I LOOOOOOVE this show, but 2 things.
1) I absolutely hate the theme song 'Edelweiss'. Its pretentious and just annoying.
2) About 40% of the entire show is just close up's of Mr. Tagomi's face. And he has a face like he just smelled a really stinky poo.
Edelweiss is the perfect song. It's haunting and beautiful. I agree about number 2.
shareMost series theme songs get annoying, especially when binging on the shows. I've found that they can be bypassed in most cases. In this case, as I move the cursor along the line that shows how much of the show you have watched, when the 2 flags appear, you can stop right there and miss the whole thing, and then the show starts. I have used minutes and seconds in some of the shows, but many of them seem to have scenes from the previous weeks, and/or previews of other shows, making that a bit more difficult.
shareI've memorized it for this show. 1:26 for most episodes is when the theme song ends.
shareI actually agree with OP on both points. I'm very on the fence with the theme song to say the least; it gets a bit old/stale after a while. And it's very depressing; just a slow, boring rendition of the song. It barely gets me in the mood to watch this show. In fact, I actually put off watching season 2 for a few weeks because the first time I turned it on I heard that extremely depressing theme song and just didn't feel like watching it.
Yes, the show has a dark tone, but still; it could have easily worked with some up-beat war music; some hybrid German/Japanese taiko-style music showing how the world was invaded. Anything better than "Edelweiss". I will say it works but doesn't work.
I agree on Tagomi's face as well, although I love Cary Tagawa; I remember him fondly for playing Shang Stung in Mortal Kombat. He is hands down one of the best on-screen villains of the 90's and that is still one of my favorite action martial arts movies today. I almost feel he was miscast/underused in TMIHC. Because he is a very good emotional actor; good at showing anger, intimidation, and having on-screen presence. But in this, he's just kind of this boring trade minister that's able to travel through time. I mean, he still shows emotion, but I agree, it just these awkward face-shots of him. It starts to improve a little though when he meets his wife and son in the alternate universe.