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Peacock Girl, check. Loads of trimmings, check. Bouquet on a ribbon, check.

The Takarazuka Revue is a unique Japanese theatre troupe over a century old (having started in 1913); the original gimmick was to break the standard actor rules and have unmarried women perform all the roles. The troupe is popular with female audiences, as the performances are usually very melodramatic and elaborately designed, with loads of pretty costumes. After the first year of being taught, actresses get played into classes for their roles more or less permanently: musumeyaku (girl role) and otokoyaku (boy role). The latter are traditionallly exclusively breeches roles, where actresses start to cut their hair short, wear pants rather than skirts, and speak with masculine pronouns, though some very versatile otokoyaku also play female roles.

While the shoujo concept of Bifauxnen is more or less derived from this, it's interesting to note that both roles are extremely popular with younger fangirls (apart from the main audience of women in their 30s to 50s). The obvious implications are not lost on people; many shows will make an overt joke on the tastes of said fangirls, although offically the troupe tends to avoid commenting on the phenomenon.

The "Imperial Theatrical Troupe" of Sakura Taisen is strongly inspired by the Takarazuka troupe.

Also of note: Anime pioneer Osamu Tezuka's hometown is also the base of the Takarazuka theater troupe; Tezuka was a fan all his life, and wrote a clause into his will that left a small portion of his fortune to the company to help finance future productions. In turn, Takarazuka produced a musical based on his Black Jack in 1994.

Tropes used in Takarazuka include:

Shows they have adapted

Anime and Manga

One of the longest running shows in Takarazuka Revue (and probably the most popular) is the stage adaptation of The Rose of Versailles.
Osamu Tezuka's Black Jack
El Halcon (from the manga by Aoike Yasuko, better known as the creator of From Eroica with Love)
Sailor Moon
Mei-chan no Shitsuji

Film

Literature

Theater

The Barber of Seville/The Marriage of Figaro (Done as a single show, Figaro!)
Their second most popular show is probably Elisabeth—they've staged seven different productions of it over the past fifteen years or so.
Guys and Dolls
Phantom, the Kopit/Yeston version of The Phantom of the Opera.
Most of the works of William Shakespeare in original adaptations, though in 2010 they did the French musical phenomenon Romeo Et Juliette De La Haine a Lamour.
The Scarlet Pimpernel
Ernest in Love
Flower Drum Song
Oklahoma!, the first Western musical they ever performed.
How to Succeed In Business Without Really Trying
Footloose
West Side Story
The Tales Of Hoffmann

Video Games

The real-life Takarazuka Revue made two Ace Attorney shows.

References to them in fiction

Anime and Manga

One episode of Kimagure Orange Road opens with Kyosuke and Madoka watching a troupe that is clearly Takarazuka (or the in-universe equivalent) performing Gone with the Wind (last scene). Frankly, it's kind of bizarre.
Ouran High School Host Club's rivals are the Zuka Club from Lobelia School. Tamaki's spiritual counterpart, the hilariously overdramatic Bifauxnen president Benibara is naturally Genre Savvy enough to immediately notice Haruhi is actually a girl and suggests she join their school instead. Naturally, Tamaki does not enjoy Benny's interest in Haruhi.
- Benibara's own name is also a pun on the nickname of the most popular Takarazuka show, BeruBara.
  - Keep in mind who the seiyuu voicing Benibara is.
Unlike the audience-surrogate Inner Senshi, Haruka and Michiru in Sailor Moon are essentially Takarazuka ports: Haruka is flirty, handsome, and extremely boyish while Michiru is mysterious, beautiful and willowy. Both look taller and older than the rest of the cast for no adequately explained reason.
- This origin is lampshaded during a conversation where Rei points out that Makoto's recent interest in Haruka seems a little overenthusiastic. Usagi quickly pulls a magazine from under Rei's bed with a Takarazuka model on the cover, a nod to Rei's longstanding Mistaken for Gay meme.
The heroines of Sakura Taisen perform as a Takarazuka troupe in their secret identities. The series contains several Shout-Outs to the famous Takarazuka Revue which popularized this trope -- and even more so to the Schochiku Kagekidan, which was one of Takarazuka's first competitors. The Imperial theatre is on the same spot and has the same design of the (now demolished) Shochiku Theatre; game designer Ouji Hiroi's aunt was a founding member of Shochiku. The flower for Takarazuka is the sumire (the established Top Star in the games), where the Shochiku theatre's flower was the sakura; so the rivalry between their namesake characters is representative of the rivalry of the two theatres.
- For instance, in the second OAV, action hero Shounen Red's motto is said to be "purely, properly, beautifully" -- not exactly fitting, but it is the motto of the Takarazuka Revue. A number of the shows the Teikoku Kagekidan girls put on are also serial-numbers-filed-off versions of Takarazuka shows -- Ai Yue ni (Because of Love) is at least partly based on Rose of Versailles, for example.
In the anime version of Lucky Star, Hiyori likes putting Minami and Yutaka in Takarazuka otokoyaku and musumeyaku roles.
Revolutionary Girl Utena is heavily influenced by this cultural phenomenon. Especially interesting on the meta-level when you realize the world of Ohtori is a stage.
- Mawaru Penguindrum, from the same creator, features a character named Yuri who's part of an acting troupe that's similar to but legally distinct from the Takarazuka. Their signature play is a Rose of Versailles Expy.
In Omohide Poro Poro, the narrator mentions that one of her older sisters was completely in love with a Takarazuka "actor".
The first volume of the Wandering Son manga has a class put on a production of The Rose of Versailles with numerous references to the Takarazuka original—appropriate when you consider the series is all about gender issues.
In the manga version of Oniisama e... minor members of the Sorority are based both name- and looks-wise on top Takarazuka actresses of the time.

