![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
argurotoxosUnlike the previous Hunter x Hunter live productions, 'A Longing for Pakunoda' is a play, not a musical. It's heavily based on the latter half of the York Shin arc [manga chapters 112 - 119; anime OVA I episodes 3 - 8], but does not follow the original events exactly, especially since a number of characters are missing. Hisoka, Leorio, Feitan, Franklin, Coltopi, Bonorenof, and Senritsu are all absent and no references are made to Neon or her predictions.
I've split my review into three parts: first, a cast list and character analysis; second, a summary of the play with my commentary; and third, a link to download screencaps from and some other useful reference links for further information. The play summary and commentary is pretty long since I opted to go scene by scene, so you might want to skip it if you just want a general overview and pictures.
Cast and Characters
Story
The play begins with Kuroro, Shizuku, Machi, Pakunoda, and Nobunaga surrounding Scuwala, the dog trainer who worked for Nostrad. After Pakunoda reads his memories, Nobunaga decapitates him. Pakunoda fires her memory bullets into the present Ryodan members and the video screen at the centre rear of the stage displays the title of the play.
The transition between this first scene and the second is one of my favourite moments of the play. It's the blackout at the hotel where Gon and Killua fight against the Ryodan, but everything happens in slow motion. Kurapika stands at the back of the stage while large chains are being wrapped around Kuroro, stage centre. Visually, it's very effective and the sound of chains clinking together with the slow background music makes it that much more memorable. (The background music, by the way, is almost exclusively from the first OVA OST with a few tracks from the Greed Island OST and one non-Hunter x Hunter instrumental.)
At the end of the transition, Gon and Killua are captured and brought to the Ryodan's base. The Ryodan are then introduced with text displayed on the rear screen and a spotlight that picks out the members one by one. This is when the contact man is introduced; he is portrayed as accidentally wandering into the Ryodan's base and acts like he has no idea what is going on. There's a note attached to his back that tells Pakunoda not to reveal her memories to the others or else Kuroro will be killed. [In the manga, the note was attached to a knife thrown by Kurapika before leaving the hotel with Kuroro.] The Ryodan then proceed to debate whether or not to take the threat seriously.
There are a couple of small Gon and Killua moments in this scene, including Gon and Killua shooing the contact man away and Gon using his special brand of logic on Phinx. Shalnark decides to play around with the two of them and takes a photo before punching them both in the face.
The contact man's cell phone goes off; it's Kurapika asking to talk with Pakunoda. It's rather amusing watching the Ryodan trying to eavesdrop on the conversation while Pakunoda tries to get them to leave her alone even as Kurapika places more and more restrictions on her. After the conversation, Pakunoda leaves and the remaining Ryodan debate whether or not to follow her, with Phinx and Shalnark and the two to advocate going after her, which eventually leads to a confrontation between Phinx and Nobunaga.
A thunder crash and the sound of rain brings us to Pakunoda making her solitary trip to the airport where she is to meet Kurapika. This is where the first of four flashbacks, entitled 'Pakunoda's memory 1', begins.
The stage is piled with refuse and we are brought to Ryuuseigai [Falling Star City]. There is a sign at the very front of the stage that reads 'Warning: Danger' in the Hunter x Hunter writing. Pakunoda, Machi, Phinx, Shizuku, Nobunaga, and Shalnark are all there weeding through the scraps, searching for anything usable. Machi is bit by a spider she was looking at because she thought it was pretty and Pakunoda hurries to disinfect the wound. This is the first reference to a spider that, seeing as this play is about the Ryodan, continues throughout the performance.
Shizuku finds a dead child among the refuse and asks the others what it is. The way Shizuku innocently shakes the baby up and down while having no idea what it is is one of the most disturbing moments in the play that shows just what a harsh environment the Ryodan grew up in. Pakunoda takes the dead child away from Shizuku and leaves it near the front of the stage.
Enter Kuroro. It's clear that the others have never seen him before and don't know who he is. Kuroro asks Pakunoda not to leave the dead child there like that and proceeds to pick it up and cradle it in his arms. He performs a requiem for the child with a speech and also lays the foundation for what will become the Genei Ryodan. At the very end of the scene, Kuroro breaks the chain that the warning sign was hanging from while Pakunoda and the others watch. [This version of the formation of the Ryodan isn't consistent with canon since only Pakunoda, Feitan, Nobunaga, Ubougin, Franklin, and Machi were there at the beginning, but in the context of the play it works.]
