03-25-2013, 02:22 PM | #1 |
時の彼方へ
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Lafayette, Indiana
Posts: 20,578
|
Atsu-hime
Atsu-hime is the 47th NHK Taiga drama. Adapted from the novel Tenshouin Atsu-hime by Miyao Tomiko, the 50-episode program tells the life story of the 19th-century princess who found herself caught in between her homeland, Satsuma, and the Tokugawa Shogunate into which she married. Resources: General: Atsu-hime (TV series) - Wikipedia Atsu-hime (TV series) - DramaWiki Major Important People w/ Wikipedia articles: Okatsu / Atsu-hime / Tenshouin Tokugawa Iesada Shimazu Nariakira Kimotsuki Naogoro / Komatsu Tatewaki Cameos / Bit Roles: Saigou Takamori Ookubo Toshimichi Important Places & Events: Satsuma Province Satsuma Rebellion Satsuma-Choushuu Alliance |
03-25-2013, 02:22 PM | #2 |
時の彼方へ
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Lafayette, Indiana
Posts: 20,578
|
I put this series on hold several years ago because I can wait for good things when I have to and someone was slowly but surely releasing superior subtitles to what were available in 2009. Well, that fansubber wrapped up the last of the episodes less than two months ago, I discovered the other day, and so I decided it was high time I finally checked this series out. Atsu-hime was one of the highest rated historical dramas of the decade. And the book it was based upon was penned by Miyao Tomiko, the same lady who wrote the basis for the 2005 NHK Taiga drama Yoshitsune, based on Tales of the Heike, one of my favorite stories of all time. I don't know what stick the English J-drama fandom had up its ass regarding Yoshitsune (a loud vocal segment of them really hated the series despite the fact that, imo, it was quite wonderful and Japanese viewship comfortably places it in the middle of the pack for the decade), but they lauded Atsu-hime as the #1 drama in years. "Pretty big britches to fill," I said. "Let's see what you've got!" Well, I'm ten episodes in so far, and I have to say that the series is okay thus far but it hasn't won me over the way it won over half of the English fandom. The quality of the acting varies between characters. The most serious ones, thankfully, tend to get some of the best actors backing them up: Takahashi Hideki and Matsuzaka Keiko are veteran actors who have appeared in numerous NHK productions over the years and who turn out some really great performances here as Shimazu Nariakira, the daimyo of Satsuma, and Ikushima, Atsu-hime's etiquette instructor, respectively. Miyazaki Aoi does one hell of an impressive job playing Atsu-hime: at the time of filming, she was only 15 years old, yet at that age she already has such a professionalism and good grasp of acting that you truly feel you're watching the real live Okatsu / Atsuko on camera and not a bumbling child actress trying to play her. In some of the other performances there are shades of the super-dopey comical acting that turned me off NHK's Tenchijin and Gou, but it's largely character-appropriate and kept to a screentime minimum. The plot thus far has gotten painfully slow after an average or slightly above average start. The year is 1853, we've covered ~eighteen years since the series started us off in 1835, and I'm ten episodes in. This might not seem so bad, but the thing to keep in mind is that nothing big has really happened yet. Only the faintest of malcontent amongst the people of Satsuma. Slow, slow baby steps towards getting Okatsu into Edo. (She's still not there yet and I'm 20% of the way through the series!) An inordinate amount of time devoted to a love story I believe is likely the result of the novelist's imagination, a childhood romance between Okatsu and Naogoro, and not based on actual fact. (If it is, then I happily withdraw this criticism. I'm only upset with it because I suspect it's fictional material that is soaking up time that could be spent elsewhere.) However, despite the sneak peek indicating that Episode 11 is nothing but filler material regarding Okatsu x Naogoro, the series does finally feel like it's starting to move forward, and I remain optimistic about the next forty episodes. Certainly, the production so far is better than Gou was, and unlike Gou which I tabled around this very point, I'm in no mood to table Atsu-hime. Starting to get bored, yes, but optimistic things will pick up, absolutely. I guess the most interesting thing I've gotten out of this series is just how complex the Satsuma Rebellion and the Meiji Restoration were among all historical events. Some revolutions, like the French Revolution, are very, very simple. That's not to say they're not detailed! Don't conflate the two: "simple" does not necessarily mean "not detailed." There're loads of details to the French Revolution, but they're all incredibly simple to appreciate. The French Revolution is obvious to anyone who looks at the events leading up to it. The American Revolution, slightly more complex than the French one but not significantly so. But the Meiji Restoration + Satsuma Rebellion? Man, this shit is complex. Not confusing (again, don't conflate terms! ), just complicated. I'll give one example in brief: Shimazu Nariakira, the current daimyo, colluded with the bakufu to force his father into early retirement and is seen by many of his people as their equivalent of a "Washington insider". Yet despite their complaints about Edo, half of the people of Satsuma support Nariakira. Furthermore, despite Nariakira's reputation as a Washington insider, he actually is plotting to
