History Theatre / MusicalToukenRanbu

[[folder: Tokyo Kokoro Oboe]]
* MindFuck: [[spoiler: The way the play is structured makes it extremely difficult to follow, let alone summarize]].
* OddballInTheSeries: It's the only musical to date without a clearly defined "plot," consisting of a series of loosely related events [[spoiler: and Suishinshi's attempts to deduce Mikazuki's role in the larger narrative of the series]].
* TheVoice: [[spoiler: Mikazuki appears as a voice in Suishinshi's head several times throughout the story to deliver information to him. Toward the end, however, he is projected onto a screen and has a conversation with Suishinshi]].
[[/folder]]

* LooseCanon: In addition to the main story musicals, there are a variety of special performances such as the {{Concert Episode}}s, anniversary performances, Tanki and Souki performances, in which select Touken Danshi go on a one or two man sorties, and ''Uta Awase'', which is a series of plays inside a play. These all have their own subplots that usually do not directly conflict or interfere with the main story, leaving it unclear how canon they are or where they fit into the timeline if they ''are'' considered canon.

[[folder: Shunpu Touri no Sakazuki]]
* AwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther: [[spoiler: Mainly on one side, as Ookurikara was more cold and distant toward Tsurumaru than the other way around, but he becomes enraged when he believes the Historical Retrograde Force killed Tsurumaru and slaughters them all single-handedly]].
* AlmightyJanitor: Tsurumaru and Ookurikara are temporarily forced to pose as couriers after Date Masamune spots them, and they end up having to deliver letters for a variety of people, which is the subject of an entire song segment.
* BrickJoke: After beating the snot out of Ookurikara, Tsurumaru can be seen digging a hole a few feet away from his unconscious body for no apparent reason before abandoning it when he hears the Saniwa call him. It reappears near the end of the play, when Tsurumaru and Ookurikara are sparring, and Tsurumaru, who had forgotten about the hole, falls into it.
* CallBack: A very minor one. Tsurumaru references to moon he saw in Shimabara (from the musical ''Paraiso''), saying he prefers it to the one he and Ookurikara are watching.
* CharacterDeath: An odd example. Kosai Souitsu, who guided and mentored Tsurumaru and Ookurikara through Date Masamune's life, announces his death about halfway through the story and then disappears from the plot. Neither Tsurumaru nor Ookurikara comment on it, and the story continues without him, raising the question of how much of his presence was real, how much was a metaphor, and how much was a clever way to help the characters avoid AsYouKnow.
* ChekhovsGun: Date Masamune's letters. He wrote many letters in his life, with some of his more important letters that cover his major life events framing the story. [[spoiler: However, their actual significance to the story wouldn't be uncovered until Tsurumaru and Ookurikara figure out that the Historical Revisionists plan to tamper with his letters to alter history]].
* ComingOfAgeStory: For Date Masamune. Tsurumaru and Ookurikara walk through nearly his entire life, from childhood to his death of old age to uncover the Historical Revisionists plans involving him.
* CoolOldGuy: Kosai Souitsu, Date Masamune's mentor. He takes to Tsurumaru's unusual sense of humor fairly quickly and is a pretty lighthearted person overall. There's even a song where he raps.
* CrossCastRole: InUniverse Example; To help them better understand why Kojuro wants to sacrifice his firstborn child for Date Masamune, Kosai Souitsu forces Tsurumaru and Ookurikara to perform Furyuumonji, or a spiritual awakening that can only be gained through experience rather than words or letters. Tsurumaru is assigned the role of Kojuro's wife and gets a little... ''[[LostInCharacter too]]'' [[HystericalWoman into the role]].
* FakingTheDead: [[spoiler: Tsurumaru briefly pretends to be dead as a joke. His faked death is so convincing that Ookurikara flies into a blind rage and slaughters all of the Historical Revisionists]].
* TheGhost: Tsurumaru and Ookurikara mention Taikogane Sadamune and Shokudaikiri Mitsutada, fellow Date Masamune swords, before being sent on their mission.
* IndignantSlap: [[spoiler: Ookurikara tries to punch Tsurumaru for pretending to be dead, but Tsurumaru stops his fist and apologizes for taking his "joke" too far]].
* IneffectualLoner: Ookurikara wants to believe that he's capable of handling things on his own, but Tsurumaru shows him from the beginning that he's weak and needs someone to watch his back. Part of his journey is learning to allow himself to rely on others.
* InelegantBlubbering: Tsurumaru gets a little ''too'' into the role of playing Kojuro's wife, who in the scenario he and Ookurikara are acting out just learned that Kojuro plans to kill their first born.
* NoHoldsBarredBeatdown: Tsurumaru pulls a Mikazuki and beats up a newly manifested Ookurikara to teach him a lesson he needs to learn. Unlike Mikazuki with Iwatooshi, though, he doesn't give Ookurikara a chance to defend himself.
* OdeToApathy: "DARA DARA DANCE," a song about Tsurumaru and Ookurikara encouraging taking a day to relax and doing their favorite activities in order to conserve their energy and be their best selves for future tasks.
* RageBreakingPoint: [[spoiler: While he was cool throughout most of the play, Ookurikara reaches his when he believes the Historical Retrograde Army has killed Tsurumaru, leading to a brief RoaringRampageOfRevenge against them and him risking his life to single-handedly take down the enemy Yari... up until Tsurumaru gets back up, revealing that he was only pretending to be dead as a "joke"]].
* VitriolicBestBuds: If this type of relationship could be an EstablishingCharacterMoment, it would be Tsurumaru walking up to Ookurikara and kicking his ass without provocation and without giving him a chance to fight back, beating him until he passes out. Ookurikara also spends most of the play being cold and distant toward Tsurumaru, [[spoiler: but is revealed to genuinely care about him when he thinks he died and risks his life avenging him]].
* WholeEpisodeFlashback: Except for the beginning, the play reminisces on the time when Ookurikara first manifested in Honmaru and went on his first sortie with Tsurumaru. At the end of the main story, Tsurumaru and the Saniwa even allude to Ookurikara being sent on a sortie with the ''Mihotose'' gang soon.
* WouldHurtAChild: Kojuro, who intended to kill his firstborn so that it would not supplant his lord Date Masamune, who had yet to bear his own heir. Date Masamune ends up writing him a redundant letter expressing his displeasure at the idea, [[spoiler: but would later order the execution of everyone of Odemori Castle, leading to the deaths of many children]].
[[/folder]]

* MelancholyMusicalNumber: Multiple: "Nagoritsuki" in the first musical, "Chikara ni Areba" in the third, and "Ibitsunaishi" in the fifth.

