Cosmo Jarvis and Hiroyuki Sanada in the film “Shogun” Photo: FX
The sun has set on Shogun, Disney's thrilling adaptation of James Clavell's classic novel about an Englishman who sails to feudal Japan and becomes embroiled in a brutal struggle between warring factions. Despite a slow start and few concessions to those whose attention span was limited by social media, the series was widely acclaimed as the best epic of swords and trickery to hit the small screen since Game of Thrones – with a bonus feature that, unlike Thrones, Not everything falls apart in the end.
Great, so a second season is guaranteed? Unfortunately, this seems unlikely. While Clavell set the entire sequence of books in pre-industrial Japan, the story told in Shogun has a clearly defined beginning, middle and end. Trying to stretch this out would be as ridiculous as Amazon spending billions on a prequel to Tolkien's Lord of the Rings that no one asked for – who would do something so absurd?
“The story is complete,” said showrunner Justin Marks. “It's difficult because you don't have a master storyteller to map it out for you. So [the second series] won’t be easy.”
Don't throw away your katana in anger just yet, though. We may have said “sayonara” to Shogun, but there are plenty of other Clavell-style capers out there. Here are 10 to get you started.
1. Age of Samurai: Battle for Japan (Netflix)
Covering the same historical period as Shogun, this hybrid talking head documentary and theatrical re-enactment features more warring samurai than you could shake a huge curved sword at. Continuing the story from 1550, it describes the terrible conflict of the Sengoku period – the so-called Warring States era, which also serves as the backdrop for Shogun. And while Shogun is largely fictional (though loosely based on true events), the bloody story told here is entirely real, making it the perfect companion piece.
Age of Samurai: Battle of Japan Author: Netflix 2. Giri/Haji (Netflix)
A Japanese-British story about an outsider caught up in a war between rival dynasties? The parallels between Giri/Haji and Shogun are obvious. The big difference is that Giri/Haji is set in the present day and follows a journey back, while Takehiro Hira plays a Tokyo cop who travels to London in search of his missing brother and finds himself at the center of a gang conflict. There are fewer swords here than in Shogun, although since most of the action takes place in Japan, fans of the Far Eastern setting will appreciate this.
Giri/Haji Credits: Luke Varley 3. The Last Kingdom (Netflix)
Those who enjoyed Shogun's bloody fight scenes and enthusiastic backstabbing (figuratively and otherwise) will certainly enjoy the BBC's adaptation of Bernard Cornwell's The Saxon Tales. It is now 866 and England has been invaded by the Great Heathen Army. It sounds like they should be headlining Donington, but in reality they are a horde of Vikings straight from Denmark. All that stands in their way is King Alfred and his armies, aided by Uhtred, a Saxon raised by the Danes.
The Last Kingdom Credit: TV Footage 4. Terror (Prime Video)
Before Shogun's hero John Blackthorn reaches Japan, we see him on the Dutch ship Erasmus, where everyone is slowly going crazy after months of sailing. If the idea of prim explorers losing their minds after being cooped up for too long is appealing, then the show to watch is the first season of The Terror, adapted from Dan Simmons' chilling fictional account of Franklin's doomed expedition to discover the North. -Western passage. The second episode, however, has a clear Japanese theme and is about a Japanese-American family interned by the US Army after Pearl Harbor.
5. Black Sails (Prime Video)
Yo-ho-ho… and a bottle of fun. If you're interested in mustachioed sailors setting off on adventures in clear waters, you can't do much better than this prequel to Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island. There's nothing subtle about Black Sails – what do you expect from a show executive produced by Transformers director Michael Bay? Toby Stephens plays Captain Flint, and Luke Arnold plays his quartermaster, “Long” John Silver. Many real-life pirates, including Blackbeard and Anne Bonny, appear in fictional form. It can be rented on Prime Video and Apple TV.
Black Sails Posted by David Bloomer 6. Barbarians (Netflix ) < p>Most of the dialogue in Shogun is subtitled, and if you can handle that, you'll have no problem with this German TV show about the Roman Empire's occupation of Germany and the rise of the leader Arminius in 9 AD. It's a long way from Germany to Japan, but the two shows share a fascination with political maneuvering punctuated by sudden outbreaks of violence.
7. Vikings (Netflix)
A historical epic meant to rule all, the show has led to a resurgence of interest in Viking culture, as evidenced by the popularity of bands like experimental folk musicians Heilung and video games like Assassin's Creed: Valhalla. The first seasons tell the story of Ragnar Lothbrok, a warlord who led raids on England and France. The spin-off Vikings: Valhalla jumps forward 100 years and explores tensions between the Vikings and the native English, as well as the schism in Scandinavia between those who continue to believe in the old gods and those who convert to Christianity.
Vikings: Valhalla Credits: Bernard Walsh/NETFLIX 8. Kingdom (Netflix)
This Korean chiller is set in the same early 16th century period as Shogun. But overall it is bloodier and more fantastical and depicts Korea being overrun by terrifying hordes of zombies. There are a lot of gorgeous historical details here (for one thing, the traditional ghat hats are amazing), but at its core, Kingdom is a horror story with swords.
9. Blue-Eyed Samurai (Netflix)
Netflix's excellent animated film is set in Japan's Edo period, a centuries-long period of relative peace during which Japan closed itself off from the outside world (just following the Sengoku period depicted in Shogun). Maya Erskine voices Mizu, a mixed-race samurai on the trail of four white men (including her father) who remained illegally in Japan after the borders closed.
Samurai with Blue Eyes Credits: Netflix
10. Tokyo Vice (Amazon Prime/Apple TV +)
Ansel Elgort plays an American journalist who teams up with organized crime detective Ken Watanabe to take down the yakuza that rules Tokyo's underworld. Based on the real-life experiences of writer Jake Adelstein, the show has the same Westerner-in-Japan vibe that Shogun so effectively mined, although you'll have to pay to rent individual episodes on Amazon Prime or Apple TV.
Tokyo Vice Credit: Album/Alamy Stock Photo
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