Fan Works

In the Ranma ½ fanfic All The World's A Stage by "n1ght3lf", a twenty-something Nabiki stumbles upon Ranma, long thought dead at Kodachi's hand, hiding in plain sight as "Akimoto Ran", the star of the Takarazuka Revue.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+{{Useful Notes|wppage=Takarazuka Revue}}{{outdated}}
-{{trope}}
-[[File:exotica_takarazuka_peacock_girl.jpg|frame|[[Peacock Girl]], check. [[Pimped-Out Dress|Loads of trimmings]], check. Bouquet on a ribbon, check.]]
+[[File:exotica takarazuka peacock girl.jpg|frame|[[Peacock Girl]], check. [[Pimped-Out Dress|Loads of trimmings]], check. Bouquet on a ribbon, check.]]
+The '''Takarazuka Revue''' is a unique Japanese theatre troupe over a century old (having started in 1913); the original gimmick was to break the standard actor rules and have unmarried women perform all the roles. The troupe is popular with female audiences, as the performances are [[Melodrama|usually very melodramatic]] and elaborately designed, with loads of pretty costumes. After the first year of being taught, actresses get played into classes for their roles more or less permanently: ''musumeyaku'' (girl role) and ''otokoyaku'' (boy role). The latter are traditionallly exclusively breeches roles, where actresses start to cut their hair short, wear pants rather than skirts, and [[Japanese Pronouns|speak with masculine pronouns]], though some very versatile otokoyaku also play female roles.
-A unique form of Japanese theater over 95 years old; the original gimmick was to break the standard actor rules and have unmarried women perform all the roles. The troupe is popular with female audiences, as the performances are [[Melodrama|usually very melodramatic]] and elaborately designed, with loads of pretty costumes. After the first year of being taught, actresses get played into classes for their roles more or less permanently: ''musumeyaku'' (girl role) and ''otokoyaku'' (boy role). The latter are traditionallly exclusively breeches roles, where actresses start to cut their hair short, wear pants rather than skirts, and [[Japanese Pronouns|speak with masculine pronouns]], though some very versatile otokoyaku also play female roles.
 While the shoujo concept of [[Bifauxnen]] is more or less derived from this, it's interesting to note that ''both'' roles are extremely popular with [[Squee|younger fangirls]] (apart from the main audience of women in their 30s to 50s). The obvious implications are not lost on people; ''many'' shows will make an overt joke on the [[Schoolgirl Lesbians|tastes of said fangirls]], although offically the troupe tends to avoid commenting on the phenomenon.
+The "Imperial Theatrical Troupe" of ''[[Sakura Taisen]]'' is ''strongly'' inspired by the Takarazuka troupe.
-Also of note: Anime pioneer [[Osamu Tezuka|Osamu Tezuka's]] hometown is also the base of the Takarazuka theater troupe; Tezuka was a fan all his life, and wrote a clause into his will that left a small portion of his fortune to the company to help finance future productions. In turn, Takarazuka produced a musical based on his ''[[Black Jack (Manga)|Black Jack]]'' in 1994.
+Also of note: Anime pioneer [[Osamu Tezuka]]'s hometown is also the base of the Takarazuka theater troupe; Tezuka was a fan all his life, and wrote a clause into his will that left a small portion of his fortune to the company to help finance future productions. In turn, Takarazuka produced a musical based on his ''[[Black Jack]]'' in 1994.
 ----
+{{tropelist}}
-=== Provides Examples Of: ===
 * [[Actor Shipping]]
 * [[Bifauxnen]]
 * [[Costume Porn]]
 * [[Fluffy Fashion Feathers]]
-* [[Hot Chick in A Badass Suit]]
+* [[Hot Chick in a Badass Suit]]
 * [[Ho Yay]]
 * [[Melodrama]]
@@ Line 21: / Line 23: @@
 * [[Pimped-Out Dress]]
 * [[Showgirl Skirt]]
 ----
-=== Shows they have adapted: ===
+{{examples|Shows they have adapted}}
-== Anime & Manga ==
+== Anime and Manga ==
 * One of the longest running shows in Takarazuka Revue (and probably the most popular) is the stage adaptation of ''The [[Rose of Versailles]]''.
-* Osamu Tezuka's ''[[Black Jack (Manga)|Black Jack]]''
