Masaki Suda’s Yoshitsune in “Kamakura-dono” Seems Unfitting, But Shota Sometani is Filling All the Lack

The dark side of Yoshitsune by Masaki Sugata (29) is getting a lot of attention.

The NHK historical drama “Kamakura-dono no 13-nin” is currently airing. The much-heralded “Sudamasa Yoshitsune” has begun to take off in earnest. Yoshitsune is known to have contributed to the downfall of the Heike clan, but later died an ignominious death at the hands of his elder brother Yoritomo. Yoshitsune was loved by many Japanese as a tragic warlord, and even gave rise to the term “hanko-biyaki,” which means “a love of the court.

In addition, since his mother, Tokiwa Gozen, is said to have been an exceptionally beautiful woman, his son, Yoshitsune, must have been a beautiful boy as well, and he has attracted many rekijo (historical women) fans.

Takizawa Hideaki (39), a.k.a. Tackey, who starred in NHK’s 2005 historical drama “Yoshitsune,” perfectly fits the image of such a “handsome, light-faced boy. He brilliantly portrayed the pure Yoshitsune, the conventional image of Yoshitsune as a man who yearned for his elder brother and fought for him, bringing tears to the eyes of many viewers. The average viewer rating was 19.5%, ranking 5th among the 22 historical drama series produced in the 2000s.

However. The long-loved image of Yoshitsune was easily destroyed by the new drama, “Sudamasa Yoshitsune. He has been deceptive in his prey and has been blatantly irritating and snappy in his impatience for his own success. To top it all off, in the recently aired episode 11, he tricked his elder brother Yoshien, whom Yoritomo remembered and loved, into death.

He is not at all gentle, but rather crude, devious, and weary of what he might do, which is very disconcerting to those of us of the generation that “thinks of Yoshitsune as Tacky.

What, this is Nobunaga ……?”

In fact, some people on the Internet have said, “He has betrayed the previous image of Yoshitsune as a clean and innocent tragic hero,” “I wondered why Yoritomo hated him so much in the old Yoshitsune played by Tucky, but now I understand with Yoshitsune played by Masaki Sugata,” “My middle school son, who has never had the image of Yoshitsune before, has Many comments compared it to the Yoshitsune built by Tackey, saying, “Yoshitsune Sugata will leave a strong impression on me.

So, can the darker Yoshitsune Sudamasa surpass the pure Yoshitsune Tackey?　A clue to the answer lies in the NHK historical drama “Kirin ga Kuru” that aired two years ago.

In this drama, there is a character who has greatly overturned the image of an equally popular military commander. That person is Shota Sometani, 29, who played the role of Nobunaga Oda. Nobunaga was a warlord of rare talent, who could defeat overwhelmingly unfavorable situations with his ingenious and outlandish strategies. He is often depicted as having an eccentric personality, but this is a natural consequence of his genius, and it has become a source of fascination for people in later generations. The fact that Nobunaga died tragically in the midst of his dreams after a rebellion also makes him divine.

Although Nobunaga had such an image of a graceful and passionate leader, Someya’s portrayal of Nobunaga was completely different. He gazes at people with still, brooding eyes and confuses them with his odd pauses. Even with the same “difficult personality,” Someya’s Nobunaga was emotionally unstable and seemed to fall into a dark mentality rather than lose his temper. This negative Nobunaga made many of us wonder, “What, this is Nobunaga ……? The first time I saw this, I was puzzled.

But when it was over, it was a storm of praise. It broke the existing image of Nobunaga,” and “It was wonderful, to say the least. He was a perfect embodiment of Nobunaga’s lewdness,” and “In fact, he was replaced by this kind of character.

Of course, this is due to Someya’s acting ability and his one and only “inedible” character. However, when it comes to acting ability and human charm, Masaki Sugata is no slouch. So far, he has successfully made himself known in roles ranging from a righteous young man to an aloof character, as well as a brutal or eccentric one.

As everyone knows, Yoshitsune and Yoritomo are about to have a heart-to-heart and tragic breakdown. How will the new Yoshitsune show us this sad process? We will watch with great expectations.