Shōgun is a great show, but it will never achieve the popularity level of the eight-season behemoth of Game of Thrones

FX’s Shōgun is having a fantastic run and the series is fast approaching an epic finale. The 10-episode miniseries is based on the 1975 novel of the same name by James Clavell. Ever since the series dropped, some fans have been comparing the series to HBO’s epic fantasy show Game of Thrones. However, fans of George R. R. Martin’s work couldn’t agree with some claims that Shōgun outperformed the eight-season behemoth.

Hiroyuki Sanada in FX’s Shōgun
The series created by Rachel Kondo and Justin Marks currently has a 99% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes. However, fans believe that the single-season historical drama could never match the fantastical world-building of Game of Thrones.

Fans Disagree With The Claim That Shōgun Surpassed Game Of Thrones In Its Content Quality

Fans disagree that Shōgun dethroned Game of Thrones as the best prestige TV show
FX’s Shōgun is undoubtedly a great series with universal acclaim. It has managed to visually capture the story of a culture that is faced with some crucial political turnpoints. The show has managed to carefully and exceptionally execute each of its episodes, which made it one of the few non-Netflix series to have a back-to-back number-one ranking (via The Wrap).

According to IGN, the series has managed to become everything that Game of Thrones failed at. The opinionated piece from the outlet made a detailed comparison between the two series. For this, they used factors like the portrayal of women, nuanced take on s*x and s*x workers, complex characters who have equal roles in the ensemble cast, and the representation of the lower class in both series.

However, fans were not happy with the final verdict of the writer, who claimed that Shōgun has surpassed Game Of Thrones in its content quality. Fans believed that some of the opinions were heavily based on the poor performance of the epic series during its last season. One fan shared how it remained a cultural phenomenon for years until the final season.

Fans mostly argued that the comparison was senseless since the pace and strong points of the two shows were completely different. One fan did not deny Shōgun being a fantastic show, but the comparison between a single season and eight seasons seemed heavily distorted to them. Another fan also mentioned that GoT nailed the world-building part. Some of the fan reactions read:

People forget game of thrones was a cultural phenomenon until the final season.

— Moosey (@0nlyMeez) April 17, 2024

The pace and strong points of the show are completely different than GoT.

We don’t need to compare them. Both are very good though

— Solgob (@solgob_) April 18, 2024

Hard disagree, Shogun is very good but no where near the level of GoT

— Danger Nate (@_DangerNate) April 17, 2024

As someone who hasn’t seen GOT but is aware of it & the conversation that was around it; this whole article feels heavily based off the last season & not how great (I’ve heard) GOT was for the first 6-7 seasons

— Washed Gamer (@MitchellRossman) April 17, 2024

Lmao chillllllll. Shogun is fantastic but you can’t compare a single season to the absolute behemoth of GoT

— Nerdy_Senpai 🌸 (@Nerdy_SenpaiTTV) April 17, 2024

You know what…I actually don’t agree…Game of thrones we amazing in its world building…they are both good in their own way

— Armstrong_loves_anime (@godsent_weeb) April 17, 2024

While Shōgun still has to achieve a lot more to close in on Game of Thrones popularity, it has managed to do one thing that other series couldn’t. Netflix’s 3 Body Problem and Prime Video’s The Wheel of Time were shows that claimed to be the next Game of Thrones. Shōgun is the only one that justified the title so far in contemporary prestige television.

When Will Shōgun‘s Final Episode Be Released?

FX’s Shōgun is approaching its highly anticipated finale
Shōgun Episode 1 premiered on FX and Hulu on February 27 and subsequent episodes were released each week. The latest episode, Crimson Sky, dropped on April 16, Tuesday. The tenth and final episode, titled A Dream of a Dream, will be released on April 23.

The series explores the story centered around two ambitious men — one Western sailor/mercenary who ends up shipwrecked in Japan and another Lord Toranaga, a powerful daimyō who sets out to become shōgun by defeating his political rivals. The roles were played by Cosmo Jarvis and Hiroyuki Sanada respectively.

The series is not your typical complex historical drama, where one needs to learn the names of all the characters just to keep up with the story. Neither is it filled with themes that need further digging and analysis on online forums. The story of the series is as simple as historical dramas come, which may be the exact reason why fans loved it so much.