Shogun, Disney
Discussion
The English male lead speaks in Richard Burton style phrases which actually don’t sound like mimickry and do add to the character. The female lead has also recently starred in Apple TV’s Monarch: Legacy of Monsters and has gained critical acclaim for both - she is very watchable and very, very good at stealing scenes. The Japanese male lead is once again excellent as he has been in almost every role I have seen him in.
10/10 slashing blades then cool silences.
10/10 slashing blades then cool silences.
McGee_22 said:
The English male lead speaks in Richard Burton style phrases which actually don’t sound like mimickry and do add to the character. The female lead has also recently starred in Apple TV’s Monarch: Legacy of Monsters and has gained critical acclaim for both - she is very watchable and very, very good at stealing scenes. The Japanese male lead is once again excellent as he has been in almost every role I have seen him in.
10/10 slashing blades then cool silences.
This - watched first two episodes last night after seeing the Critical Drinker's review. Very, very good, and definitely not made for "modern audiences". 10/10 slashing blades then cool silences.
biggbn said:
Really enjoying this, very faithful to the book so far. The English actor reminds me more of Lewis Collins than Richard Burton but we must remember he is trying to put over the arrogance and unshakeable belief of an English Protestant of that time. I think he is doing a decent job.
Me too. He's certainly not an immediately likeable character which is how I guess our British ancestors may have come across to other nations. When "we" meet with the Japanese, another culture with an unshakeable self-belief, it must have been a real clash of ideals.I am simply amazed Disney green lighted it to be honest.
English white male gets shipwrecked and finds himself among an indigenous population. Due to his intelligence, diplomacy and gallantry he easily navigates to a position of power and wealth.
Giggles aside, I was worried about this as I loved the book and the original series and was terrified it would be ruined but they have done a cracking job so far.
Hiroyuki Sanada is superb as Toranaga.
English white male gets shipwrecked and finds himself among an indigenous population. Due to his intelligence, diplomacy and gallantry he easily navigates to a position of power and wealth.
Giggles aside, I was worried about this as I loved the book and the original series and was terrified it would be ruined but they have done a cracking job so far.
Hiroyuki Sanada is superb as Toranaga.
The only thing that gets me - I am sure in the book he becomes proficient in Japanese pretty quickly. Why does the series have him still speaking "Portuguese" (well, English) and broken Japanese? I was expecting it to go all Japanese, apart from when foreigners are talking to each other. It makes him come across as a bit of a dolt to be honest. Couldn't they find an actor with reasonable Japanese and/or teach them phonetic Japanese for their lines?
Compare with "Tokyo Vice" where the foreign actors speak Japanese 80% of the time (switching to English when talking to another foreigner)
Compare with "Tokyo Vice" where the foreign actors speak Japanese 80% of the time (switching to English when talking to another foreigner)
wisbech said:
The only thing that gets me - I am sure in the book he becomes proficient in Japanese pretty quickly. Why does the series have him still speaking "Portuguese" (well, English) and broken Japanese? I was expecting it to go all Japanese, apart from when foreigners are talking to each other. It makes him come across as a bit of a dolt to be honest. Couldn't they find an actor with reasonable Japanese and/or teach them phonetic Japanese for their lines?
Compare with "Tokyo Vice" where the foreign actors speak Japanese 80% of the time (switching to English when talking to another foreigner)
I'm not sure I'm due a fast parrot but to try and answer your question I'm not sure if the Japanese had set up language schools, lessons or even tutors in the early 17th Century when the story is set. Perhaps a business opportunity missed?Compare with "Tokyo Vice" where the foreign actors speak Japanese 80% of the time (switching to English when talking to another foreigner)
wisbech said:
The only thing that gets me - I am sure in the book he becomes proficient in Japanese pretty quickly. Why does the series have him still speaking "Portuguese" (well, English) and broken Japanese? I was expecting it to go all Japanese, apart from when foreigners are talking to each other. It makes him come across as a bit of a dolt to be honest. Couldn't they find an actor with reasonable Japanese and/or teach them phonetic Japanese for their lines?
Compare with "Tokyo Vice" where the foreign actors speak Japanese 80% of the time (switching to English when talking to another foreigner)
Not read the book but his rate of picking up Japanese hasn't jumped out as slow to me in the show? Seems about right. Compare with "Tokyo Vice" where the foreign actors speak Japanese 80% of the time (switching to English when talking to another foreigner)
McGee_22 said:
I'm not sure I'm due a fast parrot but to try and answer your question I'm not sure if the Japanese had set up language schools, lessons or even tutors in the early 17th Century when the story is set. Perhaps a business opportunity missed?
From what I recall in the book, he is a polyglot (English/ Dutch/ Portuguese/ Spanish/ Latin - remember Mariko is translating from Japanese to Portuguese, not English) And he is immersed in Japanese 24/7, with a tutor (Mariko) and he is given a Japanese-Latin-Portuguese dictionary.Looked it up - in the book one of the things the villagers have to do (on pain of death) is get him to a suitable standard of Japanese within 6 months. So everyone is very motivated to do so. Of course, the show might be compressing time vs the book.
So, yeah, by this stage in the books his Japanese isn't fluent, but functional. For "business" conversations with Toranaga, he would still need to use a translator, but day to day interactions would be in Japanese.
Gassing Station | TV, Film, Video Streaming & Radio | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff