Last Samurai Standing, an all-new live-action series that is set in Japan during a time when the feudal samurai era is coming to an end, came out on Netflix on November 13. Adapted from a Japanese manga, the series features Junichi Okada as Saga Kokushu, who is among the dozens of samurai involved in a live-or-die survival game, The Independent reported.
All the participants have been provided with wooden tags to wear. Whenever they kill any of their rivals, they get to add another one of these wooden tags, while the last one standing holds the chance to collect 100 billion yen (around $650 million).
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A homage to Tom Cruise’s 2003 film
The latest Netflix series has been helmed by Michihito Fujii, who is famous for The Journalist and A Family.
Apart from the modern age video games, Last Samurai Standing pays tribute to the legacy of renowned filmmakers from Japan, such as Akira Kurosawa, as well as the Hollywood movie The Last Samurai, which featured Tom Cruise in the lead, and came out in 2003.
Directed by Edward Zwick, the original film starred Cruise as a samurai warrior. It emerged as a major box office success upon its release and even paved the way for several Japanese stars like Ken Watanabe and Hiroyuki Sanada to build a career for themselves in Hollywood.
Speaking to The Associated Press, Junichi Okada said the purpose they had in mind while making this project was to “update the jidaigeki,” which is the Japanese term for the samurai drama genre.
“We took the want-to approach, keeping in mind that, while thoroughly studying jidaigeki, we were going to do what we want to make, and make something that looked absolutely cool,” said Okada, who is a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu.
He is famous for his appearance in films like The Eternal Zero.
Junichi Okada’s previous project
Prior to this project, Okada and Michihito Fujii worked together in the 2023 film Hard Days, which revolved around the life of a police official trying hard to cover up a hit-and-run case.
Interestingly, Fujii was handpicked by Okada for the latest Netflix project.
Okada said they wanted to showcase “something more emotional, with more of a story, and more depth in character portrayal, more of a depiction of culture.”
Besides Okada, the series also features Yumia Fujisaki, Kaya Kiyohara, Hiroshi Tamaki, Hideaki Itō, Gaku Hamada, and Hiroshi Abe.
FAQs
When will Last Samurai Standing release?
It came out on Thursday, November 13.
Where to watch Last Samurai Standing?
Fans can stream the series on Netflix.
Who has directed Last Samurai Standing?
The Netflix series has been helmed by Michihito Fujii.
