Last Samurai Standing
Created by: John Lee Hancock
Based on: Last Samurai Standing by Shogo Imamura
Stars: Junichi Okada, Yumia Fujisaki, Kaya Kiyohara, Hiroshi Tamaki, Hideaki Itō, Gaku Hamada, Hiroshi Abe
Original release date: November 13, 2025 (Netflix)
Premise: During the Meiji era (late 19th century), 292 fighters came together at Tenryū-ji Temple in Kyoto after sunset, drawn by the chance to win a grand prize of ¥100,000. The challenge was clear: take each other’s wooden tags and make it all the way to Tokyo. The winner would get the prize. One of the warriors, Shujiro Saga, joined the dangerous contest with a personal mission: to help his sick wife and child.
Season 1 – Episode 3
Episode title: Fate
Episode plot: Shujiro and Futaba are joined by participant Iroha Kinugasa, Shujiro’s adoptive sister of the Kyohachi-ryu sword school. The trio avoid participants who attack them and are helped by Kamuykocha, an Ainu participant who promises not to attack them when they are with Futaba. When Shujiro, Futaba and Iroha pass through the Seki-juku checkpoint, they are told by the Kodoku officer that Shujiro and Iroha are familiar with “Kodoku” — the pair were once ordered to kill their fellow sword siblings by Gentosai, head of Kyohachi-ryu, though Shujiro fled before he could be forced to participate. The trio find Kyojin and join him for an alliance. Kawaji reports to Okubo news of former samurai fighting each other and slowly moving towards Tokyo, and that the guns used at Kyoto were purchased by four zaibatsu. The zaibatsu are the four men who are following and betting on the game. Gentosai is participating in the game to hunt surviving successors of Kyohachi-ryu.
* * *
Last Samurai Standing – S01E03 – Fate | Transcript
[narrator] The Kyohachiryu School was the birthplace of swordsmanship.
Many believe its legend ended long ago.
[rain falling]
But the eight successors lived on in silence and immersed themselves in ceaseless training.
[suspenseful music playing]
[yells]
[grunting]
[man] I’ll beat you this time!
[grunting]
Ow! That hurt!
What’s wrong, Iroha?
Is that the best you can do?
Shut up, Sansuke!
[swords clanging]
[panting]
[grunting]
All right, you win, Shikura.
If you hadn’t held back, I wouldn’t.
I know you better than that.
[Saga laughs]
[breathing heavily]
[man 1 laughs]
Guess I’ll have a bit more.
[Sansuke] Mmm.
Going for another bowl, Jinroku?
[Iroha] He’s insatiable.
Ten bowls by now? Is that right?
[laughs] Amazing.
Yeah.
Have you heard?
Satsuma and Choshu are allies now, right?
They are.
Right.
The rebels versus the shogunate.
I wonder who’ll win.
Whoever knows how to use us effectively, of course. Right, Shunii?
Yeah, that’s right. [chuckles] Are we gonna join the war too?
Master’s the one who decides that.
After training for all these years, I’m looking forward to a real fight.
[man 2] I know.
Any side Sansuke joins is bound to lose.
[laughing]
[Iroha] Huh?
You keep crying every time I destroy you in training.
Did you forget?
Who? Me?
Every single time.
You’re one to talk!
[Iroha] All I remember is you tripping!
Can we not do this right now?
[indistinct chatter]
[bell tinkling]
We’ll do it tomorrow.
There is no time left for me.
It’s settled.
[birds chirping]
[straining, panting]
Oh! [laughs] I have something to say. Listen closely.
For ten years, you’ve endured the hardships of rigorous training together as one.
Today, that chapter comes to an end.
The Kyohachiryu School has only one heir.
[unsettling music playing]
The seat of succession remains unfilled.
You are to fight each other for it.
To the death.
Tomorrow, once the sun reaches its peak, you will begin fighting.
From this moment on, forget that you ever considered yourselves family.
No one is allowed to run.