Once the flashback is over, the next scene is the conversation between Kurapika and Kuroro that took place in the car Leorio was driving in the original. The dialogue is very similar to that of the anime, except any references to Neon's predictions are missing. The way Kuroro goads Kurapika and Kurapika struggles to stay in control is very well done.
Next is the scene I like to call 'shooting the messenger'. We're back at the Ryodan's base and the Ryodan decide that it's time to beat the contact man into a bloody pulp, but without killing him. I'm not really sure what the point of this scene is besides showing off the hatsu of the various Ryodan members. It starts with a slow-motion katana fight in Nobunaga-style, then changes into Shalnark's body control via cell phone. There's also Shizuku's Deme-chan and Phinx's punches. Phinx even rips his heart out in a very Killua moment while the contact man is wrapped in a cloth that reminded me of the one Kuroro used when he fought the Silva and Zeno. The contact man asks how it's possible for him to still be alive without his heart and I was asking the same question, but I figured it was a reference to Kuroro's hatsu. My favourite part was Machi's thread nen, which was accompanied by green web-like visuals on the rear screen.
Gon and Killua interrupt the Ryodan just as Shizuku's about to suck him up and they let him down from Machi's nen threads since his cell phone rings again. It's Kurapika, this time asking to speak with Killua. Gon is rather put out that Kurapika wants to speak to Killua instead of him and decides to get Killua's attention by feeling up his rear. I kid you not. Killua's expression as he's trying to talk seriously with Kurapika while being molested by Gon is hilarious. Eventually Gon gets the cell phone, which leads into one of my favourite Gon moments: Gon's reaction and facial expression when Kurapika apologies for getting them into such a tight situation.
After the phone conversation, Pakunoda arrives at Kurapika's location and the second flashback begins. Shalnark, Pakunoda, and Kuroro are waiting outside a high-class establishment for the other Ryodan members to finish stealing everything and contact them. Unfortunately, Phinx makes a mistake and the Ryodan are surrounded. Phinx pulls out a grenade and decides to sacrifice himself in order to let the rest of the Ryodan escape. Pakunoda and Machi object, then volunteer to go with him, but Kuroro tells Phinx to go ahead alone; it is more important that the Spider survive and lose one limb than for the Spider to remain whole but face extinction.
Phinx throws himself into the enemy fire and detonates the grenade. The rest of the members return to their base, believing Phinx to be dead. However, Phinx manages to survive and staggers back to the base, clothing torn and singed. Kuroro approaches him, then embraces him; the back of Phinx's shirt has been almost completely destroyed and the spider tattoo on his back is revealed. It's a scene that gives understanding to Phinx's point of view and shows that while Kuroro does care about the members of the Ryodan, he also knows that the Spider is first and foremost.
Flashback over, the next scene takes place on board the airship Kurapika has procured. This is the moment when Kurapika pierces Kuroro and Pakunoda with his Judgement Chain, which - like Machi's nen threads - has an accompanying visual on the rear screen. Like Kurapika's earlier scene with Kuroro, it's very similar to the anime. However, without Senritsu to point out that Pakunoda is acting for the same reasons as Kurapika, it's Kurapika himself who comes to this realization while talking with Gon via cell phone.
Now with the Judgement Chain wrapped around her heart, Pakunoda goes back to the Ryodan's base to get Gon and Killua. There's some nice interplay between Gon and Phinx here; when Gon leaves with Killua and Pakunoda, he punches Phinx three times. Gon also pronounces Pakunoda's name improperly while trying to defend her and has to be corrected by Killua; it's one of the very few occasions Gon acts embarrassed. The other main difference between this scene in the play and the manga is that without Franklin to point out the worst case scenario for the Spider, the explanation is given to Shizuku. Shizuku is also the one to point out that Gon is similar to Ubougin, which makes her character in the play much more intelligent than even Shalnark and there are no references to her bad memory.
The next scene is Pakunoda's third memory -- the Ryodan at the gravesite of Ubougin. Even though this scene was not in the manga, most of the dialogue is mentioned in earlier chapters. The Ryodan talk about Ubougin and Nobunaga cries for him; he declares that he will seek revenge on the Chain Bastard, which Kuroro eventually grants.
