Sanctuary: Sacred Area (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.

Leer más

"Dignity is important, but winning is way more important"

If you are squeamish around a lot of bare skin, best to skip Sanctuary. This sumo drama abounded in nearly nekkid men as the sport requires. Big, bountiful butt cheeks and bellies everywhere. I knew very little about the sport so was interested in peering into their world. My review will show I still know next to nothing but it is up a step up from nothing.

Oze Kiyoshi had a troubled family life after his father lost their sushi restaurant. His mother ran off with other men and racked up enormous debt. His father who had physical limitations (maybe from a stroke?) was relegated to working on a road crew as the flag man. The Ensho stable master, Ensho Oyakata, recruits Oze after he quits judo telling Oze he can make a lot of money in sumo. Oze refuses to learn the sumo way, preferring his own bag of mostly useless tricks, he is pounded repeatedly in every practice. His unconventional approach to sumo will be sorely tested when he goes head-to-head with Shizuuchi, a mountain of a man with a more painful background than his own. In a similar vein, reporter Kunishima Asuka has been demoted from the news desk and reassigned to covering sumo. Sullen and sulky, disrespectful of sumo, she is a petulant thorn in her boss’ side. Can the two people on either side of the ring come to appreciate and respect the ancient sport?

The most difficult aspect of this drama for me was Oze. He was thoroughly unlikable. Rude, cocky, and violent, disrespectful to everyone, and on top of that, he often behaved stupidly. It helps to pick an unlikable trait-unrelentingly rude or stupid, Oze managed to be both. I was not rooting for him, in fact, was hoping someone would knock his block off. Boy, did I get my wish. Oze was not alone--devious stable heads, other wrestlers, parents (dear goodness his mother was cartoonishly awful)—all behaved badly. The hazing could be violent and there was also college frat boy childish hazing behavior that I didn’t find funny. Kunishima’s growth could at least be seen episode by episode, Oze became embarrassingly worse with each episode until his world view was shattered and he was forced to make a life decision the audience had been waiting six-and-a-half episodes for.

Sanctuary did give insights into the secretive sport with brutal hazing and masculine spaces that had invisible yet strongly enforced “no girls allowed” signs. Any criticisms were quickly swept under the rug, even Kunishima abandoned them as she became enamored with the sport and Enno. Side stories and characters were unceremoniously shoved under the same rug. The last couple of episodes were more entertaining and what I wouldn’t pay to see a gaggle of nearly nekkid sumos running through the streets Rocky style. However, the journey to redemption was just so slow and awful, perhaps more realistic, but not much fun to watch. The ending was also a bitter letdown after a huge emotional buildup. While I enjoyed learning more about the ancient sport with its intricate traditions, Oze/Enno was an irritating guide for much of the drama. I’m still glad I watched it for sumo educational purposes, but the drama itself was a challenge to wade through.

30 August 2025 7.25 could go either way on a coin flip, 7.0 or 7.5

Trigger warnings: bare derrieres, sexual content, lots of boob grabbing, numerous vomiting scenes, a suicide, and a very violent bloody scene.

SPOILER TRIGGER: Ended on a Cliffhanger with lots of dangling stories.

Leer más