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Re: J-Drama: 真田丸 (Sanadamaru)


Peg-san, the drama is still being aired with e-subs on UTB. I think you're watching the TV Japan version, which is not aired with e-subs and is ahead of our schedule here on the board. Please watch the version of the show aired on UTB, since that is aired with e-subs and matches our viewing schedule we follow here.

I checked UTB's website, and it says they are on Channel 118 on Cox Cable. Sanadamaru airs just one time on Sunday nights from 7:00p to 8:00p, although there are just two episodes left to go.
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Re: J-Drama: 真田丸 (Sanadamaru)


<EPISODE 49>

We just have one more episode to go after this. If they had paced things out a little differently in #49, this could have very well been the finale. I guess the writers are trying to milk this one as much as they can. Oh well...

UTB will break up the finale into two parts. This will be the last Taiga we'll be seeing for at least a few months. According to their website, UTB has decided to follow this drama with Hanasaki Mai Season 2, which is a contemporary J-drama. Since UTB is only airing for 1 night a week now, they can only show one drama at a time, so perhaps they are going to rotate the Taigas with contemporary J-dramas. I have no idea what will air after Hanasaki Ma 2, but I presume it'll be the 2017 Taiga drama.

The forced scene with Yukimura and Kiri at the end was annoying. I guess the "kiss" was supposed to be the resolution to the brewing "love affair" between Yukimura and Kiri that we've been seeing for 49 episodes. Now that the writers got that out of their system, I hope we'll have a serious final episode.

After years of marriage, we finally had a memorable moment between Yukimura and Haru - their farewell. Honestly, I found this scene more touching than their wedding day scene - a scene which I don't even remember. In fact, the whole Haru-Yukimura marriage is a blur, and I don't remember anything about it. I wish the writers had developed Yukimura's personal life with his wife and children more. Instead, we got a whole bunch of political stuff (which I don't mind) and a whole bunch of Kiri (which, looking back, I did mind.)

My favorite scene was between the two brothers, G-Bro and Yukimura. Though he vehemently protested it, we know that Yukimura has decided that he will perish in the upcoming battle, hence his desire to drink with his brother one last time. G-Bro doesn't want to believe that his brother will die in this battle, and he thus refuses to share a drink with him - if he doesn't give into his brother's request, maybe, just maybe, Yukimura will change his mind. Alas, such is their fate.

With the ronin being defeated in battle left and right, all that is left is the annihilation of Osaka Castle. The stubborn Toyotomi leadership stripped Yukimura of all his military strategies, so basically, Yukimura has to come up with a strategy that involves fighting to the death and going down with the castle. Hence his decision to send his wife and daughters away.

Still, though, I wonder if Ieyasu would have changed his mind if Hideyori suddenly conceded defeat and agreed to vacate Osaka Castle? He admitted that the Toyotomi bloodline continuing anywhere, in any capacity, was not possible any longer, so even if Hideyori surrendered, agreed to banish the ronin, and exile himself to Shikoku, I suspect Ieyasu would have still found an excuse to get rid of him.

The Ieyasu actor is doing a great job. You can tell he knows he doesn't have much time left, and that this is his final big battle.

We're in the summer of 1615. Part 1 Episode 50 airs tomorrow...
 

Last edited by Hiroshi66, 2/11/2017, 3:37 pm
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Fumichan Profile
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Re: J-Drama: 真田丸 (Sanadamaru)


The useless and badly filmed "kiss" didn't exist in the original script by the way. It is confirmed that it was originally just supposed to be a hug. According to interviews of the writers Kiri is also not supposed to be a love interest (probably since many people bashed the choice of her as the heroine since it does not make sense). They originally wanted Yukimura to marry her before Hidetsugu's daughter and Haru however probably didn't have the time. All episode summaries merely mention a hug.

