Eien Densetsu (Kaiteiban) -- The Final First Stage!! Guide
Name Translation: Eternal Legend (Revision): The Final First Stage!!
Stage: First (fan) / First (producers)
Play rundates: 2/5 – 2/16/98 (18 performances)
Released on video? Yes – both the original and the full senshuuraku (last day performance) were released
Released on: VHS, DVD, Ooyama Anza Memorial DVD Box Set v.2. The senshuuraku was only released on special preordered VHS and on the Ooyama Anza Memorial DVD Box Set.
Omake Footage?: Yes, a Fan Kansha (fan appreciation event), a Special Eikyuu Hozonban Omake Video, and a Laser Disc Omake
Available subtitled?: Yes; both the original & senshuuraku have been subbed by Cruel Angel Productions
CAST:
Heroes
Ooyama Anza – Usagi/Sailor Moon
Morino Ayako – Ami/Sailor Mercury
Kotani Misako – Rei/Sailor Mars
Tonegawa Akari – Makoto/Sailor Jupiter
Miyazaki Akiko – Minako/Sailor Venus
Kimura Sanae – Haruka/Sailor Uranus
Tahara Hiroko – Michiru/Sailor Neptune
Saitou Rei – Setsuna/Sailor Pluto
Takeda Keiko – Hotaru/Sailor Saturn
Kawasaki Mao – Chibi-Chibi/Sailor Chibichibimoon
Katayama Sayuri – Seiya/Sailor Star Fighter
Ono Hikari – Taiki/Sailor Star Maker
Okuyama Momoko – Yaten/Sailor Star Healer
Sakoto Yoshioka – Princess Kakyuu
Mochizuki Yuuta – Mamoru/Tuxedo Kamen/Endymion
Villains
Nishina Yuri – Queen Beryl
Tanami Matsumoto – Sailor Galaxia
Ado Endou – Sailor Theta
Komura Mika – Sailor Phi
Yasuda Mari – Sailor Chi
Kasahara Ryuuji – Chaos
SUMMARY:
In this revision of Eien Densetsu and the final musical of the first stage, Sailor Galaxia and her Animamates are out to capture Star Seeds. But in a twist to the regular Stars storyline, Galaxia has revived Queen Beryl and the Shitennou to help her do her bidding. Can Sailor Moon, the Sailor Senshi, and their new allies the Sailor Starlights, stop the most powerful senshi in the galaxy?
SONGS:
- “Orleans no Sei Senshi” (“Holy Soldiers of Orléans”): set in the context of a Musketeer-era play Usagi, Ami, Rei, Makoto, Minako, Hotaru, and the Three Lights are in. The song is sung by Usagi, Ami, Rei, Makoto, Minako, and Hotaru. The song is pretty neat, with lots of choreographed sword-swinging and cool Musketeer outfits for the five Inners, complete with capes. (The artists of the "Morino Costumes Illustrated" doujinshi – fan-made comic -- did a rather nice rendition of Ami’s Musketeer outfit). The chorus contains some French phrases. ("Sei" technically means "star," but most translations of this song translate it as "holy" instead, so I went with that translation).
- “Yami no Hitsugi” (“Coffin of Darkness”): a song sung by Queen Beryl and her minions. I believe it is sung when Beryl and her minions are revived by Galaxia.
- “Dream Yume wa Ookiku” (“Dream – Dreams Are Huge”): a song originally sung by Ami, Rei, Makoto, and Minako in the second musical but sung in this myu only by Ami. The four-girl version also appears in 2000’s Last Dracul Jyokyoku, the eighth musical.
- “Kick Out a Bloody Mystery”: This song is sung by Usagi, Ami, Makoto, Minako, Hotaru, Setsuna, Chaos, Endymion, and Sailor Theta. The context of the song is Usagi and friends trying to prove Rei’s innocence when she is accused of some crime. They all go around with flashlights and trenchcoats, sort of Scooby Doo style. Highlights of this song include Saitou Rei as Setsuna freaking out about an octopus that has attached to her foot and the classic ad-libbed “confusion scene,” an idea more or less created by the First Stage Starlights. This song was also used in the original Eien Densetsu. Variants of it were used in 2002's Ai no Sanctuary (where it was called "Take Out a Sirius Mystery") and 2004's Kakyuu-Ouhi Kourin (where it was called "Excite a Ghost Mystery").
