Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan (TV Drama)
Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan (岸辺露伴は動かない, Kishibe Rohan wa Ugokanai) is a live-action mini-series based on the manga series of the same name by Hirohiko Araki. It was produced by and aired on Japan's national broadcaster NHK from December 2020 to December 2022.[1][2][3]
Rohan Kishibe is a famous, arrogant, and eccentric mangaka whose main series "Pink Dark Boy" is enjoying a great success. Unbeknownst to all, Rohan possesses a gift he names "Heaven's Door", which allows him to turn people into books and read into their lives. At the beginning of the series, Rohan meets his new editor, a perky but strong-headed woman named Kyoka Izumi. Together, and to acquire material for Rohan's work, they seek and stumble upon some of the secrets of this world, from yokai to miracles to more esoteric phenomenon.
On April 11, 2022, the distribution company Digital Media Rights announced it will stream the first three episodes of the series with English subtitles on its streaming service RetroCrush.[4]
Summary
Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan consists of eight episodes, each of them being loose adaptations of one of the Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan short stories. Episodes 1 and 3 are based on stories originally featured in the manga, Millionaire Village and D.N.A.. Episode 2 is based on the short story Kushagara written by novelist Ballad Kitaguni for the Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan: Short Story Collection series.[2]
Actor Issey Takahashi stars in the series as the titular character Rohan Kishibe,[2] an eccentric mangaka originally featured in JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Part 4: Diamond is Unbreakable. He plays alongside Marie Iitoyo who plays the character of Kyoka Izumi, Rohan's editor, adapted from the same character in Millionaire Village. Unlike the original one-shots, Kyoka is now a recurring character and reappears in all of the episodes. Tomoya Nakamura also plays the original character Taro Hirai, Kyoka's boyfriend.
On August 14, 2021, NHK announced that a second season consisting of three additional episodes were in production and would be broadcast in December of the same year. Issey Takahashi and Marie Iitoyo reprised their roles as Rohan Kishibe and Kyoka Izumi. Three additional actors made special appearances in each of the three new episodes: Show Kasamatsu as Yoma Hashimoto in Episode 4, Ennosuke Ichikawa as Masazo Kinoto in Episode 5, and Rio Uchida as Naoko Osato in Episode 6.[5]
On August 19, 2022, NHK announced that a third season was in production and would be broadcast in December of the same year.[6] The third season consists of two episodes. Alongside Issey Takahashi and Marie Iitoyo, two additional actors will make special appearances in the episodes: Kotone Furukawa as Eve in Episode 7 and Hinata Hiiragi as Ken Oyanagi in Episode 8.[3]
On January 4, 2023, Asmik Ace announced that a film adaptation of Rohan au Louvre will premiere in Japanese theatres on May 26, 2023. The film conceptually functions as the ninth episode of the drama series.[7]
Cast
Marie Iitoyo
Tomoya Nakamura
Fuga Shibazaki
Mirai Moriyama
Kumi Takiuchi
Yuria Kitahira
Makoto Nakamura
Tomoya Masuda
Mutsumi Sasaki
Ryo Yoshida
Taro Suwa
Yuri Kawakami
Yuto Tsubone
N/A
Marie Iitoyo
Show Kasamatsu
Marin
Rio Uchida
Tamaki Shiratori, Tsumugi Kajiwara (child)
Sousuke Yoshida, Jion Inano (baby)
Hajime Inoue
Makoto Nakamura
Tomoya Masuda
Komizu Taiga, Shogo Hama
Sei Haruki
Shô Watanabe
Eishin
N/A
Reiya Ueno
Yuugo Kazami, Atsuki Morinaga
Fairouz Ai
Takahiro Sakurai
Marie Iitoyo
Kotone Furukawa
N/A
Hinata Hiiragi
Makoto Nakamura
Tomoya Masuda
Yohei Sasaki
Chiba Arata, Rei Inomata,
Episodes
Expand/Collapse All
Season 1
Season 2
Season 3
Film
Schedule
Season 1
Season 2
Season 3
Production
The Kachi Villa in the town of Hayama, Kanagawa, was used as Rohan Kishibe's house. The drafts of the fictitious Pink Dark Boy manga that appear in the drama were drawn by Masahiko Aoki.[8]
