan Pai
2003.6.28-7.4 Japan Seinen-kan
Hall
El Halcon TAKA (Eru Arukon - エル・アルコン 2007.11.2-12.15 Star Group Takarazuka Grand Based on Aoke Yasuko’s
Taka-) -鷹- Theater manga Eru Arukon -Taka- and
Nanatsu no Umi Nanatsu no
2008.1.2-2.11 Tokyo Takarazuka
Sora
Theater
Ace Attorny: the Truth Awake 逆転裁判 -蘇る 2009.2.5-2.15 Cosmos Takarazuka Bow Based on Capcom Co., Ltd.’s
(Gyakuden Saipan -Yomigaeru 真実- Group Hall game Gyakuden Saipan
Shinjitsu)
2009.2.24-3.2 Japan Seinen-kan
Ōeyama Kaden: Burnt to Ashes 「大江山花伝 － 2009.8.3-8.25 Cosmos Hataka-za
(Ōeyama Kaden -Moetsuki te 燃えつきてこそ Group
koso-, repeated performance) －」再演

213
Ace Attorny 2: the Truth Awake 逆転裁判 2 -蘇る 2009.8.20-8.31 Cosmos Takarazuka Bow
again (Gyakuden Saipan 2 - 真実、再び…- Group Hall
Yomigaeru Shinjitsu, Futatabi)
2009.9.5-9.15 Akasaka ACT
Theater
Yukariko: The Story of an 『紫子』‐とり 2010.2.1-2.24 Moon Group Chunichi Theatre
Impersonator (Yukariko - かえばや異聞‐
Torikaebaya Ibun-, repeated 再演
performance)
The Host of Mei-chan (Mei-chan メイちゃんの執 2011.1.29-2.8 Star Group Takarazuka Bow Based on Miyagi Riko’s
no Shitsuji) 事 Hall manga Meichan no Shitsuji
2011.2.15-2.21 Japan Seinen-kan
Hall
Ace Attorny 3: Prosecutor Mile 逆転裁判 3 検事 2013.1.9-1.17 Cosmos Umeda Arts
Edgeworth (Gyakuden Saipan 3 マイルズ・エッ Group Theater
-Mairuzu Ejjiwāsu-) ジワース 2013.1.23-1.28 Japan Seinen-kan
Legend of the Galactic Heroes 銀河英雄伝説 2012.8.31-10.8 Cosmos Tokyo Takarazuka Based on Tanaka Hideki’s
@TAKARAZUKA (Ginga Eiyū @TAKARAZUKA Group Theater novel of the same name
Densetsu @TAKARAZUKA) (1982-) and the manga
2012.10.19- FLET’S Theatre
adaptation serialized since
11.18
1986.
2013.1.5-1.28 Hataka-za
JIN (JIN-Jin-) JIN -仁- 2012.10.12- Snow Group Takarazuka Grand Based on Murakai Motoka’s
11.12 Theater manga JIN-jin-
2012.11.23- Tokyo Takarazuka
12.24 Theater
2013.11.15-12.8 Moon Group National Tour

