将軍、パート2 or, Shogun Pt. 2

[svensson]

For those of you who didn't know or cannot get it with your services, F/X's remake of Shogun is currently streaming on Hulu in the US. A previous commentator said it's on Disney+ in the UK. The series premiered on 27 FEB with the first two episodes, and a new episode follows each week on Tuesday until the conclusion on 23 April. By way of formatting, when I compare the original to the remake I'll refer to the original as 'Shogun 80' and the remake as Shogun FX.

I continue to be amazed at this series. Episode 4, 'The Eightfold Fence' streamed last night and I thought it was pretty amazing. Shogun FX takes some writing liberties with the novel and Shogun 80 but I have to say that each instance that I've seen has made the story and characters more clear and more realistic. In this episode, Blackthorne is asked to help train a 'regiment' of samurai to use European tactics. Now, the book explains how he knew enough about European tactics to advise professional warriors like samurai, but in Shogun FX, Blackthorne is more realistically portrayed as naval specialist. Makes sense, right? So in Shogun FX Blackthorne teaches samurai gunners how to effectively deploy cannon using a compass and gunner's protractor to effectively aim the pieces. He also teaches them the different kind of shot other than just round shot [chain shot, for example]. And in one particularly brutal example, the filmmakers did not blink at showing the effectiveness of such tactics to troops in the open.

Again, it's this attention to reality that DEEPLY impresses me. Here's why

I've mentioned that I am a Civil War reenactor. We use cannon in our skirmish battles in that we load powder but no shot. One of our members owns a farm out in the rural part of my home state and had two large hogs that needed to be put down due to disease. That member was also a cannoneer who owned one of our pieces. So he invited a bunch of us to a cookout. He had three hogs humanely euthanized [two diseased hogs and the center piece of the cookout] and then the next morning demonstrated what a real smoothbore cannon firing round shot and canister [think of it as a shotgun shell the size of your head] using the diseased hogs carcasses. It was 'educational' to say the least. Then he sealed the diseased carcasses in a plastic barrel and sent them to be cremated as our local laws require. Since then, as a company First Sergeant and now a commander, I insist that my troops take at least 1/3 casualties when we're 'hit' with a cannon blast.

Other aspects of Shogun FX continue to impress me as well. Several characters that were glossed over the book are given greater depth and greater agency in this version, something that I appreciate. And at least one character that I never liked very much is sidelined.

All in all. I can't recommend this production enough for those of you who are interested in RQ/BRP/CoC for other settings. This show has me reexamining my copies of Land of Ninja and Samurai of Legend quite closely.

 

Edited March 14 by svensson