Netflix has officially renewed the Japanese series "Ikusa-Kami: The Last Samurai" for a second season.
The decision was not a surprise. The first season was released in November 2025 and instantly became a hit worldwide, taking first place in the global Netflix chart for non-English language projects and entering the top 10 in 88 countries.
In Japan, the drama held the lead for four consecutive weeks and became one of the most notable premieres in recent years. On Rotten Tomatoes, the series has 100% positive reviews from critics and 85% audience approval.
The project is based on the manga of the same name by Shogo Imamura and Katsumi Tatsusawa, created from Imamura's novel. The action takes place in the Meiji era, at the end of the 19th century — a time of large-scale reforms, when Japan was at the intersection of traditional ways and Western modernization.
The plot follows 292 samurai who gather on the territory of the Tenryuji Temple in Kyoto to participate in a brutal survival tournament, the winner of which is promised a prize of 100 billion yen. At the center of the story is Shujiro Saga, played by Junichi Okada. His character enters a deadly competition, desperately trying to save his seriously ill wife and child.
The series was directed by Michihito Fuji, who has already promised that the sequel will be "larger and more dynamic", but the premiere date has not yet been revealed.