__________________
Last edited by Talon87; 03-26-2013 at 07:52 PM. |
03-26-2013, 10:23 PM | #3 |
時の彼方へ
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Lafayette, Indiana
Posts: 20,578
|
I've watched Episodes 11 through 19. The series has picked up from the dullness I'd written about previously, but it's still nowhere near as excellent as people made it out to be. At least not yet. I'm on the very cusp of the story, from what I understand, with the so-called "first half" behind me and the so-called "second half" ahead of me, so here's hoping Episodes 20 through 50 just blow me away. Obviously, though, the series has to be doing something right if it pulled me in to watch 360 more minutes in about 36 hours. And there are a few things I can certainly point out below. (contains spoilers for Episodes 11 thru 19) Spoiler: show Oh, one last thing. (This one's safe for everyone to click on, whether you've seen the show or not.) Spoiler: show
__________________
Last edited by Talon87; 03-26-2013 at 10:33 PM. |
03-28-2013, 12:22 PM | #4 | |
時の彼方へ
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Lafayette, Indiana
Posts: 20,578
|
Episodes 1 thru 10 made a good, natural block of episodes that corresponded to Atsu-hime's life before moving to Edo. Episodes 11 thru 19 made the next natural block, which was her life in Edo prior to marrying the Shogun. Episodes 20 thru 28 make the third natural block, though what that block is I can't say without it being a spoiler. This is where the series starts to get really good for most viewers, I imagine, as we witness the star of the show, an agent behind enemy lines, falling in love with her target and becoming his greatest support. Spoiler: show EDIT: Just saw this on the Japanese Wikipedia: Quote:
__________________
Last edited by Talon87; 03-28-2013 at 03:39 PM. |
|
04-17-2013, 04:38 PM | #5 |
時の彼方へ
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Lafayette, Indiana
Posts: 20,578
|
I finished Atsu-hime last night. I've been delaying the intended post that would cover the fourth segment of episodes, but I'm still not really feeling up to writing an episode-by-episode account with tons and tons of rescaled pictures right now, so for the time being we'll just have to settle for this post. Maybe some time later I'll come back and offer a more in-depth look at the final segments.
Episodes 29 thru 42 make the fourth natural block of the program. This block covers the years of the rule of the fourteenth Shogun, Tokugawa Iemochi, and introduces several new characters or forces that are going to be important for our story going forward. They include Katsu Rintarou, Sakamoto Ryouma, the Choushuu Domain, and Kazunomiya. Spoiler: show Episodes 43 thru 50 comprise the fifth and final major plot arc in the series, covering the final moments of the Bakumatsu period and (in the final episode) the first breaths of the Meiji period. Here we get to see a rather sad if pitiful tale unfold: the end of over a hundred women's privileged lifestyles as denizens of the Great Inner Chamber. On a more riveting note, we get to see the shit finally hit the fan between the Satcho Alliance and the Edo bakufu, culminating in the opening rounds of the Boshin War. (And later, in Episode 50, we get a minute-long mention of the Satsuma Rebellion.) It was around the end of the previous arc and the beginning of this one that I started to drag my feet with Atsu-hime. Whereas I devoured whole swaths of the program in just a matter of days before, here I took nearly three weeks to finish the final twenty-two episodes, and more accurately I took nearly three weeks to finish the final seventeen or so (as I had gobbled up a few of the episodes of Part 4 before slowing down to a crawl). I never hated or resented the series while finishing up this final portion, but the sentiment of wanting the series to be over and put to rest grew and grew with each passing episode. The final five or so episodes I had to force myself to watch, and I took frequent breaks during them. I want to reemphasize: I didn't hate the experience. But it certainly wasn't what I'd call a supremely pleasurable experience. Part of my frustration was that ... is that ... Atsu-hime is set in a fascinating and historically important time period but has for its focus an ancillary character whose impact on history was arguable at best. I was promised a Japanese Cleopatra or Empress Wu, and the series tried its best I think to deliver in this regard, but it was far too afraid to stray too far from the historical mark and as a result we had for our protagonist a woman living in a time of remarkable chauvinism and patriarchy. And while you might say "Well doesn't that make it fascinating, then? Seeing a male-dominated period of history through a woman's eyes? ", the problem is that what she saw was