Shōgun TV Series Review
Shōgun is a 2024 historical action fiction series adapted from a book by the same name written by James Clavell. The series premiered on FXand FX on Hulu on 27 February 2024.
The story is set in feudal Japan following Lord Toranaga as he tries to play a feudal game of thrones and tip the balance in a land governed by 5 regents.
The Good
I loved the book the show is based on and while series takes some creative liberties, it preserves the overall story, which isn’t too surprising considering that both the book and the series are loosely based on historical events.
The storytelling is top tier, with impressive dialogue that is at times poetic, embracing a Japanese philosophy of using absence to give meaning where nothing is implied but when the whole picture becomes complete you realise how all the pieces have always been there… like how the pilot episode is called Anjin which is a play on John Blackthorne being a (ship) pilot and of course the pilot episode.
Cosmo Jarvis as John Blackthorne executed his part well as a focal but side-show character with a rather bewildered expression at the intricate Japanese etiquette and views on death. The show’s storytelling subtly keeps him central yet in the side-lines allowing other characters to shine as well as moving away from a White Saviour trope…
Hiroyuki Sanada as Lord Yoshii Toranaga is the real lead character who like any master puppeteer is behind the curtain, never in the spotlight…yet totally steals the series keeping you guessing at his true heart. The show delicately balances between having a focal character who isn’t really the lead and a lead character who doesn’t come across as a focal point of the story, making it an intriguing watch.
Tadanobu Asano as Kashigi Yabushige is the sort of character who will laugh his head off while scheming with everyone till you have no idea whose side he is really on…. You’ll hate him, grow to love him, hate him some more, until even you arent sure whose side you be on… but sides don’t matter if you win.
The women of Shōgun are also unforgettable and I struggle to pick a favourite between the obvious choice of Mariko-sama played by Anna Sawai, fiercely loyal but not without baggage and Fuji-sama (Moeka Hoshi), who could steal the entire without uttering a single word.
The courtesans of the Willow World also display incredible foresight into the human condition, from Lady Gin to Kiku, even though their screen time is brief, they made a lot of impact.
Shōgun has a certain authenticity the book never quite had, it is told from a Japanese perspective rather than the Anjin’s perspective with them referring to each other as savages and barbarians only for the Anjin to realise perhaps its his civilisation that is uncultured.
The Bad
If you have read the book you already know most of what happens, but if you haven’t, the series feels like it short-changes you by teasing at an epic battle that always seems an episode away right from the pilot episode, this could have you anticipating for the chaos about to be unleashed in the next episode, and you never quite get that….
In light of the giddy anticipation of an epic battle an episode away, the show then feels like it drags, where you expect war to break out, yet end up sidetracked by rotting pheasant stories and other seemingly mundane subplots such as star-crossed lovers, consorts, and courtesans.
The Ugly
As a reflection of the times, women where objectified and treated like a commodity to serve as ordered by the fathers and husbands, forced to live, when they would rather take their own lives, made to keep their emotions hidden.
Without delving into the nuances of Seppuku the show leaves one with a rather grim impression of the value of life, where it seems people are compelled to take their lives for the sake of honour and dishonour and shame.. resigned to a sort of fate on the way things playout, shukumei.
The series also broaches how religion has been used as a form of control and manipulation not as a business of saving souls, but simply a business.
Final Thoughts
Top tier show that is like Game Of Thrones sans dragons but set in feudal Japan.. A ficitionalised blend of history and human interest storytelling that may demand but your patience but it pays off.
Have you watched the show or read the book and any of its other tv adaptations?
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