[door opens]
[door closes]
This is our fate.
We all knew it would come to this.
[Iroha] Hey.
Why don’t we flee somewhere secluded?
We could escape this mountain and find shelter where he can’t follow us.
As long as we’re together[man] No.
Gentosai will find us.
Gentosai is nothing but an empty threat!
No, he’s real.
He’s out there.
There was a time I saw him speaking with Master.
And that was no man.
That was a monster.
[Shikura exhales]
[man] We’ve walked the path of Kyohachiryu for a long time.
We always knew this day would come.
It’s no use.
This is our burden to bear.
Right.
We have no choice.
Shunii…
[unsettling music intensifies]
What are we supposed to do?
[gasps]
[breathing shakily]
[brooding music playing]
[dramatic music playing]
[mechanical clicking]
[ominous music playing]
[chuckling]
How many of our men have fallen? Hm?
A total of 15.
[laughs]
Kokushu the Manslayer. He’s insane!
What are the boss’s thoughts?
As you may know, the rules do not explicitly forbid killing our own team, and so we will be resuming the game.
Oh. [chuckles] That’s something.
[man 1 laughs] We have already informed Saga Shujiro about this as well.
A total of 192 participants have been eliminated.
In fact, the first participant to leave Tenryuji Temple, number 19, Kikuomi Ukyo, has been eliminated.
Oh no! [chuckles] Reportedly, he lost in a one-on-one duel with Kanjiya Bukotsu.
[man 2] Oh. Bukotsu the Savage Slasher.
He’s shaping up to be another promising bet.
[chuckles]
Gentlemen, if you’re ready now, may we begin right away?
Of course! It’s what brought us here in the first place, isn’t it?
[sighs]
[man 3] Now, allow me to explain how the wager works once again.
You are betting on several stages of the game.
You are to choose which participant will reach the next station before the rest.
The first wager is on who’ll reach Seki first after crossing the Suzuka Pass.
Go ahead, make your selections.
Number 66, Kanjiya Bukotsu.
The Suzuka Pass has many challenges.
It’ll take a truly strong warrior to be able to get through that checkpoint.
Two hundred, Yoshida Naoto.
Two hundred and one, Yoshida Shoji.
[man 1] Oh!
The spear twins, interesting.
So you have a fondness for the unconventional.
At Tenryuji, they demonstrated exceptional skill.
A solid bet, I’d say.
Mmm.
Thirty-three, Tsuge Kyojin.
[man 4] Oh.
As for me, 108, Saga Shujiro.
[chuckles] Gentlemen, you have placed your bets.
So, without further delay, let us proceed with the first round.
Please enjoy to your heart’s content.
Great.
[ominous music fades]
SUZUKA PASS, MIE
[bird taking flight]
[gunshots]
This is the beginning of the mountain pass.
The only way to Seki is going to be through here.
We’ll surely run into contestants soon.
Stay close.
Yes, sir.
What’s wrong?
You said all you knew was how to kill.
And they call you Manslayer.
So I was wondering, what in your life has led you to that?
Well…
I grew up in the mountains with my siblings at my side.
[mysterious music playing]
Your siblings?
[Saga] We were all orphans taken in by Master.
We shared no blood ties.
Out there, all we did was train in order to master the skill of slaying.
And did you live there your whole life?
No. I took countless lives in Kyoto, working for the Satsuma clan.
Then the war came, and I carried on killing.
And before I knew it, they were calling me Kokushu the Manslayer.
[foreboding music playing]
Ready your sword.
So you survived Tenryuji Temple?
Are you still too scared to draw your sword?
[breath trembling]
[grunting]
[dramatic music playing]
Naoto!
Futaba, run!
[gasps, panting]
[groaning]
[shrieking]
[Saga] Futaba!
[groaning]
Are you all right?
Yes.
[Saga] Go.
[struggling]
[breathing heavily]
What is this?
[branches creaking]
[wind whistling]
Someone’s nearby.
