What a great time to be a fan of the samurai/jidageki genre. After "Shogun" (FX), "Blue Eye Samurai" (Netflix), and "Last Samurai Standing" (Netflix), we are getting one from HBO, based on a popular manga series. The streamer announced that it has acquired "Song of the Samurai", an adaptation of “Chiruran: Shinsengumi Requiem.”
Filming already complete, the show is jointly backed by Japan's foremost media companies — Tokyo Broadcasting System, streaming platform U-NEXT, and production house THE SEVEN (“Alice in Borderland,” “Yu Yu Hakusho”).
"Song of the Samurai" was created by Shinya Umemura, who is also known for the anime series “Record of Ragnarok.” “Chiruran: Shinsengumi Requiem” has been on a great long run: 36 volumes in 13 years, with illustrations by Eiji Hashimoto.
Principal cast members include Yuki Yamada, Ayano Go and Kento Nakajima.
According to the official logline, the show is set in Kyoto at the end of the Edo period. The story depicts the "intense and passionate lives of the Shinsengumi - the iconic samurai force that defended Kyoto in the final years of Japan’s shogunate - through spectacular action and a bold interpretation based on historical facts. The story follows street brawler Toshizo Hijikata (Yuki Yamada), who finds a new kind of family in Isami Kondo and Soji Okita. Hijikata and his comrades in the Shinsengumi forge a bond of loyalty - tested by betrayal, illness, and war - as they fight not only their enemies but their own ideals. "
In an official statement, actor Yuki Yamada said: “In mid-19th-century Japan, the Shinsengumi were among the so-called last samurai warriors who upheld the way of the sword during a time of profound change. To me, the samurai spirit is the wish to protect someone; a universal feeling shared across borders. I hope audiences can enjoy the action, while also feeling the emotion carried within each blade.”
Slated for premiere on HBO Max on May 9, the live-action series adaptation of "Song of the Samurai" is written by Masaaki Sakai, directed by Kazutaka Watanabe, and produced by Akira Morii, Mamoru Inoue and Kazuya Shimomura.