After the flashback, we have the hostage exchange between Pakunoda and Kurapika. Watching Gon and Killua interact in the airship before Kurapika appears is a bit odd; their behaviour is very much like it was back on the first airship during the Hunter Exam. The hostage exchange itself plays rather differently, mainly due to the lack of Hisoka. Gon and Killua run over to Kurapika, then turn to watch Kuroro walk slowly toward Pakunoda. Gon is upset when Kuroro doesn't say anything to her ('this person saved your life!') and Kurapika explains that Kuroro can no longer use his nen or communicate with any of the members of the Ryodan.
Kurapika gives Kuroro a parachute so he can jump out of the airship. Right before he jumps, Kuroro tells Kurapika that he was the one who gave the order to massacre the Kuruta tribe. The way that Kuroro says, "So one survived" in such a mocking tone really took me by surprise; I think it makes Kuroro crueler than he was portrayed in the manga and it takes Killua, Gon, and Pakunoda to keep Kurapika from lunging at Kuroro after this line.
Once Kuroro is gone, Pakunoda is left alone in the rain again. She makes her way back to the Ryodan base, shoots her memory bullets into all of the Ryodan members, and is killed by Kurapika's Judgement Chain. The scene is very similar to the manga, except for the part where all the Ryodan receive her memory instead of only six.
From Pakunoda's death, we jump to the next day. It's bright and sunny, and Gon and Killua run into the contact man who gives them a message from Phinx: 'she [Pakunoda] is grateful to you'. This propels us into Pakunoda's final memory.
We're on the airship watching Gon and Killua again. Pakunoda asks them why they don't run away and prevent her from fulfilling her promise to Kurapika and they respond that it's the best way; Kurapika is their friend and he really doesn't want to kill anyone. It's similar to the scene near the end of the first OVA.
The last scene features the contact man chatting like normal to a friend on his cell phone when he's bitten by a spider. Gon and Killua show up and start trying to get the poison out of his body. Downstage, the remaining members of the Ryodan are gathered when Kuroro enters. There's a brief pause, then the bows begin and the performance is over. The Ryodan minus Pakunoda have the first bow, followed by Kurapika and Pakunoda together, then the contact man, and ending with Gon and Killua.
There are interviews with all of the actors at the end of the DVD. Most of the actors discuss the Ryodan and their own roles, but Takeuchi/Gon talks about two dreams she had that came from the play and shows a picture of her cat. It's very cute. Mitsuhashi/Killua and Kimura/Kurapika also talk about how this production was different from the musicals and provide some character introspection.
So that's the play. It's a very different creature compared to the musicals, and even a different creature compared to the original York Shin arc. If you go in expecting a live version of the first OVA, you'll be disappointed (or at least shocked), but I think it is something that can be appreciated on its own merits.
Screencaps and References
The second time I watched the play, I took screencaps, some of which have been included in this summary/review. You can download all 222 full-size caps in a zip file [dead link] here. Feel free to make icons or whatever else you'd like with them. Credit isn't necessary; just don't claim that you took the screencaps yourself.
I ordered the play DVD from Cruel Angel Productions, the same group that subtitled the musicals. For a scanned copy of the 'Longing for Pakunoda' booklet, including a full cast list, you can visit this entry posted by![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
leona_d. sora_ko has also posted a review of the play here.
I've split my review into three parts: first, a cast list and character analysis; second, a summary of the play with my commentary; and third, a link to download screencaps from and some other useful reference links for further information. The play summary and commentary is pretty long since I opted to go scene by scene, so you might want to skip it if you just want a general overview and pictures.
Cast and Characters
- Takeuchi Junko as Gon
Takeuchi is wonderful as Gon, no matter what form of media it is. There were a few times when I thought she was rather too energetic considering the gravity of the story, but it adds some humour and optimism to what would otherwise be a very dark play. Even though Gon's only a supporting character, there are a number of small but memorable Gon and Gon and Killua moments and Takeuchi plays her part very earnestly.
- Mitsuhashi Kanako as Killua
Mitsuhashi commented in her interview at the end of the DVD that she was glad to have the chance to play a different Killua than the Killua in the musicals and I agree with her. She has an even smaller role than Gon, but is excellent at playing off of Takeuchi and has her character down perfectly. [Takeuchi and Mitsuhashi are the only two who have appeared in every live production. And if it seems I'm biased towards them, I am; I adore them both.]
