I just realized that this thread is new...(confused with the other one with the long list of dramas....lol!) Anyway thanks for creating it.....it's great to have a dedicated place to discuss Taiga Drama...
Although wikipedia says taiga drama is an historical fiction...i guess it's worth to mention that while some or whole part of the writing might be fictional, it is always based on actual figures and/or events happened in japan history...
In other words, it's more like an historical documentary but with semi-fictional interpretation...additional fictional characters might also be added though depending on the creativity of the script but usually won't affect the important historical events....
I know my english might not good enough to explain it, but i hope you get the idea...
This is to differentiate with other historical dramas from HK, C, T or K...while there are dramas written based on classical novel such as Condor Hero or the 3 kingdoms, i noticed majority of the others (non novel based) are totally fictional in terms of characters and events...I think this is important so that new viewers know what to expect if they're about to pick a Taiga Drama...
So, What to Expect?
(....This is intended for anyone who's new to Taiga Drama and particularly to those who are not familiar with Jdrama....for seasoned viewers please skip this part...)
Firstly, there'll be no such thing as romance in the palace, servant girl fall in love with king/big-shot, or a village thief who's somehow got tangled with palace politics....the usual kind of plots you see in other historical dramas...(well, they probably might appear as minor subplot but not the main focus in Taiga Drama...)
Secondly, knowing some basic japanese classic social structure beforehand might be helpful....for those who are already used to see large palace in non japanese historical, you will be frustrated because there will no such thing in Taiga Drama.....
This is mainly because most of the dramas are focusing on the samurai and from what i have watched only Taira no Kiyomori had featured emperor's palace....and even so it was not that "grand" as compared to chinese and korean....and even in reality, the Edo Castle which the emperor reside in the present day was originally a Tokugawa's castle...which was a samurai...
More about samurai
Talking about samurai, it's worth to know that this social status is a bit unique....i mean they have Shogun-->Deputy Shogun-->Daimyo-->Small Lords-->Castle lords-->Ji Zamurai which basically are all samurai in status....
The amazing thing is that, their maids, pages, bodyguards, retainers are also samurai in status....in some cases these pages, bodyguards, retainers might also have their own castle with their respective retainers which also samurais.....but of course the further down it goes the lower the rank of the samurai is....
Another amazing thing is that, all samurai's daughter are called princess regardless of the rank (i might be wrong with "regardless the rank" part)....so don't be surprise if you see a princess live in a small house-like castle...
While samurai status is second after the royals and nobles, it's not strict at all....technically anyone could be promoted to this status as in the case of Saito Dosan who was a merchant and Hideyoshi who was a farmer....and it's hereditary once you are a samurai.....so there's no such thing as an exam to become a samurai, unlike chinese system (and so the korean) where anyone who wants to enter administration must pass the exam...
Lastly almost in all Taiga drama, the main character will die at the end...either because he/she loses in battle or die due to old age....any character who is supposed to die earlier than him/her as written in history will also die in the drama....so to save yourself from a possible depression it is advised that you do some googling first in case you feel attached to certain characters in the drama....haha
Back to Main Topic
Okay now let's go back to the main topic and sorry for the long slightly off-topic comments above....
Here are what i have watched so far
- Sanada Maru
- Gunshi Kanbei
- Taira no Kiyomori
- Fuurin Kazan
- Toshiie and Matsu
- Aoi Tokugawa Sandai
- Mori Motonari
- Nobunaga 1992
I wanted to watch Musashi but the available video quality is killing me...lol
If you look at my list you'll see that most are between the era of early Sengoku to early Edo period except for Taira no Kiyomori.....although sengoku is one of the most discussed era (other than late Edo/pre Meiji) in japan pop culture, i still find it interesting...mainly because of the tricky diplomatic condition at that time between the lords...it's always nice to see how do these history big-shots choose their ally or enemy and how do they have to (reluctantly) trick others to survive....
Having watched several dramas from the same era might be helpful too...as you can compare the stories....for example in Sanada Maru, Tokugawa Ieyasu is viewed as canny, slick and evil old man.....but in Aoi Tokugawa Sandai you will learned his reasons for being like that...and how he's actually had offered an option for Toyotomi to survive under his rule (however Toyotomi under Lady Yodo's control chose the other way around)...
In Gunshi Kanbei you will see Tokugawa Ieyasu is still viewed as a slick old man but kind enough to kept the promise he made with Kanbei at the end of the series....so many interpretations and perspectives is what makes it interesting...
I must say my favourite among the above watched list is Aoi Tokugawa Sandai....not because of Tokugawa (which i'm not a fan of), but because of it's unique writing style....you will be surprised that this drama feels more "modern" than any other taiga dramas aired in several years after that...the downside is that it features slightly "senior" actors for the lead roles, which makes it harder to attract younger viewer (despite the strong acting)...
Again, sorry for the long post....
Hi guys, let's use this thread to discuss absolutely everything about Taiga!
Simon Boccanegra:
TimiZero:
