Shōgun

🏆 1st Watch | TV Series Ranked | Sep 23 - Oct 13 Episode Rating: - Episode I: 7/10 - Episode II: 8/10 - Episode III: 8/10 - Episode IV: 9/10 - Episode V: 9/10 (My favorite) - Episode VI: 9/10 - Episode VII: 9/10 - Episode VIII: 8/10 - Episode IX: 9/10 - Episode X: 8/10 Average Episodic Rating: 8.4/10 Overall Rating: 9/10 Shogun is one of the best shows I've seen. Granted, I haven't watched many narrative television shows. Furthermore, I also do believe Shogun has its flaws. However, Shogun is a great show with a story that only gets more compelling as the season progresses. Unfortunately, this "progression" means that the show started off on a rockier start. The pilot was by far the weakest episode of the season, and frankly didn't do much to immerse me into the world. Many of the main characters from the first episode barely have a presence throughout the rest of the season. It's only really until Episode II where the story actually starts to develop into the rich plot of troubled romance, political scheming, and cultural assimilation. And after the second episode, things only build in complexity, which is why the show becomes more immersive each episode. And not only does the show become more immerse, but one component of the story never completely overshadows the other; each element of the plot had an equal bearing to the story. However, I will admit that Lord Toranaga's character was by far the most gravitating, with his absences feeling stronger than any of the other characters. Although still good, the cinematography was by far the most controversial aspect of the show for me. I get what the filmmakers were trying to do: The barrel distortions, vignettes, and other visual distortions reflect John Blackthorne's disorientation in the new world of Japan. His culture and Japanese culture are radically different, something the show explores in more detail as the show progresses. This impacts the way he perceives Japan and, given how the show is told predominantly in his perspective, also impacts how we see Japan. Furthermore, the distortions are also a way for the show to distinguish itself from other media, creating a stronger identity as a show. However, while I do believe this unique way of shooting the series benefited the film, there were occasionally moments where this unorthodox method of shooting felt distracting. More notably, however, Shogun was frequently shot using extremely shallow depth of fields (presumably through the use of large apertures). Thus, sometimes, only half of a character was in focus, which sometimes meant the face was out of focus. During medium and wide shots, sometimes entire characters would be out of focus, despite the characters being blocked in a way that would naturally draw my attention, causing me to occasionally stare at a blob. Speaking of blocking, for the first few episodes, the blocking felt most rudimentary and didn't really capture my attention. It wasn't until Episode VI (yes, I marked down the specific episode) where I became impressed by the blocking. Additionally, Shogun's visuals lacked a lot of contrast and were dominated by a deep blue color grade, which unfortunately sucked a lot of the life out of Japan. It required the set design and costume design to do a lot of the heavy lifting when it came to giving Japan a heartbeat. And while the sets and costumes were amazing, the dull colors of the cinematography did dampen their effectiveness. However, this means that Shogun looked cool more because of the content on the screen rather than the means of which the series was shot. This is why the cinematography was the weakest element of the show in my opinion. However, the characters were certainly not a weak aspect of the show. In fact, many of the characters were very strong. Obviously, Yoshii Toranaga is a fantastic character whose brilliance was complemented by the Emmy-winning performance by Hiroyuki Sanada. The suppression of Toranaga's explicit emotions subtly clouded the character with a mysterious aura without drawing too much attention to it. This allowed clever foreshadowing to take place without blatantly spoiling the direction the end of the season would take. This is why Lord Toranaga was the most interesting character of the show: We knew he was important, but we didn't quite know how. Furthermore, the way The Lord of Izu Kashigi Yabushige gradually went from the most hated character of the series in Episode I to becoming one of, if not my absolute favorite, character by the final episode. The only main character who felt slightly lacking was John Blackthorne himself. But that's acceptable, because the show really isn't about him, but rather his reactions towards everything around him. It's quite unique how Shogun decided to frame its story, and it works really well for its plot and its characters. When I first heard the Shogun title sequence, I was a little put off by how deafening the final moments of the music were. However, throughout the course of the series, I grew to really like the opening. In general, the music itself was pretty solid. It played a very subservient role in the series, appearing mainly as background noise rather than being the driving force of a scene, like something you would see in a recent Hans Zimmer film. Overall, while this approach doesn't create a memorable soundtrack, it does work. Overall, the Shogun was amazing show and I am awaiting eagerly for the subsequent seasons. It was indeed a slow start and there were some flaws, notably with the cinematography. However, while I wouldn't necessarily say there was a 10/10 episode that absolutely blew me away (there were some 10/10 scenes though), the story and characters were very rich and compelling. The reason I watched Shogun was because I realized that TV shows were a massive weak point of mine, and I figured Shogun's recent historic Emmy wins made it relevant enough for me to watch it. Shogun has only made me more inclined to watch other television shows. Besides, in the wake of college admissions season and basketball workouts, it's a lot easier to find time for episodes than movies. This is why I have a lot less diary entries than last year. Therefore, while I will still try to watch movies when I can, I will likely try to pursue another television show. As of now, that means either starting season 2 of The Rings of Power or watching The Sopranos for the first time (although apparently my dad watched the finale of The Sopranos while I was on his lap when I was a week old). ⬅️ Previous Review: Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One