Atsuhime...30 episodes to go
20th August 2008, Wednesday
Buoyed by my undying interest in everything Japan including their rich history and culture, I seem to grow to really like taiga dorama (大河ドラマ), the annual year-long series depicting background story of some well-known historical figure of the past from NHK.
It also helped with the casting of contemporary actors whom we grew accustomed to over years of watching trendy doramas and listening to J pop music.
In 2005, it was Shingo and gang in "Shinsengumi", followed by his Johnny's Jimusho kohai Takizawa Hideaki in "Yoshitsune" in 2006.
The above-mentioned ignited that Taiga-interest within me, eradicating the myth that period drama is long, dry and sleep inducing.
One of the series I had been yearning to catch is "Furin Kazan" from last year starring Gackt about a general under the leadership of renowned damiyo, Takeda Shingen.
However there was no reliable source for a English/Mandarin sub back then and I am still seeking a DVD set from perhaps Taiwan eventually.
This year's Taiga goes back to the late Edo shogunate with the story of Tensho-in or Atsuhime, the wife of the 13th Shogunate Tokugawa Iseda.
The series was well billed by popular actress, Miyazaki Aoi (Nana fame) as Atsuhime. This tale about the Ooku surely generated plenty of fanfare in Japan with wide viewership since it began its run in January.
We caught the 1st episode over the weekend which really build on the character in her early life (as with most Taiga I've watched) and things surely get interesting as she was betrothed to the shogun.
The big obstacle now is to gather the remaining 31 episodes (as of this week) which can be really daunting (since some episodes are uploaded so long ago).
Then we have to find a good time to do a marathon on it though from past experience it wouldn't be hard to really immersed yourself in the storyline since there are always conniving and cunning heels you just want to see what ill fate they deserved in those times.
We also caught 3 Japanese movies of recent times over the weekend:
Kurosagi : The film version of that popular dorama starring NEWS leader Yamaguchi Tomohisa never really arrived in Singapore as me and the missus expected. Carried on from the drama series, Kurosagi, the swindler who swindled other notorious swindlers continued his vendetta and faced a tough opposition this time portrayed by Takenaka Naoto (one of the funniest guy on J dorama and no show could fail with him in it...maybe Andromeda). The ending left with the prospect of a sequel.
Naoko: A pretty good show to catch in the middle of the Olympics fever which tells a tale about the struggle of a talented marathon runner to gear his team to beat the odds in a relay marathon. The movie stars 2 od the brightest young stars these days, Ueno Juri (Nodame no Cantabile & Last Friends) as Naoko, the girl from Tokyo with asthma and Miura Haruma (Koizora & Gokusen 3) as the talented runner, Yuusuke. While the show really tells the tale about Yuusuke, the role of Naoko becomes very peripheral yet the title of the show tells otherwise which can be rather befuddling.
ALWAYS zoku Sanchome no Yuuhi: The whole gang from Sanchome is back... Suzuki, the brute automobile repairman and his family as well as the wretched aspiring writer, Chakawa and his obedient Junnosuke under his inept guardianship. This sequel of the award winning first ALWAYS was released in Japan on my birthday last year when we were in Japan. Had been anticipating to catch it, knowing it would not be shown in Singapore as of the prequel. I am just glad to watch the conclusion of the nostalgic Showa period comedy cum sentimental drama with great visuals which set us the mood back to the 1950s Japana, fantastic acting chemistry between the cast and splendid storyline.
Now with this new source of Japanese entertainment, our weekends should sure filled with more Japanese movies quite impossible to be watched in local theaters...
Buoyed by my undying interest in everything Japan including their rich history and culture, I seem to grow to really like taiga dorama (大河ドラマ), the annual year-long series depicting background story of some well-known historical figure of the past from NHK.
It also helped with the casting of contemporary actors whom we grew accustomed to over years of watching trendy doramas and listening to J pop music.
In 2005, it was Shingo and gang in "Shinsengumi", followed by his Johnny's Jimusho kohai Takizawa Hideaki in "Yoshitsune" in 2006.
The above-mentioned ignited that Taiga-interest within me, eradicating the myth that period drama is long, dry and sleep inducing.
One of the series I had been yearning to catch is "Furin Kazan" from last year starring Gackt about a general under the leadership of renowned damiyo, Takeda Shingen.
However there was no reliable source for a English/Mandarin sub back then and I am still seeking a DVD set from perhaps Taiwan eventually.
This year's Taiga goes back to the late Edo shogunate with the story of Tensho-in or Atsuhime, the wife of the 13th Shogunate Tokugawa Iseda.
The series was well billed by popular actress, Miyazaki Aoi (Nana fame) as Atsuhime. This tale about the Ooku surely generated plenty of fanfare in Japan with wide viewership since it began its run in January.
We caught the 1st episode over the weekend which really build on the character in her early life (as with most Taiga I've watched) and things surely get interesting as she was betrothed to the shogun.
The big obstacle now is to gather the remaining 31 episodes (as of this week) which can be really daunting (since some episodes are uploaded so long ago).
Then we have to find a good time to do a marathon on it though from past experience it wouldn't be hard to really immersed yourself in the storyline since there are always conniving and cunning heels you just want to see what ill fate they deserved in those times.
We also caught 3 Japanese movies of recent times over the weekend:
Kurosagi : The film version of that popular dorama starring NEWS leader Yamaguchi Tomohisa never really arrived in Singapore as me and the missus expected. Carried on from the drama series, Kurosagi, the swindler who swindled other notorious swindlers continued his vendetta and faced a tough opposition this time portrayed by Takenaka Naoto (one of the funniest guy on J dorama and no show could fail with him in it...maybe Andromeda). The ending left with the prospect of a sequel.
Naoko: A pretty good show to catch in the middle of the Olympics fever which tells a tale about the struggle of a talented marathon runner to gear his team to beat the odds in a relay marathon. The movie stars 2 od the brightest young stars these days, Ueno Juri (Nodame no Cantabile & Last Friends) as Naoko, the girl from Tokyo with asthma and Miura Haruma (Koizora & Gokusen 3) as the talented runner, Yuusuke. While the show really tells the tale about Yuusuke, the role of Naoko becomes very peripheral yet the title of the show tells otherwise which can be rather befuddling.
ALWAYS zoku Sanchome no Yuuhi: The whole gang from Sanchome is back... Suzuki, the brute automobile repairman and his family as well as the wretched aspiring writer, Chakawa and his obedient Junnosuke under his inept guardianship. This sequel of the award winning first ALWAYS was released in Japan on my birthday last year when we were in Japan. Had been anticipating to catch it, knowing it would not be shown in Singapore as of the prequel. I am just glad to watch the conclusion of the nostalgic Showa period comedy cum sentimental drama with great visuals which set us the mood back to the 1950s Japana, fantastic acting chemistry between the cast and splendid storyline.
Now with this new source of Japanese entertainment, our weekends should sure filled with more Japanese movies quite impossible to be watched in local theaters...
Japanese word of the day: 忍耐 (Patience) Really need that while waiting to gather the entire series of Taiga dorama at one go
posted by Kei at
4:28 PM
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