this one's got pretty good cast power. hopefully it'll be more engaging for me than atsu-hime.

I'm really looking forward to this drama. I like this period of Japanese history, as I'm well schooled when it comes to the Warring Era. In terms of NHK taiga storylines, there should be quite a bit of fighting for those of you who are more into the jidaigeki part of these epic dramas. The Meiji Restoration and the events leading up to the Restoration makes me fall asleep (aka Atsu-hime), although Shinsengumi! did have its great fighting scenes.

As for the Sengoku commanders, some comments (I don't think I'm spoiling anything since this is, of course Japanese history. Kind of like me giving away the idea that, for example, Columbus didn't find China but rather found Central America, etc.)

Masami Nagasawa as Hatsune
It'll be interesting to see this character. I haven't seen Hatsune portrayed in the past NHK storylines.

Shun Oguri as Ishida Mitsunari
Keep in mind that Ishida is supposed to be a prick, and one who sucked up to Hideyoshi big-time! People hated this guy so much that when they caught this traitor, they buried him up to his neck, and then slowly sawed his head off. Now, can Shun portray this type of person? Or, will NHK make Ishida up to be a sweet, nice guy?

Kyōko Fukada as Yodo
Yodo is history's version of the girlfriend from Hell. Ishida and Yodo deserved each other!!!! Now, can Fukada portray such a person who's obsessive over Shun... I mean, Ishida, and play a diva who can walk into a room and turn the temperature down to freezing temperatures? It'll be interesting (and entertaining) to find out.


Kōji Kikkawa as Oda Nobunaga
I've see sooooooo many people play Nobunaga. So much so, I don't even know who the real Nobunaga is. Nobunaga is supposedly someone who I'd like to have as a boss because I'm sure he'd back me up if I was in a lousy situation. Instead of fixing the situation, just kill everyone!!!!!! What? The bird can't sing a song??? Kill the birdie!!!!! Slice'um, dice'um!!!! As for Koji, I'm not familiar with him whatsoever.

Takashi Sasano as Hashiba Hideyoshi
Well, based on the name "Hashiba", this is basically the early version of Hideyoshi, when he was Nobunaga's right-hand man. Unlike Nobunaga, Hideyoshi has a very caring side, although he could not knock up Nene. As for Sasano, this guy's EL-PERFECTO for this role!!!!

Sumiko Fuji as Nene
Oooooooh yeah!!!! Fuji Junko the yakuza chick!!!!!! Well, Fuji isn't Sakai Noriko (Toshiie to Matsu reference), but she should do this role just fine. What's VERY good about her is that the age difference between Fuji and Sasano is very close to Nene and Hideyoshi, so it is historically going to be accurate.

Hiroki Matsukata as Tokugawa Ieyasu
Matsukata as Tokugawa.... This will be quite interesting! I really loved Nishida Toshiyuki's portrayal (Komyo ga Tsuji). Ieyasu does not trust ANYONE! And, he's a great strategist.

Shingo Tsurumi as Akechi Mitsuhide
Somewhat boring character. Don't see Tsurumi doing much with this role.

Can't wait!!!!

--- groink

groink wrote:

People hated this guy so much that when they caught this traitor, they buried him up to his neck, and then slowly sawed his head off.

Now THAT would be worth watching! I bet it's not early in the series though

Anime Dad wrote:

Now THAT would be worth watching! I bet it's not early in the series though

If that was the fate of all JE boys, I'd watch.... AND record it.

groink wrote:

Shun Oguri as Ishida Mitsunari Keep in mind that Ishida is supposed to be a prick, and one who sucked up to Hideyoshi big-time! People hated this guy so much that when they caught this traitor, they buried him up to his neck, and then slowly sawed his head off. Now, can Shun portray this type of person? Or, will NHK make Ishida up to be a sweet, nice guy? --- groink

want to bet?
I say NHK will make him look .... tolerable but placed in a difficult situation kind of character

bmwracer wrote:

If that was the fate of all JE boys, I'd watch.... AND record it.

