Brave Yoshihiko is a warrior with a heart of gold. That is a nice way of saying he is stupid and should never leave the confines of his village. The wise old man village believes he is destined to be a hero who can defeat the monsters harassing the villagers. I do not have the first episode and do not know where I downloaded the videos so I do not know how Danjo, (an experienced fighter), Murasaki (a beautiful village lass) and Melub (a magician) join him in his quest to defeat the Demon King. These four people are dressed like medieval European characters in an old 2D console game. Then, there is Hotoke (the Buddha) who appears among the clouds in the sky to guide them. Like in most games, there are tasks or collectibles that need to be acquired along the way before the final encounter.
While everyone including the monsters act funny, Jiro Sato, as Hotoke, is the funniest as the lackadaisical god in heaven. I have reviewed his performance previously from Kyou Kare Ore Wa, Teru Teru Ashita and Mr. Nietzsche in convenience store. In the first few episodes, the team is respectful of the Buddha. As he proves more and more shoddy and irresponsible in his guidance, the team mock and yell at him.
The funny spineless teacher from Kyou Kare Ore Wa plays the magician Merub. He learns a new spell each episode. They are so weak that it is never used in battle with the monsters. They exist solely to excite the dim-witted Yoshihiko and cause laughter/consternation in others. Easily dismissed as useless, Merub's worldly wiseness transcends time periods and he constantly guides/backs Yoshihiko.
Pretty-as-a-doll Murasaki easily loses her temper, particularly with Melub and Hotoke. Murasaki intends to kill Yoshihiko as revenge for some reason but she is willing to help him kill the Demon King first. Eventually, she falls in love with Yoshihiko who does not reciprocate.
That does not mean Yoshihiko is dead inside. While he is laser-focused on his goal of defeating the Demon King, he also falls for the charms and viles of numerous femmes fatale. Yoshihiko is also a sucker for sob stories and is easily gets conned by the lamest of tricksters. The actor playing Yoshihiko is known in Japan as a chameleon. When you see the different personas adopted by him in this TV drama, you will realize that it is quite true.
Danjo is a middle-aged warrior whose fierceness goes missing when his massive sideburns get stolen sometimes. He impatiently kills several monsters when innocent Yoshihiko dillydallies.
The beginning of every episode has a bandit who waylay the team and demand their money, food and provisions. These bandits and assorted monsters are easily defeated and exist to provide mirth. There are some tiny monsters, which look cute initially but attack every member of the team with initially hidden teeth. At the end of every episode, there is a funny vignette featuring Yoshihiko's beautiful sister Hisa.
The monsters are low-budget cardboard cutouts. The series is only seemingly a no-budget production but the production values become high when required. TV Tokyo has not been wanting on that score. The graphics are deliberately low key to maintain the parody nature of the series. There are satirical innumerable references to other movies, tv shows/networks, games and trends. The subtitles in the videos that I downloaded were quite informative on that score but it will take several viewings to get their full import.
There is no nudity but there are regular references to un-well-endowedness of Murasaki. Yoshihiko, more than once, visibly gets excited that it required pixellation. So, this series is for an 18+ audience. However, 99% of the content is quite harmless. The pace is non-serious. Sometimes, the encounters with inconsequential characters take up most of the time and what looks like a difficult task is over in a few seconds. The sets are mostly in a medieval period with some excursions to the present projected as future. Do not be surprised to find modern-day attire and articles appearing in some mystical village. Sometimes, the Buddha reads from a tablet or laptop or has food home delivered in heaven. The writers span the full spectrum and leave no turn unstoned in their pursuit of parody.
Starting in 2011, TV Tokyo made three seasons (35 episodes) of the parody. There are several nice musical songs plagiarized from popular tunes from the West and Hong Kong. ((Maybe it was the West that stole the tunes. I do not know.) At the end of each season, the creators say they hope a movie will be made but there has been none so far.
Acting is top-notch. Production values are high. The comedy and parody is the best. What more would you want?
Updates
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It seems that the screenplays of several J-dramas that I have reviewed on my blog were by one Fukuda Yuichi. I checked his bio and he has was behind:
- Kyou Kare Ore Wa
- Mr. Nietzsche in the convenience store
- Jossy's - a movie parodying Japanese action heroes
- Other reviewers have mentioned that the serial has been heavily based on the game Dragon Quest/Warrior and that you will miss a lot of game references if you have not played the games. I have never played the games and I did not feel like I missed anything. The TV series is rich enough that it can stand on its own.