Hiroyuki Sanada isn’t just the lead actor he’s also one of the hands on producers on the show. He wanted an absolutely accurate depiction of 1600 Japan, so he brought on historians and experts in Japanese etiquette to make sure everything was absolutely perfect for that era. Plus, Hiroyuki is not only one of the best and most charismatic actors around but with his world class sword fighting and martial arts skills, he’s practically a samurai in real life. They literally couldn’t have picked a better person for the job.
Indeed He was born to play Lord Yoshi Toranaga. The previous 1980 Shogun mini-series was no only groundbreaking as one of the first truly epic shows with grand scale that had top level production & acting but was entertaining to all. Also it was a culturally important as it introduced Japanese culture & history to the US masses. Up until them most Japanese culture was limited in the form if commerce & brands like Honda, Sony & Toyota. There weren’t sushi restaurants, karaoke bars, Nintendo, anime & other Japanese items everywhere throughout the US. Shogun had a part in introducing Japan to the US & creating interest in it & helped spread it as we know it today. The book, of course & the 1980 mini-series were intrinsically good & entertaining but cultural significant & important because of all this. So this remake has big shoes to fill which I am sure the show runner & actors were fully aware of. And surely it has not disappointed. They obviously worked on this project with the reverence & respect it deserved. The meticulous attention to detail is obvious. From the scenes to the costumes to the cinematography & to the incredible acting the results are amazing. It’s not only done well & historically accurate, & although fictional it’s based on real events. Despite this high level cinema it’s just fun & entertaining. It’s not just snooty high falutin cinema or art but just plain old good entertainment which is why the book & show were so successful. Anyway, Sanada is a great actor who is finally getting his due. He truly was born to play this role & is shining in it. This show has been amazing & the only bummer is waiting a week for the next expisode.
@@michaellockhart554 I know right? Legendary Japanese actor Toshiro Mifune who was a favorite of Japanese auteur director Akira Kurosawa both of whom influenced a young George Lucas. Those middle 20th Century samurai films were called “Jedaigecki” hence the Jedi Knights in Star Wars. Now Hiroyuki Sanada reprieves the role of Lord Toranaga in the Shogun remake. Talk about shows to fill. Mifune is considered to be Japan’s most legendary actor. Also the 1980 Shogun tv mini series wasn’t only groundbreaking as one of the first large scale epic tv shows but culturally & socially influential. Everyone involved with the 2024 Shogun remake has huge shoes to fill & they’ve not only met expectations but surpassed them. Everyone has raved about this amazing show. After countless remake bombs & a litany if terrible movies & shows of late like the most recent True Detective which was awful it’s nice to see a show that has set a new bar. Can’t wait for this week’s episode!
Regarding your question about the haircut of certain characters: Individuals who shave their head in the middle do so because they wear Samurai armor (helmets), and this simplifies ventilation for the scalp. Only the very wealthy Samurai could afford armor/helmets that allowed them to wear full head of hair with the armor. Later, this also became a distinctive feature for identifying the Samurai as a caste in the social hierarchy. Common soldiers/population at the time wore simple conical hats (visible in the following episodes).
@@ItThatLed Good question. That is because Seven Samurai is roughly placed during the Sengoku period, characterized by constant civil wars and social upheavals. This period is known for the breakdown of the traditional master-servant relationship between the lord and his vassals, with the vassals sometimes eliminating the lord, internal clan and vassal conflicts over leadership of the lord's family, and frequent rebellion and puppetry by branch families against the lord's family. As such, the Sengoku period is marked by the loosening of samurai culture, with people born into other social strata sometimes making a name for themselves as warriors and thus becoming samurai. Therefore, I would say that as a symbol of the no longer existing hierarchy, the low-born started wearing this haircut. But I don't know if that is the actual reason; it's just my personal explanation. Shogun takes place during the Edo period.
@@ItThatLed I might be dead wrong but in addition to the explanation above, they kinda really thought the samurai were pretty cool (and did it themselves). Though the bun of hair behind them would be significantly smaller
Shōgun is already shaping up to be one of my favorite shows of 2024 and we're only 3 months into the year! The ending of the latest episode was absolutely incredible and I'm counting down the days until the next episode!!!
So what I got from the intro, is that they would’ve ended up covering it because even Adam’s mom was asking about it. That was the final nail in the coffin.
