ANN/THE STAR – Upon hearing of a cherished show being remade, we’re conditioned to question: Why? These endeavours often feel like empty money grabs, failing to recapture the original’s essence.
So, when news broke of a re-adaptation of James Clavell’s Shogun, a classic from 1980, the question resurfaced: WHY?
The original, starring Richard Chamberlain and Toshiro Mifune, remains vivid in memory, captivating millions in an era with less competition for viewership. However, this new FX Productions adaptation, penned by Justin Marks and Rachel Kondo, stakes its claim as an “event,” carving out its own place in our imaginations with bold, gore-soaked storytelling.
In the prior adaptation, feudal Japan was mainly depicted through the eyes of the displaced English navigator John Blackthorne, loosely based on the real-life figure William Adams.
The narrative choice to omit English subtitles for Japanese dialogue aimed to immerse viewers in Blackthorne’s sense of displacement. However, this new rendition takes a different approach, providing subtitles for non-Japanese speakers to better understand the struggles of all principal characters as they navigate their destinies.
Set in 1600, Shogun follows the journey of a bold English navigator, Blackthorne (played by Cosmo Jarvis), who arrives in Japan via a route fiercely protected by the Spanish and Portuguese. Initially perceived as a pirate and a threat, Blackthorne strives to refute false accusations and earn the trust of local powers, whoever they may be.
This “local” happens to be Lord Yoshii Toranaga (a magnificent Hiroyuki Sanada), a beleaguered feudal lord/daimyo whose chief rival Lord Ishido (Takehiro Hira, Monarch: Legacy Of Monsters) wants to become Shogun, or supreme military commander, and hopes to eliminate any threat to his ambition.
Caught between them is Lady Mariko (Anna Sawai, another Monarch alumnus), seemingly an interpreter but of great significance to both men in vastly different ways.
This new Shogun divides its focus primarily among Blackthorne, Toranaga and Mariko, while also affording key insight into supporting characters like the scheming Lord Yabu (Tadanobu Asano) and his shrewd nephew Omi (Hiroto Kanai); Ishido and his collaboration with the scheming concubine Lady Ochiba (Fumi Nikaido), who seems to hate Toranaga with a vengeance; and fearless warrior Toda Buntaro (Shinnosuke Abe), Mariko’s husband who despises her lineage; among numerous others.
But it’s chiefly the tripartite tale of its three principal figures, and told so compellingly that you may curse the realisation there are only about 10 hours of this saga.
As far as storytelling goes, there’ll be little trouble keeping up with the goings-on here.
There’s so much to Clavell’s novel that, as exhaustive as the 1980 adaptation seemed, Marks and Kondo have found no shortage of material. Stunningly mounted and executed, populated by figures that seem like actual characters instead of expository devices or fodder, told with a canny understanding of and respect for its audience – Shogun makes a perfect case for turning that “why?” into “why not?” – Davin Arul