[dramatic music playing]
[grunting]
I’ve waited a long time for this, Saga Shujiro!
Iroha!
Stop!
I don’t want to fight my little sister!
I’ll hear none of it!
[groaning] Do you have any idea what we have all suffered through because of you?
[Saga gasps]
Have you ever spared a thought for the siblings you cast aside?
You have no idea what it was like for us to leave the mountain and live as though we were mere ghosts.
[breathing shakily]
I’m sorry.
[groans]
[footsteps approaching]
[tense music playing]
[men groaning]
[breathing heavily]
[music intensifies]
[yells]
[groans]
[whimpers]
[whooping] Retreat! Retreat! Iroha!
Come.
[inhales sharply]
[men whooping]
[panting] Iroha, to the front!
[riveting drums playing]
[grunting]
[panting]
[grunting]
[panting]
[gasps] [grunts] I can’t protect you at every moment.
Defend yourself or perish.
[panting]
[ominous music playing]
[dramatic music playing]
[groaning]
[man 1] Move in!
[arrows firing]
[groans]
[man 1] Surround them! Push forward!
Move up! Go!
No! Get back here!
You fool! What are you doing?
Stay back! Keep your distance!
[man 2] Aim for the brat!
Get her! The brat!
[Iroha grunting]
[grunting] [groaning]
[man 2] Get the woman and the girl!
[groans]
[moans]
[breathing heavily]
[panting] Who the hell is that?
[arrow soaring]
He’s gonna kill me!
[yelps]
[ominous music playing]
[breathing heavily]
Sheathe your swords.
Why did you lend your aid?
It’s the old way of our kin.
Shedding the blood of a child is considered to be among the greatest of evils.
Those who shield the children earn our respect.
Thus, I will not engage.
You think we’d take your word so easily?
Oh. Uh, wait!
Thank you so much, sir.
Could you tell me your name, please?
Kamuykocha.
[intriguing music playing]
So long as the child is with you, my arrows won’t strike.
Kamuykocha. Huh.
He’s Ainu.
Ainu?
The indigenous people of the north.
I saw them during the Battle of Hakodate.
I suppose the rumors were true.
The newspapers made it up to Hokkaido.
[straining]
95, 106 We can pass through Seki with this.
More participants are surely coming this way.
We need to keep moving.
Iroha.
Take this.
If you truly mean to kill me, you’ll have to reach Tokyo first.
Wait.
Fine, I’ll come with you.
[brooding music playing]
There’s still something left you must see through.
You can’t run off anymore.
[exhales]
All right.
[Futaba] Are you sure that’s enough?
[Saga] Carrying too many puts us at risk.
Let’s move.
[music fades]
[knocking]
Come in.
[door opens]
If you’ll excuse me.
I’m here with an update on the investigation.
Mmhmm.
Kyoto authorities have found blood and scattered human remains, sir.
They’ve received countless testimonies of sword fights taking place between individuals believed to be shizoku.
Furthermore, the eyewitness reports aren’t only from a single village.
[ominous music playing]
Shiga, Mie, they’re moving as well.
Are you saying the shizoku are killing each other as they travel?
Indeed.
Also, it looks like their course leads from Kyoto toward Tokyo.
Or so it would seem.
[Maejima] So they’re moving towards us?
It doesn’t stop there, sir.
There were also countless reports of gunshots at Tenryuji Temple.
Lord Okubo, a large group of shizoku wielding swords and bayonets are advancing toward the capital, which means that this is a planned insurrection started by shizoku discontented with the current government regime–
If they were planning a rebellion, they wouldn’t be killing each other.
Yes. But sir…
[swallows]
Hm. I understand.
If ignored, it may escalate into a national crisis.
Kawaji, track down the source of the guns right away.
Maejima, comb through the past month’s telegraph records.
There may be something, traces they left behind.
Yes, sir.