Each hairstyle has a combo of practicality and class. The baldspot one has to do with helmets and comfort, but the type of helmets is mostly down to a certain class of fighter, so even guys who didn't fight as much wore it to fit in with their class sometimes. Nobles who might have worn the helmet could have a full head of hair because they would lead and not be in the trenches as it were so much and be in more ceremonial duties which require other hairstyles like the flipup tail that Torinaga wears for example when talking to the heir in Osaka castle. Mariko's short center-part bangs are particular to her class. Stuff like that.
The truly mind-boggling part of this episode is that everything and everyone you see has a historical counterpart. Some of the plot arcs from the story is lifted directly from the history, with only the names being changed by the author to keep the mystery of what is going to transpire and to whom. The producers did an extraordinary amount of research, and everything you see down to how they sit and speak to each other is accurate.
I watched the original mini series and have read the book once every two years for the last 30 years. Suffice to say, it's one of my favourite stories. This so far is doing it so much justice.
I've read the book many times, too. It's an engrossing read, chock full of fascinating details. Easy to re-read and find things you missed on previous reads. Loved the earlier mini-series & am very intrigued by this one.
I think it more likely that some Japanese lord was self conscious about his receding hairline and ordered all of his men to shave their heads that way....
While the show is based on a novel, that novel was based on real, Japanese history. The names were just changed. There really was an English pilot whose derelict ship washed ashore at this time. If you're interested in learning a bit of the actual history of this period, Netflix has a documentary series called Age of the Samurai.
Four episodes in and I still love episode 1 the most. The setup, the jarring normalcy of the brutality of that time, and the fact that the named the pilot episode ‘Anjin’ which means pilot 😫😫😫 so happy y’all reacting to this show!
Many thanks to Jay and Adam! 🗾 My mother and I loved the version from 44 years ago. The first four episodes of this remake have been great. I bet you'll dig it.
So, Hiroyuki Sanada's character Yoshi Toronaga is loosely based off of the real-life figure Ieyasu Tokugawa.... Do not look him up if you don't want spoilers. BUT, the hairstyle, shaving one's head was an optional practice among samurai to keep their hair from getting in their eyes during battle. The bun known as a chonmage. The chonmage also acted as a cooling method during the hot and humid summers of Japan.
So far it's one of the best book adaptions I've watched. It's not a one-to-one sort of thing, but it's getting the core of the thing right and it's doing a good job of taking what he wrote and updating it for a modern tv audience. A re-read the book last year in anticipation of the show and there were parts of it I found awkward both in pacing and in characterization that I didn't catch the first time I read it in college that I feel like the show is handling better. The screen writers did such a good job with it IMO. And the set design and costume people are just absolutely killing it. (I mean it IS a nerd property, just a different sort of nerd property, you know. It's had a fandom.)
James Clavell wrote the book well before George R. R. Martin wrote the "Ice & Fire" books. It "feels like Game of Thrones" because Martin has confirmed "Shogun" inspired his series.
For what heard this is just a limited series. No plans for season 2. This will cover the book and that's it Edit: Yes! That's Nestor Carbonell. The Batmanuel
I watched the first mini series in High School as well, but it was right after it aired. My English teacher borrowed the VCR from the school to tape it each night because there was no way she could afford one on a teacher's salary back then! Yes, I'm actually that old! I'm looking forward to you guys doing more reactions of this one!
Yeah, the language thing. Blackthorne is a polyglot. As was the real Anjin, William Adams. He knew several languages before being grounded in the Japans. So, here is what is happening when he is "speaking English" with others: He and the Captain-General and crew of the Erasmus are speaking Dutch. When he is talking to a bi-lingual Japanese person or one of the priests, they are speaking Portuguese. When he is speaking with Rodriguez, they are speaking Spanish, Portuguese, or BOTH. The reason the Japanese is in Japanese is because he is the audience surrogate, and does not, yet, speak Japanese. But, even from the first episode, he picks it up pretty fast.
Gotta love that the Spanish sailor gets to have an accent and certain Spanish words in his vocabulary, and the Portuguese characters and language are just plain brittish English
First Fellas , look into the OG mini-series . The Portuguese Pilot was played by John Rhys-Davies , one of his earlier performances , and he is great . Second check the actual history being woven into this piece , the real life men were as interesting and complex as the characters in the novel .
The hairstyle is restricted to Samurai, who are an entire caste unto themselves and the only people allowed swords. Nobles do not need to wear it, but the rest of the Samurai do. If their name gets the honorific -san, they wear the hairstyle. If they are lords who get the honorific -sama, then they do not have to wear it, but as Samurai, they may choose to adopt it as their birthright. This is why the Heir looks like a girl to Western Audiences. Male children grow their hair in the Heir's style because they need the extra length to flip up into the Samurai queue when they come of age.
