Netflix released the trailer of their upcoming animated web series, ‘Yasuke’, a few hours ago, on their official YouTube channel. Created by American animator and artist, LeSean Thomas and animated by Japanese animation studio MAPPA, the series follows Yasuke, a real Japanese Samurai of African origin. The story however, is set in a fictionalized world of feudal Japan with magic and reimagined technology. The titular character is voiced by Academy Award nominee, LaKeith Stanfield.
Yasuke was a man of African origin who served as a retainer under the Japanese daimyō Oda Nobunaga. He has been a man in Japanese legend since the 1500s and his skin colour and prowess earned him the nicknames – “The Black Samurai” or “The Black Warrier”. In this web series (and in the trailer), we are given a loose interpretation of how he comes to Japan as a slave, how he earns his freedom, becomes a warrior under the aforementioned daimyō Oda Nobunaga and eventually helps him commit seppuku.
It is the second half of the trailer which is more interesting. Yasuke then wanders Japan for a time and then eventually settles down as a boatman. When a woman asks him to help her take a sick girl upstream, he complies without asking for any money. However, he soon realises that the sick girl has magic and there are many people after her for her power. He decides to keep her safe from assassins and other such villains.
Although this animated series is a fictionalized version, it is brilliant to see a “forgotten legend” making it to the screen. Featuring diversity even in anime is a big thing and the Japanese have been doing that since the 1980s at least. Check out the trailer of this fantastical animated web series, at the end of this article.
‘Yasuke’ is expected to premiere on Netflix by the end of this month, on 29th April 2021.
We’re hiring!
We are hiring two full-time junior to mid-level writers with the option to work remotely. You need to work a 5-hour shift and be available to write. Interested candidates should email their sample articles to [email protected]. Applications without a sample article will not be considered.