[footsteps receding]
[paper rustling]
[door opens]
TENRYUJI TEMPLE
[drum beating]
SEKI
[indistinct chatter]
SEKIJUKU REQUIRED POINTS: 3
[exhales]
We’re nearly at the exit, right?
There should be someone here to check our tags.
[tense music playing]
[man] No need to be so wary.
Pleased to make your acquaintance, I’ll be the one in charge of your passage.
My name is Tsurubami.
Your wooden tags, please.
Saga Shujiro, three tags.
Katsuki Futaba, three tags.
Kinugasa Iroha, five tags.
Points confirmed.
You are all free to pass.
This is for you, Miss Kinugasa.
This red tag counts for three points.
You will take it in place of three tags that are not marked with your number.
Tsurubami, was it?
Yes.
What exactly is your purpose with this?
I can’t answer that, I’m afraid.
Then I’ll ask something else.
Who made this whole thing up anyway?
[Tsurubami] I can’t answer that either.
However… truthfully, I am quite certain the both of you have experienced Kodoku once already.
What are you implying?
Three bugs, right?
[mysterious music playing]
Well then, have a safe journey.
Mmm.
[inhales]
Gentlemen, we have received news that all contestants have reached the checkpoint now.
Mm. Who won?
The first participant to pass through Seki…
Hm?
…was number 33, Tsuge Kyojin.
Oh yes!
[laughs]
[groaning] Well, well.
Looks like I’ve won this round, gentlemen.
Argh, you dog!
[groans] Hm. I’ll be damned!
As expected of a former ninja from Iga.
Well, Mr. Morosawa, that’s unfortunate for us.
Maybe we were too ambitious, right?
It’s only the first round.
We’ve got plenty of chances to recover.
Yes, naturally.
And then there’s number 277, Kamuykocha.
Never thought I’d see an Ainu take part in this.
Yes, well, this is quite unpredictable, wouldn’t you say so?
It appears the organizer’s really outdone himself with this game, right?
[chuckling]
I cannot thank him enough for this.
Now, if you’re ready, let us proceed with the second bet.
Our second wager is on who shall arrive first at the next checkpoint in Chiryu.
[grunts]
[insects chirping]
YOKKAICHIJUKU
[owl hooting]
I take it you’re Mr. Saga?
We’ve been expecting you.
Welcome. Please, come in.
[Kyojin] I knew you would come.
You have a keen sense of survival.
You’re a seasoned warrior after all.
Why did you choose Yokkaichi?
[Kyojin] I thought you realized I’m a strategist.
The Suzuka Pass isn’t easy.
And taking it with a girl who can’t fight?
You had your hands full.
I’m sure you thought many times of forming our alliance after that.
Turns out you wanted more than just one alliance.
You found yourself a fair lady to bring along.
Shut your mouth.
No, ma’am, I won’t.
Hello, how are you? [chuckles] Kyojin’s the name.
And you’re Kinugasa Iroha.
How do you know my name?
I’m a strategist, I already told you.
Kyojin.
I cannot say I trust you just yet, but…
I do want to increase my chances of survival.
You know what Kodoku means too, right?
Three bugs, is that it?
Yes.
[ominous music playing]
This is how you write Kodoku.
Hundreds of insects trapped in a jar, forced to fight to the death.
The last insect to survive then becomes a god and becomes strong enough to conquer everything.
You seem well versed in that.
Iroha and I have been through this already.
We were once like bugs in a jar.
[hissing]
[chuckles] Quite the life, huh?
So this is your second Kodoku then?
Oh dear.
Well, back to what you were saying.
If that’s the true meaning of Kodoku, then it’s safe to assume there can only be one survivor in the end.
So, Saga, do you consider yourself prepared?
Will you kill everyone at your side?
There is someone I must save before it’s too late.
Still…
I won’t be playing this Kodoku the way they want to play.
[laughing]
Oh my. Looks like seeking you out was a great call after all.
We’re forming our new alliance then, Saga Kokushu.
What are you doing?
They call it a handshake, where you just grab one another’s hands.
