Finished the 2 disc straight without any breaks. Irresistable urge to blog about it coz lately in a Japanese period drama phase. I luv warlords, warriors and wars!!!!
Extremely engaging, lots of eye candy and good acting by veteran actors/actresses. Plenty of cameo appearances by familiar faces. Although I would say some of the blue screen techniques need improving, especially, the fighting scenes between Shino and Kenpachi on the rooftop….…it borders on corniness! The little technicalities aside, this is one cool piece of work. It does a neat job condensing the original 106-volume novel into a 2 hr plus TV special.
Based largely on the famous novel by 曲亭馬琴, story pans out against the backdrop of feudal wars within the many clans and warlords in old Japan. Satomi defeated and killed another warlord Yamashita. Yamashita’s wife Tamazusa (some black witch) laid a cursed on the Satomi clan before she was beheaded – [All of Satomi’s descendents shall become animals.] The curse came true and soon enough, the princess of Satomi clan, Fusehime becomes pregnant by virgin birth. Tamazusa’s spirit appeared in front of Fusehime, leering at her that the 8 dog spirits representing 8 evils will be reincarnated through her. To stop Tamazusa’s atrocities, Fusehime kills herself. At this point, Fusehime’s Buddhist beads, which she wears around her neck, breaks free, and the main 8 beads disappear. At the same time, 8 young men are born within the Kanto area, each in possession of one Buddhist bead. These 8 men subsequently becomes Hakkenshi – 八犬士
Story follows金碗大輔孝徳 (ex-warrior working for Satomi and yes, he has something for Fusehime) as he searches for all 8 warriors. Upon gathering all 8 of them, the Satomi clan regains its former glory and power. Of course, Tamazusa’s restless spirit wrecks havoc in between……. I mean, this is a show where the main theme is good versus evil, so how can we do without our Tamazusa, who symbolizes pure black evil herself.
This 2006 remake boasts a solid cast of well know veterans and young teenyboppers as well ( whom, I have to say actually do quite a credible job):
犬塚信乃戌孝 - 滝沢秀明
犬川荘助義任 - 佐藤隆太
犬山道節忠與 - 小澤征悦
犬飼現八信道 - 押尾学
犬田小文吾悌順 - 照英
犬坂毛野胤智 - 山田優
犬村大角礼儀 - 勝地涼
犬江親兵衛仁 - 山下翔央
大法師（金碗大輔孝徳) - 渡部篤郎
玉梓・妙椿 - 菅野美穂
伏姫 - 仲間由紀恵
~~~~Trivia - 里見八犬伝~~~~
*This is the longest novel ever written – 106 volumes.
*曲亭馬琴 was the first chap to make a fulltime career out of writing.
*The 8 beads each carry a different character - 信義忠信悌智礼仁, representing the 8 virtues of Confucianism. The eight warriors’ names individually bear the characters represented by the beads they possess.
*A typical length of Buddhist beads contains 108 beads. In the story, the 8 main beads are the magical beads. The rest of the 100 beads are smaller in size.
*犬坂毛野胤智 – a typical bishounen who cross dresses as a pretty dancer. 山田優does a neat job in the drama. 虽然我从来不觉得、这个小妹妹漂亮， 不过眉宇间的一股英气， 配合打斗场面时的矫健身手。。。。很赞！
*The drama…well because it’s a 2 hrs plus work, actually misses out on a lot of details, some of which I am particularly crazy about.
1) Original novel was that Satomi actually told his guard dog that if it could kill Anzai, he will marry Fusehime to the dog.
2) The letters of the 8 beads transform into 如是畜生发菩提心when Fusehime and Dog wed
3) There is actually one more Buddhist bead – Mikaso which also splits into 8 beads (I think it spells out one phrase in 大悲咒。)
*犬江親兵衛仁 is what we typically call a 風使い i.e. he can summon and control the forces of the wind. He was the last to be discovered in the drama coz the bead was clasped tightly in his left hand which had remained closed since birth. 犬山道節忠is a火使い, so the combined elements of wind and fire make the pair quite tok-kong lor. The effects for the wind portion are better handled in the series though. The fire ones are quite cartoon.
~~~~End of Trivia~~~~
Enuf about trivia or I will end up telling the whole damn thing ( err, but this story is really a well-known Japanese classic, nothing to hide I suppose). Drum rolls….now presenting the BH awards :
Most tok-kong sword : 村雨丸, sword used by 犬塚信乃戌孝…. each time the owner uses it to kill, water gushes out from the sword. The lofty explanation is that the water cleanses away the bloodstains on the sword…….to me…..it’s a wonderful display of a peeing sword.
My favorite actor/actress: 菅野美穂 who plays the screwed up Tamazusa. Very solid performance. The look of hatred buried in her eyes …..lew, scary. Most outstanding of the lot!
My favorite八犬士 – ehmmmmm, this one is a close fight between 犬坂毛野胤智and 犬江親兵衛仁……..but little親兵衛仁wins la! Firstly, young boy ma! Secondly, cute ma. Thirdly, got watery eyes ma!. Fourthly, the hairstyle cooooool eh. Fifthly (wa, is this how you spell it?), how can I bring myself not to like a little boy that is so blindly loyal to 金碗大輔孝徳….each time he runs after the old man…aiyoh, my heart melts leh. Well, 智is cool too….uurgh, and I like cross-dressers. Can I have 2 favorites then?
My favorite scene – when 犬江親兵衛仁’s fist finally opens up to reveal the last missing bead and everyone realizes that this boy is the last 八犬士, 犬江親兵衛仁goes on to summon the powers of the wind together with 犬山道節忠’sfire to destroy Tamazusa’s black warriors. This scene takes place near the sea and effects are quite cool.
Wallpaper Award - 仲間由紀恵’s 伏姫………lets just say, what was that? Oh…part of the waterfall scenery ya! Sorry sorry, eye blur after nonstop watching of TV.
Hurry hurry, go grab a copy of the DVD!
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