- Kimura Akiko as Kurapika
Kimura is not Kaida Yuki, but she's certainly not new to Hunter x Hunter. She voiced Mito-san and Bisuke in the last OVA and also played Kurapika in the second musical that was never released on DVD. There's a bit of a disconnect watching her since you're seeing Kurapika but hearing a different voice, especially in the scenes where they kept almost all of the original dialogue and you can almost hear Kaida saying the lines in your head. However, Kimura is very good at portraying Kurapika's inner turmoil and, as much as I like Kaida Yuki, Kimura has a much stronger stage presence.
- Konishi Hiroki as Kuroro
There's not much I have to say for Konishi. He played - and looked - the part well, but there's nothing that particularly stood out for me either in a positive or negative way.
- Ikeda Yukiko as Pakunoda
Pakunoda is more emotive and obviously stressed in the play than in either the manga or anime. She's also prettier. One thing that really struck me, especially in the flashbacks, was the impression that Pakunoda has a more central role in keeping the Ryodan organized in the play, which makes sense considering she's really the main character. Regardless of the character changes, I thought Ikeda did a very good job with the role.
- Kagawa Kouji as Nobunaga
I'm not sure if it was the writing, Kagawa's performance, or both, but Nobunaga didn't feel like Nobunaga. There's none of his playfulness with Gon and doesn't try to convince him to join the Ryodan. Instead, he's angry and loud throughout almost the entire play. I agree withsora_ko; he's like another Phinx. 
- Kuon Sayaka as Machi
Machi didn't have as large a role as some of the other Ryodan, but Kuon played the part well.
- Nasu Megumi as Shizuku
Nasu was very adorable as Shizuku and really looked the part.
- Satou Takuyuki as Phinx
Like Konishi as Kuroro, there's nothing about Satou's performance as Phinx that stood out to me in either a positive or negative aspect. Unlike Konishi, Satou doesn't look like Phinx.
- Ichikawa Kuniyoshi as Shalnark
Shalnark, like Nobunaga, really didn't match the original character. It seemed to me that with Feitan missing, they needed another character to agree with Phinx's point of view and used Shalnark to accomplish that.
- Kamioka Takahiro as ‘the man-caught-in-between'/the contact man [original character]
Kurapika used this nameless character's cell phone to stay in contact with the Ryodan. My guess is that he was added to provide comic relief, but I found him more aggravating than anything else.
Story
The play begins with Kuroro, Shizuku, Machi, Pakunoda, and Nobunaga surrounding Scuwala, the dog trainer who worked for Nostrad. After Pakunoda reads his memories, Nobunaga decapitates him. Pakunoda fires her memory bullets into the present Ryodan members and the video screen at the centre rear of the stage displays the title of the play.
The transition between this first scene and the second is one of my favourite moments of the play. It's the blackout at the hotel where Gon and Killua fight against the Ryodan, but everything happens in slow motion. Kurapika stands at the back of the stage while large chains are being wrapped around Kuroro, stage centre. Visually, it's very effective and the sound of chains clinking together with the slow background music makes it that much more memorable. (The background music, by the way, is almost exclusively from the first OVA OST with a few tracks from the Greed Island OST and one non-Hunter x Hunter instrumental.)
At the end of the transition, Gon and Killua are captured and brought to the Ryodan's base. The Ryodan are then introduced with text displayed on the rear screen and a spotlight that picks out the members one by one. This is when the contact man is introduced; he is portrayed as accidentally wandering into the Ryodan's base and acts like he has no idea what is going on. There's a note attached to his back that tells Pakunoda not to reveal her memories to the others or else Kuroro will be killed. [In the manga, the note was attached to a knife thrown by Kurapika before leaving the hotel with Kuroro.] The Ryodan then proceed to debate whether or not to take the threat seriously.
There are a couple of small Gon and Killua moments in this scene, including Gon and Killua shooing the contact man away and Gon using his special brand of logic on Phinx. Shalnark decides to play around with the two of them and takes a photo before punching them both in the face.
The contact man's cell phone goes off; it's Kurapika asking to talk with Pakunoda. It's rather amusing watching the Ryodan trying to eavesdrop on the conversation while Pakunoda tries to get them to leave her alone even as Kurapika places more and more restrictions on her. After the conversation, Pakunoda leaves and the remaining Ryodan debate whether or not to follow her, with Phinx and Shalnark and the two to advocate going after her, which eventually leads to a confrontation between Phinx and Nobunaga.
A thunder crash and the sound of rain brings us to Pakunoda making her solitary trip to the airport where she is to meet Kurapika. This is where the first of four flashbacks, entitled 'Pakunoda's memory 1', begins.