[[folder: Hanakage Yureru Tomizu]]
* AloofAlly: Arguably the entire team in this play. All of the Touken Danshi in these team are cool-headed and are not particularly close compared to previous teams despite many being from the same school, nor do they become any closer by the end; they simply work together. [[spoiler: This is particularly egregious in the plot about Ichigo Hitofuri losing his identity after Honami Kotoku is influenced by the Historical Revisionists into thinking that the shadow forgery is the real deal. Hasebe seems the most concerned about him out of all of his teammates, who mainly treat it like a wait and see situation despite Ichigo's existence being in jeopardy, and in the end, Ichigo pretty much saves him]].
* BadassInDistress: [[spoiler: Ichigo Hitofuri. As Kage begins to take over his identity as the sword of the same name, his own existence is called into question, and he begins to fade from reality with the other Touken Danshi not knowing what to do or how to help him. In the end, he ends up saving himself from distress by convincing Honami Kotoku of his legitimacy, who then tells Hideyoshi Toyotomi]].
* CanonForeigner: [[spoiler: "Kage" is a Touken Danshi unique to this continuity]].
* ClapYourHandsIfYouBelieve: A large portion of the plays plot revolves around this trope, [[spoiler: as a shadow forgery of Ichigo Hitofuri is able to replace him as the original for a time because people believed he was the real one after being chosen by the famous sword appraiser Honami Kotoku. The more people believed in him, the less real Ichigo Hitofuri became, losing his identity and even his colors until he resembled a black PaletteSwap of himself and reverted back into tsukumogami form. He's only saved when Honami Kotoku convinces Toyotomi Hideyoshi of his validity, which causes the real fake to return to his original form]].
* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: Honami Kotoku, who believes he can hear the voices of Sword Tsukumogami due to the Historical Revisionists' influence on him. He acts borderline obsessed with the swords he takes care of, even lovingly caressing them when no one's around. His attitude as a child suggests that he was always a little strange even before the Historical Revisionists got to him, though, [[SkewedPriorities as he put saving a sword ahead of his own life]]. For all of his eccentricities, however, his love for swords is genuine, especially when compared to how Toyotomi treats them.
* ConnectedAllAlong: This is the first time in the entire ''Touken Ranbu'' series, not just the musical, that Yamanbagiri Chougi, Koryuu Kagemitsu, and Daihannya Nagamitsu are acknowledged as being from the same school and are given interactions accordingly.
* EvilTwin: [[spoiler: Kage is this to Ichigo Hitofuri, although he may not be completely evil. He simply wants to exist and Ichigo stands in the way of that]].
* HoistByTheirOwnPetard: [[spoiler: The Historical Revisionists spend most of the play acting out an elaborate plan to replace the real Ichigo Hitofuri with "Kage" so that it can be on their side and help them change history by killing Hideyoshi Toyotomi. However, when Kage is fully converted, he instead defends Toyotomi and fights against the Historical Revisionists because he inherited the real Ichigo's loyalty to his former master. He still views the Touken Danshi as his enemies, however, especially since they oppose his existence as the real Ichigo]].
* IdenticalTwinIDTag: [[spoiler: It is easy to tell "Kage" Ichigo apart from the real one, even after he assumes his identity, because he has unkempt mint colored hair with black streaks, compared to Ichigo Hitofuri's tidier appearance]].
* IdiotBall: [[spoiler: Onimaru very nearly tells Hideyoshi Toyotomi his real name, despite knowing that he was owned by Toyotomi at the time and that revealing his identity as a Touken Danshi could jeopardize history. Thankfully, Hasebe and the others are able to stop him in time and come up with an alias for him]].
* InseriesNickname: [[spoiler: The fake Ichigo in this play is referred to as "Kage" by the Touken Danshi to distinguish him from the real one, with "Kage" derived from his status as a shadow forgery, kageuchi, or the real sword]].
* KilledOffForReal: [[spoiler: Ichigo cuts down Kage near the ending of the play and the latter disappears, implying that he's gone for good]].
* LetsSplitUpGang: The team divides into two groups of three to gather information on the Historical Revisionists' plans, with Heshikiri Hasebe joining Koryuu Kagemitsu and Daihannya Nagamitsu while sending off Onimaru Kunitsuna, Ichigo Hitofuri, and Yamanbagiri Chougi.
* MadeOfIron: [[spoiler: The newly manifested Kage won't stay down no matter how many times Chougi and Ichigo cut him. When Ichigo cuts him down in the ending, though, he goes down in one hit]].
* MindControl: [[spoiler: The Historical Revisionists' mind manipulations aren't limited to the human characters in the setting, as they begin to influence the Touken Danshi into thinking that the shadow forgery of Ichigo Hitofuri is the real one, making the fake Ichigo stronger]].
* MusicalisInterruptus: [[spoiler: At the midpoint of the play, Ichigo Hitofuri randomly has a flashback to when he was burned during the Summer Siege of Osaka, which is turned into a song number. Yamanbagiri Chougi manages to snap him out of it mid-lyric, just in time for him to defend himself against the approaching Historical Revisionists]].
* MythologyGag: Hasebe not liking being called "Heshikiri" is referenced in this play, although the reason is not explained and it's PlayedForLaughs since Chougi calls him "Heshikiri-kun" anyway, much to his annoyance.
* NiceGuy: [[spoiler: Even after stealing his identity and making multiple attempts on his life, Ichigo still claims Kage as his brother before he disappears]].
* PaletteSwap: [[spoiler: Kage is a black palette swap of Ichigo Hitofuri, at least until people begin to believe he is the real Ichigo. Then Ichigo himself begins to become the palette swap]].
* PrincelyYoungMan: Ichigo Hitofuri, at least in his presentation. This reflects in his fighting style, as he wields his sword in a more refined and modern manner than most other swords.
* ShownTheirWork: [[spoiler: There supposedly was a shadow forgery of Ichigo Hitofuri that existed at some point in history, which is the basis of this play]].
* SpotTheImposter: [[spoiler: Becomes the plot about halfway through the play when the appearance of a shadow forgery of Ichigo Hitofuri finds its way to Hideyoshi Toyotomi due to Historical Revisionists interference]].
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: [[spoiler: Mikazuki doesn't meddle behind the scenes in this play despite the Historical Revisionists very nearly succeeding in erasing a fellow Touken Danshi from existence with their own meddling]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Kousui Sanka no Yuki]]
* AloofAlly: Yamanbagiri Kunihiro. He is distant and cryptic toward those he is assigned to work with, spending the majority of his time focusing on his shops rather than telling anyone what is going on or helping with the mission, much to Hizen Tadahiro's annoyance. [[spoiler: As it turned out, he had known all along that the mission was doomed to fail because the Historical Retrograding Force had already done what they needed to change history, but he preferred to wait to inform the others]].
* BigDamnHeroes:
** [[spoiler: Izuminokami is sent in to support the group when things start to get messy. Even better, he shows up in Kiwame form after just having returned from his training]].
** [[spoiler: All of the Touken Danshi have their moment when they return to save Yamanbagiri from sacrifice himself]].
* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler: The Touken Danshi failed to correct history, resulting in the creation of an abandoned world; however, they were at least able to save Yamanbagiri and Nansen has coped with the loss of Naosuke]].
* DumbBlonde: Nansen Ichimonji toes the line of being a Rare Male Example.
* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: {{Downplayed|Trope}}, but Yamanbagiri's mysterious personality makes him seem eccentric more than anything. He spends the majority of the play absent-mindedly tending to his various shops while everyone else struggles over what to do with the changing course of history.
* ContinuityNod: The red ropes from the song's original performance in ''Atsukashiyama Ibun'' return in this rendition of "Otokomichi", but this time the ensemble members perform the dance while the Touken Danshi play the taiko drums behind them.
* CoolDownHug: [[spoiler: Izuminokami gives Hizen Tadahiro a hug of consolation after watching him break down after killing his master]].
* CoversAlwaysLie: In a good way; [[spoiler: Most of the advertisements for the musical depicts Izuminokami in his standard outfit, but when he appears in the play, he is in Kiwame form, having just returned to Honmaru from training]].
* EnemyMine: [[spoiler: The Touken Danshi and Historical Retrograde Force temporarily set aside their differences to escape the abandoned timeline, with the latter making a concerted effort to help them]].
* EvilOnlyHasToWinOnce: [[spoiler: The moment Naosuke and Shoin prematurely met and became friends, the Historical Revisionists had what they needed to change history, and no matter what the Touken Danshi did, the timeline was going to be altered. Only Yamanbagiri was knew this, but he withheld knowledge of it until the very last moment to help the other Touken Danshi grow from the mistake, [[IdiotBall which very nearly gets everyone killed]]]].
* ExposedToTheElements: The play opens with an underdressed Nansen complaining about the cold.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: [[spoiler: Random blackouts and earthquakes happen throughout the play, indicating that history is changing in ways the characters aren't aware of]].
* TheGadfly: Ookanehira and Nansen annoy each other in equal amounts.
* GenreBlindness: {{Justified|Trope}}; The plot could have been avoided if the characters had followed the example of previous teams and been more cautious and not treated their mission as a "wait and see" situation, but Ookanehira, Nansen, and Koryuu are all newly manifested and thus inexperienced. [[spoiler: Yamanbagiri waiting for them to see what happens when history is changed was to help them learn and grow from their mistakes]].
* TheGhost: [[spoiler: Yamanbagiri mentions his unnamed, deceased teammate several times throughout the play, almost sacrificing himself so that he could be reunited with him in death]].
* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler: Yamanbagiri Kunihiro attempts to pull one in order to help his teammates in escaping the closing timeline, even giving up in the midst of the battle so that he could be broken [[TogetherInDeath if it meant finally being reunited with his fallen comrade in death]]. Fortunately, the other Touken Danshi return for him and save him in time]].
* HeterosexualLifePartners: Li Naosuke and Yoshida Shoin become this after having a chance early meeting in the timeline. [[spoiler: This turns out to be a bigger problem than anyone anticipated, because in the correct timeline, the two were enemies, and the peace established by their historically inaccurate friendship begins to irreversibly alter history]].
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: [[spoiler: The Historical Revisionists scored their first victory by successfully altering the timeline to the point where even the Touken Danshi are unable to correct it, but it backfires on them spectacularly when the entire zombified population of Edo begins to attack them indiscriminately after the timeline is severed from the rest of history by the Government of Time, forcing them to work with the Touken Danshi to try to escape]].
* {{Hypocrite}}: [[spoiler: Yamanbagiri, who had advised Ookanehira that it was his responsibility as team leader to ensure that everyone made it home safely, which he had learned after losing one of his own previous teammates, but then attempted to needlessly sacrifice himself for the sake of the team at the end of the play]].
* IdiotBall: While all of the characters in this lineup pass the idiot ball around throughout the story, Yamanbagiri is likely the one who hangs onto it the longest. [[spoiler: He was sent by the Saniwa to inform the team that the timeline was doomed to be severed by the Government of Time, but he decided to withhold this information from everyone--including Hizen, who was sent in with him--until the very last moment so they could witness the consequences of not preserving history. Worse, he did this without a plan for how the team would escape during the severing process, which very, very nearly resulted in everyone being trapped in the abandoned world with a million zombies hellbent on killing them]].
* ILetGwenStacyDie: [[spoiler: The loss of his teammate still troubles Yamanbagiri, and as a result, he starts to question his leadership skills, even urging Ookanehira not to become like him]].
* InferioritySuperiorityComplex: Ookanehira speaks down to his teammates but is quite self-conscious about being perceived as weak and inferior himself. His teammates, however, are unconcerned about his inflated ego and mock him anyway.
* ItsOkayToCry: [[spoiler: Seeing Hizen hesitate, Izuminokami comforts him, telling him it's alright to cry, as he once did after watching his own former master die. After this, Hizen breaks down, and Izuminokami gives him a hug of consolation]].
* KillTheOnesYouLove: [[spoiler: Hizen Tadahiro is forced to kill his former master, while Nansen and Koryuu are forced to kill Naosuke and Shoin, two men in whom they have developed emotional attachments to over the course of the play]].
* LeaderWannabe: Ookanehira is the group's assigned leader... that no one takes him seriously because of his inexperience and bulliable personality. Not even promotional materials treat him as the leader of the group, as Yamanbagiri Kunihiro and Izuminokami Kanesada are given "Front of the group" priority over him in group shots.
* LetsSplitUpGang: [[spoiler: Happens repeatedly in the musical due to the teams' inability to work together for more than 10 minutes. Despite Ookanehira's protests and demands that they cooperate to fix the timeline's errors, each team member chooses to go their own way and tries to influence the flow of history in their own ways, which only serves to further sever the timeline]].
* MaamShock: Ii Naosuke freaks out whenever the characters refer to him as "old man," despite the fact that he is quite old. He eventually gives up and allows it.
* ManlyTears: [[spoiler: Hizen Tadahiro breaks down after killing his former master]].
* MoodWhiplash: [[spoiler: After witnessing Li Naosuke's beheading and Nansen's goodbyes, the main story jarringly concludes with the characters joking about buying ramen with the money Yamanbagiri earned throughout the play right next to his dead body]].
* MythologyGag: Yamanbagiri Kunihiro running an oil-paper umbrella business alludes to the ''Tou Stage'' continuity, in which he is the protagonist and performs with these umbrellas at the end of each play. Musical Yamanbagiri even dance battles using an umbrella, further alluding to his other self.
* NaiveNewcomer: Nansen plays this role by being the least knowledgeable about the time period they're visiting, allowing him to ask questions in place of the audience.
* NewJobAsThePlotDemands: PlayedForLaughs; To pass the time during the mission, Yamanbagiri takes up several jobs, first selling umbrellas, then becoming a sandal maker, then making ukiyo-e. It's never explained just how he managed to open these shops in the first place, or how he was able to change occupations so quickly.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: [[spoiler: Ookanehira and his team were aware that Ii Naosuke and Yoshida Shoin meeting too soon had not occurred historically, but they allowed them to interact for an extended period of time until they became friends in order to see how it would impact history. If they had kept the two separate after initially realizing it, rather than treating it as a "wait and see" situation, they might have avoided falling into the Historical Revisionists' plans and thusly the abandonment of the timeline]].
* NoOneGetsLeftBehind: [[spoiler: This is essentially the advice Yamanbagiri gives Ookanehira, as the job of the group leader is more about ensuring the team's safe return to Honmaru than defeating the enemy, which Yamanbagiri learned the hard way after the death of one of his former teammates]].
* NoRespectGuy: Ookanehira. His teammates (mainly Nansen) make fun of him despite the fact that he is the team leader, and no one takes his lead seriously, meaning that whenever it's time to unite the group, they all go their own way despite his weak protests. [[spoiler: It reaches a point where he becomes so desperate that he puts aside his ego and goes to Yamanbagiri, a seasoned Touken Danshi at their citadel and former team captain, for guidance on rallying his team to fix history]].
* RagtagBunchOfMisfits: Probably the worst example in ''Tou Myu'' so far, as the team is disjointed and lacks proper teamwork, preventing them from reaching their full potential compared to previous groups. [[spoiler: This isn't played for laughs like previous musicals, though, because the team's inability to work together and their lackadaisical attitude toward their mission is what dooms the timeline]].
* RememberTheNewGuy: There is a fair amount of hype surrounding Yamanbagiri Kunihiro upon his debut, as it is revealed that he was among the first Touken Danshi to join Honmaru, that he was likely the Saniwa's starter sword, and that he has been team leader an innumerable amount of times. According to Ookanehira, his reputation precedes him in the citadel, as he is the talk of all of the newbies. However, prior to this story, he was never mentioned by anyone, which is unusual given that characters like to namedrop characters before they appear, especially if they will become important.
* {{Retcon}}: Possibly; While it's only rumored in the citadel that Yamanbagiri was the Saniwa's first sword, ''Shinken Ranbusai 2016'' implies that either Kashuu or Hachisuka was the Saniwa's first sword, with no mention of Yamanbagiri.
* SueDonym: Koryuu Kagemitsu takes on the alias "Ryuusuke" when traveling with Yoshida Shoin.
* TimeStandsStill: [[spoiler: Time briefly stops when the Government begins to process of separating the corrupted timeline from the rest of history. When it resumes, every resident of Edo turns into zombie-like creatures and attacks both the Touken Danshi and the Historical Retrograde Force due to them now being foreigners in the abandoned world]].
* WhamLine: [[spoiler: Izuminokami reveals to that in the correct version of history, Li Naosuke and Yoshida Shoin were enemies, with Li Naosuke ordering Yoshida Shoin's death. The characters initially brush this reveal off until the peace established by their historically inaccurate friendship ends up causing more harm to history than good]].
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse:
** [[spoiler: Unlike in previous musicals, Mikazuki isn't shown to have been influencing events from behind the scenes. However, this is likely because this timeline was doomed from the moment Li Naosuke and Yoshida Shoin met]].
** [[spoiler: Where the heck was the Kebiishi when all of this was happening?]]
* WorthyOpponent: Ookanehira and Yamanbagiri come to view each other as such by the end of the play.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Shizuka no Umi no Paraiso]]
* AChildShallLeadThem: Amakusa Shirou is the leader of the Shimabara Rebellion despite his young age. [[spoiler: However, he isn't ''really'' the leader, as Emosaku, an adult, decided to wage the war in the first place and was only using him as a figurehead to further his goals and inspire the masses. When he is killed prematurely by the Historical Revisionists, the Touken Danshi adopt his name and role, becoming the rebellion's actual leaders, with Emosaku quickly forgetting about the boy since he can use them for the same purpose]].
* BaitAndSwitchComment: [[spoiler: After Tsurumaru orders Matsui to side with the Shogunate and participate in the murders of the Shimabara rebels, Buzen Gou confronts him angrily, giving him (and the audience) the impression that he is pissed that Tsurumaru would cruelly subject him to something so traumatic despite his knowledge of Matsui's past. However, he switches up his tone and admits that he's grateful to Tsurumaru for helping Matsui confront his trauma. Even Tsurumaru seems surprised by this turn of events, but agrees to leave Matsui in Buzen's hands]].
* BigBrotherInstinct:
** [[spoiler: The older sibling is extremely protective of his brother and only participates in the rebellion despite his disagreement with it because he does not want him to starve. In the end, he also dies protecting him]].
** [[spoiler: {{Inverted|Trope}} in the aforementioned death scene, as the little brother initially tries to protect his older brother by throwing rocks at Matsui, who he knows is there to kill them both]].
* BreatherEpisode: Or breather segment, in this case. For the most part, whenever Izunokami's ignored and incompetent underlings appear on screen, the tone is lighthearted and comedic compared to the pretty depressing main events.
* BrokenTears: Everyone except Ookurikara and Buzen Gou breaks down into these at some point in the play.
* CallBack: [[spoiler: Tsurumaru references Mikazuki's message from ''Kishou Hongi'' about some people having to play tragic roles in history in both of his musings on Mikazuki]].
* ContrivedCoincidence: [[spoiler: The story is relies heavily on the idea that no one except Emosaku knew what Amakusa Shirou looked like, allowing Tsurumaru and Hyuuga to take on his role for the majority of the play, despite the fact that he had already begun his uprising by the time the characters arrived]].
