Main Characters
Maya Kitajima (1963-) (a.k.a. Maya Kitajima, Maya Kitajima):
The manga's protagonist, who has little else to offer except her talent and passion for acting, gradually makes her way into acting under the tutelage of Ms. Tsukiakari, and with the encouragement and support of the person who gave her the purple rose. Her father died at an early age, her mother is a clerk at a Chinese restaurant, and she is 13 years old. Fate has not been kind to her, and who knows what lies in the heart of this young girl named Maya Kitajima? What will happen to her acting career? ...... Himekawa Yako (1963-):
An actress with a brilliant appearance, her father is a famous director and her mother is also a famous actress. Under the radiance of her parents, she is a down-to-earth actress who works hard and relies on her strengths, and considers Kitajima Maya her biggest rival. .... Moon Shadow Chigusa (1924-): young Moon Shadow Chigusa
Childhood was adopted by the teacher Oki Ichiren, and taught her to act, performance of his work of the red sky girl a play, become a famous big star, but has always been y in love with his wife Oki, Oki Ichiren, after the inheritance of the red sky girl as the biggest goal of life. Speed water Zhen Cheng (1952-):
Originally known as Fujimura Zhen Cheng, as a child due to the early death of his father, his mother to speed water home as a maid, speed water Eisuke hope to train him as heir, so he married his mother, and therefore changed his last name to speed water, the father's strict teachings, become a shrewd and capable and only pay attention to the business interests of the person, and as a large number of arts and crafts of the president, until he saw the passionate performance of Kitajima Maya, and then he became a great star, but always y in love with his wife Oki. It was not until he saw Maya Kitajima's passionate performance and envied her perseverance and dedication to her ideals that the goodness and kindness that had been hidden and suppressed in his heart began to slowly awaken. He keeps sending her purple roses anonymously and secretly to encourage her and help her. .... Yu Sakuragoro (1962-): Yu Sakuragoro
A boy of Maya's age and an actor, Yu Sakuragoro has always been fond of Maya and has been very kind to her, and he has always wanted to perform on the same stage as Maya. But in the Meie serial "Heaven's Glory" Maya fell in love with Satomi Shigeru, so he left. Later, he became Maya's rival character in the performance of "The Forgotten Wilderness" and the audition for "Red Celestial Maiden". Gradually, he realizes that Maya has always been in his heart and has not changed. When Maya and he returned to Tokyo from Umegaya, they began rehearsals for "Red Sky Girl" ...... Always
Speedwater Eisuke: Speedwater Masumi's father. When he was young, he was obsessed with the fantasy play "Red Sky Maiden" as well as Tsukiakari Chikusa, so he founded Metropolitan Arts, but he indirectly killed Oki Ichirin because he wanted to monopolize the play, and he still wants to monopolize the play for decades, and he's a person who will stop at nothing to get what he wants. Oki Ichiren (1911-1946): A famous actor, writer and director, the author of "The Red Sky Girl", who committed suicide after being framed by Eisuke Speedwater. Genzo Kobayashi (Genzo): A male actor who loved Tsukiakari Chikusa and took care of her even though he knew she only had eyes for Oki Ichirin. Rei Aoki: Maya's best friend from the Tsukishadow troupe. She takes care of Maya and is often mistaken for a handsome boy because of her looks. Ryuzo KURONUMA: A talented director who is often disliked by the theater owner because of his bad temper. Shigeru Satomi: A former idol actress who was Maya's boyfriend, but was forced to break up with her when she was expelled from acting. Mizushiro Asako: Masumi Speedwater's female secretary, characterized by her ability to see through the world and is an indispensable character in the manga. Fateful Rival