Seriously who cares whether she was Yukimura's second wife when he married two younger wives after her and when she wasn't important? She probably wasn't even around anymore during Kudoyama and especially Osaka. Also adding Kiri in Senhime's rescue story to give her screentime in the finale made me eyeroll again. Her character is ridiculous.

Also think about it:

Real Yukimura declared Yoshitsugu's daughter his main wife (even though she wasn't originally) since she gave birth to the heir Daisuke and later the spare Daihachi. She was 12 to 20 years younger than him and politically important. She also developed the Sanadahimo and is the only wife of Yukimura who anecdotes exist about since she was said to be super tragic and nice. She also has a very nice grave site.

Also Haru's actress is way younger and attractive than Kiri's as well.

Haru also had many children: Daisuke, Daihachi, Ume according to Date Clan sources, Aguri, Oshobu, Okane and one girl who died young.

With no other wife Yukimura had as many children as with her.

The Date and Katakura clan by the way did really take in several of her children.

Yoshitsugu's daughter was around Yukimura until it got too dangerous. Most daughters were sent to other clans and Daihachi adopted by the Katakura. Daisuke stayed with Yukimura and later with Yodo and Hideyori. Yukimura also gave Yoshitsugu's daughter a keepsake in reality: a knife

What the finale won't show about Haru:

When the Siege was over Yoshitsugu's daughter was captured along with her daughter Aguri (who doesn't appear in Sanadamaru but in Sanada Taiheiki) by Asano Nagaakira. She was brought to the Tokugawa and the knife was conficated. It was debatted whether the Tokugawa should punish her for treason however Ieyasu pardonned her and she became a nun and lived in Kyoto and was allowed contact to several of her children.

Haru's life is way more exciting than Kiri's almost entirely fictional life can ever hope to be: she was Gyobu's daughter, tied Yukimura to the Toyotomi, she was Daisuke's mother, she was almost killed, the real Yukimura actually cared about her etc.

Kiri is just the "heroine" since they wanted Kiri's actress Nagasawa Masami to have as much screentime as possible. Kiri as a heroine was a mistake right from the beginning which was immediately pointed out by websites. Many sites say that her character was not needed.
Haru would have deserved the heroine spot and her actress Matsuoka Mayu is very talented (I can only recommend watching her in Mondai no Aru Restaurant). She even touched in this episode even though the writers treat her and the children really badly.

I think her scene was way more touching than Kiri's forced scenes which leave me all cold.

The "problem" is that Haru was so much younger than Yukimura: he married her shortly before Sekigahara when he was pushing 30 or around 30. Haru was around 14 however it might be possible that she was even younger since there are sources that claim that she was actually the daughter of Yoshitsugu's younger sister and that Yoshitsugu was her uncle not her father. YukimuraxHaru seems to be slightly lolitaesque in history.

They spent way too much on the youth part of Yukimura's life in which historically Haru would have been an infant lol. Haru faced the same problem Yodo has: Yodo is also never depicted as Hideyoshi's heroine despite having a more interesting life than Nene. It's always Nene (Onna Taikoki, Hideyoshi Taiga etc.) who is the heroine since Nene is older and can be longer around.

Weirdly regarding Takeda Shingen it's always Suwa Goryonin/Yuuhime/Koihime who is the heroine merely due to being Katsuyori's mother. Suwa Goryonin died young (with 25 years) and was way younger than Shingen. Thus it's weird why regarding Shingen they choose Goryonin as a heroine when Lady Sanjo was way longer around.

Sanadamaru seemed more like Takanashi Naiki's daughter (Kiri) propaganda story: Ume lied about being pregnant and was shady, Hidetsugu's daughter is never there, oh and the evil evil Otani girl who dares to be actually important and have a son.

Kiri seemed to pretend to be Yukimura's main wife out of no reason and Haru is just depicted as random side wife who Yukimura randomly got.

Honestly was it so hard to include a goobye scene in which Yukimura says farewell to daughter Umehime and son Daihachi instead of forced Kiri scenes?

It is especially weird since the last episode confirms that Yukimura loves Ume and Haru who are similar. Yukimura's last scenes makes it obvious.

Honestly I would have just wanted Kiri as a guest character. They should have given more screentime to Haru, Daisuke and Yodo (who also rarely has scenes without Kiri bothering).

I will link my article about Yukimura's family life very soon.

Also another thing about Kiri: it's also ridiculous that her actress isn't aged up. She was around Yukimura's age thus she should be pushing 50s.
Haru is supposed to be between late 20 or early 30s

Last edited by Fumichan, 2/11/2017, 6:07 pm
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Re: J-Drama: 真田丸 (Sanadamaru)


Very interesting that the "kiss" scene was not in the original script. It sadly appears that NHK Taiga dramas have also succumbed to fan service the way that contemporary J-dramas have. It's really a shame.

That being said, I have enjoyed quite a few aspects of this Taiga drama and will look back on it from a mostly positive light. There were a few annoying elements (Kiri being one of them) but it was definitely better than Burning Flower.

We will only see the first half of the finale next week, so if you could wait to post your article in two weeks (after the second part airs) that would be great. emoticon
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Mlle Irene Profile
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Re: J-Drama: 真田丸 (Sanadamaru)


Oh no, NHK took down the Sanadamaru Website including the English version, already! I wanted to catch up on those wonderful five minute clips again, and read more about the whole Taiga, now that we are at the end.
Great ride overall. Thanks Hiroshi for your measured comments throughout, keeping the board from jumping ahead. Very courtly and polite, very old fashioned, in keeping with the era.
So, I will miss this taiga, for all its little flaws, it was thrilling and addictive. Didn't Yukimura wear that heavy armor & antlers outfit well, plus he looked like he was really riding that horse too. Poor G-bro, not saying goodbye... I thought the actor matured a lot doing this character, so he will probably get more roles. I am in the minority about Kiri, she didn't bother me as much, since I was determined to enjoy the whole cast no matter what. I did not focus on whether she was the daughter of Takanashi Naiki, or later a concubine or whatever (like they finally said recently), I simply interpreted her presence as an archetypal device by the writer to keep us connected to Sanadas through various plot developments, for instance, she was there as an observer when some of the cast got involved with western religion, and also what about the coy non-courtship which took us behind the scenes to see a sympathetic portrayal of the doomed Toyotomi Heir, Hidetsugu. And suddenly her becoming a lady in waiting to ChaCha near the end... (I think I was prepared to cut Kiri some slack because I thought she was the same actress who played the spirited Kuroda daughter in law who joyfully smacked down saki in the prior taiga, Gunshi Kanbei? Maybe I was wrong!) In any event, it is really TOO TOO BAD the writer did not give the other young ladies enough to do! Especially wasted were Ina, and Haru, what a shame. I liked Uesugi, somehow surviving, seemed he was always in a tight conflicted spot over loyalties. Ideura, so glad he lived long enough to help the Sanada clan survive by siding with Tokugawa. Ieyasu, what were they thinking in the beginning, it made no sense he was portrayed so bumbling, glad he came about, but this taiga still made it look like, who would Japan have been better off with, running the country?
Fumichan, soon I can go back and read your posts, I start skipping all of them, due to not wanting to read any spoilers... I will appreciate the out of context historical comments better after the show is done. Thank you for your research.
Final comment: Without a doubt, we missed out on the complete picture that was aired in Japan, I am certain we did not get all the scenes with minor characters which would have increased our enjoyment of the story, all, due to heavy editing for American television commercialized viewing. Who knows if some of our critiques would not apply to the Directors' Cuts. But better to have this edited version than no taiga at all....
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Re: J-Drama: 真田丸 (Sanadamaru)


The problem is that Kiri was not important to Yukimura unlike Otani Yoshitsugu's daughter. Takanashi Naiki's daughter was the second wife he married while still married to Hotta Sakubei's sister the original legal wife. Kiri was an aging concubine the same age as Yukimura put into a corner once Otani's daughter appeared. Kiri was a concubine in his youth and is not mentioned in Kudoyama or the Siege. Otani Yoshitsugu's daughter followed way later and was 12 to 20 years younger than Yukimura.