* DeadPersonImpersonation: [[spoiler: Tsurumaru and Hyuuga take on the identity of Amakusa Shirou to further the rebellion since the real Shirou was killed by the Historical Revisionists at the beginning of the play]].
* DeathOfAChild: As what happened during the real Shimabara Rebellion, children are killed in this musical, [[spoiler: with Amakusa Shirou being the first]].
* DespairEventHorizon:
** Urashima is the first to cross it after being forced to confront the atrocities of war, initially masking his sadness with a smile before breaking down and fleeing as Hyuuga tries to console him.
** [[spoiler: Urashima crosses it again with Matsui and Hyuuga after they witness the deaths of the brothers, although the younger sibling turns out to be still alive]].
* DirtyCoward: Emosaku. [[spoiler: After causing the rebellion in the first place, he sells his own faction out to the Shogunate, informing them that they are running out of resources, in order to save his own skin, rather than standing firm on his principles even if it costs him his life. He doesn't get away with it scottfree as he did historically, though, as Tsurumaru ensures he has to live with the guilt]].
* EmpathicEnvironment: [[spoiler: The earth shakes and waves crash when Tsurumaru shouts at the end of his rant, adding emphasis to what he was saying]].
* EstablishingCharacterMoment:
** Compared to ''Kishou Hongi'', Tsurumaru's characterization is better established here, as his introductory scene has him having a fairly casual conversation with the Saniwa in which he repeatedly interrupts him and establishes that they've known each other long enough for this type of interaction between them to be "normal." This conversation also reveals Tsurumaru's carefree and somewhat unruly personality.
** Matsui debuts in the musical singing about his obsession with blood. [[spoiler: Not that it matters much in this play, as it mainly focuses on the fact that he ''doesn't'' want to kill anyone]].
** Hyuuga's debut song has him singing about pickled plums, which are all but stated to be his TrademarkFavoriteFood.
* ExperiencedProtagonist: Tsurumaru Kuninaga is pretty much the main character of ''Paraiso'' and he is revealed to be one of Honmaru's oldest swords in terms of both age and length of time living there and protecting history.
* ForgottenFallenFriend: [[spoiler: On Emosaku's end, at least, as he recovers quickly from the death of the real Amakusa Shirou when he realizes that he can just use the Touken Danshi to spearhead his rebellion]].
* FullNameBasis: Matsui frequently addresses Tsurumaru by his full name, while most of the other sword just refer to him as "Tsurumaru."
* TheGhost: Even though he doesn't physically appear in the play, Mikazuki Munechika is name-dropped and alluded to multiple times. [[spoiler: It is later revealed that this is because he sent one of his recruits, a Mononobe, to work under Izunokami and sway the course of events to ensure the Shimabara Rebellion happens as it did historically]].
* GreyAndGrayMorality: [[spoiler: While many innocent people were indeed persecuted during the insurgency, the story emphasizes that neither side was entirely blameless, as even those who joined the rebellion for the sake of their beliefs would slaughter innocents who doubted or refused to support their cause. One of the casualties was the mother of the two young boys whom Touken Danshi befriends, who was killed solely because she didn't want to join the rebellion]].
--> "There are no wars with clear-cut white and black sides. There's black in the white, and white in the black. Either may well have even red or blue. When you put it into words, everyone has their own reason for waging war."
* HypocrisyNod: Tsurumaru criticizes Mikazuki's tendency to do things alone, then laughs about how similar they are because he also prefers to do things alone [[spoiler: and spends most of the play taking on the major responsibility of ensuring the deaths of the rebels in the Shimabara faction by himself]].
* ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice: [[spoiler: How the older sibling dies. He is speared first, and then a group of other men rush in and begin stabbing him to death as he tries to protect his younger brother in his final moments]].
* IndignantSlap: Or punch, in this case. [[spoiler: Matsui punches Tsurumaru in the face for his apparent uncaring attitude after they all witness the brutal murder of a pair of child siblings. This punch ends up helping Tsurumaru better express his grief over the situation, which he offloads when everyone except Ookurikara has gone on ahead of them]].
* InelegantBlubbering:
** Matsui, Hyuuga, and Urashima are reduced to tears after the witnessing the brutal murder of the pair of siblings they befriended. [[spoiler: They recover when it turns out the younger sibling is still alive, just in time for one of Mikazuki's recruits to come collect him]].
** [[spoiler: Emosaku also breaks down at the end of the play after seeing the corpse of the elder brother]].
* InnocentlyInsensitive: [[spoiler: Everyone except Buzen Gou and Tsurumaru Kuninaga about Matsui's connection to the Shimbara Rebellion, as they went into the mission unaware that he has lingering trauma over the role he played in it when he was still a sword]].
* InterspeciesFriendship: Despite Ookurikara's admonishing them not to get too involved, lest they unwittingly change history, the Touken Danshi befriend a pair of human children after recruiting them to their cause. [[spoiler: The eldest sibling was fated to be killed during the Shimabara Rebellion, leaving the group devastated when they're forced to witness his death, unable to do anything to prevent it]].
* KarmaHoudini: {{Subverted|Trope}} with Emosaku. [[spoiler: Even though he made it out of the Shimabara Rebellion with his life, Emosaku is not happy about being the sole survivor, and Tsurumaru made sure he would always carry the guilt of having started a war that claimed the lives of 37,000 people]].
* LockedOutOfTheLoop: [[spoiler: Hyuuga and Urashima were the only ones who had no idea what participating in the Shimabara Rebellion entailed, up until they received a letter from the Shogunate threatening to massacre their forces if they failed to surrender. It was only then that it dawned on them what the purpose of their mission was]].
* LyingToProtectYourFeelings:
** [[spoiler: The older boy keeps their mother's death a secret from his younger brother, who believes she just left]].
** [[spoiler: Tsurumaru also purposefully keeps Urashima in the dark about their mission until he discovers it for himself]].
* MoodWhiplash: In a fairly lighthearted scene in the middle of the play, Hyuuga pretends to be a relative of Hideyoshi Toyotomi in an attempt to recruit more rebels for the Shimabara faction, but the people he tried to recruit brush him off, saying he doesn't look like a monkey enough to be related to him, though they change their minds mid-discussion and admit he does look a little like a monkey, which slightly hurts Hyuuga's feelings. [[spoiler: Then, abruptly, a group of Shogunate soldiers charge into the scene and brutally slaughter everyone except the Touken Danshi]].
* NaiveNewcomer: Hyuuga Masamune, who has no knowledge about the Shimbara Rebellion and thusly can ask questions about it in place of the audience. Urashima also fulfills this role to a lesser degree.
* NecessarilyEvil: [[spoiler: The Touken Danshi have to knowingly lead 37,000 people to their deaths to ensure that history proceeds as intended. A lot of these people are innocent, which causes them nothing short of intense grief over the roles they have to play]].
* TheNeedsOfTheMany: [[spoiler: To save the lives of missions of people from the future, the members of this team have to a rebellion that will ensure the deaths of 37,000 people, many of them innocent women and children. Their mission weighs heavily on them, and this contributes to Tsurumaru's ire towards Mikazuki Munechika, who was manipulating events behind the scenes, as he perceives Mikazuki to be treating the Shimabara rebels more like statistics than like living, breathing individuals]].
* NoNameGiven: Neither of the young boys are named in the musical. [[spoiler: This is relevant in the end, because the boys' anonymity to the audience and the characters in the story allows the elder brother who was killed to assume the identity of Amakusa Shirou in death, allowing history to (almost) fully correct itself[[note]]The real Amakusa Shirou was executed and had his head mounted on a spike, but the characters don't mention it [[/note]]]].
* ObfuscatingStupidity: Just by Tsurumaru's attitude alone, it would be hard to guess that he is not only among the Honmaru's oldest swords, but also among the most senior in terms of how long he has served under the Saniwa. [[spoiler: However, it's gradually revealed throughout the play that this is, at least in part, a mask he puts on, and that he's far more mature, cunning, and capable than he pretends to be at times]].
* ThePunishmentIsTheCrime: [[spoiler: Emosaku is the only rebel survivor, save for the unnamed young child saved by the Mononobe; however, his survival is portrayed as a punishment for starting the war in the first place. By the play's conclusion, the experience and realization that everything that happened was his fault have broken him completely]].
* TheReveal: [[spoiler: The nameless man who relayed information about the Shimabara rebels to Izunokami was a Mononobe, a member of Mikazuki's faction]].
* StepfordSmiler: Tsurumaru, full stop. [[spoiler: He spends the majority of the musical pretending to be unfazed about the villainous role he has to play, but his mask cracks several times under the mental and emotional strain, until it shatters completely at the end of the play, causing him to tearfully lash out at Mikazuki Munechika, who is represented by the crescent moon in the sky]].
--> "[[spoiler:Are you kidding me? "There are those in the flow of history who have a tragic role to bear?" What is history to you? The ones whose names went down in history aren't the only ones who made it, you know...?! Help them! Save them! All 37,000! They're not just a number! Each had their own life! They were alive! Take them with you. Take them to the tranquil sea, to Paraiso! If you can do it, then do it!]]"
* SuddenlyShouting: Tsurumaru Kuninaga does this when Urashima and Matsui try to argue against him and the other Touken Danshi killing human beings.
--> "'''If you have a problem with that-!''' ...[[ImpliedDeathThreat would you like to quit being a Touken Danshi?]]"
* WarIsHell: TheMusical. It's probably one of the musicals that pushes this idea the most.
* WellIntentionedExtremist: [[spoiler: When confronted by Tsurumaru about why he is choosing to massacre the troops, "Chiezu" tearfully admits that he doesn't want to in the first place, but feels compelled to in order to maintain the peace established by Ieyasu, believing that if people grieve and regret what happened to Shimabara after they fought back, nothing like the rebellion will happen again. Tsurumaru sympathizes with his reasoning, and feels vindicated in having someone to share his pain with]].
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: The Historical Revisionists disappear from the narrative after killing [[spoiler: Amakusa Shirou]], with the true danger the Touken Danshi face from there becoming the psychological harm that taking part in the rebellion causes them.
* YouWillBeBeethoven: [[spoiler: Amakusa Shirou dies early in the story, leaving Tsurumaru Kuninaga and Hyuuga Masamune to assume Shirou's identity and spearhead the rebellion in his place]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Musubi no Hibiki, Hajimari no Ne]]
* AlasPoorVillain: [[spoiler: Despite their ongoing animosity toward the Touken Danshi, the play portrays the Historical Revisionists as more sympathetic than usual because, as Touken Danshi without stories, their goal was to obtain one by living and dying by Hijikata's side and leaving their mark on history in that way, rather than because they wanted to outright alter history. [[SympathyForTheDevil Tomoegata feels empathy for them as a fellow Touken Danshi without a story]], but still kills him out of duty]].
* CallBack: The way the three Historical Revisionists [[spoiler:who joined Hijikata]] die is reminiscent of their sleeping poses after they passed out drunk at [[spoiler:Hijikata]]'s drinking party.
* ContinuityNod: The events of ''Bakamatsu Tenrouden'' are referenced in this play, as it continues the story of the end of the age of Katana:
*** Nagasone directly references [[spoiler:watching Kondo Isami die firsthand]] when he recounts his latest outings to Mutsunokami.
*** After Hijikata gives Enomoto a DopeSlap, he wonders if his hit actually hurt the man and offers him some of his Ishida Powder.
*** While Hijikata and Enomoto are holed up in Goryokaku, the former tries (and fails) to point out Sirius, while a sniffling Enomoto has to correct him.
*** Izuminokami being offered a large sake cup during the party calls back to Hachisuka being offered the mug of sake in his party scene. Luckily Izuminokami didn't have to drink nearly as much this time.
* DownerBeginning: The show begins with Tomoegata, Izuminokami, and Mutsunokami witnessing the ruthless and senseless murder of Mutsunokami's former master Sakamoto Ryoma and his comrade. Both Izuminokami and Tomoegata are baffled that Mutsu can accept this, with the latter considering him inhuman.
* DrivingQuestion: It's not the main question, but a recurring one nevertheless--"How did you feel when you saw your master die?" For some Touken Danshi, the answer to this question defines how they see their affection for their master and their way of life; Mutsunokami's seeming indifference therefore made people like Izuminokami and Nagasone wary until they learned his actual reaction and reasoning.
* ExplainExplainOhCrap: After Horikawa runs into the fray to [[spoiler:take on Izuminokami's burden of stopping Hijikata]], Izuminokami is asked what what he'd do if Horikawa was too depressed to carry out an order. Izuminokami confidently replies that he'd just do the deed himself, and then runs after Horikawa after realizing that the boy is planning to do the exact same thing for him.
* FairWeatherFoe: [[spoiler: When Hijikata decides to throw a party on the spur of the moment, the Historical Revisionists and Touken Danshi stage a friendly relationship in order to keep their separate schemes against each other from failing, but they wind up drinking so much sake that they are too inebriated to do anything to each other anyway]].
* {{Fanservice}}: [[spoiler: After being captured by the Historical Revisionists, Horikawa is tied up and interrogated by Hijikata, who hits him with a riding crop whenever he doesn't answer. His tie, belt, and tops are also mysteriously undone]].
* FigureItOutYourself: Izuminokami ends up having several conversations with Hijikata, asking in [[IHaveThisFriend a few veiled questions]] if he should really be struggling with killing him. Hijikata on his part says he would have gotten it over with to complete his duties in his younger years, but also adds that the answer often has to come from within.
* {{Foil}}: Enomoto Takeaki acts as this to Hijikata. Whereas Hijikata is from an exceptionally poorer background, is willing to harden his heart to win a fight, and is neck deep in the ideals of bushido, Enomoto is an eccentric dreamer who wears his heart on his sleeve and has far more book smarts than war prowess, and is very interested in what the future will bring. [[spoiler:Hijikata actually likes this about Enomoto, seeing bits of Kondo in him, and wants him to surrender the Boishin War so he can make good use of those characteristics.]]
* GratuitousForeignLanguage: Enomoto Takeaki, being learned in several different languages and disciplines, gets to make use of it in "To The North" by singing in English and speaks entire sentences in French.
* KillHimAlready: Mutsunokami is a powerful fighter, but he always stops short of actually killing his opponents rather than downing or disarming them. He's been criticized more than once for these actions, and when prompted the first time, he answers that he sees even the enemies he faces as living beings. [[spoiler:He breaks this rule for the one and only time when he {{Mercy Kill}}s a limping Hijikata.]]
* KillTheOnesYouLove: [[spoiler: Very narrowly averted with Izuminokami, who was in the position to kill Hijikata to protect history, but broke at the last second, forcing Mutsunokami to do it in his stead]].
* HeroicSacrifice: The musical's interpretation of the end of the Battle of Hakodate is this, at least in regards to Hijikata. [[spoiler:He sees himself as emblematic of the age of swords and bushido, but as such he recognizes his own limits and knows he's not built for anything else but fighting. He also knows that as a leader of the Shinsengumi, his opponents would never leave him alive. As such, he urges Enomoto, Riki, and Nakajima to surrender themselves while he gives himself up to be killed.]]
* HistoryRepeats: This is now the second time that [[spoiler:a Shinsengumi Touken Danshi is tasked with killing their master on the date of their historical death, is prepared to cut them down, but balks at the last second and has the Touken Danshi they've been butting heads with deal the finishing blow instead]].
* IdiotBall: [[spoiler: Horikawa grabs the idiot ball when he decides to rush the Historical Revisionists camp alone to foil their plan to keep Hijikata alive beyond his time, hoping that doing so will save Izuminokami from having to kill his former master in order to correct history. To the dismay of his teammates, this move results in him being wounded and taken prisoner by the enemy, making matters worse for everyone]].
* ManlyTears: Everyone except for Tomoegata and Mutsunokami breaks down at [[spoiler:Hijikata's death]].
* MotiveMisidentification: The Touken Danshi initially embarked on their mission to stop the Historical Revisionists from killing Hijikata Toshizou, only to discover that they intended to change history by [[spoiler:keeping him alive beyond his historical end in the Boishin War. Some even have the guts to ''join'' Hijikata's side in order to ensure, if not Hijikata's victory, his survival for even one more day]].
* NaiveNewcomer: Tomoegata plays this role in the play, as he is not only new to the citadel but also unfamiliar with the Shinsengumi stories, allowing the more experienced members to explain things to him so that the audience can understand.
* NotSoDifferentRemark: [[spoiler: Tomoegata realizes that the Historical Revisionists in this play at least are just Touken Danshi without stories who wanted to find meaning in their lives by living and dying by Hijikata's side during the age of the sword]].
* RuleOfSymbolism: The age of swords was already on its way out, but everyone who still fought with a sword intended to at least go out fighting they only way they knew how. [[spoiler:Hijikata, for his final duel, crossed swords with Izuminokami, who shares the same mindset, but is let go. The one who finally puts an end to him is Mutsunokami, the sword who represents the changing landscape in weaponry and outright kills him with a gun--the weapon most symbolic of the changing eras.]]
* SparingThemTheDirtyWork: [[spoiler: Since Hijikata's survival would have caused history to collapse, Mutsunokami kills Izuminokami's former master for him because he couldn't bring himself to do so]].
* StandardizedLeader: PlayedWith; Compared to the more colorful cast of Shinsengumi-aligned Touken Danshi, Tomoegata, who is chosen as the group's leader, is essentially a BlankSlate because he is the only one without a story, which turns out to be relevant to the musicals overarching themes. However, his position as leader has little bearing on the plot, and he is not assigned any leadership responsibilities.
* StepfordSmiler: Mutsunokami justifies his indifference to witnessing his former master's death by stating that everyone dies, and also that it wasn't the first time he'd witnessed it happen. Nagasone later finds out that this was a front, as he was simply choosing to grieve privately and in his own way.
* ThoseTwoGuys: Shimada Kai/[[OnlyKnownByTheirNickname Riki]] and Nakajima are hardly seen without each other in scenes concerning the Shinsengumi. they even go so far as to [[spoiler:attempt harakiri to preserve their honor]] together!
* ThouShaltNotKill: While Mutsunokami has no problem fighting and wounding the enemy, he never executes them because he believes that life should not be taken--not even when it comes to the lives of Historical Revisionists. [[spoiler: In the end, Izuminokami couldn't bring himself to kill Hijikata, so he was forced to do it in his stead in order to preserve history]].
* WhamShot: Nakajima's new recruits aren't just any old soldiers--[[spoiler:they're Historical Revisionists]]. While we've seen different tactics from the enemy before, [[spoiler:outright joining a side]] shows not only that they're picking a different avenue of changing history, but that [[spoiler:even the Revisionists have their own reasons to be joining the fight; a far cry from the mindless murder machines they usually are.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Tsuwamono Domo ga Yume no Ato]]
* ADayInTheLimelight: The story is a continuation of ''Atsukashiyama Ibun'', but this time it focuses on Mikazuki Munechika and Iwatooshi as new conflicts arise, those being [[spoiler: Mikazuki's secret meddling with time and Iwatooshi's struggle to keep Imanotsurugi's non-existence hidden from him]]. With the exception of Hizamaru, who is largely just along for the ride after being asked to look after Mikazuki, everything the other characters do plays into these plot lines in some way.