The stage is piled with refuse and we are brought to Ryuuseigai [Falling Star City]. There is a sign at the very front of the stage that reads 'Warning: Danger' in the Hunter x Hunter writing. Pakunoda, Machi, Phinx, Shizuku, Nobunaga, and Shalnark are all there weeding through the scraps, searching for anything usable. Machi is bit by a spider she was looking at because she thought it was pretty and Pakunoda hurries to disinfect the wound. This is the first reference to a spider that, seeing as this play is about the Ryodan, continues throughout the performance.
Shizuku finds a dead child among the refuse and asks the others what it is. The way Shizuku innocently shakes the baby up and down while having no idea what it is is one of the most disturbing moments in the play that shows just what a harsh environment the Ryodan grew up in. Pakunoda takes the dead child away from Shizuku and leaves it near the front of the stage.
Enter Kuroro. It's clear that the others have never seen him before and don't know who he is. Kuroro asks Pakunoda not to leave the dead child there like that and proceeds to pick it up and cradle it in his arms. He performs a requiem for the child with a speech and also lays the foundation for what will become the Genei Ryodan. At the very end of the scene, Kuroro breaks the chain that the warning sign was hanging from while Pakunoda and the others watch. [This version of the formation of the Ryodan isn't consistent with canon since only Pakunoda, Feitan, Nobunaga, Ubougin, Franklin, and Machi were there at the beginning, but in the context of the play it works.]
Once the flashback is over, the next scene is the conversation between Kurapika and Kuroro that took place in the car Leorio was driving in the original. The dialogue is very similar to that of the anime, except any references to Neon's predictions are missing. The way Kuroro goads Kurapika and Kurapika struggles to stay in control is very well done.
Next is the scene I like to call 'shooting the messenger'. We're back at the Ryodan's base and the Ryodan decide that it's time to beat the contact man into a bloody pulp, but without killing him. I'm not really sure what the point of this scene is besides showing off the hatsu of the various Ryodan members. It starts with a slow-motion katana fight in Nobunaga-style, then changes into Shalnark's body control via cell phone. There's also Shizuku's Deme-chan and Phinx's punches. Phinx even rips his heart out in a very Killua moment while the contact man is wrapped in a cloth that reminded me of the one Kuroro used when he fought the Silva and Zeno. The contact man asks how it's possible for him to still be alive without his heart and I was asking the same question, but I figured it was a reference to Kuroro's hatsu. My favourite part was Machi's thread nen, which was accompanied by green web-like visuals on the rear screen.
Gon and Killua interrupt the Ryodan just as Shizuku's about to suck him up and they let him down from Machi's nen threads since his cell phone rings again. It's Kurapika, this time asking to speak with Killua. Gon is rather put out that Kurapika wants to speak to Killua instead of him and decides to get Killua's attention by feeling up his rear. I kid you not. Killua's expression as he's trying to talk seriously with Kurapika while being molested by Gon is hilarious. Eventually Gon gets the cell phone, which leads into one of my favourite Gon moments: Gon's reaction and facial expression when Kurapika apologies for getting them into such a tight situation.
After the phone conversation, Pakunoda arrives at Kurapika's location and the second flashback begins. Shalnark, Pakunoda, and Kuroro are waiting outside a high-class establishment for the other Ryodan members to finish stealing everything and contact them. Unfortunately, Phinx makes a mistake and the Ryodan are surrounded. Phinx pulls out a grenade and decides to sacrifice himself in order to let the rest of the Ryodan escape. Pakunoda and Machi object, then volunteer to go with him, but Kuroro tells Phinx to go ahead alone; it is more important that the Spider survive and lose one limb than for the Spider to remain whole but face extinction.
Phinx throws himself into the enemy fire and detonates the grenade. The rest of the members return to their base, believing Phinx to be dead. However, Phinx manages to survive and staggers back to the base, clothing torn and singed. Kuroro approaches him, then embraces him; the back of Phinx's shirt has been almost completely destroyed and the spider tattoo on his back is revealed. It's a scene that gives understanding to Phinx's point of view and shows that while Kuroro does care about the members of the Ryodan, he also knows that the Spider is first and foremost.
Flashback over, the next scene takes place on board the airship Kurapika has procured. This is the moment when Kurapika pierces Kuroro and Pakunoda with his Judgement Chain, which - like Machi's nen threads - has an accompanying visual on the rear screen. Like Kurapika's earlier scene with Kuroro, it's very similar to the anime. However, without Senritsu to point out that Pakunoda is acting for the same reasons as Kurapika, it's Kurapika himself who comes to this realization while talking with Gon via cell phone.