To answer your question about the hair style for the samurai. It was a choice really, at first, they wore helmets that sometimes would move around to much and depending on the weather it would also get itchy so by shaving in that spot the helmets would stay more firm and this was mostly the high ranking samurai's who had armor and armor was pricy, later it also became a way of identifying a hierarchy of samurai in their clan.
Fun Fact about the HAIR: Samurai is a social status in Japan, NOT a JOB. (i.e same as nobility, merchant, peasant classes), because of that reason, to demonstrate that you are of the samurai class, people have a special samurai class haircut to show off their status aka called a CHONMAGE. If you not samurai, you dont get to have a Chonmage.
The haircut is known as "chonmage" and was used to keep the head cool while wearing a helmet. The bun at the back was pulled up to serve as a cushion for comfort. The haircuts became very popular and even the commoners began to wear their hair in a similar manner.
@17:47 That was the popular hairstyle at the time in Japan, but there were reasons for it: 1) having a bald head was synonymous with being older, and thus *WISER* 2) this style of haircut along with a topknot evidently allowed samurai helmets to fit better with minor slippage.
Dear Adam’s mom, Thank you for giving us Adam! Please if you could, would you bring up how everybody is watching bad batch season 3? Thank you in advance! Sincerely, The Peaches
So the two main characters John Blackthorne and Yoshii Toranaga are based on William Adams and Tokugawa Ieyasu respectively and the formation of the Tokugawa Shogunate. William Adams was the first Englishman to land in Japan and his life after that is fascinating. I don't want to say too much, but he became quite close with Ieyasu
they shave the top of their heads because their helmets get really hot in battle and the top knot holds their helmet in place. the helmets are called kabuto (yes, it is where the Pokémon got its name) and the haircut is called chonmage and is still worn today by Sumo wtestlers.
Full top shave, no bangs = full grown man Top shaved, but bangs/forelocks remain = Wakashū (teen boy/young adult man, but often understood as a separate gender group with sexual connotations as depicted in this episode)
So pleased you’ve decided to watch and react to this as I didn’t think it was the sort of thing you’d go for. Much like you I’m not fully up to speed on Japanese culture from that period so I’ve spent a fair amount of time on google and have found it fascinating.
A bunch of Daimyo end up killing their own wife and son. Or sons end up killing their dads. Kids and wives are taken as wards/ hostages to bond clans together, which eventually double cross one another and so the son and dad have to fight. And then, killing off of bloodlines, leads to occasional baby death. They are probably all wearing some kind of Kosode at this time period. PS Kimono are so not comfortable. One can hardly breath, walk or go to the toilet while in one.
As for the hairstyle, it was common for samurai to shave the tops in front of their head since it would help from their helmets, slipping or moving around as it would stick firmly versus hair, which would cause their helmet to move
kudos to hannajoh, the master of gestures. daiki ishida, samurai movement advisor. toru harada, technical supervisor. and akiko kobayashi, period movement advisor who also played mariko-sama’s “lady-in-waiting”, setsu. the amount of detail that went into shōgun. amazing!! hiroyuki sanada is such a class act! 100000/10 love this so much!
15:10 The Lord, as stated earlier as they made soup, is obsessed with the moments before death. The woman decided perhaps he wants to learn about the moments before the "little death".
The shaved head is for when they wear their battle helmets. It helps them not get too hot, not everyone does it though, it seems like its a preference.
The original Shogun mini-series came out in 1980, and at the time it was the second-most watched mini-series in television history after "Roots." The significance of shaving one's head is that it was a personal choice, and it had everything to do with comfort while wearing one of those large, imposing, and most importantly, hot and sweaty helmets while in battle. Most common samurai couldn't afford the fancy ones with good airflow around the head, and those ended up using that haircut.
I'm very excited to see your continued reactions, but the question must be asked (though I suspect I know the answer): Have you read the book? Some of what is happening is far easier to follow if so, though attention to every subtlety in the show (what is said, how it's said, and to whom it is *actually* said, etc...) should keep you above water
I literally just brought my Nav's Popcorn box in from the door! The Dark Island Pop-Pies did not make the cross-country journey intact, but everything else still looks fabulous. Gonna munch some Rainbow while I watch this reaction.
Just to clarify, England and Portugal have never been at war, and they have the worlds oldest continuous military alliance which was established in 1373 and continues to this day. It is the spanish who are englands main enemy in this time period.
“So, like what? Two, three years?” And my soul died just a little. This show is complex and the value of it is introducing audiences to Japanese history who otherwise would not be exposed to it. While there will be inaccuracies, because you know, entertainment, it will spark interest to learn the real stories. Thank you so much for doing this show.