* ArcSymbol: The moon, used here as a symbol of significance. The moon's light and shape is seen as a metaphor for the visible impact someone or something makes in life, with the dark parts of the moon representing the unknown or glossed over.
* CerebusCallBack: Remember that flashy action sequence at the beginning of ''Atsukashiyama Ibun'', where Yoshitsune and Benkei are making a heroic last stand against Yoritomo and Yasuhira before the former commits seppuku? It comes back again here, but it's played for a much sadder effect; [[spoiler:''neither'' of Yoshitsune's final aggressors want to assassinate him, Yasuhira in particular lacking his AxCrazy personality from the first musical and being torn up for this scene, but they do it anyway because they believe [[IDidWhatIHadToDo it needs to happen to ensure a good future]]. Both Yoshitsune and Benkei lose their heroic luster for this scene too--they're both disheveled, running around in torn clothes, and Yoshitsune's seppuku attempt looks less like an act of defiance but more like a desperate last act to keep his honor. Even the way he delivers his "I'm coming, everyone!" line is quieter.]]
* CharacterizationMarchesOn: Although he still has his share of comedic moments, Mikazuki Munechika's portrayal became much more serious, sophisticated, and somewhat less humorous with this musical. According to his actor, the change was requested by the director himself, who felt that the initial portrayal did not align with his/the production's vision of the character.
* ChekhovsGun: Higekiri's ability to connect with and understand Mikazuki is used later by himself, in order to better communicate Mikazuki's feelings on why he's [[spoiler:been actively influencing historical figures]] to Kogitsunemaru.
* ComingOfAgeStory: Imanotsurugi's presence in this musical acts as his rite-of-passage, since he has to come face to face with the Mt. Atsukashi incident that's been plaguing his mind since the end of the first installment and he's finally made aware of [[spoiler:his nonexistence in history]]. Iwatooshi also has to learn to let him go and mature on his own, which leads to [[spoiler:Imanotsurugi leaving for his Kiwame training]].
* TheConstant: Mikazuki discusses this with Higekiri and Kogitsunemaru. Like with their missions, there are certain people and fixtures marked down in history that are always described a certain way. Therefore, their job is to also make sure no matter what else happens in the timeline, these key people are always made to do what they were described to do. [[spoiler:Mikazuki, by repeatedly going back and influencing some of the historical figures, has somehow made himself one of these constants.]]
* ContrivedCoincidence: With time being so weird and circumstances changing, no one item or person is ever present the same way in missions. [[spoiler:This also goes for the weapons people would carry with them. By a stroke of luck, Higekiri was brought along for one of the iterations where his original sword was present during Mikazuki and Yoritomo's meetings, and receives memories of the incident where he had none before. This proves crucial in figuring out ''what'' Mikazuki plans to do.]]
* CruelToBeKind: To get through a mountain pass, Benkei and Yoshitune disguise as priests to get past the guards on lookout for the latter. When the guards don't let Yoshitsune go, Benkei beats Yoshitsune up to a limp in an effort to pretend he's just an IdenticalStranger whose face has caused him nothing but trouble from similar guards. Mikazuki describes this as something of a kindness; if he hadn't "snapped", they wouldn't be able to cross the mountain pass and they'd be in for a world of trouble.
* DecoyProtagonist: The story managed to have three:
** Kogitsunemaru sang the first song for the Saniwa, giving the impression that he would be the main focus of the play or at the very least, selected to be the team leader. However, the song turned out to be an IrrelevantActOpener, and although he plays a somewhat significant role in the narrative, [[spoiler: it really only serves to create more drama in the story and help unravel what Mikazuki has been up to]].
** Higekiri and Hizamaru would also sing a song for the Saniwa, giving the impression that they would either be the main characters or the team leader. [[spoiler: Turns out, this was just to help introduce their characters, and the Saniwa would ask them to look after Mikazuki, the story's real main focus]].
** Finally, Imanotsurugi was chosen to lead the team after asking the Saniwa. Given that the story is a continuation of Atsukashiyama Ibun, it seemed Imanotsurugi would once again be the main character. In the end, the story is partially about Imanotsurugi, [[spoiler: but his part really centers on Iwatooshi's struggle to keep Imanotsurugi's nonexistence a secret from him. Imanotsurugi's nonexistence also connects to Mikazuki's themes of transience in his story]].
* ExactEavesdropping: [[spoiler: Kogitsunemaru just happens to always be present when out of context yet crucial information about Mikazuki is being said]].
* FightingYourFriend: [[spoiler:Kogitsunemaru was willing to kill Mikazuki after learning that he's been directly influencing historical events to happen a certain way, under the presumption that he's pulling Retrograde tactics. They have a duel near the end of the show, although Higekiri arrives just in time to stop them from killing each other and explain everything.]]
* {{Foreshadowing}}:
** The Genji clan swords and Iwatooshi and Imanotsurugi not recognizing each other is innocuous at first glance, before you remember that they should have some memory of each other since they all were in the same household. [[spoiler:That's because in this timeline, the latter two aren't certain existences.]]
** As soon as they get to the past, Mikazuki cryptically mentions that no one can really tell what happened 1000 years ago. [[spoiler:This not only sets up his meddling, but also establishes that the past is very malleable with the little details changing from time to time.]]
** His conversation with Iwatooshi about how kindness can take many forms (including CruelToBeKind) is just as much a lesson to the latter as it is [[spoiler:an admission of what his intentions are by directly influencing events]].
* FullNameUltimatum: The one time Kogitsunemaru refers to Mikazuki as "Mikazuki Munechika" rather than "Mikazuki-dono" is when he's royally pissed at him for [[spoiler:threatening Yoritomo into killing Yoshitsune]].
* IAmGreatSong: In lieu of Yoshitsune himself singing, the Touken Danshi instead sing "Chiru wa Hi no Hana", a recounting of some of Yoshitsune's greatest feats during the Genpei War.
* IAmSong: "Futatsu no Kiseki ~kizuna~" acts as this for Higekiri and Hizamaru.
* IrrelevantActOpener: The musical opens up with "Ado Utsu Koe", a song about Kogitsunemaru reenacting his original sword's smithing. The in-universe justification is that it's a performance for his master, the Saniwa, and that other Touken Danshi have been practicing similar routines for him, but Kogitsunemaru's forging has nothing to do with the rest of the musical.
* LiteraryAllusionTitle: The title is a reference to a famous poem by the poet Basho:
-->''Natsukusa ya (The summer grasses)''\\
''Tsuwamono-domo ga (Are all that remains of the)''\\
''Yume no Ato (Young warriors' dreams)''
* LockedOutOfTheLoop: [[spoiler: By the end, the Saniwa is still kept in the dark about what Mikazuki has been doing, but Higekiri at least reassures him that he won't have to worry about Mikazuki anymore]].
* MayflyDecemberFriendship: Between Mikazuki and [[spoiler:Yasuhira]]. Whenever he goes back to the Genpei War, Mikazuki always makes time to genuinely befriend him, [[spoiler:which also allows him to tell Yasuhira about the history situation without force.]]
* MeaningfulEcho: The scene where Yoshitsune limps to the mountain pass with Benkei is mirrored in the end, when [[spoiler:Yoshitsune and Benkei survive the Mt. Atsukashi incident and escape the eye of history, Benkei being the limp this time around]].
* MelancholyMusicalNumber: Mikazuki's "Hana no Utena" and it's variations. [[spoiler: It becomes even sadder when you realize that the lyrics tie into the role he's taken on]].
--> ''Time after time, over and over.''\\
''Time after time, over and over.''\\
''A temporary banquet, the transient fireworks.''\\
''All that is will one day disappear, like a spring dream.''\\
''Who sits upon this flower pedestal?''
* PetTheDog: [[spoiler: It's never clear how Mikazuki calms Yasuhira down enough to listen to him, but he does, and they bond over the beauty of lotus flowers, developing a friendship before Mikazuki breaks the tragic news to Yasuhira that he must knowingly let himself die into ensure a good future. Yasuhira always agrees, believing Mikazuki's words that his actions are for the greater good]].
* PoorCommunicationKills: [[spoiler: Many grievances and suspicions about Mikazuki would have been cleared between him, Kogitsunemaru, and the Saniwa if he had simply been open about what he was tasked with doing, but as Higekiri points out, not saying what needs to be said is just an inherent trait of his]].
* PutOnABus: [[spoiler:Imanotsurugi]] goes off for his Kiwame training at the end of this installment.
* TheReveal: [[spoiler:Mikazuki is intentionally influencing Yasuhira and Yoritomo by telling them to do as history planned them to do. Apparently, he's been doing this ''every'' time he goes to Mt. Atsukashi.]]
* RippleEffectProofMemory: [[spoiler:Being the only sword present for Mikazuki's meddling and Kogitsunemaru's ambush of Yoritomo in this timeline, Higekiri obtains a flood of new memories about all of those incidents. He's still dimly aware of other things that happened in the original timeline though.]]
* ThrowTheDogABone: Near the climax, Higekiri finally says Hizamaru's name clearly and without prompting after a whole show of near misses. Hizamaru's so happy that he does an uncharacteristic fist pump before following him.
* TomatoInTheMirror: Imanotsurugi's subplot in the musical consists of everyone [[ElephantInTheRoom avoiding the subject]] of [[spoiler:his base tantou not being historical fact]]. Iwatooshi is also in the same boat, but he realized the truth way back in ''Atsukashiyama Ibun''. [[spoiler:Imanotsurugi learns the hard way when Yoshitsune doesn't recognize the former's name, even if he's supposed to be his treasured blade.]]
* WellIntentionedExtremist: [[spoiler: Mikazuki has repeatedly returned to the era depicted in the play to influence Genpei War and ensure that things go as planned by convincing or threatening brothers and friends to kill each other, all by himself, without telling anyone what he is doing or why, until Higekiri figures it out and exposes the truth to Kogitsunemaru. While cruel and clearly taxing on him emotionally because he grew to care about Yasuhira after befriending him across so many timelines, he does it to protect history and has kept it to himself because he doesn't want the Saniwa to become involved in something so unpleasant, thus choosing to handle all the dirty work without his consent]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Mihotose no Komoriuta]]
* AgeProgressionSong: "Kazaguruma" serves as this, showing the maturity of both Ieyasu and his son.
* AngerBornOfWorry: After Tonbokiri returns from the Battle of Anegawa victorious, Ieyasu [[WhatTheHellHero lays into him]] for attempting to win by himself. Above all he's just grateful that Tonbokiri made it back in one piece.
* BookEnds: At the beginning of the play, Ishikirimaru begins writing his record of the Mikawa mission, and runs into Ookurikara, trying to capture his likeness for the record and asking him to read it when it's done. By the end, Ishikirimaru has left the book while rushing for horsekeeping duty; when Ookurikara comes back, he does end up taking a quick look through the book and even smiles when he gets to his picture.
* BigSleep: [[spoiler:How Ieyasu's death is portrayed here. After reflecting on his victories and seeing his son one last time with what he thinks are the shades of his trusted retainers, Ieyasu passes in Monoyoshi's arms singing his childhood lullaby as he slips away.]]
--> '''Monoyoshi:''' ''You lived a good life. Sweet dreams.''
* CallBack: Right after the Battle of Okehazama, Ishikirimaru and Ookurikara get into a fight over the latter's seeming indifference towards the bloodshed of the Warring States era. When Ookurikara's on the losing end of the fight, Ishikirimaru comments that the other man's sword is "light", and that he can't cut anything like that. They later have a rematch at [[spoiler:Gohei's grave]], Ishikirimaru now commenting that his sword has become heavier with the weight of [[spoiler:an innocent life taken]].
* DarkHorseVictory: Discussed by Nikkari and Sengo. Ieyasu, of the major players during the war, was about the least remarkable outside of his going on to unify Japan. He wasn't nearly as charismatic as Nobunaga (and was under the man's thumb for a good amount of it), and not as flashy as UsefulNotes/ToyotomiHideyoshi; one has to wonder what he did to make himself the success he was.
* DoubleMeaningTitle: "Tada, Katsu Tame ni" refers not just to Tonbokiri's desire to see Ieyasu's hand in the Battle of Anegawa to completion, but also to emphasize how he's doing it to uphold the historical importance of his master (''Tadakatsu'' Tame ni).
* DiedInYourArmsTonight: [[spoiler:Gohei in Nobuyasu's arms after TakingTheBullet, and Ieyasu in Monoyoshi's arms when he died of old age.]]
* {{Foreshadowing}}: The Nobuyasu of the new timeline is a gentle boy who seeks neither war nor glory. When he's first introduced, he's very fixated on getting in the dirt and picking flowers, and is fascinated about Gohei's previous life as a farmer. [[spoiler:This is all setup for his final appearance, where he takes on Gohei's name and becomes a farmer in the peaceful era he and his father built.]]
* FramingDevice: The whole musical is the result of Ishikirimaru reminiscing on their previous mission, so that he can write a record of what happened.
* GraveMarkingScene: Some time after [[spoiler:Gohei]] dies, three people come to his grave to {{talk|ingToTheDead}}--Ishikirimaru, Ookurikara, and Nobuyasu. In Ookurikara's case, he intended to leave flowers at the grave, but [[SubvertedTrope decides against it]] until their fight for a peaceful world comes to an end.
* GriefSong: "Chikara ni Areba" has Ishikirimaru sing of his regret for being unable to save [[spoiler:Gohei]] from an ambush, and in general for his sadness over his inability to save everyone.
* HistoricalBadassUpgrade: Tonbokiri does one for the legend of Honda Tadakatsu; the original Tadakatsu's most well known feat had him up against 1,000 enemy soldiers, while Tonbokiri was said to go up against ''ten thousand'' of them.
* IWillFightNoMoreForever: [[spoiler:After seeing the war take the life of his dearest friend, alongside his own personal distaste of war, Nobuyasu decides to lay down his sword and request to be disowned on the day of his planned death. While this gets him into a skirmish with Ieyasu, he was not fully able to escape the horrors of war until he was assumed dead.]]
* IWroteOurStory: After the Mikawa mission ends, Ishikirimaru takes it upon himself to write about what happened during it in a book, since the details would be lost to time otherwise.
* {{Irony}}: Nikkari Aoe's best known legend was cutting down the ghost of an infant, which is why he thinks he isn't worthy of becoming a divine sword. However, he of all people is given baby Ieyasu (who grows up to be considered divine as Japan's ruler) in the beginning and is one of the people primarily responsible for his growth and development.
* LongestPrologueEver: Quite the big one here. We open with a Touken Danshi being newly summoned, the Matsudaira clan wiped out, the mission of the musical given shortly afterwards, and the Touken Danshi given the baby Tokugawa Ieyasu, ''all'' before "Touken Ranbu" even gets a chance to play. That's a good 25 minutes in.
* MeaningfulRename:
** Young Takechiyo Matsudaira, as in history, changes his name quite a few times. Upon hitting puberty he becomes Matsudaira Motoyasu, and finally, after joining up with Oda Nobunaga, renames himself into Tokugawa Ieyasu.
** [[spoiler:In the end, Nobuyasu renames himself Gohei after his fallen friend, taking up his life of farming as well.]]
* MortonsFork: No matter who wins Sengo's sparring match, he gets to see stripping. If he wins, the loser strips; if he loses, the winner has to strip in celebration.
* ParentsForADay: And then some, since the Touken Danshi raise Ieyasu (and his son) from the cradle on as {{Parental Substitute}}s and retainers. More specifically, Nikkari, Monoyoshi, Tonbokiri and Ishikirimaru take primary raising duty, while Muramasa and Ookurikara fight on the interim. Deconstructed, as their growing attachments to their charges prevent them from truly carrying out their mission, and they genuinely start to see them as family (and vice versa). Ishikirimaru is hit the hardest about this, but chooses to exclude his inner turmoil from the recollection.
* PlotHole: The members discuss that Ieyasu only became what he was in the books with his influences in life, such as his retainers, his family, and his historical feats. The same can be said of the people the Touken Danshi have to fill in for as well; they too had family members and people known to history who made some impact on their lives, yet because we only focus on Ieyasu's growth we never get to see what happens to the Danshi's "characters". Add that to the problem of staying for apparent ''decades'', and we have quite the puzzling situation here.
* PreAssKickingOneLiner: There are many in this musical like the rest, but Tonbokiri's during the Battle of Anegawa stands out:
--> '''Tonbokiri:''' My lord! I'm off to destroy my weak self! \\
'''Ieyasu:''' What? Where?\\
'''Tonbokiri:''' (*''gestures to the battlefield''*) Over there!\\
[''cue Tonbokiri singlehandedly mowing down thousands of soldiers through song'']
* PyrrhicVictory: At the end of his life, Ieyasu looks at the peaceful, unified Japan outside his window and still curses the large amounts of blood he spilled just to get things the way they currently were. The war took civilians, his men, and even his son's retainer [[spoiler:and his son as well, or so he thinks]]; despite being the overall victor, he still held lots of regret.
* QuitYourWhining: When Nobuyasu expresses [[FatherIDontWantToFight distaste]] for war and wishes to be disowned, Ieyasu calls the whole attitude selfish; ''nobody'' wants to be fighting right now, least of all Ieyasu, but his involvement is to be expected of an up and coming heir. [[spoiler:The speech only makes Nobuyasu want to commit honorable suicide instead to not disgrace the family name further.]]
* RecurringRiff: "Kibou no Minamoto" and "Ruri Iro no Sora" have riffs all over the musical; the first played during narrations of the mission and the latter is associated with Ieyasu's growth.
* {{Seppuku}}: In the historical timeline, Nobuyasu is ordered to do so by Ieyasu, himself under the orders of Oda Nobunaga. The reasoning varies in historical accounts, but generally assumed to be because of uncooperative and unruly behavior on Nobuyasu's part. However, because of his loving and healthy upbringing in the new timeline, there is no reason for this to happen; so instead, [[spoiler:Nobuyasu wants to do it ''himself'' because he's tired of war and feels like a disgrace to his family for feeling so. He eventually settles on asking Ishikirimaru to execute him.]]
* SignificantDoubleCasting: The boys who play 'Takechiyo', Shuri Ayuba and Yukito Kojima, also play young Nobuyasu.
* SkywardScream: Ishikirimaru has a pretty big one when [[spoiler:Nobuyasu sacrifices himself to protect the former from the Kebiishi]].
* TeachMeHowToFight: As an unskilled farmer, Gohei is ill-suited for fighting in war. He looks to Ookurikara for help, begging him to teach him swordsmanship.
* UnexplainedRecovery: [[spoiler:Despite being cut in the neck and shoulder, Nobuyasu apparently survived the injury and became a simple farmhand offscreen. No details are given as to how this happens.]]
* WarIsHell: Ishikirimaru, being a sword used for ceremonies and healing, isn't quite used to the horrors of the battlefield. As such, while he's initially stoic about his human kills, it took one enemy crying out for mercy for Ishikirimaru to come back to seeing the whole act as barbaric and cruel.
* WhatTheHellHero: Monoyoshi gets rather defensive about Ishikirimaru [[spoiler:preparing to kill Nobuyasu]], saying that he's taking the life of an innocent man.
* WhatWouldXDo: Tonbokiri has a pretty hard time adjusting to his own master's role in history, not knowing how to live up to his legacy. It takes a good talking to from Monoyoshi to snap him out of it, saying that Tonbo's fear of inadequately filling his shoes is the ''exact'' disgrace he was worried about, and tells him to be himself instead.
* WholeEpisodeFlashback: The whole musical was shown as a flashback to the events of the Ieyasu mission, with the exceptions of the beginning and end segments.
* WildCardExcuse: In order to make sure history goes as intended, Monoyoshi gives out strategies and advice accordingly to Ieyasu. Every time he's asked how he came to those conclusions, Monoyoshi always answers "luck".
* YouAreTooLate: The musicals' first true victory for the Retrograde Forces comes at the very beginning, where they wipe out the whole Matsudaira clan. Ookurikara and Nikkari notice Okazaki Castle burning, but arrive too late to save anyone other than a single infant.
* YouWillBeBeethoven: But out of necessity; the ''entire'' Matsudaira clan was wiped out thanks to the Retrograde Forces, so all Touken Danshi available had to, at one point or another, take the place of a person who was important to Ieyasu's history.
[[/folder]]

