‘Shogun’ Meets ‘Squid Game’: Netflix Unveils Epic Samurai Battle Series in 2025 Japan Slate

variety.com:

Naman Ramachandran Netflix has unveiled its Japanese content slate for 2025, headlined by “Last Samurai Standing,” a period drama featuring 300 samurai warriors gathered at Tenryuji Temple in Kyoto, lured by the promise of a 100 billion yen prize.

The series stars Junichi Okada, who serves as lead actor, producer and action choreographer. “When most people think about samurai, they think about this very glamorous period in Japanese history,” says Netflix Japan content head Kaata Sakamoto. “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.

Think ‘Shōgun’ meets ‘Squid Game.'” The streaming giant’s lineup includes “Alice in Borderland” returning for its third season in September, promising to take the survival thriller beyond Haro Aso’s manga origins with stars Kento Yamazaki and Tao Tsuchiya.

Director Shinji Higuchi’s “Bullet Train Explosion,” premiering April 23, reimagines the 1975 film that inspired “Speed,” with unprecedented access to actual bullet train facilities and starring Tsuyoshi Kusanagi. “Glass Heart,” debuting in July, features Takeru Satoh and Yu Miyazaki in a music drama showcasing massive concert scenes with thousands of extras. “Romantics Anonymous” adapts the French film “Les Émotifs Anonymes” with Japanese star Shun Oguri and Korean actor Han Hyo-joo as uniquely challenged lovers – he can’t touch people, she can’t make eye contact.