cs-37 Reviews

Musashi (2003– )

An excellent production of the Musashi story

[7/10 · 11 September 2004]

Having only recently discovered the story of Miyamoto Musashi, I have watched as many versions as I possibly can. The 49 one-hour episodes that NHK produced during 2003 is by far the most comprehensive effort to re-telling the Musashi tale, as influenced by the book "Musashi" by Yoshikawa Eiji.

Overall, the development of Musashi as a wild man into a well-developed martial artist is done very well. The plot develops well and the cast really does a superb job, and not just the principal characters but the minor ones as well. The fight scenes are also very well-done and most are better than the movie versions from the 1950s and 1960s. The suspense in the lead up to the duel at Ganryujima was well worth it.

The only downside I did not like was that the story continued after episode 38 - the duel at Ganryujima - for 10 more episodes, which really focused more on the battle between the Tokugawa and Toyotomi forces, with Musashi's story as a sideline. If you are big on purely following Yoshikawa's book to the series, stop watching after 38 or 39.

The other development I was not too fond of was the "magic" and mystical elements that was supported by two magicians who are in the series. I wish the script was more true to life (if such a thing is possible when discussing elements of a character like Musashi that already has too few accurate historical documents attached) rather than going a bit out of the box occasionally with disappearing characters and other magical elements.

Overall, however, they do not detract from the superb production NHK made. They should be applauded for their efforts and anyone truly interested in Musashi should invest in watching this series. The musical score by Ennio Morricone is also absolutely amazing and epic as it is employed throughout the production perfectly. 9 out of 10.

Also recommended: the Musashi 5-part series with Kinnosuke Nakamura

Miyamoto Musashi II: Duel at Hannya Hill (1962)

The best in the five-part series

[10/10 · 11 September 2004]

I felt that this was the best one in the series. After seeing the three-part "Samurai" series with Mifune Toshiro I was disappointed that its second installment, Duel at Ichijoji Temple, missed a lot of elements and side-stories that Yoshikawa Eiji covered. This version, however, covers a lot of these elements. In fact, I was surprised by all the elements that were there. So much that it takes three installments to cover what Yoshikawa has in Books II, III, and IV; whereas Inagaki covers those books in one installment and thus misses a lot of character development, which is, of course, necessary to seeing the development of Musashi.

The movie continues from where the first one set out with Takezo, soon to be Miyamoto Musashi, leaving Himeji Castle and starting on his epic quest to complete his skill in the Way. The story of the Yoshioka school is developed (which leads to the two duels and finally, at the fourth installment, the duel at Ichijoji - which does have Musashi fight the 12-13 year old Yoshioka figurehead - an element left out of the Inagaki trilogy).

I was really happy with the way they did this second installment. The introduction of Sasaki Kojiro, Osugi and Gon's pursuit of Musashi, Akemi and Otsu's desire for Musashi, and the fight with priests of Hozoin - including the duel at Hannyazaka are all the action this installment has to offer, coupled with excellent acting, cinematography, music, and screen writing.

All the movies in the series are very well-done. I cannot recommend seeing this series enough; you will not be disappointed. See also the 2003 miniseries by NHK, called "Musashi" for a forty-nine hour alternative. Overall, 8.5 out of 10.