Toumyu also has a [[https://musical-toukenranbu.jp/pages/fansite premium fan site]] that includes behind-the-scenes photos, cast blogs, premium videos, early access to performance lottery tickets, and wallpaper. The website also originally hosted the 13 episode audio drama Honmaru Hana Koyomi. The audio drama would see a physical release as a CD containing the all episodes, but it is only available for purchase by those subscribed to the website.

[[folder: Kishou Hongi]]
* AbusiveParents: Tokugawa Ieyasu's parenting is questionable, as he treats Hideyasu as if he is dirt [[spoiler: and sent both him and his twin brother Sadachika away to be raised by other families because he didn’t want to deal with the stigma and bloodshed that comes with raising twin heirs within his family]]. He also nearly beats up Hidetada in anger, but is able to stop himself and appears to feel guilty about it.
* BadLiar: [[spoiler: Muramasa makes a poor attempt to explain why Nobuyasu is still alive despite the fact that he was supposed to be dead historically, which Akashi quickly picks up on and calls him out for interfering with history]].
* BigBrotherWorship: Hideyasu adored his older brother Nobuyasu and continues to have nightmares about his death many years later. [[spoiler: The Historical Retrograde Force takes advantage of this, manipulating him into rebelling against Ieyasu for forcing Nobuyasu to commit suicide while also reminding him of the other mistreatment he suffered at Ieyasu's hands]].
* BigDamnHeroes: [[spoiler: Nobuyasu makes his reappearance in the musical by helping the Touken Danshi escape from a Kebiishi and Historical Retrograde Army onslaught]].
* BreakingTheFourthWall: [[spoiler: Mikazuki's cameo scene counts because it appears that Sadachika, Nobuyasu, and Tsurumaru are addressing the audience rather than explaining the truth to each other]].
* TheCameo: [[spoiler: Mikazuki Munechika appears onscreen in the end to explain what he was doing behind the scenes, which was forming the Mononobe, or people who appear in each era to help the Touken Danshi protect history]].
* TheCorrupter: [[spoiler: The Historical Retrograde Army manipulates Hideyasu's hatred of his father in order to persuade him to rebel against him, with this being done in a bid to change history in their favor]].
* DreamIntro: The musical begins with Hideyasu having a nightmare about the death of his brother Nobuyasu, who was ordered by Ieyasu to commit suicide via seppuku.
* TheDreaded: The Kebiishi, which, unlike the Historical Retrograding Force, is extremely strong, persistent, and doesn’t go down easily. [[spoiler: After being targeted by it the first time, the Touken Danshi even discuss how they may be unable to do anything against it if it comes back, despite having the advantage of being three skilled swordsmen against one. When the group regathers, it takes all of them to take it down despite it already being injured from a long tumble, and even then it still manages to get back up]].
* FakingTheDead: [[spoiler: Nobuyasu, who was thought to have died by ritual suicide but was actually hiding the entire time under the alias "Gohei" thanks to Ishikirimaru. He reveals his identity to everyone except Hidetada and his father before the end]].
* {{Foreshadowing}}: [[spoiler: Whenever Mikazuki Munechika's involvement in the story is hinted at, a crescent moon ominously appears in the sky (or, more accurately, against the backdrop), though it isn't revealed what exactly he did until the end, and only a few characters (such as Tsurumaru and Akashi) realize that Mikazuki is involved at first]].
* TheGadfly: [[spoiler: Sadachika to Otegine in particular, who he keeps referring to as a "useless stick" to piss him off]].
* GriefSong: Tsurumaru's solo "Kimi to miageta anohi no sora no," where he sings about missing his lost friend, the dreams they had, wanting to live for them, and finally finding the courage to do so in the end. It's unclear whether his friend in the song is alive or dead, but the lyrics strongly suggest that said friend is the absent [[spoiler: Mikazuki Munechika]], who is alive but left the citadel some unknown time ago to become the mechanism that corrects the flow of history.
* TheHeart: [[spoiler: After being separated from Tsurumaru, Muramasa, and Tonbokiri, Kotegiri is, somewhat reluctantly, made the mediator of the remaining group plus Sadachika due to the latter's tendency to bicker with Otegine]].
* IdenticalTwinMistake: [[spoiler: Hideyasu and his younger twin brother Sadachika look almost identical, which confuses the Touken Danshi after he confirms his identity, because Hideyasu wasn't recorded to have a twin in the first place (at least according to the Touken Danshi's history books). He explains that his existence as a twin was purposely "erased" to avoid a bloody contest for the next heir, and that he was instead sent to be reared by the Nagami family, which is why no one is aware of his existence]].
* InadequateInheritor: InvertedTrope; Hidetada believes Hideyasu is a better heir to the Shogunate than him and tries several times to persuade his father to reconsider, but Ieyasu is adamant that he take over after his death [[spoiler: since Hidetada is better suited to rule over the peaceful era that he wants to establish]].
* LeftHanging: [[spoiler: The play ends without answering any questions about how Sadachika, Nobuyasu, and Hideyasu's meeting will affect history, and whether Ieyasu will make a better effort to connect with Hideyasu after revealing the truth of why he treated him so badly over the years]].
* TheLoad: [[spoiler: Unlike Hideyasu, Sadachika was raised as a priest and is unable to fight well, particularly against the inhumanly powerful Historical Retrograding Force, so the Touken Danshi are tasked with protecting him]].
* LockedOutOfTheLoop: [[spoiler: Tonbokiri and Muramasa were unaware that Nobuyasu was still alive until he exposed his identity to them midway through the show]].
* MysteriousProtector: [[spoiler: In the end, it is revealed that Mikazuki Munechika has employed people from various eras to assist the Touken Danshi in completing their mission to protect history, dubbed the Mononobe, or "servants of spirits." They can be anyone, from a nameless recurring background character to a historical figure who has been removed from his historical role, such as Nobuyasu]].
* NaiveNewcomer: Kotegiri Gou, who is not only new to the team he gets assigned to but also to Honmaru as a whole.
* OutOfFocus: Despite being the team's leader, Tsurumaru is given little to do in this play compared to the other members who have historical connections to the period and more interactions with each other, and he spends a significant amount of time offscreen.
* PluckyComicRelief: [[spoiler: Nagami Sadachika]], whose shtick is being a foul-mouthed priest who is quick to become aggressive if he feels disrespected.
* RememberTheNewGuy: Tsurumaru’s absence from previous musicals is explained as him having been on a lengthy mission during the events of the main story.
* TheReveal: [[spoiler: Mikazuki Munechika was working behind the scenes to establish the Mononobe, which are groups of people from each era who help the Touken Danshi achieve their mission of preserving history. Nobuyasu and Sadachika are both members of the group, having been initiated by Mikazuki prior to the story's events]].
* RichesToRags: [[spoiler: Nobuyasu became a humble farmer after shedding his identity as the son of Tokugawa Ieyasu, but prefers his life this way since he believes that he wasn’t good at war]].
* SuccessionCrisis: [[spoiler: Ieyasu is revealed to have sent both of his twin heirs away to be raised by other families specifically to avoid this, although he admits that it was cowardly of him to do so]].
* SuperMode: [[spoiler: Muramasa uses his blade's forbidden power to fight off the Kebiishi and the Historical Retrograde Army, but it doesn't help when they begin to overwhelm and then incapacitate him]].
* TheUnfavorite:
** As children, their father Ieyasu greatly preferred Nobuyasu over Hideyasu, to the point where he refused to even look at Hideyasu until Nobuyasu practically begged him to.
** Ieyasu also appeared to favor Hidetada over Hideyasu, even choosing Hidetada as an heir over him despite the fact that Hideyasu was the elder sibling and thus the rightful heir, and sticking to his decision despite Hidetada's objections. [[spoiler: He reveals near the of the play that he chose Hidetada over Hideyasu not out of favoritism, but because Hidetada is better suited to rule over the peaceful era he intends to establish by winning the war]].
* UnusuallyUninterestingSight: Zig-zagged. [[spoiler: Except for Sadachika, who recognizes them as Touken Danshi after a closer look at Otegine, none of the characters notice that the technicolor-haired, anachronistically dressed Touken Danshi stand out among them. However, he only knows this because Mikazuki told him as a part of his plan to form a group of Touken Danshi assistants called the “Mononobe”]].
* WhamLine: [[spoiler: Sadachika referring to the characters as Touken Danshi, revealing that he’s one of the few humans that knows what they are]].
* WoundThatWillNotHeal: Invoked and discussed. The Touken Danshi are not human, meaning any wound they receive in battle, no matter how small, will not heal on its own and requires their blade to be repaired. [[spoiler: Kotegiri reminds Akashi of this when Akashi tells him that he is allowing the gash on his arm to heal naturally]].
[[/folder]]