Randomly read Gaijin in university after picking it up at a secondhand - the show reminded me of it and only recently made the connection to James Clavell the Shogun author Wonder if there’s plans to cover the rest of the 200+ years of saga haha
Jay isn't ready for this show.. it goes hard with the violence and gore and this is just the 1st episode. Wait till you are caught up. But this is one of the best stories you will ever watch. The books were amazing, the show, while it does take some shortcuts, is pretty much staying true.
I love Hiroyuki Sanada -- such a commanding presence in everything I've seen him in. He was also great as a recurring character in two shows I enjoyed quite a bit: The Last Ship and Helix. And Anna Sawai (Mariko) is also one of the stars of the series Monarch: Legacy of Monsters.
Yeah. The local Lord who boiled the sailor alive is dancing on a razor blade. He is sworn to Toranaga, but is also making overtures to another Regent. He's waiting to see who comes out on top. But, it us a VERY dangerous game.....
YES! All the yes! So many details, care and effort. Not just speaking Japanese, but old form. (think Shakespear) and the majority of viewers will never know. Consultants on costume, behavior, mannerisms to have them be as correct as possible for the time. I only wish there could be more then the 10 episodes we are going to get. But 10 is close enough to do the book justice. Ok, now to watch your reaction...
"Anjin" is the word for a pilot of a ship, and also this was the pilot episode 😂
Hiroyuki Sanada isn’t just the lead actor he’s also one of the hands on producers on the show. He wanted an absolutely accurate depiction of 1600 Japan, so he brought on historians and experts in Japanese etiquette to make sure everything was absolutely perfect for that era.
Plus, Hiroyuki is not only one of the best and most charismatic actors around but with his world class sword fighting and martial arts skills, he’s practically a samurai in real life. They literally couldn’t have picked a better person for the job.
Indeed He was born to play Lord Yoshi Toranaga. The previous 1980 Shogun mini-series was no only groundbreaking as one of the first truly epic shows with grand scale that had top level production & acting but was entertaining to all. Also it was a culturally important as it introduced Japanese culture & history to the US masses. Up until them most Japanese culture was limited in the form if commerce & brands like Honda, Sony & Toyota. There weren’t sushi restaurants, karaoke bars, Nintendo, anime & other Japanese items everywhere throughout the US. Shogun had a part in introducing Japan to the US & creating interest in it & helped spread it as we know it today. The book, of course & the 1980 mini-series were intrinsically good & entertaining but cultural significant & important because of all this.
So this remake has big shoes to fill which I am sure the show runner & actors were fully aware of. And surely it has not disappointed. They obviously worked on this project with the reverence & respect it deserved. The meticulous attention to detail is obvious. From the scenes to the costumes to the cinematography & to the incredible acting the results are amazing. It’s not only done well & historically accurate, & although fictional it’s based on real events. Despite this high level cinema it’s just fun & entertaining. It’s not just snooty high falutin cinema or art but just plain old good entertainment which is why the book & show were so successful.
Anyway, Sanada is a great actor who is finally getting his due. He truly was born to play this role & is shining in it. This show has been amazing & the only bummer is waiting a week for the next expisode.
Hell yeah he is. Dude is straight money in any role he has played. Check out "The Twilight Samurai" if you havent yet...
What I found interesting is that the 2 best Japanese actors of their respective time each played Yoshi Toronaga
Now I like him even more. Absolutely love the authenticity of the show.
@@michaellockhart554 I know right? Legendary Japanese actor Toshiro Mifune who was a favorite of Japanese auteur director Akira Kurosawa both of whom influenced a young George Lucas. Those middle 20th Century samurai films were called “Jedaigecki” hence the Jedi Knights in Star Wars.
Now Hiroyuki Sanada reprieves the role of Lord Toranaga in the Shogun remake. Talk about shows to fill. Mifune is considered to be Japan’s most legendary actor. Also the 1980 Shogun tv mini series wasn’t only groundbreaking as one of the first large scale epic tv shows but culturally & socially influential. Everyone involved with the 2024 Shogun remake has huge shoes to fill & they’ve not only met expectations but surpassed them. Everyone has raved about this amazing show. After countless remake bombs & a litany if terrible movies & shows of late like the most recent True Detective which was awful it’s nice to see a show that has set a new bar. Can’t wait for this week’s episode!
One thing to understand is that when we hear english its implied that its Portuguese. Showrunners didnt want us to be spent on subtitles..
I assumed it meant that the Japanese didn't know what English was and thought it was the same as Portuguese?
Regarding your question about the haircut of certain characters: Individuals who shave their head in the middle do so because they wear Samurai armor (helmets), and this simplifies ventilation for the scalp. Only the very wealthy Samurai could afford armor/helmets that allowed them to wear full head of hair with the armor. Later, this also became a distinctive feature for identifying the Samurai as a caste in the social hierarchy. Common soldiers/population at the time wore simple conical hats (visible in the following episodes).
Why do farmers and other lower born do it? Like all of the farmers in Seven Samurai all have the same cut.
@@ItThatLed Good question. That is because Seven Samurai is roughly placed during the Sengoku period, characterized by constant civil wars and social upheavals. This period is known for the breakdown of the traditional master-servant relationship between the lord and his vassals, with the vassals sometimes eliminating the lord, internal clan and vassal conflicts over leadership of the lord's family, and frequent rebellion and puppetry by branch families against the lord's family. As such, the Sengoku period is marked by the loosening of samurai culture, with people born into other social strata sometimes making a name for themselves as warriors and thus becoming samurai. Therefore, I would say that as a symbol of the no longer existing hierarchy, the low-born started wearing this haircut. But I don't know if that is the actual reason; it's just my personal explanation. Shogun takes place during the Edo period.
Thank you for the history and explanation lesson I’ve learned something new today
@@ItThatLed I might be dead wrong but in addition to the explanation above, they kinda really thought the samurai were pretty cool (and did it themselves). Though the bun of hair behind them would be significantly smaller
The show is damn good, delicate, never over the top, and the dialogues are top-notch. I'm happy for Sanada, he deserves some recognition.
He's amazing 👏
This show is so good, it made me replay Shogun 2: Total War 2!
Shōgun is already shaping up to be one of my favorite shows of 2024 and we're only 3 months into the year! The ending of the latest episode was absolutely incredible and I'm counting down the days until the next episode!!!
Same. It's my top show so far
Me too!
Is it Tuesday yet‽ 🥷🏾
Same! I can't wait! Mariko: It is war!
GRRM says he was influenced by Shōgun when writing Game of Thrones. You can really see the influence in later episodes…
just as dune inspired george lucas. and toranaga tells his son to mind that he's playing a "game of friends and enemies" (wink wink).
So that makes it better then GOT I don't think so, especially after only one season
So what I got from the intro, is that they would’ve ended up covering it because even Adam’s mom was asking about it. That was the final nail in the coffin.
Each hairstyle has a combo of practicality and class. The baldspot one has to do with helmets and comfort, but the type of helmets is mostly down to a certain class of fighter, so even guys who didn't fight as much wore it to fit in with their class sometimes. Nobles who might have worn the helmet could have a full head of hair because they would lead and not be in the trenches as it were so much and be in more ceremonial duties which require other hairstyles like the flipup tail that Torinaga wears for example when talking to the heir in Osaka castle. Mariko's short center-part bangs are particular to her class. Stuff like that.
The truly mind-boggling part of this episode is that everything and everyone you see has a historical counterpart. Some of the plot arcs from the story is lifted directly from the history, with only the names being changed by the author to keep the mystery of what is going to transpire and to whom. The producers did an extraordinary amount of research, and everything you see down to how they sit and speak to each other is accurate.
I watched the original mini series and have read the book once every two years for the last 30 years. Suffice to say, it's one of my favourite stories. This so far is doing it so much justice.
No, you didn't read the book every two years. That's BS. Stop lying.
@@eatsmylifeYTDude, don't be that person.
@@Bnio Unfortunately, I am. I just love calling these people out.
I am sorry you feel that way and wish you well. I assure you, however that you are quite wrong. I salute your attempt at omniscience.
I've read the book many times, too. It's an engrossing read, chock full of fascinating details. Easy to re-read and find things you missed on previous reads. Loved the earlier mini-series & am very intrigued by this one.
About that samurai hairstyle, it was due to the necessity to wear helmets like A LOT, and an ordinary helmet had poor ventilation system.
I think it more likely that some Japanese lord was self conscious about his receding hairline and ordered all of his men to shave their heads that way....
@@StuSaville If you look at the history of male hair styles, same thing everywhere. In Europe, it was mandatory powdered wigs and hats.
While the show is based on a novel, that novel was based on real, Japanese history. The names were just changed. There really was an English pilot whose derelict ship washed ashore at this time.
If you're interested in learning a bit of the actual history of this period, Netflix has a documentary series called Age of the Samurai.
At the scene with the baby, my first reaction was “oh god, jay is not gonna survive this”
I had the same thought.
