Shōgun

Shōgun – The Eightfold Fence / Broken to the Fist

/ / Television Reviews
  • Title: Shōgun – The Eightfold Fence / Broken to the Fist
  • IMDb: link | link

Shōgun - The Eightfold Fence / Broken to the Fist

“The Eightfold Fence” and “Broken to the Fist” focus on John Blackthorne (Cosmo Jarvis) teaching Lord Toranaga’s (Hiroyuki Sanada) soldiers while continuing to struggle with cultural nuance of the foreign land. Blackthorne and Mariko (Anna Sawai) are drawn closer together only to be pushed apart by the miraculous appearance of her douchebag of a husband Buntaro (Shinnosuke Abe) who continues to struggle with his wife earning greater favor with their lord. In a forceful display of power, the samurai forces Mariko to explain to Blackthorne her past and unfortunate familial ties. That, along with Buntaro beating his wife that night, nearly forces a deadly confrontation between Buntaro and Blackthorne (who does witness an example of the samurai’s skill with a bow).

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Shōgun – Tomorrow is Tomorrow

/ / Television Reviews
  • Title: Shōgun – Tomorrow is Tomorrow
  • IMDb: link

Shōgun - Tomorrow is Tomorrow

“Tomorrow is Tomorrow” accomplishes two major tasks. The first is Lord Toranaga (Hiroyuki Sanada), John Blackthorne (Cosmo Jarvis), and Mariko (Anna Sawai) and out of the clutches of those who want both Toranaga and Blackthorne dead. The second is it provides multiple opportunities for both Toranaga and Blackthorne to get a measure of each other. Blackthorne discovers the cunning of his rescuer/captor in getting out of Osaka while leaving his enemies at an empass unable to move forward with their plans without his presence. Toranaga gets a measure of the pilot who puts his own life on the line rather than be left behind. As so a friendship begins between the pair with Mariko cemented as the bridge between them.

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Shōgun – Servants of Two Masters

/ / Television Reviews
  • Title: Shōgun – Servants of Two Masters
  • IMDb: link

Shōgun - Servants of Two Masters

With his impeachment all but assured, Lord Toranaga (Hiroyuki Sanada) uses John Blackthorne (Cosmo Jarvis) as a wedge to divide the lords planning on his removal by pitting the Christian and non-Christian sects against each other. During his stay in prison, Blackthorne learns a bit about the local politics from a priest (Joaquim de Almeida) coming to understand, at least in some small part, value he could provide to Toranaga whose plans not to kill the heretic have already born fruit.

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Shōgun – Anjin

/ / Television Reviews
  • Title: Shōgun – Anjin
  • IMDb: link

Shōgun - Anjin

The ten episode limited series begins with a starving ship of Dutch sailors crashing into the coast of Japan. One of the only survivors of what started out as a five-ship fleet, Major John Blackthorne (Cosmo Jarvis) is interrogated in the fishing village before taken to Osaka where more drama is afoot with four of the five feudal lords looking to oust Lord Toranaga (Hiroyuki Sanada), the most loyal to the the child heir to the empire in a move to consolidate power. The third pivotal role in the series, Lady Toda Mariko (Anna Sawai), has the smallest role in the opener really on part of a sequence involving the honor and attempted suicide of another woman, but more about her character will be expanded as the mini-series continues.

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