Even if we rust away!''
--> '''--"Touken Ranbu", each show's opening song'''

[[folder: Michi no Oku, Hitotsu wa Chisu]]
* BittersweetEnding: The other swords in the play share a lighthearted scene after Mikazuki goes back to his mission to find something, clearly still heavily burdened and showing no signs of coming back to the citadel anytime soon. Meanwhile, Tsurumaru is still broken by Mikazuki's absence and quietly mutters "Hana no Utena" after an apparition of Mikazuki disappearances.
* TheBusCameBack: After appearing in two main stage musicals[[note]]Technically three for Mikazuki and four for Kashuu since reruns are counted as "appearances"/"installments" despite not updating the story[[/note]], Mikazuki Munechika and Kashuu Kiyomitsu were absent from the main stage for six and four years, respectively, until making their formal comebacks in this play.
* CallBack:
** From ''Paraiso'', Tsurumaru returns Mikazuki's words, "Don't push yourself too hard," and Mikazuki tells him to "shut up," just as Tsurumaru did to him previously.
** At the end of the play Mikazuki Munechika and Tsurumaru Kuninaga sing "Hana no Utena" from ''Tsuwamono Domo''.
* ContinuityNod: The play's motifs—lotus flowers, the sea, and snow—refer to the motifs of ''Tsuwamono Domo'', ''Paraiso'', and ''Kousui Sanka'' respectively.
* CoversAlwaysLie: [[spoiler: Given the placement of Kashuu Kiyomitsu alongside Mikazuki Munechika and Tsurumaru Kuninaga in the center of the promotional poster, one would have expected Kashuu to play a larger role in the narrative, particularly in relation to Mikazuki, given his gaze on him. However, while he was not completely out of focus in the story, he was more or less a tagalong team member in terms of the story's main conflict, and had little impact on it, with Yamanbagiri playing a larger role despite being in the background of the poster]].
* DeathOfAChild: [[spoiler: The young boy Mikazuki befriended becomes one of the play's many casualties, and Mikazuki gifts him a lotus as a symbol of their friendship and as acknowledgement of shared tragic fates]].
* {{Flashback}}: A number of scenes are flashbacks to previous events in the citadel to help frame the story and explain why things turned out the way they do now.
* GodGuise: [[spoiler: An odd example, as Mikazuki is a god of a sort, being a tsukumogami, but after stumbling across some humans in the setting, he is mistaken for the deity Arahabaki]].
* HappyFlashback: [[spoiler: A flashback to Mikazuki and Tsurumaru's earlier days as close friends is depicted during one of Yamanbagiri Kunihiro's songs in part 1, where the two are seen playfully sparring]].
* MissedHimByThatMuch: [[spoiler: At the start of the play, Yamanbagiri's team and Mikazuki Munechika are fighting in the same time period, but Mikazuki leaves shortly before they arrive during certain scenes after doing his part to influence the correction of the timeline]].
* {{Retcon}}: [[spoiler: In ''Tsuwamono Domo'', Mikazuki Munechika took on the task of correcting the flow of history in order to spare the Saniwa the mental and emotional pain of dealing with it, with no indication that it was for any other reason. However, it’s heavily implied in this play that Mikazuki became the mechanism to find the broken sword that was first mentioned in Kousui, as he still has lingering trauma from being on the same team and mission as when they died and believes they can be saved despite Tsurumaru's skepticism]].
* {{Tsundere}}: Tsurumaru's feelings for Mikazuki are extremely complicated, but if they could be summed up in one word, this is close enough. [[spoiler: He is extremely resentful of Mikazuki, with his animosity heavily implied to be the result of feeling like Mikazuki abandoned him by departing the citadel to go on what Tsurumaru deems to be a futile mission. However, the two were once very good friends and Tsurumaru still shows signs of still caring and a strong desire to be with Mikazuki again, as he experiences auditory and visual hallucinations of their happier times together. His attitude toward Mikazuki is more akin to that of a bitter ex who doesn't want to admit that they still care than actual deep hatred]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Atsukashiyama Ibun & Trial Run & 2018 Paris]]
* AdaptationalHairstyleChange: Benkei gets this in the manga adaptation. While he never takes off his robes in the show, he's said to be bald by Yoshitsune, and has a mustache in addition to his small beard. The manga adaptation gives him short, but visible hair underneath his headdress, and he lacks the mustache.
* ADayInTheLimelight: [[spoiler: While each Touken Danshi receives some attention for different reasons, Imanotsurugi's battle to let go of his former master and embrace his new role as a Touken Danshi is the play's central conflict]].
* AmbiguousSituation: According to the references in ''Kotobuki Ranbu Ongyousai'' and ''Shinken Ranbusai 2018'', the Touken Danshi did indeed travel to Paris for a sortie InUniverse. However, this has strange implications for the timeline, given that the Paris performance was a rerun and the story unfolded almost identically to the initial run of ''Atsukashiyama Ibun'', with the exception of some minor additional scenes and [[spoiler: Mikazuki mysteriously singing "Hana no Utena" from ''Tsuwamono Domo'', a play that chronologically happened after the events of ''Atsukashiyama Ibun'']]. It could be more time shenanigans, but no one acknowledges that the events seem to have repeated, leaving it ambiguous.
* AnswerSong: "Henka Nagoritsuki," performed by Mikazuki Munechika with Iwatooshi joining in the latter half as backing vocals, is a response song to Iwatooshi's "Nagoritsuki."
* ArcWords: "Purpose" (''yakuwari'').
* AxCrazy: There's really not a scene that goes by when Yasuhira doesn't either scream or laugh maniacally.
* BetterToDieThanBeKilled: In the beginning of the play, Yoshitsune deliberately decides to burn his household down, since at least he wouldn't be dying at the enemy's hand.
* BigDamnHeroes: Imanotsurugi came at just the right time to save Yoritomo from execution, enough to have everyone talk it out for a second.
* BreakingTheFourthWall: After Ishikirimaru and Kashuu share a heart to heart about war and an ambush plan, he nods to the audience before being dragged to battle.
* BrutalHonesty: While Imanotsurugi is ecstatic to see Yoshitsune at a time when he's still alive, Iwatooshi has to give him a very painful reminder that they're only here to correct history and not to further screw up the timeline, which also means they can't let their former masters know who they are. Imanotsurugi takes it so harshly he runs away in near tears.
* BunnyEarsLawyer: All of the Sanjou are very skilled and experienced, yet eccentric, which is why they can jerk Kashuu around so easily and get away with it. Later musicals reveal that their school is (in)famous around the citadel for being this way.
* CallBack: While calming Imanotsurugi down in "I Remember", Iwatooshi tells him to "remember the gift that the clouds gave us/ thousands of twinkling stars"; referencing "Kira Kira" and the ecstatic feeling Imanotsurugi had remembering his master. The same gestures are used here too.
* CallForward: [[MindFuck A extremely confusing example]]. 2018 Paris is a rerun of ''Atsukashiyama Ibun'', but there are some differences, such as the play mysteriously opening with blue fog and Mikazuki Munechika singing a rendition of "Hana no Utena" from the play ''Tsuwamono Domo'' before Minamoto and his men arrive. ''Tsuwamono Domo'' occurred after ''Atsukashiyama Ibun'' chronologically, and because this event was a rerun of the latter, Mikazuki should be unfamiliar with this song unless he is from the future. [[spoiler: This could imply that the rerun is from the perspective of Mikazuki going back in time to influence the events of the story, but it wouldn't explain why all of the characters acknowledge going to Paris for a sortie in the later musicals]].
* CharacterizationMarchesOn: You can see some definite differences in how the characters act in the Trial Run versus how they are in ''Atsukashiyama Ibun'' versus how they are in the 2018 Paris rerun:
** Kashuu is a little less dramatic in the beginning; instead of falling over himself when he's assigned the Sanjou swords, he's just slightly miffed. He's also less childlike than he was in the original (see: his CoyGirlishFlirtPose in the original debriefing vs. his more resigned stature in ''Ibun''), but seemingly more insecure about his breaking on the battlefield ("breaking in battle is a sword's highest honor/our worth as swords depends on how many we've killed" vs. "breaking doesn't make us any less of a sword").
** During the original runs of ''Atsukashiyama Ibun'', Kogitsunemaru would chase his clothes in a dog-like manner during the scene in which all of the Sanjou devolve into chaos. In the 2018 Paris rerun, he is shown nonchalantly brushing his hair instead.
** Mikazuki's early scene showing how he doesn't get fieldwork is replaced with him playfully using the hoe as a pillow, better reflecting his easygoing personality.
*** His manga counterpart is more in line with his characterization from later shows; while he is still capable of making jokes or lighthearted conversation, he's much less goofy overall. His scene with Kogitsunemaru in the fields is completely scrapped, and he instead has a calm conversation about the oncoming mission with his fellow Tachi.
*** The 2018 Paris rerun omits the fieldwork scene entirely and instead has Mikazuki and Kogitsunemaru practice a duet and dance for the Saniwa before talking about their impending mission and the Saniwa's feelings toward it. Not only is Mikazuki's characterization darker here, as he implies that he has negative feelings toward the Saniwa, but it also sets up the conflict between Mikazuki and Kogitsunemaru about the Saniwa, as Kogitsunemaru becomes concerned/irritated whenever Mikazuki expresses a negative opinion toward him. Their extremely silly moments later in the musical, such as the scene before the mission, are not cut, and Mikazuki is made to do something even sillier than in the original (riding an invisible horse), showing that both characters can still be lighthearted.
** Yoshitsune, in the Trial Run, was much more sarcastic when he makes himself known to Yoritomo [[spoiler:some time after his blade becomes cursed]]. The rage at familial betrayal is still there, but it's more pronounced in the ''Atsukashiyama Ibun'' version.
* ClothingDamage: As in the game it's based on, some swords get their clothing destroyed in the heat of battle. Iwatooshi and Imanotsurugi get their clothes shredded for their Awakening attacks in the first play.
* ColorCodedCharacters: As usual with Sanjou swords, they are color-coded. The color schemes of their original outfits—Dark Blue (with gold and red accents) for Mikazuki Munechika, Yellow-Orange for Kogitsunemaru, Green for Ishikirimaru, Purple for Iwatooshi, and Light Blue (with red accents) for Imanotsurugi—are also used in their idol costumes. [[SixthRanger Kashuu]] is also included in this, as he reps the color Red.
* CombinationAttack: At the climax of ''Atsukashiyama Ibun'', all of Squad 1 takes their turns whittling down [[spoiler:[=possessed!Yoshitsune=]]], until he finally goes down to Iwatooshi and Imanotsurugi's combined Divine Death Blow.
* ConnectedAllAlong: Being the first ''Touken Ranbu'' adaptation ever, it was also the first to include interactions between all of the Sanjou swords and establish their familiarity with one another, something the original browser game had not done at the time.
* CueTheSun: The sun rises on our heroes just as they finish taking down [[spoiler:the possessed Yoshitsune]], right on cue.
* DissonantLaughter: An entire scene is dedicated to the Sanjou laughing over nothing, demonstrating Kashuu's lack of control over his team and how little they take what's going on seriously. Then Mikazuki throws a paper airplane and laughs even harder.
* DoubleTake: Kashuu was fine with having Imanotsurugi on his team, but as soon as Ishikirimaru is mentioned, he starts questioning the Saniwa's choice of comrades.
* DrivingQuestion: What is your purpose? Why do you act?
* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness:
** Until ''Gou on Stage''[[note]]As the title implies, the ''Gou on Stage'' line up consists mainly of the Gou swords, along with Oodenta and Suishinshi Masahide[[/note]], which came out years later, it was the only musical in the series with a line up of that consists almost entirely of characters from the same school, with the exception of Kashuu Kiyomitsu. Although the unlikely nature of this team is acknowledged in-universe, there are a few reasons that could be made outside of the storyline, such as the fact that it was the first installment and they needed to gauge the project's likelihood of success during the Trial Run, necessitating the use of recognizable characters such as the two {{Series Mascot}}s Mikazuki Munechika and Kashuu Kiyomitsu.
** This show made heavy use of special effects and the original game's mechanics, things that would be decreased as the stage shows went on.
** During the early runs of the musical, special effects were used to indicate that the Touken Danshi possessed additional powers in addition to being skilled warriors in combat scenes. These would be phased out of future plays and are completely absent in the 2018 rerun of this play, but it is still shown that the Touken Danshi have powers in other ways, such as Ishikirimaru's ability to detect evil, which is represented by sounds.
** While the Touken Danshi still get injured and occasionally have the damage reflected on their clothes, the extreme clothing damage seen in this musical was phased out of the series and doesn't happen in future plays (save for the rerun).
* EasilyForgiven: [[spoiler: No one holds the fact that Imanotsurugi caused most of the plays problems and very nearly got everyone killed due to his refusal to let go of his former master to fulfill his duty as a Touken Danshi against him]].
* ElevenOClockNumber: "Oboeteiru" serves as this for this installment, taking place while the other Touken Danshi are trying to talk down Imanotsurugi from protecting Yoshitune. It also serves as his resolution, since he's forced to confront the reason why he's so protective over his master ([[spoiler:PTSD and guilt over having been used for Yoshitsune's suicide]]) right before they fight [[spoiler:[=Possessed!Yoshitsune=]]].
* EnemyMine: After learning of their fates from the Historical Revisionists, and after learning he'd be betrayed after his death, Yoshitsune, Benkei, and Yasuhira join forces to take down Yoritomo.
* EnemyWithin: In the end, the Saniwa proposes that [[spoiler:Yoshitsune's sword]] was this for its master. It was willing to do all of the things Yoshitsune rejects in the back of his mind.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Each of Squad 1 has theirs in ''Atsukashiyama Ibun'':
** Mikazuki's first shown goofing off while doing fieldwork, showing his easygoing nature.
** Iwatooshi and Imanotsurugi spar in their first scene together, which quickly turns into a game of tag, showing off their close and brotherly relationship. Iwatooshi is also shown trying to keep Imanotsurugi's best interests in mind and making him happy. Ishikirimaru, who appears in the scene a little later, is seen blessing the Citadel (showing off how seriously he takes his duties).
** Kashuu is first seen anticipating the Saniwa's word, shouting excitedly at what he considered "special treatment", and moaning loudly about having to keep the Sanjou swords under control until the Saniwa places his hopes in him.
* {{Fanservice}}: During the live segment, Kashuu makes Mikazuki say a "cool line" to make him, the other Sanjou swords, and the audience, [[AttentionWhore but mostly him]], feel like he loves them as a punishment for skipping training. The line said varies between the original runs of the play and the 2018 Paris production.
--> '''Trial Run/Atsushiyama Ibun''': "Oh my, master, why are you crying? You’re so cute. Now! Come here."
--> '''2018 Paris''': "The moon is beautiful tonight, isn't it?"[[note]]This is a poetic way of confessing your love for someone in Japan.[[/note]]
* FightingYourFriend: [[spoiler: The Touken Danshi end up having to fight Imanotsurugi, who stubbornly refuses to let the Touken Danshi correct history by killing his former master Yoshitsune]].
* {{Foreshadowing}}:
** Notice how Kashuu wanted Yamatonokami on his team? Or how his issues with his breakage seem to fuel his early actions as a leader? Or how much stock he takes in the Shinsengumi code? Or how he's the only character disconnected from the rest of the Sanjou theme? Good thing ''that's'' not going to come up in another play...
** During the mission debriefing, Kashuu points out that most of the team (save Iwatooshi and Imanotsurugi) have been to Atsukashi before, implying that going to a specific event multiple times is normal. The latter two will have plenty of experience by the time they go back in ''Tsuwamono Domo''.
* FunnyBackgroundEvent: Notice that before the team get sent off to Atsukashi, Kogitsunemaru runs around in circles chasing his clothes.
* FrameUp: Yoritomo was the one trying to kill Yoshitsune. Yasuhira was just called in as a fall guy, so Yoritomo could post-humously pin Yoshitsune's death on the latter man.
* GoodOldFisticuffs: Some of the Touken Danshi demonstrate that they are just as adept at hand-to-hand combat as they are with their swords:
** While not as much as Iwatooshi, Imanotsurugi occasionally punches or kicks the enemy when he attacks. Justified in his case, as he's a tantou, and short-ranged attacks are kind of his thing given the length of his sword.
** Iwatooshi uses both his fists and his naginata to fight the Historical Revisionists. If someone is within grabbing distance, guarantee they will be grabbed, thrown, or punched.
** Mikazuki Munechika sheathes his sword in the side of a Historical Revisionist and starts beating the others down with his fists. Hilariously, despite still having their weapons, they can't land a single hit on him.
* HaveWeMet: After fighting against Iwatooshi and noticing his fighting style, Benkei asks if they've interacted before. Of course, Iwatooshi declines.
* HeroicSacrifice: In order to stop Yoshitsune once and for all, Iwatooshi holds the former back and has Mikazuki run through the both of them. Mikazuki only manages to hit Yoshitsune, excusing his oldness.
* HopeSpot: [[spoiler: Just when Imanotsurugi appears to have resolved the conflict between Yoshitsune and Yoritomo, the possessed blade comes back into play and reignites the conflict yet again. Not that Imanotsurugi's peaceful resolution could have been the permanent solution anyhow]].
* HumanoidAbomination: [[spoiler: Whatever the hell Yoshitsune's corpse transforms into toward the end of the first act. It looks similar to the Historical Revisionists, but is even more grotesque. Even the Touken Danshi are perplexed by it]].
* HypocriticalHumor: Mikazuki eagerly began the punishment game to expose the person who had skipped training, only to be exposed as the culprit. The humor comes from how surprised he is at being exposed.
* IdiotBall: [[spoiler: Imanotsurugi grabs it when he tries to run to Yoshitsune who not only threatened to kill him but is also attacking his friends/teammates. This gets him injured and out of commission for a period]].
* ImmortalImmaturity: PlayedForDrama. Imanotsurugi is an immortal Touken Danshi, but he still has a childlike mentality, and unlike his teammates, he also doesn't realize how important it is to preserve history, which makes him want to do whatever it takes to reunite with and defend his former master Yoshitsune, even if it means fighting his friends to defend his former master. [[spoiler: By the play's conclusion, Imanotsurugi has undergone a number of trials and learns to let go of Yoshitsune, which helps him mature a little]].
* IronicEcho: "Even in death, watch over me!" has been used by Yoshitsune in the beginning of the play, and then again by Yoshitsune [[spoiler:or rather, the sword controlling him]] when he tricks Benkei [[spoiler:into letting his guard down so he can attack the man]].
* IrrelevantActOpener: Similar to Kogitsunemaru's initial solo in ''Tsuwamono Domo'', 2018 Paris adds a song in which Mikazuki and Kogitsunemaru sing about what appears to be their forging. It has nothing to do with the rest of the musical and is primarily for the audience's enjoyment.
* JustJokingJustification: Mikazuki Munechika often makes snide or questionable remarks and dismisses them as a joke when the other Touken Danshi call him out on it, such as when he wonders if the Saniwa enjoys making the Touken Danshi suffer. He then admits that he's only joking most of the time, implying that this is what he really thinks of him.
* LaughingMad: Yasuhira is this on the daily. [[spoiler:Yoshitsune is only this after his sword fully possesses him.]]
* TheLeader: Kashuu leads the first unit in this musical. In the live segments, Kashuu and Mikazuki also appear to serve as co-centers for the group and have the most solo lines in a number of group songs, such as "MISTAKE" and "Additional Times".
* LeaningOnTheFourthWall: Just before "Takaramono" begins, Kashuu sings the final line "Arukidaseru" (i'm setting out), just before he and Kogitsunemaru leave the stage.
* LeaveHimToMe: Whenever Benkei encounters the Touken Danshi in battle, Iwatooshi shoos them away in order to fight the man himself. Who better to fight Musashibo Benkei than his own former weapon?
* LickingTheBlade: Yoshitsune, when bloodthirsty, has this as his CharacterTic [[spoiler:which is actually just the sword possessing him]]. Used cruelly when he licks [[spoiler:Benkei's]] blood off of his sword after he kills the latter.
* TheLoad: Imanotsurugi, being a Touken Danshi, is a naturally gifted fighter, but his obsession with reuniting with his former master Yoshitsune gets him into trouble and at one point, nearly gets him killed.
* MakeWrongWhatOnceWentRight: The Revisionists decide to inform Yoshitsune of Yoritomo's assassination attempt, which, along with somehow making an ally of his would-be killer Yasuhira, allows Yoshitsune and Benkei to survive their fatal final battles. The fact that they're alive at all after this point gives the Touken Danshi reason to investigate this matter and correct it.
* MeaningfulEcho:
** In the beginning of ''Atsukashi Ibun'', Yoshitsune tells the dying Benkei to "meet [him] in the next world, and the ones after next"; later on after the climax, Iwatooshi reaffirms Yoshitsune's statement to Imanotsurugi and gives him a shoulder ride as he did in the beginning of the musical.
** In the beginning of the Mt. Atsukashi mission, we see Yoshitsune disown his brother after he learns that he tried to kill him. Later on in the climax, Imanotsurugi finally finds the strength to complete his assigned mission after he disowns Yoshitsune, or rather [[spoiler:the sword possessing his corpse]].
* MellowFellow: To Kashuu's chagrin, the Sanjou are all too relaxed. Later installments in the series treat this as a [[SharedFamilyQuirks quirk of sorts inherent to their school]].
* MutualEnvy: Yoshitsune looks at Yoritomo's political genius, envious that he has the skills to lead Japan into an era of peace. But Yoritomo doesn't see things that way; being TheUnfavorite, he looks at Yoshitsune's military genius, popularity, and how most of their acquaintances want Yoshitsune to take clan head position. Leads into CainAndAbel pretty quickly, considering how he attempts to kill Yoshitsune.
* MyMasterRightOrWrong: Benkei is compelled to follow Yoshitsune, even when he knows that [[spoiler:he's been possessed]]. Not wanting to lay arms on his young lord, he asks Iwatooshi to either kill him or stop Yoshitsune in his stead, which the Touken Danshi readily agrees to.
* NaiveNewcomer: Iwatooshi and Imanotsurugi fulfill this role. Iwatooshi because he's a relatively new Touken Danshi, and both him and Imanotsurugi because they've never been on a Mt. Atsukashi mission before and therefore can't handle themselves there like their other partners can.
* OminousFog: At the start of the 2018 Paris play, [[spoiler: there's an eerie wind and blue fog everywhere, with Mikazuki gradually emerging in the midst of it all, ominously singing a rendition of "Hana no Utena."]]
%%* QuarrelingSong: ''I Remember'' takes place at the climax of the play, with Imanotsurugi blocking off his friends from killing Yoshitsune while the rest of them are telling him to move out of the way.
* TheRemake: This applies to the 2018 Paris rerun, which is more than just a rerun. While it makes no significant changes to the base story, a few additional scenes are added to expand on it and set up the (chronologically) future plot lines in ''Tsuwamono Domo''. As well, the characterization has been slightly tweaked to be more consistent with future depictions of the characters. Many of the additional scenes are also solo fight scenes, allowing each Touken Danshi to showcase their unique fighting style and receive more screen time.
* RearrangeTheSong: The Touken Danshi originally performed the song "Otokomichi" in unison during the first run of ''Atsukashiyama Ibun'', with each character receiving a solo line towards the end. In the Paris rerun from 2018, likely to keep the song fresh, every character gets more solo lines throughout, with some of the lyrics song differently. ''Kousui Sanka'' would later use the latter version of the song for their own performance.
* RagtagBunchOfMisfits: The Sanjou+Kiyomitsu team is treated like one in the beginning. There's no real strategic advantge to putting them together besides theme; Mikazuki and Kogitsunemaru are too carefree, Ishikirimaru is too busy taking his priest duties seriously, Iwatooshi's completely new, and Kashuu has only just been given a leadership role for this mission. Saniwa even lampshades how unlikely the team would be on a normal basis.
* RedAndBlackAndEvilAllOver: [[spoiler:Yoshitsune]]'s completely possessed form is so ObviouslyEvil it hurts. His wardrobe is black with red accents, with the top covered in a cobweb pattern.
* ResistTheBeast: Yoshitsune, Benkei, and Yasuhira certainly try their best to do so. Benkei has the best track record; whenever he catches himself struggling with the dark power his weapon now wields, he bites himself or outright drops his weapon to return himself to a normal state. Yoshitsune does this as well, having to physically restrain his weapon from coming out. Fortunately, the former doesn't let it win over him. [[spoiler:''Un''fortunately, the latter forcibly loses control.]]
* {{Retirony}}: All Yoshitsune wants is to know why Yoritomo tried to have him killed. Once he learns that, he mentions that he wants to retire from his position as military head and become a monk afterwards. [[spoiler:Too bad his sword doesn't feel the same way.]]
* RoaringRampageOfRevenge: By all accounts, Yoshitsune is trying to collect Yoritomo's head after his failed assassination attempt with Yasuhira.
* RuleOfSymbolism: The only times Yoshitsune ever uses his tantou in ''Atsukashi Ibun''/the Trial Run is when he performs an honorable act; the first time when he commits seppuku, and the second when he [[spoiler:frees Yoritomo and tells him to escape the mountain]]. Any time he uses his other sword is for violence or struggling with the thought of violence.
* RunningGag: Ishikirimaru's slowness, a reference to his MightyGlacier status in the original game.
* SayMyName: "MY LOOOOOORD!"/"LORD YOSHITSUNEEEEE!" "BENKEIIIII!" "IWATOOSHIII!"
* SchmuckBait: During the frontal raid on Yoshitsune's castle, Ishikirimaru tosses an enemy a sword to fight with--right before Kashuu comes in to knock it out of his hands.
* SillyMeGesture: Imnotsurugi does one when he forgets his own name talking to Yoshitsune.
* SixthRanger: Kashuu is the only member of the team who is not from the Sanjou school, which is why the group is called "Team Sanjou featuring Kashuu Kiyomitsu."
* StartsWithASuicide: How ''Atsukashiyama Ibun''/Trial Run opens up. After Benkei gives his life defending Yoshitsune to the last, Yoshitsune himself commits seppuku/harakiri to the confused ramblings of Imanotsurugi.
* StrongAsTheyNeedToBe: When it comes to fighting Historical Revisionists, the Touken Danshi are essentially a OneManArmy and are able to easily repel attacks that they aren't even aware are coming when they block them. But, for some reason, they struggle against [[spoiler: Yoshitsune]] when he attacks them despite him being a human. A human trained as a warrior, but still human nonetheless. Granted, they aren't out to kill him like the Historical Revisionists, but it's strange that he can even land hits on them and deflect their blows. [[spoiler: It's possibly justified given that Yoshitsune is possessed at the time]], but the Touken Danshi don't even struggle this much against normal Historical Revisionists.
* TakingTheBullet: Before [[spoiler:possessed!Yoshitsune]] has a chance to slice through Imanotsurugi, Iwatooshi throws him out of the way to take one of his many critical injuries in the climax.
* ThisIsSomethingHesGotToDoHimself: The older swords invoke this on Iwatooshi and Kashuu as they struggle with their goals during the Mt. Atsukashi mission.
** According to Kogitsunemaru, Kashuu needs to discover the correct method of leadership by himself, as he won't just give him he answer.
** Whether or not it's right to act on their own accord or by their master's orders is up to them to decide.
* {{Tsundere}}: Kashuu to the Sanjou swords. Even in spite of their antics, he does come to care about them, though he doesn't always express it. By the end of ''Shinken Ranbusai 2016'', however, he admits that he loves them just as much as he loves the Shinsengumi swords, albeit in a dream that he was unaware was a dream at the time.
* UndyingLoyalty: Imanotsurugi is hellbent on meeting and protecting his master Yoshitsune, even though that's not what he was sent there to do. The fact that he needs to correct history--which means his master needs to die again--causes him to run off to Atsukashi and try to find Yoshitsune himself, as well as [[spoiler:protect the corrupted corpse of Yoshitsune from the other Touken Danshi]] because of his love for him.
* WarriorTherapist: Mikazuki prefers to let fighting (or dancing) do the talking when it comes to conversation. After all, he believes that they're far most honest than words can be.
* WhamLine: While Yoshitsune is struggling with his sword, we see a glimpse of him that was much less violent than his earlier portrayals showed us:
--> "I need to ask my brother! *much softer, saner voice* For what reason did he want to kill me?"
* WellIntentionedExtremist: [[spoiler:Yoshitsune's sword]], if the Saniwa's words are anything to go by. The Saniwa muses that after the Revisionists came into contact with it, [[spoiler:the sword]] gained its own will and tried to lead [[spoiler:Yoshitsune]] down the path it thought best for its master.
* WhatIsThisFeeling: As a new recruit, Iwatooshi isn't quite used to having emotions yet, finding himself reacting to everything most haphazardly and putting his feelings in conflict with his duty to the Saniwa. He admits he found it easier to be an inanimate object, because he didn't have to deal with such complications.
* WoundedGazelleGambit: Just as Benkei comes close to finishing off [[spoiler: the possessed Yoshitsune]], suddenly he acts as if he was freed, begging Benkei to keep protecting him. Catching him off his guard, [[spoiler:Yoshitsune]] goes in for the kill.
* YouRemindMeOfX: In the musicals, Benkei is taken aback by Imanotsurugi's personality, seeing a younger version of Yoshitsune in him.