Himekawa Yakou: A superbly beautiful and physically gifted actress with superhuman acting skills honed through hard work. A princess of the acting world, she has almost no flaws. Maya Kitajima: Ordinary in appearance (no one turns around when she walks down the street), even a bit clumsy, can't do normal everyday things well, and gets poor grades in school. Can't dance, sing, etc., and her acting skills are vastly inferior to Yagyu's. But Maya is a natural actor, and what's awesome is its acting instincts. Specifically, there are two things: 1. No matter what the play, after seeing it 1 or 2 times, she can memorize all the lines; after seeing the play once, she can perform all the actors' lines and actions. 2. When she stands on the stage, the self does not exist, completely become a character in the play. She acts and speaks with the character and feelings of the person she is playing. It's like hypnosis. And it doesn't matter if she's playing a human or an animal or whatever. And it's also contagious to the actors on the same stage. Suffice it to say that this manga is a story that focuses on the growth of Maya, a theater genius, with the genius girl Yabow as a rival as a subplot. An actor has to first grasp the character from the character's heart and then show it to the audience with his acting skills. The one who can do both is a great actor. So, Maya is a genius who belongs to the former, and Yakko is a genius who belongs to the latter. The story of two geniuses competing against each other is certainly a very exciting one. Synopsis
The protagonist, Maya Kitajima, is a child from a poor family who lives with her mother, who works at a noodle store in Yokohama's China Street. However, she is not good at schoolwork or sports, but she has a talent for mimicry, which is why she is discovered by a former big star, Chigusa Tsukiakari, who makes her join her troupe in Tokyo to learn how to act. Sakura Koro Yuu likes her .... Maya's talent for acting was gradually revealed as she studied and performed one show at a time. Himekawa Yabu, who was known as a genius girl in the acting world at that time, also began to notice her existence and regarded her as her greatest enemy. At that time, however, the company Metropolis Entertainment wanted to acquire the rights to perform the classic play "Red Sky Girl" owned by Tsukikage Chigusa and forced the troupe to disband, but the manager of Metropolis Entertainment, Speedwater Masumi, was touched by Maya's passion for acting and secretly encouraged her by sending her purple roses. Despite the difficulties faced by the troupe due to its dissolution, Maya, after studying and working hard, gets a chance to perform in a play by Miracle Man and wins the Grand Prize for Best Supporting Actress, beating out Himekawa Yabu, who played the same role. .... Maya had been away from the formal stage for a long time, but after a lot of hard work, she finally got the chance to perform in "Two Princesses" with Yabu, and her performance was not inferior to Yabu's. Therefore, she was appreciated by the talented director Ryuzo Kurouma, and she performed the role of a wolf girl in the drama "Forgotten Wilderness", and she won the Grand Prize for her excellent and exquisite performance, and she was also qualified to be the heir to the other Red Heavenly Maiden. Maya and Yabuki traveled with Ms. Moon Shadow to the village of Hongmei, the hometown of the Red Sky Maiden, deep in the mountains of Kyoto Prefecture, to learn about the performance of the Red Sky Maiden, and performed her last Red Sky Maiden performance in the valley itself. Yabuki once felt that Maya's talent was far superior to hers, and wanted to give up the competition for a time, but she still stood up and continued to work hard. official performance of The Red Celestial Maiden .... But at the same time, before Maya departs to Umegaya, by chance, she discovers that the person who has been encouraging her and sending her purple roses for a long time is the one she usually hates and hates, Masumi Speedwater, but gradually she also discovers that he is kind to her, but they don't dare to show their feelings because they don't know each other's thoughts. Maya is so upset that she is forced by her father to get engaged to Shiori Takamiya, the granddaughter of a big conglomerate owner, that she is often distracted during rehearsals. Kuronuma-sensei and Sakura-chan are surprised. In order to cheer Maya up, Sakura-chan takes her to an amusement park to play... By chance, Maya sees a pair of cute dolphin crystal chains in the store, and without saying anything Sakura-chan gives them to her .... Maya recovers her mood and gets better at rehearsals. On the other hand, Yabong's rehearsals for the audition of "Red Sky Girl" are also heating up, which one of them can play the role of Red Sky Girl?