pretty boring given the fact that she was cloistered away in a virtual prison of gold and silk for ten years. ^^; She didn't really see or do much. She was the top-level authority in the harem, yes, but a harem's impact on the military events of the times or the Westernization of the country is pretty darn limited. The story could've been much more fascinating, I feel, had it been centered on Saigo Takamori, the so-called "Last Samurai" upon whom the Tom Cruise film is (very) loosely based, and had we gotten to see more of the Boshin and Seinan Wars. Perhaps the problem the Bakumatsu period faces, when adapting it to a narrative meant to entertain audiences, is that the players are far too many spread far too thin. You can't really center the story around Emperor Koumei or Emperor Meiji because they led sheltered lives. You can't really center it around the final three Tokugawa shoguns because each ruled for only a few short years before either dying or else being forced into retirement. You can't focus it on any of the generals or notable samurai because most were only involved in one or two of the era's many skirmishes and because most died quite young. There's no silver bullet, no magic candidate of whom you can say "This guy was an important figure out in the field doing stuff from the 1850s through the 1880s." Which is not the same story for the heroes of the Genpei War (my favorite period in Japanese history) or the heroes of the Three Kingdoms period in Chinese history. And I mean ... you don't even have to span forty years of time, that isn't what I'm trying to imply, it's just ... say you even looked at the Imjin War, a fascinating window of time in the histories of Japan, Korea, and China spanning just six years. In that story, you have epic, epic stuff going down. The story of Yi Sun-sin alone is enough to make a grown man cry, and he's only one of the several major players in that tale. From what I witnessed in Atsu-hime, the Bakumatsu period is simply lacking in this regard. I'm at a frustrated loss to explain why beyond what I've clumsily attempted above. The clearest piece of evidence that I am right, however, and that even the writers of the screenplay knew it ... is that Atsu-hime is sort of a double-bill feature. It is as much the story of Komatsu Tatewaki as it is the story of Tenshouin, and the writer of the novel blended the stories of these two individuals together to craft something of a tragic love story which permitted us to see the world inside the palace through Tenshouin's eyes while seeing the world outside the palace through Komatsu's. I feel like the writers must have thought to themselves, "Tatewaki's life story is interesting, yes, but he died so young that there isn't much to tell, not without boring the audience or else cutting the length way, way shorter than 50 episodes. And Tenshouin's life is the same. It's interesting ... but it's not detailed enough to turn into a 50-episode television series. WE KNOW! We'll just ... have the show be about both of them! The Tenshouin & Tatewaki Power Hour! " But then the author of the novel and the writers of the TV series decided to have the title only mention the girl and not both the guy and the girl. And ... I dunno, I feel that was kind of disingenuous of them. ^^; It becomes very clear by the end of the first or second story arc that Naogoro is more than a childhood crush meant to move Okatsu's childhood plot along and that he's going to serve, as Komatsu Tatewaki, as one of the series' two main characters alongside Atsu-hime. Overall series review below.
__________________
Last edited by Talon87; 04-17-2013 at 05:33 PM. |
04-17-2013, 05:26 PM | #6 |
時の彼方へ
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Lafayette, Indiana
Posts: 20,578
|
Disclaimer: scoring system follows the MyAnimeList scoring system, e.g. 7/10 means "Good", not C-grade, 5/10 means "Average", not a failing grade, etc. Plot: 7/10 The story was fine. Good, even. But it wasn't great. It wasn't the NHK Taiga Drama of the Decade as the people on D-Addicts claim it to have been. I've seen two full NHK Taiga dramas now (2005's Yoshitsune and 2008's Atsu-hime), a significant chunk of a third (2011's Gou), and a tiny morsel of one more (2009's Tenchijin), and I can definitely say that Atsu-hime is my second favorite of the bunch ... but is in a rather distant second place to Yoshitsune. But never mind Yoshitsune right now. What about Atsu-hime? Well ... the story is set in the final decades of the Tokugawa shogunate, called the Bakumatsu (lit. "end of the shogunate") period in Japanese history, and tells the life story of Okatsu, a.k.a. Atsu-hime, a.k.a. Tenshouin, who was wed to the 13th Tokugawa shogun, Iesada, and who negotiated the peaceful surrender of Edo Castle in 1868. The story is interesting enough to keep you engaged, particularly if you're interested in Japanese history (or historical biopics period), ... but for your average TV viewer, this is by no means the next Lost or House of Cards. Characters: 7/10 (see below for commentary on actors' portrayals of characters) The characters were fine. Several were already known to me by name before the series began -- Saigou Takamori and Sakamoto Ryouma come to mind -- but most were faces I'm not too familiar with. Like the Meiji Emperor's father, Emperor Koumei. (Didn't realize he was so anti-Western! Kind of surprising considering the Meiji Emperor is so heavily associated with Japan's Westernization.) Or like the main two characters, Atsu-hime and Komatsu Tatewaki. It was an educational experience watching this program, and I am grateful to it for that. Why not a higher score for the characters? Well ... none of them really grabbed me. ^^; There was no Musashibou Benkei. There was no Liu Bei. There was no Yi Sun-sin. Most of the characters technically mattered to Japanese history ... but were not larger-than-life people. They were just ... normal people who found themselves in privileged positions. And as for whether their personal joys and sorrows moved me to tears ... not really. ^^; Acting: 9/10 The NHK has some pretty damn good actors on hand for their Taiga dramas, and Atsu-hime was spoiled rotten by some particularly wonderful performances. Matsuzaka Keiko (playing Ikushima) steals the spotlight in nearly every scene she's in. Hot on her heels is samurai legend and personal favorite from Karei Naru Ichizoku, Kitaouji Kinya (playing Katsu Rintarou). These two are supported by some of the NHK's favorites like Hira Mikijirou (who plays Zusho here and played Go Shirakawa in Yoshitsune) and Takahashi Hideki (who plays Shimazu Nariakira here and played Fujiwara no Hidehira, lord of Oku in Yoshitsune). But I have to give special props to the leading lady herself, Miyazaki Aoi as Atsu-hime. This 22-year old did an incredible job convincing us that she was 15 years old during the first arc and a half, 19-20 years old in the remainder of the second arc and all of the third arc, was like a woman in her 30s in the fourth and fifth arcs, and (if a bit anachronistically) was like a woman in her 50s or 60s in the final episode. She did an amazing job with dialogue / language, convincing us she was a tomboyish girl initially, then a princess-in-training later, then a proper princess later still, and finally a serene, wise old woman. Comparing Miyazaki's character acting in Episode 49 to her character acting in Episode 02 is like comparing Luke Skywalker with Han Solo ... were both acted by the same man. It's an amazing display of capacity for portraying a person's growth and change of character over time so, so realistically, and considering she was only 22 years old at the time this series was filmed, she deserves a friggin' standing ovation for her performance here. Well done! What drags this score down from a 10/10 then? Well ... many of the supporting actors, unfortunately. ^^; The actor who played Nariakira's younger brother made him seem much too comical when he had temper tantrums and as a result he shattered the illusion for me that I was watching real people in the 1860s rather than actors in the 2000s playing them. Likewise, the actors who played Ookubo Toshimichi and Saigou Takamori didn't turn out their best performances imo. I've seen Saigou's actor do better in other avenues, but his Saigou was simply much too much a buffoon. Like a human ape, really. The way he spoke, the way he overreacted when surprised by some great mercy shown to him. I don't know if he was trying to reflect a stereotypical dialect or behavior that Tokyo people perceive of Kagoshima people, but it was way too much and made a hero of the era into such a joke character. Cinematography: 5/10 to 8/10, depending on the director! There was this one director in particular, Horikirizono Kentarou, who had a predilection for shaky handcam close-ups. He'd use them all the time for the most dramatic scenes in his episodes and thus completely ruined them. The camera would be randomly jittering to the left, to the right, up, down, as the person holding it wibbled and wobbled trying their best to hold the camera straight. USE A FUCKING TRIPOD, YOU JACKASS! This isn't art! This is bullshit! Why am I not scoring him lower? Well, even he did a very good job otherwise -- it's just that his predilection for the shaky handcam during critical scenes reduces his score all the way down to a 5/10. Most of the other directors did fine jobs but nothing that really struck me as Karei Naru Ichizoku-level "you deserve an award for your artistic sense of camera placement and direction" stuff. Music: 8/10 It was good, with a few particular tracks really standing out. You can check them out here. Replay Value: Medium Had the story been more amazing, this would've been High; had the production values been worse, Low. As it is, it's plum in the middle of No Man's Land: I wouldn't be against re-watching this some day, but I can think of plenty of other stories I'd rather re-experience first. OVERALL: 7/10 or 8/10, hard to say. I'm leaning more towards 7/10 right now, but I can't help but to wonder if I'm being too hard on the series and am too let down by the rave 10/10 reviews it got from the majority of the English-speaking J-drama community.
__________________
|
Lower Navigation | ||||||
|
Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests) | |
Thread Tools | |
|
|