''The Three Musketeers'' (, Renzoku Ningyo Katsugeki Shin Sanjushi) is a Japanese puppet television show produced by NHK and broadcast by

NHK Educational TV , abbreviated on-screen as NHK E, is the second television service of NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation). It is a sister service of NHK General TV, showing programs of a more educational, cultural or intellectual nature, periodically also s ...

from 12 October 2009 to 28 May 2010. The show is written by Kōki Mitani and the puppets are designed by Bunta Inoue.

Story

In 1625, d'Argtagnan heads for

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

from

Gascony Gascony (; french: Gascogne ; oc, Gasconha ; eu, Gaskoinia) was a province of the southwestern Kingdom of France that succeeded the Duchy of Gascony (602–1453). From the 17th century until the French Revolution (1789–1799), it was part ...

and tries to meet the Three Musketeers there. From this, he grows up into a musketeer despite being involved in a struggle of power between

Anne of Austria Anne of Austria (french: Anne d'Autriche, italic=no, es, Ana María Mauricia, italic=no; 22 September 1601 – 20 January 1666) was an infanta of Spain who became Queen of France as the wife of King Louis XIII from their marriage in 1615 unt ...

and

Cardinal Richelieu Armand Jean du Plessis, Duke of Richelieu (; 9 September 1585 – 4 December 1642), known as Cardinal Richelieu, was a French clergyman and statesman. He was also known as ''l'Éminence rouge'', or "the Red Eminence", a term derived from the ...

. But the dissolution of the Guards by Richelieu makes the lives of the musketeers change a lot. D' Artagnan meets former captain Treville who is a

groom A bridegroom (often shortened to groom) is a man who is about to be married or who is newlywed. When marrying, the bridegroom's future spouse (if female) is usually referred to as the bride. A bridegroom is typically attended by a best man ...

for king and then searches Athos, Porthos and Aramis with labour. Then Trėville tells the musketeers that d'Artagnan is a son of Bertand who taught them

fencing Fencing is a group of three related combat sports. The three disciplines in modern fencing are the foil, the épée, and the sabre (also ''saber''); winning points are made through the weapon's contact with an opponent. A fourth discipline, ...

and train him to a full-fledged musketeer. He also tells d'Artagnan to learn courage from Athos, wisdom from Aramis and humour from Porthos. One day Bonacieux, owner of the house the musketeers and d'Atragnan live in asks them to search his young wife Constance who serves Anne of Austria. At that time, Constance is imprisoned and questioned by Cardinal Richelieu about the Duke of Buckingham, who is said to visit Paris incognito. After that, Constance runs away from prison and make the queen meet the Duke of Buckingham secretly. Anne hands him her

necklace A necklace is an article of jewellery that is worn around the neck. Necklaces may have been one of the earliest types of adornment worn by humans. They often serve ceremonial, religious, magical, or funerary purposes and are also used as sym ...

with twelve

diamond Diamond is a solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Another solid form of carbon known as graphite is the chemically stable form of carbon at room temperature and pressure, b ...

s as a memory of their tryst. However, Mylady de Winter, a spy for Richelieu who serves Anne under the false name of Charlotte schemes the queen to wear a necklace at a

ball A ball is a round object (usually spherical, but can sometimes be ovoid) with several uses. It is used in ball games, where the play of the game follows the state of the ball as it is hit, kicked or thrown by players. Balls can also be used f ...

to be held one week later. Then the musketeers, d'Artagnan and Constance hurry to

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

to take back it despite being chased by Milady and Rochefort. Finally only d'Artagnan and Constance reach the residence of the Duke of Buckingham safely but find that two of twelve diamonds are stolen by Milady and O'Reilly, a jeweller adds two diamonds anew. Though they lose it on their way to Paris, the necklace is sent to Anne miraculously. After the ball, d'Artagnan becomes a musketeer for the achievement. At the same time, Milady tries to revenge the musketeers and seduces Bonacieux to kidnap his wife Constance but Aramis saves her and she is sheltered in a

convent A convent is a community of monks, nuns, religious brothers or, sisters or priests. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The word is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Angl ...

