User Reviews

The potential of this show is immense. The pilot not only delivers, but it makes grand promises of what is to come. I am finding it difficult to find faults with this presentation. Cinematography is on par with the best of not only TV, but movies. Sounds are equally incredible, but there is a lot of booming bass. Character and writing are outstanding. It is incredible what they have been able to create with the sets and costume design.

FX is the only studio to go toe-to-toe against HBO. No one else is capable of doing so. And with HBO's current decline, Maybe FX is the new King of the Hill.

My only nitpick would be that English is passed off as Portuguese. It confused me for a second. This is obviously a deliberate decision. I personally would have preferred if a mix of Portuguese and English were used in the beginning to cement the main language, with Portuguese slowly being phased out to full English. There are shows that have done this to good effect. Again, a minor nit pick and surely will not come up again.

What a start to what seems to be shaping up to be an incredible piece of Television.

Between the gorgeous cinematography, the hair raising soundtrack, the incredible sets and a wardrobe department that deserves every award they are eligible to win, it's the nearly unbelievable attention to detail that really sets this show apart from so many others. The story is just brimming with intrigue and political guile and there isn't a single actor that lets the material down.

I really liked the decision to represent the spoken Portuguese as English. In the same way that Hawthorne must rely on the interpreters to understand the spoken Japanese, so too must the audience rely on the subtitles to follow the story. I think this creates a subtle tension that adds to the immersion of this incredible show.

I simply cannot wait to see what Shogun has yet to show us. It's Two thumbs up from me.

First episode cinematography 10/10, sound design 10/10, story so far 10/10, atmosphere 11/10.

The actors are superbly chosen. The scenery looks simply bombastic. The pacing is just right. I've already chosen my favorite character and I hope I won't be replaced.

The Inglese Hawthorne has a very distinctive and powerful voice that reminds me of Tom Hardy.

I'm going to watch Silence by Scorsese to understand more about the missionaries in the Togugawa dynasty.

I hope the remaining 9 episodes will be as powerful as the first one, then it's undisputedly my favorite series so far after Breaking Bad and The Last of us.

This is stunning, masterful entertainment. I don't think I've been this in-awe since season 1 of Game of Thrones or when I saw the first Pirates of the Carribean movie as a kid.

I never saw the initial 80s version of Shogun, but what I like about the first episode of this edition is the fact that there's no Japanese accents to cater to our feeble western brains. If you want to understand the plot, you have to read the subtitles. You're on the same journey John Blackthorne is on in trying to communicate and understand the culture, which makes the viewer have to really pay attention.

So excited to see where this show goes!

I have never seen the original show with Richard Chamberlain, or read the source material, so i have nothing to compare it to, and this is my first experience with this story!

The thing that struck me the most, was how authentic and well made it is! This the kind of stuff i miss sometimes! When the people behind has a clear vision and you can feel the ambition and love for the source material!

Huge plus to have the japanese characters speak japanese! It really feels like you are transported back to 1600 Japan!

A nice introduction to the characters as well! Blackthornes journey has potential to be very interesting! The japanese characters are great as well! The actors are going all out!

The story has great potential to with Blackthorne trying to survive in a foreign country with a political powergame in the making!

Definnitely has potential, its unique, authentic and nothing quite like anything else!

You know in 2011 a tv show, known by the name Game of Thrones aired and stormed the screens of millions. Since its conclusion in 2019, we never got something like it ever again. There was The Witcher, which failed after the first season and that's it.

But now something arises from the bland landscape of modern tv, something huge.

Shogun has all the elements of the epic fantasy series, without its fantasy elements. This show is based on historical events in 17th century Japan and starts after the death of the taiko, the leader of the japanese lords. His heir is too young and the five lords fight for power.

This of course sounds a lot like Game of Thrones and it feels like it, too. Treason and intrigues are to expect, elements that made Game of Thrones what it is. It is, of course, too early to compare this show with a masterpiece like Game of Thrones but the similarities are there and I would be a fool not stating them out.