Haha so would I.

groink wrote:

Shun Oguri as Ishida Mitsunari Keep in mind that Ishida is supposed to be a prick, and one who sucked up to Hideyoshi big-time! People hated this guy so much that when they caught this traitor, they buried him up to his neck, and then slowly sawed his head off. Now, can Shun portray this type of person? Or, will NHK make Ishida up to be a sweet, nice guy? --- groink

From what I'm reading on the NHK website, he's sounding quite like a saint. I don't know how the Japanese define the word "�`(gi)", but for us it means justice or righteousness. And that's so not it for Mitsunari.
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http://jdramas.wordpress.com/

jade_frost wrote:

From what I'm reading on the NHK website, he's sounding quite like a saint. I don't know how the Japanese define the word "�`(gi)", but for us it means justice or righteousness. And that's so not it for Mitsunari.

That is so wrong to rewrite the character to appeal to the audience... But it wouldn't be the first time.

I've noticed a pattern with recent Taiga Doramas on their quality:

Toshie to Matsu - Good
Musashi - Good
Shinsengumi! - Sucked
Yoshitsune - Sucked
Komyo ga Tsuji - Good(Didn't watch any of it, but others say it's good)
Fuurin Kazan - Good
Atsuhime - Sucked
Tenchijin - ?

Looks like the mathematical chances of this being good isn't good. But seriously, how "young and popular" is the lead actor? The real trend seems to be that the quality Taiga's have a strong, older lead where the story is important. The weak Taiga's have a younger and popular lead that took precedence over the story.

Sorry, but I have to disagree with you about Atsu-hime I'm really enjoying it. I wouldn't have got to ep. 40 if I didn't

Anime Dad wrote:

Sorry, but I have to disagree with you about Atsu-hime I'm really enjoying it. I wouldn't have got to ep. 40 if I didn't

If all Taigas were as good as Atsu Hime I would be an avowed taiga fan.
I don't care for dramas with violence so the little bit necessary for historical accuracy in Atsu Hime is about right. The interlocking cabals and intrigue are much more interesting for me than a couple of dirty faced guys sticking swords into each other's bellies.

Kijinnmaru wrote:

I've noticed a pattern with recent Taiga Doramas on their quality: ** snip **

Toshiie to Matsu was good, but Atsu-hime was not? And you also liked Musashi?

Well, you have to understand something here... Atsu-hime was written years before Miyazaki-san was even born! Who would you rather have star in that role: someone young who can later slap on some make-up and make her look to be old? Or, have Nogiwa Yoko star from the get-go? If Misora Hibari was around today, she could've played the 20-year old (Toei movie pun.) Do I make my case, or do I make my case??!?!?!

For me, what catches my interest of a particular taiga drama story is the historical story behind it. While the romance and all else is occurring, I'm more interested in the strategies and the politics. NHK, much like a Tom Clancy novel, emphasizes heavily on the accuracy of the battles and politics. So with that in mind:

Toshiie to Matsu - accurate

Musashi - accurate

Shinsengumi! - the events were accurate, but the portrayal of the Shinsengumi... Let's just say NHK would've made Emperor Hirohito out to be a good guy.

Yoshitsune - terrible! But not because of the Johnny power... The story itself makes Yoshitsune out to be more like Lucky Charms or the tooth fairy than a powerful warrior.

Komyo ga Tsuji - accurate

Fuurin Kazan - accurate

Atsu-hime - accurate

--- groink

groink wrote:

....

Are you referring to the script for Atsuhime or the novel it was based on. Either way, as it pertains to Atsuhime, Miyazaki Aoi wasn't the problem; the script was. I watched a third of the series before giving up on it. During that time, I saw barely anything of significance happen; near entire episodes of filler. I seek accuracy in historical dramas like you, but I'm watching a drama, not a documentary. Atsuhime was very lacking in that department. The directing also constantly pulled me out of the illusion. It never felt historical. A third of the way through the series and there wasn't a single memorable character with a personality.

As for the proper age of the actors, I'm of the opinion they find one that can best perform the role. Shingo Katori was the correct age, but his utter lack of acting ability, and a weak script that was written to showcase "Shingo" produced a horrid end result. The trend with the younger and popular actors is that the script is weak and relies on their star power. The trend with "less hot/older" actors is that the story was better written, and depended on strong acting rather than star power.

Quote:

NHK, much like a Tom Clancy novel, emphasizes heavily on the accuracy of the battles and politics.

