the one she was caught staring at. It was a girl right?
and for that matter what's the name of the band that flashed on screen when Taeko said her favorite band would come later?
I assume they were both from real life
The band that Taeko mentioned was "Julie and the Tigers", whom she says became popular after the beatles toured Japan and the concept of pop groups came into vogue. I have no idea whether they actually existed or not, but seeing as how so much of the film is concerned with nostalgia it seems unlikely that Takahata would have invented a band when there must have been numerous "real" groups to mention. Thanks to the Japanese music industry's habit of affording home-grown pop groups a relatively short life, it may prove difficult for any westerners not fluent in Japanese to dig up any worthwhile information on the band. On a further note, when Tani was Taeko's other fiends go to tell Hirota off for (they believe) "...writing strange things in "Naughty Alley", the trio (Hirota's fan-club-of-sorts) sing an exert from what I believe (but have no actual proof) to be a "Julie and the Tigers" song. However, this cannot be substantiated as I have failed to find any reference to it in the film's credits.
The "singer" is infact an actor, and (I believe) a member of a Japanese theatre troup. It was fairly common for such actors to be depicted in an effeminate manner, thanks largely to the vast amounts of make-up they had to wear, and this may have been a contributing factor in Yaeko's affection for him. Again, I have no idea whether he was an actor in real-life or was simply created for the film, and seeing as how his name is ever actually mentioned the only way to find out might be to write to Studio Ghibli and ask.
And that's about all I can offer. If I have ommitted anything, or made a mistake, please correct me.
according to the data from the english script at http://nausicaa.net/miyazaki/opp/script_opp_en.txt it was in fact an actress (impersonating a male):
... (Takarazuka theater was ) a form of theater performed entirely by a female cast, including the male roles, which has been popular for some time now (Osamu Tezuka, for example, cites being influenced by his trips to the Takarazuka when he was a child), sort of a counterpart to the all-male Kabuki performances. Takarazuka focuses on Western dramas. The "someone" Yaeko was in love with was the male-impersonator "Gon-chan", whom the Okajima family dog is apparently named after.
See also here: http://www.japan-zone.com/modern/takarazuka.shtml
shareAccording to a lot on Ebay (http://cgi.ebay.com/LOT-OF-RARE-ROLLING-STONES-DYLAN-FOR-PRESIDENT-FLYER_W0QQitemZ330021309590QQcmdZViewItem), they are featured in Issue 28 of Rolling Stone magazine (March 1 1969).
Here is a screen shot of them (http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4189/2600/1600/omohide03.jpg)
English Language Anime: Dub it, don't pervert it.
Ahh, I always figured that pic was meant to be of the Beatles (it's talking about the Beatles on the VO at the time), and they'd changed them to look Japanese... damn, I thought that was funny, and now people are laughing at ME...
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http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2474017/
Josie and the Tigers was indeed a real pop group. I've had someone offer to send me some of their music, although I've forgotten about it since then. Their music plays while Taeko narrates the happenings of the '60s, and its impact on her older sisters.
Remember that Takahata's trademark is documentary realism. All of his work is loaded with accurate details, going all the way back to Heidi in 1974. Omohide Poro Poro is swimming with '60s pop influences and details of daily life.
I'm not sure the exact identity of the sister's crush... but hgonzalez's explanation is correct.
The Takarazuka is a singing/dancing troupe that is comprised of all women, and only women... To become a Takarazuka takes A LOT of talent in singing and dancing and acting, and the screening selection is very competitive. The Takarazuka is very wildly popular among women, and it is very common for women to have crushes on Takarazuka lead actresses (that play the male roles). Fans send them flowers, gift cards, stuffed toys, and anything else not mentioned (even risque things), and it is socially considered a great honour to be part of the Takarazuka.
However, like many women in Japan, Takarazuka stars also often quit between 25-35 years old to pursue a life of motherhood. The politics and gender roles here are actually pretty fascinating. ^_^
Is it true that the middle sister was a lesbian? I think I read somewhere else on this forum that she was, just because she liked this band?
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