Last Updated on May 27, 2024 by
Shōgun TV show 2024 is Directed by Frederick E.O. Toye, Hiromi Kamata, Emmanuel Osei-Kuffour, Charlotte Brändström, Takeshi Fukunaga, Jonathan Van Tulleken. Film star Stars, Cosmo Jarvis, Anna Sawai, and Tadanobu Asano. Theater released Feb 27, 2024.
I am sorry to inform you that the Shōgun TV show has reached its finality and is no more to be aired after its ten episodes. One of those few series, that gave me the desire to wait for every new episode each week even knowing the epilogue. That wasn’t because I had read the book but because I had seen the original 1980 miniseries and even did an analysis on it when I was in university. Of course, I was familiar with Blackthorne’s story but the majority of other characters were unknown to me because the story is shown from different character perspectives in the book. Well, how does this 2024 reboot rate?
In my point of view, I do not like this version as much as before but there are different reasons. Overall, it is quite good, but there are some drawbacks you can note. There is one negative that can be noted and that is the excessive usage of CGI (computer-generated imagery). I realize that they employed it to bring out the flavor of the show based on Japan in the 1600s although it became very apparent towards the end.
For example, when Blackthorne is being rowed away from Ōsaka in the rain, you can see the CGI rain in the background, but Blackthorne himself stays relatively dry. The CGI wasn’t just for the settings either.
For a show about the Sengoku Jidai (a time of war in Japan), you would expect a lot of action and violence, but there wasn’t as much as I anticipated. When there were violent scenes, the use of CGI made the blood and gore look cartoonish. Sometimes, it was unnecessary. For instance, Toda Hiromatsu’s seppuku (a ritual suicide) could have been shown through his facial expressions alone, which would have been more impactful. I worry that the CGI will make this show look outdated quickly because even now, in 2024, some of the effects look fake.
The weather in the show also bothered me. Usually, weather sets the mood for scenes or hints at what’s coming next. While Shōgun did this sometimes, it felt like it was always raining in Japan. Izu, in particular, was always gloomy with gray skies and fog. This constant bad weather gave the show a dark and dreary feel. I mentioned this in my initial thoughts on the show back in February, but this trend of using muted tones over bright colors has become common in Hollywood. I would have loved to see more color in this adaptation.
One interesting thing about the Shōgun reboot is how they modernized the story for today’s audience. At first, I didn’t understand what that meant, but after reading the first fifty pages of James Clavell’s novel, it became clear. The original book contains stereotypes and outdated views of Japanese people, influenced by World War II attitudes. The 2024 version avoids this, making the characters feel more human and relatable instead of like stereotypes. This makes it more appealing to modern viewers, who might find the original work’s language and tropes offensive.
I have one small, but persistent, complaint: still no Sekigahara. There’s so much buildup to this battle, only for it not to happen, which is always disappointing. I know that’s how the book ends, and the 1980 miniseries did the same. It would be nice to see the battle for once. Even without it, the series is good, but the tease at the end of the final episode was frustrating. At least they got Mitsunari (referred to as Ishido in the show) and his armor, right?
Looking on the brighter side, the casting directors did a great job in selecting the actors for the movie. All characters, major and minor were interesting and I particularly appreciated how powerful women were portrayed. Fuji and Yabushige cartoons became my favorite and their cases were wrapped up nicely. Recently there were discussions on various forums about some actors who were worthy to receive an Emmy award, and I think the same. Sanada Hiroyuki, on the whole, is brilliant in the seppuku scene. The twisting of passion at the death of the friend was very real and well depicted by the actor.
All in all, I think that the 2024 reboot of Shōgun is excellent and I encourage people to watch it. It is loyal to the source and has intact alterations to make it relevant to the modern world. The cast is excellent, and the gameplay raises questions about people’s honesty. Let that be as it may, it is one of the best TV shows in ages, and even historians have not had much to complain about, so they must have been doing something right. But please, stop comparing it to Game of Thrones. That comparison has been overdone, and honestly, Shōgun is better.
Shōgun (2024) Parent Guide and Age Rating
Why is Shōgun rated TV-MA? Shōgun is rated TV-MA due to its content which includes intense violence and gore, strong language, explicit sexual content including nudity, mature themes, and substance use on occasion. This rating indicates that the content is suitable for audiences with an age of 17 years and above.
Violence: The show has many violent scenes majoring in fights and wars that were characteristic of the Sengoku Jidai. There are some violent scenes with blood and gore, and occasionally, the violence is artificially increased with the help of computer technology. One aspect would be that there is a lot of violence in the film; this includes incidences of seppuku and other violent scenes that may be scary. These scenes can be quite realistic and often contain images of violence.
Language: The series contains strong language, which may not be suitable for young viewers.
Sexual Content: The show contains scenes where the performers are depicted as naked or having sexual intercourse. These scenes are indeed rather vulgar and would not be suitable for normal cinematic viewing.
Substance Use: Characters are sometimes depicted drinking alcoholic products.
Suitability: Because of the sexual content, violence, and strong language, the movie Shōgun (2024) is recommended for adults who are 17 years old and above. Some of the features that parents should watch out for include extreme violence and gore, nudity, and scenes that are possibly suggestive of the occurrence of rape.