I stopped reading after "Tom Clancy". Just kidding, but Tom Clancy's "accuracy" always came off as no real insight or knowledge. But I understand what you're getting at. However, for me to consider something quality, I need some strong filmmaking backing up the history. The liberties they took to make Atsu-hime/Tenshoin more significant than being a footnote in history took accuracy and threw it out the door, then punted it. The writer chose convienence over the effort required to make her scenes believable, and the result is me rolling my eyes in scene after scene. Had they made this about Komatsu Tatewaki, and kept the story around him, I think it would have been better. In terms of this particular drama, he had the stronger acting and the more believable story.

I think I've gone on too long in a thread about a completely different drama. We simply judge these series by different standards.

Historically, Naoe Kanetsugu and Uesugi Kenshin had a very "special" relationship.

Any clue as to whether NHK is going to deal with this, or ignore it?
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Itazura ichiban wrote:

Historically, Naoe Kanetsugu and Uesugi Kenshin had a very "special" relationship. Any clue as to whether NHK is going to deal with this, or ignore it?

My bet is on ignore. Takeda Shingen and Kosaka Danjo had a "special" relationship as well, but you don't see it portrayed. There's enough going on in the story that it would only be an unnecessary tangent that will likely be unfavored by the intended viewers. And it likely wouldn't be flattering for the actors involved.

Kijinnmaru wrote:

My bet is on ignore. Takeda Shingen and Kosaka Danjo had a "special" relationship as well, but you don't see it portrayed. There's enough going on in the story that it would only be an unnecessary tangent that will likely be unfavored by the intended viewers. And it likely wouldn't be flattering for the actors involved.

So much for historical accuracy, ne?

Tenchijin to End in November
January 09, 2009

In a very rare move, it seems that this year's taiga drama series on NHK is to end a month early. NHK's annual historical drama has aired on Sunday nights for 50 episodes the last couple of years, but "Tenchijin" will run for only 47. Tenchijin, with an all-star cast led by Tsumabuki Satoshi (28) as medieval retainer Naoe Kanetsugu (1560-1620), got off to a good start last weekend with an audience rating of 24.7% in the Kanto region. But yesterday NHK announced that another major drama series will air in the Sunday night time slot from November 29 to December 27. The cast and large scale of "Saka no Ue no Kumo" was first announced back in November 2007 when filming began, and the series is being shot on 18 locations around Japan as well as Russia, China, France and the U.K. Starring Abe Hiroshi (who's also in Tenchijin) as the famous general Akiyama Yoshifuru (1859-1930), Motoki Masahiro, Kagawa Teruyuki and Kanno Miho, it is based on the historical novel by Shiba Ryotaro (1923-96). This year's five episodes will actually complete the first part of the series. The second series of four episodes will air in the autumn of 2010, while the third and final part will be shown a year after that. An NHK spokesman said that the plan to show the drama in the usual taiga time slot was to ensure that it got the maximum audience exposure and was made well before Tenchijin started.

japanzone
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meoinkie2 wrote:

Nice picture. Tell the guy next to Abe that I'll take a half gallon of rocky road.

gaijinmark wrote:

Nice picture. Tell the guy next to Abe that I'll take a half gallon of rocky road.

The Good Humor Man returns!

I watched the first episode. The scenery was certainly beautifully shot. The episode itself was pretty good too. I like the kid who played Naoe.

bmwracer wrote:

So much for historical accuracy, ne?

Never stopped them before. I'm all for taking believable liberties if the total package benefits, like Musashi and Fuurin Kazan. I caught a bit of the preview on youtube. My impression is that we're going to have another case of Shinsengumi! where the lead actor will be overshadowed by stronger supporting actors. Of course Abe Hiroshi tends to do that to the weak. And he'll be playing Kenshin so we could wash the bad taste of Gackt's hungover portrayal out. I also have a bad feeling that, like Atsuhime, this will end up being a tale of "Everyone in Tenka will love Naoe Kanetsugu" from what I saw. Did Disney buyout NHK?

groink wrote:

Masami Nagasawa as Hatsune It'll be interesting to see this character. I haven't seen Hatsune portrayed in the past NHK storylines.

Going solely off the preview, I have a sinking feeling that her role will be similar to Ueto Aya's casting choice in Yoshitsune: draw in Masami Nagasawa's fan base.