Bakuken 4 – Imperial Phantom Legion

Updated: November 18, 2024

Some time ago, we learned that there would be a 4th installment of the Bakuken series of stage plays, but I honestly don’t remember where or how we learned about that. You might find something worthwhile in the Search…

But, suffice it to say, the livestream announcing a bunch of information on the next segment in the Bakuken series of stage plays aired last night. I will be disseminating the information as we’re given it, so please stay tuned!

You can view it below:

[ THE CAST]

About Suzuki Magoichi:
He was the leader of the Saika Ikki, mercenary groups in feudal Japan. This historical reference is super interesting to me because I used to live in Nagakute, Aichi, which is where a huge battle was said to take place (Nagakute Kosenjo). I’ll be interested to see what Yoko comes up with this.

About Akiyama Yoshifuru:
He was a general in the Imperial Japanese Army, and was considered the father of modern Japanese cavalry.

About Amakusa Shiro:
(Amakusa Shirō, often romanized as Shirou), was a Japanese Christian of the Edo period and leader of the Shimabara Rebellion, an uprising of Japanese Roman Catholics against the Shogunate. His imina is Tokisada and he is also known as Masuda Shirō. [Wikipedia]

[ The Ensemble Cast ]

[ NOTES AND POSSIBLE SPOILERS ]

  • Since Michael traded his soul to save Yatsume, he has become a sort of wandering spirit known as Lucifer. We already know that Nobunaga tried to take Lucifer’s power and managed to subdue him in a way… so I imagine this sort of possession similar to Tyrann jumping from body to body in order to survive. Therefore, this announcement of Kyosuke Suga playing the role of Akiyama Yoshifuru seems quite plausible to me. We’ve already seen examples in which characters are introduced as their base personality (such as Tokugawa Ieyasu, who was actually possessed by both Nobunaga & Lucifer), so that may likely be the case with Akiyama as well.
  • The title is likely a play off of the actual title for the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA, 大日本帝国陸軍).
  • Yoko has said that Bakuken 4 takes place during that Taisho Period (1912-1926), but since he hasn’t written a line of the script yet, this might change. He mentioned that it might be actually something in the future that resembles the Taisho Period. Hmm…
  • The introduction of Sakiho Motonishi is curious, as she’s the only new addition to the cast. She previously played the role of Mozu from another production from ILCA x Square Enix: Towatsugai.
  • Throughout the entire Bakuken series, many of the same actors reprise their previous roles, but they often take on a new flavor, so there’s really no need to worry about catching up with the previous installments. Everything is pretty fresh and new with each play.
  • Ono Zenki has the ability to switch between multiple personalities, except they’re not just mere personalities but likely REAL people… He might actually be possessed by multiple souls at once and he’s simply able to keep them all at his beck and call. We see this through his 3rd Personality, a female character that eventually sacrifices her “existence” (?) in order to help him. So, from this, we get more of a feeling that souls are able to float around here and there, and depending on the host, they’re able to either suppress or take command over those souls… or be drowned in their power. It feels a lot similar to Gestalt possession from NieR.
    • This honestly gives me the feeling that Yoko’s been after all along… that there’s a reason why important points in history went the way they did… and that there was some sort of outside influence that triggered them to go a certain way. This sort of thought is ABSOLUTELY within the realm of the overarching Yokoverse, but unless such a thing is revealed directly by him, we can only speculate!

[ BAKUKEN TIMELINE ]

[ TICKETS ]

Tickets are on sale from CN Play Guide, starting from:

  • Monday, September 16 – 10:00am – Tuesday, September 24 – 11:59pm (JST)

There will be a livestream as well, but those details have not been released yet. Please stay tuned!

Bakuken 3 ~The Genpei Final Battle~

Bakuken 3 ~The Genpei Final Battle~ September 14-19, 2023

The 3rd installment of the Bakuken stage play series will be back in full swing later this September!

  • Title: Bakuken ~The Genpei Final Battle~
  • Date: Thursday, September 14 – Tuesday, September 19, 2023
  • Place: CBGK Shibugeki

THE TEASER

In the era of the Genpei War.
Before Taira, one who boasted overwhelming power, Minamoto was well on his way to destruction.

