Musashi

Many years ago, when I was a teen or perhaps a little younger, I recall getting "stuck on" a subtitled, serial version of Miyamoto Musashi which was being broadcast locally at about the time I got home from school. It was fascinating in a way that I don't remember anything before catching my attention. Without any studying, I was picking up hints and concepts of foreign cultures, history, ethics, philosophy ... and just enough swordplay to hold a teen's interest. I recall telling my friends about it, laughingly calling it a "Samurai Soap Opera" and getting a few of them hooked as well.

So far, I have seen only perhaps eight episodes, but it took me several of those to be sure it wasn't the same show. I'm no authority on feudal Japan, what scenes should look like, how people interacted, but this show, along with some of what little I've learned of the Musashi legend in the decades since watching the earlier show, leads me to feel that I'm learning things about human nature, motivation, and all those other things, while being entertained by believable characters, a time-tested story, and the occasional bout of almost-believable swordplay.

Some of my feelings for this new show are probably nostalgia for the time when I watched the other, but still I find it highly entertaining, and perhaps even a little enlightening. And that's a rare find in a television show.

In the days of shows like Spartacus: Blood and Sand that's like violence porn (I quite liked the show but the violence and sex were showcased HEAVILY), Musashi is a family friendly drama that gets it right in so many ways. While there is plenty of sword fighting, there's little if any blood, yet it doesn't feel fake. There are lovers yet no sex scenes. Despite this, it is an engrossing series full of sadness, joy, anger and frustration acted brilliantly by the cast... Matahachi's mother will drive you crazy !! It will get you so interested in Shinmen Takezo (Musashi Miyamoto) that you'll find yourself looking into him more. The series isn't complete in that it covers only a portion of his life, yet it's enough to get you interested. I can't recommend this series enough... the Ennio Maricone score is beautiful, the costumes and makeup as well and the acting truly excellent.

There is always a challenge to depict historic legends in film. We all expect the film to be less than perfect, however this series about the legendary sword master is very sad, a little pathetic. they have added all sorts of pointless gimmicks, such as a magical female ninja which are quite tasteless. From what we DO know about this man, his real and actual life is exciting enough. How the producers got approval for such a poor and distorted view of this man is a question. they also seem to paint Musashi as a little angry boy tormented because his father never approved of him. Please !!! If you want to see a more honest film about Musashi you need the Toshiro Mufuni version of 1954. I wonder what has happened in Japanese culture that this poor quality series was even made.

NHK's miniseries' are a guilty pleasure of mine - usually they are formulaic: a spunky hero or heroine overcomes obstacles; but they provide a peek inside daily Japanese life (or show business) that is hard to see even here at the Eastern nexus of the Pacific Rim. Medieval samurai epics are part of the repertoire - again, usually, a spunky hero overcomes obstacles, amid historical spectacle and medieval politics.

However, "Musashi" takes it to the next level. What's exceptional is Shinosuke Ichikawa's charismatic performance in the lead, recreating the body language and speech of the great samurai movie legends of the 50s and 60s, but with a modern love interest to give the series its necessary sentimental focus and an emotionally modern feel. There is a great supporting cast, and Ennio Morricone's dramatic music helps too.

This is 50-plus hours of television - if it airs in your town, tune in and get hooked. I missed the first few episodes, so I'm looking forward to finding this available on DVD somewhere.

Having only recently discovered the story of Miyamoto Musashi, I have watched as many versions as I possibly can. The 49 one-hour episodes that NHK produced during 2003 is by far the most comprehensive effort to re-telling the Musashi tale, as influenced by the book "Musashi" by Yoshikawa Eiji.

Overall, the development of Musashi as a wild man into a well-developed martial artist is done very well. The plot develops well and the cast really does a superb job, and not just the principal characters but the minor ones as well. The fight scenes are also very well-done and most are better than the movie versions from the 1950s and 1960s. The suspense in the lead up to the duel at Ganryujima was well worth it.

The only downside I did not like was that the story continued after episode 38 - the duel at Ganryujima - for 10 more episodes, which really focused more on the battle between the Tokugawa and Toyotomi forces, with Musashi's story as a sideline. If you are big on purely following Yoshikawa's book to the series, stop watching after 38 or 39.

The other development I was not too fond of was the "magic" and mystical elements that was supported by two magicians who are in the series. I wish the script was more true to life (if such a thing is possible when discussing elements of a character like Musashi that already has too few accurate historical documents attached) rather than going a bit out of the box occasionally with disappearing characters and other magical elements.

Overall, however, they do not detract from the superb production NHK made. They should be applauded for their efforts and anyone truly interested in Musashi should invest in watching this series. The musical score by Ennio Morricone is also absolutely amazing and epic as it is employed throughout the production perfectly. 9 out of 10.

Also recommended: the Musashi 5-part series with Kinnosuke Nakamura