Hulu’s latest hit Shogun has debuted with immense amounts of success. The mini-series opened with a 100% on rotten tomatoes, and has been compared to HBO’s Game of Thrones. Shogun takes place during the 1600s in Japan and follows a lord on the run from his enemies inside the government. Critics and audience’s biggest compliment to the show has been the scale and how it keeps the viewer engaged throughout every episode.
As of now, there are five episodes released and each episode has improved from the previous one. This season feels very similar to Game of Thrones season one where it focuses on politics but the viewer can tell that these political decisions will lead to crazy events towards the end. The end of episode four had a jaw-dropping ending which let the viewers in on what to expect for the rest of the show. The show also does a good job of balancing the Japanese culture and making it accessible to American audiences.
Shogun is an adaptation of James Clavell’s book under the same name. Fans have said the show builds upon the book and even is better than its source material. Many shows try to balance groups of characters and it typically feels too confusing, but Shogun does it perfectly and the viewer can really connect to the characters. Every character has their own dynamic and role in the story so it will be exciting to watch when all of these characters finally meet.
A lot of shows and movies nowadays are mostly CGI and green screen effects but Shogun perfectly nails the essence of Japan and does not really use any CGI. Even some of the scenes in the film that are visual effects do not feel like it and that adds to the authenticity of the show. Audiences have been subjected to Marvel’s bad visual effects so when a show like this can look good, and is actually a really good show, fans latch onto it.
Shogun is one of the best shows that has come out this year and not all the episodes are out yet there is no reason to expect it to be botched. It will be bittersweet at the end of the show because there will not be any more seasons, but one season feels like just the right length. A lot of times showrunners will drag out a show due to how successful it is but Hulu and FX are being faithful to the book, and will not try to make up anything just to keep it going. Shogun is definitely a must-watch and will most definitely hook the viewer from the opening episode.
