If you're feeling low on energy, you should watch 'Wicked'

On Friday, March 7th, I went to a late-night showing of the newly released movie 'Wicked'.

Last week, my mental state was fluctuating wildly, and I even lashed out at my family, so I was feeling quite depressed. However, watching Wicked on Friday night really helped replenish my energy.

I wanted to hear the performers' actual singing voices first, so I watched it with subtitles, but I plan to go see the dubbed version as well. In fact, I want to watch the subtitled version again, and I also want to see it in IMAX.

It was so good that I'm still living in the afterglow of Wicked, so I'd like to summarize my thoughts.

*Although I've added a spoiler tag just in case, I haven't touched on the core of the story. If you want to go into the movie with absolutely no information, you might want to avoid reading this!

My prior understanding of 'Wicked'

I knew that Wicked is a prequel derived from the children's book 'The Wizard of Oz,' depicting the college days of Glinda, the Good Witch, and Elphaba, the green-skinned Wicked Witch.

I also know it's one of the monumental musicals and has been performed for many years by the Shiki Theatre Company in Japan. I remember seeing the Shiki Theatre Company's Wicked about 10 years ago.

However, the story structure of this movie is enjoyable even for those who know nothing about 'The Wizard of Oz' or 'Wicked,' so I think you can just immerse yourself in the world of the 'Wicked' movie. It's nearly two and a half hours long, so just make sure to use the restroom and bring a handkerchief.

First of all, you can immerse yourself in the world of Wicked right from the start

How should I describe the beginning? It might be limited to those who have ridden 'Soaring' at Tokyo DisneySea, but the image might be close to that.

When the curtain rises, it feels like the audience seats become a vehicle, and we all dive into the world of Wicked together. It was a beginning that made me think it would be even more immersive if I watched it in IMAX. I watched the standard screening, but even then, I felt a sense of being drawn in. Before I knew it, the audience had landed in the Land of Oz and was watching the story unfold right before our eyes.

Ariana Grande's acting is amazing

I had the image of Ariana Grande as a singer (which she is), but I didn't know she could act and dance too. While musical actors sometimes do regular acting, it's rare for a super-popular diva to appear in a movie as a performer, so it was fresh. In Japan, I wonder if it would be like Hikaru Utada appearing in a global musical movie (maybe not).

The Good Witch, Glinda, whom she plays, is a character with high self-esteem and a sense of elitism—in short, she's 'obnoxious.' Her privileged environment and appearance are powerful weapons, and she lives thinking of herself as a special existence.

But she doesn't want to attack or push people down, and because she has kindness, you can't hate her. I think the balance of Glinda played by Ariana was outstanding. I could clearly see the process of Glinda, who had lived her life thinking 'I'm the best!', starting to feel conflict after meeting a talent named Elphaba at university.

The way she speaks, even her non-vocal lines sounding like she's singing, and the lightness and cuteness of her movements, I feel are skills that only Ariana Grande could pull off. The song 'Popular' in the movie was just too cute.

Cynthia Erivo's acting with her eyes is amazing

Cynthia Erivo, who played Elphaba, was also amazing, not just with the power of her singing, but with the way her emotions were conveyed through her gaze and even the tips of her fingers.

There is a dance scene that becomes the catalyst for Glinda and Elphaba, who didn't get along, to close the distance between them, and I was drawn into the nuances of the emotions that appeared in her eyes as light began to shine into the deep loneliness that Elphaba carries.

I also liked the scene where a super sexy prince transfers to the school, and when he's alone with Elphaba, she says something so direct that cuts right to his true feelings, and he's taken aback.

It's great when they're killing it with the singing and dancing, but the quiet scenes in between have real meaning too; it doesn't feel like they're just 'filler between songs'.

Watch the climax, 'Defying Gravity', with your eyes and ears wide open.

The climax of the first part is, without a doubt, the performance of 'Defying Gravity'.

Elphaba, who had lived at the bottom of loneliness, found a friend in Glinda and started to get along with other students, which completely changed her life. She could finally walk in the sunlight.

However, she discovers a certain secret, and she cannot simply ignore it and live her life with a smile.

'Defying Gravity', which embodies Elphaba's strong conviction to choose loneliness and fight, was so powerful that I had to focus all my attention and brace myself just to keep up with it.

The joy and pain of living freely against gravity, the foolishness of pitting good and evil against each other, the corruption of those who judge good and evil—so many messages rushed through me like a torrent, and when 'To be continued' finally appeared, I felt like I had returned to my seat in the theater. It was a strange sensation, as if I had been on a long journey.

Anyway, I left the theater in a daze, thinking, 'I just saw something incredible...' Even now that it's Monday, I'm still listening to the soundtrack and soaking in the afterglow. The next sequel is said to be released in about a year. I'll be living in the afterglow of Wicked for a while longer. I'm definitely going to see the dubbed version too...!