I find this very weirdly amusing, and Sissi-like.

So, you know how in some Asian cultures the number four is to be avoided at all costs? There's even a TVTropes page about it [WARNING: TVTropes page!]: Four Is Death

I woke up this morning at an ungodly hour and immediately decided I'd better go online and see what was new.

Well, I found something interesting, all right, and I found it right here on the blog:


Image is current as of 0420 hours. [And 42 happens to be another favorite number of mine, heh!]

If I thought last night it was amusing that the counter was at 4440 hits.... This to me is, well, really hopelessly funny.

It's also a good time for me to be a fangirl - now that I know of the Takarazuka Kagekidan, the number four and the concept of death now make me think of "Der Tod" from the musical Elisabeth. The company's various troupes have performed this musical about six more times since they first put it on in 1996, so it's safe to say it's one of their most popular shows.

The four fours remind me of my two favorite Der Tods:


Shizuki Asato in the 1998 Sora [Cosmos] production. This would be the only time that troupe has done Elisabeth; they have an informal "rule" in place of never repeating a play.


Mizu Natsuki in the 2007 Yuki [Snow] production, the second time that the troupe staged it.

Another Japanese theater company, Toho Co., is staging Elisabeth from August to October this year, with at least three former otokoyaku Top Stars of the Takarazuka Kagekidan in major roles: Asami Hikaru and Sena Jun alternating as Elisabeth, and Mori Keaki as Sophie. Poster.

[Sena Jun happens to be the only actress in the Takarazuka Kagekidan to perform BOTH Elisabeth, to Ayaki Nao's Der Tod in 2005, and Der Tod himself, in 2009. She ALSO played Luigi Lucheni from 2002-3.]

I know, it's a bit morbid and creepy, but still, endlessly amusing and fangirl-y.