214
Black Jack: Elegy for One who 「ブラック・ジ 2013.2.9-2.17 Snow Group Umeda Arts Based on Tezuka Osamu’s
shall not be Forgiven (Burakku ャック 許され Theater manga Burakku Jyakku
Jyakku Yurusarezarusha he no ざる者への挽 2013.2.22-27 Japan Seinen-kan
banka)
歌」
Sekgoku BASARA: Masada 「戦国 BASARA」 2013.6.15-7.1 Flower Tokyu Theatre Orb Based on Capcom Co., Ltd.’s
Yukimura Edition (Sekgoku -真田幸村編- Group game Sengoku BASARA
BASARA: Masada Yukimura
hen)
Daughter of the Earl: Je t’aime, 伯爵令嬢 -ジュ 2014.10.11- Snow Group Nissay Theatre Based on Hosokawa Chieko’s
Nothing Can Stop me from テーム、君を愛 10.31 manga Hakushaku Reijō
Loving You (Hakushaku Reijō - さずにはいられ
jutēmu, kimi wo aisazu niha
ない-
irarenai-)
Lupin III: Chase the Necklace of ルパン三世-王妃 2015.1.1-2.2 Snow Group Takarazuka Grand Based on Monkī Panchi’s
the Queen! (Rupan Sansei -Ōhi の首飾りを追 Theater manga Rupan Sansei
no Kubikazari wo Oe!-) え!- 2015.2.20-3.22 Tokyo Takarazuka
Theater
Rurōni Kenshin るろうに剣心 2016.2.5-3.14 Snow Group Takarazuka Grand Based on Watsuki Nobuhiro’s
Theater manga Rurōni Kenshin
2016.4.1-5.8 Tokyo Takarazuka
Theater
The Clan of Poe (Pō no ポーの一族 2018.1.1-2.5 Flower Takarazuka Grand Based on Hagio Moto's manga
ichizoku) Group Theater The Clan of Poe
2018.2.16-3.25 Tokyo Takarazuka
Theater
Red River (Ten ha Akai Kawa no 2018.3.16-4.23 Cosmos Takarazuka Grand
Hotori) Group Theater

215
 2018.5.11-6.17 Tokyo Takarazuka Based on Shinohara Chie’s
天は赤い河のほ
Theater manga Ten ha Akai Kawa no
とり Hotori

216
Appendix 4 Studio Life Performances of Manga Adaptations

YEAR TITLE ORIGINAL TIM & LOCATION NO. OF

MANGA CASTS
WRITER/
ILLUSTRATOR

1996 The Heart of Thomas (Tōma no shinzō) Hagio Moto Feb 10-25 2
Westend Studio
1997 The Heart of Thomas: Repeated Performance (Tōma no shinzō saien) Hagio Moto Mar 1-23
Benisan ppito

1998 The Visitor (Hōmonsha) Hagio Moto

The Heart of Thomas: Another Story (Tōma no shinzō anazā sutōrī) Hagio Moto Jul 1-12
SPACE ZERO

2000 Serialized Performance of Hagio Moto’s works: The Heart of Thomas Hagio Moto Dec 7, 2000 - Jan 8, 2001
and The Visitor (Hagio Moto sakuhin rensaku kōen: Tōma no shinzō, Theater Sun-mall Shiatā
Hōmonsha)
sanmōru)
Feb 7-8
Theater Drama City (Shiatā
dorama shiti, Osaka)
2001 Sons Mihara Jun Oct 3-14
Theater Sun-mall Shiatā
sanmōru)
2002 Moon Child (Tsuki no ko) Shimizu Reiko Feb 1-10 2
Ātosufia (the Galaxy Theatre
now)

217
 Mar 5-6
Theater Drama City (Shiatā
dorama shiti, Osaka)
2003 The Heart of Thomas (Tōma no shinzō) Hagio Moto Feb 27-Mar 9 5
Ātosufia (Tokyo)
Mar 20 Fukuoka
Mar 22 Nagoya
Mar 25-26
Theater Drama City (Shiatā
dorama shiti, Osaka)
OZ Itsuki Natsumi Jun 4-18
Theater Sun-mall Shiatā
sanmōru)
2004 MOON CHILD~Tsuki no Ko~ Shimizu Reiko Mar 4-16 2
Ātosufia (Tokyo)
Mar 19 Sendai
Mar 28 Nagoya
Mar 31 Fukuoka
Apr 7 Hiroshima
Apr 2-4 Osaka
2005 OZ Itsuki Natsumi Mar 3-16
Ātosufia (Tokyo)
Mar 19 Sendai
Mar 20 Niigata
Mar 29 Nagoya
Mar 31-Apr 3 Osaka
Apr 5 Fukuoka
Apr 6 Hiroshima