The most enjoyable aspect of Glass Mask is not only the storyline itself, but also the drama within a drama, where the characters from the manga are used to perform in one dramatic show after another (some of which take up several books), making the reader feel as if they're watching the show themselves. In addition to many of Suzue Muchi's own plays, many of them are adapted from or referenced to actual plays or novels. The list is as follows: "Little Women" (Wakakusa Monogatari) --- (US) Louisa M. May. (American) Louisa May? A Midsummer Night's Dream
A Wisp of Love (たけくらべ)----(Japan)樋口一葉著 The Beggar Prince (princeとこじき)-------(美) Mark Twain Wuthering Heights (岚ケ丘)-----(英)Emily?. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte Snow White from Grimm's Fairy Tales Miracle Man by William Gilfoyle Juliet (ジュリエット)--adapted from Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet A Midsummer Night's Dream - Shakespeare's original work The Lady of the Camellias - Dumas Dumas The Mermaid Princess - Hans Christian Andersen The Best Bride in the Country The White Rose Lady Fate The City of Grey Gina and the Five Green Jars White Youth Spectrum The Love of the Old City The River of Women The Smile of a Stone Dream Feast of Cherry The Glory of the Sky The Memory of the Rainbow The White Forest The Fruit of Gold The Witch Lilla The Portrait of Carmilla The Home of the Chrysanthemums The Lord of the Nightshade The Pirate Sharlene A Light Rain Beloved Roland Bian The Two Princesses The Two Princesses The Forgotten Wilderness Isadora Archie of the Vegetable Shop Hua Yan Diana of the Moon Goddess The Red Celestial Maiden
Table of Contents
1. The Maiden of a Thousand Faces 2. Bibi's Masquerade 3. The Bird That Got Away 4. Stages Like Flames 5. Restricted Lines 6. My Bess 7. Purple Roses 8. Walking on the Wind 9. The New Medley 10.A Wisp of Love for Two Medleys 11.A Storm in Spring 12.A Stage for One 13.Tomorrow's Grass 14.Fated Rivals 15.The Trap 16.Stage Storms 17.Roaring Hills 18.Dolls in Characters 19.Shedding Masks 20.Replaced Scripts 21.Sizzling Practice Pieces 22.Miracle Man Final Review 23.Versus! Helen of the Two 24. Magnificent Labyrinth 25. Radiance of the Sky 26. Shadow of the Dark Sniper Asya 27. Unseen Trap 28. Losing the Actress 29. Portrait of Camilla 30. 1 Million Rainbows 31. One-Man Show 32. A Midsummer Night's Dream 33. Miracle of the Field Theater 34. Asya's Challenge 35. Aroodis and Ollie Groot 36. The Constellations of Winter 37. Two Princesses The Two Princesses Prequel 38. The Two Princesses Postpart 39. The Purple Shadow 40. Jenny the Wolf Girl 41. The Wild Heart 42. The Forgotten Wilderness 44. The Infinite Stage 45. The City Star 46. Toward the Valley of Plum 47 . The Flame of Love 48 . A Night Like a Dream 49 . Half of a Soul 50 . Mask of the Goddess 51 . Red Sky 1.Performs an impromptu show for children in a park, and is recognized for her talent by a passing Tsukiakari Chigusa (the head of the Red Sky Girls, who later becomes Maia's teacher). 2. With great perseverance, she obtains tickets to the stage play "The Lady of the Camellias" (Dumas' original novel) by Himekawa Yabu's mother, Himekawa Gekko, and performs it in front of Tsukikage after having seen it once. During the three-and-a-half-hour play, all the actors remembered every word of their lines and every subtle movement. Talent was revealed. 3. Played the supporting role of Bibi, the ugly girl in the school's public stage play "The Best Bride in the Country", but became the center of attention. First time on stage. 4. Takes the entrance exam for the Ripple Theater Company and performs the mime "The Runaway Bird", which attracts the attention of the talented girl, Himekawa Yabu. 5. When she first joins the Moon Shadow Theater Company, she performs a noodle-eating act and surprises her friends with her talent. 6. Uses only four lines: "Yes", "No", "Thank you", and "Sorry" to play against Ark. Over an hour, she overcame all kinds of challenges from Ark. 7. In order to play the role of Bess in the stage play "Little Women" (original book by Austen Scott), she lived as Bess and made Taeko Kasuga, who was also a member of the troupe, subconsciously call her Bess. 8. In the premiere of the play, she performs Bess with a fever of 40 degrees and achieves considerable success, and the person who gave her the purple rose appears. 