Post by Teahouse Keeper on Sept 30, 2004 4:17:59 GMT -5
I'm now very much into PeaceMaker Kurogane!! Just finished watching it! Seems there's a big shortage of wallpapers and images out there. Very strange....the images I found are from www.geocities.com/myypmyyp/pmk/pmkscreencaps.html and www.kamidake.com/peacemaker/
The anime has been compared to Rurouni Kenshin but I don't think they can be compared because they are quite different.
There have been some negative comments about Kurogane but I think it's pretty good. There's a good mix of blood, humour and sorrow. The music is very unique...I really like it. The downside is probably the storyline. It's quite serious-historical type, and the drawings are more towards the realistic type rather than the Kenshin type.
It starts off with 2 brothers: Tetsunosuke who is 15 and his older brother Tatsunosuke. Their parents were murdered by some unknown killer and Tetsu vows to become stronger to take revenge. Although smaller and shorter than other guys his age, Tetsu rushes to join the Shinsengumi which is a team of law enforcers at the time (1864). The political situation is unstable and the Shinsengumi is recruiting. However, Tetsu is rejected because he is too young and unsuitable. Nevertheless, after some effort, he manages to convince second-in-command Toshizo Hijikata to take him in. Pretty soon, he and his brother become involved in much more than expected…<br>
Here’s Tetsu and Tatsu:
img86.exs.cx/img86/3797/tatsuwithvegresize1.jpg[/img]
I'm really fascinated and impressed by the depiction of Toshizo Hijikata (voiced by Jouji Nakata). He is physically powerful, fierce and beautiful. Beautiful even when he's angry, beautiful even when he frowns He's very powerfully built, very manly, silent, grouchy...hard to believe that such a man can be cute, but he really is cute when you realize that he’s not as mean as he looks. He hides his soft side from others and only his closest friend Okita Souji knows him well. That's why Souji always teases him mercilessly and gets away with it. Here’s Souji:
img77.exs.cx/img77/3021/okita-13sharpen.jpg [/img]
I've never seen such powerful masculine beauty in an anime before and Hijikata is really amazing for me He's this huge Tarzan-type man who's really damn fearsome and cool at the same time. Definitely not someone you want to anger or irritate. He is sexy but I don't think I want to touch. Maybe when he's comatose...
The pics of Hijikata that I found aren't good enough. In the anime, there are many scenes where he is so terribly beautiful, I can't imagine people actually drew him that way He's sooo...Magnificient. Here he is:
img77.exs.cx/img77/4100/hijikata-2sharpen.jpg [/img]
Then, there's saizou the pig. It's Souji's pet, and he keeps other pigs as well, but Saizo is the one that's really got an attitude. It's a mean pig Looks fierce all the time, grouchy...somebody in a forum said it's like Hijikata
I also like the weird psychic Hajime Saitou who always creeps people out. He has a very funny deadpan voice by seiyuu Takashi Matsuyama.
img77.exs.cx/img77/4347/saitou-3sharpen.jpg [/img]
Ah! Miki Shinichiro is also here!! He plays Maro, an insane man who schemes to destroy the Shinsengumi. The fun part is that Miki Shinichiro does this slightly high-pitch, feminine-masculine voice that’s very interesting to hear. Maro is gay and likes boys Strangely, it’s almost impossible to find pics of Maro. What's really odd is that Miki Shinichiro is not included in many Kurogane seiyuu lists. And the character Maro does not appear in the seiyuu lists even though the role is not small. In the Japanese end credits, Shinichiro’s role as Maro is listed.
Contemplating Kurogane, I feel sorry for Yoshida Toshimaro, leader of the opposition against Hijikata. Compared to Hijikata, I think Yoshida is gentler and kinder, even though he can be scary when half-crazed in killer mode.
He may not look the type, but Yoshida actually gives way to ladies on the steps of the street (pretty amazing considering this is feudal Japan). Also, he seldom fights and doesn’t get soaked in blood like Hijikata. Though he may not show it, he cares much for his young white-haired disciple Suzu.
Seems Yoshida never intended to involve Suzu in his plans and up till the end, protected his disciple by deliberately making Suzu fetch reinforcements even though he might have known that reinforcements would not arrive. It was very sad watching Suzu bathe his sensei's head
Ultimately, there are many questions left unanswered. 1) Why was Tetsu’s parents killed? 2) Did Yoshida kill Tetsu’s parents? 3) Why was Tetsu spared? 4) What’s the relationship between Tetsu’s father and Ryouma Sakamoto? 5) Why did Hijikata react the way he did when he heard the name Ichimura? Did he know Tetsu’s father? 6) Does Okita Souji have tuberculosis? 7) Why is Hijikata regretful over Souji? What happened between them?