The cafe where Kyoka Izumi and Taro Hirai drink is the real-life cafe Enokitei Honten, situated in Yokohama. Scenes of Rohan Kishibe and Kyoka Izumi trekking in the forest were shot in the forest of Shinano Province in Nagano Prefecture.[9] The cascade where Kyoka rests was identified as the Tateshina Otaki. The luxurious mansion of the Millionaire Village is in reality a house named the Omori-Musasino (大森武蔵野苑). It is a historical site situated in Koganei, Japan.[10] The tea cups used in the luxurious mansion are made of Coalport porcelain in an Adelaide shape with a phoenix motif, dating from approximately 1830.[11] Rohan's own tea cup shown at the end of the first episode is a Saint-Médard silver plated metal tea cup. Manners consultant Hiroko Nishide worked on the episode to guide the production team about the proper manners to adopt.[12]
In Kushagara, the red book that Jugo Shishi grabs in his office is a volume from the Soseki Collection (漱石全集, Sōseki Zenshū), a collection of Japanese novelist Natsume Sōseki's works, published by Iwanami Shoten. The cafe where Rohan meets Jugo Shishi is the real-life cafe Yamata Jubankan situated in Yokohama. The sloped path in which Rohan tells Kyoka about "kushagara" is situated in a road in Yamanouchi. The place where Kyoka meets Taro is the Harbor View Park Observatory in Yokohama. The bookstore in which Rohan meets Jugo Shishi again is the real-life Tenpodokaribe Book Store in Yokohama.[13] The isolated alley in which Rohan confronts Jugo about his obsession is situated in a path in Tama Ward, Kawasaki, in the Kanagawa Prefecture.[14] Jugo Shishi's office was filmed in a building in Kawasaki. The "university building" used in the introduction of the episode is in reality an annex of the Yamanashi Prefectural Office, in Yamanashi Prefecture. The shots of the Kushagara creatures in Jugo Shishi's throat were filmed using an upscaled model of Mirai Moriyama's throat with the creatures being manipulated like puppets by several production members.[15]
In DNA, the park used as the production set for the episode is the Sagamihara Park.[16] Mai and Mao Katahira's house is the Megurohonchou studio. The sloped path in which Rohan meets Mai and Mao Katahira is the Motomachi Park's Hitaizaka, in Yokohama. The hospital in which Taro is brought is actually the NHK's broadcasting center in Shibuya, Tokyo.
In The Run, scenes of Yoma running were shot in Shibaura Island, Tokyo. The gym is the gym of the NAS Wellness & Spa CLUB. The scene where Yoma kicks a bicycle is situated near the following address: 1-4-29 Miyamaedaira, Miyamae-ku, Kawasaki, Kanagawa prefecture. The tunnel Yoma runs through is a tunnel is the second Kakinokidai tunnel situated in Ichihara, Chiba prefecture. For the production of the episode, Show Kasamatsu, Yoma Hashimoto's actor, had to follow a strict diet followed by a personal trainer. Kasamatsu also never practiced bouldering and thus his trainer took him on a two-hour practice session before the shooting. Afterwards, Kasamatsu was able to boulder inside of the apartment for the shooting. Kasamatsu reports that he almost cried when the director Watanabe thanked him afterwards.[17]
The alley serving as a boundary to the other world in From Behind is actually an alley adjacent to the Chiyoda Kajicho Post Office in Tokyo.[18]
The village in Mutsu-kabe Hill is the Japanese village of Akasawa, with part of the episode being filmed near Akasawa's Osakaya inn. Kyoka Izumi's cakes are cakes from the Nicolas & Herbs brand. The Osato House is the Kiunkaku, a historical hot spring hotel situated in Atami, Shizuoka.
In Hot Summer Martha, the scenes of the shrine were filmed at the Gorei shrine, Zushi.[19] Scenes of the great tree hollow were filmed near the Namiki Hotel in Nikko, Toshigi prefecture.[20] In the Rock-Paper-Scissor Kid episode, the scene where Ken Oyanagi calls Kyoka was filmed at the entrance of the Daiichi Shimokawa building in Ota ward, Tokyo.[21]
Manga/Drama Differences
Original Content
There are several nods to the main JoJo's Bizarre Adventure series:
- If closed-caption is turned on, its text is formatted similarly to the original manga as well as JoJo's Bizarre Adventure in general. For instance, Rohan and Kyoka often end their sentences with lowercase katakana.
Modifications
- Heaven's Door's Stand form is never directly seen, akin to its appearance in the Let's Go to the Manga Artist's House story arc of Diamond Is Unbreakable.
- When Rohan turns someone into books, the type of pages differ depending on the victim. Kyoka's pages looks like a fashion magazine, while Ikkyu's pages look like refined book pages, Jugo Shishi's pages are a notebook full of scribbles.
- The word "Stand" is never uttered, and is replaced with the more generic term "gift".