218
 Mesh (Messhu) Hagio Moto Jun 15-Jul 4 2
Theater Sun-mall Shiatā
sanmōru)
2006 The Heart of Thomas (Tōma no shinzō) Hagio Moto Jun 3-29 3
Kinokuniya Hall
Jul 8-9
Theater Drama City (Shiatā
dorama shiti, Osaka)
2007 Message to Adolf (Adorufu ni tsugu) Tezuka Osamu Dec 20-30 2
The Galaxy Theatre (Ginga
gekijō)
2008 Marginal (Mājinaru) Hagio Moto Aug 28-Sep 28 2
Kinokuniya Hall
2009 Fruits Basket (Furūtsu basuketto) Takaya Natsuki Feb 26-Mar 8 2
The Galaxy Theatre (Ginga
gekijō)
2010 Serialized Performance: The Heart of Thomas and The Visitor Hagio Moto Feb 27-Apr 13 2
(Rensaku kōen: Tōma no shinzō, Hōmonsha) Kinokuniya Hall

2011 They Were Eleven (11 nin iru!) Hagio Moto Feb 5-Mar 27 2
Owlspot Theater (Aurusupotto)
2012 OZ-Ozu- Itsuki Natsumi Feb 23-Mar 12 2
Theater Sun-mall Shiatā
sanmōru)
2013 They Were Eleven (11 nin iru!) Hagio Moto Jan 10-20 2

219
 Kinokuniya Hall
They Were Eleven, The Second (Zoku 11 nin iru!) Hagio Moto Feb 28-Mar 17 3
Kinokuniya Hall
2014 The Heart of Thomas (Tōma no shinzō) Hagio Moto May 24-Jun 22 4
Kinokuniya Hall
2015 By the Lakeside (Kohan ni te) Hagio Moto Mar 25-29
As part of the “~Studio Life 30th Anniversary Wonderful Journey~ Theater Sun-mall Shiatā
Trip, Trip, Trip!”
sanmōru)
Apr 11 Osaka
Apr 12 Nagoya
Message to Adolf (Adorufu ni tsugu) Tezuka Osamu Jul 11-Aug 2 5
Kinokuniya Hall
2016 The Heart of Thomas (Tōma no shinzō) Hagio Moto Feb 24-Mar 13
Theater Sun-mall Shiatā
sanmōru)
2017 Egg-stand (Eggu sutando) Hagio Moto Mar 1-20 2
Theater Sun-mall Shiatā
sanmōru)
Hamidashikko Mihara Jun Oct 20-Nov 5 3
Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre
(Tokyo Geijutsu gekijō shiatā
wuesuto)
2018 California Story (Kariforunia monogatari) Yoshida Akimi Jul 20-Aug 5 2
The Pocket (Za Poketto)

220
Hamudashikko ~in their Journey through life~ Mihara Jun Oct 6-Nov 4 3
Theater Sun-mall Shiatā
sanmōru)

221
Appendix 5 List of Tenimyu Series

Season One

Time Hon-Kōen Dream Live Generation

2003.4-5 Musical Prince of Tennis 1
(Myūjikaru tenisu no ōji sama)
2003.8 Musical Prince of Tennis - 2003 Summer Run
(Myūjikaru tenisu no ōji sama 2003-nen natts tsuika kōen)
2003.12- Musical Prince of Tennis - Remarkable 1st Match Fudomine
2004.1 (Myūjikaru tenisu no ōji sama - Remarkable 1st Match Fudōmine)

2004.6 Musical Prince of Tennis - Concert Dream

Live 1st
(Myūjikaru tenisu no ōji sama - konsāto
Dream Live 1st)
2004.7- Musical Prince of Tennis - More than Limit St. Rudolph Gakuen
2004.8 (Myūjikaru tenisu no ōji sama - More than Limit Sento Rudorufu
Gakuen)
2004.12- Musical Prince of Tennis - in winter 2004-2005 side Fudomine
2005.1 ~special match~
(Myūjikaru tenisu no ōji sama - in winter 2004-2005 side Fudōmine
~special match~)
2005.1 Musical Prince of Tennis - in winter 2004-2005 side Yamabuki feat. St 2
Rudolph Gakuen
(Myūjikaru tenisu no ōji sama - in winter 2004-2005 side Yamabuki
feat. Sento Rudorufu Gakuen)

