I read the book 20yrs ago and it is THE best book I’ve ever read. Absolutely stunning story and characters. My dad almost chose to give me the name of the main character (Toranaga) which for an English person would have been a bit silly.
But anyway - I was so excited by the book I read the last page. It basically summed up what I thought would be the climax of the story in a single paragraph.
“Oh shit” - I thought. “Then WTF is the book about?!”.
Oooooooohh let me tell you: It’s a classic case of “the journey is better than the destination” - i.e. fucking incredible!
Produced and starring Hiroyuki Sanada (Last samurai, Wolverine, Twilight Samurai, etc).
This turned me into a weeaboo that at 21 jumped off my bed swishing an imaginary katana like a nutter.
WATCH IT! Out 27th of February!
It’s loosely based on John Blackthorne the English sailor of a ship that wrecked in Japan. AKA: Anjin-san (Mr Pilot)
Reviews so far look epic: https://screenrant.com/shogun-show-reviews-reactions-fx/
I listened to the 50h audio book in preparation for the TV series. I really hope they can do a good job of visualizing the subtlety between character’s actions, thoughts and hidden motives.
The book was also pretty visceral in a few scenes it depicted (The Cellar, The Portuguese Ship, The Torture), I really hope they don’t shy away from those. The clash between civilization and barbarity is something that you don’t see very often, and my fear is that the show will spin the Feudal era of Japan as some passive golden era, when it really was a powder keg of war, death, and natural disaster.
That’s karma, eh?