Directed by Keishi Ohtomo, this 2023 historical drama tells the story of Oda Nobunaga, one of the last great daimyōs of feudal Japan, and his marriage to Lady Nohime. The film has been lauded for its meticulous historical accuracy, although it takes liberty with Lady No's story, as little is known about her, here framing the story around the romance between the two characters, and the impact she made on her husband, helping him grow from a brash young man to a revered military tactician and the first great unifier of Japan.
Reuniting with the director is composer Naoki Sato, one of Japan's most prolific composers. The score isn't pitched as a traditional adventure epic, rather the music is neo-classical in nature, with a rather somber and elegiac tone. The music shifts and flows, often more focused on texture and building weighty gravitas, anchored by a dramatic adagio.
I haven't seen the film yet myself. It performed and was reviewed fairly well in Japan, though never got a wider release in the US, although it can be rented online. The original Rambling Records album immediately jumped out to me as something that needed some attention, as it is incredibly minimal. And one can never deny the chance to work with samurai imagery.
All four covers are adapted from official artwork. All of them required some overlaying and cloning to remove the Japanese text and titles, so I could insert my own. I recreated the title as closely as I could to have a cleaner version to be able to work with.
The most challenging creation was Cover 1, which merges the two solo character posters into one. I had to paint out the actors' names, which were drawn over the actors' faces, and then paint out a lot of text at the bottom of the posters, and create the darker section at the bottom to blend everything together.
Probably a much smaller project, but hope fans of the score will enjoy some more exciting artwork. Let me know your favorites below!
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