. On the other hand, d'Artagnan is worried about the request of leading the Guards of Richrlieu and his isolation from the three musketeers for he never hears of the kidnaping of Constance and what Aramis does for her. Finally he accepts the cardinal's offer. Both the Guards of Louis XIII and that of Richelieu march to

La Rochelle La Rochelle (, , ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''La Rochéle''; oc, La Rochèla ) is a city on the west coast of France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime department. Wi ...

but are forced into a hard fight against the Protestant

rebel A rebel is a participant in a rebellion. Rebel or rebels may also refer to: People * Rebel (given name) * Rebel (surname) * Patriot (American Revolution), during the American Revolution * American Southerners, as a form of self-identification ...

supported by the Duke of Buckingham and d'Artangan and his soldiers are commanded to spearhead. It is schemed by Richelieu to kill the king's musketeers at an early stage though he survives the war while the three musketeers leaves the battlefield. And Milady goes to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

to assassinate the Duke of Buckingham who is killed by a

scorpion Scorpions are predatory arachnids of the order Scorpiones. They have eight legs, and are easily recognized by a pair of grasping pincers and a narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward curve over the back and always en ...

at last. After the war, Trėville is killed by Rochefort after a

duel A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two people, with matched weapons, in accordance with agreed-upon rules. During the 17th and 18th centuries (and earlier), duels were mostly single combats fought with swords (the rapier and ...

and tells Constance and d'Artagnan that he is a son of Rochefort in reality before his death. Milady is arrested for killing the Duke of Buckingham and about to be executed but saved by the musketeers. She then runs away breaking the promise of living with Athos. It makes Athos disappointed but he is encouraged by d'Artagnan, who is appointed as a new captain of the Guards. Porthos, who becomes shell shock at La Rochelle gets back his health by Madame Coquenard's dedicated care and marries her. And Aramis returns to their house from

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer whic ...

in which he shuts himself. One evening, the three musketeers are in their favourite

tavern A tavern is a place of business where people gather to drink alcoholic beverages and be served food such as different types of roast meats and cheese, and (mostly historically) where travelers would receive lodging. An inn is a tavern t ...

and find a boy who resembles young d'Artagnan imitates fencing. He tells them that he would like to become a musketeer and serve king so they teach him how to fence uttering "attack, attack, and parry!"

Characters

Musketeers

;D'Argtagnan (voiced by

Sosuke Ikematsu (born July 9, 1990) is a Japanese actor, television, and theatre actor best known for his role as Higen, the young nephew of samurai leader Katsumoto, in the 2003 film '' The Last Samurai''. Life and career Born in Fukuoka, Fukuoka Pre ...

) :Young man from Gascony who tries to avenge the murder of his father and joins the

Musketeers of the Guard The Musketeers of the Guard (french: Mousquetaires de la garde) or King's Musketeers () had the full name - Musketeers of the military household of the King of France. () They were an elite fighting company of the military branch of the Maison du ...

though his real father is Rochefort. ;Athos (voiced by Koichi Yamadera) :Hot-blooded and brave musketeer but has thirsty soul. He takes a fatherly interest in d'Artangan and encourages him. ;Porthos (voiced by

Wataru Takagi is a Japanese actor and voice actor from Chiba Prefecture. He is affiliated with Arts Vision. He is best known for his roles in ''Detective Conan'' (as Genta Kojima and Wataru Takagi), '' After War Gundam X'' (as Garrod Ran), '' Slayers Try' ...

) :Cheerful and fat musketeer who is popular among women and consoles d'Argtagnan when he gets depressed because of his inexperience. ;Aramis (voiced by Masashi Ebara) :Tall, good-looking musketeer with intelligence and calmness and gives d'Artagnan a good advice when he wavers in his judgment. He is deeply religious also. ;Trėville (voiced by Masashi Ebara) :Captain of the Musketeers and one of old friends of Bertrand. ;Bertrand (voiced by Toshiyuki Nishida) :Father of d'Argtagnan who is killed by Rochefort. He leaves a will to his son before his death. ;Planchet (voiced by Koichi Yamadera) :A monkey who escaped from street performers and goes along with d'Artagnan. He often helps the musketeers by his quickness and cleverness.

