Cinepals - SHOGUN 1x1 "Anjin" Review & Discussion

Episode Date: March 4, 2024

Jaby and Achara watch the new historical epic drama set in 1600s Japan which is currently airing on FX.  Shōgun stars: Hiroyuki Sanada (The Wolverine, 47 Ronin, Bullet Train, Mortal Kombat (2021), & John Wick: Chapter 4), Cosmo Jarvis (Calm with Horses, Lady Macbeth, & Persuasion), Anna Sawai (F9: The Fast Saga, Pachinko, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters & Girl/Haji) & Tadanobu Asano (Thor, Battleship, & Mongol: The Rise of Genghis Khan) Watch our full length reaction on https://www.Patreon.com/JabyKoay or watch the cutdown of the reaction the CinePals YouTube channel https://www.YouTube.com/@cinepals   SOCIAL MEDIA ~CinePals~ YouTube: @CinePals Twitter, Instagram & TikTok: @TheCinePals ~Jaby Koay~ Twitter & Instagram: @Jabykoay ~Achara Kirk~ Twitter & Instagram: @acharakirk

So Shogun has been getting rave reviews on Rotten Tomatoes and everywhere that you could possibly look. I decided, actually, Achar decided that it's time that we watch this and find out if it's really that good. Pals! What's going on, everyone? I'm Jabby Kauai, joined by Achara Kirk. What's up? We are watching Shogun starring the man himself, Hiroyuki Sanada. I'm...

Look, it's either going to be Hirouki Sanada or Ken Watanabe, okay? They're like the two Japanese actors. of their age that get work in Hollywood. It's one or the other. I'm going to be honest with you guys. I just didn't prepare his name properly in my head. Like, I had it before we started recording, and then I realized I didn't actually have it.

Hirouki Sanada, he's like the most recognizable Japanese guy right now. I'd say probably more so than Ken Watanabe or equally. Equally, you know, because I was having a conversation with your sister the other day, and she goes, you know, that Japanese actor. And I'm like, who? Hirouki Sanada. And she's like, no, the other one. And I'm like, Ken Watanabe.

She's like that one. You know, it's kind of like that. But for some reason, people know Ken Watanabe's name better. It's easier, I know. Oh, forehead to the floor. Child's pose. He's just doing yoga. Respect.

I like that. I can say that. I certainly enjoyed that a lot more than the first episode of Warrior. You know, I know it's not a fair comparison because they're set in different eras. But it's still, they're both. all period pieces dealing with Asian culture, lots of Asian actors, etc. One's dealing with Chinese, one's dealing with Japanese. And so it's a different vibe, you know, different tone, but I'm more into this.

I think what it is is it feels like it's like really taking into account the Japanese culture. And that's, I mean, I'm not an expert in it, right? But just from watching the attention to detail to the period of like the costumes, the way that the character move you know like the the ladies are all just very prim and proper they glide like because I read a memoirs of a geisha like you're supposed to glide when you walk and like the we eat sushi like once a week I feel like that makes us qualified experts in Japan I'm a Japanese expert but I also read in an interview by the actress who plays Mariko that they are actually speaking a very heightened form of Japanese which isn't even like the Japanese

that is spoken today. Also, they're basically doing Google Translate. Yeah. So they're really paying attention to detail of the period and everything. That's what I hear about Google Translate all the time. It's like the heightened form of Hindi, the heightened form of Japanese. The heightened form of Thai. Yeah.

Whatever it is. Like, that's not how anybody speaks those languages. That's like the highest vocabulary possible. And when you do anything like Duolingo or even go to school, they're teaching you the highest form, the best etiquette. It's not slang at all or modern. Right. But I think this is like even more than that.

It's probably close to, or I imagine they're trying to give the sense of it being close to what it might have been like in 1600. All right. They don't want to be as authentic as possible. Yes, yes. But I love that bit at the end where they were talking about the three hearts. And I feel like in a way I'm like, this really makes sense of the way the characters behave because there's a lot that's not being said. And a lot of it is kind of just in silence in a way, like just a lot of looks and hiding. Yeah, I mean, Japan or Japanese culture, my impression of it is, well, not even Japan, not even just Japan, I should say, but Asian culture in general, about saving face.

Exactly. You know. But not even just the saving face part. It's like, you know, just hiding the deepest desires of yourself and not making that so loudly known, which is kind of just the opposite. of what Western culture is. It's like, be loud. Do you like say what you want? Go for it.

You know what I mean? Or like at the edge of the cliff, the dude cannot turn down the dare. He's like, okay, okay. Yeah. I guess I have to do this now. Well, yeah, there's definitely a lot of just like learning the rules of the culture and everything, which is really fun and interesting. And like, you know, as what's his name, Blackthorn is learning, we're learning as well.

And it's really fun. how they're doing this. But I wasn't really expecting as much brutality right off the bat. Like that part where the guy got his head chopped off, just like that, was shocking. Yeah, I wasn't sure what to expect. I don't imagine the original that I watched, you know, a long, long time ago that I vaguely recall was anywhere near this violent or dark. I think it was a lot more lighthearted in comparison.

And this is... Lighthearted, like, funny or? lighthearted and not as serious but it's been that was when I was a little kid right so I don't remember exactly much of anything except for like the final shot of the show and so that also followed a white guy you know in Japan blah blah blah blah right yeah so I would make that akin to like kung fu you know the David Carradine show sure that that old show gun show oh okay yeah Whereas this is aiming for a higher degree of authenticity. And just, you know, for, I guess for this era, quality, you know, like the way, just right off the rip, you know, with the ship and everything and the way they look at all.