+* Osamu Tezuka's ''[[Black Jack]]''
-* ''El Halcon'' (from the manga by Aoike Yasuko, better known as the creator of ''[[From Eroica With Love]]'')
+* ''El Halcon'' (from the manga by Aoike Yasuko, better known as the creator of ''[[From Eroica with Love]]'')
 * ''[[Sailor Moon]]''
 * ''Mei-chan no Shitsuji''
 == Film ==
 * ''[[Casablanca]]''
-* ''[[Gone With the Wind]]''
+* ''[[Gone with the Wind]]''
-* ''[[Singin in The Rain (Film)|Singin in The Rain]]''
+* ''[[Singin' in the Rain|Singin in The Rain]]''
-* ''[[Somewhere in Time (Film)|Somewhere in Time]]''
+* ''[[Somewhere in Time]]''
-* ''[[Oceans Eleven]]''
+* ''[[Ocean's Eleven]]''
@@ Line 46: / Line 48: @@
 * ''[[Anna Karenina]]''
 * ''[[Zorro]]''
-* ''[[For Whom the Bell Tolls (Literature)|For Whom the Bell Tolls]]''
+* ''[[For Whom the Bell Tolls]]''
 * ''[[Literature/War And Peace|War And Peace]]''
 == Theater ==
-* ''[[The Barber of Seville (Theatre)|The Barber of Seville]]''/''[[The Marriage of Figaro (Theatre)|The Marriage of Figaro]]'' (Done as a single show, ''Figaro!'')
+* ''[[The Barber of Seville]]''/''[[The Marriage of Figaro]]'' (Done as a single show, ''Figaro!'')
-* Their second most popular show is probably ''[[Elisabeth]]'' --they've staged seven different productions of it over the past fifteen years or so.
+* Their second most popular show is probably ''[[Elisabeth]]''—they've staged seven different productions of it over the past fifteen years or so.
 * ''[[Guys and Dolls]]''
 * ''Phantom'', the Kopit/Yeston version of ''[[The Phantom of the Opera]]''.
 * Most of the works of [[William Shakespeare]] in original adaptations, though in 2010 they did the French musical phenomenon ''[[Romeo Et Juliette De La Haine a Lamour]]''.
-* ''[[The Scarlet Pimpernel (Theatre)|The Scarlet Pimpernel]]''
+* ''[[The Scarlet Pimpernel (theatre)|The Scarlet Pimpernel]]''
 * ''Ernest in Love''
 * ''Flower Drum Song''
-* ''[[Oklahoma]]'', the first Western musical they ever performed.
+* ''[[Oklahoma!]]'', the first Western musical they ever performed.
 * ''[[How to Succeed In Business Without Really Trying]]''
 * ''Footloose''
@@ Line 67: / Line 69: @@
 == Video Games ==
 * The real-life Takarazuka Revue made two ''[[Ace Attorney]]'' shows.
-=== References to them in fiction: ===
+{{examples|References to them in fiction}}
+==Anime and Manga ==
-* One episode of ''[[Kimagure Orange Road]]'' opens with Kyosuke and Madoka watching a troupe that is clearly Takarazuka (or the in-universe equivalent) performing ''[[Gone With the Wind]]'' (last scene). Frankly, it's kind of bizarre.
+* One episode of ''[[Kimagure Orange Road]]'' opens with Kyosuke and Madoka watching a troupe that is clearly Takarazuka (or the in-universe equivalent) performing ''[[Gone with the Wind]]'' (last scene). Frankly, it's kind of bizarre.
 * ''[[Ouran High School Host Club|Ouran High School Host Club's]]'' rivals are the Zuka Club from Lobelia School. Tamaki's spiritual counterpart, the hilariously overdramatic [[Bifauxnen]] president Benibara is naturally [[Genre Savvy]] enough to immediately notice Haruhi is actually a girl and suggests she join their school instead. Naturally, Tamaki [[Hypocritical Humor|does not enjoy Benny's interest in Haruhi.]]
 ** Benibara's own name is also a pun on the nickname of the most popular Takarazuka show, [[Rose of Versailles|BeruBara]].
 *** Keep in mind who the [[Mitsuki Saiga|seiyuu]] voicing Benibara is.
 * Unlike the audience-surrogate [[Fan Nickname|Inner Senshi]], Haruka and Michiru in ''[[Sailor Moon]]'' are essentially Takarazuka ports: Haruka is flirty, handsome, and extremely boyish while Michiru is mysterious, beautiful and willowy. Both look taller and older than the rest of the cast for no adequately explained reason.
 ** This origin is lampshaded during a conversation where Rei points out that Makoto's recent interest in Haruka seems [[Les Yay|a little overenthusiastic]]. Usagi quickly pulls a magazine from under Rei's bed with a Takarazuka model on the cover, a nod to Rei's longstanding [[Mistaken for Gay]] meme.
-* The heroines of ''[[Sakura Taisen]]'' perform as a Takarazuka troupe in their [[Secret Identity|secret identities]]. The series contains several [[Shout Out|Shout Outs]] to the famous Takarazuka Revue which popularized this trope.
