Word: otokoyaku
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...Takarazuka's audience is about 90% female and multigenerational. One producer refers to a "vertical" fan base, with grandmothers, mothers and daughters attending performances. Ten minutes into any production and it's easy to see why women of all ages flock to these romances. They are infatuated with the otokoyaku - female actresses in male roles, playing the part of idealized men to perfection. Gone is the belching, unkempt, groin-scratching oaf of everyday reality; in his place stands an elegant, considerate dandy, ever ready to open doors and produce bouquets. "Not just any man, but more like a man than...
...takes years of training to become a otokoyaku. Some spend a decade crafting how they sit, speak, walk and gesture. But the commitment expected does not deter the hundreds of teenage girls who apply for just 40 available places each year. Many, like top Takarazuka graduate Rei Makoto, start out as fans. While still in high school, Makoto became obsessed with NeoDandyism, a Takarazuka production featuring the troupe's well-known actress Maya Miki. "I rehearsed with the DVD at home all the time," she says, dressed in jeans and a blazer - the staple ensemble of an off-duty otokoyaku...