Thanks you sharing your thoughts. I just got my copy of the DVD, and as usual, I pretty much agree with what you said. I was not as wowed by Kousaka (I'm not going to try to get all the actors' names) as you were, but I did think he was a big improvement over the previous actor. I think I'm not 100% happy with the directing of the character, but the overall effect was much better this time around.

I completely agree with you about Hiramaki's Naoe. The last scene was fantastic. Some of his delivery, which reminded my of anime villain, was a little odd. One thing only I think Aramaki did better, and that's "normal" Naoe, putting on the social veneer of being polite and proper and reasonably friendly and so on. Now, in this play, there's a lot less chance for Naoe to wear that face; his ties to daily life as Kasahara have mostly been severed. But I do think it's characteristic of Naoe that his default social act is so very polished, and I missed that a little with Hiramaki. Overall, a definite improvement.

I agree with everything you said about Minako, and I agree that Tomita remains the heart and soul of the show. I do hope in the next play they get a bit more in sync with the Naoe-Kagetora chemistry. I think part of my difficulty in suspending my disbelief in many of their scenes was simply processing the change of actor, given how different the two are. I also agree that the play itself felt uneven because it was rushed. It's a shame Minako wasn't in the third play, because her relationship with Kagetora seemed to come a bit out of nowhere, though I agree their chemistry was great.

I'm stoked to hear you're finding time for Mirage translating. It must be so hard to fit in. I really admire you.