Sanctuary: Seiiki (2023)

Drop your ego and find you own Sumo

This is a brilliant series ... 10/10 for me ... the script, the production, the score, the cinematography, the acting was brilliant.

The cinematography was amazing ... the 'stop action' ... the slow motion which allowed the view to see and appreciate the things you don't get to see in the fast and furious clashes in the rings ... like the way the energy from the clashes pass from one body to the other, the sweat, the dirt, the look in the combatant's eyes ... amazing.

The script was nicely put together ... you could watch the series from a number of different levels. For me, the series is not just about the mystique of sumo or the regimentation and ritualism that it has been steeped in for over 1500 years ... it was about Sumo's descent into hypocritical sanctimoniousness ... the brutal dog eat dog world in the Stables which is the seedy underbelly of all that 'noble' ritual ... it is about the personal stories and drivers behind the rikishi ... young men who come to the dohyo with their own individual baggage ... it is about the true spirit of sumo and what happens when ego's are left behind and these big men find their own 'sumo'.

For the few minutes (but mostly less than a minute) of something that seems so innocuous as pushing someone to the ground or out of a circle ... the lead up to those few minutes is brutal, it is a test of heart and soul and body. These big men are amazing ... it is in no way an easy life that is for sure.

I loved that real Sumo Rikishi also stared in the series like Hishofuji Hiroki (1.92m tall and 201kg ... wow) who played the character of Shizuuchi. When he retired from Sumo he moved to the USA. Even as the scarred Shuzzuchi, that man has the most beautiful face and expressive eyes ... wow. Ichinose Wataru (not a Sumo Rikishi) who played Oze Kiyoshi / Enno, was just brilliant and so believable. He blew me away ... the anger, the rage, the depression, the fear and then the passion and exhilaration of finding his Sumo ... just brilliant. The back stories of these two characters ... both 'bad boys' ... had me reeling. Their lives outside of the Sumo Stables were tragic ... it was interesting to see how each man reacted to the tragedy of their lives. Once in the Stables it was another cruel world for them ... again, it was interesting how they responded to that cruelty.

As for the Ensho Stable ... the evolution of the Rikishi from brute savages to Rikishi who found their own Sumo, was hard to take at first but then became inspiring.

The side stories were interesting too, and while they were not fully explored, it provided the driving context to what drew these big men, Shizuuchi and Oze to Sumo and kept them there. Enya's retirement hair cutting ceremony was very moving ... for something that these men eat and breath for so much of their lives, retirement must feel like a form of death for them ... the hair cutting ceremony for Enya had me in tears as did Ensho Oyakata's response to him just before he finished cutting Enya's Sumo top knot.

All these different aspects ... the best and worst of Sumo, the ritual and spirituality of it; the association that regulates it and the individual stories ... makes this a very moving and compelling series. I especially loved the end ... when I was thinking of Shizuuchi and Enno I was worried about how it would end with these two ... but the end was exactly what I hoped for ... it was a perfect ending◝(ᵔ‿ᵔ)◜

This is an amazing story, brilliantly acted and produced ... I loved it.

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O.o I hope this helps someone? lol

Plot-Enter our ML(Oze)- who we guess is a high school by his clothing (also his mom calls him underage). Ichinose has the right physique and charisma for the role, but he makes for an unconvincing teen rebel as he in clearly in his 30s. xD But lets get back to the plot- juvenile delinquent, quick to anger, and out to fight the world- our hero has no path in life- he's no longer doing sports and his family lost their sushi shop. With no money to pay the bills. he's dad holds stop signs and his mom is happy to make money from other men. He's dad knows she is cheating but he accepts it as he is to blame for losing the shop. Oze is lured by promises of status, women, and money to join a sumo stable. He is reminded of the good times when he was little of listening to the sumo's tournaments with his dad. Sadly, ML dose not take the job seriously and is obnoxious on and off ring. He might be winning but he's not let go of his old ways of fighting and that leads to the others at the stable bulling him. I'll be honest- its not the worst I have seen but its not great to watch that happen. So he's fighting with the people he lives with, the people in charge of the sumo ring, and his family.
He's winning- so he's living life- going out and partying- gets himself a gf. Uses the people around him to pay for things for his gf. Meets up with a rich party guy that love to drink and loves girls. Oze becomes someone who was bought and shows up to the stable drunk alot.
I don't want to give everything away but he's whole plot is the underdog told twice I'd say- first at his stable and then in the ring. Very coming of age plot- theres the turning point where his life switches from delinquent to someone who cares about their goals. He rises and he falls- rises and falls =D
Other Roles- Reporters: Older reporter taking on a younger (FL?) under his wing after she was forced to leave political writing. He spends his time looking after her and hoping she likes sumo. She spends most of her time not wanted to be there but wanting to support Oze . She wanted to write a big story on how traditions should change but ends up writing an underdog story( We never see it done). Other reporters are there to make spicy drama- sub plot with fl reporter( might be her ex) and another reporter that sees the dark side of the sumo money world.
Families- Stable- Stable master Ensho and his wife spend most of their time saving their home from the rebel vs the sumo ring officials and Ensho's own personal fight with another stable master.
Elite stable family- They set it up for them to be the top goal. They have all the glory, all the media, and all the shiny toys. Sadly that stable master treats his son very poorly and is a broken/ cold home. The mom in this family will do Anything for her son....Very toxic and emotionally damaging for the son( Who also must be in he's 30s).
Two face- silent beast...Has a horrible childhood trauma that can be triggered. He is the man in the ring no one wants to meet. Oze meets him and they have an on/off silent friend/revenge plot. Out of everyone he's past is the one we know the most about.
There's also normal roles at the stable- top jerk, other underdogs, the older guy thats time is almost over, he guy that wants to be the older guy.- These guys I hated and likes and then grow to like them all =D


