Sounds like I missed out a LOT then! Trying to understand her complicated situation, but I was just frustrated with her turning her back on the Satsuma clan and embraced being part of the Tokugawa. Especially when she was their last hope in the battle for the heirship after her husband’s death. But I’m glad to finally learn that the story shifted back to the Satsuma Clan. Wasn’t it part of her (first foster) father’s dream to eradicate the olden (and backward) ways and build up, rather modernize Japan’s defenses? I cried when he died… he had a vision, probably along the same lines as Iesada, prior to meeting Atsuhime. When the he married off his daughter to the shogun, she ended up giving him reason to keep the current bakufu alive.

oopss.. kinda way too far from k-ent.. is there other sites just like this which is dedicated to j-ent discussions?

Oh, Gackt’s performance was universally panned and rightfully so. But it’s memorable. Mmm!!

“I can’t remember or probably haven’t gotten to the part of Ryoma’s appearance in Atsuhime. ”

Ryoma comes in about the 2nd half of the story. Basically Atsuhime has 2 major storylines: the asadora-style presentation of life in the ooku, and Satsuma’s alliance with the Choshu. The Satsuma story becomes much more prevalent through the 2nd half of the story, and there you have Eita’s character Komatsu Tatewaki (one of Satsuma’s leaders) interacting with Ryoma. Ryoma is characterized as sort of an oddball, country bumpkin in Atsuhime, but they made a point in emphasizing his dream of a Japanese navy that’ll stand with the Americans and other Western powers.

When I heard about Ryoma Den and Fukuyama, I was ecstatic. He’s not in SMAP though, I think you meant Nakai? I can’t remember or probably haven’t gotten to the part of Ryoma’s appearance in Atsuhime. But the toppling of the Tokugawa Bakufu is what I’m more curious about. Plus Fukuyama’s character playing one of the important role in that change, I might really like this one.

One of the things I loved about the hairdresses (and different kimono and even how sometimes she had certain powder and so on) was how it reflected different stages in her social standing and deference as well as her own personal development. My mum and I would often remark about her essemble whenever it shifted throughout the show.

“I have all those titles so I should be able to start working on it. Gackt as Kenshin??? Hahhaha.. would it be enough to last me all 49 episodes?”

Fuurin Kazaan (which aired in 2007) focuses on one of Uesugi’s main rivals, the Takeda clan. The involvement between the Uesugi and the Takeda clan doesn’t arrive until about halfway through the show (basically, the Uesugi were in SO much sheezy that they beseeched Kenshin to leave his monastic isolation and lead them. In a sense, the Godlike Kenshin is almost like a warrior priest) Fuurin Kazaan ends with the rivalry between Shingen and Kenshin, which overlaps with the Tenchijin story.

The NHK taiga planning seems to be dithering in a parallel, serial fashion. Fuurin Kazaan covers the Takeda and the rivalry between them and the Uesugi . Two seasons later, Tenchijin covers the Uesugi , overlapping near the later part of the Shingen/Kenshin rivalry. The 2010 taiga is going back to the Bakafu to cover Sakamoto Ryoma. Now, if you watched Atsuhime, Ryoma was one of Eita’s closest buddies and you may recall that Ryoma’s mentor was one of Atsuhime’s most trusted friends, who dreamed of building the Japanese navy. And, so, this drama will be about the Japanese navy, which was discussed in Atsuhime. If we get naval battles, this show will be Ultimate Win.

Oh and Fukuyama Masaharu (lead actor of Galileo, as well as the leader of SMAP) is going to play Ryoma.

“Gackt as Kenshin??? ”

Oh, Gackt haunted my dreams as Kenshin. Was his acting good? Was it in any way realistic? Was it remotely Uesugi Kenshin? Hellz no!! But OMG — it was like watching . . . uhhh . . . RUROUNI Kenshin come to life!!

