Last Samurai Standing is a bloody historical drama pitting once-powerful samurai against each other in a cutthroat tournament. It ends on multiple cliffhangers, teasing this batch of episodes as only the “first chapter.”All six episodes are currently streaming on Netflix.
In this century of rampant elite corruption and the ever-increasing marginalization of the working class, it makes sense that we’d see an influx of art about high-stakes capitalism, specifically the pursuit of financial security at any cost.
Joining the likes of Squid Game, The Long Walk, and The Running Man — each centered around gamified competitions in which the winner walks away rich and the rest walk away dead — comes Last Samurai Standing.
Based on Shogo Imamura’s novel and its subsequent manga adaptation, the Netflix series unfolds in Japan in 1878, roughly 10 years after the Boshin War helped end the Edo period and usher in the Meiji Restoration, during which the samurai’s influence waned. When Last Samurai Standing begins, once-powerful samurai are struggling to survive and are even restricted from carrying swords.
Shujiro Saga (Junichi Okada) is one of those fading warriors. His family in peril, he joins a mysterious tournament called the Kodoku, which offers 100 billion yen to the samurai who can outlast all of the other participants on a journey from Kyoto to Tokyo. But there can be only one winner.
The six-part series is only the first chapter in the bloody saga, concluding with multiple battles, a few betrayals, and a tantalizing tease of what’s to come. Let’s unpack the ending of Last Samurai Standing — and how it sets up a potential second season.
What is the Kodoku?
The Kodoku is presented as a means for struggling samurai warriors to utilize their long-neglected skills and achieve financial salvation. Its name is derived from Japanese folklore, specifically a ritual in which insects fight to the death after being sealed in a jar.
Contestants must pass through seven checkpoints on their month-long trip from Kyoto to Tokyo. To pass a checkpoint, they must present a certain number of wooden tags, which they take from those they kill. The last surviving samurai wins 100 billion yen.
But what is the Kodoku, really?
‘Last Samurai Standing’.
Chihoko Ishii/Netflix
As the series unfolds, we learn that the Kodoku is part of a larger conspiracy being organized by Kawaji (Gaku Hamada), the Superintendent-General of Japan’s police force, and funded by four bloodthirsty Japanese businessmen who see it as a game.
While the sicko elites bask in the violence, Kawaji sees the Kodoku as a means of exterminating the remaining samurai, who have staged multiple rebellions against the Japanese empire.
In the finale, titled “Mortal Combat,” we see Kawaji pleading with Home Minister Okubo (Arata Iura), voicing his fear of the samurai and asking for the allowance of firearms to help secure the country’s future. But Okubo disagrees, believing that the government and the samurai can find a way to coexist.
“You’ll never win people with violence,” he tells Kawaji.
Dissatisfied, Kawaji sends an assassin to kill Okubo as the Home Minister travels to Tokyo, looking to seize power himself. Later, we see that the businessmen are thrilled to have Okubo gone.
Who is Bukotsu?
‘Last Samurai Standing’.
Netflix
Bukotsu (Hideaki Itô), the “Savage Slasher,” is a vicious samurai who fought with Shujiro in the Battle of Toba–Fushimi during the Boshin War. “Mortal Combat” begins with a flashback to the battle’s aftermath, when Shujiro and Bukotsu stood tall above hundreds of dead and injured soldiers.
But it’s not enough for the bloodthirsty Bukotsu, who wants to fight a weary Shujiro. After Shujiro leaves him wounded, Bukotsu demands that he finish him off; if he doesn’t, he’ll make it his life’s goal to track Shujiro down and kill him. Shujiro refuses, leaving him injured on the battlefield.
An imprisoned Bukotsu is later recruited by Sakura (Yasushi Fuchikami) to join the Kodoku, which he embraces with a manic glee. In the finale, he catches up with Shujiro at a festival filled with innocent citizens.
“There’s no thrill like trying to kill each other, huh?” he asks his foe.
A vicious battle ensues between the pair, with Bukotsu goading Shujiro. “How did you feel when they took your sword away? Have you been happy with your life?” Shujiro, a family man in a desperate position, says he is. Bukotsu replies, “Then why are you here? I’ll tell you why. Because in the end, you’re only worth something if you can kill. You can’t even save a single person without killing.”
Their fight culminates in a wooden structure filled with fireworks. When it catches fire, the fireworks explode around them, igniting both men, who each run into a nearby lake. It’s there that Shujiro kills Bukotsu, who, before dying, declares, “At long last, I finally found happiness.”
Who is Gentosai?
‘Last Samurai Standing’.
Chihoko Ishii/Netflix
Another big bad who makes a splash in the finale is Gentosai (Abe Hiroshi), an older, accomplished samurai who helped train Shujiro and his adopted siblings when they were young. But they left his school after he ordered them to kill each other until only one remained. Now, he’s hunting not only Shujiro, but also Iroha (Kaya Kiyohara), Shikura (Taichi Saotome), and Sansuke (Yûya Endô).
Gentosai emerges in “Mortal Combat,” first squaring off against Iroha before Shikura and Sansuke come to her rescue. The trio manages to subdue him and escape, though their old master remains determined to finish them off.
Later, Iroha says they’ll only be able to defeat Gentosai as a team. “So now we gather our brothers,” says Shikura, teasing a future reunion with Shujiro. That will be complicated for Ihora, who harbors resentment for her old friend.
Who wins the Kodoku?
We don’t know yet. The Kodoku began with 292 participants and has been cut down significantly throughout the course of the season. The finale ends by showing several fearsome samurai either cutting their way to victory or sharpening their skills, teasing more battles to come.
As of this writing, Netflix has yet to announce a second season of Last Samurai Standing, but the finale ends with an intertitle reading, “The end of the first chapter.”
What happens at the end of Last Samurai Standing?
‘Last Samurai Standing’.
Chihoko Ishii/Netflix
In the final moments of “Mortal Combat,” Shujiro reads about the death of Obuko. “This is no coincidence,” he says, believing it to be related to the Kodoku.
In short order, Shujiro receives a message summoning him to Tokyo, where he may have some allies in the imperial government, and a carriage rolls by with Kawaji inside. He and Shujiro share a look, an all-too-fleeting tease of their eventual confrontation.
But that’s not all. We also learn that Gentosai was able to track down Iroha with the help of Kyojin (Masahiro Higashide), a wild card who had previously allied with our heroes. His true motivations remain unclear.
Where can I watch Last Samurai Standing?
All episodes of Last Samurai Standing are now streaming Netflix.
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