Netflix is betting big on anime in 2021, but there’s arguably no title as highly anticipated as “Yasuke.” This project takes the true story of a legendary Black samurai of the same name, voiced by LaKeith Stanfield, and adds in a whole lot more magic than you’d expect. Ahead of its release at the end of the month, Netflix has finally released the first trailer for the anime.
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The trailer for “Yasuke” focuses on the titular warrior and his rise from servant to samurai, commanding armies and facing hostilities from those who want to preserve the old traditions in 16th century Japan. There is a lot of action and dark secrets being teased here, but what’s surprising is that this version of feudal Japan is full of magic and even mechs.
This is not the first or only project based on the samurai Yasuke to have been announced in recent years. Before his death in August of 2020, Chadwick Boseman was set to play Yasuke in a live-action biopic that he was also going to produce. Before that, “Highlander” creator Gregory Widen was writing a Yasuke biopic for Lionsgate.
The six-episode anime for Netflix was created by LeSean Thomas, best known for creating the anime “Cannon Busters” and for his work co-directing the popular animated sitcom “The Boondocks.” In addition to Stanfield voicing the main character, experimental hip-hop artist Flying Lotus is handling the soundtrack for the show, while the animation is being done by beloved studio MAPPA, who recently produced the popular “Jujutsu Kaisen” and the final season of “Attack on Titan.”
Here’s the official synopsis for “Yasuke,” which debuts on Netflix on April 29.
“The tale is set in a war-torn feudal Japan filled with mechs and magic, the greatest ronin never known, Yasuke, struggles to maintain a peaceful existence after a past life of violence. But when a local village becomes the center of social upheaval between warring daimyo, Yasuke must take up his sword and transport a mysterious child who is the target of dark forces and bloodthirsty warlords. “