@howie4144 wrote:
What good is the cinematography, costumes, locations, soundtrack, etc if you got to read subtitles. I know it makes it more artistic to speak in native language but you miss the facial expressions or scenery 

You re right, I get it. Though as a non native english speaker, i'm used to it. It takes a little bit to get the handle of it but after that your eyes watch the whole screen, subs included, its weird but it happens :) Nowadays i rarely check the subs as my english are pretty good (maybe i miss a word or two sometimes) but in this case i m back where i started :D

Great start for this new series based on James Clavell's novel. Comparing it with the first televised attempt (and major success) of the novel of the early 80s, it has its pros and cons. Pros are that its obviously a more expensive production making it far more visually pleasant and eye catching in nearly every aspect (cinematography, costumes, locations, soundtrack, etc.). Also the direction is more thoughtful, giving attention to details and nuances and trying to set a closer point of view of the japanese side of the story rather than the western approach the first tv series had. The cons on the other side are, first that the cast is weaker. Aside from Hiroyuki Sanada who is a great and established actor the rest of the cast pales in comparison with the stars of the first one (Toshirô Mifune, Richard Chamberlain, John Rhys-Davies, and others). Also the script so far lacks the depth of the first one in the building of characters and their relations making the commitment of the viewers harder and the whole story somewhat superficial. In any case definitely worths your attention in these very poor of high quality tv/movie content days we live in.

A very good show. Great direction and production, solid performances, definitely worth watching. Having said that, it is lacking in all aspects from "Band of Brothers" of the same producers which is by the way a masterpiece.