222
2005.5 Musical Prince of Tennis - Concert Dream
Live 2nd
(Myūjikaru tenisu no ōji sama - konsāto
Dream Live 2nd)
2005.8 Musical Prince of Tennis - The Imperial Match Hyōtei Gakuen
(Myūjikaru tenisu no ōji sama - The Imperial Match Hyōtei Gakuen)

2005.12- Musical Prince of Tennis - The Imperial Match Hyōtei Gakuen in

2006.1 winter 2005-2006
(Myūjikaru tenisu no ōji sama - The Imperial Match Hyōtei Gakuen in
winter 2005-2006)
2006.3 Musical Prince of Tennis - Concert Dream
Live 3rd
(Myūjikaru tenisu no ōji sama - konsāto
Dream Live 3rd)
2006.8 Musical Prince of Tennis - Advancement Match Rokkaku feat. Hyōtei 3
Gakuen
(Myūjikaru tenisu no ōji sama - Advancement Match Rokkaku feat.
Hyōtei gakuen)
2006.12- Musical Prince of Tennis - Absolute King Rikkai feat. Rokkaku ~First
2007.1 Service
(Myūjikaru tenisu no ōji sama - Absolute King Rikkai feat. Rokkaku
~First Service)
2007.3-5 Musical Prince of Tennis - Concert Dream
Live 4th
(Myūjikaru tenisu no ōji sama - konsāto
Dream Live 4th)

223
2007.8-9 Musical Prince of Tennis - Absolute King Rikkai feat. Rokkaku
~Second Service
(Myūjikaru tenisu no ōji sama - Absolute King Rikkai feat. Rokkaku
~Second Service)
2007.12- Musical Prince of Tennis - The Progressive Match Higa feat. Rikkai 4
2008.2 (Myūjikaru tenisu no ōji sama - The Progressive Match Higa feat.
Rikkai)
2008.5 Musical Prince of Tennis - Concert Dream
Live 5th
(Myūjikaru tenisu no ōji sama - konsāto
Dream Live 5th)
2008.7-11 Musical Prince of Tennis - The Imperial Presence Hyōtei feat. Higa
(Myūjikaru tenisu no ōji sama - The Imperial Presence Hyōtei feat.
Higa)
2008.12- Musical Prince of Tennis - The Treasure Match Shitenhōji feat. Hyōtei
2009.3 (Myūjikaru tenisu no ōji sama - The Treasure Match Shitenhōji feat.
Hyōtei)
2009.5 Musical Prince of Tennis - Concert Dream
Live 6th
(Myūjikaru tenisu no ōji sama - konsāto
Dream Live 6th)
2009.7-10 Musical Prince of Tennis - The Final Match Rikkai First feat. 5
Shitenhōji
(Myūjikaru tenisu no ōji sama - The Final Match Rikkai First feat.
Shitenhōji)
2009.12- Musical Prince of Tennis - The Final Match Rikkai First feat. The
2010.3 Rivals

224
 (Myūjikaru tenisu no ōji sama - The Final Match Rikkai First feat. The
Rivals)

2010.5 Musical Prince of Tennis - Concert Dream

Live 7th
(Myūjikaru tenisu no ōji sama - konsāto
Dream Live 7th)

225
 Season Two

Time Hon-Kōen Dream Live & Others Generation

2011.1-2 Musical Prince of Tennis - Seigaku vs Fudōmine 6
(Myūjikaru tenisu no ōji sama - Seigaku vs
Fudōmine)
2011.11 Musical Prince of Tennis - Concert Dream Live 2011
(Myūjikaru tenisu no ōji sama - konsāto Dream Live 2011)

