Tokyo Broadcasting System (TBS) announced on July 19 that they will produce a kabuki stage play adaptation of the popular video game Final Fantasy X created by Square Enix. The stage play will location for its performance would be in the unique performing-arts venue called IHI Stage Around Tokyo.
As stated by the Nikkan Sports paper, this would be the first of its kind as a kabuki stage play adapted from a video game.
Onoe Kikunosuke V, a kabuki and film actor, is said to be the director of this play and would also be among the performers. This artist also co-conceived and starred in the kabuki stage play adaptation of the well-loved anime Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind.
The other cast members named include Nakamura Shidō II, Onoe Matsuya II, Baishi Nakamura IV, Mantarō Nakamura, Yonekichi Nakamura V, Nakamura Shikan VIII, Kamimura Kichitarō, Nakamura Shinobu, Bandō Hikosaburō VIII, and Bandō Yajūrō. The Final Fantasy X kabuki stage play will be held in Tokyo in 2023.
According to japan-guide.com, kabuki is a traditional Japanese theater form named to be a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage. The Kabuki theater was unique because of its magnificent showmanship involving majestic costumes, make-ups, wigs, and amplified actions.
The company behind Final Fantasy X, Square Enix (formerly Square), first released the game for PlayStation 2 in the year 2001, followed by its sequel, Final Fantasy X-2, two years later. The two games were remastered in HD by the same company on PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita in December 2013 in Japan and March 2014 in North America. In May 2015, the company again released the collection on the PlayStation 4 in various places, including Japan, North America, and Europe. Come May 2016, they released it on PC, and then on the Xbox One and Switch last April 2019.
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