- “Galaxia Gorgeous”: Galaxia’s theme song. It is sung by Galaxia and her minions. This song also appears in 1998’s Shin Densetsu Kourin and 2003’s Starlights*Ryuusei Densetsu and appears on the Best Songs Collection CD.
- “Chasin’ After You”: one of the Three Lights’s two theme songs (“See Me! Boku-tachi no Jidai” is the other). It serves a similar purpose to their song “Nagareboshi He” (“Towards the Shooting Star”) from the anime. The song was remixed for the Marina-era Stars myus. The First Stage Lights also performed it in their last group appearance at the Shin Densetsu Kourin Fankan. Momoko-san and Hikari-san each did their own solo versions (Momoko-san at the Final First Stage Fankan and Hikari-san much later during 2001’s Super Revue Show) and then did a duet version together at the 500th show special event. It also made it on the Best Songs Collection CD.
- “Gondola no Koibito-tachi” (“Lovers in the Gondola”): a Usagi and Mamoru duet that debuted in the second musical. During it, Usagi and Mamoru are on a date and are floating on a lake in a gondola.
- “I Miss You”: a duet between Seiya and Usagi. Unlike the previous song, they each sing unaware of the other’s presence. Usagi sings about how she misses Mamoru, who has gone to America to study abroad, while Seiya sings about Usagi.
- “To a Brand-New World”: Sailor Saturn’s theme song. It debuted in the SuperS Kaiteiban myu and takes its melody from the song “Miss Dream,” which appeared in both SuperS myus and was sung by Miss Dream.
- “Toki Michite Kourin” (“Arriving When the Time Has Come”): a Princess Kakyuu solo. It also appears in the 2004 myu Kakyuu-Ouhi Kourin - The Second Stage Final. Like all the Kakyuu songs in SeraMyu, it has a very aria-like feel and extremely high notes.
- “Galaxia no Dokusai” (“Galaxia’s Dictatorship”): a song sung by Galaxia and her minions. It also appears in the 1996 myu Sailor Stars and in Kakyuu-Ouhi Kourin.
- “Kakyuu-Ouhi to Three Lights” (“Princess Kakyuu and the Three Lights”): a song sung by Kakyuu and the Three Lights (as the name suggests). It is a very emotional song. Momoko-san, Hikari-san, and Sakamoto-san (Kakyuu) performed this song together again when they appeared as guests on the third day of the 2002 Memorial Talk and Live Show, part of the celebration of Sailor Moon’s 10th anniversary.
- “Tabidachi” (“Setting Out on a Journey”): sung by Usagi and Ami. This is sung after Ami has decided to go to Germany to study medicine. It’s a very sad song. The music of it was re-used for the song “Usagi to Yonin no Zureru Omoi” (“Usagi and Her Four Friends’ Conflicting Feelings”) from the Mugen Gakuen myus of 2002 and 2003.
- “Sorezore no Elegy” (“Each One’s Elegy”): sung by the Sailor Senshi to Sailor Moon as each of them die from having their Star Seeds taken. Who sings the song depends on the performance; during the 2002 Memorial Talk and Live Show Morino Ayako (Mercury) states that one performance of this song was just by her and Kotani Misako (Mars).
- “Onna no Ronsou” (“Women’s Dispute”): a very touching duet between Sailor Pluto and Queen Beryl about their respective feelings for Endymion. With its subject matter about two women loving the same man, it is not unlike the Amneris/Aida duet “Fu la sorte dell' armi a' tuoi funesta” (“The battle’s outcome was cruel for your people”) from Act 2 of Verdi's opera Aida.
