Yasuke

There are far worse critiques a show can sustain than the observation that there's not enough of it, or that it stuffs too many attention-grabbing elements in too small of a space. It simply means "Yasuke" would be better if there were more of it, and either by accident or intentionally Thomas and his collaborators leave enough about this hero shrouded to make room for that to occur.

The first episode does an excellent job of hooking you in, but it’s the gorgeous animation, fantastic dubbing, and excellent music that’ll keep you coming back for more. If you’ve been looking for a reason to return to the feudal era of Japan, consider this your sign.

“Yasuke” hits the spot for any anime lover while offering new subversions to the samurai genre. It raises questions regarding racism and sexism. And it never shies away from real ruthlessness. While the story features a few too many dots that need connecting, “Yasuke” connects in every other way for maximum bloody impact.

For all its gore, Yasuke is, at its core, a comforting fairy tale about good versus evil. Though unconcerned with the motivations of megalomaniacs, it conveys the true function of institutional power: to engorge and exert itself.

While liberal with its influences (Dororo and Samurai Champloo come to mind), the show sometimes struggles to find its own individual identity. Fans of the Castlevania anime will notice Yasuke follows a similar formula, jampacking its short-form season with gradually bigger (leading to gargantuan) enemies until an explosive final battle. Nevertheless, the show is certainly worth watching if just for its sumptuous animation and impeccable score.

“Yasuke” is an action adventure at heart, and in its excited rush to layer twists, genre elements and mythology in six half-hour episodes, it feels hurried and overstuffed. ... Still, there’s a lot to see and hear and like in this story: the balletic swordplay, the hallucinatory visions of psychic combat, the subtler battles between competing conceptions of honor. By fancifully filling the gaps of history, “Yasuke” has created an intriguing hero, even if you may end it wanting to know him a little better.

“Yasuke” is too preoccupied with its wacky video game escort mission story and action to dig into what Yasuke’s boundary-breaking work actually means to him and the people he coexists with. There’s also a noticeable lack of attention for the show’s supporting female characters, many of whom have exciting superpowers but otherwise lack characterization.