Chiruran: Shinsengumi Requiem is brilliant!

 

My quest to find the best live-action adaptations of manga continues with a drama that I have very much been looking forward to. Chiruren: Shinsengumi Requiem - Kyoto Kessen Hen, based on the entertaining manga written by mangaka Shinya Umemura and illustrated by the great Eiji Hashimoto, had a lot going for it before I even began watching it. For example, it had a fantastic cast led by a couple of my all-time favourite actors in Yuki Yamada and Go Ayano. Then you have a great supporting cast that features the likes of Takumi Kitamura, Sho Aoyagi, Jun Matsumoto and the underappreciated Nobuaki Kaneko. The cherry on top of it all is the fact that one of the greatest action directors/choreographers of all-time, Kensuke Sonomura, is the man behind the action and you have all of the ingredients for a winner. 

An elderly former Shinsengumi captain, Shinpachi Nagakura recounts the tale of the group on a snowy night in 1912 to Makoto Ichikawa a woman seeking to find the truth regarding the vice-commander, Toshizo Hijikata. The tale itself takes place in 1859, a time when the shogunate's feudal power was waning significantly. Factions arose and clashed frequently and often violently, it involved those who wished for the isolationism and its policies to be abolished and those who wished for it to continue. Foreign governments were also wrongfully exerting pressure for Japan to end the isolationism. 

Amidst the conflict, the young, extremely skilled swordsman, Toshizo Hijikata challenges the Shieikan Dojo in Edo's members to prove their worth. The members of the Shieikan Dojo as it turns out, are his future brothers-in-arms in the Shinsengumi. After being impressed with the young swordsman, the dojo's master, Kondo Isami, agrees to train Hijikata. Together, they hope to earn a government job or even a patron lord to help keep the dojo afloat in the time of instability. Not everything turns out to be quite so straightforward as a reckless and dangerous ronin, Kamo Serizawa and is two minions soon enter the fray. 

Of course, I would be remiss to not mention the fact that the Shinsengumi have popped up a lot in popular culture. Their story has been retold countless times across various different mediums. Chiruran's version of their tale is one of a found family with a splash of Shounen and delinquency. You've got the theme of comradery between the members of the dojo and Shinsengumi, you've got the hot-headed main protagonist with a goal of being the strongest. You've got the fact that he might not be the most intelligent, but Hijikata's determination sees him pull through. There's also the fact that he gets stronger as fights go on and become more dangerous/deadly. On the flipside, you also have themes common in samurai media such as honour and what it means to truly be samurai, class differences and how difficult it is to advance above your station, respect and fealty to the shogun. 

It's impossible to also miss the fact that several of the weapons are beyond ridiculous and historically inaccurate. Some are so ridiculous that they took me out of the setting for a bit and broke the immersion. Namely, the gigantic scythe wielded by Harada Sanosuke, who to be fair, is nicknamed the Grim Reaper. The problem is just how large and unwieldy the scythe is. Kondo Isami also wields a weapon on more than one occasion that can be described as looing like a giant rolling pin. On top of that, you have some out of place hairstyles and highlights, just take one look at Serizawa's glorious mane and the vibrancy of the dye-job. This also extends to some of the questionable fashion choices. Of course, this is a live-action adaptation of a manga and so, respecting the source material comes before historical accuracy and as such, these nit-picks can be forgiven.

It's not completely historically inaccurate as it got some dates completely right such as 1859 being the year that Hijikata joined the Shieikan dojo and Abiru Eibazuro did really die in the year 1863, but not in the manner shown in the drama. In actuality, the real Eibazuro died via illness, a month after they arrived in Kyoto. The same thing happens with other major characters deaths such as Izo Okada and Shinbei Tanaka. At the very least, the real deaths are actually mentioned and put down as the 'official causes of death'. 

From a cinematography standpoint, the drama is a visual feast for the eyes. The exceptional art direction combined with clever usage of colour and lighting in moments, sublime camerawork and focus on detail makes it a joy to watch. Edo and Kyoto's environments are highlighted superbly, from bustling streets, to the bridges and most delightfully of all, the lush greens of nature and the rushing waters of rivers and waterfalls. Even the dojos get given such respect with the camerawork. There's a wide, dynamic array of shot types, the camera knowing when to track, when to pan and when to simply be still in order to capture every detail and scene. 

