Is Last Samurai Standing based on a book?

Netflix’s new Japanese period action drama series, Last Samurai Standing, premiered its first season on the streaming platform on November 13, 2025. The show focuses on the life of samurai Shujiro Saga, who happens to be a fighter in the late nineteenth century, during the Meiji era.

Things begin to unravel for Shujiro when his wife and children begin to fall sick, due to the unsanitary conditions around them and the dangerous cholera outbreak, and he needs to find ways to get money. Last Samurai Standing is a perfect blend of some action-packed fighting scenes along with some necessary social commentary based on the issues of the feudal caste system of the Restoration Age. 

The show, written and directed by Michihito Fujii, is an adaptation of author Shogo Imamura’s novel, which is titled ‘Ikusagami’, and was published in 2022. The novel was also later turned into a manga series, following which, Netflix adapted it into its action drama series.

In the show, Shujiro, who had gotten the nickname of the ‘Manslayer’ after being one of the best samurai of his time, ends up getting defeated in the Boshin War and, following that, takes part in a dangerous game called Kodoku, where there are 292 participating samurai and a whopping prize money of 10 billion yen.

Details explored on where Last Samurai Standing is adapted from, and what happens in the show

Netflix’s Last Samurai Standing is an action drama series adaptation based on the novel called Ikusagami, written by Shogo Imamura, who had also turned it into a well-loved manga series. The protagonist of the show is Shujiro Saga, who is a very well-known samurai working for the highest-ranking government officials during the Meiji era.

During the Boshin War and the Battle of Toba-Fushimi, Shujiro and his fellow samurai ended up getting badly defeated. A decade after that, Shujiro finds himself still struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder in 1878. Apart from his poor conditions, the cholera outbreak in his locality ended up claiming the lives of many, including his young daughter.

Devastated, he realizes that he needs to find a way to sustain his family, especially after his beloved wife and son also fall ill. 

In Last Samurai Standing, Shujiro ends up receiving a mysterious invitation to be a part of a tournament called the Kodoku, which was scheduled to be held at the Tenryu-ji Temple in Kyoto, Japan. When he accepted the invitation, all he was focused on was the fact that the prize money from the competition was 10 billion yen, which would have been more than enough for him to use to treat his ailing family members.

After he reaches his destination, he meets with 292 other fellow participants, some of whom are also samurai and warriors. He learns from the game facilitator Enju that the main task for everyone is to take the Tokaido route and keep killing their fellow participants and collecting their tags. At the end, only 9 would be able to move to the final destination, given that each had a minimum of 30 tags.

Throughout the 6 episodes of the show, Shujiro is shown fighting his fellow participants, only to win the prize. He also befriends a young woman called Futaba Katsuki, and they become comrades, helping each other. Apart from the fascinating sword fight scenes, the show also provides an in-depth social commentary on the evils of the feudal age.

Stay tuned for more updates.