- “Orleans no Sei Senshi ~Uranus - Neptune no Uragiri” (“Holy Soldiers of Orléans ~ Uranus and Neptune’s Betrayal”): a shortened four-line version of “Orleans no Sei Senshi” sung by Uranus and Neptune after they join with Galaxia. This was also sung in Kakyuu-Ouhi Kourin, but with different lyrics and the name “Uranus to Neptune no Uragiri.”
- “Mou Ii No” (“It’s All Right Now”): another four-line song. This song is sung by Sailor Chibichibimoon when she shows up while Sailor Moon is fighting Galaxia.
- “La Fatalité Sei Senshi” (“The Fate of the Holy Soldiers”): The big group song for the myu. It takes its melody from “Orleans no Sei Senshi.” The chorus of this song also has French phrases in it. "La Fatalité" also appears on the Theme Songs 1993-1999 CD. (Note: Fans usually translate "fatalité" in this song as "fatality," which that word can mean in French. But the specific term "la fatalité" means "fate." For the translation of "sei," see note on "Orleans no Sei Senshi").
- “Densetsu Seitan” (“The Birth of a Legend”): a nice, slow group song, similar to the Mugen Gakuen song “HEREAFTER…”
- “Double Moonlight Romance”: a song which debuted in the 1995 SuperS myu as a Usagi and Mamoru song, but appears in this myu as a full cast number.
“La Soldier” and “La Moon” are used as service (encore) numbers.
TRIVIA
- This being the last myu of the first stage, most of the cast “graduated” (a term in the Japanese entertainment world for when a performer leaves a show or group or a model leaves a magazine) from the myus after this myu. It was the last myu for Ooyama Anza, Morino Ayako, Kotani Misako, Tonegawa Akari, Kimura Sanae, Tahara Hiroko, Saitou Rei, Takeda Keiko, Katayama Sayuri, Okuyama Momoko, Sakoto Yoshioka, Tanami Matsumoto, and Nishina Yuri.
- While this was a graduation myu, five performers who graduated from their then current roles in this myu ultimately stayed with the myus much longer:
- Mochizuki Yuuta (Mamoru/Tuxedo Kamen/Endymion) stayed on till 2001, playing King Endymion and Count Dracul.
- Ono Hikari (Star Maker) stayed on till 2002, playing Hawk’s Eye (which she also played in SuperS Kaiteiban, her first myu), the first Loof Mellow, Bloody Dracul Vampir, Prince Dimande, and Hikaru Kurotsuki.
- Kawasaki Mao (Chibi-Chibi) played Chibi-Moon from 1994-1996 and then returned in 2001 to play the first Black Lady in Ankoku no Princess Black Lady.
- Endou Ado (Sailor Theta) started in 1994 in a minor villain role and stayed until 2005, making her the longest-running SeraMyu performer ever. After Final First Stage, she played various characters including Lilith, Calaveras, Hanako Hoshino, and Selkie.
- Akiko Miyazawa (Venus) later returned in Kaguya Shima Densetsu to play Bilhah Emerald in that myu and its kaiteiban. She also played Elizabeth Bathory in Transylvania no Mori and Queen Beryl in Starlights*Ryuusei Densetsu and Kakyuu-Ouhi Kourin: The Second-Stage Final, thus making her one of only two Senshi actresses (the other being Ono Hikari) who worked with all four Moons.
- This myu was the only one where both the regular myu and the senshuuraku (last day performance) were released in full on video. Senshuuraku footage for the other myus is only available as omake (bonus) footage, usually as part of the “guide videos.”
- The senshuuraku video, like other senshuuraku, differs from the regular myu in that it has more inside jokes and ad-libs than the regular myu. Graduating performers also usually get more solos or lines in senshuurakus. This may explain the extended focus on the Starlights (two of whom were graduating) in this myu’s senshuuraku.
- The girls' outfits in the opening scene seem to be inspired by The Three Musketeers, or at least by that era in literature or history. However, they are armed with rapiers (a type of sword), rather than muskets. It might be possible they are more referring to an earlier, similar style of soldier who would've used a rapier.