Hype! 2 Review

By: Jeff Brown
Photos courtesy of TJPW

“Professionalism repeats the repeatable.
Artistry repeats the unrepeatable.”

Robert Fripp – Guitar Craft Aphorism

Hyper Misao returned to a sold-out Kitazawa Town Hall with another Produce under the banner of Hype!, which was lauded by critics and fans alike. The follow-up was an equally off-kilter and fractured tale, with Raku in the leading role. The first show was a Cocteau-like journey through a realm of dreams and mirrors. It was noteworthy in that, while Misao was the mastermind, she was not the focal point and instead chose Mahiro Kiryu as the star. It was a perfect meeting of surrealism and personal growth by Mahiro, who was then elevated from the performance of her career. Misao had the unenviable task of trying to replicate the feelings and intentions of the original while having to do script rewrites on short notice due to her ankle injury.

So much of these shows are visual and aural that a written recount is similar to describing a multi course dinner, a mere facsimile but enough information to know if this production is the type of hour and half you would enjoy. The show begins with Raku on a crowded subway, and after suffering a fall, she is approached by a stranger who hands her a mysterious bag. Contained in the bag was a stuffed talking rabbit, who explained that they were a Battle Fairy called Shokopple on a quest to find a masked idol named RE:. A few days prior, RE: announced on social media that she was quitting the business and thus canceling her sold-out performance at the Tokyo Dome, throwing the city into a mass panic. A loud siren begins blaring, and the Shokopple says there is a mission for RE: to take care.

Raku was summoned to take action due to a case of mistaken identity and was tasked with confronting a group of Ganguro Gals who were terrorizing the city and converting citizens into their ranks, including Sayuri Namba. Raku took a magical mask from the bag and transformed into RE: (Rika Tatsumi), while Shokopple took on a human form (Shoko Nakajima) and defeated the evil gang. Now restored to their former selves and RE: back to Raku, one of the members (Miu Watanabe) thought she recognized Raku. At this point, the story is very much in the style of the “Magical girl” superhero genre and is a great platform to introduce outlandish, campy villains that would be at home in the Adam West-era Batman. The costume designs are arresting with an air of sinisterness, akin to the musical performances by the avant-garde art collective The Residents, especially the late 80s–90s stage productions such as Cube E, Icky Flix, or Demons Dance Alone.

Shoot Shinの3人は与えられたキャラの噛み砕きが素晴らしかった！ちなみに店名を訳すと「スネを撃つ」なので裏設定ではこの店のオーナーは原宿ぽむです笑
そしてコンカフェは本来はお客様の席の隣に座ることができないはずなので普通にこの店は風営法違反！！ #tjpwHYPE pic.twitter.com/GQcwC4fTis

— ハイパーミサヲ Hyper Misao (@misao_tjp) April 20, 2024

Next is a host bar Shoot Shin where a trio of Ikemen (Mahiro, Toga, and Kazashiro) serve booze and flirt with their clients (Uta and Shino of the Up Up Girls), and in the process rack up an astronomical bill of over 32 million yen. The hosts try to use their good looks and singing to persuade Raku, but she transforms into RE: and lays them all out. Mahiro once again got to shine as Misao continued to utilize her in more surprising roles, while Toga and Kazashiro were also quite memorable. Mahiro is herself after the battle, and she too recognizes Raku, but duty calls when the siren goes off, signaling another emergency.

Reporter Azusa Takigawa has a news report shows that at the Tokyo Dome the RE: concert was now being hijacked by an evil metal band. After their performance Raku showed up but found she could not transform into RE: this time. The lead singer took the mask and revealed she was RE: The band featured Toribami in a plague mask variant to her usual bird attire on guitar and Yuki Aino on drums. The singer was Rika in a long blonde wig and a glamish outfit. They began fighting Shokopple but Raku herself bravely stepped in to stop them. Raku was losing the fight when everyone from the previous battles returned and surrounded her. This triggered a dream sequence that covered Raku’s entire wrestling career, from her debut to fighting Andreza Giant Panda at Grand Princess ‘24 all the while voices were telling her to wake up. She then awoke and was in her familiar wrestling gear and proceeded to defeat the evil band members leaving only Re: but Raku decided to explain that the fight was unnecessary and sang her entrance theme “Marshmallow Cacao Station”. Raku fully recalled who she was now and that she was a member of the Up Up Girls. The disillusioned RE: learned that being an Idol ultimately meant entertaining the fans and things were nearly wrapped up.

グッバイバッドドリーム🤍🖤#tjpwHYPE pic.twitter.com/x7DlgvvnPH

— 辰巳リカ (@doratles) April 20, 2024

Raku just needed a way out of this dream and to return home. Her being in a dream world after suffering a knock on the head is reminiscent of The Wizard of Oz (1939) or Babes in Toyland (more so the 1986 remake) and the dark fantasy atmospheres of Paper House (1988) and The Company of Wolves (1984) in regards to cinema counterparts. Now Shokopple said the path home was via a grueling test, and Judas Priest hit the PA, signaling the arrival of Aja Kong. This was technically the only match on the show and was about 8 minutes in length. Raku shook hands with Kong, and her offense was quite ineffective, but she did use her lullaby for a 2-count. Kong answered back with her own take on the Oyasumi Express. Raku then hit her Smile Train for a near fall. They each got their signature weapons, the trash can and the pillow, with Raku getting a hold of the can and smashing Kong with it. Raku put it aside and wanted to do it on her without weapons, but Kong tossed her around quite effortlessly and put Raku down for the 3-count with her back drop.

The show ended with Kong praising Raku and then everyone celebrating, with Misao coming down on her crutches to be with the cast. It was revealed that HIMAWARI was the puppeteer for the stuffed version of Shokopple. Misao stated she will need surgery for the injury but wants to produce more Hype! shows in the future to showcase all the talent on the TJPW roster. She ended with leading everyone in “I get Hype! We get Hype!!”

いつも以上に1人じゃ何にもできない状態のくせにこだわり強くて遅筆！そんな私のムチャクチャな提案に乗っていっしょ創りあげてくれた出演メンバー、セコンド、スタッフ…関わったすべての皆さんあらためてありがとうございました！こんな高負荷な興行をやり切ったみんなこわい！狂ってる！#tjpwHYPE pic.twitter.com/3JRdz8vLlQ

— ハイパーミサヲ Hyper Misao (@misao_tjp) April 20, 2024

The match was a big moment for Raku and one of the most important of her career. Like Mahiro last year, this performance really took her out of her comfort zone and added layers to her character. For these shows, Misao is like a teacher calling upon the shy, quiet student at the back of the class who doesn’t have their hand raised and having them show everyone they have something worthwhile to share. As fun, entertaining, and creative as these productions are, they serve a higher purpose of taking lower-card wrestlers and elevating them into bigger positions for the company. Misao has an eye for talent; this proved she has the magic touch of repeating the grand theater of the first show and has found a truly artistic way to build up TJPW.