For gamers and lovers of sheer theatrical spectacle alike, the summer's hottest ticket seems sure to be for "Dragon Quest Live Spectacle Tour," whose 40 shows nationwide are set to be attended by some 400,000 people — with everyone receiving a wristband enabling them to influence the onstage action.

As the role-playing video game "Dragon Quest" turns 30 this year, this show inspired by its producer Kenichi Yoda — and directed by Kahori Kanaya — is set to transcend any distinction between those flat-screen roots and the three-dimensional world.

Yet despite its cast appearing to have popped out of virtual reality onto its arena-sized stages erupting in lights, sound, color and special effects, the show follows a growing trend in Japan. In 2015, even age-old kabuki got in on the act, with a wonderfully hybrid production of Eiichiro Oda's "One Piece," the best-selling manga in history.