YMMV / Musical Touken Ranbu Michi No Oku Hitotsu Wa Chisu

• Alternate Character Interpretation:
  • The play heavily implies—almost explicitly—that Tsurumaru is angry with Mikazuki because he feels abandoned by him rather than because he actually hates him. This makes sense in a few ways, such as how Mikazuki's abrupt departure from the citadel left him, as one of the veterans in the citadel whom the Saniwa most trusts, to deal with the aftermath, such as keeping the Saniwa happy and distracted, being overly relied on to handle the more difficult and mentally draining missions, and rearing new recruits. Resentment could have built up from all of the mental stress of the responsibility that could have been delegated between them had he stayed. An interview with Isamu Kayano, the plays director, has him describe Tsurumaru Kuninaga as someone who has been supporting the citadel on behalf of Mikazuki Munechika in his absence, adding some legitimacy to the idea that Mikazuki made the decision to leave the citadel in Tsurumaru's hands after setting out on his mission.
    • Another factor contributing to his possible feelings of abandonment may have been the personal feelings aspect. Flashbacks to the early days of the citadel show that the two spent a lot of time together after manifesting around the same time and were quite close, with present-day dialogue, such as Tsurumaru's annoyance at Mikazuki always wanting to do things alone, suggesting that he wanted to go with Mikazuki but wasn't given a choice in the matter by him, who insisted on doing things alone until he couldn't anymore and started recruiting the Mononobe, Suishinshi Masahide, Kiyomaro, and the Gou swords to help him in his mission. In this play, Tsurumaru also gently advises Suishinshi to "snuggle up to Mikazuki until he gets tired of it, because he can't anymore," implying that he believes Mikazuki intentionally left him out of the equation because he believed Tsurumaru's purpose was best served by supporting the citadel rather than at his side.
• Continuity Lockout: You'll need to have watched Tsuwamono Domo, Paraiso, Tokyo Kokoro Oboe, and Kousui Sanka no Yuki first to understand what's happening in this play and why.
• Dry Docked Ship: Mikazuki and Tsurumaru have gotten this interpretation from fans based on the very ex-like dynamic as revealed in this musical.
• Fridge Logic:
  • Where the heck is Mikazuki Munechika getting his wounds treated if he doesn't return to the citadel anymore? It's not like applying bandages and waiting for wounds to heal works when dealing with Touken Danshi, who have to be sent in for repairs whenever they are injured. And speaking of not returning to the citadel, where does he sleep and eat? Does he room with the historical figures? Does he camp out?
  • Why does Tsurumaru know the lyrics to "Hana no Utena"? Even if Mikazuki is singing it In-Universe, he's never sung the song in any scene Tsurumaru was in or could have overhead him singing it in, so when would Tsurumaru have heard it?
  • The technology of the crane feather Tsurumaru planted on Mikazuki is never explained. How does it act like a tracking device? Or is it fueled by magic of some kind?
• Jerkass Woobie: Tsurumaru is especially ruthless towards his teammates in this play, pressing on Ookanehira's wounds to prove a point and beating up Suishinshi to bait Mikazuki into a direct confrontation with him. Still, it's probably clearer here than ever that he's mentally broken as a result of his past experiences, as well as extremely lonely without Mikazuki, who is heavily implied to have been his best friend, in the citadel with him.
• Like You Would Really Do It: Like you would really kill off Kashuu Kiyomitsu, one of the most popular and profitable characters in the series.
• Memetic Mutation: Fan art of Kiyomaro threatening Tsurumaru began to spring up because of the scene of Tsurumaru beating up Suishinshi to lure out Mikazuki.
• Moment of Awesome:
  • Everyone seems to agree that whenever Mikazuki Munechika steps into a fight, it's a badass and incredibly entertaining moment. The musical even frames it as such, with the characters commenting on his strength. What's even more impressive is how Kuroba Mario, who plays the role, manages to move so fluidly in that baggy, heavy costume, to the point where he makes it look weightless.
  • The final climactic battle with the Kebiishi, in which the three veteran swords, Mikazuki Munechika, Tsurumaru Kuninaga, and Yamanbagiri Kunihiro, join forces and fight. Mikazuki Munechika and Tsurumaru Kuninaga move almost completely in sync, while Yamanbagiri Kunihiro coordinates his attacks with theirs, emphasizing the trio's close relationship and trust in each other. Kashuu Kiyomitsu also manages to get a revenge hit in after being previously speared in the gut by it.
• Narm: Yamanbagiri Kunihiro's solo "Danger Boy," which tells about his dangerous and messed-up personality in the most unintentionally funny way.
• Squick: There's a loud and fleshy sound effect when Mikazuki and Tsurumaru press the sharp edges of their blades into each other's arm and slowly drag them out.
• WTH, Costuming Department?: The costume theming of the second half is a bit incoherent, as no one expected the Touken Danshi to take off their fancy fur coats to reveal suits looking like those worn by host club members. They look particularly out of place during the third layer "strip" song and play the Taiko drums.
• They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot: Despite what the poster suggests, the story is not a Kashuu vs Mikazuki vs Tsurumaru plot, and Kashuu and Mikazuki have no meaningful interactions. Kashuu talks about Mikazuki a few times, but his somewhat small role in the plot has little to do with Mikazuki himself, which is unfortunate given that the two appear to have grown close following their time on a mission in Atsukashiyama Ibun (and afterward, depending on how much of that is canon). If they had done anything with that and still kept Tsurumaru as the other center of the play, it could have been an interesting conflict between Kashuu's positive feelings for Mikazuki and Tsurumaru's hostile feelings for Mikazuki, with them trying to understand and come to terms with each other's opposing perspectives on the same character, and possibly helping Tsurumaru come to terms with his own feelings.
  • In general, despite the fact that the story is partly about understanding each character's perception of Mikazuki Munechika, there are very few notable Mikazuki interactions with characters other than Tsurumaru Kuninaga, not even with Yamanbagiri Kunihiro, who is the other veteran, as Tsurumaru's relationship with Mikazuki is treated as the more important center of the story. He doesn't even really interact with Suishinshi Masahide outside of a dream sequence, despite promising to meet him before leaving in Tokyo Kokoro Oboe.