This is how people greet one another abroad.
It means, “I hold nothing in my hands and I trust you.”
You too, little miss.
Katsuki Futaba, sir.
It’s an honor.
[Futaba] Uh…
What is it?
I’m just really confused.
What is their purpose with this?
Why force us to kill each other?
Why offer 100,000 yen as the prize?
[foreboding music playing]
Exactly. That’s the real problem here.
We have to understand their purpose.
Otherwise, we might end up playing right into their hands.
I guess that means we should come up with a plan then.
As a matter of fact, I have a plan.
That’s the reason I came here to you.
What exactly are you plotting?
We’re going to discover all the secrets behind this Kodoku.
And to accomplish that, we’ll need to conduct some tests.
What sort of tests?
Well, I’ll give you all the details tomorrow.
Something to look forward to.
Make sure you rest up, all right?
[door opens, closes]
[sighs]
KODOKU To the death.
[somber music playing]
[exhales]
Shunii.
Where are you going?
Outhouse.
[breathing heavily]
[bell tinkles]
[leaves rustling]
[bell tinkles]
[suspenseful music playing]
[gasps]
What is that?
[bell tinkles]
Gentosai?
[panting]
[bell tinkling]
[man exhales loudly]
[breathing heavily]
[door opens]
Why are you traveling with that child?
We met at Tenryuji Temple and have stuck together since.
That’s all.
You don’t really believe she’ll survive, do you?
Is this your way of trying to find atonement after abandoning us on that mountain?
Iroha, I’d like to hear what happened after that.
If you’re willing to share.
Master was afraid.
He didn’t want the school’s secrets falling into outside hands.
That’s why he wanted us all to die.
Ikkan stood up to him.
He turned his sword on Master.
We all owe our escape to that.
[somber music playing]
We were fortunate enough to find our way off the mountain.
After that, we were scattered.
[inhales sharply]
I wasn’t even allowed to wield a sword as a woman.
Gentosai didn’t care.
He haunted every shadow I saw.
And it all began on the day that you decided to run.
I’m very sorry.
Why did you decide to join this game?
[Saga] My daughter died from cholera.
My wife is dying.
My son may catch it as well.
And I don’t have the money to buy medicine.
Is that so?
Never thought I’d see you as a father.
And yourself?
Why did you join this Kodoku?
You said there was something I must see through.
I don’t know if you should be involved in it.
I will decide soon enough.
Iroha.
I admit to running away then.
And I understand I have made you suffer deeply because of that.
And you can hate me for it.
Still, seeing you breathing and standing strong… means the world to me.
[door closes]
We need two more tags to pass through Chiryu.
We should collect them while there’s still a crowd.
There’s a ferry over in Miya.
I’m sure the others will use–
[bell tinkling]
[man breathing deeply]
[tense music playing]
Your face…
[man 1] Huh?
I guess I was mistaken.
What on earth is this nonsense?
[groaning]
[gasps]
[body thuds]
[panting, struggling]
[breathing deeply]
[man 2 yells]
[groaning]
[man 3 panting]
[yelps]
Not him either, wouldn’t you know…
[squelching]
[groans]
[dramatic sting]
[Sansuke breathing shakily]
[whispers] Gentosai…
Have you found anything?
Yes.
[suspenseful music playing]
[Okubo] Come in.
We’ve identified the source of the guns.
Go on.
We’ve examined the records of every smuggler taken into custody recently, and we found information about a large shipment brought into Yokohama from Britain.
To our surprise, the shipment contained over 100 Snider rifles.
[Maejima] Impossible.
How could a smuggler have enough money to bring in hundreds of Snider rifles?
Exactly.
He was acting on someone’s behalf.
On whose?
[Kawaji] Mitsui.
Sumitomo.
Yasuda.
Mitsubishi.
Those four paid for the shipment.
They are the four zaibatsu who support the Meiji government.
[dramatic music playing]
95 REMAINING
[ambient music playing]
[music fades]
