About Shōgun

Post 1516:

Shōgun is a TV series currently rolling out on FX available by using internet devices, however you may. I don’t like to give my opinion on stuff that’s in progress, but screw it. This is flat-out good. The acting is freaking fantastic, as is the production. It’s based on a great book that has its roots in a corner of history that most people don't know much about. I barely did, and I’m a nerd for this stuff.

There is so much going on here. It takes place in 1600 A.D. Japan amidst a great deal of political upheaval. The Portuguese and Spanish have carved the entire world in two because they say they can and the Dutch and English and everybody else is more or less trying to catch up. The Protestant English and Dutch hate the Portuguese and Spanish because people on the whole took their religion very seriously back then in a way that is hard for modern people to understand.

Anyway, everyone loathes everyone and nobody trusts anybody and only a few people can speak to one another. It’s perfect. A random Englishman finds himself to be a tool in a very complicated game between religious and political rivals, and he of course has his own agenda.

If you want clashing cultures, intrigue and trickery, people playing and getting played—this is your jam. It’s like Game of Thrones but it doesn’t need dragons or other tricks to be interesting. Realism beats fantasy on this one. It’s a mature adaptation of a novel that I read as a kid and don’t think I fully appreciated. I will definitely be returning to the text.

I have to say that I am a complete sucker for the age exploration. This backdrop interests me to a ridiculous degree. The guts and determination people had in 1600 to go sailing around the world astonishes. And I like that people are people, wherever you go. These stories remind us that though customs may differ, there are universal human tendencies. Great stuff. And there’s swords.

Cheers and see you after.