You know what I was expecting from this? I expected a bad-ass female lead saying "fuck the patriarchy" and to my utmost disappointment, I literally got the almost exact opposite (there's some promise with the new shogun in the first episode)
This story depicts early Tokugawa Japan with a twist: a rapidly spreading disease affecting only men kills 75% of the male population and leaves women to take up the roles that they once held. Even that of the shogun which is now being filled of the previous leader's daughter.
Given all I know about the historical context of the Sengoku wars and the Tokugawa period, this was highly entertaining but I won’t lie, the ending left an extremely bitter taste in my mouth.
Some people would say that it ended realistically but bruv pls no. If you were gonna make an alternative timeline where women ruled instead of men, at least give it a happy ending bro. Like seriously. I wouldn’t be surprised if a man wrote this story.
I think the first hour-long episode would have fit better at the end. That way at least we could get the illusion of a happy ending but rip
Why do I dislike the ending? Well, cause I hate tragic love stories and this unfortunately is one. A beautiful love story but still heartbreakingly tragic. The worst part is that it didn't need to be. It really did not need to be. Everyone was just limited by their narrow mindsets and that made it intriguing but also so extremely frustrating to watch. Like almost all the men are gone but why does patriarchy still exist??? Bro wtf, EXPAND YOUR MIND! That's literally all they needed to do to make it ...NOT TRAGIC. Hence my frustration
But besides that, I loved the characters and their emotional depth. It was absolute beautiful, especially Arikoto. He was so heartbreakingly perfect. He's by far the best character in this, in my opinion. His love, anger, despair, desperation, and passion are so deliciously exquisite, it's hard to not fall in love with his character but he too could have pushed Chie in a different direction.
Chie, Chie, Chie omfg. Pls rip her. SHE HAD SO MUCH POTENTIAL AS A CHARACTER but I guess she just couldn't fathom a world where men and women were truly equal and because of this she put herself and my dear Arikoto through needless anguish and for that, while I understand her, I honestly can't bring myself to like her. sigh
Luckily there's more in the manga and I'm excited to read it and see what happens as the story does continue. Hopefully the new female shogun will be able to succeed where her predecessors failed and maybe even have a passionate (BUT NOT TRAGIC) love story of her own. I'm looking forward to it! 見せて!!
Despite me hating the ending, I’ll give this 5 stars lol. The emotional depth explored and the historical context are just too rich for anything lower.
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