Shōgun Review: 11 Ups & 2 Downs

Throughout its run - and even around the time its first trailer dropped - Shōgun has been compared to Game of Thrones at every opportunity, and whilst the comparison is mostly reductive, it certainly feels apt given both shows' excellent depiction of political turmoil. 

The main focus of Shōgun is on Lord Toranaga, one of five regents chosen by Japan's late leader to control the country until his son comes of age, who spends the series working in the shadows to improve his military strength and military strength. Another regent, Lord Ishido, proves his greatest foil, plotting against him. 

These lords aren't the only figures in play whose fates rest on their ability to position themselves in a place of safety and power, as Blackthorne - an unwanted, bigoted outsider - uses what little cunning he has to keep himself alive and, better still, even indispensable to the lords' feuding. 

These men are the key standouts, alongside a loyalty-torn Mariko and a slippery Lord Yabushige, and watching them play each other for survival and sway in nothing short of thrilling.