The renowned all-female anime collective CLAMP contributed designs to this adaptation of a serialized novel series set in a modern Japanese high school. Kurogo is a fan of the ancient, highly ritualized art of kabuki theatre. He doggedly charters a student kabuki club, staffed with such eccentrics as a preening teen rocker (said to be the illegitimate son of a vagabond kabuki actor), as they try to popularize kabuki with radical stagings and updates of the archaic scripts. Meanwhile, Kurogo hopes to win approval from classmate Jin, a bona fide kabuki talent whose family has performed for generations, but whose pride and perfectionism make him disdain the "amateur" club. This pleasant comedy-drama has abundant helpings of Japanese historical and cultural references, with iconic folk-figures like Benkei and Yoshitsune respectfully invoked. Shochiku, a real-life theatre-film troupe that is well over a century old, is credited here for kabuki-scene quality control. Presenting all 12 episodes from 2017 in a Blu-ray edition, in Japanese with English subtitles, rated TV-14, extras include an epilogue OVA episode. Highly recommended. (C. Cassady)
Kabukibu! Complete Collection
(2017) 2 discs. 325 min. Blu-ray: $59.98. Sentai Filmworks (avail. from most distributors). Volume 33, Issue 5
Kabukibu! Complete Collection
Star Ratings
As of March 2022, Video Librarian has changed from a four-star rating system to a five-star one. This change allows our reviewers to have a wider range of critical viewpoints, as well as to synchronize with Google’s rating structure. This change affects all reviews from March 2022 onwards. All reviews from before this period will still retain their original rating. Future film submissions will be considered our new 1-5 star criteria.
Order From Your Favorite Distributor Today: