Anjin

What a start to what seems to be shaping up to be an incredible piece of Television.

Between the gorgeous cinematography, the hair raising soundtrack, the incredible sets and a wardrobe department that deserves every award they are eligible to win, it's the nearly unbelievable attention to detail that really sets this show apart from so many others. The story is just brimming with intrigue and political guile and there isn't a single actor that lets the material down.

I really liked the decision to represent the spoken Portuguese as English. In the same way that Hawthorne must rely on the interpreters to understand the spoken Japanese, so too must the audience rely on the subtitles to follow the story. I think this creates a subtle tension that adds to the immersion of this incredible show.

I simply cannot wait to see what Shogun has yet to show us. It's Two thumbs up from me.

Oh, come on?! Why are the characters are not speaking portuguese? We are in 2024. It's simply stupid using english when the characters are speaking another language. Are the english native so stupid that they can't read subtitles? If that so, what are they doing when the japanese are speaking? Come on, FX! Tou guys nailed so many details; to fail in a such basic aspect is frustrating, specially for me, a portguese native speaker. That is the only reason I am rating this with 9 stars.

Regarding the setting and cinematics, whoa, outstanding! I have nothing to add. Just perfect. Clothes, architecture, everything about Japan is magnificent.

Finally, I must mention that the actors are plenty skillful on their craft.

I'll watch it until the end. I recommend you do the same. It will definitely worth it.

The potential of this show is immense. The pilot not only delivers, but it makes grand promises of what is to come. I am finding it difficult to find faults with this presentation. Cinematography is on par with the best of not only TV, but movies. Sounds are equally incredible, but there is a lot of booming bass. Character and writing are outstanding. It is incredible what they have been able to create with the sets and costume design.

FX is the only studio to go toe-to-toe against HBO. No one else is capable of doing so. And with HBO's current decline, Maybe FX is the new King of the Hill.

My only nitpick would be that English is passed off as Portuguese. It confused me for a second. This is obviously a deliberate decision. I personally would have preferred if a mix of Portuguese and English were used in the beginning to cement the main language, with Portuguese slowly being phased out to full English. There are shows that have done this to good effect. Again, a minor nit pick and surely will not come up again.

This is stunning, masterful entertainment. I don't think I've been this in-awe since season 1 of Game of Thrones or when I saw the first Pirates of the Carribean movie as a kid.

I never saw the initial 80s version of Shogun, but what I like about the first episode of this edition is the fact that there's no Japanese accents to cater to our feeble western brains. If you want to understand the plot, you have to read the subtitles. You're on the same journey John Blackthorne is on in trying to communicate and understand the culture, which makes the viewer have to really pay attention.

So excited to see where this show goes!

First episode cinematography 10/10, sound design 10/10, story so far 10/10, atmosphere 11/10.

The actors are superbly chosen. The scenery looks simply bombastic. The pacing is just right. I've already chosen my favorite character and I hope I won't be replaced.

The Inglese Hawthorne has a very distinctive and powerful voice that reminds me of Tom Hardy.

I'm going to watch Silence by Scorsese to understand more about the missionaries in the Togugawa dynasty.

I hope the remaining 9 episodes will be as powerful as the first one, then it's undisputedly my favorite series so far after Breaking Bad and The Last of us.