A friend recommended me Shogun, a mini-series released in February 2024, as the new Game of Thrones. Of course, this piqued my interest, but also made me wary. GoT had four amazing seasons and then progressively got worse, ending in major disappointment. After finishing the mini-series set in 17th century Japan, I am glad I decided to watch it.
The main language of the series is Japanese, which makes sense but can be off-putting to people who dislike reading subtitles. As an avid anime enjoyer, I did not mind the Japanese at all. Others complained about the Portuguese characters speaking English instead of Portuguese. However, looking at the rest of the show, this is a minor complaint.
The star of the show is of course Hiroyuki Sanada, one of the most recognizable Japanese actors to western audiences. In Shogun, Sanada shows us what an amazing actor he is, portraying the role of Yoshii Toranaga the lord of the Kanto region. Although Toranaga is a fictional character, he is loosely based on Tokugawa Ieyasu, a real historical figure from Japan. My knowledge about the history of Japan is very limited, but Shogun has inspired me to delve deeper into the rich history of Japan.
The main reason why people compare Shogun to Game of Thrones is the plot. The politics and the trickery are indeed quite similar to early seasons of GoT. However, considering Shogun is intended as a mini-series with only one ‘season’, this does not give a lot of room to explore the political manoeuvring too deeply. A major plot point about Toranaga’s intentions was revealed too soon. Personally, I enjoy it more if the viewer is left guessing about what’s going to happen, instead of being told through exposition.
Coming back to the performances in the series, the other members of the cast also delivered some great performances. Anna Sawai as Mariko and Tadanobu Asano as Yabushige delivered strong performances. Mariko, serving as the translator, is an important part of the plot. Some of the best scenes in the show are because of Mariko. Two amazing scenes with her are the tea ceremony with her husband and the exchange of poetry between Mariko and Toranaga. However, the best and most intense scene of the show involved Toranaga and one of his long-time trusted advisors Hiromatsu. (I will not give any spoilers, you will have to experience these amazing moments for yourself.) Finally, Cosmo Jarvis as the main character was good, but compared to the names mentioned before, his acting felt a bit bleak.
In addition to strong acting performances, the set design and costume design are other factors that make Shogun so good. The scenes set in the dark looked stunning and the costumes were beautiful. However, it felt like in the editing process they used some form of artificial blur on the edges of the frame, in some ways like portrait mode photos. To me this seemed unnecessary because the viewer’s eyes are already guided to the right parts of the frame naturally. A sharp image throughout the frame would have looked better in my humble opinion.
Overall, Shogun is a strong show. It rises about the mediocrity of the average tv series. Although not at the level of mini-series like The Queen’s Gambit or Chernobyl, it is still better than most other new releases out there.
Would recommend: 8/10.
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