[[folder:Bakamatsu Tenrouden]]
* ADayInTheLimelight: Similar to Imanotsurugi's conflict in ''Atsukashiyama Ibun'', the play is primarily about [[spoiler: Yamatonokami's]] struggle to let go of Okita Souji and allow history to play out as did originally, with him dying from his tuberculosis. There is also the conflict between Nagasone and Hachisuka, but it is largely a B plot.
* AmbiguousSituation: In the 2020 rerun, [[spoiler: why did Mikazuki warn Okita about Kondo's execution? The play ends without elaborating on his motivation here]].
* ApologeticAttacker: Hachisuka can only give a sad, but firm "I'm sorry!" before [[spoiler:taking Kondo Isami's head as history intended]].
* ArcSymbol: Sirius, otherwise referred to as the Dog Star. It shines down on every important historical event in the play, or at the very least is mentioned in other situations. It's ultimately also tied to the camraderie theme the musical focuses on, as Horikawa later muses on the fact that Sirius is actually two stars in close proximity, supporting each other to shine bright much like a teammate or close one would.
* AsYouKnow:
** Both Izuminokami and Horikawa muse over the Nagasone/Hachisuka rivalry, explaining to each other and the audience the fact that they're both "Kotetsu" swords, but Nagasone is a fraud.
** The Saniwa usually does this for every debriefing, talking about their battle against the Retrograde Forces and what they do to one up them. Lampshaded in the second musical, where he opens up such a speech with "I'm sure I don't need to remind you but..."
* BaitAndSwitch: From the looks of the Retrograde cat showing up where Okita usually is, you would think that the climax of the musical would be facing off against a possessed Okita much like ''Atsukashiyama Ibun'' did the same for [[spoiler:Minamoto no Yoshitsune]]. However, the climax of the story is more emotional than physical this time around; thus, [[spoiler:Soji's inevitable possession lasts only one scene until Kondo snaps him out of it, and the real emotional climax of the musical happens Revisionist-free.]]
* BigDamnHeroes: Subverted in the climax. [[spoiler:Soji going to save Kondo from his execution]] would ordinarily be a pretty BDH moment, but not when it's prompted by the Retrograde Forces for the sole purpose of changing history for their own ends and undermining Kondo's own sacrifice.
* BloodFromTheMouth: [[spoiler: In the introductory scene, Okita Souji dramatically coughs up blood mid battle because of his tuberculosis, which very nearly gets him killed until Kondo comes in to save him]].
* BookEnds: The play begins and ends on the Touken Danshi sparring with one another. Yamatonokami and Kashuu get their licks in first, followed by Nagasone and Hachisuka. Izuminokami and Horikawa don't get in on it, but they do muse about certain aspects of the story.
* CallBack: At the beginning of the play, Hijikata advertises his Ishida Powder product as a medicine able to cure all ills, and jokes about using it on Soji after beating him thoroughly in training. The joke comes back in a much sadder way later; first when Okita jokingly asks for it following his collapse at the Ikeda Inn, and later when Hijikata brings multiple packets to encourage Soji's health after the latter's untimely retirement from the Shinsengumi. Also counts as a CerebusCallBack.
* TheCameo: [[spoiler: In the 2020 rerun, Mikazuki cameos as a voice/cat, warning Okita Souji about Kondo's impending execution]].
* CantHoldHisLiquor: Izuminokami gets tipsy off of one glass of sake, which Horikawa makes fun of him over. Hachisuka is the opposite, however, as he chugs an entire mug and seems fine after.
* CatsAreMean:
** At parts in the story, a Retrograde Force in the form of a cat will come whenever it concerns Soji's illness. The cat comes back in the climax of Yamatonokami's arc, tempting him into giving Okita medicine to withstand sickness; but although Yamatonokami doesn't give in, [[spoiler:it preys upon a weakened Soji before Kondo's execution at Itabashi, possessing his sword to go rescue him.]]
** Averted in the 2020 rerun, where the cat appears only once and is revealed to be [[spoiler: Mikazuki Munechika]], who warns Okita Souji of Kondo's impending execution for unknown reasons before leaving without further interference.
* CruelToBeKind: Kashuu may be harsh on Yamatonokami for wanting to be with Soji at the raid, but he only does it because he doesn't want anyone, least of all him, to learn about the pain of seeing their master in danger and not being able to do anything about it. That said, Kashuu ultimately lets Yamatonokami go, trusting him not to give into temptation.
* DarkReprise: "Erabarenu Mono" plays again in the climax when Nagasone looks at Kondo's soon to be execution. It plays more triumphantly after [[spoiler:Hachisuka executes Kondo]], but it's still underscored with a melancholy air given [[spoiler:they just killed one of the team's master]].
* DealWithTheDevil: [[spoiler:The Retrograde cat gives Soji strength enough to save Kondo near the climax, in exchange for possessing his body.]]
* DissonantLaughter: [[spoiler: Mikazuki has a good laugh at/with Okita Souji just before informing him that his friend is going to die if he doesn't hurry to save him]].
* DramaticIrony: Every time Soji talks about his recklessness or not wasting the one life you have, Yamatonokami shrinks, knowing that his master will one day succumb to his illness and die in his prime.
* DrinkingContest: As part of the pre-mission party Horikawa hosts, Squad 1 has a small drinking contest. Hachisuka, by virtue of having the biggest glass and finishing it in two gulps, ends up the undisputed winner.
* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: The only installment in the series, nay, the entire franchise, where the Historical Revisionists have been shown to be able to shape shift into talking animals to accomplish their mission.
* EmpathicEnvironment: A heavy rainstorm occurs just as Kondo's execution at Itabashi begins. Thunder pervades the area while they fight the Retrograde Forces, and the scene lets up just as they're done fighting.
* EndOfAnAge: A running theme in the musical. The Shinsengumi swords hold their masters in high esteem mostly because of the trope; they continued to be the weapons to their masters even as war and weapons changed around them, which reinforces the brotherhood theme surrounding the group and their strong bonds. "Riyuu no Arika" has Horikawa explain this in song to Hachisuka.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment:
** Nagasone when we first see him is looked up to by Yamatonokami and Kashuu, tells them and Izuminokami to mind their duties, and in general acts as their older mentor figure.
** Izuminokami first arrives on the scene itching for a fight, loud, brash, and in general acting immature (i.e. shirking off duty, getting upset when Nagasone has to make time for other engagements, pouting), but still very understanding. Horikawa in the same scene tries to act as TheHeart, getting worried over Hachisuka and Nagasone's fighting as well as trying to make Izuminokami look at his doings.
** Yamatonokami began the play on decent terms with Kashuu, but also half-jokingly sparring to win over the Saniwa's love. That latter point, focusing on his master, fuels a lot of his arc going forwards in the play.
** When we first meet Hachisuka, he's collected, composed, and refuses to make banter with Nagasone unlike all of the main swords. As soon as their sparring session is over, he cuts off any attempt to bond and leaves straight away.
* FantasticRacism: Hachisuka's distaste for counterfeit swords drives his subplot with Nagasone, and is the basis of their constant butting heads. He's perfectly fine with the other swords though, because he both respects them and knows they're authentic. However, his prejudice is also a mask for his envy and confusion towards Nagasone, hating how he shoulders his burdens and never lets anyone really support him. The end of the play only changes this slightly; while he is now able to respect Nagasone as a member of the team, Hachisuka is still far and away from seeing him as a "brother" sword in his own right.
* GetAHoldOfYourselfMan: In the climax, Hachisuka punches Nagasone right before [[spoiler:he's supposed to behead Kondo]], chastising him for adding one more major event to take on by his lonesome where he has multiple people that are willing to support him.
* GoryDiscretionShot: Right before [[spoiler:Hachisuka beheads Kondo]], the stage immediately cuts to black.
* IHaveNoSon: I have no brother more like it, which is how Hachisuka dismisses his FantasticRacism towards Nagasone when called out on it by Izuminokami. He still doesn't consider Nagasone blood by the end of the play, but he does have a better opinion of him.
* JerkassHasAPoint: Hachisuka does bring up a good point-- he, as the odd man out of Squad 1 lacking their shared Shinsengumi and Bakamatsu era heritage, wouldn't be able to get the job done as leader as efficiently as someone who does. Then he dashes his perfectly good criticism with his anger over being put on the same team as Nagasone.
* ItWillNeverCatchOn: Kondo laughs off the idea of Hijikata becoming a "demon vice-commander", seeing him as the hotheaded and good hearted youth he really is at the moment.
%%* {{Foreshadowing}}:
* HeldGaze: Both Kondo and Hijikata give Soji one before they set out to Nagareyama in 1868. They want more than anything for Soji to get better, and Soji wants the same, but all three of them look like they're trying to convince each other that they'll have time enough to reunite again.
* HypocrisyNod: Yamatonokami knows that if he gives the medicine over to Soji, he'd be changing history and put himself on the same level as the Retrograde forces. Still, he decides to do it anyway.
* IncurableCoughOfDeath: Soji, as usual.
* InnocentlyInsensitive: While Yamatonokami gives off his reasons to join the Shinsengumi during the mission, his answer to the question of breaking on the job is "I'm not that weak!". He says this right in front of Kashuu, who is the only one of the swords that ''did'' break on the battlefield. You can see he's upset when he goes to the wall after that statement.
* ItWasAGift: The reason Nagasone gives Haachisuka for continuing to fight under the Kotetsu name, knowing he is not a Kotetsu himself. It's a precious alias Kondo gave to his sword, and for that reason alone he bears the name with dignity.
* IWantSong: "Te o Nobaseba" is all about Yamatonokami's desire to get emotionally and physically closer to his former master.
* KillTheOnesYouLove: Only barely averted in the end. [[spoiler:Kondo, with his execution botched, asks Nagasone to complete the job instead; the guy almost goes through with it, if not for Hachisuka backhanding him and taking on that burden himself.]]
* MeaningfulEcho:
** "This is how the Shinsengumi fights"; first said by Soji while they were having a triumphant battle in the prologue, then said by Kondo to emphasize the sacrifice and loyalty the organization's leaders have for their men.
** Nagasone saves Hachisuka from an enemy attack at the Ikeda Inn. In the climax, Hachisuka does the same for Nagasone during an enemy swarm, in the exact same pose and position, which helps emphasize his coming to understand Nagasone's mindset.
* ManlyTears: Yamtonokami cries as he watches his master's illness get worse, while he can do nothing to stop it. Nagasone also cries near the end of the play, when he's finally told he can rely on others instead of shouldering his burdens and feelings alone, on top of being resolved of the duty of [[spoiler:executing his master]]. Averted with Hijikata, though; there is [[InelegantBlubbering nothing mature]] about his crying when he learns of [[spoiler:Kondo's plans to surrender]]; more than anything, he looks like a guy who just lost his big brother.
* OffWithHisHead: [[spoiler:The mission ultimately ends at Kondo's execution, where he's beheaded as part of the capital punishment. Of course, he's not executed as the timeline intended here, so Hachisuka beheads him instead.]]
* {{Remake}}: The 2020 rerun is essentially a remake, with some new scenes, new songs, and changes to the way the scenes originally played out. [[spoiler: The subplot about the Historical Retrograding Force plot turning into a cat is almost entirely cut out as well, with the cat now only showing up once and being revealed to be Mikazuki Munechika instead]].
* {{Retcon}}: [[spoiler: In the 2020 rerun, instead of the Historical Revisionists transforming into a cat that possessed Okita's blade and forcing him to save Kondo from execution, Mikazuki was retconned into the role, with the cat transformation angle still present but not visible to the audience (The audience can hear it but only Okita can see it). After Mikazuki warns Okita, there also is no possession involved, as Okita makes it to Kondo's execution through his own willpower]].
* SparingThemTheDirtyWork: ''Bakamatsu Tenrouden'' has the cast trying to undo the History Retrograde forces' attempts to change the timeline, one of which includes saving the Shinsengumi leader Isami Kondo from his execution in Itabashi. Problem is, Kondo's beloved sword-now-human Nagasone Kotetsu is on the main team, and Kondo ''himself'' requests that Nagasone be the one to execute him. Nagasone already has a lot of his plate right now, and killing his own master to preserve the timeline is definitely not going to help ease his mind. Before he can decapitate Kondo however, his teammate and fellow Touken Danshi Hachisuka Kotetsu backhands him and does the execution himself. As Hachisuka had been needlessly antagonizing Nagasone the whole show, this gesture conveys that the former has finally started respecting the latter, and that as a teammate he doesn't want to Nagasone to quietly burden himself alone.
* SueDonym: Yamatonokami goes under the pseudonym "Okizawa" when joining the Shinsengumi.
* SurvivorGuilt: A lot of Yamatonokami's decision to join the Shinsengumi is pretty much this. He feels paratially responsible for not being able to help his master when he needed it most, so he feels like he has a better chance to do so by being closer to him in his same organization.
* WhamLine: [[spoiler: In the 2020 rerun, Mikazuki delivers his iconic "Yokikana, yokikana" line after informing Okita Souji of Kondo's impending execution, confirming to the audience that the disembodied voice/unseen cat speaking to Okita was him]].
* WhatYouAreInTheDark: After spending an entire length agonizing over whether or not to give Soji medicine for his tuberculosis, Yamatonokami ultimately shakes off temptation, stating that the Okita he knew would cease to exist provided he change circumstances in his favor.
* YourPrincessIsInAnotherCastle: Most of the Okita stuff is taken care of in 1864, where Yamatonokami's character arc with Soji comes to a head, Nagasone begins to come through to Hachisuka, and the Ikeda Inn raid built up over the first half of the musical finally wraps up. However, this time period ''also'' isn't the Retrograde Army's last stop this turn around; [[spoiler:Itabashi, 1868 is]].