2011.4-5 Musical Prince of Tennis - Seigaku vs St Rudolph,

Yamabuki
(Myūjikaru tenisu no ōji sama - Seigaku vs Sento
Rudorufu, Yamabuki)
2011.7-9 Musical Prince of Tennis - Seigaku vs Hyōtei
(Myūjikaru tenisu no ōji sama - Seigaku vs Hyōtei)

2011.12- Musical Prince of Tennis - Seigaku vs Rokkaku

2012.2 (Myūjikaru tenisu no ōji sama - Seigaku vs
Rokkaku)
2012.5 Musical Prince of Tennis - Sports Day in Spring 2012
(Myūjikaru tenisu no ōji sama - haru no dai-undōkai 2012)

2012.7-9 Musical Prince of Tennis - Seigaku vs Rikkai

(Myūjikaru tenisu no ōji sama - Seigaku vs Rikkai)

2012.10 Musical Prince of Tennis - Concert SEIGAKU Farewell Party

(Myūjikaru tenisu no ōji sama - konsāto SEIGAKU Farewell
Party)

226
2012.12- Musical Prince of Tennis - Seigaku vs Higa 7
2013.2 (Myūjikaru tenisu no ōji sama - Seigaku vs Higa)

2913.4-5 Musical Prince of Tennis - 10 Year Anniversary Memorial

Concert Dream Live 2013
(Myūjikaru tenisu no ōji sama - 10 shūnen kinenn konsāto
Dream Live 2011)
2013.7-9 Musical Prince of Tennis - National Tournament
Seigaku vs Hyōtei
(Myūjikaru tenisu no ōji sama - zenkoku taikai
Seigaku vs Hyōtei)
2013.12- Musical Prince of Tennis - Seigaku vs Shitenhōji
2014.3 (Myūjikaru tenisu no ōji sama - Seigaku vs
Shitenhōji)
2014.4 Musical Prince of Tennis - Sports Day in Spring 2014
(Myūjikaru tenisu no ōji sama - haru no dai-undōkai 2014)

2014.7-9 Musical Prince of Tennis - National Tournament

Seigaku vs Rikkai
(Myūjikaru tenisu no ōji sama - zenkoku taikai
Seigaku vs Rikkai)
2014.11 Musical Prince of Tennis - Concert Dream Live 2014
(Myūjikaru tenisu no ōji sama - konsāto Dream Live 2014)

227
 Season Three

Time Hon-Kōen Dream Live & Others Generation

2015.2-5 Musical Prince of Tennis 3rd Season Seigaku vs 8
Fudōmine
(Myūjikaru tenisu no ōji sama 3rd shīzun Seigaku vs
Fudōmine)
2015.6-8 Musical Prince of Tennis - Team Live
(Myūjikaru tenisu no ōji sama - Team Live)

2015.9-11 Musical Prince of Tennis 3rd Season Seigaku vs St

Rudolph
(Myūjikaru tenisu no ōji sama 3rd shīzun Seigaku vs
Sento Rudorufu)
2015.12- Musical Prince of Tennis 3rd Season Seigaku vs
2016.2 Yamabuki
(Myūjikaru tenisu no ōji sama 3rd shīzun Seigaku vs
Yamabuki)
2016.3-4 Musical Prince of Tennis - TEAM Live St. RUDOLPH
YAMABUKI
(Myūjikaru tenisu no ōji sama - TEAM Live St.
RUDOLPH YAMABUKI)

2016.5 Musical Prince of Tennis - Concert Dream Live 2016

(Myūjikaru tenisu no ōji sama - konsāto Dream Live 2016)

2016.7-9 Musical Prince of Tennis 3rd Season Seigaku vs

Hyōtei

228
 (Myūjikaru tenisu no ōji sama 3rd shīzun Seigaku vs
Hyōtei)

2016.12- Musical Prince of Tennis 3rd Season Seigaku vs 9

2017.2 Rokkaku
(Myūjikaru tenisu no ōji sama 3rd shīzun Seigaku vs
Rokkaku)
2017.4 Musical Prince of Tennis - TEAM Live HYŌTEI
(Myūjikaru tenisu no ōji sama - TEAM Live HYŌTEI)

