Shogun premiered in late February on Hulu and FX, while in Japan, it premiered via Disney+. The miniseries is a retelling of the 1975 novel by James Clavell. The story had been previously adapted for television in 1980 as a fictional retelling of William Adams’ life. Adams was the first Englishman to reach Japan in 1600. The novel also chronicled the rise of Tokugawa Ieyasu to power as the titular shogun.
It has become a breakout hit and is widely acknowledged as a huge improvement over the original 1980 miniseries. Although the 1980 miniseries was also a hit and no disaster, a huge production change helped immensely in elevating material and marking the difference between both projects. Both projects follow the story of John Blackthorne, but the 2024 iteration makes a crucial change that will enhance the drama.
Immersion
The Shogun 2024 experience is more immersive than its previous iteration. The crafting of the series’ production design is as intricate and charming as the watches in a Seiko boutique. The series grounds closer to the original novel and explores the shoes of different character perspectives. Most of all, it presents a more holistic and detailed portrait of life in 17th-century Japan. In the older iteration, exploring Japan from Blackthorne’s perspective is inevitably othering, with the strangeness of Japanese culture and customs accentuated. The hand that helms the newer version of the story is more immersive and has a world that is rendered more understandable, empathetic, and believable.
Female Characters
Clavell’s novel, Shogun, has had a problem with female characters. In the novel, they were often reduced to meek background props or two-dimensional sex objects obsessed with the white character’s genitalia. We’re annoyed with how Clavell describes with astonishing frequency and by using the weirdest euphemisms, including but sadly not limited to “peerless parts.”
Thankfully, Shogun (2024) gets around that. Cosmo Jarvis’ penis is not the highlight of the women in Shogun. In the newer iteration of the story, we get a variety of complex women, in a clever way that does not ignore Clavell’s choices but expands them. We begin with the short but sad depiction of a loyal and loving mother in the form of Fuji, before we move on to an intelligent highborn, Toda Mariko, then a wise nun, and a prostitute – all with a fun twist that gives her more agency than the novel ever did.
The Romance
Although much of the romance in the series was heavily downplayed, it still factored into the character arcs of Mariko and Blackthorne. Subtlety is evident for their actors—we often spot Blackthorne gently holding onto Mariko from afar or how they move around each other. The chemistry between the actors and characters is undeniable, and the yearning and subdued element of the romance makes it even better.
The Dedication To Authenticity
Lastly, the new Shogun (2024) is dedicated to authenticity. Japanese screen and acting legend Hiroyuki Sanada plays the crafty Lord Toranaga, an expy of the third great unifier of Japan, Lord Tokugawa Ieyasu. He is also the series producer and brought in a Japanese team to ensure that the gestures, titles, and production would be authentic to 16th-17th century Japan.
Wrapping Up
The engagement and dedication to authenticity elevated Shogun’s material and production value (2024). As the Emmy nominations are set, and there are nods to amazing performances, we hope the production team are clapping themselves on the back for an amazing job well-done. Whether or not Shogun gets a season two or not, the first season was certainly a masterpiece.