- Kyoka takes more importance in the drama and becomes a recurring character, appearing in stories in which she was originally absent.
- The publisher of Pink Dark Boy is formatted as "Shumeisha" (集明社), rather than matching the real-life Shueisha (集英社).
Cast Commentary
As Mr. Issey said, it’s rare to have the opportunity of feeling happiness of being able to play one role for a long time, or the chance to work with the same staff. I want to cherish that feeling. I also participated wholeheartedly. Oh, and please look forward to Izumi-chan’s new costume! Well, then, I look forward to seeing you at the end of the year in episodes 4, 5, and 6 of “Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan“!
The reality that Rohan speaks of isn’t something that “cannot” be real, but something that “can” be real, and he’s facing the world in pursuit of reality for the possibility of broadening his horizons. His flexible and strong attitude of not assuming the facts has influenced me a lot through his works.
In fact, the world has changed since the first season was filmed, and things that weren’t expected to happen in reality have become reality one after another. Although I haven’t been satisfied with the world, I accepted, adapted, and faced the reality. I think that’s what Rohan would do, right?
Now in its third season, the team of this work is as full-fledged as it was in the beginning, honoring the original manga world while also understanding the significance of creating a convincing live-action adaptation that viewers can believe could be possible in real life. This belief has not changed since the beginning.
I hope that you will continue to enjoy this bizarre world of possibilities.
While honoring the original manga, I always thought about things like what I could do as I acted. I hope you enjoy it!
Although we live in a world where we can't be careless yet, we should be careful not to let too much stress build up… I hope you enjoy Episode 7.
It was very difficult to play Rock-Paper-Scissors Boy, but I read the original manga and the script many times before playing. I was very happy to receive advice from Takahashi-san on the set.
原作を愛するファンの皆さんを思えば思うほど、誰の顔色も伺わない純粋な思いを俳優部として露伴と作品に注いできました。
露伴が口にするリアリティとは、現実にはあり得『ない』ことではなく、現実にあり得る『かもしれない』ことであり、彼は自分の世界と可能性を拡げる為にリアリティを求めて世界と向き合うのかもしれません。 現実を決めつけない彼のしなやかで強い姿勢は、作品を通して僕にも多分に影響を及ぼしました。
実際、第1期の撮影時から世界は変わりましたし、現実にはあり得ない、起こりえなかったはずのことが立て続けに現実になりました。 その世界に納得出来ずとも尚、現実を受け入れ、更新し、向き合っていく。露伴ならどうするでしょうか。
3期目になり、当初と変わらない円熟したこの作品のチームは、原作漫画世界に敬意を払いながら、現実にあり得るかもしれない、と見て下さった方々に思って頂ける説得力の構築を実写化の意義と感じながら作品作りをしてきました。 思いははじめから変わっていません。
引き続き、このあり得るかもしれない奇妙な世界をお楽しみ頂けたらと思います。私が演じさせて頂いた泉京香は、当初、 原作では「富豪村」にしか登場しないキャラクターでしたが、露伴先生の担当編集として一貴監督や露伴先生を演じる一生さん、人物デザイン監修の柘植さん、撮影スタッフの皆さんにその後のエピソードでも泉京香として登場するキャラクター性や、生身の人間としてそこにいる存在感を作って頂けた ように思います! 原作漫画に敬意を払いながらも自分に出来ることは何なのか、そんなことをいつも考えながらお芝居をさせていただきました。是非お楽しみ下さい!
事前の打ち合わせで、「露伴史上最強(恐・狂・凶)の敵です」と言われ、「動かない」露伴をどう動かしてやろうかと、イブの持てる武器全てを使って挑みました。 どんな敵として登場するのか、是非本編をご覧ください! そして、この回はコロナが背景にあることも見応えあるポイントになっていると思います。 実際、まだ油断出来ない世の中ですが、ストレスの溜めすぎには 注意しましょう…。 第7話、楽しんでいただけますように。
衣装で指輪やネックレスを着けられたことも嬉しかったですし、監督と毎回じゃんけん対決をしたことも楽しかったです。 じゃんけん小僧を演じるのは、とても難しかったですが、原作と台本を何度も読み返して演じました。現場で高橋さんからもアドバイスをいただけてとても嬉しかったです。
Promotion
Season 1
Season 1's promotion was rather modest, mainly consisting of a trailer and an interview with Issey Takahashi in Ultra Jump about the TV Drama, as well as several online interviews.
Season 2
Season's 2 promotion was more ambitious, with not only several teaser trailers, but also unique events and interviews.