There, the cornered Minamoto welcomes in the forbidden Onmyoji, Abe no Seimei.
Afraid of Abe’s power, Taira recruits Kiichi Hogen, a monk rumored to have spiritual powers. Still, Hogen appears to be unmotivated and merely drinks the days away.

As the stench of war intensifies, a Portuguese merchant named Michael appears to offer his support to both sides…

THE CAST

Michael – Suga Kyosuke (須賀京介)
YoRHa Ver.1.3a/aa: Accord
Shizuka Gozen – Aoki Shiki (青木志貴)
YoRHa Girls Ver.1.1a – No2
Minamoto Yoshitsune – Kimura Masataka (木村優良)
YoRHa Ver.1.3a/aa – No4
Orochi – Koizumi Moeka (小泉萌香)
YoRHa Girls Ver.1.1a – No21
Taira Kiyomori – Ayagiri Takuya (綾切拓也)
YoRHa Ver.1.3a/aa – No4
Abe Seimei – Matsuda Saki (松田彩希)
YoRHa Girls Ver.1.1a – No3
Oni – Machida Naoki (町田尚規)
Kimi Shi ni Tamou Koto Nakare Zero -KAI- – Araigaki
Minamoto Yoritomo – Chiba Mizuki (千葉瑞己)
Kiichi Hogen – Hinagata Ui (雛形羽衣)
Bakuken 1, 2, 3 – Kiichihogen
Kimi Shi ni Tamou Koto Nakare ZERO -KAI- – Kuchiba
YoRHa Ver.1.2 Musical – Rose
Benkei – Okino Kouji (沖野晃司)

NEWS

LINKS

Bakuken 2 – Main Visual

The main visual for Bakuken 2 was just released the other day, so let’s have a quick look at the catch phrases on it!

Bakuken ーTokyo Resurrection Deathmatchー

  • Modern Day
  • Tokyo
  • Resurrection
  • Warlords
  • Gourmet

Also read up on the first Bakuken stage play here.


▶︎ Sources and Other References on Twitter

Bakuken 2 Promotional Video

During the Yosu-P Santa 2021 program this year, there was a very short segment to promote the up-coming Bakuken 2 stage play, which will be performed later at the end of February.

Bakuken 2 Returns February 2022!

The other day, the official Bakuken Twitter released the first news regarding next year’s Bakuken 2 news!

Translation of the above tweet:

Winter 2022. In the capital city of Tokyo, when people’s hopes and dreams have become stagnant… There within the shadows, untouched by the light of the moon, a man is murdered… a man known as “Oda Nobunaga”… What sights will these reincarnated swordfighters discover in the present age, 100 years later…?

Bakuken ~Tokyo Reincarnation Death Match~
Advanced lottery reservations open on December 24 at 10am

For those of you who haven’t heard of the Bakuken stage play yet, please check out this post from March earlier this year.

Although the setting has shifted to the modern day this time, the cast of historical characters are all largely the same!

Losing the following cast members:

  • Maikawa Miyako as Sasaki Setsu — Maikawa recently “graduated” from DearStage, the company involved in the majority of Yoko’s plays, and has since become a freelance actress.
  • Koga Ruito as Sasaki Kojiro
  • Kadono Sho as Togo Shigekata

Gaining the following cast members:

  • Matsubara Rin (Anemone, YoRHa Ver.1.3a) as Kondo Isami Kondō Isami was a Japanese swordsman and official of the late Edo period. He was the fourth generation master of Tennen Rishin-ryū and was famed for his role as commander of the Shinsengumi. [Wikipedia]
  • Tsurumi Moe (No4, YoRHa Girls Ver.1.1a) as Shirou Amakusa Amakusa Shirō, often romanized as Shirou, was a Japanese Christian of the Edo period and leader of the Shimabara Rebellion, an uprising of Japanese Roman Catholics against the Shogunate. His imina is Tokisada and he is also known as Masuda Shirō. [Wikipedia]

And for anyone wondering what this stage play is, the first one was held last March. You can read more about it here.