Seirei no Moribito (Season 3): Drama Notes

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These are mostly notes about the production of the show, a tribute to the hard work done by NHK director and production staff of this series. Kudos to them!

Above pics from NHK's Seirei no Moribito behind
the scenes visual special effects

But first, a shout out to Haruka Ayase (who earned more of my respect) and the rest of the great cast as well.

My favorite was of course Itagaki Mizuki, as Prince Chagum. You just can't help rooting for him.

I also love Nakamura Shido who played Rogsam. Despite being diagnosed with cancer, the kabuki trained actor gave a memorable performance as the wicked Rogsam (I also loved him in "Totto Terebi"). I hope he beats his battle with cancer, and continue to impress us with his talent.

Toto was perfectly casted with classical singer Mera Yoshikazu, who lended his own singing voice as well.

Takeda Tetsuya was a delight to see as Laloog, plus I had a good chuckle as soon as I saw his weapon (explanation below).

As you may know, Hira Mikijiro who portrayed the Holy Sage in Seasons 1 and 2 had passed away. This series was one of the last work that he had done. His role was taken over by Kaga Takeshi in Season 3.

I loved the character of Yuka, wonderfully portrayed by former Takarazuka Revue star, Hanafusa Mari. Her bittersweet love story was one of my favorite additions in the show (in the book, there was no such love story).

And of course, no other actor was perfect for the stoic Jiguro, except the great Kikkawa Koji.

Production Design. Watching this drama was fun and interesting especially for people who are into set designing and world building ideas. Inspirations are taken mostly from ethnic, artistic, arichitectural and cultural elements from around the world. These notes were taken from NHK blog, as well as my own observations:

New Yogo Kingdom. Since the land is abundant with forests and rivers, the colors used were blues (to denote "heaven" since the king is a god, and "water", a source of life), greens for forests, browns for wood. The royal palace seems to be designed like a heavenly paradise on earth, a sort of Shangrila-type, with similar elements found in Thai, Bali, Chinese, Japanese interiors, and architectural details, as well as in their style of clothing.

Rota Kingdom. This story arc featured "diversity" as its theme. It was depicted as a vast land, mostly a steppe or grassland landscape, where various tribes and clans live with their own separate, distinct cultures. Moroccan, Arabic, Indian, and South American elements can be seen. The Rota Palace uses lots of marble, and carpets. Fabric draperies are used in doorways, and the lack of doors denote airiness and openness of the palace. The North Rotans like King Yosam and Prince Ihan dress simply. King Yosam's crown which was a turban that has white hairs (probably taken from horse mane since horses are valuable to them) to denote wisdom and kindness. In contrast, the South Rotan lords loved luxury, wearing chunky, flashy jewelries. In South Rota, especially Tsuram Harbor, all kinds of people converge from all over the world. Costumes consist of the latest or out-of-this world fashion and hairstyles. Exotic foods like crocodiles and snakes, and all kinds of spices and herbs were also displayed in the market. Meanwhile, the look of the Talu people obviously was inspired by South Asian elements. The Kashals were people who lived by the side of the river. "Kashal" means "hounds" and secretly serve

the king.

Sangal Kingdom. Here, details like tattoos, weapons, and fabric patterns were taken from island countries of Southeast Asia. Jewelry and accessories were mostly taken from the oceans like shark teeth and shells. Unlike in other countries (except maybe for the Kashals), women were raised to be strong and to serve as leaders.

Old Yogo. This one, particularly Hyugo's flashy look, was unique, possibly borrowing elements from old Hollywood-era costumes of swash-buckling heroes, pirates and Sinbad movies.

Talsh Empire. Theirs was a more modern and advanced civilization. Designs were Moorish-inspired, assymetrical, geometric with colors black and gold to denote intimidation, power and wealth. They have a more advanced welding and metalworks technology, as evidenced by their weapons and cutlery. They are also able to make glass, thus you can see stained glass, glassware, and chandeliers, that were not present in other countries.

Kambal Kingdom. With the climate described as cold and windy, and having a mountainous land with higher elevation, set inspiration were taken from Bhutan, Mongolian, Afghanistan, and Tibetan elements. Since sheep and goat are the main products, plenty of wool clothing, goat's meat, cheese, yogurt, and other milk products were featured. Since Kambal isn't as rich as New Yogo and Rota, the palace design was more simple and practical, utilizing stones carved from the mountains. The spear is their main weapon since I assume, Kambalians not only use them for fighting but also as walking sticks when climbing or descending the mountains.

