a stranded crow being cared for by Sakisaka (the Censor) in the original play. Writer's take Mitani Koki, the writer of the scenario, claims that his inspiration for Tsubaki came from Kikuya Sakae, who was the writer for the comedy star of the Shōwa period, Kenichi Enomoto. He claims that the play was not meant to be any sort of political commentary, nor was it inspired by current events. Instead, Mitani is known to often turn to history for jidaigeki such as his popular Shinsengumi serial drama. Even though the story deals with censorship, the story does not portray a negative view of it. In fact, the charm of this story is the clever way in which Tsubaki's play improves as a result of having to work around the constrictions that Sakisaka places upon him. If it were a commentary on the oppression of artists, then Mitani would have presented the censorship in a more negative light. However, in an interview for The Japan Times Mitani did admit that the play was timely and had potential to be sympathised with even by people from other countries and cultures. Notes External links Last Laugh Parco Indie London Japanese comedy films 2004 films Films with screenplays by Kôki Mitani Works by Kôki Mitani