Shogun on FX

[aurik]

I've really enjoyed the show so far. There are significant differences from the previous miniseries and the book, but they make the story interesting in different ways. I was discussing this with my manager in our 1:1 meeting yesterday, and we both commented that in this series, the character of John Blackthorn is the real selfish jerk, which is quite a bit of a departure from both the book and the movie. And the romance between Blackthorn and Mariko was consummated in a very different way. And Hiromatsu's story ended very differently.

One thing I've noticed is that even though I have been studying Japanese (on my own time here and there), I'm having an extremely hard time following the dialog without the subtitles. We mentioned that after Karate the other night, and my Sensei told us that his wife is having a really hard time following it too, and she's been getting Japanese tutoring for the past 2 years. It turns out that the reason for that is because apparently the Japanese dialect is what would have been spoken in the late 1600's, much like what we read in a Shakespearean play is the English from the 1600's.

I told my wife this interesting factoid, and she asked me, "Well, how do the actors handle it" -- my answer, "Well, most of the Japanese actors are native Japanese speakers. Speaking 1600's era Japanese is no different than us speaking Shakespeare's English. A little effort for a native speaker, but really hard for someone new to the language".

[sensei8]

Excellent points, Ken!!

At first, in episode One, they ALL spoke in English, ahem, excuse me, (Portugues). However, the Japanese would not speak English in mixed company, if my memory serves me right.

Then came episode Two, where I had to read the translations, which I hate to do because I want to watch the show and not read the show. where ALL Japanese spoke Japanese and nothing else, even amongst themselves, whereas the non-Japanese spoke English to one another.... unless they were speaking directly to a Japanese.

[bushido_man96]

It appears that you can choose to watch an English dub of the show. I haven't been doing that, though.

I think I may have to find the book. I watched the first season, and I was really enjoying it, until the last few episodes. I just didn't like what happened (I won't spoil at this time). I'm willing to give season 2 a shot, but I won't be as excited for it.

[aurik]

Thats the thing. The miniseries ends exactly where the book ends. The stuff that Toranaga tells Yabu at the end of the show, about Selkigihara and the Anjin and his own future… that was exactly where the book ended. There is certainly room for the show runners to write a second season, but it wouldn’t be based on the book at all. Another option would be for them to write a miniseries based on one of the other books in Clavell’s Asian Saga.

[bushido_man96]

Ok, then I'm confused. Does the book end before Noranaga becoming Shogun? Are there sequential books with the same characters?

[aurik]

The book is about the path he took to set up the rise to Shogun, but it doesn't actually cover the war/conflict or his ascention to Shogun, or what happened during his reign. The other books in the Asian Saga are snapshots of different points in time with regard to Anglo/Japanese relations. The next book (in chronological order) is Tai-Pan, which is set in the mid-1800's. It centers around the opium trade and the establishment of the Hong Kong colony.

[DarthPenguin]

Personally i really enjoyed the show. I wouldn't be averse to them making a new season but i am sure i read online that the show runners were very firm that it is a mini-series and once it is done then thats it done

[sensei8]

The tease continues about there being a Shogun Season 2. Here's the most recent info, even though the info is not much...

https://www.msn.com/en-us/tv/news/revealing-shogun-season-2-highlights-an-insightful-discussion-with-justin-marks-on-fx/ar-BB1nDhul?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=HCTS&cvid=431a2ead75a94585ae1a7393f7aef80d&ei=24

[DarthPenguin]

Interesting - where it ended does leave plenty of room for it to keep going though a lot will depend on how good the writers are at developing totally new material since it will now be post book

[sensei8]

Interesting - where it ended does leave plenty of room for it to keep going though a lot will depend on how good the writers are at developing totally new material since it will now be post book

Indeed.

Will the writers stay true to history, or will the writers create new journeys?? Will the writers write that Blackthorne's journey allows his escape from the confinements of Japan entirely, and for what cause??

What reasons, if any, does Blackthrone have to stay in Japan now that Mariko is dead?? Will Blackthrone stay in Japan now that he's the trusted retainer and Samurai of Lord Toranaga?? I mean, Lord Toranaga allows Blackthorne to rebuild his ship and promises to destroy his rebuilt ship.

Toranaga knows that Blackthorne's karma brought him to Japan and that he is destined never to leave Japan. Toranaga also knows it is his karma to become Shogun...which the Emperor offered Toranaga the position of Shogun, in that, Toranaga accepted.

After all, Williams Adam, who Blackthorne is based of, never left Japan and Tokugawa Ieyasu is the basis of Lord Toranaga, of which Tokugawa only held the Shogun title for a mere 2 years.

Should there be a Season 2, how and where the writers take us will be...interesting, one way or another.