Disney+ samurai show hailed a 'masterpiece' and earns 100% Rotten Tomatoes score
Disney+’s new samurai series has been hailed by critics as a “genuine masterpiece” and earned a perfect 100 percent Rotten Tomatoes score. Available to stream now, Shōgun is a 17-century set action-drama that centres around a military leader who fights for his life at the dawn of a Japanese civil war.
The sprawling 10-part limited series is told from the perspective of British hero John Blackthorne, an English sailor who rises from outsider to samurai while being used as a pawn in Lord Yoshii Toranaga’s struggle to reach the top of the ruling chain – or Shōgun. It is adapted from James Clavell’s 1975 bestselling novel of the same name – itself a fictionalised version of historical events – which also spawned a 1980 TV adaptation.
It stars Peaky Blinders actor Cosmo Jarvis, John Wick: Chapter 4’s Hiroyuki Sanada and Monarch: Legacy of Monsters star Anna Sawai. It is created for television by husband and wife team Rachel Kondo and Justin Marks, with Marks – whose credits include 2016’s The Jungle Book and Top Gun: Maverick – serving as showrunner and executive producer.
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Shōgun is loosely inspired by the true story of English navigator William Adams, the first Westerner to set foot in Japan who eventually became a samurai. Early reviews have been overwhelmingly positive, with particular praise given to the show’s cast and visuals.
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Hiroyuki Sanada stars as military leader Lord Yoshii Toranaga (Disney+)Shōgun premiered on Tuesday (February 27) exclusively on Disney+, which TV lovers can join from just £1.99 a month with a new limited-time deal. This includes loads of Star Wars films and shows including Ahsoka, The Bad Batch and the upcoming The Acolyte and Skeleton Crew, plus the biggest and best Marvel content like Loki, The Marvels and X-Men ‘97 .
Disney+ is also the home of hit shows like The Bear , Modern Family and the hotly anticipated Sean Bean murder mystery Shardlake . There’s no hidden cost with a monthly Disney+ subscription and it can be cancelled at any time, while customers can get the equivalent of two months free with an annual subscription.
- Stream Shogun with a monthly Disney+ subscription from £1.99 – BUY HERE
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But savvy shoppers can get Disney+ free for a year when buying the brand-new Samsung Galaxy S24, S24+ or Ultra from Samsung, which also comes with Galaxy Buds2 Pro and a Galaxy SmartTag2, plus up to £370 discount if you trade in your old handset. EE customers can also get Disney+ free for a year with the Galaxy S24 and up to £432 discount with a trade-in, plus Apple TV+ free for six months and free Netflix when choosing a plan with an inclusive extra like the All Rounder.
Monarch: Legacy of Monsters actress Anna Sawai stars as a mysterious translator (Disney+)Shōgun currently boasts a perfect 100 percent Rotten Tomatoes score after 17 reviews. Empire’s Jake Cunningham said Shōgun is “gripping television [with] striking performances and stunning visuals.”
“From swirling, surf-smacked cinematography in one moment, to gently ebbing, awe-inspiring seascapes the next, the landscapes of terror and beauty are precariously balanced,” he wrote. “Perpetually bathed in mist, the camera regularly creeps forward through water, forests and palaces hesitantly discovering new lands, anxiously aware of the silent assassins at the frame’s edge.”
TIME Magazine’s Judy Berman said Shōgun “isn’t a remake – it’s a revelation” while hailing it as “a genuine masterpiece”.
“It’s an epic of war, love, faith, honour, culture clash, and political intrigue,” Berman wrote. “And at a time when so many of TV’s biggest swings, from Amazon’s The Rings of Power and Citadel to Netflix’s Stranger Things and The Crown, have yielded at least partial misses, FX’s Shōgun stands apart as a genuine masterpiece.”
The London Evening Standard’s Nick Clark also praised Shōgun’s “lush locations and superb performances,” adding that its “engaging story may take its time but inexorably draws the viewer in.”
Click here to watch Shōgun on Disney+. Alternatively, a host of new shows are streaming on Amazon’s Prime Video and Apple TV+ .
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