!!WARNING!! This section may contain spoilers! Do not proceed if you do not want to read about this drama's endings and plots!
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| 1. | Comments by snow_san [Rating: 8/10] Cut&paste of the synopsis courtesy Groink from DramaWiki:
Tokugawa Yoshimune is the 8th Shogun of the Tokugawa Shogunate. He continues to have bad people creating havoc within his city of Megumi. With the help of his close associates, Lord Tokugawa is allowed to roam throughout his city, disguised as Tokuda Shinnosuke, an average Joe living within Megumi. By mixing in with the population, Shin-san (as everyone in the city calls him) is able to research issues first-hand. His help include oniwaban (ninjas) and the captain of the Megumi fire company. Yoshimune uses the fire company as his base while he's away from Himeji Castle. The captain of the company, and the oniwaban know his identity, but everyone else in the city are unaware that he is the Shogun. Once Yoshimune solves the crimes, he confronts them. Just about every time, the bad people whip our their samurai swords in an attempt to kill Yoshimune, although most of the time they still don't know who he REALLY is. Most of the time, Yoshimume flips his samurai sword so that the dull side is out. This way, he can still take his opponents down without making sashimi out of them. Very rarely will he actually hit people with the sharp part of the blade... They have to be some really mean guys for Yoshimune to go that far!
The show was frequently topical, and touched on many themes of present-day life. The most common subject was political corruption. Drugs, unequal power relationships, poverty, urbanization, the generation gap, inflation, and the tension between Japanese and foreign knowledge were recurring themes.
My comments/rating are based on a 5 disc boxset I purchased titled: The Best Of Abarenbo Shogun/Unruly Shogun Season I (1978~1982). This DVD set contains the best, most memorable 28 episodes which was carefully chosen to represent the very first season of Abarenbo Shogun.
I had watched a bit of this awhile back when visiting my Japanese relatives. An enjoyable jidaigeki with Ken Matsudaira as the cool lead ~ upbeat&happy personality. His compassionate&comical friend Kitajima Saburo. And a male and a female oniwaban (ninja) who act as both spies and bodyguards for Yoshimune. There's a few other characters that really stand out also. It's a good looking/sharp supporting cast.
15th episode was pretty good. Bit of romance. 16&18 good also. 16-18 episodes focused on a supporting character(s). Help show the close bond between the Shogun and those close to him. 20th episode a bit sad. This is a really good jidaigeki. Credit to the writers. |
| 2. | Comments by Jellybean66 [Rating: 10/10] I happened upon this show purely by accident on a local PBS station in New York in the 90's. Unfortunately, it wasn't on at a regular time so I was always looking for it. I had forgotten the name of it until I found it again when I googled "shogun". I was looking for more info on the mini series with Richard Chamberlain. I saw that mini series and I was looking to buy it when I saw Abarenbo Shogun on the list!!! Now I'll have to see if I can buy any of the episodes. |
| 3. | Comments by i_heart_jrock [Rating: 10/10] Grew up watching the show... (my grandpa is obsessed with this show @.@ and my grandma is in love with matsudaira ken) ::lazy to write something about the show again XD:: |
| 4. | Comments by glayjiro1017 [Rating: 10/10] I love this jidai geki!
Matsudaira Ken fits Tokugawa Yoshimune and his many alias perfectly! =)
Uesamaaa ! |
| 5. | Comments by elisan [Rating: 10/10] Have seen 120 episodes including 10 Specials ;) my absolute favorite ... |
| 6. | Comments by yami-sakura [Rating: 10/10] I grew up watching this show!! Matsudaira Ken pwnz! |
| 7. | Comments by Ally-Chan [Rating: 2/10] DAMN YOU, SAMURAI!!!! DAMN YOOOOOUUUU!!! |
| 8. | Comments by .k3NiCHi [Rating: 10/10] I grew up on this show. =] |
| 9. | Comments by minochi99 [Rating: ?/10] Haven't completed. |
| 10. | Comments by Rinrin [Rating: 9/10]
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| 11. | Comments by Eve [Rating: ?/10]
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| 13. | Comments by Mylene [Rating: ?/10]
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| 17. | Comments by Japanesedoramadvd [Rating: ?/10]
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| 18. | Comments by teng_chelsea [Rating: ?/10]
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| 19. | Comments by redchan [Rating: 10/10]
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| 20. | Comments by azarname [Rating: ?/10]
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| 21. | Comments by neiyumiko [Rating: ?/10]
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| 22. | Comments by Reiko chan 85 [Rating: 10/10]
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| 23. | Comments by bakaneko_san [Rating: ?/10]
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| 24. | Comments by makaveli808 [Rating: 10/10]
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| 28. | Comments by grizzledwatcher [Rating: 10/10]
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| 29. | Comments by asugar2 [Rating: ?/10]
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