It's like it already reeks of high production value. Yeah. And I'm very appreciative of that, that it just looks so good. Well, yeah. And also the shots as well. Like one of the things that I feel like you often complain about is just like the shots look so simple. and but I mean I don't know if they're still doing simple shots but at least the way it looks I like that kind of almost like smudgy look that they have on the bottom of the of the frame and around the edges there's some vignetting that they do sometimes which I feel just kind of gives a sense of like we're trying to make this feel period for you sure which I enjoy I have thoughts about the shots and the angles but I'm being more restrained in watching this and trying to take it for what it is because immediately it It doesn't feel like they're trying to do,

it's not trying to model itself after, like, Japanese filmmaking. That's my sense of it. It's doing its own thing, which is cool. It's fine. I mean, if you really wanted to go full-blown cinematic, you know, you could do the like the 239 widescreen aspect ratio, but they're not doing that. This is made more for television.

Yes. And so I'm like, okay, let me just see what they're trying to do here. The last scene right before our two main dudes, John Blackthorn and Yoshi-Toranaga, were in front of each other. The camera was like sweeping over Osaka, is it Osaka that they weren't landed? It's like sweeping over Osaka in a way that it's like really fast to the point that I feel like only a drone or a helicopter could do.

I am personally not a fan of that, but I'm just taking it for what it is. Well, I thought that would have been like an effects shot because I don't know if Osaka looks like that anymore. It is an effects shot. Yeah. It's a visual effect and that's what I didn't necessarily like. But I'm just like, let me just keep that heart. put away for now. Let me lock that heart away, my third heart.

Yeah, let me just take it for what it is and see if I can just appreciate this like on its own merits without imposing my own feelings or what I would do, you know, on it. Yeah. Because like so far I'm just enjoying it for what it is and the characters and whatnot.

It's all very interesting. I would have told that Spanish guy like, yo, I saved your life, bitch. You know, why are you trying to wreck mine? You know, because he said, I'm going to give these orders or show this to someone right away. I mean, obviously, we're right at the beginning, I reckon

that those two characters might become friends. Like, it's just, I forget just how much conflict there was between Protestants and Catholics, even up until, like, fairly recently, you know? I mean, I feel like that's still an ongoing thing. It is a, yeah,

but I think it's just like, it's so alien to me personally, because, yes, my father technically is a Protestant, but he raised me just in like the Christian faith or whatever. I went to a Catholic school. I was baptized in the Catholic church.

But as far as I'm concerned, if you believe in God and I believe in God, we're good, right? But I forget that the rest of the world doesn't think that. And so it is shocking sometimes when I see that. I'm like, oh, my God. Like, they're like mortal enemies. They hate each other. It's, yeah, yeah, it baffles my brain. Yeah, I have a lot of feelings about it, too.

I don't know if we need to get into all that. No, no. I do find it a little bit hilarious because it's like at the core. Don't y'all kind of believe the same thing? Yeah, like you all believe in the same God You're reading the same scripture like what? Yeah. Anyway, I appreciated, there were some moments with music

that I really appreciated in this show Just like the quality overall is actually quite nice for television. I'm like, this is really good. Really good. When a Toronaga was going to go into the meeting near the beginning of the film, there was like this monk sounding. Yeah.

It's that low charm. Yeah. But like it transitioned. at some point into like synth almost and I was like oh this is interesting like it doesn't feel I'm of two minds about it right because on the one hand I'm like this is really cool just the sounds that they're doing but on the other hand it kind of removes it from feeling totally like I'm back there in 1600 sure um so that's where I have a like a diversion in my feelings about it but I still am enjoying it it's not shying away from like the really dark stuff which is

interesting to me like they're exploring that through and through um i don't want i'm afraid to say the word because of youtube and stuff uh sapuku right and like and just how life is treated and it's funny for me because it's like it's coming off of the i know it's a few months ago but it's coming off of the heels of godzilla minus one where that speech towards the end of the film right before the final attack where the guy the doctor or whatever the engineer is like you know we treated life too frivolously and it's life is precious you know that speech who's giving everybody I thought that was really powerful. And so to see the treatment here, I'm like, whoa, you know what I mean?

It's all kind of connected. Yeah, it is. And it just gives you like a view into the Japanese culture at that time, right? And maybe that also still translates overtime in different ways to Japanese culture today. But yeah, it is just kind of wild. But the thing is, and I hate to say this, I understand why. why Yoshi Toranaga had to agree to the Sepaku, you know? Because if he didn't, that would have created a bigger problem with the other regions

and especially that guy who has it out for him. And so it was just frustrating. And you see it because the show telegraphs it, right? Like the guy's sitting there with his hands just like, oh, he wants to do something. He can't stand the insult. And as soon as he says insult, it's like, you're dead. you've given too much away like they were playing they were playing chess and he was playing checkers he didn't understand what the heck was going on it's like yeah but that's that's what i enjoy about it as well is just how things are being said things are being inferred even though they're pretending like they're not insulting each other you know exactly and so it's just kind of fun to watch because yeah it's it's a class thing as well right because you couldn't you wouldn't be able to like outwardly assault someone out in the open like that because there would be repercussions. But yeah, it's

sad. Yeah. Anyway, I really enjoyed this and I'm looking forward to the upcoming episode. Thanks so much for hanging with us. I'm Jabby Kouye. This is. Achara Cook. Peace out.