Based On, Shogun. Not an adaptation. A bit disappointed.
I sense this has been made with a touch of fear & a lack of respect for the original story. And as such it is simply based on the book & not an adaptation.
But as a stand alone effort, it's okay.
When I write, made with fear, this is what I mean:
The brutality of the Samurai Japanese way of life has been powder-puffed over.
But that way of life, the ying & yang of brutality & beauty is essential to the story & what makes feudal Japan so fascinating. The Book is packed with this juxtaposition as is the 1980 miniseries. It is so essential to the story.
The casting of John Blackthorn is also disappointing. Blackthorn is a big/tall, 6ft+ northern European man. Packing power in all physical places.
The casting of this sub 6ft, blue contact wearing actor, doing a Richard Burton impression, is questionable. But he does okay.
Shogun, is supposed to be the story of John Blackthorn, set in the world of feudal Japan. His journey through that world & his relationship with that world's puppet master as seen through both men's eyes.
This miniseries almost makes Blackthorn irrelevant in his own story.
This story, at times, is also unnecessary crass which undermines a pivot that Shogun revolves around. I repeat, unnecessarily crass & unauthentic. They have got Mariko wrong & the brush of girl power plays unauthentic & silly.
I don't know if budget or bad choices led to important parts being cut, either way, it doesn't help.
This miniseries as a stand alone, is not bad. It's just not an authentic, Shogun.