Most reviewers have been comparing Shogun to Game Of Thrones, but that’s too much of a simplified comparison. For one thing, Game Of Thrones is first and foremost a fantasy series; it’s only somewhat inspired by the historical War Of The Roses. For those more familiar with the historical epic genre, Shogun is closer to something like Netflix’s Marco Polo series with sprinkles of History Channel’s Vikings series. To put it more accurately, it feels like what should have been Netflix’s Marco Polo series before it was abruptly cancelled.

Before I go any further, what is Shogun? Shogun is an adaptation of James Clavell’s novel of the same name. It’s set in Japan in the year 1600, also known as the Edo period or the Tokugawa era. The story follows three main characters; John Blackthorne (Cosmo Jarvis), an English sailor who ends up shipwrecked in Japan; Lord Yoshii Toranaga (Hiroyuki Sanada), a powerful feudal daimyo at odds with his political rivals; and Lady Toda Mariko (Anna Sawai), a woman with political connections who becomes the translator and companion to the foreigner, John Blackthorne.

Total War

That said, it’s important to note that the Shogun series skews more heavily towards historical fiction than being biographical. That’s because the names of the characters in Shogun have been changed from their original historically accurate names. For instance, Hiroyuki Sanada’s Lord Yoshii Toranaga is based on Ieyasu Tokugawa himself, while Cosmo Jarvis’ John Blackthorne is based on William Adams (yes, the same historical figure that gamers would recognize as the protagonist of Team Ninja’s Nioh). It doesn’t detract from the story but those familiar with Japanese history will find it a bit jarring to have these characters with different names from their historical counterparts.

Remember when I said that Shogun is a historical epic closer to Marco Polo and Vikings rather than Game Of Thrones? That’s because Shogun is more of a historical drama at its core, filled with political intrigue and plotting, backstabbings and betrayals, romance and the occasional violence. Shogun is more of a slow-burn with its most impactful moments usually happening with dialogue instead of action. The pacing of the series may be slow but it’s meticulously so, which means that there’s never a boring moment. No scene is wasted on frivolous side stories or side characters as they mostly all push the narrative forward in meaningful ways. If you’re familiar with Netflix’s Marco Polo series, Shogun is essentially the same formula/structure but in a Japanese setting; just replace Kublai Khan with Yoshii Toranaga and Marco Polo with John Blackthorne.

The subject matter explored in Shogun ranges from the usual theme of locals being suspicious and ultimately fighting back against a ‘foreign religion’ (read: Christianity), despite the fact that some of the locals themselves have embraced it. It’s reminiscent of the History Channel’s Vikings series (and Netflix’s Vikings Valhalla). However, considering that the pagans and Christians were still alike in that they were all ‘white’, Shogun is more unique and distinctive. In Shogun, it’s more fascinating to see conflict and cultural clashes between the East and West, the Japanese and the European powers, Buddhism/Shintoism and Christianity, etc. That being said, the central conflict is still pretty much internal and between the Japanese themselves rather than East vs West. Perhaps future seasons can open up to more of that since this is in the 1600s and still too early in Japanese interaction with Western powers.

If you’re afraid that Shogun would focus too much on the ‘white male’ protagonist, don’t fret or worry. Just like Marco Polo, the protagonist is involved more due to the circumstances of the setting so the core narrative and plot are more focused and revolve around the natives of the setting; in this case, the Japanese themselves. The real main characters of Shogun with the most screentime are actually Hiroyuki Sanada’s Lord Yoshii Toranaga and Anna Sawai’s Lady Toda Mariko, since their backstories and motivations are given the most screentime and are explored the most. Does this make Cosmo Jarvis’ John Blackthorne an unneeded character or at worst, a “white saviour” archetype? Thankfully, the answer is no. This is not like the movie, The Last Samurai, where Tom Cruise’s character almost single-handedly helps the samurai. John Blackthorne is there due to his circumstances and thus, the Japanese seek to exploit him for their benefit, which makes sense.

