It's 2024 now, and there's a new Shogun in town (excuse me the pun). Shogun.
I review a lot of older stuff, so it's time to do something more up to date 😇 It's not completely fair to call watching two episodes of Shogun a 'series review', but, well, let's say a review of two episodes is still a review 😏
A long time ago...
So... Shogun. I've read James Clavell's book twice, I think. Once when I was... sixteen or so? A little young for some of the threads. Then a decade later or so once more. There was a television miniseries / movie (?) back in the eighties, but I don't think I've ever seen it. Maybe I should, as the reviews were not that bad, it seems.
Only the first three episodes are available so far (on Disney+) but they've been quite good so far. And I still remember enough of the book to recognize quite a few scenes -- it must have left an impression that many years ago.
How is it?
Anyway, the series. I'm now watching episode 3, and yeah, this one ain't bad. It certainly appeals to my westerner taste. I wonder what the Japanese will think of it. One of the things I noticed is that Mariko-Sama isn't played by a native Japanese (but then again, she's a second generation of full Japanese descent, so perhaps it doesn't matter).
So, first three episodes are good (though in spite of my old age and fading memory I did spot some differences from the book, unavoidable, obviously). Let's wait for the next batch and see if they can keep up this level.
Alien
Now the key question: how comes I'm watching something that isn't scifi or fantasy? Well, one could say that the Japanese culture of the 1600s (and even the one of today) is sufficiently alien to me to qualify as scifi or fantasy.
Verdict
... so far? Go and watch it.
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Dapper / TellTales! #119
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