LaKeith Stanfield Stars as Legendary African Samurai in Netflix Anime Series ‘Yasuke’

LaKeith Stanfield Stars as Legendary African Samurai in Netflix Anime Series ‘Yasuke‘, which launches globally on April 29.

The tale is set in a war-torn feudal Japan filled with mechs and magic, the greatest ronin never known, Yasuke, struggles to maintain a peaceful existence after a past life of violence. But when a local village becomes the center of social upheaval between warring daimyo, Yasuke must take up his sword and transport a mysterious child who is the target of dark forces and bloodthirsty warlords. Watch trailer below!

Yasuke is created by LeSean Thomas (Cannon Busters) who also serves as executive producer and director, revered Japanese animation studio MAPPA (Attack on Titan: The Final Season, Jujutsu Kaisen), with director and animator Takeshi Koike (Lupin the Third: The Woman Called Fujiko Mine) responsible for character designs, music by Grammy Award-nominated artist Flying Lotus and award-winning actor LaKeith Stanfield serving as executive producer and the voice of Yasuke.

In addition to the trailer, Netflix released the additional voice cast for the show, which features Darren Criss (American Crime Story, and Ming-Na Wen (Mulan, The Mandalorian, ER). Additional cast below!

Additional voice cast:

• Nobunaga – Takehiro Hira
• Saki – Maya Tanida
• Natsumaru – Ming-Na Wen
• Morisuke – Paul Nakauchi
• Haruto – Darren Criss
• Nikita – Julie Marcus
• Achoja – William Christopher Stephens
• Ishikawa – Dia Frampton
• Abraham – Don Donahue
• Daimyo – Amy Hill
• Kurosaka (Dark General) – Noshi Dalal

HISTORY OF YASUKE: He was a man of African origin who reached the rank of samurai under the rule of Oda Nobunaga – a powerful 16th Century Japanese feudal lord who was the first of the three unifiers of Japan. In 1579, his arrival in Kyoto, the capital at the time, caused such a sensation that people climbed over one another to get a glimpse of him with some being crushed to death, according to historian Lawrence Winkler.

Within a year, Yasuke had joined the upper echelons of Japan’s warrior class, the samurai. Before long, he was speaking Japanese fluently and riding alongside Nobunaga in battle. “His height was 6 shaku 2 sun (roughly 6 feet, 2 inches (1.88m)… he was black, and his skin was like charcoal,” a fellow samurai, Matsudaira Ietada, described him in his diary in 1579.

LaKeith Stanfield Stars as Legendary African Samurai in Netflix Anime Series ‘Yasuke’ LaKeith Stanfield Stars as Legendary African Samurai in Netflix Anime Series ‘Yasuke’