Shane Watters – Google

The book changed my life, inspired me to move to Japan. This series has butchered the book. I so wanted to love it, and have been looking forward to it. Watching the trailers reading all the good reviews. People saying it's great, clearly have no understanding of the book, character and relationship build up, or japanese. I feel really sorry for all the japanese actors as they are the only redeeming feature of the series so far. After 2 episodes I am extremely disappointed as I recommend this to so many people. The main stars acting is wooden, his dialogue poor (esp. given they had great dialogue written for them in the novel). Some times it feels like there was more dialogue, but its been badly cut. The Spanish and Portuguese characters are also awful and as for their so japanese 🙃. In short, James Clavell must be turning in his grave. Hope it improves.

I didn't think I'd like this show, so left off watching it on prime for ages, but I actually really enjoyed it. The acting and character interaction/relationships are well done and interesting. The visuals and cinematography are immersive, and the fantasy world it which it is set captures the imagination. I see the critics gave it a thumping, but what do they know...not very much in my experience when it comes to recommending something you will actually enjoy watching.