Attention to Detail. The details put into Japanese drama and movie sets and even in anime backgrounds are always wonderful to look at. Here are some of the things I loved from this show. Spoilers ahead:

Tanda's hut. I was needlessly curious about the hole on the roof that lets the sunlight in. Every time I look at it, I wonder, "What if it rains?" lol. The answer came in S3E6 when Tanda's soul/bird flew away through the hole. On top of the roof, you could see a lid which Tanda probably uses to close the hole at night or when it rains.

Seasonal Elements. The Japanese always make it a point to put elements  in dramas to show what season the story is taking place. In Season 3, the North Continent was in its fall season, indicated by the pampas grass that Torogai was holding when she met with Balsa and Tanda's soul. In the South Continent, the weather was beginning to approach summer, as hinted by Prince Raul's blocks of ice (being fanned to him by his attendants) with summery sunflowers inside, during his scenes in his throne room.

The Luminous Green Stones of Kambal. In the novel "Yami no Moribito", they were called "Lyokuhaku", luminous stones used to light up the caves. These were also expensive stones, but not as expensive as the Luisha. You can also see tiny gems of this green stone embedded in the gold spear rings of the King's Spears as well.

Talu People. If you notice, Torishia had eyebrows on when she met Prince Ihan, but had no more eyebrows when she had her children. It means having no eyebrows was an indication of a married woman.

Jiguro's facial scar. I don't remember Jiguro having a scar in the books. But since he's a warrior, I guess it was a normal thing that the staff decided to add to his character. But then, I realized why during the Spear Dance scene. Balsa and King Rogsam recognized the Last Hyohlu as Jiguro because they could see his distinct scar under his hood.

Red marks. Shuga got a red mark on his forehead when Torogai visited him in the form of the glowing bird in the final episode. If you look closely, Kocha and Asla got red marks when they saw the bird vision as well.

Laloog's Weapon. It looked like a hanger, right? NHK staff paid tribute to Takeda Tetsuya's signature role in the 1982 film, "Keiji Monogatari" wherein he used ordinary items like a hanger into weapons. At first, the NHK staff wondered how to design this "hanger" weapon. I think in the end, they made it look like a tool to be worn on his shoulders to hold/hang things while at the same time, maybe to be used as a boomerang type of weapon lol I dunno.

Taluhamaya appearance. I hadn't actually noticed this. I only realized it when I rewatched it recently. In S2E7, starting 40:45, the Taluhamaya god showed itself, so that explains why Asla looked horrified and decided like "Yuck, I don't want to become a god anymore." By the way, if you're also curious as to what the Mountain King of S3 looks like in the books, it was in the form of a giant water snake.

Changes in the story. Some characters or details in the book were not included or changed in the drama. Again spoilers ahead:

The Kambal arc had other characters particularly from the Musa clan of Jiguro.

King Rogsam was already dead in the books and his son Radal was a bit young and not really as wise (yet) as the one in the drama.

Jiguro actually had two brothers. Older brother Kaguro was their clan's chieftain. Their younger brother was Yuguro. He was the one taught by Jiguro and became the King's Spear. He was the real villain in the story, and manipulates Radal. Yuguro wanted to defeat the Mountain King and obtain the Luisha. He survived in his failed attempt, but was not the same since then: he sleeps and eats, but doesn't talk and only stares vacantly into a distance. The Musa clan wasn't punished as much as the depiction in the drama.

Balsa traveled alone to Kambal, not with Chagum. She passed through the intricate tunnels in the mountain as she made her way to Kambal, and even encountered a Hyohlu at the beginning of the book. When they went inside the mountains to do the giving ritual, it was a very long journey that took like a day or two, unlike in the drama, which took them only several minutes. In the Spear Dance, it was her heart that got pierced in the book, not Jiguro's.

The Luisha were the scaly skin shedded by the Mountain King/water serpent and imbued with blue light that carried the thoughts and feelings of the Hyohlu.

Toto was from the Herder People who belonged to the Yonsa Clan, and was actually an Elder. The Herder People are small and Hobbit-like since their ancestors where the tiny supernatural creatures that live inside the mountains.

Toya and Saya. I was looking forward to seeing a grown up version of Toya and Saya from S1. Too bad, we never got to see them again. But in the books, it seemed the two had gotten married and were safe.

 

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