I have to talk about the positives first before I get into what I felt could've been the peak of authenticity on a television show. I will share my thoughts on the missed opportunity on the last part of the review.
I have a deep enjoyment for Japanese culture, having been to Japan myself, there are so many aspects that I am drawn to in modern day Japan but I won't get into it for the sake of the review, I'll keep my focus on the series. It's clear for people familiar with at least a bit of knowledge in Japanese history that its past is quite dark and calling some of the practices and customs morally questionable is an understatement.
It's intriguing though that, with all morally ambiguous behavior, specially from a Western point of view and of course taking into consideration that this happened centuries ago, Japan manages to be one of the most interesting and magnetic cultures around the world and this is where the series shines at least from the Japanese perspective.
The attention to the detail regarding the entire production, customs, sets, ceremonies, rituals, historical accuracy across many departments, none of this was left for chance, many interviews showed that the producers focused highly on this aspect, with this being a big partnership between the US and Japan, we finally have an American production that tells the story of another nation and allows for the majority of it to be lead and to proper represent that same country (almost, I will get to that).
So it has all the ingredients for success, amazing cinematography, amazing locations, amazing CGI, amazing realistic production, amazing cast, spoken for the most part in Japanese (which seems obvious but its an actual achievement for an American production) and of course the plot is incredibly engaging filled with intrigue, a main character that is as much a skilled strategist as it is a functional sociopath, a female lead with a great character development - among others these are all the elements that make this a great show.
Where do I point my finger? The Portuguese depiction... I am a Portuguese, and before people start thinking that my issue is that the Portuguese are somewhat the villains here let me tell you I couldn't care less for that aspect. After all this is based on a book from an English man, it is only natural that the main character / hero is English and that there's no mention of the atrocities of English colonialism plus its not even relevant for this plot.
Also, I have no illusions of what the Portuguese did as a colonial force and the atrocities of the past, there are no saints during that era so again my issue is not about the plot but rather the language..
So you make the most difficult of all, a TV show spoken more than 70% in a foreign language, for which Americans will need for sure to have subtitles (which is something that American productions struggle with) and you decide to completely omit a single word of Portuguese for the ENTIRE SHOW.. really? You were already adding subtitles for most of it, this is a pure and simple lazy decision out of fear of the show not being successful because it is already for the most part not spoken in English?
I am not even arguing that it should've been only in Japanese and Portuguese (which actually would make total sense given these are the only languages being spoken) but at least follow the "Vikings" TV show example... when characters share screen time and they don't understand what the other is saying they speak in their own language, for Vikings it was of course old Norse, for Shogun it should've been Portuguese....
You even hired Portuguese actors, Portugal is a core theme throughout the plot, you should've made it justice with at least a few sentences here and there..
Portuguese are proud people and being a small nation we don't get that many noteworthy mentions in main stream global media, when there's an opportunity for that to happen, something that could've been so easy, it's thrown away like that I felt it was a bit of a disservice...
It's still a remarkable TV achievement and I actually do look forward for the original content of seasons 2 and 3, I would prefer Japanese creators involved on an historical drama rather than it being from a Western writer so I am hopeful.