Fuckin I BARELY SURVIVED IT!!!
IT. ONLY. GETS. BETTER!!! 4 episodes in and you can't wait for more.
Four episodes in and I still love episode 1 the most. The setup, the jarring normalcy of the brutality of that time, and the fact that the named the pilot episode ‘Anjin’ which means pilot 😫😫😫 so happy y’all reacting to this show!
I never thought about that! Nice touch.
I started this show tonight because of you guys. And I'm glad I did. It's freaking good
You guys picked a great one to do! Can’t wait til you’re caught up to the rest of us.
pins and needles waiting on 5.. cause all the things we know and wont talk about yet.
Many thanks to Jay and Adam! 🗾 My mother and I loved the version from 44 years ago. The first four episodes of this remake have been great. I bet you'll dig it.
So, Hiroyuki Sanada's character Yoshi Toronaga is loosely based off of the real-life figure Ieyasu Tokugawa.... Do not look him up if you don't want spoilers. BUT, the hairstyle, shaving one's head was an optional practice among samurai to keep their hair from getting in their eyes during battle. The bun known as a chonmage. The chonmage also acted as a cooling method during the hot and humid summers of Japan.
So far it's one of the best book adaptions I've watched. It's not a one-to-one sort of thing, but it's getting the core of the thing right and it's doing a good job of taking what he wrote and updating it for a modern tv audience. A re-read the book last year in anticipation of the show and there were parts of it I found awkward both in pacing and in characterization that I didn't catch the first time I read it in college that I feel like the show is handling better. The screen writers did such a good job with it IMO. And the set design and costume people are just absolutely killing it.
(I mean it IS a nerd property, just a different sort of nerd property, you know. It's had a fandom.)
It's hot under samurai helmets - hair was done that way to keep things cooler
I always thought it was about trying to look older. Like wiser than your years sort of thing.
James Clavell wrote the book well before George R. R. Martin wrote the "Ice & Fire" books.
It "feels like Game of Thrones" because Martin has confirmed "Shogun" inspired his series.
For what heard this is just a limited series.
No plans for season 2. This will cover the book and that's it
Edit: Yes! That's Nestor Carbonell. The Batmanuel
I watched the first mini series in High School as well, but it was right after it aired. My English teacher borrowed the VCR from the school to tape it each night because there was no way she could afford one on a teacher's salary back then! Yes, I'm actually that old! I'm looking forward to you guys doing more reactions of this one!
How does the original compare to this?
I was so waiting for your reactions to this :P
soooo glad you guys are watching this, it's blown me away
Yeah, the language thing. Blackthorne is a polyglot. As was the real Anjin, William Adams. He knew several languages before being grounded in the Japans.
So, here is what is happening when he is "speaking English" with others:
He and the Captain-General and crew of the Erasmus are speaking Dutch.
When he is talking to a bi-lingual Japanese person or one of the priests, they are speaking Portuguese.
When he is speaking with Rodriguez, they are speaking Spanish, Portuguese, or BOTH.
The reason the Japanese is in Japanese is because he is the audience surrogate, and does not, yet, speak Japanese.
But, even from the first episode, he picks it up pretty fast.
Gotta love that the Spanish sailor gets to have an accent and certain Spanish words in his vocabulary, and the Portuguese characters and language are just plain brittish English
First Fellas , look into the OG mini-series . The Portuguese Pilot was played by John Rhys-Davies , one of his earlier performances , and he is great . Second check the actual history being woven into this piece , the real life men were as interesting and complex as the characters in the novel .
The hairstyle is restricted to Samurai, who are an entire caste unto themselves and the only people allowed swords. Nobles do not need to wear it, but the rest of the Samurai do. If their name gets the honorific -san, they wear the hairstyle. If they are lords who get the honorific -sama, then they do not have to wear it, but as Samurai, they may choose to adopt it as their birthright.
This is why the Heir looks like a girl to Western Audiences. Male children grow their hair in the Heir's style because they need the extra length to flip up into the Samurai queue when they come of age.
To answer your question about the hair style for the samurai. It was a choice really, at first, they wore helmets that sometimes would move around to much and depending on the weather it would also get itchy so by shaving in that spot the helmets would stay more firm and this was mostly the high ranking samurai's who had armor and armor was pricy, later it also became a way of identifying a hierarchy of samurai in their clan.
Yup, the highter the status the fancier the helmet.
I'm so glad you are doing this show! I've heard amazing things! Can't wait for this adventure.
Fab to see y'all jump in on this one. It's shaping up to be pretty great!
