Not even a month in after settling in my new Japan residence, I was able to attend the third and final Shining Masterpiece Show museum exhibit, Forest of Lycoris! For anyone who hasn't been keeping up, Shining Masterpiece Show is the latest audio drama project in UtaPri, based on classic stories:
- Lost Alice based on "Alice in Wonderland," starring Natsuki, Masato, Reiji and Ranmaru
- Trois based on "The Three Musketeers," starring Syo, Ai and Camus
- Forest of Lycoris based on "Little Red Riding Hood," starring Otoya, Tokiya, Ren and Cecil
This is the first time that ALL eleven characters are featured in all dramas, unlike in Shining Theatrical Troupe and Shining Theater in which the starring characters were pretty much the only ones with speaking lines.
Onto the exhibit! I attended on Sunday, April 8th. I was supposed to be attending the day before as well, but unfortunately I had to work and wasn't able to make it to Tokyo that day (thankfully my friend was able to take both tickets I had for that time). But I'm very glad I was still able to see the exhibit just once, since Tokiya and Ren are my OTP two favorite characters and they both share leading roles in this drama, just as they did in JOKER TRAP.
I arrived at Suidobashi station and while trying to figure out how to get to Gallery AaMo, I found a bakery on the way that was doing a collaboration with the SMS project! Since I had been so busy for the past few months I was totally unaware, so this was a nice little surprise for me! I ended up buying a bread roll containing raisins and other fruit, and chose the "Randolph" sticker.
I was kind of early and still had at least an hour before my 12:00 slot for the exhibit, so I just walked around and enjoyed the weather, and took pictures of Arancia and Lime with my itabag. There were other fans around, but with more subtle UtaPri tote bags. So I thought it was good that I brought a regular tote bag to cover up my itabag before the event, but once I got closer to the entrance, I noticed all of the other fans who brought their itabags and Prince Cats!
The people who had tickets for earlier entry were being filed into the museum, while people who had later times like myself sat just outside, waiting to be called to get in line. When it was our turn, there was a silent mad rush to get in line, which bothered me a bit since we're all going to see the same exhibit, right? Later I figured out why some people were so impatient.
Upon having our tickets checked and entering the museum, we each received a random "irogami" (a board that's usually blank that people use to get autographs, illustrations, write thank you messages to someone, etc.) for one of the Forest of Lycoris characters. I wanted either Tokiya or Ren of course, which meant that I had a 50/50 chance of getting one of them, with the other possibilities being Cecil or Otoya.
I guess it was my lucky day because I got Tokiya! I really love Kurahana-sensei's illustration of this darker, more masculine Tokiya, it's really stunning...
Our tickets were checked once more, and at that time we were asked if we wanted to purchase an audio guide to go with the museum. These guides are actually available for pre-order on Broccoli's official website for a limited time in the form of a "PLAYBUTTON," which is a type of mp3 player pre-loaded with audio tracks. (I am hosting a group pre-order for Shining Masterpiece Items, including the audio guide, until April 28th!). I decided not to purchase one but I'm sure it makes the museum experience even better ^^
They allowed us to enter the first room, about 15 to 20 people at a time. This room played the trailer for Forest of Lycoris and was the only room where taking photos was not allowed. Admittedly I haven't listened to the audio drama yet, so the content of the museum was going to be totally new for me!
After watching the trailer, we were directed to the museum exhibit. Although you could easily walk by and take pictures of each scene, there were lines of people waiting to set up their Prince Cats for pictures. This explained why people were rushing to get in line...as it got later in the day, more people were entering than there were leaving, so the wait gradually got longer. My friend who went previously even told me that at the time she went, they actually cut off the line for pictures! So I guess it's good that I had an earlier time!
Since I only had two Prince Cats, it didn't take long for me to set up and take pictures...but the wait was about 20 to 30 minutes per exhibit. In total it took me about 2 hours, even though the exhibit was so small.
