15 things about taiga dorama Gunshi Kanbee

1. It has been such a long time since I watched a taiga dorama which was Shinsengumi! for the second time in preparation for Ryu ga Gotoku Ishin! on PS4 long, long time ago. I decided it was time to slog through another 50 episode taiga and chose Gunshi Kanbee.

2. Gunshi Kanbee or strategist Kanbei is about Kuroda Kanbee who worked under Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi. 

3. Gunshi Kanbee is a political drama about a world where if your family allies with the wrong lord, you are screwed and everyone in your family will have to commit seppuku if you lose.

4. Despite the fact that this is a world where people can be ordered to seppuku for all sorts of reasons, it is also a world where enemies can easily walk into each other's camps to negotiate without much fear of not getting out alive.

5. Takenata Naoto is the best actor of this show as Toyotomi Hideyoshi. I first saw him in Shall we Dansu? and he is a great actor. Problem is he has been phoning it in for so long in small jdorama parts I was happy to see him in a part where his energy is required.

6. Takenaka Naoto and Kuroki Hitomi are best couple and their chemistry is really good. I don't think they've ever been in a dorama as a couple, have they? 

7. Eguchi Yosuke is good as Nobunaga.

8. Despite the fact that Kuroda Kanbee is supposed to be a brilliant tactician, he does not do enough especially compared to Yang Wenli. I know one is a historical and one is a fictional character, so it is unfair to compare but Kanbee only has two big tactical victories. I guess bullshit tactical ideas that lead to magical comebacks don't really happen in historical battles.

9. It also has to do with the fact that people in those days had to do whatever their stupid lord said and most of the times Kanbee's hands were tied.

10. For some reason I was so happy to see Shokotan in a taiga dorama. lol

11. After learning about the history of Himeji, Osaka and Fukuoka castles in Gunshi Kanbee, I want to visit them again and I have not been to the Fukuoka castle ruins despite having been to Fukuoka so many times.

12. I remember seeing a jmovie called Chacha some time ago and did not realise she was such an important historical figure. The one character I hate in Gunshi Kanbee is Chacha so maybe I will seek the movie out in the near future to see the story from her perspective.

13. Some scenes are absolutely beautiful. Appreciate all the hard work going into making 50 episodes.

14. As someone who has played, read stuff around Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi, it was so education to see the story from the point of view of a third character trying to keep his bloody clan alive.

15. I can't really give it a must watch because I compare it too much to LoGH but I had fun binging the 50 episodes. Very watchable. I might watch Dou Suru Ieyasu in the future which will be very weird because Okada Junichi is playing Nobunaga. I do feel like watching more historical stuff.