9. In the Tokyo regional preliminaries of the National Convention of the Theater Observation Exhibition, she performs the stage play "A Wisp of Love" (originally written by Higuchi Ichiba), also following the Ripple Theater Company. At this point, Yagyu had already performed a perfect Medonrei, and the audience and the judges had a preconceived notion that it was impossible for anyone to surpass it. In such an unfavorable situation, Asa performed a different version of Midori and won the first prize. Asa is recognized by the talented girl, Yabu. 10. At the national competition, due to Onodera's plot, most of the props and costumes of the Moonshadow Theater Company were destroyed, and all the members of the company except Asya were trapped in the mountains. As the opening time was approaching, Asya was determined to go on stage even if she was alone, and her solo performance of the 1 hour and 45 minute stage play "Gina and the Five Green Jars" was a big hit amongst the audience, and she gained the highest popularity and became the legend of this theater convention. However, due to a temporary change in the format of the show, Asa's performance was disqualified from the judging. As a result, the Moon Shadow Theater Company was disbanded and began to work as a part-time actor. 11. Played the role of a passerby in the movie "White Youth Spectrum". The director was shocked by the vividness of her performance and subconsciously gave her a long close-up. 12. Played a perfect substitute for the queen in the stage play "Love in the Old City" for the public performance of the drama club of Star City High School. 13. Eijinza's stage play "Woman's River" as Kaoru, a small nanny in a supporting role, but even the main character becomes her foil, and the rest of the cast seems to be just her shadow. Hara Kikuko's teacher stopped her from acting in other plays because she was afraid of her and nicknamed her "Stage Storm". What is a stage storm? Even though she had only a few roles and lines, she shone brighter than the main character. It can only be described as "scary". But this is also a double-edged sword. Without a strong actor as a rival, it will only ruin the coordination of the whole play. General theaters can only admit that "a small temple can not afford the big Buddha". This will be even more obvious in the latter part of the play. 14. I was dismissed from the university drama club for overshadowing the club's performance of Snow White, a one-man show for kindergarteners. 15. Played the role of the young girl Catherine in the stage production of Wuthering Heights, a novel by English novelist Emily Bront (1818-1848) published a year before her death, overshadowing the movie star Charilee, who played the adult Catherine in two-thirds of the scenes. Although the teenage Katharine was a huge success, the play was a failure. 16. Played the role of Elisa, a doll, in the stage play "The Smile of a Stone", performed by the Moon Shadow Theater Company and the Unicorn Theater Company's Underground Theater. She didn't blink for several hours, and when she was moved around, she seemed to have only 5 joints in her body, which was mistaken by the audience as a real doll. There were very few people in the nearby theater during the performance. Although there was no acting performance, just imagining it makes you think that dolls are really too hard to act. It is impossible for ordinary people to do it. The cooperation with other actors that she learned here set the stage for her continued development. Later, because Maa knew the news of her mother's disappearance, she saw her mother in the street, but missed the chance to meet her mother because the performance was coming up, and ended up shedding tears during the performance. 17. In the stage play "Yume Banquet Sakura", she was temporarily cast as Chie. After being framed and having the script switched, she succeeded in acting opposite Ark. This was the first time that she played opposite Yagyu. Asa used her newfound ability to work with the other actors to complement Ark's performance, and succeeded in making it a success. Ark had an advantage because he knew the plot and the lines. Asa's ability to deliver the line "irrevocable" at the end of the scene is indeed attributed to Ark. 18. Tied with Ark at the casting call for the stage play "The Miracle Man" (Helen Keller's biography), and it was decided that the two of them would take turns playing Helen Keller. Both Asa and Yabu have grown through special training for the role of Helen and their understanding of the character. Asa also develops in love. 19. The situation of 9 occurs again. With Asa's perfect Helen and the audience and judges' preconceived notions, she performs a fresh Helen and wins the Best Supporting Actress Award at the Academy Art Festival over Asa. The climactic scene came again. A second showdown with Ark, and the audience is full of well-known names in the theater world. Maa wins again by instinct. Which is not a tense scene where she can make the audience tense, a painful scene where she can make