Netflix has now unveiled the action-packed series that deserves to be the streamer’s next big hit. Taking the intense gameplay of Squid Game, the affecting drama of Shōgun, and smashing them together with some of the best swordplay action you’ve ever seen, the upcoming series is all set to debut next month and promises to be a must-see.
Based on the manga series of the same name, the martial arts action series in question is Last Samurai Standing, for which a new trailer has now been unleashed (check it out below!). The series is led by Junichi Okada (From Up on Poppy Hill, Tales from Earthsea) as our hero, Shujiro Saga, who enters a deadly game in which it’s “one point per life” with the winner claiming a huge cash prize. Directed by Michihito Fujii (Shoutai, 18×2 Beyond Youthful Days), the rest of the cast includes Yumia Fujisaki, Kaya Kiyohara, Masahiro Higashide, Shota Sometani, Taichi Saotome, Yuya Endo, Taiiku Okazaki, and Kairi Jo. Last Samurai Standing is scheduled to debut on Netflix on Thursday, November 13, 2025, and you can check out the show’s official synopsis below…
The curtain rises on an epic battle royale between brave warriors who lived through an uncertain era.
In the late 19th century during the Meiji period, 292 warriors, including Shujiro Saga (Junichi Okada), gather at Tenryuji Temple in Kyoto at nightfall, lured by the promise of a huge cash prize. Each given a wooden tag, they join a vicious game in which they must steal the tags of their fellow participants and reach Tokyo to win the prize money. 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.
“You Fools Who Live Without Meaning: Kill Each Other, Until Just One Remains.”
Popular Japanese boy-band member Junichi Okada, who has since transformed himself into a bankable action star and is on board Last Samurai Standing as actor, producer, and action choreographer, has previously teased his approach to the series, declaring his hopes of crafting Netflix’s next global hit by combining martial arts action with “stories and characters for the younger generation.”
“I was thinking about how I could deliver this, and what I had in mind was taking traditional elements, the intrinsic parts, the basics [of martial arts], but we encapsulate them in stories and characters for the younger generation. We wanted to look into how people could experience the action.”
Okada certainly has the particular set of skills necessary to create something that action fans will adore. The former popstar has real-life experience in Japanese and Brazilian jiu-jitsu, Jeet Kune Do, and the Filipino martial art, Kali. All of which should bode well for the martial arts spectacle of Last Samurai Standing. Based on the trailer, the series will boast some of the sharpest swordplay that audiences have seen in some time.