So happy you are doing this! It's so good!
sooo stoked to see you guys react to this!
Just watched the 4th episode. 🤯🤯🤯
I know we're early into the year but yeah, I think this will be one of the best shows on 2024. Unbelievably good show.
"Will u tell my son u revered me?".... The following laughter had me in tears.😂🥰
Fun Fact about the HAIR: Samurai is a social status in Japan, NOT a JOB. (i.e same as nobility, merchant, peasant classes), because of that reason, to demonstrate that you are of the samurai class, people have a special samurai class haircut to show off their status aka called a CHONMAGE.
If you not samurai, you dont get to have a Chonmage.
The haircut is known as "chonmage" and was used to keep the head cool while wearing a helmet. The bun at the back was pulled up to serve as a cushion for comfort. The haircuts became very popular and even the commoners began to wear their hair in a similar manner.
I’m so happy you guys are watching this show 😊 it’s one of the best shows atm in my opinion
If you guys can get your hands on the original mini series, give it a watch. Toshiro Mifune is one of the leads
@17:47
That was the popular hairstyle at the time in Japan, but there were reasons for it:
1) having a bald head was synonymous with being older, and thus *WISER*
2) this style of haircut along with a topknot evidently allowed samurai helmets to fit better with minor slippage.
Dear Adam’s mom,
Thank you for giving us Adam! Please if you could, would you bring up how everybody is watching bad batch season 3? Thank you in advance!
Sincerely,
The Peaches
So the two main characters John Blackthorne and Yoshii Toranaga are based on William Adams and Tokugawa Ieyasu respectively and the formation of the Tokugawa Shogunate. William Adams was the first Englishman to land in Japan and his life after that is fascinating. I don't want to say too much, but he became quite close with Ieyasu
Cosmo Jarvis has a singing career guys, you should check it out
Thank you for finally getting to this! You're only 3 episodes behind, and it's already so good!
This whole show is pretty great so far, but really the acting is really the strength of it I think. Incendiary performances all throughout
they shave the top of their heads because their helmets get really hot in battle and the top knot holds their helmet in place. the helmets are called kabuto (yes, it is where the Pokémon got its name) and the haircut is called chonmage and is still worn today by Sumo wtestlers.
when Cosmo speaks, does anyone else hear richard burton?
Full top shave, no bangs = full grown man
Top shaved, but bangs/forelocks remain = Wakashū (teen boy/young adult man, but often understood as a separate gender group with sexual connotations as depicted in this episode)
Relax guys. They're not going to murder a baby and show it. Keep the earphones in. You'll miss something crucial.
love watching you guys. the man in the pot was boiled in oil not water just so you know. not soup but fried chicken.
Both your reactions are in my top favorites, I giggle a lot, thanks for that
So pleased you’ve decided to watch and react to this as I didn’t think it was the sort of thing you’d go for. Much like you I’m not fully up to speed on Japanese culture from that period so I’ve spent a fair amount of time on google and have found it fascinating.
A bunch of Daimyo end up killing their own wife and son. Or sons end up killing their dads.
Kids and wives are taken as wards/ hostages to bond clans together, which eventually double cross one another and so the son and dad have to fight. And then, killing off of bloodlines, leads to occasional baby death.
They are probably all wearing some kind of Kosode at this time period.
PS Kimono are so not comfortable. One can hardly breath, walk or go to the toilet while in one.
I'm so glad you guys are watching this show. The next episodes are amazing.
The old miniseries cut out pretty much everything that wasn't witnessed by Blackthorne
Such a good show, and Mariko is 😍
Haiku's are easy...
But sometimes they don't make sense...
Refrigerator
19:20 im so glad I'm not the only one who knows Batmanuel😂
Shogun + Adam and Jay = 🎉❤️🎉❤️🎉❤️🎉❤️🎉 THANK YOU!!
As for the hairstyle, it was common for samurai to shave the tops in front of their head since it would help from their helmets, slipping or moving around as it would stick firmly versus hair, which would cause their helmet to move
Funny play on words.. ANJIN means.. PILOT.. John Blackthorn’s profession is as a Pilot ( Anjin ) not bad for a “pilot”…. Episode eh?
Good show. This show at other country is playing on Disney +! And no cut. A lot people surprise Disney do this way.
YESSSS IT’S SO GOOD
29:26 Jesus Christ, Jay. That made me choke on my soda. You, sir, are a silly goober. Adam's face said it all. lol 😆
I loved the old TV miniseries with Chamberlain, Mifune and Rhys-Davis
Your reaction to the boiling is *muah* exactly what I wanted lol
kudos to hannajoh, the master of gestures. daiki ishida, samurai movement advisor. toru harada, technical supervisor. and akiko kobayashi, period movement advisor who also played mariko-sama’s “lady-in-waiting”, setsu. the amount of detail that went into shōgun. amazing!! hiroyuki sanada is such a class act! 100000/10 love this so much!