One of the promotional events for Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan was “My Rohan Kishibe Talk” (私の岸辺露伴語り, Watashi no kishibe rohan katari), a talk show which aired on December 18, 2021 at 11:10 – 11:39 PM JST and was rebroadcasted on December 27, 2021 at 12:53 AM JST. In this program, Issey Takahashi, Rio Uchida, Yasuko Kobayashi (the screenwriter for both the TV Drama and the anime), and culture critic Sayawaka talk about the unique worldview and appeal of the original work, the anime, and the drama while analyzing the secret of its popularity.
To promote the Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan series, the four OVA adaptation episodes also aired on TV.
The NHK TV Channel also promoted the series via its "Tensai TV kun hello" special program, in which TV "warrior" Chan Kawai (of the "W ENGINE" comedy duo) and guest presenter "Kazuhiro Ozawa" (of the "Speed Wagon" comedy duo) talked about JoJo's Bizarre Adventure and Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan's themes of "celebrating humanity" and "philosophy of life". The program also featured cameos of Issey Takahashi and Marie Iitoyo.
Finally, a special exhibition about the TV Drama was held in Sendai from December 14, 2021 to January 10, 2022 at Sendai's NHK Sendai Broadcasting Station. The exhibition displayed the costumes of the series' characters as well as original design drawings by Isao Tsugo, the face books that form when Heaven's Door is activated, and various props and accessories used in the series.
Reception
Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan won the monthly Galaxy Award for the TV show category in January 2021. It was chosen because the drama beautifully recreated the bizarre world of the original work, and was steeped with a unique aesthetic sense with meticulous art and direction. Yasuko Kobayashi's script accurately depicted the essence of the original work and the actors all played their parts well. In particular, Mirai Moriyama made the most of his physical abilities and excellently portrayed a sense of discomfort with his character, Jugo Shishi.[22]
Gallery
Trailers
See also
Trivia
- According to the director, Kazutaka Watanabe, the visuals, artistic scenery, and costume designs of the TV drama were heavily inspired by the film The Conformist.[7]
References
- ↑ Original Author: Hirohiko Araki × Actor: Issey Takahashi "Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan" Broadcast Three Nights in a Row Starting 12/28! (原作:荒木飛呂彦×主演:高橋一生「岸辺露伴は動かない」12/28から3夜連続放送!)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Manga Spinoff Thus Spoke Rohan Kishibe Gets Live-Action Mini-Series
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 https://jojo-news.com/2022/11/09/thus-spoke-kishibe-rohan-tv-dramas-3rd-season-key-visual-and-episode-titles-revealed/
- ↑ https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2022-04-12/retrocrush-adds-hideaki-anno-documentary-thus-spoke-kishibe-rohan-live-action-series-11-more-titles/.184523
- ↑ https://www.nhk.or.jp/dramatopics-blog/20000/453092.html
- ↑ Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan TV Drama’s Third Season Announced
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Rohan au Louvre Live-Action Film Announced Starring Issey Takahashi and Marie Iitoyo
- ↑ https://twitter.com/aokimasahiko/status/1343555802427129860?s=20
- ↑ https://twitter.com/suwakenfc/status/1343354114927824897?s=20
- ↑ https://twitter.com/koganeilocation/status/1344129240925495296?s=20
- ↑ https://twitter.com/ChaTea2016/status/1343836321148616706?s=20
- ↑ https://ameblo.jp/hirokomanner/entry-12646774188.html
- ↑ https://twitter.com/rantyu_xx/status/1343918578110590976?s=20
- ↑ https://twitter.com/issei_kura_kura/status/1343940925488128000?s=20
- ↑ https://www.nhk.or.jp/drama-blog/7250/452936.html
- ↑ https://twitter.com/m_hideshi/status/1351137918434336773?s=20
- ↑ https://www.cinematoday.jp/news/N0127815
- ↑ https://getnews.jp/archives/3219636
- ↑ https://twitter.com/miurahantou_jp/status/1607388491549380617?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1607388491549380617%7Ctwgr%5Ebb766101062e0f19ab6a6178695aad16dc37b48b%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fmemento79.net%2Frohan-4-52681
- ↑ https://twitter.com/kiwa_p/status/1228588178476453888?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1228588178476453888%7Ctwgr%5E8c03b6caf4803e09788860d69201bf0bb6558bba%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fmemento79.net%2Frohan-4-52681
- ↑ https://twitter.com/takachan5574/status/1107150958998355968?s=20&t=uSgpfZb7rFY8B8YHNc6rcQ
- ↑ https://www.oricon.co.jp/news/2185023/full/