This can be read on basic websites about Yukimura.

Kiri meets persons she historically never met and saying that she is more important than Haru is failure on an historical level in my opinion. It also makes Sakai's Yukimura look really stupid since Naiki's daughter did not have anything to say in the Sanada household misleading watchers who know little about the Sanada. It also annoyed me that her character is always justified being around or pushed into scenes were she doesn't belong like pushing her into the scene in which Otani's daughter developes the Sanadahimo. The Sanadahimo was developed by Otani's daughter and servants to improve the living conditions in Kudoyama Kiri has no business there.

The reason I am also disappointed: Otani Gyobu is one of my favorite samurai. He and his daughter were very important for the Sanadaclan which is why Sanadamaru disappointed me totally.

Also the historical Yukimura was very relieved to have had two heirs with Haru. So much that he granted this girl the position of second legal wife despite being a side wife originally. Hotta Sakubei's sister/daughter was degraded apparently.
Yukimura was already in his 30s when Daisuke was born thus not young anymore. Daisuke's original name is Sanada Yukimasa. Yukimasa's name to me always symbolized how relived the Sanada were that Yukimura finally had an heir since Yukimasa is Masayuki's (Yukimura's father) name in reverse.

Kiri's actress is Nagasawa Masami who played Korin (a fictional character) in Komyo ga Tsuji and Hatsune (another fictional character) in Tenchijin. She always plays fictional characters. Itohime the Kuroda daughter in law was played by Takahata Mitsuki.
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Re: J-Drama: 真田丸 (Sanadamaru)


<FINAL EPISODE> (#50, Part 1)

Finally got around to watching Part 1 of the series finale. I did enjoy it and couldn't believe the cliffhanger scene we saw at the end - does Yukimura shoot Ieyasu, or not!?

Mile Irene, thank you for your kind words, and I agree your comments about this drama. I did enjoy it very much. I know Taigas are not always historically accurate, but that comes with the genre, and I enjoyed watching the show for what it is - a semi-fictionalized account about historical characters. From that perspective, it was very thrilling and enjoyable. I greatly enjoyed Sakai Masato's Yukimura, as well as many of the other actors, such as G-Dad and Takeuchi Yuko as Chacha.

There were things that could have been done differently, but overall, this drama was enjoyable for me and the final episode didn't disappoint. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time! I know there will be comments about it not being true to the actual history, and while that is interesting to discuss after the drama finishes, I did enjoy the final episode (at least the first half) very much and found it to be a good start to the conclusion. This is a "drama" at the end of the day and I guess the writers are free to use their creative license to do whatever they want with the characters, whether we like it or not. I did enjoy it when analyzing from that perspective.

Oops, it sounds like we're already done, I forgot we still have one more episode (Part 2) to go!

You can tell that Yukimura knew he didn't have much time left and was bidding farewell to all the people he loved. When he told Daisuke to return to the castle, he knew it was the last time they would see each other. I think Daisuke had the same feeling, too.

I have to say, it was funny watching a petrified Ieyasu running away from the Sanada army. LOL. He was so quick to throw in the towel and had to be stopped from committing suicide at the end. I also loved his expression at the very end, when Yukimura aimed his gun right at him!

Yet again we see the Toyotomi winning until bad decisions on the part of the castle leadership make them lose. If only Ohno Harunaga didn't bring Hideyori's standard back - but it was such a hasty decision that he didn't even think twice about it. Such is one's fate... I guess that's where fate rears its head - in the decisions that you don't even think twice about.