The anime has been compared to Rurouni Kenshin but I don't think they can be compared because they are quite different.
There have been some negative comments about Kurogane but I think it's pretty good. There's a good mix of blood, humour and sorrow. The music is very unique...I really like it. The downside is probably the storyline. It's quite serious-historical type, and the drawings are more towards the realistic type rather than the Kenshin type.
It starts off with 2 brothers: Tetsunosuke who is 15 and his older brother Tatsunosuke. Their parents were murdered by some unknown killer and Tetsu vows to become stronger to take revenge. Although smaller and shorter than other guys his age, Tetsu rushes to join the Shinsengumi which is a team of law enforcers at the time (1864). The political situation is unstable and the Shinsengumi is recruiting. However, Tetsu is rejected because he is too young and unsuitable. Nevertheless, after some effort, he manages to convince second-in-command Toshizo Hijikata to take him in. Pretty soon, he and his brother become involved in much more than expected…<br>
Here’s Tetsu and Tatsu:
img86.exs.cx/img86/3797/tatsuwithvegresize1.jpg[/img]
I'm really fascinated and impressed by the depiction of Toshizo Hijikata (voiced by Jouji Nakata). He is physically powerful, fierce and beautiful. Beautiful even when he's angry, beautiful even when he frowns He's very powerfully built, very manly, silent, grouchy...hard to believe that such a man can be cute, but he really is cute when you realize that he’s not as mean as he looks. He hides his soft side from others and only his closest friend Okita Souji knows him well. That's why Souji always teases him mercilessly and gets away with it. Here’s Souji:
img77.exs.cx/img77/3021/okita-13sharpen.jpg [/img]
I've never seen such powerful masculine beauty in an anime before and Hijikata is really amazing for me He's this huge Tarzan-type man who's really damn fearsome and cool at the same time. Definitely not someone you want to anger or irritate. He is sexy but I don't think I want to touch. Maybe when he's comatose...
The pics of Hijikata that I found aren't good enough. In the anime, there are many scenes where he is so terribly beautiful, I can't imagine people actually drew him that way He's sooo...Magnificient. Here he is:
img77.exs.cx/img77/4100/hijikata-2sharpen.jpg [/img]
Then, there's saizou the pig. It's Souji's pet, and he keeps other pigs as well, but Saizo is the one that's really got an attitude. It's a mean pig Looks fierce all the time, grouchy...somebody in a forum said it's like Hijikata
I also like the weird psychic Hajime Saitou who always creeps people out. He has a very funny deadpan voice by seiyuu Takashi Matsuyama.
img77.exs.cx/img77/4347/saitou-3sharpen.jpg [/img]
Ah! Miki Shinichiro is also here!! He plays Maro, an insane man who schemes to destroy the Shinsengumi. The fun part is that Miki Shinichiro does this slightly high-pitch, feminine-masculine voice that’s very interesting to hear. Maro is gay and likes boys Strangely, it’s almost impossible to find pics of Maro. What's really odd is that Miki Shinichiro is not included in many Kurogane seiyuu lists. And the character Maro does not appear in the seiyuu lists even though the role is not small. In the Japanese end credits, Shinichiro’s role as Maro is listed.
Contemplating Kurogane, I feel sorry for Yoshida Toshimaro, leader of the opposition against Hijikata. Compared to Hijikata, I think Yoshida is gentler and kinder, even though he can be scary when half-crazed in killer mode.
He may not look the type, but Yoshida actually gives way to ladies on the steps of the street (pretty amazing considering this is feudal Japan). Also, he seldom fights and doesn’t get soaked in blood like Hijikata. Though he may not show it, he cares much for his young white-haired disciple Suzu.
Seems Yoshida never intended to involve Suzu in his plans and up till the end, protected his disciple by deliberately making Suzu fetch reinforcements even though he might have known that reinforcements would not arrive. It was very sad watching Suzu bathe his sensei's head
Ultimately, there are many questions left unanswered. 1) Why was Tetsu’s parents killed? 2) Did Yoshida kill Tetsu’s parents? 3) Why was Tetsu spared? 4) What’s the relationship between Tetsu’s father and Ryouma Sakamoto? 5) Why did Hijikata react the way he did when he heard the name Ichimura? Did he know Tetsu’s father? 6) Does Okita Souji have tuberculosis? 7) Why is Hijikata regretful over Souji? What happened between them?