'Yasuke' Review

The age of the Samurai is here, the fields are flowing with rose petals and blood, pipes whistle through the trees, and an evil warlord marches onto the battlefield as horse and sword buck and clash.  Yasuke is a new Netflix animated action series centered around the only documented black samurai who lived during the 16th century and was accepted into the service of the Daimyo of the Oda clan Oda Nobunaga. The story opens with the epic battle that would define the “Great Uniter” and his legacy, setting the stage for our characters and world. The series takes place in an alternate reality in which magic and advanced technology are rare but apparent, they are used sparingly with one character being a mech and are used in battle scenes with devastating results. Nobunaga’s crusade to unite Japan as Shogunate would become the stuff of legend after he was betrayed by one of his generals and forced Seppuku at the hands of the demonic Yami no Daimyo. Yasuke’s story begins twenty years after these events, in which he is a drunken boatsman. He makes a living fishing and ferrying people up and down the river between small villages, living in self-imposed exile going by the name ‘Yassan’. Yasuke soon meets a young mother and her daughter Saki and is tasked with aiding them by traveling upriver into the dangerous territory of the evil Daimyo. On the way, they encounter many foes coveting the child’s powers, but all in service of the Daimyo’s influence and her quest for the child’s ultimate power. Yasuke must struggle with his guilt over Nobunaga’s fall and his failure to protect his closest friend and mentor. He must do this while coming to terms with the repetition of the cycle and becoming a mentor for his new companion Saki. Several other characters in his past (which I will not spoil) flesh out his reasons for abandoning his role as samurai and how he landed in this small village drinking away his regrets.

First and foremost, the animation is meticulously crafted to fit the historical background. Action scenes consist of river battles, gigantic battlefields with sweeping crane shots while mostly adapting Yasuke’s true story. The plot is only partially based on the real-life events we know from history while the rest is pure fiction and incorporates magic, demonic forces, spirits, as well as huge futuristic mechs despite its historical setting. The animation, writing, and direction are spearheaded by creator LeSean Thomas, known for his veteran background in many works including The Boondocks, The Legend of Korra, and Black Dynamite. Produced by Thomas, LaKeith Stanfield who also voices Yasuke, Flying Lotus who created the soundtrack and main theme, and Colin Stark.  

When Yasuke works, it really works, the action set pieces, the dreamlike score, the likable main cast, and the animation are wonderful to behold. The sweeping camera reminds us of Michael Bay’s kinetic style of action filmmaking. The sense of urgency and dramatic tension in terms of the filmmaking is fantastic during the first three episodes. The setups and payoffs from the villains work on their smaller scale and watching Yasuke lose before he is able to fully step into the heroic samurai role he is meant to embody really endears you to the character. It is clearly heavily influenced by other shows in the jidaigeki style of anime with its historical time period, its designs and fight animation are similar to Samurai Champloo, Afro Samurai, and Basilisk. The over the top violence with all the blood and gore with action that darts around with every swing of Yasuke’s sword. The soundtrack is impressive as well, with its hip-hop beats and mix of catchy synthesizers and African and Japanese percussion that mirror the duality of Yasuke himself and fit the tone of Yasuke perfectly. The differing elements of the 80s synths mixed with the different percussion beats help add exciting energy, but also a reverence to the show with its more toned-down pieces to fit the flow of each episode. The narrative of the samurai is not unlike that of the American West as the samurai too was phased out of its feudalistic honor-based system by democracy and rising technologies. This is why Yasuke feels like something close to The Searchers or Shane. The story unfortunately is where Yasuke hits the most road bumps. We receive a very by-the-numbers plot with the character of Saki being little more than a Mcguffin that conveniently solves any and all problems that arise via her underlying spiritual connection. Saki’s powers being fickle and unstable the first few times is welcome and interesting, but with her training and development being given a backseat (probably for time purposes), the amount of power and control she amasses by the end of the show is staggering. 

What makes this story stand out for me is the character of Yasuke. Watching his development and outlook change over the course of the season was remarkable. Yasuke’s a recurring theme of his prior servantry being something he can never rise above is riveting. Seeing him overcome his past failures and become the honorable, loyal samurai and once again rise and accept himself for who he is was an absolute joy, and it's made possible by the gravitas and guilt that you feel from LaKeith Stanfield anytime he speaks, a fantastic performance. 

The animation can suffer during dialogue scenes as the mouth movement and facial expressions quality falter occasionally. Character developing scenes do not take place in interesting or dynamic ways and are mostly people walking in nature talking in a wide shot. Most of the great animation is reserved for the battle and action scenes. In terms of drawing, I wanted more detail and dynamic fights with more drawn-out fighting. Most fights end just like Kill Bill with every cleave being another burst of the blood of a grunt that had no chance against our hero. The more fantastical elements such as the magic and mecha could use more development through the western feel makes it matter very little. Despite the poor animation in places, the world-building, and the final three episodes feeling rushed, I firmly believe this show is worth your time, especially since it is so short, only six 28 minute-ish episodes. Yasuke has a lot to offer, the animation, the incredible soundtrack, the voice acting all elevate this show to something I want to return to. I hope we get to see more of this world and the many adventures of the mysterious, honorable ronin, Yasuke.