Influence
Takarazuka has had a profound influence on the history of anime and manga, especially shōjo manga. Osamu Tezuka, a highly influential manga creator, grew up in the town of Takarazuka. His mother knew many of the Takarazuka actresses, and as a child he knew them and watched many of their performances. Based on their stories of noble princes played by female actresses, Tezuka created Princess Knight the first manga aimed at a female audience, which tells the story of Princess Sapphire, a girl born with both a male and female heart who struggles between the desire to fight as a noble prince and to be a tender, gentle princess. The great success of Princess Knight and other Tezuka stories began the tradition of manga written for a female audience, especially the very influential Rose of Versailles and Revolutionary Girl Utena series, both of which borrow directly from Princess Knight by including specific Tezuka images, character designs and names. Rose of Versailles is one of Takarazuka's best-known musicals. Women in masculine roles continue to be a central theme in shōjo manga and anime as well as some shōnen, and Tezuka himself explored the theme in many of his later works, including Dororo, Phoenix and Black Jack.
While the influence of Osamu Tezuka and Takarazuka on anime and manga is general, there are still many series which show more specific influences. The Takarazuka Revue inspired the plot of the original Sakura Wars video game, along with additional inspiration from Takarazuka's one-time competitor the Shochiku Kagekidan (Shochiku Revue). In regards to Sakura Taisen, not only did the Kagekidan inspire the plot for Sakura Taisen, it also strongly influenced the organization of the characters, namely the Hanagumi.
The Zuka Club in Ouran High School Host Club is based on the Takarazuka Revue. The characters Haruka Tenoh and Michiru Kaioh of Sailor Moon were loosely based on the actors of the Takarazuka Revue.
Read more about this topic: Takarazuka Revue
Famous quotes containing the word influence:
“The adolescent does not develop her identity and individuality by moving outside her family. She is not triggered by some magic unconscious dynamic whereby she rejects her family in favour of her peers or of a larger society.... She continues to develop in relation to her parents. Her mother continues to have more influence over her than either her father or her friends.”
—Terri Apter (20th century)
“Nature has taken more care than the fondest parent for the education and refinement of her children. Consider the silent influence which flowers exert, no less upon the ditcher in the meadow than the lady in the bower. When I walk in the woods, I am reminded that a wise purveyor has been there before me; my most delicate experience is typified there.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
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—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)