Everyone's favorite amateur film and TV critic and master game designer Hideo Kojima has once again chimed in with his thoughts on a popular new show, heaping praise on Netflix's hit series Last Samurai Standing.
"I binged Ikusagami (Last Samurai Standing) up through episode 6! It was so good. I love the Yamada Futaro × Squid Game kind of worldbuilding," Kojima states in a social media post that appears to have now been deleted. "The cutbacks between the Kodoku-game side, the organizers, and the government side all move with great pacing. And they don't hesitate to kill off well-drawn characters (with a stacked cast) either. The Tsubaki Sanjūrō-style directing moment made my heart skip."
Last Samurai Standing is based on the novel of the same name by Shogo Imamura. Set in the 19th century, it follows warrior swordsman Shujiro Saga as he enters a high stakes tournament with a life-changing prize awarded to the winner.
As for Kojima's other references in the post, Yamada Futaro is another Japanese author whose action-packed thriller stories have been adapted into numerous other media including manga, anime, and films, with the anime movie Ninja Scroll being perhaps the most famous adaptation inspired by his stories.
Meanwhile, Tsubaki Sanjūrō, also known simply as Sanjūrō, is a classic samurai film directed by legendary Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa which serves as a follow-up to his movie Yojimbo, considered an all-time-great example of the genre.
Kojima himself is best known for his work on the Metal Gear game franchise as well as his cinematic Death Stranding games.
All episodes of Last Samurai Standing are streaming now. For more on what to watch, check out our guide to everything else new on Netflix in November 2025.