2017.5 Musical Prince of Tennis - Concert Dream Live 2017

(Myūjikaru tenisu no ōji sama - konsāto Dream Live 2017)

2017.7-10 Musical Prince of Tennis 3rd Season Seigaku vs Rikkai

(Myūjikaru tenisu no ōji sama 3rd shīzun Seigaku vs
Rikkai)
2017.10-11 Musical Prince of Tennis - TEAM Party SEIGAKU
ROKKAKU
(Myūjikaru tenisu no ōji sama - TEAM Party SEIGAKU
ROKKAKU)
2017.12- Musical Prince of Tennis 3rd Season Seigaku vs Higa
2018.2 (Myūjikaru tenisu no ōji sama 3rd shīzun Seigaku vs
Higa)
2018.4 Musical Prince of Tennis - TEAM Party RIKKAI
(Myūjikaru tenisu no ōji sama - TEAM Party RIKKAI)

229
2018.5 Musical Prince of Tennis - 15 Year Anniversary Memorial
Concert Dream Live 2018
(Myūjikaru tenisu no ōji sama - 15 shūnen kinenn konsāto
Dream Live 2018)
2018.7-9 Musical Prince of Tennis 3rd Season National 10
Tournament Seigaku vs Fudōmine
(Myūjikaru tenisu no ōji sama 3rd shīzun zenkoku
taikai Seigaku vs Fudōmine)
2018.10 Musical Prince of Tennis - TEAM Party SEIGAKU
HIGA
(Myūjikaru tenisu no ōji sama - TEAM Party SEIGAKU
HIGA)
2018.11 Musical Prince of Tennis - 15 Year Anniversary Memorial
Tenimyu Art Festival
(Myūjikaru tenisu no ōji sama - 15 shūnen kinenn tenimyu
bunkasai)

230
Appendix 6 List of Tōken Ranbu Series

Musical Tōken Ranbu

DATE ENGLISH TITLE JAPANESE TITLE

2015.10.30-11.8 Musical Tōken Ranbu: Atsukashiyama Ibun (Myūjikaru Tōken ミュージカル『刀剣乱舞』〜阿津賀志山異聞〜
Ranbu: Atsukashiyama Ibun) トライアル公演
Trial Performance
2016.[Link] Musical Tōken Ranbu: Atsukashiyama Ibun (Myūjikaru Tōken ミュージカル『刀剣乱舞』〜阿津賀志山異聞〜
Ranbu: Atsukashiyama Ibun)
2016.9.24-11.27 Musical Tōken Ranbu: Bakumatsu Tenrōden (Myūjikaru Tōken ミュージカル『刀剣乱舞』〜幕末天狼傳〜
Ranbu: Bakumatsu Tenrōden)
2016.11.12 Musical Tōken Ranbu in Itsukushima (Myūjikaru Tōken Ranbu ミュージカル『刀剣乱舞』in 厳島
in Itsukushima)
2017.1.13-1.15 Musical Tōken Ranbu: Bakumatsu Tenrōden Overseas 幕末天狼傳 海外公演(上海)
Performance
(Myūjikaru Tōken Ranbu: Bakumatsu Tenrōden Kaigai Kōen)
In Shanghai
2017.3.4-5.21 Musical Tōken Ranbu:Mihotose no Komamori Uta (Myūjikaru ミュージカル『刀剣乱舞』〜三百年の子守唄〜
Tōken Ranbu:Mihotose no Komamori Uta)
2017.5.2-5.7 Shinken Ranbusai 2016 〜真剣乱舞祭 2016〜
2017.10.5-15 Kashū Kiyomitsu Tanki Shutsujin 2017 加州清光 単騎出陣 2017
2017.11.4-2018.1.30 Musical Tōken Ranbu: Tsuwamono domo ga Yume no Ato ミュージカル『刀剣乱舞』 ～つはものどもが
(Myūjikaru Tōken Ranbu: Tsuwamono domo ga Yume no Ato) ゆめのあと～
2017.12.8-12.23 Shinken Ranbusai 2017 〜真剣乱舞祭 2017〜
(Including overseas performances in Guangzhou, China)