Beyond the exit was the booth for merchandise. Unfortunately it was so late in the museum period that nearly everything was sold out! But they did have sample merchandise on display, including the Prince Cats and a few non-Shining Masterpiece Show items. Along with the audio guide, some of the SMS items are also available for pre-order in the Broccoli Online Shop.
Overall I have to say that while I'm glad I was able to see this exhibit, because it was so crowded it was hard to really enjoy it. More of my time was spent waiting, just to spend a few seconds to take pictures in non-ideal lighting. Otoya's/Blood's part of the exhibit was by far the best, followed by Cecil's/Black Hood's. Tokiya's/Randolph's part really paled in comparison. I did like the little swing next to Ren's/Victor's stand, which was perfect for the Prince Cats.
Coming soon will be a report on the JOKER TRAP stage play, which I went to see on April 21st!
I was kind of early and still had at least an hour before my 12:00 slot for the exhibit, so I just walked around and enjoyed the weather, and took pictures of Arancia and Lime with my itabag. There were other fans around, but with more subtle UtaPri tote bags. So I thought it was good that I brought a regular tote bag to cover up my itabag before the event, but once I got closer to the entrance, I noticed all of the other fans who brought their itabags and Prince Cats!
The people who had tickets for earlier entry were being filed into the museum, while people who had later times like myself sat just outside, waiting to be called to get in line. When it was our turn, there was a silent mad rush to get in line, which bothered me a bit since we're all going to see the same exhibit, right? Later I figured out why some people were so impatient.
Upon having our tickets checked and entering the museum, we each received a random "irogami" (a board that's usually blank that people use to get autographs, illustrations, write thank you messages to someone, etc.) for one of the Forest of Lycoris characters. I wanted either Tokiya or Ren of course, which meant that I had a 50/50 chance of getting one of them, with the other possibilities being Cecil or Otoya.
I guess it was my lucky day because I got Tokiya! I really love Kurahana-sensei's illustration of this darker, more masculine Tokiya, it's really stunning...
Our tickets were checked once more, and at that time we were asked if we wanted to purchase an audio guide to go with the museum. These guides are actually available for pre-order on Broccoli's official website for a limited time in the form of a "PLAYBUTTON," which is a type of mp3 player pre-loaded with audio tracks. (I am hosting a group pre-order for Shining Masterpiece Items, including the audio guide, until April 28th!). I decided not to purchase one but I'm sure it makes the museum experience even better ^^
They allowed us to enter the first room, about 15 to 20 people at a time. This room played the trailer for Forest of Lycoris and was the only room where taking photos was not allowed. Admittedly I haven't listened to the audio drama yet, so the content of the museum was going to be totally new for me!
After watching the trailer, we were directed to the museum exhibit. Although you could easily walk by and take pictures of each scene, there were lines of people waiting to set up their Prince Cats for pictures. This explained why people were rushing to get in line...as it got later in the day, more people were entering than there were leaving, so the wait gradually got longer. My friend who went previously even told me that at the time she went, they actually cut off the line for pictures! So I guess it's good that I had an earlier time!
Since I only had two Prince Cats, it didn't take long for me to set up and take pictures...but the wait was about 20 to 30 minutes per exhibit. In total it took me about 2 hours, even though the exhibit was so small.
Beyond the exit was the booth for merchandise. Unfortunately it was so late in the museum period that nearly everything was sold out! But they did have sample merchandise on display, including the Prince Cats and a few non-Shining Masterpiece Show items. Along with the audio guide, some of the SMS items are also available for pre-order in the Broccoli Online Shop.
Overall I have to say that while I'm glad I was able to see this exhibit, because it was so crowded it was hard to really enjoy it. More of my time was spent waiting, just to spend a few seconds to take pictures in non-ideal lighting. Otoya's/Blood's part of the exhibit was by far the best, followed by Cecil's/Black Hood's. Tokiya's/Randolph's part really paled in comparison. I did like the little swing next to Ren's/Victor's stand, which was perfect for the Prince Cats.
Coming soon will be a report on the JOKER TRAP stage play, which I went to see on April 21st!
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