Richelieu and his followers

;Cardinal Richelieu (voiced by Masashi Ebara) :Cardinal and prime minister of France. He controls the country ignoring Louis XIII and is opposed to Anne of Austria. ;Rochefort (voiced by Koichi Yamadera) :Right-hand man of Richelieu who is cruel and kills Bertrand before joining the Musketeers of the Guard again. ;Milady de Winter (voiced by Keiko Toda) :Spy for Richelieu and serves Anne under the false name of Charlotte to deceive her. She once had a close and unknown relationship with Athos. ;Ketty (voiced by Keiko Toda) :A cat kept as a pet by Milady who assists her mistress and competes with Planchet.

Royal Family

;Louis XIII (voiced by Koichi Yamadera) :King of France. A weak-hearted and lonely young man who escapes from reality. He closes his mind to everyone but d'Artagnan who is close to him in age. ;Anne of Austria (voiced by Catherine Seto) :Queen consort of Louis XIII who is opposed to Richelieu. She meets her former lover Duke of Buckingham secretly but it causes trouble. She plans to reestablish the Musketeers of the Guards dissolved by Richelieu forcibly to recover the sovereignty of her husband.

Others

;Duke of Buckingham (voiced by Wataru Takagi) :Politician and aristocrat of England who loves Anne and supports the Protestant rebel. Later he is assassinated but revived by O'Reilly. ;Constance (voiced by Shihori Kanjiya) :Waiting-maid of Anne and wife of Bonacieux who is loved by d'Artagngan and Aramis. She sometimes cooperates with the musketeers to save Anne when she gets into a scrape. ;Bonacieux (voiced by Wataru Takagi) :Husband of Constance and owner of the house in which the musketeers live and informs Richelieu how they behave. He is a man who tries to please everyone and is sly and vulgar but sometimes behaves superhumanly because of his deep love to Constance. He is commended as a honorary citizen of Paris for his crossing the Channel using washtub. ;Patrick (voiced by Koichi Yamadera) :Follower of Duke of Buckingham. ;Madame Coquenard (voiced by Catherine Seto) :Fiancėe of Porthos who does housework for the musketeers. She also nurses Porthos who becomes ill during the Siege of La Rochelle and later becomes his wife. ;Bassonpierre (voiced by

Yuji Tanaka is a Japanese comedian. He is best known as half of the '' owarai'' duo Bakusho Mondai along with Hikari Ota. He also played Mike in the Japanese dub of the Pixar movie '' Monsters, Inc.'', Br'er Fox in the Japanese dub of the Disney movi ...

) :Leader of the Protestant rebels who is supported by Duke of Buckingham. ;Lumiėre (voiced by Hikaru Ota) :Cheesemaker who is forced to become a soldier of a rebel army and falls in battle. ;O'Reilly (voiced by Koki Mitani) :Skilful jeweller who is employed by Duke of Buckingham. *Koichi Yamadera, Wataru Takagi and Masashi Ebara voice Sherlock Holmes, John H. Watson and Jim Moriarty in Mitani's another show "

Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a " consulting detective" in the stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with observation, deduction, forensic science and ...

Production

Mitani was impressed by a puppetry "Shin Hakkenden" () adapted from Nanso Satomi Hakkenden that was broadcast by NHK in his childhood and longed to produce puppetry.NHK, pp.30-34 At that time, he played with many soldier figures but let them play family framas for he didn't like war stories. According to Mitani, he was "exactly like a hero of ' Toy Story'". The experience helped him write the script of this show. After that, he wrote a ''

bunraku (also known as ) is a form of traditional Japanese puppet theatre, founded in Osaka in the beginning of the 17th century, which is still performed in the modern day. Three kinds of performers take part in a performance: the or (puppeteers ...