Cosmo Jarvis’ John Blackthorne is a bit abrasive and cocky at first but not so much that he becomes a stereotypical archetype, even though his character sort of still is, at least partially. Still, he’s likeable and grows more likeable as we learn more about him and he’s not just another typical scoundrel character. The bulk of the heavy lifting for performances can be attributed to Hiroyuki Sanada’s Lord Yoshii Toranaga and Anna Sawai’s Lady Toda Mariko. Of course, Hiroyuki Sanada is a legendary actor who’s been in many Hollywood movies and it’s great to see him shine in a more grand central role instead of a supporting role. He plays the role with such gravitas deserving of an actor of his calibre. Anna Sawai is also one to look out for. After her breakout role in 2023’s Monarch Legacy Of Monsters, she will surely get even more attention after her graceful yet powerful performance as Lady Toda Mariko.

One massive aspect that elevates Shogun even beyond previous historical epics like Vikings and Marco Polo is its language usage. I’d say more than 80 percent of Shogun is in Japanese, with the Japanese characters actually speaking Japanese. Most historical shows or movies tend to just fall on English as the default, regardless of the setting or culture depicted. It’s impressive to see a major high-budget American-made series like Shogun turning out so authentic (more on this below) and genuine as this. The only caveat is that the Shogun still falls on English because it substitutes Portuguese with English, even though the Europeans in Japan at that time should have been speaking Portuguese instead of English. However, that’s a small compromise for having what is still largely a Japanese-speaking series.

Most of all, kudos to the showrunners (Rachel Kondo, Justin Marks) and cinematographers like Sam McCurdy (Game Of Thrones) and Marc Laliberté (Gen V), who have made Shogun such a looker. Shogun is perhaps the best historical epic series I’ve ever seen in terms of visuals and set design that I can’t imagine how much money and effort went into making this series. The costumes, props and sets in Shogun scream with such lavish detail, transporting and immersing viewers in that time and place. Those are the biggest praises I can give this series, and despite being a series, the sets look like they’re from high-budget movies. That’s not all, as I was also so happy to see authentic weapons like yari and naginata (these were the common weapons used by non-samurai) instead of katanas. There’s also a bit of gunpowder warfare with cannons and the such. Well, not as much as a show like Black Sails (another historical epic series), but gunpowder warfare is so rare that I’m still enthusiastic about it.

As for the level of violence and sex, it varies. Shogun can be very violent (but not gratuitous) at certain times, with people getting boiled alive, heads clearly decapitated on-camera, and bodies of humans and animals getting torn apart by cannon fire. That being said, Shogun does have one flaw, in that it doesn’t offer much in terms of action. Shogun is not an action-packed series by any means. In the eight episodes I’ve watched, there weren’t many memorable action scenes or big setpieces, which is why I wouldn’t want to compare Shogun with Games Of Thrones in the first place. Don’t expect much action in Shogun, which is also why despite the show being capable of being violent, there’s not much of it either. Maybe they’re saving the big setpieces for the last two episodes of the first season (which I haven’t seen), but for now, Shogun isn’t a series you’d watch for elaborate action setpieces, that’s for sure. As for sex scenes, there’s no full-frontal nudity like in Game Of Thrones, though there are a few tame sex scenes. Well, relatively, as they’re much tamer when compared to other historical-adjacent series like Game Of Thrones or specifically, the Spartacus series (which was known for its graphic sex scenes).

Feudal Lords

Historical epic TV series are rare, especially ones as lavish and high-budget as Shogun. Not many companies or studios want to take risks on expensive but niche shows like this, so fans of the genre should always appreciate it when we get them, especially when they’re as good as Shogun. Could Shogun have been better with more action and setpieces? Sure, but that doesn’t take away from everything else that the series does right, including its intricate sets and costumes, complex but never overwhelming narrative, great performances, as well as a largely Japanese-speaking cast and dialogue that contributes to its authenticity and immersiveness.

Also, watching Shogun made me want to play Total War Shogun 2 again.

FINAL SCORE: 80/100

We received an early screener of the first eight episodes of Shogun Season 1 courtesy of Disney+ Hotstar Malaysia. Shogun is slated to premiere on Disney+ Hotstar Malaysia on 27 February 2024.