Netflix‘s recently released original series Last Samurai Standing has quickly become a hot topic of discussion, garnering rave reviews from critics and viewers, including one from gaming icon Hideo Kojima. The renowned video game designer recently took to social media to share his assessment of the Japanese show, stating that he thoroughly enjoyed binge-watching all six episodes.
Hideo Kojima says the direction of Last Samurai Standing made his ‘heart skip’ a beat
In an X (formerly Twitter) post, which Kojima has since deleted, the Death Stranding creator heaped immense praise on Netflix’s Last Samurai Standing series, going as far as to say that it made his “heart skip.”
“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 wrote in his review of Last Samurai Standing. While he compared the show to Squid Game for its survival elements, the veteran game creator also highlighted the similarities it shares with the action-packed works of Japanese author Yamada Futaro.
Kojima further added, “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.” (via GamesRadar)
Tsubaki Sanjūrō is an iconic samurai film directed by the legendary Akira Kurosawa as a sequel to his 1961 movie Yojimbo. Notably, Sanjūrō is widely regarded as one of the best films of its genre.
Set in the 19th century, Last Samurai Standing draws inspiration from Shogo Imamura’s novel of the same name and revolves around the struggles of Shujiro Saga, played by Junichi Okada. In the series, Shujiro joins a survival challenge with hopes of winning a cash prize of ¥100,000 to help his ailing wife and child.
Released on Netflix on November 13, 2025, Last Samurai Standing currently holds an impeccable critic score of 100% on Rotten Tomatoes.
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