(One of the things I treasure most about Japanese dramas/movie culture is that, sometimes, they totally sidestep the “but is this good?” question by making it so frigging out there that reasonable notions of taste, if not sanity itself, gets destroyed in a shower of BISHONEN POWA!!! And this is one of those moments. )

Anyway, for the NHK Year-end Gala (and yes, in our house, we try to watch the MBC Awards Show, KBS Awards Show, NHK Gala, and Ryan Seacrest’s Year End Ball all the same time on Dec 31st ), they had Gackt re-enact his Uesugi Kenshin role, and then perform Returner. So, what you see here . . . is pretty dang close to what his Uesugi Kenshin was like. Prepare to be taken back to Sengoku!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfCxeEvFc9w&fmt=18

I suppose my standards is different from usual Taiga watcher since Yoshitsune was my first title. Tenchijin was addicting from the start, considering it has Hiroshi Abe plus I too like Tsumabuki and Tokiwa Takako (and Tamayama- realized that he really can’t act here.. i knew he wasn’t the best, but Tenchijin somewhat highlighted that weakness. He’s still hot so it somewhat compensates me). I couldn’t shake off Abe’s silliness from his previous roles, that seeing him as Kenshin was so refreshing to me. He embodied the “god-of-war-like” Kenshin. His aura in that drama made me understand why Nobunaga considered him as a huge block to his plan in conquering the whole country. And now at ep 11, the supposed heir is portrayed as “weak” and “indecisive” <_< .. I find myself not so addicted to it anymore.

Since Nobunaga and Hideyoshi almost always appear in Taigas, how do you get used to different portrayals? I can’t seem to get used to Tenchijin’s Nobunaga when Sorimachi Takashi already did an amazing job in Toshie to Matsu.

Thanks for the recommendations, I have all those titles so I should be able to start working on it. Gackt as Kenshin??? Hahhaha.. would it be enough to last me all 49 episodes? I forgot to go back and pick up on Komyou ga Tsuji… and Hojo Tokimune. Since I started watching Hojo Tokimune right after Yoshitsune, I was kinda biased towards the show that I ended up dropping it. Learning how Masako and the Hojos used Yoritomo to gain power.. how Yoritomo’s vision of the bafuku, to which (according to the drama) he had to sacrifice his own brother, is the total opposite to the one that the Hojo controlled some decades after his death. But now, thinking back to it without bias, story actually seems much more interesting.

@Kobe,

That’s okay. At least you showed up to play. Unlike Bynum. Is Phil saving Bynum saving for July? And tell Gasol to stop playing like a little girl!!!

@jing,

“I tried to watch Atsu-Hime but gave up over half-way through.. ”

I really enjoyed Atsuhime, but it’s really an one hour asadora (which is fine for me!) I think the inherent problem with Atsu-hime is that you have a story about the ooku while the Bakamatsu was going on. This is the equivalent of doing a story about “the help” while the Civil War is burning down the mansion. It’s perhaps interesting as a short series, but kinda trivial as taiga. All the same, as an asadora, working through the tropes of disapproving stepmoms and formal rituals of family, it’s just marvelous. And Miyazaki Aoi wears some impressive hairdresses.

“then now I’m following Tenchijin.”

I really like some of the arty touches they’ve done for Tenchijin (for example, when Kanetsugu is alone and acting out a 2-man play), and I also like Tsumabuki Satoshi (he’s been compared to Won Bin ) a lot. I even saw Nada Sousou (Okinawa and Taiwanese folk songs are a lot alike BTW), so I really enjoy any scene between Satoshi and Masami Nagasawa. But I also think this is easily the worst taiga I’ve ever seen. Does Kanetsugu have to cry in EVERY episode? When you watch taiga, you should feel like you need an encyclopedia or at least wiki to match up all the names and plots? Not here. This is a story about a guy who basically cries around grown samurai in order to shape the fate of the Uesugi. Also, taiga’s episodic format makes this even more obvious how slow the overall storyline is, which seems impossible given that the story could easily focus on the struggle between the demonic Nodabunga (any taiga with Nodabunga in a major role should be all sorts of fun) and the godlike Kenshin, and then the struggle within the clan.

