Demosthenes here. Hot on the heels of WB releasing the English-language trailer for The War of the Rohirrim, their Japan office has popped up with a Japanese-language dub version that is … nearly an entirely different cut. There’s different scenes, extra characters and, to me at least, the animation even looks smoother. Check it out below!
Courtesy of the fine folk over at Anime News Network, we have some additional information on the Japanese dub cast… and some extra characters! For the Japanese dub we have:
- Fuka Koshiba as Héra
- Masachika Ichimura as Helm Hammmerhand
- Kenjiro Tsuda as Wulf (this is actually super-exciting)
- Takako Honda as Éowyn
- Taya Jun as Frealaf Hildeson
In addition,
- Manabu Muraji plays the orc Lot (ANN notes this character romanisation is not official).
- Hayato Taya voices the retainer Reef (ANN notes this character romanisation is not official).
I really, really dig the JP trailer. Somehow it manages to pack in 200 per cent more drama in pretty much equal runtime. We see more of Haleth and Hama, and Helm. There’s a snow troll and Helm looking absolutely demented with grief or anger. Oh, and Saruman is there as well! (We all knew he would be.) His introduction is unvoiced, so that particular casting remains a mystery for now.
Even more staff trailer thoughts
More TORn staff are weighing in with their reactions…
TORn staffer Weetanya
I just finished watching both the Japanese and English versions of the War of the Rohirrim trailer, and feel unmitigated glee at how the director, Kenji Kamiyama, turned these few pages of Appendix A into art. I love how the director wove Peter Jackson’s movie-verse into our understanding of Tolkien’s bit of Rohirric history, and love how the animation informs our enjoyment of the world and the character of Hèra.
The clips from both trailers show animation that is lovely, hand-drawn and elegant in a way that lends itself to the tale. The character art of Hèra is reminiscent of several classic anime heroines, including the noble horse-riding and sword-wielding Lady Oscar from Rose of Versaille, and the equally noble Utena Tenjou from Revolutionary Girl Utena.
The trope of a strong and virtuous woman denying romantic relationships for the sake of serving her people also rings true to anime – most recently in the director Kenji Kamiyama’s own past work for the television series of Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, which revolves around an AI-inhabited cybernetic person, Motoko Kusanagi. This series also emphasized the work of a larger team and how it drew together to support Motoko as she solved crimes and explored questions about her identity (and what it means to be human), and some of the same themes might play out in the story of Hèra and her larger Rohirric family. Stephen disagreed with me here and said, “I thought more of the tough protector Balsa Yonsa from Kamiyama’s Moribito no Serei. I wouldn’t necessarily say they fight in a similar style, but Balsa also wields a spear. And it’s pure fantasy rather than SF so it’s more comparable.” — Fair point!
The story in the appendix is written with sparse details, but the ones that stand out are vivid. Here are a few points that I noticed, with as few spoilers as possible except for the moments that are in the trailer:
- Helm Hammerhand ruled at a time when the land surrounding Rohan was being encroached upon by Dunlendings, including by a man named Freca. Freca is perhaps descended from a king of the Rohirrim, but he is of mingled Dunlending blood. After a council meeting one day, Freca reveals his designs of a union with the royal house of Edoras, and asks that Helm’s daughter (unnamed) marry his son Wulf. – All of this stands relatively unchanged in the trailer.
- Helm says no and insults Freca, implying that his holdings are as bloated as he is. They battle it out, and Helm knocks Freca comatose. Later, he dies. – This is also relatively unchanged in the trailer, although at present Helm isn’t shown insulting Freca as he does in Tolkien’s version.
- A lot of history happens, which Tolkien writes as realistically messier than the straightforward narrative that a movie requires, but eventually the Rohirrim end up gathering at a far-off fortress that has yet to earn the name Helm’s Deep. – The path of the muster is not clear as of yet, but we do see Edoras burning, and the Rohirrim eventually gathering in the fortress.
- The most vivid part of the tale tells of the heroics of Helm himself and how he nearly singlehandedly defends the Deep from foes. – We have not yet seen this part of the tale in the trailer, but I do not doubt that it will play a pivotal role.
- Singlehandedly? Well, Rohan called for aid, but Gondor was a little busy with Corsairs invading the coasts. – This part has not yet been revealed, but I am sure it will ring true to everyone who might have wondered where Gondor was when the Westfold fell.
- Helm’s sons, Haleth and Hama, also play a part in this war against the Dunlendings, and earn their heroic statures in important ways. – We have seen them in stills from the anime, but their roles are also not revealed yet.
- There is a further spoiler revealed in the Japanese version of the trailer that I will not share, but it happens at the very end of Tolkien’s tale, and sets up a tension between Two Towers that we know well from the books.
The screenwriters, Phoebe Gittins and Arty Papageorgiou, fleshed out the world in a way that carries on the spirit of the Peter Jackson movies, as well as what we know and can guess about the Rohirric culture. They have added the following things:
- The screenwriters named Helm’s daughter, which JRRT did not do. They’ve named her Hèra, which is an Old English name (because Tolkien translated Rohirric into Old English for us), and based her character upon the Anglo-Saxon queen Æthelflæd.
- They enlarged Hèra’s plot, which appeals to me because it carries on one of the best parts of Lord of the Rings – the part where a woman of Rohan saves the day.
- They also added Éowyn as the narrator, which is brilliant. Is she telling the story to the son she has with Faramir, Elboron?
In general, I loved it!
Happy Hobbit: Staffers Fili and Kili
TORn Staffer Garfeimao
I really liked the use of original Trilogy scenes and music and then morphed the images into anime sequences, very well blended. And that scene of the group of riders (not sure if friend or foe) silhouetted by the rising full moon is just magnificent.
The voice over for hearing a story 200 years before the War of the Ring leads to an older tale, which lands us on a scene of Edoras in flames. And just wow, the flames of Edoras, and even the flames of torches held by the Rohirrim look so life-like.
This is followed by some very familiar Rohirric action, a horn blows, a horse and rider rear, and the troop rides off in a sound of thunder. There is then this amazing image of the Golden Hall of Meduseld with a starry sky behind it, dimly lit by torches. It’s just stunningly beautiful.
Seeing the inside of Meduseld is so reminiscent of the great hall we will see again 200 years later, full of the rich colors of the wood, the heraldry, and the fires in the sconces. Again, the artwork is so beautiful.
Once outside the hall, on the steps, while we hear what I assume is Helm saying ‘You do not seek an alliance, but a throne’ he also appears to be removing a ring from his finger. And then things go sideways.
It’s clear Hera and Wulf were childhood friends, but alas, royal relationships can’t always be that simple.
The appearance of the Oliphaunts and the siege machine speak to the peril Rohan is in while Edoras is besieged.
While out on her own, Hera encounters a giant eagle, which is interesting, I can’t wait to find out how this plays out.
OK, so what they heck is that tree monster? It can’t be an Ent, it looks more like the Watcher at the back gate of Moria, with sod and a tree growing on it’s head. And it’s got at least one eye, but looks like it could have two, and roots/tentacles with teeth, reaching out to grab the Oliphaunt chasing Hera.
We see Hera climbing up an icy cliff, with metal hooks, so she’s clearly on some adventure or quest for something.
There appears to be an epic battle between Wulf and Hera that I just can’t wait to see play out in full.
And the final scene after the Title card shows is someone with an accent wondering ‘what does Mordor want with Rings’ as he adds a new one to a bag full of rings.