the audience laugh, the audience's emotions are completely controlled by her. Even her rival movie star Himekawa Gekko is afraid of her and can't help but be carried along by her, and in the end she has to ask the director to give up her acting skills and act with her actor's instincts. From the first episode of Maa to see Himekawa Gekko performance to now and she can play on stage rivalry, just less than 2 years time. 20. Started to get involved in the movie and TV industry, and became a famous movie star with the success of her role as the Count's daughter, Saduko Numata, in the Meie serial "Koukou no Koukou". Maya was again acting and her first love. 21. Played a young girl, Maia, in the movie "White Forest", which was again a big success and became the idol of elementary and middle school students. 22. While preparing to star in the stage play "Lila the Witch", news of her mother's death arrives. Rie Ethan tells Asa that the cause of her mother's death is Masumi Sosui, and sets up a trap with a speeding car gang and sleeping pills to keep Asa out of the play, and then takes Asa's roles as Lira and Saduko, making Asa a star instead of Asa. Asa is expelled from the acting world due to the scandal. 23. In the stage play "The Fruit of Gold", she plays the role of Maggie, a naughty 13-year-old girl who is the granddaughter of an apple orchard owner. The show was supposed to be a success, but Rie came back to the scene and had Asa's Maki mask shattered in a cynical manner, making the show a big failure. The protagonist is now in a very bad state, her mother is dead, all her relatives are gone, her lover is gone, her friends are gone, her teacher doesn't care about her, she can't do her favorite acting, and everything is lost. She becomes an ordinary girl who is useless again. 24. In the stage play "Kiku's Hometown", she plays the role of the eldest daughter, Kiku, and fails because she has not recovered from the shock and is unable to relate to the role. Meanwhile, Himekawa Yabu learns that Asa has been framed and defeats the main character, Rie, by playing the supporting role of the vampire Carmilla in the stage play "Carmilla's Portrait" (originally written by Tiffany). Rie's stardom was cut short when the acting world criticized her acting skills. 25. In the stage play "The Lord of the House of Night", she plays the role of Kiki, a beggar's son, as a temporary substitute for a passerby. She is framed again, but still eats rice balls made of mud. Its talent for acting, which was closed off by itself, finally awakens. 26. Performs a one-woman stage play, "Sharon the Pirate," at the school festival of the star school, Jianghua High School, surpassing the Drama Club, and is so well received by the audience that he is called upon to perform it again, a historical precedent. 27. She was again asked to continue, but with a different script for the one-act family stage play "Little Rain". He was asked by the drama club to make a cameo appearance in the play because he was able to present a family life that the audience could understand with few props. I think "Little Rain" is one of the best plays I've ever seen. This play is a portrayal of Asa challenging herself in terms of her acting skills, which are weaker than those of Yabu. It is a proof of further growth of the main character. 28. The Drama Club's public performance of the stage play "The Beloved Lolumbia", in which she played the supporting role of Lulu, a robot maid, was a great success, bringing the whole cast together. It was another challenge to take on a new role and continue to hone acting skills. 29. Played the role of Goblin Poker in the stage production of "A Midsummer Night's Dream" (Shakespeare's original play), which was loved by the audience and children alike. 350-seat 3-day open-air charity show was attended by over 6,000 people and over 5 million dollars in donations. The Goblin Poker was a very important role for Asa. Again, Asa has improved on her weak acting skills. Although she is still far away from Yagyu in terms of acting, she is slowly getting closer. Asa's attitude towards Masumi has further changed. However, Masumi plays the role of the black face again in order to help Asa. 30. Since Kashiwa gave up acting because she was afraid that she would be embarrassed if she played opposite Yagyu on stage, Two Princesses is looking for an actress to play another princess. Asa auditioned for the role of the other princess. In the first round, she won by a wide margin. In the second round, she performed the same scenario in seven consecutive sketches, which were highly praised by the judges, and she was exempted from the third round of the audition and was accepted on the spot. Although it was just a test, it was no less than a great play. In particular, the first exams, "Poison" and "Music", showed that Maia's acting skills had indeed improved a lot. The training she's been doing for the school performance is bearing fruit. It's really a must-see scene. 