Ikusagami: Last Samurai Standing

Obviously this is a squid games rip which was originally an Alice in Boarderland rip. As the title suggests, I thought it was pretty good. It didn't bore me but it didn't entirely captivate me either. The fight scenes were the coolest part about it, loved them. I will be watching season 2 if it gets one.

One point per life. During the Meiji era, 292 fighters came together at Tenryu-ji Temple in Kyoto after sunset, The challenge was clear: take each other's wooden tags and make it all the way to Tokyo. The winner would get the prize ¥100 billion.

The first five episodes offered enough bloody, ambitious set pieces and character development to keep me generally engaged, with the sixth episode (Action-packed climax) features the final showdowns of the tournament, concluding with an intense battle that takes place during fireworks.

Last Samurai Standing is a visual treat and sure to satisfy genre fans. If you're looking for seriously brutal samurai fight sequences and a tension-filled contest, "Last Samurai Standing" is a must-watch.

Last Samurai Standing, from the ever-controversial Netflix slate, throws honor into a meat grinder. Set in Japan's Meiji era, when swords were being traded for suits, 292 fighters enter a brutal cross-country death match. Shujiro Saga, a fallen samurai played by Junichi Okada, isn't chasing glory. He's fighting to save what little family he has left.

The swordplay is fierce. The plot twists hit hard. And beneath the action, the series asks deep questions about morality, loyalty, and survival in a rapidly modernizing world.

Visually, the show shows its seams. After the cinematic elegance of Shogun, this production feels thin and theater-stage simple. AI-slicked Kyoto looks more like a sketch than a lived-in world. Still, the energy and emotion keep the story alive.

With only six episodes, it's easily bingeable , the kind of show you'll burn through in a weekend, especially if you're craving a sharp, bloody departure from prestige polish.

In the lineage of 13 Assassins, Rurouni Kenshin, and Battle Royale, this is a gritty, old-school samurai slasher. With familiar faces like Junichi Okada and the ever-enigmatic Masahiro Higashide, it delivers both nostalgia and intensity.

Verdict: A fun, blood-spattered brawl. Part survival game, part period reckoning. Think Battle Royale with a katana and a conscience.

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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Last Samurai Standing is one of the better action series I've seen this year and I'm not being hyperbolic. It takes place in the late 1800's where 292 samurai warriors get together for a battle royale for 100 billion yen. Every fighter gets a wooden tag and it's their job to get the others tags by any means necessary. The last survivor reaching Tokyo wins. This show was so good that I binged through all 6 episodes in one day. I really hope they make several more seasons of this.