Hakuoki (2022)

Hakuoki (2022) deserves more credit than it gets.

Story:

This was a solid game-to-television adaptation. It translates the plot very well for the small screen. One of the things I particularly enjoyed were the scenes written in that either helped clarify or explain things that occurred in the game, well, inexplicably. Some parts are definitely cheesy (which may be due to its otome origin), and it elicited a laugh or two, but the overall story it tells was enjoyable as a fan of the franchise.

The tone for this adaptation was also a lot greyer than its musical or anime counterparts (excluding SSL), but closer to the latter than not. I, admittedly, very much enjoyed this as a person who just enjoys darker dramas, but it handles the more lighthearted or funnier scenes very well; unlike some other adaptions where (looking at you Saito-hen) the comedy can become jarring, and almost take you out of the world quickly enough to have the proceeding scene hard to be taken with any amount of seriousness. It was nice.

In terms of pacing, it’s understandable why the first few episodes go through everything fast–this happens in the musicals too–and it’s a result of not being afforded much time but having a lot of history to get through. The story picks up and considerably gets better post episode 5. The only adaption I can think of that does not really suffer from this problem is the anime series. Could it still have been written better? Absolutely. But I personally was so engrossed post episode 5 that I forgot all about it.

They also have some banger one-liners too.

If you are a Sannan enjoyer like me, you may particularly enjoy this drama. He gets a bigger role in the story that makes sense, and it is simply. So. Good.

I do have to say the final episode had some unexpected additions to it that really divert from the game, which may displease those that enjoy a 1:1 translation, and to be honest, I am still unsure if it helped or hurt the scene. It depends on the viewer, I suppose. Me? I was yelling.

(TLDR) Despite knowing what will happen, because of how faithful it was to the game, including the new additions to it that are different, I was able to suspend my belief enough to enjoy the story as though experiencing it for the first time. The romance is very light, if barely noticeable at all, but very clearly HijiChi. It has some sweet moments.

Episodes 1-5: OK (mainly story and world building)
Episodes 5-7: Better
Episode 8-10: Stellar

Acting/Cast:

The acting by the Shinsengumi squad was actually very good. Standouts are Hijikata, Okita, and Sannan. Heisuke, Shinpachi and Sano have some very good scenes episode 7 and on. Heisuke's final monologue, and the Shinpachi and Sano reunion in episode 9 specifically brought me to tears. All of them though brought their A game for episode 8 and acted as though their rent were due tomorrow. There were many heart-warming moments between the guys throughout the series and I have grown very fond of these iterations of the characters.

I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned before, but I am an avid Sannan enjoyer, and as someone who has seen Sannan in many different mediums- I would like to thank Nakabayashi Taiki for his fantastic work in bringing this character to the small screen. He was one of the few who I felt took him straight out of the PSP console and placed into this drama. He deserves his flowers.

Kanai Sonde, his line deliveries for Souji were wild. I loved every second of it. He’s admittedly a much drier Okita than the other counterparts I’ve seen, but it works so well for the setting. He still brought out that bittersweet emotion in my chest that wanted to console, encourage, and shake him through his arc. He was fantastic for the number of appearances he made.

The demon-vice commander is human. Sakiyama Tsubasa as Hijikata Toshizo was a pleasure to watch. I am honestly left without words to describe how good he was.

The demon trio were pretty good.

The second I saw their silhouettes, teasing their appearance before they were finally brought onto the show- I was excited. They got the job done.

Imari Yu as Kazama. Wow. (Also it must be mentioned that it is hilarious how he is cast as Nagasone, Kondou’s sword, in TouMyu but now finds himself as Kazama of all characters)

Now, I know there is one person left to be mentioned and it was not on accident.

I was left wanting more from Wakayanagi Kotoko as Chizuru. She had strong moments, and got better post episode 5, but I was honestly kind of surprise by the lack of reaction she had to most things happening around her. The look on her face often did not match what was going on, and I’m not sure if that was intentional (as in she was directed to act that way) or if it was for other reasons. Maybe it’s because most of Chizuru’s dialogue is in her head, considering this story is not being told from her point of view. But I would have expected her to wear her emotions a little bit more.

She handled scenes where Chizuru was courageous pretty well though. They were my favorite parts really.

Not my favorite iteration of Chizuru but does not hinder or negatively impact the story progression in any way.

The sets were beautiful. They even shot in the actual historical landmarks! The costumes were also well-made and noticed they were modeled after the Kyoto Winds version. (However, during a flashback scene with Hijikata and Kondou, Hijikata wears a familiar light purple kimono from the 2008 version of the game that was a delight to see)

The only criticisms I had were that the wigs could have been styled better (i.e. Saito and Heisuke) and that they applied this strange filter on some of the scenes meant to resemble the CGs that was a bit much. There are also some minor continuity errors, like hair being installed one way in one part of a scene, but then being styled differently in the other part of the same scene.

Music:
The music was another part that did its job. It was orchestrated for the setting and was nice to listen to, but never took away from a scene.

Rewatch Value:

I will absolutely be rewatching this down the road for the enjoyment of it. It was fun, silly at times, but the drama of it all is what will keep me watching for a very long time. I also hope that there will come a time where we get to hear about a season 2 announcement, and hopefully, get into the Edo Blossoms game.

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