You can tell Chacha just wants it to be over already. The Toyotomi have been strategizing and engaging in some conflict with the Tokugawa for years and everyone is just tired. I guess the only one who really wanted to battle and win was Yukimura, but even he knows the end is near.

We're in mid-1615. Part 2, the final episode, airs on Sunday!

Mile Irene, I'm sorry that they removed the website so fast! I was searching if there is an archived version somewhere, but I couldn't find it. Maybe they will bring it back in the future, once the dust settles for the new NHK Taiga drama? Speaking of which, we won't be seeing that for a while here, since UTB is replacing Sanadamaru with a contemporary drama.
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Re: J-Drama: 真田丸 (Sanadamaru)


<FINAL EPISODE> (#50, Part 2)

That's it? We must have had only 15 minutes of new footage. UTB replayed 2/3 of Part 1 and we only had a little bit of "unseen" footage - I do wish that they had cut into [i[SoCal Japan's time and just aired everything in one sitting. It would have made the final episode much more enjoyable.

Not much to say about Part 2 - Yukimura commits seppuku and we indirectly hear of the destruction of Osaka Castle and the deaths of Hideyori, Chacha, etc. I was surprised to see Hideyoshi's widow O-ne, who has taken the tonsure and been renamed Lady Kodain. She had been written out of the show but I guess it it alluded to the fact that she was extremely neutral in the struggle between the Toyotomi and the Tokugawa.

Isn't it ironic that the great strategist Sakuma Shozan, who was famous for his anti-Tokugawa activities in the last days of the Tokugawa regime, was born in the Sanada's province? I guess the Sanada ultimately got their revenge against the Tokugawa - two centuries later.

Ieyasu dies in 1616, a year after the Osaka battle. I saw that G-Bro survived for over 40 years after his brother's death. G-Bro becomes the feudal lord of Matsushiro and passes on in 1658. He lived to be 92! Wow. I wonder if he felt guilty or lamented the loss of his brother.

It seems G-Bro was a good and wise lord. Like their father had said years before, Genjiro was fit for battle, but G-Bro's brains would be needed when the warring era comes to a close and a good politician/administrator is needed.

I enjoyed this Taiga thoroughly. It wasn't perfect, and yes, we know it wasn't always historically accurate, but this is a Taiga drama and within that genre, I thought it was good. Sakai Masato did a superb job!

The contemporary drama Hanasaki Mai 2 starts next Sunday, at 7:00p. Apparently the new Taiga is beginning in April at 6:00p, so does this mean UTB will air two dramas now!? If they do air the Taiga at 6, they'll have to get rid of their other programming that airs in the 6:30p slot. Perhaps they've realized that the ratings for those shows aren't stellar and that they may be better off airing 2 dramas instead of just 1.
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Re: J-Drama: 真田丸 (Sanadamaru)


The finale was rather lackluster in my opinion which I already mentioned before I think.

It doesn't show Yodo's and Hideyori's as well as Daisuke's death. Daisuke committed suicide and joined Yodo and Hideyori.
It also doesn't show Haru being captured by Asano Nagaakira and being brought to the Tokugawa and then being pardonned then becoming a nun.
It also doesn't show more of how Nobuyuki fares.

I did like how Yukimura's death blended over with the scenes of Haru comforting Umehime and Sue in the outfit of her mother Ume (the first). To me it showed that Yukimura's love interests were Ume and Haru.

At least they didn't pressure Kiri into Yukimura's last scenes. Thank god they chose Sasuke who is loosely based on Sarutobi Sasuke a folklore ninja who is said to have served Yukimura.

My article will follow this week.


Last edited by Fumichan, 2/20/2017, 10:58 am
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Re: J-Drama: 真田丸 (Sanadamaru)


I think they could have definitely added an extra episode to show us how the surviving characters fared in the future, after Yukimura's death in 1615. It would have been nice. If I had to pick one negative aspect of the drama, it would be the pacing of it all.
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