Now with the Judgement Chain wrapped around her heart, Pakunoda goes back to the Ryodan's base to get Gon and Killua. There's some nice interplay between Gon and Phinx here; when Gon leaves with Killua and Pakunoda, he punches Phinx three times. Gon also pronounces Pakunoda's name improperly while trying to defend her and has to be corrected by Killua; it's one of the very few occasions Gon acts embarrassed. The other main difference between this scene in the play and the manga is that without Franklin to point out the worst case scenario for the Spider, the explanation is given to Shizuku. Shizuku is also the one to point out that Gon is similar to Ubougin, which makes her character in the play much more intelligent than even Shalnark and there are no references to her bad memory.
The next scene is Pakunoda's third memory -- the Ryodan at the gravesite of Ubougin. Even though this scene was not in the manga, most of the dialogue is mentioned in earlier chapters. The Ryodan talk about Ubougin and Nobunaga cries for him; he declares that he will seek revenge on the Chain Bastard, which Kuroro eventually grants.
After the flashback, we have the hostage exchange between Pakunoda and Kurapika. Watching Gon and Killua interact in the airship before Kurapika appears is a bit odd; their behaviour is very much like it was back on the first airship during the Hunter Exam. The hostage exchange itself plays rather differently, mainly due to the lack of Hisoka. Gon and Killua run over to Kurapika, then turn to watch Kuroro walk slowly toward Pakunoda. Gon is upset when Kuroro doesn't say anything to her ('this person saved your life!') and Kurapika explains that Kuroro can no longer use his nen or communicate with any of the members of the Ryodan.
Kurapika gives Kuroro a parachute so he can jump out of the airship. Right before he jumps, Kuroro tells Kurapika that he was the one who gave the order to massacre the Kuruta tribe. The way that Kuroro says, "So one survived" in such a mocking tone really took me by surprise; I think it makes Kuroro crueler than he was portrayed in the manga and it takes Killua, Gon, and Pakunoda to keep Kurapika from lunging at Kuroro after this line.
Once Kuroro is gone, Pakunoda is left alone in the rain again. She makes her way back to the Ryodan base, shoots her memory bullets into all of the Ryodan members, and is killed by Kurapika's Judgement Chain. The scene is very similar to the manga, except for the part where all the Ryodan receive her memory instead of only six.
From Pakunoda's death, we jump to the next day. It's bright and sunny, and Gon and Killua run into the contact man who gives them a message from Phinx: 'she [Pakunoda] is grateful to you'. This propels us into Pakunoda's final memory.
We're on the airship watching Gon and Killua again. Pakunoda asks them why they don't run away and prevent her from fulfilling her promise to Kurapika and they respond that it's the best way; Kurapika is their friend and he really doesn't want to kill anyone. It's similar to the scene near the end of the first OVA.
The last scene features the contact man chatting like normal to a friend on his cell phone when he's bitten by a spider. Gon and Killua show up and start trying to get the poison out of his body. Downstage, the remaining members of the Ryodan are gathered when Kuroro enters. There's a brief pause, then the bows begin and the performance is over. The Ryodan minus Pakunoda have the first bow, followed by Kurapika and Pakunoda together, then the contact man, and ending with Gon and Killua.
There are interviews with all of the actors at the end of the DVD. Most of the actors discuss the Ryodan and their own roles, but Takeuchi/Gon talks about two dreams she had that came from the play and shows a picture of her cat. It's very cute. Mitsuhashi/Killua and Kimura/Kurapika also talk about how this production was different from the musicals and provide some character introspection.
So that's the play. It's a very different creature compared to the musicals, and even a different creature compared to the original York Shin arc. If you go in expecting a live version of the first OVA, you'll be disappointed (or at least shocked), but I think it is something that can be appreciated on its own merits.
Screencaps and References
The second time I watched the play, I took screencaps, some of which have been included in this summary/review. You can download all 222 full-size caps in a zip file [dead link] here. Feel free to make icons or whatever else you'd like with them. Credit isn't necessary; just don't claim that you took the screencaps yourself.
I ordered the play DVD from Cruel Angel Productions, the same group that subtitled the musicals. For a scanned copy of the 'Longing for Pakunoda' booklet, including a full cast list, you can visit this entry posted by
leona_d. sora_ko has also posted a review of the play here.