[[folder: Mihotose no Komoriuta]]
* AgeProgressionSong: "Kazaguruma" serves as this, showing the maturity of both Ieyasu and his son.
* AngerBornOfWorry: After Tonbokiri returns from the Battle of Anegawa victorious, Ieyasu [[WhatTheHellHero lays into him]] for attempting to win by himself. Above all he's just grateful that Tonbokiri made it back in one piece.
* BookEnds: At the beginning of the play, Ishikirimaru begins writing his record of the Mikawa mission, and runs into Ookurikara, trying to capture his likeness for the record and asking him to read it when it's done. By the end, Ishikirimaru has left the book while rushing for horsekeeping duty; when Ookurikara comes back, he does end up taking a quick look through the book and even smiles when he gets to his picture.
* BigSleep: [[spoiler:How Ieyasu's death is portrayed here. After reflecting on his victories and seeing his son one last time with what he thinks are the shades of his trusted retainers, Ieyasu passes in Monoyoshi's arms singing his childhood lullaby as he slips away.]]
--> '''Monoyoshi:''' ''You lived a good life. Sweet dreams.''
* CallBack: Right after the Battle of Okehazama, Ishikirimaru and Ookurikara get into a fight over the latter's seeming indifference towards the bloodshed of the Warring States era. When Ookurikara's on the losing end of the fight, Ishikirimaru comments that the other man's sword is "light", and that he can't cut anything like that. They later have a rematch at [[spoiler:Gohei's grave]], Ishikirimaru now commenting that his sword has become heavier with the weight of [[spoiler:an innocent life taken]].
* DarkHorseVictory: Discussed by Nikkari and Sengo. Ieyasu, of the major players during the war, was about the least remarkable outside of his going on to unify Japan. He wasn't nearly as charismatic as Nobunaga (and was under the man's thumb for a good amount of it), and not as flashy as UsefulNotes/ToyotomiHideyoshi; one has to wonder what he did to make himself the success he was.
* DoubleMeaningTitle: "Tada, Katsu Tame ni" refers not just to Tonbokiri's desire to see Ieyasu's hand in the Battle of Anegawa to completion, but also to emphasize how he's doing it to uphold the historical importance of his master (''Tadakatsu'' Tame ni).
* DiedInYourArmsTonight: [[spoiler:Gohei in Nobuyasu's arms after TakingTheBullet, and Ieyasu in Monoyoshi's arms when he died of old age.]]
* {{Foreshadowing}}: The Nobuyasu of the new timeline is a gentle boy who seeks neither war nor glory. When he's first introduced, he's very fixated on getting in the dirt and picking flowers, and is fascinated about Gohei's previous life as a farmer. [[spoiler:This is all setup for his final appearance, where he takes on Gohei's name and becomes a farmer in the peaceful era he and his father built.]]
* FramingDevice: The whole musical is the result of Ishikirimaru reminiscing on their previous mission, so that he can write a record of what happened.
* GraveMarkingScene: Some time after [[spoiler:Gohei]] dies, three people come to his grave to {{talk|ingToTheDead}}--Ishikirimaru, Ookurikara, and Nobuyasu. In Ookurikara's case, he intended to leave flowers at the grave, but [[SubvertedTrope decides against it]] until their fight for a peaceful world comes to an end.
* GriefSong: "Chikara ni Areba" has Ishikirimaru sing of his regret for being unable to save [[spoiler:Gohei]] from an ambush, and in general for his sadness over his inability to save everyone.
* HistoricalBadassUpgrade: Tonbokiri does one for the legend of Honda Tadakatsu; the original Tadakatsu's most well known feat had him up against 1,000 enemy soldiers, while Tonbokiri was said to go up against ''ten thousand'' of them.
* IWillFightNoMoreForever: [[spoiler:After seeing the war take the life of his dearest friend, alongside his own personal distaste of war, Nobuyasu decides to lay down his sword and request to be disowned on the day of his planned death. While this gets him into a skirmish with Ieyasu, he was not fully able to escape the horrors of war until he was assumed dead.]]
* IWroteOurStory: After the Mikawa mission ends, Ishikirimaru takes it upon himself to write about what happened during it in a book, since the details would be lost to time otherwise.
* {{Irony}}: Nikkari Aoe's best known legend was cutting down the ghost of an infant, which is why he thinks he isn't worthy of becoming a divine sword. However, he of all people is given baby Ieyasu (who grows up to be considered divine as Japan's ruler) in the beginning and is one of the people primarily responsible for his growth and development.
* LongestPrologueEver: Quite the big one here. We open with a Touken Danshi being newly summoned, the Matsudaira clan wiped out, the mission of the musical given shortly afterwards, and the Touken Danshi given the baby Tokugawa Ieyasu, ''all'' before "Touken Ranbu" even gets a chance to play. That's a good 25 minutes in.
* MeaningfulRename:
** Young Takechiyo Matsudaira, as in history, changes his name quite a few times. Upon hitting puberty he becomes Matsudaira Motoyasu, and finally, after joining up with Oda Nobunaga, renames himself into Tokugawa Ieyasu.
** [[spoiler:In the end, Nobuyasu renames himself Gohei after his fallen friend, taking up his life of farming as well.]]
* MortonsFork: No matter who wins Sengo's sparring match, he gets to see stripping. If he wins, the loser strips; if he loses, the winner has to strip in celebration.
* ParentsForADay: And then some, since the Touken Danshi raise Ieyasu (and his son) from the cradle on as {{Parental Substitute}}s and retainers. More specifically, Nikkari, Monoyoshi, Tonbokiri and Ishikirimaru take primary raising duty, while Muramasa and Ookurikara fight on the interim. Deconstructed, as their growing attachments to their charges prevent them from truly carrying out their mission, and they genuinely start to see them as family (and vice versa). Ishikirimaru is hit the hardest about this, but chooses to exclude his inner turmoil from the recollection.
* PlotHole: The members discuss that Ieyasu only became what he was in the books with his influences in life, such as his retainers, his family, and his historical feats. The same can be said of the people the Touken Danshi have to fill in for as well; they too had family members and people known to history who made some impact on their lives, yet because we only focus on Ieyasu's growth we never get to see what happens to the Danshi's "characters". Add that to the problem of staying for apparent ''decades'', and we have quite the puzzling situation here.
* PreAssKickingOneLiner: There are many in this musical like the rest, but Tonbokiri's during the Battle of Anegawa stands out:
--> '''Tonbokiri:''' My lord! I'm off to destroy my weak self! \\
'''Ieyasu:''' What? Where?\\
'''Tonbokiri:''' (*''gestures to the battlefield''*) Over there!\\
[''cue Tonbokiri singlehandedly mowing down thousands of soldiers through song'']
* PyrrhicVictory: At the end of his life, Ieyasu looks at the peaceful, unified Japan outside his window and still curses the large amounts of blood he spilled just to get things the way they currently were. The war took civilians, his men, and even his son's retainer [[spoiler:and his son as well, or so he thinks]]; despite being the overall victor, he still held lots of regret.
* QuitYourWhining: When Nobuyasu expresses [[FatherIDontWantToFight distaste]] for war and wishes to be disowned, Ieyasu calls the whole attitude selfish; ''nobody'' wants to be fighting right now, least of all Ieyasu, but his involvement is to be expected of an up and coming heir. [[spoiler:The speech only makes Nobuyasu want to commit honorable suicide instead to not disgrace the family name further.]]
* RecurringRiff: "Kibou no Minamoto" and "Ruri Iro no Sora" have riffs all over the musical; the first played during narrations of the mission and the latter is associated with Ieyasu's growth.
* {{Seppuku}}: In the historical timeline, Nobuyasu is ordered to do so by Ieyasu, himself under the orders of Oda Nobunaga. The reasoning varies in historical accounts, but generally assumed to be because of uncooperative and unruly behavior on Nobuyasu's part. However, because of his loving and healthy upbringing in the new timeline, there is no reason for this to happen; so instead, [[spoiler:Nobuyasu wants to do it ''himself'' because he's tired of war and feels like a disgrace to his family for feeling so. He eventually settles on asking Ishikirimaru to execute him.]]
* SignificantDoubleCasting: The boys who play 'Takechiyo', Shuri Ayuba and Yukito Kojima, also play young Nobuyasu.
* SkywardScream: Ishikirimaru has a pretty big one when [[spoiler:Nobuyasu sacrifices himself to protect the former from the Kebiishi]].
* TeachMeHowToFight: As an unskilled farmer, Gohei is ill-suited for fighting in war. He looks to Ookurikara for help, begging him to teach him swordsmanship.
* UnexplainedRecovery: [[spoiler:Despite being cut in the neck and shoulder, Nobuyasu apparently survived the injury and became a simple farmhand offscreen. No details are given as to how this happens.]]
* WarIsHell: Ishikirimaru, being a sword used for ceremonies and healing, isn't quite used to the horrors of the battlefield. As such, while he's initially stoic about his human kills, it took one enemy crying out for mercy for Ishikirimaru to come back to seeing the whole act as barbaric and cruel.
* WhatTheHellHero: Monoyoshi gets rather defensive about Ishikirimaru [[spoiler:preparing to kill Nobuyasu]], saying that he's taking the life of an innocent man.
* WhatWouldXDo: Tonbokiri has a pretty hard time adjusting to his own master's role in history, not knowing how to live up to his legacy. It takes a good talking to from Monoyoshi to snap him out of it, saying that Tonbo's fear of inadequately filling his shoes is the ''exact'' disgrace he was worried about, and tells him to be himself instead.
* WholeEpisodeFlashback: The whole musical was shown as a flashback to the events of the Ieyasu mission, with the exceptions of the beginning and end segments.
* WildCardExcuse: In order to make sure history goes as intended, Monoyoshi gives out strategies and advice accordingly to Ieyasu. Every time he's asked how he came to those conclusions, Monoyoshi always answers "luck".
* YouAreTooLate: The musicals' first true victory for the Retrograde Forces comes at the very beginning, where they wipe out the whole Matsudaira clan. Ookurikara and Nikkari notice Okazaki Castle burning, but arrive too late to save anyone other than a single infant.
* YouWillBeBeethoven: But out of necessity; the ''entire'' Matsudaira clan was wiped out thanks to the Retrograde Forces, so all Touken Danshi available had to, at one point or another, take the place of a person who was important to Ieyasu's history.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Kashuu Kiyomitsu Tanki Shutsujin]]
* ColorMotif: All of Kashuu's costumes are invariably red and black.
* ConcertEpisode: Unlike the main installments, these performances played out like Live segments all the way through except with Kashuu Kiyomitsu as the sole performer (discounting his backup dancers).
* CoverVersion: Few of the songs in these concerts are original; many are solo covers of songs from previous musicals, including group songs such as "mistake."
* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: Up until Gou on Stage Zepp Tour, which itself was a spin-off of a story heavy installment, Kashuu Tanki was the only series of side story performances that played out like concerts from start to finish, lacking the story elements that later plays of it's type would feature.
* ElegantGothicLolita: One of Kashuu's costumes has dress in this style.
* {{Fanservice}}: What these performances boil down to. With Kashuu engaging with the audience directly the entire time, these are performances meant to give the audience more time with the character.
* UnlimitedWardrobe: Kashuu goes through at least seven costume changes per performance. His costumes also get updated with each installment.
* WholesomeCrossdresser: A few of Kashuu's are straight up dresses.
[[/folder]]

* ContinuityNod:
** The play's motifs—lotus flowers, the sea, and snow—refer to the motifs of ''Tsuwamono Domo'', ''Paraiso'', and ''Kousui Sanka'' respectively.

* CoversAlwaysLie: [[spoiler: Given the placement of Kashuu Kiyomitsu, Mikazuki Munechika, and Tsurumaru Kuninaga in the center of the promotional poster, one would have expected Kashuu to play a larger role in the narrative, particularly in relation to Mikazuki, given his gaze on him. However, while he was not completely out of focus in the story, he was more or less a tagalong team member in terms of the story's main conflict, and had little impact on it, with Yamanbagiri playing a larger role despite being in the background of the poster]].

* {{Retcon}}: [[spoiler: In ''Tsuwamono Domo'', Mikazuki Munechika took on the task of correcting the flow of history in order to spare the Saniwa the mental and emotional pain of dealing with it, with no indication that it was for any other reason. However, it is revealed in this play that Mikazuki became the mechanism to find the broken sword that was first mentioned in Kousui, as he still has lingering trauma from being on the same team and mission as when they died and believes they can be saved despite Tsurumaru's skepticism]].

* ContinuityNod: The play's motifs—lotus flowers, the sea, and snow—refer to the motifs of ''Tsuwamono Domo'', ''Paraiso'', and ''Kousui Sanka'' respectively.

* EndOfAnAge: A running theme in the musical. The Shinsengumi swords hold their masters in high esteem mostly because of the trope; they continued to be the weapons to their masters even as war and weapons changed around them, which reinforces the BloodBrothers theme surrounding the group and their strong bonds. "Riyuu no Arika" has Horikawa explain this in song to Hachisuka.

* UnusuallyUninterestingSight: With their technicolor hair and eyes, supernaturally beautiful appearances, and out-of-date clothing, the Touken Danshi look aggressively inhuman, yet none of the humans, who look like normal people, seem to notice and the Touken Danshi never make any effort to blend in when they travel to different time periods. In fact, the few times a Touken Danshi's appearance was commented on, it was only in passing (as in Yoshitsune's case in ''Atsukashiyama Ibun'') or to joke that Hyuuga Masamune doesn't look enough like a monkey to be related to Hideyoshi Toyotomi.

* ContinuityNod: The play's motifs—lotus flowers and the sea—refer to ''Tsuwamono Domo'' and ''Paraiso'', respectively.