Tenchijin [Episode 1]

Kato Seishiro stole the entire show. Amazing acting on his part.

Significant Events:
-The “murder” of Nagao Masakage
-Kiheiji and Yoruko "meet"
-Uesugi Kenshin adopts Kiheiji
-Yoruko becomes a page to Kiheiji

My Ramblings:
As usual, the first episode is about an hour long… and made me laugh my ass off. In a good way. 8D I don't do summaries btw, so just look at the significant events if you want to know what happened in these episodes. In the beginning, I admit I was getting scared at how dramatic it was, because everyone knows that “too much drama” turns into “too cheesy.” But after a while, it gradually got much better (aside from the few occasionally really cheesy “slow-motion” scenes) and before I knew it I almost wanted to cry when Yoroku had to leave his family (it’s only the first episode, I’m not suppose to cry YET, dammit).

Taiga Actor/Actress Requirement #1: The ability to make your eyes glossy at any given time.

Kanetsugu is the dorkiest samurai lead you will ever see in a Taiga drama, hands down. But somehow, that aspect of him is really appealing, and I can definitely tell that throughout the series, everyone will be attracted to how pure and honest he is, despite their initial reactions of him. His interaction with Kagekatsu in the first scenes is pure gold. In fact, I love Kagekatsu’s “I only smile once every month at the most,” personality and I really look forward to seeing more of him.

I love this girl already. Why so awesome, Osen?~

Baaaw~

One thing I love about Taigas is their women characters. I mean, the men, although they have different personalities usually just follow one destiny, but the women always seem to have drastically different paths to follow and they always have such unique attitudes and trails they must face as traditional women. Yoruko’s mother, for example, has to send way her child to become a page when he’s five years old. I mean, five years old, that’s hella young, but in the end she somehow musters up the strength to let him go for his own benefit. I really admire her for that, and no doubt I think it was one of my favorite moments out of this entire episode.


Our second child star, the anti-social Kiheiji. TwT

Uesugi Kenshin doesn't get any more bad-ass than this. <3

Or this. I want his cape, dammit. 8D


And finally, Oguri Shun for all you fangirls. Check out the back of this hair when you get a chance, btw, it's really... quite intriquite. 8D

Overall, very exciting, engaging episode. My favorite opening episode out of all the Taigas I watched so far actually (Komyo ga Tsuji, Fuurin Kazan, and Musashi for the record), and can’t wait for more (though I really hope they won’t have any more cheesy “slow-mo” moments).