Watched this anime on Netflix within 24hrs and I have so many mixed feelings. Lemme just say them and if you’re willing to listen, well read….great! (Possible spoilers??)
FIRST, I hateddddddd this show for the fact how it got me so invested. I know that makes no sense but it honestly was so heart-tugging and also thought provoking as a viewer. (I actually found myself sneaking to watch an episode at work…ahem- ANYWAYS). The way this anime series was written and portrayed was utterly amazing. Honestly when I feel like I’ve been to a funeral at the end of a series that means it was a great show and that is due to a plethora of creativity, writing and consideration of important themes.
SECOND, Yoshimune???? My girl- excuse me, liege came in with a mission and I loved every minute of it! And it was literally minutes because we didn’t see much of her….I was quite upset about that. I actually believe I overall like her more than Iemitsu/Chie….*shrugs* not that I did not enjoy Chie and her development throughout the series but in general, Yoshimune brightened up the series in a way we didn’t really see after we truly delved into Ooku history (which was like episode 3-10).
THIRD, the complex history of the Ooku….was a whirlwind of emotions, politics, and culture/tradition for sure. But the history did show a bit of realism even in the face of an alternative history of what-could-have-been. As a viewer, certain questions came in my head like…“what if no one challenged tradition in the face of desperation to survive?” to “what if Arikoto and Iemitsu/Chie could have just had that one hope among them as a couple in that bedchamber become a reality…?” How much would any of that changed the way things played out? It makes you consider how truly people’s actions and responses have brought good and bad consequences to our world today…not just Edo in the series.
(I think this is the last point…..?)
FOURTH, Arikoto and Chie honestly did what they felt was right for others which is selfless in ways that are absolutely admirable…but also, there’s things I absolutely wish they would have done differently. Watching the screen and happy for them one minute and on the verge of tears the next is a feat not every writer can do. Outside looking in….you, as a viewer, can see cracks in their logic…but then, it makes you have sympathy and maybe even empathy for their choices driven by the sake of their beliefs and those who greatly influenced them. It’s such a touching, romantic, but incredibly SAD story between them but one thing was always clear is that they were deeply in love with each other until the end. ❤️
