Atsu-Hime/Naogoro 101

December 15, 2008 — 8 Comments

Long post, spoiling the love part and some politics, so if you don’t wish spoiling, don’t read after the break. Well, you’ve been warned~~

Anyway, I made it! I woke up at 6am just to watch Ep50 of Atsu-Hime in Jap sans subs, hence me not really knowing what was going. But I did okay, I think… Yes, Amy cried. Less than expected though! xD

I saw it twice, actually… on the repeat at 1pm, and took some photos of my crappy tv reception.

So it happened! Naogoro died! And that scene of Tenshoin-sama (Atsu-Hime) reacting to it got me. That is how you react to someone you love dying… hence my thinking that Atsu-Hime (in the series) was love daft, like a certain spectacled-boy-wizard… tsk tsk.

Atsu-Hime - Last Episode

Tenshoin-sama (aka Atsu-Hime) while hearing the news that Tatewaki (Naogoro) passed away.

And then comes the good stuff… all the remembering which I will get into in a moment… which prompts all of these of Atsu-Hime alone in her chamber…

Atsu-Hime - Last Episode

Atsu-Hime - Last Episode

Atsu-Hime - Last Episode

Atsu-Hime - Last Episode

Even looking at that last image makes me a little sad. The Omamori, man! That DAMN Omamori… which they also showed in the interview on Friday. LOL’ For the Atsu-un-initiated… I believe the Omamori is a big biggie on the series and the relationship between Atsu-Hime and Naogoro. I mean, it’s obvious, coz it’s everywhere…

Harmony, I tell you Julz~~ xD

Okay, so Atsu-Hime and Naogoro were born pretty close in date, and the Lord of the clan gave both of their families an Omamori to commemorate the birth of the babies. Atsu’s dad got the pink, and Naogoro’s dad got the blue, but Atsu’s dad wanted a boy so him being higher ranking than Naogoro’s dad switched Omamoris~~~ but you know, Atsu (Okatsu by that time) was born a girl with a blue Omamori, and Naogoro was born a boy with a pink Omamori.

Years later, when they’re bigger kids, they meet again (look at this clip), he notices the same Omamori he’s got… one thing leads to another, and Atsu gets him to play Go with her. LOL While ‘trying’ to play Go, Naogoro finally tells her about the Omamori…

Atsu-Hime - Last Episode - Omamori!!

Okatsu (later known as Atsu-Hime) points out to Naogoro that they’ve been bonded even before being born.

Atsu-Hime - Last Episode - Omamori!!

Naogoro didn’t realized this before. “Oh, yeah… you’re right.”

Later on when Atsu-Hime tells him she wants to marry “the best man in Japan” and Naogoro realizes that he’s in love with her, and he asks her dad for her hand, but later Nariakira-sama (the clan’s head) asks to adopt her… yeah, all that~~~ and Naogoro just decides to not tell her anything, and let her go freely. They exchange Omamoris…

Atsu-Hime - Last Episode - Exchanging Omamoris

So, in fact, throughout the majority of the story… Atsu-Hime has Naogoro’s Omamori, and he has hers. And the fact that they look at those quite often… *sighs* Once she is leaving Satsuma (their hometown), he shows up in the street to bid her goodbye.

Atsu-Hime - Last Episode - Omamori!!

Naogoro shows her he has her Omamori. – I always thought it felt like “I’ve got you.”

Atsu-Hime - Last Episode - Omamori!!

And this one felt like “And I’ve got you.”

LOL’ crazy?! xD That’s just platonic love!! Sister and brother… *rolls eyes* xD

Anyway, Naogoro later told her adoptive father that he was in love with her, so Nariakira-sama just blurted it out and asked Atsu-Hime if she ever saw Naogoro as a man, which she sorta replied “wha- who? what are you saying?” LOL xD So she went off to marry the Shogun, and Naogoro tried following… only to be stopped by fate and politics and stuff… he was sent back to Satsuma… become a lord and marry Chika (who also knew Atsu-Hime, and I will talk more on her later).

Years went by… 7 years? after their last meeting playing Go, but every time they met and played Go just like old times… they would do this:

Atsu-Hime - Last Episode - Omamori!!

Actually, this is a below crappy capture coz you can’t really see the Omamori there. HA!

Atsu-Hime - Last Episode - Omamori!!

But you get the idea with this, right? – This is the last time they ever met. TT

She later finds out that he’s fallen ill, and begins praying for him.