+* The heroines of ''[[Sakura Taisen]]'' perform as a Takarazuka troupe in their [[Secret Identity|secret identities]]. The series contains several [[Shout-Out]]s to the famous Takarazuka Revue which popularized this trope -- and even more so to the Schochiku Kagekidan, which was one of Takarazuka's first competitors. The Imperial theatre is on the same spot and has the same design of the (now demolished) Shochiku Theatre; game designer Ouji Hiroi's aunt was a founding member of Shochiku. The flower for Takarazuka is the sumire (the established Top Star in the games), where the Shochiku theatre's flower was the sakura; so the rivalry between their namesake characters is representative of the rivalry of the two theatres.
 ** For instance, in the second OAV, action hero Shounen Red's motto is said to be "purely, properly, beautifully" -- not exactly fitting, but it ''is'' the motto of the Takarazuka Revue. A number of the shows the Teikoku Kagekidan girls put on are also serial-numbers-filed-off versions of Takarazuka shows -- ''Ai Yue ni'' (''Because of Love'') is at least partly based on ''Rose of Versailles'', for example.
-* In the anime version of ''[[Lucky Star (Anime)|Lucky Star]]'', [[Yuri Fan|Hiyori]] likes putting [[Bifauxnen|Minami]] and [[Ill Girl|Yutaka]] in Takarazuka otokoyaku and musumeyaku roles.
+* In the anime version of ''[[Lucky Star]]'', [[Yuri Fan|Hiyori]] likes putting [[Bifauxnen|Minami]] and [[Ill Girl|Yutaka]] in Takarazuka otokoyaku and musumeyaku roles.
-* ''[[Revolutionary Girl Utena (Anime)|Revolutionary Girl Utena]]'' is heavily influenced by this cultural phenomenon. Especially interesting on the meta-level when you realize the world of Ohtori '''is a stage'''.
+* ''[[Revolutionary Girl Utena]]'' is heavily influenced by this cultural phenomenon. Especially interesting on the meta-level when you realize the world of Ohtori '''is a stage'''.
-** ''[[Mawaru Penguindrum (Anime)|Mawaru Penguindrum]]'', from the same creator, features a character [[Meaningful Name|named Yuri]] who's part of an acting troupe that's similar to but legally distinct from the Takarazuka. Their signature play is a ''Rose of Versailles'' [[Expy]].
+** ''[[Mawaru Penguindrum]]'', from the same creator, features a character [[Meaningful Name|named Yuri]] who's part of an acting troupe that's similar to but legally distinct from the Takarazuka. Their signature play is a ''Rose of Versailles'' [[Expy]].
 * In ''[[Only Yesterday|Omohide Poro Poro]]'', the narrator mentions that one of her older sisters was completely in love with a Takarazuka "actor".
-* The first volume of the ''[[Wandering Son (Manga)|Wandering Son]]'' manga has a class put on a production of ''The Rose of Versailles'' with numerous references to the Takarazuka original -- appropriate when you consider the series is all about gender issues.
+* The first volume of the ''[[Wandering Son]]'' manga has a class put on a production of ''The Rose of Versailles'' with numerous references to the Takarazuka original—appropriate when you consider the series is all about gender issues.
-* In the manga version of ''[[Oniisama E]]'' minor members of the Sorority are based both name- and looks-wise on top Takarazuka actresses of the time.
+* In the manga version of ''[[Oniisama e...]]'' minor members of the Sorority are based both name- and looks-wise on top Takarazuka actresses of the time.
+== Fan Works ==
+* In the ''[[Ranma ½]]'' fanfic ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20200812161513/https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13045758/1/All-The-World-s-A-Stage All The World's A Stage]'' by "n1ght3lf", a twenty-something Nabiki stumbles upon Ranma, long thought dead at Kodachi's hand, hiding in plain sight as "Akimoto Ran", the star of the Takarazuka Revue.
 {{reflist}}
@@ Line 92: / Line 97: @@
 [[Category:Japanese Media Tropes]]
 [[Category:Useful Notes/Japan]]
-[[Category:Takarazuka]]
+[[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]]