Last Samurai Standing

The scenes really bring to mind those 1970s Japanese movies - like Kurosawa's 12 Samurai - while also giving a slight nod to The Last Samurai with Tom Cruise. Yet despite these influences, it still feels like an original version of what it is meant to be. The acting is good, the framing is excellent, and the action is engaging.

Its only weaknesses are the lack of depth in some of the characters, and that the story logic is weak in a few places, sacrificed for the sake of making the plot more appealing. Considering its budget and the production team and actors, I think it is even better than Shogun, and it feels like a fully Japanese and very likable work.

From start to finish, the first season of Last Samurai Standing kept up the pace with beautiful scenes, outstanding combat, and an intriguing journey through Japan. I really bonded with main characters, although sometimes the decisions made by Shujiro were a bit questionable. Definitely worthwhile entertainment!

I was not expecting Last Samurai Standing to be nearly as good as it was. I was expecting some cheesy action show where I can just turn my brain off and enjoy it. It's much more than that. It's a mix of Shogun, Battle Royale & Squid Game. The only negative is it's only six episodes long. There are plenty of characters and backstories that would've benefited from a longer season. Every episode has enough action and drama to entertain just about any action fan.

It's painfully obvious they cut the season in half and I wish such trend would stop. Was it too much to ask for 10 episodes?

I sincerely recommend putting this series on a waiting list until it's complete. The story is too good to be butchered by netflix's schedule, the cut happens just as we were about to head into the climax. Doesn't make much sense and my day is ruined.

Last Samurai Standing is a Japanese live-action television-series co-written and directed by Michihito Fujii, and adapted from the novel of the same name written by Shogo Imamura. Set during the Meiji period, Shujiro Saga (Junichi Okada) is a former samurai who enlists in a challenge to win ¥100,000 with a personal objective towards saving his sick family and villagers. As the rules are unveiled, Saga discovers that he has entered into a fierce game of battle royale with 291 other warriors whom are seeking to inherit a grand reward.

With grandiose production design from Miyamori Yui, who relies heavily on practical effects as opposed to CGI, transports the viewer into 19th century Japan to deliver a fully authentic experience. Whilst Junichi Okada, who not only serves as lead actor and co-producer for the series, contributes groundbreaking and intense stunt choreography that have the audience on the edge of their seat as we witness one of the best action-oriented crowd pleasers unfold right before our very eyes.

Supplemented with well rounded performances from the main cast members including Junichi Okada and Yumia Fujisaki, as the disgruntled ex-samurai who brings it upon himself to become the protector of Futaba Katsuki, a courageous teenage girl with her own goals to complete the competition. On one hand, one only wishes that additional characters would have been more fleshed out to garner more emotional resonance as this usually is the main flaw surrounding survival game series'. But the television-show is compelling enough that we can overlook certain inconsistencies as the show-runner builds anticipation for a follow-up season.

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