Gokenin Zankuro season 1 review

Gokenin Zankura is a 1995 jidaigeki starring Watanabe Ken and Wakamura Mayumi. Like all jidaigeki, Zankura is low ranking and poor samurai. As Zakuro is poor he has to take on various side jobs to make money. It is pretty hard to root for a main character who does not have money problems. Not only does Zankuro have money problems, he also has a mother problem because his mother has a taste for fine food and will spend all the money that Zankuro makes.

The big difference between Zankuro and most of jidaigeki heroes is that he loves drinking and having fun with geisha. Most of the time, jidaigeki heroes are like monks; they are pure goodness to the point of not having lust or any desires. Not Zankuro who always runs from his fiance to spend his nights drinking.

To me the best thing in Gokenin Zankuro is the chemistry between Watanabe and Wakamura Mayumi who plays Tsutakichi, a geisha who Zankuro is first hired to cut but later helps Zankuro with his jobs which are more like Zankuro playing detective than anything. Those two together sell the series because they are the perfect couple, the playboy and the geisha who will never be together but who make a great team.

Gokenin Zankuro has a comedic vibe to it though the humour of the series is pretty much Zankuro running away from his mom and fiance. Its sort of hit and miss for me though it did grow on me in the end and some of the stories are funny. The fights are bloodless and I am not a fan of the 1 vs 20 fights because the bad guys facing Zankuro's back always refuse to poke him with their sword/spear. They will only attack when the turn to face him. 

The production values of Gokenin Zankuro are much better than what you normally see today. I suspect it must have been a pretty highly watched show back in 1995. 

Gokenin Zankuro is a watchable jidaigeki that I like. Its not at the top of my list which features Shinsengumi and Yoshiwara Uradoushin but it is right below. Big thanks to Avallac'h for transcribing and retiming the subs! If you like jidaigeki or a fan of Watanabe Ken, it is worth a watch.