Trends are cyclical, and despite everything being invented, characters, genres, or settings make a grand return through cultural products that coincide within a specific period. This is something that happens with the western or even with superheroes, but now it has occurred with something more unexpected: the samurais.
Not long ago, we mentioned that “Blue Eye Samurai” is one of the best animated series of the year. Released on Netflix, this fiction impeccably portrays Japan’s Edo period, filling it with blood and guts. However, it’s not the only samurai series arriving at this time. Disney Plus has just announced the release date of its own samurai series: “Shōgun.”
Samurais, shoguns, and wars
On February 27, 2024, this bet will arrive on Disney Plus, one of the most important for the platform next year. Based on James Clavell’s bestselling novel, “Shōgun” will consist of 10 episodes and will be set in Japan in 1600. At the onset of a massive civil war that defined centuries of Japan at the time, Lord Yoshii Toranaga fights to stay alive as his enemies from the Regents’ Council unite against him.
The series stars and is produced by Hiroyuki Sanada and blends the Japanese culture of the era with the Western visitors of the time. When a mysterious European ship appears abandoned in a nearby fishing village, its English captain, John Blackthorne (Cosmo Jarvis), arrives laden with secrets that could help Toranaga tip the balance of power and end the huge influence of Blackthorne’s own enemies: the Jesuit priests and Portuguese merchants.
The series promises to mix history with thriller and adventure in a unique blend that will take us to learn more about feudal Japan and everything that surrounds it. Will it live up to “Blue Eye Samurai”?
