FX’s Shōgun sets a benchmark for all the spectacle shows that strive to achieve the status of an epic. It has now become a yardstick by which all other visual epics should be measured. The showrunners have done an incredible job in adapting the ambitious novel by James Clavell– the display of hard work, thoughtfulness and passion is evident throughout the series.
The show has the crystal clarity of the culture it represents, the universality it attains is only possible because it remains true to the Japanese culture and the same authenticity is reflected on screen.
Just to touch upon the basic premise of the show, without giving anything away, we’re introduced to the world of Shōgun through the European gaze of John Blackthorne—a man trapped by his own ambitions—who ends up in Japan after a shipwreck. The aforementioned gaze quickly melts away once the show starts building upon its characters and culture, so that by the time the show ends, we feel gratitude for the emotions that this show makes us experience.
The list of characters is quite long, the impressive thing is that every single character feels like a conscious person with a personality and not just a mouthpiece. Hiroyuki Sanada grabbed the opportunity to play Lord Yoshii Toranaga by its neck and rummaged it to fruition through his nuanced and powerful performance.
Sanada is aware of the culture that this show feeds into, his commitment both as an actor and producer to bring forth the true beauty of Japanese culture with an immaculate attention to detail deserves a lot of appreciation.
Anna Sawai, who has starred on Apple TV+ shows such as Pachinko and Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, brings in a whole another level of game into this show as Lady Mariko. While Blackthorne acts as a bridge for viewers to enter this world, once entered, it’s Lady Mariko who forms the emotional core of this show. This is Sawai’s best performance to date. She showcases mastery over the art of creating specific dramatic moods through her restraint performance. Just wait till you get to episode 9.
Tadanobu Asano as Kashigi Yabushige is bound to be a fan favourite from the show. An endlessly entertaining and chaotic character playing chicken with death, ranking the same in his notebook and updating will in every episode; while also acting as a vessel to reflect how out-of-control the situations get in the show.
An episode feels incomplete without the presence of Fuji, Moeka Hoshi plays the character with lots of composure and hits the bullseye in terms of striking the emotional chords in a scene. The list of such characters can go on and on.
Even on a technical level, this is a well-made show. The cinematography and sound design is incredible. The score by Atticus Ross, Leopold Ross and Nick Chuba is unique– a fertile miscegenation of soundscapes between Japanese and Western sounds that feels so familiar yet so strange.
What makes Shōgun an epic is not just fights, the battles are hardly the point of focus of the show. It’s the scheming, mind games and verbal burns that make up for an intellectually engaging watch. The show does not seek cheap catharsis, it provides entertainment while also leaving plenty food for thought.
One of the many things that the show focuses on is about letting go. To let go of the past and shape your own destiny, because ultimately, we live and we die…..
Shōgun stars Cosmo Jarvis, Anna Sawai, Tadanobu Asano and Hiroyuki Sanada. The series was produced by FX and is now streaming on Disney+.
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