'' play in 2012. Before writing the script of "The Three Musketeers", he discussed appearance of the puppets with Bunta Inoue and was concerned in selecting the voice actors/actresses also. The puppets are made of

resin In polymer chemistry and materials science, resin is a solid or highly viscous substance of plant or synthetic origin that is typically convertible into polymers. Resins are usually mixtures of organic compounds. This article focuses on nat ...

but put grain of wood to give warmth. Their costumes are handmade and devised to give the atmosphere of Europe in the 17th century as well as the set construction. All characters are voiced by seven voice actors/actresses. Koichi Yamadera voices six characters as Athos, Louis XIII, Rochefort, Patrick, Duke of Orléan and Planchet. There are some jokes in the show as the Duke of Buckingham jogs wearing a jogging suit daily and the dishes with the words "Fin." (End) and "Rappel" (Curtain Call) are on a table of at the end of the final episode. In addition, Bonacieux crosses

the Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...

using washtub as a boat while Milady cooks unappetising

stew A stew is a combination of solid food ingredients that have been cooked in liquid and served in the resultant gravy. A stew needs to have raw ingredients added to the gravy. Ingredients in a stew can include any combination of vegetables a ...

for d'Artagnan whom she falls in love with. In addition, the puppets of O'Reilly and Bassonpierre are made after Koki Mitani and narrator Yuji Tanaka. Various properties appear in the show. Not only swords, guns, armour and the queen's necklace but also food, books and handkerchieves Porthos is given by many women are included. Spanish Connection is in charge of music. And the ending theme "Hitori ja nai" (You are not alone) expresses the bonds of friendship, especially that of d'Artagnan and the musketeers and the words are written by Mitani.

Episodes

Memorial, pp.100-109

Related programmes and events

From 5 to 10 October 2009, "Countdown! Shin Sanjushi" was broadcast daily by

and "Shin Sanjushi Mamonaku Sutato Special" ("The Three Musketeers" will start soon) was broadcast on 12 October by

NHK General TV , abbreviated on-screen as NHK G, is the main television service of NHK, the Japanese public broadcaster. Its programming includes news, drama, quiz/variety shows, music, sports, anime, and specials which compete directly with the output of i ...

. And another special programme was put on the air on 29 August 2010 by NHK General TV. The puppetry was played on the stage in

Yokohama Red Brick Warehouse The is a historical building that is used as a complex that includes a shopping mall, banquet hall, and event venues. The complex, officially known as the , was originally used as customs buildings, and has two sections: Warehouse No.1 and No.2. ...

from 23 to 25 July 2010.

Media

*The DVD of eight volumes was released in 2014 by Happinet Pictures, a company of

Bandai Namco Group also known as the Bandai Namco Group and generally Bandai Namco, is a Japanese multinational holding company, production enterprise and entertainment conglomerate headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, formed from the merger of Bandai and Namco on ...

. :At the end of the final episode in the DVD, voice actors/actresses appear one by one with the puppets they voice and bow to viewers. And at the end of the volume 6 (episode 30), main characters sing the ending theme "Hitori ja nai" by one phrase and finally becomes the chorus by all characters.

Notes

References

*NHK, ''Official guidebook of "The Three Musketeers"'', Tokyo, NHK Publishing Co., Ltd. 2009. *NHK, ''Memorial Book of "The Three Musketeers"'', Tokyo, NHK Publishing Co., Ltd. 2010.

External links

NEP Program Finder - The Three MusketeersNHK Website
Japanese)
Happinet
Japanese, website on the DVD)

(Japanese, website on making of the show)

(Japanese, website on the puppets in the show) {{DEFAULTSORT:Three Musketeers (puppetry), The Japanese television shows featuring puppetry Japanese children's television series 2009 Japanese television series debuts 2010 Japanese television series endings NHK original programming Television shows written by Kôki Mitani Cultural depictions of Cardinal Richelieu Cultural depictions of Louis XIII Television shows based on The Three Musketeers