whats with the photography, i think i love it but all the distortion is kinda distracting…did they use some wacky lenses or is it all in post? to me it looks more than just anamorphic + wideangle + close to subject

Yeah the frame edge is always out of focus which is distracting unless you look dead centre, hard to do when reading subtitles. I keep thinking I’ve got the wrong glasses on! Still excellent overall though.

The podcast is also very informative though I’ve not listened to them all. Maybe they cover the photographic design at some point, it’s definitely a choice.

Yeah, I actually thought I was having streaming issues at first til I realised how constant it is. I guess in the bigger scenes it means they can cut down on a lot of detail in the sets and renders? Like, there’s some moments of zooming over the cities where if you really look, the fx are ropey af but when it’s in motion it looks fantastic.

Double post

Like others I’m loving it, though it took a few hose to really get into it. I’ve got the last few episodes to watch tonight.

Similarly I really liked Blue eyed samurai, similar time period but different tone and style.

That said for some reason I kept thinking of My big fat greek wedding.

“The man may be the head of the house but his wife is the neck and decides the heads direction”

That last episode was pretty bloody amazing, I could barely breathe. Not often I sit and listen to the credits music!

I hadn’t quite realised til now just how much of the middle of the novel’s been cut out, which is sort of interesting since it’s where so much of the blackthorne/mariko love story actually happened, but it seems to work. They’ve done some really effective shortcuts

I hadn’t quite realised til now just how much of the middle of the novel’s been cut out, which is sort of interesting since it’s where so much of the blackthorne/mariko love story actually happened, but it seems to work. They’ve done some really effective shortcuts

You’re right, it’s been very well done. There’s still an implied connection between them but it’s not clear why there would be on the strength of what seems to have been just a brief dalliance. The emotional heft of Blackthorn stepping up as Mariko’s second suffered a bit though I still found it affecting.

I was wondering how many cuts he would have needed to take her head off

He had learned how to hold the sword at least

…and so a new GIF arrives.

Blackthorn: Tell him that is warranty is nought but a cunning ruse to deceive honest good men by trickery into buying his shabby third rate so-called bicycle and also tell him that his mother is back street whore who even blind men refuse on account of her foul stench, and that the only fit end for him is by my sword; by God.

Mariko: Ajin-san says he is unhappy with the bicycle you sold him

Loved the old series and the book.  Enjoyed the new series too!

The series is exhausting. You need to concentrate because of the subtitles and because the story is very complex. Just as well its so good that it can command the attention it needs.
Plus, the Mariko Translates memes have made the internet for me this last week.

Wont be popular but I’m six episodes in and bit disappointed in it… find it rather slow and boring

Find John Blackthorne character particularly annoying and just seems like a classic upper class English prick (not helped by someone earlier in this post having made a Boris Johnson reference and now I cant shake that!).

I’ll watch the last few episodes but really hoping it picks up the pace and I can develop an interest in any of the characters.

Takes all sorts I suppose!

The slow burn of tension is what I like about it. Everyone maneouvring to get an advantage.

The slow burn of tension is what I like about it. Everyone maneouvring to get an advantage

Yes, it is very good…call me a shallow misogynist but I would be happy just seeing Mariko talking even without the subtitles.

I’ll watch the last few episodes but really hoping it picks up the pace and I can develop an interest in any of the characters.

Takes all sorts I suppose!

If you’re not on board after 6 episodes I really wouldn’t bother if I were you. As you say, not everything’s for everybody, I still think Breaking Bad’s a bit meh.

Just watched the finale. Kudos for the understated approach. Very skillfully done

Yeah the frame edge is always out of focus which is distracting unless you look dead centre,

When you watch the finale it kinda makes more sense

Spoiler:

the effect is much more pronounced when coming in and out of the old man’s memories

Wait what?   Its only Tuesday!

New episodes every Tuesday…

A beautiful ending.

Think I’m going to watch it all again, and there’s not often I say that about a TV series.

Wonderful. Such a beautiful bit of storytelling with every cast member at the top of their game.

Yeah the frame edge is always out of focus which is distracting unless you look dead centre, hard to do when reading subtitles. I keep thinking I’ve got the wrong glasses on! Still excellent overall though.

The podcast is also very informative though I’ve not listened to them all. Maybe they cover the photographic design at some point, it’s definitely a choice.

The title of the finale and the opening scene explain this choice.

I was actually beginning to wonder whether there was something wrong with my telly.

so now it’s finished is there anywhere I can see this somewhere else, kinda like the old days when series finished DVD in shop within a week…??

@bigdawg, it’s on Disney plus so will be streaming for a while still.

Fell asleep during what I presume was the finale. Will watch it again to be sure, but generally the further it wandered from the narrative of the book, the less interesting it was.

Great series, the last couple of Eps were especially brilliant. In the boat with Fuji-Sama was very moving.

The title of the finale and the opening scene explain this choice.

yeah i did wonder if it was supposed to be some kind of ‘fish out of water’ or ‘this place is surreal’ type thing