Shogun is a 2024 drama series blowing critics’ minds scoring 99% on Rotten Tomatoes and 92.9% on IMDb.
The premise is Lord Yoshi Toranaga is fighting the Council of Regents as they unite against him then, the main character John Blackthorne (Anjin), is a British traveler who accidentally docked at a Japanese fishing village in the 1600’s and falls into a set of bigger issues.
As of March 20th, 2024 this show has 4 official episodes and I would rate this show a solid 9.5/10. I take off that .5 because it’s a very detail-oriented show so missing a small piece affects how you can enjoy the show. The show is definitely for a mature audience, it covers very graphic content and shows detailed portrayals of torture.
A detailed rating breakdown for me in 5 components each worth 2 points,
First is graphics, I give this an easy 2/2. Very high quality and an amazing set. It looks almost magical with no crappy CGI.
Next is Character, this was also a 2/2. All characters are well explained for where we are in the show and no one is overshadowed and pushed to the backburner. I think the side characters show just as much attention as the main group of characters.
Third is the Plot pace, which is a 2/2. I think this is a very hard thing to get a 2/2 on because it’s always about preference but for my attention span and just how I enjoy shows this moves at a perfect speed.
Canyon Hills Junior Addison Carr agreed, “The story is well-developed but didn’t have an entire episode dedicated to world-building which I hate.”
Fourth is the comprehension of the plot/ease of watching, a very subjective category but I give this a 1.5/2. It is about half subtitles so it forces you to stay engaged, definitely, not a show it has on in the background. This also is a reflection on the plot pace, the faster plot means learning as you go which is kind of hard to retain in my opinion.
Lastly is just enjoyment, and it’s a 2/2 for me. I love watching this every Tuesday and I LOVE the cliffhangers we are left on each episode, very enjoyable to watch.
