Netflix has its own samurai show coming — 'Shogun' meets 'Squid Game'

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Netflix may be betting on another foreign hit to be a huge success for the streaming service in 2025.

During Netflix's International Showcase this past week, the streaming giant teased a ton of upcoming non-English language shows and movies. Some of these were returning shows — like "Alice in Borderland" season 3 — and others — like "Senna" — are coming later this month. But only one of them has been described as "'Shogun' meets 'Squid Game'."

That's how Netflix's Vice President of Japanese Content Kaata Sakamoto is describing "Last Samurai Standing," which is a new Japanese-language action drama currently slated for 2025. The show is based on the Japanese manga of the same name (known as "Ikusagami") and takes place during the Meiji period, which followed the real-life Tokugawa Shogunate, the origins of which we saw fictionalized in season 1 of "Shogun."

This isn't the first we've heard of "Last Samurai Standing." The show had initially been teased back in April when Netflix announced it was adapting the award-winning manga. But now that it's back in the news, here's everything we know about the upcoming show so far.

Everything we know about "Last Samurai Standing" so far

Details on "Last Samurai Standing" are still largely scarce, but we do know what the show is about and who the main star will be.

As previously mentioned, this show is Japanese-language and based on the manga "Ikusagami." It's set in the Meiji period of 19th century Japan when the samurai's power started to wane. It largely takes place at the Tenryuji Temple in Kyoto, where at night, 292 warriors compete for 100 billion yen.

Among the competitors is Shujiro Saga, who will be played by Junichi Okada. Shujiro's goal is to win the money to save his ailing wife and child. It's not a stretch of the imagination to see how apt the description of "'Shogun' meets 'Squid Game'" really is.

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But while Okada may be the star — as well as the action choreographer — he's not the only actor in this show. In fact, the show has nearly 300 actors, all with their own costumes, meaning that we might actually see all 292 fighters before we get to the last samurai standing.

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Malcolm McMillan is a senior writer for Tom's Guide, covering all the latest in streaming TV shows and movies. That means news, analysis, recommendations, reviews and more for just about anything you can watch, including sports! If it can be seen on a screen, he can write about it. Previously, Malcolm had been a staff writer for Tom's Guide for over a year, with a focus on artificial intelligence (AI), A/V tech and VR headsets.

Before writing for Tom's Guide, Malcolm worked as a fantasy football analyst writing for several sites and also had a brief stint working for Microsoft selling laptops, Xbox products and even the ill-fated Windows phone. He is passionate about video games and sports, though both cause him to yell at the TV frequently. He proudly sports many tattoos, including an Arsenal tattoo, in honor of the team that causes him to yell at the TV the most.

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