But Should you watch this? For me I kept watching this for the tradition of sumo, I thought that was interesting. I also enjoyed the fighting and the struggling to improve. I thought all the actors/actresses did well. If you can't handle boxing or other hand to hand fighting movies- then you shouldn't watch this. For me the bulling was not that bad. What I hate is the reporter talked about how its not ok but then nothing happened. That's what bugs me about it. The ML is also a bully but that dose not mean he should also be treated that way. But there is also issues with him not being respectful-its very complicated but still not right.
~This is really long... The End~

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Inspiring sports film? Nuh-uh, this is a political drama, baby

Did I know anything about sumo before watching Sanctuary? No. Was I even notionally interested in sumo beforehand? Not at all. Did I binge all six hours of this series in one go? Absolutely.

Our protagonist, Oze, becomes a sumo wrestler so he can financially support his dad. He has no emotional investment in sumo nor respect for its traditions and thus is quickly marked as a troublemaker. But don't let the premise mislead you: the sport should not be taken at face value. The power politics of the wrestlers and the vested interests means this series has just as much intrigue as a political drama. It's also just incredibly deeply and darkly funny.

Combine complex power dynamics, high end production (those slow-mo shots are *chefs kiss*), impressive character development, and you find yourself deeply sucked into the rich world of Sanctuary. The episode length times put me off from watching this at an earlier date, but when I did finally hit play, ohhh boy. The plot raced me through all eight episodes in one day,

That said, I can't give a full 10/10. At one stage, the series does teeter dangerously close to cheesy sports movie territory. Despite opinions expressed in other reviews, I think the ending worked well and redeemed the series from its brief foray into inspo-porn.

So yes, I highly recommend giving this series a shot. The blurb doesn't do it justice. I'll end this with a note on Ichinose Wataru's stellar performance. I'd seen him in a support role in the film, The Village, and was disappointed that he didn't get more screen time – his talent seemed so much larger than his character. With Sanctuary, his acting skills are on full display and he's a wonder to watch. Brilliant work.

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Complete waste of time I will never get back

As you can tell, I am not Japanese and while I have visited once and I love the food, one can say I am not familiar with the culture at all.
But this popped up in my Netflix feed and I was intrigued. Sumo? interesting, while I used to think of this "sport" as basic, this show changed my mind. It is an enormous amount of hard work, pain... just like any athlete from any sport.

3 things bothered me however:
1. How can one bitter old man still manipulate a sport for personal gain in recent years is still beyond me. I understand there are traditions but this was wayyy over the top.
2. Isn't there anyone willing to go see these guys battle it out in the arena? completely empty stadium made the experience rather stale.
3. Probably one of my most disappointing endings in a show.

The whole story was a 5, execution was a 4 and the ending made it a 0. Total rewatch value? Zero as well. I know it should have had the opposite effect, but this show completely switched me off from liking this sport.

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Sumo Whattttt

I was unprepared for the double punch of this series. Wow, not knowing one thing about Sumo except they were huge. This series was enlightening for sure. I know it is a theatrical portrayal of the sport, but still it makes boxing look like child's play. The amount of strength & endurance these men have to be able to be Sumo Wrestlers is awesome. The lead characters, I have to say characters cause just like sumo & how important the Stable's are , the series portrayal of the sport is rooted in the acting of all the characters. Enno being the central but, not the main to me all the characters were just as memorable. I even had an impact from the sleezy political guy (he was gorgeous) that betrayed the female reporter who by the way was fantastic. I don't know if I could rewatch it just because it was so impactful I will never forget it in the 1st place.

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