Having said that, I’m enjoying the show. When Satoshi cries, a new tree grows in New Zealand.

“I remember you mentioning recent taiga deteriorating. In what way exactly? ”

It’s just the general consensus since Yoshitsune (or, as it’s sometimes called “YoSHITsune”. ) That the much venerated NHK tradition finally succumbed to the teen audience market and started watering down the storylines, casting actors who aren’t ready for this kind of stuff, etc. (For example, casting Shota Matsuda prominently in Atsu-hime, that type of thing wouldn’t have been done years ago.) Tenchijin is even more extreme.

Having said that, I remember liking Yoshitsune. And in general, I like jidaigekis, be it taiga, chambara, or an asadora from the early 20th century, etc. If you liked Toshie to Matsu, there’s Komyo ga Tsuji starring Nakama Yukie (not as good, but the husband/wife dynamic is still moving.) If you like swordplay, there’s Mushashi. If you like Gackt, there’s his uhhh “memorable” crossdressing/manequin/Visual Kei interpretation of Uusegi Kenshin (yup, the same bloke in Tenchijin played by Hiroshi Abe . . .. RETUUUURRNNAAAAAAA!!!), Fuurin Kazan. If you want a depiction of the Bakamatsu, there’s Shinsengumi.

I remember you mentioning recent taiga deteriorating. In what way exactly? I tried to watch Atsu-Hime but gave up over half-way through.. then now I’m following Tenchijin. I finished Toshie to Matsu and Yoshitsune (my 1st taiga), so I just assumed their style is different from usual jdramas. What recent titles would you recommend?

Part of the power of the “oppa” thing is learned. if you are in hs / college, and you have an older “sis” / noona who you look up to and so on, and she, in turn, has an “oppa” who she just kind of adores, it’s a very weird, very kind of “the world is a circle, life is a circle, we are all connected, everything is everything” zen thing that is going on.

It’s like that Wilkinson razor commercial, “fight for kisses” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LuSBCIV1zuQ. Guess which character you are.

That older ‘sis’ treats you like a kid brother (i.e., a baby), and then she in turn gets treated specially by her oppa, but then what does that make you and that oppa? I guess that “should” make him your “hyung” but sometimes it doesn’t work like that you just get mixed feelings, especially if that guy takes up all of your noona’s time. You and that oppa are not REALLY in competition but there is an element of awe / jealousy / where’s my free lunch going on, competition for attention, etc. You will never be an oppa to your older ‘sis’, but at some point you realize you will be an oppa to someone else down the line, and the circle of life repeats. Conflict solved, sorta, unless you have a Dal Ja’s Spring – younger guy / older woman thing going on… then I’m not sure how that works.

But here’s my point. Through this process, you learned by watching. Someone who took care of you was in turn made to feel special by someone else, and so you learn that as well.

Fight for oppa-ness. The baby turns into the master. Who then is turned into a walking wallet and keyfob by the o-p-w. It’s a circle thing.

LOL I always thought that “Tao Yan” meant “annoying” or “you’re so annoying”, because my better half says that to me all the time, and yes, she does it with the hit ‘n turn around thing as well! I never really asked her what it meant, I just assumed it meant “annoying” because she does that whenever I’m being annoying

But you’re right though, it is quite a powerful techinique, although not quite as potent at OPW. Funnily enough, I’ve never even experienced OPW IRL nor am I Korean yet I can feel it’s power already. I guess it doesn’t really matter since THT gets me all the time anyway

Just a question: Why do girls (especially Asian girls) talk with a higher pitch when they’re with guys they like?

@Belleza

Sorry my radar was a bit off tonight but it won’t happen again!

“This will force him to try and comfort you and agree to all your demands.”

. . . with severe sense of reproach

The THT works best if you can execute it with a severe frown and if your voice goes up 2 octaves. But don’t overdo it. Then you’ll look like Zhang Ziyi, and everybody will hate you.