Netflix’s Yasuke is now finally getting a release date. Not just that, but there’s also a couple of promo images to amp the hype up.

Afro Samurai, is that you?

Netflix formally announces that Yasuke will premier on April 29, 2021. Studio MAPPA will be producing this anime, with LeSean Thomas directing. Thomas is best known for The Legend of Korra and The Boondocks, so you can rest assured that he’s got some good experience under his belt.

LeSean Thomas and his past works.
He’s even based on Tokyo to boot.

Plus, Takeshi Koike (Lupin the Third: The Woman Called Fujiko Mine, Afro Samurai pilot) will be doing the artwork, while Flying Lotus will be responsible for the music. All in all, this is shaping up to be a pretty hip anime.

Yasuke: The Not-So-Historical Details

Yasuke in full samurai armor.
Reality is stranger than fiction.

So what is Yasuke about? Well, believe it or not, this anime is about a real person. In the 16th century, there was a black man named Yasuke who served as a retainer to Oda Nobunaga. No one knows where he came from or how he came to be in Japan. All we have are theories and written accounts of his life there. After Nobunaga’s death in the Honnō-ji Incident, Yasuke apparently fought alongside Nobunaga’s heir before being captured and then sent to the Christian church in Kyoto: Nanbanji. After that, he vanished from history. Only, in the Netflix anime, that’s not where his story ends.

Yasuke and his young charge.
Anyone getting Dororo vibes from this?

Netflix isn’t strictly sticking to history though. According to their official synopsis for Yasuke:

In a war-torn feudal Japan filled with mechs and magic, the greatest ronin never known, Yasuke, struggles to maintain a peaceful existence after a past life of violence. But when a local village becomes the center of social upheaval between warring daimyo, Yasuke must take up his sword and transport a mysterious child who is the target of dark forces and bloodthirsty warlords.

I don’t know about you, but a science-fantasy anime about a black samurai who actually existed in real life? Netflix, you’ve got me sold on Yasuke.

Yasuke's mysterious child companion.
Hype is powered by a forsaken child too, maybe.

Conclusion

Netflix‘s Yasuke is going to premier on April 29, 2021. It’s not sticking entirely to the historical version though. Oh, no. This story will be a science-fantasy anime starring the real deal. Sounds like a mix of Dororo, Gintama (sort of), and Samurai Champloo. Can’t wait to see how this one turns out. Maybe it’ll even persuade me to finally get a Netflix account.

Source: NXOnNetflix