Shogun has great potential and got my interest within minutes of the first episode. If you are a fan of these grand epic historical shows, this is what you were looking for, all those years.

The old Shogun with Richard Chamberlain is still perfectly watchable but the differences here are apparent in the first episode. This is obviously going to be well worth watching too.

Richard Chamberlain's Blackthorne was an elegant gentleman but this new guy is a rough and tumble, profit-motivated sailor without a lot of social graces. Much more believable that a guy like that would survive a round-the-world voyage.

His harsh religious attitudes demonizing Catholics might be shocking for modern audiences but it's perfectly in line with his times. And he has noble qualities as well: loyal to friends, brave, quick to recognize and respect bravery in others.

But the real focus is on the Japanese characters. Blackthorne is just the wild card being thrown into their roiling political situation.

Other big changes: special effects, of course. The "storm" sequence in the 80s version is pretty hilarious. Here, it's hair-raising.

And Nestor Carbonell steals the show as the Spaniard Rodriegues.

Thank you, FX, for making a serious historical drama of the type we get far too infrequently.

Shogun, a historical epic, has been compared to Game of Thrones, but the first episode does meet these expectations. Set in 1600 Japan, a feudal society without a supreme ruler, the taiko appointed five powerful daimyo to share power until his son came of age. The show follows the perspective of Lord Toranaga, an elder statesman and war hero, whose bloodline and popularity put him at odds with the other four daimyo. The show is moderately compelling, with a better understanding of power dynamics as the show progresses. In the first episode, Shogun switches between Toranaga's perspective and that of English navigator John Blackthorne. Blackthorne is lost at sea, doubting the existence of Japan's rumored island nation. His captain commits suicide, leaving John as first-in-command. The show's rigor, ritual, and notions of honor are not groundbreaking, but the show remains moderately compelling as the show progresses. The first episode of Shogun switches between Toranaga's perspective and that of John Blackthorne, who is left as first-in-command after his captain commits suicide. Blackthorne and his crew are taken prisoner by Yabushige, a schemer with unusual ideas about death and sexual fetishes. The episode's tone is confused by cutting from serious political drama to Blackthorne's culture-shock capering. Blackthorne's interactions with the locals are mainly in the form of grunts or wild gesturing, or they are mediated by a Papist Portuguese priest. He is Protestant, virulently so, as he shows by stomping on the priest's cross, which seems to impress Yabushige. This sense of religious strife becomes increasingly relevant as the pernicious influence of the Catholic Church in Japanese affairs becomes apparent. The Japanese cast does speak their language, which helps with believability. English is often substituted for Portuguese, which can be confusing but is a concession to popular appeal. By the end of the first episode, both Blackthorne's and Toranaga's narratives have converged, which is not so much a spoiler but the inevitable direction of travel. In my view, Shogun really picks up steam, as the mist lifts and its qualities become clearer. The first episode demands a lot of attention due to the sheer amount of information it churns out, as well as the regular shifts in perspective that can be dislocating. The bizarre fish-eye lens and chromatic aberration make the picture look cheaper than it is, even if the CGI and greenscreen do occasionally fail the eye test.

In this reboot of "Shogun," Hiroyuki Sanada shines as Lord Yoshii Toranaga, bringing an instantly captivating depth and magnetism to the character. While the 1980 TV series was faithful to the source material, the 2024 version offers a visually stunning experience tailored for modern audiences, thanks to advancements in AI and CGI. The scale of the visuals in the reboot adds a grandeur that was lacking in the earlier adaptation.

However, condensing such a rich and nuanced story into one-hour episodes inevitably sacrifices some of the depth found in the original book. Despite this, the characters in the show are all engaging and hold the audience's attention, with none feeling like mere placeholders on the screen.