31. In the stage play "Two Princesses", Asa played Princess Arudis, the daughter of the god of spring, and Yabu played Princess Origrut, the daughter of General Winter. The performance was a great success. The author of this play emphasized light and shadow. That is to say, without light, shadow does not exist. It is true that the structure of the play favored Princess Oligrut of the Shadow of Yagyu, and Yagyu had the advantage in acting. Because it is easier to be recognized by the audience for a good performance of a tragic character than a positive one. But don't forget that the success of Origrut implies the success of Princess Arundis of Light behind her. The success of the whole play can only be reached if the two princesses are of equal strength. So just as the author wanted to show, it is actually the success of the two. Take for example the appearances of the two in the play. With Oligrut's appearance, the audience feels a real chill filling the theater. Whereas Princess Aroldis' appearance immediately has the feeling of going from an icehouse to the warmth of the sun. The two princesses take turns, and what's also amazing is the huge contrast between myself and my character. Maia is just so ordinary, and a bit of a klutz, and lives an extremely ordinary life. But as Princess Arudis, she's regal, gorgeous, gentle and kind. Arudis's smile is kind, gentle, innocent and with a sense of holiness, which can purify people's souls, as if all the pain and sadness can be cleansed. Of course, the pampered princess will naturally have a bit of willfulness. The difference in appearance, character and living environment between this princess and Asya cannot be measured in miles. The fact that Asa was able to act like a real Harukami or an angel on stage in terms of her movements, tone of voice, and so on, shows that she was different from the ordinary. Look at the expressions on the faces of her fellow performers. After the performance, Yabu said that she felt a sense of oneness with the character for the first time, and that this was actually Asa's genius ability. Asa said that she's always been like that on stage, which was another blow to Ark. But yes, comparing your shortcomings to someone else's strengths, of course you're going to get hit. 32. As Jenny, the wolf girl in the stage play "Forgotten Wilderness", she was recognized by the entire acting community and the audience, and won the Japan Performing Arts Association's Most Outstanding Acting Award. This part is the part that I personally think is the best part besides "Red Sky Girl". While watching this part of the show, it was as if I could hear the whimpering and low growling of the wolf and the terrifying feeling that comes from standing in front of you and growling down at you, as if it would pounce on you immediately. Asa had finally expressed her genius to the fullest. Once again, Subaru realizes Asya's talent and begins to develop jealousy. 33. Asa and Yagyu undergo special training for the role of the "Red Celestial Maiden". They are evenly matched in the performances of wind, fire, earth and water. However, the first time they perform the Red Goddess, Agon feels a deep sense of failure and intense jealousy. In fact, Yabu completely failed to see the difference between herself and Maa. In terms of experiencing the heart of the character, she was far from Asya. Asya was even able to grasp the Red Celestial Maiden's heart by instinct, as if she herself was possessed by the Red Celestial Maiden. This was Asya's terrifying instinct. However, Sub-Bow's genius ability was in acting. Even though he couldn't make the Red Celestial Maiden possess him, he could use his acting skills to interpret the perfect Red Celestial Maiden image. On the contrary, Asya couldn't in this aspect. Although she could turn into the Red Celestial Maiden, she couldn't express it to the audience. After realizing this, Yagyu no longer gives up in sadness, but challenges Asya again. It's safe to say that the battle for the Red Celestial Maiden will be very exciting later on. The two geniuses will utilize their respective strengths and perform their own version of the Red Celestial Maiden. In addition, there is also the "Love of the Red Celestial Maiden". The key to who wins the role of Red Celestial Maiden in the end is in love. That's why Mr. Tsukiakari was so happy when he found out that Asya was in love. Because this is the key to Asya's success.