Jaguar Beat as told in 10 joshi matches

Back in August 2022, the Takarazuka Revue announced the Star Troupe shows ‘Dimitri’ and ‘Jaguar Beat’ and I thought it would be hilarious if they put a Jaguar Yokota reference in the revue as she’s the most famous female jaguar in Japan. I was happily surprised when during the finale one of my favorite Star Troupe Takarasiennes started singing ‘Ai no Jaguar’

Joshi wrestling being represented in the Theater of Dreams inspired me to make a wrestling playlist to explain the story of the narrative revue ‘Jaguar Beat’ for any joshi wrestling fans that follow my work and know or have heard mention of the Takarazuka Revue, or possibly any Takarazuka fan that has a fleeting interest in pro wrestling.

1st Fantasy [Hell Desert]

Manami Toyota vs Akira Hokuto – June 17, 1990

Crystal Bird’s wing gets stolen by Merlin and she subsequently begins her quest to get it back. It may be too on the nose to compare that to a young Akira Hokuto splitting her knee open on a guard rail after a bad dive to the outside, an injury bad enough for the referee to call off the match. All of this while a young, blank-faced Manami Toyota looks on, a person who eventually decided that such a fate would never happen to her.

2nd Fantasy [Jaguar Beat]

Jaguar Yokota vs Devil Masami – July 19, 1982

We’re introduced to the titular character, JAGUAR, and we see BISON for the first time. This match is about a year too early for real blading to happen in AJW so while we don’t get aBLOOD MELODYwe do get to see Jaguar Yokota swing around a steel chair and Devil Masami matches her energy by bringing her bokken into the mix and the two have a serious brawl on the outside until the referee remembers how to count past 15 and ends the match via count out. These two will see each other later near the climax of the story.

Las Cachorras Orientales vs Eagle Sawai, Harley Saito, and Miki Handa – January 24, 1993

Reasons why this match is here:

  1. Crystal Bird reappears after having her wing stolen and I wanted to keep that thread with more Akira Hokuto
  2. Hikari Ayaki is wearing Etsuko Mita’s LCO colors, so obviously I have to pick a LCO match
  3. There’s no BLOOD MELODY here either but this is a blood feud
  4. The crowds are eating this up and clapping along, impeccable vibes
  5. Crystal Bird and Hokuto slapping someone across the face

3rd Fantasy [Paradise Jungle]

Dynamite Kansai & Mayumi Ozaki vs Manami Toyota & Toshiyo Yamada – December 6, 1993

Dynamite Kansai and Mayumi Ozaki enter the AJW ring with something that many doubted they would’ve ever held, the WWWA Tag Team championships. Back in April at All Star Dreamslam II, not only did they prove their doubters wrong and showed that JWP is just as strong as AJW, they did so in shocking fashion when Dynamite Kansai pinned Toshiyo with a Splash Mountain in just 12 seconds. A massive embarrassment for the home team. So, Kansai and Ozaki enter Sumo Hall with something that doesn’t belong to them, and Toyota & Yamada have spent the last couple of months training to make sure that they get their titles back.

4th Fantasy [Machine Girl]

Bull Nakano vs Shinobu Kandori – June 14, 1994

A Seiki-gun tag match from Oz Academy would’ve been the easy and obvious pick for the first part of Machine Girl, but I decided to go with a classic match instead. It’s not as erotic, but it’s a classic chain match in the history of Japanese wrestling. Blood Melody.

Aja Kong vs Akira Hokuto – November 20, 1994

Oh hey, JAGUAR manages to finally get Crystal Bird’s feather, but woops, the Machine Girl stops functioning in the process. Oh hey, Akira Hokuto has returned from Mexico and is lined up to win a vanity belt at the largest wrestling show in the history of women’s wrestling but woops, Aja Kong’s knee stops functioning in the process. This is the second time that I’ve made a comparison between Crystal Bird slowly losing her mobility from missing a feather to an infamous leg injury in 90s joshi wrestling, and while it’s gruesome to those outside of the hobby it feels apt. Both JAGUAR and Hokuto have finally achieved something that they’ve been fighting for, but at what cost? Was it worth it if the Machine Girl died?

5th Fantasy [Crystal Fantasy]

Team AJW vs Team JWP Thunder Queen Battle – July 31, 1993

Magic! Magic! Magic! Everyone’s here and it’s a blast, even if Ozaki almost loses an eye when she knocks heads with Kyoko Inoue thanks to Aja Kong. Hikari Ayaki is now matching Takako Inoue and I love that.

6th Fantasy [Narkissos]

Manami Toyota vs Toshiyo Yamada – August 15, 1992

Merlin’s origin story, or two classmates are fighting in a match for the IWA title with the added stipulation that the loser gets her head shaved. Manami Toyota takes no joy in winning this match, even with Toshiyo Yamada reassuring her that it’s fine and that this must happen. She starts crying as the referee and barber set up the chair and starts to seriously lose it after Yamada starts losing her hair and the first handful is handed to Toyota; Toyota grabs the scissors and starts cutting her own hair. The emotions of the post-match continue to escalate to the point that Toyota shoved the barber and had to be physically restrained by the rookies at ringside, kicking and screaming until Yamada’s head is completely shaved.

7th Fantasy [The Purple Commando]

Jaguar Yokota & Mimi Hagiwara vs Devil Masami & Tarantula – January 4, 1983

This is it. Crystal Bird has been weakened to the point that she’s in a wheelchair, waiting for our triumphant JAGUAR to return her long lost feather and restore her powers. The two then dance together until BISON comes in to ruin the moment and the final battle begins, and like something out of Tommy Dreamer’s fantasy booking journal, Crystal Bird is fatally shot. JAGUAR sheds tears for the first time and learns what crying is after witnessing his love get murdered in the streets. Jaguar Yokota and Mimi Hagiwara are fighting the team of Devil Masami and Tarantula for the WWWA tag titles, and unlike Crystal Bird, Mimi Hagiwara is fighting just as hard as her tag partner to win the titles. Half of the first fall is spent fighting on the outside or on the apron as Tarantula and Devil Masami torture Mimi on the ropes while Jaguar is arguing with the referee to separate them, but he seems more occupied with making sure Jaguar is standing by her corner. Jaguar finally gets the hot tag and despite an eye rake from Devil Masami, she’s able to win the first fall: if the first fall is when we were feeling warm and fuzzy inside after JAGUAR returns the crystal feather, the rest of the match is the street battle.

The fighting goes back outside with both heels choking their opponent with different audio equipment cables, you get Devil punching Mimi and Jaguar with the house mic, Mimi and Jaguar throw a table at the referee, they hit their opponents with the table for good measure too. Devil Masami somehow gets a crimson mask, and the heels retain their titles after a quick third fall, and after the match Jaguar Yokota is screaming like a mad woman and must be dragged away by her juniors while Mimi has a normal tantrum after the loss.

8th Fantasy [Crysta]

Here’s Jaguar Yokota singing her single, “Ai no Jaguar” as featured in the finale of Jaguar Beat

Last Fantasy [Heat Beat!] [Jaguar the Final]

Jaguar Yokota & Devil Masami vs The Crush Gals – September 16, 1984

Congratulations for making through the plight of Crystal Bird (RIP) and JAGUAR, instead of a finale here’s a banger match between the two top dogs of the company and the up-and-coming Crush Gals.

Wrestling is at its best when it’s a blood melody, never forget.

alex-f