231
2018.3.24-5.6 Musical Tōken Ranbu: Musubi no Hibiki, Hajimari no Oto 結びの響、始まりの音
(Myūjikaru Tōken Ranbu: Musubi no Hibiki, Hajimari no Oto)
2018.7.15 Paris Musical Tōken Ranbu: Atsukashiyama Ibun 2018 Paris ミュージカル『刀剣乱舞』〜阿津賀志山異聞〜
(Myūjikaru Tōken Ranbu: Atsukashiyama Ibun 2018 Pari) 2018 巴里
2018.8.3-19 Musical Tōken Ranbu: Atsukashiyama Ibun 2018 Paris, ミュージカル『刀剣乱舞』〜阿津賀志山異聞〜
National Tour (Myūjikaru Tōken Ranbu: Atsukashiyama Ibun 巴里 国内公演
2018 Pari Kokunai Kōen)
2018.9.12-10.13 Kashū Kiyomitsu Tanki Shutsujin 2018 加州清光 単騎出陣 2018
2018.11.24-12.16 Shinken Ranbusai 2017 〜真剣乱舞祭 2018〜
2019.1.20-3.24 Musical Tōken Ranbu:Mihotose no Komamori Uta (Myūjikaru ミュージカル『刀剣乱舞』〜三百年の子守唄〜
Tōken Ranbu:Mihotose no Komamori Uta Saien) 再演
2019.4.20-5.7 Kashū Kiyomitsu Tanki Shutsujin Asia Tour 加州清光 単騎出陣 Asia Tour
2019.7.4-14 Shigekiri Hizamaru Sōki Shutsujin 髭切膝丸 双騎出陣

232
 Stage Tōken Ranbu

DATE ENGLISH TITLE JAPANESE TITLE

2016.5 Stage Tōken Ranbu: Kyoden Moyuru Honnōji 舞台 刀剣乱舞〜虚伝 燃ゆる本能寺〜
2016.12-2017.1
2017.6-7 Stage Tōken Ranbu: Giden Akatsuki no Dokuganryū 舞台 刀剣乱舞 義伝 暁の独眼竜
2017.12 Stage Tōken Ranbu: Joden Mitsura Boshi Katanagatari 舞台 刀剣乱舞 ジョ伝 三つら星刀語り
2017.11.23 Stage Tōken Ranbu: Gaiden Kono Yora no Odawara 舞台 刀剣乱舞 外伝 此の夜らの小田原
2018.6-7 Stage Tōken Ranbu: Hiden Yui no Me no Hototogisu 舞台 刀剣乱舞 悲伝 結いの目の不如帰

233
Appendix 7 List of Hyper Projection Engeki Haikyū!! series111

TIME ENGLISH TITLE JAPANESE TITLE

2015.11-12 Hyper Projection Engeki Haikyū!! (Haipā purojekushon engeki ハイパープロジェクション演劇
Haikyū!!) 「ハイキュー!!」
2016.4-5 The view from the Top (Itadaki no keishiki) "頂の景色"
2016.10-12 Karasuno Revival! (Karasuno fukkatsu!) "烏野、復活！"
2017.3-5 Winner and Loser (Shōsha to haisha) “勝者と敗者"
2017.9-10 The Summer of Evolution (Shinka no natsu) "進化の夏"
2018.4-6 The Start of the Giant (Hajimari no kyojin) "はじまりの巨人"
2018.10-12 The Strongest Team (Saikyō no basho (chīmu)) "最強の場所（チーム）"
2019.4-5 The Battle of Tokyo (Tokyo no jin) “東京の陣”

111
English translation of the titles follows the official translation, or the commonly acknowledged translation among fans. See the fandom website “Haikyuu!! Wiki”,
<[Link] accessed May 19, 2019.

234
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