While the camera lens and angles may not be to everyone's taste, the overall presentation promises an exciting revisit to a classic tale. It serves as a solid reference for enthusiasts of Japanese culture and history. Hiroyuki Sanada's performance makes this reboot worth watching, as his brilliance, previously showcased in "The Last Samurai," continues to impress.

Overall, while perhaps not reaching the heights of the original book, "Shogun 2024" offers an enjoyable viewing experience for old and new fans.

I'm a massive fan of the original Shogun, starring Richard Chamberlain. In fact I watched it last year (2023), so it is very fresh in my mind.

Having seen the trailer, I had high hopes for this series. I think the fight/battle scenes are going to be phenomenal. The sets and costumes are stunning.

However, so far that is all I can see that is better with this remake. It's early days, I know, but the tone of this remake is not as brutal. The original Shogun was very brutal and no-one's sensibilities were spared. For me, this is what made the original so compelling. I also don't like Cosmo as Blackthorne, as I feel he lacks Chamberlain's charisma and good looks. It's early days so I am hoping for a vast improvement!

People are comparing this to the game of thrones but that's an insane comparison. The whole first episode is super slow and boring. Nothing really happens. The setup seems interesting and the cinematography is really pretty but that's about it. This feels similar to Marco Polo in that it's made for westerners who don't know history.

Maybe if this was all released at once it would be worth watching through but there is nothing worth waiting for with this one. Could barely get through this episode.

It's a shame because the commercials makes this look really good, but it is not. It's background noise at best.

I had been noticing discussions on social networks about this TV show for about a month or so. When it was released, the IMDB rating was astonishing. Everyone was comparing this TV show to the major ones. So, I told myself, let's give it a try. The 6/10 rating I gave to this first episode is because I love Japanese productions, and I'm a fan of Hiroyuki Sanada. Based on the first episode, there seems to be a plot, but everything feels slow. Perhaps the next episode will be better, but this one doesn't deserve to be the masterpiece everyone is talking about. For me, it's an average first episode. I'll give it a chance; maybe it will improve, but for now, it's just an ordinary TV show.

I saw the 9.2 rating so I was really expecting something special. It was a completely mediocre story with so many names and characters thrown in that it's very hard to follow by the end who is who. I just don't get the hype. I see many people who read the book or saw the original gave good reviews, maybe it helps if you already know the story. As someone who had no previous information about it, it was nothing special, nothing of the events depicted on the screen were surprising or special in any way. Visuals were okay, sometimes at the wide shots, the CGI was too obvious. Also, he navigator's acting is weird, I couldn't ignore the unnatural way he was talking.

Its ok, just better picture quality. Cosmo is no Richard Chamberlain, that is for sure so I have to get used to him. Do not get me wrong he is a great 'method' actor with a lot of emotional expression, but would not be my first choice for a love story. What I can remember it follows the same storyline, that is a shame and most important the same slow tv as the eighties hit show. I hoped for a more modern take on the whole, with better dialogue or at least some surprising twists. A theater approach with solid performances. A seven at best. Certainly nothing to get a subscription for. But good enough to 'slowly' binge.

Because of money -there's gold in them thar hills for streaming presold series concepts. But this remake of a classic, and without Toshiro Mifune of course, is deadly dull. I barely made it through the first hour.

Sure, they spend lots of cash on production values and special effects, but visually this was awful to watch. Drab and dim opening scenes weren't even atmospheric. And when the Japanese actors took over, the teeny subtitles oddly dominated the screen, though one wouldn't expect that to happen.

The power struggle of warlords didn't grab my interest at all, and the lead actor, so familiar for TV fans by way of his many roles in shows like "Helix", was way too stoic to grab one's interest. Mifune, who I once interviewed way back when at Japan House in Manhattan when he was promoting a Kon Ichikawa movie, is such a charismatic and animated actor, especially his subtle humor in the Kurosawa classics, that the deadpan approach here is by comparison, in a word, dull.