Shōgun

Ride Across the River… Anjin: A fantastic start for the series. Much is accomplished in the first episode. From the sets, to the costumes, to everything else, Production value is insane. Crazy how the medieval mud-filter Hollywood loves doesn’t apply when it’s Japan. Cheekiness aside, this show is exceptionally gorgeous. It’s already one of the best shot series to hit streaming and maybe tv in general. I particularly like how it treats all the different factions at play sympathetically. Better than 80% of what’s streaming. Loki can bite my ass. Servants of Two Masters: No one can serve God and Mammon… “They have made an idol of that black ship” The way this show merges the age of exploration European politics with feudal Japan makes for an extremely interesting setting. It’s also admirably committed to showing you just how alien both cultures would view each-other. The Japanese all speak Japanese and every conversation between the European characters speaking Portuguese (which the audience hears as English) and the Japanese has been through a translator. It adds this very engaging level of tension as to whether or not the translator will do so truthfully. There are a few hiccups here and there, superfluous characters (who I assume had a more significant role in the novel) are introduced to serve a purpose in one scene and then seemingly forgotten about, but overall I continue to be impressed.