Awesome and Brutal First Trailer for Netflix's LAST SAMURAI STANDING
Netflix just unleashed the awesome first trailer for its upcoming series Last Samurai Standing, and it looks like a wild mashup of Shogun and Squid Game. The show throws nearly 300 warriors into a deadly survival game where the prize is fortune and freedom, and the cost is blood.
The rules are brutally simple: each fighter carries a wooden tag, and whoever can steal enough of them and make it all the way to Tokyo walks away with the massive cash prize.
The trailer teases chaos, carnage, and the desperation of men willing to risk everything in a world where honor meets desperation.
Set in the late 19th century during the Meiji period, the story follows Shujiro Saga, played by Junichi Okada, who joins the deadly competition at Tenryuji Temple in Kyoto. His motive is personal and he’s determined to win the prize money to save his sick wife and child.
The official synopsis reads: "Under the veil of night, the temple grounds are filled with unease and the presence of bloodthirsty warriors. When the signal is given to begin the game, the combatants launch into their relentless battle for survival."
Last Samurai Standing is based on the Ikusagami series by Shogo Imamura and is already being called a "game-changer for the Japanese serial drama industry" by Netflix.
With over 1,000 cast and crew members involved, the production went all-in on scale and authenticity. According to Netflix, the series "pushed the boundaries of visual storytelling, blending modern CG advancements with practical effects to deliver some of the most realistic and visceral action scenes ever seen in Japanese television."
When the show was announced earlier this year, Netflix Japan content chief Kaata Sakamoto explained that the series aims to reveal a different side of samurai history
"When most people think about samurai, they think about this very glamorous period in Japanese history," he told Variety. "But what a lot of people don't realize is that, towards the end of the Edo period, the samurai lost a lot of their glamour and their power.
“Last Samurai Standing is about what would happen if these warriors – the toughest and best in Japan – all of a sudden became common people and had to fight for their lives."
This looks like a great series and the trailer makes it clear it won’t shy away from blood-soaked spectacle.
Last Samurai Standing premieres on Netflix on November 13, 2025.