Atsu-Hime - Last Episode

Atsu-Hime - Last Episode

Atsu-Hime - Last Episode

Atsu-Hime - Last Episode

‘Til my dying day…

During the episode, Atsu-Hime also met with her birth mother, and brother… after many years. I felt it was an emotive scene, and I actually this is the scene I understood the most. LOL’

Atsu-Hime - Last Episode

Atsu-hime’s brother, her lady attendant at Nariakira’s, and her mother.

It’s very sad the idea of not being able to call your daughter ‘your daughter’, and not being able to call your mother ‘mother’ – and after all those years… sighs.

Okay, I promised talking about Chika. I never thought ill of Chika, I thought she was good for Naogoro, and I felt sad for her because he was so very emotionally attached to Atsu-hime. But on his deathbed, he tells her he was happy with her… can you imagine? being with someone all those years and never knowing if you’re the one that can make him/her happy?

Atsu-Hime - Last Episode

Chika-san holding Tatewaki’s hand in his deathbed.

Atsu-Hime - Last Episode

Tatewaki telling Chika that he had a happy life.

Atsu-Hime - Last Episode

Chika-san’s reaction to Tatewaki’s death.

Wah~~~ long post! Told ya! Over 800 words! xD So what do you think?

8 responses to Atsu-Hime/Naogoro 101

  1. wow.. came across your blog when i was searching an info about naogoro and atsu-hime. I was so in love with Naogoro/Atsuhime pairing, their scenes always get me. Ever since when Naogoro realised he loved her. It’s such a sad/tragic/bittersweet storyline. Naogoro, who loved her through all those years – and I believe till his dying moment, is just pure……. love. But he did get to tell her how he felt on their last meeting, i think he also asked her if she hadn’t been adopted, would she have marry him? I don’t know what her reply was. T.T

    I don’t know about atsu-hime, whether she loved him romantically or not. But whenever he visited her, her face would beam so brightly, i would like to think the writers implied that she did love him but she just didn’t realise it. Whether that’s true or not, they really are bonded throughout their life. Even till death. Cause even if they didn’t meet each other for years, their ‘feelings’ (love or friendship)for each other were still strong. And those ‘omamori’s are just…. *cries*

  2. me too, me too! lol

    I actually think the writers wrote atsu-hime to be in love without her noticing it- that’s my belief! I am on ep45 with subtitles, but from what I saw on ep49 and 50, her reaction to Naogoro was the most powerful and, in my opinion, very telling from either the writers or how the actors played it. Atsu-hime’s lost family (dads, husband, and even pretend-son) before, but her reaction to this particular loss is different… She griefs alone, and holding a piece of him (omamoris, omamoris…) “Naogoro-san!!!!” *breaks heart*

    I felt really really bad for Chika, though. She was sort of in a tricky position… very.

  3. Thanks ALOT! I'm searching on Atsu-hime(Okatsu for me now) and Naogoro too…
    I'm in the early eps…around 6 or 7….
    So i still hope that they can end up together in the end….
    I'm so sad reading this.
    But mayb it's good for Atsu-hime not knowing she's in love with him…so maybe she wouldn't be as sad or live a regretful life…but for Naogoro….I really hope things hasn't gone this way and they can be real couple….

    • Thanks for stopping by. Oooh, you've got a long way to go. ;) It would be cool if you stop by as you watch the series, and comments when things happen. xD

Trackbacks and Pingbacks:

  1. personal.amy-wong.com - A Blog by Amy Wong. » Blog Archive » Yu Aoi Film Discussion - Otoko-tachi no Yamato - April 3, 2009

    […] much time to be mad at one another. Kamio is about to leave, so she makes him a special Omamori (oh those damn Omamoris xD), and tells him she’s going to Hiroshima (le gasp! Don’t go!!). Yu is particularly […]

  2. personal.amy-wong.com – A Blog by Amy Wong. » Blog Archive » Television Meme - September 23, 2010

    […] Ways), Grissom/Catherine or Grissom/Lady Heather (CSI), House/Cuddy, Ruka/Takeru (Last Friends), Atsuhime/Naogoro […]

  3. Why Juri Ueno Cast as 10-Year-Old Gou Doesn’t Matter | personal.amy-wong.com - A Blog by Amy Wong. - May 9, 2015

    […] and obviously, Aoi Miyazaki (and Eita) played little kids early on Atsuhime, as well as playing them as 40 or 50-ish year-old people. […]

  4. Kou Shibasaki for NHK’s Taiga, Naotora: The Lady Wardlord | personal.amy-wong.com - A Blog by Amy Wong. - January 7, 2017

    […] us all! Look at her wardrobe~ I haven’t fangirled a Taiga since Atsuhime [1][2], which was like 9 years ago. LOL Anyone knows if there’s a subtitled version […]

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.