gaijinmark wrote:

Probably. Komyo ga Tsuji came after Yoshitsune, my all-time worst taiga ever. The difference is Komyo ga Tsuji had Yukie Nakama to bail them out. Matsuyama doesn't have near the star power.

Agree about Matsuyama. For the life of me, I still can't figure out why it's him. I guess I'll find out when episode 2 airs, I think he'll feature then. And this is a pretty all-star line-up, I hope that counts for something in the end.

I caught bits of episode 1, seems fairly boring because it was all set-up. The storyline had better be good.
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藤木直人

bmwracer wrote:

Is that the size they call "athletic fit?"

Just got through episode 1, fairly all right. Nakai Kiichi was good as Tadamori, I thought the best moment was when he cradled baby Kiyomori in the fields. Ito Shiro was a very nasty Emperor Shirakawa all right, I'll be happy to see him get his comeuppance.

Next episode has the hotties!
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Saw the first promo for it here last night. Looks like it'll start for us on Feb. 25th.

gaijinmark wrote:

Saw the first promo for it here last night. Looks like it'll start for us on Feb. 25th.

Yeah, I saw the trailers during the last episode of Go... Looks like a Japanese version of Waterworld.

Picture time again Scenes from episodes 2-5:





A few of Saigyo:



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Is anyone other than you watching this Taiga?

bmwracer wrote:

Is anyone other than you watching this Taiga?

I don't think so At least if they are, they're not posting in this thread. Nevertheless, I shall persevere because of Fujiki
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藤木直人

junny wrote:

I don't think so At least if they are, they're not posting in this thread. Nevertheless, I shall persevere because of Fujiki

Good for you.

I am waiting to watch this taiga on Feb 25th when it will start with the English subs.

I was about to watch it on the other channel but I think it will be a very intense dialogue which for me will need subs to help me understand what is happening.

brad2 wrote:

I am waiting to watch this taiga on Feb 25th when it will start with the English subs. I was about to watch it on the other channel but I think it will be a very intense dialogue which for me will need subs to help me understand what is happening.

Yes, I agree the Japanese in Taiga dramas (to me anyway) seems a lot more difficult than normal dramas(unfortunately my Japanese is just not up to scratch)So I'm finding this very heavy going. Last year I gave up on Go (being dim )but this year I've decided to stick this one out. So I came prepared with history book & dictionary this year and I found the NHK cast list for Taira no Kiyomori really helpful(I have to keep referring to this )

http://www9.nhk.or.jp/kiyomori/cast/index.html

I've watched up to 5 episodes but I can't honestly say that I've found this very enjoyable or interesting so far. One thing that I first noticed is that Heian Jidai style strangely seems to suit Wakui Emi but not Ryo.

Sun_Shang_Xiang wrote:

One thing that I first noticed is that Heian Jidai style strangely seems to suit Wakui Emi but not Ryo.

Do you mean the long hair and flowing robes? If so, I agree Wakui Emi looks better. Ryo has a long face and the Heian style only serves to make her face longer and thinner, which isn't a good thing since she's already rather slim. I think Dan Rei looks lovely in the Heian style, but her character is really...

I also updated the character chart on the first page of the thread.
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藤木直人

Watched episode 1. Nakai is good (and that feeling might just be a carryover from also currently watching him in "Saigo Kara"). Ask me in about 20 weeks if this is going to be real good or not. As the managers like to say during spring training, "It's too early to tell."

Well, maybe not 20 weeks. It was pretty obvious by about episode 10 that Gou was a piece of crap. And judging by the ratings, people in Japan thought so too.

junny wrote:

Do you mean the long hair and flowing robes? If so, I agree Wakui Emi looks better. Ryo has a long face and the Heian style only serves to make her face longer and thinner, which isn't a good thing since she's already rather slim. I think Dan Rei looks lovely in the Heian style, but her character is really... I also updated the character chart on the first page of the thread.

Thanks ......The confrontations between Tamako and Nariko are quite enjoyable It took me a while before I recognized Yamamoto Koji who I quite enjoyed watching in Kagero no Tsuji with his super dupa fighting skills.Looks like his eyebrows have been shaved off.






Seems Matsuda Shouta is about to appear in episode 9.

Ratings for the first 8 episodes:


1. 17.3%

2. 17.8%

3. 17.2%

4. 17.5%

5. 16.0%

6. 13.3%

7. 14.4%

8. 15.0%

Just as a comparison, "Gou" was over 20% 9 of it's first 10 episodes and averaged 17.7 for the full run of the drama. Looks like these guys are really going to struggle.

Ratings are quite disheartening I hope they improve. I haven't been able to keep up with the episodes, but are they really that bad? Or are viewers just not used to the Heian period stuff?
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junny wrote:

Or are viewers just not used to the Heian period stuff?

I'm hoping that's it. Although it looks like this was filmed in dustbowl Oklahoma, and in keeping with taiga tradition the weakest link so far (at least to me) is the lead actor.

Really trying hard to stay with this taiga. You are right that we are not used to the Heian period. There is not much to find about it in drama and it is so early that there is not a real society set up yet. The Emperors are totally in charge it seems and when they are so horrible it makes for a grim story to be told.

I agree that this would probably go faster with a different lead actor. I have never seen him before myself and to be honest I am finding it hard to recognize him at times. It really is a dirty company in very tattered dull clothing. Even the natural settings are not exactly standing out with colour.

Right now I think Kyomori is still in his teens so he can't be expected to act with any authority I suppose. He is still unaware that he 'don't know that he don't know'.

I am looking forward to Shota. He looks as tho he will be a strange flower in the bunch. I do like him however, so it may change the mood a little.

nosnoop wrote:

Taira no Kiyomori (NHK 2012 Taiga) Code: Wk Date Ratings Wk Date Ratings 1 1/8 17.3% 11 3/18 13.2% 2 1/15 17.8% 12 3/25 12.6% 3 1/22 17.2% 4 1/29 17.5% 5 2/5 16.0% 6 2/12 13.3% 7 2/19 14.4% 8 2/26 15.0% 9 3/4 13.4% 10 3/11 14.7% Average: 15.31%

Thru episode 5, so about 10% into this and honestly, as far as the low ratings go, I'm flummoxed!!
Okay, it's not going to make me forget Musashi or Fuurin Kazan, but I don't think it's THAT bad. My only guess is that when people stopped watching Gou for whatever reason they haven't picked up on this one yet.

And shades of Errol Flynn, next week there's a pirate battle!!

Well the thing that makes it hard for me is that I can't understand why they have a man in his thirties or so, playing a 14 yr old boy.
I know that at that time Japanese boys were regarded as mature once they had their name given officially. However Kiyomori is such a retarded person when it comes to his attention to his father and his family and what his future is going to be. He is forever rushing madly out of the house when something new is said or done. He just can't grow up yet.
Why do they do this casting ?? Same with GOU. I hated that beginning stuff with Ueno playing a nine year old girl. They have plenty of really good child actors in Japan so it doesn't make much sense.