This too is evident in the fight scenes as the camera flows together with the action in a beautiful tandem. Every action, every slash and thrust of a blade, every kick and punch, every throw, all are captured perfectly to fully tell the story of the fights. Kensuke Sonomura is a master of his craft and if you've read any of my blog posts regarding his work, you'll know that he is one of my all-time favourite action directors and choreographers. There's a certain kinetic energy that he employs in his choreography that is unique and utterly captivating. He manages to blend brutality with grace as each fight ensures a lot of kinetic movement that is fluid and that the characters use every motion and limb available to them. There's a lot of actual practical techniques blended in with some physics-defying stuff and it just works. The drama allows for a lot of fighting to occur with plenty of engaging one-on-one duels, sparring sessions and there's also larger scale skirmishes and battles. Like always, there's my usual nit-pick in the larger scale battles that is the fact that there are people in the background that stand there waiting when they could attack a guy from behind or the side at any time. This I feel, will always be a complaint because it is incredibly difficult to choreograph a scene which involves a large amount of bodies in a realistic manner without this happening. Another nit-pick of mine is just the fact that I prefer my action much more grounded in reality and some of the weapons throw reality out of the window. That's not Kensuke Sonomura's fault as he is simply remaining faithful to the source material, but it is just a pet peeve of mine. 

Yuki Yamada was a fine choice for the role of Toshizo Hijikata. I really enjoyed his take on the historical figure. He was like a bratty delinquent in a sense. He was reckless, not the brightest bulb in the shed and often found himself picking fights on behalf of himself, his friends and others. His desire to be the strongest is relatable as I myself have always wanted to be stronger. Now, with his Baragaki nature, he could easily have slipped into being unlikable as a protagonist. Thankfully, Yuki Yamada has such an inherent likability about him, a charisma that makes him endearing and rather charming, that it makes you want to root for him, not against him. As the protagonist, Yuki Yamada's Hijikata did a lot of heavy lifting in the action sequences, having a lot of fights in the drama. This is an area in which Yuki Yamada has excelled for a number of years now. He's not afraid to get physical and I enjoyed his unique style. My personal favourite fight scenes were his ones with Izo Okada. It's rather interesting to compare this version of Hijikata to Baragaki's or Golden Kamuy's amongst others. I'd personally rank this one quite high on the list. 

The absolute stand-out performance of the entire drama came from the ever reliable Go Ayano. He stole every scene he was involved in with his sheer presence and undeniable charisma. I loved how despite being a man who loved drinking booze, partying and being a womanizer, that he was always a threat at any moment. Nothing encapsulated this more than the scene in which one of his followers dared to challenge him, claiming that he could defeat Serizawa before he gets his eye wrecked for his insolence. He's also a character that is far smarter than he first appears. He's not just a mindless beast who takes thrills in violence. Not to mention the fact that he had the most drip out of anyone in the drama. Seriously, I loved his costume and I'd rock that any day of the week. 

I enjoyed Kisetsu Fujiwara's take on Hajime Saito. It's quite different from the much more serious, yet still badass version in Rurouni Kenshin that was brought to the big screen wonderfully by the talented Yosuke Eguchi. Fujiwara's is also charismatic, but much more of a joker, often making fun at others' expense, especially Hijikata. Still, when it was time to get serious, he delivered in spades. He had some stand-out moments and some of the more emotionally impactful fight scenes. I actually really liked his unique katana with the sword-breaker type grooves, it looked cool. 

All of the core members of the Shinsengumi were well-cast. Nobuyuki Suzuki portrayed the father-figure of the group, Commander Kondo Isami tremendously well and it felt like he genuinely cared for the group. Sadly, he didn't get too much to do in terms of fight scenes and that sucks as Kondo Isami was a very talented swordsman. Kanata Hosoda made for a good, gentle and kind Soji Okita. He had a great fight scene and some emotional moments. Aoi Nakamura was a convincing strategist in the role of Keisuke Yamanami, often being the cool, level-headed member of the rowdy group. Shuhei Uesugi got to have a solid fight sequence and some emotionally impactful scenes as the young Shinpachi Nagakura.

Amongst other cast members, Nobuaki Kaneko made for a fun Tadasaburo Sasaki. He played off of Yuki Yamada extremely well and made me laugh on more than one occasion. Eita Okuno made Nishiki Niimi an absolute slimeball that was quite intelligent with strategy, but also quite unlikeable and so, he deserves praise for doing a good job. Jun Matsumoto put in a great performance as Katamori Matsudaira, I enjoyed his scenes a lot.

Overall, I had an absolute blast watching through Chiruran: Shinsengumi Requiem - Kyoto Kessen Hen. I'd highly recommend it to fans of the manga that it is based on, fans of Yuki Yamada or Go Ayano, fans of samurai action and fans of martial arts as well due to Kensuke Sonomura's involvement.