15:10 The Lord, as stated earlier as they made soup, is obsessed with the moments before death. The woman decided perhaps he wants to learn about the moments before the "little death".
The actor who plays lady mariko is in another show you two should check out, legends of monarch.
The shaved head is for when they wear their battle helmets. It helps them not get too hot, not everyone does it though, it seems like its a preference.
The original Shogun mini-series came out in 1980, and at the time it was the second-most watched mini-series in television history after "Roots."
The significance of shaving one's head is that it was a personal choice, and it had everything to do with comfort while wearing one of those large, imposing, and most importantly, hot and sweaty helmets while in battle. Most common samurai couldn't afford the fancy ones with good airflow around the head, and those ended up using that haircut.
Toranaga is actually the Ned Stark of this show... if Ned Stark was good at politics.
I just binged the first 4 episodes. Holy shit y’all are in for a WILD ride
Wait till they and hopefully more people realize that "Lord Yabushige" is the same guy that played Hogun in the thor movies
I'm very excited to see your continued reactions, but the question must be asked (though I suspect I know the answer): Have you read the book?
Some of what is happening is far easier to follow if so, though attention to every subtlety in the show (what is said, how it's said, and to whom it is *actually* said, etc...) should keep you above water
Ted Danson.....am I the only one who watched "Something about Amelia?!?"
Ted was....pure evil in that movie.
Hiruyuki Sanada is the LITERAL man
Love that guy ❤
That is Batmanuel! 😮
I literally just brought my Nav's Popcorn box in from the door! The Dark Island Pop-Pies did not make the cross-country journey intact, but everything else still looks fabulous. Gonna munch some Rainbow while I watch this reaction.
Yeah, that boiling bit was tough. I could have gone my whole life without those 3 or 4 seconds of seeing that.
Just to clarify, England and Portugal have never been at war, and they have the worlds oldest continuous military alliance which was established in 1373 and continues to this day. It is the spanish who are englands main enemy in this time period.
“So, like what? Two, three years?” And my soul died just a little.
This show is complex and the value of it is introducing audiences to Japanese history who otherwise would not be exposed to it. While there will be inaccuracies, because you know, entertainment, it will spark interest to learn the real stories. Thank you so much for doing this show.
holy, you guys dont stop joking around huh...
Yeah kinda annoying
@@V15.12 You're in the wrong place if you're finding it annoying. Seriously.
They shave parts of their head for ventilation when wearing their helmets
When "Yabu" pulls a "Clark Griswald" on the rocks... Ouch... Two "Caps" falling on the stairs ouch.
Randomly read Gaijin in university after picking it up at a secondhand - the show reminded me of it and only recently made the connection to James Clavell the Shogun author
Wonder if there’s plans to cover the rest of the 200+ years of saga haha
12:06 One of the few reactors who didn't blur the head chop. Braver than this villager.
Jay isn't ready for this show.. it goes hard with the violence and gore and this is just the 1st episode. Wait till you are caught up. But this is one of the best stories you will ever watch. The books were amazing, the show, while it does take some shortcuts, is pretty much staying true.
Show is incredible. Welcome to the ride.
The hair shaving in that style was so they would be more comfortable in the war helmets
I love Hiroyuki Sanada -- such a commanding presence in everything I've seen him in. He was also great as a recurring character in two shows I enjoyed quite a bit: The Last Ship and Helix. And Anna Sawai (Mariko) is also one of the stars of the series Monarch: Legacy of Monsters.
Yeah. The local Lord who boiled the sailor alive is dancing on a razor blade. He is sworn to Toranaga, but is also making overtures to another Regent. He's waiting to see who comes out on top. But, it us a VERY dangerous game.....
When we see the "special way" .... I was expecting to get a "Looks like I hate it!!" from Jay
YES! All the yes!
So many details, care and effort. Not just speaking Japanese, but old form. (think Shakespear) and the majority of viewers will never know.
Consultants on costume, behavior, mannerisms to have them be as correct as possible for the time.
I only wish there could be more then the 10 episodes we are going to get. But 10 is close enough to do the book justice. Ok, now to watch your reaction...
This show is fantastic. I'm all caught up on it, not a single bad episode yet.
This show is so good, it made me replay Shogun 2: Total War 2!!!